Washington University Books

The most overrated book in medicine. Ferri's is much more useful. I bought , rarely used. Not much useful information. Would not recommend to anyone.

The book is very thorough in the major areas of medicine, but there have been several things that I have tried to look up and there is only one line of info on it....I like the book b/c it is light and easy to carry around, and good for quick reference, but for reading and learning purposes I reccommend a REAL reference book

5 stars for what it's supposed to be used for:

Have used both Ferri's and the Washington Manual and would have to say Washington is by far tops (also Ferri's has unfortunately gotten so fat and its binder is terrible to boot!!). In terms of what to exactly treat your patients with and how to give it, as an intern this can be very nerve-racking. The Washington Manual helps lessen some of this anxiety with good recommendations and timely pearls. The Washington Manual is also nice for the quick jogging of memory as a more senior resident or for an attending treating easy or mildly-complex out-of-specialty problems. Nothing as of yet really beats this time-tested cook book like ole' Washington to get your bearings.

Once again, it's a cook book albeit a very good one. But obviously, as a chef is much more than the recipes he knows, it's assumed that the diligent clinician's "unwritten job" is to appraise the literature, read solid textbooks, go to conferences, use time-tested clinical experience.

The MGH blue / black pocket Medicine guide is also really good! Uses lots of new studies as evidence, excellent tables and algorithms, but doesn't cover as much. MGH and Washington complement each other quite well in many respects.

There are many more useful resources available. This book was of little use for my practice. Keep searching!

This reference is extraordinarily useful in multiple fields of medicine. Containing succinct information on disease states, therapeutics, and monitoring, this book should be included in every physician and pharmacist's library.

this is a historical work on the american revolution that revolves principally around the figures of washington, jefferson, and john adams. it a book the casual reader can delight in, filled with lively prose and a narrative thrust missing so much in other historical works. a highly recommended read for anyone interested in the american revolution.

This brief (300 pages) history of the American Revolution, as seen through the actions of Adams, Jefferson, and Washington, is a thoroughly enjoyable, pool side type of read. Granted, it is a superficial history of the Revolution, but provides an interesting perspective of the motivations, interactions, and rather different personalities of the three founding fathers. Mr. Ferling's work does seem to be at times rather colored in favor of Washington and Adams, which might be expected, as he has written biographies of our first and second presidents. He makes some rather interesting comments about Jefferson's personality; comments which come close to a psychoanalysis of our third president. Overall, if you are searching for a history of the revolution, this work is not for you. If you are ready for a relaxing narrative of the revolution, and the actions of these three individuals, you will not be disappointed.

As an avid reader of the American Revolution, I had heard great things about this book. Unfortunately, it was terribly disappointing. Ferling spends too much time raising Adams to god-like status, in an apparent attempt to continue his sole rehabilitation of Adams' place in our history (see Ferling's other writings). In short, it's a shame that an author that is a history professor spends so much time in the present analyzing what Washington or Jefferson should have done instead of telling us what they did keeping in mind the time period and atmosphere of the late 18th century. If you are looking for a critical analysis of our Founding Fathers, this book is for you. However, if you are looking for, heaven forbid, a book about history, skip this one.

anyone new to the early history of the republic should consider reading this book. while it is quite brief, ferling does a decent job of telling the tale of the revolution through the eyes of the first three presidents. at times he is heavy handed with jefferson, but any student of the american revolution should know that jefferson's greatest contributions came after independence was secured. the reverence for the declaration of independence came long after it was written; its impact at the time is highly debatable. ferling spends a great deal of time trying to pull adams from the depths of obscurity-his bias is evident-but does make a compelling argument that adams is worthy of the praise. it should be noted that this book ends, for all intents and purposes, and the end of the war, and is merely an assessment of the contributions that washington, adams, and jefferson made during the revolution, and is not an evaluation of their presidencies. nevertheless, it is worthy of your time.

This is the finest book I have read about the Revolution. Ferling is the best at making pure history great. He doesn't engage in phsycho stuff unless he has to. He is very sophisticated and somewhat difficult in the sense his vocabulary is amazing.

He admires washington. He presents the great soilder with a few faults. He makes a god out of Adams and a Demon out of Jefferson.

Great book!!!

In the book Vision Quest, there is a story of growing up, preparing to graduate high school and to become self-reliant. The author Terry Davis used a great metaphor for life as the sport of wrestling. He kept referring to the intensity of losing weight and practicing to the struggles of life and how we must all overcome them.

If you have seen the movie, by the same name, then the book might disappoint you as it did me. The book ends at the beginning of the big match between Louden and Shute, whereas the movie keeps going and finishes the match. This is where the plot seems to just drop off in the book, there was so much rising action and then it just STOPS and then the book ends. This was very frustrating, especially when the book was going great and Louden was getting everything he worked for, his life could not have been better. On the other hand having the book just STOP, it allows the reader to finish the story however it feels necessary.

The theme of maturity and coming-of-age is definitely apparent when Louden talks about his Senior Project and how finishing that he will have completed every challenge High School has offered and he will be ready for whatever comes next, which is college in his case. The theme is only of Louden but also includes his friends and girl friend, Carla. Carla was a hitchhiker making her way across the country when she tries to buy a car and ends up being a houseguest at Louden's home. She grows and becomes a fully responsible woman by the end of the book, which a lot of the credit is given to Louden. I believe this is a great book with a bad ending, but judge for yourself.

This book not only helped me become a writer, it confirmed that there are folks out there working in each moment to be the best people they can be. I've carried the protagonist, Louden Swain, with me every day of my life since I read VISION QUEST in late 1979. And I'm glad for it.

When I came to VISION QUEST in my mid-twenties, I was striving to connect with a life I could care about. I was not a reader, other than the few older novels I was required to read in freshman comp. and American lit. classes. For me, VISION QUEST was revelatory in teaching me that American literature was not something of the past: it didn't die with the likes of Fitzgerald and Steinbeck and Hemingway. Even more important (more enriching) to me, it showed that it was possible to write books and stories that would be accessible and relevant to (and resonant in) many people's lives who would not otherwise be interested in reading. What's more, VISION QUEST helped me recognize and honor the connections between my life and those of others around me. You can't ask for more than that from a book.

And it's not something you often find. For these reasons and others, VISION QUEST is a novel to honor and to celebrate.

The life that Louden Swain lives in this book was something I could indeed recognize as A LIFE! Louden was awake and alive to the possibilities. This was a theme I was (and remain) passionate about pursuing in my own life and work. I hope that I've done an OK job of making that happen.

Davis Miller, author of THE TAO OF MUHAMMAD ALI: A FATHERS AND SONS MEMOIR and THE TAO OF BRUCE LEE: A MARTIAL ARTS MEMOIR

"Vision Quest", like "The Catcher in the Rye", is a novel about adolescence, in the hero Louden Swain's own words, about the "short time he's got left to be a kid."

He's a high-school wrestler who's dropping weight for a match with the state champion but also someone who tries to fill his life with things to do. He reads Kurt Vonnegut novels and med. school textbooks and gets pissed off when the colleges he visits only ever let him talk to the jocks and coaches, rather than the professors he's read about.

Looking at "Vision Quest" now, I realise it is a much funnier book than I supposed when I first read it twenty years ago. Then I was about the same age as Louden and the things he said seemed to make perfect sense. Nowadays, I can appreciate Davis's irony and the perceptiveness with which he makes Louden very much a teenager in his understanding and world-view. My favorite Louden comment is his straight-faced philosophising that, "having a girlfriend is not all fun and games. There's responsibility in it too."

I think the reason VQ is enjoyable and bears re-reading even now, is that it does so many different things very well. Davis covers male bonding, boyfriend-girlfriend relationships, parent-child dynamics and student-teacher struggles. He also captures Louden's dual-nature, as he switches from moments of seriousness, squinting into an uncertain and potentially dangerous future, with Louden's sudden reversals into kiddish playfulness, as he stuffs his team-mate's mouthguard down his shorts.

As well as capturing the atmosphere of the wrestling-room, literature is also a recurring theme. We are told about the novels Louden reads, his English class assignments and his graduation thesis. There is even an analysis of James Agee's "Knoxville Summer 1915". This is is done so seamlessly and with such relish that it made me want to run out and buy these books too.

For me, this a rare example of a completely successful novel. It has not dated (except for a kind of 1960s wonder over racial equality) and Davis has a sharp ear for the dialog, name-calling and absurdity of teenagers. It takes wrestling as a starting-point but is startling in its lack of violence or agression. Rather, it is tender, humorous and poignant, gaining its power from the clarity and truth of its depiction of adolescent life. Terry Davis succeeds in making us care about Louden and Carla, who end up seeming much more than mere fictional characters. Novelists of any stature can hope for little more.

I personally loved VISION QUEST. It is an outstanding book about self discovery and coming-of-age and pushing boundaries. Thousands of people feel just as I do. Thousands don't. And that is the beauty of literature -- diversity to match all readerships. But SHAME on the Santa Monica teacher who encouraged his or her class to post a group of unkind, personal comments in a public forum. No wonder our kids are growing up without a moral compass, with educators so unfeeling as these.

This is one of the most real-world inspiring and beautifully understated pieces of fiction that I have read. The protagonist, Louden Swain, is a 17-and 18-year-old who is doing his very best to become the best (the most alive, capable) person he can figure out how to become. It's durned good to see such a life as Louden's promoted in a fine piece of writing instead of the maladjusts we often find in contemporary, "cool" literature. Although Vision Quest is listed as a young adult title, the writing transcends that genre. This is not so much a book for adolescent readers (although they'll likely enjoy it) as it is a fun read for adults who powerfully connect with good novels. The ending: it's downright perfect. The wrestling match between Louden and his opponent is not the point of the story. The journey of becoming is what matters here.

This book is an interesting if super-polemical account of the political maneuvering and PR spin that surrounded passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement in 1993. As MacArthur notes, NAFTA was not about trade, but about making Mexico safe for U.S. investors seeking cheap labor. The central irony of his heavily ironic book -- sarcasm oozes from almost every page -- is that a Democratic administration ended up in alliance with Republicans and business interests to push a trade deal opposed by labor unions, a core Democratic constituency.

MacArthur interviewed a lot of key NAFTA players, and his book is quite good on Washington infighting. On trade and economics, however, it is terrible. It does no economic analysis, it doesn't discuss the details of NAFTA (instead, MacArthur lazily refers the reader to "specialist literature"), and it caricatures pro-free trade economists as dupes or sellouts. It is also riddled with errors -- anyone who thinks that the 301 law was designed to address dumping in domestic markets has no business writing a book on trade agreements.

Bottomline: the book is nasty and fun but not recommended for anyone who wants to do serious research on NAFTA.

Bill Clinton cites numerous pieces of legislation as part of his legacy; one of which was the passage of NAFTA in 1993. This book offers a bottoms-up view of NAFTA, its push, its passage, and its effects in two communities, one in Mexico and one in the US. The book begins and ends with the community in the US, a Swingline factory in NYC to be exact. In between, the book analyzes the origins of NAFTA, and how the Clinton presidency got it thru Congress against popular opinion in the US, both among the public at large, and within the ranks of both political parties. This middle part of the book is told in chronological order, and covers all the major characters involved, such as Ross Perot, Al Gore, Lee Iacocca, Richard Gephardt, Bill Daley, and Mexican President Salinas.

After reading this book, one gets the idea that NAFTA was essentially a treaty between an overlord, the US, and its colony, Mexico, in which the former gets protection of corporate assets in the latter's territory. In exchange, the latter gets a lot of low-paying jobs, perfect for its lowly-educated workforce. One also gets the idea that during the 1990's, the Democratic Party essentially became a socially-liberal version of the GOP; both answered to big business at the end of the day.

The author does a good job of interviewing common people, individuals who worked in factories that were directly affected by NAFTA. This added a human touch to a subject that can be quite dry. I only give this book four stars instead of five because for a book about NAFTA, very little text is actually spent thoroughly explaining this document and what is contained inside of it.

NAFTA became a blue-print for exporting jobs all over the world. It allows corrupt governments everywhere to exploit the poor for the benefit of the world trade organization (WTO) and the wealthy of these countries.

This book is an example of excellent reporting. MacArthur takes a small subject--the fate of the Swingline staple factory in New York and shows you how a company cut its labor costs by moving to a bordertown in Mexico. This factory once was the first job off the boat for thousands of immigrants. Now, it is the modern equivalence of the workhouse in places like Mexico. There a corrupt government threw its peasants off their land offering them a brutal choice: be exploited by corporations in Mexico or take a chance at a new life in America.

What shocked me was how in such a world as we are creating, friends come in strange packages while your enemies come at you with warm hands and friendly smiles. Bill Clinton, to the delight of conservatives, pushed NAFTA through Congress. The opposition: a lonely, odd, short guy from, of all places, Texas, by the name of Ross Perot. "Can you hear that sucking sound," was his cry throughout his tour of America against NAFTA. We did not listen. Instead, we bought Bill Clinton and Gore, who was the front man for this PR campaign, based on their supposed liberal values. We got took.

Read this book and find out how. I took off a few points because the flow dragged a little but otherwise, a great book --- MacArthur made the Conservative hit list.

Please rate this review. Thanks.

Chapter One tells of the history of the Swingline stapler business from 1920s to 1997. This still profitable business was shut down when production was moved to Mexico. Computers resulted in a great increase in the use of cut papers, and this needed more staples to fasten them together.

Chapter Two quotes the David Ricardo statement of "comparative advantage" (p.71). Isn't this just a simple argument created to support a point of view, and not reality? It doesn't address shipping costs, or other facts. Hardware and other goods CAN be manufactured in America and Poland, or France and Portugal. This example masks the political decisions hidden in his argument. Page 75 quotes Ricardo again, and notes it was false when he wrote it; another created argument. Pages 78-79 repeat the praises for President Salinas, then. He unilaterally lowered Mexican tariffs to allow US exports to gain market share; the book says this wrecked the Mexican economy, and Salinas fled the country to avoid arrest for murder and money laundering! The net effect was to loot and impoverish the country.

Page 95 speaks of the Republicans and Democrats as if they were real things, and not just names for a collection of special interests that create oratory to advance their aims. Page 97 discusses the rational of lowered tariffs: to fight "communism" by importing foreign goods! The fact that those who profited by financing and merchandising these imports also influenced government policy is just another coincidence. Pages 99-125 tell of the intrigue behind the passing of NAFTA (like other special interest legislation). These pages are one of the most important part of the book!

Chapter Three investigates the details of the NAFTA agreement. It starts with the candidature of William Clinton, a "master of two-dimensional obfuscation" ("like Woodrow Wilson") on p.143. Clinton's attraction was that, however flawed, he could win and the politicians preferred him over a loser, however pure. Clinton supported NAFTA because that was where the big money was (p.150). Also, it would not give Bush an issue when Clinton was ahead in the polls.

Chapter Four deals with the politics of passing NAFTA with Democratic Party votes. President Clinton sought the help of the Republican Party and the Fortune 500 (p.199). Why? "Politics is self-interest. Simply put, it's complete self-interest. The fact of the matter is, they'll get in bed with anyone" (p.201). Pages 17-8 tell how a "grass roots" campaign is manufactured. Pages 218-9 tell how a "grass tops" campaign is run: find important people in a congressional district and get them to repeat your requests in person. with a lower tariff on Mexican imports, the lost revenue means higher taxes for Americans whether or not they still have a job (p.232).

"The fact of the matter is they won NAFTA because of money, because of gifts, because of special interests, goodies, and everything else. They did not necessarily win the debate" (p.275). Since then the number of manufacturing jobs have declined; NAFTA helped to export jobs, not goods (p.282). Pages 285-6 lists the bad things that happened after NAFTA's ratification. Page 291 says the abolition of the Mexican communal land system (like the English Encclosure Acts) drove millions off the land, and some across the border; an increasing pool of cheap labor.

This book had no recommendations, no dust jacket, and no introduction to the qualifications of the author. The only reason I picked it up out of the library was because I am currenty a student of International Business and Global Economics.Our group assigment is to pursue a debate upon free trade in general, for the opposition.

For it's treatment of trade theory, especially Smith and Ricardo,I thought MacArthur picked up a salient point...why in the modern world of technology and global trade are thinking individuals (for example...academics?) silently allowing a group of self-interested multi-national corporations to devour and destroy what took western societies, not just capitalists, hundreds of years to attain?

Namely, a worker-protected environment, minimum wage laws, and government regulations to prevent exploitation of labour? Vanishing due to greed. The same old greed that could be scientifically theorized upon more than two hundred years
ago, during the ages of mercantilism and comparative advantage.
Why no new theories on how to maintain worker rights?

MacArthur identifies the players in American politics, the benefits assumed and trade among all dealers in the free trade debate, and spends as much time as is necessary to capture the attention of the reader. Canada and Mexico are mere pawns here in a game the Americans play much better than many nations.
Thus clear causes and effects of the support of free trade in these other nations should be reviewed in numerous other texts.

The points he picks up the best include the clauses in chapter eleven preventing privatisation of Mexican-held American assets, the collusion of the mass media, the deification of Salinas, etc.
The question he raises with the greatest irony, "How could such a trade policy be permitted without minimum standards of environmental and labour regulations in the developing
country, as was required in the EU of Portugal and Greece?"

Finally, the idea should be about creating wider consumer markets of products, which due to this trade deal, almost certainly will never happen in Mexico. The experts still
remain silent about the after-effects, research classified
into documents that claim the success of the project will
take fifteen to twenty years to adequately assess...waiting
for those accountable to pass away? Not a great sucking sound, but a slow, persistent dripping sound.

Now I know why one of my co-workers in the desert was from Georgetown University. Idealism dies pretty fast in
MacArthur's lens upon Free Trade. An enlightening read.

As an experienced clinician I was appalled to see a Death Note written by a medical student using the guide in this book. He titled it "Celestial Dischage"-- just as it is noted in the book. It was his first time, and he thought that was acceptable to put in a patient's chart.

If you expect to use a reference when you are either inexperienced, 3/4 brain dead after call, or both, don't risk your professional reputation on "cute."

Yeah I just wanned to say that this book is dope. I mean for real, I had hella questions about all this medical stuff and this book was straight up dealing! Damn, so I'm an intern and when I be up at like 4:30 in the AM I be tired as HELL!! This book easy to use and helps me out when I'm all foggy minded. Damn, homie, 80 hours like what? But anyway, this thing has got my IV fluids and them dang arterial blood gases locked down from the top down!

For realz!

Aight yo I'm out

HOLLA!

I thought that the book is very helpful on the wards and for my ER rotation. The book is concise and a quick read so it is best to read the book before the rotation starts. I read it so quickly that I wonder why the price is so steep.

This book is very helpful for starting intern year and gives you really good advice for things to do on call. It also has good examples for admit notes, discharge summaries, common calls and common drugs. Great book!

This book is all about overnight call situations that interns face. I'm an intern this year and I keep it in my pocket along with 2 other books: Sanford Guide and Pocket Medicine by Sabatine. There are plenty of books out there if you want to learn about disease processes and the physiology behind it all, but this is the only one I've found that has *practical* information. For example, tables of common prn meds, and how to approach cross cover issues. Great death note sample also.

Dr. Kadar has a good writing style. He gives good information. However, he seems a little "old" to be writing a book for a college freshman. Shouldn't a book like this, be written by someone with a recent college experience. It is hard to find fault with most of his advice. However, if you want to give someone a full taste of college, you'll need to balance it with a book written from a student's point of view. Remember, students often see things differently than faculty. When I was an undergrad, I saw the school's bureaucracy as the enemy. I'd recommend accompanying this book with something like College 101: The Book Your College Does Not Want You to Read

I am a longtime friend of Dr. Kadar and a math teacher at Hollywood High School in Los Angeles.
I enjoyed the book immensely primarily because of its readability. Dr. Kadar has a real gift for communicating about topics on which others frequently just lecture . His candid, lucid style make this work approachable for his target audience: high school seniors, many of whom abhor reading anything. I can't think of anyone who would not benefit from the wit and wisdom contained in this book. The straightforward, yet whimsical approach to academics, campus social life, the trials and joys of this coming of age period--make this tome a pleasure to recommend to all.

This book is clever, entertaining, and an overall informative read that every college freshman should relish. Dr. Kadar arms one with the knowledge in order to make educated decisions during the first year and beyond. The invaluable advice contained in this book will propel one to succeed both inside and outside the classroom. Upon reading this book one will be at a significant advantage upon entering freshman year!

Hello. I am the author of College Life 102. I started writing this book for my son, Kenny, as he went off to college. I wanted to share with him knowledge and insights from my eleven years of post-secondary education and over a quarter century of teaching college and medical students. I wanted to help him make a smooth transition to college and to thrive there from the start.
College Life 102 contains insights on how to study smarter instead of harder. It includes strategies I've not seen described anywhere else, such as technique for dodging the stress of deadlines that I call the "pre-deadline deadline."
One section of the book consists of science based information to enable students to make wiser decisions about their diet, alcohol consumption and other health related topics. As a medical doctor and educator, I feel particularly qualified to discuss these issues. My goal in these chapters is to be accurate and therefore credible, to neither exaggerate nor minimize the risks that students face.
Kenny shared the book with his friends and later with students at the University of Washington, when he became an instructor in their freshman orientation program. I received lots of useful and encouraging feedback. I added sections and modified others to update the book. Kenny graduated in four years, cum laude with distinction.
College Life 102, The No-Bull Guide to a Great Freshman Year, contains information I wish I had before I started college. Why 102 instead of 101? This is a more advanced course. It teaches students not to survive but to thrive. Carpe diem!

Yet another student life book written by an old man out of touch with the reality of the contemporary college experience. I mean come on, who are these grey-haired authors kidding? Are we really to expect anything more than superficial advice from someone who graduated from college twenty-five years ago? Sure, some things never change. But there are many things that have changed over the years, and unless you lived it, you can't accurately explain it to people. If you want to read a book that offers more than generic student advice, then read Goat: A Memoir or COLLEGE LIFE EXTREME: Lies, Sex, Drugs and Violence. Both these books are memoirs from students who attended big party schools and have crazy-true stories to share.

I've heard so much of Rip Van Winkle and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow over the years that this is the reason I purchased the book. I'm working up in the Catsilll Mountains at the moment and wanted to read something that related to the area. This book is far more than the Catskill Mountains as it discusses many of his ventures in England. I found this book to be engaging and heartfelt. I'm happy to finally know more about Washington Irving and his experiences.

I must admit I bought this book solely out of a desire to read "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," probably the work Irving is most well-known for today. Every year on Halloween, when I was growing up, a small group of friends and I would watch the old Disney cartoon version of the story while we sorted through our candy. More recently, I fell in love with the 1999 live action adaptation "Sleepy Hollow" starring Johnny Depp and Christina Ricci. I figured it was about time I read the original story to see how these two films stack up in comparison. The rest of the material in the book was of secondary interest to me in making my purchase, but having now read it I can say that, while it wasn't quite what I expected, it was well worthwhile.

The title is both apt and misleading by turns: "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and other stories in the Sketch Book." The use of the term "other stories" led me to believe that it would be just that - a collection of short fiction stories. Not so. There are three pieces in the book which would fit this description - "Rip Van Winkle," "The Specter Bridegroom," and the aforementioned "Legend of Sleepy Hollow" - but the rest is a conglomeration of various other types of writing. The title "Sketch Book" is very appropriate. Irving has, in essence, provided us with a series of short, literary "sketches" on a variety of subjects and in a variety of styles. The topics vary, but they are also arranged in such a way that one usually flows smoothly into the next, lending a sense of continuity despite the variability of material covered.

A large percentage of the book is devoted to the author's observations on life in England, himself, though an American, having spent 17 years there. Some are purely observational, and some have elements of fiction and imagination woven in, as is the case with "The Mutability of Literature," an interesting little piece in which Irving imagines a conversation between himself and an old book. Irving also occasionally ventures into the realm of satire. Other topics he explores include the differences between America and England, the role of women, English funeral traditions, Christmas, love, etc. He also did travel pieces, including the interesting "Stratford on Avon," which tells of his exploration of places connected with the life of William Shakespeare. Toward the end there are two pieces discussing the lot of Native Americans - not politically correct by today's standards, but offering an interesting insight on the mindsets of the time.

I should probably take a little time to discuss "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" itself, since it was my primary motivation for purchasing the book and, I suspect, will be what draws most other modern readers to it as well. If you've only seen the 1999 movie version, do NOT expect anything remotely similar. The old Disney cartoon is much more accurate. It is actually a very short story - about 32 pages in length. Ichabod Crane is a schoolmaster (not an investigator as in the 1999 movie) in the town of Sleepy Hollow, and falls for the young and lovely Katrina Van Tassel. Katrina, however, is also being courted by a rival suitor, Brom Van Brunt. Following a town "quilting frolic" at which many tales of local superstition are told, including that of the Headless Horesman, Ichabod sets out into the night alone, is beset by a headless rider before he reaches is destination, and is never seen in Sleepy Hollow again. It is left up to the reader to determine what happens to him.

The language of the book is antiquated, to be sure, having been composed in 1820, but it is not difficult to read. Irving's writing is very warm and inviting. He does tend to paint things rather romantically, and the England he shares with us is not the England of the Industrial Revolution during which the book was written, but this almost makes it more appealing as it opens up room for imagination. One must also remember that Irving wrote the pieces in "The Sketch Book" largely to combat his own depression, a condition he suffered from greatly, and he probably needed a cheerful outlet to distract him. We do, nevertheless, get a glimpse of his more melancholy thoughts in pieces like "The Widow and Her Son," "Rural Funerals," and "The Pride of the Village," all of which deal with death.

The last chapter of the book, "L'Envoi," is a closing piece that was included at the end of the second volume of the London edition. It is an interesting collection of the author's thoughts on and explanations for his own work. He makes an interesting note on the ecclectic nature of the book: "His [the author's] work being miscellaneous, and written for different humors, it could not be expected that anyone would be pleased with the whole, but that if it should contain something to suit each reader, his end would be completely answered. Few guests sit down to a varied table with an equal appetite for every dish" (362). Also included is an Afterword by Perry Miller, which offers observations and insights on Irving's life and career.

My memories of reading ' The Legend of Sleepy Hollow' and ' Rip Van Winkle ' in school are memories of vague misunderstanding, a haze of wondering what they were all about. This is especially true in regard the story of Rip Van Winkle.But there was nonetheless in the atmosphere of the stories, something of the feeling of old America, the Dutch- English America so present in the Renssaeleer County I grew up in. Later in life returning to Irving's work I read some of the Alhambra Tales and sketches. All the writing seemed to me to come of ' another world and time' a world and time much more leisurely and slow than the America which was to follow. It is hard to believe but it is little more than thirty- years between Washington Irving's gentelmanly meanderings, and the American Renaissance of Melville, Hawthorne, Emerson, Thoreau and Whitman. Irving is the first American writer known to the world, but he does not really presage the great American creative outburst that is to follow him.
One more point. There is a story from the Talmud about Honi ha- Maagel who goes to sleep for a generation. And when he wakes up finds a wholly new world. He makes then the famous remarks ' Death is preferable to living without friends'. Perhaps Washington Irving too had a sense of being somewhere back in the past, far out of the time of present everyday America. And thus perhaps he suggests that if you sleep too long when you wake up your world is lost and it as if you are dead . i.e. it is as if you have not woken up at all.
Irving in this sense as a writer seems more some one read as a relic than one who gives the kind of inspiring fire his great American successors will provide.

Washington Irving's "Sketch Book" is an eccentric mongrel of literary types that mingles travel writing, literary reflections, and tales (fiction and historical); it is most famous for "Rip Van Winkle" and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." In 1931, the literary critic Henry Seidel Canby remarked that "without the two Dutch stories, however, 'The Sketch Book' would not have worn so well. They are perfect examples of what Irving loved to do, and naturally he did them well."

Indeed, few readers ever encounter any of the other selections, except perhaps "The Spectre Bridegroom"--a comic tale of mystery and suspense. What may surprise many readers, however, is that nearly all of the book's remaining entries are about England--mostly about rural life and the landed gentry outside London, or (as described by William Cullen Bryant) "warm and cheerful pictures of English life."

Under the pen name of Geoffrey Crayon, Irving details his sea voyage to England, a comical fishing trip inspired by "The Compleat Angler," a walking excursion through Little Britain (a London neighborhood), and a visit to the library at the British Museum, where he "soon found that the library was a kind of literary 'preserve,' subject to game laws, and that no one must presume to hunt there without special license and permission." He attends a rural church service (during which he pays more attention to the congregants than the rites) and even crashes a funeral party. There are two essays on Shakespeare, a sequence of articles describing English Christmas customs, a biographical account of King James I of Scotland, and a tour of the tombs in Westminster Abbey.

From the safe distance of his exile in England, Irving hurls two essays describing sympathetically "the characters and habits of the North American savage." The phrase is jarring to 21st-century ears, but, while Irving repeatedly uses the unfortunate term, he simultaneously condemns that the "the appellations of savage and pagan were deemed sufficient to sanction the hostilities of both [colonists and writers]." Regardless of its bipolar sensitivity to language, the first essay is a rousing defense of Native Americans: "They cannot but be sensible that the white men are the usurpers of their ancient dominion, the cause of their degradation, and the gradual destroyers of their race." The second essay is a portrait of King Philip, or Metamocet of Pokanoket, the 17th-century chief of the Wampanoag tribe whose conflict with the New England settlers resulted in the near-eradication of his people.

Irving has a tendency to dilute his delight with an abundance of detail, but his mastery of the quip and his sarcasm--so abundant in his "History of New York"--is still on display throughout "The Sketch Book." Its unevenness, ponderousness, and lack of thematic coherence can be challenging, however, and those looking for fiction rather than "sketches" may prefer (as I did) Irving's "Tales of a Traveller," which is comprised entirely of ghost stories, pirate adventures, and tall tales.

Not to be read quickly and to be savored like fine wine, Washington Irving's "The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon" is a matchless classic in American Literature. Written in 1820 and destined to become a true American literary pantheon (along with his preceeding work "Diedrich Knickerboker's History of New York), Irving introduces us to timeless observations and wit that ultimately become enduring discources defining early American Literature.

Irving's mantra with this work is a set of observations, indeed "sketches" of his many travels and musings while roaming through England and his home in upstate New York along the Hudson River. The eternal figures of Rip Van Winkle and Ichabod Crane are evoked in this tome and set a literary standard that others aspire to, but one that Irving effortlessly achieves time and again. Not only does this volume frame these two classics, "The Sketch Book" also contains other literary giants such as "The Angler", "John Bull", "Philip of Pokanoket", "The Specter Bridegroom", "The Mutability of Literature" and "The Art of Bookmaking" wherein the essence of Irving's literary style is neatly conveyed in the following:

"Being now in possesion of the secert, I sat down in a corner and watched the process of this book manufactory. I noticed one lean, bilious-looking wight, who sought none but the worst worm-eaten volumes, printed in black letter. He was evidentley constructing some work of profound erudition that would be purchased by every man who wished to be thought learned, placed upon a conspicuous shelf of his library, or laid upon his table, but never read. I observed him, now and then, draw a large fragment of biscuit out of his his pocket and gnaw; whether it was his dinner, or whether he was endeavoring to keep off that exhaustion of the stomach produced by much pondering over dry works, I leave to harder students than myself to determine."

With a style that has emitted diverse emotions (Lord Byron "unashamedly wept" over the melancholy pieces "The Broken Heart", "The Widow and her Son" and "The Rural Funerals") and having enjoyed over a century and a half of eminent popularity, Washington Irving's "aim in life is to escape 'from the commonplace realities of the present' and to lose himself 'among the shadowy grandeurs of the past' ". Readers tuned in to this philosophy continue to enjoy Irving's literary prose (by buying and re-reading his works), and also, by buying and reading, secure his reputation as a master in American Literature. When one has digested "The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon" and "Diedrich Knickerboker's History of New York", one has embraced the essential works of Washington Irving and most would then assuredly join me in saying that he rates eminately in American Literary standing.

Great book. Classic first person narrative of the times surrounding Japanese-American "relocation" (internment) in the Seattle area during WWII by a young girl turned young woman. The book is well-balanced with humor and seriousness. Many books of this Coming of Age genre are often boring ramblings of someone's traumatic teen age years. This book is much different. It provides a good balance of eyewitness accounts and personal musings. Not only it is a must read for anyone interested in the period or topic, it is on the short list pertaining to the Pacific Northwest in general.

I was required to read this book for My History of the American West course, and I enjoyed the book as it was a great story written by someone who experienced the internment, but after reading Strawberry Days by David A. Newiwert, I realized that Sone left out the true feelings of the War World II time period. She only briefly touches upon the racism and the hatred towards the Japanese during that time, and the injustices that they suffered. Still I did take into consideration the time period that the book was published, and the sentiments still being felt at that time. So I would highly recommend this book but I would also suggest to do any further reading of the topic to get a true feeling of the Japanese Internment.

As a real Japanese daughter in Tokyo of Today, I very much enjoyed Ms. Sone's narrative. This is a story about prewar Seattle and the life of Japanese-Americans, as well as her identity struggle during the war time.
With the eyes of an observant Nisei girl, Ms. Sone tells us about people around her, and school life, both local and Japanese, in a positive (somewhat humorous, sometimes sappy..) way.
This is amazing. No one told me such an interesting story like this. Travel guide books only show us lovely views or baseball stadiums. Japanese school textbooks NEVER mention Japanese-American history and heritage. What a waste. We could share their feelings...
I could have been a Nikkei(JA) daughter if my great-grand parents had emmigrated to the West Coast. (Actually, they once lived in Manchuria instead.)
Since I found this book, I also have searched my heart and wondered where I had come from... It's so stimulating.
ARIGATO, KAZUKO-san ! Seattle does not only mean Ichiro Suzuki.

Part of Nisei Daughter's charm is the way Sone is able to weave entertaining anecdotes throughout her tale, a story which is essentially about what being Japanese American in the time around wartime America meant to her. Specifically, her position as a Nisei daughter -- child of first generation Japanese Americans -- is the focus of this tale.

The disappointing thing about this book is how obviously self-censored the book is. Sone very briefly reveals deeply felt rage and resentment at intervals during the book, only to shake them off and quickly change to a more light-hearted topic. Granted, there is an ironic tone to many of her comments and situations, and again granted, she is writing for a post-war audience that probably would not be receptive to outspoken criticism of the Internment, but still Sone seems to sugar coat the experience just a bit too much for my tastes. By the end, with the patriotic speeches that make it sound like the Internment was as much the fault of the Japanese Americans as it was the government, I was getting a little tired of Sone's carefree and apologetic tone, especially after the highly charged preface. In the book, Sone all but thanks the government for interning her and her family and giving them this character-building experience.

If you are truly interested in the internment and the impact it had on the Japanese Americans, try a book like Joy Kogawa's "Obasan." It's written about the Japanese Canadian experience, which was even more extreme than the Japanese American one. Kogawa also experienced internment first hand, but "Obasan" is written far enough after the fact that Kogawa is able to give the story more perspective and is able to put a more honest face on what really happened.

Nisei Daughter is not a bad book by any means ... but it did not live up to my expectations either. Sone's self-conscious editing makes the story seem much more like a novel than the autobiography that it supposedly is. I kept wishing she would drop the mask she was wearing and let the reader see what she was really thinking!

Very nice memoir about being a first-generation Japanese American ("Nisei"). My biggest criticism is that the flow is not quite right. I attribute that to the fact that the author is not a writer by trade. The very extensive details that pepper the story detract to the overall flow of it, but nonetheless, this book is very interesting. Monica Sone explores the dichotomy that many "hybrid" people experience: the contradictions of culture, the generational gap made even deeper because of the cultural differences. In her case, these differences were quite extreme: from the demurred and modest Japanese ways to the boisterous, assertive American. She describes many examples of where these differences were patent, and does a very god job in the process. Another excellent area of the book is her analysis of the conflicting emotions she experienced. Here she is, feeling very American, and sent to a concentration camp, labeled as "the enemy". She and her fellow camp-mates experience a collective rage, but it is during these years and after her release that she finally comes to terms with her at times contradictory cultural heritage. The end has very patriotic overtones which I thought were quite sappy, given her circumstances. I wish she could have gone further into describing her family life after camp, and the reassimilation of Japanese into American society post WWII.

Woody Holton, in his book Forced Founders Indians, Debtors, Slaves and the Making of the American Revolution in Virginia argues that Americans weaned on the stories of the Virginia elite, who for ideological purposes decided a revolution was needed, are misinformed. Desperation was the true reason that Virginia, and the likes of Jefferson and Washington and the other privileged gentry, moved towards declaring independence from British rule. Their desperation was in response to growing pressures placed on the gentry class by other segments of society. Forced Founders is divided into four parts covering three time periods. The first two parts cover the time period that is essentially the decade after the Great War for Empire, from 1763-1774. The third part covers the years 1774-1775. The fourth and final part covers the year of 1776. In all four parts Holton looks at the Virginia elite and their relations to various parties during that time period. The two parts Holton breaks the first time period down into are the problems that the gentry faced, and the solutions they came up with for those problems.
In Holton's thesis, he states "that the Independence movement was powerfully influenced by British merchants and three groups...Indians, farmers and slaves." (206) Holton uses letters and papers from contemporaries of the time. He also uses secondary sources to fill in the gaps. These sources he uses to good effect. Unfortunately, he only scratches the surface of the pressure these groups placed on the gentry class. One weakness of his research is that he has not found new sources,
but uses existing sources of the gentry class, to explain their relation to the other classes. Even though Holton acknowledges the bias of the elite, he says he was able to get the other groups' perspective. (xxi) While Holton's goal is to show that the revolution was not just a tax revolt, but also a class conflict (206), the book focuses mainly on the economic reasons that these groups were able to affect Virginia's elite society. This focus changes the typical perception that most Americans have of the founding fathers; it makes them seem less principled and god like. They are more identifiably human, as they are shown to be looking out for themselves. The examples that Holton uses are supportive of his thesis, but due to the breadth of the issues associated with these groups, his examples only scratch the surface of the importance these groups played. A second problem is that the Virginia gentry are still the primary focus of the book. Those groups that exert pressure on the founding fathers continue to be relegated to the second tier in importance. A better title might have been Virginia's Founding Fathers: The Economic Pressures That Drove Them to Revolution since most parts of the book deal with the economic effects each of the groups had on the Virginia founding fathers. Besides economic concerns, Holton alludes that another reason for the drive to independence was the founding fathers fear of losing their preferred position in society.
I felt that Forced Founders was a good read though it suffered from its brevity. A more in depth look at other pressures besides economic ones placed by these groups on the gentry would have strengthened his thesis. In addition, despite offering a slightly different perspective on the social elite of Virginia, Forced Founders still has them as the primary focus, continuing to foster the second-class status of other groups, thus perpetuating historians' tendency to consign them to its back page.

While the book is a "good read" and "thought provoking," I have serious contentions with Holton's interpretation and analysis on many levels, not the least of which center on his lack of understanding and/or misinterpretation of the military and Indian issues which he attempts to cite as supporting his thesis, and which in turn causes me to question his other conclusions in "Forced Founders."

First, he apparently does not know the difference between the provincial militia of the royal colony, the independent militia formed at the resolution of the First Virginia Convention (and Continental Association after the First Continental Congress), or the Virginia militia as constituted by Virginia's revolutionary government, the Virginia Minutemen (as different from common militia) formed by the state in response to a resolution by the Second Continental Congress, the formation of Virginia State Troops or the establishment of the Virginia Continentals. To him, all those organizational concepts seem to be interchangeable.

Second, it is true that Virginia's last royal governor, John Murray, the Fourth Earl of Dunmore, formed his "Ethiopian Regiment" by offering freedom to the military age male slaves of rebel masters (not all slaves), but Holton's explanation leads the reader to believe that the project was an overwhelming success. The primary source documents show that it was never accepted into Provincial service, and with less than 100 "effective" men present for duty, and about 60 sick on board hospital ships in May 1776, the regiment was disbanded. Furthermore, they were not Dunmore's only available troops. So how their presence forced slaveholders to support the revolution is questionable.

Holton also neglects to mention Dunmore's raising of the Queen's Own Loyal Regiment of Virginia, which was composed of white Loyalists. It too, like the Ethiopian Regiment, never amounted to much and was disbanded in 1776. But Holton doesn't mention them at all!

Third he mentions the battle of Kemp's Landing (a skirmish, actually) in November 1775, in which Dunmore's "army" (not just the black troops) drove Virginia militia from the field. He says nothing about the December 1775 battle (actually a larger skirmish) of Great Bridge that was a decisive American victory and forced the British to evacuate Norfolk (and Virginia until 1780).

Furthermore, Dunmore's army was about 600 strong, including the white Loyalist regiment, all the Loyalist militia he could muster, plus British sailors and marines, as well as the Ethiopian Regiment. Therefore, it is unlikely that the Ethiopian Regiment ever neared full "establishment" strength of 800 men, so I believe Holton overstates their influence. Also, the American force included Continentals, State troops, minutemen from Fauquier, Augusta and Culpepper Counties (from the western part of the Colony), as well as volunteers from Princess Anne and Norfolk Counties, including one company of "gentleman volunteers," and 250 North Carolina men.

Nor does Holton say much about those slaves who chose to stay with their masters, and how their action influenced decisions to support independence.

As for the founder's being forced by fear of the Indians, his argument on that score is also weak.

First, does he consider the Treaty of Camp Charlotte, which Dunmore negotiated with the Shawnee, Mingo and western Delaware nations in October 1774, when they conceded defeat in "Dunmore's War"? After his flight from Williamsburg in June 1775, the terms of that treaty were finalized between Continental and (Revolutionary) Virginia Indian Commissioners and the same Indian nations in the Treaty of Fort Pitt in October 1775. The two treaties essentially kept the peace on Virginia's frontier (including in Kentucky) from 1774 until 1777 (after independence was declared!). So, Holton's claim that fear of the Indians forced the founders into supporting independence seems to be a weak one to me.

Second, Dunmore did plot to solicit the Ohio Indian nations to attack settlements on the Virginia frontier, unless its inhabitants affirmed their loyalty. However, the party of three Provincial officers he dispatched to put the plan into action (led by John Connolly), were captured by Maryland minutemen in the town of Hagers Town (Hagerstown) in November 1775, and Connolly was subsequently imprisoned in Philadelphia. The abortive plot was discovered when incriminating papers were found in Connolly's baggage, which was the source of Jefferson's indictment in the Declaration of Independence that king was "inciting the savages."

Third, Holton apparently also does not understand the operation of the Indian polities. He fails to mention that the Six Nations of Iroquois, who considered the nations in the Ohio country their "dependents" by right of conquest and "spoke for" them, were trying to maintain their neutrality early in the war. After being convinced by the officers of the British Indian Department (operating from Fort Niagara and Fort Detroit, not Virginia) that it was in their best interest to support the king against "the Bostonians," most of the Six Nations (the Onondaga, Cayuga, Mohawk and Seneca) and their "dependents," (Wyandot, western Delaware, Shawnee, Mingo and others) did finally come into the war in early 1777, when they struck backcountry settlements, according to British Indian Department officers, "from Fort Stanwix (at the head of the Mohawk Valley in New York) to the Ohio" and that the American backcountry "From the Susquehanna to the Kiskismenitas Creek upon the Ohio, and from thence down to the Kankawa [Kanawha] River is now nothing but an heap of ashes."

Finally, I don't believe Holton ever makes a convincing argument that tenants exerted influence to force their aristocratic landlords into supporting independence, and his argument about debtors falls short of being conclusive.

In Forced Founders, Woody Holton writes about five non-elite groups in pre-Revolutionary America who struggled for relief from a long list of economic and political imperial burdens. Small landholders, merchants, debtors and even Native Americans and slaves in Virginia were affected by a global depression in which the price of tobacco had fallen close to its lowest historical levels, prices of other commodities had plummeted and the credit market had collapsed. Elite, wealthy Virginia gentlemen farmers like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry felt the squeeze but for Virginia's non-elites, the confluence of adverse economic factors became an overwhelming millstone. Everyone in Virginia suffered the effects of the Navigation Acts that restricted colonial trade only to Britain. Everyone was forced to adjust to the boycott of Britain passed by the Continental Congress. Virginia's economy staggered when small businesses and landowners defaulted on their debt, faced foreclosure of their assets and sunk into economic ruin. Holton's thesis is that well-to-do colonial Virginia leaders were pushed to choose rebellion against Britain by these non-elite groups whose meager resources made them defenseless against this toxic brew of imperial oppression and negative global economic conditions.

Perhaps the most powerful force behind the fight for independence was the paralyzing debt incurred by Virginia's growers. It was held primarily by their British merchant counterparts who bought their tobacco, sold them supplies and lent them money. The Virginians' debt was even more overwhelming because it landed on their balance sheets during one of the worst recessions of the colonial era. Virginian Arthur Lee wrote in 1764 that American colonists owed British merchants ₤6 million and British mercantilist policies drained an additional ₤500,000 a year from the tobacco colonies. Virginia's small landholders and business people - and no doubt, their counterparts in other colonies - realized British commercial, monetary and immigration policies favored the mercantilist-creditors back in London. Thus it was that debtors in Virginia became unrelenting critics of British policy, making them a persistent political force in favor of independence.

Virginia land speculators thwarted by British governance were another perpetual burr under the saddles of the colony's leadership, not least because of the unrest and threat of attack they created among Native Americans. Although the Indians ultimately lost the commercial, legal and military battles they fought in defense of their land, their efforts through tribal coalitions to enlist British support were irritatingly effective. One of the unintentional results of the Indians' occasional success against the white land speculators was pressure from them on Virginia's leadership. Independence from Britain would permit Virginia land speculators to move against the Indians, unimpeded by imperial interference.

Like all whites in pre-Emancipation America, colonial Virginians considered black Africans a serious threat to their security. Their fear boiled over when Virginia slaves began to negotiate in 1775 for their freedom with British Governor Dunmore in exchange for military assistance to help control civil unrest. White Virginians who'd been independence-neutral or British loyalists became overnight patriots. For them, the only way to restore order, preserve ownership and protect property was to escape British governance and begin a new governmental regime. It was ironic the slaves' ploy for personal freedom frightened Virginia's elites to support the fight for American independence.

Holton guides readers of Forced Founders through an intriguing but occasionally awkward review of the influence of non-elite groups on Virginia's road to Revolution. Its virtue is its point-of-view; its burden is its less-than-focused scope. In the end, it appears he does too little with too much.

However Holton is to be commended for thinking outside the box. He uses primary sources from the gentry to study Virginia's economically and politically important "non-gentlemen" because, says Holton, their records reveal the gentlemen as powerfully influenced by the actions of smallholders, slaves and Native Americans. Working top down and one class removed, he shows the American Revolution was not just a rich man's war. Historians are well-advised to incorporate such 360-degree-point-of-view thinking in all their examination of primary sources. As they pursue this method, however, they must focus their theses and remain alert to the dangers of scope creep.

Ours is an age when we worry about consumer debt (and consumer confidence), terrorists, and an energy crisis. In other words, when we feel our society a little wobbly it is great to read Woody Holton's book and find similar concerns in pre-revolutionary Virginia. Virginians were caught up in a "web" that included a debt crisis, fear of indian raids, slave uprisings, and class struggle. "Although no one can deny their importance [great leaders], the thesis of this book has been that the Independence movement was also powerfully influenced by British merchants and by three groups that today would be called grassroots: Indians, farmers, and slaves." (p. 206)How we relate to Holton's thesis probably depends on how we feel present day worries influence voting (thinking) patterns.
While the specific subject of this book is pressures that resulted in revolution, the facts presented here could be used to make a wider case about the "web" that every generation finds itself in. What will our consumer crisis, energy shortage, fear of terrorists lead to?
Holton writes well and is to be commended for his presentation.

One of the most common misconceptions of Americans today centers around the revolutionary war, specifically the fact that this war was caused by colonist unrest due to excessive taxation, chiefly in Massachusetts. Fortunately, Holton is able to modify this fallacy, as he presents towards massive strife in the Virginia colony that can be linked as a direct cause of the revolutionary war.
By presenting tension between everyone from debtors and creditors to oppressed minorities (slaves and Native Americans) and the Anglo Saxon majority, Holton is able to paint a much more realistic picture of the times. Readers will be shocked by evidence presented; especially notable is the substantiation of rich landowners actually wanting to exterminate the slave trade prior to the war, almost akin to a sumptuary law, to preserve social boundaries. Also notable is the documentation of how close battle came to breaking out in Virginia as a result of Dunmore's actions, far prior to any serious action in Lexington, Concord, or even Boston.
Although this book makes an interesting read in correcting some of the misunderstandings more than two centuries of time have created, it also works well in conjunction with a study of the rest of the war. When Dunmore's actions are viewed as a precursor to those of Cornwallis, Tarleton, and Clinton, an even more worthwhile and in depth study of the era can be begun.
Thus, whether the reader is just has an interest in the time period or is a scholar striving to make connections, Holton's work is an excellent read. One can only hope that Holton or others can help paint a more realistic picture for the other twelve colonies.

Amazon made me wait for a month! Then informed me that afterall this book was not in stock.

Peter Bacho beautifully articulates the emotional worlds of the deterritorialized Filipino American. With Fr. Ben Lucero's spiritual reconstruction, Bacho constantly explores and mediates between the warm comforts and cold mysteries of Philippine culture. In doing so, Bacho provides an intimate look into the distant, brash, and passionate demeanor of the Filipino psyche... If you believe 'home' stretches across the Pacific, then Cebu is a must-read.

Peter Bacho beautifully articulates the emotional worlds of the deterritorialized Filipino American. With Fr. Ben Lucero's spiritual reconstruction, Bacho constantly explores and mediates between the warm comforts and cold mysteries of Philippine culture. In doing so, Bacho provides an intimate look into the distant, brash, and passionate demeanor of the Filipino psyche... If you believe 'home' stretches across the Pacific, then Cebu is a must-read.

Enjoyed reading this book. It does capture aspects of the Cebu and the Philippines which are very true. Having grown up in Cebu; and lived in Los Angeles for quite some time now, this book showed the big contrasts that exists. The book has a section describing the Road to Toledo; having taken that road in the 1960's, it brought back memories of how dangerous the road is. Loved the book. I highly recommend it.

This book captured my imagination and at the same time, reaffirmed my awe for older generations who have experienced and survived the bitterness of war. Having spent all of the first 18 years of my life in Cebu, I could say it captured its essence very well. Now, three years later after I left that Xanadu, I read "CEBU" and relive the memories of how most people attempted treading on that blurry line dividing blind faith and instinctive practicality without seeming to break a sweat, quite a feat for most people raised here in the U.S. This balance is especially captured by Aunt Clara, notably the most powerful character in the story, literally and figuratively. I would recommend it to almost anyone, the book gives you the freedom to relate to at least one character. Very intriguing.