Cheyney University Books

Being a physician, albeit a hearing one, I considered myself fairly insightful about communicating with deaf people. How wrong I was! This book educated me in terms of "deaf awareness", helping me to understand better the challenges, and above all, the incredible hard work that deaf people face when functioning in a hearing world. For the first time, I glimpsed the rationale behind a deaf culture where sign language reigns supreme, where those of us who hear and talk with our voices are superfluous in a rich, rewarding personal life. I imagine that signing feels like putting on a comfortable pair of slippers after struggling all day in uncomfortable leather shoes that do not fit well!

In the book, the three women profiled show us three different approaches to communicating with others in their world. Most importantly for me is that they tell their stories as women - women who have made their way through life with courage, determination and great good humor. Such is the measure of success. In their work, these women have ministered to the deaf, as well as families, schools, and communities. Through this book, they minister to all of us, helping us understand some extraordinary people who cross our paths.

Being a physician, albeit a hearing one, I considered myself fairly insightful about communicating with deaf people. How wrong I was! This book educated me in terms of "deaf awareness", helping me to understand better the challenges, and above all, the incredible hard work that deaf people face when functioning in a hearing world. For the first time, I glimpsed the rationale behind a deaf culture where sign language reigns supreme, where those of us who hear and talk with our voices are superfluous in a rich, rewarding personal life. I imagine that signing feels like putting on a comfortable pair of slippers after struggling all day in uncomfortable leather shoes that do not fit well!

In the book, the three women profiled show us three different approaches to communicating with others in their world. Most importantly for me is that they tell their stories as women - women who have made their way through life with courage, determination and great good humor. Such is the measure of success. In their work, these women have ministered to the deaf, as well as families, schools, and communities. Through this book, they minister to all of us, helping us understand some extraordinary people who cross our paths.

The collaborative effort of Bainy Cyrus, Eileen Katz, Celeste Cheyney, and Frances M. Parsons, Deaf Women's Lives: Three Self-Portraits presents the lives of three deaf women through their own eyes and in their own words. One works as a counselor for mainstreamed deaf and disabled students; one survived harrowing Nazi attacks upon England during World War II; and one has traveled the world to teach administrators and deaf students how to communicate better. Black-and-white photographs illustrate this inspirational triple biography of women who refused to let their inability to hear limit their lives or their dreams.

i bought this on the advice of a cousin because a relative is mentioned in the book. i am a montanan and i have always wanted to know more about my ancestors. this book is helpful on that level. it also tells a story all too familiar to westerners--the expansion of the west during which the native american culture was treated shamefully.

Gustavus Cheyney Doane was a frontier soldier and explorer who fought in the Civil War, led the first scientific expedition into Yellowstone, and helped foster the Yellowstone National Park - yet fame always eluded him. YELLOWSTONE DENIED: THE LIFE OF GUSTAVUS CHEYNEY DOANE at last celebrates his many achievements and life in a biography that documents American history and considers Doane's behavior, motivations, and times. An inspirational, revealing survey.

Buy this book. Read this book. Modern historical writing is often described as "revisionist", which, in its best form, means worship and hyperbole are set aside in search of truth. In the case of Gustavus C. Doane, little has been written on which to revise, but if it had, Scott's would be the pie and cake. Far from adulatory, this carefully researched biography underscores Doane's character flaws, in particular his unrequited thirst for fame, which leads him to many poor choices of associates and arrogant behaviors. Doane was chosen to be the military escort on the 1870 Washburn expedition into Yellowstone. Historical lore has it that a campfire discussion at the junction of the Firehole and Gibbon Rivers gave birth to the very notion of national parks, a fact corroborated by neither Doan's report, nor Walter Trumbull's journal. Trumbull thought the parklands were poor for agriculture, but could probably support sheep ranching. Doane was present, usually on the periphery, of many landmark events: the chase of Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce, the aftermath of Little Big Horn, and the Apache uprisings. He led a near fatal winter expedition to the Snake River, survived a harrowing, failed arctic challenge and participated in an Indian massacre, which he later cited as an achievement. Doane was not lacking in intelligence or physical courage and I urge fellow readers to resist harsh judgement. In his day, outspoken desire for fame and glory was a fairly common trait. Scott's fluid style reads as briskly as any pop-history writer. I read this book after a backcountry trip into Yellowstone. Wish I'd read it before.

Bill Wood
Clackamas, Oregon