Society Books

Great debates on the most recent issues in animal law. A great resource for Animal Law instructors.

Animal Rights: Current Debates and New Directions explores the human - animal relationship from a range of perspectives. It aims to assist in the fundamental rethinking of the relationship between human beings and nonhuman animals. The book consists of fourteen chapters, each written by a different author. It is this format of the text, drawing on an impressive list of contributors, which makes it so distinctive and significant. The chapters flow surprisingly well, in some cases engaging with each other's arguments. While the great proportion of the book is concerned with positive reforms towards the increased recognition of the interests of nonhuman animals it does, rather uniquely, contain contributions from both sides of the animal rights debate.

Those acquainted with recent animal rights literature will be familiar with some of the contributors' work. Steven Wise contributes an excellent chapter which is adapted from his book "Drawing the Line", while Gary Francione's chapter draws on ideas mapped out in his groundbreaking work "Animals, Property and the Law". In addition to the contributions of the more prominent authors, the book contains a number of stimulating and fresh ideas from thinkers who haven't published extensively in this field.

The book represents a comprehensive exploration of the major contemporary animal rights debates. The chapters on law and policy reform are particularly engaging and insightful, with a number of the contributors putting forward substantial and compelling suggestions for reform.

It is certainly not an introductory type of text. The book is distinctly academic in tone, as one would expect given the overwhelming majority of the contributors are professors from prestigious universities.

A highly recommended read and a valuable reference for those interested in theoretical debates on animal rights. It's a timely book for the animal rights movement representing a compendium of fresh ideas and a roadmap for legal reform.

From an animal rights persective, this book is inconsistent.

The reader will be treated, however, to a new voice -- that of Catharine MacKinnon, in a fascinating piece named "Of Mice and Men: A Feminist Fragment on Animal Rights." In it, Professor MacKinnon asks if "missing the misogyny in animal use and abuse" hinders animal rights successes.

We live in a culture that's largely comfortable thinking that what humans do to nonhuman bodies does not matter - at least what's done in regular, institutionalized ways.

As female people have often been defined and valued in terms of the use of their bodies and their reproductive functions, it is logical that nonhuman-rights advocates could find a message of value in the social movement for women's equality.

Regarding the treatment of nonhumans and the treatment of women, MacKinnon notes that the "denial of social hierarchy in both relations is further supported by verbiage about love and protection" as though it mitigates the domination. Often, rights for women have been denied because love and protection have been considered good enough. Could we not say the same about the animals we have domesticated?

If so, then the animal advocacy movement richly needs the contribution that MacKinnon's feminist fragment provides.

Nussbaum and Sunstein have put together something very special. This book mixes the standard animal rights fare of Singer, Wise, and Francione with exciting new contributions by thinkers like Catharine MacKinnon, Richard Posner, as well as Sunstein and Nussbaum themselves. The book is well edited, with the various chapters flowing from issue to issue, and responding to each others arguments. The work explores not only what we own to animals, but also what practical approaches might deliver. The animal rights issue show not merely to be a "for or against" issue. Instead, we see a nuanced debate about the place of animals in theory and practice.

This book is essential to academic audiences, but should also prove accessible to general audiences. I suspect this will become a standard text for future animal rights courses.

MY RATING SYSTEM:

* - if you have to chose between torture and reading this book, then you might want to consider reading the book - although it depends on just how severe the torture would be.

** - if you've lost your job and have quite a bit of free time on your hands, and don't have anything else better to do, then you might want to consider reading this book; don't expect to learn much or really be entertained. It will however, help you pass the time until your death.

*** - meh...I'm indifferent. Reading this book will not alter your life in any significant way, yet it is not so horrendously dreadful that your taking the time to read it will be a complete waste of time.

**** - Good book to great book zone here. You should probably read this book if you have some spare time. This book could be interesting, entertaining, or informative.

***** - Outstanding book! Make time to read this book - you'll learn or be entertained or intrigued. The book might even be good enough to provide original or helpful insights into the world that we live in.

REVIEW:

Sunstein and Naussbaum have put together a fantastic collection of essays on the controversial and often incompletely understood topic of animal rights. This book is a must for any self-proclaimed animal rights proponents and, I think, a very informative read for anyone interested in the subject of the interaction between humans and animals. While the essays can, at times, be dense and academic (after all, there are some real intellectual heavyweights who have contributed to this book), I found most of the essays to be well worth the time and energy required to go through them.

The book starts out with several essays on issues that form a theoretical or principled debate on the issue of the role and appropriateness of animal rights, often drawing on and developing philosophical arguments to support a variety of competing positions. Generally, the essays search for the existence of a foundation for 'animal rights', or, as some of the authors might argue, if one exists at all. The middle section of the book tended to focus the more practical foundations and implications of a system of animal rights, including an informative essay by David J. Wolfson and Mariann Sullivan on the restricted application of animal cruelty laws in the North American agribusiness sector. The final essays of the book tend to be theoretical prescriptive explorations, examining where animal rights developments might progress in the future.

In summary, I think that this was an extremely valuable book, and definitely one that I will find myself returning to several times in the future.

This cookbook takes you back to the 1950's and 60's when life moved at an easier pace and families gathered around the table. The family stories laced throughout the book are great; who made the best chicken pie and who made made the best creamed potatoes.

I think today we forget that in prior years people made the best of what was in season, what they managed to catch, and what they had on hand. This book provides a snapshot of how one family did it. A number of the recipes remind me of those I grew up with.

Well worth a spot on your cookbook shelf.
David Stahr

This cookbook is great. Easy to follow recipes which use everyday ingredients sprinkled with heartwarming stories. LOVE IT!!!

This book was bouhgt as a Christmas gift. It arrived promptly and in excellent condition. She loved the book.

I couldn't stop smiling while paging through this book. There are recipes, yes, and if you grew up in the 50s or 60s, they'll bring you back to your childhood, but it is so full of family memories told by all four sisters, and loving tributes to their Mom and Dad and to each other, that you will feel warm and happy, and then will want to run to the kitchen to make a Jello "salad." What a wonderful family scrapbook the Sanvidge sisters created, and how lucky we are to get a glimpse into their childhood. Highly recommended!

This is a great cookbook filled with very traditional recipes you almost can't find in cookbooks today. In addition, it is like taking a step back in time to life like it used to be. It is a very entertaining book to read and my eleven year old daughter loved reading it as well. Well done!!

I bought this for my 5-year-old daughter and she loves it. It has many classic children's science projects, like making a tornado using two soda bottles, and all of the projects use common materials and are easy to do. They are just right in length and complexity for her age.

This book was excellent. I searched many bookstores to find it. It was full of exciting science experiments that anyone can do. It can be used in a whole-language curriculum to teach science. I am very excited to use it this year with my kindergarten class. It will reinforce their learning of the ABC's and teach them the wonders of science! I would recommend this book to any early childhood teacher

This book is both entertaining and informative. There are very few childrens science books which can capture the attention of a 4 year old, and still relay meaningful science; this book does. All of the experiments have fun poems to go along with them, and there is additional information for more in-depth scientific thought at the back of the book. The experiments are fun and easy to do. Overall, it's an excellent first science book.

My five year old loves the idea of doing science experiments, so I have purchased three or four science books geared for kids her age. This is the best one that I have seen. The activities are fun and easy to do. Almost all of them require only materials that are readily available in the average household. Most take under half an hour from start to finish. The reason that I gave the book only four stars and not five is that the poems themselves are not great. Bottom line: the science experiments are terrific, but the book is not a great read.

I just went to the California Kindergarten Conference and saw this book presented. There is a poem and a science project for each letter of the alphabet. They are simple, hands-on experiments and very affordable for the K-1 teacher.

I first became acquainted with Michael Green's marvelous book when I picked up a used paperback in a book store in Long Beach, Calif. in 1979. In the years since, I have read the book at least two dozen times -- always thinking that THIS TIME I'll be able to peruse it with a straight face, yet always, inevitably, dissolving into gales of helpless, tearful laughter before ten pages have turned. This is not only the funniest book ever written about acting, but one of the funniest books on ANY subject in the English language. Many books dicuss the "high end" of acting -- character, subtext, internal monologue, etc. But none of them offer pointers on what to do if a fellow actor muffs his lines, or if you need to get off (or on) stage and the door won't open. Green fills that void in the most diverting manner imaginable. If you've always thought the phrase "I laughed till I cried" was only a figure of speech, then this is the book for you. By the way, I have it on good (though unconfirmed) authority that Michael Green is the son of the late Hermione Gingold, the legendary British character actress

This tome is full of useful information for the coarse actor, including "How to Steal the Scene, Even though Unconscious," "How to be a mere Spear-Carrier, and still ruin a scene," "Basic Makeup Tips for the Coarse Actor," and the useful diagram on set building "The Human Cleat." Anyone who's ever been in a performance of "Arsenic and Old Lace" will appreciate this book -- as will anyone who's ever sat through the show. (Not that I'm slamming "Arsenic and Old Lace," I think it holds up remarkably well.)

Should be required reading in all theatre coarses. Oops, I mean courses...

In one memorably ruined production this was the director's obsession, so he gave the actor playing Lear tiny, birdlike movements.

Alas! The set designer strongly disagreed and burst forth with a magnificently bare stage relieved only by a giant phallic monument at the center.

His vision being that King Lear was: "A Man Lost in a Wilderness. "

They never did reach an agreement.

But, as Green points out, it really wouldn't have mattered, because if one is brilliant enough to be obsessed about Lear being 'A Man Trapped In a Tube', neither Shakespeare, the cast, nor the audience has much of a fighting chance. . .

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This book is a deliciously hilarious spoof of the British stage, with heavy emphasis on 'cultural' amateur societies. It is a satire on producing as well as acting, directing,--and the gurus who teach it.

But in a wonderful twist of irony, it is now required reading with many Theater Arts depatrments in universities around the world.

( "Do NOT go to acting school!"--- Eleonora Duse )

As well it should be. Filled with outrageously improbable anecdotes , it nevertheless hits home too well for anyone in the profession.

It is a true masterpiece of ham, which offers marvelous advice for directors on how to succeed through obscurantist doublespeak.

No director, for example, should EVER say anything that remotely sounds 'practical' such as : "Well, frankly, I have to get 'em to speak up. "

Far, far better, according to Green, is to say things that sound profound but mean nothing, such as : "I'm not interested at all whether the audience hears my actors, but---it is vital they should hear them thinking. "

Heavy . . .

( "If a director writes in his notes: 'The Oedipal complex is obvious in this scene, must discuss with the queen'; the sooner he is packed and thrown out of the theater, the better it'll be for everyone! "-- George Bernard Shaw )

Shaw has an ally in Green who, based on personal experience, is convinced that the director's primary job is to weed out the obvious psychotics in the cast during the first week of rehersals.

As to actors left on board Green believes he is far more practical than Stanislavsky, whom he does not admire on the grounds that 'these method people are so vague.' He advises actors should carry a chart (1. Speak Slower. 2. Speak Faster, etc.) for whenever the director goes off into interpretive raptures, Oedipal or not.

Simply ask him to point to which number he wants.

Ah! And who could possibly forget the classic: "How To Steal a Scene Though Unconscious" which puts anything ever written by Constantin to shame. . .

An very, very funny book, which suprisingly does contain unexpected gems of commonsense.

Five stars are not enough.

Hi all. This book is hilarious! I bought it to learn what NOT to teach my acting students, and it really helped. And it was a great read - the author is British, so there is plenty of dry wit, and the anecdotes had me in hysterics. I learned a lot, and laughed out loud every chapter. How can you miss? Sincerely, ElizaBeth

I first read this book as a teenager, while spending much of my spare time in amateur theatre, and have become Green's slave for life.

Whole segments of the book are quotable, and painfully - hilariously - familiar to anyone who has ever been involved with the stage, paid or unpaid. I remember reading excerpts to my brother over the phone, while both of us cried because we were laughing so hard ... because although these are not your own experiences, they might as well be.

Every actor - amateur or professional - will have come across a coarse actor in their lives: somebody who "knows his lines, but not the order in which they come", leaving everyone floundering; the blatant scene stealer who takes everyone's eyes away from the real action; the sets that collapse when they shouldn't, or don't collapse when they should.

I could go on. But you'd be far better served by reading the book instead, and keeping a box of tissues handy to wipe away the tears of hilarity.

This book is very different from other astrological books. In fact the Magi Society claims to have done their research on thousands of horoscopes (without taking into account the hour of birth !). I find this a very positive approach since not all people know their time of birth and the research makes it possible to come to certain very innovative conclusions. In this book you will find a lot of forgotten techniques (the importance of declinations and midpoints thereof - see also the books of the German astrologer R. Ebertin). I have followed some of their rules and have found them useful and very true too. This is a book you will often read again, and again. There is a lot in it and this book is not for novices - though it reads like a novel. The Magic Society's approach on astrology may change your look on astrology in a very positive way. They may be right to have found a method which proves that astrology really works ! I can't wait to read all their other books too !

"Astrology Really Works" presents a new approach to an age old study. It demonstrates a new technique for studying charts, especially when the time of birth is missing. Best of all, the writers only include information they can prove statistically without debunking old information that may be valid but is not proveable at this time. The Magi Society shows a healthy respect for ancient astrology but is focused on what can be proven by modern methods. Since so many people don't know and cannot obtain their time of birth, this is an extremely useful and promising technique. The method and new chart construction can be used with or without an accurate birth time. I did not give the book 5 stars because the writing style was a little childlike. Despite this shortcoming, I would strongly recommend the book to Astrologers and to skeptics. The Society states and proves its case well. I think established Astrologers will begin to take Magi methods seriously as they begin to open their minds to the possibility that there can be something new under the Sun.

This book is destined to become an Astrology classic. It lifts Astrology to a new dimension (literally) and holds the reader spellbound in the process. This is one of those books I couldn't put down - so much so I'm on my second reading now, and wish it were available in hard cover! If you don't know Astrology, it is a good introduction, plus introduces powerful Magi Astrology concepts. A dynamite book.

This book has been based on what could be called observational astrology and takes the occult out of of what once was a mathmatical science. It along with the Magi Emphemeris and there latest book "Key to Success in Love and Money" is based on proving that observational research and not myths/occult is what astrology is all about and it works!

I read this book after browsing it a few times. I really like the way it teaches one how to look at an ephemeris to see where, exactly, one has more power to use as governed by these Magi Astrologers. The historical factual data presented here is endlessly interesting and allows one to do his own deducing. I really think this book is one of the best kept secrets(?) of this modern age. Anyone who reads it cover to cover will be blessed with great intelligence and wisdom. It should be required reading in school. I swear I did not write this book and I do not work for Hay House Publishing. I am just a very in-depth person who enjoys analysing things to the finest detail, this book is tailor made to my mind. If I knew this book 10 years ago, who knows who much MORE intelligent I would be.

This book was in the new book section of our local library. While my 3 year old was feeding books, one at a time, into the book return, my 1 year old pulled it off the shelf. I picked it up and while the boys were enjoying the library collection of books and puzzles I started reading a passage here and a passage there. Within 24 hours I had read the entire thing (including the acknowledgements). That is how compelling this book is. The writing is so sensitive and brilliant and the subject matter is so eye-opening. I am going to buy a copy for my doctor, my midwife, and everyone I know who works in the health field. Can I buy this book by the case?

I think this book is right on and makes everyone think. Families should have the final say in medical care for anyone in their family when they are unable to. For some people out here medicine has gone to far. Doctors should not have the ability to force medical care and sometimes expermential treatment on anyone.

Sometime life is about quality not quanity.

I was a premature baby myself. I was born in the early 1960s, when NICUs were just getting started. I was six weeks premature and weighed five pounds. That's about four times more than many of the babies profiled in the book. Today, of course, a 32-week preemie like myself is hardly worth mentioning. I have no after-effects except possibly my tendency to lung infections.

This book profiles a number of "miracle babies" who were saved after being born very prematurely (at 22-26 weeks gestation) or who were very sick at birth and saved by dramatic surgical intervention and high-tech care. The point made is that for many of these babies, "success" as measured by the NICU staff, usually defined as a living baby who goes home, is quite different from what the babies' parents experience. The doctors and nurses don't have to deal with life-long care for children who are blind, deaf, retarded, autistic, or have cerebral palsy. The NICU staff also don't have to deal with family strain, resentful siblings, bankruptcy, and divorce resulting from the constant pressure of dealing with a severely handicapped child. The parents do. Yes, there are some babies who grow up to be happy and normal. But the percentage of lucky babies is smaller than most people imagine.

Today the treatment of ever-teenier preemies has become an industry in itself. The price to society has mounted steadily. Yes, it's only money. But when a million dollars is spent keeping a single preemie alive, that million dollars has to come from somewhere. If you cut doctor visits from 20 minutes to 15 minutes or reduce the number of nurses on a hospital floor, which are some of the standard cost-cutting measures, it takes a very, very long time to reach a million dollars. The cost of neonatal intensive care is one of the major reasons why health care is so expensive in developed countries, and particularly in the U.S. Health care in the U.S. is trapped in a spiral of diminishing returns as costs climb ever higher. My husband and I spend a very substantial chunk of our incomes on health insurance for us and our son. Are we getting our money's worth? I don't think so.

It is long past time for doctors to begin thinking about the place medicine should have in society, particularly high-tech medicine. High-tech medicine in general has surprisingly small benefits compared to its appalling costs. (For some specific examples of this, such as cardiac bypass surgery, see Nortin Hadler's book, "The Last Well Person.") There are plenty of countries around the world who have public health as good as, or in some cases even better than, the U.S., but pay a lot less for it. Having someone there to hold your hand when you are sick, which is the sort of touch usually eliminated for cost-cutting reasons in U.S. hospitals, is actually cheaper than high-tech medicine and is frequently more effective.

This book should be required reading for all expectant parents, who deserve to know about the hell that could be in store for them should their baby be born sick or early and receive the full panoply of high-tech treatment. Doctors and nurses who work in an NICU, a labor and delivery unit, or who deal with obstetrics should also read it.

An outstanding, objective look at NICU history and philosophy, and a highly recommended backgrounder for anybody with a baby in the NICU or who works in a NICU. Once again, I wish I'd had it when my son was born, and I also wish I'd written it!

As a mother to two preemies, born at 25 weeks gestation, I found Ms. Guyer's book to be an accurate portrayal life in the NNICU and life after the NNICU. The majority of preemies do end up disabled. The outcomes presented in this book are accurate portrayals of the vast majority of children who are born with Extremely Low Birth Weights. All parents-to-be, especially those who are at risk of delivering prematurely should read this book. It should be required reading for every medical student and resident.

Barefoot Gen Volume Two picks up where volume one leaves Gen just after the explosion of the atomic bomb over Hiroshima. It a gripping and very painful story of survival in the fist terrible time after the bomb devastated Hiroshima. For those that survived the bomb and the deadly radiation, life has now become a desperate fight for survival in a harsh and brutal world. If you have read Volume One, you cannot skip this one, just as you have to read Volume three and four too.

Volume 1 & 2 of Nakazawa's famous comic series about a boy called 'Gen' and his life in Hiroshima during the WWII and soon after the atomic bomb. The first two volumes of this series are probably the most important ones. After I read the first two volumes, I just had to lend them to everyone I knew. If you read this story, you'll realise how silly to hear some popular opiniton 'Dropping two atomic bombs in Japan was necessary to end the war'. Nakazawa says that each and every event is true. You'll see, for example, that two young brothers fight against each other for a little grain of rice. The bombs were dropped onto civilians in the middle of the two cities, and, in Hiroshima alone, 100,000 people, including western prisoners of war, were killed instantly, and the pain they suffered from afterwords was tremendous. The way some of Gen's family members, including a new born baby sister, were slowly dying is simply too sad to look at. But the reality is that it actually took place and was caused by human hands.
I sincerely hope that many people will find an opportunity to read this book at least once in their life-time, and I strongly believe that this book will enlighten the whole world with its message: 'what really happens when a nuclear bomb is dropped onto humanity', which hasn't really been talked about in history books for some reason. But I think it's time to face reality.

Keiji Nakazawa, Barefoot Gen: The Day After (New Society, 1988)

The story of Barefoot Gen, spunky atomic bomb survivor, continues in this second volume of the four-part series. It's not a stretch to predict that how you feel about The Day After will probably reflect how you felt about Barefoot Gen, without much variance.

The Day After (which, in fact, covers the next two days) opens just after the end of Barefoot Gen, and is concerned entirely with the survival of Gen, his mother, and his baby sister Tomoko. Gen's task during this time is to find food for the family, and this quest takes him on a number of small side adventures the present a much larger picture of the greater Hiroshima area after the bomb than the first book provided of Hiroshima before the bomb. Gen meets a number of different people, helps some, and learns that even after the bomb, when everyone around him is shrouded in misery and horror, the banality and prejudice around him doesn't disappear-- in fact, people are worse than they were beforehand. Nakazawa, as is his wont, tells us all this in his stories, and never allows his messages to get in the way of his storytelling. Ironically, Barbara Reynolds' introduction to this edition is a perfect contrast to Nakazawa's story; it's awfully-written, ham-handed, flat-out wrong (Reynolds harps on about American denial of responsibility for Hiroshima, and she's writing ten years or more after the release, and vast popularity, of John Hersey's Hiroshima) polemic whose sole purpose in inclusion, it seems, is to highlight how subtle Nakazawa is. Skip the introduction. Or, if you're a completist, read the book first and come back to the introduction afterwards, so it won't taint you.

This is very good stuff. Well worth your time. *** ½

Barefoot Gen: The Day After is volume two of a four part series. It tells the story of the day after the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima as seen through the eyes of seven year old Gen Nakaoka. Based on the real-life experiences of the author, Gen, his mother, and his newborn sister face the horrors of the day after the bomb. They have no food or shelter and are surrounded by the dead and dying. Even the soldiers sent in to gather and burn the dead bodies are succumbing to the radiation sickness and dying. No one understands what is happening and there is no one to turn to. Gen goes in search of food for his mother whose breast milk has dried up from malnutrition. Alone he faces the horror of the devastation and the destitution of the people of Hiroshima. This the hardest of the four books to read because the carnage of the day after the bomb is almost beyond belief. Gen's compassion, humanity, and determination makes this an inspiring book about the strength of the human spirit. Although the graphic scenes may turn some people off, this is still an important book for its message on the dangers of nuclear war.

The work has been wonderfully translated from the Japanese original: Hadashi no Gen. It was originally published in serial form in 1972 and 1973 in Shukan Shonen Jampu, the largest weekly comic magazine in Japan, with a circulation of over two million. The drawings are all in black and white. This US edition was published as part of a movement to translate the book into other languages and spread its message. It is a wonderful testimony to the strength of the human spirit and the horrors of nuclear war. There are a few introductory essays at the front of the book that help to put this book into perspective. It is a powerful and tragic story that I highly recommend for anyone interested in the topic.

I stumbled across this graphic novel in a used bookstore, not having any idea the impression it would make on me. This is an incredibly powerful story, very effectively told through the medium of comic art. It is an affirmation of the power of visual media, and an example of how comics can be used for much more than funnies and fantasies. It is also probably the most effective anti-nuclear material I have ever come across.

Like many people, I'd come to believe that human nature is essentially war-like. After reading this book, I now understand that the vast majority of humans prefer peace, harmony, and postive problem-solving. The one problem we can't seem to solve (which is not addressed in this book) is how to choose leaders who prefer negotiated problem solving rather than violence.

This book caught my eye because Robert Sapolsky, the author of one of my favorite books, "Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers," wrote the foreword praising it. I was not disappointed. "Beyond War" is just plain facinating and fun to read. This book questions some so-called "deep seated truths" in our society about war that turn out not to be true at all. Like Sapolsky's books, "Beyond War" is a bit quirky sometimes, and I think this is good. I wish more scientists would write in a style that is understandable and enjoyable to read. I could easily follow the path of "Beyond War" as it travels to peaceful cultures, to the ancient past, and then, dare I say, "back to the future." For one message of the book is that we could have a future free of war because looking at our species from a broader view shows what we sometimes don't see close up: War is recent on an evolutionary scale, an outgrowth of increasing human population, and not some deeply-rooted trait that we necessarily must forevermore endure. I agree with Robert Sapolsky that "this book should be read." I give it my 5 stars.

There are plenty of self-proclaimed "realists" advancing the argument that war comes naturally to human beings, but few scholars with the knowledge to effectively question that view and the writing ability to make their challenge a pleasure to read. Fry is one of them.

I won't get into the debate itself, better to buy the book and let Fry lay it out for you. I would, however, disagree with the previous reviewer about the importance of defining "war" before concluding that it is pervasive in human life. As Fry shows quite convincingly, you can only make the case for the universality of "war" if you define it as just about any lethal violence between three or more people. So a jealous man and his brother killing a third man (even within the same community) is considered to be "war" in these studies. Very misleading, dishonest science.

The example from New Guinea is equally misleading. The reviewer is correct about the aggressive relations between groups there, but does he really think a tightly-packed island is a relevant model for the conditions in which human beings evolved? The world was a big, empty place from the perspective of early humans. Walking away from conflict was always an option. By the time studies were conducted in New Guinea, population density had reached a point where there was no place left to go in order to avoid conflict. This is more relevant to present conditions than to prehistory.

But the reviewer's point about whether or not there is a universal human propensity to behave aggressively toward those not in our group (language, culture) is a good one. My reading of Fry's argument is that he acknowledges that humans have the "capacity" for violence, but not necessarily the "tendency." Obviously, we are capable of horrible brutality, but the notion that it comes naturally to us is belied by the severity and ubiquity of post-traumatic stress in those who have acted in violence -- other than psychopaths. Wolves and sharks don't suffer after having killed. Humans, by and large, do.

In any case, I highly recommend Beyond War to anyone who wants to hear the other side of the story, and who wants to enjoy themselves as they learn.

This is a great book. And there are many reasons why. It is rare to find such an intriguing mix of anthropology, evolutionary theory, and global thinking in one book. We learn about bonobos, coprolites, the walls of Jericho, cannibalism, and much more. "Beyond War" avoids getting mired in the seemingly ceaseless battle between cultural anthropology and evolutionary psychology over human nature. Instead, this book presents an integrated view of war and peace that includes both evolutionary and cultural angles. How refreshing.

I also really like the book's message that we humans have evolved capacities to deal with conflicts without violence. It makes sense. Most conflicts do not entail any violence at all. Male stags lock antlers and push as a form of contest that reduces the chance of injury. Evolution would favor such restraint in human aggression as well, and we are given many examples of human restraint in this book.

The author of "Beyond War", Douglas Fry, also is very skillful at documenting a bias in anthropological and evolutionary thinking--a bias that war is deep rooted in our human past. The book does this by critiquing assumptions and presenting findings on the simplest kind of human societies--nomadic hunter-gatherers--in a writing style that is clever and entertaining. "Beyond War" is fun to read and makes one think.

From Iraq to global warming, we get inundated every day with doom and gloom. "Beyond War", however, ends with a cautiously optimistic assessment of our human future. The book makes a strong case that we humans certainly have the capacity to create a more peaceful world. Will we do it? I don't know, but it is a valuable first step to realize that it may well be possible. As the adage says, "from hope stems action."

This is terrific! "Beyond War" by Dr. Fry presents an uplifting and highly readable look at a very timely topic. It should be required reading for every member of the human race, and I'm sure that each person would love the assignment. It's a fresh scientific look at a most important aspect of the nature of man, and it is an attention grabber which both the scientist and non-scientist can enjoy. This book should be getting major publicity! And we all should be reading more from Dr. Fry.

A masterpiece in writing for those who want to attempt such a project. Easy to follow and beautiful to see and read. A true artist in ink and fabric.

This is a beautiful book with lovely pictures and instructions by an award winning quilt artist. I saw this quilt at the International Quilt Festival in Houston and this book presents the quilt excellently.

Excellently presented and detailed book. The book meets its intention of providing details on making a sophisticated and detailed quilt. This is for the dedicated quilter who enjoys a long-term project.

Real flowers and birds from an award-winning quilt are presented in a survey of how a masterpiece was created - and how any applique method can duplicate it. Full-sized patterns are provided for all elements of the quilt, providing keys to success not just for reproducing this winner, but for blending into independent projects. It's these elements which make BIRDS N ROSES by needlecraft expert Margaret Docherty an exceptional pick for any experienced quilter who likes to use applique as more of a central theme than a side embellishment: Personal, professional, and community library libraries simply must have this one if their needlecraft reference collections are to be considered comprehensive or complete.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

This book has so many beautiful pictures and ideas that I was overwhelmed at first. I'm not quite ready to
tackle these projects but I know I'll be able to use some of the ideas and techniques in it.

Although I have not read this book I have met the author! while in Las Vegas promoting her book I had a chance to meet her,(a truly amazing individual), she told me many details about this book and I can't wait to actually read it! if the book is as fascinating as she was I would have to say it is worth the read.

I very much enjoyed this book. I found the balance refreshing. I also greatly appreciated the different perspectives on gun ownership the book brought out. These are things I wouldn't have been exposed to otherwise.

Caitlin Kelly is a gifted writer. I have read many of her articles and news stories in such newspapers and publications as, The New York Times, the New York Post, Chatelaine and the Wall Street Journal. Buy this book and you will get an unbiased view of every woman's right to bear arms -- if she so chooses. This book is a "must-read" for everyone.

I challenged myself to read a book about a subject I'm not comfortable with and then couldn't put it down. What a great Journalist and Storyteller Ms. Kelly turned out to be. I particularly enjoyed reading the history of women and guns in America. It gave me much food for thought. I highly recommend it for everyone on either side of this issue.

I found the book very powerful. The author's interviews with women of all walks of life were very interesting. You really understand that a gun is seen as a guard against violence towards women. The book was well written and not full of opinions by the author. Just real people talking. Great Book.