Races Books

Libby Riddles brings you on the Iditarod trail with her. You will feel her cold, her fatigue and the fur of her dogs whom she loves above all. This is the ultimate armchair adventure. It's incredible top believe that people actually put themselves through this. A bonus feature of this book is the informaive sidebars. I recommend it with five stars.

I loved this book, from beginning to end. It was engaging, exciting, informative and just a great read. Adventure stories are my favorite and I love animals so it was a great combination. Hooray for Ms. Riddles for her victory and a well written book.

After meeting Libby personally in Juneau May 2001, I had to read the book! She takes you "with her and her precious dogs" on this adventure with details about the event and how she feels,copes and thrives throughout the 1984 Iditarod.

The best part? She won as a team (with her dogs) and as a person of strength with the knowledge that she would also be a role model from both women and men.

I found the book inspiring!

I had the distinct pleasure of meeting Libby Riddles personally on a cruise with Princess Cruise Line. Her talk was so enlightening that I bought the book. This is a must read for every Iditarod fan or interested person. The grueling schedule and trails will hold your interest until the end of the book. You'll find out what Libby cared on her sled, how she prepared for each checkpoint and what all the mushers have to endure to come out on top of the pack. You'll easily learn to respect the mushers and the love/dedication they have for the Iditarod.

Libby Riddles is the first woman to win the Iditarod, which is the Alaskan dog-sled race that covers over 1,000 miles.

As I'm not very familiar with Alaska, I had never heard of Libby Riddles, or the Iditarod for that matter. However, my boss, who is from Alaska, brought me an autographed copy of the book as a souvenir from one of her trips home. I immediately started reading the book and was quickly engrossed in Libby's adventure.

The book is written in journal style. I felt as if I were right there on the trail with Libby throughout her grueling race to the finish. Interspersed throughout the pages are interesting Iditarod facts that help the reader to better understand the life of a musher as well as the ins and outs of the race.

Libby, as well as all the mushers, show an amazing amount of courage and strength. From start to finish, many mushers don't get to shower and exist on an hour or so of sleep every 15-24 hours! Imagine that kind of schedule, coupled with the intense physical endurance they're also experiencing. It was simply mind boggling, but very admirable.

I found this a fascinating read; my only complaint is that I wish it were longer! I wanted the story to continue a little bit after Libby crossed the finish line in Nome!

I cannot say enough about Dorothy Dunnett's Series, THEY LYMOND CHRONICLES AND this one from the series THE HOUSE OF NOCCLO. All the books are great reads and I truly loved this one. I am on THE UNICORN HUNT, now and am enjoying it just as much. I will keep reading until I have finished all her books and then find some other good authors. These are filled with terrific characters that just grab you as well as lots of information from history that I am drinking in.

niccolo continues to learn how to use his power, and how to mittigate its impact, as he searches for meaning and love and fun

On this, the third chapter in the Niccolo series, we fin Nicholas has been "kidnapped" by the 'presumptuous' King of Cyprus who is actually trying to recover his kingdom from his sister.

Nicholas is able to help the king and at the same time obtain franchises in his dye works and sugar fields. He meets with Katelina, the mother of his only child, only to lose her once more after they reconcile. Finally, once the island is secure to King Zacco, Nicholas is allowed to return to Venice, where he faces once more his rival family, the de St Pol and Riberac.

In this chapter of the story the author makes great use of description in her scenes and they are so vivid! the characters, the settings everything is so masterfully blended with reality and fiction.

I loved this book and I have already started the fourth chapter. Good!

Ah, the frustrating pleasure of reading a Dorothy Dunnett novel :-) Her writing is dense, her plots are complex, and her characters (especially the male ones, which IMO are infinitely easier to like than the female ones) are nothing short of psychological studies. Often, while reading this book, I felt like I was way in over my head. And yet, I kept going, and the reward of Dunnett's writing, and her story, are well worth the effort, in my view.

In this third part of the eight-part Niccolo series, Nicholas is kidnapped and taken to Cyprus to fight with King James for control of the island, against his legitimate half-sister Carlotta. We meet the engaging courtesan Primaflora, who becomes Nicholas's mistress. We also see some old friends, such as Tobias the physician and Captain Astorre and the faithful Loppe. We meet Nicholas's cousin Diniz, and are reacquainted with the vengeful Katelina van Borselen.

But the vortex, as always, is the dynamic, ingenius, amazing Nicholas vander Poele. In this chapter of the story, we see how Nicholas deals with the stress of so many demands. We see how he deals with the love of two women whom he does not love in return, and the guilt associated with that. We follow him as he tries to play two sides (and sometimes more) of a dangerous game, all so that he can come out the winner. Nicholas is difficult to understand, but fascinating to read about. And in Race of Scorpions, Dunnett ensures that readers will not fail to follow him into his next adventure.

This is the third book in the House of Niccolo series. We join Nicholas as he is trying to move to a new stage of his life after the tumultuous events of Trebizond. Alas, Nicholas and his skills are too well known and he is being courted by many while still being hunted by his enemies.

During this particular journey, Nicholas becomes involved in the battle for Cyprus between the Lusignan 'Scorpions' Carlotta and James. At the same time, Nicholas becomes involved in all manner of affairs and events and also discovers some truths along the way.

Highly recommended. Lady Dunnett brings the history of this period alive while at the same time continuing to develop an enigmatic hero whose skills and abilities (and possibly an occasional flaw) are magnificently showcased.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

Read this novel.....Oh what FUN it is!
The story is exciting. The characters are
so real. I can't wait for the sequel.

Mark Eagle

Reading this is like watching a film,with action taking you to various parts of the world. There's sex,sadism,violence,murder in abundance. Not for the fainthearted,but for everyone else,a fascinating book.

This is a gripping story with substance. I very much liked how the author brought to light how something as evil as the Nazi philosophy could endure into the new millennium. I am 79 years old and was living in Montreal during the war. The cruelty in this book brought to light memories that I wanted to forget and probably tried to deny during the early 1940's when I was a teenager.

Two characters, Karl Treiger and his completely devoted Man-Friday, Joao, drew me right into the story. Karl, in particular, never forgets the values and commitment that he learned from his German parents. His was a strong, good living German family before the Nazi regime, a strength Karl draws on throughout the book. The breakdown of the family is poignantly demonstrated by the weak, yet gentle character of his brother, Hans. The brainwashing of the German youth made me understand better how the Nazi broke down the family structure and manipulate the German society. Even though their fundamental target was anti-Semitic, their cruelty affected everyone- `lest we forget' is the message in this book.

Some of the language, for me, a senior, is indiscrete, but that is forgivable because it brings out a sense of our current society and the coarse manner with which some people express themselves. The Heroine, Megan Brodie, I found to be a sympathetic character, whose impulsive nature leads her to hit her head against the wall (literally), yet she has guts, which I admire. She also glues the story together, kind of like a catalyst. I would like to get to know her better.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and consider it a very good read especially by a first author. In fact, I can't wait for the sequel. Don't take too long NAT

I loved this book!! Certainly at a higher consciousness level than most thrillers. I can't wait until the second book (Running the Race) comes out. This is a must read - add it to your summer reading list!

Lovers of action and suspense unite! 'Race without Rules' takes the reader on a an uber fast-paced race around the globe and leaves the reader breathless with anticipation as to what is going to happen next. From Germany, to Brazil and Montreal, the mysterious Karl has devoted his life to fight against evil. There is also Megan, an unlikely hero with a special gift and a tortured past, sassy Fiona, and the faithful Joao. From beginning to end, I took turns rooting, cheering and fearing for Megan, Karl, and their friends, hoping they would prevail but dreading the dark and powerful menace of the Gau. No doubt 'Race Witout Rules' is the only rollercoaster you need to ride this summer!

This is an absolutely superb book, comprised of recollections of the Jim Crow years in the form of oral histories. It can be read through, or picked up at any part. There is an appropriate amount of historical introduction to each chapter.
This material needs to be read, and remembered. There was a long time in our history when, although there was no more slavery, African Americans were treated as a separate serf class, under constant pressures and reminders of their lower status. Whites used pervasive legal and social downward pressures to keep African Americans out of an equal education, and equal access to public facilities, much less the right to equal jobs and the right to vote -- and then claimed that African Americans' lack of achievement was a racial fault. If an African American violated one of the many social taboos, the sanctions ranged from a beating, to loss of job, and even being lynched.
While whites benefited from Jim Crow, the whites, also, were trapped in the system. They were also forced to abide by legal segregation, and were subject to social pressure if they were too liberal (being called "n* lover," "white n*," etc.).
What led to the mindset that the end of slavery should lead to continued legal and social oppression of African Americans? It was part of white American culture. Lincoln himself said that he was not "in favor of making voters or jurors of negroes, nor of qualifying them to hold office, nor to intermarry.... [T]here must be the position of superior and inferior. I am as much as any other man in favor of having the superior position assigned to the white race." In 1877, Rutherford B. Hayes traded the end of southern post-war Reconstruction for the electoral votes he needed to win the presidency. Southern states then were free to institute the Jim Crow system.
I believe we are more subject to peer pressure than we would like to believe. Although reviewer McInerney asserts that "no civilized person" would benefit from Jim Crow, I feel many otherwise-good people were trapped and/or blinded by their own interests and surroundings. When allowed, and even encouraged, their evil side showed itself. On this topic, see John Griffin's _Black Like Me_, on the different faces that whites showed to other whites, and to African Americans.
While we are certain that we wouldn't go back to that system, we shouldn't be so sure that we, also, wouldn't be trapped by it if we were born into it. Consider that Truman, Eisenhower, and Kennedy (to a large extent) didn't take effective action to end segregation.
This book is excellent. Those dreadful and shameful times -- and the vestiges which still continue -- must not be forgotten.

Any illusions about the freedom and equality that were alleged to have been given to African Americans in this country following the Civil War were just that, illusions. The reality of America's version of Apartheid was legitimized in 1896 in the United States Supreme Court with the case of Plessy vs. Ferguson. When the de-facto segregation that Plessy allowed was added to the de jure laws that followed, whatever emancipation had been promised was firmly repudiated. It is even legitimate to go back to 1877 when Rutherford B. Hayes and his party sold out, and swapped the presidency for the removal of federal troops from the south.

"Remembering Jim Crow", is a brilliant collection of first hand accounts of life under Jim Crow by those who were victimized by its laws. A large cast collected these verbal accounts over several years, and they accomplished no less than the preservation of a sinister part of this country's history. A time that W.E.B. Dubois characterized as, "living behind the veil". Combined with the book, "At The Hands Of Person's Unknown", which I commented extensively on, these two books, and if you choose the accompanying CD of the interviews, provides a wide, if horrific view of these eight decades.

These testimonies are also notable for the speakers who identify by name the people and families that victimized them. This is not ancient history that many would like to forget. These people who survived and speak of Jim Crow are alive, and so a presumption that their tormentors are alive is reasonable. The end of the book includes portions of a documentary that was made as part of this project with National Public Radio. Happily some of the whites that were interviewed in Iberia Perish in Louisiana remember and look with regret on what they did and did not do. Their willingness to speak on the record is admirable. But lest anyone think that all is solved there are also people who went on the record bemoaning their never having enjoyed the privileges that Jim Crow gave whites. A man named Barrow expressed himself thusly, "That was awful nice, you know, you'd go hunting, "Boy clean those ducks", you know, "Skin that dear", uh, "Shine my shoes". I believe I could have gone for that. Yeah I think you could have too".

No Mr. Barrow, no civilized individual from any state could, "have gone for that". However I am sure that many appreciate your confirmation that even now, ignorance, arrogance, and racism are alive and well.

This is an interesting angle to present a sad era in America's history. This book does not give a history book type of fact presentation, it presents the facts from the people who actually experienced it.

This is a vital book if for only one reason, so that the children born after this era know what it was like so it is never repeated.

I enjoyed the oral history that is presentated and I would recommend this book if you want a greater understanding of this time.

REMEMBERING JIM CROW is a colletion of first hand accounts of life in the Jim Crow south. The stories are compelling and at the same time sad.

The stories create the atmosphere that one is sitting in one of the elderly story tellers living room listening to them.

This book is especially worthwhile for non-African-Amercians readers, because virtually all African-Americans that have roots in the south, know these stories all too well.

This slipcased book and 2-cd set supplements the written word with oral history, gathering the voices of men and women who were firsthand witnesses to segregation in the south. Stories by men and women from all walks of life reveal how blacks fought against the system, built communities, and ran businesses in a society which denied them basic rights. Remembering Jim Crow offers the reader a comprehensive, involving, highly recommended presentation.

Good for all ages.
Step back in time and stand with the crowds to watch the Biscuit fly down the track. Beckwith takes you there again as he did when he wrote this book more than 60 years ago. The writing style, the photos, and the fabulous drawings all help immerse the reader in the late 1930's time period. I particularly enjoyed seeing the real Seabiscuit and hearing what the owner, trainer, and jockey had to say at the time.
If you enjoyed the movie and/or Laura Hillenbrand's book, you will treasure this wonderful piece of tangible history. I recommend this edition highly. Don't miss your opportunity to own this gem!

Seabiscuit was my favorite book in elementary school and still rates high amongst a handful of favorites. Many times over decades, circumstances gained perspective by recalling the depth of spirit and perseverance conveyed so concisely by Mr. Beckwith. Seabiscuit's story is truly for all ages. I believe stories like this are a reason why people are prone to assign human emotions to animals or treat them like a best friend.

As a child I often dreamt about having a horse, hoping I might even be fortunate enough to have one like Seabiscuit. I ended up with four, all of whom indelibly changed my life. I took care of them as if my life depended upon them; even sleeping with them in their stalls when I could get away with it. Bingo, Scamper, Scully and Crackerjack have permanent places in my heart. With them is a picture of Seabiscuit from Mr. Beckwith's book. They always gave their very best and showed me mine. Anyone who reads Seabiscuit's story will come to understand that the innate ability to recover and succeed resides in every person and all life. Opportunity to find and use that power of heart and energy is always available.

I am infinitely grateful to Mr. Beckwith for recognizing and writing Seabiscuit's story and especially to my father for making a vital, life changing dream come true.

I knew B.K. Beckwith personally, and worked with him the last ten years of his life at Santa Anita. He was our television commercial spokesperson for the Santa Anita Handicap for several years, recounting remembrances of Seabiscuit. He was a consummate horseman turned journalist and writer, and had been at Santa Anita from the opening on Christmas 1934. He also wrote "The Story of Santa Anita," which was never published commercially, but used the same heroic and emotional Grantland Rice style that you enjoy in his Seabiscuit book. His memory was a treasure, and since he wrote this book contemporaneously with events, you can feel the horse come alive, as well as the people and the places. This is SO GREAT to have the publisher find this work of art, enjoyable for anyone who loves horses, or racing, of any age. The drawings by Howard Brodie -- who went on to great fame otherwise -- are superbly reproduced, and so are the historic photos. You can see the 'Biscuit's personality come through, especially when he's looking out of his personal railroad car at all the fans and cameras, and in several others!

Inspiring story placed in compelling historical setting. Beautifully done by someone who knew the main characters well.
Nothing to find fault with here. Terrific read.

Owner of Ponder Publishing Company, LLC, my first response after reading was `I wish I had found Beckwith's story before this publisher did!' I was there! I heard Seabiscuit breathing. I saw him sweat, felt his determination, smelled the liniment. You could taste the air of early last century, to anguish and rejoice with one horse's determination to Keep on Keeping on, despite all adversity. Here, love touches a reader, as it touched the crowds who flocked to admire the Biscuit, in the flesh, his ample flesh. My Christmas shopping is done this year!
www.ponderpublishingcompany.com

Kudos for courageous research broaching a very historical, controversial, multidemensional,emotionally charged and confusing topic[race matters]with tremendous personal responsibility,candor with clarity,and intellectual and emotional maturity. This is a ground breaking piece of work that deserves investigation and recognition.

Silent Racism is a powerful book. Racism IS THERE though we are NOT AWARE. Trepagnier has brought an important concern to the forefront and addressed it head on.

Written by a person who seem to have spent some time studying the subject. She identifies the major issues blocking most people from understanding their internalized feeling about people of color. Although she writes mostly about the relationships between Whites and Blacks, she does state the other people's of color are affected in a like manner. I do wish to point out that the relationship between Native (Indian) Americans and white American society is still predicated on the stereotypical views of the western world. Perhaps it is easier to view what has been done to Native people if this continent is continued to be viewed as empty, or sparsely populated. Then manifest destiny and doctrine of discovery seem to be easier of the social pallet of America. If the world view of Native people is not taken into consideration I doubt that there will be much progress in the relationship status of Native Americans and whites in this country. I believe our society needs to do a lot of work to get over its fear treating Native people, and all people of color, with more dignity

This is an amazing book. Anyone concerned about race and racism should read it! Trepagnier's interviews with white women who are "well meaning" and concerned with racism are enlightening. For example, some of the women discussed (oftentimes, somewhat unconsciously) stereotypes that they have about African Americans. The author challenges readers to stop thinking of ourselves and other people as being in the categories of "racist" or "not racist." Doing so discourages us from becoming what Trepagnier refers to as more "racially aware." I encourage people to read the book, buy it for others, and TALK about the issues it raises. It's one of the ways to increase racial awareness. Given many recent events reported in the media, it's clear that racial awareness is a worthwhile and important goal.

It's disconcerting to realize that sometimes my best efforts at NOT being racist have been just that. This book helped me realize the necessity of self-examination to expose those ways in which I'm participating in the racial divide, not by obvious acts of prejudice but by leaving my assumptions unchallenged. This is a very important book.

One of the more controversial events of the 1930's took place near Paint Rock, Alabama when nine Negro youths were arrested for the rape of two white women on a freight train. The nine were quickly tried and found guilty. Before the death penalty could be administered, appeals were filed with the aid of the US Communist Party. Thence ensued a lengthy series of trials and appeals that lasted from 1931 until well into the forties. It was a legal battle between White and Black as well as North and South with the battlefield always under the control of the White Southerners. Today it is an incident lergely forgotten by succeeding generations. Yet it is an excellent example of the the state of race relations in the South (not that there are too many surprises there), the role of moderate judges in reconciling racial injustice, the influence of the Communist/Socialist Parties in the 1930's as well as a number of other splinter stories. Therein lies the excellence of this book.

The author attempts to relate the story of the "Scottsboro Boys" through various perspectives without really indicating a particular bias. As the story goes on these perspectives seem to roll into one but even that one perspective takes a middle road approach to the story. For example, we are told of all the difficulties that the main characters suffer while imprisoned. Simultaneously we are made to understand that these same characters have serious flaws of their own.

The book follows the story of all the principals from their entry into the story until their death. There were few successes to come out of this event and the author lets us see the failures of the "Scottsboro Boys" as they each eventually realized their freedom.

This is an extremely readable work of non-fiction. It may seem occasionally that the story is stuck at one particular point but it generally moves along, giving the reader a rare insight into a very American event in history.

I started reading this book with very little knowledge about the Scottsboro incident. This book does an amazing job of portraying the different sides to this tragic story. The chapters are short enough for those of us with short attention spans. However, each chapter grips you with why those particular people feel and think the way they do.
A must read if you want to know what really happened, and more importantly why it happened.

This is far and away the best, most exhaustively researched and detailed study of the infamous Scottsboro Boys case of the 1930's. Goodman manages to incorporate a multitude of details in a style that is highly readable and engrossing, whether the reader be an historian or merely one interested in the tragedy of the case. Unlike other authors who have hastily attempted to take up this case in order to garner a quick buck, Goodman renders a well-annotated and authoritative account, one which approaches the boundaries of an epic. For, the case of the Scottsboro Boys extends well beyond the mendacious accusations and the cowardly jury verdicts attendant to the trials. The true tragedy of the tribulations of these young men is the aftermath. The horrible consequences of this episode in Alabama history is the sheer permanence of the seering brand of conviction that was only removed after the lives of each of the Scottsboro Boys had been irreparably destroyed. The decades of confinement at the old Kilby Prison in Montgomery, as well as other penal institutions, are frankly explored by Goodman, and the book asserts its superiority to all others on this subject due to Goodman's determination to take the reader through those decades, marked as they were by brutality, bitter frustration and abject hopelessness. This reviewer discovered only one error in Goodman's research, that concerning the relationship of the Carmichaels - an error of some substance, yet one which can easily be corrected and assimilated in future editions. And, it is the profound hope of this reviewer that such future editions will be forthcoming. Goodman has provided students of Alabama history, as well as those who study American jurisprudence, with a solid, definitive work which will serve to educate countless readers for many years to come. It is highly recommended.

Having already read Dan T. Carter's masterful Scottsboro: A Tragedy of the American South, I already knew the story of the Scottsboro boys and the miscarriage of justice that happened to them. I hoped to get more insight with this book. Unfortunately, its unclear style got in the way. I would guess that someone who was unaware of this case might love this book--but if you are looking for more than narrative, get Carter's book instead.

I had to read this for a school assignment and wasn't particularly looking forward to it, but I am so glad I did. This book is amazing. It chronicles the famous Scottsboro trial, from the initial incident all the way through to many years after the trial. The book is written very convincingly in that it tries to present the different perspectives of relevant parties/persons. This made me feel like Goodman wasn't trying to push his own agenda but was instead simply presenting as best he could an accurate historical account of the facts surrounding Scottsboro. The book itself is written like a story, but you can tell from its presentation that the "story" was very historically driven and all facts mentioned were well-documented. A fascinating account of Scottsboro. I'd recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn more about it. I'm not sure a better resource exists on this topic.

In *Whiteness of a Different Color,* Matthew Jacobson draws upon congressional legislation and discourse, historical documents and memoirs, and popular culture in an attempt to explain racism's affect on immigration, American domestic and foreign policy, and the self-perceptions of various racial and ethnic groups in the United States. Jacobson mentions in the preface that it is his hope to move into the foremost rank of immigration experts with this book, and I think that he accomplished what he set out to do. Eloquently written and thoroughly researched, Jacobson, who is obviously very liberal, argues his points in such a way that any person with common sense would agree with him, given the evidence and excerpts included in the book. Everyone involved in American Studies or American History would be well advised to pick up a copy of this book.

Matthew Frye Jacobson 's Whiteness of a Different Color tells us all how we got into this mess. The book is subtitled European Immigrants and the Alchemy of Race. "Alchemy" is correct. It means that the "base metal" of Nordic, Alpine, Mediterranean and even Western Asian "races" were turned into the "gold" of unadulterated white status. Jacobson explains how "whiteness" was created by colonial elites for the purpose of defending the state from Indian invasions and slave insurrections, and continued by the American republic in order to create a sense of unity in its polyglot European immigrant population. In 1790, United States naturalization law granted citizenship to "free white persons" -- which meant, mostly, those of Anglo-Saxon descent. As the U.S. population became more culturally mixed beginning in the 1840s, with an increase in immigration from non-Anglo Europe, the nation experienced "a fracturing of whiteness into a hierarchy of plural and scientifically determined white races."

In other words, people who came from Ireland, Poland, Germany, Italy, Greece, and Jews from Russia and other Slavic nations all became, by virtue of the "melting pot" ethic, "Caucasian" whites. But, the creation of whiteness was - and still is - by no means an easy, continuous process. The Celtic, Nordic, Alpine and Mediterranean "races" were abolished in favor of the myth of one homogenous "white" race (with the adoption of the "scientific" term "Caucasian" providing a new legitimacy to the honorific "racial" term "white."

Jacobson contends that traditional historians have deliberately dismissed the "racial" distinctions of the 19th century and before as "misuses" of the word "race." Of course they didn't mean that Irish, Germans, Bohemians, Nordics, etc. were separate races; they just didn't know what they were saying. This is a courtesy not given to mulattoes. Jacobson, however, shows that there was no "misuse." "Patterns in literary, legal, political and graphic evidence" show that the perception of race was very different from the standard rhetoric promoted in today's U.S. I have a sense of deja vu here. As stated in Lawrence R. Tenzer's The Forgotten Cause of the Civil War, mainstream historians' inability to acknowledge the fact that 19th century Northern "whites" saw predominately European slaves as "white," makes them deliberately blind to the role "white slavery" played as a cause of the Civil War. Few historians wish to deal with the fact that, while "white" privilege in various forms has been a constant in American political culture since colonial times, whiteness itself has been subject to all kinds of contests and has gone through a series of historical vicissitudes.

Jacobson divides the history of whiteness in the United States into three great epochs:

The nation's first naturalization law in 1790 (limited naturalized citizenship to "free white persons") demonstrates the republican convergence of race and "fitness for self-government"; the law's wording denotes an unconflicted view of the presumed character and unambiguous boundaries of whiteness.

Fifty years later, however, beginning with the massive influx of highly undesirable but nonetheless "white" persons from Ireland, whiteness was subject to new interpretations. The period of mass European immigration, from the 1840s to the restrictive legislation of 1924, witnessed a fracturing of whiteness into a hierarchy of plural and scientifically determined white races. Vigorous debate ensued over which of these was truly "fit for self-government" in the old Anglo- Saxon sense.

Finally, in the 1920s and after, partly because the crisis of over-inclusive whiteness had been solved by restrictive legislation and partly in response to a new racial alchemy generated by African-American migrations to the North and West, whiteness was reconsolidated: the late nineteenth century's probationary white groups were now remade and granted the scientific stamp of authenticity as the unitary Caucasian race - an earlier era's Celts, Slavs, Hebrews, Iberics, and Saracens, among others, had become Caucasians so familiar to our own visual economy and racial lexicon.Legal History of the Color Line: The Rise And Triumph of the One-drop Rule

"Whiteness of a Different Color" is a marvelous work of modern scholarship. In this excellent work of historiography/history, Jacobson explores the American conception of racial "whiteness" and how it has changed over time. This book won virtually every major scholarly award in 1999, most notably the American Studies Association's Award for the best book dealing with American istory and culture.

In the 19th century, "whitness" was reserved for Anglo-Saxons, and descendants of immigrants from the British Isles. Slowly, the concept of whiteness evolved to include Northern Europeans and Scandanavians, then other white gentiles, then Jews. Jacobson traces two major influences for this change -- assimilation into the American mainstream and the need to rectuit other "whites" to help polarize the nation between white and black. The previous was common in northern industrial centers and large cities, while the latter was especially prevalent in the Jim Crowe south.

This is a modern study because it takes unconventional themes such as the arbitrary construction of "whiteness" and explores it, as opposed to the more traditional form of research, which would include choosing an historical event and studying the facts. "Whiteness of a Different Color" is about people's conceptions, and misconceptions, rather than specific facts. Reflecting on that subject, I wonder if that isn't what's most important.

WHITE OF A DIFFERENT COLOR by Matthew Frye Jacobson is an excellent historical summary and deconstruction of the social construct called "the white race." Anthropologists, sociologists, demographers, and historians like Jacobson who study race and ethnicity have suggested over and over that even if race differences exist they are not fixed (the definition of white has changed over time and no consensus has been formed concerning it's constiuent parts). The biological sciences provide no evidence that race exists. Humans with different hair color, skin color, eye color, eye shape, and/or other "race" characteristics straddle all the "race" groups.

Jacobson uses a variety of written sources to make his case --that "non-Anglo-Saxon immigrants and their children were perhaps the first beneficiaries of the modern civil rights movement." He has compiled evidence from many historical legal cases involving various individuals who attempted to establish evidence of "whiteness" in order to obtain U.S. citizenship or some other perq reserved for the "native white race." He points out that the legal evidence is conflicted. Are Armenians white or aren't they? How can Japanese with a white skin be nonwhite and Italians with a dark skin be white in one set of court proceedings and the reverse found in different courts on different days?

Jacobson includes information from literature, news journals, and other written sources to illustrate that authors as diverse as Mark Twain and Joseph Conrad and Mr. Hearst of newspaper fame all offered an opinion about race at one time or another, and that while everyone started out assuming they knew what it meant to be white, most soon discovered the operational definition was another matter. There is not now nor ever has been a consensus on what it means to be white.

I enjoyed Jacobson's book very much and I think it is an excellent qualitative analysis. However, I have a few concerns: 1) Race is a contentious topic, but mixed race is even more troublesome. In 2000, the U.S. Census Bureau identified more than 60 race groups in the U.S.; While Jacobson alludes to this issue, he might have discussed it a bit more as it supports his idea that race is a nebulous notion; 2) In discussing the acquisition of civil rights, Jacobson makes the mistake many men make--Black men had the vote and basic rights many years before women of any color; 3) Jacobson begins his history with 1790 and assumes (as did many) that the so-called Anglo-Saxons were a monolithic group--they were not. The early settlers were a diverse lot from many nations and included landed gentry, endentured servents, and prisoners who worked side by side with slaves in Georgia and other colonial penal colonies until the Revolution. I have read that Jews funded the Revolotion, Poles and French trained the military (a highway in VA is named for general Pulaski); and that the first person to die in the Revolution was a free Black man named Crispus Attucks. 4) Jacobson starts the civil rights movement with the acceptance of "non-white" immigrants to "white" privilege, but evidence suggests that the U.S. Revolution was about the rights of the property owners or Aristocracy. Not until Andrew Jackson did the "common" man get the vote. Black men got the vote 30 years later and women got the vote in the 1920s although many rights were not accorded them until recently. The history of the U.S. is the history of the Civil Rights Movement for all human beings and as Americans we should be grateful for our rights.

Jacobson provides a great deal of the formation of whiteness and how it has changed through time. It shows how the construction of a white race came about in America from Anglo Saxons to all Euroepans. It shows how legislation and attitudes about white ethnic groups and Jews have changed through time. It also takes a good look at how whiteness has been transformed by contacts with other races through non-European immigratin, civil rights and America's colonies such as the Phillipeans.

Chehade doesn't leave any sacred ground for racism to hide. She bravely contronts racism on every level. I loved her bluntness and her willingness to write about issues that so many people outside of the African American community do not see or want to deal with. She is no joke. People who are in any way interested in solving racism NEED to read this book and find out just exactly what kind of beast we are all living with.

Throughout history dominant races and cultures have imposed their will, way of life, moral and aesthetic standards and even their genes on the conquered and the weaker element in their new territories. Racism is as old as humanity, although it might've been called by a different name. Man's pathological narcissism and quest to become god has engendered in part modern racism. It is fears of the new, fears of the unknown that produce in people fears of other humans that are not familiar to them. Racism helps people regain a sense of pseudo-control over their uncontrollable lives.
Every dominant race and culture has appointed itself as the supreme one, and the rest had to follow. In contrast to the bible, the meek shall not inherit the earth, but shall perish like an insignificant bacillus. Racism like human destructiveness is part of the human character.
Racism is also a great political tool to create divisions among the masses in order to dominate them, in addition, down grading people to sub-human levels justifies their eradication. Ironically, racial purity is a pure myth that has been engendered and propagated by shrewd political leaders and elites to advance their political agenda. Humanity has been interbreeding for centuries and the idea that one race is purer or superior to another is ludicrous, but works well politically. Let's not forget the recent single origin hypothesis which states that anatomically all modern humans evolved in Africa between 100,000 and 200,000 years ago. The illusion of belonging to a superior group helps compensate for the person who feels like a bacillus, and in lieu the group membership leads him to feel like a giant by appealing to his or her narcissistic prejudices. Group narcissism is key factor in racism. It is fueled and perpetuated by politicians. Racism and fear go hand in hand. Fear is a primitive feeling that incapacitates and renders people impotent. It is a natural response for self-preservation. By connecting fear to racism and artificially inducing it in people, weakens the masses, manufactures consent, and makes racism a mechanism of pseudo-self-preservation. Unfortunately, racism is here to stay! It will only cease to exist when humanity self-annihilate and totally perish!
Chehade has written a delightful book about racism based on her own perceptions and experiences. Her book is thought provoking, sensitive, intelligent, and interesting.
Chehade has done a great deed in openly discussing a critical issue like racism that has engulfed every society. She confronts our denial about its existence, and urges us for self-awareness and for change.
Chehade is livid about the condition and the hypocrisy of the human race. She addresses the political issues that has plagued and maintained the status quo of racism. Her essay is idealistic, uplifting as well as frightening, because it exposes the dark side of humanity.
She also discusses the identity crisis that immigrants face by latching to whiteness and distancing from blackness. However, this survival process which Chehade has bitterly criticized is a natural element that every new population that is introduced into a new environment would have to face. The idea that immigrants identify with the dominant culture is not new, whether it is Poles, Arabs Jews, Italians, or Irish.
Per example, the Ashkenasi Jews deny their Mongolian/Khazari heritage and desperately as well as obsessively attempt to identify and associate themselves only with white Europeans, especially of Germanic descent more than the German people would, despite the fact that six millions Jews were slaughtered by their beloved Teutonic nation. The Jews were the dominant figure in Germany financially, politically and on every level. The German leaders had to down-grade them first, then, massacre them next because they could not compete with them. That makes the Jews superior to the Germans not their inferiors. The feeling of inferiority and vulnerability in humans promote their self-hatred, otherwise it becomes directed toward others in what we call the phenomenon of racism. Racism is part of the human character as much as the internal feelings of inferiority and self-hatred.
A natural compensation for inferiority is the creation of the illusion of superiority. The two elements are dependent on each other for survival.
People who want to be someone else including their assassins, tend to practice the inner mechanism of self-hared, but can also externalize it by becoming racists.
Nowadays racism is profitable for the elites in the Anglo-American establishment, because it leads to conflict, and conflict makes money. The establishment has even gone a step further in the classification process of races by wanting to eliminate the word "Caucasian" and by replacing it with "white" as the new classification, because white would have a direct connation with people of European descent, while "Caucasian" included the people from North Africa, the Middle-East, and India. However, the Indians were stripped of their Caucasian classification privilege in the late seventies in the Untied States and they were given their own classification, since there is a billion of them, although anthropologically they fit the Caucasian profile.

Finally, Chehade's book makes a great reading. However, her tone throughout the essay is mostly angry reflecting her struggle with her own identity as an immigrant. Her defense of blackness would be admirable and sincere if it did not stem from her own self-hatred and her own confusion with her identity. The book is more of an emotional experience than an objective one. It lacks scientific and anthropological evidence, and it is politically naïve. However, it is worth reading. It might help generate some thinking in the brave reader's mind.

This book covers every little nook and cranny white people try to hide under and exposes their issues in regards to race. I recommend this book to any white person who wants to truly heal the race problem in America and abroad.

Chehade doesn't leave any sacred ground for racism to hide. She bravely contronts racism on every level. I loved her bluntness and her willingness to write about issues that so many people outside of the African American community do not see or want to deal with. She is no joke. People who are in any way interested in solving racism NEED to read this book and find out just exactly what kind of beast we are all living with.

Although she claims to be a White woman, specifically an Arab American woman who has spent the majority of her life as an American, it is really difficult to consider Ms. Chehade as a part of a people she so staunchly accuses of bearing the majority responsibility of human oppression and subjugation. It is hard to associate her as part of "the problem" because she is so brutally honest in her assessment of race relations-an absolute rarity among those progressive Whites and even Blacks who are traumatized just having to think about the issue. One may be shocked that there are "liberal" whites, according to Ms. Chehade, who are just as racist as the typical Klu Klux Klan member. Throughout the book, Ms. Chehade includes herself in the many examples of the use of White privilege. Her unique perspective on how immigrants are acculturated into racism is especially insightful, particularly when she describes the symbiotic economic relationship immigrants have in Black communities.

No matter the level of participation Ms. Chehade had in these racial crimes, one can easily grant her immunity because she testifies to the evil of White denial of Black humanity. The book's overall point is that it is this very denial which is key to the problem, but also critical to any resolution of America's racial nightmare. "Big Little White Lies" does not lose focus in exposing this pathology. Ms. Chehade, directly talks to whites, exposing and then addressing their negative beliefs and behavior toward Blacks. She is relentless in placing the responsibility for healing on White people by pointing to the enormous amount of power only they command. For example, using her analysis of power as the ability to control people, resources, and institutions to the detriment of others, she exposes the paranoia Whites have of Minister Louis Farrakhan. It is only by reading this book will White people come to really understand what drives the Minister and may even thank the Creator for him.

This is the only book I would want White people to read if they are going to experience any Black History at all. Not only is it a concise treatise on the history of White oppression of Blacks, but more importantly, it shows how the evils of the past have accumulated to create negative consequences for Blacks in this time. Those interested in the movement for reparations for slavery should read this book not only for its value as a reference book on the pain and suffering inflected on Blacks, but as a tactical guide to the mind of White America.

In stripping away the most fundamental denials of White people, Ms. Chehade indirectly answers many of the questions Blacks have on why the majority of Whites are racist. On one hand, "Big Little White Lies" creates an overwhelming despair that brotherhood between the masses of Black people and White people is not only an impossibility in our lifetime, but a remote possibility in the lifetimes of future generations.

On the other hand, Carol Chehade opens the mind to the critical issue of power sharing in this society and the absolute necessity of self and group empowerment. No matter your position on the political spectrum, I guarantee that this book will leave you breathless and a little shaken.

My fear is that "Big Little White Lies" will never see the mainstream publishing success it deserves. No other book could claim to be remotely compared to it. No other book could have as much potential to heal.

"The Great Cow Race" picks up where "Out From Boneville" left off. It is the second volume in the nine volume Bone series. Written and drawn beautifully by Jeff Smith, it is an adventure filled with humor and mystery.

In this section of the story, Phoney Bone is trying to rig the betting on the great cow race by starting rumors about Rose (Thorn's Grandmother who always wins the race) being too old, and about a new incredibly fast mystery cow, which turns out to be Smiley Bone in a homemade cow suit. The main adventure story continues as well, as we learn more about Thorn through her dreams about a time she can't remember, and hints of an unusual past from comments by Rose and Lucius (the bar owner in Barrelhaven who has a long unspoken love for Rose).

This volume is heavier on the humorous stories, and as a result there is very little learned about the overall storyline of the series. For that reason, I rate it slightly lower than the first volume, but it is definitely worth reading.

jeff smith is one geat artist and writer we well iove bon

The Bone series is the greatest group of books that I have! "The Great Cow Race" contains fantasy, adventure, humor, mystery, and more! And it all comes in one book! I really recommend it!

Jeff Smith's "Bone" series is a critically acclaimed but criminally overlooked epic for a reason. Critics recognize Smith's masterful storytelling abilities and are drawn to his mix of all-ages humor and decidedly adult darkness, but the black and white art and lack of superheroes is anathema to most comic book readers, making it a hit only in the "underground" sense.

Smith combines the kind of classic storytelling perfected by the likes of the legendary Carl Barks and Bill Watterson - gleefully funny cartooning with outrageously expressive faces and gestures - with the epic and engaging plotting of a sweeping fairy tale. "Bone" walks a tightrope and walks it well, managing to be something fans of both Donald Duck and Bilbo Baggins can enjoy.

Timeless is every way, "Bone" is an expansive story about three "bone creatures" (you'd have to see them to understand) that find themselves in a valley peopled with an assortment of crazy and interesting characters. Looming over it all is the menace of a great evil, first glimpsed by the ferocious (and funny) rat creatures, but later revealed to be something much more disturbing.

Thank goodness for trade paperbacks, which have allowed new readers unaccustomed to weekly stops at the comic store to follow this marvelous, epic, enchanting series.

In this second volume (out of nine total), Smith ramps up the humor - the idea of an old lady racing a bunch of cows is hilarious - while slowly, deliberately dropping hints that all is not as it seems with some of the village folk, specifically grandma. "The Great Cow Race" continues to sparkle with humor and retains the light tone of the first volume, "Out From Boneville," while Smith offers us just enough looks at the larger tale to keep us going. A fine effort on his part.

"Bone" is essential reading that no lover of the comic artform should skip. Little doubt people will still be reading "Bone" 50 years from now. Broad in scope yet personal and quaint, this is a charming story in every way that will long outlast 90 percent of other comic works on the shelf.

Volume #2 of the 'Bone,' graphic novel series collects issues #7-11 originally released in 1992-1993. Those who enjoyed the first volume will surely enjoy this second collection even more, as the characters and storylines introduced in vol. #1 hit their full stride and become further fleshed out in fun and effortless fashion. Reading through the 'Bone,' series is reminiscent of listening to a well-crafted pop song in that there is seemingly little effort taking place to enjoy the work and moments later after you're done digesting it you suddenly realize what a rich and complex work the piece actually is, functioning on several unique layers. 'Bone,' works exactly in such a fashion and trust me when I say that you'll never have more fun while reading through a book and digesting the nuances afterward as you will with this series.