This book is jam-packed with political and economic history along with ideas for righting the ship of State. I particularly support citizen review ofThis book is jam-packed with political and economic history along with ideas for righting the ship of State. I particularly support citizen review of Congress and all police. I also loved the idea of protecting the family from advertisers and giving communities more control over their local schools.
There are many good ideas offered for fixing America, but the history imparted was fascinating.
For a book under 200 pages, this is a dense read. That, or I am dense when it comes to understanding the economy and its machinations.
Ferguson arguesFor a book under 200 pages, this is a dense read. That, or I am dense when it comes to understanding the economy and its machinations.
Ferguson argues that the West is in institutional crisis: economically, politically, and culturally. Our public debt represents a betrayal of the social contract with future generations. Complex regulation is useless to averting future financial crises. The rule of law is becoming a rule of lawyers. Civil society is decaying because of too many state interventions creating dependency and dishing out mediocrity. We are, according to Ferguson, in Adam Smith's stationary state. ...more
The text was not what I expected, but a catalogue of various anecdotes and scientific study of phenomena associated with death and the afterlife.
ItThe text was not what I expected, but a catalogue of various anecdotes and scientific study of phenomena associated with death and the afterlife.
It is concluded that there is more to death than meets the eye, with body doubles of an electrical nature, recordings of voices in the ether, ghosts, non-ghosts, phantoms of the living. Every goodbye doesn't necessarily mean gone.
There are many thought provoking topics explored related to whether or not spirits exist and how they are thought to have influenced the world, fromThere are many thought provoking topics explored related to whether or not spirits exist and how they are thought to have influenced the world, from politics to formations of religions.
My favorite chapters came near the end. Guess I should have read the conclusion first. Wonderful coverage of Jung's activities in developing his concept of the collective unconscious. Also covered is the neutrino, quanta, and the possibility that spirits are composed of neutrinos, and the voice recording experiments conducted by scientists that yielded results.
After reading Haslip's biography of Lucrezia Borgia, I know much more about how the RC Church of the 15th C worked than about Sra. Borgia's poisoningAfter reading Haslip's biography of Lucrezia Borgia, I know much more about how the RC Church of the 15th C worked than about Sra. Borgia's poisoning escapades. She was much more the pawn of her father's, POPE Alexander VI, and her brother's, Cesare, avaricious ambitions.
Her marriages were arranged with political ends in mind rather than her desires or interests.
The unwholesomeness said to have existed in her relationships with both her father and brother Cesare was hinted at in this text, but never fully fleshed out. While there are records of the trashy spectacles produced in the Vatican during Pope Alexander VI's reign, nothing conclusive was presented to support the charges of incest.
I learned an awful lot about the RC Church of the time and was quite scandalized, just as I am with today's Church antics, but I see the current acts have a long documented history.
Then, there is the Index of Prohibited Literature of 1501, which prohibited, banned, censored the reading of all books and/or documents that challenged church dogma, a gift of Pope Alexander VI, the same man who hosted parties in the Vatican that included dancing, naked women who picked up chestnuts with their backsides. ...more
Will Hadcroft chronicles his life's experience with undiagnosed Asperger syndrome. Often, I felt anguished for his struggles, recognizing my ownWill Hadcroft chronicles his life's experience with undiagnosed Asperger syndrome. Often, I felt anguished for his struggles, recognizing my own experiences while reading of his.
Hadcroft is an interesting mix. He is logical, but religious. I appreciate the way he subjects religious topics to rigourous reasoning. I enjoyed reading of his love for Dr. Who and how it helped him cope with the world around him that was very stressful to navigate each day. ...more
This slim volume began answering my questions about the role of Irish ethnicity in GWTW. It also provided insights about the role of Catholicism.
SeemsThis slim volume began answering my questions about the role of Irish ethnicity in GWTW. It also provided insights about the role of Catholicism.
Seems GWTW is a thickly veiled description of several women who influenced Margaret Mitchell, including her mother, grandmother, and a cousin who entered the convent and chose Mary Melanie as her religious name.
The reason I searched for and read this book was because of criticisms of the way slavery was portrayed. Everyone focuses on Black ethnicity when critiquing GWTW while failing to take note of the significance of Irish characterizations, Irish history references, and the thread of Catholicism woven throughout the text. I always found the presence of a descendant of Irish peasants (Gerald O'Hara) among the planter class of pre-Civil War Georgia a bit odd. I always attributed the treatment of the slaves, who were part of Ellen O'Hara's dowry, to her upbringing and teachings about respect and kindness being for everyone, including the slaves. Reading this slim volume supported my assumptions while also providing important background information about Mitchell's family life and the relationships she had with strong, decisive, and gentle women during her brief lifetime.
I would recommend this book to anyone who'd like to read GWTW with informed eyes. I began to see the text as something akin to The Pilgrim's Progress, a morality tale about Scarlett's slide away from her mother's teachings and her adoption of her father's Irish hardheadedness and love of the land.
Just one spoiler: Margaret Mitchell was distantly related to "Doc" Holliday. He may have been the reason her cousin entered the convent and became the model for Melanie. ...more
Hurston uses limited and selective participant observation methods to learn the culture of Haiti and Jamaica.
Of particular interest is her sectionHurston uses limited and selective participant observation methods to learn the culture of Haiti and Jamaica.
Of particular interest is her section titled Voodoo in Haiti, and the chapters on Zombies, Sect Rouge, Tell My Horse, and Graveyard Dirt and Other Poisons.
Wonderfully detailed descriptions of various ceremonies dedicated to the loas are included, as well as musical scores and the Creole lyrics of some of the ceremonial songs.
Maud Montgomery Macdonald was a woman of honor and duty, who wrote of beauty. Gillen's biography of her is well-written and extremely well documentedMaud Montgomery Macdonald was a woman of honor and duty, who wrote of beauty. Gillen's biography of her is well-written and extremely well documented by Montgomery's letters to friends and her journals.
Maud Montgomery was tempestuously emotional while simultaneously being controlled and disciplined. It did take a toll on her, along with her husband's depression. She "mixed" when she didn't want to, was the dutiful minister's wife, and "suffered fools gladly" when she wanted to be alone. She suffered because she was never able to write something of merit as measured by her own internal standard.
My perception of Emily's Quest as a pot-boiler was right on target. Montgomery never wanted to write sequels and the effort she had to make in order to fulfill her publisher's wishes were monumental.
I really admire Lucy Maud Montgomery Macdonald and appreciate Gillen's biographical work immensely.
This book, published by Goodread Biographers, was truly a good read....more
Ron Christie whines through this entire book. I waded through 9 chapters before finally reading of his experiences with being called a sellout, anRon Christie whines through this entire book. I waded through 9 chapters before finally reading of his experiences with being called a sellout, an Uncle Tom, and being charged with acting white. Methinks he doth protest too much.
The most disturbing chapter was Chapter 8, Black Power, Moral Relativism, and Radical Chic. Christie's analysis of naming suggests he doesn't recognize the power of consumer culture. He thinks that Black parents gave their children "black-sounding" names while giving thought to long-term consequences of those names. He fails to see the practice as a fad or trend that may be long-lasting among the socially segregated and economically devastated communities of color. Having witnessed the naming of children from the same family with both "white-sounding" and "black-sounding" names, it seems that the idea of trend or fad and the influence of consumer culture should not have been overlooked in this analysis. Everything with Christie is oversimplified in an effort to support his argument that many people are engaging in charging high-achieving Blacks with "acting white." Choosing "black names" as demonstration of "a level of black pride and awareness" is oversimplification, but interpretation is individual and is used to serve individual purposes.
It seems odd to me that Christie does not recognize the racism inherent in the decision of any employer to pass on a qualified applicant because they happen to have a "black-sounding" name. I think Christie is incapable of seeing racism so desperate is he to believe that we're all judged by the content of our character rather than ethnicity. He seems absolutely blind to power and how it is wielded when discrimination is its aim.
Another disturbing aspect of this blurb was its androcentricity. I longed to read a discussion of Condoleeza Rice, but was only offered a brief description of how Maxine Waters humiliated the author by charging him with "acting white" once she discovered he was a Republican working for another Republican.
I appreciate the history he covers here, but the whining makes this a tedious read.Guess I'm just one of those people who doesn't believe young people are tremendously affected by charges that they are "acting white." There are many more significant issues occurring in the schools and in homes that prevent Black students from achieving than being taunted with "acting white." Christie never suggests that there might be structural problems contributing to disparities in Black academic achievement.
I'm sorry I wasted my time reading this drivel....more
The more I read Hedges, the more of his work I want to read.
Hedges references a distinction between comradeship and friendship, concluding that theyThe more I read Hedges, the more of his work I want to read.
Hedges references a distinction between comradeship and friendship, concluding that they are opposites.
He also discusses the violation of the commandment to refrain from theft within the context of insider trading and the further development of the American oligarchy that is currently living it up like the robber barons they are on the hard won funds of the middle-class poor. This oligarchy is formed by the fusion of economic and political power, and has been in the making since the Reagan-era.
My favorite quotation is: "A society without the means to detect lies and theft soon squanders its liberty and freedom."
My favorite decalogue: Number 5: Honor your parents. Hedges recounts a commencement address he presented at Rockford College in IL to an intolerant, belligerent graduating class who did not want to hear his brand of truth. In the main, he honored his father who taught him that being responsible was neither easy nor comfortable.
The commandments are guides to considering the needs of others ahead of our personal aggrandizement. They are meant for all of us, in our ordinariness, to use in making this place we are fated to leave a bit better for the others we will leave behind.
I learned that Islamists come in many flavors, that they tend to be more politically and socially active in promoting the best for the community thanI learned that Islamists come in many flavors, that they tend to be more politically and socially active in promoting the best for the community than their secular or moderate sisters and brothers.
The veil is a political statement. I still do not agree on it being a mandatory element of modest dress, but many women wear it of their own choosing to express a variety of political and personal beliefs....more
Ambassador Dodd's daughter Martha was a wee whoor.
Beyond that fact, this was an informative piece of nonfiction. I learned about the putsch of 30 JuneAmbassador Dodd's daughter Martha was a wee whoor.
Beyond that fact, this was an informative piece of nonfiction. I learned about the putsch of 30 June 1934 where Hitler, Himmler, and Goring got rid of Rohm and his Storm Troopers. I never knew about President Hindenburg and how his breathing was the only thing that blocked Hitler's rise to Fuhrer. I didn't know that our isolationism and appeasement practices were based on the desires of bond holders to get money back that had been loaned to Germany.
Ambassador Dodd's simplicity, commanding understanding of history, and his moral and ethical standards were ill-used in his position as ambassador, surrounded as he was by the elitist Pretty Good Club boys who were more interested in partying than in representing American interests beyond the monetary.
Fascinating read complete with annotated notes and index. Must reading for students of WWII and the events related to Hitler's ascension.
Another important historical idea I found worthy of further investigation was Jeffersonian democracy, of which Dodd was a practitioner and advocate. We'd do well to reacquaint ourselves with the principles of this concept....more
Chris Hedges speaks a truth that is sorely in short supply. Where do I begin in recommending this set of essays? Of course, there are abundantChris Hedges speaks a truth that is sorely in short supply. Where do I begin in recommending this set of essays? Of course, there are abundant resources for further reading and an index that makes for quick location of topics and individuals you'll want to review. The essays cover the years 2001-2010 and have appeared in various publications. If you've read other of Hedges' work, you will recognize some of his words. They bear repeating and rereading, I assure you.
I learn and am exposed to material that is historic and glossed over in this Information Age that serves me pablum and pap instead of fact. There are discussions of the manipulation of public opinion and the role of propaganda in taming the populace. There are many references and discussion of the permanent war economy in which we are currently engaged and its contribution to the destruction of the working and middle classes, our way of life in this country.
The rights we have given up and other crimes against the working class include NAFTA, welfare reform, the 1999 Financial Services Modernization Act that gutted 1933 Glass-Steagall Act which was designed to prevent banking crises like the current ones, the refusal to restore habeas corpus - the means of obtaining a federal court examination of the validity of a state criminal conviction or illegal state imprisonment.
Favorite essays include: Calling All Rebels (3.8.2010); Do Not Pity the Democrats (pp. 125-134); Celebrating Slaughter: War and Collective Amnesia (10.5.2009).
Description and analysis of the machinations of Israel and her allies against the Palestinian people is presented. Arguments for the ending of war are discussed along with the work of Peter van Agtmael and Lori Grinker. I learned about the American secessionist movements (The New Secessionists, 4.26.2010).
I would recommend this book as an overview and digest of Hedges' thought over the past decade. The man's thinking and clear address take my breath away.
I was most struck by the following, taken from my notes:
"History has shown time and again that when the liberal class ceases to function, as happenedI was most struck by the following, taken from my notes:
"History has shown time and again that when the liberal class ceases to function, as happened in Tsarist Russia, Weimar Germany, and the former Yugoslavia, it always opens a Pandora's Box of evils that infect the remnants of a civil society."
Mass communication technologies and propaganda killed populism.
The cultural embrace of simplification has banished complexity and pushed to the margins difficult, original, or unfamiliar ideas. (p.88)
"...mediocrity makes its own rules and sets its own image of success." (p.122)
The discussions of Dorothy Day, Phillip and Daniel Berrigan, Thomas Merton, the Catholic Worker, MLK as political revolutionary, and Malcolm X as cultural revolutionary were illuminating. The processes of the marginalization of Ralph Nader and the surveillance of Howard Zinn were also informative.
"Democracy, a system designed to challenge the status quo, has been corrupted to serve the status quo." (p.198)
Death of the liberal class has been accomplished by a shift from print-based to image-based culture. Verifiable fact, which is rooted in the complexity of print, no longer forms the basis of public discourse or collective memory. Images and words defy the complex structures of print when isolated from context.
"Oh my soul, do not aspire to the immortal life, but exhaust the limits of the possible." Pindar, Greek poet.
In short, rage against the machine that would destroy our compassion, sense of self and community. Defy the machine that would have us give up our humanity to behave as sheeple as we are quickly destroyed by the corporate elite and their propaganda. Don't swallow the illusions. ...more
Believing in the perfectibility of man leads atheists and fundamentalists alike to commit similar errors in argument in order to advance theirBelieving in the perfectibility of man leads atheists and fundamentalists alike to commit similar errors in argument in order to advance their ideological projects....more
The thesis is that human beings are more likely to do violence to those they know and with whom they share commonalities than they are to violateThe thesis is that human beings are more likely to do violence to those they know and with whom they share commonalities than they are to violate people considered to be different. Fratricide is more common than ordinary homicide. Many examples given to support the notion that familiarity breeds contempt.
Got me thinking about the cruelties heaped on Blacks in America, who were closer to Anglos than their blood kin, but who were the objects of hatred and violence for decades.
French Huguenots murdered by French Catholics. Europeans killing Europeans in WWI. Many examples of brother killing brother. The savagery meted out to those closest to us. Scandalous.
This book was very difficult for me to read. Too much violence. If you seek plenty of examples of brother killing brother, you can't go wrong with this volume.
I chose to rate it as amazing because of the overwhelming amount of fraticidal examples provided....more
I think I was expecting more for what I paid for this book and I didn't get it.
The best essay for me came from Jennifer McIlwee Myers who related theI think I was expecting more for what I paid for this book and I didn't get it.
The best essay for me came from Jennifer McIlwee Myers who related the AS rules for dating, relationships, and marriage. Her advice was practical, funny, and sensible. Thus, I would recommend reading more of Myers who has written about sensory issues and how to cope with them.
There is another volume of this book with different authors. I'm going to give that a read and see if I can't find more to say about this text, from which I expected an awful lot.
I have to let much of what I just heard filter, sift, and settle a moment before rendering a review. I do know that I appreciated Marable's skillfulI have to let much of what I just heard filter, sift, and settle a moment before rendering a review. I do know that I appreciated Marable's skillful weaving and interpretation of details, and his creation of a tapestry of the Brother Minister's life. This telling of Brother Malcolm's life made me sorrow even more for who we lost when we lost him. He was just coming to a major reawakening in himself, perhaps in the world, when we lost him. And we've lost Marable as well, now....more
John Leonard's use of the English language is inspiring, but I was particularly intrigued by the essay on Primo Levi. Also covered are Mary McCarthy,John Leonard's use of the English language is inspiring, but I was particularly intrigued by the essay on Primo Levi. Also covered are Mary McCarthy, Arthur Koestler, Rimbaud, Podhoretz, Bellow, and a host of other wordsmiths.
I especially liked learning the particulars of Levi's suicide. What a heart the man had.
The essays included in this compilation are often good introductions to works no longer discussed today. ...more
No matter how odd he is, Jesse Saperstein can laugh at himself. I'm particularly taken with his explanations of popular culture. His descriptions ofNo matter how odd he is, Jesse Saperstein can laugh at himself. I'm particularly taken with his explanations of popular culture. His descriptions of his personal quirks, how some have been overcome and others simply adapted to, are howling good laughs in some instances, painfully touching reads in others.
While similar, every person with Asperger's is unique. There may be a little bit of Asperger's in many of us. We would all do well to get past tolerating quirkiness to accepting it and recognizing the differences as strengths instead of defects.
Best book I've read yet about Asperger's. I'm now encouraged to write my own....more
Everyone's AS is different. Every story I read about the neurobiological difference adds to my hopes for increased understanding and acceptance ofEveryone's AS is different. Every story I read about the neurobiological difference adds to my hopes for increased understanding and acceptance of people who are different.
People are cruel and without empathy. They do not tolerate difference well. They are often discouraging, making isolation preferable to mingling. Liane's story makes pressing through seem worth the effort, especially where children are involved.
Many of us pretend to be normal even when we don't have AS. Says a lot more about the society in which we live than about our individual differences.
In only 84 pages, Balmer provides a brief history of evangelical christianity and their involvment in politics from the 19th C to the present.
IIn only 84 pages, Balmer provides a brief history of evangelical christianity and their involvment in politics from the 19th C to the present.
I learned that abortion wasn't the issue around which the evangelicals originally coalesced, but racial discrimination. And that is only one of the bombshells dropped in this lucid little book.
Fast read and slow reread for this text. Informative history.
My copy is an advanced reading copy in paperback even though the ISBN is for the hardback edition.
This text addresses Wacquant's criticism of Wilson's tendency to discuss culture as a by-product of structure, thereby robbing culture and its actorsThis text addresses Wacquant's criticism of Wilson's tendency to discuss culture as a by-product of structure, thereby robbing culture and its actors of any autonomy. As a result of decisions and meanings made about immediate context and historical experience, actors in culturally deprived circumstances have forged creative solutions to some of their immediate economic and social needs....more
Mortenson is a climber who, because of his separation from his guide in the Central Asian mountain range and subsequent saving and restoring to healthMortenson is a climber who, because of his separation from his guide in the Central Asian mountain range and subsequent saving and restoring to health by the people of that region, decided to build schools to repay the good will shown him....more
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