tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77086543990981245742024-03-05T00:09:49.404-08:00Book! Books! Books!theMomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01484800094220282147noreply@blogger.comBlogger133125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7708654399098124574.post-45893027291074317822015-02-20T17:37:00.001-08:002015-02-20T18:49:42.843-08:00Calendars in Antiquity: Empires, States, and Societies, by Sacha Stern<div class="a-row">
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Stern, Sacha. <i>Calendars in Antiquity: Empires, States, and Societies</i>. Oxford ; New York: Oxford University Press, 2012.</div>
<span class="Z3988" title="url_ver=Z39.88-2004&ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fzotero.org%3A2&rft_id=urn%3Aisbn%3A9780199589449&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Calendars%20in%20Antiquity%3A%20Empires%2C%20States%2C%20and%20Societies&rft.place=Oxford%20%3B%20New%20York&rft.publisher=Oxford%20University%20Press&rft.aufirst=Sacha&rft.aulast=Stern&rft.au=Sacha%20Stern&rft.date=2012-11-15&rft.tpages=472&rft.isbn=9780199589449&rft.language=English"></span>
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<b>Link:</b> <a href="http://amzn.com/0199589445">http://amzn.com/0199589445</a></div>
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From the biography <a href="http://www.ucl.ac.uk/hebrew-jewish/people/sacha-stern">page</a> at <a href="http://www.ucl.ac.uk/">University College London</a>:</div>
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Sacha Stern is Professor of Rabbinic Judaism and Head of Department at
the UCL Department of Hebrew and Jewish Studies. He holds a BA in
Ancient History from Oxford (1986), an MA in Social Anthropology from
UCL (1988), and a D.Phil in Jewish Studies from Oxford (1992). He has
also studied in Yeshivot in Israel. Before joining UCL in 2005, he was
Lecturer in Jewish Studies at Jews' College, London and then Reader in
Jewish Studies at SOAS (School of Oriental and African Studies). [<a href="http://www.ucl.ac.uk/hebrew-jewish/people/sacha-stern/#tabs-4">link</a>]</div>
</blockquote>
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Stern has done extensive academic research and publication on the reckoning of time in the ancient world, especially as those relate to the peoples and cultures of the Bible.<br />
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Calendars in Antiquity is 430 pages, 20 page dibliography, and index.<br />
<br />
Stern's focus is to counter the generally held theories concerning the development of calendars which he belives are flawed. Two main issues addressed are:<br />
<ol>
<li> that the development of the calendar "cannot be simply explained as the result of Egyptian influence" (p. 427)</li>
<li> that the calendar is not "the inevitable outcome of some deterministic progression from 'primitive' to 'advanced'; indeed, the evolution of calendars had little to do with what we would call scientific progress.' (ibid.) </li>
</ol>
In this review I will focus on just a few of Stern's arguments with some
detail and then summarize. My hope is to help draw out some examples of
the benefits of this work to the Biblical exegete.<br />
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Stern's methodology is to focus on the historical cultural aspects of how calendars functioned in their societies and the societal influences that can be shown or reasonably understood to have influenced the changes. Since those influences can be very broad, Stern focuses particularly on the political aspects of cultural forces. Stern limits his calendrical focus chiefly to units of time as they affect annual reckoning. Thus he does not go into detail on how each of the different societies reckoned the hours of the day except as it relates to how the begining of a month or year was fixed. He also limited his study to societies of Classical Antiquity and their interactions leading to the development of the Julian Calendar in late antiquity. Stern does not include calendar traditions from the Far East, ancient America, or later developments like the Islamic calendar.</div>
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The study is divided into two main parts: </div>
<ul>
<li>Part I: From City States to Great Empires: The Rise of the Fixed Calendar.</li>
<li>Part II: The Empires Challenged and Dissolved: Calendar Diversity and Fragmentation.</li>
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The first part looks at how the various societies that participated in Classical Antiquity reckoned time.</div>
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<br />
In ancient Greece and Babylon (Chaptes 1 and 2) the calendars were lunar, as was the calendar of Republican Rome. The evidence from Europe also leads us to conclude that the Celtic/Gaulic and German calendars were also lunar.</div>
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And there was, for example: among the Greeks and Babylonians, great variety in naming and reckoning months, festivals, and when the new year was to be counted. Individual city-states kept their own month-names and methods of intercalation. This is shown by multiple dating on inscriptions of treaties and contracts.</div>
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<br />
Intercalation and calendar "tampering" were essentially political tools which not only helped keep the lunar reckoning of time in line
with the yearly seasons, but also allowed rulers to do things like:
avoid missing a religious festival because a battle was taking place;
extend the days to allow tribute and taxes to be brought in before a
deadline; and extend their term of office. In the case of the Babylonian city states and the rise of the neo-Assyrian (8th-7th cent. BC) it was the king who declared the first of the month. </div>
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The process of unifying calendars between these groups took place when city-states formed alliances or were made part of a larger regional political power.</div>
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Stern argues that these lunar calendars were not less rational, less scientific, or less emperical than our current Gregorian/Julian Calendar. These calendars were actually very much emperical as they depended upon the actual observation of the new moon to establish the beginning of a month. The intercalations were based on both natural and societal realities (agricultural, political, and religious). And, being tied to the moon, they were solidly based in a method of reckoning that was available to and understood by most members of their societies. </div>
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They were not origninally solar nor were they originally stellar calendars. Thus the first month (moon) of a year would not begin on the same day of the solar year as we reckon time. Religious festivals, which also varied from one city-state to another, could be delayed with intercalation (the adding of a month) or hastened by suppression (ignoring or eliminating days from the count). But they were not at first tied to solar events (equinox, solstice, etc.) nor to the direct timing of stellar events (the heliacal rising of Pliedes). </div>
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The development of astronomical calendars in Ancient Greece from the late 5th century BC (Meton) and early 4th century BC (Callippus) is a feature limited mainly to Athens. Stern uses inscriptional and historical writings from the period to demonstrate that the astronomical calendars were not used for civic dating. For example, astronomical dates based on these reckonings are ignored by Herotodus and Thucidides. Medical works from the Classical period reference astronomical phenomena, but not as a chronological dating tool. It is only in later with writers [like Diodorus and Geminus (mid to late 1st cent. BC)] who project the Callipic Cycle or Metonic Cycle back upon historical events as an absolute chronological dating scheme. Other lines of evidence include the later (3rd cent. BC) introduction of the <i>parapegmata</i> (a calendar peg-board set up in public) which mentioned astronomical and weather events as part of the count of days.</div>
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For the early Babylonians the calenders consisted of months of either 29 or 30 days. This calendar length of the month determined by the sighting of the next new moon. The unification of calendars in Mesopotamia began in the 2nd millenium BC and is tied together with the unification of the city-states under the Assyrian kingdom in 1100 BC. From the influence of this kingdom the month names it chose as standard were spread throughout its region of influence. </div>
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These month names and calendar practice influenced also the names of the months and how they were reckoned by the people of Israel as they settled in Canaan and were impacted by Assyria and neo-Babylonia.</div>
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While literature of astronomy/astrology began earlier in Mesopotamia than in Greece (Astrological Omen Lists, letters of astrologers to kings), the chief calendrical function of the astrologer was to site the new moon and report to the king. These documents demonstrate that they had the astronomical knowledge to predict when the new moon should occur. However the calendar still depended upon emperical sighting and political authority. The king would choose to declare the new month. The year consisted of 12 or 13 months, depending upon choice of intercalation.</div>
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Reports of new moon sightings from the astrologers to the king become very rare from the 6th-1st cent. BC. However, a group of documents called the Astronomical Diaries yield a great deal of information that allow for reasonably precise dates for this period when the modern calendar is retrojected upon the Babylonian lunar calendar. Stern points out that even though there is a very high degree of astronomical knowledge, this did not effect a change from a lunar to a solar calendar. The basic change in the calendar from the older to the newer is in a greater reliance upon predictions of new moons. This reduced dependency upon the limits of a courier to relay the proclamation of new moons, allowing political administration of wider territories.</div>
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It is not until the Achaemenid period (5th cent. BC) that evidence of a fixed calendrical cycle to regulate the lunar year. Firm evidence exists from Cyrus' conquest of Babylon in 539 BC. The main evidence comes from the astronomical texts called MUL.APIN and the Saros Cannon texts.</div>
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<br />
By the Selucid period (312-63 BC) a method of calculating the vernal
Equinox was developed. This method differs from modern methods and
yields different, usually later, dates than the actual equinox. But this
calculation seems to have had no clearly evident affect on the method
of intercalation used for the Babylonian calendar.</div>
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Data of regular intercalations for the Parthian period from AD 224 and following is unclear.</div>
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The Babylonian Calendar remained lunar, but became more fixed through time. The method of regularizing the calendar remained true to its emperical use with the lunar month through better and more reliable predictability of the new moon. This reliability of prediction allowed for the calendar's use over a much wider area of political control. The Babylonian Calendar influenced many regional and local calendars. Both its naming conventions and its methods were incorporated by subject peoples. The calendars of the Old Testament Israelites were strongly influenced. </div>
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The Egyptian Calendar (Chapter 3) represents the only fixed (and ideally solar) calendar in Classical Antiquity. But as the Egyptian Calendar was fixed at 365 days the first day of the year drifted forward through the actual solar year by 1 day every four years. This method of reckoning the number of days in the year was adopted by many peoples.</div>
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<br />
The Persian Zoroastrian Calendar, for example, used the same 365 day scheme with the first day of the year moving one solar day earlier every four years. There is no evidence of the Zoroastrian Calendar before the 6th century BC. Also, the only period at which the Persian Zoroastrian Calendar year actually began on or near the vernal equinox was the years 481-479 BC. The source of Egyptian influence most probably came after the Achaemenid empire conquered Egypt under Cambysus in 525 BC. </div>
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Likewise, the Egyptian Calendar's soar length year became the basis for the Julian reforms of the Republican Roman Calendar. Julius Caesar included an extra day every fourth year. This was to prevent the solar drift that occured in the Egyptian and Persian Zoroastrian Calendars. </div>
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The use of a fixed, predictable calendar was a tool of empire that allowed the Romans to manage a much larger region of influence more conveniently than under the previous lunar calendar of the Republic. </div>
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However, the Julian Calendar reforms were not carried out well at first. The use of inclusive counting by Romans appears to have lead to an over intercalation of leap years in the early period so that Augustus had to revise the leap year schedule temporarily in 8 BC. Also, while the calendar reforms spread very quickly and widely in the western provinces of the empire, the eastern provinces retained a great deal of calendar independence. </div>
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The calendars of Antioch, Gaza, Ashkelon, Jerusalem, and many other cities individualistic. Often they adopted the form of the Julian calendar but retained regional cultural names for the months; maintained a different new year's date; or --as in the case of Jerusalem-- kept a parallel lunar civic calendar that was important to the culture and religion of the local people. The adoption of the Julian reforms in these regions also was not immediate, in some cases not being adopted until the end of the 1st or mid 2nd cent. AD.</div>
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In his second part, Stern describes various examples and ways in which local cultures expressed a kind of dissidence to political authority or subversion by modification of the Julian reforms. </div>
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The data and study of the evidence in the above mentioned examples are more than sufficient to recommend this work to the Biblical exegete. The research presented on the Gallic and Jewish Calendars in the sixth chapter stand out as especially useful.</div>
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<br /></div>
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But the closing chapter is extremely valuable. "Secterianism and heresy: From Qumran Calendars to the Christian Easter Controversies."</div>
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In this chapter Stern describes, among other things, some of the formative issues for the Rabbinic Calendar as a distinct expression differing from the Judaean/Palestinian Calendar that preceeded it. And in his discussion of the development of the Christian Calendar Stern brings out some very good arguments about how the Christian Calendar began be a confession of Orthodoxy. Highlighted in this discussion are groups which diverged from this calendrical confession for the purpose of expressing their distinction from the Orthodox Catholic Church, such as the Nestorians, Novations, and the Arians when they were opposing the reinstatement of Athanasius.</div>
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While Stern's focus is mainly on the political aspects of these divisions, combining his research with a reading of doctrinal and liturgical history is very helpful and enlightening. </div>
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The book is expensive. $180. Perhaps one can find it for less than that somewhere online. But I would highly recommend this book for seminary libraries, college libraries, and for those interested in chronology, chronography, ancient history, doctrinal history, and the history of the liturgical year.</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7708654399098124574.post-15259297406485127722015-01-07T06:07:00.000-08:002015-02-20T18:49:30.355-08:00The History Of Time, by Leofranck Holford-Strevens<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<img alt="The History of Time: A Very Short Introduction by Leofranc Holford-Strevens" border="0" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51NkXHjP-4L._SL500_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-big,TopRight,35,-73_OU01_SS75_SS75_.jpg" height="75" width="75" />
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<b>The History of Time: A Very Short Introduction</b> <br />
by Leofranc Holford-Strevens
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<b>Link:</b> <a href="http://amzn.com/0192804995">http://amzn.com/0192804995</a> </div>
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<br />
<br />
Oxford University Press, 2005.<br />
<br />
Holford-Strevens' discussion is kept at an introductory level, the glossary is
necessary. The study of time keeping, days, and calendars requires
learning a little specialized vocabulary. And while Holford-Strevens
does a good job explaining terms, once they are explained the terms are
used.<br />
<br />
The book is an introduction. This means that
there are no large discussions over controverted issues, no detailed
footnotes. But, the discussion and presentation is based on very sound
scholarship. The brief discussion in the text does make reference to
primary sources where it is beneficial. And Holford-Strevens includes an
annotated list of works for further reading.<br />
<br />
Seven chapters are followed by two appendixes, a list for further reading, a glossary, and an index.<br />
<br />
The chapters follow on the main themes of time keeping:<br />
<ol>
<li>The day</li>
<li>Months and years</li>
<li>Prehistory and history of the modern calendar</li>
<li>Easter</li>
<li>Weeks and seasons</li>
<li>Other calendars</li>
<li>Marking the year</li>
</ol>
The introductions to these topics are very helpful in demonstrating not only where certain concepts and structures came from, but also how they were discussed historically.<br />
<br />
For example, subdividing the month into 7-day weeks was not a common idea in ancient times. The Romans, from whom our main system of months derive, actually used an 8-day market cycle. It is called <i>nundial</i> (nine-day). <br />
<br />
The Romans (and to some extent other cultures too) used an inclusive count for days. Thus a "nine-day" was a Roman market "week" consisting of eight days, starting over again on the ninth day. In the Gospel of John when the disciples are gathered on the "eighth-day" that means a week later, the same day of the week as before. "The third day" is today, tomorrow, and the third.<br />
<br />
All in all, the introduction is very helpful for western and near eastern calendars. Holford-Strevens also discusses Chinese, Japanese, and Mesoamerican calendars. While these latter calendars fall a bit outside my research interest, I would still say that this volume's introductions to those calenders were, perhaps, too brief to be helpful.<br />
<br />
It is "very short"--only 142 pages in a 4.5x6.75 inch volume, just over
1/4" thick. There are 26 illustrations, mainly of ancient calendars. The
format of the book and the size of the page makes many of these
illustrations hard to see. For example, the first illustration "Detail of Egyptian diagonal calendar"
is photo reduced to fit 5 3/4 x 1 1/2 inch space. This makes any
features noted of the calendar in the text very difficult to see because of the small size. Illustration 12, a photo of a sixth century mosaic of Dionysius Exiguus's tables for calculating Easter is printed inverted.<br />
<br />
Leofranc Holford-Strevens is also co-editor/author of <i>The Oxford Book of Days</i> (2000), and <i>The Oxford Companion to the Year</i> (1999).<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7708654399098124574.post-90290218854975170762012-11-28T15:49:00.000-08:002013-03-29T05:34:52.088-07:00no two alike<span class="ptBrand"><iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=bobobo02-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=1442417420&ref=tf_til&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe></span><br />
by Keith Baker<br />
<br />
Thumbs Up.<br />
<br />
This is conceptually a very simple book, but it's beauty is deep. The book features two fetching little birds who seem to be discovering the winter woods around them. They notice how even things that seem alike, are each just a little bit different. That each thing in nature is a unique entity. The text is done mostly in simple rhyme, that is very appropriate for even the smallest children. <br />
<br />
The illustrations are a highlight of this book, as the pictures are bold and colorful. They hold hidden interest the closer and longer one looks. I was surprised to see that the illustrations were digitally done, as they appear to be drawn in a combination of perhaps the rich hues of oil pastels and stamping.<br />
<br />
This is a beautiful wintertime story for a read aloud with small children. Besides the simply told story, there are delights to find and ponder and discuss on each page. It's an excellent book to be shared between a child and his adult, upon whose lap he is of course, cozily snuggled.theMomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01484800094220282147noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7708654399098124574.post-79562901626561672722011-06-27T08:59:00.000-07:002012-11-28T15:50:06.049-08:00On the Blue Comet<span class="ptBrand"><iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=bobobo02-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=076363722X&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe>by Romsemary Wells Illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline.</span><br />
<br />
Thumbs Up.<br />
<br />
Oscar Ogilvie, Jr. and his dad love model trains. They spend their extra dollars building up a grand layout in their basement, complete with the right trains for the right routes and stations around the country. All is well and good until the stock market crashes in 1929 and nobody can afford to buy the John Deere tractors Oscar Ogilvie, Sr. sells for a living. The house is repossessed and the train layout sold along with the house, for the bank to use as a lobby display.<br />
<br />
Oscar Jr. is left with the formidable Aunt Carmen when his father leaves to find work wherever it's to be had. Oscar finds unexpected friendship, and through that friendship a fantasy adventure that unfolds throughout the rest of the book.<br />
<br />
The author includes cameos from several historical figures. I got a good chuckle when the first one dawned on me. I had to skim back several pages to refresh my memory of how Ms Wells portrayed this person's disposition. <br />
<br />
The periodic illustrations are beautifully done. Mr. Ibatoulline includes accurate illustrations for the various historical figures mentioned in the story. I had fun (and wasted too much time) googling images of these historical persons to figure out which ones were who.<br />
<br />
The book would make a good tie-in for the study of the early decades of the 20th century. It could be used for older children to launch into economics or politics (Progressivism, Great Depression, World Wars), math and science (Einstein and his theories), or a study of any number of early 20th century figures. A child who loves trains would enjoy reading about the models and layouts.<br />
<br />
This is a fun book that would be a great read-aloud for multiple age levels. For independent reading, I think an eager student in grades 3-5 could manage this story. But some of the concepts and vocabulary are a bit difficult. As a read-aloud with my elementary aged kids, I've had to explain a bit of history or economics now and then, and we're only two chapters into the story at this point.theMomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01484800094220282147noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7708654399098124574.post-7495061709186220612011-06-25T19:56:00.000-07:002011-06-25T20:06:22.538-07:00The Wednesday Sisters<iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=bobobo02-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0345502833&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe>by Meg Waite Clayton<br />
<br />
Two Thumbs Up (I could really use a few more thumbs for this one--it's that good.)<br />
<br />
The story takes place in a San Francisco Bay area suburb, in the years beginning with 1967. Frankie tells the story of her friendship with Linda, Kath, Brett, and Ally. Each woman has her own family, worries, heartaches and secret dreams. The story is told in such a way that the reader feels a part of the evolving friendship these women share.<br />
<br />
After meeting weekly at the playground long enough that they begin to feel comfortable with each other, a couple of the friends decide they'd like to use their time together to do some writing. Some of the women are less interested, but they are good sports about it. Soon what started out as a playdate for the kids becomes a writing date for the moms.<br />
<br />
As the story continues, the readers are drawn along as these women pursue their writing goals. But within this primary story, we learn of the secret burdens the various women bear. We rejoice with them as they learn to trust each other; we share with them as they celebrate the good and mourn the heartache in each other's lives; and we see them grow and change throughout the years. <br />
<br />
Interspersed within the story is the societal growing pains the country is experiencing. The story touches on the women's lib issue, the peace movement, and racial tensions. The women themselves strive to understand these issues. Each woman brings a different background and personality as she reacts to and assimilates into her person the various social changes. Ms Clayton accomplishes this very adeptly. Her characters and their friendships are never simplistic or artificial; they way they interact and the degree to which each embraces the changing cultures is richly developed.<br />
<br />
<iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=bobobo02-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0156091801&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe>The book will also be helpful for an aspiring author, as the women work through various books on writing, such as E.M. Forster's <i>Aspects of the Novel</i>. Each woman has a "model" story against which she compares her own work and to which she turns for inspiration. A couple of the women are very adept at pulling quotations from books and calling to mind the characters and plots. And on one occasion the couples get together for a costume party with a "famous couple from literature" theme. All these snippets offer readers a constant sampling from a literary smorgasbord. <br />
<br />
The author has included a nice appendix in which she offers a paragraph or two on each of women's model books and also reading lists of the others works cited. I know I'm going to keep our librarian busy with requests from this list, such as <i>The Great Gatsby</i>, <i>Middlemarch</i>, and <i>Breakfast at Tiffany's</i>; I'll also have to try something by Somerset Maugham and Sylvia Plath; and the list goes on and on.theMomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01484800094220282147noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7708654399098124574.post-66556568457788382762011-06-13T20:39:00.000-07:002011-06-14T08:37:53.025-07:00Revolt in Paradise<iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=bobobo02-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0517573733&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe>by K'Tut Tantri<br />
<br />
Thumbs up. <br />
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I picked this book up at a second hand store, while just quickly perusing the shelves and randomly grabbing books with covers or titles that looked interesting. I'm glad I did. Although I read this book several months ago, I didn't take the time to write about it immediately, so I'll have to try to reconstruct all the thoughts I had at that time.<br />
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K'tut Tantri as she came to be known, was born in Scotland, of Manx (from the Isle of Man) parentage. She moved with her mother after the first World War to Hollywood, California, where she eventually ended up writing for British publications about various facets of the film industry. But K'tut describes herself as having too much of the Manx in her to really fit in, in America. She was an artist and a dreamer.<br />
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After seeing a film set in Bali, she decided that is where she was meant to be. She packed up and moved there in a somewhat haphazard fashion, with little money or preparation.<br />
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The book describes her life there, from her first interactions with the Dutch colonial government; to her stumbling upon the palace of the Rajah and coming to secure the close friendship of the Rajah's son, Anak Agung Nura; her stint as a hotel operator; her imprisonment at the hands of the Japanese during World War II; and her time as a freedom fighter for the Indonesians.<br />
<br />
I found her account fascinating. I learned much about the history of Indonesia. I was appalled at the treatment of the Indonesian peoples by the Dutch during the colonial era, and especially in the immediate aftermath of World War II, when Indonesians were seeking their freedom.<br />
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The book would be a useful tie-in when teaching about imperialism or for a southeast Asian supplement to a World War II unit. The content is appropriate for any age; I think the writing itself could be readily enjoyed by a capable junior high aged reader.<br />
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I've read a little more about K'tut Tantri since reading this book. Although the book is presented as non-fiction, historians and anthropologists would find her account a reflection of the artistic and dreamy personality embodied in K'tut. It's filled with a good bit of truth, but also, disappointingly, contains a fantasy element. I found <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary--ktut-tantri-1237369.html">this obituary</a> interesting.theMomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01484800094220282147noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7708654399098124574.post-7173562689603813052011-06-13T19:53:00.000-07:002011-06-14T05:00:52.669-07:00Heads You Lose<iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=bobobo02-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0399157409&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe>by Lisa Lutz and David Hayward<br />
<br />
One thumb each direction<br />
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Let me be right up front, and begin this review with the reason for the thumb down. The primary characters in this book are pot growers. Among some of their buyers are the typical college students and druggies. But others are nursing home residents, nurses, staff and doctors. Still more buyers are normal, everyday types who like to now and then smoke pot or sample from the "baked goods" line. My issue with the book is that it portrays a worldview that sees marijuana use as mainstream. I can't fully endorse a book that does this. I understand that many people use pot regularly. I also understand that in California, where the book is set, the demographics of marijuana use is probably skewed toward a more mainstream percentage of the population. But I still don't like to see plots that portray illegal activity as normal.<br />
<br />
The flip side of the portrayal is that most of those who are totally immersed in the marijuana use lifestyle are the stereotypical pothead types with little or no ambition and who struggle with concentration and memory. This is a good thing to portray. It reflects a large part of the pot culture, and the primary dangers from which the law is intended to protect.<br />
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Continuing to the thumbs up side of the book, the concept behind <i>Heads You Lose</i>, and its execution, definitely deserves a two thumbs up.<br />
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The entire concept of the book, and a big part of its artistic appeal, is the method of collaboration that Ms Lutz chose when she invited friend and poet, David Hayward, to work with her. She sent her first chapter to Mr. Hayward with the suggestion that they take turns with the chapters, but that they don't consult together on plot ahead of time. They were allowed to send brief notes along with each chapter, to which the other may respond. They were allowed to add footnotes during each other's chapters. But those brief suggestions and criticisms were the only interactions they allowed themselves.<br />
<br />
The editors went along with this and the format in which the book is published reflects those rules. What the readers get is actually both the story of <i>Heads You Lose</i>, and also the story of "The Writing of <i>Heads You Lose</i>". There was a certain amount of (I think good natured) ribbing along the way as Lutz and Hayward tossed out ideas and criticisms in these notes.<br />
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Because of the style of story development, it's somewhat hard to summarize the plot. In a nutshell, while Lacey is taking out the garbage late one night, she finds a headless body in her yard and frantically tells her brother, Paul, about it as she dials 911. Before the connection gets through, Paul hangs up the phone. Because Paul and Lacey grow pot professionally, there are some interior effects in their home that make a visit from the police undesirable. After a little debate on what to do with the body, they wrap it in a tarp, load it in their pick-up, and drop it into a low spot along the trail at a nearby state park.<br />
<br />
Unlike Paul, who is fine with this solution, Lacey feels responsible for the corpse and so cannot rest easily until the case is solved. But as the bodies stack up, distrust and distance builds between Paul and Lacey; and one by one their friends and acquaintances start to seem shady, or even fearful.<br />
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There are some fun twists and turns as the two authors vie for the primacy of their favorite characters and ideas. The notes back and forth often bring a smile or chuckle.<br />
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All in all, I found the concept a pleasing one. As an aspiring author, I was intrigued by the idea of such an <i>ad hoc</i> collaboration. I admired the creativity that was loosed in this endeavor.theMomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01484800094220282147noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7708654399098124574.post-13089755752639791022011-06-07T18:26:00.000-07:002011-06-27T09:05:47.013-07:00Penny from Heaven<iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=bobobo02-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0375836896&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe>by Jennifer L. Holm<br />
<br />
Two Thumbs Up.<br />
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This Newberry Honor book portrays the joys, fun, frustrations, and heartache of Penny, an adolescent of mixed Italian and plain old American descent, during the summer she turns twelve. She is growing up in New Jersey, in the early 50s. She is a Brooklyn Dodgers fan. Penny's best friend is her cousin, Frankie, who has a propensity for trouble.<br />
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Penny lives with her mother and her maternal grandparents, and her poodle, Scarlett O'Hara. Her father died when she was young, and it's one of Penny's constant frustrations that nobody will talk about him. <br />
<br />
The author has created a cast of colorful, loveable characters; she has skillfully juxtaposed the flair and love of Penny's Italian relatives with the seemingly boring, but constant, plain old American side of her family.<br />
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I don't want to give too many details about the historical fiction angle of this book, because Ms Holm leaves the most important aspect of history to the end in a wonderfully fulfilling revelation to Penny. But I will say that it's a book that highlights an important part of our cultural history, one that isn't often brought to light.<br />
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The author has also included as an unofficial afterword, the explanation of how the story coincides with that of her own family. She includes family history, including pictures, and describes other aspects of the book that are particularly historical and how she learned of them.<br />
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I would say the primary audience is late elementary or junior high girls. Boys or older girls would like it, too, once they started, but they may not want to admit it, since the story revolves around a twelve year old girl. For read aloud, it would be suitable and enjoyable for a wide range of ages and both genders. <i> </i><br />
<br />
<i>Penny from Heaven</i> would be a useful addition to any unit study highlighting the homefront angle of WWII America, a study of the cultural aspects the greater New York City/northern New Jersey area, or of immigrant history, particularly that of Italian Americans.theMomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01484800094220282147noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7708654399098124574.post-38753093017564590152011-05-13T15:57:00.000-07:002015-02-20T18:40:32.111-08:00The Complete Mediterranian Cookbook<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbsymsk3Vci1Xs3jQlLlJBmkL-cok9B0I55i7zCiNZOkBJTQUaMkWnOyybUrAklXbgIkUsJ5vK6GUz3cg8TFsmVEL_aL4tAhirwLqq-mJ9qxlrGAl2OymImkjmb0T-odWSPjwIU3VUqfI/s1600/9781843097921.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=bobobo02-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=068157030X&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe></a></div>
<br />
<i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Mediterranean-Cookbook-Jacqueline-Farrow/dp/B002DC2V5A?ie=UTF8&tag=bobobo02-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">The Complete Mediterranean Cookbook </a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=bobobo02-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B002DC2V5A" height="1" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" />:</i> Over 150 mouthwatering, healthy and life-extending dishes from the sun-drenched shores of the Mediterranean, shown in 550 stunning photographs<br />
<br />
Author: Jacqueline Clarke, Joanna Farrow<br />
Hermes House Publishers 2006, <b>ISBN:</b> 9781843097921<br />
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<br />
This book is wonderful. It is also not widely available anymore, at least, by this title.<br />
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Two thumbs way up.<br />
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Excellent organization, excellent descriptions, excellent tutorials, excellent history, excellent recipes, with excellent photographs. Just as a work of art in an of itself this book is wonderful. OK, you get it. I really like this book. So, what's to like?<br />
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The Introduction explains the relationship between the local Mediterranean foods, the recipes, the peoples who made them, and the popular "Mediterranean diet." This is followed by 8 pages of descriptions of ingredients and their unique Mediterranean uses.<br />
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The chapters are: Appetizers, Soups, Vegetables, Salads, Fish and Shellfish, Meat, Poultry and Game, Grains and Beans, Desserts and Baked Goods. The chapters are followed by a good index.<br />
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As an example of the teaching nature of the text from the recipe for <i>Mouclade of Mussels</i>, [a garlicky, curried cream of mussel soup] the first step states: "Scrub the mussels, discarding any that are damaged or open ones that do not close when tapped with a knife." (p. 120)<br />
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I like the assumption that the reader may never have handled fresh mussels. I have never done so myself and would not have known how to properly clean and sort.<br />
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Each recipe is beautifully illustrated, clearly listed, with very simply and clearly described steps for preparation and presentation.<br />
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I'm hungry.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7708654399098124574.post-33157333003418908382011-05-03T21:53:00.000-07:002015-02-20T18:40:13.862-08:00For Your Confirmation: Promises and Prayers, Hallmark gift book<style type="text/css">
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<div>
Two thumbs way down. <br />
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In Confessional Lutheran congregations Confirmation is not a sacrament nor merely a ritual. It is public confession made by the confirmand of his or her baptismal faith and desire to go to the Lord’s Supper as a member of the congregation. Confirmation recognises publicly that a baptized member of Christ’s church has been instructed in God’s Word to the point that that person is now able to examine himself or herself before going to the Lord’s Supper. Confirmation is also the time when the congregation and the pastor publicly testify that they believe the confirmand should be allowed to the Lord’s Supper because that person is now able to examine himself or herself according to God’s Word.<br />
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Finding gifts for confirmands that reflect this confession of faith is difficult. And there are many <i>products</i> in this world that are designed for “Confirmation” but have nothing to do with Confirmation in Confessional Lutheranism.<br />
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A member asked me to review a gift book from Hallmark. This is an example of a gift that has nothing to do with Lutheran Confirmation. In fact, this gift book undermines Christianity with Marxism, Moralism, works-righteousness and denial of the Resurrection.<br />
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<i><b>For Your Confirmation: Promises and Prayers</b></i><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Symbol';"></span>2009 Hallmark Licensing, Inc.<br />
Editorial Director: Tod Hafer;<br />
Art Director: Kevin Swanson.<br />
ISBN: 978-1-59530-134-5<br />
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Hallmark packages appealing products for any occasion. This product is a beautifully designed and arranged gift book for Confirmation. I’m not thrilled by the lime green color scheme. The design is reminiscent of the release of the Living Bible called <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Way-Living-Bible-Illustrated/dp/0842322205">“The Way”</a>. And the book seems unavailable at the Amazon and Hallmark websites.</div>
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It’s unavailability is a good thing. The volume relies upon 4 notoriously bad bible translations, CEV (Contemporary English Version by the American Bible society), NCV (New Century Version by Thomas Nelson). MSG (The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language by Eugene Peterson), and the NLT (New Living Translation of the Bible by Tyndale House Publishers. The other translation used is the NIV (1984 The Holy Bible: New International Version: North American Edition from the International Bible Society.)</div>
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Under the heading “Congratulations!” this volume offers a generic definition of confirmation as a “very important step in your faith. It means you’ve decidet to take everything you’ve been taught about god so far and make some pretty important decisions on your own.” Thus, Confirmation is primarily assumed to be a “rite of passage” to adulthood. This idea might work for an American Bar-Mitzvah, a Unitarian church, or even a secular rite of passage. But it does not work for Confessional Lutherans. </div>
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In Confessional Lutheranism the focus is on the student re-affirming his baptismal vows spoken by his sponsors as an infant and being capable of self examination in preparation for the Lord’s Supper based on sound instruction in God’s Word and agreement with the confession made in the <i>Small Catechism</i> of Martin Luther. This volume has nothing to offer Confessional Lutherans. But it does have much that could distract and pervert.</div>
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After the introduction there are 46 short devotions arranged in order as: a hip picture, topic, discussion, Bible passage, and quotations from other sources (sometimes the Bible). </div>
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Topics: The topics tend to focus on issues over which teens may have great concern: “Communication is More than Words” (p. 29), but some seem overly sanctimonious: “Worship Means Showing God You Mean It” (p 185). </div>
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Discussions: The discussions tend to use a gimmick to point to some kind of “truth” which the discussion summarizes. The Bible verses and quotations are chosen to support this “truth.” Most often these discussions focus on the “social gospel”. None of them speak of the bodily resurrection. The discussions do not begin to express even the full teaching of the Apostles’ Creed. The Social Gospel is prominent. Marxism is the foundation of the Social Gospel, and Marxism approves of the manipulation of religion for Marxist goals. While the editors of this volume may not have had Marxism in mind when they put this volume together, they certainly did not see Marxism as opposed to Christ. And this is a great fault with this product.</div>
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Bible Passage: I mentioned the problem translations above, here are a couple examples parallel to the New King James Version:</div>
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2 Chronicles 16:9: <span style="font-style: italic;">NKJV</span><br />
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For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of <span style="font-style: italic;">those</span> whose heart <span style="font-style: italic;">is</span> loyal to Him. </div>
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<span style="font-style: italic;">New Living Translation</span> (used in this book on page 26:<br />
The eyes of the Lord search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.</blockquote>
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1 Timothy 6:6: NKJV<br />
Now godliness with contentment is great gain.</blockquote>
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<span style="font-style: italic;">New Century Version</span> (used in this book on page38)<br />
Serving God does make us very rich if we are satisfied with what we have.<br />
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Sometimes the choice of a passage is just contextually wrong, such as using Zophar’s sanctimonious correction of Job in Job 11 as a proof passage that the reader should motivate himself/herself to better devotion to God. </div>
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Quotations: The quotations used in this volume seem to have been chosen without any consideration of original context, contemporary usage, or the religious and political philosophies of the person being quoted. A few examples: on page 23 are quotations about the church from Bridget Willard (“Church is what you are and do”), Margaret Meade (!) and A.W.Tozer. Burlesque artist Mae West is cited on p. 27; Rachel Naomi Remen (!) on page 31 next to Mother Teresa; Nelson Mandela (Atheist and Communist) and Alexander Graham Bell (American Eugenicist and inventor) on page 47.</div>
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Not really worthwhile for a gift at all, unless you want to mix Christianity with progressivism, Communism, Eugenicists, Burlesque, and promiscuity. </div>
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Get this book instead:</div>
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<iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=bobobo02-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0758606869&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe>This won't let you down.</div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7708654399098124574.post-16609026217133549582011-04-19T10:18:00.000-07:002011-12-05T09:23:17.744-08:00Stolen Genes, Stolen Childrenby G. R. Revelle<br />
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One half of a thumb up, one and a half down.<br />
<br />
This is a hard review for me to do because it's by a start-up author who I believe self-publishes under his own company, <a href="http://www.smultron-pub.com/">Smultron Publications</a>. Since I myself hope to have some of my writing published one day, I want to support the effort of Mr. Revelle. But there are things within this book that make it impossible for me to give it a two thumbs up.<br />
<br />
The book is historical fiction, including bits of 20th century Norwegian and Swedish history, and World War II history. The historical information and several main themes within this book appeal to me. Progressivism, eugenics, and genetic manipulation are exposed and discussed. These are important ideas. Society benefits from conversations about the sins of its past. Too often they are forgotten under the broiling current of contemporary societal conversations, even when those conversations follow lines of reasoning similar to the ideas acknowledged as mistakes of past generations. From the introduction to <i>Stolen Genes, Stolen Children</i>, Mr. Revelle himself appears to have written, at least partially, with a goal of inspiring such conversation.<br />
<br />
The plot is compelling. I was drawn in, although it took me several chapters to feel the pull. The characters are well done, although a few are somewhat one-dimensional. Mr. Revelle does a good job describing scenery and sounds in nature and the city.<br />
<br />
The story is set in 1965, but also contains many flashbacks to the days before, during, and immediately after World War II. In some ways, the flashbacks are the story, more than the later story line.<br />
<br />
While reading the paper one afternoon, Karin sees the name, Arlene Angel, in a list of nurses being tried for their participation in the euthanasia programs practiced under the Third Reich. This name jumped out at Karin, because it was a pseudonym occasionally used long ago by Alena Engela, a good friend from Karin's nursing school days. Reminded of the close friendship they had enjoyed in their early years, Karin sets out to contact this Arlene Angel to determine if it is indeed her friend. And if so, to lend whatever aid and support she can to Alena during the trial.<br />
<br />
In the process of digging through old records, hoping to find a way to exonerate her friend, and at the same time experiencing continuing mortification at the extent of the euthanasia program, Karin discovers several unexpected connections.<br />
<br />
The flashbacks in the narrative trace the history of Alena; aeronautics engineer, Lorentz Klein; the Norwegian Resistance movement; and Karin, herself; along with a number of less major characters.<br />
<br />
The story line is very interesting and contains a few twists and turns that I perhaps ought to have seen coming, but didn't.<br />
<br />
The negative aspects of the book begin immediately, in the first paragraphs of the prologue. The author introduces his work with a somewhat hoaky fictional account of how an early farming woman discovered fertilizer when an early herdsman let his water buffalo wander onto the woman's garden. The somewhat silly account seems unrelated to the point for which the author uses it. And it presents a weak beginning to what later in the prologue becomes a very good introduction to the philosophies presented in <i>Stolen Genes, Stolen Children</i>.<br />
<br />
Regarding the narrative's exploration of the philosophies or ideals of genetic engineering and eugenics, the connection between the fictional narrative and a deeper analysis of such philosophies is somewhat weak. The author leaves to the reader most of the thinking and exploring . The narrative certainly introduces the the subject and shows it from several angles. But from the build-up in the introduction, I was expecting a richer or somehow different depth of discussion of the subject.<br />
<br />
The biggest negative for this story, however, is that it is a prime example of the risks of self-publishing; or put another way, it lends credence to the importance of a professional editorial staff. The book is filled with grammatical errors. Truly filled. To the point of distracting from the story line. There are many points at which a sentence begins one way and ends in a different direction. The reader is left interpreting what the author intended. There are sentences in which the subject or object of a clause is missing, and again the reader must guess. Sentence parts often don't agree in person, number, tense, voice, etc. Commas are used very sloppily, often giving the sentence an entirely different sense than that which the author obviously intends. There are many places the spellcheck or auto-correct was trusted in error.<br />
<br />
And let me reiterate. The book is filled with mistakes of this sort. Sometimes there are several examples per page.<br />
<br />
The narrative also contains at least one historical error, of the sort which a professional editor is trained to catch. The author includes as historical, the mythology surrounding the song, <i>Edelweiss</i>, that Richard Rogers wrote for the 1959, <i>The Sound of Music</i>. One scene in the book describes a character getting sentimental over the song as an Austrian folk song from his childhood in the early years of the 20th century.<br />
<br />
From the prologue, "The novel... is based on facts, figures, and personalities, though the characters and plot themselves are purely fictional." The author is making a claim to the historicity of the information presented within the fictional plot. The somewhat lengthy introductory pages of the prologue seem to be intended to make people consider and evaluate the idea of eugenics and its place in the world today. Besides just being annoying and distracting to a reader, the sloppy presentation of the story distracts from the author's purpose.<br />
<br />
A reader is left wondering about the care that went into the historical research and the accuracy with which it is presented. "If the author is so careless with his editing, how can I trust his research?"<br />
<br />
Especially when an author is making a claim toward a certain ideal, such an author ought to use care in presenting the material. The carelessness of presentation casts doubt upon the entire issue.theMomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01484800094220282147noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7708654399098124574.post-24995652862333277062011-04-13T15:17:00.000-07:002011-04-13T15:32:20.771-07:00Nancy and Plum<iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=bobobo02-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=037586685X&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe>by Betty MacDonald<br />
<br />
Two thumbs up.<br />
<br />
This book is awesome. I can't wait to read it to my kids. The characters are vivid, the scenery is colorful and richly described, the plot is engaging. The characters, while not perfect, strive to be good. There is a clear delineation between good and evil. And there is a sweet happy ending.<br />
<br />
Nancy and Plum live with Mrs. Monday in her boarding home in Heavenly Valley. But life at the boarding home is anything but heavenly. While Mrs. Monday and her niece Marybelle live high on the hog, the other residents in the home are clothed in tatters and kept half starved. <br />
<br />
Nancy is a calm quiet girl and her younger sister, Plum, is full of mischief. They make up pretend stories to get through the hard times. They go to story hour with Miss Appleby at the library. And they attend school with the dear, Miss Waverly.<br />
<br />
The spirit of Nancy and Plum shines brightly through while they survive in these depressed circumstances. They hold each other up and they buoy the spirits of the other children who are stuck together with them in Mrs. Monday's Boarding Home for Children. The antics of the girls will make you laugh, and their heartache might just make you cry.<br />
<br />
Mary Grand Pre had done nice illustrations to compliment this new edition. <br />
<br />
This definitely qualifies as what Charlotte Mason fans would consider a living book. It ought to be a classic.theMomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01484800094220282147noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7708654399098124574.post-68938220847128631852011-03-23T06:58:00.000-07:002011-03-23T06:58:43.010-07:00Thieves Break In<iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=bobobo02-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0553584316&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe>by One thumb up and one thumb down<br />
<br />
I would have enjoyed this book more had I not read the quote on the back from <i>The Santa Fe New Mexican,</i> "For those who thrive on Jan Karon's Mitford novels." The protagonist in both is an Episcopalian Priest. The similarity stops about there. Yes, I'd say that's about the only commonality. But the comment would imply to me a hometown portrayal of American values and a rich depiction of the variety of personalities that makes life interesting. Those features are what makes the Mitford books stand out in the literary marketplace.<br />
<br />
Another quote on the back, this from Sarah Graves, author of the Home Repair is Homicide mysteries, with which I'm unfamiliar "...Two smart quirky sleuths with a heart--and soul." The two quotes taken together gave the impression that the characters would be presenting some sort of morality. As I found out, they were. But the morality portrayed is not of the traditional Judeao-Christian bent. <br />
<br />
For the one thumb up, the book is a pretty good murder mystery, nothing outstanding, but then, that's not usually the purpose in reading a murder mystery. The characters are mostly well developed, the plot has appropriate twists and turns, the settings are interesting and richly described.<br />
<br />
An interesting departure from the typical murder mystery, is the sleuthing the primary gumshoes, Katherine and Tom, do. Although they are not primarily the ones who solve the mystery, they are instrumental in solving it, mostly through a series of coincidental incidents. Katherine and Tom spend their time unravelling the mysteries of the family line of the landowners where the murder took place. Everything of course falls together at the end, but I found this use of the sleuths an interesting twist.<br />
<br />
The strong point is probably the author's use of time. The story-line unfolds in a non-linear manner and skips from one decade to another in a fashion exactly to my liking. I had to check back on people and places periodically, but not so much that it became frustrating. At two points, just when I thought I had lost all the connections completely, the author gave me a family tree to which I could refer. Some of the threads of story were only touched upon once early on and then left to the end. This device left me curious throughout as to how these strings were going to be woven in.<br />
<br />
My disappointment with the book is based on my personal morality and my preference for reading books that either avoid moralizing completely or portray traditional moral lifestyles. This book seems to want to portray those things traditionally considered immoral, as sanctioned by those who are supposed to be the shepherds of the church. <br />
<br />
The protagonist, the Reverend Kathryn Koerney, is an Episcopalian priest. Her cousin who has just died under mysterious circumstances was her best friend, and we find out was homosexual. This in itself is not important, nor was the gentleman's sexuality important to the story line, but the way it is portrayed is somewhat preachy and moralizing. I felt as though the whole reason for including it was as an opportunity to portray bigotry against the homosexual lifestyle.<br />
<br />
Kathryn at one point in the book arranges to stay the night with a guy she's falling in love with, although because of the way the plot unravelled near the end, we're not told whether she kept that date. <br />
<br />
From the beginning, it is clear that Tom, Kathryn's fellow sleuth and one of her parishioners is in love with her, but is himself married to another. At the end of the story, as a hooked line to the next book in the series, Tom is encouraged by a wise elder character to not give up on Kathryn. His final words of exhortation, "I seriously doubt that any man who does not have the balls to get out of a loveless marriage deserves Kathryn Korney."<br />
<br />
All these moral points would not bother me as much in a different setting. But taken together and portrayed as they are, they seem designed to push the envelope. The idea of a pastor who accepts non-traditional values seems a bit contrived. At best, the effect does not make for pleasant diversionary reading. At worst, it just makes me plum mad. It seems deceitful and preachy. Especially when coupled with the endorsements the publishers chose to put on the back cover of the book.theMomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01484800094220282147noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7708654399098124574.post-35882678816305015362011-03-19T15:00:00.000-07:002011-03-19T15:09:23.631-07:00The Nanny Diaries<span class="shvl-byline"> by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus</span><br />
<span class="shvl-byline"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="shvl-byline">Uffda! Thumbs Down.</span><br />
<span class="shvl-byline"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="shvl-byline">The book is a downer. <i>The Nanny Diaries</i> is the kind of book that wraps the reader up in the characters and their lives and then uses those well developed characters to spin a completely depressing plot. Technically the book is well written and the plot moves along. But the plot itself is very sad.</span><br />
<span class="shvl-byline"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="shvl-byline">While Nan is finishing her degree, she gets a part time nanny job for an ultra rich Manhattan couple. Which turns into a nearly full time (but only paid for part time) nanny job caring for Grayer. It becomes apparent very early on that Nan's care is the only love that little Grayer ever gets. In short order, as would happen to any decent human being, Nan gives her heart to this little person and</span><span class="shvl-byline">, in order to make Grayer's life a little better</span><span class="shvl-byline">, puts herself at the beck and call of Grayer's self absorbed mother.</span><br />
<span class="shvl-byline"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="shvl-byline">This drives Nan nuts over time. But the father's overly confident mistress drives her even nutser. Nan moralizes over the decision of whether or not to "tell on him". If she does, she has good reason to believe she will be dismissed, which will only hurt Grayer. But is she wrong to hide something of such import from her employer.</span><br />
<span class="shvl-byline"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="shvl-byline">During play dates and various lessons and other scheduled activities, Nan gets to know and even is befriended by other cooks, house cleaners and nannies. Several of these employees are dismissed by their employers during the course of the book, all for little or no reason, on a whim of a wealthy, self-centered parent.</span><br />
<span class="shvl-byline"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="shvl-byline">Readers are given a glimpse into the competition of upper income private school admissions. The small children are pushed and educated and forced into violin, Latin, French, piano, music, art and music history seemingly from the time they are born, all by way of the time and energies of the nannies. All this, so that by the time they have their interviews for Kindergarten, they can get one of the few slots in the school of their parents' choice. </span><br />
<br />
<span class="shvl-byline">The four-year-olds in the book are carried and strolled around New York. They are dressed and spoon fed (a very strict diet designed for ultimate brain growth) and pampered. They are incapable of independent activity.</span><br />
<span class="shvl-byline"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="shvl-byline">Yes, I do understand this is fiction. But on the back cover it did claim to be true-to-life. It also said hilarious. The only way this book could be hilarious is if it couldn't ever be true. Frightening and depressing would be my preferred words.</span><br />
<span class="shvl-byline"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="shvl-byline">Apparently I'm somewhat alone in my opinion, however, because I see it's been made into a comedic movie starring Scarlett Johansson as Nan.</span>theMomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01484800094220282147noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7708654399098124574.post-14063873430307073052011-02-19T15:01:00.000-08:002011-02-19T15:01:29.952-08:00Giants in the Earth<iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=bobobo02-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=B0008692WI&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe>by O. E. Rolvaag<br />
<br />
Thumbs up.<br />
<br />
This classic tale of Norwegian immigration to Dakota Territory, tells the story of the Spring Creek Settlement. Per and Beret Hansa, Hans and Sorrina Olsa, Syvert and Kjersti Tonseten, and the two Solum brothers face together, the perils of westward expansion. Among the hardships they must bear are hunger, backbreaking labor, difficulties in childbirth, fear of the native people, grasshoppers, and summer and winter storms. But worse by far for some, is the fear and loneliness of this new country. The openness and stillness are so pervasive they are hard to ignore. And for some settlers, including Per Hansa's Beret, they sometimes lead to insanity.<br />
<br />
Rolvaag, himself a Norwegian immigrant as a young man, tells all too realistically the sights and sounds of the prairie and the various emotions of the settlers. We laugh and cry with them. We appreciate the noble sacrifices they made in order to turn what is described as a desolate and forbidding landscape into the communities and farms that thrive in those prairie lands today. <br />
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We hear with Per Hansa and Beret the, "Squeak, squeak," of the wagon wheels and the, "Tish-ah, tish-ah," of the grasses opening before and closing behind the wagon.<br />
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We share with Beret the fear of the open spaces and the almost supernatural forces that inhabit them. We can feel the great silence along with those first settlers.<br />
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We experience the manic energy of Per Hansa to get more and more ground broken and keep ahead of his neighbors. And we rejoice over each acre of sod he breaks and the large sod house and stable he provides his family.<br />
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We feel Syvert and Kjersti's sadness, and even bitterness, when they are not able to have children. We breath a sigh of relief with Per Hansa, when his wife and child make it through a frighteningly difficult birth.<br />
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We rejoice Per Hansa's faithful friends, Hans Olsa and Sorrina, when their friend's wife returns to her senses. We can appreciate the import of their steadfastness to Per Hansa and his family.<br />
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But most of all, we feel gratitude and awe toward our forebears for the hardships they surmounted that we might have the farms and towns that make the great plains the great communities they are today. These people were truly giants in the earth.theMomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01484800094220282147noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7708654399098124574.post-36456091658928435702011-02-15T11:55:00.000-08:002011-02-15T11:55:17.176-08:00The White Mountainsby John Christopher<br />
<br />
Two thumbs up!<br />
<br />
This is the first installment in the classic Tripods trilogy written in the late '60's by British science fiction author Samuel Youd under the pseudonym, John Christopher. This series for youth truly stands the test of time. I enjoyed it in the late '80's, when I first read it as a child, and I enjoyed it now, as an adult.<br />
<br />
The story begins quite like a coming of age tale. We find Will, on the eve of his Capping ceremony, which will mark his entrance into adulthood. He lives in a futuristic society in which everyone has been enslaved by the mysterious Tripods through mind control made possible by the implantation of metal Caps on the heads of 14 year old during a special celebration. We slowly learn who the Tripods are as the story progresses, as the story is told from Will's point of view, and he isn't quite sure what they are or how they came to rule over man. <br />
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This thrilling science fiction adventure is captivating for so many reasons. Certainly, the idea of a boy battling large, metallic creatures who are possibly alien beings is motivation enough for many kids to pick up the book. But looking deeper, the thoughts of Will as he journeys toward a life of freedom from Capping and the Tripods are just as important. We see struggles that many children his age face: a desire for true friendship, respect and his own place in the world. We see a child who questions authority, and wants to think for himself. We see his bravery, but also his fear. We see him second guess himself in moments of weakness, yet prevail-----perhaps the same weaknesses which allowed this futuristic human race to become slaves to the Tripods long ago.<br />
<br />
It is also interesting to hear these characters, who live in the future but with 19th century technology, give their views on "relics of the ancients" that they see remnants of. Items like watches, subway systems, canned food, trains---are completely foreign concepts to Will and his companions. They seem to know as little about what life had been like on Earth before the Tripods came as they do about the Tripods themselves. One could speculate about how a society could be so physically, mentally and morally weak to have allowed themselves to be overcome so completely by the Tripods.<br />
<br />
With rumors that this trilogy will soon be made into a movie, it's a great time to rediscover this classic contribution to children's literature.<br />
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<br />
<iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=bobobo02-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0689856725&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe>A Staffordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10077287848919577570noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7708654399098124574.post-24791687085471350722011-02-07T08:55:00.000-08:002011-02-07T08:55:49.405-08:00Write, Slide and Learn: Phonics<iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=bobobo02-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0824914007&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe>Edited by Kate Cuthbert<br />
<br />
Thumbs up.<br />
<br />
This is a really neat book with a variety of phonics activities. The range of activities is quite large, with just a few pages at each level, so this could be a deterrent for some users.<br />
<br />
Perhaps the most useful lessons are found in the first few pages. The book begins with a really nice section on choosing the correct short vowel to match the pictures. Since many kids have trouble hearing the difference between some short vowel sounds, particularly, <i>a</i>, <i>e</i>, and <i>i</i>, these lessons give fun reinforcement when first learning those distinctions.<br />
<br />
There is a section on long vowel sounds with a silent <i>e. </i>This section could be used to introduce the "first vowel says its name, second vowel is silent" rule. <br />
<br />
After that, the progression of the book becomes slightly more arbitrary. The lessons continue with an extensive long vowel section, less suitable for a beginning reader, then back to some consonant practice that a beginner could do.<br />
<br />
The long vowel sections could be useful for those practicing spelling lessons with various long vowel combinations or for review of the above. It includes a few pages of practice for each of the long vowel sounds in which the child chooses which vowel combination is the correct one for a given picture. For instance, on the long <i>o</i> page, the student must choose between <i>o</i>, <i>oa</i>, <i>ow</i>, and <i>o+e</i>, to complete the words <i>"n__s__"</i> or <i>"t__ __d"</i> and there is a corresponding photo for each.<br />
<br />
The book includes lessons on choosing whether the vowel sound is long or short; ending and beginning consonants, and general consonants; ending and beginning blends; digraphs; and review pages.<br />
<br />
The book is a write on/wipe off style book that is actually easy for the kids to wipe off. That is a big plus for me, since it seems like so many reusable books of this sort take a parent to do the wiping. It comes with its own marker. It has an enclosed spiral binding, in which my daughter kept handy a paper towel for wiping the pages clean.<br />
<br />
The lessons are of two sorts, every other page is a practice page of four rows with four pictures in each, and a place below to fill in the correct letter or letter combo. There is a neat sliding mechanism that allows the child to check each row after filling in the answers. As the child pulls the slide, the pictures are hidden and are replaced with the correct entire word, and below it the particular letter or letter combo that the child ought to have filled in.<br />
<br />
The alternate pages have just a few colorful photos and blanks, which reinforce the lesson. These pages have no answers included.<br />
<br />
The pages and binding seem durable. The photos throughout are engaging and colorful. Most pictures are easily identifiable, but a few were difficult for my preschooler to determine. I'm sure an older user could more readily identify the photos. The book was originally published in Australia, so there are occasional words that have different English usages in American English, such as a light "globe" instead of "bulb". <br />
<br />
Over all the book is very nice. It could make a nice addition to a homeschool collection, or a summer review or a classroom learner.theMomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01484800094220282147noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7708654399098124574.post-50543529101754223152011-01-18T15:07:00.000-08:002011-01-18T16:50:53.417-08:00The Day They Came to Arrest the Book<iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=bobobo02-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0440918146&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe>by Nat Hentoff<br />
<br />
Thumbs mostly up.<br />
<br />
More than telling a story, Mr. Hentoff uses this book as a platform from which to introduce, in a manner interesting to middle through high school aged kids, the idea of censorship and book banning. The setting is a somewhat generic Anywhere, USA, town high school, aptly named, George Mason High School. The cast of characters includes students: Barnaby, the high school newspaper editor of Jewish descent; Gordon, an African American young man; Kate, an aspiring feminist; and several other minor characters: students, teachers, the principle, a past and present librarian, and various townspeople.<br />
<br />
The basic story line begins with a history teacher, Mrs. Baines, juxtaposing Huckleberry Finn with readings from Alexis de Tocqueville in order to introduce her 19th century American history class. Gordon, the African American student, is frustrated, seething would be more accurate, over the racial slurs and constant use of the "n-word" in Huckleberry Finn. After his father demands the principle remove this book from the school entirely, Mr. Moore, the smooth talking principle tries to deal with the situation discretely. He encounters resistance, however, from both Mrs. Baines and the new librarian, Miss Fitzgerald. They demand the principle follow official procedure. <br />
<br />
This leads to the school board appointing a review committee which will hold community hearings. The committee will then approve a recommendation by vote and present it to the school board for guidance. The school board must then hold its own open meetings and cast a vote. Throughout this process the faculty, student body, and entire community becomes involved. Eventually the situation ends up on national news.<br />
<br />
Mr. Hentoff does a fairly good job of trying to portray all the various sides of the issue of censorship within a school setting. He addresses the ideas of students being a captive audience, of schools being houses of learning, and the debate over at what age and in what way students ought to be introduced to analyzing ideas different than their own. He addresses the idea of a restricted book shelf and students opting out of certain class materials. He addresses teachers having autonomy within their classes. He is a little weak, in my opinion, on parental authority and rights.<br />
<br />
I think Mr. Hentoff did a pretty good job of spinning a compelling plot out of a civics lesson.<br />
<br />
The characters are somewhat unevenly drawn. The adults are developed very well. They are often quite comical in their idiosyncrasies. The kids are not very well developed except to tell us one or two things that might be important to them. The author takes a couple of chapters to introduce the students, but it seemed a bit rushed.<br />
<br />
There is one somewhat blaring irony that I can't decide if the author stuck in intentionally. I think I've decided it was an oversight, since it was mentioned, but it's irony never brought out. At one point the kids are trying to think of an example of a book nobody could disapprove. Kate, the budding feminist, who has jumped on the anti-Huck Finn bandwagon for it's portrayal of women's place in society, suggests Jane Austen's <i>Pride and Prejudice</i> as a book about which nobody could complain. Since so many of the issues in <i>Pride and Prejudice</i> revolve around what we might consider very restrictive roles for women in society, it somewhat surprised me. It was either done intentionally, in order to show the blunders any strongly opinionated person might sometimes stumble into, or it was sloppy work on the part of the author and editor.<br />
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Another interesting point of view is portrayed in a conversation about a new class offering the content of which is aimed at teaching different sides of cultural issues. The stated goal is to pacify parents who might worry that teachers are too liberal on social issues. The list of typical issues with which conservatives might be concerned: flat earth, forced sterilization of the poor, and the use of military might against Russia. (This was written in 1982). I found it interesting that forced sterilization is portrayed as a conservative issue, since in its heyday, it was quite obviously a progressive issue. I also, even as an active Conservative, don't know too may people (read: any) who believe the earth is flat. <br />
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All in all this book could be useful for teaching about political activism, the role of community and parental involvement in schools, and the obvious topic of censorship and banning of books. But I would say that a parent would want to read this book along with a child, because of the many shades of opinion portrayed. The book also leads to a conclusion with which all parents may not totally agree.<br />
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I myself mostly agree with the solution, but there are things within the book I would have discussed further with a student. I didn't like the way some of the opinions were presented and the slant that was taken toward some viewpoints.theMomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01484800094220282147noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7708654399098124574.post-13416445666600572562010-12-10T12:51:00.000-08:002015-02-20T18:42:15.995-08:00Better for All the World by Harry Bruinius<span id="internal-source-marker_0.6464956584386528" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=bobobo02-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=B0012D1D3M&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe>Better for All the World: The Secret History of Forced Sterilization and America’s Quest for Racial Purity,</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by </span><a href="http://brown-bear.com/?page_id=11"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000099; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Harry Bruinius</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Published by Alfred A. Knopf, 2006.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bruinius is on the religion faculty at </span><a href="http://www.hunter.cuny.edu/religion/contact-faculty-staff"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000099; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hunter College</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, contributing writer to </span><a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/content/search?SearchText=bruinius"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000099; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Christian Science Monitor</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, and the founder of </span><a href="http://www.villagequill.com/"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000099; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Villiage Quill</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Better for All the World</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is a heart breaking narrative history of the persons involved in sucessfully promoting the </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugenics"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000099; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">eugenics movemen</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">t in the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. While the notion of racial purity and eugenics is horrifying in itself, B’s superb research, presentation, writing and narrative leading allow the reader to know these people as people who sincerely cared about the nation and her people. In some ways reading this volume is like having to slow down next to a brutal and bloody crime scene, one desires to look away but the visceral shock of the scene locks the passer by into gaping horror.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There is a perennial question about the German citizens leading up to WWII, “How could they let this come to pass?”</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">They thought they were doing something good, making the state and its people better. The pattern had been set, right here, in the United States.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The horror remains today, though the terminology has changed, the ideology remains.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmL27EuXXw2CNn8mkLZwyUK7QxWhYY3dbhdlDgbkUZJA_HDJsNp5THTU7nQ8eZaj19wWDjgG7wBc66kzwDcDSTZfGL0RORDL7FFtCCXC0otu1pHd8vk4UJpjC-Vy98oXkzBpW3NE79AEs/s1600/carrieemmabuck.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmL27EuXXw2CNn8mkLZwyUK7QxWhYY3dbhdlDgbkUZJA_HDJsNp5THTU7nQ8eZaj19wWDjgG7wBc66kzwDcDSTZfGL0RORDL7FFtCCXC0otu1pHd8vk4UJpjC-Vy98oXkzBpW3NE79AEs/s320/carrieemmabuck.png" height="277" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">B’s title “Better for all the World” is taken from Supreme Court Justice </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver_Wendell_Holmes,_Jr."><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000099; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Oliver Wendell Holmes</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, Jr. in </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buck_v._Bell"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000099; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">the court’s decision in Buck vs. Bell</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> to allow the sterilization of </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrie_Buck"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000099; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Carrie Buck</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Dr. John H. Bell of the </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Virginia Colony for Epileptics and Feeble-minded </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">on October 19, 1927. Justice Holmes’ words in context are:</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“We have seen more than once that the public welfare may call upon the best citizens for their lives. It would be strange if it could not call upon those who already sap the strength of the State for these lesser sacrifices, often not felt to be such by those concerned, in order to prevent our being swamped with incompetence. It is </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">better for all the world</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, if instead of waiting to execute degenerate offspring for crime, or to let them starve for their imbecility, society can prevent those who are manifestly unfit from continuing their kind. The principle that sustains compulsory vaccination is broad enough to cover cutting the Fallopian tubes.... Three generations of imbeciles are enough.” (p. 21) [emphasis mine]</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">B’s organized his work into four “books.” The first book is the Introduction, containing two chapters. B takes us into the office of Dr. John H. Bell as he is noting the clinical procedure he performed between 9:30 and 10:30 am on October 19th, 1927. The underlying question in B’s presentation of Carrie Buck’s history is the same as that for pre-WWII Germany, “How could they let this come to pass?”</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">From chapter 3 to 14 B introduces us to the main individuals who shaped the eugenics movement. For each of these people B gives the reader very good insight into who these individuals were based on their own letters, diaries, and scientific records.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">While the eugenics movement is mostly unknown today, it was considered the height of scientific and national progress in the U.S. in the early 20th century. Advocates included U.S. Presidents Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wildon, Franklin D. Roosevelt; leading court figures; presidential advisers; the women's suffrage movement, Margaret Sanger--anyone who was anyone important and most of the country supported eugenics. County fairs across the nation in this so-called “</span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Positive_Eugenics_in_America"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000099; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">positive eugenics movement</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">” held “Fitter Family Contests” where the measure was their genealogical background.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZp3nrfbXnhOR9EFZju8lOlWLnsdgC_OccmRjwq9EDs6rj_56rpHNJNOj6w168I2W8sMXRC_Okxsh970sTHzzSrGwfTVdWHwbCpgAiJwUifFpRhvQmdk3-2HyivbMLUOPCK56pix_FJ-Q/s1600/eugenicsfair.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZp3nrfbXnhOR9EFZju8lOlWLnsdgC_OccmRjwq9EDs6rj_56rpHNJNOj6w168I2W8sMXRC_Okxsh970sTHzzSrGwfTVdWHwbCpgAiJwUifFpRhvQmdk3-2HyivbMLUOPCK56pix_FJ-Q/s320/eugenicsfair.png" height="204" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; white-space: normal;"></span>And those who were judged “unfit” were institutionalized and, where possible, sterilized; in order to keep their “germ plasm” from infecting the wholesome heritage of America.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">After introducing the reader to the the high moral ground which formed the basis for Dr. Bell’s sterilization of Carrie Buck, B takes us to the pioneers of the field. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The reader gets to know Sir </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Galton"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0645ad; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Francis Galton</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Benedict_Davenport"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0645ad; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Charles B. Davenport</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_H._Goddard"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0645ad; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Henry H. Goddard</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Laughlin"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0645ad; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Harry Laughlin</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">and many other well known and surprising individuals involved in the </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progressivism_in_the_United_States"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000099; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Progressive Movement in the United States </span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">and its related movement English </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fabianism"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000099; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fabianism</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. B does an excellent job of showing the reader that these people were loving, caring, normal people with their own foibles and problems. Their progressive view of how the state should take charge of the details of human life (of others) binds them together.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hitler and the National Socialists in Germany were so impressed with the American laws that they borrowed the eugenics law adopted in California its rationale and language for the </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_for_the_Prevention_of_Hereditarily_Diseased_Offspring"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000099; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Racial Hygene Law of Germany</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> in 1933.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">During the period of the eugenics movement in the United States over 65,000 people were forcibly sterilized. Germany in the same period also sterilized over 150,000 people by force.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In the aftermath of the </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nurenburg_trials"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000099; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Nuremberg Trials </span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">eugenics became an unpopular term, the very idea left a bad taste in the mouth of most of Europe and America. The very foundations and organizations organized for eugenics in America changed their names, and the name of their focus. </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Sanger"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000099; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Margaret Sanger’s </span></a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Birth_Control_League"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000099; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The American Birth Control League</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, two goals of which were to track the genealogies of people and prevent “</span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dysgenics"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000099; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">dysgenic</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">” births. The American Birth Control League changed its name in 1942 to Planned Parenthood. According to </span><a href="http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/ss5713a1.htm?s_cid=ss5713a1_e#tab9"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000099; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2005 CDC Dat</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">a in the states reporting black babies were aborted in 35% of all abortions despite blacks being only 12% of the population of the US.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This bears emphasizing, data from the </span><a href="http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/NPTable?_bm=y&-qr_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_NP01&-geo_id=01000US&-ds_name"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000099; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Census Bureau </span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">show that there are 288,400,000 people in the U.S, in 2005. 76% were white. That is 219,184,000 whites, and 304,602 abortions by whites. That’s 1 abortion for every 720 adult whites that year.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Data from the same year shows that 12% of the population was black. That is 34,608,000 blacks, and 209,991 abortions by blacks. That’s 1 abortion for every 165 black adults that year.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Blacks are being killed by abortion clinics, particularly Planned Parenthood, at a rate 300% higher than whites.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In 1973 The </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Eugenics_Society"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000099; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">American Eugenics Society </span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">became the Society for the Study of Social Biology, “social biology” the new term for eugenics. The periodical </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Eugenics Quarterly</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> became </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Social Biology</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> in 1969. Many eugenics groups reorganized as studying the problem of “population control” under the philosopy of </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Malthus"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000099; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Malthus</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Someone has to select who gets to die.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">B’s volume is well worth the read so that all can know what Progressivism does at its most basic drives. Progressivism aims to make people better by the force of government. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In the words of Malcom Reynolds:</span><br />
<blockquote>
<span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“</span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So now I'm asking more of you than I have before. Maybe all. Sure as I know anything, I know this - they will try again. Maybe on another world, maybe on this very ground swept clean. A year from now, ten? They'll swing back to the belief that they can make people... better. And I do not hold to that. So no more runnin'. I aim to misbehave.” </span></span><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0379786/quotes"><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Serenity</span></span></span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> (2005)</span></span></blockquote>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Photographs courtesy of </span><a href="http://www.eugenicsarchive.org/"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000099; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://www.eugenicsarchive.org</span></a></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7708654399098124574.post-5791166617660267262010-12-02T20:40:00.000-08:002015-02-20T18:42:50.882-08:00Preserving Food without Freezing or Canning by The Gardeners and Farmers of Centre Terre Vivante<iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=bobobo02-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=1933392592&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe>Two thumbs way up.<br />
Full title is<br />
<i>Preserving Food without Freezing or Canning: Traditional Techniques Using Salt, Oil, Sugar, Alcohol, Vinegar, Drying, Cold Storage, and Lactic Fermentation</i> by The Gardeners and Farmers of Centre Terre Vivante<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">A collection of personal recipes and traditional food preservation methods. The book is not only a collection of methods and techniques, but a book of traditional food lore.<br />
<br />
The introductory pages discuss the need and utility of preserving the lore of food preservation; a distinction between traditional and modern methods; and the story of how this book came to be written.<br />
<br />
Following an introduction on preservation, the cautions, and general ideas behind the methods; each chapter begins with a short description of the general method under consideration-along with cautions. The rest of each chapter consists of recipes and lore about specific foods preserved in the method under discussion.<br />
<br />
The chapters cover: types of and uses of root cellars; drying foods; lactic fermentation; preservation in oil; salt (and salt brining); sugar; preserves; sweet-and-sour preserves; and the use of ethanol for food preservation.<br />
<br />
The closing chapter is a chart about how to choose the best method for a particular food.<br />
<br />
The book has nice illustrations and great layout. It is well supplemented with a thorough index to make any recipe immediately available.</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7708654399098124574.post-21568785829367530492010-12-02T11:13:00.000-08:002015-02-20T18:43:11.191-08:00Home Book of Smoke Cooking: Meat, Fish & Game, Jack Sleight and Raymond Hull<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"><iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=bobobo02-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0811721957&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe>I read 16th (1981) printing of the 1972 edition. Sleight and Hull break up their topic into manageable sections.<br />
<br />
A general introduction to smoking, assembling the equipment, building smoke ovens, brining containers, making good brines and seasons, etc.<br />
<br />
Chapters 4-7 focus on particular kinds of meats, poultry, wild game, fish and shellfish. Chapter 8 is an introduction to sausage making. Chapter 9 covers cheese, nuts, seeds, eggs, frog's legs, blueberries, and garlic bread. Chapter 10 discusses canning smoked foods. Chapter 11 discusses "Big-Scale Production" of smoked foods.<br />
<br />
Filled with helpful diagrams and explanations, easy reading, and good instructions on where to get special ingredients or tools.</span><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7708654399098124574.post-17277610680016322862010-12-02T11:11:00.000-08:002015-02-20T18:43:22.643-08:00Field Guide to Meat, Aliza Green<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"><iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=bobobo02-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=1594740178&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe>One thumb up.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">Aliza Green's "Field Guide to Meat" has a subtitle. The subtitle is a very comprehensive claim.<br />
<br />
The book is broken into general headings covering specific meats: beef, veal, pork lamb, poultry and game birds, game and other domesticated meats, sausage and cured meats.<br />
<br />
Each of the sections starts with a description of the species of animal, the variety of the animal in the world, where the animal is grown for food in the world, and how it is generally cut.<br />
<br />
Green includes a diagram for each animal with the various cuts labeled. Names of cuts and varieties are given in English, Spanish, Italian, and French.<br />
<br />
After a general summary of the cuts of meat, Green devotes a small section to each cut, identification, buying, quality, preservation, and preparation.<br />
<br />
There are 200 + color photos of meat cuts in the central part of the book. Most of these photos are referred to throughout the rest of the book.<br />
<br />
The sections on beef, veal, pork and lamb are fairly comprehensive. The sections on poultry and game birds as well as game and other domesticated meats are much briefer in content on each animal. However, they cover many many more types of meat and foul.<br />
<br />
This volume does not cover the topic of meat cutting, butchering, or seasoning/drying. It is a meat purchaser's guide, not a meat preparer's guide.<br />
<br />
The final section on sausages is merely descriptive and historic. This volume does not teach how to prepare and cure meat or sausages.<br />
<br />
All in all I believe the book tries to live up to the claim in the subtitle. Perhaps the word "prepare" should be replaced with "cook," since "preparation" also includes butchering and cutting--both topics which the book does not cover.<br />
<br />
In general the recipes are helpful suggestions. But there are a great proportion of minimalist "roll it in flour and cook it" recipes.<br />
<br />
I bought the book based on the description at Amazon. From that description I mistakenly thought the book could help me learn to butcher and make my own cuts of meat from various animals. I am not the target audience for this book.<br />
<br />
This book is aimed at the supermarket/meat-market shopper who doesn't care about the butchering and just wants a nice cut to cook. It fits that purpose fairly well. The way the photos are arranged will make the book wear out fairly quickly. The book is well indexed and can instruct a novice in cooking meats he or she may have never experienced before.</span><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7708654399098124574.post-55678557263996389832010-12-02T11:08:00.000-08:002015-02-20T18:43:37.341-08:00Basic Butchering of Livestock and Game, John Mettler<iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=bobobo02-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0882663917&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">Two thumbs way up.</span><br />
<br />
Mettler's guide is well organized, well written, and very helpfully illustrated. He begins with a chapter on "Tools, Equipment, and Methods" which lists and pictures various knives, saws, lifting equipment, and other kinds of equipment that the home butcher needs to make the work smooth. He outlines some general guidelines on best temperatures hanging/aging and meat preparation as well as advice on keeping the meat clean.<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"><br />
Then follow chapters on various kinds of meat: Ch. 2 Beef; 3 Hogs; 4 Veal; 5 Lamb; 6 Venison; 7 Poultry; 8 Rabbits and Small Game; 9 Less Popular Meats (like goats, horses, and bison).<br />
<br />
Each of these chapters is very well illustrated both with respect to planning the cuts and making the cuts. Elayne Sears drew the illustrations, and the book is worth looking through just for her drawings alone.<br />
<br />
Chapter 10 focuses on Meat Inspection. Ch. 11 covers Processing and Preserving; the causes and prevention of spoilage; how to freeze meat; dry cures and pickling; smoking meat; corned beef and tongue; sausage; and other preserved meats.<br />
<br />
Chapter 12 consists of 37 recipes for items from short ribs to Pheasant Piccata.<br />
<br />
There is a good glossary, a chart of weights and measures, and a very good index (by Eileen M. Clawson).<br />
<br />
This book was edited by Dianne Cutillo. The art was directed by Cynthia N. McFarland, and the book design is by Jennifer Jepson Smith.<br />
<br />
The book was revised and updated in 2003 by Martin Marchello.<br />
<br />
The author, John J Mettler passed away in 2001. He was a veterinarian in upstate New York for more that 30 years.</span> <br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7708654399098124574.post-77931295163033726662010-12-02T06:07:00.000-08:002015-02-20T18:46:24.701-08:00Deerskins Into Buckskins by Matt Richards<iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=bobobo02-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0965867242&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe><br />
Two thumbs up.<br />
<br />
Matt Richards makes it possible for everyone who has the gumption to make beautiful buckskins with time, effort, and no money spent.<br />
<br />
The key is the subtitle: "How to Tan with Natural Materials." "Natural" means that they can be found in nature.<br />
<br />
After three introductory sections [ "What exactly is buckskin?"; "A bit of history;" and "Why buckskin?"] Richards leads the reader gently through understanding skin, tanning, skinning, obtaining hides, storage and tools.<br />
<br />
The gem of this book is called "The Basic Method" which is about 50 pages of well illustrated and well ordered methodical instruction. This section doesn't go into options, but presents the reader with what Richards says is an almost foolproof way to get a decent buckskin every time with natural [free] materials.<br />
<br />
After this section Richards goes into other options of methods, resources, and techniques.<br />
<br />
The work includes a reference section, a section on making primitive natural tools, hide glue, rawhide and sewing patterns.<br />
<br />
Richards closes with a listing of resources cited in the book and where the reader can find them.<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7708654399098124574.post-40132215426275288002010-11-29T14:52:00.000-08:002015-02-20T18:48:36.579-08:00Progressivism, the Great Depression and the New Deal: 1901-1941<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Progressivism-Great-Depression-New-Deal/dp/B001I6JO8E?ie=UTF8&tag=bobobo02-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Progressivism, the Great Depression, and the New Deal" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=B001I6JO8E&tag=bobobo02-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=bobobo02-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B001I6JO8E" height="1" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" /><br />
Two thumbs way down.<br />
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Brothers <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Collier_%28historian%29">Christopher Collier</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Lincoln_Collier">James Lincon Colier</a> eliminate everything from their presentation of the Progressive Movement which would cast any bad light upon the movement. Any reference to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugenics#United_States">Eugenics</a> from Theodore Roosevelt to FDR is expunged. The mass sterilization of "unfit" Americans is left out of their record.<br />
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The Racism of the Progressive movement is not recorded in the Coliers' small volume. And, indeed, most of the descendants of Progressivism in today's Liberal movement try to hide this heritage which still forms the basis of their classist division of American politics.<br />
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Further, the Colliers fail to discuss how FDR's programs, from the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civilian_Conservation_Corps">CCC</a> to the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Eagle">Blue Eagle </a>in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Industrial_Recovery_Act">National Recovery Act</a> had terrorized the citizens of the United States contrary to the limits placed on the Federal Government by the Constitution.<br />
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The authors fail to discuss the fact that Progressivists were at the root of the Prohibitionist movement and the source of gangster movements during prohibition.<br />
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FDR's threat to pack the Supreme Court with pro-Statist judges is left undisclosed.<br />
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Also, the authors failed to include the fact that the Communist Party was at the root of the movement to unionize labor through the end of the 19th Century and throughout the 20th Century in the period they discuss. <br />
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This volume was designed for instructing Jr and Sr. Highschool students in the benefits of the Progressive movement of the early 20th Century. <br />
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Repeated throughout the volume is the Marxist ideology that the source of good for the common citizen had to be Big Government and that in America the "wealth was not being fairly shared." (P. 17 and throughout)<br />
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Instead they present a negative picture of Capitalism and "laissez-faire" policy. The individual citizen, his or her own desires, personal trade and property do not matter to these authors.<br />
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What they do present is a fictional recreation of a world that did not exist, where Progressivism actually cares for the individual (despite massive data to the contrary), and where Progressivism helped the country out of the Depression (despite the economic facts of history). The authors' negligence in discussing Social Darwinism leaves this reader to conclude that they yearn for the Marxist and racist eugenic and economic policies of the early 20th Century.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0