Amazon.com
Jeannette Walls's father always called her "Mountain Goat" and there's perhaps no more apt nickname for a girl who navigated a sheer and towering cliff of childhood both daily and stoically. In The Glass Castle, Walls chronicles her upbringing at the hands of eccentric, nomadic parents--Rose Mary, her frustrated-artist mother, and Rex, her brilliant, alcoholic father. To call the elder Walls's childrearing style laissez faire would be putting it mildly. As Rose Mary and Rex, motivated by whims and paranoia, uprooted their kids time and again, the youngsters (Walls, her brother and two sisters) were left largely to their own devices. But while Rex and Rose Mary firmly believed children learned best from their own mistakes, they themselves never seemed to do so, repeating the same disastrous patterns that eventually landed them on the streets. Walls describes in fascinating detail what it was to be a child in this family, from the embarrassing (wearing shoes held together with safety pins; using markers to color her skin in an effort to camouflage holes in her pants) to the horrific (being told, after a creepy uncle pleasured himself in close proximity, that sexual assault is a crime of perception; and being pimped by her father at a bar). Though Walls has well earned the right to complain, at no point does she play the victim. In fact, Walls' removed, nonjudgmental stance is initially startling, since many of the circumstances she describes could be categorized as abusive (and unquestioningly neglectful). But on the contrary, Walls respects her parents' knack for making hardships feel like adventures, and her love for them--despite their overwhelming self-absorption--resonates from cover to cover. --Brangien Davis
Book Description
Jeannette Walls grew up with parents whose ideals and stubborn nonconformity were both their curse and their salvation. Rex and Rose Mary Walls had four children. In the beginning, they lived like nomads, moving among Southwest desert towns, camping in the mountains. Rex was a charismatic, brilliant man who, when sober, captured his children's imagination, teaching them physics, geology, and above all, how to embrace life fearlessly. Rose Mary, who painted and wrote and couldn't stand the responsibility of providing for her family, called herself an "excitement addict." Cooking a meal that would be consumed in fifteen minutes had no appeal when she could make a painting that might last forever.
Later, when the money ran out, or the romance of the wandering life faded, the Walls retreated to the dismal West Virginia mining town -- and the family -- Rex Walls had done everything he could to escape. He drank. He stole the grocery money and disappeared for days. As the dysfunction of the family escalated, Jeannette and her brother and sisters had to fend for themselves, supporting one another as they weathered their parents' betrayals and, finally, found the resources and will to leave home.
What is so astonishing about Jeannette Walls is not just that she had the guts and tenacity and intelligence to get out, but that she describes her parents with such deep affection and generosity. Hers is a story of triumph against all odds, but also a tender, moving tale of unconditional love in a family that despite its profound flaws gave her the fiery determination to carve out a successful life on her own terms.
For two decades, Jeannette Walls hid her roots. Now she tells her own story. A regular contributor to MSNBC.com, she lives in New York and Long Island and is married to the writer John Taylor.
TO INQUIRE ABOUT SCHEDULING JEANNETTE WALLS FOR SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS PLEASE CONTACT:
Keppler Speakers
Dustin L. Jones
Associate, College & University Division
703.516.4000 (P)
703.516.4819 (F)
Customer Reviews:
The Glass Castle.......2007-10-18
This is an amazing book. The life experiences of the author and her siblings really makes you wonder how they turned out as well as they did. It also raises the question of whether the parents suffered from mental illness, were criminally neglectful of their chilren or just truly outside of the box thinkers.
Courageous But Sad.......2007-10-18
Wow...this book is just amazing, i cant believe all the stuff this woman had to go threw as a child...and I'm glad i do not have Rex & Rosemary as my parents....Truly great book and made me cry half of the time.
If I hadn't read this book I would not have thought of what its like to those who hardly eat and are with no money.
This story is amazing and took an impact on me...and I will always remember this amazingly courageous sad story...
Glass Castle.......2007-10-17
Wow... haven't we all held out for the moment we commence to build our Glass Castle? "Just as soon as".... we get the perfect plans, enough time, money, etc. FABULOUS book that was written (just like I'd like to write one!) to give us glimses into our own grandiosity, missed opportunities, fixed beliefs, and rationalizations. I saw EVERYONE in my family in this book; maybe the whole human race makes an appearance, but it definitely will come alive for anyone raised by alcoholics. Couldn't stop reading it and now can't stop talking about it.
Writing on eggshells.......2007-10-17
I read all memoirs with a grain of salt mainly because I have a terrible memory and I don't understand how people can remember things they said when they were 3 yrs old (before the digital photography age of course). As far as memoirs go, this one is very interesting and does move fast. It also poses very interesting questions about parenting because the kids turn out okay despite growing up poorer than "po," in environments I shudder to think about, and with completely self-obsessed neglectful parents. It also put a new interesting face on homelessness.
However, the author is horrible about maintaining a believable/easy to follow timeline in the first half of the book. It seems she was 3-5 yrs old for much of that time. How reliable is a 3-5 yr old's memory? There were also several places where the writing lacked transition. That just annoyed the schoolmarm in me.
My main complaint is that the author seemed to be trying not hurt anyone's feelings as she wrote. Maybe she's a better person than me, but I don't understand how she could be so free of resentment despite the upbringing she described. She tried to show every family member in a positive light up until the end. I can understand forgiving her parents for neglecting, starving, and generally abusing her and her siblings, but I'm not sure she told the whole truth about her feelings. Then again, maybe half truths are par for the course when it comes to memoir.
Overall, I did like this and would recommend it.
The Glass Castle.......2007-10-16
One of the best books I have ever read. I just could not put it down. One life event while growing up just tops another.To rise above her circumstances and make a postive life for herself is just a tribute to the strength she has within her spirit. It was so inspiring to see them make the best of themselves even thou the example they had was so poor. My hat is off to Jeanette Walls and her siblings.
Book Description
One of the truly legendary figures of American history, the soldier, explorer, and colonist Captain John Smith was a vivid and prolific chronicler of the beginnings of English settlement in the New World. This volume brings together seven of his works, along with 16 additional narratives by 13 other writers, that recount firsthand the tragic, harrowing, and dramatic events of the settlement of Roanoke and Jamestown.
A founder of Jamestown in 1607, Smith's courage, determination, and leadership proved crucial to its survival. A True Relation tells of the colony's perilous first year, while The Proceedings and The Generall Historie continue the story of its struggle to survive and prosper. A Description of New England and New Englands Trials describe Smith's exploration of the northern coast and the prospects for its settlement. In The True Travels Smith recalls his adventures as a soldier in Eastern Europe and his amazing escape from Turkish slavery. Advertisements for the Unexperienced Planters, his last book, is a critical examination of the successes and failures of the English colonial enterprise. Written in a consistently lively style, Smith's works are filled with suspense, astonishment, and keen observations of American Indian cultures and New World landscapes.
The 16 additional narratives include accounts of the "Lost Colony" of Roanoke, the horrific "starving time" at Jamestown, and a shipwreck off Bermuda. Amplifying and sometimes challenging Smith's version of events, these narratives capture the fear and fascination of early encounters with the Indians; the brutality, desperation, and ingenuity of settlers facing extreme hardship; the complex interplay of feuds and rivalries, both between the English and the Powhatan Indians and within the colony itself; and the enduring story of Pocahontas, who came to occupy a unique place between two cultures. Included in the volume are 29 pages of contemporary drawings, 15 of them full-color illustrations by John White.
Customer Reviews:
A must have for all who are interested in the early settlement of Virginia and New England.......2007-04-05
Captain John Smith did an amazing amount of living in the fifty-one years he lived on Earth. His life's journey began in 1580 at Willoughy, England. He left home at 16 after his father's death to become a soldier fighting in France for Dutch Independence from Spain. In other words, he was a mercenary. He went to work in the Mediterranean Sea on a merchant ship in 1598. In 1600 he went to the Austrians to fight in Hungary against the Turks and fought so valiantly that he was promoted to Captain. Fighting in Transylvania in 1602, he was wounded, captured, and sold as a slave to a Turk. He was then given to a girl who sent him to her brother to get training for Imperial service. Being very ill treated by this Pasha, Smith killed him and escaped. He fled through Russia and then Poland, was released from service, received a large reward and spent time traveling throughout Europe. During the winter of 1604-05 he returned to England. All this before the events we know him for began in Virginia and New England!
His restless nature somehow got him involved with the plans to colonize the Virginia territory for profit. King James I granted the charter and the expedition set sail on December 20, 1606. While this is more than a century after Columbus, it was still a huge and costly undertaking to what was almost unknown territory. The three tiny ships were the Discovery (20 tons), Susan Constant (120 tons), and Godspeed (40 tons). They did not land in Virginia until April 1607 after a voyage of more than four months. Smith was on the list of seven council members that was designated to govern the colony. The winter was harsh, fresh water was hard to come by, sickness ravaged the colonists, and the local Indians, ruled by Powhatan (Wahunsonacock), were antagonistic to the newcomers. Smith became the leader and led the fight against the Indian raids and negotiating with them for food enough to supplement their meager stores.
In December of 1607, the famous incident of Smith being taken to Powhatan and being saved by Pocahontas occurred. Like much in Smith's writings, it is hard to separate the braggadocio from the fact. Apparently there was some kind of ceremony that involved a ritual death and renewal of life whereby Smith became some kind of subordinate chief member of the tribe. Smith may not have understood the ceremony well and indeed may well have believed that the 11 year old princess saved his life.
Life was very hard at Jamestown and dissent grew. Smith was elected President in September 1608 and has the fort reinforced and emphasizes military training among the colonists. During the winter, Powhatan refused to provide food because he believes that the colonists are not there to trade but to take Indian lands. After difficult negotiations they trade swords and guns for food. Things continue to be difficult and now the resentment focuses on Smith. He is badly burned when his powder keg caught fire. A group leading colonists deposes Smith and he sails back to England part in resentment and part for treatment of his injuries in October.
He is active in promoting colonization of the new territories and heads back in 1614, but he cannot go to Virginia. He focuses on the area north that he called New England. Smith traveled to many areas there and in 1615 founded a colony in Maine. He is captured by a French privateer and is unable to return to England until December. In 1622, Indians kill more than 300 colonists. Smith's offer to lead the military fight against the natives is rejected.
During these years in England, Smith published some works to provide him some much needed income. He finds the right stories to tell and several of his writings sold quite well. He died in 1631 at 51 years old and was buried at St. Sepulchres in the City of London.
This summary of his life is there merest outline of events. There is much much more covered in this treasure trove of a book.
The wonderful Library of America provides us with Smith's "A True Relation", "The Proceedings of the English Colony in Virginia" (parts written by a variety of folks), "A Description of New England", "New Englands Trials" [sic], "The Generall Historie of Virginia, New-England, and the Summer Isles", "The True Travels", and his "Advertisements for the Unexperienced Planters of New-England". The words in these titles such as "trials" and "advertisements" had a much different meaning four hundred years ago. The point was that by 1620 thousands of people were risking their lives to try to settle in Virginia and New England and they wanted information. Smith gave them good information about what they were going to face. Oh, he certainly boasted and gave himself credit for things that others did, but his descriptions of what it takes to survive there are quite good.
This volume does not contain Smith's two books on sea travel. However, it does contain an additional four hundred pages of writings by others about the settling of Virginia. One covers the settlement of Roanoke before the Jamestown voyage. Others are written independently of Smith, at least one was written in response to his "Generall Historie" that upset some who felt he took to himself their deeds. They are all fascinating.
There are also pages of black and white plates showing aspects of Smith's life and other aspects of the early settlement including etchings of Smith and even of Pocahontas (Lady Rebecca) in her English finery during her one, fatal, year in England. There is another set of plates that are in color and show Indian life at the time of the events of this book. We get many useful maps, and index, notes on the text, notes on the plates, and a chronology of Smith's life.
This is a rich text that provides important history of early American settlement that everyone interested in the founding and history of our nation will want to read and know. The early events with the Indians are fascinating as are the descriptions of the trade and battles. Even the variety of spellings are fascinating. Yes, orthography was not standardized, but it is interesting how the same words are spelled differently even within the same writing let alone between authors.
A must have for all who appreciate American history.
Customer Reviews:
Very grateful for this book!.......2007-01-10
As a person very attracted to the colors & shapes of Viking Glass, I have enjoyed this book immensley! I have been able to identify most all pieces in my collection from this book and learned about new patterns, colors, shapes to look for in the future! I'm also looking forward to seeing a new book that covers 70's & beyond! Hope he's working on one! Thank you Dean Six!
Stunning and Informative.......2004-03-19
As a glass collecting enthusiast I have read my share of collecting books through the years, and I have to say that this is the most visually appealing and informative books I have ever read. Viking made beatiful and colorful pieces of glass, and Dean Six's book captures the beauty of the glass while putting the pieces in a logical and historical context.
I highly recommend this book not only for the serious Viking collector, but for anyone who collect glass, is interested in history or enjoys a beautiful decorative arts book.
Glorious color and design mark virtually every page.......2004-01-14
Beautifully compiled by Dean Six, the Schiffer edition of Viking Glass 1944-1970 is a superbly organized and presented collector's price guide enhanced with more 520 color photographs of the exceptional, painstakingly handmade glassware produced by the Viking Glass Company of New Martinsville, West Virginia from 1944 to 1970. Glorious color and design mark virtually every page of this beautiful display volume which will prove an invaluable reference for professional dealers and dedicated collectors.
Book Description
The proud history of one of America's most prolific and best known dinnerware manufacturers is presented with over 500 color photographs and new research from the company archives. Today the popularity of Fiestar and many other Homer Laughlin dishes from the 1870s to the 1930s is well known to ceramics collectors. This book gives the factual history of all the shapes, decorations, and variations that have been found. Current market value ranges are given in the captions.
Customer Reviews:
good.......2007-02-19
A very good book for reference. I have used it many times looking at thing I'd like to bid on and wanted more information on the origin and value
Well written and presented; wonderful photos.......2005-04-03
Wonderful book about a wonderful company. HLC is one of the oldest companies in the USA which continues to operate successfully. It's famous for Fiesta and restaurant china, and in earlier years for an endless array of household patterns. In this book Jo Cunningham does a sensational job of documenting company history, along with hundreds of popular as well as rare patterns made from 1873 through 1939.
Great book for Homer Laughlin collectors.......2000-09-06
A well researched and well written guide. Readers like pictures and this book has lots of bright and colorful pictures with descriptions and information. The book gives insight into Mr. Laughlin and his pottery. I recommend this book to all collectors of Homer Laughlin.
Homer Laughlin A Giant Among Dishes.......2000-07-21
This is a must have for Homer Laughlin collectors. Get a feel for the life,times and area that produced the largest American manufacturer of dinnerware. This book is packed with information that you just can't digest in one setting. I'm constantly referring to it and learning something new everytime.
A must have for the serious collector.......1999-11-03
This book is indispensable for indentifying the older pieces of Homer Laughlin. While not a price guide per se it does give the reader an idea of the value of older pottery shapes.
Book Description
The Hatfield-McCoy feud, the entertaining subject of comic strips, popular songs, movies, and television, has long been a part of American folklore and legend. Ironically, the extraordinary endurance of the myth that has grown up around the Hatfields and McCoys has obscured the consideration of the feud as a serious historical event. In this study, Altina Waller tells the real story of the Hatfields and McCoys and the Tug Valley of West Virginia and Kentucky, placing the feud in the context of community and regional change in the era of industrialization.
Waller argues that the legendary feud was not an outgrowth of an inherently violent mountain culture but rather one manifestation of a contest for social and economic control between local people and outside industrial capitalists—the Hatfields were defending community autonomy while the McCoys were allied with the forces of industrial capitalism. Profiling the colorful feudists "Devil Anse" Hatfield, "Old Ranel" McCoy, "Bad" Frank Phillips, and the ill-fated lovers Roseanna McCoy and Johnse Hatfield, Waller illustrates how Appalachians both shaped and responded to the new economic and social order.
Customer Reviews:
Great Research of the FEUD.......2004-09-07
This book happens to be one of the only studies that Dr. Coleman Hatfield recommended at one of the talks I attended. Dr. Hatfield is the great-grandson of Devil Anse and is quite a history scholar in his own right -- and the author of "THE TALE OF THE DEVIL" the first and only biography of Devil Anse Hatfield.
Waller has meticulously studied the subject matter, and it's worth reading. And American tragedy.
Useful, but flawed in several important aspects . . ........2002-09-21
Dr. Waller attempts to get past the "traditional accounts", usually assembled from the newspaper and popular accounts of the time, but falls into one error which confounds the rest of her presentation: she found a great deal of information for the Hatfield family and for the West Virginia side of the river, but not as much for the Kentucky side and she generalized about the second using what she learned from the first. While the book was exceptionally well-researched, some information was overlooked or missed. Professor Waller unfortunately accepts the claim that the Tug Valley was a Confederate stronghold. However, only the West Virginia side of the river was strongly Confederate in its sympathies. The Kentucky side of the river contained a large number of Union veterans (possibly as many as a hundred or more men from this area joined the Federal army), and, in fact, in Pike County the area bordering the river was the most loyal in the entire county (post-war voting records reveal the largest percentages of Republican voters in the two precincts which were part of the Tug Valley). Waller's initial conclusions lead her to dismiss the Civil War connections of the feud. She was apparently unaware of the high degree of Unionism in the region and how it may have contributed to what could have been a continuation of the 1861-1865 warfare on the border, despite the alleged thirteen- and five-year respites. While it is well-known that Hatfield and his kin were Confederate veterans (though there is a justifiable dispute as to whether Devil Anse was actually a member of the Logan Wildcats), and it is also known that many of the McCoys had served in gray with the Hatfields, in the later phases of the feud (aptly identified by Dr. Waller) the participation of several former Union veterans or their sons in the fighting against the Hatfields indicates a significant Civil War connection. The evidence that the feuding was a carryover from the war is substantial and cannot be dismissed.
Hatfields and McCoys.......2002-07-21
It has long been assumed that the famous feud between the Hatfields and McCoys in the 1880's was a family affair between two clans of primitive hillbillies. In Feud: Hatfields, McCoys, and Social Change in Appalachia, 1860-1900, Altina Waller argues that this view is nothing less than folklore, and the historical reality of the feud has been all but lost. Her work successfully explodes the myths that have surrounded the feuding Hatfields and McCoys.
In her introduction, Professor Waller discusses the previous interpretations of the feud. The first states that, "the feud and the culture from which it emerged were anachronisms in modern society" and "they represented a primitive way of life which had somehow been preserved in much the same way that prehistoric fossils are preserved." The second school of thought suggests that the feud was a result of the transformation that was occurring in the region due to the "onslaught of industrialization." Waller rejects both of these interpretations because of three aspects of the feud that she has identified as violence, family, and timing. Waller has concluded after much research that "in the 1870s and 1880s, the Tug Valley may have been boisterous and rowdy, but it was far from dangerous" and that "something unusual was happening eithin this particular community which drove a few individuals and families to resort to extreme measures." And Waller discounts the family explanation because " supportersof the Hatfields and of the Mccoys consisted of numerous individuals unrelated to those families; in fact, more than half of each group were unrelated to the feud leaders. More puzzling, there were McCoys on the Hatfield side and Hatfields on the McCoy side." Waller rejects also that the feud was caused by the Civil War. She dates the feud from 1878-1900, and identifies two phases with a five year interim. Waller offers that the feud must be examined internally and also in the light of regional and national trends.
The Tug Valley in the years following the Civil War underwent profound changes. Due to rapid growth in population and the finite agricultural resources available in the Valley, a sort of greedy desperation began to emerge in the character of some inhabitants of the Tug Valley. Also at this time outside interest in the vast resources of the Appalachias was taking the form of big money men and local agents purchasing huge tracts of land in order to exploit the mountains for their coal and timber. Gradually the mountaineer was transformed from an inependent farmer to an impoverished wage laborer. attempting to buck this trend is none other than Devil Anse Hatfield. Through hard work and some crafty legal maneuvers, Anse becomes proprieter of a sizable timber busines. And in the process incurs the wrath of Old Ranel McCoy and Perry Cline. Old Ranel through his own foolishness has not prospered, and Anse has bested Cline in a court action and removed him from his lands, which are then awarded to Anse. This is what Professor Waller has discovered to be the crux of the feud--economic power and control and its resultant societal implications. Anse has climbed the ladder while others have watched, and they are jealous.
These truths were initially lost because of the sensational handling of the feud by the newspapers of the day. Altina Waller has been successful in separating the myths from the reality. She states in conclusion that, "the feudists were struggling with the same historical forces of transformation that had been changing Americal since before the American Revolution." This is the larger picture.
Well-researched and written account of the famous feud along.......1998-05-28
Waller has a done a spectacular job of recreating this now infamous event, seperating fact from myth and rebutting many of the stereotypes that were perpetrated about the feud by the Northern press that glamorized it. As a native of Pike County, Kentucky and a distant relative of many involved in this feud, I found the text most informative. It is also accesible to anyone who is not from Appalachia or who is not versed in its history.
Book Description
The Homer Laughlin China Company has produced more than 100 different shapes for their dinnerware lines since 1873 (sometimes using mixed shapes in one set) and more than 10,000 decorations. How is one to identify all these variations? Let Jo Cunningham show you how in this new book dedicated to 1940s and 1950s Homer Laughlin products. This was a very prolific time for the company, and represents the era of dishes that people are collecting today. The Fiesta line and Lady Stratford shape are given particular attention in response to their enormous popularity now. Over 500 color photographs display and compare the shapes and decorations, and the well researched text is arranged chronologically to show the developments that help identify individual pieces. Children's dishes and products associated with other companies are also identified and explained. This volume is sure to become one of the key sources for information on dishes of the mid-20th century.
Customer Reviews:
A COMMUNITY IN DISASTER.......2006-08-13
In February of 1972, the town of Buffalo Creek in West Virginia was devastated by a flood, which was, in a way, 'man-made'. Water from heavy rains collected in a pile of coal slag, eventually working through and sweeping the town, killing over a hundred people. Erikson recounts this disaster in his first chapter, but devotes most of the book to describing the culture of Appalachia, and how it affected the people's psychology and recovery.
For the most part this is a sociological study. Erikson examines the people of West Virginia and Buffalo Creek to discover why they think and act as they do. Culture, it turns out, made this disaster even worse than it might have been in other communities. Survivors could not handle the disruption brought about by the flood. Many said they just didn't feel like themselves anymore, with all that had changed.
While I would recommend this book to anyone, I do think we should have been told a bit more about what eventually happened to Buffalo Creek and its people. Perhaps the book was published before this was fully possible. If so, Erikson might see fit to revisit the town and its survivors again.
Wrecked lives.......2006-06-03
In the summer of 1948, we lived in Lorado, West Virginia (Logan County). The Buffalo Creek ran behind `our' house, while a road and the tracks of the C&O Railroad ran just beyond our front yard. The photo on page 37 shows those tracks that we often walked from Lorado towards Man, WV. It could well be a picture of our former front yard.
I , of course, remember the news accounts of the 1972 disaster.
So, I have a personal outlook at this sociological follow-up of the lives wrecked when the earth dam and mine tailings gave way.
Kai Erickson has done a deeply moving and eloquent account of the ramifications of this recent tragedy.
I recommend it to all interested in mankind and the factors that fall upon our fellow travelers as we all 'work our way through life.'
Everything changes Everything.......2006-02-12
This was a very intersting book for me. I was looking for information on this flood & I found the information plus more. I didn't really realize it was going to deal so much with "how the person works" in tragedies. I came to understand the Appalacian people as a unique group. I also understand how & why the flood started. But I also learned a lot about how people's "mind" deals with events such as this type of tragedy. And I also can understand how people in general, including myself, react to events in much smaller every-day problems. I can now understand many of my "reactions" & how they are normal & very unique to each individual. It helped me a lot Plus I learned a lot about the needless tragedy. It made me think a little. Good Read.
Essential reading for West Virginians.......2005-10-11
I was 12, growing up a couple of counties away, when the dam burst at Buffalo Creek in 1972. It was just the latest disaster in less than a decade to afflict what I thought was my cursed native state: The Silver Bridge collapse, the explosion at the Farmington No. 9 mine and the Marshall University plane crash.
This book is in three parts, the first describing the disaster, the second a historical overview of Appalachia in general and the Buffalo Creek area in particular. The third is on the effects on the survivors of the flood.
Though the Buffalo Creek flood happened more than 30 years ago, its lessons are as current as the destruction of New Orleans.
Kai Erickson writes quite well for a sociologist and the book only begins to drag a bit at the end, in the sociology part. Maybe it's just the (justifiable) litany of complaints from the survivors. If this account is any measure, the survivors of Hurricane Katrina will be suffering in psyche long after their material losses have been recouped.
Anyone with further interest in the Buffalo Creek flood ought to also read Gerald Stern's "The Buffalo Creek Disaster," written from the point of view of one of the lawyers who took part in the resulting litigation.
An Appalachian disaster.......2005-08-10
On Feb. 26, 1972, a mining company dam broke, sending 132 million gallons of water rushing down Buffalo Creek in Logan County, West Virginia. Death and property destruction were great, but even worse was the devastation of the community spirit and the long-lasting mental trauma suffered by the inhabitants. Erikson explores what he sees as a major dichotomy in the ethos of the "mountain people" involved in this disaster: a sense of independence versus a need for dependence. Erikson believes this seems to breed inaction and a total feeling of loss for these people in disasters such as this. There are, of course, other factors at work here, but it's an interesting theory. Comparisons to other similar disasters (hurricane victims in Florida, for example) would make for a worthwhile study.
Customer Reviews:
Very good MD/VA guide book.......2007-07-31
Eric's book is all encompassing for the DC metro area climber. It is well written and covers all of the popular climbs. I gave it 4 stars, because I would have liked to have seen just a hair more beta and info about individual climbs, but all-in-all this is a "must have."
In-depth? No. Comprehensive overview? Yes........2006-03-15
This FalconGuide is one of the better ones available, and for the travelling climber, or the DC-centric climber, probably THE book to have (there are non-Falcon guides that specifically cover Virginia and Maryland in more detail, but are only really useful if you primarily climb in those specific states). Eric Horst worked long and hard, contacting a plethora of local climbers at the various crags noted within these pages to get route information, do photo shoots, and be given tours of the area to get a general feel of the land. He covers some of the more or most popular areas in Maryland/DC/Virginia (Sugarloaf, Rocks State Park, Great Falls, Crescent Rocks) as well as *the* two big weekend destinations in West Virginia (Seneca Rocks, New River Gorge), but interspersed are numerous "local" crags that you might never have known about otherwise (short of locating one of the state-specific or crag-specific books that might or might not exist). This serves to give you options to go elsewhere when you can't make it to one of the more popular climbing spots, or if the weather is entirely TOO nice and hordes of people have descended on the main crags, alternate places to go and get vertical. Also, the number of small climbing areas gives the travelling climber options for places to go when they simply cannot get out to, say, Seneca when on the road down around, say, Charlottesville. Crack open Eric's guide and see what's nearby!
The route descriptions are pretty good, and nicely supplemented with a mix of topo photos and drawings (if you're not an artist and you've tried to draw a topo to a crag, you can appreciate how difficult it can be to get it just right!).
Eric successfully treaded the fine balancing act to not reinvent the wheel for places that already havae extensive guidebooks (e.g., Great Falls, et al), but at the same time, adequately cover crags that have or had absolutely no guidebook at all.
More than just a simple guide, Eric's book also gives you a little bit of climbing history to many of the crags, details travel/trip information, has nice readable maps. He spends 18 pages on a general introduction, then devotes the next 380 pages to the various crags.
Even if you only climb in Virginia, Maryland, or West Virginia, and already have one of the state-specific or area-specific guides, this is still an excellent book to have for the day when you might want to step across the border. :-)
great book.......2004-04-19
Very detailed, professionaly written, accurate. In fact provides more information on a given area than other publications. I climbed using this book as a guide.
Accurate and Useful.......2003-03-11
This book provides accurate access and route information for over 25 climbing areas in the mid-atlantic region. And contrary to the previous review's comments (obviously "gabriel3493" has some personal issues), this book provides directions and route info only for OPEN climbing areas. In fact, the author spends a lot of time discussing access considerations and climber advocacy, and he definitely does not even encourage trespassing. Read the book, use the book, and you'll see it's "right on."
[Skip] this book.......2003-01-13
Eric J. Horst violated local land owners by publishing their private properties against their expressed wishes not to. In the climbing world access is always a big issue, and Mr. Horst is [messing]it up for us all. Help keep our area's open for business, and [skip] this bood. If you need help in virginia, try Virginia Climber's Guide. It is a good enough substitute, but please support our community by finding a substitute for this book.
Average customer rating:
- He Is The Real Deal
- This laughing doctor is no joke!
- The World's Doctor
- Finally! Medicine for people not for profit!!
- You can never get enough!!!
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Gesundheit!: Bringing Good Health to You, the Medical System, and Society through Physician Service, Complementary Therapies, Humor, and Joy
Patch Adams , and
Maureen Mylander
Manufacturer: Healing Arts Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 089281781X
Release Date: 1998-10-01 |
Book Description
The inspiring and hilarious story of Patch Adams's quest to bring free health care to the world and to transform the way doctors practice medicine
• Tells the story of Patch Adam's lifetime quest to transform the health care system
• Released as a film from Universal Pictures, starring Robin Williams
Meet Patch Adams, M.D., a social revolutionary who has devoted his career to giving away health care. Adams is the founder of the Gesundheit Institute, a home-based medical practice that has treated more than 15,000 people for free, and that is now building a full-scale hospital that will be open to anyone in the world free of charge. Ambitious? Yes. Impossible? Not for those who know and work with Patch. Whether it means putting on a red clown nose for sick children or taking a disturbed patient outside to roll down a hill with him, Adams does whatever is necessary to help heal. In his frequent lectures at medical schools and international conferences, Adams's irrepressible energy cuts through the businesslike facade of the medical industry to address the caring relationship between doctor and patient that is at the heart of true medicine.
All author royalties are used to fund The Gesundheit Institute, a 40-bed free hospital in West Virginia.
Adams' positive vision and plan for the future is an inspiration for those concerned with the inaccessibility of affordable, quality health care.
Today's high-tech medicine has become too costly, impersonal, and grim. In his frequent lectures to colleges, churches, community groups, medical schools, and conferences, Patch shows how healing can be a loving, creative, humorous human exchange--not a business transaction.
Customer Reviews:
He Is The Real Deal.......2007-04-13
This book was an inspiration to read and also a trip down memory lane for me. I had the pleasure of knowing Hunter "Patch" Adams many years ago in Northern Virginia. I was a Stewardess at the time and was working for United Air Lines. I was based in Washington DC and lived in Norther Virginia. I first met Patch at a nutrition clinic where the woman running the clinic relied on muscle biopsies to let her know what nutrients a person was missing. Patch did the muscle biopsy. From that encounter a friendship developed and I used to visit he and his group at their home on weekends. I did this for several years and was able to observe the kindness and caring first hand. During those years many people came to the commune for medical care, myself included. It is joyful to see that Patch is getting the recognition he deserves.
Rose
This laughing doctor is no joke!.......2006-09-28
If you are interested in making this world a better place and if you are looking for role models, read about Patch Adams.
I've seen the movie, I've read the book, and everytime I think of Dr.Adams or speak of him to my friends and students, it's an inspiration.
I promise you. This laughing doctor is no joke. We need more people like him in this world.
So, read the book, watch the movie... and hopefully it will inspire you to take action!
The World's Doctor.......2006-05-23
Whoever reads this book and absorbs its messages will become a healthier individual and a better citizen of the world.
First, Patch examines the American healthcare system. He explains why corporate healthcare is a contradiction and cannot be permitted in a healthy society. He shows how the doctor-patient relationship has become more like a business interaction, and how this is relationship in itself is a fundamental plague on America.
Extending his experiences in healthcare to all society, Patch observes that we have lost touch with ourselves and each other, with nature, and lost perspective on the joy and wonder of life.
This criticism is where 99.9% of books and people stop. Patch is one of the few in the world who is not only deeply aware of the problems but has detailed plans on how to fix them and acts on those plans. In the book, he outlines his model for personal living and for a better society. A model based on the radical principles of joy and fun:
"The most revolutionary act anyone can commit is to be happy."
"We hear far more about pain because it seems to be associated with maturity. Enthusiastic joy is associated with childhood--as if it were something to outgrow."
Reading this book gave me a new conception of health. It's not just physical or personal like the parts of a car, it's psychological, intellectual, spiritual, social, political, economic, local, international, and interpersonal. Live creatively! Discover the fun we can have together! Live in peace! Now that's good medicine.
Finally! Medicine for people not for profit!!.......2006-02-25
+++++
This book by Hunter "Patch" Adams, M.D. (with Maureen Mylander) is about a social revolutionary who has devoted his life to giving away health care. Adams is founder of the "Gesundheit" Institute, a home-based medical practice in West Virginia that has treated more then 15,000 people for free. The Gesundheit Institute's dream is to build a free, full-scale hospital that will be open to anyone in the world.
This book is divided into two parts. The first part generally deals with Patch's philosophy on medicine while the second part describes the dream of opening up a free hospital.
Below I will state the title of each chapter for each part and give a quotation that represents the essence of each chapter.
PART 1: (About Patch and his medical philosophy)
(1) A health care system in pain. "I believe that health care [providers] who feel burned out are not allowing the "enrapture potential" in the doctor-patient relationship."
(2) An ideal medical practice. "Nosy, curious healers who make house calls will have the time of their lives!"
(3) Humor and healing, or why we're building a silly hospital. "People crave laughter as if it were an essential amino acid."
(4) Art, nature, and imagination. "Nature tops the list of potent tranquilizers and stress reducers. The mere sound of moving water has been shown to lower blood pressure."
(5) Rebuilding self, family, community, world. "I graduated from medical school `head smart.' While living in community, however, I have built buildings, farmed, raised goats, produced movies, and learned rope walking and unicycling."
PART 2: (The dream of a free hospital)
(6) The pilot period. "People often ask, 'How did you earn a living [at the Gesundheit Institute] if you weren't charging your patients.'"
(7) The dream defined. "[In our hospital], we are a company of friends, of givers and receivers, of doctors and patients."
(8) *Gareth's Story. "We watched a beautiful, orange sunset in silence and Patch turned to me [Gareth, a patient] and said, 'Do you have arthritis while watching this.'"
(9) *Organizing dreamers. "The entire purpose of a structure at Gesundheit is to support people's enthusiastic efforts to make the world a better, therefore healthier, place."
(10) Building a dream. "The atmosphere of [our free] hospital is intended to avoid the indifference projected by so many [other health care] facilities and to convey joy, enthusiasm, peace, caring, and openness."
(11) *Living on the land. "Dream. Dream wild. Extremely wild dreams. Somewhere back there is a wild seed waiting. Of that I am sure."
(12) Light a candle: how can I help? ("I" refers to readers of this book.) "Medicine practiced as a business [as it is today] hurts everyone. The true reward of medicine come from helping others and from self-discovery...Service is essential to healing and the pathway to inner peace."
(13) Passion and persistence. "I don't want people to be amazed by our passion and persistence, but inspired by us to work long and hard for what they believe in."
(14) Five years have passed. (This chapter is for the year 1998). "[This] book has really helped bring our ideas more clearly to a much wider audience all over the world. We get thousands of letters telling how our work has inspired similar projects and people-not just in the health field but in all human endeavors."
(* These chapters are not written by the authors.)
There are fifteen black and white pictures found in the middle of this book. There are also diagrams. I found all of these amusing and informative.
Those people who feel or have been brainwashed into believing that there is nothing wrong with today's health care system will probably not appreciate this book. (This statement especially applies to those people who profit from it.) All other people should find this honest book enlightening.
The movie "Patch Adams" starring Robin Williams was, I felt, very good. Even though I saw this movie first, I still learned a lot from this book.
Finally, to catch up on the latest developments of the Gesundheit Institute, I recommend visiting Patch Adams' internet site.
In conclusion, I have not seen a family physician for fifteen years (and have vowed never to see one or any other medical provider for the rest of my life). However, if I do become seriously ill (and the illness would have to be severe), I would gladly welcome the services of Dr. Hunter "Patch" Adams!!!
(first published 1993; last chapter for the year 1998; publisher's preface; foreword; author's acknowledgements; co-author's preface; introduction; 2 parts or 14 chapters; main narrative 195 pages; bibliography; index)
+++++
You can never get enough!!!.......2004-06-17
Patch Adam's life was portrayed by Robin Williams on the Hollywood Movie with the same name. Nevertheless, Patch Adam's life isn't just what you see in the movie, actually it is much more interesting and valuable when you read the true insights of this now-famous doctor.
Patch proposes a new way to treat diseases, by treating the persons. Humor, fun, magic tricks, sunsets, animals, or whatever is needed to make a person feel better and forget about his/her pain; is his philosophy.
The book describes the road Patch has taken to fullfill his dream, and the goals he has fixed for himself and his team. Working to give free, highest quality medicine is not an easy job. Still Patch smiles with his red nose, clownish hair, and funny clothes. You can never get enough about Patch, he is inspiring, funny, and intelligent. Surely this book will make you rethink lots of concepts and ideas. Great Book!!!
Customer Reviews:
Excellent reference.......2007-09-23
This entire series of books is incredible! We live in Virginia and the book contained relevant, local rides that were fascinating. I recommend this book to anyone visiting or who lives in Virginia.
Excellent book.......2006-08-28
This book was even better than I expected! I liked the overview of the route, the approximate time it will take to do it and the road conditions.
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