Book Description
The mastermind behind Apple sheds his low profile and steps forward to tell his story for the first time.
Before cell phones that fit in the palm of your hand and slim laptops that fit snugly into briefcases, computers were like strange, alien vending machines. They had cryptic switches, punch cards and pages of encoded output. But in 1975, a young engineering wizard named Steve Wozniak had an idea: What if you combined computer circuitry with a regular typewriter keyboard and a video screen? The result was the first true personal computer, the Apple I, a widely affordable machine that anyone could understand and figure out how to use.
Wozniak's life—before and after Apple—is a "home-brew" mix of brilliant discovery and adventure, as an engineer, a concert promoter, a fifth-grade teacher, a philanthropist, and an irrepressible prankster. From the invention of the first personal computer to the rise of Apple as an industry giant, iWoz presents a no-holds-barred, rollicking, firsthand account of the humanist inventor who ignited the computer revolution. 16 pages of illustrations.
Customer Reviews:
Get to know THE man.......2007-09-26
It's Woz, how can you go wrong? I really enjoyed this book, although I would have enjoyed it a little more if Woz told more up-to-date stories. I know he has a ton, and I was really hoping to learn much more about Woz TODAY. Still, if you want to read about one of the most important people in Computer history, this is a good start.
Disappointed.......2007-08-30
Steve Wozniak is interesting because he helped found Apple. This book is not about that time in his life. It covers it, but only minimally. Less than a quarter of the book covers this time period. In fact, it is over half done before Apple even really gets mentioned. Instead, this book is about Steve Wozniak himself. It's about his high school science projects, his pranks, and his philosophy of life. Steve is a little different than other people and it comes through in this book. He talks very highly of his accomplishments and often frames them as more important or unique than they really were. He did good work, but not all of what he claims he was first to do was he truly first.
I love Steve Wozniak, but this book was just too much about the small things in his life to be interesting to me.
Fun and interesting.......2007-08-12
This is a very enjoyable book that tells a fascinating story, one most of us are only vaguely familiar with. Wozniak comes off likeable. There are laugh out loud segments. You don't have to understand all the computer stuff (although the writer makes the stuff understandable)to grasp the thrill of the ride.
A must read for every engineer.......2007-08-01
Its a book with which you can relate to very easily if you're an engineer. At the end it gets boring when he starts talking about how Apple became big but its the part on how he starts off and how difficult it was for him to get to making computers that makes for a very interesting read. Certainly a book I would recommend every engineer to read!
An interesting overview of the history, but a tad banal.......2007-07-17
The story Woz is telling is engaging and makes iWoz a very enjoyable read, but the structure of the book itself and the method of telling his story just feels like it's either being told to an eight year old or it feels like the author needs to write the subject down to a very basic level. iWoz is filled with phrases like, "I was so proud," "We were so excited," and "I was very excited." Even I feel redundant and excessive just mentioning it but I'm not exaggerating to say that nearly every topic includes several statements like this. As other reviews have said, it doesn't take long - only a few paragraphs - to feel like Woz is bragging and the book is just an expression of ego.
If you can look over this, it is an entertaining overview of his life as an engineer, the early days of personal computing and the beginnings of Apple.
Book Description
Since China's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2002, China is now officially fully open for business and may soon be the biggest economy in the world. No one in, or embarking upon, a managerial career can afford to ignore a market that comprises one-fifth of the world's population. Doing Business in China is essential reading for the manager or firm setting up a business for the first time in this vital and complex market. Aimed specifically at Western and non-Chinese businesses and managers, this book offers a general framework for understanding Chinese business culture along with a guide for acquiring further knowledge on China.
This text is a practical guide to business practices, market conditions, negotiations, organizations, networks and the business environment in China. Alongside summaries of theoretical research, Doing Business in China provides a perceptual toolkit which will enable the businessperson or student to do business in China and apply that knowledge back in the West.
Building on the strengths of the first edition, this new second edition is fully updated to include new case studies as well as discussion of China's entry into the WTO . It is an invaluable resource for students of international business and management, and practitioners alike.
Download Description
This book is a general introduction to managing business ent
Customer Reviews:
How to do the business in China ?.......2002-10-26
Doing business in China!
Relation, Relation And Relation....
If you are using your American or European style to work and even partner with China's firms, you must be failure in the end.
Relationship with the Government and officials are the major concerns when you stepping into the door of China.
Think Global and hire Local Chinese people is the only way to have the final success with your partner in China.
China means: " Always in the historical culture "
So don't think about China with your American Standard !
Try to learn with your local Chinese people (doer)
Anyway, China is opened now and also needed to face the ways for WTO ! Reckon, China can learn from their European and American business partners from today.
This book is essential to appreciating the Chinese psyche..........2001-11-29
Particularly impressive is the author's approach at presenting the Chinese thought process in such a manner that Westerners can not only understand the Chinese psyche, but respect and learn from it as well. This book was perhaps one of the most enlightening books I have read in a while. There is a a concerted effort to show business protocol and potential avenues of entry, but more importantly this book addresses the fundamental social concepts that need to be FULLY understood before attempting to grow in China.
authorative and insightful.......2000-09-04
Of the vast number of books about China, this one is a very useful account of how successfully doing business in China. Western Managers at the forefront in China should read this book which brings together a lifetime of research and practice on China.
Book Description
Featured on the Oprah Winfrey Show. “This book is certainly blissful to look at...inspirational. It is full of lush, soft-focus photographs of women running businesses.”—The Wall Street Journal. “Entrepreneurs who daydream about converting a hobby into a career should consult The Business of Bliss.”—USA Today.
Customer Reviews:
Found Limoges Porcelain Expert Debby DuBay while reading this book!.......2007-08-02
An inspirational book! I found a hero - retired USAF Debby DuBay from this book and have become a Limoges collector and number one fan of Debby DuBay's. I highly recommend Debby DuBay's books specifically the Antique Trader Limoges Price Guide and Antique Limoges at Home. Thank you Ms. Allon for highlighting Debby DuBay's accomplishments!
Truly an inspirational book!.......2004-04-27
I was a very successful corporate business woman who recently retired and turned my passion into my current new business. I tracked down Ret, USAF Caption, Debby DuBay who is featured in The Business of Bliss and I was captivated and motivated by her inspirational true life story! She made me proud to be an American and proud of her accomplishments. In addition, she helped me with invaluable ideas and information that has helped make my business a success. I love Hearst Publications and the women they highlight. Recommend this book if you want to be inspired!
A inspirational book for all!.......2004-02-16
I had the opportunity to met one of the highlighted women in this book, Retired Air Force Officer, Debby DuBay who credits her sucess to her passion for porcelain. She is a dynamic speaker with a message for all. This book is an inspiration and if you are interested in turning a passion into a profession this book is a must!
Victoria Magazine...I miss you!.......2004-02-06
I loved Victoria Magazine and I was sad to see it go...but these wonderful books keep the spirit alive. Women doing what they love in true victoria magazine style...I love it! www.thereddragonfly.com
INSPIRATIONAL! A MUST FOR ALL!.......2004-01-27
I love this book! It is so inspirational! If you just want to enjoy a book with a cup of tea, I recommend the Business of Bliss. If you are serious about starting up a small business, I recommend the Business of Bliss. Hearst Publishing truly is the number one source for empowing the smallest of business women and bringing them to the reader. If they can do it, so can I. BUT, I couldn't have done it without being inspired by the women featured in the Business of Bliss such as Debby DuBay. (Who by the way, credits her huge success to Nancy Lindemeyer, Victoria Magazine and Hearst Pub.) The Business of Bliss is a Must.
Book Description
Through interviews with founders and leaders, the author explains and assesses Willow Creek Church and its evangelism-oriented ministry model.
Customer Reviews:
Dated and with a negative slant.......2005-01-19
Pritchard did the work on this book > 10 years ago, and as we all know, any thriving church has had tremendous changes in that time. I agree with other reviewers that he had a biased slant to criticizing Willow Creek, rather than finding the areas to emulate.
Lastly, having been to Willow Creek, Pritchard criticizes the church for its theological content, yet fails to mention or critique their mid-week service. It is unfair to critique the theological depth of a church when looking only at the service intended for seekers (and believers), while missing their mid-week service which is intended for believers.
Having not been to Willow during the time he wrote this book (early 90s), I can assume that this book may have had some validity during that time, but I see little benefit in reading this today. A much better and useful book to understand the seeker movement and gain some practical steps to implement in your church today would be Mark Mittelberg's Building a Contagious Church.
Pritchard quicker to find fault than see benefits.......2005-01-15
Pritchard leans a little bit towards being an armchair quarterback who sits back and criticizes the efforts and motivation of a church that has served America well. He does do a good job of explaining the technical side of how Willow Creek produces a service, but the book is dated and not entirely objective. I felt that at times he missed the heart of the leaders at Willow Creek. Don't judege Willow Creek by this book.
Balanced View on Willow Creek.......2005-01-13
Dr. Pritchard's book on the seeker sensitive movement rightly examines the "mother" of seeker churches in Willow Creek Community Church. Willow Creek seems to be defining church these days along with Saddleback Community Church. Entire denominations have reshaped their methods to adapt to the seeker movement. Is it any wonder than that a book such as this is needed?
Pritchard examines Willow Creek Community Church after attending the church for over a year and having unlimited access to the pastors and staff of the church. He divides his book into two formats. He first gives an insider's view of Willow Creek and their history, philosophy, and practices. He covers Senior Pastor Bill Hybels in-depth. The second section of the book offers a critical review of the church's practices and theology. To be fair, Pritchard is not overtly critical of the church but he does find some faults but I'll leave that to you to read on your own.
A very informative book.......2003-05-01
Beginning in the 1970s, pastor Bill Hybels, and a group of excited young believers began for a new way to "do church." Focusing on the church's duty to evangelize unbelievers, Hybels studied what kept people out of church and what would bring them into church, and they reformatted their church service for these "unchurched Harrys." And now, more than twenty years later, the Hybels' church, Willow Creek, is one of the most influential churches in Evangelical circles and beyond. In 1983, sociologist Dr. Gregory Pritchard examined Willow Creek, how they operate and why, and what they do that is good and what they do that is not so good.
This is a very good book. The first section is a sympathetic look at Willow Creek, which is sure to please supporters and inform those unfamiliar with the Willow Creek way of doing things. The Second section is a critical look at Willow Creek, examining what some of the unintended consequences of the Willow Creek way are. As the author is at pains to point out, every church's modus operandi is bound to have positive consequences and negative unintended consequence, with Willow Creek being no different.
If you are interested in an evenhanded analysis of Willow Creek, then I highly recommend this book to you. Having read it, I now understand a great deal more about this phenomenon.
A Very Balanced Read, Check it Out.......2002-10-18
Of this book, John Armstrong writes, "Before you move your church in the "seeker" direction, be sure to read Pritchard's amazingly fair and truthful analysis. The first two-thirds will tell you what is happening - how and why. The last third will raise all the right questions for those who have a serious theology of the church. Get this book into the hands of everyone you know who is attracted to this philosophy as soon as possible. It might well be used to open eyes before your church is moved in a whole new direction and few bother to ask where they are really going."
Book Description
From the author of Crying, a witty, wide-ranging cultural history of our attitudes toward work—and getting out of it
Couch potatoes, goof-offs, freeloaders, good-for-nothings, loafers, and loungers: ever since the Industrial Revolution, when the work ethic as we know it was formed, there has been a chorus of slackers ridiculing and lampooning the pretensions of hardworking respectability. Reviled by many, heroes to others,
these layabouts stretch and yawn while the rest of society worries and sweats. Whenever the world of labor changes in significant ways, the pulpits, politicians, and pedagogues ring with exhortations of the value of work, and the slackers answer with a strenuous call of their own: “To do nothing,” as Oscar Wilde said,
“is the most difficult thing in the world.” From Benjamin Franklin’s “air baths” to Jack Kerouac’s “dharma bums,” Generation-X slackers, and beyond, anti-work-ethic proponents have held a central place in modern culture.
Moving with verve and wit through a series of fascinating case studies that illuminate the changing place of leisure in the American republic, Doing Nothing revises the way we understand slackers and work itself.
Customer Reviews:
Lazy Works. .......2007-10-04
Americans really, really need to listen to thier countrymen in this book, chill out and make time for themselves, not least of all to stare into the abyss and come to terms with their own b.s.
eh.......2007-08-09
I don't know how Tom managed to take such a fun subject and just suck the life right out of it. The subject and people he covers are interesting despite his best efforts, but if you ever wondered why English teachers have a reputation for ruining great literature for youngsters world-wide, well, you won't after you read this. The book is not engaging in any way, but rather you feel like Tom is taking the extensive research he did for the book and whacking you in the face with it. It's essentially a very wordy list of people who at one time or another over the last 300 years had some sort of opinion on the nature of work. As you might imagine, this is a long list. If you find this book at a used book store or maybe sitting on a bench in a train station I'd say go for it, but otherwise your money would be better spent elsewhere.
Slackers of the World, Unite!.......2007-05-27
If you happen to be the kind of person who prefers week-long naps to making a career and winces every time somebody starts talking platitudes about the value of work, the need to "strive" or the immorality of idleness, here's a book for you.
In it you will find lots of references to more or less respectable intellectuals and artists who spent a great deal of their time celebrating the "slacker" ethos (before the term even existed) by advocating our inalienable right to do nothing. Of course, apart from gaining fame (or infamy) for their ideas, none of these people was actually able to overthrow the prevalent "work ethic", which proudly claims that "happiness" and "fulfilment" can only be achieved if you toil your life away.
So what IS it that makes the slacker such a nagging presence in Western culture? This is what Lutz tries to answer by looking at the development of this figure in America.
Not surprisingly, one of the first things we are told is that the "work ethic" and its converse, the "degenerate" idleness, can be traced back more or less to the Industrial Revolution. Apparently before this period humans wasted less time extolling the virtues of work. The hunter-gatherers, as we well know, were so "primitive" that they thought sleeping and playing around were just about the greatest luxuries one could enjoy - and they had plenty of that. The ancient Greeks even went so far to consider work a "curse". And we all remember how much Jesus praised the lilies in the field for... well, just standing there not doing much.
What has changed, then? Lutz's answer: "the nature of work".
As more and more people were dispossessed (i.e., lost their land or their own tools/craft) and became dependent on the continual development (and "whims") of a huge, impersonal factory system, the need to remind them of the "merits" of work (for others) increased. Nowhere has this transformation been more visible than in America - "the land of the free", whose population initially consisted mainly of indentured whites and enslaved blacks, - a country that has made such a swift transition from agriculture to factory to "service" society in only a couple of centuries. At each stage new bunches of people were chucked out of suddenly obsolescent activities and forced to adapt to the latest "economic demands". Those who were left hanging - either because they didn't find a place or actually refused to participate in the new work system - became known as idlers, loafers, tramps, bohemians, hobos, bums, beats, delinquents, etc. And were accordingly reviled by the defenders of dutifulness (usually - surprise, surprise - political/moral authorities, factory bosses, company managers, the mainstream media, etc).
Fortunately, not everyone considers his/her own obsolescence a drama. Instead, some people seem to revel in their newly (and often temporarily) acquired freedom to do anything BUT working for others in exchange for a (mostly) ludicrous salary. They even have the audacity to celebrate their pleasure. Which is what makes this book not only an enlightening but also pleasant experience: the ironic remarks and entertaining tales of those who have stepped out of the rat race remind us that deep inside we all resent this whole myth that working (or rather: wage-labour) is supposed to be such a fun, noble activity.
And as even the "service" society undergoes its transformations (by replacing ever more humans with - far more effective - machines), we can already expect the next wave of nothing-doers, who (as Douglas Coupland prophesied) "may not find a place in the new order". So maybe now more than ever the time is ripe to read this book and at least prepare yourself ideologically for the (quite likely) event that also YOU might be forced to join the slacker-species. Lutz has the good sense to quote (twice) a line from the film "Slacker", which can serve as a consolation for your idle future: you may live badly, but at least you won't have to work for it.
The Complete Book of Slackers.......2006-12-10
It was fun finding out that there are so many loafers, including so many famous and accomplished people. But there were too many for me. And the apparent qualifications for getting into the book, I think, were too subjective. I would have prefered fewer slackers coverd in greater depth (the more famous ones). If Tom Lutz's goal was to smoothly and skillfully mention ever last slacker he uncoverd during his research -- he did a heck of a good job.
The sound of a different drummer .......2006-09-05
My father, of blessed memory, Reuben Kelly Freedman used to say ,"Be a worker, not a shirker". And all my life I have been driven by the idea that I must be working , doing something useful at each and every moment. Now the paradox in my case is that I chose a way of work which to many people is not work at all ( writing) and which in terms of earning power certainly fits more in the 'shirking ' category than the working one.
Tom Lutz takes on the theme of ' working- shirking' in a broad- ranging experiential exploration starting with Ben Franklin and Samuel Johnson and working up to our Internet days. He hits upon the paradox of the master measurer of his own useful time Franklin's spending much time in idle conversation with the belles of the City of Light- while the composer of 'The Idler' Johnson was doing the drudgery of compiling his dictionary.
Lutz who is an English university teacher, one that is who works in a job which most people would envy for its short- hours, a job which in fact has longer hours than most tells many an interesting anecdote in tracing the history of those who Bartlebylike preferred to say 'no' when asked to do their work. He highlights the fact that it is often the 'slackers'( A term coined in World War I days for those who did not want to serve in the Army or work) who get a different more important job done. Thoreau after all did not march to the tune of an industrializing New England, but rather heard the sound of a different drummer.
Lutz himself seems to be a champion of the 'more time you have for yourself the freer and better off you are' school though of course for some such a recipe is one for disaster.
I would only point out that one of the conclusions of the new 'Happiness School of Psychology ' people is that one of life's greatest happinesses is when we are involved wholly in doing our work, especially if that is a kind of creative work in which we know our own individual effort matters.
Book Description
The key to successful business and travel in today's Mexico In Mexico, as everywhere, details of etiquette, culture, and protocol can make or break any business or social interaction. This fascinating and informative guide provides everything you need to develop a solid working knowledge of the Mexican people, their unique customs and values, and their distinct world view. You'll learn:
- How to talk to superiors and subordinates in the work-place, work with bureaucrats and officials, and schedule meetings
- Crucial information on family, gender roles, bureaucracy, religion, time, manners, dress and appearance, meals, work, and leisure
- Distinctions between rural and city life
- The fine points of body language, socializing, conversing, making friends, dining out, romance, and Mexican humor
- Insights into traditional Mexican mores and how they are changing in response to rapid modernization
If you are planning to live, visit, or do business in Mexico, here is a reference you cannot afford to be without.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent Source.......2006-08-27
I traveled to Mexico with Dr. Heusinkveld as a participant on one of her study abroad trips to the city where she wrote the book. I soon found out that not only is the book a must read for anyone interested in visiting or doing business in Mexico, but that the information that was published over 10 years ago is still very accurate in much of the country.
The book is a very easy read and not long at all. Its small size is very deceptive because the book is crammed with information that one should not go without.
Do not travel to Mexico without this book.
Most valuable next to Spanish-English dictionary.......2005-11-15
I love this book, as much for its conciseness and economy of words as well as all the sensitively considered advice and invaluable tips.
Though it is a deceptively thin book, it seems to touch on all areas of likely concern to one who visits or moves to Mexico. I wouldn't travel to Mexico without it, now.
Inside Mexico.......2004-01-15
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED--should be required reading for every American so they have a better understanding of our neighbors to the south. I bought this when I first met my wife who is from Mexico. I found it very enlightening and worth every cent. It's easy to read since it is not in-depth, however, it is still very enlightening. It talks about real Mexico and real Mexicans--not the life and culture that surrounds resorts. It may need to be updated (10 years old) cause the youth in Mexico are greatly influenced by media (TV, movies, etc) today just as American youth are--however, it still provides great insight of where Mexicans are coming from.
OK if you've never been to Mexico..........2003-05-20
...but if you know anything at all about the culture or have visited non-tourist spots you probably know a lot of this stuff already. I'm looking for something more in-depth, so I didn't find this book very helpful.
There'd be less misunderstanding if more of us read this gem.......2003-04-24
I've read and re-read this short book, and it has helped me tremendously to understand Mexico and Mexicans. Their culture is different enough from ours that our habits don't always work.For example, in the chapter on manners, the author points out that people often thank shop clerks when leaving a store. I tried this on a recent trip and discovered that it could lead to enjoyable short conversations.
Published in 1994, I found it very timely in 2003.
Product Description
Doing History: Investigating With Children in Elementary and Middle Schools, Third Edition offers a unique perspective on history instruction in the elementary and middle grades. Through case studies of teachers and students in diverse classrooms and from diverse backgrounds, the text shows children engaging in authentic historical investigations, often in the context of an integrated social studies curriculum. The authors begin with the assumption that children can engage in valid forms of historical inquiry-collecting and analyzing data, examining the perspectives of people in the past, considering multiple interpretations, and creating evidence-based historical accounts. Vignettes in each chapter show communities of teachers and students doing history in environments rich in literature, art, writing, discussion, and debate. Teachers and students are shown working together to frame and investigate meaningful historical questions. Students write personal and family histories, analyze primary and secondary sources, examine artifacts, conduct interviews, and create interpretations through drama, narrative, and the arts. The grounding of this book in contemporary sociocultural theory and research makes it particularly useful as a social studies methods text. In each chapter, the authors explain how the teaching demonstrated in the vignettes reflects basic principles of contemporary learning theory; thus they not only provide specific examples of successful activities, but place them in a theoretical context that allows teachers to adapt and apply them in a wide variety of settings. Features include: *Classroom vignettes. Rather than a "cookbook" of lesson ideas, this text illustrates the possibilities (and obstacles) of meaningful teaching and learning in real classroom settings. *Inquiry-oriented instruction. The approaches shown in the classrooms portrayed derive from current theory and research in the field of history education. This text is not a hodge-podge of activities, but a consistent and theoretically grounded illustration of meaningful history instruction. *Diversity of perspectives. This is emphasized in two ways. First, the text helps students look at historical events and trends from multiple perspectives. Second, the classrooms illustrated throughout the book include teachers and students from a variety of backgrounds--this gives the book widespread appeal to educators in a range of settings. *Assessment. Teachers are provided with clear guidance in using multiple forms of assessment to evaluate the specifically historical aspects of children's learning. New in the Third Edition: *Greater attention is given to the role of history education in preparing students for participation in a pluralist democracy. *Connections are made between instructional activities and the aims of citizenship, reflecting the authors' view that history should contribute to deliberation over an evolving common good. *Examples are provided of techniques for scaffolding discussion about controversial issues and for grounding that discussion in historical study. *International comparisons are included to encourage reflection on the range of perspectives on history education across cultures. *Bibliographies are updated to incorporate new scholarship on historical thinking and learning. *New resources are included for children's literature that supports good teaching.
Customer Reviews:
A Wonderful Book for Educators.......2000-10-25
I have used this great book in the San Diego State and Wayne State university teacher education programs. It's a wonderful opening to an active, participatory method in teaching social studies. And it is a good reminder to practitioners about what history is, how it is constructed, and who it serves. Students at all levels enjoyed "Doing History." Those looking for ways to promote social agency along with a good grasp of the theory behind historical work will do well with this fine text.
Book Description
Doing Multicultural Education for Achievement and Equity is a hands-on, reader-friendly multicultural education textbook that aims to actively engage education students in critical reflection and self examination as they prepare to teach in increasingly diverse classrooms. As it promotes an understanding of the history of and need for multicultural education in schools, Carl Grant and Christine Sleeter's book connects multicultural education to preservice teachers' personal and professional spaces and, further, to an understanding of equity in school and society.
Taking a constructivist perspective on personal development and learning, the text aims to help preservice teachers develop tools to continue to learn about their students and their students' communities and contexts, about themselves, and about social relations in which schools are embedded. Grant and Sleeter, two of the founders and most eminent scholars working in the field of multicultural education, approach their subject in awholly unique way, encouraging the reader to interact with the text through extensive reflection exercises, dialogues, and critiques.
Doing Multicultural Education for Achievement and Equity challenges readers to take a truly active and ongoing role in promoting equity within education and helps to guide them in becoming highly qualified and caring teachers.
Book Description
"The West Si-I-I-I-de." There is a rhythm to the way you say it, letting the last word slide. There is a rhythm to the way life ebbs and flows here, different from the rest of the city, as if life here was determined by the spell of a separate moon, with its own tides. If the West Side could be embodied in the soul of a man, he'd gamble and take his losses without crying; he'd smoke a good cigar on his last three bucks and he'd give you a wink when he passed you on the street. The West Side - one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in the world. A young policeman named Mike Cronin, who'd lost his foot in Vietnam, came to work on the West Side more than three decades ago, getting to know the broken curbs of every drug corner and which buildings had back steps that creaked, getting people to tell him things they never thought they'd tell a cop, where the guns, the drugs and the shooters were hidden. He'd learn the fine line one must walk to be a street cop, the balancing act between toughness and fairness and the ability to enforce the law without being brutal, to not take things personally and to play by the rules when the criminals don't have to, or don't want to. He'd seen men grow rich off drugs and bodies found crumpled cold from overdoses. Over time, Cronin would see change; he'd see names change and faces change, and ages, they'd get younger but, like the turn of seasons that come back upon themselves, he'd see that little had changed at all. This is a story of the West Side through his eyes ... through the eyes of a cop called Cronie.
Customer Reviews:
Life in a World most of us will never visit........2007-03-31
What a Book! It shows the seamy underbelly of the City. Reading This book made me wonder how we can ever break the cycle of drugs and the lifestyle that goes with that that is perpetuated from generation to generation. I think of the little kids sitting on a urine soaked mattress in a "smoke house" watching their parents smoke and/or sell crack and the bigger kids being lookouts for $100.00 a day. No wonder they don't want to go to school. I don't know what the answer is and there is no answer in the book. This is a social workers nightmare. It reminds me of Dante's Inferno where at the entrance into Hell it says "Abandon Hope All ye Who Enter Here". How do they break out? I don't think they want to break out. They are captives of their habit.
Policemen like Cronin can only keep the problem from spilling over into other communities but can never stop what is going on in this community.
It is a picture of a subculture that most of us will never visit. It makes me feel there is no solution for this problem.
Average customer rating:
- Documentary work related to literary fiction
|
Doing Documentary Work (New York Public Library Lectures in Humanities)
Robert Coles
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0195124952 |
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Robert Coles, a child psychiatrist whose series of books on children won him a Pulitzer Prize, has turned his watchful eye to the nature of the documentary and produced a thought-provoking book. In somewhat the manner of James Faris's recent study, Navajo and Photography, Coles reveals how documentarians like Dorothea Lange and Walker Evans edited and cropped their images to produce a desired effect, and raises the question of authenticity versus manipulation. Lange, the subject of a previous biographical study by Coles, comes under close scrutiny as he contrasts her iconic image of a migrant mother with obscure photographs shot moments earlier. The author also recalls James Agee's self-critical appraisal of his and Evans's "insensitivity" and "arrogance" in pursuing an editorial assignment.
Book Description
Sitting in his study, William Carlos Williams once revealed to Robert Coles what he considered to be his greatest problem in writing a documentary about his patients in New Jersey. "When I'm there, sitting with those folks, listening and talking," he said to Coles, "I'm part of that life, and I'm near it in my head, too.... Back here, sitting near this typewriter--its different. I'm a writer. I'm a doctor living in Rutherford who is describing 'a world elsewhere.'" Williams captured the great difficulty in documentary writing--the gulf that separates the reality of the subject from the point of view of the observer . Now, in this thought-provoking volume, the renowned child psychiatrist Robert Coles, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Children in Crisis series, offers a penetrating look into the nature of documentary work. Utilizing the documentaries of writers, photographers, and others, Coles shows how their prose and pictures are influenced by the observer's frame of reference: their social and educational background, personal morals, and political beliefs. He discusses literary documentaries: James Agee's searching portrait of Depression-era tenant farmers, Let Us Now Praise Famous Men, and George Orwell's passionate description of England's coal-miners, The Road to Wigan Pier. Like many documentarians, Coles argues, Agee and Orwell did not try to be objective, but instead showered unadulterated praise on the "noble" poor and vituperative contempt on the more privileged classes (including themselves) for "exploiting" these workers. Documentary photographs could be equally revealing about the observer. Coles analyzes how famous photographers such as Walker Evans and Dorthea Lange edited and cropped their pictures to produce a desired effect. Even the shield of the camera could not hide the presence of the photographer. Coles also illuminates his points through his personal portraits of William Carlos Williams; Robert Moses, one of the leaders of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee during the 1960s; Erik H. Erikson, biographer of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther; and others. Documentary work, Coles concludes, is more a narrative constructed by the observer than a true slice of reality. With the growth in popularity of films such as Ken Burns's The Civil War and the controversial basketball documentary Hoop Dreams, the question of what is "real" in documentary work is more pressing than ever. Through revealing discussions with documentarians and insightful analysis of their work, complemented by dramatic black-and-white photographs from Lange and Evans, Doing Documentary Work will provoke the reader into reconsidering how fine the line is between truth and fiction. It is an invaluable resource for students of the documentary and anyone interested in this important genre.
Customer Reviews:
Documentary work related to literary fiction.......1999-03-04
This is an important book for "so called" documentary writers, photographers, and film makers. I say "so called" because we tend to think of documentary work as an accurate representation--literally the truth. Robert Coles pretty much shoots that idea down, showing how the background, beliefs, biases, hopes, and fears of the documentarian color the narrative. I came away believing that the word objective is not relevant here, and that it may be impossible to ever get at the truth. If I read Coles right, the documentarian may, in fact, be more akin to the literary fiction writer/photographer/film-maker, who does seem to get at the truth. This is not to say that documentary work is futile. On the contrary it can be potent, meaningful, and worthwhile. We may just have to look at it differently and face up to the fact that it reflects the person doing the documentary work as much as it does his/her subject. This is a liberating idea. And we owe a debt to Coles for proffering it. There are consequences, too. For instance, in the light of Coles' discovery, a lot of critics may owe an apology to Richard Avedon, whose photographic fiction, "In The American West," may be fine documentary work after all.
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