The Alphabet Versus the Goddess: The Conflict Between Word and Image

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"Literacy has promoted the subjugation of women by men throughout all but the very recent history of the West," writes Leonard Shlain. "Misogyny and patriarchy rise and fall with the fortunes of the alphabetic written word."

That's a pretty audacious claim, one that The Alphabet Versus the Goddess provides extensive historical and cultural correlations to support. Shlain's thesis takes readers from the evolutionary steps that distinguish the human brain from that of the primates to the development of the Internet. The very act of learning written language, he argues, exercises the human brain's left hemisphere--the half that handles linear, abstract thought--and enforces its dominance over the right hemisphere, which thinks holistically and visually. If you accept the idea that linear abstraction is a masculine trait, and that holistic visualization is feminine, the rest of the theory falls into place. The flip side is that as visual orientation returns to prominence within society through film, television, and cyberspace, the status of women increases, soon to return to the equilibrium of the earliest human cultures. Shlain wisely presents this view of history as plausible rather than definite, but whether you agree with his wide-ranging speculations or not, he provides readers eager to "understand it all" with much to consider. --Ron Hogan

Book Description

Is it sheer coincidence that the European witch hunts quickly followed the invention of the printing press? In his groundbreaking work The Alphabet Versus the Goddess, Leonard Shlain proposes that the invention of writing, particularly alphabetic writing, rewired the human brain, causing profound cultural changes in history, religion, and gender relations. While the advent of literacy brought innumerable benefits to society, the switch to left-brain thinking upset the balance between men and women. The rise of male dominance led to a corresponding decline in goddess veneration and the status of women. Ending on a positive note, Shlain notes that the return of an image-oriented culture - through the media of photography, film, television, and the Internet - has brought about a sharp rise in the feminine values denigrated during the 5,000-year reign of patriarchy and literacy.

Customer Reviews:

Interesting philosophical premise weighed down by redundancy .......2007-10-13

The author states his premise (an interesting one that I find to be a valid possibility) in the opening chapters of the book. Thereafter he proceeds to repeat himself ad nauseum. "Redundant" lacks the sufficient punch needed to describe the effect. This is perhaps the book's largest problem overall, but not the point that stuck in my own personal craw, as it were.

While describing the basics of his theory in chapter one (image and word being the themes at hand) and referring to feminine and masculine archetypal views of the world (and styles of communication and the affects on society of said archetypes) he launches into a harangue that compares and contrasts the two.

From p7:

"Whenever a culture elevates the written word at the expense of the image, patriarchy dominates. Whenever the importance of the image supercedes the written word, feminine values and egalitarianism flourish."

There are so many logical problems with this statement (that is an unfortunate running theme in his world view as expressed in the book) that I don't quite know where to begin. The easiest way to address it is by rephrasing it as such:

When masculine language archetypes are used by a society, said society can expect male dominance over women and all of the assorted associated problems. But when a society values the feminine archetypes over the masculine ones, there will be peace on earth and everyone will be happy.

Funny, I thought imbalance was imbalance and one could expect repercussions of a negative variety from an imbalance at either end of a spectrum. And for whatever it is worth, I say this as a woman who has certainly taken advantage of the positives brought about by Women's Lib while at the same time noticing many negative backlashes from the same movement.

Ironically, this quote is preceded by a statement that these archetypes are COMPLIMENTARY opposites and the very next chapter of the book is started off with a Virginia Wolf quote regarding the of an "androgynous mind" as ideal. Even the opening quote of the first chapter seems to contradict the author's strange dogmatic stance; "Even a positive thing casts a shadow....its unique excellence is at the same time it's tragic flaw." Too bad the theme continues until the end and Mr. Shlain does not apply his thoughts on balance to his own theories.

TO be fair, in the epilogue, he goes on to say that he saw no reason to expound on the positive contributions of masculine communication models in society since there is already a wealth of work on the subject. But by the time I got to that point, it felt like faint and damning praise as well as an attempt to cover his own unbalanced thoughts; almost as if he looked back at the end of writing it and realized he sounded a bit off in the head. If I wanted to be the author's therapist I would have charged him instead of paying for his work.

TO sum up, there are some very interesting thoughts (and fascinating research into other fields of research) in this book. But one needs a very heavy filter to weed out the garbage to get through them. And you can expect to have them restated continuously until many will want to throw the book across the room. I recommend reading the titles, opening quotes, preface and epilogue. You'll more than have the gist. If you want the extras, find his bibliography.

Thought provoking.......2007-04-09

At first it seems like an absurd idea, that the printing press could have had a bad effect on society and culture; it becomes completely engrossing and intriquing. If you can open your mind, this book isn't negative towards women at all, it is just the opposite. Very well researched.

Quasi-science at best.......2007-02-13

This book is awful. It is full of speculations and just bad science. I am going to quote one egregious example. The comments in brackets [ ] are mine:

"Like the brain, the human eye also evolved opposite [really!] but complementary functions. Each human eye is a perfect mirror image of the other; yet within the each retina there resides two functionally different types of cells. With elegant symmetry, the contrasting functions of the rods and cones correspond to the division of tasks between the right and left brain [that is quite a comparison].
"Rods named for their cylindrical shape, are extremely light sensitive.
Distributed evenly throught the periphery of each retina, they see in dim light and appreciate [the rods have feelings??] the totality of the visual field, seeing images as gestalts. Rods share with the right brain the ability to perceive [the rods can think??] reality all-at-once [as opposed to what, a little bit at a time?].
Cones, in contrast congregate densely in a small spot in the central part of the retina...Cones have two attributes. They appreciate [there he goes again] color and intensify clarity [whatever that means]. Concentrating on one aspect of reality at a time, [huh?] cones view the visual field as if through a tunnel. [Actually cones and rods sense light together, at the same time, and your brain integrates and intreprets all that information into a perceived image. But the most fantastic statement is the last sentance of this quote:] Like rods, cones report to both hemispheres, but the left is metaphorically best suited to process their input. [That is such an absurd statement that Shlain gives a footnote, right on the same page, contradicting his non sequitor.]"

And so it goes on for page after page of drivel, I finally gave up after 6 chapters. A lot of reviewers find this book to be thought provoking. I think it is a sad state that our appreciation of science is so dim that people can actually find this nonsense to be of interest.

Provocative thesis, interesting facts, readable style, sensible call for balance.......2007-01-23

The Alphabet Versus the Goddess is a valuable work. From the depths of the human brain to ancient religions to scientific advancement to modern times, Dr. Shlain has molded a fascinating thesis, bringing together much complex human behavior in a large-scale synthesis. If you are willing to open your mind to his numerous ideas, you may find yourself convinced that the rise of the alphabet and wide-spread literacy did indeed spark humans to an imbalance between the genders and the masculine/feminine values of society. If you are willing to understand what I believe he means to teach, you will see that this reoccurring problem in human history has a cure, and it is balance.

There are many facets of his claims and research that merit thought and attention. I personally was inspired to research further into brain characteristics and examine that aspect of the book. You may disagree with which values in the mind are masculine and feminine or even anything from certain historic dates to the discussion of the Bible, but whether or not every fact is unquestionably true is not the entire point. The ancient myths are gruesome at times, the periods of madness horrifying, the suppression of women dismaying, and the final message--hopeful. Dr. Shlain loves words, and it is apparent in his writing (which is readable and flowing), so clearly this work is not an attack on literacy; it is a new and unique examination of patterns throughout history.

Pleased and surprised.......2007-01-23

I picked up this book after seeing numerous references to it on websites I was searching. As a writer and an avid reader since, well, forever, I opened this book fully prepared to completely disagree with everything it was going to present. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that the author was well aware 1) the contradiction of using literary media to discuss a theory of historical social disruption based on literacy 2) that the evidence he was presenting to support his theory was highly subjective, though I must say compelling.

Rarely have I encountered such a well written work about a controversial idea. I found the writing provacative and the subject matter well handled. I have read other reviews saying this book tells the reader literacy is evil/bad..I am wondering if those reviews read the same book I did? It is clear from the first page that Mister Shlain loves reading and writing. He is aware of the power and magic of the written word and it is the historical reprecussions of that power that he is discussing. The notion of literacy as a tool of social upheaval is fascinating in and of itself even without the idea that the physiological effects of the act of reading and writing contributed to the demise of goddess worship.

As woman I was prepared to be disturbed by a "poor women" approach - but this book turned out to be bigger than that. Nothing I was reading felt trivialized or stereotyped.

I don't agree with every premise set forth in this book, and I don't think every example Mister Shlainuses 100% proves his theory, but this is a book about new, big and challenging ideas and it is well worth a read by anyone interested in seeing a different perspective!

Image and Reality of the Israel-Palestine Conflict, New and Revised Edition

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Israel-Palestine Conflict
Selective Bias and Speculation
Image and Reality..
Scholarly representation of the Isreal-Palestine conflict
Biased

Image and Reality of the Israel-Palestine Conflict, New and Revised Edition
Norman G. Finkelstein , and Norman Finkelstein
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1859844421

Book Description

This polemical study systematically undermines the popular and scholarly representations of the Israel- Palestine conflict. Opening with a theoretical discussion of Zionism and its roots, Norman Finkelstein goes on to look at the demographic origins of the Palestinians, referencing the work of Joan Peters and critiquing the influential studies of both Benny Morris and Anita Shapira, and closes by demonstrating that the casting of Israel as the innocent victim of Arab aggression in the June 1967 and October 1973 wars is not supported by the documentary record.

In the material added for this new edition, including a new introduction, Finkelstein focuses his attention on the renewed efforts of scholars to justify the brutal actions of Israel in light of the ongoing failure of the peace process.

Customer Reviews:

Israel-Palestine Conflict.......2007-10-17

Prof. Norman Finkelstein's book debunks several of the historical myths. Some of the these concern the origin of the state of Israel, whose most ignominious episodes were the ethnic cleansing and destruction of hundreds of Palestinian villages in 1948. Other myths concern the nature of Palestine before the arrival of Zionist settlers, which Zionists try to portray as "a land without a people." To debunk these myths Finkelstein analyses in detail Benny Morris's Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem and Joan Peters's From Time Immemorial. In a few pages Finkelstein manages to prove that Peters is an intellectual fraud. One must admire his stamina for plowing through a mediocre text replete with distortions and fabrications. Most mortals would throw the book away after a few pages, but Finkelstein didn't stop until the last footnote - and there are 120 pages of these!

Selective Bias and Speculation.......2007-10-15

I just read chapter 1, pages 12-16 and Chapter 3, pages 51-68 of Image and Reality of the Israel-Palestine Conflict by Norman G. Finkelstein (1995 edition). The first thing I noticed was that it was published by Verso Books, a far left publishing house not known for the academic standards that one would expect from Osprey Publishing (Efraim Karsh's publisher), Cambridge University Press (Benny Morris's publisher), or even John Wiley & Sons (Alan Dershowitz's publisher). Of course, this fact doesn't necessarily disqualify Image and Reality as a reliable source, but it should lead to doubts.

The second thing I noticed was how much of the book seems to be based on a selection of certain sources and facts and complete omission of other sources and facts. Just as I expected, all of the arguments that Finkelstein brings up are from selected secondary sources. He never quotes primary sources unless they are the same quoted in a secondary source. This leads me to think that Finkelstein never examined any primary sources for himself and perhaps does not know how to read or speak Arabic or Hebrew (the "Acknowledgements" page supports this hypothesis).

The third thing I found was that many of his arguments (indeed, the entire "Evidence" section comprised of pages 53-56) is argued from pure speculation. Finkelstein takes the stance that anything that a Zionist leader or publication has ever said "cannot be trusted" unless, of course, that Zionist leader or publication is saying something damning to the pro-Israel argument. This is illogical and goes against the [[historical method]]. Finkelstein is correct in saying that official Zionist documents must be evaluated with a critical eye, but it is downright arrogant to say that Morris doesn't know or didn't practice this basic tenent of the historical method.

Other things I found were instances of creating false dichotomies (pg. 58), putting words into Morris's mouth (59-60, 62), comparisons of the Palestinian exodus to the Holocaust (59), conclusions that do not follow from Finkelstein's stated premises (60), oddly placing events that happened in the 1920s and 1930s in the context of the 1948 Palestinian exodus (12-16), treating the Zionists (and especially Ben-Gurion) as though they were a homogeneous group of fascists (15), and what seems to me to be purely inventing things out of thin air or at least talking about something he doesn't really understand (176, footnote 18).

Anyway, my low opinion of Finkelstein has not changed after reading passages from this book. Everything I've read by him begs the question. His scholarship amounts to, "I know Israel is bad, now let's see if I can prove it," when the correct attitude, the attitude Morris and other serious historians have taken, is publish whatever conclusion all of the evidence lead to. To me, Finkelstein's criticisms of Morris is like a D student in algebra class telling a calculus professor that he doesn't do derivatives correctly. He doesn't walk the walk and, in the opinion of most experts in the field and the tenure committee at DePaul Univeristy, he doesn't talk the talk.

Image and Reality.. .......2007-07-27

I read this book with the knowledge that Finkelstein was given a rough time leading up to his tenure bid (I am sure as may have many other readers). In light of the subsequent outcome of that bid this book stands as testimony to the quality of the authors scholarship and hence readers may understandably find it somewhat controversial.

Right from first page of the book it is very clear that the information used is thoroughly researched and extensively referenced. Due to the recent spate of bad referencing/plagiarisms from well known authors I personally checked a dozen of the references used in random places in the book and found no incorrect points or malicious omissions worth mentioning.

As for the content of the book it is of my opinion that there is a lot of very interesting information that is both novel and new to readers interested in this topic. The author outlines the nitty gritty aspects of politics in the region and puts into perspective the view point of the Palestinian people living in the occupied territories. The historical role of Israel and actions of its government is portrayed in a critical fashion. The author also points out in great detail the outcomes of sequential failed peace summits and the role of peace negotiators. Overall.. the plight of the Palestinian people and the sorry state of events in the middle east is portrayed very extensively in this book. I recommend this book to all interested in the region and the politics associated with it. 5 stars!!

Scholarly representation of the Isreal-Palestine conflict.......2007-05-22

This book is very well written. It gives the historical background of the conflict and provides thorough, credible documentation for verification of content. This is essential reading for anyone interested in the subject.

Biased.......2007-05-16

This work lacks any reasonable semblance of impartiality and honesty. The author relies on tendentious and biased sources. If you are looking for a critical analysis of Israel's part in the Arab-Israel conflict, look elsewhere.

Making Weight: Healing Men's Conflicts with Food, Weight, and Shape

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Overall Good
Don't bother.
Review by Joel Yager, M.D.
Academy for Eating Disorders Review
Light Treatment

Making Weight: Healing Men's Conflicts with Food, Weight, and Shape
Arnold Andersen , Leigh Cohn , and Tom Holbrook
Manufacturer: Gurze Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Tanita BC533 Glass Innerscan Body Composition Monitor

ASIN: 0936077352

Book Description

The negative body-image epidemic that affects millions of women is also a hidden problem for millions of men. In spite of a decade-long emphasis on health and fitness - or perhaps because of it - more men are suffering from a variety of eating disorders and self-abusive behaviors. Using vignettes from their patients, the authors present a new program to help men overcome these problems. They offer ways to enhance self-image, facts about why diets fail, information about the dangers of using steroids, and a section for women who want to help the men in their life.

Customer Reviews:

Overall Good.......2006-02-10

While I don't aggree with everything in the book. The book provides a good overview of males with eating disorders as well as Dr. Holbrook's personal story. I think some of the low ratings are because certain chapters are hard to understand but it is overall a good book.

Don't bother........2004-06-19

This book is a big disappointment. Offers no valuable insights for men with eating disorders. Andersen is called the leading authority on this subject but I cannot fathom why this is so. Most likely, he and the other editors/authors just wanted to be the first to publish a book like this. Unfortunately, they were not up to the task. Hopefully, someone who understands this topic more will eventually publish a more useful book on the subject.

Review by Joel Yager, M.D........2002-05-22

You'd never suspect from looking at the cover articles of men's fitness magazines at your local newsstands, but until now men had cause to feel neglected by the body dissatisfaction mavens of the academic community. In contrast to the scores of books written about women's issues about their bodies, eating disorders, and related topics, the literature addressed to males has been thin indeed. Men with eating disorders can now feel cared about too.

Dr. Tom Holbrook's account of his own struggle with anorexia nervosa is a highlight of the book. This remarkably candid, self-revelatory story of an astute psychiatrist whose struggles permeated his medical and psychiatric training and subsequent practice is probably matchless in the annals of wounded healers.

The last sections concern recovery, dealing with topics from basic nutritional information designed to foster realistic dietary and meal planning for gaining (or losing) weight, to psychological, social and spiritual aspects of recovery.

Academy for Eating Disorders Review.......2002-05-22

This book offers the lay person a comprehensive guide to weight and body image issues in men and promises to be a valuable resource for men and their families. The authors make compelling arguments for how and why these problems have increased for males over the last decade. The book is directed primarily toward men "who can't stand the way they look in the mirror, and the ones who are so driven for perfection that they neglect the deeper areas of life"(p.xiv). However, it is also intended for family and friends of such men and professionals who may treat them in clinical practice. The tone and style of the book would appeal a bit more to a lay audience than a professional one, and I think would make a good "recommended reading" for a therapist to offer to a client.

Overall, this book makes a very important contribution ... and one that you can recommend to your patients for an informative and insightful examination of men's concerns with weight and shape.

Light Treatment.......2000-07-04

Surprise surprise! Men have bodies, too; and what they see in their own glass or mental mirrors has as deep a sociological and psychological influence as for women. Inevitably, then, habitual use of food and exercise to control the personal impulses and cultural responses could never remain a "woman's problem." What will be regretable will be how many male deaths and destroyed lives it will take before that simple point does not have to be the main theme opening a book such as this...and then pretty much the only theme of substance that the authors seem interested in fleshing out throughout the rest of their superficial treatment of the subject. Before this book, material on male eating disorders was quite rare and frequently misguided; after this book, good material on male eating disorders remains just as rare as before. With the deep experience brought to the matter by all three respectable authors, that suggests a depressing prognosis for finding any understanding out there among less knowledgeable therapists and others in a position to support recovery. Sure, the book throws a wide net in the search for causes and recognizes the core of the issue in its suggestions for recovery; but in an attempt to reach a general public audience, they have gone so light-headed that they come off like quack doctors probing any place it might maybe hurt, then handing out snake oil for the remedy. Even with gender identity running so horribly ferociously through the problem for both sexes, men who suffer and the family and support systems helping them would do better at this point to look to any of the excellent books already published for women.

Disappearing Persons: Shame and Appearance (Suny Series in Psychoanalysis and Culture)

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About much more than shame
The Mutifarious Mind
Review of Disappearing Persons

Disappearing Persons: Shame and Appearance (Suny Series in Psychoanalysis and Culture)
Benjamin Kilborne
Manufacturer: State University of New York Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 079145200X

Book Description

Investigates the psychocultural crisis confronting our increasingly appearance oriented, shame-driven society.

Customer Reviews:

About much more than shame.......2006-01-17

In addition to persons interested in shame for personal or professional reasons, this book is excellent for sociologists, other social scientists, and artists interested in how negotiations between individuals and their social surroundings influence the meanings of self and community. Kilborne's observations are precise and the significance of the themes that emerge from many observations is acute. Best of all his writing is direct, clear, and suitable for sophisticated professional and intelligent layperson alike.

The Mutifarious Mind.......2002-04-21

Kilborne's book achieves itself quietly and with a tremendous and subtle power. Interweaving a vast knowledge of literature with a keen understanding of the vissisitudes of language and pychoanalytic practice, Kilborne explores the nature of grief and loss. This book is extraordinary in its capacity to articulate clearly and concisely the private phemonenon by which people come to lose themselves, only to spend their lives attempting to reconstruct that central loss.

Review of Disappearing Persons.......2002-03-15

This is a wonderful book, filled with psychoanalytic wisdom on an often neglected topic, that of shame and its contribution to character development. Kilborne writes with grace and wit, interweaving analytic concepts and case studies with a rich collection of references from literature, philosophy, anthropology, history and even politics. The book covers lots of territory, but not at the expense of depth. It never loses its focus on the concept of shame, and never descends into the byzantine psychoanalytic jargonizing one encounters so often in books of this type. It also contains abundant references and end notes. I highly recommend it for psychoanalysts, other psychotherapists and anyone else with a humanistic interest.

Beneath the Visiting Moon: Images of Combat in Southern Africa (Issues in Low-Intensity Conflict Series)

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Well worth the hunt!

Beneath the Visiting Moon: Images of Combat in Southern Africa (Issues in Low-Intensity Conflict Series)
Jim Hooper
Manufacturer: Lexington Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0669246379

Customer Reviews:

Well worth the hunt!.......2000-06-02

I found this book many moons ago in a used book rack. Having recently re-read the volume I am again impressed by seeing a view of South Africa's efforts to halt communism in SW Africa/Namibia. Now that apartheid has ended officially, we the rest of the world can see the other side of life in the southern tip of Africa. Mr. Hooper's description of his time with Koevoet is both exciting and in-depth in his examination of the people conducting counter-insurgency against the communist supported SWAPO. A good, fast read that can allow the reader a chance to expand their knowledge of what attrocities were committed by forces in the name of "global marxism." Balance this work with recently released histories on American work against communism. You the reader can now decide with a more balanced view. Not just a war history but a look at why men fight for seemingly unjust causes.

Inventing Vietnam: The War in Film and Television (Culture and the Moving Image)

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Inventing Vietnam: The War in Film and Television (Culture and the Moving Image)

Manufacturer: Temple University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0877228620

Book Description

The Vietnam War has been depicted by every available medium, each presenting a message, an agenda, of what the filmmakers and producers choose to project about America's involvement in Southeast Asia. This collection of essays, most of which are previously unpublished, analyzes the themes, modes, and stylistic strategies seen in a broad range of films and television programs.

From diverse perspectives, the contributors comprehensively examine early documentary and fiction films, postwar films of the 1970s such as The Deer Hunter and Apocalypse Now, and the reformulated postwar films of the 1980s—Platoon, Full Metal Jacket, and Born on the Fourth of July. They also address made-for-television movies and serial dramas like China Beach and Tour of Duty. The authors show how the earliest film responses to America's involvement in Vietnam employ myth and metaphor and are at times unable to escape glamorized Hollywood. Later films strive to portray a more realistic Vietnam experience, often creating images that are an attempt to memorialize or to manufacture different kinds of myths. As they consider direct and indirect representations of the war, the contributors also examine the power or powerlessness of individual soldiers, the racial views presented, and inscriptions of gender roles. Also included in this volume is a chapter that discusses teaching Vietnam films and helping students discern and understand film rhetoric, what the movies say, and who they chose to communicate those messages.

Average customer rating:

A great author and a great teacher

a fascinating read

An interesting and important book

Friendly Fire: American Images of the Vietnam War
Katherine Kinney
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Tangled Memories: The Vietnam War, the AIDS Epidemic, and the Politics of Remembering

9/11: The Culture of Commemoration

The Spitting Image: Myth, Memory, and the Legacy of Vietnam

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The Gulf War Did Not Take Place

ASIN: 0195141962

Book Description

Hundreds of memoirs, novels, plays, and movies have been devoted to the American war in Vietnam. In spite of the great variety of media, political perspectives and the degrees of seriousness with which the war has been treated, Katherine Kinney argues that the vast majority of these works share a single story: that of Americans killing Americans in Vietnam. Friendly Fire, in this instance, refers not merely to a tragic error of war, it also refers to America's war with itself during the Vietnam years. Starting from this point, this book considers the concept of "friendly fire" from multiple vantage points, and portrays the Vietnam age as a crucible where America's cohesive image of itself is shattered--pitting soldiers against superiors, doves against hawks, feminism against patriarchy, racial fear against racial tolerance. Through the use of extensive evidence from the film and popular fiction of Vietnam (e.g. Kovic's Born on the Fourth of July, Didion's Democracy, O'Brien's Going After Cacciato, Rabe's Sticks and Bones and Streamers), Kinney draws a powerful picture of a nation politically, culturally, and socially divided, and a war that has been memorialized as a contested site of art, media, politics, and ideology.

Customer Reviews:

A great author and a great teacher.......2005-01-12

Katherine Kinney's book is a miniature first class education. Having taken classes from Dr.Kinney I was eager to read her book and found every chapter a satisfying line of criticism. Ignore all negative or unappreciative reviews of this book or this author.

a fascinating read.......2005-01-03

In "Friendly Fire," Katherine Kinney offers a fascinating cultural analysis of the Vietnam conflict as it has been represented through popular media. Writing in a style accessible to the casual reader and the serious Vietnam scholar alike, she explores America's involvement in Vietnam by paying particular attention to how certain cultural fears and desires have been reflected through the portrayal of this historical conflict.

You may have read the only other Amazon review of this book, an embarrassing and cowardly hatchet-job by a disgruntled ex-graduate student at the University of California, Riverside, the university at which the book's author is a well-respected professor and scholar. As a former student at this university, I immediately recognized the author of this character assassination (despite the cowardice of the unsigned post), a student whose shoddy performance on their doctoral examinations was one of the truly embarrassing moments in recent, departmental history (the gulf between expectation and actuality was enormous). My recommendation would be to ignore this vindictive attack from an arrogant and unstable person who is pretty much viewed as a joke in the English Department at UC Riverside.

Oxford University Press, long noted for publishing interesting, relevant, and cutting-edge work, has done so yet again with "Friendly Fire." For those interested in the Vietnam War, post-WWII masculinity, or media studies, this book will provide a fascinating read.

Signed,

Andrew Howe

An interesting and important book.......2004-12-27

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Images of War (Vietnam Experience)

Manufacturer: Time Life Education
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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The North: The Communist Struggle for Vietnam (The Vietnam Experience)

ASIN: 0939526182

Jewish Images in the Christian Church: Art As the Mirror of the Jewish-Christian Conflict, 200-1250 Ce

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Jewish Images in the Christian Church: Art As the Mirror of the Jewish-Christian Conflict, 200-1250 Ce
Henry N. Claman
Manufacturer: Mercer University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0865546959

Book Description

This careful analysis of a millennium of Christian art outlines the path by which Christians reinterpreted the Hebrew Scriptures to prove they foretold the ascendancy of Christianity. Starting with a solid introduction to the origins of Christianity and the beginnings of Christian art in the catacombs of Rome, Claman skillfully demonstrates the development of the anti-Jewish message of Christian art. The study culminates with analyses of the majestic cathedral at Chartres, the public burning of the Talmud in Paris in 1248, and the expulsion of the Jews from France and England. With the third century frescoes in the catacombs of Rome, public art began to illustrate the doctrine of supersessionism. Christian marble sarcophagi, church mosaics, and statues, and brilliant Gothic stained glass showed how Christianity completely reinterpreted the Old Testament to indicate that it predicted and validated Christianity.

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Enemy Images in American History

Manufacturer: Berghahn Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
ASIN: 1571810315

Book Description

It seems to be a tenet of the human condition to perceive others as different and potentially hostile. In nearly all societies stereotypes are developed to stigmatize suspected enemies within and without. The American case is particularly interesting in this respect because American society consists of nothing but others; to be open to others and welcome those who are different is one of the basic tenets of the country. However, this principle often conflicts with the need to integrate all these strangers into a homogeneous, governable society, which causes the formation of hostile stereotypes of certain ethnic groups that do not fit in. The authors in this volume look at the development of these enemy images, which form a fairly consistent pattern, from the period of the American Revolution to the post-World War II era. In doing so, they focus on the question of to what extent these enemy images influence the formulation and outcome of foreign, domestic and immigration policies.

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