Book Description
David Lynch is an anomaly. A pioneer of the American 'indie' aesthetic, he also works in Hollywood and for network TV. He has created some of the most disturbing images in contemporary cinema, and produced startlingly innovative work in sound. If the consistency of his 'vision' suggests he might be approached as an auteur, defining that vision raises many questions. The essays in this collection push toward a fuller account of the cultural and technological contexts within which his works developed during the 1980s and 1990s, and of his intense engagement with the creative and working practices of the industry. They offer an up-to-date range of theoretically divergent readings that demonstrates not only the difficulty of locating stable interpretative positions for Lynch's work, but also the pleasure of finding new ways of thinking about it. Films discussed include Blue Velvet, Wild at Heart, The Straight Story, and Mulholland Drive.
Customer Reviews:
Very good read on David Lynch.......2007-07-06
I'm reading this book a 2nd time now. I would say this book is im my top three Lynch books as well and it provides a very good outline, and possibly, a key, for the way Lynch thinks. If anything, it will help you come up with more of your own conclusions. From a devoted Lynch fan, this is a great read!
lynch debunk.......2005-10-14
I gotta agree with Critic-AL... too much ink is being spilled about Lynch that reads like retread po-mo theories. I'll go with Pervert in the Pulpit too, and I'm not alone. You don't have to be a film student or academic to appreciate Johnson's heady read ... still, I think the review of Pervert by David Lancaster in the latest issue of Film and History totally sums up my thinking: "There is a slightly malicious pleasure in seeing a modish reputation being debunked, especially when the reader was mystified by the fuss in the first place. Pervert in the Pulpit is not a crude hatchet job, however. Rather, it is clear-sighted and informed, and, in true Manichean fashion, on the side of the critical angels."
adulation or criticism?.......2005-03-26
By calling Nochimson's book "amazing," [...]the problem with a lot of Lynch criticism: the audience for his films is divided between fans and serious students of cinema. As Lynch's reputation as an innovator continues to wear thin - face, it, his uneven oeuvre is not aging well - die-hard loyalists continue to gush about his, in my opnion, limited success as a cutting-edge film director. This book may be timely, but it isn't as interesting as Jeff Johnson's iconoclastic "Pervert in the Pulpit: Morality in the Work of David Lynch," which I'd recommend before any of the other, more pandering texts Joe cites.
One of the Best Books on Lynch.......2004-09-23
Is it possible for a good book of film criticism to be dominated by lavish photos and the like? Not in my experience. The closest to that is the BFI series, and those are hardly the sort of thing "a reader" is talking about. Of all the books on Lynch out there, this is probably my #3, behind Martha Nomchinson's amazing "Wild at Heart in Hollywood" and the essential "Lynch on Lynch."
The simataneous release of the paperback and hardcover editions should have clued "a reader" into the HC edition being a library edition... Don't let this person's stupidty put you off, this is one of the best books analyzing Lynch one can find.
Book Description
Myron Magnet's The Dream and the Nightmare argues that the radical transformation of American culture that took place in the 1960s brought today's underclass-overwhelmingly urban, dismayingly minority-into existence. Lifestyle experimentation among the white middle class produced often catastrophic changes in attitudes toward marriage and parenting, the work ethic and dependency in those at the bottom of the social ladder, and closed down their exits to the middle class.
Customer Reviews:
Waking Up to the Realities.......2007-10-01
THE DREAM AND THE NIGHTMARE is an exceptionally important book. President George W. Bush specifically referred to it as one of the most influential books he has read and made it the cornerstone of his compassionate conservativism. In the book, Myron Magnet of the Manhattan Institute attempts to answer one of the true riddles of our time: In a society of such opportunity, why is there an underclass that seems totally entrenched in failure and that seems incapable of finding its way into the respectable mainstream of American life?
For those in the middle class, this really is a puzzle. The answers seem so obvious. Get a job; gain work experience in order to climb the ladder; do not expect something for nothing; be selective about who you have sex with and use those precautions necessary to minimize unwanted pregnancies; when you do have kids, read to them and oversee their upbringing so that they can properly interact with others; and if you do take drugs, well, just make it the occasional joint, don't get all crazy there. The answer Magnet reaches has less to do with policy and more to do with philosophy. THE DREAM AND THE NIGHTMARE is a manifesto to the concept that ideas have consequences.
Magnet points to the significant paradigm shift of the 1960s, in which many elites thought it was progressive, even compassionate, to denigrate traditional notions of morality and the American way of life. Shifting the concept from personal responsibility among the poor to the idea that the poor are victims of society entitled to handouts, racial separation among blacks, sexual liberation, permissiveness regarding drug use, and other attitudes that demonstrated an oppositional mindset to the traditional notions of how to get ahead filtered down from the upper classes who espoused them to the lower classes who adopted them.
The results have been disastrous. As Magnet points out, many members of the upper class knew that there was a limit to how far they could go before jeapardizing themselves. And even for those who did go over the edge, there was usually some safety net among one's family and social structure that softened the blow. Yet when these same ideas were adopted by those at the lower end of the ladder, without the socialization which might have provided an internal barrier to holding back before the edge and without the external social structure to soften the landing, the results were something else indeed. The destruction of the two-parent family, rampant drug use and its attendant violence, laziness and a 'I deserve something to be handed to me' attitude have combined to stop the advance of a large section of our society in its tracks.
Magnet's theory explains not only how the underclass was created but also why so many factors of urban life seemed to erode at the same time. Specific policies may have an effect on this or that issue. But significant changes in a people's philosophy, the zeitgeist in which they live and breathe, will have a far wider impact. That is what we now see and it is a deeply disturbing sight for those of us who are witness to the results.
Unfortunately, the biggest impediment to change is also philosophical. It is all but impossible for someone to even discuss these issues without those on the political Left howling about racism, blaming the victim, blah, blah, blah. And the underclass itself is now so violent and disfunctional that it is nothing short of flat-out dangerous to address its members directly. Even then, the members of the underclass are so enveloped in their thinking that it is like talking to a brick wall. It is so bad that telling it straight is simply interpreted as racism or naivity about what life on the street is really like. The underclass displays that most damaging of traits - an imperviousness to negative yet accurate feedback. The road ahead looks dark indeed.
The welfare mess.......2007-05-21
Myron Magnet's book is an excellent example of why 1960s leftists should be having second thoughts. In a nutshell, he argues that the mindset and the values of the sixties are largely responsible for America's urban underclass. The sixties counterculture and the sexual revolution both put in place a set of values and beliefs that for many turned poverty into a way of life.
The liberations promoted by the counter-culturalists - sexual, personal, political, economic - did not liberate. Instead, they enslaved people. Says Magnet, the no-fault way in which the counter-culturalist conducted his personal life was "mirrored by his no-fault social policy, all rights and entitlements without responsibilities".
These counterculture values had a very real bearing on the issue of poverty. The traditional values that either prevented poverty or helped one escape from poverty - thrift, hard work, responsibility, deferral of gratification, sobriety - were eschewed. In their place were enshrined the values of hedonism, sensualism and selfishness. These values can only entrap, not liberate. As Irving Kristol put it, "It's hard to rise above poverty if society keeps deriding the human qualities that allow you to escape from it."
Take the sexual revolution for example. The reshaped values of the sexual revolution were directly responsible for the breakdown of families, for easy divorce, for illegitimacy, for sole-parent households. Not that these problems didn't exist before the onset of the sexual revolution, but they were certainly exacerbated and compounded by it.
The new culture, as Magnet explains, "permitted, even celebrated, behavior that, when poor people practice it, will imprison them inextricably in poverty. It's hard to persuade ghetto fifteen-year-olds not to get pregnant, for instance, when the entire culture, from rock music to upscale perfume commercials to highbrow books, is intoxicated with the joy of what before AIDS was called `recreational' sex."
Moreover, the new culture "held the poor back from advancement by robbing them of responsibility for their fate and thus further squelching their initiative and energy. Instead of telling them to take wholehearted advantage of opportunities that were rapidly opening, the new culture told the Have-Nots that they were victims of an unjust society and, if they were black, that they were entitled to restitution, including advancement on the basis of racial preference rather than mere personal striving and merit."
Viewing poverty primarily in terms of a poverty of values is not a new thesis: Other social commentators, like George Gilder and Thomas Sowell, have argued this thesis. Moreover, earlier commentators like Max Weber have pointed out the connection between values and socio-economic development. Historical examples can be cited. For example, many historians now agree that the spread of Methodism in England in the 18th Century helped spare England the bloody revolutions taking place around it. John Wesley's preaching imbued the English people with a conservative orderliness that helped to avert revolutionary violence and upheaval.
Magnet's book confirms the thesis that the major operatives in a society are not just economic ones. Moral, religious and cultural values even more strongly determine how a society will fare - politically and economically. The question of crime also must be seen in terms of values. The use of force and threat - police, courts, prisons - is one way to restrain aggression and crime. However, "The most powerful curb isn't force at all: it is the internal inhibition that society builds into each person's character, the inner voice".
Instead of worrying about lenient sentencing or cumbersome legal procedures - as important as they are - of more value is ensuring that "inner barriers to violence and aggression are strongly in place. This is a cultural matter, a matter of how people bring up their children, a matter of the messages that get passed from the community to the parents and thence to the children.
The object is both to transmit the necessary prohibitions against aggression to each individual and to win each individual's inner, positive assent to the social endeavor."
And that of course is what is not happening in black urban America. Sixty-eight per cent of all black children are born without a father at home. Thus it is much harder for positive values to be transmitted. But the tragedy of broken black families is perpetuated by counterculture values: love'em and leave'em is the natural expression of the sexual revolution, and the economic reinforcement of illegitimacy is the logical outcome of welfarism. As Charles Murray noted, a welfare mother's child "provides her with the economic insurance that a husband used to represent."
Thus counterculture values reinforce and perpetuate the crime, poverty and despair of the ghetto. The poverty of values that emanated from the 1960s counterculture have left their mark. And welfarism simply ingrained the problems. Best of intentions, we have learned, unfortunately are not enough. Reformist zeal needs to be backed up by hard thinking and common sense. Simply throwing money at a problem will usually not suffice. The less politically tangible route of changing values and belief systems is generally more effective.
Victims of the 1960s' liberal fantasies.......2006-07-13
I was particularly interested in the sections on the 'homeless'. I spent some five years working in this field. As with Dalrympole's Life at the Bottom, and Bartholomew's The Welfare State We're In, Magnet applies a for too long dismissed common sense viewpoint. For too long the chattering classes have gotten away with arguing that social issues such as homelessness are the result of poverty, class, gender and race discrimination -(yawn!). The reality, as Magnet concurs, is a breakdown in Christian values (there is no alternative to the ten commandments),the family, and morality. Sadly, the resultant social policies stemming from the muddleheaded, liberal mindset of the 1960s has left in their wake, 'sink estate' victims. They have been the unwitting fall out from the failed experimental social fantasies of the 1960s' academics. The authors of these policies can escape along with their Chardonnay drinking cronnies to the comfort of their rural havens, but not so the many lives that their alternate social ideas broke. The homeless sections in Magnet's book complement Daibhidh Macadhaimh's Unlocking Carol's Smile (Trafford Publishing. isbn 141205550-4) a gripping novel set in the world of social exclusion. It is written from the writer's experience working in this field and tells it like it is. The emotional and social conflict involving the two central characters challenges a particular taboo within care in the community services: they develop an unlikely relationship. The book could sit comfortably on a social science shelf, not least because of its contrary ideological approach to the subject of the causes of social exclusion.
Beware of simple (and simple-witted) answers to complex questions.......2006-06-17
This would have been an interesting and original view of the problem of persistent poverty in the U.S. had it been published, oh, about thirty or thirty-five years ago. As it is, it grossly oversimplifies a complex problem, and worse, plays to the cherished superstitions of neoconservative intellectuals and their `lumpen' readers alike. It will probably come as a great surprise to the author, but I doubt poor black, Hispanic, and hell, even poor white kids have ever even heard of Norman Mailer, much less studied his essays in school. It may also have escaped the author's attention that inflation whittled the value of payments from programs such as Aid to Families with Dependent Children down to a fraction of 1960's levels, even factoring in occasional cost-of-living increases-which had all but ceased starting in the 1980's. Finally, under the impetus of a conservative Congress, the Clinton administration undertook reform of "welfare" in 1996 which included drastically tightening eligibility requirements, placing strict time limits on receipt of benefits, and actively directing recipients into jobs. Yet poverty seems to persist despite the implementation of conservative nostrums and even more amazingly, despite a near-full employment economy at the end of the 1990's. In other words, trying to blame everything on kids who grew their hair long in the 1960's, and vapid socialites hobnobbing with Bobby Seale at Leonard Bernstein's soirees forty years ago is not only not right-it isn't even wrong
Meanwhile, since the Nixon administration we have conducted a "War on Drugs" that has stuffed prisons full to bursting with (mostly low level) drug dealers and users-nearly all of them minorities--but accomplished very little else. Although crime rates have in fact dropped to historically low levels, this seems to have little if any correlation with incarceration rates, which have been relentlessly rising since the 1970's. This decrease in crime, by the way, confounded neoconservative predictions at the beginning of the 1990's that crime-allegedly inspired by our evil culture-would continue spiraling upwards without letup. Similar decreases occurred in out-of-wedlock births, but as an old saying goes, "A lady's reputation seldom improves." Especially when she is a member of a racial minority, I might add. It would seem that the underclass owes very little to the 1960's counterculture, although Encounter Books-once a source of urbane and intelligent works-would probably not have taken Mr. Magnet's manuscript had he concluded as much.
Neoconservatives, it turns out, are as rigidly locked into a mindless party line as the 1960's leftists they criticize. For example, black social scientists such as Glen Loury and William Julius Wilson were clutched to neoconservative bosoms when their research found that blacks suffered relatively little racial discrimination in hiring compared to past decades. They were dropped like hot potatoes however when their continued investigations showed that minority unemployment had a lot more to do with factors such as the virtual disappearance of even low-skilled work from most urban areas, and the lack of transportation to exurban areas where most job growth was. Kind of makes blaming the 1969 Woodstock festival look silly, to say the least.
There is no doubt that there is something that was once called "the culture of poverty" that inculcates some of the poor with self-defeating attitudes and behaviors. This was already old hat by the time "London Labor and London Poor" was published during the Victorian age. Presumably, the Victorian poor did not become or remain so because of Janet Jackson displaying her bosom on television a century later.
There are innumerable other criticisms to be made of this book starting with its confusion of drug-taking behavior among the poor (which tends to seek oblivion from hopelessness) with middle-class drug taking behavior (which is usually risk-seeking or thrill-seeking), but a complete enumeration of its mistakes, misconceptions, and half-truths would take an essay nearly as long as the book itself. Suffice it to say that instead of being random, the errors all seem to point in a certain political direction. Readers may conclude what they will about the author's presumed good faith from this. Those looking for `just-so-stories' to confirm their darkest prejudices towards racial minorities and justify doing nothing will certainly find what they seek in this book. Those looking for nuanced discussions aimed at trying to solve problems instead of finding scapegoats will have to look elsewhere.
This is a landmark work for the ages...and to you who object..........2005-07-30
This book is one of the most articulate explanations for post-1960s socio-economic trends and the damage the cultural movement left in its wake. TO THOSE NEGATIVE REVIEWERS: I wonder if any of you even read the book. The depth at which Magnet covers the connection between the ideological shift of the "haves" and failed social policies is extensive. This book is not a party-based flag waver. It is an unbias, multi-dimensional study that should give any open-minded person something to ponder. It's time to realize that the "haves" in this country aren't just big conservative blood-thirsty corporations, but that the privileged in this country often reside in the secular entertainment industry and the halls of congress itself. If you don't read this book, just know this: we live in the most privileged society ever to exist in history, even with our shortcomings, and people can only find true compassion, and create true change, if they choose to see the real problems and destructive social codes facing our communities.
Average customer rating:
- Civil Rights Essential
- So much insight
- Martin & Malcolm & America: A Dream or a Nightmare
- James Cone's MARTIN AND MALCOLM AND AMERICA Remains Top List
- A Must Have!!!!
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Martin & Malcolm & America: A Dream or a Nightmare
James H. Cone
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ASIN: 0883448246 |
Customer Reviews:
Civil Rights Essential.......2007-04-23
I purchased this book for my American Religious Diversity class and found that it gives you a clear timeline of the Civil Rights Movement and how Martin viewed it as the American dream and how Malcolm viewed it as a nightmare. The book's chapters follow the Civil Rights Movement chronologically by date and discuss Martin's and Malcolm's personal lives, religious obligations, beliefs, priorities, and virtually every other aspect in enough detail to give you a clear picture of the time. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the Civil Rights Movement.
So much insight.......2006-11-30
Dr. Cone really points out the differences between Dr King and Malcolm X like no one else. But more importantly he sees so many simalaities. For erxample Malcom X encouraged blacks to go to Christian churches and get involved in social isues. Further, Dr Cone points out that Malcolm X wanted to go to Law School!!.
Also it is interesting that Dr. King refused to debate their respective postions.
Every time I am in Harlem at Lennox Ave and 125th St. I reflect on Dr Cone's masterpiece.
Have all children and adults read this book.
Darrell Pone,MD
Old Westbury, NY
Martin & Malcolm & America: A Dream or a Nightmare.......2006-11-06
Great book. Insightful writing.
James Cone's MARTIN AND MALCOLM AND AMERICA Remains Top List.......2004-11-24
Dr James Cone's MARTIN AND MALCOLM AND AMERICA: A DREAM OR A NIGHTMARE is one of the best books I've encountered.
Cone discusses the rhetorical strategies of Martin Luther King, Jr, and Malcolm X as they applied to their particular audiences: King to the South and Malcolm X to the North. Cone argues that Martin King's strategy of non-violent protest, while effective in the extremely segregated and anti-integrationist South, was not effective in the North (particularly in cities like Chicago and Detroit) because the discourse and policy of "integration" was already superficially accepted by Northeners. The "liberal" North found King's rhetoric to be more or less agreeable even as the structures of discrimination continued to subject black people to a brutal double-standard. Thus Malcolm X's policy of Black Nationalism (separatist rather than integrationist) that allowed for violence epitomized by the slogan "by any means necessary" was more successful in the North because it more effectively confronted personal and systematic racism. Long story short: two different rhetors with different rhetorics because of different situations, different audiences, with different immediate goals. Interestingly, near the close of both men's lives--Malcolm X killed in 1965 and Martin King in 1968--Malcolm began to sound a little more like Martin; and Martin began to speak even more forcefully, not unlike Malcolm had been known to do previously.
I had the great luxury of hearing Dr Cone present a lecture based on the book back in 1992. Twelve years later, my assesment of the book remains constant: Outstanding.
A Must Have!!!!.......2004-09-07
This book is one of the best books I've read concerning MLK Jr. and Malcolm X in a comparative manner. From beginning to end it is written in a fashion that keeps you intrigued. I won't provide a summary because that has already been done but the detail of these mens lives is remarkable. I definitely feel that you can not go wrong with purchasing this book because you will not be disappointed.
Customer Reviews:
Odd For Engel To Write A Bio Of Someone He Clearly Doesn't Like.......2005-09-09
This is the second Rod Serling biography I've read and it is terrible! Engel claims to be a fan of Serling's work but the entire book is just a lame depiction of Serling, claiming that any good idea he ever had was stolen from someone else. Serling the man is also depicted as a bumbling, inept, insecure fool without an ounce of integrity. Perhaps this biased, negative approach stems from the fact that Engel is a journalist and the media tends to fixate on the "sexy" underbelly of life.
Also, it's surprising how little Engel knows about the fiction writing process. It's the writer's job to take what is going on around him or her and spin it into a tale, but whenever Serling is shown doing this, he is stealing. Well, as Mark Twain said: "Good writers borrow, great writers steal." The legendary Max Brand used to say: "When reading a story, stop halfway through, figure out how the thing will end, write a new beginning to support your ending and, boom, you have a story." Is this stealing or is this being inspired. As I writer myself, the latter is the right explanation. How Engel misses this, I don't know.
At any rate, this is a poor exploration of Serling's life, written in a style that fails to captivate. There are better books on Serling. Avoid this one and read those.
Book Description
America's greatness comes from people working hard to fulfill their dreams. But today that greatness is being undermined by people using the government to steal other people's dreams (and money). Rather than participate and innovate in the marketplace, generating goods and services that benefit society, people are increasingly vying for political advantage to live at the expense of others. Something for Nothing reveals the social and personal threats inherent in this emerging "grabbing match" culture, juxtaposing free-market virtues against government vices, explaining how the something-for-nothing mentality corrupts the political system, undermines corporate success, and stifles the individual's ability to prosper and contribute long-term to society. More than exposing the dangers, however, Tracy helps readers set a personal and culture-wide agenda for change.
Download Description
"The worst day in a man's life is when he sits down and begins thinking about how he can get something for nothing." -Thomas Jefferson The United States of America is the greatest country in the world, and perhaps in all of history. Amricans are the most generous people on earth. They give more money to help others than all the countries of the world put together. America takes in more immigrants each year than all other countries. America produces 25% of all the goods and services in the world with only 5% of the population. America is the most powerful country on earth militarily, and the only country that has never sought to expand by conquest and imperialism. And yet today, America is in great danger of loosing its moral, ethical and political bearings than at any other time. In the headlong rush to get something for nothing, America is becoming a national "grabbing match" where everyone is trying to get money and benefits at the expense of everyone else. In this block-busting book, Brian Tracy explains, step-by-step how we got into this financial fantasyland, and how we can get out -starting today.
Customer Reviews:
An Eyeopener!.......2007-08-28
This is a bit of a different book than Brian Tracy's usual but I found it great! Brian has researched into how many people in society are not taking responsibility and what we can do about it. Too bad Brian isn't running for the US Presidency, he'd be great in the White House
Vitriolic discourse on responsible living.......2007-08-10
"Something for Nothing" is Brian Tracy's cry for a social reform in America where people are encouraged by law to live responsibly and everyone is taxed equally. Throughout the book he poses a question "where did people get a notion that the world owes them a living" and then points finger to different elements from the universal law of least resistance that is wired in everything in nature, including in human beings (when it gets to humans he is labelling it either "laziness" or "expedience"), to upbringing of children, and then to laws, regulations and social customs. He gives examples of situations where people who were receiving financial assistance from welfare miraculously found jobs when the support from welfare was discontinued. He sounds bewildered and enraged because the governmental system is essentially punishing people who are willing to work by taxing them and then giving that money to those who are unwilling to work - and he has a point there. It is a ridiculous system and the system should be changed to encourage all people who are mentally and physically capable to work to contribute to society in some constructive way and to be responsible for their
financial needs. I think that instead, people should be helped to discover their talents, to develop abilities and to contribute to the wellbeing of the society by sharing their skills.
Some people are more self-motivated or spiritually conscious and feel propelled to contribute to the world in some constructive way through the inner drive, an urge to justify their existence in this world through the contribution they can make, some people's souls cry for creative expression louder than those of others, while some act more like little children who need motivation and direction from the outside.
In spite of some good points, the tone of this book is rather condescending and cynical, which I found surprising coming from a man who wrote a book on the power of charm, and many other motivational books.
look, if you are a liberal AND are CLOSED minded, you won't like what you will read, because your world will come tumbling down.......2007-01-06
Look, if you are a liberal AND are CLOSED minded, then you won't like what you will discover in this book, because your world will come tumbling down. And if you are in support of large government and think that world owes you something, then you also won't like this book either. BUT, that's the worst problem about this book. The people who will hate it are actually the same people this book was intended to help.
Next, if you are open minded, and want to read some of the most compelling arguments of what is plaguing out western democracies, then this book is a must and absolutely the best place to start. I liked it so much i bought 7 of them to give out as gifts.
The next huge point to understand,,, this book is NOT just about politics. Sure, politics is the stage which Brian uses to get his point across, BUT, if you were to read this book and internally reflect about how it applies to you personally, and how it applies to those around you, you will be amazed at how powerful the societal influences have been upon all of us up until now. This book is really a book about human nature. But then again, I am just a Lazy, Greedy, Ambitious, Impatient, Selfish, Vain, Ignorant, and Expedient,,, so what do I know?
Additionally, even though Brian says that it is estimated that I am wrong at least 70% of the time, I am banking on being part of the 30% this time and I couldn't recommend this book any more highly.
The way I see it, your thoughts lead to your feelings, and your feelings leads to your actions, and your actions lead to your results. Let's face it, if you keep doing what you are doing, you are going to keep gettting the same results your are getting right now. So, if you want to get different results than you are getting now, then you need to start thinking differently. This book might just be that wake up call you need to change your perspective on some key things. If you adopt to even some of this new thinking, the change and results in your life will be tremendous.
A small price for a big reminder about character.......2006-09-09
I recommended this book to the President--not because he himself lacks character, but to remind us all that WE lack character, and large numbers of us keep expecting it to show up in the mailbox every month. How DARE we allow the government to set such minimum mediocre standards for us to achieve and be happy with! How dare we settle for such mediocrity in our lives, and then scream for more "something for nothing" in the form of handouts.
This book is full of lessons about the elements of character, how to put it all together, and finally, what to do with it. We as a nation need to turn in our rested laurels for a pair of bootstraps, and PRONTO!
If you are already in possession of a pair of bootstraps, you'll find this an inspirational read. If not, then you will find it a disgusting finger-pointing accusation of what you AREN'T doing to help this nation thrive--and you SHOULD be disgusted with what you AREN'T doing!
Manipulative rhetoric.......2006-06-24
I am (had been) a huge Brian Tracy fan. For years I've read and benefitted from his work on personal development, but this (his first political) book has really turned me off him.
I would stress that it is not his political views that make this a poor book, but the manner in which he expresses them. It starts out fine with some basic stuff about human nature leading to a predisposition to laziness and greed. It takes on this theme and explains how the US had developed into a 'something for nothing' culture which threatens it's very future. Underlying all this is an argument for a free market economics. He provides much persuasive evidence to support his case.
The strange thing is I agree with him on all this. The problems come in the last few chapters when he begins to use the manipulative rhetoric of the far right that so often damages their case. By the end of the book he is coming across as an angrier, more bitter verison of Rush Limbaugh. One example of his ridiculous and misleading generalisations is when he criticizes the environmental movement. He alludes that the movement is based on "junk science", that all they are after is "free money", and that they go on "junkets to conferences where they often travel in limousines and stay in beautiful hotels". Either Brian know this sort of generalistaion is nonsense and he is dishonest, or he thinks it is true and and is ignorant. And this from a man who spend an entire chapter discussing the importance of character and integrity.
Sorry Brian, while I agree with your views, I abhore your methods. I think it was Stephen Covey who said you can not achieve a worthy ends with an unworthy means.
Anyone interested in this type of stuff should stick to Milton Friedman's 'Free to Choose' and people who are able to display some integrity.
Book Description
Homeowners who can't borrow from banks have long turned to the subprime lending industry for mortgages. Increasingly, that industry has turned on them by charging outrageous fees and usurious interest, and then taking their homes through foreclosure. Richard Lord explores the spread of predatory lending practices. And it tells the stories of borrowers who've been taken, contractors and brokers who've been co-opted, lenders who've cheated-and the world's biggest financial titans, who've cashed in. A battle is taking shape that could determine whether home ownership for working people will be an achievable dream or an American nightmare.
Richard Lord is a writer for the Pittsburgh City Paper whose work on subprime lending has won numerous awards.
Customer Reviews:
The only "Predators" are in the Capitol .......2007-07-25
Please I have had enough of these books full of tear jerking anecdotal stories. The undisputable fact is that a majority of borrowers who for whatever reason use sub prime financing benefit from its availability. I have been a "predator" for over 20 years in auto and home finance and I have many more happy and appreciative customers (I can write 100 books) than I do unhappy and dissatisfied clients (Thats how you stay in any business).
My experience has shown me that more regulations only makes money less available for folks that have substandadrd credit or other circumstances that make them un-bankable, in effect diminishing the amount of choices adults have to run their own financial lives.
Before you buy a house, before you refinance, read this book........2005-08-14
Journalist Richard Lord's book "American Nightmare: Predatory Lending and the Foreclosure of the American Dream" takes a good hard look at the subprime lending industry in America. The facts here are astounding. Basically, everyone thinking about buying a house, or refinancing a house needs to read this book before making any decisions.
There's no law against stupidity, naivety, or ignorance, and the subprime industry in America preys on people who simply don't know any better. According to Lord, the subprime industry existed for years on the fringes of the housing market, but now, subprime is BIG business. In California alone, subprime mortgage loans represented only 4% of all mortgage loans in 1993 but swelled to 20% of the entire California market in 2005. With aggressive marketing tactics, the subprime lending industry lures in all sorts of borrowers. In the past, the subprime industry fed off of those with shaky credit, and financed people who had few other options. But that is changing. Subprime lenders now hook borrowers who have much better options.
Lord includes many anecdotal stories of people who owned their homes and then were systematically stripped of their equity as they refinanced. It's easy to shirk off the troubles of those who refinance due to mega credit card debt, and then simply max out those cards again and again. But some of the stories here are just wicked. Lord explains that subprime lending strategy is "Target, Trick, and Trap." Subprime lenders are not upfront with closing costs, hidden fees, and percentage rates. They offer pleasant terms, lure the borrower in, and then lower the boom with the real figures at closing. In several instances, mortgage companies grossly exaggerated the buyer's income, or the value of the house in order to secure the loan and didn't mention a little balloon payment of $50,000 due in a few years. Lord's examples include people who owned their homes free and clear and then were approached by contractors who received kickbacks from mortgage companies for arranging loans. This work is often outrageously priced, never completed, and the homeowner is left with a house that cannot be sold, and with payments that cannot be met.
Lord also quotes instances when loans were made with impossibly high payments. Yes, it's a buyer beware situation, and no consumer should agree to make payments that exceed what they can afford. However, it happens. Debt-ridden consumers who have a history of making poor financial choices make yet more when offered an escape route from debt. But companies who do not disclose the finer, nastier points of the loan skirt the edge of illegal lending practices. One homeowner employed a lawyer to fight the mortgage company trying to foreclose. The lawyer was astounded at the payments her client agreed to, and asked why would a lender approve a loan that cannot possibly be paid back. The book explains that these loans are bundled together and sold as securities on Wall Street--the deal is to "lend high, rake in as much as possible by selling mortgage securities to investors". It's a process that's made millions for the CEOs of these companies.
Just in case you are thinking that you are safe from loan predators, think again. The book also details some very familiar scams and games played by some "respectable" mortgage companies and banks. For example--declaring your homeowner's insurance has expired, presenting you with a deadline to "fix it" and then buying it for you at triple the cost. Basically, if you have a house, with equity in it, and you want a loan, the consumer should remember that someone somewhere is eying that equity, licking their lips and deciding how to take it away from you--displacedhuman
An intriguing title all pre-homeowners should read.......2005-05-12
Many homeowners who can't borrow from banks have relied on the subprime lending industry for mortgages - an industry which has increasingly assessed huge fees and then foreclosed on the house when a buyer couldn't make payments; in effect becoming a predatory lender. American Nightmare: Predatory Lending And The Foreclosure Of The American Dream is one of the first to probe in detail the methods of predatory lending sources, discussing the plight of borrowers who have been taken, lenders cheated, and state efforts to regulate the industry. An intriguing title all pre-homeowners should read!
GOING TO THE POORHOUSE ON THE PREDATOR EXPRESS.......2004-12-31
This Book is concise, informative, and easy to read. Not highly technical, it is full of anecdotal stories. The layperson can read through its pages and keep saying, Oh My God, that's what happened to me. That's my story. How can this happen? How can Banks and other lending institutions get away with this? It is a clear case of, What you don't know will definitely hurt you. Knowledge is power, and Richard Lord puts the power back into the consumer's hands. Like lemmings running headlong towards the cliff, the american borrowing public are rapidly racing for that precipice. All too many have fallen over and disappeared into the ether of predatory victimization. Read and inform yourself, before you become one of the tens of thousands of victims, herded like cattle, into that mischievous money pit,from which most never recover. A must read for all those who want to be informed before, during, and after personal financial disaster strikes! Concerned Citizen
Customer Reviews:
Finally a good "Nightmare" book besides the first one!.......2006-09-28
I really enjoyed this book. I think Natasha Rhodes knew the material and at least gave a dman about the characters she was writing about. i really liked that they brought some of the characters in from the movie series (Nightmare 4 and 5 respectively). There were a few starts and stops and some small editing errors, but all in all and enjoyable book. I was glad that the series got its darkness back, because I wasn't impressed with "Dreamspawn" which took the book to California (?!?!) and Protege was interesting but the books still lacked what makes "A Nightmare on Elm Street" interesting. I recommend "Perchance..." to any Freddy fan!
Perchance to a Mild Dream.......2006-04-11
Natasha Rhodes creates some interesting characters, and has a flair for the Kreuger character (which has been missing in a few books from this series).
While she writes an excellent book, this novel (like it's predecessor Protege) tries too hard to reinvent the series.
Nightmare on Elm Street is Nightmare on Elm Street is Nightmare on Elm Street. That fact seems to be lost on some of the Authors in this series. I do respect the obvious effort Rhodes puts into this book, it's overall feeling was far from the NoES story.
My major issue may come from Kane. A character who could have shown quite a bit of potential, only to end up at a very predicatable ending.
FK deserves more than this book or Protege was willing to give, and hopefully, the line returns to the root of the NoES Dream. Run your sidestories, have your interesting plots, the fact is, Kreuger is a one trick pony.... and some of us still enjoy that trick!
Worth it!.......2006-03-13
Very worth every penny it was great it had charector development and still alot of kills too never boring a sort of glued to the pages type book you can never stop in between a chapter and never stop after a chapter for curiosity and incase you didnt know one of the main charectors is Jacob the child from "Dream Child" his mother is of course mentioned once or twice but he never really get her "in it"
Dream Child.......2006-03-05
Since reading Protege, which I thought was the best Nightmare novel yet, I had high expectations for this one. I absolutely love this novel. It is well written and has a nice slow pace so you won't get lost or bored.
If this was made into a movie it would go great between Nightmare 5 and Freddy's Dead. The story has to deal with Jacob (from the Nightmare 5 - The Dream Child movie) and what happened to him years after the events of the Dream Child. I don't want to give away any spoilers but it does mention his mother (Alice) and father (Dan).
This book has some surprising twists added to it making it a more interesting read.
Average customer rating:
- Interpreting American Dream, American Nightmare
|
American Dream, American Nightmare: FICTION SINCE 1960
Kathryn Hume
Manufacturer: University of Illinois Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| History & Criticism
| United States
| World Literature
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
20th Century
| United States
| World Literature
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Criticism & Theory
| History & Criticism
| Literature & Fiction
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British
| Short Stories
| Literature & Fiction
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General
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ASIN: 0252070577 |
Customer Reviews:
Interpreting American Dream, American Nightmare.......2001-06-04
This is a fantastic book. Very few critics have the courage or the eyeball power to do what Kathryn Hume has done--offer a genuinely thorough discussion of the landscape of American fiction since 1960--over 100 books discussed. Anyone who wants to educate her/himself on postwar fiction ought to get a copy of this wonderfully written book. No creepy academic jargon, lots of intelligent comparison. Also, Hume offers a politically progressive review but is never (pinch my nose) politically correct.
Book Description
FINALLY! A book that takes the mystery out of building a custom home, written by trained professionals who have been designing and building new homes for over 30 years. John and J.J. Cogdill are third and fourth generation home builders who have seen the mistakes homebuyers make time and time again. They have written this easy-to-read guide to help prevent the common first-time, second-time, and millionth-time homebuyer mistakes from happening to you. Inside The American Dream/The American Nightmare, you will find: Top 10 myths and monsters that plague homebuyers, How to set a budget and why taking bids almost never works, How to screen your builder and find the right one for you, What to remember while designing your home, Items to look for while finding your new homesite, Contracts and finalizing your home design, What to expect during the homebuilding process, and much more!
Customer Reviews:
Easy Read and a Must Read before you build a Custom Home.......2007-04-23
First of all I strongly disagree with any negative comments about the book, they must have been written by either competing non-custom homebuilders, or another author with a similar book. I read this book about 4 yrs. ago, when I was looking to have a custom home built in Florida. I strongly agree with the accurate, positive comments. No, this book is not designed as a training manual for an experienced homebuilder, it is however, an easy read, that takes the average "novice" through the grueling task of having a custom home built, in "baby-steps". Nowhere in the book does the author (who is a builder), recommend that you use his company, or in anyway recommend, or steer you to buy a "tract" home, or steer you in any direction, or to any company. He does however, very candidly, explain the pros and cons of both, giving you a fair opportunity to decide what's best for you. I consider this quite noble, considering they build custom homes in Florida. I did research his company and found their website at Webuildcustom.com, or Cogdillbuildersflorida.com, or Cogdillbuilders.com If you are contemplating having a custom home built, this book is a must read, and covers most of what you need to know from the design process, to the construction loan, and more. In fact, I was so impressed by the simple honesty of the book, I contacted them to build my home.
HAPPY READER, HAPPY HOMEBUYER.......2002-01-15
When my husband and I started thinking about building a custom home, the idea really frightened me. I decided to tackle the process as I do everything else... read everything I can find on the subject. This book explained the process of building a custom home from start to finish in layman's terms. My husband and I both read and reread the book and felt it gave us the inside track on the entire event. We found ourselves asking the right questions. I am happy to report that this book allowed us to enjoy the home building experience and fullfill our American Dream. I would recommend this book to anyone who has even considered the idea of building. Forewarned is Forearmed!!!!
Guide to Builing in a Subdivision.......2001-11-12
I have read over 6 books on how to build you house recently. This was by for the least helpful because it is targeted to people building in a subdivision using a tract builder. Although the authors seem knowledgable in general contracting procedure they continually reiterate the pros of subdivisions and the cons of custom buiding on your own lot.
A Few Helpful Hints.......2001-08-31
This book was authored by a builder...and it reads that way. Though there are a few helpful hints (what house plans and contracts should contain, for example), overall the theme is this - if you select a good builder, everything will work out fine. True, perhaps, but I was hoping for a more objective and desciptive approach to understanding the custom home building process.
Informative.......2001-08-08
I read this book and I was very impressed by the easy reading and how easy it was to follow. There are no tricks of the trade hidden, just the best effort ever to educate the reader on what they need to do to build a custom home. This book should be required reading for all in the market for buying a home. They will know how to build their dream home. I would recommend this book to Realtors, all professional people and it would be great additional reading for college students, sometimes learning the hard way is not always the best way.
Customer Reviews:
A truly excellent picturebook story for naptime or bedtime.......2002-04-13
Wonderfully written by Bonnie Farmer and delightfully illustrated by Anouk Perusse-Bell, Isaac's Dreamcatcher is a thoughtful and gentle picturebook story about a young boy who dreads naptime because of a monster in his dreams... but the kindly teacher Miss Louise draws upon her Native American heritage to fashion a "dreamcatcher" to filter out bad dreams and welcome in the good ones. An enjoyable read for young children, Isaac's Dreamcatcher is a truly excellent picturebook story for naptime or bedtime reading, alone or with a parent.
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