The Shallow Graves of Rwanda
Average customer rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • "Another Failed Mission of the U.N."
  • A first class case study of a UN operation
The Shallow Graves of Rwanda
Shaharyan M. Khan
Manufacturer: I. B. Tauris
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1860646166

Book Description

This book is a unique account of the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative in Rwanda in the mid 1990s. Shaharyar M. Khan's tenure began in the immediate aftermath of the downing of President Habarimana's plane on April 6, 1994 and the massacres that followed. Khan details his encounters with soldiers and politicians, victims and survivors, perpetrators of the massacres, and humanitarian relief efforts. This book reveals how the UN works on the ground and at headquarters. AUTHORBIO: SHAHARYAR M. KHAN is a distinguished international diplomat and currently Pakistan's Ambassador to France.

Customer Reviews:

2 out of 5 stars "Another Failed Mission of the U.N.".......2007-03-09

"The Shallow Graves of Rwanda", Shaharyar Khan, 2000, I.B. Tauris, London, ISBN: 1-86064-616-6, HC 228 pgs., includes 1 map, 2 pgs. Acronyms, 16 Illust., 1 pg. Biblio., 8 pg. Index. 9 1/2" x 6 1/4"

Khan, retired Pakastani Muslim career deplomat, was give "onerous responsibility" to seek a peaceful settlement in Rwanda as Special Representative of UN Secretary-General after Tutsi Pres. Habyarimana's plane was shot down April 6, 1994. Arriving 3 mos. later, on July 4, 1994, the author learns a civil war &/or genocide had occurred with about 800,000-1,000,000 Rwandan's massacred, largely by Hutu majority wielding machetes in a planned mass-killing of the Tutsi minority. For reader's not familiar with Rwanda, the country is one of the smallest of the smallest countries in the world, less than the size of a small pea on a full Atlas-sized map page of Africa - it is surrounded on the W-N-E-S by Zaire, Uganda, Tanzania & Burundi.

Despite author's claim of his book as a diary, it is nothing of the sorts. He gives a brief synopsis of Rwandan's clash arising in the 1930's from colonists imposing Western values, intra-ethnic tensions, over-population, & that docile compliant mind-set of Rwandan peoples who are silently obedient to any authority. This is bizzare when put in context of the brutal killings which were barbaric, revengeful, & savagely carried out on men, Women, & children left to die slowly by hemorrhage, evisceration, limblessness, genitalia excisions, head bashings or smaller victims tossed into urinal pits to drown or suffocate in feces. It transcends by far anything reported in the Holocaust or Armenian Genocide.

The Author provides a list of 47 acronyms to distinguish & represent various Worldly, African, or United Nation offices, programs, organizations, plans, committees, missions, departments, coalitions, forces, etc. which are supposed to have helped Rwanda, but are herein documented to have been uniformly counter-productive, adversarial, overlapping & heavily endowed groups which spent millions if not billions of dollars in observing the situation, but not even pennies for rebuilding as roads, electric power, communications, etc. The author, despite his "onerous responsibility" was shown to have absolutely no power, & though he ussued decrees, demands, resolutions. suggestioons & reports, he discovered that no one really listened to him, or if they pretended to do so they readily changde their minds. We are informed that various organizations which should have been involved in peaceful measures were actually involved in the illegal & irrational importing of land mines, grenades, pistols, ammo & automatic weapons from Italy, Israel, Egypt, China, etc., instead of aid supplies.

We are informed about the insurgent military groups, RGF (Hutu) vs. the RPA (Tutsi) lead by 37-yr-old Tutsi leader Maj. Gen. Paul Kagame who quickly advanced from VP to Pres. of Rwanda. He was recently accused by French Magistrate Jean-Louis Bruguiere (Feb. 2007) as ordering the assassinations of April 6, 1944 & it was also alleged the U.S. and the U.N. quashed earlier inquiries since Paul Kagama was an ally of the U.S.

So, all in all, the book is not what it purports to be, is poorly written & poorly cllated,& it is highly repetitive of the miserable accountings of beastly killings that had already occurred before the impotent author had set foot in Kigali. If there was a "fall guy" for the U.N., it was the author. It is not a book about the Rwanda genocide, it is a book about power, politics, & money.

5 out of 5 stars A first class case study of a UN operation.......2001-03-25

Although not quite perfect in its smallest detail, this is the most authoritative analysis yet available of the aid that the UN and the international community tried to provide to Rwanda after the genocide of 1994, concentrating on the period from the author's arrival in June of that year and tending to discuss UNAMIR's work at the operational rather than the tactical level - although it does cover, with dispassion and objectivity rather than overt emotion, a number of individual horror stories.

This must be regarded as a classic case study and, as one who worked under Ambassador Khan in Rwanda, I recommend it without reservation for students of the United Nations, those obliged to deal with this and other international organizations and, especially, those considering their resourcing.

The areas in which I would wish to assist Khan were he to revise his text for a future edition are: definition of the boundaries between Operation Homeward (which escapes mention under this name) and Operation Retour, and to give due credit due to Lt Col Tom Mullarkey for his formulation of Retour; Operation Hope and its role in the chronology of UNAMIR-RPF relations; Khan's somewhat rose-tinted view of UNAMIR's discipline and performance; and the captions of some photographs (Plate 5 is not of the medical centre in Kibeho but of a church somewhere else; Plate 6 is misdated - and definitely not of a scene in 1943; Plate 7 is of Kigali Prison rather than of Gikongoro's); amongst a full and mostly accurate coverage of the tragedy in Kibeho, correction of some minor flaws in the attribution of witness testimony.

In identifying these errors, this is not to say that I think this a poor book: I think it quite the opposite and believe that it deserves to be read very widely!
Testing and Measurement: A User-Friendly Guide
Average customer rating: 2 out of 5 stars
  • Watch out for calculation errors...
Testing and Measurement: A User-Friendly Guide
Sharon E. Robinson Kurpius , and Mary E. Stafford
Manufacturer: Sage Publications, Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1412910021

Book Description

This step-by-step approach allows students to master testing and measurement concepts through practical exercises and feedback. Using humor, cartoons and real-world examples, Sharon E. Robinson Kurpius and Mary E. Stafford guide the reader through the essential components of measurement, starting with measurement scales and ending with reliability and validity. The authors show that everyone can learn testing and measurement concepts, and they make the learning process fun and non-threatening. For those who want to challenge themselves beyond the self-instructional exercises included throughout each chapter, data sets are provided as an aid to further learning. The book is invaluable for all introductory courses in measurement and testing at undergraduate and lower-level graduate level in the social and behavioral sciences.

Customer Reviews:

2 out of 5 stars Watch out for calculation errors..........2006-08-02

While this book contains wonderfully simple explanations of some very complex theories and ideas, there are several errors in the sample calculations that make me wonder how carefully it was edited. I found no less than five errors in calculations in their "model answers" and some of them were incredibly simple (36+3=39, not 38).

I would recommend Tests and Measurements For People Who (Think They) Hate Tests and Measurement instead if you're looking for a user-friendly guide. Calculation errors are NOT user-friendly.
Meet the Robinsons: The Junior Novel (Meet the Robinsons)
Average customer rating: Not rated
    Meet the Robinsons: The Junior Novel (Meet the Robinsons)
    Irene Trimble , and Mary Olin
    Manufacturer: HarperEntertainment
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    ASIN: 0061124753
    Release Date: 2007-02-20

    Book Description

    Just when Lewis is about to give up hope on his dream of finding a family, he meets Wilbur Robinson. Wilbur whisks him away to the future in a Time Machine. There he meets a family beyond his wildest imagination. Together, Wilbur and Lewis battle the evil Bowler Hat Guy and other unbelievable obstacles. Join Lewis as he takes the most adventurous ride of his life . . . straight into the future.

    Matilda, MacElroy and Mary (Tell-A-Tale Books 836-15)
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      Matilda, MacElroy and Mary (Tell-A-Tale Books 836-15)
      Jessie Home Fairweather
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      Towards a New Map of Africa
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        Manufacturer: Earthscan Publications Ltd.
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        * The world’s leading experts in African development issues combat the relentlessly negative public image of Africa

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        A Voice for Human Rights (Pennsylvania Studies in Human Rights)
        Average customer rating: Not rated
          A Voice for Human Rights (Pennsylvania Studies in Human Rights)
          Mary Robinson
          Manufacturer: University of Pennsylvania Press
          ProductGroup: Book
          Binding: Hardcover

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          ASIN: 0812239040

          Book Description

          Few names are so closely connected with the cause of human rights as that of Mary Robinson. As former President of Ireland and more recently United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, she was ideally positioned for passionately and eloquently arguing the case for human rights around the world. This volume is a unique account in her own words of Robinson's campaigns as United Nations High Commissioner. Over five tumultuous years that included the tragic events of 9/11, she offered moral leadership and vision to the global human rights movement. This book is an annotated collection of Robinson's speeches, given between 1997 and 2002, when she served as High Commissioner. The book also provides the first in-depth account of the work of the Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights. With a preface by Kofi Annan and an afterword by Louise Arbour, the present Human Rights Commissioner, the book will be of interest to all concerned with international human rights, international relations, development, and politics. Mary Robinson is former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, 1997-2002, and former President of Ireland, 1990-97. She now leads Realizing Rights: The Ethical Globalization Initiative. Kevin Boyle is Professor of Law, University of Essex. Kofi Annan of Ghana is the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations. He began his term in 1997. Louise Arbour is current United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. She began her term in 2004.
          Perdita: The Literary, Theatrical, Scandalous Life of Mary Robinson
          Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
          • Fascinating transformation
          • A Woman Of Her Time...
          • A must for lovers of Regency history and this period
          • An excellent biography of an outstanding woman. BUY IT !
          Perdita: The Literary, Theatrical, Scandalous Life of Mary Robinson
          Paula Byrne
          Manufacturer: Random House Trade Paperbacks
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          ASIN: 0812970799
          Release Date: 2006-03-14

          Book Description

          This compelling and richly researched book presents a fascinating portrait of Mary Robinson–darling of the London stage, mistress to the most powerful men in England, feminist thinker, and bestselling author. Though one of the most flamboyant free spirits of the late eighteenth century, Mary led a life that was marked by reversals of fortune. After being abandoned by her father, Mary was married, at age fifteen, to Thomas Robinson, whose dissipation landed the couple and their baby in debtors’ prison. On her release, Mary rose to become one of the London theater’s most alluring actresses, famously playing Perdita in The Winter’s Tale for a rapt audience that included the Prince of Wales, who fell madly in love with her. Never one to pass up an opportunity, she later used his ardent love letters for blackmail. After being struck down by paralysis, apparently following a miscarriage, she remade herself yet again, this time as a popular writer who was also admired by the leading intellectuals of the day.
          Filled with triumph and despair and grand accomplishments, the amazing life of “Perdita” is marvelously captured in this stunning biography.

          Customer Reviews:

          4 out of 5 stars Fascinating transformation.......2007-10-04

          The late 18th Century is a fascinating period of contradiction. The circumspect lives of George III and his wife are at odds at the so-called crème de la crème of society, including the Prince of Wales. Mary Robinson's life story reveals the opulent lifestyles, decadence, and life of privilege of England's aristocracy and nobles. A great commentary on this period.

          3 out of 5 stars A Woman Of Her Time..........2005-11-11

          For the eighteenth century, I suppose you could call her a great 'beauty' as she was privileged to be painted by the famous Gainsborough and other artists of that time. She was a social climber who had her own opera box complete with mirrors. As the actress portraying 'Perdita' in Shakespeare's "The Winter's Tale" she captured the fancy of George,the Prince of Wales, and became his mistress at the risk to her reputation and career. Had it happened in today's society, she could have married him and become royalty.

          Born in a former monastery in Bristol, England, on November 17, 1757, she was a notorious figure of society, theatre, and literary circles. She derived from Irish roots, she was the perfect 'Juliet.' After her betrayal (in which she produced letters to negotiate a future), she became ill with rheumatic fever and turned to writing Gothic novels. Living in the old ruins of a catheral as a lonely, introverted, sad child, she had a vivid imagination and used it in her books.

          She was a product of her time and used whatever wiles she had as a female to further her activities, whether in theatre, politics, royalty, celebrity writers or just her own poetry and fiction. She wrote a memoir of her sordid beginnings and sham of a marriage, which had allowed her to live a fashionable life in London for a short time, then to fall to the bottom of the ladder in debtors' prison. Her early years were one of abandonment and marriage one of infedilities. She had good teachers along the way.

          This was well researched and much effort put forth to show the truth, no matter how bad. Her triumphs were greater than her failures.

          4 out of 5 stars A must for lovers of Regency history and this period.......2005-07-24

          For those who enjoy the Regency period and life of George IV, this is one of the most perfect books to introduce you into the life of the period. It was a brief, intense and fascinating life which pushed the established mores to their limits.

          The Prince of Wales (lat to be George IV) became enamoured of Mary Robinson in her portrayal of Peridita in Shakespeare's, A Winter's Tale. She was a young actress, escaped from a bad marriage and strange father. She took to the stage for some income (as many women of the period did instead of taking up prostitution as such)

          The Prince of Wales became known as Florizel to Robinson's Perdita and she was his first 'major' mistress. Their lives intertwined for a brief period in his early adulthood - the beginning of what is known as the 'extended regency'. Robinson was then mistress to many of the influential peers of the time, and was even friends with Georgiana, the Duchess of Devonshire;

          At a time when Georgian morals were of questionable value (everything in private, nothing in public)- when profligacy, spending, appearance and general splendour were the order of the day - Mary Robinson orbited on at the perimetre of acceptability. An actress, an abadoned wife, a mistress, and more.

          I found this book overlong, but worth the effort to read. It is one of a series of books about women on the edge of society in this period, and has been great to build up a picture of life and living in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century. The author has gone to enormous efforts to track down information on Robinson, and it has paid off. There seems to be a good depth of research to back up the work. Overall a good read and well worth making the effort

          4 out of 5 stars An excellent biography of an outstanding woman. BUY IT !.......2005-04-20

          I'll confess I would never have looked at this book if it hadn't been for the fact that I decided to read the 10 nominations for Richard and Judy's Best Read 2005.This book has been the biggest surprise of the lot,because, to be honest, I was not really looking forward to it.
          How wrong could I be ? This is a dazzling story of a fascinating woman. I am afraid to say the other biography in the Richard and Judy list,"Feel" by Chris Heath, which is all about pop singer Robbie Williams, comes off a very poor second when compared to this volume. Sadly of course there's no doubt which book will sell more.I wish all Robbie Williams fans, or indeed the fans of any of the over-hyped celebrities of today, would read this book and find out that maybe their hero's or heroine's exploits are not so special after all when compared to what the subject of this biography got up to.
          Mary Robinson, whose nickname was Perdita, was married at 15 and her marriage was something of a disaster and included spending some time in prison with her husband. She then made herself into one of London's most celebrated actresses and was a friend of the outstanding theatrical figures of the day.She became a leading figure in the glamorous high society of the city, reputedly being the most beautiful woman in Britain.She voluntarily gave up her theatrical career to become the mistress of the Prince of Wales, thus heightening her celebrity even further. Reading about this time of her life it appears that she was just as famous or infamous as any contemporary celebrity.Maybe more so.There are many obvious similarities.
          In the second half of the book the plot changes almost completely as Mary, after being ditched by her royal lover, re-invents herself as a writer. She is so successful in this enterprise that she becomes one of the leading lady literary figures of the era. She is primarily a poetess, but also writes plays, novels and political tracts and she becomes friendly with both leading political and cultural figures.
          It is an absolutely fascinating tale, made more moving perhaps by the fact that she was not lucky in love, suffered a debilitating illness for many years and finally died young at the age of 43.
          All this is retold in an easy and entertaining way by Paula Byrne and I would thoroughly recommend this book to anyone.
          Morrison's Beloved (Cliffs Notes)
          Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
          • Voice for the Voiceless - Noble (and Nobel) attempt
          • Okay
          • A Work of Art
          • She really is impressed with herself
          • Not the best portrayal of pre-Civil War America
          Morrison's Beloved (Cliffs Notes)
          Mary Robinson , and Kris Fulkerson
          Manufacturer: Cliffs Notes
          ProductGroup: Book
          Binding: Paperback

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          ASIN: 076458667X

          Amazon.com

          In the troubled years following the Civil War, the spirit of a murdered child haunts the Ohio home of a former slave. This angry, destructive ghost breaks mirrors, leaves its fingerprints in cake icing, and generally makes life difficult for Sethe and her family; nevertheless, the woman finds the haunting oddly comforting for the spirit is that of her own dead baby, never named, thought of only as Beloved.

          A dead child, a runaway slave, a terrible secret--these are the central concerns of Toni Morrison's Pulitzer Prize-winning Beloved. Morrison, a Nobel laureate, has written many fine novels, including Song of Solomon, The Bluest Eye, and Paradise--but Beloved is arguably her best. To modern readers, antebellum slavery is a subject so familiar that it is almost impossible to render its horrors in a way that seems neither clichéd nor melodramatic. Rapes, beatings, murders, and mutilations are recounted here, but they belong to characters so precisely drawn that the tragedy remains individual, terrifying to us because it is terrifying to the sufferer. And Morrison is master of the telling detail: in the bit, for example, a punishing piece of headgear used to discipline recalcitrant slaves, she manages to encapsulate all of slavery's many cruelties into one apt symbol--a device that deprives its wearer of speech. "Days after it was taken out, goose fat was rubbed on the corners of the mouth but nothing to soothe the tongue or take the wildness out of the eye." Most importantly, the language here, while often lyrical, is never overheated. Even as she recalls the cruelties visited upon her while a slave, Sethe is evocative without being overemotional: "Add my husband to it, watching, above me in the loft--hiding close by--the one place he thought no one would look for him, looking down on what I couldn't look at at all. And not stopping them--looking and letting it happen.... And if he was that broken then, then he is also and certainly dead now." Even the supernatural is treated as an ordinary fact of life: "Not a house in the country ain't packed to its rafters with some dead Negro's grief. We lucky this ghost is a baby," comments Sethe's mother-in-law.

          Beloved is a dense, complex novel that yields up its secrets one by one. As Morrison takes us deeper into Sethe's history and her memories, the horrifying circumstances of her baby's death start to make terrible sense. And as past meets present in the shape of a mysterious young woman about the same age as Sethe's daughter would have been, the narrative builds inexorably to its powerful, painful conclusion. Beloved may well be the defining novel of slavery in America, the one that all others will be measured by. --Alix Wilber

          Amazon.com Audiobook Review

          As with the ghost at its center, Beloved has taken many forms--from the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel to Oprah Winfrey's decade-in-the-making movie to this challenging audiobook read by Lynn Whitfield. Whitfield, who won an Emmy Award playing the title role in The Josephine Baker Story, has a tough assignment as she guides us back and forth in time with Sethe, an escaped slave who's still shackled by memories of her murdered child. But, as we shift between Sethe's brutal plantation days and her haunted life immediately after the Civil War, we learn one secret after another until, finally, past and present are masterfully reconciled. (Running time: three hours, two cassettes) --Kimberly Heinrichs

          Book Description

          The original CliffsNotes study guides offer expert commentary on major themes, plots, characters, literary devices, and historical background. The latest generation of titles in this series also features glossaries and visual elements that complement the classic, familiar format.

          CliffsNotes on Beloved sheds light on Toni Morrison’s skill in penetrating the unconstrained, unapologetic inner motivations of numerous characters who shouldered the horrific burden of slavery’s hidden sins. Less a suspense novel than a treatise on acceptance and endurance, this novel has struck an appreciative chord with those who value the painful process of creating a guilt-ridden, near-crazed survivor.

          With help from this study guide, you’ll not only survive – you’ll thrive in your understanding of Morrison’s memorable work. You’ll also find valuable information about the author and her influences. Other features that help you study include

          Classic literature or modern modern-day treasure — you'll understand it all with expert information and insight from CliffsNotes study guides.

          Customer Reviews:

          5 out of 5 stars Voice for the Voiceless - Noble (and Nobel) attempt.......2007-05-29

          Beloved HAD to be written. The African-American tragedy is told here in a way that the slaves could not have articulated themselves - but here their souls cry out. True, Toni Morrison does not quite make this a total work of Art. The devices are too obvious as she fulfills this almost impossible task she has set herself. In this book you LIVE the destruction/denigration of life - in a way I cannot remember experiencing in any other book. The characters, especially Beloved, are symbols - and yet they are very real and quite fascinating too! These are vibrant, exciting people - and Morrison gives them a voice and makes them so real!

          3 out of 5 stars Okay.......2007-05-18

          I read this book after reading The Known World and March so I had already had a good (better, actually) dose of reading about the inhumane conditions slaves lived under. This was a ho-hum book for me. I thought it was more work that it was worth and I wanted it over with and was glad when I finished it.

          I was really struck by Morrison taking you inside the damaged spirit of some of the characters. You learn how they only let themselves love others a little as all things important to them will likely be taken away. You learn the significance of a star or a leaf to someone who has no joy in their life whatsoever. You come to understand why a mother would rather take the life of her child than subject it to a life of continuous degradation and misery.

          5 out of 5 stars A Work of Art.......2007-04-04

          Get a peek of what is to come next in this novel without knowing you're seeing the future. Morrison's artistic lyrics are outstanding.

          2 out of 5 stars She really is impressed with herself.......2007-01-15

          The only thing worse than reading _Beloved_ (read my review of the novel) is listening to Morrison read it. She goes so s - l - o - w - l - y, and seems more impressed with her book than the reader. Quite frankly this book doesn't really demand this close of a reading.

          Although trite to say, the best compliment a writer can have is having someone else make the text come to life, and this audio book is interesting only as an historical artifact.

          2 out of 5 stars Not the best portrayal of pre-Civil War America.......2006-11-30

          Beloved is one of the most famous novels by Toni Morrison, America's only female to win the Nobel Prize in literature. Set in the America before the Civil War, the story moves from the slave South to the non-slave North. Free the North is not, as this book depicts, for slaves could be captured and returned down South. The book is conglomeration of multiple themes and storylines. First and foremost is the story of Sethe, a black woman who used to be a slave. Second, the book focuses on her baby who died at birth, who goes by the name Beloved, and the reappearance of the baby as a ghost.

          Third, the book examines slavery, racism, and the politics of inclusion and seclusion. In the South, Sethe is excluded from civil society in many ways by her color and the institution of slavery, but being a slave, is an integral part of society in general. In the North, she is not a slave per say, but instead she is excluded from society in general by the ways of white people and their benign racism. The storylines of this book also explore the physical punishments and practices used to enforce slavery at the personal level. Here is where this book stands out from others like it like Uncle Tom's Cabin or Huck Finn. This book could be described as doing for black literature on slavery as what Passion of the Christ did for movies based on the Bible. it is quite graphic with big servings of the natural thrown in. But I would not use this book as a study of slavery and the racism built into it. The text is very confusing and I, the reader, spent much time trying to understand the entity of Beloved, and its use in furthering the story. In fact, I would call this book a tragedy not about slavery and racism, but a tragedy set against the backdrop of slavery and racism. Overall, a difficult book to read and though not boring, is not on my list of great American works.
          I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (Cliffs Notes)
          Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
          • Excellent book!
          • __ I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings_____
          • What an insight!
          • I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
          • Full Length of Love
          I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (Cliffs Notes)
          Mary Robinson
          Manufacturer: Cliffs Notes
          ProductGroup: Book
          Binding: Paperback

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          ASIN: 0822006413

          Book Description

          The original CliffsNotes study guides offer expert commentary on major themes, plots, characters, literary devices, and historical background. The latest generation of titles in this series also feature glossaries and visual elements that complement the classic, familiar format.

          Piqued by a dare, Angelou wrote this first book as an exercise in autobiography as art — and succeeded. Her novel is a story of the difficulties of black women and the eventual victory of spirit that comes from being a soulful fighter.

          CliffsNotes on I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings helps you explore this tale of rebirth, self-worth, and dignity. This concise supplement helps you understand the overall structure of the novel, actions and motivations of the characters, and the social and cultural perspectives of the author. Features that help you study include

          Classic literature or modern modern-day treasure — you'll understand it all with expert information and insight from CliffsNotes study guides.

          Customer Reviews:

          4 out of 5 stars Excellent book!.......2004-04-28

          I read this book for my English project and it was very good! Very moving and it helped me understand the Great Depression and all the racism that black people had to go through....
          Maya Angelou is a great writer, and this book was excellent!

          Very interesting, I RECOMMEND IT!

          5 out of 5 stars __ I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings_____.......2002-05-18

          We had to read this novel by Maya Angelou and I thought it was a very good example of the way you should write. She used imagery and descriptives to show you,the reader, how it really was in her life. I LOVED IT !!!

          5 out of 5 stars What an insight!.......2002-04-17

          Maya Angelou's written language is alive, and that's refreshing. There is a specific life-view from the standpoint of a black girl growing up, and it is uplifting how she meets her difficulties with confidence. Her humor in many situations made me laugh out loud. Yes, she is a gripping author, and the tidbits of wisdom shine through like rays of sunlight...

          4 out of 5 stars I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.......2002-04-08

          I thought that this was a great book! Maya had a very difficult life growing up. I just could not figure out what she really wanted with her life.

          5 out of 5 stars Full Length of Love.......2002-04-07

          Read the complete novel. The Cliff notes only offers a small portion of the love and enjoyment you will feel from this author's words.
          Hawaii Island Legends: Pikoi, Pele and Others
          Average customer rating: Not rated
            Hawaii Island Legends: Pikoi, Pele and Others

            Manufacturer: Kamehameha Schools Press
            ProductGroup: Book
            Binding: Paperback

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            ASIN: 087336032X

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