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By any standard, Inspector Chen Cao is a novelty in the world of police procedurals. A published poet and translator of American and English mystery novels, he has been assigned by the Chinese government, under Deng Xiaoping's cadre policy, to a "productive" job with the Special Cases Bureau of the Shanghai Police Department.
Shanghai in the mid-1990s is a city caught between reverence for the past and fascination with a tantalizing, market-driven present. When the body of a young "national model worker," revered for her adherence to the principles of the Communist Party, turns up in a canal, Chen is thrown into the midst of these opposing forces. As he struggles to unravel the hidden threads of this paragon's life, he finds himself challenging the very political forces that have guided his life since birth. With party-line-spouting superiors above him and detectives who resent his quick promotion beneath him, Chen finds himself wondering whether justice is a concept at all meaningful in late-20th-century China.
Death of a Red Heroine is a book hovering uneasily between the spheres of fiction and fact, creativity and didacticism. For much of the novel, author Qiu Xiaolong seems more intent on driving home the actions and consequences of the Cultural Revolution and its aftermath than on the slowly unfolding plot. Tedious repetitions of the fates, under Mao, of "educated youths" joust with both the actions of the detectives and Chen's "poetic" ruminations, which, unfortunately, are infected by precisely the stiffness and arbitrariness Qiu is at pains to decry in his historical passages. The moving couplets Chen favors are potentially fascinating insights into the interaction between ancient and modern China, but instead of provoking the reader into reflection, Qiu offers reductive explanations of each and every poem.
The moments when Qiu concentrates on invoking atmosphere are both illuminating and rewarding: Detective Yu's wife's pride and pleasure in having brought home a dozen crabs at "state price" are movingly well crafted, all the more so because Qiu seems almost unaware of what he is doing. Rather than lecturing on the economic dilemmas of the modern worker, he lets Peiqin's simple happiness speak for itself. In the last quarter of the book, Qiu seems to find his stride, though his writing style remains undeniably awkward. Here Chen expands and relaxes, and with him, the novel. Qiu's debut, though anything but polished, holds the promise of better things to come. --Kelly Flynn
Book Description
Murder in Shanghai in the '90s presents Inspector Chen with a difficult choice.
The victim, Guan Hongying, was a National Model Worker, a celebrity of utmost probity. But perhaps her personal life was not so pristine. Inspector Chen Cao, a published poet and translator of T. S. Eliot, who has been assigned to head the Shanghai Police Bureau's Special Case Squad, is urged by his superiors to consider the political implications of his investigation. Commissar Zhang, an old bureaucrat, doesn't want Chen to peer under any stones. Does Chen dare to persevere?
Contemporary China is a society in turmoil. Faithful old party members, forced to retire, have lost prestige and perquisites; the new capitalists are on the rise. Still ensconced on top of the ladder are the High Cadres and, even above them, the HCC-High Cadre Children-their privileged status analogous to that of medieval princes. Chen is romantically interested in a newspaperwoman whose background would damage his prospects. He relinquished his former Beijing girlfriend as soon as he learned that she was the daughter of a Politburo member, thus far above his reach. Now, if Guan's murderer is to be punished, Chen must invoke her influence by rekindling the old flame. Or else a murderer may go unpunished.
Customer Reviews:
More than Just a Compelling Mystery Novel.......2007-09-06
"Mainland China," "compelling detective story," and "Chinese mystery writer" are not word combiations that one would expect to see often together in print, but Qiu Xiaolong's compelling DEATH OF A RED HEROINE justifies their joint appearance at least this once. Born in Shanghai but living in the U.S. since 1989, Mr. Qiu (pronounced "cho," rhymes with Joe) is now a professor of Chinese literature at Washington University in St. Louis. While he pens his stories in English, his heart is clearly in Shanghai, so much so that this most Western of mainland Chinese cities virtually becomes a character in his book.
Qiu's story revolves around a young woman's body found stuffed into a black plastic bag in a small canal about 20 miles outside of Shanghai. The discovery is phoned into the Shanghai Police Bureau, where the call is taken by Detective Yu Guangming of the Homicide Divisions special (as in politically sensitive) case squad. Detective Yu's superior, the up-and-coming Inspector Chen Cao (as much a poet and Tang Dynasty poetry enthusiast as he is a detective) ultimately decides that he and Yu will pursue the case in its early stages until they see how it develops. As it turns out, theirs is the perfect place for the case to be assigned - the body is discovered to be that of Guan Hongying, a sales clerk at the Shanghai Number One Department store and nationally known as one of the Communist Party's select group of "model workers."
By far the bulk of the story concerns Chen's and Yu's efforts to peer into Guan Hongying's intensely private life and find a reason for her murder. The arc of the novel follows predictable mystery novel lines - discovery, autopsy, identification, more discovery, witnesses, suspects, more discovery, motives, applied leverage, proof, and resolution. Yet while traversing this path, author Qiu sheds fascinating light on numerous aspects of modern life in mainland China. His story opens a door onto the workings of the Communist Party and its founding cadres (and their children). As well, he ushers readers into the whirlwinds of societal and even physical change swarming through Shanghai, contrasting the disappearing lifestyles and personalities of old Shanghai with that of the new city exhibited in Pudong and along the teeming shopping districts of Nanjing and Huihai Roads. To his even greater credit, Qiu takes us into his detectives' homes and daily lives, particularly that of Yu Guangming and his family.
Much like Martin Cruz Smith's Arkady Renko (GORKY PARK, WOLVES EAT DOGS, STALIN'S GHOST), Qiu's Inspector Chen is intelligent and intuitive without being flashy. Outwardly, both Renko and Chen appear to their compatriots as dogged loners, unbending and resolute in their determination to solve the case and bring "the truth" to light, whatever the personal and political cost to themselves and their careers. Both authors have created charming, Columbo-like heroes whose foibles, talents, and persistence make them remarkably sympathetic to the reader.
DEATH OF A RED HEROINE is a thoroughly entertaining story that secondarily serves as an outstanding window into the life and culture of mainland China. Having lived in Suzhou, China off and on for several years and visited nearby Shanghai many times, I can attest that Mr. Qiu's characterizations of Chinese life and the sense of atmosphere he creates in his writing are spot on. This book is enjoyable both as a mystery novel and as an armchair tourist's look into mainland Chinese life.
China.......2007-08-23
This is an outstanding book which weaves the commercialization of the PRCand a murder mystery Ch into the continuing dominance of the People's party leadership.
A New Star.......2007-08-02
Qiu Xiaolong is one of the most exciting writers working today. He takes an immensely fertile environment -- the corruption, cronyism, and rapid change of present-day China and puts into it an ethical cop who is also a poet and a translator of American mystery novels. Chen is one of the great new characters in detective fiction: complex, conflicted, stubborn, absolutely committed to doing his job the best he can, despite the immense pressures on him to keep the blame away from the rich and influential, where it most often belongs. All the books are brilliantly plotted, fast-paced, packed with vivid characters, and full of fascinating ethical dilemmas. You can't go wrong with any of them. As someone who writes about Asia himself, I recommend every single one of the Inspector Chen novels. They'll take you into a different world, and in the company of a remarkable character.
A good read.......2007-05-02
Having just read this book (May, 2007) I'm a bit late to the party. I bought a copy speculating that it might be a good series (or at least not the typical mystery that I usually read) and I was very, very pleased.
Set in the critical early years of the transition of China from communit to free market, this is as much a review of Chinese society of the time as it is a detective novel. The characters are likable, the plot sound, and the setting leaves you wondering how anything could get done in a fluid political and social setting as Shanghai resides. But rest assured Inspector Chen delivers, finds the bad guy, and can still look at himself in the mirror when it is all done.
All accomplished pretty much without hidden codes, high speed chases, blazing gunfights, or some sex kitten extravaganza.
It satisfied me enough to buy "A Loyal Character Dancer" (second in the series) and I'm enjoying it as well.
So if you need a change of pace from your cozy or hard-boiled mystery reading, Qiu Xiaolong takes you to a totally foreign setting (for an American) for a very satisfactory tale of crime.
Interesting.......2007-03-16
It's a bit overwritten but it's much more than a simple who-done-it. It captures the strange limbo that China was in between the control of the old guard of Chairman Mao and the freer time begun by Deng Xiaopeng. The characterizations are strong. And Shanghai is described with visceral accuracy. I'm looking forward to reading another Chief Inspector Chen mystery.
Book Description
"Lani opened her eyes fully, straining to see something, anything. It was as though she swam in a black sea that blacked out all light, all visual sensation. 'I can't see,' she whispered. 'I can't see!' Her shriek rose and echoed off the blackness."
A seemingly random shooting at her aunt's coffee farm has left Lani Tagama blind. Now she must learn to navigate in a world of darkness. With the help of an embittered ex-cop, Ben, and a half-trained guide dog, Fisher, Lani discovers she can regain a shadow of her former independence.
But strange and dangerous secrets lurk behind the beauty of this seaside paradise. Suspicion grows that this was not a random shooting, but an attempted murder, one with its roots in a hippie commune burned over thirty year ago. Lani realizes she is a target, and that she must find the shooter before he strikes again.
Customer Reviews:
Wonderful!!.......2007-09-08
Colleen, you did it again. Every book in this Aloha Reef series just kept getting better and better. More mystery. More intrigue. More romance. Is this really the last book. I want to read more. Thanks for the series.
Great Series!!.......2007-06-11
As a person who loves the Hawaiian Islands, this series of books from Colleen Coble has been a refreshing way to transport myself from the mainland to the islands by just picking up the books and begin reading. I love the fact that the places she references in the stories are real and accurate in her descriptions. I am able to actually visualize what she is speaking of through the characters. I am sad that when I finish Midnight Sea book #4 in the Aloha Reef Series that I am at the end! I hope Colleen writes a 5th book!
First book review, but there's no more deserving story!.......2007-05-09
I enjoyed the first 3 books in this series, and this one is wonderful! The characters are people that I want to know more about, plus there is a connection to characters from the other books. Once I started reading, I had to keep going to find out what happened, so start this book when you have a good chunk of time to spend with it!
Must Read!!!.......2007-02-28
I love Colleen Coble's books and this one certainly doesn't let you down. If you love intrigue with a splash of romance, this is a must read.
Rich and Complex Romantic Suspense.......2007-02-27
In this book, Colleen Coble crafts another tight suspense plot filled with twists and turns and rich characters. She transports readers back to Hawaii, the setting for her Aloha Reef series. While this book stands completely on its own, if you read and enjoyed the Aloha Reef series, you will enjoy the reappearance of characters from that series.
Lani is faced with something I think most of us fear - she wakes up one morning unable to see anything. In the midnight sea of darkness, she must learn to cope and strive for some independence. Ben reluctantly agrees to help her learn how to use a guide dog and adjust to her new world. However, he's heard too much about her to be drawn in by her beauty.
The characters struggle with real questions about how their faith can sustain the circumstances of life. And they are brave enough to ask the questions many of us would love to scream to the heavens. As they wrestle with the mystery and their doubts, they also develop a relationship that could extend beyond friendship if they could let go of their pasts.
The book is rich with layers of characters and plots. And Coble does a fantastic job bringing all the layers together into a cohesive and compelling book. And if you're looking for a book to transport you to the beaches of Hawaii on a cold afternoon, this book is the one for you. Coble again creates a vivid setting and a story that could only be set in Hawaii.
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Rabbit Ears Treasury of Heroines: Annie Oakley, Song of Sacajawea, Finn McCoul, Princess Scargo and The Birthday Pumpkin (Rabbit Ears)
Rabbit Ears
Manufacturer: Listening Library (Audio)
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ASIN: 0739338722
Release Date: 2007-03-13 |
Book Description
The Rabbit Ears Treasury of Heroines entertains and enlightens with these classic stories of extraordinary women–read by your favorite stars and featuring original music by some of today’s greatest artists.
Annie Oakley
Read by Keith Carradine • Original Music by Los Lobos
In this spirited tale we meet legendary Annie Oakley, the buckskin-wearing sharpshooter who starred in Buffalo Bill Coty’s famous Wild West Show.
The Song of Sacajawea
Read by Laura Dern • Original Music by David Lindley
Join Lewis and Clark on their fascinating journey across the Rocky Mountains, led by an extraordinary 17-year-old Native American named Sacajawea. Her knowledge and incredible courage helped the early American explorers to reach their final destination: the Pacific Ocean.
Finn McCoul
Read by Catherine O’Hara • Original Music by Boys of the Lough
When Finn McCoul, the greatest champion in all of Ireland, discovers that the brutish giant Cucullin is after him, he gets a wee bit nervous. But with some ingenious culinary magic on the part of his clever wife Oonagh, Finn manages to get out of the scrape with most of his dignity intact.
Princess Scargo and the Birthday Pumpkin
Read by Geena Davis • Original Music by Michael Hedges
Discover the story of a young girl who gave up a precious birthday gift in order to save her village. This touching adaptation of the Native American legend embodies the true spirit of generosity.
Customer Reviews:
captivating for kids.......2007-10-02
My children love this CD set and it has some great stories that they listen to again and again. I particularly love the birthday pumpkin story.
Book Description
From 1861 through 1865, southern women fought a war within a war. While most of their efforts involved activities such as rolling bandages and organizing charity fairs, many women in the Confederacy, particularly in border states, challenged Federal authority in more direct ways: smuggling maps, medicine, and munitions; aiding deserters; spying; feeding Confederate bushwhackers; cutting Federal telegraph wires. Thomas P. Lowry's investigation into some 75,000 Federal courts-martial—uncovered in National Archives files and mostly unexamined since the Civil War—brings to light women caught up in the inexorable Unionist judicial machinery. Their stories, published here for the first time, often in first-person testimony, compose a remarkable picture of courage and resourcefulness in the face of social, military, and legal constraints. Lowry focuses on 120 women who were convicted of war-related offenses against the U.S. army or government. The court records tell of unusual pluck and bravado among women ranging from plantation elites and city dwellers to impoverished individuals from the margins of southern society. Their crimes included spying and smuggling, desecrating the U.S. flag, participating in invalid marriages to Union soldiers, and managing brothels in which Federal soldiers contracted venereal diseases. Rarest, and perhaps most intriguing of all, are cases in which women took part in armed robberies dressed as men or they concealed documents inside their bodies. Many of the convicts spent time in the little-known Fitchburg Female Prison in Massachusetts. At long last giving these women their place in the pages of history, Lowry shows them striking—and receiving—a blow for the Confederate cause, against the conventions of passive femininity. Confederate Heroines brings a new and surprising perspective on the conduct of the Civil War. AUTHOR BIO: Thomas P. Lowry is the author of seven previous books, including Don't Shoot That Boy: Lincoln and Military Justice and Venereal Disease and the Lewis and Clark Expedition. He is a retired psychiatrist and lives in Woodbridge, Virginia.
Customer Reviews:
Civil War Era Surprise.......2007-05-14
I was wonderfully surprised by this book. Although I have read a lot of literature on the Civil War, I had little knowledge of the women charged with espionage. I found it a fascinating read, and very insightful as to a role women could take in a war that was, although tragic, passionately fought by both sides. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in history, and particularly to those Civil War afficionados.
Southern women in the Confederacy challenged Federal authority.......2007-03-12
From 1861 through 1865 Southern women in the Confederacy challenged Federal authority, aiding deserters, feeding Confederate bushwhackers, and cutting Federal telegraph wires. Lowry's investigation uses some 75,000 Federal court-martial records recently uncovered in Nation Archives files and largely unrevealed since the Civil War to provide a striking historical survey of the events and lives of these women, making this a major pick not only for military collections strong in Civil War history, but for general holdings strong on women's history.
Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch
Unearthing A Hidden Heritage.......2006-08-21
This is a superb work for those interested in long-buried facets of our Civil War. Although the great number of publications dealing with the general subject might make one think that there are no new pastures to plow, Dr. Thomas Lowry has been pioneering one new field of research after another, from the "dark side" of Civil War medicine to the way courts-martial records illuminate--and round out--the moonshine-and-magnolias approach that still infects so much popular history-writing. I was bemused to read that one reviewer found this something of a "Lost Cause" book, since Lowry more often has written from the Union point of view; the point is that he's fair and serious--and easily the most creative, brilliant, innovative researcher at work today in the field of Civil War studies. The professoriat, buffs and lay readers alike owe Lowry a series of enormous debts. I believe I've read every one of his books and no author has taught me more about the period. This hard-facts volume about the roles played by Confederate women (including not a few eccentrics and dubious characters) in championing their cause deepens our understanding--whether our sympathies lie north or south of the Mason-Dixon line. You have to go straight to the Official Records to get information of this depth and quality. As for any academic criticism of Lowry--who was a career psychiatrist before devoting his life to this subject--it's pure jealousy. Lowry and his wife (who aids in his research) have done the tough, grinding archives-crunching that academics claim to respect but too-often shun in fact. This fine volume is the straightforward, unadorned truth about the American Civil War (think Joe Friday goes to Natchez). Very highly recommended for all serious students of the period, as well as for general readers who delight in seeing things from a fresh point of view.
Book Description
She was a Jewish girl growing up in World War I-torn Poland. At age seven, she and her family immigrated to America with dreams of a brighter future. But Frances Slanger could not lay her past to rest, and she vowed to help make the world a better place -- by joining the military and becoming a nurse.
Frances, one of the 350,000 American women in uniform during World War II, was among the first nurses to arrive at Normandy beach in June 1944. She and the other nurses of the 45th Field Hospital would soon experience the hardships of combat from a storm-whipped tent amid the anguish of wounded men and the thud of artillery shells. Months later, a letter that Frances wrote to the Stars and Stripes newspaper won her heartfelt praise from war-weary GIs touched by her tribute to them. But she never got to read the scores of soldiers' letters that poured in. She was killed by German troops the very next day.
American Nightingale is the unforgettable, first-ever full-length account of the woman whose brave life stands as a testament to the American spirit.
Customer Reviews:
Great book.......2006-03-14
I loved this book. I am a nurse myself and it was touching to see the lives we make an impression on and do not realize. It will bring tears to your eyes. It will touch the heart of many.
don't bother.......2005-09-29
This was melodramatic, trite, and completely lacked any sort of understanding of real life. As a military nurse and veteran of the current Iraq war, I was apalled by the way the author milked this story for all the melodrama it was worth.
That said, Frances Slanger's life and death should be recognized. If you want to read about her, look her up online, or contact the Stars n' Stripes newspaper itself to view the original letter she wrote along with the responses she never got to read.
Excellant read..........2005-07-27
As a nurse that has retired from that field, I read this book and was touched beyond words about the person Frances Slanger and the nurse and heroine Frances Slanger. I am an avid reader and love to read about WWII era; this book opened a new area of history that hasnt been adequately covered. It is well written and I highly recommend!
A great American and a story nobly told.......2005-04-12
Frances Slanger has been overlooked in histories of World War II and D-Day, and it is entirely due to Bob Welch (and to his chief informant, Nurse Sallylou Cummings, a spry 82 when she contacted Welch) that we now know her name and her amazing story. If ever the word "hero" was deserved it was here, and it gains luster from use when applied to Slanger, Cummings, and all the nurses who landed on Normandy sixty years ago and more. Can you imagine trying to jump off a boat, eying the water ahead of you, and trying to guess if it was three feet of water--or ten? Poor Frances, burdened down with a pack almost half her size, sank to the bottom of the ocean floor almost immediately. Why, her helmet alone was nearly 50 ounces. Luckily some strong men rescued her, for she was needed on the bloody sands of Omaha Beach.
A girl of European origins, young Frances was nearly turned back at Ellis Island due to a swollen eye. We do not know the details, but we suspect that some now unknown kindness bent the rules a little bit and allowed Frances to remain with her kin even though she was, by strict standards, "damaged goods." The girl grew up eternally grateful to the USA for allowing her and her family safety and security (for they were Jewish fleeing an anti-Semitic overlord in Europe) and it seems only natural in retrospect that she should have chosen to become a nurse.
In Europe she died a heroine, but she always insisted, "No, it is not I who have done anything--it was always the boys, the brave boys." It was almost as though to call attention to her own heroism would have been to diminish it.
Bob Welch should be proud of what he has done here. The book isn't always brilliantly written, and he employs a confusing time structure of trying to tell the day by day story of Frances Slanger's war, with interspersed flashbacks of her difficult pre-war life, and it just doesn't always work. But it doesn't have to. The story is riveting nonetheless.
A True Hero.......2004-10-16
I just finished reading American Nightingale. What a FANTASTIC book. The story of Frances Slanger is truly inspirational and the greatest testament to this inspiration, and to her heroism came from the very men that she cared for while in Europe. I am an avid reader of WWII books and I rank this up there as one of the best that I've ever read. Great job!
Book Description
Why did African-American women novelists use idealized stories of bourgeois courtship and marriage to mount arguments on social reform during the last decade of the nineteenth century, during a time when resurgent racism conditioned the lives of all black Americans? Such stories now seem like apolitical fantasies to contemporary readers. This is the question at the center of Tate's examination of the novels of Pauline Hopkins, Emma Kelley, Amelia Johnson, Katherine Tillman, and Frances Harper. Domestic Allegories of Political Desire is more than a literary study; it is also a social and intellectual history--a cultural critique of a period that historian Rayford W. Logan called "the Dark Ages of recent American history." Against a rich contextual framework, extending from abolitionist protest to the Black Aesthetic, Tate argues that the idealized marriage plot in these novels does not merely depict the heroine's happiness and economic prosperity. More importantly, that plot encodes a resonant cultural narrative--a domestic allegory--about the political ambitions of an emancipated people. Once this domestic allegory of political desire is unmasked in these novels, it can be seen as a significant discourse of the post-Reconstruction era for representing African-Americans' collective dreams about freedom and for reconstructing those contested dreams into consummations of civil liberty.
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- Kind of Silly!!!
- No girl should be without this book
- Superwoman meets couch patato
- Fun gag gift, quick distraction
- Great Book
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The Action Heroine's Handbook
Jennifer Worick , and
Joe Borgenicht
Manufacturer: Quirk Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 1931686688 |
Book Description
For every woman who wants to be as tough as Lara Croft, as nimble as the Bionic Woman, and as babe-a-licious as Charlie's Angels, The Action Heroine's Handbook shows how to conquer the bad guys in virtually any situation. This sequel to The Action Hero's Handbook (more than 150,000 copies in print!) features step-by-step illustrations and instructions on profiling a serial killer, going undercover as a beauty queen, navigating white water rapids, outwitting a band of house invaders, and more. All the information is reality based and comes from a host of experts (including stuntwomen, jujitsu instructors, and primatologists). Special sections and appendices highlight the top action heroine hairdos, handbag essentials, and the best footwear for every action situation.
Customer Reviews:
Kind of Silly!!!.......2007-07-02
I guess I thought that this book would have information about how to train and prepare for a variety of circumstances and eat right and get fit but it had more information about things like dressing sexy to capture a man's attention or making a man be your "slave" by treating him like crap and keeping him "coming back for more" and other silly things like that, which I am not really interested in.
No girl should be without this book.......2007-01-05
From How to Choke a Man With Your Bare Thighs, to How to Give Birth Under Pressure, this book is extremely informative for any modern day gal. There's a very interesting article on How to Outwit a Sasquatch, who knew that baring your teeth to the "Yeti" may be interpreted as an act of aggression...? And need I mention the article of How to Fend Off the Undead??
The book comes complete with an entire article on Action Heroine Hairstyles along with dozens of other TV and movie skills.
Get the book, is has a plethora of useful information, and like I said, no modern day girl should be without this handy purse size book!! (fits most Coach bags)
Superwoman meets couch patato.......2006-03-19
Another thrift shop bargain and what a bargain it was!
I laughed myself silly when I read this book, however I did enjoy reading it even if it did take itself too seriously at times but perhaps this was a subtle tongue in cheek gesture, I don't know but it was fun!
Each major section starts with a quote from either a Chick Flick or a film that has a strong female protagonist, I liked this touch and one of my favourite films "Aliens 2" appeared in it a couple of times with some excellent quotes that most of us would recognise.
This is a book for all you girls out there who secretly want to be Lara Croft, Buffy, or the next Darkangel, it give you such tips as how to drink a man under the table, escape from kidnappers, how to get your hair like your favourite heroine, surf like a demon, survive in the wilderness with nothing more than matches, a bit of string and a paperclip, as well showing you how to be someone else for a research project.
My favourite mini section in the book was on how to bluff your way into the world of the working girl, the hot tips given in the book actually came from a working girl who knows the ropes and at the time of publication she was working in the famous Bunny Ranch in Nevada.
This is the sort of book you would take on a long trip with you, it will keep you entertained that is for sure, and it is also the sort of book you can browse through again and again and some of the tips and suggestions in it are actually quite useful though I don't think I will be trying out "how to be a superwoman" tip any time soon!
A crackingly good book for the couch patato hero in all of us who is just dying to get out and show the world what she is made of...if she had the energy that is!!!!!
Fun gag gift, quick distraction.......2005-07-26
This is a great gift for the she-woman in your life, and a fun one to pass around among friends. If you are familiar with "The Worst Case Scenario Survival Handbook" and the others of the like, you'll know what fun you are in for (the author actually wrote "The Worst Case Scenario Survival Handbook: Dating & Sex").
There are some memorable lessons in here, all accompanied by terrific illustrations. Don't expect this book to change your life, but it will give you a few laughs and perhaps some tips on getting out of sticky situations.
Great Book.......2004-12-30
Great book with real live advice about survival techniques. Similar to the other Survival Handbooks with First Aid-type illustrations, this is handy for those who would like to find out how real live people like stunt doubles, firefighters, and police officers survive perilous situations. Other recommended books: The Action Hero's Handbook, Queen B's Guide to Being a Superheroine, Worst-Case Scenario Handbook, SAS Survival Handbook, and Spy Survival Handbook.
Amazon.com
Well researched and well written, America's Women: 400 Years of Dolls, Drudges, Helpmates, and Heroines is a powerful and important book. Starting with Pocahontas and Eleanor Dare (the first female colonist), this lively and fascinating history records the changes in American women's lives and the transformations in American society from the 1580s through the 2000s.
A history of the oft-marginalized sex must often draw from diaries and journals, which were disproportionally written by whites; as a result, African-American and Native American women are not as well represented as white in the earlier chapters of America's Women. However, Gail Collins writes about women of many races and ethnicities, and in fact provides more information about Native Americans, African-Americans, and Chinese, Jewish, and Italian immigrants than some general U.S. history books. She writes about rich and poor, young and old, urban and rural, slave and slave-owner, athlete and aviatrix, president's wife and presidential candidate--and, of course, men and women. And some of these women--from the justly famous, like Clara Barton and Harriet Tubman, to the undeservedly obscure, like Elizabeth Eckford and Senator Margaret Chase Smith--will not only make any woman proud to be a woman, they will make any American proud to be American.
An editor at the New York Times, Gail Collins has also written Scorpion Tongues: Gossip, Celebrity, and American Politics and, with Dan Collins, The Millennium Book. --Cynthia Ward
Book Description
From the women peering worriedly over the side of the Mayflower to feminists having a grand old time protesting beauty pageants and bridal fairs,
America's Women tells the story of how women shaped the nation and our vision of what it means to be female in America. Spanning wars, the pioneering days, the fight for suffrage, the Depression, the era of Rosie the Riveter, the civil rights movement, and the feminist rebellion of the 1970s, this book describes the way women's lives were altered by dress fashions, medical advances, rules of hygiene, social theories about sex and courtship, and the ever-changing attitudes toward education, work, and politics. While keeping her eye on the big picture, Gail Collins still notes that corsets and uncomfortable shoes mattered a lot too.
Customer Reviews:
Very Interesting.......2007-06-14
This is an easy to read book with a wealth of information.
missing parts.......2006-11-10
The audio book was supposed to be unabridged, however there are several sections missing. Including the entire section on the Salem Witch trials.
A wonderful quick read!.......2006-08-21
Ms. Collins takes you on a journey through 400 years of U.S. history as seen and experienced by women. It is a great review of our history as well as a perspective many neglect to include. This book is easily recommended to not only students of U.S. history, but to anyone who could use a refresher on some of the intricacies of our past. It was both captivating and intriguing.
Couldn't Put It Down.......2006-07-19
I purchased this book in an act of desperation at an airport bookstore. It turned out to be a great read and one I would recommend to any of my friends or family members. While it can be frustrating to read about how women were treated, there are so many inspirational women in the book. It makes me so thankful for the life I have today. Plus, it read like a good novel - I didn't want it to end.
Easy quick read full of interesting facts pertaining to women's history........2006-02-17
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I found the chapters interesting, and the bibliography full of additional sources, if you wanted to follow up on a particular subject or person that the author covered. If you are at all interested in a women's role in American history, this is a good book to start with.
Average customer rating:
- Historically accurate - wonderful book!
- Great illustrations
- Excellent book! A genuine treasure for all ages
- Decent interpretation with Chinese as well as English.
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Legend of Mu Lan: A Heroine of Ancient China
Wei Jiang , and
Cheng an Jiang
Manufacturer: Victory Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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China's Bravest Girl: The Legend of Hua Mu Lan
ASIN: 1878217143 |
Book Description
In ancient, war-torn China, hundreds and hundreds of men were called upon to defend their homeland. Unknown to all, there stood one female among the soldiers. Disguised as her brother, in order to take her father's place in the army, heroine Mu Lan bravely defends her country with superior martial arts.
Customer Reviews:
Historically accurate - wonderful book!.......2001-05-30
Every culture has their myths, legends and stories which are handed down through the ages with reverence and respect. In this era of commercializing and rewriting every classic that comes along, it is refreshing to find books such as this--that honor the original telling. Not only is the story historically accurate, but the beautiful pictures are as well, and this book is a must for any lover of Chinese history and/or for parents wishing to explain their "roots" to their children. I loved it!
Great illustrations.......2001-02-15
My favorite of all the Mulan books available because of the illustrations.
Excellent book! A genuine treasure for all ages.......1998-12-28
Each piece of artwork should be framed..thestory (authentic, for a change), is compelling, honest and a "must" for all ages. The Chinese writing accompanying the English is intriguing.I bought several books and sent them all over the globe. I suggest others do the same.
Decent interpretation with Chinese as well as English........1998-08-24
This is a simple and clear presentation of the story. I'm not familiar with the original poem, so can't say if it is completely accurate to the original. The illustrations seem very Chinese in style, and I really like them. I plan to get more books in this series.
The English is at a level that my 3rd grader can read it by herself, and it has the story, side by side, in simplified Chinese characters (some easy to read typewriter font, not the original calligraphy). The Chinese story is simple enough that kids who are learning Chinese should be able to make headway with it.
Customer Reviews:
A Town Full of Heroines.......2000-09-27
Cantrell, Montana, is the fictional setting for this series of interesting women dealing with the old west. Easy to read and very likable main characters. Has some humor, some romance, and interesting developments.
A must read series!.......2000-07-02
Excellent reading! Once you read the first book in this series, you will want to read them all! The story is exciting, thrilling, historical and filled with Christian values. It was a pleasure to read.
Pretty Good........2000-06-29
Sweet Carolina is just plainly..sweet.
Carolina goes out west to get some money from her dead brother's shop. First, she hates the West, the heat, the dirt, and the dirty guys out there. So when she arrives she finds out that her brother was a partner with one of those dirty guys. He tries to cheat her out of her share, so she shows him. By owning half of the shop. It doesn't take long for her to find some guys that aren't dirty, and that is when this book truly becomes sweet.
A satisfying read.......1999-11-01
As a young person I discovered the romance of the West in Zane Grey's adventures and have only occasionally strayed into other western writers. Generally because I am incapable of sympathising with the heroine. But Mr. Bly is one of those rare male authors that can create a heroine that I can find believable. An excellant read that I still reread now and again.
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