The Reluctant Shaman: A Woman's First Encounters with the Unseen Spirits of the Earth

Book Description

This is Kay Whitaker's spellbinding account of her "reluctant" apprenticeship to Domano and Chea Hetaka, two charismatic shamans from the Amazon Basin who come to teach her -- a young homemaker -- to be a Kala Keh nah seh, a builder of webs of balance," and to hand down the ancient wisdom of their people. In spite of her doubts and fears, Whitaker finds the balance and harmony she was destined to know.

Customer Reviews:

Fully Engaging.......2006-11-27

Brilliant, utterly compelling, and unforgettable. Highly recommended is an understatement. Far beyond and any other book on shamanism that I've read, this one is a multi-level, multi-sensory experience . It's one of those rare books that can awaken the reader's consciousness, compassion and heart. While autobiographical, the book also offers core information and teaching stories that are timeless. The author's personal experiences include exercises that can be easily put into practice. Yet,this is not another technique book. It's an irresistible call to remember and be who we truly are. It offers a path to living joyously in integrity with our Truth , Earth and all of Creation. One of a few books that I've read more then once. I am inspired by and grateful for the dedication, courage and commitment of the author and her teachers. This book is a treasure.

First Read this back in 1991 in Hardback edition.......2006-10-07

The book is still good as gold. Sometimes old books and old stories get better with age - certainly this applies to Whitaker's life experiences as written in her book "The Reluctant Shman". She goes from her more simple life in Santa Cruz into a whole new universe of spirtual explorations. She expands her world inside and out as she learns some new profound teachings and experiences many revolations- which she passes along to the reader.

Fascinating, entertaining and perhaps, in some ways, enlightening. How open you are to what she is saying will taint what you believe and what you absorb of her story and the message. It takes an open mind to digest all of the book - but if all she says happened, then it is really a very profound book of experinces that she shares. She certainly risks great ridicule by sharing this story if it were not fact - so we trust that she speaks from her heart.

Take with a pinch of salt.......2006-05-13

The author is approached one day by two indians who inform her that she is to be taught the way of their people. I was really looking forward to reading this book and hoped for an honest account of someone who had made an unexpected step into the spirit world.

Initially, I was not disappointed. The author describes her indian friends and the shamanic experiences beautifully including her emotional reactions to each experience.

By about two thirds through, however, I was wondering if the author would ever begin to mature. At the beginning of the book we learn that the author is filled with fear and anxiety and has difficulty standing up for herself; typical, as she says, of a 1950's upbringing. But despite tremendously powerful shamanic experiences, she never seems to loose the immediate reaction of fear to all new experiences. Even those delivered to her by her new friends are met with fear and questioning - right till the very end of the book. I found it very difficult to reconcile such powerful expereinces that require balance and spiritual strength with the author's fear and disbelief. I came to doubt the story as it was told.

As this book was written some time after her experiences (she was asked by the indians not to record any of her experiences whilst she was learning) I can only assume that the book is constructed to show the human side of things combined with the shamanic experience, rather than trying to show the spiritual journey as a maturing experience.

A very good read for the experiences themselves, irritating by the end.

The Gift of One's Song.......2006-02-10

The Reluctant Shaman opened for me the
door to my spiritual journey. Every
single page nourishes the soul. After
reading this I had very powerful dreams,
one of which informed me of "the gift
of my song". Every time I sing this
it heightens my consciousness and gives
me renewing energy. This book inspires
one's entire being how to literally be
in tune with oneself. Densely packed
with gems of stories, it was an adventure
of a read. Kay's personal style of writing
invites the reader to experience the magic
firsthand. Like a magical treasure box, each
time this book is opened it reveals more
wisdom to live by. I return to it often
for inspiration. I truly hope many more
will discover and enjoy Kay's mesmerizing
account.

A really fun read, these people are GREAT!.......2005-01-12

I haven't laughed so much since reading Rita Mae Brown's "Six of One"! These people are so joyful, so insouciant,so playful, that they really lightened up my spirits at a rather depressing time in my life. The whole premise of the book is so ... outlandish! I read fiction for that feeling of going SOMEWHERE ELSE, somewhere I can't go myself and this account of one woman getting there in real life is a RIOT!!!
I've had enough weird experiences to recognise the truly confused voice of real experience in this book - it's NOT fiction! - and reading this is like watching the Marx brothers come to one of my family's holiday get-togethers! There's no meanness in the humor, just affection, and the ridiculous combination of modern world with ancient psychic practices is just hilarious!
In addition, the hope that there CAN be a larger world out there, just waiting for us to find it, a loving, supportive, enthusiastic universe waiting to buttonhole us on the street, just to tell us to come on in and join the party is a beautiful and PRICELESS gift that this book brings, and an accurate one, in my experience.

On Her Trail: My Mother, Nancy Dickerson, TV News' First Woman Star

Average customer rating:

Insight into Hidden Washington
A Balanced Book
One never knows----
Moving account of the evolving relationship of mother and son, with some "West Wing"-style 60s and 70s political insights
A Lovely and Rich Book.

On Her Trail: My Mother, Nancy Dickerson, TV News' First Woman Star
John Dickerson
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0743287835

Book Description

Before Barbara Walters, before Katie Couric, there was Nancy Dickerson. The first female member of the Washington TV news corps, Nancy was the only woman covering many of the most iconic events of the sixties. She was the first reporter to speak to President Kennedy after his inauguration and she was on the Mall with Martin Luther King Jr. during the march on Washington; she had dinner with LBJ the night after Kennedy was assassinated and got late-night calls from President Nixon. Ambitious, beautiful and smart, she dated senators and congressmen and got advice and accolades from Edward R. Murrow. She was one of President Johnson's favorite reporters, and he often greeted her on-camera with a familiar "Hello, Nancy." In the '60s Nancy and her husband Wyatt Dickerson were Washington's golden couple, and the capital's power brokers coveted invitations to swank dinners at their estate on the Potomac.

Growing up in the shadow of Nancy's fame, John Dickerson rarely saw his mother. This frank memoir -- part remembrance, part discovery -- describes a freewheeling childhood in which Nancy Dickerson was rarely around unless John was in trouble or she was throwing a party for the president and John was instructed to check the coats. By the time John was old enough to know what the news was, his mother was no longer in the national spotlight and he didn't see why she should be. He thought she was a liar and a phony. When he was fourteen, his parents divorced, and he moved in with his father.

As an adult, John found himself in Washington, a reporter covering her old beat. A long-delayed connection between mother and son began, only to be cut short by Nancy's death in 1997. In her journals, letters and yellowed newspaper clippings, John discovered the woman he never knew -- an icon in television history whose achievement was the result of her relentless determination to reinvent herself and excel. On Her Trail is a fascinating picture of the early days of television and of Washington society at its most high powered, and charts a son's honest and wry search for the mother he came to admire and love.

Customer Reviews:

Insight into Hidden Washington.......2007-07-26

"On Her Trail" is a great read if you have an interest in any of the following: The balance of career and family, The evolution of television network news, The personal insecurity of the famous, Washington high society, LBJ, Women trying to enter the work force in the 50's and 60's, Mother-and-son relationships, Edward R. Murrow and Eric Sevareid, The art of planning dinner parties for the rich and powerful, or The early televising of America's political conventions. John Dickerson's masterful book on his mother Nancy Dickerson, is a hybrid, two-thirds biography (her story), and one-third autobiography (his story of knowing and discovering his mom).

John was born, as he writes, at the beginning of the decline of his mother's career and fame at NBC News. He artfully interweaves a bit of his early life with his mom, especially his discovery of his mother's world, and over time, his gradual realization of the way his mother worked and operated, a subject he knew little about until his research began in earnest after her death in 1997. He discovered in Nancy Dickerson's huge collection of papers many things he had no previous inkling of: Photographs of his mom with Jackie Kennedy, a photo of Nancy dancing with President Johnson, and notes to her from very famous people from an era that is now history. He had no idea growing up that his mom was a regular on the Today Show. He discovered fun little tidbits everywhere, like the story the campaign trail, when Lyndon Johnson visited Nancy late at night in her hotel room in his pajamas for perhaps more than just conversation. (The situation ended before anything happened, and after Lady Bird sent Bill Moyers down the hall to fetch her husband.) This book is filled with stories and insight, and allows the reader to learn more about how Washington operates, how the news business functioned and functions, and how a son gets to really know his mom after she is gone.

A Balanced Book.......2007-05-22

John Dickerson's kind and honest account of his mother, Nancy Dickerson, makes a fine read. His book is no "Mommie Dearest." He exposes the hypocrisy of the male dominated Washington media world of the sixties and seventies when men and women were held to vastly different standards. Dickerson, like his mother, is smart and knows he is not likely to be "a perfect parent." His mature sense of humor informs, entertains and forgives. This is a "must-read" for working parents who know how difficult it is to have a job and kids.

One never knows----.......2007-03-19

One never knows what goes on behind the scenes with famous people. Having lived in Dickerson's neighborhood and gone to her beauty salon, I could appreciate this young man's disinchantment with his early years. For my friends and I it was a quick, interesting read.

Moving account of the evolving relationship of mother and son, with some "West Wing"-style 60s and 70s political insights .......2007-03-10

I thoroughly enjoyed this book on many levels. As someone who is catching up on my history of politics while paying closer attention to the present-day administration and world events, I loved the bits of history woven into this wonderful, messy, realistic story of a son's relationship with a famous, influential mother. As a mother of young sons who has struggled with the issues of work and raising a family, hearing a son's point of view was particularly compelling.

John doesn't give any easy answers to the modern conundrum of how to balance work and family, nor does he place the responsibility solely on women; he makes it an issue for all parents, male and female. As he says near the end of the book: "Our story should not be mined for any confirmation about whether a woman should choose work or family. Those aren't the lessons I was looking for. I have tried to figure out my role as a person and a parent, figure out how to get the balance right between achieving something durable in the public realm and doing something important and genuine in the private one. How do I avoid the anxiety, indecision and regret of getting the mix wrong? I don't see that task any differently for my wife just because she's a woman who works and is a mother.... [We] have a better chance of balance than Mom did, in part because of what Mom and other women did to allow women the choice to shape a broader identity."

No mother would want her child to take the path John did to find peace with his mother, but as a woman I can appreciate the agony of the choices Nancy Dickerson had to make between doing something she absolutely loved and needed for self-fulfillment, and taking care of the people she loved. There are no easy answers here for how to strike that balance, but it does make a case for every person's right to make a difference in the world, in a way that he or she chooses. Hopefully the decisions are less painful for all involved now than they were 30 years ago because we have more options and more social acceptance of broader life roles.

Read the book for the insider's look at politics in the 60s and 70s, for a great story of a teenager who rebels against his mother and then finds his way back to her, and for a look at a strong lady who did a lot of good in both small and large ways.

A Lovely and Rich Book. .......2007-03-09

I'm reading some of these reviews and seeing that some "got the book", while others did not. I think enough of these reviews will tell you "what the book is about", so I'll just be short and sweet about my take on this book.

It's a compelling and lovely account of Nancy Dickerson's rise to fame and ultimate gain of respect as a news woman. On top of it, it certainly outlines the somewhat selfish relationship between a mother and a son - perhaps on both sides. Selfishness among parents and children is ever so common in families. Then we seem to grow up or grow out of it. John does a tremendous job allowing readers to feel how he felt both as an adult and a child, while allowing readers to feel like they are in the room while visiting some pretty exciting places in "old" high society Washington.

The book brings to life the many hardships women had in the 50's and 60's about choosing to work, and then being taken seriously in the workplace. Her personal involvement with top politicians and Hollywood may have been instrumental in times of not being taken seriously, but who knew this more than her? She certainly knew what she was up against. It's a beautiful story of Nancy's personal rise and fall, of not only her career but her marriage and her health. And most of all, it's a transforming account of John Dickerson's love and respect for a woman he chose not know while growing up, began to understand once he was grown up, and sort of yearned for when it was a little to late. You can never get time back.

I agree with Al Franken's review when he says you may hate John Dickerson by page 40, but don't be discouraged, by page 47 you'll do an about face and by the last chapter you see a man who respects, appreciates, understands and misses his mother dearly. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone.

Average customer rating:

Hear Junia's Roar
the proof of the pudding
Interesting Study on Romans 16:7
A brilliant essay!
Not for your average person

Junia: The First Woman Apostle
Eldon Jay Epp
Manufacturer: Augsburg Fortress Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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A Woman's Place: House Churches In Earliest Christianity
The Lost Apostle: Searching for the Truth About Junia
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Christian Origins: A People's History Of Christianity, Vol. 1

ASIN: 0800637712

Book Description

In this important work, Epp investigates the mysterious disappearance of Junia from the traditions of the church. Because later theologians and scribes could not believe (or wanted to suppress) that Paul had numbered a woman among the earliest churches' apostles, Junia's name was changed in Romans 16:7 to a masculine form. Despite the fact that the earliest churches met in homes and that other women were clearly leaders in the churches (e.g., Prisca and Lydia), calling Junia an apostle seemed too much for the tradition. Epp tracks how this happened in New Testament manuscripts, scribal traditions, and translations of the Bible. In this thoroughgoing study, Epp restores Junia to her rightful place.

Customer Reviews:

Hear Junia's Roar.......2007-09-04

After this work, there really aren't any arguments left for giving Junia a sex change, or acting as if she wasn't in full apostolic authority. Epp goes through source by source, text by text, and looks at every scholarly Biblical reference to Junia/Junias over the last two thousand years. It is an astounding litany of sexism and mysoginy. Surprisingly, she is fully woman, even through the extreme anti-feminism of later Church Fathers like Chryostome. It is only in the late Middle Ages that she starts to be masculanized; it is only in the 1920s that we really start to see her made such in the Greek texts.

What a different world it would be if we grew up reading in English about a female apostle! Kudos to recent translations like the NRSV and New American Bible, who are using good scholarship in referring to Junia. Shame on those like The Message (alone with only the CEV), bucking the more recent scholarly trend and insisting on Junias. Epp shows how much our own culture influences our translation, even to the point of diacritical marks.

A word of warning- this is a highly scholarly work. If you don't know Greek, you probably won't enjoy it. I have only a smattering of Greek, and had to wade through a good deal of grammar and manuscript analysis terms that I had no understanding of. I still enjoyed the book because of my commitment to women's empowerment and recognition of Junia, but for most without a textual analysis background, this book will seem too heavy. This is the kind of work that scholars typically share with only each other.

the proof of the pudding.......2007-07-12

This is definitely not a 'light weight' book. I have a PhD and had difficulty wading through it. If you are not totally familiar with exegesis, hermeneutics, and scholarly publications, you may want to pass this one by. If that is your forte then you will thrill at the scholarly undertaking here.

Interesting Study on Romans 16:7.......2006-12-24

I wish people would read a book before posting a comment. This book is a textual criticism into the study of Romans 16:7. It is completely void of any Feminist theology or writing.
Look at the following Bible translations.
English standard Version
Rom 16:7 Greet Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen and my fellow prisoners. They are well known to the apostles, and they were in Christ before me.
American Standard Version
Rom 16:7 Salute Andronicus and Junias, my kinsmen, and my fellow-prisoners, who are of note among the apostles, who also have been in Christ before me.
New American Standard Bible
Rom 16:7 Greet Andronicus and Junias, my kinsmen and my fellow prisoners, who are outstanding among the apostles, who also were in Christ before me.
King James Bible
Rom 16:7 Salute Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen, and my fellow prisoners, who are of note among the apostles, who also were in Christ before me.
Both Junia and Junias carry the Strong's number 2458.
You can see from the Bible versions above. The KJV, ESV, both use the Female name while ASV and NASB use the Male name. It is interesting the the male is shown to be an Apostle in the NASB.
The book is about 80 pages with about 55 pages of notes, bibliography and index's. It is well documented and reads with a textual criticism style of writing. A nice book for your library, especially if you like a little controversy.

A brilliant essay!.......2006-11-12

Epp has produced a model essay for both the scholar (who needs precise proof for every assertion) and the seriously interested lay person (who wants clarity in the argument plus clear signals as to where he may skim over the scholarly details). It is a book I wish I had written; it is a book I wish I COULD have written!
The book is so important for the question of women's ministry in the church that I have purchased and given away several copies.
It is true, however, that it is not for the casual reader.

Not for your average person.......2006-10-23

This book makes "a brief history of time" look like a children's storybook. It's basically a learned journal article republished as a book. If you're not into researching the use of the ablative in Greek sentence structures this is not for you.

The current Junia fad means that any book on the subject will be bought. I picked it up, read the first and last couple of paragraphs and am about to consign it untouched to my local feminist theology library. Junia is an important find for modern Christianity and a great gift to women struggling to assert their rightful their place in the last great male-dominated western institutions. This book only helps with a technical proof of Junia's existence. It gives no sense of who she might have been, why she is important or what she means today. It also ignores that Junia has been recognised as a saint in the Orthodox Church since the time of her death.

Perhaps it is of importance to "sola scriptura" Christians since it provides the technical tools to argue the correct gender for Junia and her appellation of Apostle.

PS Buy "The Lost Apostle"; it is a much easier and more motivational read.

The Road to Seneca Falls: Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the First Woman's Rights Convention (Women in American History)

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The Road to Seneca Falls: Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the First Woman's Rights Convention (Women in American History)
Judith Wellman
Manufacturer: University of Illinois Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Women | Specific Groups | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0252071735

Book Description

Feminists from 1848 to the present have rightly viewed the Seneca Falls convention as the birth of the women's rights movement in the United States and beyond. In The Road To Seneca Falls, Judith Wellman offers the first well documented, full-length account of this historic meeting in its contemporary context.

The convention succeeded by uniting powerful elements of the antislavery movement, radical Quakers, and the campaign for legal reform under a common cause. Wellman shows that these three strands converged not only in Seneca Falls, but also in the life of women's rights pioneer Elizabeth Cady Stanton. It is this convergence, she argues, that foments one of the greatest rebellions of modern times.

Rather than working heavy-handedly downward from their official "Declaration of Sentiments," Wellman works upward from richly detailed documentary evidence to construct a complex tapestry of causes that lay behind the convention, bringing the struggle to life. Her approach results in a satisfying combination of social, community, and reform history with individual and collective biographical elements.

The Road to Seneca Falls challenges all of us to reflect on what it means to be an American trying to implement the belief that "all men and women are created equal," both then and now. A fascinating story in its own right, it is also a seminal piece of scholarship for anyone interested in history, politics, or gender.

Guided Tour to the Afterlife: the Remarkable First-Hand Account of One Woman's Death and Her Adventures in a New Life After Death
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True ? Don't know but the tips could change your life!

Also a Guide to the Present Life

Just plain bad....

EXCELLENT BOOK

Too Clinical For Me

Guided Tour to the Afterlife: the Remarkable First-Hand Account of One Woman's Death and Her Adventures in a New Life After Death
Harriet H. Carter
Manufacturer: Hillbrook Pub Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Another Door Opens: A Psychic Explains How Those in the World of Spirit Continue to Impact Our Lives

ASIN: 0967893933

Book Description

The ultimate manual on dying and what happens afterwards from someone who has been there, done that, and learned how to communicate her profoundly moving experiences to those she left behind. This fascinating and graphically detailed description brings inspirational reassurance and comfort to those who are:

# Elderly
# Terminally ill
# Grieving the loss of a loved one
# Caregivers and hospice workers
# Afraid of death
# Looking for hope and inner peace
# Curious about what lies beyond. You will learn:
# What it feels like to die
# What the afterlife looks like
# What new skills you'll have
# What your new body will look like
# How the afterlife differs from this life
# Whom you'll meet there and what you'll do
# How to communicate with your loved ones in the afterlife
# How to prepare for your own grand entrance into the afterlife.

Customer Reviews:

True ? Don't know but the tips could change your life!.......2004-01-06

I picked up this book just out of curiosity. Well, I don't know whether it is true or false but the analogy explained here is very logical and consistent with our over all perception of reality.

I am writing review not because the description of afterlife fascinated me but for the concluding chapters where Susan gave us some tips about how to live our present lives here. I think if you read only that much and practice some of them; your life will change.

Don't know what happen after we die but as long as we are living here (we have no choice but to continue like that till that call comes!) we can best use it.

SUhas Gokhale

Also a Guide to the Present Life.......2002-06-23

I appreciate "Guided Tour to the Afterlife" with all my heart. It
affirmed many things for me, and also gave me a sense of peace to feel
and envision, from the very personal level Susan comes from, the state
of existence I came from and that to which I will return. I can say
that the insights I gained from Susan will actually help me live life
here with more freedom and understanding and peace.
Harriett and Susan have given the world a great gift. This is a
cutting edge book that everyone needs to read for encouragement in
creating happier lives for themselves. I can't imagine that there is a
person anywhere who wouldn't benefit from the information in its pages.
I am very much looking forward to their next book.

Just plain bad...........2001-05-29

I looked forward to reading this book based on the other reviews here and was sorely disappointed. It's poorly written with a rather fantastic premise filled with boring personal anecdotes.Let's face it,just about anyone can write a book on the afterlife and describe their 'communication' with those who have passed on,but this book is simply devoid of any credibility or original research; it doesn't even make good fiction.There are a lot of good books out there on life after death; this isn't one of them.Avoid.

EXCELLENT BOOK.......2001-04-08

CORRESPONDS WITH MY OWN KNOWLEDGE OF WHAT HAPPENS AFTER WE DIE. BUT IT EVER TAKES THE READER FURTHER INTO THE AFTERLIFE. I COULDN'T PUT THE BOOK DOWN. PROBABLY THE BEST I HAVE EVER READ ON THIS SUBJECT. I RECOMMEND IT TO ANYONE INTERESTED IN THE SUBJECT OF THE AFTERLIFE.

Too Clinical For Me.......2000-10-03

I lost my dear father recently and became quite interested in what he was experiencing in the afterlife. This was the first book I read on the subject and it was actually upsetting to me. I subseqently read a book by Echo Bodine, which I found much warmer, much gentler and more comforting. I was better able to reconcile my beliefs in God and the afterlife much more with Echo Bodine's book. It's helped me feel more at peace with my dad's continuing presence in my life. I hesitate to say anything negative about a book that's been a comfort to the other reviewers, but felt I needed to offer my differing opinion.

Tales of Translation: Composing the New Woman in China, 1898-1918

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Tales of Translation: Composing the New Woman in China, 1898-1918
Ying Hu
Manufacturer: Stanford University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Chinese | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Asian | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Feminist Theory | Women's Studies | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | Women's Studies | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0804737746
Release Date: 2000-06-02

Book Description

The figure of the New Woman, soon to become a major signpost of Chinese modernity, was in the process of being composed at the turn of the twentieth century. This was a liminal moment in Chinese history, a period of great possibilities and much fluidity. At this time, the term xin nüxin or xin funü (the New Woman) had not yet achieved currency, for she represented an ideal yet to be fully articulated.

The cultural production of this period in China illustrates that the New Woman was constructed vis-à-vis her significant “others,” whether domestic or foreign, male or female. To know the New Woman, then, it is necessary to know not just herself but also her others. Instead of offering a model of Western influence or indigenous origin, this study employs a model of translation, in which both the self and the other are subject to multiple transformations. It reads several popular Chinese writers and translators of the period whose abundant fiction (whether original or translated) bristles with difficulties in presuming either fidelity of translation or adequacy of depicting cross-cultural experience in the construction of the New Woman.

The late Qing era witnessed the translating, printing, and reading of a vast amount of Western literature, amounting to what has been called a “translation fever.” The author focuses on the fictional and translational representation of a range of Western female icons, including Sophia Perovskaia (the Russian anarchist and would-be assassin of the tsar), the French Revolutionary figure Madame Roland, and Dumas’s “la Dame aux camélias.” In tracing the circulation and transformation of these popular figures through travel books, biographies, newspaper articles, oral performance scripts, and novels, this book narrates the complex relationship between imagining a foreign other and re-imagining the self. In investigating the very processes of translation, it provides a sustained analysis of the cultural and historical forces that produced the New Woman in China.

The First Woman in the Republic: A Cultural Biography of Lydia Maria Child (New Americanists)

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A labor of love

The First Woman in the Republic: A Cultural Biography of Lydia Maria Child (New Americanists)
Carolyn L. Karcher
Manufacturer: Duke University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Authors | Arts & Literature | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0822321637

Customer Reviews:

A labor of love.......2005-03-29

This is truly a labor of love: an 800-page, oversized biography of Lydia Maria Child, a woman who even at her death was mostly forgotten. Child was a prodigeous writer and social activist - staunch abolitionist, Indian advocate, feminist - who wrote ceaselessly for her causes (her bibliography contains hundreds of items). Karcher explores Child's life in great depth and with loving care. Anyone even remotely interested in Child or the world she inhabited will find this book useful and enjoyable.

Average customer rating:

Excellent overview of an important topic

The First Industrial Woman
Deborah Valenze
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Workplace | Organizational Behavior | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0195089820

Book Description

Why study women and the industrial revolution? Deborah Valenze's groundbreaking reassessment of this classic problem in European history reminds us that questions of gender and work are at the center of our experience in the modern world. Too often, the study of industrialization charts an inevitable and largely technological course. Valenze sets aside this approach in order to examine the underlying assumptions about gender and work that informed the transformation of English society, and in turn, our ideas about economic progress. How did England change from an agriculturally based nation, in which female labor played an active and acknowledged part, to an industrial power resting on a notion of male productivity? Through selective treatments of agriculture, spinning, and cottage industries, Valenze shows how the rise of values of productivity and rationality subordinated women of the working class and strengthened an emerging ethos of individualism. She also analyzes the influential ideas of Thomas Malthus, Hannah More, and other authors, whose publications reinforced these same tendencies in the early nineteenth century. In an elegant and compelling account, Valenze charts the birth of a new economic order resting on social and sexual hierarchies which remain a part of our contemporary lives.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent overview of an important topic.......2007-07-14

Please ignore the review above. This Texas hillbilly posts the SAME REVIEW for every textbook he "reads." This person should stick to what he knows: he's a big fan of the Lethal Weapon series.

Average customer rating:

I am compelled to share my enthusiasm for this particular piece of chick lit...
But what did they see in Her?
Made me smile
disappointing
I can relate!

What She Saw...: A Novel
Lucinda Rosenfeld
Manufacturer: Random House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Single Women | Women's Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0375503757
Release Date: 2000-09-12

Amazon.com

Sometimes in a moment of limbo or confusion, it's advisable to make a list. An inventory of accomplishments, a chart of pros and cons. Lucinda Rosenfeld's first novel takes as its form a list of past boyfriends. Each section finishes the sentence begun in its title, What She Saw... in "Roger Mancuso, or 'The Stink Bomb King of Fifth Grade.'" Later, in college, it's "Humphrey Fung, or 'The Anarchist Feminist.'" The book's shape and humor come from the gathering logic of this catalog, how our heroine is repeatedly fooled by the illusions of lust, always looking for something new, someone who can eclipse the failed romances of the past.

Rosenfeld's protagonist, Phoebe Fine, is a sharp-tongued brainiac with rotten self-esteem. Born and raised in suburban New Jersey, she's the daughter of professional classical musicians, hippie theater types who embarrass their kids; they are always going into geeky raptures on the subject of chamber music or obscure lost arts. Phoebe wishes she could be considered "normal." She wishes she had blond hair and perfect teeth, but instead she's painfully ordinary: in the chapter "Jason Barry Gold, or 'The Varsity Lacrosse Stud'" Rosenfeld riffs expertly on the subject of Phoebe's ordinariness:

That's how ugly she was--ugly by virtue of the fact that she was unmemorable, a slab of alabaster awaiting a sculptor who never arrived, a "nothing burger" if there ever was one. Take her nose: it just kind of ended, and her forehead just kind of began--kind of like the weeks in a year and the years in a life. It was the same with her waist and her hips, and her neck and her shoulders. There was nothing definitive about her. She was just this filet of human flesh--just this blah girl running laps behind the gym until she thought her legs would snap, her heart explode.

The search for true love keeps Phoebe in a state of high anxiety. It's a wonder she ever gets any sleep. When the right guy gives her the right kind of attention, she's queen for a day. Alone, without the prospect of a lover, she starves herself, drinks too much, occasionally stares into the mystery of her past. What did she see in those men? What did they see in her? At once erotic and awkward, lightweight and troubling, Rosenfeld's debut possesses a powerful charm. Readers who grew up in the '70s and '80s will recognize the landmarks: Farah Fawcett posters, boring social studies classes explaining glasnost. Rosenfeld's a former New York Post nightlife columnist, and What She Saw... has the quick pace, twittering freshness, and panicked hipness of a club-hopper. Deadpan and stylish, it's a novel whose author is out to prove herself. And prove herself she does, in spades. --Emily White

Book Description

Beginning in fifth grade, Phoebe Fine, the daughter of an oboist in suburban New Jersey, finds that love is a risky game to play. There is Roger Mancuso, who offers Phoebe her first cigarette, her first kiss, and her first experience of loss. There is Spitty Clark, the frat boy and inveterate party animal who's a possible criminal but also somehow a man of honor. Later on, as a young woman living in New York, Phoebe crosses the path of arrogant Pablo Miles (né Peter Mandelbaum), who licks her hand moments after they meet. And so it goes, as Phoebe struggles to reconcile her conflicting desires for safety and adventure, sympathy and conquest. Lucinda Rosenfeld relates Phoebe's serial, seriocomic encounters with freshness, range, economy, and emotional precision:

"She understood the jealousy emaciation aroused in other women."
"She couldn't persuade herself to spend an entire hour's salary on a piece of bread and three zucchini rounds."
"Their first date was more like an appointment. To screw."

Unexpected, absorbing, and likely to elicit strong identification among men and women alike, What She Saw . . . serves up acute observations and serious ideas--Phoebe's recognition of her complicity in the disenchantments she endures, the intersection of Eros and ambition--with stealthy charm. The sum of these parts is an intriguing, funny, sharp, and occasionally devastating rendition of that most basic and crucial of human stories: growing up. The vision in What She Saw . . . is perfect.

Customer Reviews:

I am compelled to share my enthusiasm for this particular piece of chick lit..........2005-12-23

because I felt for Phoebe. In each of the little vignettes, I could see a little bit of myself and my life. In her neurotic-isms, and in her self doubts and in her hopes as cliche as it sounds (but I'd hope I am a little bit more together than this character!). Seriously, though, I flew through this book in a day. I was expecting a light, fluffy read, and while it was light, on one level, it was also true to the realities of the educated-20-something-in-the-city. Reminded me of Bridget Jones and of Sex and the City. Lots of fun pop culture references. Lots of sarcasm. Lots of what I found to be witty points. Just an enjoyable, although at moments frustrating and searing, read.

But what did they see in Her?.......2005-01-23

This book was very well written. I think Lucinda Rosenfeld is a talented author, and I will look for other books by her. That said, I found the book to be a "much of a muchness." In ten years, (age 16 - 26) Phoebe Fine never seemed to grow up, mature, reflect, or just grow, period. By the 10th or 12th man, I was a bit tired of her go nowhere, do nothing, victim mentality. I was also a bit tired of the men she chose--- never really seeing what she DID see in them. I'd give the writing style 5-stars, and the first half of the book 4-stars, but it was too much of the same thing to be more than a 3-star book overall.
Certainly worth reading though.

Made me smile.......2004-10-11

This story made me laugh and cry, both inspired and frustrated me. Whether we'd like to admit it or not, I think that almost every woman and girl can relate to a certain aspect of the heartbreakingly funny lead character, Pheobe Fine. While I did begin to tire of the book's concept toward the end, and was not particularly impressed with it's ending, I ultimately thought it was a refreshing and beautifully written read, and one that I would definitely recommend to my girlfriends.

disappointing.......2004-04-23

Sadly, while reading this book, it is shoved down the reader's throat that Phoebe is a girl who suffers from the fact that every man she meets wants to have sex with her, and since she's basically a [prostitute], it usually happens. This takes away from Phoebe's intelligence and her other qualities that would make her a good person and a person worth knowing and caring about. Also, at about the hundredth mention of how beautiful and attractive she is to the opposite sex, the subtlety wears a little thin. Having said that, the book does have its moments, and I thought in general it had a lot of potential but ultimately fell short. It had a lot of promise in the beginning, but didn't follow through. Phoebe ends up coming across as an unlikable and empty sort of person, one of those annoying women who are always trying to call themselves victims and blame everyone else for their so-called unhappiness. I couldn't relate to her at all and it's unfortunate that the author chose to write a character who is such a cliche`. Also, the sexual references are disgusting, crude and totally gratuitous. I would recommend Why She Went Home instead.

I can relate!.......2004-03-15

A lot of women could probably relate to this book, especially women who live in New York City. I have often thought about all the different types of men I have dated here. Lucinda does a great job of telling it like it is with humor. Phoebe reminds me of the character in the memoir, Locked Passion of a Free Spirit. They both had a lot of growing up to do.

Jessie Tarbox Beals: First Woman News Photographer

Average customer rating:

Jessie Tarbox Beals: First Woman News Photographer
Alexander Alland
Manufacturer: Regimental Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0918696089

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