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Another casualty of the Vietnam War, Danielle Trussoni has told her story in Falling Through the Earth with bravado, pride, sadness, and candor. Her father, Daniel, served as a tunnel rat, one of the incredibly brave men who went into the webs of tunnels and rooms searching for Vietnamese guerillas hiding out underground. The heat and stench, the courage combined with fear, the claustrophobic confinement, and the incessant tension are recounted with an immediacy that only one who has been there, or knows someone who has, could tell. In fact, Danielle Trussoni went to Vietnam and was guided through the tunnels, trying to follow, literally, in her father's footsteps.
The Trussoni family of Onalaska, Wisconsin, is famous for bar fights and not much else. Daniel is a thug like his brothers, all of whom pride themselves on being tough guys who might just be mobbed up, although there is no proof of that.
Trussoni Thanksgivings were like boxing matches. There was sure to be a rumble on the front lawn of my grandparents' house and a rematch at the tavern down the street... A little blood before dinner was what aperitifs were to other families.
In this atmosphere, Danielle, her sister Kelly, and her brother Matt are trying to raise themselves, or just stay out of the way. After getting a job and some sense of self, Mom takes on a boyfriend and asks Dad to leave. According to Danielle, Dad is pretty broken up about the departure, so she goes to live with him and is treated to a steady round of women callers. The other two children stay with their Mom. Most evenings, Daniel takes Danielle to Roscoe's, the neighborhood tavern, where she sits and watches him get drunk and tell his Vietnam stories. Over and over again. Every so often, he forgets her and she has to make her own way home.
Danielle is endlessly forgiving of this case-hardened vet who is relentlessly mean, paranoid and petty. He is a prototype of the guy who came home and didn't know why he was a survivor. Trussoni has captured the essence of being in bloody battle one day and home the next, and then trying to make sense of it all.
Alternating chapters tell of her father's time in Vietnam, her own journey there, and their messy lives--starting with the divorce and continuing until her adulthood. Family secrets are revealed; Danielle realizes that her mother was not the only person at fault in the breakup of the marriage and that her defense of her father was not always appropriate.
She is finally able to say, after writing him a letter outlining her grievances, "I wanted you to know I was hurt by the way I grew up. ...I wanted you to know how hard I've tried to get through to you, how much work it has been for me." There has never been a daughter more loyal than Danielle Trussoni. --Valerie Ryan
Book Description
From her charismatic father, Danielle Trussoni learned how to rock and roll, outrun the police, and never shy away from a fight. Spending hour upon hour trailing him around the bars and honky-tonks of La Crosse, Wisconsin, young Danielle grew up fascinated by stories of her dads adventures as a tunnel rat in Vietnam, where hed risked his life crawling head first into narrow passageways to search for American POWs.
Customer Reviews:
well written.......2007-09-19
I read Trussoni's memoir and found it to be well-written, insightful, and subtlely compelling. It's not the kind of thing that you "can't put down," but it grabs you enough to want to pick the thing back up again once you have set it down.
My only complaint, really, is that it felt like the whole thing was a build-up to something, but I never really saw what it was. And the epilogue confused any sense of what I had Thought the build-up was for.
Casualties of War.......2007-09-12
Danielle Trussoni, author of Falling through the Earth, is as much a casualty of the Viet Nam war as was her father, Dan, who returned from that war as damaged goods, a man unable to show his wife and children that he loved them. Trussoni's benign neglect of his children forced them to grow up tough and able to solve their own problems because he was a firm follower of the old adage that "whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger." Sadly, their situation shows clearly how the crippling aftereffects of combat can be so easily passed on from one generation to the next, making one wonder where the cycle finally ends.
Dan Trussoni was a volunteer tunnel rat in Viet Nam, one of those incredibly brave men who went alone into the underground tunnel system that allowed Viet Cong soldiers to disappear at will and that provided them with a safe haven to recover from wounds and to hide food and weapons until they were needed. These young American soldiers, armed with little more than a pistol and a flashlight, had to crawl through booby traps and utter darkness never knowing what awaited them around the next corner as they tried to clean out the systems they discovered. It is little wonder that they came back with mental scars that never really heal.
Danielle became aware at an early age of how her father's Viet Nam experience impacted his life. She found the pictures of dead bodies and the human skull that he brought home. She also found that she was largely going to have to raise herself after her parents split up and she decided to live with her father. Dan Trussoni's idea of a little quality time with his daughter was to bring her to his favorite neighborhood bar in which she spent so much time that she was considered to be one of the regulars.
Life for the Trussoni kids was full of surprises, including the appearance of an illegitimate half-sister and a full sister who had been placed for adoption by their parents who felt too young and overwhelmed to keep her when she was born. Danielle was her father's daughter in every way, fearless, tough, brash and willing to take whatever life threw her way. That personality led her to Viet Nam, alone, where she saw for herself some of the same sights and experienced a little of the fear that her father felt while he was there, even forcing herself to "tour" one of the famous tunnel systems with a guide.
Falling through the Earth, with chapters that alternate between views of growing up in the Trussoni family, Dan's Viet Nam war, and Danielle's own trip there, is a fascinating book, one that makes me wish that we would make absolutely certain that our wars are really necessary before we send our young men into them.
A Disappointment.......2007-09-11
I was bored with this book but finished it because I wanted it to be better! I kept reading, hoping for something. Never found it!!!!
Book review.......2007-07-18
Incredible book, Danielle lived through a period of time that was the darkest of our countries history, except for now, and lived to tell about it. Not only dealing with the VN war but the consequences of a father with post traumatic stress syndrome that affected her and her families lives. For her to detail it as she did and have the brilliance to turn it into the literary expression of "my life with a VN vet" is incredible. A must read!
LaCrosse.......2007-07-09
This was an interesting book regarding the effects of war on an entire family, not just the veteran. It was more interesting to our book club as these were local people and local happenings. I missed the discussion at book club, but found out it was quite active and interesting.
Book Description
Women's contributions to science fiction over the past century have been lasting and important, but critical work in the field has only just begun to explore its full range. Justine Larbalestier has collected 11 key stories--many of them not easily found, and all of them powerful and provocative--and sets them alongside 11 new essays, written by top scholars and critics, that explore the stories' contexts, meanings, and theoretical implications. The resulting dialogue is one of enormous significance to critical scholarship in science fiction, and to understanding the role of feminism in its development. Organized chronologically, this anthology creates a new canon of feminist science fiction and examines the theory that addresses it. Daughters of Earth is an ideal overview for students and general readers.
Customer Reviews:
Sci Fi the way it oughta be!.......2007-06-12
The best work in Sci Fi during the 50's, 60's and 70's was by women, and a lot of the best stories are right here. Fantastic!
A gift to the readers of the twenty-first century.......2006-10-04
Expertly compiled and deftly edited by science fiction expert and author Justine Larbalesier, "Daughters of Earth: Feminist Science Fiction in the Twentieth Century" is both a collection of eleven short stories by famous feminist science fiction authors and eleven analytical essays which accompany and explain the short stories displayed. Both the authors of the short stories and the authors of the critical essays are feminist science fiction experts. Some of the authors of the short stories include Octavia Butler, Gwyneth Jones, Leslie Stone, Kate Wilhelm, Pamela Zoline, Lisa Tuttle, Pat Murphy, and James Tiptree Jr. Critical essayists include, not in order, Lisa Yaszek, Josh Lukin, Wendy Pearson, Joan Haran, Veronica Hollinger, Andrea Hairston, and L. Timmel Duchamp. These are the famed jewels of feminist science fiction, and it is indeed a rare treat to have the entire volume and its companion essays to peruse. If you have ever read Octavia Butler "The Evening and the Morning and the Night," you will relish the companion essay, 'Praise Song to a Prophetic Artist,' by Andrea Hairston. Paving the way for future feminist writers and thinkers, these authors represent a rich composite vein to be mined at will. An amazing amount of detective work and scholarship went into this edition. "Daughters of Earth" is a gift to the readers of the twenty-first century, in hopes that they remember upon whose literary shoulders they are standing in the fields of science fiction, speculative fiction, and fantasy.
Book Description
A precious, priceless book-from the foreword by Alice Walker
"An entire society is limned in the pages of this book.... The power of Daughter of Earth lies in the erotic heat which informs every page of the book, erotic in the original Greek sense of life force."-Vivian Gornick, The Village Voice
Suggested for course use in:
U.S. literature
working-class studies
Agnes Smedley (1892 - 1950) also wrote five books about China, including Portrait Of Chinese Women in Revolution 0-912670-44-4 PB
1-55861-075-8 HC (The Feminist Press).
Customer Reviews:
One of the best books ever written by anyone from the usa.......2005-09-21
A fantastic book.
Thought provoking.
Inspiring.
Radical.
Doubly inspiring.
You can learn more about US history from this book than from any textbook I've seen.
A real people's perspective which resulted from living a hard life.
Even someone under the age of 13 could read it.
I truly amazing person.
Agnes Smedley had a basic and deep understanding of society - truly the daughter of earth..............
read it!
Excellent Book---Highly Recommended.......2005-01-03
Though I have since made a career change, I realized, as I read this book for the umpteenth time a few weeks ago, it was one of the driving forces in my decision to become a counselor. Many times I have seen in families, the battered women and children I've worked with and counseled, the need to love and be loved, to not be lonely. We are told that we will become more lovable as we choose the right clothes, perfume, shampoo, even toothpaste! The list of products, guaranteeing that we will have would-be lovers banging at our door, that we will never be lonely as long as we buy these products is endless. Our media-oriented society measures lovability by: popularity, sex-appeal, the right clothes and products. Living by these standards alone makes us lonely, especially if we can't live up to them. These standards are only masks, hiding us from not only our inner selves, but those of others as well.
Marie, the main character in the book "Daughter of Earth" struggles with her loneliness. She wants what we all want - to be loved and not have to prove that we are adequate enough to be loved. "Marie lives out her whole life struggling to act as a whole person - to give and receive love in a relationship of equality - and to work against oppression - despite the image that inhabits her imagination."
From a very young age, Marie learned of the world's contradictions. She learned how devalued women were, "that even male animals cost more than female animals and seemed more valuable; that male fowls cost more than females and were chosen with more care." With the birth of her little brother, Marie realized how important a son was for there was much celebration as cigars and whiskey were passed around. She also saw how the lives of those in poverty were worthless and that "the companies" these people worked for only cared about the profit they were making rather than the lives and safety of their employees. "Coal was dear...life was cheap."
As Marie watched married women around her, she realized that the "love expressed in sex enslaves and humiliates" them. "It is the toll men exact for giving economic protection to their wives. The weeping of wives - what is more bitter?" She sees women become powerless as wives and mothers and she in turn seeks a relationship that is equal in giving and receiving love. She does not want to be like the women in her childhood that have lost the power to make their own choices.
In two relationships, Marie thinks she has found the equality she's been looking for. However, in the end it is not even so: "To her comes the memory of many women who have loved, suffered and remained true to the one man who did not love or remain true to them; to her comes the memory of a man who betrayed many good women for the sake of the one woman who detested and was cruel to him. She thinks of the great loves that seem to have been great because they were hopeless; of the night that follows the day; of love and hate that are separated by less than a hair's breadth. And she things of annihilation that irrevocably follows creation. But above all, she see that she has had to pay with her life's love for the experience for which she was least responsible."
It was through a man named Sardarji, that Marie learned what it meant to love and be loved. And through her experiences with him she learned that love means to get over who we are because of our culture, our values, or the decisions we make. Through Sardarji, Marie "touched for the first time a movement of unwavering principle and beauty...and saw that difference of race, color and creed are as shadows on the face of a stream, each lending a beauty of its own; that subjection of any kind and in any place is beneath the dignity of man..."
Sardarji taught Marie that we can't live without loving all humankind; that we must do as Sardarji told Marie: "Make conviction the basis of our actions. We must fight for what we believe in rather than fighting for something we know nothing about or for something we are told to fight for. We must think about what it means to fight. We must know what we are fighting for before we able to help and before we can enlist the help of others."
To break the vicious circle people get caught up in when they try to prove they are adequate to be loved takes knowledge. For as Marie says to Sardarji, "knowledge without love is useless." In order to love all humankind "we need to know how others suffer; and if we have already known, that we should not forget." To love without loneliness means that we need to "experience in our hearts again and again the suffering of the dispossessed."
A fictionalized autobiography.......2004-11-23
Agnes Smedley was a very interesting woman of her times. This "novel" was written during one of her many dark periods. I strongly suggest picking up one of the two biographies of her and reading some of the other books she wrote about her time spent in the Communist areas of China before the USA entered WWII. I highly recommend her "The Great Road", a biography of Chu Teh, a peasant who rose up the ranks to become China's leading general under Mao.
Lawrence Bryan
San Jose, California
Misleading.......2000-06-15
Daughter of the Earth kept me bewildered, most of the time. A good novel, in the beginning, focusing on Marie's life, her trials as a child and later as a young woman. The character portrait of Marie, left me dreading to pick up the book. Marie turned everything positive into major problems. Smedley created a very dismal portrait of her character and her connection with the term "love" was very depressing. Not to mention "Marie" was a very self-centered person. From the middle to the end of the book I found the text very strange, almost robotic. It also seemed to change from the "story of Marie" to one of "politics in United States". I thus found the beginning of the book very misleading for the ending.
Misleading.......2000-06-15
Daughter of the Earth kept me bewildered, most of the time. A good novel, in the beginning, focusing on Marie's life, her trials as a child and later as a young woman. The character portrait of Marie, left me dreading to pick up the book. Marie turned everything positive into major problems. Smedley created a very dismal portrait of her character and her connection with the term "love" was very depressing. Not to mention "Marie" was a very self-centered person. From the middle to the end of the book I found the text very strange, almost robotic. It also seemed to change from the "story of Marie" to one of "politics in United States". I thus found the beginning of the book very misleading for the ending.
Average customer rating:
- The End of Part One
- Fantastic
- Excellent
- fun stuff
- Keeper of Earth
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Keeper of the Earth (Daughter of Destiny)
Jenna Solitaire
Manufacturer: Tor Teen
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Keeper of the Flames (Daughter of Destiny Series) (The Guardian of the Boards)
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Keeper of the Waters (Daughter of Destiny Series) (The Guardian of the Boards)
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Claimed By Shadow (Cassandra Palmer Series, Book 2)
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Cast in Courtlight (The Chronicles of Elantra, Book 2)
ASIN: 0765353601 |
Book Description
Having found the Board of Fire, Jenna and Simon hurry to decipher the clues that will lead them to the Board of Earth—and mastery over the very land itself. But on their way to locate the tomb of a mythical English hero while fending off shadowy new attackers who want the Boards for themselves, an offer of help comes from a surprising source. Can Jenna and Simon trust this offer—or are they walking straight into a trap set by the one who has coveted the Boards for millennia?
Customer Reviews:
The End of Part One.......2007-06-18
Jenna Solitaire, the Keeper of the Boards, has to find the last board of the elements and the key to hold them together. She and Simon find themselves directed to England and Scotland. All she has to do is figure out the location of a field she saw in a dream. A field that looks like any other. But between the Journal, the Boards, and Shalizander she manages to find the right location. But finding the location is only the beginning.
Jenna needs to keep the three Boards under control, fight off Shalizander's attempts to get her to complete the ritual of the dagger, locate the board and the key, link all the boards, awaken the Master Board, and fight off attacks from her enemies. Not so simple a task. This is Jenna's hardest battle yet with its own challenges, choices and losses. How well with Jenna survive? What losses will she have to endure? You will have to read to find out.
This book concludes the search for the Elemental Boards. There are still eight more boards to find. There are supposed to be thirteen boards (yes, 4+8=12 and not 13) but this cycle is over. This volume was much more fantasy oriented with huge amounts of magic and magical beings and less of the real world. Because of this there are fewer areas where the story does not work like in the earlier books. Although the larger series is not yet over, I am not sure if I will look at the others if they ever come out.
Fantastic.......2007-04-20
I am not a teenager any longer and I enjoyed the "Daughter of Destiny" books ENORMOUSLY!!! These books are not just for kids or teens but for people of all ages. I am eagerly waiting the next installment of this fantastic series!!!!!
Excellent.......2007-04-17
I am way over the age of 21 and absolutely love the Daughter of Destiny series. Keeper of the Earth was another excellent adventure along with the rest. I can't wait to find out what happens next. I hope that there will be more in the series.
fun stuff.......2007-03-26
OK, this is very enjoyable and when is the next book coming out?? I'm way past being a teen, but I have really liked this series. Very clever.
Keeper of Earth.......2007-03-21
I am 21 years old and I absolutly loved this series of books. Although i didn't like one part in this book (anyone that has read it will know what i am talking about) that part was sad! I really hope Jenna continues her jouney and continues to write more books! Keep up the awesome work!
Average customer rating:
- Olsen never lets me down.
- Should be required reading for all and in school as well!!!
- The chilling discovery and finding the story behind it all
- Jack Olsen Does It Again
- One of the best....
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Salt of the Earth: A Mother, A Daughter, A Murder
Jack Olsen
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Paperbacks
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Binding: Mass Market Paperback
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Son
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The Misbegotten Son
ASIN: 0312959982 |
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The title of this book refers neither to the murderer who destroyed the hard-won tranquillity of a young couple and their three children, nor to the 12-year-old victim, but to the victim's mother. Without subtracting an iota from the uniqueness of her story, Jack Olsen portrays Elaine Gere as one of those heroically strong American women whose lives usually pass unheralded. We follow her indomitable spirit from a childhood in squalor, to marriage and family, to the disappearance of her daughter, through the baffling and enervating aftermath of a high-profile crime, through the years when her devastated husband flounders in alcoholism and turns violent, to the final healing of her broken family. David Guterson, author of Snow Falling on Cedars, writes, "Salt of the Earth constitutes a literary achievement of the highest order. It is the complexity of life, its mystery and beauty, its violence and love and terrible strangeness, that Jack Olsen forces us to confront here."
Book Description
Joe Gere said he died on the afternoon his twelve-year-old daughter Brenda disappeared.It was left to Brenda's mother Elaine to sustain her stricken family, search for her missing child, and pressure the authorities for justice.From the first minutes of the investigation, suspicion fell on Michael Kay Green, a steroid-abusing "Mr. Universe" hopeful, but there was no proof of a crime, leaving police and prosecutors stymied.Tips and sightings poured in as lawmen and volunteers combed the Cascades forest in the biggest search on Northwest history.Years passed with no sight of the blue-eyed girl or the bright clothes she'd worn on the day she disappeared, but Elaine remained undaunted.Salt of the Earth is the true story of how one woman fought and triumphed over life-shattering violence and how she healed her family-and herself.
Customer Reviews:
Olsen never lets me down........2006-05-29
I have read all of Jack Olsen's books, but this one appealed to me because it was about the end result of a crime, not just the crime itself or the criminal. I was captivated by Elaine and her ability to handle everything, but I was devastated for her; this crime could have been prevented had people been more alert and as concerned about her child as they were their own. It takes crimes like these to educate us, but are we more alert today than we were when Brenda disappeared? Children are still disappearing right before our eyes. Based on this book, Elaine is my new hero and I needed to know there are women who suffer these events and still maintain hope. Olsen lets his readers see the story through the character's eyes, as if we were there. Unable to put it down, I end up reading the whole book in one day!
Should be required reading for all and in school as well!!!.......2005-02-11
This is just an excellent book that is throughly well written.
Speaking as a California what really haunted from the accounts
of this family in South Fontana, is how basically California
hasnt changed much. Poor people are poorer, rich people are
getting richer and the whole system is getting more corrupt
with every passing day.
Olsen tracks the Gere family (Joe, Evelyn, Bobby, Big Ed, Elaine)
on what is a life journey filled with sadness, love, friendship,
racism and inner spirit to survive. Thats the best way of summing
up the book its the survival of one family in a big cosmopolitan
country (Cali) that gives nothing to this class of people
struggling to get by, yet enjoys the fruits of their labor.
The book also has a great deal of social commentary as well,
man you can easily make this in a course at a school and college
and liberate and educate many youngsters in what life is about.
It should be required reading, great book!!!
The chilling discovery and finding the story behind it all.......2004-11-03
As one of the people who found the remains of dear Brenda on the Tulalip Reservation, finding this book was a chilling end to the mistery and the saddness of finding this poor little soul. Well written and informative this book laid down the facts and events that will keep you reading non stop to the end. Our hearts go out to the family and friends, and we are happy to have found her for all who loved Brenda.
Jack Olsen Does It Again.......2003-02-21
I eagerly awaited the arrival of this book. Once again, Jack Olsen doesn't disappoint. This true crime novel will take you through a range of emotions. The story line keeps your interest until you reach the last page. Mr. Olsen has a unique way of telling the story that keeps you wanting more. Fantastic!
One of the best...........2002-06-15
Jack Olsen is great at true crime. He leaves no stone unturned, yet you never get bored. I have to agree with a fellow reviewer when he said that more time should have been spent on Michael Kay Green. The story, nonetheless is riveting. I could not put the book down. Elaine Gere is one tough lady, you sometimes feel like you are reading ficton yet it is real! I highly recommend "Salt".
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Earth's Daughters: Stories of Women in Classical Mythology
Betty Bonham Lies
Manufacturer: Fulcrum Publishing Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 1555914144 |
Book Description
From Atalanta to Helen to Scylla, this lyrical collection of more than sixty stories provides a rich resource for teachers, storytellers, librarians, students, college classes, and anyone interested in mythology. Oran
Book Description
She was both guardian of the hearth and, on occasion, ruler and warrior, leading men into battle, managing the affairs of her people, sporting war paint as well as necklaces and earrings.
She built houses and ground corn, wove blankets and painted pottery, played field hockey and rode racehorses.
Frequently she enjoyed an open and joyous sexuality before marriage; if her marriage didn't work out she could divorce her husband by the mere act of returning to her parents. She mourned her dead by tearing her clothes and covering herself with ashes, and when she herself died was often shrouded in her wedding dress.
She was our native sister, the American Indian woman, and it is of her life and lore that Carolyn Niethammer writes in this rich tapestry of America's past and present.
Here, as it unfolded, is the chronology of the native American woman's life. Here are the birth rites of Caddo women from the Mississippi-Arkansas border, who bore their children alone by the banks of rivers and then immersed themselves and their babies in river water; here are Apache puberty ceremonies that are still carried on today, when the cost for the celebrations can run anywhere from one to six thousand dollars. Here are songs from the Night Dances of the Sioux, where girls clustered on one side of the lodge and boys congregated on the other; here is the Shawnee legend of the Corn Person and of Our Grandmother, the two female deities who ruled the earth. Far from the submissive, downtrodden "squaw" of popular myth, the native American woman emerges as a proud, sometimes stoic, always human individual from whom those who came after can learn much.
At a time when many contemporary American women are seeking alternatives to a life-style and role they have outgrown, Daughters of the Earth offers us an absorbing -- and illuminating -- legacy of dignity and purpose.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent reading.......2006-12-18
I picked up this book because I was interested in learning more about the roles American Indian women have traditionally had, but I was a bit apprehensive about what I would read considering so many people writing on American Indians seem to be all into stereotypes and twinkie so-called "Native American spirituality" that supposedly encompasses all of the indigenous peoples of North America. Much to my delight, this book is filled with a lot of actual information and not just a bunch of putting them on pedestals because some misinformed, starry-eyed wannabe thinks it's "cool" to be American Indian.
Niethammer goes from birth to death exploring the many aspects of women's lives, showing many of the activities with which they concerned themselves, and discusses which were more or less common among the various nations. I feel as though I learned more about the lives of indigenous women in this book than I have in any other single book I've read, and there are plenty of specific examples of women's personal stories, not just generalizations.
I'm really pleased to see that she doesn't lump all groups together, but instead makes the distinctions between what the different groups did. I appreciate that she tells us WHY certain activities were expected or avoided, but I do agree with the other reviewer who stated that sometimes Niethammer's assessments can be somewhat patronizing.
I disagree with the reviewer who found the book "negative and disturbing"; to the contrary, I found it to be quite intriguing and inspiring. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn more about what kinds of things American Indian women traditionally have done and some of the expectations of their societies; it can give a whole new appreciation for the first inhabitants of North America.
One of the best books I've read this year.......2006-05-04
This was another excellent read, I have to say. The author researched numerous Native American tribes across the continent, primarily prior to the 1900's, trying to get as close to the unadulterated cultures as possible from contemporary sources.
The stereotype of the Indian woman was of a hunched, overburdened human pack animal trailing a string of children while her husband rode a fine steed. Niethammer presents us not only with examples to the contrary, but also explained that while a woman's place tended to be in the home, it was as a counterpoint to the man's role as hunter and warrior. While the feminist may initially balk at these traditional sex roles, it is importat to remember that A) these are not modern European-derived American cultures that are being discussed, and B) while the woman's place may have been in the home, it was a place ofgreat power, influence, and control in many tribes.
Another point driven firmly home is that each tribe was a separate culture; then, as now, there is no homogenous Native American culture. In each chapter, Niethammer explores a certain facet of everyday life for women in a variety of tribes, and it fascinated me to see the spectrum from conservative to liberal in areas such as sex and gender roles, religion, births and deaths, and other daily occurrences.
Again, she does also explain why the gender roles were the way they were. It can be difficut for modern Americans tto understand, given that we live in a culture where food is always plenty, health care is relatively easy to procure, and te mortality rate is exceptionally low. Traditional gender roles were an important part of surviving and living from day to day in the natural world, where obstacles ranging from drought and famine to attacks by rival tribes to epidemic illneses wereconstant threats--though these varied from tribe to tribe, which affected each culture significantly. It is not for us to judge whether these cultures were right or wrong, onyl to learn about them.
Occasionally she does get a bit patronizing. For instane,after speaking about malignant witchcraft in various tribes, Niethammer then does into musings about why that may have occurred--from an anthropological viewpoint, basically deriding, in a subtlemanner, these peoples' beliefs and passing them off as simply effects of a boring day to day life. Like the Salem Witch trials, witch trials in tribes was supposedly a diversion from drudgery of daily existence that varied little. Unfortauntely, while that may explain it to an extent, it completely ignores the tribes' reasons for their beliefs and thereby shunts them of to the side as so much superstition.
Other than that, though, this is a very, very well-written book. Niethammr's writin style moves quickly and engages the reader, and the information is solid and thorough.
Classic in the Field.......2005-07-14
This book has been around for awhile. It's one I go back to many, many times. It is well written, well documented, used in college courses and a must read for anyone interested in this subject. Don't let the "used in college courses" scare you. It's a good read,which is the first and formost reason to pick up any book.
Daughters of the Earth.......2005-07-08
I enjoyed reading this book, DAUGHTERS OF THE EARTH. I, personally, have it in my library; it is a terrific resource tool for my work and the information is invaluable, priceless. I cannot imagine the time and effort put into gathering the information and writing this marvelous book. Thank you for publishing it.
Daughters of the Earth.......2004-09-27
As a Native American woman I found this book to be very offensive. I was surprised by this authors lack of sensitivity and respect. The book is totally inaccurate and the author should be ashamed of herself.
Book Description
Drawing from the author's personal experiences, this book's aim is to open ways to reconnect with the Divine feminine in all facets of its existence, whether those are in our personal life, our cultural history, the animal kingdom, or the sacred dimensions of the landscape.
Customer Reviews:
a true gem.......2007-03-30
truly ahead of his time. this man brings every bit of his humanity to all that he writes. his work in the world is so profound...there are not words. i use the word 'awesome' with all the wonder one can muster.
Book Description
Daughters of Mother Earth is nothing less than a new way of looking at history--or more correctly, the reestablishment of a very old way. It holds that for too long, elements unnatural to Native American ways of knowing have been imposed on the study of Native America. Euro-American discourse styles, emphasizing elite male privilege and conceptual linearity, have drowned out the democratic and woman-centered Native approaches. Even when the damage of western linearity is understood to occur, analysis of Native American history, society, and culture has still been relentlessly placed in male custody, following the western assumption that Euro-American men speak ably for all. This book seeks to redress that balance, allowing, as editor Barbara Alice Mann writes, "the Daughters of Mother Earth to reclaim their ancient responsibility to speak in council, to tell the truth, to guide the rising generations through spirit-spoken wisdom." The recovery of women's traditions is an important theme in this collection of essays that helps reframe Native issues as properly gendered. Thus, Paula Gunn Allen looks at Indian lifeways through the many stitches of Indian clothes and the many steps of their powwow fancy-dances. Lee Maracle calls for reconstitution of traditional social structures, based on Native American ways of knowing. Kay McGowan identifies the exact sites where woman-power was weakened historically through the heavy impositions of European culture, the better to repair them. Finally, Barbara Mann examines how communication between Natives east and west of the Mississippi came to be so deranged as to be dysfunctional, and outlines how to reestablish good east-west relations for the benefit of all.
Customer Reviews:
A fine approach which adds different perspective to Native history and issues.......2006-09-09
College-level collections strong in Native American studies will welcome Daughters Of Mother Earth: The Wisdom Of Native American Women. It goes beyond women's studies alone, maintaining that elements unnatural to Native ways of knowing have been imposed on the study of Native America elements consisting of European prejudice and male privilege. This focus on women's traditions provides essays which examines Indian lifestyles and history through women's lives and eyes. A fine approach which adds different perspective to Native history and issues.
Book Description
This critical, historical, and theoretical study looks at a little-known group of novels written during the 1930s by women who were literary radicals. Arguing that class consciousness was figured through metaphors of gender, Paula Rabinowitz challenges the conventional wisdom that feminism as a discourse disappeared during the decade. She focuses on the ways in which sexuality and maternity reconstruct the "classic" proletarian novel to speak about both the working-class woman and the radical female intellectual.
Two well-known novels bracket this study: Agnes Smedley's Daughters of Earth (1929) and Mary McCarthy's The Company She Keeps (1942). In all, Rabinowitz surveys more than forty novels of the period, many largely forgotten. Discussing these novels in the contexts of literary radicalism and of women's literary tradition, she reads them as both cultural history and cultural theory. Through a consideration of the novels as a genre, Rabinowitz is able to theorize about the interrelationship of class and gender in American culture.
Rabinowitz shows that these novels, generally dismissed as marginal by scholars of the literary and political cultures of the 1930s, are in fact integral to the study of American fiction produced during the decade. Relying on recent feminist scholarship, she reformulates the history of literary radicalism to demonstrate the significance of these women writers and to provide a deeper understanding of their work for twentieth-century American cultural studies in general.
Books:
- FDR's 12 Apostles: The Spies Who Paved the Way for the Invasion of North Africa
- Friedrich Hayek: A Biography
- Galileo's Daughter: A Historical Memoir of Science, Faith, and Love
- Giggles in the Middle: Caught'ya! Grammar with a Giggle for Middle School (Caught'ya! Grammar with a Giggle) (Caught'ya! Grammar with a Giggle)
- GOAT: A Tribute to Muhammad Ali
- Harvesting Hope: The Story of Cesar Chavez
- Hegel's Science of Logic
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
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- Thin
- Code Name God: The Spiritual Odyssey of a Man of Science
- At the Forest's Edge: Memoir of a Physician-Naturalist
- Model citi-zen: The Guide
- The Roots of Success: Why Children Follow in their Parents' Career Footsteps
- Winter in Kandahar
The Places In Between
The Collected Stories of Amy Hempel
Absurdistan: A Novel
The Emperor's Children (Vintage)
Special Topics in Calamity Physics
