Book Description
"News That Matters does matter, because it demonstrates conclusively that television newscasts powerfully affect opinion. . . . All that follows, whether it supports, modifies, or challenges their conclusions, will have to begin here."—Aaron Wildavsky, The Public Interest
"Because of its methodological integrity and richness, News That Matters is likely to be regarded as an impressive, possibliy grounbreaking work."—Neil Postman, New York Times Book Review
Customer Reviews:
Classic - Easy and informative (but a bit dry) read.......2006-07-21
This is a seminal work in political science for both its study of media effects and its use of experimental methodology. In regards to the latter, this is arguably the book that placed experimental methods on "map". In terms of its media findings, it does an outstounding job of documenting agenda-setting and priming effects; also, there is a lot of sub-analysis that nicely details which people are most prone to and what type of coverage enhances such effects. That said, the findings will likely strike many people today as fairly obvious, but this was not the case at the time (a testament to the research agenda I&K established). While the agenda-setting, priming, and now framing research has progressed in the last two decades, this is still an excellent introduction to the topic. And it is a pretty easy and quick read (only 130 pages).
Start Here.......2004-04-25
Fairly quick, but vitally important read to anyone studying the media, communication, and politics. Experimental design demonstrates the media has the ability to set the national agenda, prime what people think is important within issues, and frame the way we think about the world. This is the seminal and original work in the field.
Book Description
Talk of love surrounds us, and romance is a constant concern of popular culture. Ann Swidler's Talk of Love is an attempt to discover how people find and sustain real love in the midst of that talk, and how that culture of love shapes their expectations and behavior in the process. To this end, Swidler conducted extensive interviews with Middle Americans and wound up offering us something more than an insightful exploration of love: Talk of Love is also a compelling study of how much culture affects even the most personal of our everyday experiences.
Average customer rating:
- Eye-opening, Insightful, and Most of All Interesting.
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The Day America Told the Truth: What People Really Believe About Everything That Really Matters
James Patterson , and
Peter Kim
Manufacturer: Prentice Hall Trade
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ASIN: 0134634802 |
Customer Reviews:
Eye-opening, Insightful, and Most of All Interesting. .......2007-05-27
This book has been a staple for me since I read it some 3 years ago. The information that it provides into the thoughts, actions, and behavior of Americans is most interesting. I am a firm believer that America is facing many problems associated with integrity and honesty. It is well recognized that we are currently a nation without true leaders. Children have no heroes, except those who have died and gone many years ago. Even worse is that we have little trust in those who we should most respect and emulate- the president, congressmen, lawyers, etc. This is an eye-opener and I highly recommend it to anyone interesting in our current 'climate' and psychology in general.
Book Description
On October 4, 1957, America looked up at the sky and caught its breath. Soaring through space was the Soviet satellite Sputnik. With its launch, the Soviets had won the space race, demonstrated their unsurpassed technology-and struck fear in the heart of a complacent post-war America.
Although Sputnik was unmanned, its story is intensely human. Here, an investigative reporter recounts it all, from the satellite's top-secret creation to the strategic positioning of Soviet spokesmen around the world, which made this the biggest breaking-news event in history. Using declassified documents, Dickson reveals buried Soviet state secrets-and the reason Eisenhower was secretly pleased about the launch. From Cold War bomb raid drills to today's science in the classroom, from the 1960s race to the moon to the birth of the Internet, Sputnik helped shape American life forever
Customer Reviews:
Another Terrific Work by Dickson.......2007-10-22
This is a terrific accounting of the event leading to the ramp up of the Space Race. The anecdotal information is great for those who want to fill in the gaps in the true, inside story of the politics and pressures leading to the creation of NASA and Kennedy's challenge to reach the Moon.
Dickson's work is more support of the thoughtful active presidency of Dwight Eisenhower, who was far from the lame duck, do-nothing president described during the 1960 elections.
This "Shock of the Century" also serves to illustrate the outrageous hyperbole of the the American press and of American politics.
Why America Wasn't First in Space.......2007-10-17
Sputnik was the "beep-beep-beep" heard around the world, the beginning of the Space Age on Oct. 4, 1957. Paul Dickson has written a compelling account of the epic event that shocked the American public. Sputnik heralded the modern era of transistors and miniature electronic devices, communications satellites and the worldwide Internet.
How could Russia, a nation then considered technologically backward, suddenly propel itself into forefront of world science, scoring a worldwide publicity coup in the process that surprised even its creators?
Dickson's book is one of the best popular books about Sputnik yet published, a tale of challenge, fear and the resulting monumental government program that put the first man on the moon.
Sputnik: Shock of the Century.......2007-10-03
Dickson's well-researched book masterfully pieces together the complex series of events leading up to the launch of Sputnik and those which followed in its aftermath. With earlier chapters devoted to the early history of rocket development, the book's content is largely centered on the late 1950's, especially 1957 and 1958; description of events outside of these years are presented in order tell the various stories to completion. But this is a book which has as its focal point, around which everything else revolves, one particular October evening fifty years ago. Written without hyperbole and in a style which is engaging, sometimes suspenseful, he tells the tale in the way of a great storyteller. Although abundant in facts and details, it reads smoothly and logically, tying in the factual details to the main themes, never turning dry or tedious. Sputnik: Shock of the Century covers the events, individuals, controversies and secrets surrounding the greatest technological and political event of its day. It would make excellent reading for anyone interested in space, history of science and technology, postwar political tensions, education, popular culture, and the environment of the United States in the 1950's. As we now pause to celebrate 50 years of manned and unmanned space exploration, heralded by that shiny, spherical Russian moon, this book makes for thoughtful reading as we look forward toward the next 50 years. Time very well spent.
A Fascinating Story, Well Told!.......2007-09-27
Growing up during the manned space program of mid 1960's, I missed the fears and excitement of the Cold War and the initial space race. Fifty years later, with teenage children who consider last week to be "old news," Paul Dickson's book "Sputnik: The Shock of the Century" is a great way both for me and my my children to have an understanding of what the world, and certainly this country, was like at that time.
The story isn't really about Sputnik, the satellite. It's about the times we lived in. It's about the revision and re-telling of history and dealing with the devil (von Braun) to get to where we collectively as a nation wanted to go, be it from a social, economic, political or military perspective.
"Sputnik: The Shock of the Century" is a good, fun read. The author has managed to succeed where all too many authors of technical or scientifically based subjects fail. He has written a book based on solid research and presented it in a way that readers, regardless of their levels of expertise or knowledge of the any aspect material, will be fully engaged and understand the "other side" of the story.
If you buy books on line, you should read this one.......2007-08-08
If you are buying books on the internet and reading reviews posted in cyberspace, this is a book you must read, because both the information technologies that enable you to read this review, and the culture that values such forms of expression, can be traced to events that followed the launch of Sputnik in October 1957. As Paul Dickson describes, Sputnik was "the shock of the century." It was an event which put processes in motion that have shaped our society for half a century.
America was a different place in 1957, preoccupied with returning to the cultural norms that had existed before the disruption of World War II and the rise of communism. Government was small and largely uninvolved in education, research, or social change. Public schools emphasized the "three Rs" and local values. Colleges and universities had swelled in size to meet the needs of WWII veterans, but remained largely focused on intellectual pursuits. Industry had turned its attention from building weapons, to meeting the seemingly insatiable demand for consumer products. The military was shrinking, confident that America had a commanding lead in technology, which could neutralize any threat from the larger military forces of communist nations.
All of that changed the night of October 22, 1957 when the Soviet Union shocked the world by launching Sputnik. It would be months before the United States could do the same.
Americans no longer felt secure. In response to the ascendancy of communist technologies, Congress rapidly put in place new programs that would ultimately transform American society. The Advanced Research Projects Administration (ARPA) was created to lead massive new initiatives in advanced technology, computing, and applied research. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was established to coordinate America's push into space. Hundreds of billions of dollars would be invested to build great research centers that would bring together military, industrial, and academic interests to assure America's technological supremacy. Also, Congress would also pass the National Defense Education Act (NDEA) to ensure that public schools produced an new generation of scientists and engineers.
The results were dramatic. In a little more than a decade, America would launch hundreds of satellites and win the race to the moon. America's universities, defense establishments, and commercial enterprises would invent microchips, computer networks, and new methods in chemistry, physics, and biology that would provide the foundation for an age of technology. Perhaps even more important, traditional education would be reformed to emphasize independent inquiry, invention, exploration, and expression and sow the seeds for the Age of Aquarius. Fifty years later, we live in a world of ubiquitous personal computers, the world wide web, MySpace, and YouTube, all of which can be traced directly to the ideas and initiatives that were a response to the "shock of the century."
How did all of this happen? That's what Paul Dickson describes what happened in a compelling, carefully researched, and readable of the events that transpired around the launch of Sputnik. Anyone reading this review or buying this book on line will readily understand how the events he describes continue to shape our world as we approach the 50th anniversary of Sputnik in October 2007.
Book Description
How Arnold Schwarzenegger has shifted the entire American cultural and political landscape, how he--and we--got there, and why we all should care.
After nearly thirty years in the public eye, Arnold Schwarzenegger's rise to fame and fortune--and statesmanship--represents a celebrity the likes of which we've never seen before. As co-authors and longtime collaborators Blitz and Krasniewicz argue in this humorous but heady book, it is not just a matter of his transformation from bodybuilder to megastar to politician. Nor is his governorship of California just a matter of another actor assuming the position. Instead, at the beginning of the 21st century, "Arnoldness" has spread into every corner of our culture. More than a name, more than a spectacular career, he has become a set of ideas--an ultramodern take on the quintessential American dream.
Having followed the cult of Arnold for twenty years, Blitz and Krasniewicz are uniquely qualified to illuminate his growing hold on our collective imagination. As an adjective, as a metaphor, as an easy reference point for anyone talking about things tough, forceful, and successful, they'll explain exactly why Arnold matters--and for better or worse, richer or poorer, America may never be the same.
Customer Reviews:
Weird book but hard to put down.......2006-04-26
No question this is a weird book. It's not a bio and it's not a fan book. There are sections you could never expect to find in a book about a famous person. For example, there is an entire chapter on the hundreds of dreams the authors had about Schwarzenegger. Believe me, the dreams are VERY worth reading. They are the weirdest part of this book, in fact. But there is a ton of interesting stuff about Arnold S., including chapters about his movies and about his getting elected to governor. I laughed out loud at a couple of parts, and I was really surprised to learn how powerful Arnold is in terms of his influence on language and culture. I cannot understand the bad reviews of this book. It may not meet your expectations if you want a regular biography, but it's a totally fun book to read.
Fun to read, like an Arnold garage sale!.......2006-03-21
I loved this book! If readers cannot find a mountain of absolutely fascinating material in this book, they must be looking for a very particular experience and won't open their minds at all. It's unbelievable how many ways Schwarzenegger has crept into our minds and vocabulary. The headlines following his election to governor are wild and sometimes scary! The chapter on the dreams the authors have had about Schwarzenegger are too too funny and weird. I felt like a voyeur, and I candidly admit that I enjoyed that sensation! The little bits on the movies actually made me want to go and see a few more than I've seen of Arnold's movies. AFter I read the one-star review on this website, I was amazed that someone could be so shallow! This book makes for great bedtime reading, bathroom reading (my husband has it in there these days!), bus reading, or any place. But if you want a plain old biography, then DON'T buy this book. It's not plain and it's too clever for you, then!
Can I give it ZERO stars?.......2006-03-13
This book sucks. Plain and simple. Don't get me wrong, I like Arnold, and I was hoping to find out some good facts about him and his political career. Instead I get a run-down of any vague reference to Arnold, the Terminator, or any of his other characters known to the free world. Like the fact that there are a lot of references out there proves anything about Arnold himself. It's all filler, no substance. It reminds me of a high school student trying to bluff their way through a book report they know little about; they prattle on endlessly about a few obscure facts they have dug up and miss the main issue. Fortunately, I got this book as a gift, so it was not my money wasted. This bad boy is going straight into the Goodwill donations bag.. although I hesitate to inflict this reading on the less fortunate. One thing it is very good for; if you are having trouble getting to sleep, I challenge you to try to get through more than 10 pages while lying in bed. It can't be done, I have tried.
So much fun!.......2006-03-03
This is not an intellectual review. I just want to say how much fun this book is to read! Maybe some of the other readers were hoping for a stuffier biography, but I found this book a real pleasure. So many quirky facts and weird cultural things related to Arnold. I had no idea! Probably one of the best airplane-reads I've had in years!
Perplexed by the negative reviews!.......2005-11-13
What gives with these one-star reviews??? Have these people actually read this book? I read it in two sittings, and every page has at least one surprising thing on it. I had no idea how far inside the "mind" of American life "Ahnold" had gotten. The authors show example after example of truly bizarre ways that Schwarzenegger has become THE quintessential example of almost everything in the culture! I thought I knew the basics about the guy, but it turns out he is connected to a lot more than movies and bodybuilding. The ways that people have used his name, his image, just the idea of him, amazing. The authors have done VERY thorough research on this guy, and this book goes in a totally different direction than the recent biography (which I read and would rate maybe 3 stars). There is even a chapter about the authors' dreams and the meaning of the fact that they had hundreds of dreams about Arnold while they were learning about him. Besides the fact that the dreams are weird and interesting, the authors connect the dreams to the ways that Arnold has been creeping into our lives. Bottom line: read this book! If you find it boring, it's time to worry about how narrow your imagination has gotten!
Average customer rating:
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Matters of Opinion: Talking About Public Issues (Studies in Interactional Sociolinguistics)
Greg Myers
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
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ASIN: 0521793122 |
Book Description
Where do opinions actually come from? Drawing on the analysis of conversations from focus groups, phone-ins and broadcast interviews, Greg Myers argues that members of the public use opinions in order to get along with other people, and demonstrates that how they say things is just as important as what they say. This book clarifies the current debate on the nature of the public's participation in conversation.
Average customer rating:
- This book goes against the writing of founding fathers
- History Lessons
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Who Speaks for America?: Why Democracy Matters in Foreign Policy
Eric Alterman
Manufacturer: Cornell University Press
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God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything
ASIN: 0801435749 |
Amazon.com
Americans are often assailed for their lack of knowledge concerning foreign affairs. Collective current-events acumen seems confined to the U.S. unless an incident is covered live by CNN and involves high-tech gadgetry and explosions. Eric Alterman, a columnist for The Nation and a Senior Fellow at the World Policy Institute, admits a national detachment, but blames the process and culture behind the making of foreign policy, not the American people, for creating this climate of skepticism and ignorance.
"The public's values," writes Alterman in Who Speaks for America?, "are a good deal closer to the liberal republican values of the country's original founders than are those of the establishment that professes to represent them. The problem is not that the public does not care. Rather, it has no idea how to force the government to respond to its preferences." The preferences Alterman indicates are based on a wide range of public-opinion polls that demonstrate the sharp dichotomy between what citizens consider important and worthwhile and what lawmakers, self-appointed experts, corporate lobbyists, and other elitists comprising the "punditocracy" actually put into practice as foreign policy. For instance, polls reveal that the public attitude toward the United Nations is overwhelmingly favorable; that nearly all forms of covert governmental action conducted abroad are viewed as inexcusable; that there is strong public opposition to the size and scope of U.S. arms sales across the globe; and protecting the environment is given a higher priority than insuring adequate energy supplies. All of these opinions are inconsistent with current American foreign policy, yet voters are unable (or, some would argue, unwilling) to exert any meaningful and sustained influence over the manner in which the government interacts with the world.
According to Alterman, the primary reason for a lack of public access to this process is the attitude historically held by leaders that the public is ill-equipped to make decisions concerning foreign affairs. "How, then," he asks, "can the United States claim to be a functioning democracy when one of the most crucial aspects of public policy allows for almost no democratic participation?" The short answer is that it can't, so Alterman offers an "immodest proposal" for overhauling the current system--though immodest is putting it lightly. He should be credited for highlighting a significant problem in this informed and important book, but it must be noted that his solutions are so sweeping, and the implications so vast, that actually activating them would require restructuring the electoral process and creating new institutions from the ground up--a radical idea with a familiar ring. --Shawn Carkonen
Book Description
A book in current affairs by a columnist for The Nation whose first book sold some 30,000 copies. The new book continues the work the author began in Sound and Fury: The Washington Punditocracy and the Collapse of American Politics (Harper-Collins, 1992). Alterman says that elites dominate U.S. foreign policy at every turn, and that the gap between the views of the public and those of the policy-making elites has increased to the extent that the United States has become an empire.Journalist and historian Eric Alterman argues that the vast majority of Americans have virtually no voice in the conduct of U.S. foreign policy. With policymakers answerable only to a small coterie of self-appointed experts, corporate lobbyists, self-interested parties, and the elite media, the U.S. foreign policy operates not as the instrument of a democracy, but of a "pseudo-democracy": a political system with the trappings of democratic checks and balances but with little of their content. This failure of American democracy is all the more troubling, Alterman charges, now that the Cold War is over and the era of global capital has replaced it. Americans' stake in so-called foreign policy issues from trade to global warming is greater than ever. Yet the current system serves to mute their voices and ignore their concerns.
Experts have long insisted that the public is too ignorant to contribute to the creation of successful foreign policy. But over the course of two hundred years, as Alterman makes clear, the American people have shown an impressive consistency in their ideals and values. The problem for any elite, the author explains, is that Americans often define their interests quite differently than those who would speak in their name. The American public's values are, ironically, much closer to the "liberal republican" philosophy of our founders than to those of our most powerful elites. Alterman concludes with a series of challenging proposals for reforms designed to create a truly democratic U.S. foreign policy.
Customer Reviews:
This book goes against the writing of founding fathers.......2003-10-08
Our founding fathers had the good sense to create the United States as a represenative republic instead of a democracy.
The mess with true democracy and the recall mess in California show why the founding fathers were on the money with the idea of a represenative republic instead of giving the masses immediate control through the chaotic process of a true democracy.
This book as with all Eric Alterman books, his Altercation on msnbc.com, and his column in "the Nation" are designed to show us that the country should be to the left so that it goes along with Eric Alterman's ideals.
The purpose of this book and other Alterman books is to say since the government won't do things my way, I'll create a book based on questionable documentation to show why I'm right.
I don't fault Eric Alterman for his leftist and radical beliefs which are to the left of most liberals, democrats, and even Bill and Hillary Clinton.
What I don't like is when Eric Alterman tells the rest of us why were wrong when we don't agree with his leftist, liberal, and radical beliefs.
History Lessons.......2001-02-04
As a non-US citizen, this eye-opening book is a challenge. Intricate, with massive information and intense analysis, the book is a must to understand how US foreign policy evolved and revolved around similar interventionist attitudes. History tells, according to Alterman, how it can repeat itself with the help of US officials. Rewritten history as in the Orwellian 1984 is the means by which the most antidemocratic facets of US state policies are set into place. I learned about this book in a C-Span 2 panel and Alterman's words did not disappointed me a bit.
Book Description
From The Gallup Organization-the most respected source on the subject-comes a fascinating look at the importance of measuring public opinion in modern society. For years, public-opinion polls have been a valuable tool for gauging the positions of American citizens on a wide variety of topics. Polling applies scientific principles to understanding and anticipating the insights, emotions, and attitudes of society. Now in POLLING MATTERS: Why Leaders Must Listen to the Wisdom of the People, The Gallup Organization reveals: - What polls really are and how they are conducted - Whythe information polls provide is so vitally important to modern society today - How this valuable information can be used more effectively - and more.
Download Description
Every president since Franklin D. Roosevelt has relied on polls to gauge the thinking of the electorate. Major U.S. media outlets not only report on polls but also frequently commission their own. To its critics, polling can be dangerously imprecise, distort the work of press and politicians, and pose a mortal threat to the democratic process itself. To its defenders, polling is an invaluable source of information, giving us a unique and consistently accurate window into issues as diverse as voting preferences, gender differences, race relations, child rearing, consumer habits, health care, and education.Now Frank Newport, editor in chief of The Gallup Poll—the nation's preeminent polling source—tells the skeptics why polls matter.and explains to the rest of us exactly how polling works. Proving that polls are not to be feared but to be used wisely, he shows us how:. Polling can scientifically and accurately generalize about millions by examining the preferences of a random few. Public opinion rejects the trendy in favor of the stable and traditional. Pollsters can satisfy the media's growing appetite for polls without distorting or oversimplifying the data. Politicians can use polling results to tailor their agendas...to reflect genuine public opinion. Poll analysts can maximize the value of polling results to journalists, politicians, and the public. Polls collect the wisdom of the people more efficiently than the vote.The people's voice is knowing and almost always on target. It forms what Dr. George Gallup—the founder of the famous poll that bears his name—proclaimed over sixty years ago as the true pulse of democracy. Fascinating, informative, and provocative, this book demonstrates how polls lie at the vital heart of a well-functioning and free society.
Customer Reviews:
Fascinating book.......2004-10-13
This is a fascinating book for me simply because the author nails so many aspects of polls, squarely on the head, especially those polls where the person being asked questions may be to uneducated, uninformed and is actually answering questions based on what they have heard about other poll results, thus a mob rule mentality. The methodology of how he does polls and how others do polls was intriguing. Alas I remember the adage opinion ... everyone has one.... but how was it formed and does it have real value? Having been polled on a few times I wondered how the questions were chosen and worried when answering them that there was a lot of grey area and few questions actually had a yes or no or one size fits all answer.
Book Description
If elections are easily predicted and voting behavior is easily explained with just a few fundamental variables, it seems quite plausible to argue that campaigns don't matter. This book attempts to answer the question, "Do campaigns matter?" by analyzing changes in public opinion during and across several presidential election campaigns. The crux of the argument is that although the national political and economic context of the election is very important, campaigns also play a crucial role in determining election outcomes. In particular, campaign events, such as conventions and debates, are primarily responsible for changes in public opinion that occur during the campaign period. Using many different data sources from several presidential campaigns, this important volume demonstrates that election outcomes are jointly produced by campaigns and national conditions. Covering an important and neglected subject, Do Campaigns Matter? is essential for students in political science at both graduate and undergraduate levels. Its original research, imaginative approach at conceptualizing data, and excellent empirical analysis, make it a must read for researchers and professionals as well.
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- Justic Matters by Mona Weissmark
- From rage to reconciliation: an historic achievement
- A Dramatic Investigation
- An important and moving book
- A Time for Everything
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Justice Matters: Legacies of the Holocaust and World War II
Mona Sue Weissmark
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
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ASIN: 0195157575 |
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In the fall of 1992, in a small room in Boston, MA, an extraordinary meeting took place. For the first time, the sons and daughters of Holocaust victims met face-to-face with the children of Nazis for a fascinating research project to discuss the intersections of their pasts and the painful legacies that history has imposed on them. Taking that remarkable gathering as its starting point, Justice Matters illustrates how the psychology of hatred and ethnic resentments is passed from generation to generation. Psychologist Mona Weissmark, herself the child of Holocaust survivors, argues that justice is profoundly shaped by emotional responses. In her in-depth study of the legacy encountered by these children, Weissmark found, not surprisingly, that in the face of unjust treatment, the natural response is resentment and deep anger-and, in most cases, an overwhelming need for revenge. Weissmark argues that, while legal systems offer a structured means for redressing injustice, they have rarely addressed the emotional pain, which, left unresolved, is then passed along to the next generation-leading to entrenched ethnic tension and group conflict. In the grim litany of twentieth-century genocides, few events cut a broader and more lasting swath through humanity than the Holocaust. How then would the offspring of Nazis and survivors react to the idea of reestablishing a relationship? Could they talk to each other without open hostility? Could they even attempt to imagine the experiences and outlook of the other? Would they be willing to abandon their self-definition as aggrieved victims as a means of moving forward? Central to the perspectives of each group, Weissmark found, were stories, searing anecdotes passed from parent to grandchild, from aunt to nephew, which personalized with singular intensity the experience. She describes how these stories or "legacies" transmit moral values, beliefs and emotions and thus freeze the past into place. For instance, cdxfmerged that most children of Nazis reported their parents told them stories about the war whereas children of survivors reported their parents told them stories about the Holocaust. The daughter of a survivor said: "I didn't even know there was a war until I was a teenager. I didn't even know fifty million people were killed during the war I thought just six million Jews were killed." While the daughter of a Nazi officer recalled: "I didn't know about the concentration-camps until I was in my teens. First I heard about the [Nazi] party. Then I heard stories about the war, about bombs falling or about not having food." At a time when the political arena is saturated with talk of justice tribunals, reparations, and revenge management, Justice Matters provides valuable insights into the aftermath of ethnic and religious conflicts around the world, from Rwanda to the Balkans, from Northern Ireland to the Middle East. The stories recounted here, and the lessons they offer, have universal applications for any divided society determined not to let the ghosts of the past determine the future.
Customer Reviews:
Justic Matters by Mona Weissmark.......2006-03-13
First OFF, you need a category of ZERO STARS, this transaction does not deserve a ONE STAR.
I have not had a chance to read it because AMAZON screwed up. The book was supposed to be new, it arrived with nearly every page underlined in black pen. The outside was dirty. I sent it back and do not believe I have my money back, outside of that I wrote to AMAZON and said I wanted a REPLACEMENT not credit. What I got back was that they were giving me credit. I've never seen anything so messed up in my life and I, as you can tell, am UNHAPPY.
From rage to reconciliation: an historic achievement.......2004-03-07
In "Justice Matters" Mona Weissmark has made unique and critical contributions to a central problem ouf our times. How can the children of those who survived the genocidal crimes of the Holocaust come to understand the children of those who perpetrated those crimes? Can understanding bring reconciliation and lift the burden of the past from the shoulders of both groups? In this book Weissmark described her groundbreaking work whereby she brought the children of Holocaust victims face to face with the children of Nazis for discussion of their feelings - rage, resentment, guilt, defensiveness and denial - and the extraordinary consequences that followed. Compassion and forgiveness, reconciliation and recognition of past crimes emerge to point a way to the peaceful solution of intense differences of a kind that threaten the peace of the world in or own day.
A Dramatic Investigation.......2004-03-05
If we were children of survivors of the Holocaust what would we say to children of the Nazi perpetrators of the Holocaust? In this book, Mona Weissmark describes what must surely be one of the most dramatic investigations of the last 50 years. She brought together 10 children of concentration camp survivors and 10 children of Nazis; 20 people who talked together over a period of four days. The profoundly moving events of those four days are documented here with the richest moments coming in the words of these two groups of participants as they spoke of their lonely but intertwined heritages. The author places the events of these four days into a scholarly context of social psychology, developmental psychology, evolutionary psychology, clinical psychology, history, psychiatry, philosophy, and theology. This book will prove hard to put down and even harder to forget.
An important and moving book.......2004-03-04
As an author and journalist who has studied this field for years, I found Mona Weissmark's "Justice Matters" an important addition to the history of Holocaust literature, and our never-ending quest to understand the why to Nazi crimes. In her search for ultimate answers to such fundamental questions such as whether good people can pursue heinous acts, or whether there is an absolute truth to issues of morality and justice about the crimes of World War II, Weissmark successfully stimulates a vigorous and fascinating debate. She unmasks the complexity behind matters that too often are oversimplified. No student of history or the Holocaust can finish Justice Matters without being moved by her comprehensive study of the children of both survivors and Nazis, and come to the realization of how their subjective views profoundly affect our own thinking. But you don't have to be someone interested merely in the subject matter to find the exposition and discussion of the central themes of good and evil and crime and forgiveness to be fascinating and compelling.
A Time for Everything.......2003-12-05
Springing from an unprecedented meeting between the sons and daughters of the Holocaust and the children of the Third Reich, Justice Matters: Legacies of the Holocaust and World War II takes readers on an unparalleled journey of hatred and ethnic resentments. Although more than half a century has passed, recollections of the Holocaust and WWII still sear the lives of survivors, their children and grandchildren. Weissmark's book shows how the cycle of ethnic and religious strife is kept alive generation after generation through story-telling, with each side recounting the injustice it suffered and the valor it showed in avenging its own group. Describing how these stories or "legacies" transmit moral values, beliefs and emotions and thus preserve the past, Weissmark writes: "Unjust acts that have not been reconciled are stored in legacies as if packed in ice." The lessons of Justice Matters speak to a world reeling from unhealed wounds, providing insights into myriad conflicts ranging from centuries old disputes in Northern Ireland and the Middle East, to racial strife in America's ghettos. Weissmark presents an inspiring recipe for reconciliation, asserting that it is not enough for the antagonist to agree to talk. Each side also must agree to moderate their own emotions and dispense with the notion that they are the most aggrieved. Justice Matters is about hearing the other side, seeing the other view. The story of how children of the Holocaust and children of the Nazis struggled to come to terms with their past has universal applications for any people, and culture, riven with a legacy of resentment.
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