Book Description
Brigitte Gabriel lost her childhood to militant Islam. In 1975 she was ten years old and living in Southern Lebanon when militant Muslims from throughout the Middle East poured into her country and declared jihad against the Lebanese Christians. Lebanon was the only Christian influenced country in the Middle East, and the Lebanese Civil War was the first front in what has become the worldwide jihad of fundamentalist Islam against non-Muslim peoples. For seven years, Brigitte and her parents lived in an underground bomb shelter. They had no running water or electricity and very little food; at times they were reduced to boiling grass to survive. Because They Hate is a political wake-up call told through a very personal memoir frame. Brigitte warns that the US is threatened by fundamentalist Islamic theology in the same way Lebanon was- radical Islam will stop at nothing short of domination of all non-Muslim countries. Gabriel saw this mission start in Lebanon, and she refuses to stand silently by while it happens here. Gabriel sees in the West a lack of understanding and a blatant ignorance of the ways and thinking of the Middle East. She also points out mistakes the West has made in consistently underestimating the single-mindedness with which fundamentalist Islam has pursued its goals over the past thirty years. Fiercely articulate and passionately committed, Gabriel tells her own story as well as outlines the history, social movements, and religious divisions that have led to this critical historical conflict.
Customer Reviews:
A WORTHWILE READ.......2007-10-24
THIS IS AN EASY READ AND VERY WORTHWILE. IT GETS A LITTLE PREACHY HERE AND THERE. SINCE I COME FROM BROOKLYN YEARS AGO AND HAD PLAYMATES WHO WERE MARIONITES FROM LEBONON I APPRECIATE HER STRUGLE BUT THERE WAS A LARGE COLONY IN BROOKYLN,NY YEARS AGO. TOO BAD WE DIDN'T GET INVOLVED IN THE MIDDLE EAST INSTEAD OF RUNNING HOME. WE DROPED THE BALL.
Truly Informed!!!.......2007-10-19
It is refreshing to read a book that is written by a person who experienced first-hand the things to which she addressed. I consider myself a person who is well educated (3 masters degrees), well traveled (67 countries), and a lifetime of experience (approaching 80 years). Brigette's book should be read by every person who appreciates living in the United States. The book is truly an "eye-opener!" I encourage you to get the book, read it, and take the time to comprehend what it says. It will probably change your life!!! Rev. Floyd Lewis
Arresting autobiography and a warning to the West.......2007-10-18
This disturbing book is similar in structure to Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Now They Call Me Infidel by Nonie Darwish, being part autobiography and part warning to the West. The autobiographical section deals with the author's childhood in Lebanon which was happy and idyllic until the war broke out in 1975. Her family experienced seven years of hell as the political war soon became a religious war against Christians waged by the PLO and Lebanese radical Islamists.
It became a nightmare of murder, atrocity and destruction. She also witnessed at first hand how the terrorists manipulate the media, for example by deliberately launching missiles from amongst civilians then blaming Israel for the retaliation that followed. They played the victim card very well, exploiting the clueless or complicit mass media at every turn. A good analysis of this phenomenon is available in The Other War: Israelis, Palestinians and the Struggle for Media Supremacy by Stephanie Gutmann. When the Israelis invaded in 1982, the family finally managed to escape the horror by finding refuge in Israel. There they experienced kindness and compassion; she eventually became a journalist, married an American and moved to the USA.
The second part examines the history of the global jihad and how its hydra heads are sprouting in the West. The author considers Lebanon the early testing ground for the global ambitions of the Jihadis. In this section she delves into the Koran and compares the Western with the Islamist concepts of, among others: truth, life and human dignity. Pointing out the major differences, she shows how the radicals are using Western values like tolerance, the rule of law and free speech against the West. What happened in Lebanon is starting to happen in Europe and the USA while the demonization of Israel and the USA is getting worse in the mass media of the Islamic world. For gruesome examples of this, please see Peace: The Arabian Caricature of Anti-Semitic Imagery by Arieh Stav.
Ignorance and political correctness are contributing to the escalating danger and the fifth column in our midst are those self-loathing westerners - mostly tenured termites in academia - who blame the democracies and talk piously of the "legitimate" grievances of the terrorists. The author says we must not appease but face facts: their grievances include our freedom of speech and religion, democracy, the rule of law and the gender equality in our societies. She also claims that moderate Muslim organizations in the USA are not as moderate as they pretend. A very important point Gabriel makes is that although most Muslims are peaceful, the religion is not. Islamic Imperialism: A History by Efraim Karsh and The Truth About Muhammad by Robert Spencer explore the historical facts in more detail.
The book concludes with recommendations for policymakers in the West, such as the banning of hate education where it is occurring now, vigilant border and immigration controls, security profiling of radical organizations and a serious effort to find and harness alternative energy sources. Other warnings to the West include The Force of Reason by Oriana Fallaci, Londonistan by Melanie Phillips, Unholy Alliance: Radical Islam and the American Left by David Horowitz, Menace in Europe by Claire Berlinski and While Europe Slept: How Radical Islam is Destroying the West from Within by Bruce Bawer. On account of her first hand experience, Brigitte Gabriel's book is a must-read for all those who care about the future of our civilization.
A MUST read for every American who lives his country!.......2007-10-17
I challenge every American to view this book diligently with an open mind as to how quickly this hate has invaded our country already and now that it's here how sudden an attack will happen. We must stand up and do our part to stop this subtle killer by making our voice heard in our government, our schools our churches. This message MUST be heard! Briggett tells her story without fancy proper grammar, but with simplicity for any age to read. There's no doubt she is real, her story is real and her heart is not about selling a book, it's about you, your family and this country. May we wake up and take back our freedom to love and live.
Glad I Don't Live In A Moslem Country.......2007-10-14
"Because They Hate" is one eye opening book regarding the real agenda of the militant Moslems. The Koran is not now and never was a peaceful book and neither was the Moslem faith ever a peaceful religion.The "militant" Moslems are out to conquor the whole world and make it Moslem. The big Satan (the United States) and the Little Satan (Israel) are first on it's list to destroy.
A women definately doesn't want to live in a radical Moslem country. They can't go anywhere with out their husband's approval. Also, they have to have their whole body covered when in public. Beating your wife black and blue when she disobeys you is endorsed by the clerics or religeous leaders and is often shown on television as a good thing to do. Also, if a women is suspected of not being a virgin, she is to be killed to save the family's honor.
The author, Brigette Gabriel is a Southern Lebonese Christian, who married an American and now lives in the United States. The author lived amongst the Moslems in Lebonon, which makes the book an insider's look at the Moslem agenda. That fact alone made it the best book I have read on the subject of the Moslem religion. The well written readable style of the book added to it's appeal.
Gabriel tells about the horrors of the cival war in Lebonon and how she lived with her parents in a bomb shelter for seven years. She tells how the kind but naive Lebonese tried to help the Palestinian Moslem refugees only to have them go through Christian towns slaughtering Christians and bombing their homes. Finally the Christians had enough and fought back, which stated the Cival War. When Israel came to the aid of the Lebonese Christians and brought an end to the war, most of the world criticised her humanitarian actions.
This book made me to glad to be an American. While we haven't been perfect on the cival rights front, we have had our plantations and still have reservations, which are not to be downplayed, our worst abuses are nothing in comparison to the hate filled brutality of the Moslems who follow the Koran. As the author makes so clear, Americans with our western civilized way of thinking and value system, have a very difficult time understanding the insanely brutal mindset of the militant Moslems. When giving the reason for their brutality, the author explained that it was becuase they are taught to hate from the moment of birth that they are so sadistic. Even though many Moslems claim to be more moderate in their beliefs, they rarely if ever oppose the radical's viewpoints or actions. This is true even of the moderate Moslems who live in American where it would be safe to take stand.
Amazon.com
The author of There Are No Children Here follows up that magnificent effort with the gripping story of a mysterious death in southwest Michigan. A black teenager surfaces in the St. Joseph River, drowned. How did he get there? The towns of Benton Harbor and St. Joseph, divided by both race and the river, grapple with the possibilities in this maddeningly difficult case. Alex Kotlowitz puts his sharp reporting skills to good work here, describing in detail everything that is known about Eric McGinnis's short life and untimely death. But the book is best at plumbing the racial psychology of these mutually suspicious communities. The Other Side of the River has that can't-put-it-down quality found in the best narrative nonfiction, and it speaks to issues affecting all of America.
Book Description
Alex Kotlowitz's There Are No Children Here was more than a bestseller; it was a national event. His beautifully narrated, heartbreaking nonfiction account of two black boys struggling to grow up in a Chicago public housing complex spent eight weeks on The New York Times bestseller list, was a made-for-television movie starring and produced by Oprah Winfrey, won many distinguished awards, and sparked a continuing national debate on the lives of inner-city children.
In The Other Side of the River, his eagerly awaited new book, Kotlowitz takes us to southern Michigan. Here, separated by the St. Joseph River, are two towns, St. Joseph and Benton Harbor. Geographically close, they are worlds apart, a living metaphor for America's racial divisions: St. Joseph is a prosperous lakeshore community and ninety-five percent white, while Benton Harbor is impoverished and ninety-two percent black. When the body of a black teenaged boy from Benton Harbor is found in the river, unhealed wounds and suspicions between the two towns' populations surface as well. The investigation into the young man's death becomes, inevitably, a screen on which each town projects their resentments and fears.
The Other Side of the River sensitively portrays the lives and hopes of the towns' citizens as they wrestle with this mystery--and reveals the attitudes and misperceptions that undermine race relations throughout America. In this gripping and ultimately profound book, Alex Kotlowitz proves why he is one of this country's foremost writers on the ever explosive issue of race.
From the Hardcover edition.
Customer Reviews:
Disjointed, unstable focus.......2007-10-17
Kotlowitz's first book was stunning and I think he should have stuck with that type of writing. This book is a disappointing second. The entire story is rambling and often has no discernible point. I'm sure this is much more meaningful for residents of the town. The racial thing has been slanted so many ways in the media by now, I still think that 'The Eye of the Storm' from 1968 takes the cake.
read in one night! a real page turner.......2007-04-30
Here's the thing - you know who died, and you know where the body was found and in what condition, but you don't know the why and how. And you still can't put this book down!
Alex Kotlowitz is a master story teller of a real life murder in a racially charged small town, geographically divided by a river but racially divided by mistrust and suspicion. His research is detailed and thorough, and the reader finds himself quickly immersed and emotionally invovled with the characters. Every character is complex and likeable. There are no bad guys/good guys. Just an unsolved murder, in a town yearning to heal.
Sometimes the truth is difficult to take.......2007-02-19
This was an excellent book--painful to read in some places, but important when it comes to understanding the role of racism and race relations in this country. I find it interesting to read the comments from some of the residents of St. Joe's who claim that their town was misrepresented. My sense is that many simply found their deeply entrenched bigoted attitudes and racism difficult to take when detailed in print for the world to read. Perhaps they should spend less time defending the indefensible and more on changing the fabric of their town and its relationship with their neighbors across the bridge.
Not as good as I expected..........2006-05-26
Alex's last book There Are No Children Here is hard to top, but I tried to give The Other Side of the River a chance. What was the point of the book? To show the different levels of racial tensions within this particular community or to find out who killed the teenager? I am still trying to understand the purpose of the book. I felt like I didn't learn anything new.
Great Writing.......2006-01-24
I bought this book for my parents since they own property north of Benton Harbor. I started reading the book after I realized I have worked with one of the people in the book. Very interesting. I will not state my personal opinion on the subject.
I rode a mountain bike from Saint Joseph into Benton Harbor shortly after these events took place and never realized how bad things were. Never had any problems until riding my motorcycle in Benton Harbor with my black fiance'.
Book Description
One of the truly legendary figures of American history, the soldier, explorer, and colonist Captain John Smith was a vivid and prolific chronicler of the beginnings of English settlement in the New World. This volume brings together seven of his works, along with 16 additional narratives by 13 other writers, that recount firsthand the tragic, harrowing, and dramatic events of the settlement of Roanoke and Jamestown.
A founder of Jamestown in 1607, Smith's courage, determination, and leadership proved crucial to its survival. A True Relation tells of the colony's perilous first year, while The Proceedings and The Generall Historie continue the story of its struggle to survive and prosper. A Description of New England and New Englands Trials describe Smith's exploration of the northern coast and the prospects for its settlement. In The True Travels Smith recalls his adventures as a soldier in Eastern Europe and his amazing escape from Turkish slavery. Advertisements for the Unexperienced Planters, his last book, is a critical examination of the successes and failures of the English colonial enterprise. Written in a consistently lively style, Smith's works are filled with suspense, astonishment, and keen observations of American Indian cultures and New World landscapes.
The 16 additional narratives include accounts of the "Lost Colony" of Roanoke, the horrific "starving time" at Jamestown, and a shipwreck off Bermuda. Amplifying and sometimes challenging Smith's version of events, these narratives capture the fear and fascination of early encounters with the Indians; the brutality, desperation, and ingenuity of settlers facing extreme hardship; the complex interplay of feuds and rivalries, both between the English and the Powhatan Indians and within the colony itself; and the enduring story of Pocahontas, who came to occupy a unique place between two cultures. Included in the volume are 29 pages of contemporary drawings, 15 of them full-color illustrations by John White.
Customer Reviews:
A must have for all who are interested in the early settlement of Virginia and New England.......2007-04-05
Captain John Smith did an amazing amount of living in the fifty-one years he lived on Earth. His life's journey began in 1580 at Willoughy, England. He left home at 16 after his father's death to become a soldier fighting in France for Dutch Independence from Spain. In other words, he was a mercenary. He went to work in the Mediterranean Sea on a merchant ship in 1598. In 1600 he went to the Austrians to fight in Hungary against the Turks and fought so valiantly that he was promoted to Captain. Fighting in Transylvania in 1602, he was wounded, captured, and sold as a slave to a Turk. He was then given to a girl who sent him to her brother to get training for Imperial service. Being very ill treated by this Pasha, Smith killed him and escaped. He fled through Russia and then Poland, was released from service, received a large reward and spent time traveling throughout Europe. During the winter of 1604-05 he returned to England. All this before the events we know him for began in Virginia and New England!
His restless nature somehow got him involved with the plans to colonize the Virginia territory for profit. King James I granted the charter and the expedition set sail on December 20, 1606. While this is more than a century after Columbus, it was still a huge and costly undertaking to what was almost unknown territory. The three tiny ships were the Discovery (20 tons), Susan Constant (120 tons), and Godspeed (40 tons). They did not land in Virginia until April 1607 after a voyage of more than four months. Smith was on the list of seven council members that was designated to govern the colony. The winter was harsh, fresh water was hard to come by, sickness ravaged the colonists, and the local Indians, ruled by Powhatan (Wahunsonacock), were antagonistic to the newcomers. Smith became the leader and led the fight against the Indian raids and negotiating with them for food enough to supplement their meager stores.
In December of 1607, the famous incident of Smith being taken to Powhatan and being saved by Pocahontas occurred. Like much in Smith's writings, it is hard to separate the braggadocio from the fact. Apparently there was some kind of ceremony that involved a ritual death and renewal of life whereby Smith became some kind of subordinate chief member of the tribe. Smith may not have understood the ceremony well and indeed may well have believed that the 11 year old princess saved his life.
Life was very hard at Jamestown and dissent grew. Smith was elected President in September 1608 and has the fort reinforced and emphasizes military training among the colonists. During the winter, Powhatan refused to provide food because he believes that the colonists are not there to trade but to take Indian lands. After difficult negotiations they trade swords and guns for food. Things continue to be difficult and now the resentment focuses on Smith. He is badly burned when his powder keg caught fire. A group leading colonists deposes Smith and he sails back to England part in resentment and part for treatment of his injuries in October.
He is active in promoting colonization of the new territories and heads back in 1614, but he cannot go to Virginia. He focuses on the area north that he called New England. Smith traveled to many areas there and in 1615 founded a colony in Maine. He is captured by a French privateer and is unable to return to England until December. In 1622, Indians kill more than 300 colonists. Smith's offer to lead the military fight against the natives is rejected.
During these years in England, Smith published some works to provide him some much needed income. He finds the right stories to tell and several of his writings sold quite well. He died in 1631 at 51 years old and was buried at St. Sepulchres in the City of London.
This summary of his life is there merest outline of events. There is much much more covered in this treasure trove of a book.
The wonderful Library of America provides us with Smith's "A True Relation", "The Proceedings of the English Colony in Virginia" (parts written by a variety of folks), "A Description of New England", "New Englands Trials" [sic], "The Generall Historie of Virginia, New-England, and the Summer Isles", "The True Travels", and his "Advertisements for the Unexperienced Planters of New-England". The words in these titles such as "trials" and "advertisements" had a much different meaning four hundred years ago. The point was that by 1620 thousands of people were risking their lives to try to settle in Virginia and New England and they wanted information. Smith gave them good information about what they were going to face. Oh, he certainly boasted and gave himself credit for things that others did, but his descriptions of what it takes to survive there are quite good.
This volume does not contain Smith's two books on sea travel. However, it does contain an additional four hundred pages of writings by others about the settling of Virginia. One covers the settlement of Roanoke before the Jamestown voyage. Others are written independently of Smith, at least one was written in response to his "Generall Historie" that upset some who felt he took to himself their deeds. They are all fascinating.
There are also pages of black and white plates showing aspects of Smith's life and other aspects of the early settlement including etchings of Smith and even of Pocahontas (Lady Rebecca) in her English finery during her one, fatal, year in England. There is another set of plates that are in color and show Indian life at the time of the events of this book. We get many useful maps, and index, notes on the text, notes on the plates, and a chronology of Smith's life.
This is a rich text that provides important history of early American settlement that everyone interested in the founding and history of our nation will want to read and know. The early events with the Indians are fascinating as are the descriptions of the trade and battles. Even the variety of spellings are fascinating. Yes, orthography was not standardized, but it is interesting how the same words are spelled differently even within the same writing let alone between authors.
A must have for all who appreciate American history.
Book Description
General Smedley Butler's frank book shows how American war efforts were animated by big-business interests. This extraordinary argument against war by an unexpected proponent is relevant now more than ever.
Customer Reviews:
This book was reviewed by George Orwell.......2007-10-24
This book was reviewed by George Orwell in (I think!) his Shooting an Elephant collection of essays for a British socialist weekly newspaper called Tribune, sometime in the early part of the Second Unpleasantness which began for us in 1939. As I remember, he said it made interesting reading but compared a general denouncing war as being comparible to a former alcoholic denouncing drink.
The book in question does not refer to war as we commonly understand it.
The general is referring to the US's colonial interventions in central
America in the 1930s. I read somewhere that the Nazis were so impressed by the dive bombing of Managua by the USAAF that they bought several of the Curtis aircraft type that had been used, which became the basis for the infamous Junkers 87B Stuka. Managua being the first city in the world to be attacked in this way presumeably. Nice.
Old Men's Wars--Young Men's Fights.......2007-10-24
The title of this review might be considered a subtitle to this book--for has it not always been the case that the young are sacrificed in war for the "ideals" of the establishment? General Smedley makes a very good case for this after his brilliant and decorated career in the U.S. Marine Corps. He is eloquent and poignant. He decries the billions upon billions spent to make far-flung areas of the globe "safe" for American industrialists.
It is difficult not to make parallels with wars across the globe today. Wherever there is a strong business interest (and this may coincide with governemnt interest)--you will find conflict. As General Eisenhower prophesied: Beware the Military-Industrial Complex. However, this does not explain ideological wars entirely, such as those brought about by the early 20th-century Fascists, nor the Islamic-Radical-Fascists of today. However, if we look deeper, these movements also were supported heavily by moneyed interests, and behind those curtains, government businesses seeking to profit from oil, such as the Saudis, or industrialists seeking war profits, such as in the Third Reich.
Obviously, while "defending" American interests worldwide, General Smedley's cost-benefit analysis came squarely on the side of non-interventionism, as the First President, George Washington, had cautioned us. And, to be truthful, we have no idea what would have happened to American if we had not intervened in the global conflagration of World War II, and instead had spent that money on gearing up our own National Defense, which had gone fallow in the years following World War I. Even during that war, most of the industrial production of this country (the U.S.A.) never got off the docks into theatres of warfare--but the producers were paid by the government anyways.
The is a relatively quick, absurdly inexpensive, and necessary read for anyone interested in geopolitics and our national security. It challenges much-cherished assumptions about interventionism and collaboration in warmaking.
A truth bullet right in the forehead.......2007-09-03
The word "classic", like other words in the abused English language, is regularly misused. It is not misused in describing this book. And at the pittance required to buy this edition, it can also be described as the biggest bargain you will encounter all year. To call the book an "anti-war" classic is not as accurate as it might be, however, because Gen. Butler envisions the need for a standing army and navy to defend the nation. He is merely horrified at these forces being sent to fight other people's wars. Especially at the cost of all wars.
Gen. Butler writes between the two World Wars. Having earned an estimable reputation among the troops he led, he proceeded not to desert them after the war was over. He sided with the bonus marchers who built "Hooverville", and then he finished some thoughts he had been having about the role of the United States Marine Corps in a number of lesser American military adventures. He then wrote this pamphlet to explain why the country needed to rid itself of the conmen who keep taking it to foreign wars.
The work is divided into five sections:
1. War Is A Racket!
2. Who Makes the Profits?
3. Who Pays the Bills?
4. How to Smash This Racket!
5. To Hell with War!
As another reviewer has noted, Gen. Butler rendered even greater service to his country after leaving the Marines than while serving actively. In prose that is utterly direct and unadorned, he outlines the nature of war, the identities and profit margins of the criminals, the role of the propagandizing press, and the victims of the fiscal enterprise of war. He then suggests a practical method for removing the profit from the business of war: simply conscript every owner, manager and employee of the war-making industries into the war effort, 30 days before the troops are called up, at the same pay rate as the enlisted man. During WWI, that was $30.00 per month. It is an idea so simple and brilliant that it will never be tried, unless, of course, the entire population suddenly has the wool pulled from its eyes, and passes the requisite law. As a test of industrial patriotism, this idea has no peers.
(My idea for educating the masses would be to make every thirteen-year-old boy and girl read this book, pass an exam on it, and then administer the book and the exam to their parents. This would be an annual event, and a general election would be held as soon as the parents had passed their exams.)
It is depressing to read this book in 2007, note that it was written in 1935, and reflect that nothing has changed. It is also heartening to realize that the solution to the problem of war is to convey the meaning of one four-word sentence to the masses. That sentence is the title of this book. Even in a time of sinking literacy levels and short attention spans, I can imagine no more worthy project for our country.
A must read for American Citizens.......2007-07-25
While I don't agree with all of Butler's recommendations (among which is, never fight a war), many of his recommendations are great. His documentation of the Facist plot he exposed is very important. (BTW: Prescott Bush was a co-conspirator in these coup-plans, as documented by the BBC.)
Facism was a threat then, and given the growing corporatism in the USA, a threat now.
People never learn........2007-07-23
This small book is timeless in its message. Written before WW2, it applies to much of what has happened since. As Butler wrote, " Why don't those damned oil companies fly their own flags on their personal property - maybe a flag with a gas pump on it." Two Iraq wars prove Butler's prescience.
Book Description
This Audio CD is designed for anyone who wants to learn how to recognize bird songs. It features the sounds of 189 different bird species found in the Midwest and Northeast States.
Each bird song recording is followed by a short description of the sound along with a common mnemonic used to remember it. Many well-known song mnemonics such as "Who cooks for you?" for the Barred Owl and "Poor Sam Peabody" for the White-throated Sparrow are included. Following the song and mnemonic, the source of the sound is revealed. By naming the bird at the end of each track, the listener is allowed to wonder and guess at the nature of the sound. Active listening, similar to what one experiences in the field while searching for an unknown bird song, is a key to engaging the memory process.
One way to use this CD is to enable the "Random Play" or "Shuffle" option on a home CD player, portable stereo, or personal computer. Although it may be frustrating at first, repetition of this "quiz" game will quickly improve recognition skills. Gaining familiarity with these songs will greatly increase any bird watcher's enjoyment and awareness of birds in their natural habitat.
Features:
- 189 bird species found in the Midwest and Northeast states
- Digital bird song recordings made in Wisconsin
- Brief narration after each song includes descriptive, memorable and often funny mnemonics
- Can be used as a field guide to learn and identify songs or as a recognition quiz game
- Easy to use alphabetical track listing of all birds and their mnemonics
- It is a great gift for any birdwatcher, beginner or advanced.
- Total running time: 60 minutes
Customer Reviews:
Very good CD.......2007-08-21
After many years of bird watching I decided it was high time I learned to bird by ear.
I'm pretty familiar with the limited species that show up in my Southern California yard (House Finches, House Sparrows, Mourning Doves and Western Scrub Jays mostly).
I've purchased a few different CD's on birding by ear (including the Stokes CD's), but this is the one I like the best. I keep it in my CD player in the car so I can learn/study the bird songs while going to and from work each day.
I have noticed a slight regional accent in some of the birds that I'm familiar with, but it's not so significant that I don't recognise the House Sparrow or the House Finch when I hear it.
I highly recommend this CD to anyone who is trying to learn to bird by ear.
Great for newbies.......2007-06-07
I've lived on a farm or outside the city for most of my life, but never really bothered to figure out the different bird calls. After listening to this CD a couple of times, my wife and I can now pick out some of the different birds. The more calls we learn, the more fun it is to learn more.
Overly Short Songs Presented at Shotgun Speed.......2007-05-25
While the coverage of songs is thorough, the acoustic quality is not nearly as good as four other bird song CDs that I also recently purchased (Stokes - Eastern Region, Peterson Field Guide sets - Eastern, Songbirds Bible by Proctor, Common Bird Songs by Borror). Moreover, the songs are very short, with minimal repetition or variation. It is nice to have narration that follows the songs, so the listener has a chance to guess what type of bird sings each song. However, given that the songs are so short, and the pauses after the songs and before narration are even shorter, there is no time for an advanced beginner birder such as myself to reflect, or even spit out the answer instantaneously. Furthermore, the next song often starts virtually "on top" of the narration (which is little more than just the name of the bird), making it easy to associate the bird name with the wrong song (ie, the song that follows narration rather than the song that precedes).
excellent for beginning and intermediate birders.......2006-08-01
The alphabetical indexing is excellent for those who have not mastered the taxanomic order as found in most lists and books. The presentation of the song before the identification is useful in honing ones ears. Would like it to be longer than the ~110 species presented.
By far the best bird song training & review guide.......2006-07-10
This is an outstanding CD for learning bird songs. Each song starts with the bird song and then the narrator describes the song and provides a short phrase or description that aids you with identifying it, followed again with the essence of the song. This format allows you to quiz yourself. I bought my first copy two years ago and have bought 5 more to give to friends since then. Everyone has commented that its a great guide. I own several other guides including Birding by Ear and More Birding by Ear and this is by far my favorite.
Amazon.com
There Are No Children Here, the true story of brothers Lafeyette and Pharoah Rivers, ages 11 and 9 at the start, brings home the horror of trying to make it in a violence-ridden public housing project. The boys live in a gang-plagued war zone on Chicago's West Side, literally learning how to dodge bullets the way kids in the suburbs learn to chase baseballs. "If I grow up, I'd like to be a bus driver," says Lafeyette at one point. That's if, not when--spoken with the complete innocence of a child. The book's title comes from a comment made by the brothers' mother as she and author Alex Kotlowitz contemplate the challenges of living in such a hostile environment: "There are no children here," she says. "They've seen too much to be children." This book humanizes the problem of inner-city pathology, makes readers care about Lafeyette and Pharoah more than they may expect to, and offers a sliver of hope buried deep within a world of chaos.
Book Description
This is the moving and powerful account of two remarkable boys struggling to survive in Chicago's Henry Horner Homes, a public housing complex disfigured by crime and neglect.
Customer Reviews:
The other America indeed.......2007-09-25
Nice mix of anecdote and historical background on life in inner city America. Excellent insight into the everyday difficulties faced by families and some of the root causes. This book, though almost 20 years old, still has a message that needs to be heard.
a sobering account of the horrendous state of America's impoverished.......2007-07-18
You don't need to look to Africa or the Middle East to find crime and poverty. Millions live in gang-riddled public housing projects, where violence is a fact of life. If these thoughts don't stir your heart, this book will.
impressive work of reserach and great story telling.......2007-04-30
As in his other book, The other side of the River, Alex Kotlowitz proves again what an amazing story teller he is. Kotlowitz spent a couple of years living with and getting to Know Pharaoh and Lafeyette in the Chiacgo housing project, a place where even the police are afraid to go into without back up. The life of these children seems to be written in the stars, everything is planned for them - poverty, delinquency, prison, abuse, drugs and finally death. Regardless of your stand on social (in)equality, wellfare and other government help, it is easy to relate to Kotlowitz' regard for the boys and some of their friends, although most of us are on the "right" side of the law and the more affluent side of society. The poignant story brings to mind the chicken and the egg debate - do people sink into poverty because of inadequate government help or do they have a hand in it? The boys' mother has 8 children, no job and her husband wont provide for them. Why does she continue to have more children? The government built housing for the people, but the housing is substandard, and reinforces the residents' feelings of being left behind, not on society's top priority. Has America given up on these children?
Can't wait for Alex to write an update, 10 years later.
Great Reading.......2007-04-07
I was required to read this book for a class and loved it! The story of these boys was so moving. I would recommend this book to everyone!
You MUST read this book.......2007-01-10
This goes out to everyone living in America today.... you have to read this book. I grew up in a small rural town. My only experience of urban life came from movies and rap music. This book made it plainly clear to me that we are sweeping Americas own problems under a rug. Though I feel strongly for the plight of others all over the world, how can we help them when we haven't spent the time and energy that we need to fix our own backyard? We need to invest in our future and it needs to happen now. This book should be required reading in our schools especially with regards to small town schools. These schools tend to "glamorize" urban life and gangs instead of understanding what they are, a means of survival for our scared youth looking for protection and who don't see another way out nor a future for themselves.
Average customer rating:
- Travels With Charley
- the hobo philosopher
- "From start to finish, I found no strangers"
- Vendor is 100% honest... would recommend highly
- Another side of John Steinbeck
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Travels with Charley in Search of America
John Steinbeck
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ASIN: 0140053204 |
Book Description
Today, nearly forty years after his death, Nobel Prize winner John Steinbeck remains one of America's greatest writers and cultural figures. Over the next year, his many works published as black-spine Penguin Classics for the first time and will feature eye-catching, newly commissioned art.
Penguin Classics is proud to present these seminal works to a new generation of readers—and to the many who revisit them again and again.
Customer Reviews:
Travels With Charley.......2007-09-27
A wonderful read..a glimpse of America through the eyes of Steinbeck while driving his pick-up/camper with his dog.
the hobo philosopher.......2007-09-10
Travels with Charley was one of the inspirational books that lead me to write "Hobo-ing America". I had always read travel books. Everybody from Mark Twain to George Orwell. But Travels with Charley (his dog) ranks right up there in the inspiration category for me. I had always longed to travel America but I could never afford to do it. Finally my wife Carol and I took off with about $2,400 and a van with a homemade bed in the rear and hit the road. We paid our way by picking fruits and vegetables and we stayed on the road living under bridges and equipment shelters for a number of years. Carol says that it was the best time of her life. I am still hoping that the best time hasn't come yet. Though my time is running low.
I guess that the whole point of this review is that it was books like Travels with Charley that made our adventure a reality. I still have a tattered copy of Travels with Charley on my library shelf.
"From start to finish, I found no strangers".......2007-08-06
In the autumn of 1960, author John Steinbeck (1902 - 1968) felt that he was writing on the fumes of experience. That and the wanderlust that usually passes with youth still itched at age 58. He bought a camper truck he christened "Rocinante" after Don Quixote's horse and with his 10-year-old poodle named Charley he set off to find America. His route largely rimmed the 48 contiguous states: from his summer home on Long Island, he headed up to Maine, across to upstate New York and down US Route 90, out to Chicago, through the Badlands to Montana, over to Spokane, down the Oregon coast, to his native Salinas in Central California, cutting across the Mojave to Texas, onward into the Deep South and then a straight shot home to New York City.
In 1960, Steinbeck stood on a cusp of history and what he reveals, especially as regarded 47 years later, is the country coming and going on itself. He finds cities ringed by huge garbage piles created by the rise of a disposable culture that had yet to discover recycling. He uses the new highway system as well as the old back roads, encountering a country adapting to a new mobility. The people he met were timeless characters, though many were in age-old circumstances that have since passed. Despite the Pulitzer Prize, bestselling books and media coverage, he is never recognized and finds people at their most candid. His accounts on the road are episodic, some comic, some fodder for philosophical rumination. When he hits the Deep South, however, he collides with the opening salvos of the modern Civil Rights movement and tangles with racists as he watches "The Cheerleaders," the gang of middle-aged "respectable" white women obscenely haranguing a tiny black child being escorted to school. He is sickened. It is time to go home.
The insights to the human condition and what it means to be American as divulged by the journey are priceless. The beautiful thing about Steinbeck is his persistent curiosity in life outside of himself. Though he comes to realize the journey is as much internal as it is external, his inspiration was not to find himself but to connect with others. He was a most generous soul.
Vendor is 100% honest... would recommend highly.......2007-08-01
Had a problem with this low cost used copy... not as described
BUT vendor 100% honest ---
No problem FIX.. they stood 100% behind what they sell.
Tks!
Another side of John Steinbeck.......2007-07-09
Travels with Charley to me is first of all a perfect story of a man and his dog.
One of the best stories, I have ever read.
Average customer rating:
- "About healing, Shamanism, Spiritual and Universal Laws"
- Fascinating
- Ancient primer for a modern world
- money,money,money
- Shaman, Healer, Sage: How to Heal Yourself and Other with the Energy Medicine of the Americas
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Shaman, Healer, Sage: How to Heal Yourself and Others with the Energy Medicine of the Americas
Alberto Phd Villoldo
Manufacturer: Harmony
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ASIN: 0609605445
Release Date: 2000-12-19 |
Book Description
Alberto Villoldo, a classically trained medical anthropologist, has studied shamanic healing techniques among the descendants of the ancient Inkas for more than twenty years. In Shaman, Healer, Sage, he draws on his vast body of knowledge to create a practical and revolutionary program based on the traditional healing methods used by these shamans -- methods that, until now, have been inaccessible to most of the world.
Villoldo explains that central to shamanic healing is the concept of the Luminous Energy Field that is believed to surround our material bodies. His book teaches us to see and influence the imprints that disease leaves on this field and thereby to heal ourselves and others, as well as prevent illness.
Villoldo weaves wonderful teaching stories throughout about the healing power of the energy medicine of the Americas. In one story, Villoldo comes down with pneumonia while in Peru. When antibiotics fail to control the infection, his mentor, the shaman Don Antonio, uses the process of Illumination to remove the toxins that had invaded Villoldo's body. These same shamanic techniques later allowed Villoldo to remove stagnant energy from a young woman whose marriage was suffering due to her past experience with abandonment. With the aid of shamanic work, the woman regained her trust in others, and her marriage was revitalized.
This book is rich with ancient wisdom and contemporary techniques we can use to help ourselves and others, as well as with the more advanced methods of master shamans, which are being brought to a wide audience for the first time.
Customer Reviews:
"About healing, Shamanism, Spiritual and Universal Laws".......2007-10-21
This book it's been very helpful to me!! It gives you a good description of each of the chackras potentials when it's working properly, how does it look when it's wounded, how you can heal. It gives cases, examples that needed healing and how he performed this healings. Alberto Villoldo narrates in this books his adventures while learning to be a Shaman, with the Shamans in the Amazon of Brazil and the Andes in Peru, Machu Pichu and others!
He teaches in this book how to open Sacred Space, and how to practice your second attention so you are able to see the luminous body, and other exercizes to help you find your wounded self, so you can heal!!! It was a quick read!!!
Fascinating.......2007-09-09
This book is a good read for anyone interested
in healing. Contains various examples of
emotional/physical ailments & rituals that were
used in healing. It is not a sugar-coated book making
empty promises; there are no generalizations or
formulas but a case-by-case approach. Dr. Villoldo
spent countless years in the Amazon, and he is
generous in sharing his knowledge gained. Even
though he shares much, the author acts responsibly
by cautioning readers that much practice
is needed before calling oneself a 'healer.'
In other words, don't read the book and then
hang a "HEALER" sign on your door.
He writes eloquently on a subject
that one might otherwise have'pooh poohed' had
it been written by someone without a doctorate.
This book definitely causes great introspection.
Ancient primer for a modern world.......2007-05-29
Journeying through the lower, middle and upper worlds, gathering images, thoughts and guidance from the universe, seems as natural as awakening from the dream state each morning. Using this tool of "walking between the worlds" with clients seems more akin to magic/alchemy than medicine. After experiencing the power of a simple square of shiny blue cloth and feather, given as a result of journey, watching as it encouraged the person's own healing ability, I was honored...to be the "doorman"... holding sacred space.
Reading Villoldo's book early in 2000, several of his practices were incorporated within my own work. I did find it a bit surprising that he didn't include other ideology well known and practiced within shamanism, such as use of the various gates, totems, spirit teachers, with his clients. The ancient ways promote a more comprehensive outlook encompassing body, mind and spirit from the inner core of a person. Healing then commences from within that sacred place of the individual. After, re-reading "Shaman Sage Healer" again (2007), other questions arose concerning certain aspects presented. Herein lays a conflict: modern scientific knowledge and medicine versus universal ancient traditions.
While working with different teachers, there seems to be an underlying unspoken "fear" of the unknown that we must be "protected" from. Villoldo seems to hold this viewpoint as well, by stressing that his students "need" a certain protection ceremony prior to commencing with the work. Perhaps it's simply my naiveté not to embrace this belief system. Encountering "heavy/dark" energy, I`ve been shown not to engage the negative, but simply observe my reaction to the experience. Which to believe? Questions such as this need further discussion. There's also great debate amongst teachers as to whether one should "run energy" through one's self or simply work at interface, allowing the energies to work within the surrounding sacred space.
Villoldo's teachings of creating and use of sacred space, deepening points, the Illumination process, clearing chakra's, and releasing toxic energies are highly recommended tools for any practitioner. Embracing quiet listening, setting intention and embracing the intuitive, more is revealed for the client. Use of journey and communication with higher beings or ascended masters compliments the session.
One of Villoldo's practices I don't completely agree with is to "process" at length with the client. Care must be given not to re-seat or amplify any trauma. Times have changed since "Shaman, Healer, Sage" was written. Perhaps Peter Levine's trauma work ("Waking the Tiger", North Atlantic Books,1997) speaks a more gentle voice.
Thoroughly embracing his concept of having guidance and support of a teacher or mentor is extremely important. Too many times people read a book or attend a weekend seminar and proclaim they are "this" and work without any guidance. There are individuals that aren't as involved in their teachings, only using it as a vehicle for other intentions. An elder sage once admonished.... "Choose your teacher wisely."
As a teacher, Villoldo's "Shaman, Healer, Sage" gives us a glimpse of another reality. Written as a primer, the book is a wonderful "door opener" for further exploration of alternative healing methods.
money,money,money.......2007-04-03
let me say that this book has some value but it should be listed as New Age. The good Doctor seems out to make money. I took a multiple day seminar with him and at the breaks he was on the phone with some broker. I think he was day trading. He seems to be a real shaman but went for the bucks a long time ago. I checked out his website and his was selling inexpensive stuff for ridiculous prices. Go find somebody else to read.
Shaman, Healer, Sage: How to Heal Yourself and Other with the Energy Medicine of the Americas.......2007-01-12
This is a wonderful tool with many exercises to help you heal yourself and others. It is the kind of book that is a constant resource for you to reread and review and work on developing your abilities. God bless Albert Villodo for bringing this teaching to all of us.
Book Description
In 1831 Alexis de Tocqueville, a young French aristocrat and ambitious civil servant, made a nine-month journey throughout America. The result was Democracy in America, a monumental study of the life and institutions of the evolving nation. Tocqueville looked to the flourishing democratic system in America as a possible model for post-revolutionary France, believing that the egalitarian ideals it enshrined reflected the spirit of the age and even divine will. His insightful work has become one of the most influential political texts ever written on America and an indispensable authority on democracy.
This new edition is the only one that contains all Tocqueville's writings on America, including the rarely-translated Two Weeks in the Wilderness, an account of Tocqueville's travels in Michigan among the Iroquois, and Excursion to Lake Oneida.
Customer Reviews:
Superb analysis of democracy in America and elsewhere.......2007-10-22
As a sat to write this review I randomly opened my copy of Democracy in a page with this quote that I had highlighted: "When the taste for physical gratifications among [democratic people] has grown more rapidly than their education and their experience of free institutions, the time will come when men are carried away and lose all self-restraint at the sight of the new possessions they are about to obtain. In their intense and exclusive anxiety to make a fortune they lose sight of the close connection that exists between the private fortune of each and the prosperity of all. It is not necessary to do violence to such a people in order to strip them of the rights they enjoy; they themselves willingly loosen their hold. The discharge of political duties appears to them to be a troublesome impediment which diverts them from their occupations and business. [...] These people think they are following the principle of self-interest, but the idea they entertain of that principle is a very crude one; and the better to look after what they call their own business, they neglect their chief business, which is to remain their own masters". This is a small sample of what you find in Democracy... It is a superb book, with timeless truths about America and about democracy in general. I read the Everyman's Library edition by Knopf, and utterly enjoyed it: good quality paper, print, translation (based on Francis Bowen's), index. Don't rely on what others tell you about the contents of this marvelous book--dive in with a pencil handy to highlight the many good quotes and enjoy!
If only everyone would read this book . . ........2007-07-15
If you have any doubts about buying this book, stop thinking and buy it. It will take you a while to read it, but it is worth the effort. The first volume is the best half. As it turns out, De Tocqueville was the Nostradamus of democracy and American politics. So much of what this man wrote in the 1830's is still relevant to our modern politicial system. It is small wonder that you see him quoted regularly. After seeing him referred to repeatedly, I felt compelled to read the book for myself. Keep a pencil with you when you read because you will want to mark material that is quoteworthy for you. If you have hesitations about reading something that is a translation, put them aside. The book is easy to read.
Here's just a kernel of what you can find (p.229) "It is a permanent feature of the present day that the most outstanding men in the United States are rarely summoned to public office and one is forced to acknowledge that things have been like that as democracy has gone beyond its previous limits. The race of American statemen has strangely shrunk in size in the last half-century." This man was writing about George Bush 170 years ago! You will also marvel at the tremendous insight he had in extracting his observations by travels and interviews in America. I do this sort of thing for business clients sometimes and I deeply admire the unique talent De Tocqueville displays. If he were still alive, I would shake this man's hand!
You will come away with a keener appreciation of what makes democracy strong and at the same time fragile. You can apply DeT's observations to current world affairs, (esp. Iraq) and understand better why you cannot simply export a system of governance because it is "good." You will recognize that democracy requires a cultural and social foundation interwoven with legal safeguards for things such as private property. If I thought it would help, I would mail my copy to the white house. Maybe the first lady could read it to George at night before bedtime.
You will be dismayed by the current state of American politics after you read this book, but you will be heartened with a belief that democracy works so long as the population participates. You will be energized. I will leave you with this quote from DeT on p. 771: "Only a passion for freedom which has become ingrained can carry the day against a deep-set passion for personal comfort. I can imagine no better preparation for conquest after a defeat than a democratic nation without free institutions." And now, on to the Patriot Act . . .
Not an easy read, but worth the effort.......2007-02-23
I can't say anything new about a book this famous, so I will just give my peronal opinion about why and how to read it. Why: because it is a timeless description of how American democracy works, in both theory and practice. As to how to read it, I have this book sitting next to the Bible on my bedside bookshelf, and I read in the same way. I have been reading Democracy in America in a piecemeal way over several decades, in small installments, with time in between to think and ponder and question what I have just read. It's a book that doesn't give you a straightforward narrative that's easy to follow. Rather, each section has its own character and focuses on one facet of the rough-cut jewel we call democracy. You could read Democracy in America all the way through, but that would be an endurance test, not necessarily a way to understand the wealth of ideas it contains. Some parts of the book are dry and technical, as when de Tocqueville describes township goverment in microscopic detail. He was a serious student of political theory who took those matters very seriously, so he gave his readers all the data they might need in order to form a clear idea of how American intitutions operated. But he was also very good at lively observations of the social scene and the natural wonders he encountered in America. These are the parts of the book that really spring to life and make this book much more than a political science text.
To go back to the Bible/de Tocqueville analogy, Democracy in America is a book in which any reader can find a quotation (or misquotation) to support any point of view. However, it's only by sitting down and actually reading de Tocqueville's words in their proper context that you will understand the real greatness of this book.
Inspiring books.......2007-01-12
I pick up this book just in accident. I would like to gain some knowledge in the democracy here and fortunately I get the right book.
The book in detail explains what was the social situation before America was built. From different aspects, the author told and justified "how and why" on the political/law/administration systems in America.
The author's comments on the regional democracy (in locality) is very true.
Intuitive political observations that read like a travel-log.......2006-10-17
A wonderful study that reminds us of what America was meant to be while entertaining us with insightful, balanced, often prophetic, and provocative observations of our shortcomings. It is a record that reminds us of our better angels and calls us back to the high ideals that made America great. A reminder of a simpler but nobler time like a time-traveller's log of America's seedling ideals of a democratic-republic. Mr. de Tocqueville will help you regain your inner American and restore your faith in what America can be when she is cognizant of her founding principles.
Book Description
As the U.S. Army shrinks, a private army steps into the breach. A Bloody Business offers an unprecedented look behind the scenes and into the ranks of this mercenary force (numbering as many as 15,000 today) who guard supply convoys, train foreign soldiers, provide security for foreign leaders and dignitariesand whose workplaces are the most dangerous hot spots on the planet. With its insights into who these men are, what drives them, where they come from, how they prepare, and what they do, this book provides a uniquely close-up and complete picture of the private army behind Americas military muscle.Author Schumacher interviewed security contractors and their families and high-ranking coalition officials. He was in Iraq, where he witnessed how private soldiers fought ambushes, trained Iraqi forces, escorted high-level officials in dangerous conditions, and saw the contractors side of the Iraq war.
Customer Reviews:
A Bloody Business.......2007-08-01
I didn't know what to expect when I picked up this book. I was pleasantly surprised. I initially had a very negative view of military contractors, mostly due to the media bias in our country. The book spells out what type of contractors serve in Iraq and what I enjoyed the most, gives personal accounts of the contractors who serve. I am considering taking a position as an International Police Officer in Iraq and I found the personal accounts of the officers who served there quite compelling.
The author remains very politically neutral, unlike recent books I have read about this subject, and lets the reader decide how he or she feels about the involvement of "civilians" in the warzone. I only wish he could have dug a little deeper and gathered more personal accounts, but this is still a good read nevertheless.
A Bloody Buisness.......2007-03-31
Gerry Schumacher brings the gritty world of security contractors into focus in this very informative book. War stories from actual contractors, re-told from the vantage point of a battle seasoned veteran. Plus, the experiences of a retired soldier who was in Iraq, met the people, and ran some of the missions. If you are looking for a political agenda, this is not your book:) If you are looking for a window into life in Iraq, this is an excellent collection of stories that changed my view about contractors and about what life in Iraq is like outside the spin zone.
play it again.......2007-03-30
Not very well written, often redundent, but still a decent overall view of trials and tribulations of contractor life in a war zone.
Such a waste of paper.......2007-03-21
If glorifying an illegal murderous private army now is the job of a retired officer, he's done a good job.
A good read..........2007-03-10
Taking the book for what it is...one man's observations, it is an excellent book that allows you to grasp a better view of the contractors in Iraq.
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- Black Is a Country: Race and the Unfinished Struggle for Democracy
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- Caring for Your Baby and Young Child, Revised Edition: Birth to Age 5 (Shelov, Caring for your Baby and Young Child, Birth to Age 5)
- CCTV for Security Professionals
- Challenge of Third World Development, The (4th Edition)
- Children Just Like Me
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