Customer Reviews (2)

Slow scattered start, builds in confidence and writing style
An overview of the women's suffrage movement in the United States during the 18th. Century. This was a time when the legislature of Tennessee declared that women could not own property since they had no souls. In the few states where a women could own property, she had no voice over its taxation, a complaint the Founding Fathers had against the English crown. The book begins with a series of sketchy biographies, and then tells the tale very ably. If you know little of the American suffrage movement two centuries ago, this is a good primer. Truly makes you respect Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, giants in the quest for freedom for all. The irony of newly freed black male slaves, totally unbooked, refusing to be taught by an educated person because they were female and therefore beneath them, was an interesting cocktail of prejudice. Even the great Even Frederick Douglass spoke about his concern that black male suffrage should proceed a woman's...either white or black. Susan B. Anthony thought that equal meant just that, equal rights for both women, blacks, and the white males.

"Cautious, careful people, always casting about to preserve their reputation and social standing, never can bring about a reform. Those who are really in earnest must be willing to be anything or nothing in the world's estimation, and publicly and privately, in season and out, avow their sympathy with despised and persecuted ideas and their advocates, and bear the consequences." -Susan B. Anthony, 1860.

An essential reference
A thorough, easily-read, fascinating book about the early American Women's Rights movement. I have read many books on this subject, and rate this as one of the highest in objectivity and appeal. Especially good as a springboard for those not already familar with the subject. Brush up on your HERstory! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography   2. Biography/Autobiography   3. General   4. Sociology   5. Suffrage   6. United States   7. Women   8. Women's Studies - General   9. Women's rights   10. Social Science / Women's Studies   

Customer Reviews (4)

Part History, Memoir and Phrasebook of a Glorious Tongue
I admit to being surprised by this book, knowing that it was the first effort from a former journalist. (I have found that most writers coming from the worlds of journalism or academia lack the ability to communicate on the same level as those of us outside of the twin ivory towers.) But here is an utterly delightful, at times moving, history of one of the most unique languages on the planet. Part history, part memoir, part dictionary and phrasebook, this book could not have been put together with greater love and craft. I especially loved the frequent garnishment of Yiddish proverbs and "Sprichworte" throughout the narrative.

Some additional thoughts:

1. Especially moving to me are the chapters on the early history of Yiddish in Germany and the nations of Eastern Europe. One of the great tragedies of history is the unique and fateful relationship between the German people and the Jews. Born linguistically from German, Yiddish took on a life of its own in the kitchens and shtetls of the Jews. The author's account of the manner in which moderate Jews turned their backs on Yiddish in Germany in the 18th and 19th centuries is an ironic chapter in the history of Germano-Judaic relations. (I have in my possession a German translation of the Tanakh published in Berlin in 1876, which I read now with a more wiser understanding.)

2. Having both lived in Germany for two years and studied Hebrew on the University level, I can understand much of written and spoken Yiddish.

3. For those who believe in the literal fulfillment of prophetic statements in the Tanakh, the gradual disappearance of Yiddish as a primary spoken language makes absolute sense, as the Jews are restored to their ancient homelands accompanied by the simultaneos "restoration of all things." Though it may fade as a spoken tongue, I for one hope that the rich literary tradition of Yiddish never fades.

The best ever history of Yiddish for the general reader
Yiddish: A Nation of Words is the kind of book you don't want to put down once you've started. Weinstein has the perfect touch for getting across the facts about this almost lost language, neither weighing the reader down with the terrible sadness of the story nor degrading the story with humorous cliches. The research the book is based on is thorough and trustworthy. You will learn a lot about the Jewish diaspora, about Europe and the Middle East, about America in the last century--and enjoy doing it. Anyone from an immigrant family is going to resonate to the pressures that eventually saw the end of American Yiddish--and to the wisdom that is still preserved in the words.

Jeanne Guillemin
Cambridge

A cultural survival story, a great read--
A wonderful book, engaging, humorous, warm, and moving, that tells the compelling story of a culture's survival against all odds. The Jewish people, living at the edge of other cultures and nations, kept itself alive through a shared language full of wit, wisdom, irony, compassion, and spiritual resonance. Yiddish: A Nation of Words is less about a religion than it is about the way any group or ethnic culture finds its deep identity, and its common strength, in the bond of words. The book is full of proverbs and bits of poetry--you get a real feel for the language, its sly shrug of humorous resignation, and its emotional pathos. The book also has portraits of unforgettable characters--people like Eliezer Perlman, who turned himself into Ben Yehuda, the architect of modern Hebrew; Esther Frumkin, a Yiddish activist who tangled with Communist Russia; Peretz Markish, the 'heartthrob Yiddish poet'; and Isaac Bashevis Singer, Nobel laureate. Even the Holocaust is dealt with in a way that salvages meaning and hope from the ashes. Weinstein tells her stories with heart and humor -- a great read, that makes you laugh and cry at the same time, and teaches ways of living in a world of threat and change. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Judaism   2. Judaism - History   3. Religion   4. Yiddish   5. Religion / Judaism / History   

Subjects:  1. Biography   2. Biography/Autobiography   3. Black Musicians And Their Music   4. Folk Music   5. Makeba, Miriam   6. Singers   7. South Africa   

Customer Reviews (4)

Witty and Wise
This book is a family favorite. Children can identify with the kitten who worries that his misdeeds will cut off his mother's love, while parents reading the book are rewarded with some sly illustrations over which they can have an adult laugh, a rare quality in preschool bookland.

Above all, the book provides an opportunity for parents to reassure their own occasionally naughty offspring of their unconditional love. Our family culture would be poorer without this book in our lives; I'm grateful that it was available to us.

A Favorite
I have 3 children - ages 3,6 and 8. "The Way Mothers Are" is one of our favorite books. I strongly recommend it everyone.

mother- child bonding
this is defiantely one of the best childrens books ever written. it answers all the questions of "why this or why that" children always ask. if you have a little child or knows someone who does, i wuold strongly urge you to buy it as a bed time story, even a prenatal story. BUY IT NOW! you wont be disappointed ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Animals - Cats   2. Cats   3. Children's 4-8 - Picturebooks   4. Children: Preschool   5. Concepts - General   6. Family - General   7. Fiction   8. Juvenile Nonfiction   9. Mothers   10. Social Situations - Emotions & Feelings   

Customer Reviews (28)

Seductively Tantalizing
I happened upon this book by accident many years ago, but each time I read Erotique Noire, it's just like the first time. I love reading it. This book puts me in the mood. My favorite poem is Insatiable and that's the way I feel everytime I pick up Erotique Noire . I really enjoy sharing the various stories with my friends and my lover, but I make them by their own copy. I won't let this book out of my sight for one moment. This book is awesome, thought provoking and well written. It is a definite page turner. If you don't have your own copy, get it.

my, it's getting soooo hot in here...
i rarely read books more than once...if i do, it's because i have missed something or i may have not gotten the story or i may have liked it so much that i wanted to experience it again...this is a book i have bought and read more than once...it is that good. when i first read it, i had not read alot of erotica, especially black erotica, and i love sex. so when i thumbed through it and saw erotic poetry along with fiction and essays, i didn't think twice about it. i had never know black people could be so free and open with their sexuality. in this anthology, the black writers define their own sexuality, not white people. the tastes here range from tasteful, to freaky. there's something here for everybody: masturbation, gay and lesbian,bondage, interracial. i have always had an interest in interracial stories.and the ones by trey ellis and chester himes here are my favorites.audre lorde has an excellent essay on the erotic here. yana west has a couple of stories that will definately get a rise out of you. these black writers are here to share their erotic fruits. savor them.

This book Sucks
After reading Zane, This book does not even come close. It is so bland and boring.

Maybe I need to spend some time with it but I am not impressed. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. African Americans   2. American - African American & Black   3. Black authors   4. Erotic literature   5. Erotic literature, American   6. Erotica - General   7. Fiction   8. Fiction - Adult   9. Literary collections   10. Sexual behavior   11. Translations into English   12. Fiction / Erotica   

Subjects:  1. Beverages - General   2. Cooking   3. Cooking / Wine   4. Courses & Dishes - Brunch   5. Lunchbox cookery   6. Lunchbox cooking   

Subjects:  1. General   2. Social Science   3. Sociology   

Subjects:  1. Children's 4-8   2. Children: Preschool   3. Fiction   4. Friendship   5. Juvenile Fiction   6. Schools   7. Social Situations - Friendship   8. Social Situations - General   9. Juvenile Fiction / Social Situations / General   

Customer Reviews (1)

reader from Illinois
I was quite surprised by the reality of the book. It hit me hard. I then realized that women were desperately oppressed in earlier days. I thought we had it bad now... Oh boy was I wrong. I will pass this on to my daughter-if I ever decide to have one... :) ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Feminism   2. Feminism & Feminist Theory   3. History   4. Sociology   5. Sources   6. Women   7. Women's Studies - General   8. Women's rights   9. Social Science / Women's Studies   

Customer Reviews (1)

Good communicative grammar text
Focus on Grammar is a good text with communicative and contextual grammar activities. It's sometimes not as detailed as other books, such as Azar's grammar series. However, it has the best balance of any. The explanations are easy for the students to understand. Finally, the CD-ROMs that go along with it, while not perfect, are the best that are currently available. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. English as a Second Language   2. English language   3. Grammar   4. Language   5. Language Arts / Linguistics / Literacy   6. Linguistics   7. Problems, exercises, etc   8. Textbooks for foreign speakers   9. Foreign Language Study / English as a Second Language   

Subjects:  1. Biography   2. Biography & Autobiography   3. Biography / Autobiography   4. Biography/Autobiography   5. Depression   6. Educators   7. Manic-depressive persons   8. Medical - General   9. Mennonites   10. Mental Illness   11. Specific Groups - Special Needs   12. Teachers   13. Toews, Melvin C   14. Biography & Autobiography / General   

Subjects:  1. Customs and practices   2. Jewish women   3. Judaism   4. Judaism - General   5. Judaism - Rituals & Practice   6. Religion   7. Religious life   8. Women's Studies - General   

Customer Reviews (5)

Quick Read
I gave this book 2 stars because I couldn't relate to the book at all. The book didn't really hold my attention and I think that's why I didn't like it. I would recommend this book to a girl probably because I think a girl could relate to the book better then guys can.

A warm, personal journal of meeting life's end
Miriam's mother is dying of cancer, and she turns to a journal to try to express her feelings about her mother through writings and poems. This recounts her journey in accepting her mother's condition, her struggles before, during and after acceptance of the inevitable, and the daily search for meaning in life. A warm, personal journal of meeting life's end - and going beyond.

This one left me speechless!
After reading this book, I found myself at the end of words. I was amazed and speechless. If Stone never does another thing to memorialize her mother, this beautiful work will continue to do so down the ages! I can only hope she won't stop here. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1949-1999   2. Biography & Autobiography - General   3. Cancer   4. Children's 12-Up - Biography / Autobiography   5. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9)   6. Family - Parents   7. Family relationships   8. Health   9. Juvenile Nonfiction   10. Juvenile literature   11. Mothers and daughters   12. Patients   13. Social Situations - Death & Dying   14. Stone, Martha Kaufman,   15. Stone, Martha Kaufman   16. Stone, Miriam R   

Customer Reviews (1)

Awesome book for teenage perfectionists!
This was a great book for dealing with perfectionism. It has so many good ideas for helping yourself! I loved it! It truly covers all areas of the perfectionism problem. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Family / Parenting / Childbirth   2. Health & Fitness   3. Health/Fitness   4. Morning sickness   5. Pregnancy   6. Pregnancy & Childbirth   7. Prevention   8. Women's Health - General   

Subjects:  1. Antiques / Collectibles   2. Games   3. Games/Puzzles   4. General   5. Toys   

Customer Reviews (2)

Regents Debunked...
I'm going to have to agree with the above review, the only thing I can add is the fact that Barron's not only makes review books for Physics, but for many other subjects as well. I think it would be foolish not(italics) to buy these for your classes.

As the year progresses, you look up questions that pertain to where your class is. I found that my teachers often took questions for their tests and quizzes and quests right from old regents's themselves, which is what these books contain(not to mention the answers hint hint). At least until they found out that more people were buying these things and had to change their tests!(darn!).

Many old practice Regents exams included, answers explained. Need I say more?

National Board Certified Physics Teacher Loves It
This book is an outstanding study tool for students enrolled in college preparatory physics courses or AP Physics B courses. I have found it an EXTREMELY valuable starting point for my own quizzes and tests. The questions seem to be the perfect balance between conceptual and computational assessments. I use the books in this series as the ideal curricular standard for the courses described above. Highest praise for the authors. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Education   2. Examinations   3. Examinations, questions, etc   4. Physics   5. Regents   6. Study Guides   7. Study Skills   

Subjects:  1. History & Surveys - Ancient & Classical   2. Literature: Classics   3. Philosophy   4. Political Philosophy   5. Roman Philosophy   6. Ancient Rome   7. Ancient Western philosophy to c 500   8. European history: BCE to c 500 CE   9. Latin   10. Literary studies: classical, early & medieval   

Customer Reviews (2)

The best of both worlds - almost.
The basic proposition of this book is very attractive. It is that the AI (Appreciative Inquiry) approach to organisation development can be accelerated, deepened, intensified and enhanced if experiential learning is embedded into the process. In the optimistic language of AI it could be said that this book sets out to combine the best of Appreciative Inquiry (AI) with the best of Experiential Learning (EL).

AI (even without any help from EL) is seen as a fast track approach to organisation development. Does EL makes AI even faster, and is there a downside to the greater speed, depth and intensity that seems to occur when AI and EL are mixed together?

Having combined AI and EL in my own work, I was particularly interested to see exactly how the authors merge these two processes and what successes they have had. Just how much they appear to achieve in events of just one or two days is impressive and is enough to make any training provider wonder how their own events match up to these achievements.

In a nutshell, the integrated process of AI and EL involves
(1) people imagining how they want things to be (the AI part) and
(2) people instantly making these imaginings come true within the 'micro-world' of the EL event. Examples of the 'micro-world' include:
* a real world community service challenge (feeding and clothing homeless people)
* a series of solution-finding tasks linked by a space fantasy theme
* building a giant physical structure that resembles the new organisational structure they wish to create.

For a book of only 80 pages the four case studies are surprisingly detailed, even if they do create an appetite for wanting to know more. The authors list 10 benefits arising from the integration of AI and EL. The benefits that EL brings include:
* impelling people into actually experiencing the best of what exists
* bringing collective dreams and aspirations to life
* transcending cultural inhibitions against "prideful speech" and "fanciful thinking"
* building critical mass as change is cascaded throughout the community
* helping the AI process to come alive kinaesthetically (creating "muscle memories" of affirmative communal futures)

It feels a bit unsporting to write about problems when a book is so deliberately upbeat and positive in its approach. But I cannot provide a balanced review without drawing your attention to some difficulties ...
I have never seen a book with so many phrases marked with the TM sign. There are nearly 20 phrases marked with TM. These include: Strategic Linking TM, Project Success TM, Process Control Review TM, Continuous Learning Cycle TM, Self-facilitated Learning TM, Self-facilitated Team Learning TM, and Team Learning Journal TM. The frequency of the TM symbol gives out a very mixed message, as if it should be entitled: "Guidebook: Do Not Use". As a reader I felt untrusted - a particular irony in a book about developing trust. I would have appreciated some reassurance or explanation about this TM epidemic.

The authors redefine the role of the facilitator - by replacing facilitators with work books! They explain that in Self-facilitated Learning TM it is the Learning Journal TM that guides the process. The Learning Journal (they say) contains everything that participants need to facilitate their own learning processes - activity frontloading, rules and debrief questions. The trouble with facilitators (they say) is that each facilitator may provide a wide variety of interpretations and may even stall progress by providing distractions. Whereas workbooks speed up the process, reduce variation, increase accuracy and produce a more comprehensive result. This substitution of facilitators with work books might be an economy but surely it is not more effective? One issue arising is the desirability of using a factory-like process for organisation development. Another issue is whether 'self-facilitated' is an accurate description of a process that is driven, steered and shaped by a work book. From the way it is described it would be more accurate to call it 'book-facilitated' or 'following instructions' rather than 'self-facilitated'.

In fairness, the authors do confront and discuss these issues. In a section on 'Standardized Experiences' they claim to be following AI on the issue of standardisation:

"Standardization of the experience is another important reason for adopting a self-facilitated learning approach. While this approach is effective with any size group, it is especially effective in large group situations wherein it is important that individuals and groups have similar experiences, as in AI." (p. 64)

So it is clear where the authors stand on this issue. Or is it? Because they later attempt to clarify where they stand on the issue of open-endedness:

"One final clarifying point about self-facilitated learning experiences: Self-facilitated learning experiences are open-ended and they are not." (p. 65)

Following this deliberate contradiction is an elaborate metaphor about a highway that I have read many times in an attempt to work out what they mean and where they stand. I think the answer is that the trainers draw the map within which participants make choices. Or it is like a multiple choice test where every choice leads to the same destination.

Perhaps I expect too much from a small book, but I would have appreciated more attention being paid to the issues associated with the kinds of practices being recommended. The tendency of providers to be upbeat about their own work is probably intensified when the process they are describing is itself particularly upbeat. Inclusion of some other voices or stakeholders would have added greater credibility and depth and would have saved it from reading, in places, like an Executive Edge brochure. I still like the basic proposition that AI and EL can be successfully combined. I particularly enjoyed the detail of the four case studies - and felt inspired by them. But the arguments for 'standardized experiences' were a bridge too far. I would like to see a message about "diversity is strength" woven into the formula.

Experience This Book!
The book "Experiencing AI: A Practitioner's Guide to Integrating Appreciative Inquiry With Experiential Learning" provides a glimpse into the world of experiential/adventure-based training and development. If you work as a "helping professional"--trainer, consultant, educator, therapist--this book introduces you to the practice of Appreciate Inquiry and experiential/adventure training in a short, concise, and easy-to-understand format.

As a seasoned organization development consultant and experiential educator, I found the book fascinating in its description of the kinds of activities and interventions the authors use with their clients, and came away energized thinking about how to incorporate some of these strategies into my own practice. I was also amazed, and to be honest somewhat skeptical, to think that you could get a group of corporate executives to fully engage and buy-in to some of the activities described in the book given the level of commitment and intellectual/creative demands they required. And yet, if what one hopes to accomplish as, say, an organizational consultant working with a senior-level management team, is a breakthrough in trust, communication and problem-solving skills, and performance, then the integration of Appreciative Inquiry with hands-on, real-world experiential activities strategically designed to mirror the kinds of workplace demands that the client faces daily seems to be a powerful and effective strategy.

My wife, who has a private counseling practice, has increasingly begun to explore and integrate both the Appreciative and experiential aspects of what this book has introduced her to into her practice, and is discovering a whole new way of engaging her clients. What is interesting, is that for both my wife and I, we have always struggled with ways to reduce our client's dependency on us as "experts," and to increase the degree to which they take ownership of not only their problems and issues (or, opportunities and dreams), but also to own and control the process of learning, growth, and discovery. Curiously, in their book, Ricketts and Willis describe a part of their organizing philosophy about just such a phenomena when talking about "transfer of learning" and the underlying dynamic tensions that exist between client and consultant.

Both of us are also exploring how to bring this into our work as university professors in relation to the training we provide students in human services, education, and business. I especially am excited about how to integrate aspects of Appreciative Inquiry into the graduate-level courses I teach on research methods, program evaluation, and organizational needs assessment.

This book has opened our eyes to new ways of seeing our work as helping professionals and educators, and we highly recommend it to beginning and seasoned practitioners. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Children's 4-8   2. Children: Grades 3-4   3. Fiction   4. Readers - Beginner   5. Schools   6. Worry