Book Description
At the dawn of the twenty-first century, America finds itself on the brink of a new racial consciousness. The old, unquestioned confidence with which individuals can be classified (as embodied, for instance, in previous U.S. census categories) has been eroded. In its place are shifting paradigms and new norms for racial identity. Eva Marie Garroutte examines the changing processes of racial identification and their implications by looking specifically at the case of American Indians.
Book Description
Smashing such stereotypes as "the monolithic Middle East" or "the Western Mind," Amartya Sen examines the much-misunderstood concept of identity.
The world may be more riven by murderous violence than ever before; yet Amartya Sen, the galvanizing Nobel Laureate, proposes in this sweeping philosophical work that the brutalities are driven as much by confusion as by inescapable hatred. Conflict and violence are sustained by the illusion of a unique identity, overlooking the need for reason and choice in deciding on bonds of class, gender, profession, scientific interests, moral beliefs, and even our shared identity as human beings. Challenging the reductionist view that people of the world can be partitioned into little boxes in terms of civilizational categories, Sen draws on history, economics, science, literature, and his own memories of difficult as well as easy times on three continents to present an inspiring vision of a world that can be made to move toward peace as firmly as it has spiraled in recent years toward violence and war.
About the series: Issues of Our Time: "Aware of the competition for the attention of readers, W. W. Norton & Company and I have created the "Issues of Our Time" as a lucid series of highly readable books through which some of today's most thoughtful intellectuals seek to challenge the general reader to reexamine received truths and grapple with powerful trends that are shaping the world in which we live. The series launches with Anthony Appiah, Alan Dershowitz, and Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen as the first of an illustrious group who will tackle some of the most plangent and central issues defining our society today through books that deal with such issues as sexual and racial identities, the economics of the developing world, and the concept of citizenship in a truly globalized twenty-first-century world culture. Above all else, these books are designed to be read and enjoyed."—Henry Louis Gates Jr., W. E. B. DuBois Professor of the Humanities, Harvard University
Customer Reviews:
A prayer for freedom of identity.......2007-09-26
Sen is so eloquent it's overkill. To a global but divided world he speaks of identity as a multi-layered matter of personal choice: "The same person can, for example, be a British citizen, of Malaysian origen, with Chinese racial characteristics, a stock broker, a non-vegitarian, an asthmatic, a linguist, a bodybuilder, a poet, an opponent of abortion, a bird-watcher, an astrologer, and one who believes that God invented Darwin to test the gullible." (p. 24)
Sen notes several popular ways of dealing with identity. One he calls "identity disregard", and another is "singular affiliation".
In "identity disregard" we dismiss all shared identity, and treat each person as an economic self-interest group of one. As some proponents of this view argue, "If it's not in your interest, why have you chosen to do as you did?". Sen notes that this assumption, "makes huge idiots out of Mohandas Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., Mother Teresa and Nelson Mandela, and rather smaller idiots out of the rest of us." (p. 21)
"Singular affiliation" on the other hand, defines people by their membership in one (only one) of their many social circles. This can be an externally imposed label, as in stereotypes of what Westerners are, or in can be self-imposed general conformity -- as when Oscar Wilde said, "Most people are other people. ... Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation".
Feeling both social and an individual, Sen launches his excellent exporation of identity in the modern world. He visits the great "West VS Non-West" divide, where he dispenses with the usual hoopla:
"... in disputing the gross and natsy generalization that members of the Islamic civilization have a belligerant culture, it is common enough to argue that they actually share a culture of peace and goodwill. But this simply replaces one stereotype with another, and furthermore, it involves accepting an implicit presumption that people who happen to be Muslim by religion would be similar in other ways as well." (p. 42)
In many corners of the world Sen shows the subtle handicaps which delimited identy can impose. He mentions South African doctor and anti-apartheid activist Mamphela Ramphele, who describes the impact of polarized identity on the AIDS crisis: The "mistrust of science that has traditionally been controlled by white people" hampers medical efforts; open discussion of the problem is often suppressed by "the fear of acknowledging an epidemic that could easily be used to fan the worst racial stereotyping". (p. 92)
Always sounding magisterial, Sen wades into the home-town issues of British multiculturalism, political correctitude, and the struggles of "globalism vs anti-globalism". He distinguishes between the desire for ethnic groups to leave one another alone, and the desire for a freedom to choose among many cultural options. To those who urge funding schools for each religion he is blunt: "It is unfair to children who have not yet had much opportunity of reasoning and choice to be put into rigid boxes guided by one specific criterion of categorization, and to be told: 'That is your identity and this is all you are going to get'." (p. 118)
To people who believe their identity is more a fate than a choice, Sen affirms we can do better: "We have to make sure, above all, that our mind is not halved by a horizon". The book's opening dedication sounds almost like a Buddhist vow to seek enlightenment: "To Antara, Nandana, Indrani, and Kabir with the hope of a world less imprisoned by illusion".
The Illusion of Great Intellect?.......2007-07-06
Mr. Sen's great contribution to the ongoing debate about our response to terrorism is to add to the confusion.
This book makes a simple point: a cat is not a cat because it is also a mother/ father, a baby, a hunter, a prey, a mammal, a quadruped, and various other things. If we consider it only as a cat, we tend to oversimplify things, which is a great tragedy from an intellectual point of view.
Mr. Sen makes this point across many pages, using facts and information selectively, performing marvelous feats of intellectual contortion, and using his argumentative powers with terrific verbosity. Gradually you start getting tired of trying to understand the argument, and take refuge in his intellectual reputation. If Mr. Sen says so, then it must be so.
Unfortunately, it is not so. Mr. Sen himself has used categories and grouped identities repeatedly in his works. An identity is of course a construct, a definition, which helps us work with an idea. If we abandon these, it will become very difficult to handle complex ideas - we will be reduced to monkeys who are great at dealing with percepts, but not with concepts.
What is the point of this book, one may ask? The book may merely be an attempt to deflect attention from radical forms of Islam, which often lead to terrorism. In this apologist work, Mr. Sen does not bother to ask the Muslims as to how do they see themselves, what do they see as their defining identity.
However, Mr. Sen has no love lost for traditional forms of Islam, if practiced in the West, as he carefully spears the multi-culturalists to death with his eyes carefully trained on the Western audience. For instance, according to him, cultural diversity can be enhanced if individuals are 'encouraged' to live as they value living. It is clear to him, however, that young Muslim women are unlikely to value living behind a veil freely, as that would merely constitute 'an automatic endorsement of past traditions'. Mr. Sen fails to see that following traditions may itself be an implicit and integral value in a particular culture.
It is also difficult for Mr. Sen to see that what is considered 'sexual freedom' by a particular society, may be considered as 'sexual perversity' in another society. Indeed in the same society, people would have differing views. In such a situation, who are we to arbiter what is right for a group of people in their personal lives?
He also makes various vacuous arguments. For instance, both Aurangzeb and Dara Shikoh were Muslims. Aurangzeb was 'rather intolerant', whereas Dara Shikoh was interested in Hindu Upanishads. Aurangzeb killed Dara Shikoh (in a fight over the throne). Aurangzeb's great-grandfather was also a tolerant Muslim. Therefore, there is great diversity among Muslims. Therefore, it is wrong to treat all Muslims as belonging to the same mindset.
No one would argue against that. However, after making this kind of obvious arguments endlessly, Mr. Sen slyly insinuates that we should not link hundreds of terrorist incidents (where Muslims were directly involved) with radical Muslims, as Muslims have multiple identities, which he has already proved!
It is really quite a pity. One would wish that Mr. Sen could put his great intellect to more worthwhile use, such as helping us understand why people group together in monolithic blocks or get radicalized enough to want to kill others who do not subscribe to their views.
A hardcover edition of this book has also been published by Penguin India under the banner 'Allen Lane'. While the binding of the Penguin edition is good, the typeface is a little difficult to read. Also the paper is almost like newsprint, and tends to absorb ink (if you like making notes in the margins). The book is a slim volume, easy to carry.
Buy this book if you would like to argue it out with Mr. Sen. Or if you want to appear to be politically correct, never mind the cost to your intellect.
Identity and Violence.......2007-05-17
I felt this book was overly self aggrandizing in a way that academic writing often is. It takes the obvious, couches it in lofty rehtoric and tries to sell the ideas as original and pressing. They may be the latter, but are fairly self evident. I know this man is an intellectual who is well respected so it is surprising to me that in this book he kind of 'dumbs up' a set of premises that could be perhaps more influential were they 'dumbed down' for a different audience.
good ideas, clear thinking, but a bit repetitive.......2007-04-15
The book makes two main arguments. First it argues that identities are rational constructions where group allegiances of all sorts play a part. Second it argues that globalization, though an unqualified good in principle, is in practice often merely a way for some group in a globablizing nation to reap most of the benefits while others suffer most of ill consdquences. Both arguments work together in Sen's view of how one might best understand the phenomena of *opposition to the west*. We (G8 nations) have fallen into the habit of seeing nations as wholes characterized by specific identities. Sen suggests that we'd understand phenomena like saudi-born terror groups or mass disaffection with the G8 by the citizens of latin america, by learning to see the world in a less reductionist fashion: namely intersections of various groups overlapping in persons and populations.
Sen's prose is quite clear, and I find his claims rather convincing. The books style is a bit grating though. It's very repetitive. The same ideas resurface again and again along with the same examples. I suspect the book is really a compilation of speeches Sen has given. Repetition is necessary in speaking because the audience doesn't have time to step back and make the connections themselves. But in a book like this, already quite short, it's a waste of the reader's time.
Also Sen is not very careful with his historical examples. One recurring story he cites is how my Maimonides fled Christian Europe for Saladin's Egypt. Not true. Maimonides fled Almohad (and thus islamic) Andaluz for Saladin's Egypt. This was an easy fact to check, and you'd think an author of Sen's stature whould take the time to make sure an example he will use four or five times is correct.
The book is definitely worth reading. I only wish the author had spent just a bit more time tightening it up and doing a bit more fact checking.
identity need not mean violent destiny.......2007-01-18
Amartya Sen, Harvard professor and winner of the 1998 Nobel Prize in Economics, still remembers the day sixty-three years ago when a Muslim day laborer named Kader Mia stumbled through the gate into his family's yard in Dhaka, bleeding from knife wounds and begging for help. His father rushed him to the hospital where he eventually died. Kader was a Muslim who was murdered by a Hindu thug, and was but one of the thousands of people who died in Muslim-Hindu riots that erupted in British India in the 1940's. Although most of the rioters shared an economic class identity as poor people, partisans demonized each other with a lethal, singularist "identity of violence," in this instance a diminution of their humanity to religious ethnicity: "The illusion of a uniquely confrontational reality had thoroughly reduced human beings and eclipsed the protagonists' freedom to think." Sen's book is an exploration of this memory of his as a bewildered eleven-year-old boy.
Far too much violence in the world today is fomented by the illusion that people are destined to a "sectarian singularity." Stereotyping people with a singular identity leads to fatalism, resignation, and a sense of inevitability about violence. It partitions people and civilizations into binary oppositions, it ignores the plural ways that people understand themselves, and obscures what Sen calls our "diverse diversities." In particular, he objects to the "clash of civilizations" thesis made popular by Samuel Huntington. Along the way he explores the implications of his thesis for multiculturalism, public policy, globalization, terrorism, anti-Western rage, democracy, and theories of culture.
Sen argues against identity violence caused by the illusion of destiny in three ways. First, he appeals to our common humanity; everyone laughs at weddings, cries at funerals, and worries about their children. More important than any of our external differences, even though these are powerful and important, is our shared humanity. Second, he makes the obvious point that all people enjoy plural identities. To understand a person one must consider factors of civilization, religion, nationality, class, community, culture, gender, profession, language, politics, morals, family of origin, skin color, and a multitude of other markers. Plus, these diverse differences within a single individual depend on one's social context, whether the trait is durable over time, relevant, a factor of constraint or free choice, and so on. Finally, Sen urges us to transcend the illusion of destiny and identity violence by what he calls "reasoned choice." Instead of living as if some irrational fate destines people to confrontation with others who are different, a person needs to make a rational choice about what relative importance to attach to any single trait. Although Sen never explains why rational people succumb to the irrational violence of identity instead of choosing enlightened self-interest, economic incentives, and geo-political peace, this readable book by one of our most brilliant thinkers conveys an important reminder: "We can do better."
Book Description
An evenhanded and provocative exploration that shows how the social constructions of race and ethnicity can both be imagined and at the same time be absolutely fundamental to social life and to one’s deepest sense of the self. Readers of this book will see everything from ethnic conflict in Eastern European cities to multiculturalism in U.S. schools with a fresh understanding and a sociological eye.
"I am enthusiastic about this book because I think it serves a series of needs which are not currently met by the publishing community: scholarly material which is neither diluted for an introductory mass market nor professional."
-- Jeffrey Chin, LeMoyne College (former Editor of Teaching Sociology)
Customer Reviews:
A thought-provoking overview of ethnicity and race.......2006-10-25
Ethnicity and race are controversial topics in many respects, but understanding these concepts is an important step in the process of dealing with and confronting the issues they present. This book walks the reader through over a century of social theory on race and ethnicity, dissecting the different theories and pointing out the strengths and weaknesses in each. It also effectively uses historical examples to illustrate the concepts it presents. For anyone who is interested in the topic, this book is an excellent primer that will provide a great conceptual basis for further study in the fields concerning race and ethnicity.
Customer Reviews:
It reads like a term paper.......1998-01-09
The book had lots of good information but was hard for me to wade through. It's a series of college papers on the subject of gender and two-spirit people. I think the second half was most helpful (the stories of several two-spirits). Like I said, there was lots of info, it was just a little hard to follow.
Average customer rating:
|
Not So Plain as Black and White: Afro-German Culture and History, 1890-2000 (Rochester Studies in African History and the Diaspora)
Manufacturer: University of Rochester Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 General
| World
| History
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Germany
| Europe
| History
| Subjects
| Books
General
| African
| World Literature
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
African-American Studies
| Special Groups
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
Look Inside History Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
Look Inside Fiction Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
Look Inside Nonfiction Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
All Titles
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
Literature & Fiction
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
Nonfiction
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
ASIN: 1580461832 |
Book Description
Since the Middle Ages, Africans have lived in Germany as slaves and scholars, guest workers and refugees. After Germany became a unified nation in 1871, it acquired several African colonies but lost them after World War I. Children born of German mothers and African fathers during the French occupation of Germany were persecuted by the Nazis. After World War II, many children were born to African American GIs stationed in Germany and German mothers. Today there are 500,000 Afro-Germans in Germany out of a population of 80 million. Nevertheless, German society still sees them as "foreigners," assuming they are either African or African American but never German. In recent years, the subject of Afro-Germans has captured the interest of scholars across the humanities for several reasons. Looking at Afro-Germans allows us to see another dimension of the nineteenth- and early twentieth-century ideas of race that led to the Holocaust. Furthermore, the experience of Afro-Germans provides insight into contemporary Germany's transformation, willing or not, into a multicultural society. The volume breaks new ground not only by addressing the topic of Afro-Germans but also by combining scholars from many disciplines. Patricia Mazon is associate professor in the Department of History at the State University of New York at Buffalo. Reinhild Steingrover is assistant professor in the Department of Humanities at the Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester.
Book Description
In the face of a new lightly romanticized view of Native Americans, Killing the White Man's Indian bravely confronts the current myths and often contradictory realities of tribal life today. Following two centuries of broken treaties and virtual government extermination of the "savage redmen," Americans today have recast Native Americans into another, equally stereotyped role, that of eternal victims, politically powerless and weakened by poverty and alcoholism, yet whose spiritual ties with the natural world form our last, best hope of salvaging our natural environment and ennobling our souls.
The truth, however, is neither as grim , nor as blindly idealistic, as many would expect. The fact is that a virtual revolution is underway in Indian Country, an upheaval of epic proportions. For the first time in generations, Indians are shaping their own destinies, largely beyond the control of whites, reinventing Indian education and justice, exploiting the principle of tribal sovereignty in ways that empower tribal governments far beyond most American's imaginations. While new found power has enriched tribal life and prospects, and has made Native Americans fuller participants in the American dream, it has brought tribal governments into direct conflict with local economics and the federal government.
Based on three years of research on the Native American reservations, and written without a hidden conservative bias or politically correct agenda, Killing the White Man's Indian takes on Native American politics and policies today in all their contradictory--and controversial-guises."
Customer Reviews:
Sad Example of Disguising Political Propaganda as Research.......2005-04-04
Bordewich has written a book that may appear to go againt stereotypes of Native Americans but this is just a thin disguise for the real purpose of the book which is an all-out assault on indian rights. On just about every issue, Bordewich glorifies those Indian peoples who are willing to assimilate to mainstream American culture while portraying those who want to hold on to their own, unique cultures as "fundamentalists" who are hopeless in their devotion to romantic stereotypes. Accusing anyone who is not willing to go along with his obviously conservative political bias of being addicted to stereotypes is Bordewich's way to squash anyone with different political views. His political bias is so strong that in several occasions it affects the quality of his research since he tries at all costs to pigeonhole the facts to fit his thesis. Pretending to be an objective reporter out to debunk stereotypes makes this a very deceptive book. My advice is to stay away and read someone who is more honest about his/her agenda.
Intelligent, nuanced, and well-researched.......2003-06-29
Bordewich's study of contemporary Indian politics stands out from the usual polemics, presenting humanity instead of stereotypes. More importantly, it focuses on the present and future of native Americans, not just the past, and does justice to the complexity and diversity of American Indian tribes. Borderwich's book was obviously a labor of love. Highly recommended for anyone interested in the most important issues and questions facing Indians and non-Indian Americans alike.
Killing The White Man's Indian, A Considered Opinion.......2000-02-02
As a Caucasian who lived on two South Dakota Indian Reservations (Rosebud and Cheyenne) as a child, and whose father was an Indian Agent, I approached this book with some trepidation. However, Fergus Bordewich has crafted one of the most studious, readable and important books ever written on this subject. His research is exhaustive, yet related in a way which is entertaining and informative at the same time. There is grist for thought for anyone who has ever had an opinion on how the "Indian Problem" ought to be solved. This will be painful at times to proponents on all sides, as Bordewich's carefully balanced research points outs mistakes and avarice, both willful and accidental, by many. His conclusions will not be universally accepted, as many of his proposals are sure to be viewed with suspicion by one side or the other. Particularly noteworthy are his thoughts on "sovereignty." He points out that the Native American's general view of sovereignty does not match the definition, and fails to recognize that true sovereignty means total independence from the existing US government. This book is recommended for any student who is doing serious research about any aspect of the Native American in contemporary America. This book also is just plain good reading for anyone with an interest in how Native Americans have reached their current position in the American society.
Beautifully written and highly informative.......1999-03-08
"Killing the White Man's Indian" is perhaps the best book I've read on Native Americans. It treats the subject even-handedly while exploring critical issues of "Indian Country." The book is beautifully written, well researched, fairly presented, and highly informative. It is an excellent read for any student of Native Americans.
Dead on unromanticized, incisive, truthful........1998-01-25
In my library I have over 100 books dealing the with the American West and especially American Indian history. Original journals and histories written by such as Charles Willard Schultz and George Caitlin and Fr. DeSmet have made me crave a modern, no nonsense, unsentimentilized non New Age study re the American Indian. Bordewich's book is one of the best. I wish Hollywood and others who portray the American Indian would read it. I think the American Indian who reads it would learn a great deal about their own history. I know I did. This is not a book for those with preconceived notions garnered from watching "Dances with Wolves." This is a book for those who are searching for the truth. Well written, and well thought out,it needs to be on the shelf of every student of American Indian history.
Book Description
Latinos are the fastest growing racial ethnic group in the United States. Despite the fact that they will soon outnumber African Americans, Latinos are often excluded from discussions of race by a binary black/white paradigm. Challenging Fronteras exposes the limitations of this paradigm, which fails to describe the complex reality of America's changing and multi-ethnic population. The editors have assembled a group of essays that resist the stereotypes that frame Americans' perceptions of race, moving beyond superficial treatments of Latinos as a monolithic group. It offers a comprehensive introduction to the diversity of Latino cultures and experiences in the United States.
While food, music, clothing, and other elements of Latino material culture have been incorporated into the mainstream, Amerian schools continue to neglect Latino history, politics, socio-economic conditions, family life, and educational experiences. At the same time that educators continue to exclude such topics from their courses, legislation like California's Proposition 187 seeks to exclude the children of Latino immigrants from the education system itself. Several of the contributors examine the immigration experiences of groups from different Latin American nations. Other contributors reflect upon how Latinos living in the United States identify themselves.
Sections cover topics such as immigration, concepts and theories of ethnicity, identity, work and family life, and political and economic restructuring. Each section contains articles about several Latin groups. Tracing the intersection of race, class, gender, ethnicity and citizenship, the contributors expose the constraints that shape the lives of Latinos and explore the possibilies ahead.
The contributors, selected from leading scholars in Latino Studies, include Patricia Zavella, Suzanne Oboler, Alejandro Portes, Clara Rodriquez, Marta Tienda, Nestor Rodriquez. and others.
Book Description
Initially decimated by disease and later faced with the loss of their lands and their political autonomy, Latin American Indians have displayed remarkable resilience. They have resisted cultural hegemony with rebellions and have initiated petitions to demand remedies to injustices, while consciously selecting certain aspects of the West to incorporate into their cultures. Leading historians, anthropologists and sociologists examine Indian-Western relationships from the Spaniards' initial contact with the Incas to the cultural interplay of today's Latin America. This revised edition contains four brand new chapters and a revised introduction. The list of suggested readings and films has also been updated.
Average customer rating:
- An extremely pretentious book
- Courtesy of Teens Read Too
- Idealistic Teen
- Must Teach YA Novel
- Sickeningly Boring
|
The Gospel According to Larry
Janet Tashjian
Manufacturer: Dell Laurel-Leaf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Fiction
| Science, Nature & How It Works
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Issues
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
General & Reference
| Technology
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
Science Fiction
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Teens
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Literature & Fiction
| Teens
| Subjects
| Books
Popular Fiction
| Literature & Fiction
| Book Clubs
| Specialty Stores
| Books
General
| Issues
| Children's Books
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
Fiction
| Science, Nature & How It Works
| Children's Books
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
General & Reference
| Technology
| Science
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
General
| Literature & Fiction
| Teens
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
Science Fiction
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Teens
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
All 4-for-3 Deals
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
Similar Items:
-
Vote For Larry
-
World History: Patterns of Interaction
-
Speak
-
Feed
-
Writer's Choice Grammar and Composition Grade 9, Student Edition
ASIN: 0440237920
Release Date: 2003-05-13 |
Book Description
Josh Swensen is not your average 17-year-old. At the age of two, he was figuring out algebraic equations with colored magnetic numbers. He is a prodigy who only wants to make the world a better place. Josh’s wish comes true when his virtual alter ego, Larry, becomes a huge media sensation. Larry has his own Web site where he posts sermons on anti-consumerism and has a large following of adults and teens. Meanwhile, Larry’s identity is a mystery to everyone. While it seems as if the whole world is trying to figure out Larry’s true identity, Josh feels trapped inside his own creation. What will happen to the world, and to Larry, if he is exposed?
Customer Reviews:
An extremely pretentious book.......2007-09-21
Does anyone remember the 1990 movie, Pump Up the Volume? Here's a brief synopsis: The main character in the story is a quiet loner by day and a controversial DJ by night. He doesn't talk to anyone in his high school, yet his alter-ego is adored by peers who have no idea who he is, including an attractive girl who would otherwise not be interested. He uses information he finds through his father to expose the corrupt school system in his community, and eventually he becomes exposed himself and must face his infamy. He calls himself, "Hard Harry." Hmm, that kind of sounds like "Larry."
In other words, this story is not original. The main difference between the two, other than Harry uses a radio station and Larry uses a website, is Pump Up the Volume is actually a powerful story.
This book is not a teenage cult classic, but it tries to be. One thing that immediately bothered me about the book is the complete self-absorption of Josh/Larry. Usually main characters are supposed to be likeable, but he came across as someone I would prefer to avoid in real life. On one hand, he complains about being a loner, yet no one excludes him or is mean to him; he simply excludes himself and is mean to others. He hates the "jocks" and cheerleaders, yet he doesn't have any interactions with them throughout the story, so it is hard to buy that he is this righteous outsider. This isn't Heathers, to name another Christian Slater movie, where the top of the social food chain is presented as malicious; the "bad guys" in this book don't do anything bad, so I don't know why I'm supposed to hate them. The truth is Josh wants to be a loner, it is his identity. Making snap judgments about people he's never met and wouldn't bother getting to know compensates for the deep hollowness he feels.
Josh/Larry loves to remind you how intelligent he is (napiform means turnip-shaped, but you know that.) Yet his self-proclaimed brilliance is absent in his "sermons." Larry is angry about the wealth disparity in the world, but only knows how to present simple solutions to complex problems. We as consumers can make responsible decisions; we don't have to buy sneakers from a company who paid workers in Asia two cents an hour. But rolling all "materialism" into a category of evil and claiming we should stop buying so much "stuff" isn't going to change the world. It is very simple for a teenager who has been taken care of by his step-father for three years and has a place for him waiting at Princeton to take his comforts for granted and berate his culture. He may own only seventy-five possessions, but do the rest of his surroundings reflect this same meagerness? Although his house and neighborhood are never described, the fact that his step-father is a head honcho in the advertising agency and there is no mention of difficulty in funding Josh's future Ivy League education, I imagine his everyday living is a far cry from Walden's Pond.
The ending of this story shows just how self-righteous and egotistical Larry really is. His actions show complete disregard for the people who should be important in his life. His friend Beth, who uses a black-and-white morality as a smokescreen for her own feelings of superiority, seems to be the only person he likes, yet this doesn't stop him from hurting her.
I'm glad Larry isn't a real person. He takes himself far too seriously, leading the grandiosity of his "message" and self-congratulatory "contributions" to overwhelm the story.
Courtesy of Teens Read Too.......2007-07-04
Josh is a bored seventeen-year-old genius. That is just a recipe for disaster!
Just for something to do, he creates a website where he posts all of his rants about our celebrity-obsessed culture, anti-communism, and any other random thing that he thinks of. Josh names his site "The Gospel According To Larry" because that is the most unreligious name he could possibly think of. He's getting two or three hits a day, until some kids from his school find the page and he's soon getting a few hundred visitors a day to his website.
Then Bono, the lead singer of U2, finds Josh's site. And he mentions the site on national television.
Josh instantly begins getting millions of hits a day and everyone wants to know who Larry is.
Then betagold, a fan of Larry's, begins leaving comments on Josh's site about how he should just come out and tell everyone who Larry really is.
As things begin to spin out of control, Josh goes crazy! What will he do to save himself? Will he ever reveal that he's "Larry"?
This is a really funny book, because I can totally imagine something like this actually happening! Sometimes the middle is a little slow, but overall the book is a really great read!
Reviewed by: Taylor Rector
Idealistic Teen.......2007-04-23
Josh is an incredibly bright teenager who will do anything to keep himself busy. He was always into something as a child to keep his mind occupied. His mother was really good at helping him do that, but she died years ago, leaving Josh living with his stepfather, an advertising executive. Josh has an entirely different philosophy of life from his stepfather. Josh likes Thoreau and Emerson; he is into nature and wants the world to become less materialistic and more balanced.
In an attempt to make himself heard, Josh makes up an alter ego named Larry and begins posting sermons on the internet about consumerism and advertising. He rants about starving children in foreign coutries and about being overwhelmed by the media. At first only a few people are reading his sermons. But then all of a sudden Larry is a sensation, an anonymous prophet with millions of followers hanging on every word. For a young man who has always felt he wanted to make a positive impression on the world, the difference he is making is exhilirating in a way. But it is also a little scary. Josh treasures his privacy, but there are some people who don't think Larry should be anonymous anymore. They pressure him to reveal himself. If he doesn't, they threaten to revel him themselves, against his will.
I liked how the story was presented. I liked the first encounter with Josh and the overall style of the book, how it was typed and the asides that were included in the footnotes. I also liked the relationship Josh had with his stepfather, and the relationship he continued to have, and the conversations he had, with his dead mother. The ending of the story was also good, not an easy or happy wrap-up
Must Teach YA Novel.......2007-03-15
Operating on several levels - it can be both an enjoyable escapist read, a funny didactic rant, an allegory for pop culture icons, and a story with great characters dealing with friendship, morality, and parent-child relationships. Take your pick, because its all good. While making allusions to 1984 and Big Brother, it shows it is more relevant to our modern Western culture than 1984. The Gospel According to Larry confronts excessive consumerism and celebrity worship that are cultural realities that no American can escape. The story does not carry out consumerism or celebrity worship to the extreme by creating a dystopia so as to inspire fear of dangerous consequences or exaggerate the problems, but it does challenge the power of consumerism and celebrity worship through a series of online sermons by Larry. In a world of buy, buy, buy and glitz, glamour, glory, it's nice to have a counter-balancing philosophy of pragmatic conservation found in this book and its allusions to Henry David Thoreau.
The story even opens with a quotation from the Bible in a tongue-in-cheek admission of Larry's prophetic voice. Yes, the idea of sermons sounds boring or excessively didactic - but it works in this story because they are short, infrequent, often funny, and do make you go, hmm - you might have a point there. One such sermon ends, "Am I the only one who sees the irony of sitting in lit class reading 1984, having a discussion of Big Brother watching out for us like it's some time way in the future? Some science fiction nightmare that's never really going to happen? Hel-lo? Our lives couldn't be more dictated by the corporations if they gave our schools A/V equipment in exchange for making us watch commercials in class. Oh yeah, they do that already. Never mind."
But the sermons aren't the focus of the story; at heart, it is an allegory for pop culture icons and what happens to noble ideas in a media-oriented society. Through his online sermons, Larry becomes a pop culture icon - the very thing he detests. He conceals his identity to even his closest friends and family who do not know he is the author of this new, sweeping, cultural phenomenon. Bono, of U2 fame, espouses Larry's beliefs. Corporations protest against him. Larryfest, a Woodstock knockoff, occurs and Larry secretly attends. Larry even steals his father's advertising campaigns and uses their information against the companies. This presents a moral dilemma that is dealt with later. And all the while, Larry is struggling with telling his best friend, Beth, that he loves her. The allegory of pop culture icons is fully explored when Larry's identity is finally discovered. Media waits outside his house. Strangers claim to be his friend and get paid for exclusive interviews. People try to make a profit out of his anti-consumerism movement. And what happens to Larry, Beth, Larry's ideas, and his family? Well, that's worth reading the book for. There is a good twist at the end.
Topics include: shyness, moral choices such as whether the ends justifies the means, friendship, fame, consumerism, right to privacy, frugality, manipulation, celebrity worship, idealism, "experts" on television, the internet, suicide, and death of a parent. I am sure many boys will enjoy this story for the empowerment and fame an unknown boy develops. Girls might enjoy it because Beth is a very intelligent and well-rounded character that is easy to like. Sensitive and intelligent teenagers will latch onto this book like it is the gospel. Larry is a very sensitive and intelligent 17 year old. It is important not to hold him up as an example of righteous morality, because Larry is human and does make some very questionable decisions - especially at the end. But the author recognizes this in a series of discussion questions and a printed interview at the end of the book. I must also mention the novel uses pictures and footnotes for a powerful effect. This book is so rich that you can teach it based just on the relationship between Larry and Beth or upon Larry's sermons or upon allegory or importance of open communication or countless other aspects. You can also raise a good classroom debate over whether Larry is a static or dynamic character and whether, if he's a static character and this is an allegory, this means people never learn. For young readers wanting to experience more of Larry, the author is coming out with a second volume, "Larry for President."
But in the end, it's just a good read. Take what you want. The simple joy of its narrative. Or an in-depth look.
Enjoy.
Sickeningly Boring.......2006-07-12
This book is very overrated and should not be purchased by anyone wishing to call themselves smart book chosers. It is writen less as a novel but more as a book of rants. The author obviously has no clue what teenagers do these days. Josh nerd to the nth degree. In his free time he made a website called the gospel according to larry. He puts complaints about society and economy entitled "Sermon # __" His one and only friend adores the site and Josh adores her. Josh is Larry and uses the site to manipulate her into thinking about useless stuff his way. He then gets discovered by Bono and his site skyrockets. Then some old lady reveals Josh quite literally by magic. He then loses his friends, family and fame in less than one week. A "glitch" here is that the media loves him, and he has become what he despised through his own preaching about it. Ironic, isn't it? So aside from an uninteresting plot, told by a wannabe Thoreau on a top of nothing but complaints, it's not bad. Read this if you have run out of junkmail.
Book Description
How can human beings be induced to sacrifice their lives—even one minute of their lives-for the sake of their group? This question, central to understanding the dynamics of social movements, is at the heart of this collection of original essays. The book is the first to conceptualize and illustrate the complex patterns of negotiation, struggle, borrowing, and crafting that characterize what the editors term "oppositional consciousness"—an empowering mental state that prepares members of an oppressed group to undermine, reform, or overthrow a dominant system.
Each essay employs a recent historical case to demonstrate how oppositional consciousness actually worked in the experience of a subordinate group. Based on participant observation and interviews, chapters focus on the successful social movements of groups such as African Americans, people with disabilities, sexually harassed women, Chicano workers, and AIDS activists. Ultimately, Oppositional Consciousness sheds new light on the intricate mechanisms that drive the important social movements of our time.
Contributors: Naomi Braine, Sharon Groch, Fredrick C. Harris, Jane Mansbridge, Anna-Maria Marshall, Aldon Morris, Marc Simon Rodriguez, Brett C. Stockdill, Lori G. Waite
Books:
- Requirements by Collaboration: Workshops for Defining Needs
- Results from the Heart: How Mini-Company Management Captures Everyone's Talents and Helps Them Find Meaning and Purpose at Work
- Rising Above the Gathering Storm: Energizing and Employing America for a Brighter Economic Future
- Saving for Retirement without Living Like a Pauper or Winning the Lottery
- Shaping the Adaptive Organization: Landscapes, Learning, and Leadership in Volatile Times
- Small Is Beautiful, 25th Anniversary Edition: Economics As If People Mattered: 25 Years Later . . . With Commentaries
- Staffing Organizations
- Staffing Organizations
- Steven Caney's Ultimate Building Book: Including More Than 100 Incredible Projects Kids Can Make!
- Study Guide to accompany Financial Management: Theory and Practice
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- History: Fiction or Science
- Caribbean Elegance
- Tutorials in Mathematical Biosciences II: Mathematical Modeling of Calcium Dynamics and Signal Trans
- The Topology of Stiefel Manifolds
- Adobe Photoshop Elements 5.0: A visual introduction to digital photography
- CCTV, Second Edition: Networking and Digital Technology
- All Spaniels: Their Breeding, Rearing and Training, Bench Show Points and Characteristics
- Landscrapers: Building with the Land
- Toyo Ito: Blurring Architecture 1971-2005
- Working with Animals, 2nd: The UK, Europe and Worldwide
Indigenizing the Academy: Transforming Scholarship and Empowering Communities (Contemporary Indigenous Issues)
Natives and Academics: Researching and Writing about American Indians
Nuclear Rites: A Weapons Laboratory at the End of the Cold War
For Indigenous Eyes Only: A Decolonization Handbook (School of American Research Native America)
The White Man's Indian: Images of the American Indian from Columbus to the Present
