It Can Happen Here: Authoritarian Peril in the Age of Bush

Book Description

“When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag, carrying a cross.”
---Sinclair Lewis, author of It Can’t Happen Here, 1935

For the first time since the Nixon era, Americans have reason to doubt the future---or even the presence---of democracy. We live in a society where government conspires with big business and big evangelism; where ideologues and religious zealots attack logic and the scientific method; and where the ruling party encourages xenophobic nationalism based on irrational, manufactured fear. The party in power seems to seek a perpetual state of war to hold on to power, and they are willing to lie, cheat, and steal to achieve their ends. The question must be asked: Are we headed toward the end of American democracy?
Nobel Prize--winning author Sinclair Lewis depicted authoritarianism American-style in his sardonically titled dystopian novel It Can’t Happen Here, published in 1935. Now, bestselling political journalist Joe Conason argues that it can happen here—and a select group of extremely powerful right-wing ideologues are driving us ever closer to the precipice.
In this compelling, impassioned, yet rational and fact-based look at the state of the nation, Conason shows how and why America has been wrenched away from its founding principles and is being dragged toward authoritarianism.

Praise for the books of Joe Conason:

“A comprehensive, well-researched indictment of a bunch of nasty people who really deserve it.”
---Molly Ivins on Big Lies

“When Joe casts his eye on the cadres of the right, they invariably emerge battered, with their arguments filleted, their sources of money exposed, and their real motives laid bare.”
—Michael Tomasky, former editor, The American Prospect, on The Raw Deal

“A hundred years from now the primary source on the so-called Clinton scandals will still be The Hunting of the President by Joe Conason and Gene Lyons.”
---James Carville on The Hunting of the President

Customer Reviews:

A decent effort.......2007-10-06

I enjoy Joe Conason's writing and I miss his appearances on the old Al Franken Radio show. That being said, there have been so many books written lately about the dangers of Bush administration policies that this book felt like a retread of things I already know and am already concerned about.

But if this book manages to convince one person to reconsider their political convictions or at least dig into the arguments, then it would have served it's purpose.

Not one of the best Bush critiques on the market but still worth a look into.

It has happened here........2007-10-02

I'm going to read "It Can't Happen Here" next. Apparently it's quite precient about our current state of affairs.

Last bucket of water from a drying up well--.......2007-06-01

Conason is trying to dip one last royalty check from the "Stand by for the Bush dictatorship" bucket, before the well runs dry next year.

After 2007, nobody is going to buy into this stuff and come January 2009, it'll get thrown in a bargain bin under the last copy of a Gary Sick "expose'" of "the 1980 October surprise".

Think Joe Conason will give a rat's if Hillary uses the same methods and usurps the same Executive powers, if she becomes President? Or simply changes nothing about NSA spying and the Patriot Act.

Not a chance...he'll probably write a book DEFENDING it.

Quick Read, Makes an Important Point.......2007-05-11

Conason really drives home the need to link authoritarian thinking to other elements of fascism (such as corporatism, cronyism, and other corruptions of good government).

Of the group, I fear authoritarianism most of all, because it demands blind adherence to X, whatever X is deemed to be. Authoritarianism is ultimately classist as well, because it divides the world into an elitist class of relativist-thinking Machiavellian authorities, and a class of those who are meant to be nothing more than blind followers of the authorities.

That speaks greatly to the fools they deem the followers to be, and reflects poorly on the educational "reforms" executed by this administration, most to indoctrinate authoritarian thinking and the shut down of critical thinking and questioning abilities, anything that might lead one of those blind followers to stand up and say "the emperor isn't wearing any clothes."

So-called "faith-based" initiatives are also a thinly-cloaked attempt to further indoctrinate authoritarianism and blind-goose-stepping, by setting up strict hierarchies of patriarchal authority all over again, like the Divine Right of Kings, reining in the empowerment of women, anything that might lead to free-thinking dissent.

The TRUE IRONY of all of this persuasion process is that the so-called authoritarian elitist class are deep relativists, far more postmodern than most intellectual postmodernists.

Exposing King George.......2007-05-11

The great irony of the Bush administration is they have spent so much time and money on trying to craft the appearance of competency that they seem to have left nothing for actual governance. The author writes that, "the Bush administration spent $1.6 billion on public relations and media contacts between January 2003 and June 2005" This includes paying journalists for positive coverage and in one infamous incident illegally creating a reporter and running her phony reports on local news stations. And as the coup de grace the Bush administration has had the entire Faux News network to spread its propaganda 24/7. More and more evidence is accumulating that the White House has spent the last 6 ½ years using every apparatus of the government available to illegally push the Republican agenda and shore up the base, all at tax payers expense. From vetting scientists based on political affiliation to giving out money through the Faith Based Initiative program to garner votes, literally everything is done in order to entrench Republican power. And what has all this energy and money achieved; one of the most unpopular presidents in American history and an administration that may well go down as the most incompetent ever.

I've always said about Bush that he's leading the wrong country. He is much better suited to a South American banana republic. It's very difficult to run a modern, wealthy country with the White House's brand of crony capitalism which probably explains why the administration spends so much money trying to convince everyone they're doing a bang up job. Bush has managed to surround himself with people who take the concept of a Unitarian Executive very seriously and believe that George W. Bush is literally unbound by Congress, the Supreme Court and even the Constitution or Bill of Rights. The Bush administration has consistently chosen political hacks over qualified candidates for appointments even in the rebuilding of Iraq. It seems the president has taken the term `serving at the pleasure of the president' to heart, believing that his appointments are given their positions to serve HIM and if they displease him they should go. The concept that the president serves the country and appoints qualified people AT TAXPAYER EXPENSE to do the best job they can seems completely lost on this president.

My biggest question at this point is what is the goal? Bush has less than two years left as president (unless he knows something the rest of us don't) and it looking increasingly likely that the next president will be a Democrat. Those who promote the idea of the Unitary Executive certainly don't want this privilege extended to a Democratic president. The Bush administration seems woefully shortsighted which may be the saving grace for the country since their incompetence seems to be driving a stake right through the heart of the GOP. Their ham handed approach to consolidating power may end up be more of a wake up call than an actual long term threat.

This kind of book is like shooting ducks in a barrel. The Bush administration is such a train wreck that you could write a single short sentence on each of the White House's blunders, lies, crimes and ethical lapses and easily fill up a book. Joe Conason is not an investigative journalist like Ron Suskind or Seymour Hersh. What Mr. Conason does is collect and comment on information available to anyone and for this I have to remove a star because it's a lot easier to analyze information than to gather it. There is very little in this book that I hadn't already heard although I do pay closer attention to current events than most. I'll give this book a solid 4 stars because it is a good compilation of facts supporting the authors contention that authoritarianism can certainly manifest itself despite the safeguards set up by our countries framers.

The Right Touch: A Read-Aloud Story to Help Prevent Child Sexual Abuse (Jody Bergsma Collection)

Average customer rating:

Wonderful story.
Every parent should read this book
Excellent book!
We love this book.
Very informative and Easy to Understand for kids

The Right Touch: A Read-Aloud Story to Help Prevent Child Sexual Abuse (Jody Bergsma Collection)
Sandy Kleven
Manufacturer: Illumination Arts Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0935699104

Customer Reviews:

Wonderful story........2007-09-17

This book is tastefully written, not scary, but led to good discussion about boundaries- with anyone he knows or doesn't know, and serious thought by my 3 1/2 year old son. He asks for the book about once a month, and refers to "touching problems" occasionally in general conversation, saying something like "you don't keep touching secrets and you say 'Stop it! I don't like that!' if someone tries to put their hand in your pants, and go tell Mom!"

It's a little shocking when your baby gets a grasp of something like that, but I'd really rather that be the case than the first time he knows of it is with a previously trusted person that betrays that trust. It's not graphic or detailed and doesn't attempt to explain why a pervert would do such a thing. It appears serious to him and has caused him to talk with me and plan his response (just like what to do if he became lost in a store), but it's no more scary to him just from reading about it and talking about it than a toothy shark or scary shadow in another book. I highly recommend this for parents brave enough to tackle this subject before your child starts attending birthday parties alone or going to neighbors' houses to play.

Every parent should read this book.......2007-08-31

This book provides the details all parents need to have to protect thier children. It gives great tools for parents to use. I will purchase this book for all my friends as baby shower gifts!

Excellent book!.......2007-05-13

This book helped to reinforce what I had already taught my 4-year-old son. He asked questions that he hadn't previously asked and opened up new discussion about the topic. It's well-written, common sense approach makes it easy for pre-schoolers to understand. The author is a therapist, which made me feel confident about the quality of the content.

We love this book........2007-05-12

My son and I read this book a couple of times a week. He even tells me now what he thinks is a "good touch" and a "bad touch". I recommend this to all parents!

Very informative and Easy to Understand for kids.......2007-01-05

I don't think it's an Easy subject for parents to talk to their kids about, So this book opened the subject up for me. It's hard to talk about, But an Absolute Must in the World Today. It talked about bad touch and Good touch like tickles, then the mom told her son a story about a little girl. The story was a Real Life possibility because it was a neighbor asking a little girl if she liked Kittens (what kid doesn't right?)then he asked her if she wanted to come see them at his house. The book states " since she knew this person she went with him" giving you the opening to explain it's not just strangers that can hurt you. The man wanted her to sit on his lap, then he tried to put his hand in her [...], she ran home and told her mom. Then the guy got in trouble. The mom telling the story to her son Then talks about it to him so he knows to tell her if something happens. Then they get into talk about what is Private on your body.... So here's on thing I wasn't Comfortable with.... The book has an illistration of the mom and son looking at a book, and their book has a picture of a little boy and girl naked so they can identify "private Parts". EASY FIX, My husband Took a Marker and Drew a pair of underwear on the little boy So it wouldn't be an issue. So you could just draw a bathing suit on the little girl, or underwear on the little boy If you're not ready for those pics if you have younger kids.
Overall the illistration are Great, not Scary, and just draw some underwear on the naked pic if you're uneasy about that. I would Buy this Book for any kid getting ready to Go to School or a Friends house.

Average customer rating:

Not angry... Just historically honest
Descriptive, emotional, engaging
Wasn't reasonable or logical or comprehensible
Prompt Service
Remarkable, Unforgettable, Invaluable, Candid, Daring, Astounding...

Coming of Age in Mississippi
Anne Moody
Manufacturer: Dell
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

African-American & Black | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0440314887
Release Date: 1992-01-04

Book Description

Written without a trace of sentimentality or apology, this is an unforgettable personal story -- the truth as a remarkable young woman named Anne Moody lived it. To read her book is to know what it is to have grown up black in Mississippi in the forties an fifties -- and to have survived with pride and courage intact.

In this now classic autobiography, she details the sights, smells, and suffering of growing up in a racist society and candidily reveals the soul of a black girl who had the courage to challenge it. The result is a touchstone work: an accurate, authoritative portrait of black family life in the rural South and a moving account of a woman's indomitable heart.

Customer Reviews:

Not angry... Just historically honest.......2007-07-10

Though I read this book many years ago, I had to strongly disagree with part of the editor's initial characterization of this book as being "angry". Powerful, painful and anxiety producing, yes. Angry, no.

I personally came away with the lasting impression of a very honest and heart-felt description of the events and struggles that shaped Ann Moody's life, and her active participation in the Civil Rights Movement. She describes beautifully the fears and pains felt by communities during tragic events such as the murder of the young Emmett Till, and injects the intensity felt by the leaders of the Movement, including MLK Jr., as they constantly tried to dodge authorities.

I strongly believe, and echo other reviewer's opinions, that every High School and young college student should be required to read this book.

Descriptive, emotional, engaging.......2007-03-20

Thus a civil rights advocate was born.

I read this book seven years ago, on a whim, because I was wanting to understand why Southerners were especially proud of their heritage when there was so much suffering among its own people, especially its blacks.

Ann Moddy lived a life that most whites would be ashamed of, but that many blacks endured. This is a part of American history that mainstreem history books seldom cover in any detail and leave to the "Black Studies" department.

Moody lived her life struggling for identity, struggling for change, struggling for advancement. She made something of herself and has never looked back. (I read somewhere that she doesn't like to talk about her growing-up years and has lived a life of seclusion.). She can only be admired for what she has made of herself.

Moody never once expresses hurt. All she wanted was justice for all. She left Mississippi with more than a tinge of anger.

This book should be required reading for all social studies classes. It is engrossing without being sentimental or overly emotional (and it certainly is not "girly" at all.) For anyone, regardless of color, gender or legal status, this should be a must-read.

Wasn't reasonable or logical or comprehensible.......2007-03-05

I quit early on and here's why.
Anne's mother leaves her 6 month old infant and Anne (who is "almost 4") in the hands of her (anne's mother) 8 y/o brother, then later her 12y/o brother, for 12+ hours every day. According to Anne they never took care of them and in fact took off as soon as her parents were out of sight.
Who's feeding the 6 month old for those 12+ hours? They were living on a farm with lots of other black families. Surely the women had some kind of communal child care system going. Where's the wet nurse? I don't believe it.

Same happens with the next infant. Mom's never home. All male babysitters. One male adult would take all three kids (ages 5, 2.5 and a little over a year old) HUNTING with him in the swamps! I don't believe it. I don't believe Anne Moody.

How is it that Anne goes to school at age 5 but her mom's 8 y/o and 12y/o brothers don't?
In Anne Moody's story the boys and some men stayed home and babysat while the girls go to school/work. Now I always thought it was just the opposite. Girls usually stayed home and tended to their younger siblings, cleaned, cooked etc., while the boys if they didn't go to school, worked along side the men.

How is it that little 5 y/o Anne walks 2 miles up and 2 miles back to school everyday all by herself. Just try and picture that in your mind. A tiny little threadbare 5 y/o girl all alone walking 4 miles a day in the rain, humid heat or cold. Then hiding in the schools outhouse for as long as she can because she doesn't like school or the teacher! I don't see it. I don't believe it. Four miles is nothing for a healthy adult/teen/kid but a 5 y/o "baby"? I don't think they'd have the mind to do it nor the legs.

How is it that when Anne is 6 and back at school, her mom just leaves the 3.5 y/o and 1.5 y/o all by themselves, all day at the house, no babysitter? I don't believe it. Was Anne's mother mentally retarded? They're living in town at this time. What about the neighbors, friends or church? Women have always gotten together to help care for the children?

The story just wasn't adding up so I quit. Sorry.

I also don't believe the memoirs of Augusten Burroughs "Running with Scissors" etc. and Mary Karr "The Liars' Club".

Prompt Service.......2007-02-28

I do not have any complaints about Amazon.com service. I got my book on time and in the conditions stated on the site. I am very satisfied. The book is a great addition for my library and it is very helpful for my classes in college.

Remarkable, Unforgettable, Invaluable, Candid, Daring, Astounding..........2007-01-29

This book is one of the the best books to help you to REALLY understand the Civil Rights Movement and what it meant to be black in the south during that era. Anne Moody lets the reader into her life in a remarkable way and helps her audience comprehend what the south was like (not only for the black population, but for black women as well) and why Civil Rights workers, like herself, put up with so much for their cause. It is very hard for me to put into words what a great book this is-it will open your eyes to history even if you don't like history or reading I guarantee you will LOVE this book! Definitely a MUST READ.

Other books that compliment this book well, if you're interested in the subject are: Passing, Quicksand, and Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl

Thomas Paine : Collected Writings : Common Sense / The Crisis / Rights of Man / The Age of Reason / Pamphlets, Articles, and Letters (Library of America)

Average customer rating:

What a useful collection.
We have it in our power to begin the world over again
Teach Thomas Paine to all Ages
Most Important Founding Father - outstanding one-volume edition of his writings!
Timeless inspiration

Thomas Paine : Collected Writings : Common Sense / The Crisis / Rights of Man / The Age of Reason / Pamphlets, Articles, and Letters (Library of America)
Thomas Paine
Manufacturer: Library of America
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1883011035

Book Description

Paine was the impassioned democratic voice of the Age of Revolution, and this volume brings together his best-known works--"Common Sense," "The American Crisis," "Rights of Man," "The Age of Reason," along with a selection of letters, articles and pamphlets that emphasizes Paine's American years.

Customer Reviews:

What a useful collection........2007-07-10

It's good to have all Paine's material in one handy volume. Plenty to read and think about. It's a pity he's not better known in the USA, considering his significance in the existence of the country.

We have it in our power to begin the world over again.......2007-07-06

This was a required reading for a graduate humanities class. John Keane's biography succinctly showed that Tom Paine (1737-1809) was the consummate revolutionary and a daring adventurer. Not only was he an important figure in the American Revolution, but he also traveled to France in 1791 to give that revolution a push. Paine traveled from England, just in time to stoke the flames of the revolution with his pamphlet Common Sense, in January 1776. To call Common Sense a sensation in the colonies is actually a bit of an understatement. It was an unparallel sensation and monumental work of Enlightenment rhetoric that quickly fanned the flames of rebellion throughout the colonies. In four months, over 120,000 copies were printed in the colonies--over 500,000 copies by years end. No other pamphlet printed in seventeenth century America came close to its success. Most importantly, Common Sense served to get the colonial patriots to drop their fear of open rebellion, and also emboldened those delegates who favored declaring independence from Britain. The delegates now had the confidence that a large segment of the colonists would support rebellion. Similar to the Declaration of Independence, the philosophical ideas in Common Sense are primarily from the English philosopher, John Locke (1632-1704). The most moving quote from the pamphlet became quite prophetic, when one considers the impact it ultimately had on the delegates in the congress, the drafting of the Declaration of Independence, and on the world. "We have it in our power to begin the world over again."

As a graduate student in philosophy and history, I heartily recommend this timeless classic to anyone who is interested in political philosophy, and history.

Teach Thomas Paine to all Ages.......2006-12-03

Paine truly is the forgotten founding father. Unbelievably, I never learned about him till college--and only then through specific history classes. In addition to this volume, I suggest one of my recent discoveries: The Elementary Common Sense of Thomas Paine; the 1776 document Common Sense adapted and illustrated for ages 11 on up. It is here on Amazon. Paine, and all of our country's founding documents, should be taught to kids early on.

Most Important Founding Father - outstanding one-volume edition of his writings!.......2006-07-22

Thomas Paine was the most consistent and important of all the American Founding Fathers. He consistently spoke up in favor of liberty and freedom; for example, his opposition to the institution of slavery (which he argued was immoral and un-Christian and thought it quite contradictory to claim to be a Christian on the one hand and support slavery on the other hand) - Paine also spoke up in support of women's rights, freedom of thought, the poor, etc.

The important thing about Paine is that he practiced what he preached, as opposed to just about every other founding father (e.g., Jefferson saying all are "created equal" but owning slaves, or Adams "dismissing" his wife's assertion that they too should be included in the political process). I don't think we ought to condemn those individuals for the beliefs that they had, indeed they were products of their time period - and they are worthy of study. However, I also believe that we should praise those who were able to step out of that period and see things as they are, this is what Paine was able to do.

If you doubt Paine's importance in the history of American independence, consider the following; probably no other phamphlet brought the idea of independence to the mind of the colonists like Paine's "Common Sense" did and it was Paine's "Crisis #1" that was read to Washington's soldiers before they prepared for the biggest fight of the American Revolution. Paine's defense of the French Revolution in his "Rights of Man" sparked off a publication war that has yet to be matched and his "The Age of Reason" delineated the philosophical ideas that most of the founding fathers had with regard to religion (regardless of what the religious right would have you to believe).

Paine's mistake was not believing what most of the founding fathers believed, that the "common man and woman" was not intellectual enough to handle the arguments that he (and the others) were advocating. It was his consistency which brought about his downfall - this is a shame, because he is one of the most important thinkers to come out of the Revolutionary Period in American history.

Timeless inspiration.......2006-07-08

Thomas Paine, especially in The Age of Reason, did not put forth completely original ideas. Many of his contemporaries had the same critisms that Paine did in regard to organized religion especially Christianity. However, Thomas Paine organized such thoughts in a way that they were accessible to common men. Unfortunately his brave and inspirational work was his downfall. Closeminded and fearful citizens, like RICKITHEREADER in our modern times were frightened that perhaps Paine was tearing a hole the the fabric of their blind faith and because of this, Paines' last work, The Age of Reason, left him to die alone and impoverished. He was abandoned, even by his intellectual contemporaries, most who agreed with him but were not brave enough to voice their beliefs in the common vernacular. I was inspired by Paine who wrote, "My mind is my own church," which was not the voice of an atheist but the voice of a man who really did know the "truth" and his true path. Unlike RickitheReader, I have read both the bible and Paine with an open mind and heart. The joy of reading is the ability to let it lead you to new places. Thomas Paine would have said it better. Read this compilation and it will lead you to new places, wherever your faith is.

Average customer rating:

Fifth grade review
A great read!
The breadwinner
The breadwinner
A must read for content, not quality.

Breadwinner
Deborah Ellis
Manufacturer: Groundwood Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0888994168

Amazon.com

Since the Taliban took over Afghanistan, 11-year-old Parvana has rarely been outdoors. Barred from attending school, shopping at the market, or even playing in the streets of Kabul, the heroine of Deborah Ellis's engrossing children's novel The Breadwinner is trapped inside her family's one-room home. That is, until the Taliban hauls away her father and Parvana realizes that it's up to her to become the "breadwinner" and disguise herself as a boy to support her mother, two sisters, and baby brother. Set in the early years of the Taliban regime, this topical novel for middle readers explores the harsh realities of life for girls and women in modern-day Afghanistan. A political activist whose first book for children, Looking for X, dealt with poverty in Toronto, Ellis based The Breadwinner on the true-life stories of women in Afghan refugee camps.

In the wily Parvana, Ellis creates a character to whom North American children will have no difficulty relating. The daughter of university-educated parents, Parvana is thoroughly westernized in her outlook and responses. A pint-sized version of Offred from Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, Parvana conceals her critique of the repressive Muslim state behind the veil of her chador. Although the dialogue is occasionally stilted and the ending disappointingly sketchy, The Breadwinner is essential reading for any child curious about ordinary Afghans. Like so many books and movies on the subject, it is also eerily prophetic. "Maybe someone should drop a big bomb on the country and start again," says a friend of Parvana's. "'They've tried that,' Parvana said, 'It only made things worse.'" (Ages 9 to 12) --Lisa Alward

Book Description

The Breadwinner brings to life an issue that has recently exploded in the international media — the reality of life under the Taliban. Young Parvana lives with her family in one room of a bombed-out apartment building in Kabul, Afghanistan. Because he has a foreign education, her father is arrested by the Taliban, the religious group that controls the country. Since women cannot appear in public unless covered head to toe, or go to school, or work outside the home, the family becomes increasingly desperate until Parvana conceives a plan. She cuts her hair and disguises herself as a boy to earn money for her family. Parvana’s determination to survive is the force that drives this novel set against the backdrop of an intolerable situation brought about by war and religious fanaticism. Deborah Ellis spent several months talking with women and girls in Afghan refugee camps in Pakistan and Russia. This suspenseful, timely novel is the result of those encounters. Royalties from the sale of The Breadwinner will go toward educating Afghan girls in Pakistani refugee camps. “...a potent portrait of life in contemporary Afghanistan, showing that powerful heroines can survive even in the most oppressive ... conditions.” — Booklist

Customer Reviews:

Fifth grade review.......2007-02-28

The Bread Winner

The Bread Winner is a five star book about a girl, named Parvana and her family. This book takes place in Afghanistan. When her father got arrested nobody can get the food. Parvana is the only one who can because everybody else is either to old or to young. Do you think Parvana can keep the family running and not get arrested? I like this book because it was suspenseful and you never knew what would happen next.

A great read!.......2007-02-18

The Breadwinner was a book that, once I started, I couldn't tear myself away from the pages. Ellis' character development of Parvana is so powerful. I felt as if I knew her. There were times when I wanted to hoist her onto my shoulders and praise her and other times when I wanted to scold her for not doing what she needed to be doing, even though she was doing what she thought would be the best, easiest and quickest way to help her family, digging up bones.
When I reached the end of the book, I was left with a desire to hear more about what happens to Parvana and her family. I can't wait to read the sequel! Not only does the reader learn about and develop a relationship with this character, but Ellis teaches the reader a lot of historical facts and cultural information about this area of the world. This book is extremely appropriate to use at this point in time with the way our world is.

The breadwinner.......2006-11-30

I think that the book The breadwinner is a very facsinating story that covers alot of issues about war and injustice. Parvana is 11 years old and she has no freedom. She can't go outside since the Taliban has ordered that no female people are allowed to go outside unless they are accompianied by a male, or have a note. Then suddenly, Parvana's life changes since her father is taken away and she has to dress up as a boy and become The Breadwinner for her family. She starts by reading letters for people who cant read, but then she finds a friend from her school doing the same thing so they dig up bones to earn money. I think The Breadwinner is a really good story and i like how Deborah Ellis has shown how much people can suffer in Afghanistan, like "There are more landmines then flowers in Kabul" This book covers alot of issues and i would rate it 4 stars.

The breadwinner.......2006-11-30

A must read for content, not quality........2006-11-14

A young girl in Afghanistan must disguise herself as a boy in order to save her family from starvation when her father is arrested by the Taliban. There really isn't much of a story here, but more of a portrait of a war torn country under the weight of terrible oppression, and a spirit that cannot be crushed. Characters and people are portrayed quite well, through the point of view of the young girl (who is very accessible to young Western readers). Reading level is about fifth grade, so the writing style leaves much to be desired. But the matter is so very important today, that this is a must read. Grade: B

Eat Right, Live Longer: Using the Natural Power of Foods to Age Proof Your Body

Average customer rating:

A wonderful book for permanent weight loss.
An Eye Opener on the Effects of Diet on Health and Disease
This book convinced me to become a vegetarian.

Eat Right, Live Longer: Using the Natural Power of Foods to Age Proof Your Body
Neal Md Barnard
Manufacturer: Harmony
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Tanita BC533 Glass Innerscan Body Composition Monitor

ASIN: 0517799502
Release Date: 1995-09-11

Book Description

The author of Food for Life shows how specific food choices contribute to longevity, youthful appearance, strength, and vitality. Dr. Barnard's nutrition strategies promote weight loss and healthy skin and hair, boost immunity, cleanse the bloodstream, protect blood vessels, increase muscle strength, enhance endurance, manage stress, and improve overall well-being.

Customer Reviews:

A wonderful book for permanent weight loss........1999-10-04

This book educates you on your body and how it works. Then, Dr. Bernard tells you how you can use that knowledge to lose weight permanently and feel great. It is not about a "diet" but rather about how to eat to get your body to perform at its best which naturally results in weight loss. Dr. Bernard covers different problem areas of health such as high blood pressure and diabetes and how changing our eating habits can improve them. At the back of the book are many recipes which help you to get started.

I highly recommend this book as it will help you learn about your body and what it needs and what happens when it gets the wrong "fuel". I've read it twice and its on my Christmas list!

An Eye Opener on the Effects of Diet on Health and Disease.......1998-07-22

The advise in this book can extend your life and improve your health. No one knows what the "optimal" diet is, but Dr. Barnard shows that there is overwhelming evidence that the common dietary practices in America are responsible for a great deal of avoidable illness and early death. He backs up his statements with health statistics and numerous references to studies published in well-known journals. He shows that high rates of heart disease, cancer, and many other life threatening diseases are *not* natural -- they are primarily the result of poor diet and/or smoking. For some diseases, our risk can be reduced more than 50% by following the sort of diet recommended in this book.

The book, like Dr. Barnard's previous books "The Power of Your Plate" and "Food for Life", is clearly written and invites the reader to examine the evidence and decide for himself. The author also gives suggestions for making a change in diet easier and encou! ragement that it will be an enjoyable, sustainable transition.

There are two things I don't like about this book: the second half of the book is nothing but recipes, and this book follows a trend toward dumbing-down the presentation (in comparison with "The Power of Your Plate" and "Food for Life"). The author tries to make his presentation friendlier and more understandable to sixth graders through the use of analogies and explanations of biological phenomenon in overly simplistic terms. The book would be better if it contained more depth and more precise language. For these reasons I rated it only 3-stars.

Still, this book is well worth reading. If you're following the FDA's dietary guidelines, you are almost certainly shortening your own lifespan. The advise in this book could add years and improve the health of most Americans.

This book convinced me to become a vegetarian........1998-06-04

Dr. Barnard gives excellent descriptions of how our bodies process foods and how the typical American diet focused on hormone-laden meats puts undue stress on our systems and causes early breakdown. He shows how a diet focused on fruits, vegetables, grains and legumes allows our bodies to function optimally, which in turn, gives us greater chances for disease-free longer life. Includes many recipes to help make the transition to this kind of healthy diet. I recommend this book if you are interested in nutrition!

Average customer rating:

Doesn't flow. Story wasn't catchy. Not for us.
Beautiful Colors
Black, White, Just Right!
Bi- Racial 4 yr old daughter LOVES to have this read to her
Lovely book

Black, White, Just Right!
Marguerite W. Davol
Manufacturer: Albert Whitman & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Library Binding

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ASIN: 0807507857

Customer Reviews:

Doesn't flow. Story wasn't catchy. Not for us........2007-07-03

Every time we attemt to read this to our daughter, it is a clumbsy-read that does not capture our child's attention. I was attracted to the cover and we haven't apprecated much more than that. So the 2 stars are for the illustrations.

Beautiful Colors.......2005-05-12

What a wonderful story! I wish I had this book when I was a child. The protagonist is a beautiful little girl whose mother is black and her father is white. She describes their differences in color, but they are united in love. She describes how her color is "just right." What a gentle and lovely way to explain the physical racial differences, similarities and self identity and pride.

My favorite uncle who was a very astute man used to say, "God mixes and adds more colors so there are more colors to love. Birds, butterflies, flowers and peacocks have all these beautiful colors and God picked our colors for us as well. He wanted more beauty for the world, so He was always thinking up more beautiful colors to add to it."

I also recommend "David's Drawing," "Colors Come From God Just Like Me," "The Two Mrs. Gibsons," a book about a beautiful little girl whose mother is Japanese and her father is black and "How My Parents Learned to Eat," another delightful book about a bi-racial child and the two cultures she happily shares. This book deserves a place of honor! It is for everybody!

Black, White, Just Right!.......2004-08-19

My 4 year old (bi-racial) son really enjoys this book. It is nice to have a story with a diverse family. I am glad that it mentions race only briefly and shows that it is just another difference in their (& our) lives...just as their size, tastes and talents are different. The prose is a little mature for him and I have to explain what most of it means after each page...but he still loves it.

Bi- Racial 4 yr old daughter LOVES to have this read to her.......2003-02-23

My 4yr old daughter loves to have this read to her. She used to identify with herself as I'm "BOTH" (black & white), now she says "she's just right too". It's so light and age appropriate, while touching on the differences and similiarities of others. I love that the diffrences that are pointed out in this book between the mommy and daddy are not stereotyped by a the like's or dislike's of the black/white race. Beatiful illustrations and catchy rhymes. A definete must get.

Lovely book.......2002-05-22

Simple text with rhyme and readable cadence makes this an enjoyable read for a preschool classroom. The little girl enjoys many things with her black mother and white father, AND has many tastes and interests of her own. A bi-racial girl in my class was immediately drawn to this story, as were other children who simply enjoyed the story.

Arc of Justice: A Saga of Race, Civil Rights, and Murder in the Jazz Age

Average customer rating:

A must read
Why hasn't this been made into a movie?
CRWWIIDEP
Hard to fathom...
Couldn't Put it Down

Arc of Justice: A Saga of Race, Civil Rights, and Murder in the Jazz Age
Kevin Boyle
Manufacturer: Holt Paperbacks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0805079335
Release Date: 2005-04-14

Book Description

In 1925, Detroit was a smoky swirl of jazz, speakeasies, and assembly lines and tensions often flared with the KKK in ascendance and violence rising. Ossian Sweet, a proud Negro doctorgrandson of a slavehad made the long climb from the ghetto to a home of his own. Yet just after his arrival, a mob gathered outside his house; suddenly shots rang out: Sweet, or one of his defenders, had accidentally killed one of the whites threatening their lives and home. And so it begana chain of events that brought Americas greatest attorney, Clarence Darrow, into the fray and transformed Sweet into a controversial symbol of equality. Historian Kevin Boyle weaves the police investigation and courtroom drama of Sweets murder trial into an unforgettable tapestry of narrative history that documents the volatile America of the 1920s and movingly re-creates the Sweet familys journey from slavery through the Great Migration to the middle class. Ossian Sweets story, so richly and poignantly captured here, is an epic tale of one man trapped by the battles of his eras changing times.

Customer Reviews:

A must read.......2007-02-16

I learned so much from this book that I never knew or thought I wanted to know. It was very well written and I had a hard time putting it down once I started reading it.

Why hasn't this been made into a movie?.......2006-02-22

I had to read this book for a class, and unlike other historical works, this one reads like a novel. The background story of Ossian Sweet is so moving that I could picture prominent African-American actors portraying his character and winning Academy Awards. That a director has not made this story into a movie is a shame. I teach American history and I had never heard of this case before, and with leading characters like Clarence Darrow, I found that surprising. This book is well worth reading--it won't disappoint!

CRWWIIDEP.......2006-01-06

This should be at least 8 stars. This is one you will remember for a long time. It was hard to put this book down. No doubt you will enjoy it very much.

Hard to fathom..........2005-12-24

It was hard to believe that this story actually happened in the Northern United States in the 1920s. And yet, it did. This is definitely not a topic that was covered in American history classes! The book covers the early history of Dr. Ossian Sweet, and the history that leads to the mob-inspired riot led by the block association. The book also touches, briefly, on the beginnings of the NAACP and some of the civil rights issues. We may hope things have changed, but have they?

Couldn't Put it Down.......2005-12-20

Arc of Justice starts out riveting and just gets better. I found myself thinking again and again, "this couldn't have happened" only to read the end notes and be astonished at the depth of research behind every word. The book started me on so many Google quests to find out more about Clarence Darrow, the NAACP, the AME church and other historical people, groups, and events that touched the lives of the people involved in this incident.

The reach back into the family history of the Sweet family is a deftly painted portrait of an African-American family striving for the American dream and could have been a book itself. I can't say enough about this book and have recommended to all my friends, history buffs and fiction lovers alike.

Average customer rating:

The world in the eyes of children
I did not like this book at all.
The hidden wisdom behind the adventures of "King Matt the First"
Aboslutely GREAT
My 9 year old daughter loved this book!

King Matt the First
Janusz Korczak
Manufacturer: Algonquin Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1565124421

Book Description

Janusz Korczak was a Polish physician and educator who wrote over twenty books--his fiction was in his time as well known as Peter Pan, and his nonfiction works bore passionate messages of child advocacy. During World War II, the Jewish orphanage he directed was relocated to the Warsaw ghetto. Although Korczak's celebrity afforded him many chances to escape, he refused to abandon the children. He was killed at Treblinka along with the children.

King Matt the First, one of Korczak's most beloved tales, is the story of a boy who becomes king and sets out to reform his kingdom. He decrees that all children are to be given a piece of chocolate at the end of each day. He visits faraway lands and befriends cannibal kings. Whenever his ministers tell him something's impossible, he puts them in jail. He disguises himself as a soldier and becomes a hero. But, as in real life, fantasy is tempered by reality:Matt's fellow kings become jealous of his success--and in the end, Matt falls, although it's clear that he was the greatest king there ever was.

Now this rediscovered classic is available again, and with a vibrant new cover by award-winning artist Brian Selznick. This timeless tale shows that only through the honesty and spontaneity of children can grown-ups begin to imagine and to create a better world.

Customer Reviews:

The world in the eyes of children.......2006-11-26

This book is a great adventure! Korczak succeeds again to describe our world in the eyes of a child; the games of power, envy, the lack of sensibility, the contempt to important things, and, most important, the beauty of life.

A child king, with no friends and no mentors in whom he can fully trust, Matt has to learn all the ways of life in the hard way. He learns, for example, that if you give too much, people (and even children!) will want more and more; everyone needs limits. He also understands that experience cannot be learned in the castle, it has to be lived outside the walls; you cannot rule an army if you have never seen the battlefields. He learns that friendship is a two-way road of trust and love; if you give you will receive. And he learns that you cannot solve all the problems of the world at once, even in the most efficient scheduled day; the body needs rest and peace of mind.

King Matt is a wonderful teacher to a healthy and ethical life, told in a simple language and amusing stories. I warmly recommend this book for children, parents, and educators.

I did not like this book at all........2006-08-06

I just did not like this book at all. Children should not be having parliments. What foolishness this all was. All it does is prove the point that children cannot and should not rule. They are imature! The ending was bad too. I hate books with bad endings. Don't waste your money like I did.

The hidden wisdom behind the adventures of "King Matt the First" .......2005-11-10

If a wise man wanted to share his wisdom with children, he would write "King Matt the First".
I have read "King Matt" 5 times over the last 45 years. I am excited about this new translation and I am looking forward to reading it again! I'd only wish that the second volume "King Matt on a Deserted Island", was available, too.
This is a deep book; underneath the exciting adventures of the little king, it offers a deeply penetrating, child's eye view of our world: Monarchy versus democracy, the upper v. lower class, differences between cultures and countries, the cunningness and hypocrisy of both domestic and international politics, the bureaucracy, racial relations, relations between children and adults, children's rights, boys v. girls, both the value and the absurdities of traditions and customs and just about every other aspect of life.

The second volume, "Matt on a Deserted Island", is unique among children's books. As the little king isolated on a deserted island, spends time alone, reading, writing, thinking, and growing wiser. This volume too is beautiful and full of love and surprising adventures. Unlike most "deep" books for adults, "King Matt" is remains a thriller even as it writes about deep introspection and contemplation of the meaning of life and death, love, friendship, togetherness and aloneness.

At the end, after many spellbinding adventures, Matt returns to his own country, where he establishes democracy.

To me the great value of this book is that it does not offer any answers. It does not promote any belief systems, religion, or values. Instead it opens up an existential inquiry and encourages the readers to think and find their own answers! This approach is characteristic of Jaunsz Korczak's deep respect for the intelligence of his young readers. It is a rare approach in the world where most writers try to stuff the minds of their readers with ready-made answers.

I recommend this book to every intelligent human being from any country, culture and religious background.

Veet Vivarto

Aboslutely GREAT.......2005-09-07

Anyone can love this book, it's exciting, sophisticated, and is overall fantastic. This book should be lined up as a classic, and should be at the top of childrens literature with books such as 'A Wrinkle In Time', 'Holes', 'Number The Stars', and many more. It's that good.

Here's sort of a preview/commercial for the book.

A boy's father dies, leaving him an orphan. But the boys father was king of the land, so the boy became a king. Better known as King Matt the First. He still hardly knows how to read, so he fits that all into his schedule. Humorous rules and actions are put into play, making the scene more interesting. He goes on adventures, life threatening, suicidal, and very intimidating ones. Read the book, and you'll expierience the legend of King Matt the First.

This is truely a gem, something you should pass on. I recommend this.

Check my 'Battlezone' review.

My 9 year old daughter loved this book!.......2005-08-31

I read this book as a child and wanted my daughter to read it. I was so happy to see her fall in love with King Matt the First.

I also love Janusz Korczak. I hope that more people read this book and learn more about this wonderful man.

The Age of Fallibility: Consequences of the War on Terror

Average customer rating:

Summer Reading
Good book but with too widespread and not concise line
Compelling advocacy of [the] open society
Fallible is a good description.
George Soros, Philosopher

The Age of Fallibility: Consequences of the War on Terror
George Soros
Manufacturer: PublicAffairs
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1586483595

Book Description

The legendary financier-and founder of the Open Society Institute-offers crucial insight into the real meaning of freedom, and how societies can best promote it

After reflecting on his support of a losing Democrat for president, George Soros steps back to revisit his views on why George Bush's policies around the world fall short in the arenas most important to Soros: democracy, human rights and open society. As a survivor of the Holocaust and a life-long proponent of free expression, Soros understands the meaning of freedom. And yet his differences with George Bush, another proponent of freedom, are profound.

In this powerful essay Soros spells out his views and how they differ from the president's. He reflects on why the Democrats may have lost the high ground on these values issues and how they might reclaim it. As he has in his recent books, On Globalization and The Bubble of American Supremacy, Soros uses facts, anecdotes, personal experience and philosophy to illuminate a major topic in a way that both enlightens and inspires.

Customer Reviews:

Summer Reading.......2007-06-27

This book has two pieces. The first half is a mix of philosophy and analysis, centered on the theme of open society. Societies can be divided between those that accept uncertainty and its consequences (open) and those that reject and deny (closed). Soros sees America as an open society in peril of closing due to a population tempted by the false certainty of closed society. The movement towards a closed society was most clearly evidenced by the presidential election of 2004, where Americans embraced the false certainty and incompetence of the Bush administration.

Interesting ideas, but too quickly drawn. What are the advantages and disadvantages of open and closed society? What kind of people gravitates to one or another? How do shock events like 9/11 affect peoples' preferences? Different segments of society will have different preferences, what is the tipping point that pushes society as a whole one way or another?

The second half is a survey of Soros' foundation work, and his going forward concerns such as global warming and a general energy crisis. It didn't engage me. I wish this latter section had been discarded and the first half expanded.

Recommended for the first half.

Good book but with too widespread and not concise line.......2007-04-16

The books is based on three pilars:
1) Representing the falsification theory of Popper, which becomes to some extend boring, since every George Soros book repeats this philosophical fundament. The extension of this theory by incorporating the human nature is indeed a very good idea.
2) Very brief references to experiences gathered within his free society foundation acting in new established democracies. It could be 5 stars rated book, if major part of this book was dedicated to this hot topic
3) Once again his role as finance guru in the past and philanthrop in the presense, revolving to everybody who knows George Soros vita well known facts.
Good book but with to widespread and not concise line

Compelling advocacy of [the] open society.......2007-03-26

Most of the meat of this decidedly philosophic opus by one of the world's most successful financial wizards concerns the differences between the closed and open societies that govern us. The closed society is characterized by traditional modes of thought while the open society is characterized by critical thought. Traditional thinking is unchanging. The past is like the present which is like the future. We think the way our fathers thought and their fathers before them. Knowledge is based on authority. In the open society change is constant. Knowledge is based on the scientific method which yields facts that are always subject to change. In the closed society knowledge is certain and absolute. In the open society knowledge is never certain and always subject to new discoveries.

Yet ironically in the open society (the European Union, the United States, et al.) pure reason does not rule, partly because the pure product of the rational mind is unobtainable because of what might be seen as Russell's paradox acting in the human world. Bertrand Russell discovered (after Godel) that self-referencing systems lead eventually to paradox. What Soros is arguing is that because our perception of the world is self-referential to some extent--that is, how we think about the world colors our perception of the world--we can never see the world "as it really is," and so our view is fallible. In fact, in most aspects of life, especially in the social, economic and political spheres, our perception actually changes reality, and so reality is a "moving target" and as such can never be captured. He calls this "reflexivity." He also dubs it the "human uncertainty principle" since our perception of the world, as our perception of quantum events, alters what is being perceived.

Soros goes on to argue that all cultures are built upon what he calls "fertile fallacies." The cultural ideas are false but they are successful (for a while) because of a positive feedback system, similar to the boom and bust phenomenon in financial markets. People believe that tulips have great intrinsic value, ergo, tulips have great intrinsic value and become worth more than gold. For a while. Eventually "reality" kicks in and the bust comes. So it is with cultures. Nazi Germany boomed magnificently (compared to the immediate aftermath of WWI), but soon went bust because it was built on fallacies. Ditto the Soviet Union.

All this Soros explains carefully and at some length. Then comes the important point: open societies can better avoid the boom and bust syndrome because unlike closed societies they are not built on some fallacious idea of eternal truth. Instead, like science they are always open to falsification and change, whereas close societies resist falsification and change.

In all of this I think Soros is making a brilliant argument. As he himself says, the argument is not original with him--he acknowledges a deep debt to Karl Popper the philosopher of science who wrote The Open Society and Its Enemies and was a mentor to Soros. But what I think Soros is doing here that is original is presenting the argument in a compelling political and social context.

There is so much of a non-philosophic nature that I would like to quote from this book. Soros's observations on politics and the current world order are insightful and penetrating. He is one of the deep thinkers of our time and a man who expresses himself fearlessly. Because of his great material success in the world and the activist stance he has taken internationally, he is a man that many people listen to, even those who find his views disagreeable. Here are a few of his thoughts:

"The idea of death is not the same as the fact of death. The idea of death is the denial of consciousness, and the fact of death is not the denial of life but its natural conclusion." (p. 42)

"I set up an Open Society Fund and defined its objectives as follows: to open up closed societies; to make open societies more viable; and to promote a critical mode of thinking." (p. 53)

In Chapter 3 Soros asks the question, "What's Wrong with America?" and comes to the conclusion that it is a failure of leadership which is the result of "a failure of followership," which is a general way of saying that the Bush administration has greatly failed the American people, but also that the electorate has failed because it has elected people like Bush. But in the next chapter, "The Feel-Good Society," he really nails it. Quite simply the American people have become gluttons of consumption who can barely get off their couches, who do about as much critical thinking as cows chewing their cuds. (His expression is less graphic.) He sees the Bush administration's "war on terror" response to 9/11 as "phantasmagoric" (p. 102) in that Bush has us fighting against an abstraction instead of going after the people responsible for 9/11. Soros writes, "Since the war on terror is counterproductive, it is liable to generate more terrorists or insurgents than it can liquidate. As a result, we are facing a permanent state of war and the end of the United States as an open society." (p. 106) (cf., Orwell)

On Afghanistan: "...we formed alliances with warlords, and it is their authority that we helped to establish; in this way, we consolidated an economic and political system based on the illegal cultivation of narcotics." (p. 149) On Iraq, "Iran is the major beneficiary of the invasion, which removed its enemy Saddam Hussein from power, tied up American forces in a task that they are ill-prepared to perform, and tightened the supply of oil" [making Iranian oil more valuable]. (p. 112)

Soros also addresses the problems of energy supply and global warming, which of course are interrelated. He touches on the nuclear threat which he sees as now more menacing than during the Cold War.

Fallible is a good description........2007-02-21

It does make sense to look at different points of view especially at this time in history. This book gives you that opportunity. Somewhat difficult to read at first it becomes easier as you proceed.

George Soros, Philosopher.......2007-02-02

Anyone who has done some reading in philosophy or the sociology of knowledge will quickly recognize George Soros' key concepts. The Open Society Foundation which he created was based on principles set forth by Karl Popper with whom Soros studied at the London School of Economics.

Popper's philosophy can best be described as critical rationalism. In science, as well as other branches of knowledge, truth is always being tested by trial and error. False theories are always eliminated, so that "more truthful" ones can be entertained. The ultimate truth, however, can never be attained; truth is that which can best withstand the falsification process. This was the rejection of scientific induction and was replaced with what is called "fallibilism." When applied to society, policies are always being formulated and constantly being revised when subjected to the real world. In an open society citizens presumably have an understanding of this process and are always willing to reject the false and embrace the truth.

And because they are dynamic, open societies are inherently unstable. Liberal democracies and market economies, which are the hallmarks of open societies, are the aggregate result of multitudinous decisions and actions by individuals and groups. It is a state of affairs which can easily become what Soros calls a "far-from-equilibrium" situation. Soros has claimed that as a market participant, he had no regard for the consequences of his actions other than profit maximization. But as a philanthrophist and political activist he is a believer in a mixed economy which would include some form of international economic governance.

With philosophic duties aside, Soros uses the second part of his book to launch a diatribe of what is wrong with the world in general and America in particular with special vitriol for the Bush administration. (Soros spent over $20 million toward defeating Bush in 2004, and once quipped that if it cost him his entire fortunem, then so be it.)

According to Soros, America has become a "feel good" society that is so intoxicated with consumerism that it can easily be deceived by corrupt politicians, or, worse yet, that it is indifferent to the fact that it is being deceived, failing to understand the basic tenets of an open society spoken of earlier. However, since the publication of this book, there has been ample evidence that Americans do not take kindly to being deceived and that they deal harshly with deceivers at the polls.

It seems paradoxical that the free-market fundamentalism preached by the Bush administration - and many Democrats - and from which Soros profited greatly, should now be the target of his anger. It even more paradoxical that after having spent millions of dollars in aiding the liberation of Eastern Europe, that Soros is now so infuriated with the Bush administration for trying to do the same thing in the Middle East - though with armed forces. What really underlies Soros' anger is that the American model of an open society has been greatly damaged under Bush's watch. He feels that the powerful example that we once were to the rest of the world is no longer, and without America's exalted leadership the world will suffer as a result.

Hopefully, Soros is overstating his case. He has been better at predicting the market than the future as a whole. Amercia can easily regain its previous stature after Bush is out of the picture, and the world will not, inspite of views to the contrary, come to an end.

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