Book Description
New York Times columnist Frank Rich examines the trail of fictions manufactured by the Bush administration from 9/11 to Hurricane Katrina, exposing the most brilliant spin campaign ever waged.
When America was attacked on 9/11, its citizens almost unanimously rallied behind its new, untested president as he went to war. What they didn't know at the time was that the Bush administration's highest priority was not to vanquish Al Qaeda but to consolidate its own power at any cost. It was a mission that could be accomplished only by a propaganda presidency in which reality was steadily replaced by a scenario of the White House's own invention-and such was that scenario's devious brilliance that it fashioned a second war against an enemy that did not attack America on 9/11, intimidated the Democrats into incoherence and impotence, and turned a presidential election into an irrelevant referendum on macho imagery and same-sex marriage.
As only he can, acclaimed New York Times columnist Frank Rich delivers a step-by-step chronicle of how skillfully the White House built its house of cards and how the institutions that should have exposed these fictions, the mainstream news media, were too often left powerless by the administration's relentless attack machine, their own post-9/11 timidity, and an unending parade of self-inflicted scandals (typified by those at The New York Times). Demonstrating the candor and conviction that have made him one of our most trusted and incisive public voices, Rich brilliantly and meticulously illuminates the White House's disturbing love affair with "truthiness," and the ways in which a bungled war, a seemingly obscure Washington leak, and a devastating hurricane at long last revealed the man-behind-the-curtain and the story that had so effectively been sold to the nation, as god-given patriotic fact.
Customer Reviews:
Too much sarcasm.......2007-09-10
Too much sarcasm from start to finish. It's a far-left view of the Bush administration where author Frank Rich seems to be visibly upset at any Republican administration. He uses references to Jon Stewart's, The Daily Show along with Saturday Night Live numerous times to back his opinions on current political events. In my view, an author of his age background and experience should not have written this farcical, liberal montage of jabs at the office of the President of the United States. Better luck next time Frank.
BRAVO!! Succinct yet complete, and thoroughly absorbing........2007-08-23
By his piece-by-piece dismantling of the façade that is the Bush administration, Rich offers the most plausible and perhaps definitive explanation of Bush-Cheney-Rove & Co.'s rush to war, leaving an unparalleled trail of destruction - Manhattan, New Orleans, Iraq, our constitution and civil liberties, our treasury, our international prestige, and perhaps our way of life - so massive in scope we may never recover from the hubris, deception, cynicism, incompetence, and lawlessness wrought by this gang of crooks.
Approximately since LBJ, television has had the effect of focusing then magnifying the character flaws of our presidents, until, appropriately, professional actor Reagan came along and made the camera work for him. With personal guru Rove behind the curtain directing Bush's every move, word, and decision, W. shamelessly honed this skill to big-brother perfection, until the façade could no longer outpace the complete lack of substance - character, wisdom, intellect, ability - beneath. The consequences of Bush being so exceptionally unqualified for the ultimate responsibility he so unlikely attained became too much for even the Wizard to keep up the ruse. And it all came crashing down.
Rich also pays attention to the cultural context - our infinite indulgence for infotainment, the Enron values - that allowed these charlatans to lead us not just into temptation (endless wars, tax cuts and debt that will break us) but infernal damnation.
There's a case for impeachment and conviction on nearly every page. We can sit it out and pray that W. doesn't wreak more devastation before it's all over, or we can impeach him and Cheney now. That's assuming we can evict them both without them taking us down with them. More than Nixon and all the crooks before or since, these guys belong in prison.
Kudos to Rich for a thorough chronicle of our national nightmare since September 2001. Read it and weep for our country and all we've lost.
Hubris Without Limits.......2007-07-22
There can be little doubt that George W Bush is a lightweight. I can say this from a distance as I am not an American but simply an observer of events. It is a great shame that so many people judge America by his actions. This is most unfair. America is so much more than this simpleton.
I read "The Greatest Story Ever Sold" with keen expectations of gaining some insight to the machinations of American political life. Unfortunately, this was not to be the case. This book is very superficial. Even with the benefit of hindsight where we can see events with greater clarity than when they are actually unfolding, Frank Rich sheds little light on matters. This is unfortunate. He was working with such potentially great material.
We all know what a monumental error it was for Bush to land on an aircraft carrier with a "Mission Accomplished" sign in the background. This was hubris of immense proportions. A wiser head would never have been involved in such stupidity. I'm certain earlier presidents would have at least thought twice before going ahead. But not this man. His naivety is without bounds.
Where to now? Iraq seems like a giant vortex. Civil war has been unleashed and outsiders seem to hold no sway. Perhaps it is best to just stand back and let time determine an outcome.
Overall, Frank Rich's book has value only in so far as we are reminded of Bush's mendacity. But do we really need reminding? How could we forget?
Best Yet on Iraq and Bush.......2007-07-14
I've read one book after another in my effort to understand how America has gone so wrong so fast. This is the best, right up there with Fiasco and One Percent Doctrine. I look forward to Rich's next foray of book length and hope he will attack the most important and as yet unanswered question of this era --- in the face of a cheerleading national press corps, how did the American people nevertheless reject this war and its leaders even before Katrina,etc. had disclosed their utter incompetence, stupidity, and disdain for us all.....in the answer to this question lies the future of all that is decent in our nation.....
A Soldier is Surprised When He Wakes Up One Morning.......2007-06-20
Imagine if you were one of several soldiers wounded in the Iraqi war who woke up one morning to find that there was a letter to the editor in your newspaper that supported the war and had your signature on it, but you didn't write that letter, and knew nothing about it.. The letter was written by the PR team in your federal government. Or picture this: President Bush is standing at night in the now brilliantly lit Jackson square in New Orleans talking optimistically about the city. Well at least the square seems lit up nicely so we guess the electricity is back on. The speech ends, the flood lights go off, and the square is plunged into total darkness.
This is a book detailing how the government lied and created propaganda to further their cause in both the war, and in the aftermath of Katrina. It's a fascinating book because it follows a time line that shows clearly how the public comments made by public officials changed over time. In fact there is a 78 page time line appendix in the book that details these morphing statements date by date. The book tells about the fake reporters at press conferences, the fake news columnists, and the fake "news" articles that the government distributed to gullible media. As one government person stated, "we create our own reality." When Specialist Wilson asked Rumsfeld why he and his men didn't have adequate armor Rumsfeld said it was a matter of production and capability. That was a lie that was outed quickly when it was revealed that one supplier, ArmorWorks said it could quickly increase production by 100%. During the battle in Falluja we were told that there were 3000 Iraqi soldiers fighting the battle. Reporters on the scene said that the Iraqi soldiers showed up after the fighting was over, posed in their neat, clean uniforms and departed. Certainly you remember the frequent comments about the thousands of Iraqis that have been trained or are almost completely trained. Somehow they never seem to materialize.
You've probably heard a lot of this stuff, but Mr. Rich brings out the deceit of all the Washington shapeshifters in wonderful - or perhaps the word should be horrible - detail. You see the action flow, and learn about a lot of governmental skullduggery that will make you cringe. It's spellbinding reading.
Book Description
March 2003: The United States invades Iraq.
October 2006: The world finds out why.
What was really behind the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq? As George W. Bush steered the nation to war, who spoke the truth and who tried to hide it? Hubris takes us behind the scenes at the Bush White House, the CIA, the Pentagon, the State Department, and Congress to answer all the vital questions about how the Bush administration came to invade Iraq.
Filled with new revelations, Hubris is a gripping narrative of intrigue that connects the dots between George W. Bush’s expletive-laden outbursts at Saddam Hussein, the bitter battles between the CIA and the White House, the fights within the intelligence community over Saddam’s weapons of mass destruction, the startling influence of an obscure academic on top government officials, the real reason Valerie Plame was outed, and a top reporter’s ties to wily Iraqi exiles trying to start a war. Written by veteran reporters Michael Isikoff and David Corn, this is the inside story of how President Bush took the nation to war using faulty and fraudulent intelligence. It is a news-making account of conspiracy, backstabbing, bureaucratic ineptitude, journalistic malfeasance, and, especially, arrogance.
Customer Reviews:
The disastrous results of self-assuredness and deficient critical thinking.......2007-10-03
Michael Isikoff and David Cron have put together a compelling, detailed report of the faulty case for going to war with Iraq. If you want to know the story behind the various pieces of faulty intelligence that the Bush administration used to sell the war, this is the book for you.
This is a great case study for what happens when arrogant self-assuredness is married to deficient critical thinking.
It may very well have turned out that we would have eventually had to go to war with Iraq. But there was no compelling reason to do it at the time we did, and the reasons the Bush administration cited for going to war were all faulty and the information to suggest it was faulty was available all along, just ignored.
A news story rehash.......2007-09-11
Unless you haven't read the newspapers for the last 4 years or so, this book is not worth the effort. A rehash of their and others work.
Bloated book with nothing new to offer.......2007-09-06
This title presents the reader with a basic rehash of public reported on stories regarding the administrations rush to war. After reading it, there was hardly anything new, rather there was a summary of all the events that took place regarding the WMD case and the subsequent investigations.
I have to say that the book made no compelling characters stand out, nor did it make anyone, aside from perhaps Karl Rove seem the bad guy. In fact it's annoying habit of making everyone seem equally guilty serves to cut hard edge out of the book. All in all I kept on reading expecting something new to come up or some succinct revelation to appear yet in the end all we saw was a rebroadcast of old news.
Important Stuff Missing.......2007-08-22
I see this is a best-selling book by two prominent journalists. It is shocking, then, that there is no mention in the book of either the "Downing Street Memo" from July 2002 which documents the fact that Bush, at least as far back is middle of 2002 (and many contend even earlier - when the Bushies came into office in January 2001 - wanting war with Iraq), had decided to go to war with the small details like the "cause" or "justification" for the war to be left up to the spin-meisters and Karl Rove.
Neither is the Project for a New American Century (PNAC) mentioned in the book. The PNAC is the Neo-Con, war-mongering think-tank which had advocated war with Iraq as far back as 1997-98.
It is sad that the Mainstream Media and the journalistic establishment has almost completely ignored the Downing Street Memo and the Project for a New American Century in their coverage and analysis of the Iraq war and the Bush administration. An even better book in this regard is Armed Madhouse: From Baghdad to New Orleans--Sordid Secrets and Strange Tales of a White House Gone Wild
Atlas Shrugged.......2007-08-15
Whatever you think of Mike Isikoff's ultimate contentions & analysis regarding the adventures of Team Bush in the Middle East, you gotta admit the title is just killer.
Isn't it? HUBRIS. Wow. Just---wow.
No, stay with me on this: think of your worst, most hated Enemy (no silly, I admire your partisanship you Kos-Sack you, but it can't be Bush---at least not for *this* little mind-exercise).
Now imagine that Enemy getting you fired at work, sneaking into your house & introducing the sneaky snake to your wife (or the Great Oscillating Cavern of Tempation to your hubby), then killing your cat, burning your house down, & dancing up and down on the ashes.
Got that in mind? Good: now consider the word you would come up with to describe your Enemy's actions. Got that word in mind? Yes? Now: honestly, would it be 'Hubris'?
Yes? Great! Keep reading.
Isikoff has cobbled together an unsurprising critique of Bush war policy, which centers in on the primary flaw of BUSHIDO: the Bush guys, unlike the Clinton guys, did something against Saddam Hussein and Islamic terrorists. Doing something in America these days---whatever it is---is dangerous. Risky.
This isn't really a nation of big tough he-men risking it all to make the world safe for big-D Democracy anymore: it's more like a bunch of trousered knats spending lotsa time flaunting their Lance Armstrong 'livestrong' love bracelets, cycling around in their girly-girly little tightpants, and jogging.
So as you can see, in the New America(tm), the old-fashioned BUSHIDO was doomed from the start. Isikoff's book is lovingly, brutally detailed, & pretty much supports the contention that Bush should have done absolutely nothing. Maybe lobbed a cruise missile or two 'over there', but that's about it. It's also boring.
But never mind that: if you don't groove on the title, you'll really be down with the cover art. Yeah, buy it for Reservoir Dogs-esque cover art. Dig it. Quentin Tarnantino couldn't have crafted a better shot of the BUSHIDO team ambling down a stretch of Dark Territory into the next big gunfight. You can just about hear the strains of "Little Green Bag" as Condi, W., Rummy, & 'Shotgun Dick' Cheney stride down the Road to pull off that one last Job, or to face down that Bad, Bad Man.
HUBRIS! The old Greek tragic flaw that brought down great heroes, like Oedipus, or Agisthus, or Agamemnon, or Jimmy the Greek.
HUBRIS! Fortunately Curious George's case of hubris isn't quite as nasty as, say, Oedipus, whose version of the old greek disease impelled him to whack Dad, nail Mom, and gouge his eyeballs out.
HUBRIS! But it's bad, evidently, really bad, because now we're mired in the much and quicksand and blood and sludge of Iraq, and the world really hates us, a stark turnaround from the morning of 9/11, when the Nasty Cowboy hadn't invaded anybody and the world loved us all.
Why not just say what you want to say, Isikoff? Why not just call your book "Axxholes"? Why 'Hubris'? Why weaken the whiskey? Why not just come out and say what you think, guys? How about "Dumbaxxes"? Or better still, "Lying Nazi Pigs"? Or better still, "Big Ugly Poopyheads"?
Isikoff brings the same eye for detail found in his book "Uncovering Clinton", back in the day when Isikoff was famous for rooting around in Bill Clinton's underwear drawer and saving fluid samples.
Fortunately, we don't get any stained blue dresses here, but we do get the usual whack-a-Bush talking points: basically 1) the Bush administration either manufactured evidence claiming Saddam had a WMD program; 2) All the Kings Men were either too sycophantic or too incompetent to investigate such claims and 3) consequently, we now find ourselves embroiled in the GREATEST MILITARY DISASTER OF ALL TIME! Yeah.
Anyhoo, though, there are a few mysteries raised by all of this Sturm Und Drang, signifying NICHT. Among them:
1)Alright, Isikoff skirts the line of calling Bush a liar, but only barely: the whole point of "Hubris" is that the Administration knew better---so if it wasn't mendacity they were guilty of, it was close to it. So Bush lied, fine.
But if you accept that---that Bush positively *knew* there were no WMDs in Iraq, and pushed for invasion anyway---then didn't he know the later revelation that Saddam didn't have a WMD program would make him look silly, or mendacious, or both? I mean, if he's gonna lie about the WMD program to begin with, why not have a couple of trusty guys in the black helicopters plant a few nukes on the scene, after the fact?
2)If the yardstick by which our success is measured is largely temporal---that is, our troops are still *there* dangit---then why are we still in Europe, Japan, & Korea? God knows Europe is a total basket-case, Japan is cranking out manga---have you seen that stuff, especially with the tentacles?---and they have Video-gamers Anonymous in Korea, so let's bring AlL the boys home, now!
3)Isn't it a bit of a stretch to contend that Saddam was a WMD virgin, given all the NOOK-lear proms in the region he'd gone too?
I guess that's one mystery too many for me. Poor planning, sure. But Greek Tragedy? I don't think so. I'm for readability, credibility, a touch of nerdability, and truth in advertising: a wonkish analysis would have been just fine in my book.
But from its stupid title, to its mind-bendingly dull writing, to its even duller thesis, to its complete lack of strategic imagination, "Hubris" gets a big fat "F". Or better yet, in the Greek spirit, "P." For Polymachus, Python, or Prometheus, you ask?
None of the above. For "Poop".
JSG
Average customer rating:
- Great book on explaining words
- yet another chance to own the work of a master
- One of the Best Ever
- Sparkle and Spin
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Sparkle and Spin: A Book About Words
Ann Rand , and
Paul Rand
Manufacturer: Chronicle Books
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Little 1
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ASIN: 081185003X |
Book Description
Through harmony and rhythm, resonance and pitch, Ann Rand inspires readers to listen to the tuneful play of her text as it sings off each page. Illustrated with graphic designer Paul Rand's colorful, witty artwork, Sparkle and Spin is a children's classic (now happily available again through Chronicle Books) that reveals to young readers the power and music in the words they use every day.
"Paul Rand did not set out to create classic children's books, he simply wanted to make pictures that were playful. Like the alchemist of old, he transformed unlikely abstract forms into icons that inspired children and adults and laid the foundation for two books that have indeed become children's classics."
Steven Heller, author of Paul Rand
Customer Reviews:
Great book on explaining words.......2007-01-30
It's fun, it's easy for kids to understand. My twin boys love it, we talk about what is being read and it illustrates through pictures and words how things come together. And then the "why" questions just keep on coming!! Enjoy
yet another chance to own the work of a master.......2007-01-12
It is a great chance to own a peice work of a master, reprint after so many years.
One of the Best Ever.......2006-11-29
I grew up with this book in the 60s. It was originally published in 1957 -- which shows how incredibly cutting-edge this mid-century modern book was. Through the years later the lessons of the book about language and imagery remained in my mind, and as an adult I finally managed to locate an out-of-print copy. I'm glad it's been republished -- it's true classic by two masters of the era.
Sparkle and Spin.......2006-11-10
Similar to "Little 1" ..... great retro graphics that adults can appreciate..... but the writing is boring and frustrating to read. Not very fun or interesting.
Book Description
All atomic particles have a particular "spin," analogous to the earth's rotation on its axis. The quantum mechanical reality underlying spin is complex and still poorly understood. Sin-itiro Tomonaga's The Story of Spin remains the most complete and accessible treatment of spin, and is now available in English translation. Tomonaga tells the tale of the pioneers of physics and their difficult journey toward an understanding of the nature of spin and its relationship to statistics. His clear unfolding of the tale of spin is invaluable to students of physics, chemistry, and astronomy, and his description of the historical development of spin will interest historians and philosophers of science.
"This piece of the history of physics will provide excellent and exciting reading. . . . It also provides the personal touch of an expert in the field that is so often lacking in the physics literature. I recommend it very highly."—Fritz Rohrlich, Physics Today
Sin-itiro Tomonaga was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1965.
Customer Reviews:
From the clouds to the ground.......2007-03-08
A story about the hardships involved in the beginning of the 1900s with the birth of Quantum Mechanics. As a physicist one only hears about the great physicists in text books with theory's, experiments, and equations named after them. One even wonders if these scientists were humans or superhumans because colleagues speak of them so 'godly'. Tomonaga brings these great physicists 'down' to earth and describes the atmosphere at the time of incredible struggle. He brings to the forefront the pains the scientists went through, the frictions between mentor and apprentice, the battle to look for a pattern in the data, and the incredible enlightenment accompanied by the resolution of a problem.
This story is not simply of spin. It is also about LIFE, finding meaning in the struggle. Tomonaga spells out for you the hardships involved for every scientist working on problems; thinking outside the box, the everlasting obstacle. But it is in this where nature speaks truth as Tomonaga describes.
For scientists and laypeople alike, this story is about people trying to figure out nature, quantum nature. The scientists are not superhumans, filled with the spirits or god(s). Real people who really struggled, who cried and cursed to find a solution.
A great book about the great human stuggle written by one who solved a great problem.
A Wonderful Overview.......2006-04-26
This is a series of twelve lectures of the physics of the spin angular momentum, and essentially quantum mechanical notion allied only metaphorically to the macroscopic world. Not, perhaps, in all its implications-the theory of ferromagnetism gets short shrift- but in its essential physical aspects.
The topics include spectroscopy, Thomas precession (which one of my undergraduate professors could never fully believe), relativistic quantum mechanics, and statistical physics. It's all very rewarding.
Expounding on "the wide range of physics with varying degrees of difficulty" that understanding spin requires, the translator's preface quotes the Feynman Lectures, "It appears to be one of the few places in physics where there is a rule which can be stated very simply, but for which no one has found a simple and easy explanation. The explanation is deep down in relativistic quantum mechanics. This probably means that we do not have a complete understanding of the fundamental principle involved." The translator, Takeshi Oka, is a professor at the Enrico Fermi Institute at the University of Chicago, and the introduction is from 1996. We can trust his assessment of the situation and conjecture that it probably hasn't changed much since then.
The approach is collegial rather than academic and to anyone with a modest physics or mathematics background (e.g., someone with physics minor or an elementary understanding of vectors and differential equations), the treatments should be sufficiently accessible to use as an introduction. For an educated reader with no mathematical background, I think only lectures 9 and 11 will be a total wash, although another six will be rough going (but. I'd hope, rewarding).
Although the lectures aren't overly mathematical, at least in the sense that a physicist would use the term, the lectures contain mathematics. Some equations are shown, others swiftly derived and one or two proofs are introduced. Many times, Tomonaga introduces ideas to explain why a particular aspect of the mathematics, i.e., spinors, was needed or created. The intuitive descriptions of the mathematics and intimate explanations of how ideas were derived are invaluable for understanding the nature of spin.
a truly beautiful mind :).......2005-12-31
Mr. Tomonaga deserves that expression more than others because of his sensitivity and sweetness (if such things can be said about physicists ;) .. the book speaks for itself and is a 'must read' for anyone interested in physics or the history of physics :) enuf said ;)
Nice.......2003-03-04
Although you can find the same story in other sources, this one is definitely a time-saving reading. The informal style is a plus for those who are not familiar with quantum theory.
Spin: a beautiful history of Quantum Mechanics.......2002-04-29
This is one of my favourite physics books. I have always had difficulties understanding the nature of spin and this book explains it with unsurpassable style. There are so many aspects to spin that it requires the brilliant exposition of someone like Tomonaga to unpack all its subtleties: spin is not simply the self-rotation of the electron, it is also a subtle property of isotropic space. As well, spin is at the heart of particle statistics in quantum field theory. In nuclear physics, the concept of spin was also coopted into a description of iso-tropic space! Not only does Tomonaga describe the theoretical aspects of spin, but he patiently recounts the breakthough (now obscure) experiments that measured it. Some of the highlights of the book include an discussion of the nature of vectors and tensors and an immensely readable history of second quantisation that leads to quantum field theory.
It is interesting to contrast Tomanaga's style with the other 2 physicists who shared the Nobel prize in electrodynamics with him. From the folksy iconoclasm of Richard Feynman to the brutal formalistic abstraction of Julian Schwinger (who broke the back of Physical Review with his third paper on electrodynamics which is one of the most equation heavy paper ever written). Then there is Tomonaga, who epitomises simplicity and clarity, with a clear-eyed reverence for the rich history of physics. He is above all, a sympathetic teacher - he tells you when something is difficult - for instance, explaining how Dirac stumbled on second quantisation "Why must you quantize it once more as the name second quantization suggests? We mortals stand bewildered here. Howerver, there is no use being bewildered, so let us try to discover why we feel bewildered." It's no wonder that Freeman Dyson said that it was only with the framework of Tomonaga, could he weave Feynman and Schwinger together into a comprehensible whole.
However, this book is not just a text-book on spin, in its pages, there is a superb history of quantum mechanics. Tomonaga gives a blow-by-blow account of the development of quantum mechanics, quantum field theory and nuclear physics, as it relates to spin. Through the recreation of the arguments and counter-arguments of the old masters of quantum mechanics, he has brought to life these characters that so dominated physics in the golden era of the 20's and 30's.
Book Description
When Mrs. Teaberry announces that she's starting a knitting club, Mr. Putter is happy to help out. But disaster strikes when Tabby and Zeke want to pitch in, too. Gertrude's vegetable hat goes flying, Mrs. Fitzwater's sweater completely unravels, and the whole afternoon ends up in quite a tangle.
With its action-packed story and hilarious illustrations, this fifteenth yarn in the beloved Mr. Putter & Tabby series promises to have everyone in stitches.
Customer Reviews:
Another great Mr. Putter and Tabby story.......2007-01-04
I absolutely love this series! Rylant's latest book was not a disappointment. It is absolutely charming and adorable. When I found out another book had recently I was very eager to buy it. Of course, I have bought every single Mr. Putter and Tabby book for my three-year-old daughter as well as for my self :) The fact that I am a knitting freak only added to the excitement. I also LOVE cats and Rylant so acurately portrays the behavior of cats through Tabby. It's worth every penny :) Enjoy.
Putter is so sweet.......2006-10-09
My son and I love the Mr. Putter books. They are nice stories with some cute situations to give the parents a chuckle. These really keep my son's attnetion (the suggested age is 4-8; my son is younger).
I believe this is the newest of the Putter and Tabby books. It's just as good as the rest.
Ok but not Great.......2006-09-26
This is our first experience with the Mr. Putter and Tabby series...and I can't say I was all that impressed. As we first encounter him, Mr. Putter admittedly feels he isn't a very good neighbor to Mrs. Teaberry because she's always doing nice things for him (mostly involving yummy treats for him and the cat), and he doesn't really do anything for her (except eat her treats)...so he sets out to do something nice and neighborly for her. What ensues is a rather madcap attempt at "helping" out Mrs. Teaberry with her knitting club meeting.
Amazon lists no age range for this book, though I assume 1-8 or so, with 1-5 being more of a read aloud story and 5-8 being a read alone for beginner readers. The illustrations are cartoonish (which is nice, very vivid colors) and really help the story along for younger listeners and readers. It's really just a nice, short and sweet story that is ideal for a quick bedtime or story carpet session, but not much else. We may try some of the others in this series, but I'm just not in love with it. I'm not likely to buy any of these, nor would they be the first thing I'd recommend. I give it a B, there's nothing wrong with it, its just not all that exciting.
Customer Reviews:
"You made your house and all things come to it".......2004-11-18
This book is a collection of 14 short and simple tales from various Native American groups. Each tail ties into the Spider motif that weaves its way to the Native American oral traditions.
The authors and presenters are an aggregate of storytellers and various writers. Even the editor Jill Max is actually a pseudonym of the team if Ronia K. Davidson and Kelly Bennett.
Each tail is simple and geared toward the young reader of grade two and up. It starts out with a few Paragraphs explaining the particular culture the story is being told by and for. These include Kiowa, Tewa, Zuni, Wiyat, Osage, Muskogee, Navaho, Achomawi, Cherokee, Hopi, Cheyene, and Lakatoa.
Not being that familiar with the different cultures I can not vouch for the authenticity of the different color paintings that accompany the stories, however they add a visual plus for the young reader.
Spider Spins a Story.......2002-05-30
Spider Spins a Story connects Native American tribes together with 14 various tales, all involving a spider. Preceding each legend is a brief history and description of the tribe associated with each story. Muskogee, Cheyenne, Kiowa, Hopi, Cherokee, Navajo, and Osage tribes, as well as others, are mentioned in the book.
Full of colorful, gorgeous illustrations by 6 Native American artists, the book is also endorsed by tribal authorities.
It appeals to both children and adults with its wonderful storytelling of Native American customs and lore. It is also a great reference to the past history and beliefs of Native American life.
The brilliant colors used in the illustrations are particularly appealing and remind the reader of fine Native American art. The Gilcrease Museum, located in Tulsa, Oklahoma, was an excellent choice for the detailed research needed to write this spectacular book. Spider Spins a Story is a perfect gift for all ages.
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