Customer Reviews:
A Book ALL FATHERS Need to READ............2007-05-26
A++++ from beginning to end......
This book re-lit the fire that was fading out of my hope for custody and visitation due to the walls of the legal system snuffing it out after every encounter with it. Both these authors (Husband and Wife) should be recognized for presenting this priceless knowledge, honesty, and fairness this country needs in family court. I learned a lot about myself and how to better the future for all fathers. I believe honestly I am on a winning path to my children's' rights and mine as a father to be recognized. Recently I won my first hearing and now feel better prepared for the trial. I am representing myself, with confidence. Win or lose I know this book helped me emotionally, mentally, and most of all gain the knowledge to raise and provide "our" children with the rights they deserve.
Michael Brennan is my attorney..........2006-09-01
While struggling to find a decent attorney, I happened upon Michael's book in a libary. I arranged a meeting with Michael and ended up switching attorneys. I have had NO contact with my 4-year old daughter for the past seven (7) months... even with court orders for visitation. My case seems to be so complex, and unbelievable, that even attorneys such as Michael who write books on the subject find it difficult to believe. After months of trying to involve the police, DA, Attorney General of CA, and the FBI - with no success; Michael now seems to believe me and has successfully obtained an OSC forcing my wife and her attorney to explain why my daughter has been concealed. Interestingly, my case has moved from the original judge to the supervising judge on the family law panel. As the police in California will tell any father, "your rights as a father ended when your wife left and took your child." As the Attorney General's office will tell any father asking for help, "we don't even have enough resources to look for runaways...you will not find any help." The laws on the books don't matter when it comes to a mother sheltered by the corrupt CA legal system. Despite the hell I have endured, I believe in Michael's book and believe, despite my struggle, that he and his staff have the true best interest of the children in mind. The Family Law system in California is one of the state's "dirty little secrets". The mom-bias is extreme and outweighs "the best interest of the child" without the slightest consideration by accountable authorities of the facts in the matter. Read this book. Write a book. Fight for the thousands of innocent children who suffer every year from state-supported separation anxiety in California.
Practical information.......2006-04-29
Very nice feel for a self published book but the scope is limited and definitely from an attorney's point of reference. The opposition in my case must have been using this book exclusively. Good to have on your divorce/child custody book shelf.
I am a woman and am going to use these tactics on my ex.......2005-12-06
I am mother of a 3-year old boy undergoing a contested custody battle in Santa Clara County, California. Santa Clara County Superior Court, and California courts in general, grow more and more biased in favor of so-called "father's rights" with each passing year. The custody evaluators who perform custody evaluations in this county (it is an exclusive club) all conspire together to promote their agenda. My son is the one who is suffering and paying the price. My intention has never been to alienate my son from having a relationship with his father, but to have Court-ordered and evaluator-approved twice-weekly overnight visitation with the father at 11 months of age, when my son had never spent a single night away from me and was still nursing, is simply put an atrocity and and abberation of justice to my son - all in the name of political correctness. My son now suffers from a speech delay which I believe has been caused or exacerbated by the stress he has been forced to endure since age 1 - all in the name of so-called 'father's rights'.
This book appears to have some excellent strategies - my ex-husband planned his moves far in advance, and was planning the divorce and strategizing with his attorney for months prior to putting his plan into action - and has been one step ahead of me for most of the game. But, now it's my turn. I am fighting not for myself, but for my son -- in whose best interest his father is sadly incapable of acting.
so far so good..........2005-09-01
I'VE BEEN MARRIED 11 YEARS, 2 KIDS UNDER 9 YEARS OF AGE. SHE IS A "WALKAWAY WIFE" AND TOOK THE KIDS. SHE HAS A BLOOD THIRSTY ATTORNEY THAT LIES CONSTANTLY AND GETS CAUGHT UP WITH MY WIFE'S EXTORTIONS OF THE TRUTH. I NEED SERIOUS HELP AND THIS BOOK AND OR REVIEW MIGHT BE THE KEY. PLEASE CONTACT ME. I HAVE SPENT 35K SO FAR TRYING TO DEFEND MYSELF AND SEEKING JOINT AND IT STILL ISN'T OVER AND THE CUSTODY EVALUATOR HASN'T STARTED YET. LETTING YOUR WIFE STAY HOME WITH THE KIDS WHILE YOU WORK, IN MY CASE HAS BEEN A BIG MISTAKE, SHE LEAVES, I HAVE TO PAY THE PRICE FOR THE NEXT 12 YEARS.
Amazon.com
Jeffery Leving has spent more than a decade in the trenches of domestic law. From that perspective, he gives men embroiled in custody disputes a powerful and impassioned voice in Fathers Rights. Arguing that men are disenfranchised and stigmatized by a biased legal system, Leving promises help through such difficulties as finding empathetic attorneys, avoiding unhealthy custody arrangements, protecting the child-parent relationship, and remaining financially solvent. Included is advice on how to demonstrate parental competence when falsely accused of abuse.
Writing with passion for the plight of an under-represented population in the domestic drama, Fathers' Rights offers sound, step-by-step council and a road map through the complex terrain of family law. "Too often a dangerous free-fall ensues," Leving writes, speaking of divorce's aftermath. "At every step in the divorce process, the legal system deepens marital wounds, serving up revenge and recrimination much more often than it dispenses compassion and justice." It is Leving's mission to right the wrongs caused by divorce court.
Book Description
Millions of fathers are currently in the fight of their lives: the fight for custody of their children. Many wonder if they will ever again be an important part of their children's lives. With this landmark book, renowned men's rights attorney Jeffery Leving leads fathers through every twist and turn of the legal system, offering meaningful advice to save years of anguish and possibly thousands of dollars.
This authoritative and accessible book covers every aspect of the custody process, including protecting the parent/child relationship as a breakup occurs; determining when to settle and when to litigate; techniques for dealing effectively with psychologists, social workers, and other domestic relations expert; and much more.
Illustrated with vivid real-life examples, Jeffery Leving and Kenneth Dachman's practical guide is essential reading for the scores of American Fathers routinely excluded from their children's lives by a biased legal system in which avarice and recrimination too often overwhelm compassion and justice.
Customer Reviews:
A Start.......2007-01-02
Mr. Leving has done a lot of good for fathers' rights in Illinois, and this is a workmanlike treatment of the strategy you should adopt if in court over custody.
But by the time you read this (or a book like this), often it is already too late to set in motion anything that will let you see your children.
If I had a son, I would give him this book in college, and make sure he knew his rights from the get go. Then I would advise him to hold off on marriage or cohabitation as long as possible.
Better to defer marriage and fatherhood and protect your assets than to marry too early, entering the 50% club of potential divorce. All single men should read and heed - unless you want to subsidize some woman's life for eighteen years or more. If you do not feel a compelling need to to marry, feel free to avoid doing so.
After all, having a vagina almost automatically entitles you to custody in the event of a divorce, a decision frequently made in Family Court, where there is no evidentiary due process. In other words, you have more legal rights in criminal court as a defendant than you do in Family Court as a petitioner or respondent. Marriage and fatherhood are dicey propositions these days.
A inprisoned parents rights.......2006-10-27
I have not read this book, but am looking for other self help books on a similar subject.I am a women , and have a child from a previous marriage.This father happens to be in prison for rape and bodily harm on a stranger.He has not seen our child since our son was 4 months old, my son is now 7 years old.
I remarried 2 years ago to wonderful man, we have been living together for a total of 5 years and my son knows him as his only father figure, infact we never incouraged my son to call my husband dad, but one day he just started to on his own.Children know who care for them, shelter them, love them ,and support them.You dont have to be a biological father or mother to do that!
My problem is this violent criminal still has rights to a child he dosn't even know or love , and when he does get out of prison who knows what kind of revenge he will take on me for not allowing visitation.Yes I know I chose to marry him and have a child , but If I knew what he was capable of I assure you I wouldn't have even given him the time of day, but as many of us know we never see the full person until we have lived with them for long enough.This man was also violent, and threatened harm upon me and my infant son.An all around abusive dude, there isnt enough time to even tell even a fraction of the stuff he put us through .
As a parent I should have a right to protect my son from any harmful person even his own biological father. attorney fees to have parental rights revoked so my husband can adopt can cost easily $15,000 in california. I dont have that type of money, and even if I do go through with it only 25 percent of these cases win.
I know there are great fathers out there who deserve to see there children.As a woman I couldn't imagine being so evil and try to take a great fathers rights away without a reason. With my sons biological father you can see that my son could be in danger if he ever had rights to him, but where are my rights to protect him, and where are my sons rights to be safe from potiential harm?
As for the men out there who are in my situation.Try not to be bitter towards women , just like men I assure you there are good ones out there!This isnt a war against the opposite sex, its a war against parents who are dangerous to our childrens welfare, and those people exists on both sides, and it is just as hard for women as it is for men trust me.
Fathers and Men need to WAKE UP NOW .......2006-09-25
I felt compelled to write about this book after reading one of the reviews on it apparently written by a female.
The review yearned for a REAL fathers advocate book written by someone who has been there and lived through the HELL that is divorce, custody and a compete loss of everything that resembled "my life" - after I caught my wife cheating on me.
I read this book during the first stages of my divorce and did not find it overly helpful. BUT, it was the only book that I found that spoke of what was about to happen.
I have been writing columns and attending divorce/mens support groups for two years now and am VERY despondent about what I am seeing.
Fathers rights is the "civil rights" story of this decade and it needs to be SEEN and SPOKEN about in the media.
I have been on a personal crusade to get groups organized in DENVER and to get any media outlet to focus on men's rights but I get NOTHING back - I have emailed Dr Phil, 20/20, every possible media outlet and all I get back is more stories on "deadbeat dads" and Women and Domestic violence.
Bad news GUYS:
We know the courts do not care -
We know the laws are laughably biased -
We know the media would rather propagate more female friendly stories -
But most guys do not ask WHY THIS IS.
I see this as Men not taking action. Men avoid support groups because we are supposed to "suck it up".
Men - WAKE UP - Get active.
If I cannot get this story on 20/20 or Dr Phil, it is because MEN are NOT the audience.
DO men vote, do men get involved in local politics, do men go to therapy to Resolve "their" issues. And these issues could include "how to deal with the powerlessness you feel in the system".
I am working to put together articles I have written about MY experience -
And it was/is horrible:
Wife cheats - gets caught - blames me for her behavior. Badgers the police with false charges against me - of which, I have to expend money to fight her.
My son (8) has cancer. My wife continued to change appointment times and cancel times.
AND GUESS WHAT GUYS:
When you get a Child Advocate or Child Family Investigator:
The game is:
As a MEN, you can never get angry.
If the ex plays with parenting time.
You cannot get angry.
If the ex uniformly ignores Permanent Orders.
You cannot get angry.
If the MAN gets angry the courts will CRUCIFY YOU.
I have documented my experiences and have read most every book (recommend Divorce Poison!!!!!) and plan to get this issue NATIONAL Attention.
I am not optimistic at the moment.
Finally, men, remember, no matter what transpires - no matter the complete injustice of the courts, lawyers, your ex's horrible wrath -
Remember that everything is about the kids. One mistake by you, as the male and father, and the system will take your kids away from you.
Make sure EVERY action is done with this in mind.
regards
Mike
Some good thoughts but overoptimistic.......2006-07-03
The author of this book certainly does not say anything that is untrue, even given the huge disparity of laws in the 50 states. However, on the front cover, among other things, he says you will learn how to:
*Find an effective and empathetic attorney
*Avoid unfavorable custody arrangements
*Overcome the "tender years" bias
*Remain financially solvent
To be quite honest, being the second wife of a man who has been taken to the cleaners repeatedly by a devious first wife who has no moral compass, all I can say is this book must contain magical powers, because that is the only way any of these things are going to happen.
First off, as far as finding an effective attorney, forget about it. The author's advice is pollyanna-ish at best. Attorneys are foremost interested in making money, and family law only pays off in volume. Therefore your case will get the obligatory two hour cram session from your attorney just prior to court. Plan on doing any real investigation yourself, and realize you are going to probably have to give your attorney a script of questions to read in court because these people are not "out of the box" thinkers.
As far as avoiding unfavorable custody arrangements and overcoming the tender years bias, remember that judges are generally from the most conservative ranks of lawyers, and lawyers are from the most conservative ranks of society. I'm not talking about "conservative" in political terms. I'm talking about conservative in terms of conserving and never questioning the status quo, and the status quo is father = cash machine, mother = protector of civilization. Nothing but divine intervention is going to overcome that. Daniel Broderick overcame it, but then look what happened to him. The author of this book misleads you into believing that the system is remotely fair and unbiased, probably because he has been part of the system and cannot see it for what it is.
As far as remaining financially solvent, the author completely overlooks the most important factor of all - which state you live in. Some states, such as Texas and New York, have absolute limits of 25% of your pre-tax income put on child support. As much as the courts and the mother of your children would love to pick your pockets for more money, this is all they are going to get. However, if you are unfortunate enough to live in the state of Virginia, there is no limit on alimony or child support and you can wind up with negative income flow, which happened in the case of my husband's divorce and is happening now in the case of an acquaintance and his divorce. In fact, the financial ruin of a Virginia divorce is the reason Aldrich Ames gave for becoming the worst spy in American history.
In summary, although I may seem harshly critical, this book is moderately helpful as to absolute facts and a mentality you must take if you are on the road to litigation. However, I subtract two stars because I think it gives false hope to single fathers and their probable future in terms of staying close to their children and not winding up in debtor's prison if the mother is determined to fight. I've been up close and personal with this ongoing problem in my husband's life for the past 14 years, so I think I know what I'm talking about.
Very informative.......2005-09-22
This book is a must read for all dads who are facing custody disputes of any type. Fathers are a very important part of a child's life and they should know how to fight to stay close and involved with their children.
Average customer rating:
- Mississippi Trial, 1955
- Mississippi Trial, 1955
- Unoriginal
- Mississippi Trial, 1955
- Li-Hsin's book review
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Mississippi Trial, 1955
Chris Crowe
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ASIN: 0142501921 |
Book Description
At first Hiram is excited to visit his hometown in Mississippi. But soon after he arrives, he crosses paths with Emmett Till, a black teenager from Chicago who is also visiting for the summer, and Hiram sees firsthand how the local whites mistreat blacks who refuse to "know their place." When Emmett's tortured dead body is found floating in a river, Hiram is determined to find out who could do such a thing. But what will it cost him to know? Mississippi Trial, 1955 is a gripping read, based on true events that helped spark the Civil Rights Movement.
Customer Reviews:
Mississippi Trial, 1955.......2007-03-30
At first, Hiram is excited about visiting his favorite grandfather in Greenwood, Mississippi. But before long, Hiram begins to feel that the small town of Greenwood is not the same place where he spent the golden years of his childhood. Then he crosses paths with Emmett Till, a black teenager from Chicago who is also visiting over the summer, and Hiram sees firsthand how local white folk treat blacks who "don't know their place." When Emmett's body is found floating in a river, Hiram is determined to make sure justice is served. But what will it cost him?
Mississippi Trial, 1955 begins during Hiram's childhood with his grandpa in Greenwood, Mississippi. His parents could not raise him at the time because Hiram's dad was in the process of getting a master's degree in English at the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss). Hiram's heart was broken when he had to move to Tempe, Arizona for his father's job. Flash forward a few years. When Hiram was sixteen, his father reluctantly decided he was old enough to go back to Greenwood for the summer. Hiram arrived there happy, but as time went on, he could not shake the feeling that something was different. Then he met Emmett Till, a nice young black boy from Chicago. Hiram and Emmett see each other a few times at the Tallahatchie River, where Hiram played and shared food with Emmett (it was a little unusual down there for whites to hang out with blacks, but Hiram didn't mind). A few days later, a body of a young black man was found in that same river. Hiram thinks he knows something about the hate crime. A day before, Hiram's racist friend, RC Rydell, said something about planning to murder a black boy. Meanwhile, there is a huge media blow-up throughout the country about this cruel crime, so Hiram tells the country sheriff about what he heard. Hiram was subpoenaed to the impending trial to present his evidence, despite his grandfather's misgivings about it. At the trial, the defendants, Mr. Bryant and Mr. Milam, explained how Emmett had made rude gestures to Mrs. Bryant the day before the homicide, but neither of them had killed Emmett. The plaintiff, Emmett's uncle Mose, said that Emmett had been kidnapped by the two men and driven off, never to be seen again. However, there was another man in the car, a blue Ford pickup truck by the looks of it. Just as he was about to testify about RC, Hiram discovered that RC had not even been in town the night of the murder, so it could not have been him. The all-white jury found Bryant and Milam innocent of all charges, even though they, in fact, did kill the young man. The morning after the trial, a few men came to pick up grandpa's blue Ford pickup after they bought it from him a couple days beforehand. Grandpa claimed the transmission went bad, but Hiram was not so sure. Finally, Ralph Remington, a neighbor who would talk in circles to anyone, told Hiram the real story of what had happened. Grandpa had been the third man in the pickup and had sold the truck to remove the evidence and perhaps, a little of his guilt. Hiram felt sick to his stomach, as if his whole world was crashing down. A couple days later, Hiram went back home to Tempe, where he and his father finally saw eye-to-eye... Dad had been right, the south was not a good place to be.
Mississippi Trial, 1955 is an excellent book to spite the sad reality of events. There is happiness as well to balance it out in this historically accurate story.
There were many examples of sadness in Mississippi Trial. One was when Hiram was a child, his grandma died. Hiram was very much upset, because he had lived with his grandparents for so long. Another example of sadness was when Hiram's new friend, Emmett Till, was found brutally murdered in the Tallahatchie River. The last bit of sadness was when Hiram discovered that his grandfather, whom he had known and trusted all his life, was part of the group who killed Emmett. That was like the final blow - Hiram felt broken after that.
The examples of happiness in Mississippi Trial were sparse, but nonetheless, they were there. One happy moment was when Hiram's father granted him permission to go back to Greenwood, the small town Hiram loved. Another was when he saw Naomi, the girl whom he rather liked, again. Hiram was happy because now he had someone who would criticize him when he talked about everything that was going on. The last example of happiness in the book was when Hiram and his dad made up when he came home - they did not always see eye-to-eye and they always argued.
Mississippi Trial was historically accurate in many ways, although the story about Hiram and his family was all fiction. One historically correct aspect of the book was, of course, the cold-blooded murder of Emmett Till, which aroused the entire nation. Another historically correct part was when Hiram's grandfather explained to Hiram that the Jim Crow Laws were the only thing keeping the southern schools segregated. The last major historically correct element of the story were how the jury was all white men, how the black people had to sit in the back of the courthouse, and how grandpa, a cotton farm owner, said the only reason black people were put on the Earth was so they could work the fields.
Mississippi Trial, 1955 was a very good book - I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for a good historically correct story, but does not mind a little bit of sadness mixed I as well, although there was happiness to balance things.
-Elizabeth H =]
Mississippi Trial, 1955.......2007-03-18
Welcome to the Delta. Back in 1955, slavery was still the way of life in Mississippi. No one cared about crimes committed to colored people. When a young colored boy is murdered for whistling at a white woman, no one but a young white boy, Hiram Hillburn, cared. I recommend this book to people who like reading about history.
This book really makes you appreciate the basic rights that we take for granted every day no matter what color or sex you are. Nowadays if you murder someone, you will suffer the consequences. The two men that murdered the colored boy, Emmit Till, got away with the murder with no punishment just because they were white.
Chris Crowe did an extremely good job of writing this book. The way he describes everything puts a descriptive picture in your mind. When a bully named R.C. Rydell was messing with Emmit Till, you can actually picture R.C. shoving fish guts all over Till's face. You can also see the tears dripping down the cheeks of Till's loved ones.
Suspense is a key factor in a book, but this book barely had any suspense. Once you figure out about the trial, you can already assume how the book is going to end by the reaction of the people in the Delta. Nobody cared about the murder, and some were happy about it because "it showed colored people their place".
This was a mediocre book. It wasn't horrible, but it wasn't good enough. Sometimes it just got really boring and you get tempted to put the book down and never pick it up again. Like when Hiram was dreaming about Naomi Rydell, R.C.'s sister. I only recommend this book to people who like reading about history.
D. Clayton
Unoriginal.......2007-02-26
This novel, Mississippi Trial, 1955 is a fictionalized account of the actual events that happened around the murder of Emmett Till. However, many of the plot elements are unoriginal and very similar to To Kill a Mockingbird.
Mississippi Trial, 1955.......2007-02-17
This book is about a boy named Hiram who goes to stay with is Grandpa in Greenwood, Mississippi. While there he meets an African American boy named Emitte Till. They became good friends. When Emitte is found dead floating in the river. Hiram sets out to find out who it was that killed him.
I thought this book was very good. It is a Non-Fiction book based on a true story. It is a great mystery.
Li-Hsin's book review.......2006-12-04
The title of this book is Mississippi Trial, 1955. The author is Chris Crowe who is a professor of English at Brigham Young University. He has written other books about racial causes and this book was written in 2002. The story takes place in Greenwood, Mississippi. This book is about when there was much racial injustice in the south of the United States. It sees this injustice from the point of view of a teenager.
The main characters are Hiram and his grandfather. Hiram is a sixteen year old boy who lives in Arizona, but in the summers, he visits his grandfather in Mississippi. His grandfather has lived in the Deep South all of his life and actually, Hiram grew up there. One other character, R.C. Rydell, is also important to the story.
The main idea of the story is that a boy Emmett, a black boy, is found shot, dead floating in a river. R.C. told Hiram that he going to talk with Emmett before he was killed. R.C. was a bit of a bully. There are three men who took Emmett away and were going to kill him because they thought that he was rude to a white woman. When Emmett was found dead, two of these men were accused of killing him. It was brought to trial and the judge decided that there was not enough evidence to convict them. However, Hiram still thought that the third fellow was R.C..
My least favorite part was when Hiram went with his grandfather to check the cotton fields. Hiram saw that his grandpa was not nice to the black workers. Hiram was not accustomed to this attitude toward other people.
I give this book four and one half stars out of five because I understand more about racial issues and the issues raised in this book upset me. It was sad to read this book and see that people really do this. I want to add that I liked how the author wrote the book and used such specific details to describe feelings and actions. I would recommend this book for others to read.
Book Description
Americans are deeply divided over the Second Amendment. Some passionately assert that the Amendment protects an individual's right to own guns. Others, that it does no more than protect the right of states to maintain militias. Now, in the first and only comprehensive history of this bitter controversy, Saul Cornell proves conclusively that both sides are wrong. Cornell, a leading constitutional historian, shows that the Founders understood the right to bear arms as neither an individual nor a collective right, but as a civic right--an obligation citizens owed to the state to arm themselves so that they could participate in a well regulated militia. He shows how the modern "collective right" view of the Second Amendment, the one federal courts have accepted for over a hundred years, owes more to the Anti-Federalists than the Founders. Likewise, the modern "individual right" view emerged only in the nineteenth century. The modern debate, Cornell reveals, has its roots in the nineteenth century, during America's first and now largely forgotten gun violence crisis, when the earliest gun control laws were passed and the first cases on the right to bear arms came before the courts. Equally important, he describes how the gun control battle took on a new urgency during Reconstruction, when Republicans and Democrats clashed over the meaning of the right to bear arms and its connection to the Fourteenth Amendment. When the Democrats defeated the Republicans, it elevated the "collective rights" theory to preeminence and set the terms for constitutional debate over this issue for the next century. A Well-Regulated Militia not only restores the lost meaning of the original Second Amendment, but it provides a clear historical road map that charts how we have arrived at our current impasse over guns. For anyone interested in understanding the great American gun debate, this is a must read.
Customer Reviews:
Incomplete and Misleading.......2007-08-02
While I will not dispute the historical facts that Cornell discusses in his book, he clearly decides to ignore many other historical facts that go against his predetermined position. For example, he cites to statements from Tench Coxe (one of our Founding Fathers), but omits his most telling quote: "The unlimited power of the sword is not in the hands of either the federal or state governments, but, where I trust in God it will ever remain, in the hands of the people." Towards the end of his book, he completely misinterprets several court cases, attributing rulings to them that are not made, and ignores many other cases that tend to support an indiviudal right to keep and bear arms. While the book is easy to understand, it was clearly written with an agenda, not as a balanced piece to try to logically determine the truth. Those who do not know all of the facts will be grossly misled by this book, as it sounds plausable and complete on its face. However, the absence of much relevant information does not serve those who are looking for the actual truth on this issue.
basic individual rights are not that complicated.......2007-05-08
Interestingly, in a recent decision, the court of appeals for the district of columbia reviewed and analyzed in large part the same history and background that Cornell uses, and came up with the conclusion that the Second Amendment unequivocally protects the individual's right to keep and bear arms. The court's opinion was based largely on and consistent with a number of liberal jurists that have come to agree with the 'individual rights' principle. In addition, use of basic legal constructs can come only to the same conclusion-- the 'militia' clause is prefatory, not operative. The 'right of the people to keep and bear arms' is operative, and therefore controlling. The operative clause speaks of a "right", a right being bestowed by the Creator, of the "people", who are individuals (as they are in the first amendment where the "people" is used), and the right is to KEEP, not just BEAR, arms. "Regulated" in colonial times meant "functional", not controlled by the goverment in a heavy handed way. Additionally, the prefatory "militia" clause is not directed at the security of "the State", but the security of " A FREE state"-- the state of freedom, the condition of freedom-- this is consistent with the Framer's view that a people have the right to overthrow a government that exercises tyranny over its citizens, and that an armed population was an important check against over-expansive governmental power. The court further pointed out that if the Framers, who were intelligent men who knew how the draft, merely intended to protect the States' power to have a militia, they would have written 'The States shall have the right to maintain militias", period.
Unlike Cornell, liberal jurists Laurence Tribe, Akhil Reed Amar and Sanford Levinson are independent researchers who came to their conclusions through unbiased research and legal analysis. As a grantee of the Joyce Foundation, Cornell framed his analysis according to his grantor's agenda. He knows where his bread is buttered.
Do yourself a favor and get a hold of "The Second Amendment Primer". The principle of the Right of the People to Keep and Bear Arms is really not as complicated as Cornell would like to make it seem.The Second Amendment Primer: A Citizen's Guidebook to the History, Sources, and Authorities for the Constitutional Guarantee of the Right to Keep and Bear Arms.The Slaves Shall Serve: Meditations on Liberty
another anti-scholarly sham from the anti gun left.......2007-04-20
the problem with this book and with Cornell's alleged scholarship is that he ignored the individual aspect of the meaning and intent of the 2nd Amendment. The founding fathers intended the right to be civic and an individual right. Cornell misses "who" exactly the militia is? Cornell already knew what his conclusion was prior to authoring the book. He also downplays his support from the Joyce Foundation which has given him many grants at OSU and funded his research. Saul Cornell is a cleverer Michael Bellesiles.
The History of the Second Amendment.......2007-04-11
In "A Well Regulated Militia" Saul Cornell gives an excellent history of the second amendment from the days of the founding fathers, early days of the United States, the Civil War and after, and the gradual development of the gun control and gun rights factions. Gun control folks focus on the first part of the Second Amendment; gun rights folks on the second part. Cornell explains how the courts have applied the Second and Fourteenth Amendments using a principle of ruling as narrowly as possible. The weak part of the book is the final chapter "Conclusion". One would like to think that the conclusion follows from the preceding chapters, but Cornell just sort of throws in his thoughts for a solution. But the answer rests not merely from history, but from an understanding of the current sociology of the country, from an analysis of crime in American, and from a comparison with other nations that have chosen a different path in gun control. The conclusion aside, it is a book well worth reading.
A Wonderful Book.......2006-12-05
One of Cornell's most important points is that service in a state militia at the time of the Founding Fathers WAS a highly regulated enterprise. It was a duty as much as a right - you were required to muster, train, drill; the units were led by an organized officer core; state officials knew who was a member and therefore who owned private firearms; and there were penalties for noncompliance for the select group of individuals who participated (usually white, property-owning males between the ages of 18 and 45).
This type of regulation and oversight would be anathema to the NRA today. They still want to hoodwink us into believing that the Second Amendment gives private citizens the right to run around with their guns and take action when they believe a "tyranny" has risen in Washington. Scary...it's the same mentality taken that was to its logical conclusion by our own most infamous homegrown terrorist, Timothy McVeigh.
Cornell's book makes a farce of such claims, and shows that the NRA would never seek a return to the true concept of the Second Amendment as laid out by the Founders.
Book Description
The first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court as well as President of the Continental Congress, Secretary of Foreign Affairs, and one time Governor of New York, John Jay was a Founding Father of paramount importance to the early Republic and did much to influence the shape of America's future. Walter Stahr's lively and engaging narrative illuminates the great life of an American soldier, politician, diplomat and lawyer. Readers will follow Jay's story through key events in early American history, such as the Revolutionary War, the writing of the Constitution, the first presidencies of the country, and the creation of our most authoritative legal body, the US Supreme Court. Now, Stahr presents Jay in the light he deserves: a Founding Father, a true national hero, and an architect of America's future.
Customer Reviews:
John Who?.......2007-06-17
This is a softly written account of a most important member of the United States' Founding Father's club. Many, many people contributed to the establishment of the United States and all risked their lives and total ruin in establishing this amazing nation of ours. Obscure, overlooked and all but forgotten is New Yorker John Jay who was one of the most consistent, self sacrificing and most ardent of the Founding Fathers.
However, unlike others like Washington, Adams, Franklin, et. al., Jay left a very, very slim paper trail. He was not a fervent diarist like the others and destroyed most of his letters and correspondence. Thus, we mostly view him through his impact, through the eyes of his peers and through the major events he participated in like his negotiating the final peace with England after the Revolutionary War. John Adams, one of the pricklier and decidedly self centered of the Founding Fathers said of him, "Mr. Jay has been my only consolation. In him I have found a friend to his country, without aolly. I shall never forget him, nor cease to love him, while I live."
You will enjoy the way this author treats John Jay. There is little of the beautification of the individual so evident in works on other of the Founding Fathers. Walter Stahr does a very good job of reintroducing Jay as a pivotal figure in the founding of the United States and moves us very workman like through the key events of his life. Along the way we find a very focused patriot, a personality who gets along well with others and does not seem to need notoriety required by his peers.
Conscientious, scholarly, and accessible........2006-04-03
John Jay [1745-1829] has long deserved a full-length scholarly biography and here he receives one that does honor to subject and author alike. First-time author Walter Stahr, a practicing attorney specializing in international law, has done prodigious work in the original sources and the scholarly literature and presents his findings capably and responsibly. He blends rigorous scholarship with clear and direct prose. His work deserves a wide and grateful audience. I have one caveat. Having worked on John Jay myself, I respectfully dissent from Mr. Stahr's argument that historians have neglected Jay because of his religious and political conservatism. I think, rather, that there are three major reasons for the previous neglect of Jay. First, until the great body of his papers found a home at Columbia University, thanks to the labors of Richard B. Morris, the sources needed for a fuller understanding of Jay and his career were not readily available, and the availability of sources often shapes the kinds and varieties of scholarship that historians and biographers can undertake. Second, by one of those unfortunate historical accidents, Jay was not a signer of either the Declaration of Independence [indeed, he was a reluctant revolutionary until 4 July 1776] or the Constitution of the United States. Signers and Framers tend to get more attention from later writers than those who were neither signers nor framers. Third, not only Jay but all members of the early [pre-1801] Supreme Court have been eclipsed by the titanic figure of John Marshall. In any event, Stahr's biography should spark a reconsideration of Jay's life and career and a re-evaluation of his place in the establishment of the United States.
Long Overdue.......2006-03-09
Ask any group of American historians who the ten most important figures of the founding era were, and, sadly, the name of John Jay would be absent from a lot of those lists. I had never heard of author Walter Stahr before finding JOHN JAY: FOUNDING FATHER, so I had no idea what to expect, and though he may lack the flowing narrative of an H.W. Brands or Stephen Ambrose, a few more books like this will make Stahr a household name among history buffs.
Comparatively, there have been relatively few books written on John Jay, and what few are available, focus almost exclusively on Jay's career. Stahr duplicates those efforts by giving a wonderful account of Jay the statesman and his near unending accomplishments, but then exceeded my expectations by delving into the personal aspects of John Jay. Drawing on a substantial amount of new material, Stahr also gives us a look into Jay's wife, Sarah.
This is a compelling and enjoyable read that will, hopefully, raise public awareness and give some long overdue credit to one of America's most important Founding Father's.
Monty Rainey
www.juntosociety.com
An important man, but not a well known man.......2006-02-25
John Jay - most people know precious little about the man who is rightly considered to be one of the most important of the "second tier" of founding fathers (people like Washington, Adams, Jefferson, & Franklin make up the first tier). Prior to reading this book, I must admit that I also knew precious little about John Jay except that he was the first Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court.
Walter Stahr has done us all a favor by providing us with this portrait of Mr. Jay and explaining why he was such an important man that he deserves to be considered one of the founding fathers.
From his early days as a lawyer in New York through his days as a "resistance leader" then his days as a revolutionary leader, Stahr takes us on an unforgettable journey through Jay's life and the people that he meets while forming his opinions. Once Jay becomes President of the Continental Congress, we really see how much his contributions mean to the cause of American Independence.
During the American Revolution, Jay did not take the road of some of the founders, such as Washington or Edward Rutledge - he did not sign the declaration of Independence, nor was he a soldier. Instead, he became a minister Plenipotentiary to Spain, where he attempted to secure an alliance and funding for the weak American confederation. Despite his lack of success here (some say it was a failure, but he certainly did achieve more than his predecessors), he became an instrumental part of the peace process - working with John Adams, Henry Laurens, and Benjamin Franklin in Paris to build & define the peace treaty with the British. This section of the book is most enjoyable, and Stahr makes Jay's contributions, along with the process of drafting & ratifying the treaty, come to life.
Once back in the states, Jay's important duties to the new nation continue - he becomes the Secretary for Foreign Affairs, and later the first Chief Justice. He later becomes the American representative to Britain, where he negotiates Jay's treaty, which is rightfully considered to be one of Jay's coups as a foreign minister.
Stahr concludes with Jay's years as governor of New York, his retirement from public service, his futhering zeal & interest in religion as he ages, and finally his death.
Stahr relies largely on contemporary sources to write this book; there are a lot of quotations direct from letters to/from Jay, or from diaries or records of the period. This makes the book eminently readable and interesting.
I gave the book only four stars because of the lack of information once Jay became Governor of New York - he served 8 years as Governor, but scarcely a chapter of the book is devoted to this service. Had further information about his success (or lack thereof) during his tenure as Governor been included, this biography could be considered complete.
Oh yea, that founding father..........2006-02-07
Remember studying the formation of the republic, or seeing various quasi-historical documentaries on TV, and how the stories typically focus on all the 'rock star' founding fathers, Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Franklin, etc? Well if you look or read closely enough, there is one man who is in the background of every important scene. One man who presence was just as vital, but just didn't have the 'groupie' factor of the others. For example, when the history channel did a special on Franklin, they gave considerable time to his signing of the treaty ending the war with Britain, they showed the actual signature and described how John Adams was also part of the effort, but below the signatures of Adams and Franklin, almost completely out of camera shot, was the name John Jay.
The author does a considerable service here by exploring the history and personality of John Jay. His leadership during the revolution, his negotiations during the continental congress, he various efforts on foreign affairs, and the tremendous respect all the other founders had for him. The political intrigue which served as the background for both treaties (one ending the war, the other "Jay's treaty") are well explored. Also being explored are the reasons why Jay never rose to the level of the other founding fathers: his physical shortcomings (he seemed to get sick a lot); his desire to focus on working within his state seemed to be more personally satisfying than working at the federal level.
By filling in the personal and professional details of this almost forgotten founding father, the author allows one to get a better understanding of the all the relationships among the founding fathers, the difficulties they faced, and the precarious nature of their efforts.
Amazon.com
In the same calm, revelatory manner in which he wrote The Bird Artist, Howard Norman begins Devotion by telling of an event and then moving forward and backward from it. On August 19, 1985, the day that David Kozol and Margaret Field return to London from their honeymoon, David and his father-in-law, William Field, are involved in a fracas that leaves Field in the hospital. Not until almost the end of the book do we find out the cause.
David's life began heading toward that moment when he first laid eyes on Margaret, traveling as a publicist with an orchestral ensemble, and fell instantly in love with her. They are married in a few months. David wants to write a book about his mentor, Josef Sudek, a Czech genius, and Margaret enjoys traveling with the orchestra, checking in daily with her father, who tends an estate in Nova Scotia owned by a Jewish couple, Stefania and Isador Tecosky, and the wounded swans who live there. After William is hurt, David takes over his estate duties but Margaret refuses to see him.
Norman brings these people and their disparate realities together by showing the real devotion that binds them to each other and to the swans. William and Margaret enjoy a strong filial bond, the Tecoskys are devoted to William and Margaret, and the swans provide the perfect metaphor for all the relationships: they have had their wings clipped so they cannot fly--and they mate for life. Norman is a born naturalist with an immense love for Nova Scotia, birds, and landscape combined with a towering literary capability to bring them all together in a quirky, interesting story. Valerie Ryan
Book Description
Fans of Howard Norman, the internationally acclaimed author of The Hunting of L and The Bird Artist and a two-time National Book Award finalist, will find in his latest novel -- an intense and intriguingly unconventional love story -- all the hallmarks of this masterly writer: sparkling yet spare language, a totally compelling air of mystery spread over our workaday world, and ability to capture the metaphorical heartbeat at the center of our lives.
Like many of Howard Norman's celebrated novels, Devotion begins with an announcement of a crime: on August 19, 1985, David Kozol and his father-in-law engaged in "assault by mutual affray." Norman sets out to explore a great mystery: why seemingly quiet, contained people lose control. David and Maggie's story seemed straightforward enough; they met in a hotel lobby in London. For David, the simple fact was love at first sight. For Maggie, the attraction was similarly sudden and unprecedented in intensity. Their love affair, "A fugue state of amorous devotion," turned into a whirlwind romance and marriage. So what could possibly enrage David enough that he would strike at the father of his new bride? Why would William, a gentle man who looks after an estate -- and its flock of swans -- in Nova Scotia, be so angry at the man who has just married his beloved only child, Maggie? And what would lead Maggie to believe that David has been unfaithful to her? In his signature style -- haunting and evocative -- Norman lays bare the inventive stupidities people are capable of when wounded and confused.
At its core, Devotion is an elegantly constructed, never sentimental examination of love: romantic love (and its flip side, hate), filial love at its most tender, and, of course, love for the vast open spaces of Nova Scotia.
Customer Reviews:
Limp.......2007-03-21
This is a slim story that doesn't quite qualify as a novel. As someone in my book group said, it's more like an idea of a novel. The voice is similar to the one in The Bird Artist although it is third person and the setting is similar. The device of the swans doesn't quite work. There are some interesting characters but a few to many times their actions aren't quite believable and too contrived. The main character is inexplicably lame as was the ending of the book.
Another good one........2007-03-09
If you like Norman you will like this one. Typical woman and locales.
A Swan Dive.......2007-03-08
In previous Norman novels and reminiscences, I have enjoyed the richness of interesting, well-developed characters doing wild things carefully. I have loved the uncompromising spirit of the author, and have counted him on my wish list, eagerly awaiting his next journey into the vast inner spacings of eastern Canada. It is, therefore, very sad for me to say that I feel I have lost a friend. I think the author has disappeared with a flight of wounded swans.
Devotion appears written with little distance from the main character. It appears written in drunken haste, ill-timed, in often stiltifed and forced prose. Norman wanely develops his Dosteyevskian 'idiot', places him in the anguishing half-light of passive resistance, makes him a voyeur to all but the swam, only with whom he can frolic in drunken embrace. But who cares. Not Norman nor I.
Firstly, the timing is off. Norman has lost, in the irony of the title, any 'devotion' he has had for the painstaking craftsmanship of his earlier works. The author of 'Northern Lights' and, of course his famous trilogy of exceptional prose, seems to have been forced to try to re-create his masterpieces for expedience's sake and for, I suspect, a whole kettle of yankee dollars. The book just does not work.
Two dimensional characters passionlessly embrace even before they are introduced. Who are these people seen only in half-light. Norman thinks he is still in control of his craft but he now writes with a flat, false pen. There is no drama, no pacing that can make important sequences come alive. Maggie's naked dance by the window is dull because Maggie is dull as is the voyeur David who is dull. Finally they touch, appear re-united in the car. This act, in a drama of people who cannot cause an action, should mean something to us.But Maggie, or is it David, or perhaps, Howard Norman who makes us feel one or both or all of them are holding a dead mackerel in their flaccid fingers?
There is greater passion about the swans. Its obvious Norman has given up on human contact. The passing mention of a woman who believes her swan to be a dead husband is more in keeping with this author's present passion. The only real scene in this story that masquerades as substance(and I suspect, like his character,was written with alcohol very close by) occurs when David wrestles with the swan and falls down drunk amidst swan dew. It is as close to drunken passion that the present-day Norman can affect.
Sadly, Norman obviously no longer cares. He is Roger Clemens trying to scratch out one more season well after his skills are gone His gifts are wilted.
Devotion, above all else, is a very dull read. Not until page 70 of this short work do we begin to see any movement. The plot,an accident...a misunderstanding in a hotel room, a punch in the mouth? Wow,oh my, what heart-stopping drama!. Like David, his protagonist, Norman now is now disappeared behind the camera lense. His prose, like his protagonist's actions; indeed, like all his characters seems irksome and stilted--forced and banal.
I need more, Howard Norman, if I am to pay twenty dollars to read you again. Where's your.....honesty, your.....devotion?
"I'll forgive and forget, but I'll remember.".......2007-03-05
Imagery is central to Devotion, the issue of communication couched in a broken romance. The novel begins with an altercation between David Kozol and his father-in-law, William. Suffering of late from the estrangement of his wife, Maggie, David has not quite ascertained how to rectify his marital predicament. It is assumed that some form of infidelity is at fault in the severing of trust, the two men possessing conflicting views in regards to the state of the marriage, David's father-in-law siding naturally with his disappointed daughter.
The fast-forward romance between the newlyweds is as passionate as their current distance is poignant, the attraction immediate and mutual from the start, two Canadians meeting by chance in London. Later, back in Nova Scotia after the accident, David's supposed misdeed hanging over the relationship like a dark shadow, the new husband takes over William's estate management duties. The estate is owned by an elderly couple and serves as a refuge for swans, the mute birds central to the story and indicative of the ambiguity of form and intent. For though they are majestic, the swans are ill-tempered and difficult, much like humans. These particular humans fumble through a tripartite relationship, where father serves as buffer for daughter, the lack of communication among the parties stunning. Clearly David and Maggie are victims of their impulsiveness; it is that same impetuousness that causes them to pull apart in adversity rather than come together in solution.
In eloquent prose, the author casts his characters in the picturesque Nova Scotia, the honking swans, the distance between the lovers accented by the haunting rural landscape. Love being more powerful than enforced isolation, David and Maggie eventually navigate the rocky ground of their fledgling marriage, toward a resolution of differences and a strong dose of forgiveness. Luan Gaines/2007.
Great for those who love this author.......2007-02-09
If you are a fan, do not hesitate, Norman's new book is beautifully written and very consistent with the unique point of view and perspective his narrators always provide. My only complaint is that it's a slim volume.
Product Description
This book gives you clear, easy-to-understand tips on how to achieve the best results possible for your situation. It shows you how to fight to win. Comprehensive chapters walk you through every step of the divorce process, with special attention to the custody battle. You'll learn the meaning of legal terms, the process of divorce, how courts determine custody, and how to maximize your chances of victory at every stage.
Customer Reviews:
MUST read for any father and those who love him.......2007-06-03
What sets this book apart from other books dealing with fathers rights, is the advise about how not to allow the soon to be ex's or ex's attorney to get you so mad that you blow up or becomes so stressed out that in some way you end up taking two steps back for each one step forward.
He does such an excellent job explaining things like Guardian Ad Litems (legal representation of the minor child) , use of the right experts, getting prepared for trial and court issues, depositions, and everything a man can or may come up against in the maze of the legal system.
On page 124 the author does a great job explaining how a private investigator can help if the spouse is dating, going out a lot, leaving the kids alone or if left with someone, is the person sober, and safe. And he wisely advises how to instruct the investigator so he/she only checks on the ex during the hours a man suspects there is a serious problem. Because investigators charge by the hour and you want to get the most for your money. And he also writes about who might make a credible witness for your side and why.
pages 230-238 have various legal documents you may find yourself faced with, which I think was a wise addition since we all have had at one time some type of legal document (buying a home etc) that we needed to sign that we often wished we had time to read before, in more detail.
Yes, I am female and you may be wondering why I am doing a positive review. Well, until my husband was hit and then die after being disabled by an uninsured drunk driver I had been married 38 years to an awesome man, and then we raised an awesome son. But we also saw many single father friends being drug thru nothing short of hot coals by women who in my opinion have been given an easy break when courts have in the majority of cases given the woman main custody of the child(red). And then the Dad has been prompt in paying support and then often shut out with one excuse after another as to why he cannot see his child(ren).
And often these Dads would be so damn depressed, discouraged and over time it took it toll and this made me mad. Damn mad. Of course I don't think some violent or unstable parents male/female should have custody. But there are more good men than bad ones in society and I think the courts need to realize this.
If you need the truth..........2007-05-18
buy this book. My lawyer, with over 20 years of family law experience, has this book on her desk. It does not sugar-coat the issues and is written in as plain a language as possible. You will not get lost in legal terms. The author uses easily understandable examples to guide you through the legal process. Be prepared to read things you will not like, but when you reflect upon the advice, you will see he is right.
Highly recommended to all men involved with divorce and custody issues.......2006-04-10
Civil War: A Father's Guide To Winning Child Custody by father-children relations lawyer Joseph E. Cordell is an exceptional reference for all fathers who find themselves struggling with or planning a divorce from their mother of their children. As a "user-friendly" and informative guide detailing every issue with divorce fathers need to understand if they should are to effectively present their perspectives and requests to the court, Civil War gives its readers a comprehensive, easy-to-follow format for a progressive approach to their divorce trials. Civil War is very highly recommended to all men involved with divorce and custody issues, who wish for maximum influence and continuing involvement in their children's lives.
Average customer rating:
- Somewhere In The Darkness
- Somewhere in the darkness
- untitled
- Somewhere in the darkness
- SWITD is a moral book
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Somewhere In The Darkness
Walter Dean Myers
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Crystal
ASIN: 0439523567 |
Book Description
Jimmy hasn't seen his father in nine years. But one day he comes back -- on the run from the law. Together, the two of them travel across the country -- where Jimmy's dad will find the man who can exonerate him of the crime for which he was convicted. Along the way, Jimmy discovers a lot about his father and himself -- and that while things can't always be fixed, sometimes they can be understood and forgiven.
Customer Reviews:
Somewhere In The Darkness.......2007-03-31
âaeSomewhere In The Darknessâ
This book is about a thirteen year old boy that was living in Harlem Newyork .Jimmy had a father but he was in jail for doing drugs. While his father was in jail he escape and was being looked for all over. When Jimmyâ(tm)s father escaped from jail he took Jimmy with him to go hide in the west coast by Arkansas and another state. Every time Jimmyâ(tm)s father would see a cop he would run. The cops would put a wanted sign looking for him. . So in the end of the father gets caught and Jimmy goes and move back with his mom. I recommend this book to kids or young adults that like to read books about criminals.
Somewhere in the darkness.......2007-03-30
America's best selling book, somewhere in the darkness by Walter dean Myers has won a Newbery honor award. As soon as you start to read you will never stop.
A life of a fourteen years old boy named jimmy is holding his own little world. He lives in Harlem. He never saw his father and lives with his mom. Suddenly one day he was walking home from school, he saw a man standing in front of his house. That's when the book starts to get interesting.
I will recommend this book as one of the best book. The writing style is very persuasive. The father of jimmy is very dramatic. You will never know what he going to do next. This book has professional language and easy to read. This book is like more reality then fiction.
It is the best time to try it out. It will probably take you week and half to finish it up. It also has lot of drama. Don't waste your time go ahead and start reading today.
untitled.......2007-03-29
I absolutely recommend this book to all readers. Walter Dean Myers does a fabulous job in showing Jimmy's varied perspectives towards his father. This was a well-written, realistic fiction book that had a perfect mix of action and emotion. This book had plenty of surprises, too. One example is when the police caught Crab and Jimmy. As I was reading this book, I couldn't wait to discover the content of the following page, due to the fact that Jimmy and Crab are always looking over their shoulder for a dangerous finish. For all of those who enjoy an exciting quick-read, this book is for you.
Somewhere in the darkness.......2007-01-13
Jimmy Little is living in Harlem New York. With a close friend to his mom Jimmy is doing fine. One day his dad Crab shows up after 14 years.Jimmy dads wonts to take jimmy with hime to Chicago.After that things start to go wrong they both learn about each other.It is a intense story it keeps you wondering what will happen. I really liked this book be cause it takes you on a wild adventure.
SWITD is a moral book.......2006-12-04
When I read this book I was surprised that it was so moral and that it points out some problems we have in real life. After I went to read the authors bio I noticed that most of the things he has in his books are something similar to his life and I was not surprised his favorite books are ones he can relate to. That being said if you want an action book this isn't your best pick but if you want something that will make you think then go for it.
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- Disturbing subjet
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- A Special Day with Dad
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Mama Loves Me from Away
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My Daddy's in Jail: Story, Discussion Guide, & Small Group Activities for Grades K-5
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Our Gracie Aunt
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The Other Side
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Sweet, Sweet Memory
ASIN: 0590400053 |
Book Description
Only on visiting day is there chicken frying in the kitchen at 6 a.m. And Grandma in her Sunday dress, humming soft and low,... As the little girl and her grandmother get ready for visiting day, her father, who adores her, is getting ready, too. The community of families who take the long bus ride upstate to visit loved ones share hope and give comfort to each other. Love knows no boundaries. Here is a story of strong families who understand the meaning of unconditional love.
Customer Reviews:
Disturbing subjet.......2007-04-11
So I take this to mean that we've reached the point of moral decay that it's perfectly normal for daddy to be a convict in prison? I bought the book, hoping praying that there was a punch line. The punch line is this book is being serious.
A Beautiful Book About A Sensitive Subject.......2005-12-22
Family is a familiar theme of children's books but this one tackles the difficult task of honoring the incarcerated father.
The strength of a grandmother's love holds this family intact.
Handled delicately and told from the point of view of a child confident that her father loves and misses her. Excitement mounts as the girl prepares to visit her dad. Beautiful language describes the bus ride and camaraderie of the passangers. The illustrations are amazing in their attention to detail. Its the little things in the background, a calendar, girl's drawings taped to wall of her dad's cell that make this book so engaging.
Neither melodramatic nor sugar coated, Visiting Day presents a snapshot of a family with candor and grace.
Note to teachers, mentors and counselors, this is a perfect addtion to your "sensitive" book collection. Wonderful for starting a discussion with older children but best used as a one on one read aloud.
A Special Day with Dad.......2003-06-23
VISITING DAY is a book about special day each month for the little girl who narrates this story. It is a day when she gets to dress up, look pretty, ride a bus with her grandmother, eat chicken and other goodies, but most of all she gets to visit her incarcerated father. Told and illustrated from a child's point of view, the story shows how children have unconditional love for their parents, even if a parent has made a mistake.
Jacqueline Woodson has taken a controversial topic and made an extraordinary book. The story does not criticize, but instead shows love, and James Ransome's true to life illustrations adds to the happy feeling and tone of the book. Although this is an excellent book for all children, I highly recommend this book to any child who is forced to deal with having a family member incarcerated.
Reviewed by Latoya Carter-Qawiyy
The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers
A Special Day with Dad.......2003-06-13
VISITING DAY is a book about special day each month for the little girl who narrates this story. It is a day when she gets to dress up, look pretty, ride a bus with her grandmother, eat chicken and other goodies, but most of all she gets to visit her incarcerated father. Told and illustrated from a child's point of view, the story shows how children have unconditional love for their parents, even if a parent has made a mistake.
Jacqueline Woodson has taken a controversial topic and made an extraordinary book. The story does not criticize, but instead shows love, and James Ransome's true to life illustrations adds to the happy feeling and tone of the book. Although this is an excellent book for all children, I highly recommend this book to any child who is forced to deal with having a family member incarcerated.
Reviewed by Latoya Carter-Qawiyy
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers
We need it, I like it........2003-02-22
Touching, loving, and real.
Told from the point of a little girl whose father is in prison, this is a book more about enduring love than anything else.
Too often, books about difficult times are preachy or too wordy. This one gets straight to the point: I love my dad. I see him when I can. He loves me and we are glad to have family.
Good for children in that situation, good for compassion for others, and also a very readable story.
Average customer rating:
- Forget it... a snoozer
- Turow Turns in a Snoozer
- A snoozer
- His best ever, Honestly
- A very ambitious novel.
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The Laws of our Fathers
Scott Turow
Manufacturer: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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Pleading Guilty
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The Burden of Proof
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Presumed Innocent
ASIN: 0374184232 |
Amazon.com
At the close of legal-thriller novelist Scott Turow's second book, The Burden of Proof, Sonia Klonsky was a young prosecutor in Kindle County Courthouse with a failing marriage, an infant daughter, and a single mastectomy. Now, as the narrator of Turow's latest novel, she's a Superior Court Judge presiding over the murder trial of one Nile Eddgar, accused of arranging the slaying of his ghetto-activist mother, June. Turow attempts a sort of social history of the 60s in this ambitious mystery, but the most vivid passages come when the gangbangers of the Black Saints Disciples take center stage.
Book Description
A drive-by shooting of an aging white woman at a gang-plagued Kindle County housing project sets in motion Scott Turow's intensely absorbing novel. With its riveting suspense and idelibly drawn characters, The Laws of our Fathers shows why Turow is not only the master of the modern legal thriller but also one of America's most engaging and satisfying novelists.
Download Description
It was another drive-by shooting in one of Kindle County's most drug-plagued housing projects--but the victim was the ex-wife of a politician. Now this explosive case is about to reunite an unlikely group of men and women who first bonded in the revolutionary fires of the 1960s . . . and show a once-crusading female judge, driven by both her fears and her courage, just how devastating a single wrong choice can be.
Customer Reviews:
Forget it... a snoozer.......2006-06-22
This is definately not one of Turow's best books. I have enjoyed many of his others, but this one gets lost between the present day (mid-90's) and the 60's. I know he was trying to set the sage for the present day story with background of the characters relationships in a different time and place, but the reader gets lost in too much detail and extraneous information.
Turow Turns in a Snoozer.......2006-03-10
This is an all-around poor novel. Turow tries to mix elements of his legal thriller formula with an attempt to write a great novel about aging, crime, redemption, and other "Big Themes." The result is a botched mess, a sloppy book that fails to grasp the reader's attention.
The first problem is Turow's overwrought prose. I have not read any of his other books, so I don't know if this is a common problem for him. Nevertheless, he make the mistakes you would expect from a novice writer. He never picks the simple, direct word or phrase when he can think of a more convoluted one. An early example: The main character is recovering, not from breast cancer, but from "cancer of the breast." What? No one talks like that, and it is consistently distracting.
The second problem is with Turow's outrageous, maudlin sentimentality. Every character is suffering from some deep personal tragedy and meditates on it for pages on end. These passages sap the life from the novel and make the plot slip away.
Even this would be forgivable if Turow had given us likable characters. His characters are not sympathetic in the least, however. One major character, a judge, takes a case she has no business judging, given her long personal history with all of the people involved. Worse, she only further entangles herself as the trial goes on and consistently allows her emotions to compromise her integrity as a judge.
About the other main character, the less said about him, the better. A pompous windbag with no personal integrity, his main contribution to the plot is a scheme to defraud his own father, who is a Holocaust survivor. Ugh.
The book is also far too long. Half of it is devoted to flashbacks to the 1960s that drag on and on. While the current-day trial sequences are decent, they are a small part of the novel. Moreover, the trial's resolution is singularly unsatisfying. As if this wasn't enough, Turow then throws a long, meandering conclusion in that feels thoroughly tacked on.
My first Turow novel, and likely my last.
A snoozer.......2006-01-29
I've read several Turow novels before this one and enjoyed each of them quite a bit. I have to say, though, that if this had been the first of his works I'd read, I probably wouldn't have read a second one or even finished this one. My primary complaint about this story is that I found it to be slow and boring. The flashbacks were tedious, the characters weren't very appealing and the story wasn't exactly gripping. All in all, I call it a snoozer.
But, I do know Turow is capable of much better work and I wouldn't want to steer anyone away from it. Just avoid this turkey. Three stars is probably way too generous.
His best ever, Honestly.......2005-04-14
Wow what a book! A clever beginning and abang up ending. This is so compelling and well done I wonder why most readers who read this type of thriller didn't get this one. UNDOWNPUTABLE! To say the least. This is Turow's best book ever. Honestly! REad it for yourself!
A very ambitious novel........2004-09-14
The complex story is told in two alternating tracks, with the first set in a lightly fictionalized late 60's Berkeley, and the second set in Turow's present-day Kindle County. The main character, Sonny, finds herself the judge of a murder trial involving people she has known for twenty years, and must decide it without the assistance of a jury.
This book is very long and complex. You will need patiences for a story to get to the point. But, Turow writes extremely well and ranges widely, taking on gang culture, judicial corruption, and the ever present political manipulations. And he always has very interesting character at the center of his tale. I would suggest this not be the first Turow book you read.
Books:
- Cyrano De Bergerac
- Don't Know Much About the Bible: Everything You Need to Know About the Good Book but Never Learned
- Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance
- Facing Your Giants: The God Who Made a Miracle Out of David Stands Ready to Make One Out of You
- Fast Guns Out Of Texas (Signet Historical Fiction)
- Flip Side of The Game
- Flyboys: A True Story of Courage
- Fortune's Fool (Tales of the Five Hundred Kingdoms, Book 3)
- From Alpha to Omega, An Introduction to Classical Greek, Rev Third Edition
- Half Broken Things
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