Book Description
Empirically proving that -- no matter where you are -- kids wanna rock, this is Chuck Klosterman's hilrious memoir of growing up as a shameless metalhead in Wyndmere, North Dakotoa (population: 498). With a voice like Ace Frehley's guitar, Klosterman hacks his way through hair-band history, beginning with that fateful day in 1983 when his older brother brought home Mötley Crüe's Shout at the Devil. The fifth-grade Chuck wasn't quite ready to rock -- his hair was too short and his farm was too quiet -- but he still found a way to bang his nappy little head. Before the journey was over, he would slow-dance to Poison, sleep innocently beneath satanic pentagrams, lust for Lita Ford, and get ridiculously intellectual about Guns N' Roses. C'mon and feel his noize.
Customer Reviews:
Decent, But Glam Rock is Not Metal.......2007-09-18
This book is deceiving. It is NOT about metal, it is about glam rock, or hair metal (Motley Crue, Poison, Def Leppard etc.), which is NOT really metal. It is POP rock.
Having said that, this book is still mildly entertaining. It is a pretty well told story of growing up in a really small town and listening to ROCK, and some metal, and not really fitting in. There are numerous humorous scenarios and it is an easy read.
However, at times Klosterman can get VERY pedantic, especially when discussing his tastes in music. If he doesn't like a band, song, whatever, it automatically sucks, and is open for his harsh criticism. As a HUGE fan of Iron Maiden, it was very hard to sit and read him rip apart one of my favorite bands.
Read for yourself, some will love, some will hate.
chuck klosterman wouldnt know heavy metal if it hit him upside the head.......2007-08-14
this is the most worthless book i have ever read in my life. anyone who gets duped into buying this toilet paper should just give me their money and i will kick them in the nuts. its about the same effect as reading this trash.
chuck klosterman isnt from fargo. chuck klosterman is the reason why metallica skipped fargo on one of their tours. chuck klosterman doesnt represent the metal scene in the fargo area.
What Would He Write Now?.......2007-07-18
I grew up in an Illinois town that sounds a lot like Chuck's -- just a bit bigger, perhaps... And, like Chuck, I had a problem in the 90s admitting I listened to (and loved) heavy metal. In 1997, I went so far as to give away all of my "hair metal" albums to a co-worker. Did I still like the music? Sure, but I thought I would "move on."
Guess what? It didn't take me long to buy all the stuff back. I couldn't deny what I loved.
Chuck's book's main problem is that he still "sits on the fence." By the end of the book, he more or less admits that he likes the music of his formative years, but he still seems to have a problem being true to what he likes. Maybe this is his attempt at humor -- I don't know, as this is the first time I've ever read his stuff. All I know is, if he wants to write a book about heavy metal and what it meant to him, then he shouldn't describe it as "boring," as he does in a few places, and he shouldn't say one thing one place and the complete opposite in another place... that is, without letting it be clear how he truly feels now.
The book came out about six years ago, though, and if he went through the phase of "I can't listen to this crap any more" like I did, then maybe he's finally accepted that the music will belong to him for the rest of his days, and that it's okay to listen to the music of your high school years.
mr klosterman's narrow mind and bad taste do not warrant book length treatment.......2007-03-26
mr klosterman wonders why so much is made of the chapter titled "i get drunk and go to a hockey game:" an essay describing his penchant for alcohol abuse. well, sir; here's the deal: it's the only really fine piece of writing here. otherwise, the glories of having bad taste in music just do not carry a book. and then there's mr klosterman's narrow little mind. a very small place it seems, where ole' chucky loves to dictate how other people (especially people older and more talented than him) should carry on with their lives. this book simply adds up to one big drag. i don't know mr klosterman, never even seen him; but i predict divorce/failed relationships galore for the man. a narrow mind and poor thinking cannot equal success in that department of life. his book was overwhelmingly a waste of my time.
You Can't Kill Rock'N'Roll......It's Here To Stay!.......2007-01-10
I absolutely love this book. As a child of the 80's and particularly 80's metal this book was a real trip down memory lane. His personal stories are wonderfully written and his analysis of the genre is pretty much right on. The only problem I have with the book is that he tries too hard to defend 80's metal. I feel no need to do so because I simply don't care if other people liked it or not. I did and so did a lot of my friends. In fact I still love to crank the "80's metal" playlist on my iPod.
To me the 80's is the by far the greatest musical decade precisely because most of the music had no deep meaning. It was about having fun and enjoying life(although not by the same moral code I followed). The 90's came along and all of a sudden everyone is depressed and they're trying to tell me why I should be also. Sorry, there are too many reasons NOT to be depressed, especially in this country.
This book is funny, witty and a fantastic read, even if you're not a fan of 80's metal. I look forward to checking out some of his other titles.
Amazon.com
The Arab world, writes Palestinian scholar Fouad Ajami, has been beset for years by divisions: religious, social, economic, and political. Many of these divisions came to the fore during the time of the Persian Gulf War, a "foreigners' rescue" in response to Saddam Hussein's attempt to seize Kuwait, which was, Ajami hints, in part a reaction against Iranian designs on the Gulf. Even those Arab intellectuals who supported Allied intervention at the time are now questioning whether it was the best solution to what they believe was a local problem. Ajami writes of the role of some of these intellectuals in shaping the culture of the region, among them the Lebanese writer Khalil Hawi, who committed suicide in the wake of Israel's invasion of his country in 1982. He also examines the terror that religious fundamentalists have been visiting on secular states such as Egypt, "a country with a remarkable record of political stability" that, Ajami believes, will be able to ride out the present storm. Ajami's essays will be most revealing for students of contemporary politics and Arabic history.
Book Description
From Fouad Ajami, an acclaimed author and chronicler of Arab politics, comes a compelling account of how a generation of Arab intellectuals tried to introduce cultural renewals in their homelands through the forces of modernity and secularism. Ultimately, they came to face disappointment, exile, and, on occasion, death. Brilliantly weaving together the strands of a tumultuous century in Arab political thought, history, and poetry, Ajami takes us from the ruins of Beirut's once glittering metropolis to the land of Egypt, where struggle rages between a modernist impulse and an Islamist insurgency, from Nasser's pan-Arab nationalist ambitions to the emergence of an uneasy Pax Americana in Arab lands, from the triumphalism of the Gulf War to the continuing anguished debate over the Israeli-Palestinian peace accords.
For anyone who seeks to understand the Middle East, here is an insider's unflinching analysis of the collision between intellectual life and political realities in the Arab world today.
Customer Reviews:
The Failed Awakening .......2005-10-23
This book is an absorbing blend of history and literary criticism. A somewhat melancholy narrative of the political and economic failure of the Arab World in the 20th century, it is also a study of Arab intellectual currents of the time. The author chronicles the lives and the thoughts of these intellectuals from the heyday of modernity in the middle of the century through pan-Arabism, secular nationalism and Nasserism.
The great dream of an Arab Awakening failed miserably. The total defeat of 1967 was a turning point in the move towards religious fundamentalism whilst the increased oil revenue after 1973 only exacerbated the fragmentation of the Arab World into brutal fascist regimes, medieval theocracies and oiligarchies.
There were and are exceptions to the majority of intellectuals who were united mainly in their hatred of Israel, like the Egyptian novelist Naguib Mahfouz, the Palestinian academic Sari Nusseibeh and a few others. According to Ajami's insightful analyses, repeated failure led to extremism and further disasters and thus the cycle of hopelessness continued.
This book was published in 1998 so it preceded the expressions of more murderous nihilism as seen in 9/11, the further intifada against Israel and the genocide in Darfur. The embrace of religious fundamentalism has been facilitated by the nihilistic utopianism of writers like Edward Said and others. One of the results of this regrettable trend has been the more severe oppression of minorities like the Christian Copts in Egypt.
The book is illuminating on many levels: the Shia/Sunni divide, The Iranian revolution and Arab perceptions of it, The Oslo accords, Iraq's war against Iran and Kuwait, the assassination of Sadat and the attitudes of the Arab intelligentsia towards Israel.
Dream Palace Of The Arabs is a most enlightening read for those who wish to understand the tragic history of the Middle East. The work is scholarly and well researched, but the writing has a riveting and poetic quality that keeps the reader captivated throughout.
engaging.......2005-05-05
Perhaps Ajami's best: a legendary (and, for some, inconveniently seminal) text in the field of Middle Eastern studies and Arab psychology.
The basic thesis is that the hopelessness of modern Arabs (in such fields as medicine, politics, education, economics -- even warfare) stems from their insistence on perceiving and, in turn, constructing their reality out of words, out of rhetoric, out of the incantatory and soothing effect of flowery or mystical verbiage, rather than out of the zillions of nagging and undeniable clues that the external world keeps jabbing them with.
It's a lot more interesting than I'm making it sound, though.
Obituary for a modernizing generation.......2004-09-28
The extremism that seems to pervade the Middle East is neither the region's predestined endpoint nor is it a historical inevitability-rather, it is a condition that sprung out from the failure of a great generation of reformers and free-thinkers that lived in the middle of the twentieth century, and whose passing away by the 1990s marked the triumph of theocracy and backwardness in the Middle East.
"The Dream Palace of the Arabs" is the sequel to the "Arab Predicament," which Fouad Ajami, a Lebanese professor at Johns Hopkins, published in 1980; back then, Mr. Ajami was younger and "approached [his] material more eager to judge." In the "Arab Predicament," he bemoaned the Arab political experience; in "The Dream Place of the Arabs" he tries to "appreciate what had gone into the edifice that Arabs had built."
This literary journey chronicles the birth of a generation of modernizing Arabs that fought and lost the case for modernity. The history of the past seventy years is narrated through the life of authors and their works-what they wrote, how the societies around them reacted, and how the political condition merged with their literary expression, only to suppress it and silence it.
As a parallel history, "The Dream Palace of the Arabs" could accompany any book. But in looking at the literary interplay between modernizing authors and their surroundings, Mr. Ajami has not only dug deeper in his probe of what brought about the present Arab political condition, but has analyzed the issue on a whole other level.
The reader who is familiar with Middle Eastern history will not feel burdened by the material. The refreshing tone and approach allows Mr. Ajami to deal with such issues as the Iranian revolution, the Egyptian peace with Israel, the Palestinian battle with Israel, or the Iran-Iraq with refreshing erudition and acumen that always excites and never bores.
"The Dream Palace of the Arabs" cannot serve as an introduction to the Middle East; it is too subtle and perceptive for that; but for anyone who is tired of reading about oil politics, religious fundamentalism and elusive peace deals, and who is actually interested in the underlying intellectual currents upon which the Arab political storm thrives, "The Dream Palace of the Arabs" is a sure bet.
Uncle Tom.......2003-12-19
As was written by another "(Fouad Ajami) has no axe to grind unlike Ed (sic) Said". True anough Ajami is far too busy being a perfect hound fetching and in his case delivering his master's newspaper. If you want to hear the message you expect to hear because it comforts you read this. But if you wish to know about what is out there give it a rain check
Just OK..........2003-03-11
I found any of Tom Friedman's books to be an easier and more comprehensible read. I am not a full time student of the middle east, although I like Dr. Ajami.
Average customer rating:
- Disappointing
- Worth It
- A third-grader could write a better book...
- Certainly not the best travel book I've read
- A Nut on a Bike
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The Cycling Adventures of Coconut Head: A North American Odyssey
Ted Schredd
Manufacturer: Whitecap Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 1551103982 |
Customer Reviews:
Disappointing.......2005-06-03
As an avid cyclist, I looked forward to sitting down with this book. Unfortunately, this book is just "OK." This guy takes off on a trip with some gal he barely knows (and ends up with another girl he barely knows) and almost no money. He calls it an Enviro Ride to raise awareness about the environment. It should have been called the Freeloader Ride. People who give him money and/or agree with his views are angels. He speaks negatively about most everyone else. He could have called it the Woodstock Ride as he promotes sex, nudity, peace, love, and freeloading. I just didn't get any warm fuzzies reading this book.
Sue B
Lake Forest, CA
Worth It.......2005-05-16
I found this book just by chance in a used book shop in Kelowna (B.C., Canada). I found Ted's outlook and observations very interesting. When I started reading it, I thought it is meant to be a funny narative of Ted's adventure on his bike across North America. But there is more to it. I find Ted's perspective on the cookie-cutter lifestyles and values of most of us living in this continent very thought-provoking. I must say that I disagree with the previous two reviews below.
A third-grader could write a better book..........2004-10-16
I purchased this book after a friend recommended it. Let me just say she is no longer a friend. Ted Schredd might love life but he clearly hates taking the time to learn how to write. Not only that, but the story is lacking. Here it is in a nutshell, but written better...A guy rides his bicycle with a girl he just met. He cheats on her and finds another girl. The two of them then continue the odyssey and and beg anybody and everybody for: a) a place to stay, free of charge b) meals, free of charge c) bicycle equipment and support, free of charge. The end. I rated this book 1 star, but only because Amazon.com doesn't have a ZERO star rating.
Certainly not the best travel book I've read.......2004-01-15
I love travel adventure books, and The Cycling Adventures of Coconut Head had the potential to be a great read. However, I found Ted Schredd's writing to be childlike and lacking in substance, and I would have preferred a lot more detail about the landscape and scenery. Parts of the book were enjoyable, but I had a difficult time getting past the fact that Ted does not come across as a very nice person. (I do realize that I am apparently the only reviewer who feels that way.) For example, how could I root for Ted and Deanna's relationship after the way it started? (They had sex almost as soon as they met, in spite of the fact that Ted still had a girlfriend, who, by the way, had already ridden a bicycle from BC to California alongside him.) On top of that, he called people who had opened their hearts and homes to him "hateful" just because he didn't agree with their views. In spite of this book's intended positive message about environmentalism and realizing your dreams, it left me with a bad feeling.
A Nut on a Bike.......2002-06-14
I think if you called the author a nut to his face, he'd be really pleased. But there's more to this book than just some nut writing about his cycling. It's a really fun book to read, and after you've read maybe half of it, it suddenly dawns on you that the author has both faith and moral courage, and he shows it to you in his narrative without making a big deal of it. He earned my respect while amusing me with his story. I found myself hoping that things work out for this guy and that he has a nice life. To the author: thanks for the book, I loved it.
Book Description
What makes a man sell all he owns and ride a motorcycle 22,000 miles from his hometown in upstate New York to the southernmost tip of South America? Some call it craziness; Latinos call it “cojones.” This funny, fast-paced narrative follows a young man in his search for meaning, adventure, and the best rum in Latin America. Battling rough roads, careening buses, and bribe-taking cops in 14 countries, he discovers breathtaking beauty as well as what it feels like to hit a truck head-on. He and his companions for much of the trip—two bikers he met over the Internet—form an unlikely and amusing trio. In the tradition of Road Fever and Motorcycle Diaries,
Odyssey to Ushuaia is a riot for every reader, and absolutely essential for those planning a similar trip. Loaded with insider information such as how to bribe cops and not lose one’s savings, how to cross a border without going crazy, how to handle an accident, and much more, it also features an appendix with the detailed trip lists from all three riders.
Customer Reviews:
Some fun but the guy's a letch!.......2006-11-29
He tells some pretty good stories here and there. Some good advice is given about border crossings. However, it was annoying how he letcherously pursued the women along the way. Ick.
An entertaining read, but not a travel guide.......2006-02-25
The author describes his journey through the eastern and southeastern portion of the U.S. and on to Mexico, Central and South America with two riding companions he met over the internet. Although the story doesn't really begin until he and his riding partners reach Mexico. His humor stands out throughout the book and his shenannigans with the local woman are quite entertaining. He does dicuss the route and the difficulty at many border crossing along with the problems that arise while travelling south of the border. The sometimes difficult relationships he has riding with two people he doesn't know well and the difference in riding abilities. As I said it's not a travel guide, if you are planning a trip down south, it may give some insight on various questions one may have. A worth while read for any adventure tourers.
A adventure from start to finish........2005-01-30
I have never read a "Travel" book before, let alone a "Motorcycle Travel" book so I may not be qualified to say that this is more of a tale of adventure than a guide of any sort. That said, this book has been a page-turner that has me looking for something similar to replace it now that it is over. Andre's makes you feel like you have been on the road (and off the road) and conveys, often at his own expense, a sense of the ups and downs of his relationship with his two riding partners.
This is not a Moto-Travel reference. It is not a guide to where to stay or what to eat. It is a true-life tale of a dream come to life. I hope to follow in Andres, Peters and Robert's footsteps some day.
not informative.......2004-06-12
The reader should not expect to learn much about any of the Latin American countries that the author visited. This is a book about what goes on inside a Yankee motorcyclist's head, not about Latin America. The author seems ill-informed about the places he travels, so can say very little about them.
One star because it is very well written, very readable.
Riding Companion from Hell.......2004-03-13
I bought this book excited to read about a fellow KLR rider undertaking a trip that I've been comtenplating myself. But instead of any insightful look at the people or places along the way, what we're left with is a juevenille cursory glance, while most of the book consists of the author looking to score with the ladies.
I felt entirely sympathetic with his two riding companions, as countlessly the author performs bone-headed manuevers, over-sleeps, doens't prepare in the least for a trip of this kind, and the guy wonders at the end why he isn't invited to one of their weddings.
This was a huge dissapointment, and if you're looking for insightful looks at motorcycle and travel, read The Perfect Vehicle, or Ghost Rider, or Zen and the art of Motorcycle Maintenence. All great books.
Avoid this stinker.
Amazon.com
Following his "Arctic dreams" that began with a photograph of the haggard crew of the ill-fated ship Endurance, Alvah Simon and his wife, Diana, set sail to winter in the high north. "We call them explorers, but I knew that look in their eyes," Simon writes of the early Arctic adventurers. "They were seekers, and that is a different thing." With self-discovery as a deeper agenda, the couple ventures into Tay Bay of remote Bylot Island; it is their ultima Thule--"the Last Unknown." Their small boat is willingly frozen in the ice. When Diana is airlifted out of the Arctic to tend to an emergency back home, Simon is unexpectedly left in solitude. His journey turns inward as he confronts the "uncomfortable awakening of my spiritual self." In the waning daylight, then total darkness, Simon's days are punctuated by depression and mania, a crackled voice over the radio, Inuit visitors, and hard-earned lessons as he is driven by the forces of the Arctic winter and by "the total loss of the sun." In this elegant, well-paced book, the Arctic darkness becomes a psychological landscape perforated with light and revelation, and Simon's thrilling tale is as captivating as his language. There is a welcome intimacy here as we share the same icy hull, listening close to this searching man. Simon courageously tells us about his darkest moments, dreams, and nightmares, and when the sun emerges, new eyes greet land and relationships. Simon has discovered his ultima Thule. --Byron Ricks
Book Description
In June 1994 Alvah Simon and his wife, Diana, set off in their 36-foot sailboat to explore the hauntingly beautiful world of icebergs, tundra, and fjords lying high above the Arctic Circle. Four months later, unexpected events would trap Simon alone on his boat, frozen in ice 100 miles from the nearest settlement, with the long polar night stretching into darkness for months to come.
With his world circumscribed by screaming blizzards and marauding polar bears and his only companion a kitten named Halifax, Simon withstands months of crushing loneliness, sudden blindness, and private demons. Trapped in a boat buried beneath the drifting snow, he struggles through the perpetual darkness toward a spiritual awakening and an understanding of the forces that conspired to bring him there. He emerges five months later a transformed man.
Simon's powerful, triumphant story combines the suspense of
Into Thin Air with a crystalline, lyrical prose to explore the hypnotic draw of one of earth's deepest and most dangerous wildernesses.
Customer Reviews:
remarkable and unforgettable .......2007-09-12
Journey with Alvah as he sails for the Arctic and he will open his world to you as most do only with close friends. Share in his triumphs and struggles through his year in the Arctic. And more than just the physical adventure of a lifetime, Alvah shares the spiritual dimensions of being utterly alone in the most inhospitable of environments, completely engulfed by a harsh and wondrous Artic wilderness. This is a remarkable and unforgettable tale.
Adventure in the Arctic.......2006-09-04
If you like an exciting adventure that you don't want to end and if you enjoy the style of writing that makes you feel you're actually there experiencing what the writer is going through you'll enjoy this book. To gain an understanding of some of the native peoples of the frozen Arctic wilderness and this unique place on earth read this book!
Unbridled narcissism in an arctic setting. ?Spiritual?.......2006-07-07
I could not agree more with every word of Isha Beharim's review. My first impression at the beginning of the book was of the author's extreme self absorbtion, and the impression never left me, and the self absorbtion never left the author either, despite whatever "spiritual" experience he may have had. The book, by the way, never comes within a country mile of anything even remotely spiritual, and I think perhaps the word was used in the sub-title only to improve sales, although, who knows, maybe sadly this sort of stuff passes for spirituality for this guy.
The book was only interesting as the most extreme example of this sort of narcissist-meets-survival writing, which seems all the rage these days, and which also seems increasingly boring to me. I believe this book has cured me of my interest in this entire genre, and for that I suppose I owe a debt of gratitude.
It's more like a 10-star book.......2006-04-06
because it has all the things great books are supposed to have. It's exciting, honest, moving, educational, thoughtful, humorous, philosophical. You'll be different after you read it.
Okay, a husband and a wife and a cat going up into the Arctic to winter-over in a small boat is a goofy idea. The author admits as much and realizes he bit off more than he could chew. It was much worse than he expected, but with grit, resourcefulness, and well, lack of any other choices, he somehow, against all odds, lives to see spring.
That the cat got through the winter is even more astonishing. At one point Simon picks up the cat, and not knowing it's frozen, breaks off one of its ears. (The ear heals -- sort of.)
Simon's wife has to leave before winter sets in, and Simon is left alone with the cat to get through months of darkness and 60-below (F)weather. He goes blind for a time, nearly dies from lack of oxygen and carbon-monoxide poisoning, and loses his mind for awhile. He does endlessly dumb things -- it would be much less of a story if he didn't.
Simon is an astonishingly good writer, his style easy and natural, and his description of the Actic as good as Barry Lopez' best.
A Spiritual Odyssey of Incredible Self-Absorbtion.......2006-02-25
While the descriptions of arctic environment and people encountered in this book was interesting, the prose style of Mr. Simon was completely self-absorbed, dripping with condescension, arrogance, and numerous jagged barbs toward those who do not share his free lifestyle or post-modern worldview.
While he states this was a spiritual Odyssey, the story was all I, I, I, me, me, me, us, us, us. The Inuit accepted US, the wildlife accept ME, the fox that was near my boat had a message for ME, the raven that was a frequent visitor was there for ME, the bear I encountered also had a message for ME. Every piece of landscape, every person, every animal was only important in its relationship to them. That self-absorption got old really quickly.
He states it was a spiritual quest, but repeatedly stated that he needed the experience to "authenticate" himself. He needed to "interact" with the wildlife to "authenticate" his experience. Then, after all this "authentication", what great spiritual insight did he give his readers at the end of his journey? "I entered the abyss in many ways a stranger to myself and emerged intimately familiar with the inner man. I searched the edges of darkness and plumbed the depths of my soul, faced my fears, and uncovered my weaknesses." I, I, I, me, me, me. Please, enough already.
He quote Loren Eiseley, writing, "It is a commonplace of all religious thought, even the most primitive, that the man seeking visions and insight must go apart from his fellows and live for a time in the wilderness. If he is of the proper sort he will return with a message." Too bad Mr. Simon didn't return with one.
I feel sorry for someone so spiritually bereft that he must seek out such hardships in order to "authenticate" himself. And there are certainly better books about the arctic out there that are actually about the arctic and not just about the author. I suggest passing on this one.
Customer Reviews:
The BEST work of Ball's.......2006-01-10
I have absolutely NOTHING good to say about ANY of Dan L. Thrapp's books ( just read my extensive, debunking reviews of his "Victorio and the Mimbres Apaches" and "Conquest of Apacheria" right here at amazon.com and find out!). As for Eve Ball, she has done an excellent job compilling accounts from Apaches themselves, which she expended great time-consuming efforts to draw out of them - especially from Daklugie, the embittered youngest son of Juh, chief of the Nedhnis.
This book is of profound value and importance to anyone who is seriously interested in the Apache and/or in Apache/European conflict because it contains NOTHING BUT first-hand accounts provided by Apaches, as opposed to books by crank writers such as Dan L. Thrapp (who routinely camouflaged his own tastes, likes, and dislikes within his rambling writings on historic facts and incidents).
Understand that while I do not adore the Apaches (in the twisted, Politically Correct sense of today) and that I also do not venerate any of their leaders or warriors of frontier times, I do respect them and have an intense interest in their own perspectives on making the change from the life way of "Wild" Indians to civilized citizens of an industrial and technological superpower. And after reading this book of Eve Ball's, I am very pleased about having purchased it.
Within these pages you will recieve "insider information" on the Apache religion, their social mores, their views of non-Apaches, the logic their leaders employed when trying to make sense of what took place during the European invasion of their territories, and much more.
Most importantly, you will find yourself given intimate information on many of the leaders, on their personalities, their capabilities, their alliances and so forth.
If you read this book and then read anything by Dan L. Thrapp or other cranks who write about the Apache, you'll soon realize what these other so-called "authors" are capable of in terms of distortion of historic fact and also in terms of injecting their own biases, likes, dislikes, and fantasies into historic accounts in order to stear their readers to an opinion on people and events that is desired by these disgusting information manipulators.
Another aspect I really liked about this book is the way the personalities of the various Apaches whom Eve Ball interviewed came through. You can see by their words who still had intensely negative feelings about civilization and who was more accepting. But best of all, there is the correction of details connected to what really did happen during the many Apache wars and their confinement on reservations before being shipped east. These corrections are worth ten times the price of this book alone because they offer sensible and accurate evaluations of various occurances between Apaches and Europeans, and occurances surrounding various prominant Apache leaders and warriors. Much distortion concerning Geronimo, his leadership qualities (always called into question by the crank, Dan L. Thrapp!), his personal life, his views and strategies, his religious observances, his "Powers", and his later years in the east are all set right by never-before-heard intimate details provided by Indians who were with him on the warpath and on the reservations. After reading this book, Geronimo becomes a very interesting, highly astute and intelligent, multi-dimensional personality. A far cry from his popular image of either a one-track-minded, blood thirsty savage or the more recent (and equally inacurate)Politically Correct version which holds him as some sort of poor, persecuted, helpless soul constantly hounded across the Southwestern mountains and plains. The Apache statements concerning Geronimo alone, blow ALL of the drivel spewed out by Dan L. Thrapp right out of the water in terms of credibility.
Actually, I can't say enough about this book in the positive sense. I'm glad Eve Ball produced it. She did both the Apaches and we Whites a great service in giving us a document that really does allow us to understand one aspect of Frontier history accurately. Equally, it serves as a means to FINALLY discredit the blathering swamp of details which comprise fanciful, distorted, and biased works by the likes of Dan L. Thrapp!
If you want great reading on the Apaches and on their role in frontier history, read "Indeh, An Apache Odyssey". Its superb! The bottom line is, "go to the source" and who better to explain aspects of the Apaches than the Apaches themselves?!
Direct words of Apaches provide window into recent history........1997-06-15
I picked this book up in Bisbee, AZ on a recent trip. Expecting it to be dull and academic, I was delighted to find it is great reading. I could slowly read a chapter or two each night and LEARN something of what life was like for an Apache who was a boy during the last "Indian wars" of the southwest.
It has always fascinated me that this huge country was only recently occupied largely by people such as the Apaches. White people and their "civilization" were still just building their way, one stick at a time, toward a new world of artifice and hypocrisy to surround the native people of North America.
This is a rare find! Eve Ball has helped preserve some important Apache oral history translated to written form
Average customer rating:
- Fabulous story
- Inspiring if a little kooky
- Walking across the Americas on no money a day
- Run, dont walk to find this book
- A Late Review, but Better Late than Never
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Longest Walk: An Odyssey of the Human Spirit
George Meegan
Manufacturer: Dodd Mead
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 039608723X |
Customer Reviews:
Fabulous story.......2007-08-18
I highly recommend this book by a unique man who accomplished an amazing feat with his feet.
Inspiring if a little kooky.......2005-09-27
Mr. Meegans feat, (and feet) is/are simply unreal. Next time your kid wants a ride somewhere local. Hand him or her this book. I particularly liked his entries for what he experienced in Honduras. After experiencing what sounds like a complete mental breakdwon in a church basement in Tegucigalpa, he gets up in the morning and starts walking again. Keep on truckin Meegan! You rule, sir.
Walking across the Americas on no money a day.......2005-09-05
George Meegan writes about his walk through Latin America and north, a walk during which he had almost no financial support. He gives the reader an insight into the remote rural communities he traveled through and the hospitality of people he met along the way. George's adventures on the road, visited and cheered on by his young wife and small children visiting from their home in Japan, and his determination to walk through a gamut of different types of weather and walking conditions to his goal in Canada, make for great reading!
Run, dont walk to find this book.......2005-05-17
Too bad it is out of print. I read this years ago and it still haunts my memory as clear as yesterday. Not only is the journey remarkable, but the author is very down to earth and likeable. This is a story of setting a goal and sticking to it to the end.
A Late Review, but Better Late than Never.......2004-04-26
I really enjoyed this book. I can relate with the author about many of the personal experiences that he came across in his long journey. George Meegan must be a very deep person in his method of handling the situations that he encountered. On his trip of 7 years, he managed to get married,and father children without totally breaking his mileage countings, however, this is not the main plot of the book. He brought out the warmth of these little known and studied peoples of Latin America and showed the world that these people are really generous and kind, other than what the media makes them out to be. I can relate with one particular experience he had in Mexico that struck me deeply. Anyway, I recommend this book to anyone that may enjoy an adventure of the human spirit. It makes for good reading.
Book Description
Starting out only to spend a week on the Severn River, the author ends up 1 year later sailing out onto the Black Sea in an 11 foot dinghy. Using only sails and oars, he crossed the English Channel, 3000 miles of canals, rivers, and sea.
Customer Reviews:
A Charming, Unique Story of a Strange Voyage in a Small Boat.......2007-09-11
Sandy Mackinnon sets out from Shropshire in a tiny sailboat and sails and rows himself and his small boat across England, across the Channel, and across the canals and rivers of Europe to the Black Sea.
This is a fascinating journey and Mackinnon is a brilliant and charming storyteller. Although his voyage involves many privations and even humiliations, he is always optimistic, happy, and carefree--well, almost always. Mackinnon's joy and love of adventure, people, and the outdoors is highly infectious. No one will come away from reading this book with anything less than a lighter heart and a brighter outlook on life and its tribulations. Jack de Crow is witty, entertaining, and edifying. It is one of the best sailing adventure books that I have ever read and I have read very many. I highly recommend this book to every reader whether or not you are a sailor or boater. You don't need to know anything about boats or sailing to fully enjoy this wonderful book.
I have one important and heavy dissatisfaction with the book that I must air. I almost broke ranks and would have been the first reviewer to give it fewer than five stars. Mackinnon from start to finish depends on the kindness of strangers to get him through tough spots. His journey, and even his life, is saved several times by other boaters or people along the shore who give him shelter, a tow, make repairs for him, etc. etc. He simply would not have gotten more than a few miles on his own. Of course, this is part, and a central part, of the whole story and journey--trusting to your luck and to the unanticipated and unpaid assistance of strangers. Mackinnon is basically a good natured and kind hearted screw-up. He really doesn't know what he is doing or how to do it, but goes on anyway. Well this makes for a good story as Mackinnon recognizes--no screw-ups, no stories.
But I favor a tradition that values self-reliance at least in things nautical. A watery voyage requires proper craft, charts, equipment in good order, and the ability to navigate and conduct the voyage on one's own. The only excuse for seeking or accepting help from others is dire and unavoidable life-threatening emergency. Mackinnon violates these basic principles of boating, often to his peril, sometimes to the peril of others. I cannot respect this. I believe that Mackinnon should not have made this voyage, that he was morally irresponsible, and that despite the wonderful book that resulted, the overall effect may be detrimental.
One other minor problem with the book is that readers should be aware that there are many many references to English children's literature and other works that are obscure and will not be familiar, and there are no notes or explanations. This comes off as a bit pretentious and puzzling and somewhat diminished my enjoyment of Jack de Crow.
Sometimes Mackinnon can be insensitive. He glows over the beauty and wealth of Vienna--Europe's greatest city (his description). Mackinnon describes with excessive enthusiasm Vienna's glorious history, but never mentions the most important event in Vienna's history--the anything but glorious Kristallnacht. I quote from Wikipedia: "Events in Austria were no less horrendous. Of the entire Kristallnacht only the pogrom in Vienna was completely successful. Most of Vienna's 94 synagogues and prayer-houses were partially or totally destroyed. People were subjected to all manner of humiliations, including being forced to scrub the pavements whilst being tormented by their fellow Austrians, some of whom had been their friends and neighbours." I find it hard to share his insensitive enthusiasm for Vienna.
But in the end I suppose that Mackinnon is some sort of genius, a genuine free spirit, and true eccentric and cannot be held to the same standards as the rest of us.
A marvellous little book - meant to be shared........2007-06-13
A friend shared this book with me, hoping I'd enjoy it as much as he did. And I did. Being familiar with the country and the people - but not the rivers, I loved every mile of Jack De Crow's journey, laughing at almost every page at the impossible conditions that Mackinnon found himself in. As I knew they would, Mackinnon and Jack De Crow rose above it all.
I grew to love that little boat. In turn I shared with friends and family.
personal challange at its best.......2006-02-23
If you like sailing small craft and mini-crusiers and camping out, you will love this book. Most entertaining, humorous and well written.....good work Jim McKinnon !
A Wonderful Adventure!.......2005-08-25
This is my favorite sailing book. The combination of humor, insight, warmth, fascinating places, interesting people expertly sketched, odd experiences, wrecks, near death experiences, coupled with the pure joy of traveling by water, make for a very memorable book. Not only is it hard to put down once begun, it is hard not to immediately restart once finished.
A Classic is Born!.......2003-08-12
"Sandy" Mackinnon tells a tale of nautical adventure with a style that reads like a delightful mix of Jerome K. Jerome, Jean Shephard, and Monty Python. This books is so very English, though Mackinnon is Australian- it is told with love, warmth, wisdom, humanity, and with prose as crisp as Beaujolais and warm as old port. This is a very FUNNY book, but also life affirming without being pretentious. Once you start this book you will want to keep rowing through the pages as the author travels along the great rivers of Europe from Wales to Romania. This book is definitely a new classic, and ranks up there with The Saga of Cimba and Alone in the Caribbean as one of the three most evocative nautical travelogues ever written. A genuine treasure- and pleasure.
Customer Reviews:
Vivid images that are simple, honest, and as-is.......2004-01-13
Without Reservation is a collection of free-verse poetry by Alaskan Native American John E. Smelcer that emphasizes clear tone and vivid images that are simple, honest, and as-is. Smelcer is the only surviving speaker, reader, and writer of his native language of Ahtna, Without Reservation is a compelling voice, unforgettable and highly recommended. The Incomplete & Unauthorized Definition Of American Indian Writers: "Indian" is not a derogatory word./It's what we call ourselves.//Not all Indians wear long black hair/or faded red bandanas and denim.//I've never seen a Red Man.//Fiction and nonfiction by Indians outsells poetry by Indians.//No Indian poet has won the Pulitzer Prize.//Indian writers shouldn't drive sports cars./I traded my yellow Porsche for a pick-up truck/with a quarter million miles/and a rifle rack in the rear window...
Average customer rating:
- Native American thinking for children and adults
- My Favorite Book
- Interesting Yet Confusing
- A Native American Adventure
- A UNIVERSAL ODYSSEY
|
Anpao: An American Indian Odyssey
Jamake Highwater
Manufacturer: HarperTrophy
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0064404374 |
Book Description
Anpao is young and Handsome and Brave -- a man any maiden would be proud to call her husband. Any maiden but Ko-Ko-Mik-e-is, that is, who calims she belongs to the Sun alone. And so Anpao sets off for the house of the Sun to ask permission to marry the woman he loves. But Anpao's journey is not an easy one. Before he can reach the Sun, Anapao must travel back in time to the dawn of the world. He must relive his own creation, venture through The World Beneath the World, and battle the many magical mystical creatures of Native American legends. For only by doing so can Anpao discover who he really is, and rove to the Sun why he alone is worthy of the fair Ko-komik-e-is
Customer Reviews:
Native American thinking for children and adults.......2003-04-10
This book is an excellent resource for teaching children and adults about Native American culture. Specifically, this book focuses on the philosophy of how Turtle Island children are guided through learning as a circle of experiences. People of a western mind frame can appreciate this book as a collection of traditional stories compiled from several Native American nations woven into a story about one boy's quest to find wisdom and eventually earn the privilege of marrying the object of his desire. Without an understanding of the Medicine Wheel, many crucial events of this book will confuse the western mind. This book is meant to be read more than once in order to grasp the depth of all that it can teach children about gaining wisdom while evolving from children to young adults. This book is best used with middle school students whose age is equivalent to that of Anpao at the beginning of the book. If used in a classroom, it's recommended that the teacher read "Seven Arrows" by Hyemeyohsts Storm or the "Native People Native Ways" series by White Deer of Autumn in order to gain an appreciation for the complexities of Anpao as a cultural resource.
My Favorite Book.......2002-08-31
This is my favorite book. Not only was it written with the exact precision I strive to imitate, but it was captivating in all ways. I could relate to the hero so much that I could have been the hero, and everything seemed to make sense, like it was written to me. I love Native American culture, but you don't have to in order to appreciate this book; it isn't about that. I would call it the greatest adventure novel of all time.
Interesting Yet Confusing.......2001-08-15
Being in PACE (Plano Acdemic Creative Edcation) it is required that students like me must read 9TH grade material.( this year im in 7TH grade) Me, being SUPER catious of what I read, was forced by my parents to read this (how diabolical) . When I started reading this material, I wont say it was bad BUT it was a little confusing starting from the book to the part where the woman hangs in air from a something... Gets killed by the sun... a litte boy survives... (read the book) I would not regecomend this book for 7TH graders and anyone below that...
A Native American Adventure.......2001-07-13
A Native American Adventure Set in peaceful, worry-free Native American village. Anpao by Jamake Highwater tells a story of a young Native American man, who is sent off on a great quest. Lots of methods and beliefs in the Native American culture are expressed in this book. To say that this book doesn’t have a new idea and isn't intriguing and informative is quite balderdash. In a Native American village, there is a very beautiful girl, whom everyone wants to marry. Her name is Ko-ko-me-kis. One young man, named Anpao, is determined to marry her, and to do so. Ko-ko-me-kis says that she belongs to the Sun her father. She tells Anpao that she will marry him, if he travels to the house of the Sun to be granted permission. For proof that he traveled to the Sun, he must ask the Sun to remove the scar from his face. Anapao sets off on the journey and he meets many obstacles and many challenges on his journey. This story is gripping to the end. The experience to different religious beliefs and descriptions of how the world came to are two reason why I would recommend this book. The views in Native American religion are very different than that of Christian, Jewish, and Muslim beliefs. The animals talk, and the Sun and the Moon are viewed as people. People are half animal, half human, and some people might like the different view on religion. The point of this religion I believe is that everything matters as much as everything else, that everything and everyone has a meaning. Another reason why I would recommend this book is because of the different kind of culture that is talked about. Some of the cultural celebrations, dances, and beliefs of Native Americans are talked about in this book. For example when Anpao did the cultural dance for the night, and when one of the villages Anpao was in started celebrating after they one a war. Some people might like to be aware of other cultures, and this is a good book for someone like that.
Although I thought that this was a decent book, some people might disagree with my opinion. This book is confusing because of all of the different time switches and how Anpao has so many different personalities and identities. It is also very slow moving. Anpao's journey is long, and it may be a little too long for some people. He makes many stops at random villages that some people might think are unnecessary. Yet, all of these parts are needed in this story in order to be filled with great thoughts and experiences.
A UNIVERSAL ODYSSEY.......2000-05-30
I truly enjoyed reading this well-crafted book and agree with critics that ANPAO is a "timeless work" and Highwater is a "wonderful poet and storyteller." Highwater has incorporated a diversity of original myths, legends, and stories from the Northern Plains culture, in which he grew up, with elements from the Southwest indigenous cultures to create a Native-American odyssey that is universal in its appeal. Themes of bravery, love, cooperation, honesty, and respect are interwined throughout the work, giving readers from diverse backgrounds much to ponder and contemplate regarding human nature and human relationship with the planet. Highwater crafts his story so well that questions arise naturally, and readers are encouraged to think critically about the themes presented in the text. This is an excellent title to include on any upper-level multicultural reading list.
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