Enduring Innocence: Global Architecture and Its Political Masquerades

Book Description

In Enduring Innocence, Keller Easterling tells the stories of outlaw "spatial products" -- resorts, information technology campuses, retail chains, golf courses, ports, and other hybrid spaces that exist outside normal constituencies and jurisdictions -- in difficult political situations around the world. These spaces -- familiar commercial formulas of retail, business, and trade -- aspire to be worlds unto themselves, self-reflexive and innocent of politics. But as Easterling shows, in reality these enclaves can become political pawns and objects of contention. Jurisdictionally ambiguous, they are imbued with myths, desires, and symbolic capital. Their hilarious and dangerous masquerades often mix quite easily with the cunning of political platforms. Easterling argues that the study of such "real estate cocktails" provides vivid evidence of the market's weakness, resilience, or violence.

Enduring Innocence collects six stories of spatial products and their political predicaments: cruise ship tourism in North Korea; high-tech agricultural formations in Spain (which have reignited labor wars and piracy in the Mediterranean); hyperbolic forms of sovereignty in commercial and spiritual organizations shared by gurus and golf celebrities; automated global ports; microwave urbanism in South Asian IT enclaves; and a global industry of building demolition that suggests urban warfare. These regimes of nonnational sovereignty, writes Easterling, "move around the world like weather fronts"; she focuses not on their blending -- their global connectivity -- but on their segregation and the cultural collisions that ensue.

Enduring Innocence resists the dream of one globally legible world found in many architectural discourses on globalization. Instead, Easterling's consideration of these segregated worlds provides new tools for practitioners sensitive to the political composition of urban landscapes.

Book Description

Master Chinese brush painting with this unique package of books and tools. This complete set includes two 96-page instruction books-one on techniques and one filled with step-by-step projects -and a super starter set of tools to get you painting.

Customer Reviews:

A Good Beginning.......2005-07-30

This book is mostly for the novice. If you are looking for more advanced, inspirational, and creative illustrations; this book is not for you-look elsewhere. The author gave a broad coverage of basic Chinese brushwork, supplies, and techniques. The illustrations are very straight forward, colorful, and easy to follow. The supplies that come with the book are really good and the cost for the total package is a great price. If you are looking to get your feet wet in Chinese Brush art-this is an excellent start.

Chinese Brush Painting.......2003-11-02

At last, a book that clearly demonstrates the seductive prinicples of Chinese Brush Painting.
A clear way to increase my ability to paint! I have a book where I can follow all the Projects and be well on my way to Mastering the basics of Chinese Brush Painting.
Well Done to Reader's Digest for managing to find an artist with such talent.
I feel really enthusiastic.

Average customer rating:

With a fully annotated bibliography of photographers

With the inclusion of six new essays on photography research

Review in Military Images

Photographers: A Sourcebook for Historical Research
Richard Rudisill
Manufacturer: Carl Mautz Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
General | Reference | Subjects | Books
jp-unknown3 | Specialty Stores | Books
ASIN: 1887694188

Book Description

Completely revised edition, featuring Richard Rudisill's Directories of Photographers, an annotated international bibliography, and six new essays on photography research. Included are David Haynes' "how to" essay expanded to include new resources provided by the advent of the computer and the World Wide Web); Linda Ries' sequel to her fascinating story of photographer Charles Lochman (the original essay is included in the appendix); Jeremy Rowe's report on legal issues pertaining to reproducing photographs; Drew Johnson's case study on utilizing a regional collection of photographs at the Oakland museum; Steve Knoblock's history of his innovative photo history web site; and Peter Palmquist's essay on his research agency, "Women in Photography International Archive." Foreword by Martha A Sandweiss, Professor, Amherst College.

Customer Reviews:

With a fully annotated bibliography of photographers.......2001-07-06

Now in an all new, completely revised and updated edition, Photographers: A Sourcebook For Historical Research offers the photography student with a fully annotated bibliography of photographers by Richard Rudisill, and is further enhanced for the reader with the inclusion of six new essays on photography research including Sources for Finding Dead Photographers (David Haynes); A Case Study of the Oakland Museum Collection (Drew Heath Johnson); City Gallery Web Site (Steve Knoblock); Women in Photography International Archive (Peter E. Palmquist); Adventures in Photographer Research (Linda A. Ries); and Copyrights and Other Rights (Jeremy Row). An essential, core title for personal, professional, and academic photography reference collections.

With the inclusion of six new essays on photography research.......2001-07-06

Review in Military Images.......2001-04-25

"This basic source for tracking down period photographers . . . is an invaluable [re]source for serious photographic researchers and users." Military Images, may/june, 2001.

Photographers a Sourcebook for Historical Research

Average customer rating:

Photographers a Sourcebook for Historical Research

Manufacturer: Folk Image Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Book Description

Hell in Berlin! Tesla, the she-vampire fighting with Harlan Draka against the Masters of Darkness, comes face-to-face with two pieces of her past from the dark heart of the German capital. The mysterious Lamiah, freed from her century-long detention, fights against her greatest enemy, Shrek, in the Underworld. Now the Dampyr must make a choice: which of the two will be his opponent and which will be his ally in this bloody struggle?

Book Description

In 1988, best-selling biographer Anthony Holden spent one year living the life of a professional poker player. His mesmerizing account of that year went on to become a classic of the genre, an inspiration to innumerable poker players and poker memoirists who followed. Big Deal is his story of days and nights in Las Vegas, Malta, and Morocco, mingling with the greats, sharpening his game, perfecting his repartee, and learning a great deal about himself in the process. Poker, Holden would insist, is a paradigm of life at its most intense, a gladiatorial contest that brings out the best as well as the worst in people. The heroes and eccentrics of the poker world stalk the pages of this remarkable book, along with all the hairraising, nail-biting excitement of the game itself.

Customer Reviews:

Classic poker memoir.......2007-05-31

I'm rereading this after a few years. While his sequel Bigger Deal, caused me to think he may be an average player, this first poker book of his proves otherwise. He beats both Johnny Moss and Stuey Ungar. Hello!?

There's lots of great stories here -- even a history of poker in the U.S. -- and he's more confident in his game here. Maybe it's due to his being in love here, unlike the later volume.

One of the two most famous poker memoirs since Yardley. The other is his poker crony A. Alvarez's The Biggest Game in Town. (Alvarez's is more famous.)

Put down your Harrington and read about some legendary players.

A poker memoir of reasonable quality.......2007-04-19

This book falls in the category of poker memoirs. Unlike most such books, usually ghostwritten for a pro with name recognition, Holden writes about his own year-long stint as a pseudo-pro.

I say pseudo-pro because for most of the year Holden is a pro in name only - a professional writer visiting his subject matter. His skills are initially not particularly good, "honed" in a home game played mostly over various wildcard-dense forms of mickey mouse poker. Over the course of the year, he travels to numerous tournaments, loses money in them, gets lucky at blackjack (which he doesn't seem to realize is a long-run losing game the way he plays it), gets lucky playing over his bankroll in one big pot limit game, and eventually develops enough poker skill to beat satellites and mid-stakes limit games which is a reasonable accomplishment. Using this newfound poker expertise, he recoups his tournament losses & expenses, makes a few bucks, and calls it quits after a disappointing showing in the world series of poker marks the end of his year-long experiment.

Along the way, he collects the usual set of gambling stories, and those are told in entertaining fashion. This book is really a glimpse into professional poker as it existed before the poker boom, and as such is of historic value. It has little to nothing to offer in terms of poker strategy, and similarly little to offer someone considering "going pro" today since the boom changed everything. The book is well written and fun, but for poker players looking for additional depth or useful material, there's nothing to find.

If you want a real life gambling tale, my review is 4 stars - get it. If you want a memoir with some more useful poker material on the side (and written by a far better player), I suggest you get "Ace on the River" instead.

Big Deal: One Year as a Professional Poker Player

Average customer rating:

A Crony, a Moll, and a stack of greenbacks
pretty good, but not great
Clever and Fun.
Pocket 77
A classic poker diary

Big Deal: One Year as a Professional Poker Player

ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Memoirs | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Puzzles & Games | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

Travel | Writing | Reference | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Travel Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
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ASIN: 0349115192

Customer Reviews:

A Crony, a Moll, and a stack of greenbacks.......2005-06-01

Anthony Holden gives us a look inside the globe-traveling world of high stakes poker as he chronicles his one year attempt to make a go of it as a professional poker player. His perspective is that of a well-educated british journalist, and this comes through with a score of literary references as well as with some self-deprecating wit.

For the aspiring serious poker player, the book is interesting, but not necessarily helpful in guiding one's poker-related career goals. In fact, it's not so much a "How to" as a "How NOT to." Over the course of a year, Holden is obviously playing well, as his various near-money finishes demonstrate. However, he also makes a series of poor decisions, and the biggest financial moments of the year are predicated on luck and fluke rather than on skill.

Playing jet-lagged and inebriated, habitually turning to the blackjack tables as a way to rebuild lost funds, Holden nails huge pots when he shouldn't, as when he catches one of two sevens in the deck to take down a big score against Johnny Moss.

Conversely, he is busted out of two consecutive World Series of Poker tournaments by being extremely unlucky, falling to a "three-outer" each time.

The book is generally interesting and exciting to read, although I would have liked fewer digressions into the history and culture of poker, and more information on the mechanics of the solid play that gets Holden rolling on a poker cruise.

This book will teach people a lot about poker, without teaching them about how to play better poker.

pretty good, but not great.......2005-03-23

Holden emulates Alvarez with this book.
Holden writes about trying to make it as a player for a year, culminating in playing in the World Series and chronicling that event in the way Alvarez does in BIGGEST GAME IN TOWN.
Holden does a competent job. As you read the book, you'll be entertained, even though the narrator is not always incredibly like-able.
If you haven't read BIGGEST GAME IN TOWN, get that one first. If you have already read the Alvarez, then BIG DEAL is worth checking out.

Clever and Fun. .......2004-10-10

Big Deal is a vivid, charming tour many famous poker venues and events around the world through the eyes of a full-time writer and wannabe pro. Mr. Holden is quite skilled as a journalist. Through his description, one really feels like they are there in Malta as rain causes the roof to crumble. He has a strong eye for important and interesting details. Many of his quotations are invaluable and the book flows like words from the mouth of Amarillo Slim. The narrator has his own issues but one cannot help but be sympathetic towards him and cheer for his doomed attempts in becoming a poker legend.

The book will completely appeal to dreamers on every continent who wish to avoid spending the rest of their days working for the man (or mam as the case often is nowadays).

His trip to the psychologist and brief discussion of the psychology behind gambling was enlightening. I learned from his "shrink's" perspective and welcomed the alternative hypothesis concerning what makes people gamble. Saying it's simply masochism alone is in no way a universal explanation.

As a narrator, Holden unfortunately introduces some politics into his text. He exudes smug anti-Americanism in spades. (Yawn...) He appears to think the majority of us are uncouth and disinterested in the finer things of life although his friend Eric Drache obviously belies his stereotyped impressions. He makes digs about Margaret Thatcher and embraces the foppish left-wing notions of many in the English elite but there is no substance behind his snarky comments. Holden intentionally describes some hick at the table as predictably being a Republican. Southerners are also a target and to think, just because a gambling event in Louisiana was cancelled, that nothing has changed in the south in 150 years time is absurd, flawd, and deeply prejudiced.

He notes that many poker players are right wing, but why they are is the crucial angle he refuses to explore. All poker players are capitalists by definition--whether they admit it or not. Maximizing profit is why we sit at the table. Those who play should be opposed to redistributionist schemes. True social justice is about keeping what you've earned which is what poker is all about. Oh well, such mindless political asides are not representative of the whole book but they are annoying enough to keep me from giving it five stars. Otherwise, good show London Tony!

Pocket 77.......2003-11-27

To me this book was like pocket sevens, you feel bad throwing it away, but it's really not worth your time. Interesting at times, some good stories, but not all that great.

A classic poker diary.......2003-09-09

British journalist Holden recounts a year in his life spent travelling the world playing poker, his training course for the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas.

A classic of poker writing, it makes me ask whether all poker writers know each other. The other best-read in the category is A. Alvarez's The Biggest Game in Town. Alvarez and Holden are regulars at their Tuesday Night Game in London. Another well-known author David Spanier (Total Poker) reports on Holden's playing for a UK newspaper.

The book is wide-ranging: from a brief history of the game to exciting card-by-card retelling of hands. It even teaches you the odds in Texas Hold 'Em. If you like the game, you will enjoy this book.

Follow this up with Positively Fifth Street by James McManus, a new poker saga inspired by Holden and Alvarez.

Average customer rating:
Big Deal A Year As A Professional Poker Player
Holden Anthony
Manufacturer: Viking
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000UDWWE4

Average customer rating:
BIG DEAL. A Year as a Professional Poker Player
Anthony HOLDEN
Manufacturer: Viking
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000I6YPA2

Book Description

AWOL: absent without leave; absent from one’s post or duty without official permission but without intending to desert. Originally a military term, it gradually entered the vernacular for when someone goes missing unexpectedly. Jennifer Barclay and Amy Logan thought it fit well with the kind of travel pieces they wanted to publish -- irreverent but thoughtful, emotionally honest and opinionated, bold and provocative. AWOL: Tales for Travel-Inspired Minds would be dedicated to the perspectives we gain when away from our regular circumstances.

They were tired of opening newspaper travel sections to accounts of five-star hotels or hip restaurants, package holidays and cruises, or extreme, death-defying feats. The tales that excited them were more personal. They wanted to bring back a sense of wonder about the world out there. “Rejecting the consumerist attitude of always wanting something better, which seems to go hand in hand with the concept of extreme travel, we wanted to show that there are different kinds of adventures -- the ones that are more by-the-seat-of-your-pants and that all of us can afford. It’s about slowing down the way we travel, learning to observe and to relish all the moments.”

Inviting authors to contribute, they stressed they weren’t looking for detached reportage, but unpublished true tales of pleasure or pain or hilarity that would move and inspire. “Travel has become an important aspect of our lives, and we felt it was important to explore what we get out of it: Whether it makes us better citizens of the planet or enriches our lives. How discovering the world can be about discovering yourself, or help you see life afresh.” They wanted writing that was exciting and creative, that fired the imagination, dazzled with language, captured something emblematic or unique. The stories are full of telling details and do not shirk from emotion. The trips range from a short break close to home, to years living on the other side of the world.

When Rick Maddocks leaves for Mexico, his father says “I hope you find what you’re searching for.” But you don’t always find what you expect. “What was I expecting…?” asks Andrew Pyper on arriving in Brazil. Karen Connelly tries to switch off the chattering of her brain in Burma, so she can just “shut up and see.” After a year in China, Rui Umezawa is utterly disoriented: “The world as I’d known it no longer existed. Neither did the man I believed myself to be.” However far or near you travel, an AWOL destination is a place where, says Brad Smith, “the usual rules don’t apply.” Myrna Kostash muses, roaming through Greece, “I cannot be further away from the rest of my life.” But when Camilla Gibb comes home from Ethiopia, her own culture seems bleak, “devoid of all colour, all meaning.”

The authors in AWOL have collectively won or been nominated for practically every literary prize in Canada, making it an extraordinary collection of original writing. The editors also decided to add another dimension to the book, a sense of fun and accessibility, by pasting in trip memorabilia -- tickets, snaps, sketches and odd mementoes -- to divide up the text and draw the reader into the stories. They wanted AWOL to feel a bit like a magazine: a reader-friendly paperback with big pages and great design, something to read on the bus for inspiration and escape, or to amble through at the cottage.

The Toronto Star called AWOL a “decidedly quirky collection that follows no obvious theme or point of departure -- except the delicious need to go away.” If travel is about broadening the mind and having fun, AWOL is to get us through the rest of the year. The Winnipeg Free Press called it “an all-encompassing armchair travel experience … the kind of collection that, once read, will beckon from the bookshelf to fill a particular longing when it strikes.”

For those who dream of having no fixed address, and those happy simply to read about it, AWOL is filled with entertaining, enriching and edifying stories of people getting away from the familiar.

Customer Reviews:

not your average "the world is great" kind of travel book.......2004-02-20

This book gives us a more realistic view of travel. It is not filled with pretty, glossed pictures, but of stories, and souvenirs.
Each story has it's own style, and that helps in giving a more profound view of the world, and of travelling around the world. This is not a sap-happy kind of travel book, and therefore is for those that don't have that sort of idealistic view of visiting other places.

I found this book to be a wonderful collection of stories. The words on the back give it perfect justice in saying this is for those that are happy living with no fixed address, but also for those that are happy to just read about it.
This is not a coffee-table book.

Average customer rating:

Real People, Real Stories (some borrowed from Bowlby)

TOUGH TIMES, STRONG CHILDREN: LESSONS FROM THE PAST FOR YOUR CHILD'S FUTURE
Dan Kindlon
Manufacturer: Miramax
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Child Development | Babies & Toddlers | Parenting | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books
General | Parenting | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books
General | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books
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Too Much of a Good Thing: Raising Children of Character in an Indulgent Age

Alpha Girls: Understanding the New American Girl and How She Is Changing the World

Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Life of Boys

ASIN: 0786869127
Release Date: 2003-03-12

Book Description

How do you prepare your children for the possibility of something like the events of September 11? How do families survive the unknowable future when the present is so turbulent and often scary? No generation of children has ever been so woefully unprepared for hard times as this one. In Tough Times, Strong Children, Dr. Kindlon combines a lucid and accessible analysis of biological and psychological research with the stories of adults who grew up under incredible pressure yet managed to recover, thrive, and lead full, meaningful lives. These accounts offer a compassionate and immensely helpful guide to readying children today for the challenges of this new century. Drawing on his expertise as one of the country's foremost child psychologists, Dr. Kindlon helps parents immunize children in all stages of development against stress. He also looks to the past, sharing the wisdom and inspiration of families who lived through the Great Depression, the Holocaust, and World War II, and who were able to move beyond their fear and grief to take an active role in empowering children to conquer whatever difculties life handed them. An essential guide for parents, Tough Times, Strong Children offers a comprehensive, optimistic strategy for easing the transition from childhood's innocence to the sometimes harsh realities of adulthood.

Customer Reviews:

Real People, Real Stories (some borrowed from Bowlby).......2004-10-22

Dan Kindlon, Ph.D., understands that helping children deal with their emotions is important, but moreover believes that "...the ability to move on..." is equally significant (Kindlon, 2003). Kindlon refrains from labeling family structures and parenting styles. His book makes use of personal examples in an attempt to get the word across. However, it is my individual opinion that some of Kindlon's personal beliefs get in the way of the noteworthy advice he has to share. For example, Kindlon states, "A kid in inner-city Chicago grows up faster than Julia, who goes to school in Wellesley" (Kindlon, 2003). Kindlon uses his own family in many examples, and refers to his daughter, Julia, extensively. The fact remains that kids in urban metropolises "grow up" at the same rate as kids in rural America. Surely no one can dispute the fact that stress (a focal point of Kindlon's book) transpires everywhere. Domestic abuse, drug problems, financial instability, death, illness, and other major causes of stress are not reserved for urbanites. I appreciated the flow of Kindlon's book, and felt that he was easily able to move from one topic to another. Kindlon's book differs from others on the market because he does not label parent and family structures. Rather, Kindlon identifies with a more Ethological theory, or a study of behavior based on evolution. In this sense, Kindlon does not give us statistical evidence based on random sampling questionnaires. All of his stories and antidotes come from real people in their natural settings. He strongly believes in early bonding and a child's attachment with his or her caregiver. Kindlon tells us that:
children who have a strong bond with a caregiver - a secure attachment - tend to be more competent; they are better problem solvers... have better relations with their peers, higher self esteem, and fewer mental-health problems than children with insecure attachment.
Rather than taking old ideas and rewording them as his own, Kindlon appropriately cites his sources as borrowed from human development ethologist, John Bowlby. According to William Crain, Bowlby found through his research that children who did not establish a strong and meaningful bond with a parent or caregiver would grow to become an "affectionless character" (Crain, 2000). These individuals "...use people solely for their own ends and seem incapable of forming a loving, lasting tie to another person". Kindlon agrees with Bowlby's theories that attachment is "...important for later psychological health". However, healing is possible if the growing child can establish a meaningful relationship outside of the home.

Average customer rating:

Fine for model builders who need inspiration

Excellent source of information

I'd only buy it for the pictureres

On Target No. 1 Modelling Special: The German Tiger Tanks
Francois Verlinden
Manufacturer: Verlinden Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Military | History | Subjects | Books
General | Germany | Europe | History | Subjects | Books
Models | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
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Armor in Detail, No. 1: Tiger 1 Ausf. E (Sd.Kfz. 181)

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Panzer Modelling (Rev Second Ed): (revised second edition) (Modelling Masterclass)

The Verlinden Way Volume 1

ASIN: 1930607393

Book Description

175+ Full color and black & white photographs

Although this book deals specifically with modeling the infamous, but highly popular, German Tiger tank, it is nevertheless a testimony to the very high modeling skills which launched the career of the author, Francois Verlinden. In these pages can be seen some of the most impressive military scale modeling that has ever been published, all done by scratch at a time when there was little or no modeling aftermarket from which to obtain the now very common detail parts necessary to achieve such high levels of realism. The book begins by giving a short, but detailed, history of the development of the ubiquitous Tiger tanks. Each chapter is dedicated to a different modeling project of a different version of the Tiger, and is supplemented by a full range of photographs of the actual vehicle being modeled. This incredible book fills many needs, both as a modeling guide and as a general reference work on the Tiger. Many helpful modeling tips and techniques abound, and should not be m! issed by any modeler, novice or advanced. It also serves the historian and military enthusiast very admirably.

Customer Reviews:

Fine for model builders who need inspiration.......2006-11-09

If you are a model builder and have a need to be inspired to build the next project, then this book is fine. It is not a detailed history of the Geramn Tiger Tank of WWII. The book is informative, but somewhat dated in it's treatment of armor modeling techniques. The photographs are of very high quality and do offer some inspiration to the individual attempting to build a model of the Tiger. I would refer to this book more as `Eye Candy' rather than solid information.

Excellent source of information.......2005-07-28

I bought this book when it first appeared. Yes, there are better tiger models out now, but this book is still very relevant to the modeler today. It contains many good close-ups of real Tigers, and shows exactly how to super-detail Tigers, any make or model...using good old styrene and other bits, wire, etc. So you can make an excellent Tiger, without spending a fortune on after-market photo-etched parts, etc. Very worthy of the modelers collection.

I'd only buy it for the pictureres.......2004-08-07

This is an update of an old book. This means that the book spends time explaining how to detail old Tamiya tiger kits using techniques that are no longer necessary with the newer models available. The back of the book is then used to advertise Verlinden update sets.

As usual with Verlinden books, the pictures are great but the modelling tips are not much help.

On Target No. 1 Modelling Special - The German Tiger Tanks

Average customer rating:

On Target No. 1 Modelling Special - The German Tiger Tanks
Francois Verlinden
Manufacturer: Verlinden Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 9070932024

Book Description

Anishinabe, Saulteur, Ojibwe, Chippewa—all these are names of a people who have lived in the Chippewa Valley of Wisconsin for the past three centuries. Ojibwe oral tradition speaks of life as a circular path, with parents passing on knowledge to children and grandchildren. Over the past 300 years, contact with Europeans and settlement by immigrant Americans have forced them to adapt to survive. The challenges each generation has faced—whether at treaty grounds, boarding schools, or boat landings—have influenced what knowledge has been passed down, what paths taken.

Distributed for the Chippewa Valley Museum, Eau Claire, Wisconsin.

Book Description

During the twentieth century, lead poisoning killed thousands of workers and children in the United States. Thousands who survived lead poisoning were left physically crippled or were robbed of mental faculties and years of life. In Brush with Death, social historian Christian Warren offers the first comprehensive history of lead poisoning in the United States. Focusing on lead paint and leaded gasoline, Warren distinguishes three primary modes of exposure--occupational, pediatric, and environmental. This threefold perspective permits a nuanced exploration of the regulatory mechanisms, medical technologies, and epidemiological tools that arose in response to lead poisoning.

Today, many children undergo aggressive "deleading" treatments when their blood-lead levels are well below the average blood-lead levels found in urban children in the 1950s. Warren links the repeated redefinition of lead poisoning to changing attitudes toward health, safety, and risk. The same changes that transformed the social construction of lead poisoning also transformed medicine and health care, giving rise to modern environmentalism and fundamentally altered jurisprudence.

Customer Reviews:

Christian Warren's book, Brush with Death--fine book.......2003-09-17

I found this a very good book, and I highly recommend it to anyone with any interest in the topic of lead pollution and poisoning.

This is a scholarly book, and Mr. Warren's scholarship is thorough and rigorous. He covers in detail the rise and fall of the leaded paint and leaded gasoline additive industries. However, because these industries and the problems they caused spun out in many different directions, Warren offers interesting and significant insight into many other areas of twentieth century American history: women's history, history of children and pediatric medicine, labor history, public health and medical history, urban history, business and industrial history, the history of science, the history of Progressivism and regulatory reform, among others. I found the accounts of childhood lead poisoning, women with afflicted children mobilizing to fight against lead paint, inner-city communities confronting the problem as an example of environmental racism, and the final battle to remove tetraethyl lead from gasoline particularly compelling. However, Warren's accounts of the work processes and business organization within the lead industry are also fascinating. Warren also handles some potentially very emotional issues with commendable balance.

Saying a book is a "scholarly book" might tend to frighten some people away. Don't let it. While this is a very solid work of scholarship, with lots of meticulous, detailed footnotes and such, it is also a very readable, interesting book accessible to any reader who wants to learn about the serious public health crisis it describes. This is a big story that deserves more attention. This is a good place to learn about it.

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