Book Description
Once websites were simple and easy to navigate, but didn't contain much useful information. Today, they are packed with information and oftentimes are equally packed with complex navigational systems that confuse more than they help.
Many top Web designers have discovered that there's an art to creating sites that are both vastly informative and simply organized. Their trade secrets are revealed here. This book explores the thinking and methodology behind the creation of 24 simple yet content-rich sites. Here, you'll find insights into how each designer began creating a structure, progressing to wire-frames that illustrate each site's internal organization, and on to screen captures that showcase the final product's simple and accessible design.
With tips from successful professionals, as well as inspiring visual examples, this is a book that no Web designer today can afford to be without.
Customer Reviews:
It was good for the short period of time it covered.......2005-09-09
I liked the way the book showed different case studies, starting with the designer's sketches, sitemaps, thoughts, and comments. The biggest problem with the book is that almost all the sites covered are in a style that has not aged well. These sites are mostly the Flash-based mini-sites that barely cover 1/3 of your screen, and are usually not very content heavy. I don't think that's the way sites are being built today, and in the future. So, really, while it's a nice looking book, it has little relevance to today.
Great book...worth the $15.......2005-06-03
I've purchased God knows how many web design/usability/information architecture books over the years and each one offers something unique. This one offers great pictures and clear examples of web site screen shots, sitemaps, design methods, plus much more.
Overall the book is great and worth the $15!
Accepting the challenge of wedding style to usability.......2003-06-21
Whether you are designing professionally or just for your own sites this attractive volume is worth mining for some usefully creative design strategies you may not have considered. Stefan Mumaw not only offers his perspectives on the sites but shares original drafts, schematics, ven diagrams, and other structural strategizing notes of the sites? creators. You may work better in some of these modes than others, but at least you?ll be encouraged to see new possibilities for working through complex designs.
The twenty-four example sites discussed are corporate but certainly not staid - even those required to be quite serious. The clients range from retail mountaineering equipment to winery to interactive education and even to ad agency; the types of issues, the complexity of information, and necessary ?feel? of the site are therefore quite different. But author Mumaw is taking you back to the *process* with which the sites? designers had to match design and structure to content and mission.
Note that this is NOT a book about *how to* make a design function (i.e., no HTML, DHTML, Flash, etc.), but on how to conceptionalize *what* functions / designs one needs: taking a complex business or organizational message or process and putting an attractive and effective face on it. As a designer, you?ll probably admire some of the results more than others, but I think *almost anyone?s* design savy could benefit by seeing how the experienced artists here tackled some interesting design challenges.
the secrets of visually compelling sites.......2002-06-10
This book is a great source and provides some of the most valuable information on how to achieve a clear information architecture that incorporates good usability and is visually compelling. A real must have.
Concepts behind cool minimalist designs.......2002-06-08
This book is a collection of case studies, like Jakob Nielsen's Homepage Usability. The explanations from one chapter to another tends to be repetitive, and not all of the 24 websites are really-really cool, BUT unlike Jakob's book that just attempted to make long distance intepretations, this glossy hard cover book takes us into the design processes complete with each designers' thinkings, from the early paper sketches, the sitemaps, and the final screenshots. And those insights are good enough for me buy this book.
Book Description
“Studio potters will find...[this book] of interest in their work....Pancioli describes various kinds of extruders, techniques for working with extruded clay, and projects using extruded clay. Photographs of finished pieces by other artists are interspersed throughout...”—Library Journal.
Customer Reviews:
Extruuuuude.......2007-07-17
This is a wonderful book for anyone who wants to learn more about extruded ceramics. I think the author should put up a picture of the cover as soon as possible.
The best thing about this book is that it's project-oriented, and the projects are things you would really want to make. I was truly inspired by this book and appreciated the author's attention to detail. The photos are gorgeous.
Worth owning!.......2000-05-14
This book has MANY color photographs of a wide variety of different types of extruded ceramic works. It gives an excellent overview of things done mostly in recent years, and offers inspiration and direction to ceramic artists who owns extruders and those who are thinking of buying one. There are also several projects described and shown in the book step by step. The author has focused on showing the wide range of works that can be created using an extruder, including showing the die shapes used.
It's about time!.......2000-04-19
It is about time that extruders get recognized for their unique contribution to the ceramic community. This is by far one of the most under utilized and under appreciated tools. There is so much that can be created by an extruder and I am very glad that there is now a book to help extruder owners get the most out of their investment. This book has some really great tips on making your own dies and extrusion projects. A must buy if you own or want to own an extruder. I have a Scott Creek 4" with an expansion box and I love it!
Average customer rating:
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Yoshitaka Amano's Hero Volume 2
Jessie Horsting , and
Yoshitaka Amano
Manufacturer: Boom! Studios
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 General
| Comics & Graphic Novels
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ASIN: 0973703989 |
Book Description
Hero's adventure continues when he steps through the Carousel Arch in Paris. Only moments after realizing his weapon has transformed into a walking stick, it is stolen by a little girl who runs into the crowd, disappearing from sight. Hero is led to the Hotel Realto and the haunted survivors of a tragedy. A puzzling man named Bertram sends Hero searching in an ancient cemetery, a dangerous city of the dead where he meets writer Victor Noir, assassinated in the past and doomed to tell the truth in Hero's present. The Lady is tantalizingly close, but shape-changing Rudra means to ambush Hero and Victor. The Cyborg leads a dangerous escape through the torturous catacombs of Paris, their only hope an arch as ancient and mysterious as time itself.
Book Description
A stunning visual companion to the highly anticipated new film from director Rob Marshall (Chicago), based on the international bestseller by Arthur Golden—a major holiday release from Columbia Pictures.
Featuring over 150 full-color photographs and drawings, this lavishly illustrated book captures the artistry and romance behind the exquisite new film from Rob Marshall, the director of the Oscar®-winning film Chicago, starring Ziyi Zhang (House of Flying Daggers) and Ken Watanabe (The Last Samurai).
Directed by Academy Award®-nominee Rob Marshall (Chicago) and produced by Lucy Fisher, Douglas Wick, and Steven Spielberg, from a screenplay by Robin Swicord and Doug Wright, Memoirs of a Geisha features an all-star Asian cast including Michelle Yeoh (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), Koji Yakusho (Shall We Dance?), Youki Kudoh (Snow Falling on Cedars), and Gong Li (Raise the Red Lantern).
Based on the internationally acclaimed novel by Arthur Golden, Memoirs of a Geisha is a sweeping romantic epic set in the mysterious and exotic world that still casts a potent spell today. The story begins in the years before WWII when a penniless Japanese child is torn from her family to work as a servant in a geisha house. Despite a treacherous rival who nearly breaks her spirit, the girl blossoms into the legendary geisha Sayuri (Ziyi Zhang). Beautiful and accomplished, Sayuri captivates the most powerful men of her day, but is haunted by her secret love for the one man who is out of her reach (Ken Watanabe).
The Newmarket Pictorial Moviebook explores the intricate process of re-creating the period and world of the geisha. Special sections showcase production design, makeup, choreography, and costumes, featuring kimonos created especially for the movie by five-time Oscar®-nominated costume designer Colleen Atwood. Sidebars throughout also provide fascinating historical background on the geisha culture.
Customer Reviews:
A nice accompaniment to the film.......2007-07-13
Arthur Golden's "Memoirs of a Geisha" is one of my all time favorite novels. The fictional story about a popular geisha named Sayuri was spellbinding and well researched. I was thoroughly disappointed in the film adaptation because the director Rob Marshall who ruined the story completely by having the cast speak in perfect American english. I wasn't thrilled with his choice for the protagonist of the story Ziyi Zhang as Sayuri. I will admit that the film was visually stunning. As an accompaniment to the film, there is an interesting coffee table book about the film by Peggy Mulloy. The book contains photos from the film and behind the scenes. I couldn't help but noticed that the behind the scenes material in this book can also be viewd on the bonus dvd to "Memoirs of a Geisha". That is the biggest flaw with this book. The book offers nothing new to the reader that wasn't mentioned on the dvd. I will say that the photographs are absolutely gorgeous especially the ones with Gong Li in them.
Visually Stunning.......2006-11-10
If you loved the movie and you collet movie memorabilia, this book is a
necessity. The photo reproductions are beautiful and the text is good. I would have pefered more coverage and background of the principal stars of the film though. This though is a minor complaint. Recommended.
Behind the scenes in photos and text to recreate Japan's geisha.......2006-04-20
Director Bob Marshall brought Arthur Golden's literary classic to the screen; now Peggy Mulloy's text and David James' gorgeous accompanying color photos bring MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA: A PORTRAIT OF THE FILM to the wide audience of book readers and film fans, probing behind the scenes to uncover how the filmmaker and his team re-created the geisha of Japan of the 1930s and 40s. Insights into geisha culture and screening of the movie accompany a 84-page presentation of visuals from the film in an outstanding keepsake memoir of Japanese history and culture.
Memoirs from Memoirs of a Geisha.......2006-03-17
If you liked the movie, then you'll like this book. But even if you don't like the movie, this book gives insights to things about Geishas and film making that are not in the theatre presentation.
The photos are excellent and the book itself is put together well.
Wonderful movie.......2006-02-12
The story begins in the years before WWII when a penniless Japanese child is torn from her family to work as a servant in a geisha house
Average customer rating:
- What did I buy?
- A great read, and a major piece of scholarship
- Surprisingly good
- This book is Incredible
- Prepare to be amazed
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Beatles Undercover
Kristofer Engelhardt
Manufacturer: Collector's Guide Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Entertainers
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ASIN: 1896522432 |
Customer Reviews:
What did I buy?.......2004-03-10
I looked at this book for 20 minutes and still had no idea what it was about. I have every book about the Beatles but to me, this was a piece of garbage. This is the only book I've ever returned in my life-anywhere.
A great read, and a major piece of scholarship.......1999-12-16
This is really a terrific book for a lot of reasons -- best of all it's completely fun to read (you won't be able to put it down) plus it's so packed with rare and esoteric information that in about five minutes you'll have absorbed enough obscure factoids to impress anybody at the next Beatles convention, and even sound nearly as expert as author Kristofer Engelhardt himself, a true Beatles scholar and collector who has lovingly gathered the information here for the past seven years. That in itself is extraordinary: how many writers have spent seven years researching one book? And the author's ambitious scope is immediately obvious: it's amazing how active and involved the Beatles have been in other musicians' recording sessions from the most famous (Dylan, Beach Boys, Zappa) to the utterly obscure (Crowbar, Splinter, Timon, though most musicians here will be familiar) as well as to combinations of both (who were all those players in 'Elephant's Memory'? ).
But what makes this book really so valuable is that Engelhardt has a professional historian's fanaticism for accuracy. Full disclosure: I've been lucky enough to know couple of the musicians discussed here (Dennis and Brian Wilson, guitar legend Jesse Ed Davis) and the facts Engelhardt entertainingly lays out in BEATLES UNDERCOVER are all rock-solid as far as I can tell. Tangential rant: it's not widely known but a lot of rock and roll "history" books are junk...woefully inaccurate and historically useless, with various tales, myths and canards repeated ad infinitum verbally and then immortalized in print by so-called professional writers who really don't know what they're talking about (Steve Gaines' book on the Beach Boys is a glaring example... ). Here you get the real thing -- as far as I can tell everything here is solid gold you can take to the bank, and no doubt BEATLES UNDERCOVER will be must-read basic source material for all future writers with a serious interest in the Beatles and the 60's-and-beyond pop music scene.
Besides the Beatles' own stories there's a further interest served with Engelhardt's fascinating and erudite thumbnail overviews of the careers of all the non-Beatle artists discussed. If you didn't know that Count Basie was born in 1904, started on the drums and then studied piano with Fats Waller, it's all here, and if BEATLES UNDERCOVER does neglect to mention that Jesse Ed Davis claimed to have taught Duane Allman how to play the slide guitar -- a claim with substantial merit it turns out -- that's only because the Beatles never jammed with the Allman brothers ... because if they had, they'd be in this book!. A great read, and a major piece of scholarship that will be re-read for pleasure and consulted for serious study for a long time to come.
Surprisingly good.......1999-11-08
I am a Beatles freak (I just attended the 1999 Beatlefest in Irvine, CA two days ago), but checked this book out of the library reluctantly, thinking it would mainly be boring trivia, and maybe 5 pages out of the whole book would be interesting. Books that categorize minutae are mainly good as RESEARCH books worth pulling off a shelf only when you need to look up a fact, rather than good READING experiences. But, boy, was I pleasantly suprised to find this to be a riveting piece of work. It includes fascinating facts you'd never learn anywhere else, plus, best of all, there are some wonderful stories about the Beatles in these pages. And they are well written. One of my big complaints about a lot of "historical" books is that the authors are often brilliant RESEARCHERS, but they are dull WRITERS. But Englehardt has that rare and blessed combination of being a great researcher and a first-rate writer. I kept reading the book, thinking it had to bog down somewhere, but it really kept my interest from the first page to the last.
Having praised the book so highly, I do have to add that the music on the CD that comes with it is not very good. It's interesting for one listen to hear songs that individual Beatles were involved in. But you probably won't want to play it more after the first listen has satisfied your curiosity about it.
But the book is suprisingly good, and should be read by anyone who considers him/herself a diehard Beatles fan.
This book is Incredible.......1999-04-19
Beatles Undercover is mandatory reading for any fan of the fab four.It not only lists every conceivable session that The Beatles played on that was not a Beatles project -(UNDER "cover" - get it?), but it gives an in-depth bio on the people who played with John, Paul, George & Ringo. Doris Troy, David Peel, Denny Laine, Jo Jo Laine (who phoned me last night!), and many more.Alvin Lee's "Real Life Blues" featuring Jon Lord of Deep Purpleand George Harrison is just oneexample of the nuggets uncovered here. The bio information on thesongs and the artists is even morein-depth than ROCK ENCYCLOPEDIA byLillian Roxon, which set the standard way back in the sixties.And that is the highest praise I cangive this or any book
Prepare to be amazed.......1998-12-30
Kristofer Engelhardt's book "Beatles Undercover" is a detailed and comprehensive look into The Beatles' session work for over 200 recording artists. The author interviewed a tremendous number of musicians who worked with The Beatles. Many of them recount their previously undocumented musical encounters with The Beatles. Years of exhausting and painstaking research obviously went into the making of this fascinating work. For fans of The Beatles who are jaded by the same old rehashed information this book will be a revelation. The wealth of beautiful b&w and color photos and reproductions of documents alone makes this a "must have" book. It belongs on the bookshelf of every self-respecting fan of The Beatles or fans of the dozens of other famous artists covered in the book. If that weren't enough this 550 page book also includes a bonus CD of previously unreleased recordings produced by John Lennon. What a treat and what a bargain at $26.00. If you thought there was nothing new under the sun about The Beatles, prepare to be amazed by "Beatles Undercover."
Ernie Clark
Average customer rating:
- Vital to the preservation of hip hop's culture
- fresh
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Hip Hop: The Illustrated History of Break Dancing, Rap Music, and Graffiti
Steven Hager
Manufacturer: St Martins Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Popular
| Dance
| Performing Arts
| Arts & Photography
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Rap
| Musical Genres
| Music
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ASIN: 0312373171 |
Customer Reviews:
Vital to the preservation of hip hop's culture.......1999-11-20
Where do I begin? This book chronicles the beginnings of the hip hop culture as no other periodicle has ever done... Written in 1984, it is immersed in the legend and lore of the time from which it was born... The lucid writing is gripping and revealing, offering a veritable cornucopia of jewels, gems, and unparalleled insight into the roots of breakdancing, graffiti, rapping, and DJing (the four elements - although they are not enumerated as such in the text)...
In other words, if you get a chance, peep it... On the real, kid, even though it's crazy rare, it's a piece of your culture -- OUR culture... If you EVER see it, pick it up... It's incredibly rare and hard to find!
Chill,
SureShot La Rock
fresh.......1998-01-31
This book is one of the best books written about hip hop in general. Steven Hager really did his homework on this one. this book has it all, plenty of pictures, interviews and knowledge.
Average customer rating:
- Practical Help
- When It Happens to You
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When It Happens to You: A Practical Guide Through Breast Cancer
Earlene Dal Pazzo , and
Joann Dilts
Manufacturer: Bull Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Breast Cancer
| Cancer
| Disorders & Diseases
| Health, Mind & Body
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Cancer
| Disorders & Diseases
| Health, Mind & Body
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General
| Women's Health
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ASIN: 0923521496 |
Book Description
With valuable insights from two breast cancer survivors who know their way around the medical system, this guide reveals how to create a self-care support system that can help women to maintain control of their treatment.
Customer Reviews:
Practical Help.......2001-10-18
This compassionate book is short but full of tips on how to make it through breast cancer treatment. It is packed with information but also brief sections on the personal experiences of the authors. A must for those in treatment and for their friends and families.
When It Happens to You.......2001-01-30
This book offers lots of helpful information for recently diagnosed cancer patients, family and friends. As a friend of a breast cancer patient, this book helped me understand what she was going through by reading the journal writing of both authors who are breast cancer survivors. Besides the medical information there were many checklists, i.e. shopping lists, what friends can do to help, ways to relax, etc. that were invaluable.
Book Description
Surviving the sixteen day Battle of Wake Island was just the beginning of a long struggle to remain alive for the civilian contractors and military men who were now prisoners of the Japanese. With more guns than men, the Marines on Wake welcomed any of the civilian contractors who would man a gun to aid them. Jim Allen was one of those who volunteered to train and fight along side the Marines of Battery E.
When Wake Island fell to the Japanese, Jim was captured. His main worry at first was that he would be shot by his captors for his "guerilla" activities. That worry passed after a time only to be replaced by many others during his 1,354 days as a POW in China, Korea, and Japan. By using their carpentry skills, Jim and other skilled contractors were able to make their horrendous life a bit easier in the Shanghai POW camp where the Wake POWs were first taken. Ingenuity, innovation, and plain old sticky fingers kept barracks roofs from leaking and secret radios hidden. Morale was maintained with the music from a home-made guitar fashioned out of bits and pieces "found" around the camp.
As the Pacific war drew to a close, the Shanghai POWs found themselves in Niigata, Japan, hoping the rumors of annihilation as the Allies drew nearer would not come true. Jim Allen was one of the Wake Island POWs who survived the years of hell. Once back on U. S. soil, he was hoping to put the war behind him. But that was not to be. Jim and other Wake civilian POWs would find their lives changed simply by being ex-POWs and facing a future that would hold many skirmishes in their long battle for recognition and justice.
Customer Reviews:
A well written book with some new insight and perspective on the Wake Island saga and POW experience!.......2007-03-27
In "Jim's Journey: A Wake Island Civilian POW's Story," LA Magnino has done a magnificent job of recounting her father Jim Allen's experiences as a Wake Island contract worker, defender, and prisoner of the Japanese.
Jim's story is but a microcosm of the men, civilians and military alike, galvanized by the Great Depression whose paths led them into one of the greatest sagas of WWII history.
Magnino's writing style is clear and rivals many of the other Wake Island stories I've read. She carefully negotiates her father's less than colloquial English to extract a tidy narrative. Maginio's work also reveals, to the credit of her father's skills of observation, many details of the Wake experience not previously documented by historical scholars.
While I would not consider "Jim's Journey" a necessarily scholarly work itself, it does remain an important contribution to the historical records of WWII.
REVIEW EVERY BOOK YOU READ, AUTHORS DESERVE THE OPINIONS OF ALL READERS!
Interesting and Educational.......2007-02-15
I received this book for Christmas, autographed by the Author & Jim Allen from one of my daughters. The book is very well written and has lots of interesting photos and illustrations to complement and authenticate the story. It certainily gives those of us that were too young to fight or be involved in WW II a better insight of what transpired to our servicemen and civilians that were taken as POW's by the Japanese. The recoginition of the civilian POWs was a very long time in comming, which unfortunately happens all to frequently.
I would highly recommend this book for all.
Excellent.......2005-02-28
This is a very detailed and educational story. It's great to have a personal account to better understand the sometimes forgotten history of Japanese POW's during WWII.
enlightening.......2004-04-29
It's interesting to see how a prisoner of war can recall with such detail, even though they may not have spoken of the ordeal in years... Magnino does a wonderful job of preserving Jim's memories... Especially interesting to those who know of Pearl Harbor, but not of other POWs and battles.
A compelling, true-life account.......2002-04-09
Jim's Journey: A Wake Island Civilian POW's Story is the compelling, true-life account of James A. Allen and his survival of 1,354 days of imprisonment as a civilian prisoner of war after being captured by the Imperial Japanese navy in December 1941 when the Marine garrison on Wake Island was finally overwhelmed. Jim was held in Japanese POW camps in China, Korea, and Japan. In addition to his eye-witness account of life as a POW, Jim's Journey also relates what happened to him when he was finally liberated and returned to America. It would be thirty-seven years before the U.S. government would official recognize that Jim and other eligible civilian POWs for their contributions to the dramatic defense of Wake Island against insurmountable hostile forces. Jim's Journey is a welcome and much appreciated contribution to the history of POW experiences arising from World War II in the Pacific Theater.
Book Description
"When we captured Kigali, we thought we would face criminals in the state; instead, we faced a criminal population." So a political commissar in the Rwanda Patriotic Front reflected after the 1994 massacre of as many as one million Tutsis in Rwanda. Underlying his statement is the realization that, though ordered by a minority of state functionaries, the slaughter was performed by hundreds of thousands of ordinary citizens, including even judges, human rights activists, and doctors, nurses, priests, friends, and spouses of the victims. Indeed, it is its very popularity that makes the Rwandan genocide so unthinkable. This book makes it thinkable.
Rejecting easy explanations of the genocide as a mysterious evil force that was bizarrely unleashed, one of Africa's best-known intellectuals situates the tragedy in its proper context. He coaxes to the surface the historical, geographical, and political forces that made it possible for so many Hutu to turn so brutally on their neighbors. He finds answers in the nature of political identities generated during colonialism, in the failures of the nationalist revolution to transcend these identities, and in regional demographic and political currents that reach well beyond Rwanda. In so doing, Mahmood Mamdani usefully broadens understandings of citizenship and political identity in postcolonial Africa.
There have been few attempts to explain the Rwandan horror, and none has succeeded so well as this one. Mamdani's analysis provides a solid foundation for future studies of the massacre. Even more important, his answers point a way out of crisis: a direction for reforming political identity in central Africa and preventing future tragedies.
Customer Reviews:
interesting overview of complex situation.......2007-02-25
Mandani's book is not for everyone; it is written in a highly academic form and reads slowly. However, if you can get through it, there are fascinating revelations of the chronology and effect of the early colonialism upon the inhabitants of Rwanda that allow you to understand, once again, the lessons of history....that NOTHING happens in a vacuum....and we Westerners, we "great civilizers" have much to learn and much evolving to do.
I haven't finished it yet and I do wish it were an easier read...I would give it to people I know who really NEED to read it but who never will. It's just too hard.
Essential reading for anyone wanting to learn the truth about what happened in Rwanda and why!.......2006-07-01
This isn't about justifying the atrocious acts of Hutus against Tutsi in Rwanda, but about trying to understand WHY. There were reasons for the madness that went beyond ethnic differences. Read this book before passing judgement.
Heavy Sledding.......2006-01-02
Respected scholar Mahmood Mamdani offers his take on the causes of the Rwandan attempted genocide of the Tutsis and how Rwanda ought to handle the aftermath. A longtime denizen of the ivory tower, Mamdani is not writing for general audiences here: his prose is denser than a nineteenth century Supreme Court opinion and often makes finer distinctions.
There is a certain amount of this that is inevitable -- Mamdani is writing, at least partially, in response to people who have given facile explanations for the genocide (e.g. "the Hutus hated the Tutsis"), and his entirely justified reply is that it's not that simple. Mamdani makes a fascinating and very persuasive case for the exact historical causes of this particular genocide that differentiates it from other genocides of history -- colonialistic influence combining with pan-African political forces that pit nationalistic concerns against ethnic and political ones.
That said, and with full awareness that I don't have the talent to do what I'm asking Mamdani to do, I'd like to say that his argument would have gone over a lot better if he'd been better at phrasing it. His academic language was very difficult to penetrate, even by a well-intentioned postgraduate-educated guy like me. I got to thinking towards the end that he was getting a bonus every time he added "-ize" to a noun to make it a verb.
Mamdani's message that a lot of complicated problems combined to create the genocide -- from which it follows that people peddling simple, easy answers haven't been paying enough attention or are pandering to their audiences -- is important. I hope it is given deep consideration by the grad students who are best equipped with time and incentive to understand his prose, and I hope one of them figures out what I cannot: how to phrase his message in such a way that a lay audience will be willing to hear it.
When Victims become killers.......2005-08-09
A great book that is doing justice to the people that were rudely touched by the genocide. History plays a great part in influencing and explaining particular events that happen in the present but many people forget and view the event as inexplicable. Those who forget to ask the 'why' question are always liable to repeat the blunders of history since they never learn from its ugly mistakes. Prof. Mamdani is trying to undo this mistake. Many, especially in the west from their self righteous pedestal, look at the Rwandan genocide and judge. Mamdani goes behind the scenes of history to dig out the 'why' of this ugliest of human ventures. Drawing heavily on Franz Fanon, he casts a wide net covering the whole Great Lakes Region and Colonialism through the cold war, to tell us that the victims of injustice can only be free if they kill the oppressor. To become human they must deny life to the oppressor. The irony is, to overcome the monster of injustice, you must surpass its monstrosity, leading to the cycle of violence. Americans who read this book will come to understand better the whyness of 9/11; the Europeans will understand Hitler and Africans will grasp the whyness of so many coup d'etats, and finally an insight that is long overdue will dawn on us all and we will see the light. We will understand that without justice in the world those who work for peace labor but in vain. A must read book for serious peacemakers.
Reform the state and citizenship.......2005-01-14
Mahmood Mamdani is Professor of Government and Director of the Institute of African Studies at Columbia University. His reputation as an expert in African history, politics and international relations has made him an important voice in contemporary debates about the changing role of Africa in a global context. Mamdani proposes that Burundi and Rwanda need to reform the state and citizenship within their own borders so that power recognizes equal citizenship rights for all based on a single criterion: residence. Without a reform in power, one that recognizes both the importance of a majority in politics and the need for fearful minorities to participate in the exercise of power, Mamdani maintains there can be no sustained reconciliation between Hutu and Tutsi.
Reviewed by David S. Fick, Author of Africa: Continent of Economic Opportunities, STE Publishers, Johannesburg SA, May 2005, www.ste.co.za
Average customer rating:
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Birds of North America: Western Region : A Quick Identification Guide for All Bird-Watchers (Macmillan Field Guides)
John L. Bull , and
Edith Bull
Manufacturer: Macmillan General Reference
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0020625804 |
Customer Reviews:
Great "out of your window" guide- even for novices.......1998-12-30
This is a very handy guide, simply and clearly laid out, it includes sections for the non-ornathologist (like myslef) with titles like "red birds" and "small brown birds". It contains hints on attracting birds to your yard and feeder, and it has a wealth of clear colored illustrations. Being a "Teal" myself I appreciate this. My aunt gave me this book,then she wanted to get it's name again later, so I am returning the favor and ordering one for her:)
Average customer rating:
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Macmillan Field Guide to Bird Identification
Alan Harris
Manufacturer: Grange Books PLC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Birds
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ASIN: 1856276414 |
Average customer rating:
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The MacMillan Guide to Bird Identification
Alan Harris ,
Laurel Tucker , and
Keith Vinicombe
Manufacturer: Trans-Atlantic Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0333592808 |
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