Graphic Design Basics, Revised Printing (with InfoTrac)

Book Description

A market-leading text, GRAPHIC DESIGN BASICS continues to showcase some of the best work from all areas of design. The text combines history, current technology, and design principles to give a rich, well-rounded view of this ever-evolving field. Programs without a design history class will benefit from the emphasis on visuals from the history of design, while more comprehensive programs will be pleased to find information relevant to current studio practice. This edition brings new and up-to-date information about computer graphics, including a guide to generating successful files for electronic pre-press.

Customer Reviews:

Graphic Design Basics, Revised Printing.......2005-10-06

Excellent book. Grandson uses in college. Prof also recommends book.

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Dokumenty po istorii izobreteniia fotografii =: Documents on the history of the invention of photography (The Sources of modern photography)

Manufacturer: Arno Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

General | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0405096410

Book Description

Four more uproarious short stories about life, friendship, and trying to make one's way in the world! In "Bachelor-Bachelorette Marriage Committee," next-door neighbors Cheyon and Jungwho hatch a plan to hook up their single 30-ish aunt and uncle. Then, in "Professional Baek-Su vs. King Binde," Baek-su - a male maid in a newlywed couple's house - gets caught trying to make time with the new bride. Now he has to flee the jealous husband's wrath! In "Group Jangtanji," Jaesu Oh dreams of becoming a rock star with his band Jangtanji. Finally, in "When an Angel & Devil Meet," a baby angel and a baby devil are switched at birth at Heaven Hospital. Naturally, comic chaos ensues as the two have trouble adjusting to confusing home and school lives.

Book Description

"A powerful, thought-provoking and deeply moving piece of theatre."- Daily Telegraph

"Theatre can't change the world. But what it can do, when it's as good as this, is to send us out enriched by other people's passionate concern."- Guardian

I have been in Palestine for two weeks and one hour now, and I still have very few words to describe what I see. I don't know if many of the children here have ever existed without tank-shell holes in their walls. You just can't imagine it unless you see it. And even then your experience is not at all the reality . . . [due to] the fact that I have money to buy water when the army destroys wells, and of course, the fact that I have the option of leaving. I am allowed to see the ocean.-Rachel Corrie

On March 16, 2003, Rachel Corrie, a twenty-three-year-old American, was killed by an Israeli bulldozer in the Gaza Strip as she was trying to prevent the demolition of the Palestinian homes. My Name is Rachel Corrie is a one-woman play composed from Rachel's own journals, letters, and e-mails-creating a portrait of a messy, skinny, articulate, Salvador Dalí-loving chain-smoker (with a passion for the music of Pat Benatar), who left home and school in Olympia, Washington, "to support Palestinian non-violent resistance to Israel's military occupation." The piece premiered at London's Royal Court Theatre, with an award-winning, sold-out run, before its transfer to the West End.

Customer Reviews:

RACHEL CORRIE WAS INSIGHTFUL AND SAW THE FUTURE "CLEARLY.": RACHEL DEFENDED THE PERSECUTED WITH "NON-VIOLENCE." LIKE GHANDI DID.......2007-10-02

This young lady brutally murdered by an Israeli soldier, was very aware of what was truly going on in "The Palestinian Holocaust" that still is ongoing today. This book is a book of a true "American Hero." Her heroic death must not be in vain, but give courage to all to stand up to the racist atrocities being perpetrated in the world today. The brutal savagery and humiliation against the women, children and men of Palestine is one such, present day "Holocaust." Rachel Corrie had incredible foresight for someone so young. Her cause is now proven and backed by some of the greatest human beings and scholars on this earth: Former President Jimmy Carter has gotten the same message Rachel was getting out to the world in his present best-seller: "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid." In another new best-seller "THE ISRAEL LOBBY, AND U.S. FOREIGN POLICY," by John J. Mearsheimer (of U. of Chicago) and Stephan M. Walt (Harvard), clearly shared young Rachel's view that the savage and horrific treatment of the Palestinian People and "their" lands, was not good for Palestinians, Israeli's, and Especially for America's Safety and Reputation to the World. The list seems endless, especially today, proving and backing Rachel's heroic mission. May she rest in peace. Her parents must be so proud that Rachel tried to help the oppressed and brutally occupied people of Palestine. Rachel Corrie, be proud as your message of justice is being carried on by the great authors mentioned and many more.

Just something to think about readers: Be careful or take great caution with amateur reviews that try to distort Rachel's pure and humane message. Whose words do you give more weight to, a reckless, insensitive, amateur reviewer, or some of the notable icons and scholars mentioned. Yes, everyone is entitled to an opinion,(that's what makes AMAZON the best) but some spend years researching specialty topics and are more up to speed - weigh everything. Do Former President, and probably todays greatest humanitarian, Jimmy Carter's words have weight and substance? What about other great and acclaimed scholars such as Professor John J. Mearsheimer, who is the Wendell Harrison Distinguished Service Professor of Political Science and the co-director of the Program on International Security Policy at the Univ. of Chicago. Add, Professor Stephen M. Walt, who is the Robert and Renee Belfer Professor of International Affairs at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard. Who do you believe? I leave that rhetorical question to you.

Rachel Corrie and her beautiful messages in her writings, this book, and her heroic and tragic death keep her lagacy and message of justice alive. Now, more than ever, notable people and scholarly authors are writing an array of necessary books supporting Rachels cause and, important message. A message that, finally, is getting to Americans,i.e., The horrific plight of the Palestinian peoples. Rachel, the world will not forget that you died for the justice of the Palestinians. Rachel's life should be a academic course in and of itself. Rachel was a true martyr. Read Rachel and be inspired and moved forever....

Good book about a misguided girl.......2007-07-23

This is a tough review to write.

As to the book, it deserves five stars.

But as to Rachel Corrie, who was an American member of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) who traveled to the Gaza Strip during the Al-Aqsa Intifada, she brought about her own death when she was defending the wrong side.

The Al-Aqsa Intifada was started by Yasir Arafat when he refused to take the 99% of the West Bank that Ehud Barak offered him.

Arafat had to start the Al-Aqsa Intifada because if he did not, people would comes to terms with his own incompetence, arrogance, and greed. Which has all been documented since.

First off, Fatah, Hama and others, who Rachel defended, besides being anti-Israel, are anti-American.

Second off, these two organizations have killed innocent people, including many Americans.

For Rachel Corrie to defend these people is criminal at best, immoral at worst. Rather than defending terrorists, Rachel should have been defending the innocent Israelis.

She was killed when she tried to obstruct an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Caterpillar D9 armoured bulldozer operating in Hai as-Salam, a Palestinian area of Rafah, close to the border with Egypt, an area the IDF had designated a security zone.

Why was the bulldozer there? For security operations designed to uncover the network of smuggling tunnels connecting Egypt to the Palestinian side of Rafah - tunnels used by Hamas and other groups for smuggling weapons from Egypt in Gaza strip.

Let's see, illegal weapons are imported to kill innocents and Corrie wants to defend such people?

She brought about her own death.

Rachel Corrie was a beautiful person with a good heart. She was also misguided. That mistake took her life.

This is a sad tale about a good heart, who defended evil people.

Great book!.......2007-02-06

I think that this book has the ability to capture a person's attention on an emotional level as well as a political one. Rachel Corrie was a very profound writer, even as a teenager. In this book you get to experience her life the way that she did. She was a very special person and you can see that as you read this book. It was a tragedy the way she died, and I think that this book kind of does her memory some justice.

RACHEL CORRIE: GREATEST AMERICAN HERO THIS ENTIRE MISERABLE MILLENIUM.......2006-11-20

She stood with a bullhorn and a bright orange vest in front of a doctor's home protecting the children who lived there, unarmed.

The invader's armoured tank kept on coming, hitting her, and backing up over her to make certain she was dead.

But she wasn't. Her spine snapped, she died painfully hours later as she was stopped at the invader's "security" checkpoint.

As any decent human being she stood unarmed and defenseless to protect children's ancient homes from destruction and land grab, even to the ultimate consequences. Such morality and courage is very rare today and shines in such great fellow American heroes as Jean Donovan, Sister Ita Ford, Sister Maura Clark and Sister Dorothy Kazel.

But they were in the last millenium, raped and murdered by other US allies and organs. Rachel is now, a hero for our new millenium. Our only American hero.

Please read her words and weep, not for her, but for all the children who loses homes and lives to faceless, relentless immoral military aggression.

Better Writing than Expected.......2006-10-15

I read a lot of political websites and was very familiar with the story behind this book when I decided to catch the play at the Minetta Lane Theater.

What surprised me about this book was the quality of Corrie's writing itself. A lot of Corrie's detractors hate her passionately because of their support for Israel's policy against the Palestinians in Gaza but they should give this book a closer look.

"My Name is Rachel Corrie" is not strictly a piece of anti-Israel agit prop, although it is certainly that. It's also a very personal story of an American confronting the effect of her government's foreign policy in a part of the world most of us will never see, an emotional travelogue to the heart of the darkness of the American Empire.

Nobody, of course, would compare Rachel Corrie to Joseph Conrad (who hadn't even learned English by the age of 23). But the process of exploring the self by traveling to the margins of the empire is the same. Corrie feels a sense of dread and purposelessness in Olympia (a first world city, one of those "whited sepulchers" Conrad mentions) that becomes more and more urgent after 9/11 so she decides to travel to the Gaza Strip and become a partisan for one group of people the American and Israeli governments would simply like to see disappear.

To argue that she should have become an objective witness instead of an openly partisan activist is to miss the point. An objective witness stands above the people stuck in a war zone (think of Eddie Adam's famous photo of the VC guerilla being executed) and this wouldn't have allowed her to confront the power relationship that exists between Americans and people like the Palestinians. By getting involved, she was able to free that part of herself that all Americans feel closed off to by our hostile relation to the rest of the world.

And the remarkable thing is that she was quite aware of this. Compare the surrealistic little vignette about her time as a volunteer at a mental health center where she's accused by her clients of putting herself above them to the way the older Palestinian woman argues against taking money from rich Americans. "We're not a hotel." Rachel Corrie struggles to let these people speak for themselves, even while she's using them to explore herself.

In other words, even if you're opposed to Corrie's politics, this book is still worth reading. Maybe the writing itself should get 3.5 stars. But I gave it 5 simply because I was touched by the fact that this book allowed so villified a woman to speak for herself from beyond the grave.

Book Description

Arranged by Greg Stone, capturing Bill Evan's unique close-voiced jazz piano chord voicings on the guitar.

Customer Reviews:

For Classical Players Only.......2002-11-05

As a Jazz guitar player I was looking for classic Bill Evans arrangements transported to the guitar. Unfortunately the arrangements in this book have more in common with classical music than Jazz.

The individual chords used in the book are lush, and taken individually evoke the Bill Evan's sound. The rhythms however are mostly just very simple whole-note-chord, whole-note-chord, simple run, whole-note-chord.

The effect is much more classical than Jazz, which makes sense considering the author is obviously a classical player. Actually the book says "He is well versed in both classical and jazz guitar styles", but the performance captured on the CD is on a gut string and performed so stiffly it leads me to believe the author is a classical player who likes Jazz.

While I am disappointed about not being able to add the arrangements to my preformance repertoire, the chords are quite beautiful and unique, and worth taking some time to read through.

This is a nice book.......2002-05-03

I just got "Bill Evans Collection for Guitar" a few days ago. If you're a guitar player who likes the music of Bill Evans (if I may be so bold - everyone should), I recommend this book with a lot of enthusiasm. Stone has done a great job incorporating the lush chords of these songs into arrangements for guitar.

The book comes with a CD of the author playing the transcriptions. These arrangments remind me a lot of the John McLaughlin tribute album to Bill Evans - "Time Remembered." If you want to play Bill Evans songs in that vein, by yourself no less, get this book; this is really beautiful stuff to learn and play.

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One Small Step...for a Giant Increase in Score!!!

Jim is sweet

One Step to Bowling 200
Gene Korienek
Manufacturer: Black Dog Innovations, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Bowling | Individual Sports | Sports | Subjects | Books
General | Sports | Subjects | Books
Look Inside Sports Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

From Gutterballs to Strikes

Bowling Fundamentals (Sport Fundamental Series)

ASIN: 0978811208

Book Description

Aimed squarely at beginning and intermediate bowlers, this book presents a surprisingly simple bowling technique that can change the way you bowl and increase your scores. Written by a long-time bowler and research scientist, it applies his deep knowledge of locomotion and biomechanics, love of the sport of bowling, and whimsical sense of humor to produce a practical and readable guide.

Customer Reviews:

One Small Step...for a Giant Increase in Score!!!.......2007-01-04

I am now a one(1) step bowler and I LOVE it. At first I felt a bit awkward without an approach, but this way really works! I am bowling much better than I ever have before...and I'm having more fun! Other bowlers are acually coming over to me and asking questions about how I learned to bowl this way - so now I'm carrying this book with me when I go bowling to show them that it isn't something I made up! I will never go back to the OLD way of bowling!

Jim is sweet.......2006-12-30

I like this book. I got it for christmas and now I bowl better. I bowled 147 yesterday. It was fun. I am getting better. Thanks.

Love to Spare (Sweet Dreams Series #200)

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Love to Spare (Sweet Dreams Series #200)
Linda Joy Singleton
Manufacturer: Bantam Books for Young Readers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Love & Romance | Literature & Fiction | Teens | Subjects | Books

General | Literature & Fiction | Teens | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0553299794
Release Date: 1993-02-01

Bicentennial bits: Bowling Green, Warren County, Kentucky, 200 years pride, promise, progress

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Bicentennial bits: Bowling Green, Warren County, Kentucky, 200 years pride, promise, progress
Carol Crowe-Carraco
Manufacturer: N.D. Baird
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0006RDOYQ

Everyday cooking for diabetics: Uses the latest nutritional guidelines and exchanges : over 200 delicious, specially created recipes which provide healthy, ... meals suitable for the entire family

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Everyday cooking for diabetics: Uses the latest nutritional guidelines and exchanges : over 200 delicious, specially created recipes which provide healthy, ... meals suitable for the entire family
Stella Bowling
Manufacturer: Fisher Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

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The Secret War for the Union: The Untold Story of Military Intelligence in the Civil War
Edwin C. Fishel
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000MBQP5G

Average customer rating:

not for beginners

A Confederate spymaster who also fought in Cuba

A benchmark in the historical analysis of military intelligence

Excellent story on intelligence operations in the Civil War

Excellent, if exhaustive study of CW intelligence

The Secret War for the Union: The Untold Story of Military Intelligence in the Civil War
Edwin C. Fishel
Manufacturer: Mariner Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | United States | Americas | History | Subjects | Books
General | Civil War | United States | Americas | History | Subjects | Books
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Intelligence & Espionage | Military | History | Subjects | Books
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Secret Missions of the Civil War

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When the Smoke Cleared at Gettysburg: The Tragic Aftermath of the Bloodiest Battle of the Civil War

ASIN: 0395901367

Amazon.com

It's rare for a modern writer to make a genuinely new discovery about the Civil War, but former intelligence officer Edwin C. Fishel pulls it off in The Secret War for the Union. Having stumbled upon a large collection of previously unknown documents at the National Archives, he describes in this book the undercover operations of the Army of the Potomac. Federal intelligence, by Fishel's account, was crucially important to winning the war, and was of much higher quality than previously assumed. Among other accomplishments, it appears to have played a vital role in the Union victory at Gettysburg. This surprise--and a few others--await serious readers.

Book Description

Most histories of the Civil War explain victory and defeat in terms of the skill of commanders and their troops. Intelligence records disappeared after the war, and thus a critically important element has largely been ignored. Fishel has unearthed substantial collections of such records, and his "intelligence explanation" radically alters history's understanding of the campaigns. The Secret War for the Union is one of the most important Civil War works ever published.

Customer Reviews:

not for beginners.......2007-06-11

Familiarity with the Civil War will make this a much better read. It can be dry at times, but overall I found it very interesting. I learned many new things in this book.

A Confederate spymaster who also fought in Cuba.......2007-05-04

A Confederate spymaster who also fought in Cuba

Fishel, Edwin C. 1996 The Secret War for the Union: The Untold Story of Military Intelligence in the Civil War. Houghton Mifflin, Boston and New York ISBN-10 0395742811, ISBN-13 978-0395742815 This is an excellent and interesting book, which provides novel material on intelligence activities during the US Civil War and places it in clear and applicable context. While seeking information on Thomas Jordan, who would be for a time the senior general in Cuba's 1868-1878 Ten Year's War, I found this book to be very useful. This work (pp. 59-76) not only tells of how General Jordan was once General Beauregard's adjutant at Manassas, but details with great care Jordan's role as a spy master and sage evaluator of secret intelligence prior to this battle. General Jordan, although not mentioned in the Fishel book went on to lead an important victory over Spanish Forces at Guaimaro in January 1870. Antonio Pirala's history of this war Anales de la Guerra en Cuba (Published in 1895, 1896 and 1874 by Felipe González Rojas, of Madrid) gives a detailed account of Jordan's war record in Cuban. However Fishel's book, again without mentioning Cuba, provokes the interesting and surely polemic question: Were Jordan's actions in Cuba free from an intelligence gathering role for the US? Interestingly enough General Thomas Jordan wasteful military tactics in Cuba during the Ten Year's War have been soundly condemned by Cuban Mambí Brigadier General Calixto (Garcia-Iñiguez) Enamorado Cabrera, a part Taíno son of Major General Calixto Garcia). Calixto Enamorado's narration thinly veiled as novel was published in 1917 as Tiempos Heroicos Persecución, by Rambla, Bauza and Company of Havana.

A benchmark in the historical analysis of military intelligence.......2007-03-16

In 1959, the author uncovered a previously unknown collection of U.S. government documents describing intelligence operations during the Civil War. These papers became the basis for his epic study of Civil War intelligence. Writing on Civil War intelligence is challenging, since the U.S. military's philosophy on intelligence was primitive and vastly different than today. The U.S. Army had no specialized intelligence structure, doctrine, training, personnel, equipment, or concept of operations.

While the theory of intelligence or "know thy enemy" dates back to the dawn of warfare, it is unfair to compare modern views of intelligence with the 1860's. Despite this challenge the author fairly balances his analysis of both the Union and the Confederate use of intelligence.
The author deserves credit for attempting to take a holistic view of intelligence and not simply talk of spies and secret operations. Extensive analysis is conducted on the use of observation balloons (early airborne reconnaissance) and stealing enemy flag signals (very early signals intelligence). The author even talks about the Union's attempt to condense, combine, and refine intelligence from various collection methods (early all-source analysis).

While most Civil War accounts focus on battle, this work, like most real intelligence, focuses on the time between the battles. Civil War generals spent very little time actually in battle, and spent the great majority of the war either on the move, trying to figure out where the enemy was, or what the enemy was trying to do next.

Be warned the book is not a quick read. The author's addiction to detail is so deep that I believe it near impossible for anyone to attempt to produce a more complete history of Civil War intelligence unless a second collection of unknown intelligence documents is discovered.

Excellent story on intelligence operations in the Civil War.......2006-09-02

Though covering 594 pages of material, I did not find the material as plodding or as painful to read as some of the other reviewers. I don't disagree that this is not a book for the common reader. It is for those individuals very specifically interested in the Civil War or perhaps the early development of America's intelligence operations. Fishel's book is very intriguing and I specifically find his treatment of General Joe Hooker very fascinating. Indeed, I now look at Hooker in a far different light, conceding that he was a much better general than I gave him credit for. I certainly agree with most assessments that he was not a great commander of the Army of the Potomac, but I do believe he was very effective at division and corps levels, positions where he could physically direct the action of his men. At higher responsibility levels, he simply couldn't not move the battle pieces around without seeing them. He needed to be on the battlefield to be effective. But, he was the first general, and is credited with, building the military's first concept at all-source intelligence reporting. He built the Military Bureau of Information so he could have an office that could collect intelligence from citizen-scouts, cavalry, prisoner interrogation, slaves, and spies and then synthesize the data into a collective strategic picture. No other commander, nor the War Department, had ever done this. It was this concept that allowed him to get his stolen march on Lee. Fishel points to evidence of the Union Signal Corps transmitting a fake message that was picked up by Lee's Signal Corps that resulted in Lee dispatching JEB Stuart on a ride to pursue a phantom force. Stuart's departure left the hole that Hooker used to get around to Lee's flank. How often is this discussed in books? It isn't. Hooker reorganized the cavalry, consolidating them into one corps, another logical and new concept. He rode in intelligence balloons, further showing his interest and understanding of the importance of intelligence gathering. No other general really understood the importance of intelligence gathering like he did. His work and understanding of it dwarfed all others. He would have done great service if an intelligence bureau at the War Department was created and he was placed in charge of it. This new dimension of Hooker is what Fishel brings forth in his work.

Fishel documents his facts well; his footnotes cover 82 pages. There are also 25 maps. Fishel analyzes all forms of intelligence utilized in the war: cavalry, the signal corps, citizen-scouts, spies (women and men), slaves, freedmen, clandestine actions, deserters, POWs, and double-agents. His efforts span primarily the events from 1861 through the battle of Gettysburg. It is a remarkable work that a student of the Civil War should find most intriguing since it adds a new dimension to think about regarding the prosecution of the war's campaigns. I'm perplexed how one reader comments on the book's lack of worth when he states he didn't bother to read very much of it after finding the author using phrases such as "may have," "possibly," or "could have." The intelligence game played by the Union and Confederate side is not consumed with extensive amounts of documentation. Confederate Treasury Secretary Judah Benjamin destroyed many of his government's secret service and intelligence files. Thus, it is up to authors to try and piece together what is available to do the best to tell the intelligence story. If one keeps this in mind, the material should not be offensive, but insightful simply because the author is attempting to explain what hardly anyone has ever bothered to write about. Many authors today put their own spin and interpretation on the war. Fishel is no different and he's dealing with far less information to build the story.

Excellent, if exhaustive study of CW intelligence .......2006-07-02

operations. It really is a facinating book for the real history buff who has tolerance and maybe desire to really know all the ins and outs of how information was gathered in those days.

THE SECRET WAR FOR THE UNION: THE UNTOLD STORY OF MILITARY INTELLIGENCE IN THE CIVIL WAR

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THE SECRET WAR FOR THE UNION: THE UNTOLD STORY OF MILITARY INTELLIGENCE IN THE CIVIL WAR
Fishel Edwin C
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000J4WL4A

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The Secret War for the Union: the Untold Story of Military Intelligence in the Civil War

Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin, Boston
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000GUZMFW

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The Secret War for the Union: The Untold Story Of Military Intelligence In The Civil War
Edwin C Fishel
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OEFCRI

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The Secret War for the Union: the Untold Story of Military Intelligence in the Civil War
Edwin C. Fishel
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin, Boston
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000RZMLQO

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JesusNoRepublican ?

Would Jesus Endorse Today's Republican Party?

A Great Book

Interesting, and Sometimes Scary!

A helpful reminder of how the Gospels contradict the Religious Right

Jesus Is Not a Republican: The Religious Right's War on America

Manufacturer: Thunder's Mouth Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
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Sociology | Religious Studies | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
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Conservatives Without Conscience

ASIN: 1560257636

Book Description

The historical Jesus, by most accounts, was in favor of social justice, peace and compassion. Right wing radicals, including the social conservatives allied with the Republican Party, exploit the name of Jesus to support policies that lead to injustice, war and cruelty. Jesus Is Not a Republican includes several dozen essays and articles, including several original essays, by some of today’s most thoughtful spiritual and political thinkers. Rob Boston of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State uncovers the hypocrisy of the Christian Right. Reporter Jeffrey Sharlet goes undercover as a true believer in “the Family”, a shadowy, politically well-connected group of fundamentalists with dubious motives. Jim Wallis, founder of Sojourners, explains the Bible’s call to work for social justice. Together, they make the case that the religious right has strayed far from a truly Christian path, and reviews the achievements of progressive Christians who actually try to follow the teachings of Jesus. The upshot is that a true follower of Jesus is far more likely to vote for a liberal Democrat than for a conservative Republican.

Customer Reviews:

JesusNoRepublican ?.......2006-09-28

Until tonight I had never heard of this book, and all I have read of it so far are the five reviews of it, but I can't help but wonder if the authors borrowed the title from my "[...]" web site, which I inaugurated at Christmas time in "the year of the Lord" 2003.

By that time, I had already spent seven years publishing a site covering much of the same material, called "[...]". That site emphasizes the positive, i.e. it shows how very Liberal Jesus was and why those who would follow him in our time should be as well.

In 2003 I used the newer, more negative URL for a site that emphasizes the negative, i.e. to show "Christians" how un-christlike so many of today's leading Republicans are, and hopefully persuade some to rethink their allegiance to that party.

Now, I'll be recommending this book, and reading it myself.

Would Jesus Endorse Today's Republican Party?.......2006-03-13

"How Would Jesus Vote?"

That is the main question posed by the editors of this book and according to the contributions from the many authors, it seems clear in their collective eyes that Jesus would in no way support today's Republican Party. The different authors who contribute articles in this book seem to agree that the members who control the present- day Republican Party support a platform and endorse social and political ideas that run contrary to the primary tenets of Christianity. They don't come right out and say that Jesus would support the Democrats if he were alive today but they certainly do not feel that Republicanism is compatible with Christianity and they are convinced that Jesus himself would never vote for a Republican for any political office.

Some of the contributions to this book are by author's whose works I have read before. People like Rob Boston (of Americans United for Separation of Church and State), Thomas Frank, Chris Mooney, and others are among the writers I have read in the past. What they contribute here is typical of what they usually write about when it comes to the mixing of religion and politics. They feel that both government and religion are both better off the less the two are mixed together and they make some solid arguments in this book explaining why militarism, the death penalty, and other positions usually supported by Republicans and the Religious Right are wrong from a Christian standpoint and wrong for America.

There are a total of thirty- three articles in this book and some of them are stronger and more convincing than others. I liked the article contributed by Rob Boston titled "James Madison Rebukes the Religious Right" because it is well- reasoned and it includes facts from the mouths of the Founding Fathers to back itself. The article taken from the Religious Institute on Sexual Morality, Justice, and Healing titled "An Open Letter to Religious Leaders on Abortion as a Moral Decision" is also very good because of its persuasive writing and because it dares to tackle an issue like abortion and argue in favor of the position to keep it legal.

With other contributions, it's a hit and miss game, with some of them offering some good, well- reasoned arguments and others falling a little bit short. For example, there are some articles that talk about the importance of social justice. These articles claim that social justice is endorsed by the Bible and they include Bible passages to back them. But what these articles don't necessarily talk about is whether or not government is supposed to take an active role in achieving these ends. The authors of these articles seem to suggest that social justice for the poor is a Biblical requirement that governments must address. However, I cannot think of anything in the Bible that says coercion is a necessary element in the quest for social justice and that governments are thus obligated to take from one person by force and give to another. The way I interpret the Biblical passages on social justice is that individuals should assume this obligation, without the use of coercion of any kind. The reasoning offered here, and in certain other articles, is not as convincing as its authors intended.

The different writers who contribute to this book have an important message to share but what they talk about is completely biased and closed to any further debate. They include many Bible quotes to back up their claims that what Republicans believe in is actually anti- religion. But I have read articles from those on the other side that also use Bible quotes to back their claims. What this shows is that, as many already are aware, there is a passage in the Bible to back most any claim. Depending on interpretation, almost any political or social position can be backed by something, somewhere, in this sacred text.

The timeline at the end of this guide is interesting at first, but it gets a little silly because it is nothing more than an anti- Religious Right rant. I don't support much of what the Religious Right stands for politically, but this timeline is a little too outrageous, even for me. Most all of the events highlighted are, in some way, a negative expose on some religious leader or political movement. For example, 1980 has a mark for Jerry Falwell that reads "Jerry Falwell founds the Moral Majority and declares war on homosexuality". In 1997, there is a mark for Falwell once again that reads "Ellen Degeneras comes out; Jerry Falwell nicknames her `Ellen Degenerate". 1999 has a mark on the timeline that reads "Vermont legalizes same- sex unions; Gary Bauer calls the move `worse than terrorism". I can understand why the editors included these things on the timeline and I know they are trying to prove a point about the extremism of certain members of the Religious Right or affiliated political organizations. But this timeline gets a little carried away with its constant negativity and its tendency to split hairs.

I can appreciate the general message of this book but I have a difficult time giving it much more than a small recommendation. First, I don't like that the two editors composed this book entirely of articles written by other people. When I first saw this book on- line I wanted to read it right way because of the eye- catching title. I thought it was going to be an original book by Clint Willis and Nate Hardcastle with some good, sensible reading about the Religious Right and its desire to make the United States government more theocratic in nature. But this book is nothing more than a collection of material borrowed from others and much of it I have already read before.

Overall, "Jesus is Not a Republican" is a book that is good enough to recommend but not by much. There are some good, thoughtful articles in this book and some not- so- good articles that are not very convincing when it comes to religion and its proper place in politics and society. If this book could be re- edited and about one- third of the articles eliminated, I would be more inclined to give it a full recommendation. But as it stands, it is worthy of only about two and one- half stars. I'm going to round this up to three stars and reluctantly give it a recommendation. It has some important information to share and some solid, persuasive arguments to make. But there is a little too much negativity, weak reasoning in some instances, and one- sidedness to rate it any better than average.

A Great Book.......2006-02-18

Jesus is not a Republican is one of the best books I have read this year. It points out the horrible way the "Religious Right" has subverted Biblical texts to advance their agenda, which basically is a war on the poor in this country. I read the entire book in one sitting - I just couldn't put it down.
It's that good!!!!!

Interesting, and Sometimes Scary!.......2005-12-13

Willis presents an anthology of contributions that make a significant case that much of what "Christian conservatives" support is hypocritical; in addition, there were also several writings included that had little/no link to right-wing Christians that I failed to understand their reason for inclusion.

The following summarizes some of the material presented (there is no overall logic flow - such a series of short vignettes):

Republicans lately have spoken of a culture of life, by which they seem to mean a culture that pursues withholding resources and distorting information (eg. about condoms) that could save millions of potential AIDS victims and stop unwanted prenancies that lead to abortions, prevents girls and women from having safe abortions, but does nothing to sustain their children once they are born, spends huge sums keeping a brain-dead person alive, but next to nothing to provide basic health care to poor children, kills civilians by the thousands in pursuit of political ends that are at best murky, opposes stem-cell research directed at major improvements for those with serious, chronic illness, and does almost nothing to save the thousands of children who needlessly die of starvation or illness every day in developing nations.

Polls consistently show that at most one-fifth of the U.S. subscribes to "extremist" (per George Will) regious views in the Republican base (another poll cited concluded that 59% believe in the Bible's apocalypse. Yet, we allow them to bully the majority with intelligent design, Terri Shiavo, Limited means of birth control, the sense that "Freedom is God's gift to the world" (we are doing God's work), droughts, floods, famine, etc. via ecological collapse are signs of the apocalypse - therefore, we need not worry about them (aiding Israel is also good as it brings us closer to the desired end).

President Bush uses the word "God" in Inaugeral Addresses more than any other President; he also uses it differently - not as seeking guidance or blessing, but as a prophet issuing declarations of divine decisions for the U.S. and world.

YUM! (PizzaHut, KFC, Taco Bell, etc.) matches employee donations to radical right-wing James Dobson's "Focus on the Family," while paying drivers $6/hour (includes gas and depreciation), and pulls advertising on "Desperate Housewives."

Leaders who emphasize their Christian principles strongly back torture in the War on Terror.

"AIDS is the wrath of a just God against homosexuals" - Jerry Falwell.

Kansas' elected leaders are selected primarily for religious positions (despite a weak and sinking economy), and then support economic measures that make the situation worse.

A helpful reminder of how the Gospels contradict the Religious Right.......2005-10-05

I grew up attending the Geyer Springs Baptist Church in Little Rock, Arkansas and became a diligent Bible reader. I read it from cover to cover in a number of translations. The Living Bible first, then Today's English Version (the Good News for Modern Man version), the King James's Version, the NIV, and the RSV. Parts I read more than others, and parts I read by far the most were the Gospels, especially the sayings and sermons and parables of Jesus. I was not raised in a political family, but my politics were profoundly formed and fashioned by reading the New Testament.

I learned some amazing things in the Gospels. Jesus said that if you had two coats, take one of them and give it to someone who had none. If someone struck you, you were to turn and offer them the other cheek. Jesus was constantly reaching out to the poor, was profoundly suspicious of the religious (especially those who loved to prayer in public and put their religiosity on display), and had an extraordinarily low disregard for the wealthy. He displayed an affirmation of the worth of women that was simply unprecedented in the Middle East of the time. And while he sternly avoided the rich and powerful and respected, he spent all his time among the poor, the dregs, the lepers, and the needy.

All this stands in stark contrast with today's American churches, especially those in the Bible belt. My bet is that these people in the churches with parking lots filled with Mercedes and Jaguars and BMW are filled with members with lots and lots of coats, not just two. I vividly remember attending First Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas where the famous W. A. Criswell utters the astonishing affirmation that the only economic system ordained by God was the free enterprise system. The gap between these teachings and these actions and the portrait of Jesus in the New Testament is gargantuan. Anyone intimately familiar with the Gospels can't help but realize that something has gone seriously awry.

I agree with the first reviewer that Jesus is neither a Republican nor a Democrat, but neither is he nonpolitical. But that doesn't negate the fact that Jesus made a host of utterances that, if taken seriously by a reader such as I was as a teen, lead one to a nonpartisan ultra left wing political position. But this all misses the point. While my religion leads me to an extreme left wing political position, I do not think that this should be somehow encapsulated in currently political structures. The founders, especially James Madison though also John Adams and Jefferson recognized that forcing a link between the political structures of society and religion is harmful to religion and to politics. I believe this will become progressively obvious in the decades to come, as the current political involvement of the Religious Right in right wing politics will cause both a repudiation of both. History has witnessed such coalitions before, and always when one goes down, the other is affected as well.

This anthology tries to provide some balance in the current discussion of the connection between Christianity and politics. All too often, the press presumes that the Religious Right somehow speaks for all Christians, and that all Christians are right wingers. This is simply wrong, and one of the weaknesses of the collection is that this isn't sufficiently brought out. In fact, most Christians are not fundamentalists, not right wingers, did not support the war in Iraq, are not supporters of George Bush, and not necessarily Republican. Only about 20% of the US fits the demographic that would be considered the Religious Right, and not all of them share the entire agenda.

The main value, therefore, of this collection is that it serves as a reminder and a corrective to general perceptions. The Gospels clearly and powerfully authorize a set of social concerns that are diametrically opposed to the general impression of the Religious Right, with its obsession on war, on promulgating wealth, on public expressions of religiosity, and unfettered free market capitalism. These are simply not Christian values, yet few in the press ever challenge these.

The writers in this book are from various points of view. My major complaint is the overall journalistic quality of the contributors. There are much better individuals taking up these same issues. I would have liked to see invited papers as well. And some of the more prominent contributors are people I find a tad superficial or wrongheaded. For instance, I have profound problems with the theoretical foundations of the work of John Dominac Crossan (he of the rather silly Jesus Seminar) and surely there was no need to quote so much of Stephen Mitchell's various paraphrases of the New Testament. Few evangelicals were included despite the fact that there are a host of them with left wing politics. Nonetheless, the book is valuable for presenting a wide body of opinion that is in sharp opposition to much of what is being said today about the link between God and politics.

A couple of the pieces deserve special mention. I especially enjoyed Rob Boston's discussion of James Madison's views on the separation of Church and State. Madison, of course, is the key figure in the forming of the U.S. Constitution, having participated in the debates in Philadelphia (keeping for posterity detailed notes that later stood as the major document of what happened in the convention), having written a number of the FEDERALIST PAPERS, including the most important in the bunch, Number 10, having pushed the Virginia statute for the separation of Church and State into ratification in his home state (though it was written by Jefferson--the statute was later the model for the Bill of Rights), a key figure in arguing for the Constitution's ratification, and the primary author of the Bill of Rights. In other words, Madison is the key figure where the Constitution is concerned, and he was also a passionate and persistent defender of the separation of church and state. Despite this, many on the Right out of complete ignorance want to assert that the wall between Church and State is a myth or even a lie told by later generations. But the words of all the major Founders contradict this, so do the words of those contemporaries who opposed the Founders. The major complete by these opponents was that the constitution clearly had no place for God. In fact, it was only in the very late 20th century that ANYONE ever started making the bizarre claim that the Constitution did not place a wall between church and state.

I'm very concerned for the fate of Christianity in this generation. The so-called friends of the faith have managed to align millions of Christians with a political agenda that most Americans find reprehensible. They unquestionably see things at this moment as a great time, but my fear is that when the reaction sets in--and reactions always set in--the result will be not merely the right wing political ideology that is causing incalculable harm to the nation and world right now, but to the cause of Christianity itself. Jesus warns of being stumbling blocks, but I believe the misguided political activity of the Religious Right today will have created the greatest stumbling block in the history of the faith.

More than every, it is crucial for Christians with a clearer understanding of the faith that the misguided millions in the Religious Right to step forward and offer an alternative, more Biblically-based understanding of society. We must be prepared to undo all the damage that our misguided brethren are currently causing.

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