The drawings of Morris Graves: With comments
Average customer rating: Not rated
    The drawings of Morris Graves: With comments
    Morris Graves
    Manufacturer: Published for the Drawing Society by New York Graphic Society
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Unknown Binding

    GeneralGeneral | Drawing | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
    GeneralGeneral | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
    ASIN: 0316193054
    The Drawings of Morris Graves: With Comments by the Artist
    Average customer rating: Not rated
      The Drawings of Morris Graves: With Comments by the Artist
      Morris Graves
      Manufacturer: NYGS
      ProductGroup: Book
      Binding: Hardcover
      ASIN: B000KVA89C

      Textile Traditions of Mesoamerica and the Andes: An Anthology
      Average customer rating: Not rated
        Textile Traditions of Mesoamerica and the Andes: An Anthology

        Manufacturer: University of Texas Press
        ProductGroup: Book
        Binding: Paperback

        GeneralGeneral | History & Criticism | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
        EuropeanEuropean | Regional | History & Criticism | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
        Textile & CostumeTextile & Costume | Design & Decorative Arts | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
        GeneralGeneral | Fashion | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
        HistoryHistory | Fashion | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
        GeneralGeneral | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
        GeneralGeneral | Central America | Americas | History | Subjects | Books
        GuatemalaGuatemala | Central America | Americas | History | Subjects | Books
        MexicoMexico | Americas | History | Subjects | Books
        GeneralGeneral | United States | Americas | History | Subjects | Books
        Textile ArtsTextile Arts | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
        CulturalCultural | Anthropology | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
        ASIN: 0292777140

        Book Description

        "This is a vital, worthwhile book that fills an important need and is very much in phase with current anthropological thinking.... This anthology will be particularly rewarding to readers interested in traditional indigenous communities and the insight gleaned from a detailed consideration of cloth and clothing."

        —American Anthropologist

        "The essays in this book are informative and a pleasure to read. Collectively they make the reader want to journey to Mesoamerica and the Andes to view in person the cloth and clothing of the indigenous communities."

        —Latin American Anthropology Review

        In this volume, anthropologists, art historians, fiber artists, and technologists come together to explore the meanings, uses, and fabrication of textiles in Mexico, Guatemala, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia from Precolumbian times to the present. Originally published in 1991 by Garland Publishing, the book grew out of a 1987 symposium held in conjunction with the exhibit "Costume as Communication: Ethnographic Costumes and Textiles from Middle America and the Central Andes of South America" at the Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology, Brown University.

        Buenos Presagios: las buenas y ajustadas profecias de Agnes La Chalada / Good Omens: The Nice & Accurate Prophecies Of Agnes Nutter, Witch (Brainstorming)/ Spanish Edition
        Average customer rating: Not rated
          Buenos Presagios: las buenas y ajustadas profecias de Agnes La Chalada / Good Omens: The Nice & Accurate Prophecies Of Agnes Nutter, Witch (Brainstorming)/ Spanish Edition
          Neil Gaiman
          Manufacturer: Public Square Books
          ProductGroup: Book
          Binding: Paperback

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          1. Stardust Stardust

          ASIN: 159497098X

          Book Description

          According to the Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter--the world's only totally reliable guide to the future--the world will end on a Saturday. Next Saturday, in fact. Just after tea... From two delightful imaginations comes an unforgettable story in which the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse ride motorcycles, the hound of the devil chases sticks, and the end of the world is subject to Murphy's Law... Highly Recommended --Library Journal; Hilariously naughty --Kirkus reviews; Lots of literary inventiveness. . .it's a wow! --Washington Post

          Redeeming Laughter: The Comic Dimension of Human Experience
          Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
          • perhaps the finest treatment of the comic presently available
          • An immensely enjoyable book
          Redeeming Laughter: The Comic Dimension of Human Experience
          Peter L. Berger
          Manufacturer: Walter de Gruyter
          ProductGroup: Book
          Binding: Hardcover

          EssaysEssays | Humor | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
          GeneralGeneral | Humor | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
          Self-Help & PsychologySelf-Help & Psychology | Humor | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
          Literary TheoryLiterary Theory | History & Criticism | United States | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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          GeneralGeneral | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
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          1. On Humour (Thinking in Action) On Humour (Thinking in Action)
          2. Jokes: Philosophical Thoughts on Joking Matters Jokes: Philosophical Thoughts on Joking Matters
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          4. Taking Laughter Seriously Taking Laughter Seriously
          5. Questions of Faith: A Skeptical Affirmation of Christianity (Religion and the Modern World) Questions of Faith: A Skeptical Affirmation of Christianity (Religion and the Modern World)

          ASIN: 3110155621

          Book Description

          The author of numerous previous books of broad appeal and scholarly acclaim on subjects ranging from sociological theory to religious ethics in government and economic systems, and the co-author of a vastly influential treatise on The Social Construction of Reality, Berger unfolds in Redeeming Laughter a new perspective on a classic domain. Berger's comic terrain is at once noble and amusing, the terrain of Erasmus and Swift. Like his predecessors', Berger's writing in these pages is bolstered with exemplary learning and wry observation.

          Customer Reviews:

          5 out of 5 stars perhaps the finest treatment of the comic presently available.......2007-05-30

          If one were limited to reading just one book on exploring how and why the comic dimension of human existence functions, this should be the choice. Berger treats the comic dimension with breadth -- from the standpoint of sociology, ethnic and cultural studies, and theology. He seasons the text with many (good) jokes that contribute well to the development of his argument that the comic is a dimension that intrudes on the everyday, taken-for-granted world. The comic both enlightens everyday existence so that we see it with new eyes and opens us to another world -- one of sheer possibility and joy. This "other" world has a redemptive and transcendent quality -- always possible and potent -- and thus makes our everyday world more enchanted and delightful.

          Berger writes with such competence, confidence and genuine humility that he makes reading the text an experience of redemption and enchantment in and of itself. I am grateful that he wrote this book and pleased that I read it (again and again).

          5 out of 5 stars An immensely enjoyable book.......1999-03-25

          After reading a review of "Redeeming Laughter" in the "Commonweal", I hurried to obtain a copy. I enjoyed it immensely. I can picture Dr. Berger's straw woman, Dorothy Hartmund, with her heart in her mouth.

          Herman Krieger, author, "Churches ad hoc: a divine comedy"

          Vanishing Women: Magic, Film, and Feminism
          Average customer rating: Not rated
            Vanishing Women: Magic, Film, and Feminism
            Karen Beckman , and Karen Beckman
            Manufacturer: Duke University Press
            ProductGroup: Book
            Binding: Paperback

            GeneralGeneral | Movies | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
            History & CriticismHistory & Criticism | Movies | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
            GeneralGeneral | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
            CultureCulture | Sociology | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
            GeneralGeneral | Women's Studies | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
            GeneralGeneral | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
            GeneralGeneral | Performing Arts | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
            ASIN: 0822330741

            Book Description

            With the help of mirrors, trap doors, elevators, photographs, and film, women vanish and return in increasingly spectacular ways throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Karen Beckman tracks the proliferation of this elusive figure, the vanishing woman, from her genesis in Victorian stage magic through her development in conjunction with photography and film. Beckman reveals how these new visual technologies projected their anxieties about insubstantiality and reproducibility onto the female body, producing an image of "woman" as utterly unstable and constantly prone to disappearance.

            Drawing on cinema studies and psychoanalysis as well as the histories of magic, spiritualism, and photography, Beckman looks at particular instances of female vanishing at specific historical moments—in Victorian magic’s obsessive manipulation of female and colonized bodies, spiritualist photography’s search to capture traces of ghosts, the comings and goings of bodies in early cinema, and Bette Davis’s multiple roles as a fading female star. As Beckman places the vanishing woman in the context of feminism’s discussion of spectacle and subjectivity, she explores not only the problems, but also the political utility of this obstinate figure who hovers endlessly between visible and invisible worlds. Through her readings, Beckman argues that the visibly vanishing woman repeatedly signals the lurking presence of less immediately perceptible psychic and physical erasures, and she contends that this enigmatic figure, so ubiquitous in late-nineteenth- and twentieth-century culture, provides a new space through which to consider the relationships between visibility, gender, and agency.

            The Walrus Was Ringo: 101 Beatles Myths Debunked
            Average customer rating: 2 out of 5 stars
            • Hack writing covered up as a reference work
            • Couldn't Put It Down
            • Another Beatle Rip Off Book
            • Don't waste your money on this one...
            • Debunking the myth that the sun is cold
            The Walrus Was Ringo: 101 Beatles Myths Debunked
            Alan Clayson , and Spencer Leigh
            Manufacturer: Chrome Dreams
            ProductGroup: Book
            Binding: Paperback

            RockRock | Composers & Musicians | Arts & Literature | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
            GeneralGeneral | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
            RockRock | Musical Genres | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
            GeneralGeneral | Beatles | Music | Pop Culture | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
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            1. The Walrus Was Paul: The Great Beatle Death Clues The Walrus Was Paul: The Great Beatle Death Clues

            ASIN: 1842402056

            Customer Reviews:

            1 out of 5 stars Hack writing covered up as a reference work.......2005-03-25

            I am unsure as to who gets books like this published. These 101 "myths" are "debunked" using hack writing, non-facts, theorization, scare tactics and shock value. This seems to be the process that the authors went through:
            1) A fact ("Lucy In The Sky" was based on a Julian drawing) is taken
            2) That fact is then taken and theorized about("Everyone's seen the drawing but are they lying?")
            3) The fact is then skewed and the supposed pretentions of the group are used to "debunk" something that's not a myth ("Sure, they all said it was a drawing, but *come on!* That doesn't make sense- it had to be something more because I think so.")

            Sure some of it makes sense, and could be accepted as good myth-debunking, but the rest is National Enquirer B.S. Save the debunking to Jan Harold Brunvand and the Mythbusters.
            -The Unknown Reviewer

            5 out of 5 stars Couldn't Put It Down.......2004-02-24

            I stayed up all night reading this book. Spencer bravely shoots down myths like the Cunard Yanks and others. There are so many Beatles books to sift through, at least this has a different angle besides "stories behind the songs" or "another Hamburg tale" or even a book about their various drum kits. I think you'll enjoy it if you're tired of the same stories rehashed over and over again. Spencer has a very popular radio show on Merseyside and is a leading historian.

            1 out of 5 stars Another Beatle Rip Off Book.......2004-01-28

            Most of the other reviews have said it well, this book is a total waste of time and I wouldn't have told my wife to get this for me for x-mas had I seen who the "authors" were (I was basing my want for the book based on the title which sounded like it could have been very cool) Most of the "myths" aren't, has some very bad, inacurate and distorted facts, poor writing, I could go on and on---I think the only reason I even finished it (mostly when taking a crap) is for the laughs I got on how stupid and ludicrous it was---If I could give this a negative star I would, in fact it pisses me off that I have to give this 1 star ---don't buy any Beatle book by these "authors" they all stink.

            1 out of 5 stars Don't waste your money on this one..........2004-01-14

            I was beyond disappionted with this book. The "myths" the title refers to are nothing but trivia, and many are "trivial" Beatles trivia at best. There are absolutely no revelations or new facts here. It is also full of errors and inaccuracies. The authors approach this book with arrogance, condescension, and a lot of snideness. I'm very sorry I threw away almost $20 on this.

            1 out of 5 stars Debunking the myth that the sun is cold.......2003-12-22

            The dictionary defines myth as "a traditional or legendary story". Most of the "myths" in this book are nothing but trivia; hardly legendary. For example, was the recording of the Beatles at Hamburg's Star Club in 1962 unauthorized? Some may believe that to be true, but you could hardly call that a belief of mythical proportions. I got the impression that many of these 101 items are simply obscure facts with the truth inverted and then debunked as myth. More disturbing, however, is the authors' putting forth their own questionable theories as myth-breaking fact. Despite assertions by John Lennon, Ringo Starr, George Martin and Julian Lennon that "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" was inspired by a drawing by young Julian and was not secret code for LSD, Clayson/Leigh cook up a conspiracy between Lennon and Jimi Hendrix to write code named songs. Hendrix did indeed write "The Stars That Played with Laughing Sam's Dice" with STP and LSD in mind and I don't doubt that Hendrix or his manager knew Lennon, but that's hardly a basis for a conspiracy theory. Similarly, their theorizing on John's "bigger than Jesus" comment is appalling.

            There are many good books on the Beatles. Get one on those. If you've already got those, you don't need this one.

            The Conversation Piece: 200 Creative and Thought-Provoking Questions
            Average customer rating: Not rated
              The Conversation Piece: 200 Creative and Thought-Provoking Questions
              Paul Lowrie , and Bret Nicholaus
              Manufacturer: Questmarc Publishing
              ProductGroup: Book
              Binding: Paperback

              GeneralGeneral | Puzzles & Games | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
              GeneralGeneral | Reference | Subjects | Books
              ASIN: 0963425110

              The Big Book of Six Sigma Training Games: Proven Ways to Teach Basic DMAIC Principles and Quality Improvement Tools (Big Book)
              Average customer rating: 3 out of 5 stars
              • Average
              • Do not buy this book
              • Nice ideas....missing something(s)
              • Great book of games
              • Great Book for MBB Instructors
              The Big Book of Six Sigma Training Games: Proven Ways to Teach Basic DMAIC Principles and Quality Improvement Tools (Big Book)
              Chris Chen , and Hadley M. Roth
              Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill
              ProductGroup: Book
              Binding: Paperback

              GeneralGeneral | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
              Human Resources & Personnel ManagementHuman Resources & Personnel Management | Industries & Professions | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
              Quality ControlQuality Control | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
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              TrainingTraining | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
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              1. Statistics for Six Sigma Made Easy Statistics for Six Sigma Made Easy
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              3. Six Sigma for Dummies Six Sigma for Dummies
              4. The Six Sigma Project Planner : A Step-by-Step Guide to Leading a Six Sigma Project Through DMAIC The Six Sigma Project Planner : A Step-by-Step Guide to Leading a Six Sigma Project Through DMAIC
              5. Lean Six Sigma for Service : How to Use Lean Speed and Six Sigma Quality to Improve Services and Transactions Lean Six Sigma for Service : How to Use Lean Speed and Six Sigma Quality to Improve Services and Transactions

              ASIN: 0071443851

              Book Description

              An effective and engaging way employees can learn Six Sigma and put its concepts into play

              Part of the popular Big Book of Games series, which capitalizes on the proven effective method for workplace training, this first book of training games for Six Sigma ensures that employees will better retain Six Sigma's complex topics.

              This invaluable tool offers 50 experiential activities that teach the core improvement approach of Six Sigma, called DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control), as well as many of the popular statistical improvement tools, including Pareto charts and Failure Mode Effects Analysis (FMEA). These games:

              Customer Reviews:

              2 out of 5 stars Average.......2007-08-23

              Not very practical and very difficult to be able to implement. Could have been alot simpler - will keep looking

              2 out of 5 stars Do not buy this book.......2006-06-17

              A bunch of junk. Not any of the really meaty excersises. An excuse for the auhor to make money.

              3 out of 5 stars Nice ideas....missing something(s).......2006-06-14

              I bought the book to get some inspiration for excercises I could use.

              It does cover te DMAIC series and shines light from different directions. Which is good as it covers many areas involved in improvement projects. I feel that the begin of the book is stronger then the end of the book.

              There is one area I miss in the Analyse area. It doesn't touch base at all on the use of ishikawa diagrams, fmea etc. It focusses more on the data in this area. Data is important, however the underlying cause can be a bit further away.

              The further I get in the book the more I miss.

              Happy reading!

              Marcel Ekkel

              5 out of 5 stars Great book of games.......2005-09-26

              The book is excelente because the most of time, we as a trainers, we didn't have enough exercises in group in the six sigma trainings and the courses could be boring to the students. However with a learning material like the contents of this book fills this gap for us, the trainers.

              Best regards

              5 out of 5 stars Great Book for MBB Instructors.......2005-03-23

              This book was just right for us. It had the right mix of exercises that made the DMAIC steps more fun to teach and ensured that the class got engaged with the material.

              I liked the fact that it also had exercises on Change Management and Team Dynamics

              What I found most useful was the website that gives all datasets and template which made preparation for the exercises a breeze.

              Here is the website it would be hard to use without the book but you can go take a look and see if has stuff that interests you.

              http://books.mcgraw-hill.com/training/download/0071443851/

              Under Construction: How I've Gained and Lost Millions of Dollars and Hundreds of Pounds
              Average customer rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
              • Not what it's advertised to be!!!
              • A book worth reading
              • I laughed, I cried & I got motivated!
              Under Construction: How I've Gained and Lost Millions of Dollars and Hundreds of Pounds
              Jackie Guerra
              ProductGroup: Book
              Binding: Hardcover
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              3. Gut Feelings: From Fear And Despair To Health And Hope Gut Feelings: From Fear And Despair To Health And Hope
              4. Before and After: Living and Eating Well After Weight Loss Surgery Before and After: Living and Eating Well After Weight Loss Surgery
              5. Exodus from Obesity: The Guide to Long-Term Success After Weight Loss Surgery Exodus from Obesity: The Guide to Long-Term Success After Weight Loss Surgery

              ASIN: B000IOETNC

              Book Description

              Mixing outspoken memoir with down-to-earth self-help, one of television's brightest and most charismatic personalities offers an inspiring take on making the most out of life-by sharing her own rollicking true story.

              With her trademark compassion, spirit, drive, good humor, and style, Jackie Guerra offers hard-won wisdom on:

              - Dieting, image, and self-esteem
              - Common-sense financial decisions
              - Finding Mr. Right
              - Overcoming personal and professional setbacks

              Jackie's been to hell and back and she's got more to say than just how hot it was...

              Customer Reviews:

              1 out of 5 stars Not what it's advertised to be!!!.......2007-01-06

              This book was suppose to be about her having Gastric Bypass Surgery and how if affected her...NOT...she talks about her life way before surgery and the last chapter or two talks about the surgery...who cares? And, I got two of the damn things...what a waste of money!

              5 out of 5 stars A book worth reading.......2006-03-19

              This is a great book for anyone who needs a laugh and has or will experience WLS.

              5 out of 5 stars I laughed, I cried & I got motivated!.......2006-01-06

              This is a must read for ALL women who have ever felt inadequate, even for a minute. Despite being 150 pounds overweight, Jackie got herself a wonderful man and starring roles in film and television, and I'm talking real roles not those of the fat girl people make fun of. It makes me feel ashamed that I haven't gone shopping or fixed myself up in a year since gaining 30 pounds. Well no more thanks to Jackie! Under Construction is the most engaging tale I've ever read of the plight of womanhood. From our relationships with our parents to the need to be accepted, Jackie teaches us through her own stories and the lessons she's learned from her mistakes. Well now she's 150 pounds lighter and GORGEOUS! She's an inspiration to us all.

              The Gray and the Black: The Confederate Debate on Emancipation
              Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
              • Basic book on the Civil War
              • Could there have been a Confederacy without slavery?
              • The Finest Compendium of Civil War-Era Opinion
              The Gray and the Black: The Confederate Debate on Emancipation
              Robert F. Durden
              Manufacturer: Louisiana State University Press
              ProductGroup: Book
              Binding: Paperback

              GeneralGeneral | 19th Century | United States | Americas | History | Subjects | Books
              GeneralGeneral | United States | Americas | History | Subjects | Books
              GeneralGeneral | Civil War | United States | Americas | History | Subjects | Books
              ConfederacyConfederacy | Civil War | United States | Americas | History | Subjects | Books
              AbolitionAbolition | Civil War | United States | Americas | History | Subjects | Books
              GeneralGeneral | Military | History | Subjects | Books
              Slavery & EmancipationSlavery & Emancipation | World | History | Subjects | Books
              GeneralGeneral | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
              Imperialism & IndependenceImperialism & Independence | Political Science | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
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              2. Black Southerners in Confederate Armies Black Southerners in Confederate Armies

              ASIN: 0807125571

              Customer Reviews:

              4 out of 5 stars Basic book on the Civil War.......2005-11-10

              This isn't the best history book I've ever read -- indeed, purely as a reading experience it was not enjoyable. But as a work of scholarship that explores a complex and too-little-considered subject, Robert Durden's book is extremely informative and worth the time of any Civil War student who wants to go beyond the trumpets and drums to examine the true nature of the Confederate States of America.

              Durden did not so much "write" as "compile" "The Gray and the Black." About 90 percent of the prose here consists of newspaper editorials, speeches, letters and other Civil War-era documents that express a variety of Confederate views on slavery and, specifically, on proposals made in the last two years of the war to arm and train Southern blacks as combat soldiers for the armies of the CSA. Durden focuses specifically on the efforts by Jefferson Davis and other Confederate leaders late in 1864 that led eventually to action by the Confederate Congress in March 1865. By then, of course, it was far too late for the few southern blacks who got into training to make any difference in the outcome of the war. Less than a month after the law was passed, Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered his dwindling Confederate army at Appomattox Court House.

              The book is most enlightening in illustrating the clash of opinions between those who, with some reluctance, saw the arming and training of black slaves as Confederate soldiers as the major hope for Southern military success after the fall of 1864, and other white Southerners who viewed the proposed transformation of blacks into combat troops as a betrayal of widely held theories of white supremacy that were used to justify black slavery. Durden also shows how legal questions of states' rights and property rights hampered efforts by Davis and others to enlist black soldiers for the Confederate cause, as well as the great awareness among most Confederates that the Union Army had enlisted large numbers of African-Americans to fight against them.

              Although not its specific topic, this book is especially useful in countering arguments by present-day Confederate apologists who claim that Southern blacks served in the Confederate armies in large numbers. Certainly, many black Southerners did perform various non-combat jobs in Confederate service -- teamsters, cooks, hospital aides, body servants to white soldiers -- but the vehement controversy over arming black men to fight for the Confederacy, as portrayed by Durden, indicates that black combat soldiers in gray uniforms were a novelty -- or an anathema -- to most white Southerners. No doubt there were individual black or mulatto Southerners who fought with a certain Confederate unit on this occasion or that; but did these isolated incidences have any significant impact on the racial attitudes of white Southerners? Even among proponents of training blacks as combat troops, there is little evidence that their desperation to preserve Confederate independence had much influence on their overall sense of white supremacy. Even those who advocated freedom for slaves who would become Confederate soldiers were hardly ready to elevate free black men to a political and social status equal to that of white Confederate veterans. (Perhaps it should be noted that the racial attitudes of white Northerners also were little affected by the loyal service of 200,000 black Union soldiers.)

              I am interested to see how this topic is treated in Bruce Levine's new study, "Confederate Emancipation," but "The Gray and the Black" will likely remain a valuable examination of the topic because of the wealth of primary source material Durden has accumulated here. Much of the 19th-century prose is dense and makes for hard slogging (but is fun to declaim aloud); and one wishes there were more, shorter chapters. Still, this is a basic book on the Civil War, one that not only illuminates the issue of Confederate emancipation efforts, but also sheds much light on the shifting racial attitudes of the Confederacy in its dying days.

              4 out of 5 stars Could there have been a Confederacy without slavery?.......2004-03-30

              Prof. Robert F. Durden here examines one of the Confederacy's little known episodes: the effort to recruit black slaves and freemen as Rebel soldiers.

              Prof. Durden has, within limits, done an outstanding job of presenting the evidence on this controversy. He shows what people said at the time, and while he doesn't hesitate to let you know where he stands, he never mixes his judgements with the evidence.

              I do have a few criticisms. Durden doesn't always print the documents in chronological order, resulting in potential confusion about what the state of opinion was when. And he relies far to much on 'official' sources, rather than the privately expressed views of Southerners in their letters and diaries.

              That last is important because one of the great issues of the debate was what effect recruiting black soldiers would have on whites: would they stand for it? Durden quotes various memorials some soldiers made urging the govt. to recruit slaves as soldiers, but I wonder how many dissenting opinions were surpressed by the pressure of officers desperate for troops? James MacPherson's book WHAT THEY FOUGHT FOR suggests that the picture in the Confederate Army was not nearly as one sided as the one Durden's documents present.

              There are many other fascinating questions worth pursuing in this area: how many blacks would have volunteered (some did), and how well would they have fought? If the fateful step had been taken in time, how would it have affected the war, and postwar relations between blacks and whites in the South? Durden doesn't attempt to answer these questions, but I wish someone would.

              It's sad that after over thirty years so few have sought to follow Durden's pioneering inquiry. This book is still the only extended treatment of this subject I've found. But even if there were dozens, I believe I'd still recommend it highly. A very good work indeed.

              5 out of 5 stars The Finest Compendium of Civil War-Era Opinion.......2001-04-28

              In a brilliant book unparalleled in quality, Professor Robert F. Durden provides the reader invaluable insight into the Confederate struggle over whether to free, and arm, their slaves.

              This reviewer has read many history books and is a researcher by trade. The book is among--if not the--finest history book he has ever come across. Professor Durden acts as a genial host who introduces the individuals and context, and then steps back into the shadows to permit speeches, letters, and newspaper editorials describe, debate, and unfold. Professor Durden's selection of sources, incredibly well organized, clearly shows the debate over the question of the day: should the South arm the slaves, or should the slave states maintain their Southern "institutions" and perish?

              This book is a critical resource for individuals interested in "Afro-Confederates" mentioned in other books, and trotted out at the drop of a confederate symbol. The book clearly indicates that the South depended upon its slave system both economically and politically, and many a southerner simply could not imagine Negroes as either Confederate citizens or armed troops. The leadership in much of the Confederacy could never tolerate the concept of Negro soldiers, and would not agree to free even those slaves who might volunteer. Yet by late 1864 many a white soldier in the ranks (including Lee) were apparently willing to accept reinforcements no matter the color. But Negroes in Virginia were not even permitted to carry arms until 1865, at the very sunset of the Rebellion. Those few souls organized at the end of the war never saw combat.

              Without doubt the finest Civil War book read by this reviewer, there are no criticisms to levy. The "Gray and the Black" is impressively researched, with an excellent historiography and valuable index. The analysis, organization, thoughtfulness and dedication that went into this book are humbling. Those that purchase this book will be thrilled and enlightened.
              The gray and the black: the Confederate debate on emancipation.
              Average customer rating: Not rated
                The gray and the black: the Confederate debate on emancipation.
                Robert F. Durden
                Manufacturer: Baton Rouge, Louisiana State UP, [
                ProductGroup: Book
                Binding: Hardcover
                ASIN: B000OUVHYO
                The Gray and the Black The Confederate Debate on Emancipation
                Average customer rating: Not rated
                  The Gray and the Black The Confederate Debate on Emancipation
                  Durden Robert F.
                  Manufacturer: Louisianna State UP
                  ProductGroup: Book
                  Binding: Hardcover
                  ASIN: B000UCMMJK

                  Red Mafiya:  How the Russian Mob Has Invaded America
                  Average customer rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
                  • Good information, poorly organized
                  • Very Factual and in NO WAY anti semitic.
                  • for lack of "0" star option
                  • Quite Shocking!
                  • Inciteful and Highly Readable
                  Red Mafiya: How the Russian Mob Has Invaded America
                  Robert I. Friedman
                  Manufacturer: Little, Brown and Company
                  ProductGroup: Book
                  Binding: Hardcover

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                  Similar Items:
                  1. Comrade Criminal: Russia`s New Mafiya Comrade Criminal: Russia`s New Mafiya
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                  5. Godfather of the Kremlin: The Decline of Russia in the Age of Gangster Capitalism Godfather of the Kremlin: The Decline of Russia in the Age of Gangster Capitalism

                  ASIN: 0316294748

                  Amazon.com

                  Amid his efforts to expose the Russian mob, Robert I. Friedman learned from the FBI that "the most brilliant and savage Russian mob organization in the world" had put a $100,000 price on his head. Reading Red Mafiya, it's not hard to see why: this is a brave book about a troubling subject. Friedman, a freelance journalist, describes the research behind it: "I ventured into the Russians' gaudy strip clubs in Miami Beach; paid surprise visits to their well-kept suburban homes in Denver; interviewed hit men and godfathers in an array of federal lockups; and traveled halfway around the world trying to make sense of their tangled criminal webs, which have ensnared everyone from titans of finance and the heads of government to entire state security services." Their racket involves heroin smuggling, weapons trafficking, mass extortion, and casino operation, among other activities. "Blending financial sophistication with bone-crunching violence, the Russian mob has become the FBI's most formidable criminal adversary, creating an international criminal colossus that has surpassed the Colombian cartels, the Japanese Yakuzas, the Chinese triads, and the Italian Mafia in wealth and weaponry," writes Friedman. They've even penetrated professional hockey, as Friedman shows in an eye-opening chapter ("Federal authorities have come to fear that the NHL is now so compromised by Russian gangsters that the integrity of the game itself may be in jeopardy").

                  Red Mafiya benefits from a breezy narrative in detailing a master criminal operation whose influence on the United States is growing rapidly. Russian mobsters already have siphoned off millions of dollars in foreign aid meant to prop up their country's economy--and they may have a more direct impact on American national security concerns in the years ahead: "The Russian mob virtually controls their nuclear-tipped former superpower," writes Friedman. Now, there's a scary thought. Lifting the Iron Curtain seems to have been a mixed blessing: it let freedom in, and organized crime out. --John J. Miller

                  Book Description

                  "In North America alone there are now thirty Russian crime syndicates operating in at least seventeen U.S. cities, most notably New York, Miami, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Denver. The Russians have already pulled off the largest jewelry heist and insurance Medicare frauds in American history, with a net haul exceeding $1 billion. They have invaded North America's financial markets, orchestrating complex stock scams, allegedly laundering billions of dollars through the Bank of New York, and coolly infiltrating the business and real estate worlds.

                  "The Russians didn't come here to enjoy the American dream," New York state tax agent Roger Berger says glumly. "They came here to steal it." -From the Introduction From an award-winning investigative journalist comes an astonishing exposi of Russian organized crime, its growing power in the United States, and its terrifying implications for the rest of the world.

                  In the past decade, from Brighton Beach to Moscow, Toronto to Hong Kong, the Russian mob has become the world's fastest-growing criminal superpower. Trafficking in prostitutes, heroin, and missiles, the mafiya poses an enormous threat to global stability and safety. The black-market corruption of the Brezhnev era proved the perfect breeding ground for organized crime. Beginning in the 1970s, Soviet ?migr?s--including a large number of felons and murderers the USSR was happy to get rid of--began arriving in the United States and quickly established themselves as a major criminal force in New York, Las Vegas, and elsewhere. But it was the breakup of the Soviet Union that made the

                  Russian mob what it is today. In a weakened, impoverished Russia, it quickly became the dominant power. And it has now spread to every corner of the United States, infiltrating its banks and brokerage firms--and American law enforcement is just waking up to this enormous problem. No journalist in the world knows more about the Russian mob in America than Robert Friedman. At great risk to himself, he has made connections with a number of top criminals who have gone on record about their activities for the first time. The result of his discoveries is a revelation: the Red Mafiya is everywhere. The implications--for law enforcement, the economy, foreign policy, for the American people themselves--are staggering."

                  Customer Reviews:

                  3 out of 5 stars Good information, poorly organized.......2007-10-04

                  An account of the Russian Mafiya is an daunting task that requires a great deal of research. While I have no doubt that many of the statements in this book are true, the book suffers from a terrible lack of organization. It seems as though Friedman decided to write this book in a stream-of-conscious format. The format problem is damaging to the credibility of the book because it can confuse readers.

                  The evolution of the Russian Mafiya, which is located at the conclusion of chapter 5, should really open the book. Instead, Friedman jumps right into a prison interview with little primer before the important text. The main thesis alleges that the KGB stashed much of the money after the fall in the Soviet Union in as many places as possible. Among these places was organized crime, which has been diversifying since the 1970's. The problem was exacerbated when the Soviet Union fell. And because many of these Russian are Jewish, they seek asylum in Israel.

                  One of the move informative chapters discusses the extortion practices that mafiya associates exhibited with Russian NHL player. The media seems woefully unaware of any problem. This chapter is toward the middle of the book, sandwiched between prison interviews, illegal schemes, and biographies of members. The format left me with little frame of reference or time line regarding this developing problem. The book could benefit from a return to an editor.

                  5 out of 5 stars Very Factual and in NO WAY anti semitic........2007-08-07

                  Contrary to some of the comments mentioned by those giving this book low marks; this book is extremely accurate and in NO WAY anti semitic. Some stated that this book was anti semitic because it did not talk about the good side of the Russian-Jew Imagre. NEWS FLASH!!! This book is about the Russian Mob! The book is about BAD GUYS! Who says the author has to talk about the honest and good Russian-Jew imagre?? Secondly those who said the content was embellished or un-believable obviously do not have any knowledge on the subject of the Russian Mafia. Myself being involved in law enforcement at the state and federal level for 23 years, I can attest that nothing is sensationalized in this book. As for the person who claimed to have been written about in the book.. GIVE ME A BREAK!

                  1 out of 5 stars for lack of "0" star option.......2007-04-29

                  Bottom line: this is not what you'd expect - 90's Russian mafia in the West stories. I was duped into... by the title 7 years ago... and pissed of by the good reviews which I saw now.

                  The great robbing of Russia and the spill-overs into the world have nothing to do with the hoodlum stories of this book.

                  Publishers do that: once a topic gets media attention... publish anything related.

                  CRAP!

                  5 out of 5 stars Quite Shocking!.......2006-10-07

                  This is quite shocking of how the mafia is able to buy off members of both major political parties in the U.S. along with other Western nations such as Israel. I would also recommend reading Double Cross about Sam and Chuck Giancana the two mafia bosses whom had the Kennedys in their pockets.

                  5 out of 5 stars Inciteful and Highly Readable.......2006-05-12

                  A real eye-opener. Friedman writes about some pretty ruthless, cruel people. I don't know how the author could have possibly obtained all the information that he did; he is a brave man. I hope he's still alive, and will be amazed if he is, given the nature of the people about whom he has written. Friedman describes Russian Mafiya types operating in Toronto, near to where I live -- very unnerving. Mind you, if you live in NYC, Miami, Denver, San Francisco or Los Angeles, you are not alone...

                  Alphabetical Birds in Color
                  Average customer rating: Not rated
                    Alphabetical Birds in Color
                    Lawrence Hohman
                    Manufacturer: Lawrence Hohman
                    ProductGroup: Book
                    Binding: Paperback

                    GeneralGeneral | Birdwatching | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books
                    ThemesThemes | History & Criticism | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
                    ASIN: 097289540X

                    Book Description

                    Larry Hohman has combined his career as a commercial artist and a strong love of nature to produce a book that contains, in alphabetical order, colorful and beautifully detailed drawings of twenty-six birds in their natural habitat. The rhyming verse that accompanies each illustration contains information about the bird's behavior and life history, including such considerations as its methods of hunting for food, protecting its young, vocalizing, or moving about.

                    Books:

                    1. The Empire of the Great Mughals: History, Art and Culture
                    2. The Expressive Body in Life, Art, and Therapy: Working With Movement, Metaphor, and Meaning
                    3. The Future of Art: An Aesthetic of the New and the Sublime (Suny Series in Aesthetics and the Philosophy of Art)
                    4. The Inner Eye: Art Beyond the Visible
                    5. The Kitchen Turns Twenty: A Retrospective Anthology
                    6. The Life and Times of R. Crumb: Comments from Contemporaries
                    7. The Life and Work of Martin Johnson Heade: A Critical Analysis and Catalogue Raisonne
                    8. The Oxford Guide to Classical Mythology in the Arts, 1300-1990s: 2 Volumes
                    9. The Young Naturalist's Guide to Florida
                    10. Trauma and Visuality in Modernity (Interfaces: Studies in Visual Culture)

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