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Black Men and Divorce (Understanding Families series)
Erma Jean Lawson
Manufacturer: Sage Publications
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ASIN: 0803959559 |
Book Description
"Erma Jean Lawson and Aaron Thompson have made a significant contribution to our understanding of divorce in announcing the publication of Black Men and Divorce. Men are often the missing part of the equation as we try to explain couple relationships. The male perspective in the decline or termination of these relationships has been seriously neglected. This is particularly true in regard to divorce among Black Americans. This lack of knowledge is especially distressing if we are to understand the significance of divorce within the broader social context. Without recognition of the unique Black experience in the United States, we severely limit our ability to interpret personal motives and behavior in interpersonal relationships. Erma Jean Lawson and Aaron Thompson provide the reader with a comprehensive depiction and interpretation of a select sample of Black men and their divorces. For this they are to be praised as their study may serve as a catalyst and model for continued work with more diverse populations of Black men. The authors’ efforts at providing policy and program implications for their findings lend further credibility and value to Black Men and Divorce." –Roger H. Rubin, Ph.D., Associate Professor and Director, Graduate Studies, Department of Family Studies, University of Maryland. At a time when anthologies of lack men are hitting the bookshelves, Black Men and Divorce is the first book to get a close and personal understanding how Black men feel about divorce. Focusing on working and middle class Black men, this ground-breaking study offers startling accounts of their experiences of divorce and their adjustment to postdivorce. Drawing on extensive in-depth interviews with 50 Black men, this book chronicles their passage from courtship and marriage to divorce and ultimately to the establishment of a new life. Authors Erma Jean Lawson and Aaron Thompson analyze the stories men tell about their marriages, the inciting conditions and culminating events, and postdivorce coping strategies. Debunking the stereotypes of Black fathers, Black Men and Divorce examines noncustodial and stepfather/child relationships and explores the unique distress of noncustodial fathers from interracial marriages. Topic by topic, men talk about their ex-wives and former in-law relationships; discuss the role of black mothers, family, and friends during divorce and postdivorce; and identify barriers to forming future heterosexual relationships in a society characterized by pervasive racial stereotypes. The authors elucidate the difficulties Black families encounter to maintain an ideal Euro-American family structure and conclude that the structure of black families in the United States may be a barometer of future Euro-American family trends. Black Men and Divorce is crucial reading for students and scholars of marriage and family, Black studies, gender studies, social work, sociology, psychology, and family policy.
Book Description
Reissue to be published in June 2006.Genghis Khan was the founder of the Mongol Empire, the largest continuous land empire ever. On his death in 1227, this extended from the Near East to the Yellow Sea, and was expanded by his successors to include what is now Iran, Iraq and southern Russia. By 1206, Genghis Khan had completed the unification by conquest of all the tribes of Mongolia, and was acclaimed as universal Khan. He then launched his assault on Northern China. Peking was captured in 1215, and the Chin were finally subjugated by Genghis's successors in 1234.This is the definitive biography of Genghis Khan. Paul Ratchnevsky draws upon Mongol, Chinese, Persian, and European primary sources in order to establish a highly readable account of the life of one of the greatest conquerors in world history.A new introduction by Morris Rossabi, Professor of History at the City University of New York and Adjunct Professor at Columbia University, is available by clicking the view sample pages button above.
Customer Reviews:
Fine biography.......2004-01-07
Westerners are often shocked to hear that in Mongolia today, Genghis is revered as a national hero and the father of the country. Indeed, even in China - a victim of the Mongols - Genghis is regarded as a great man. Not China's great man, of course, but a great man nevertheless. I know, speaking as an ethnic Chinese myself. By contrast, Europeans know Genghis as something like a cross between a medieval Hitler and Anti-Christ.
This book is indeed a little confusing, given all those proper names. Despite its conciseness, it is not written for the casual reader. I confess I have trouble understanding it. I advise those of us who are not experts in Asian history to read the relevant chapters in Frederick Mote's "Imperial China," which I think is very instructive on the Mongol period, and has a good deal to say about Timujin (Genghis) himself, from his ancestry and birth on.
Superb Reference.......2002-01-18
Those who want an exciting and romantically embelished account of Temujin's (Genghis Khan) life should stick with Harold Lamb. His account is certainly more fun, but also laced with poetic license that at times becomes outright misleading. Lamb is an introduction to the story of the emperor of all men.
But Ratchnevsky is the top of the line reference to Temujin and his amzing life. He weighs the evidence and directs the reader to the lesser known aspects of Temujin's life.
Nowhere else will you find mentioned that Temujin probably had disappeared for ten years to China before his comeback in the late 1190ies.
Few point out that Temujin was not the most daring of men, more of a planner than a fighter and not above saving himself first.
Rachnevskies book paints a less glorious, but much more realistic and human picture of the man who changed the world forever. Temujin's actions have been accounted for in many sources, but few allow us to understand his motives.
Instead of inventing awe inspiring moments, as Lamb does, and putting words into the mouth of the man, Rachnevsky presents the different sources and versions diligently; and strangely, this allows a better understanding who this great Mongol was than all the literary fancy of Lamb or the sycophantic impropabilities of Malik Juvayni.
Lamb and Malik Juvayni have their own merits, and are a must have for all who want to explore this amazing part of history, but without Rachnevskies scholarly integrity, true understanding would elude most.
Not for the casual reader, but Temujin deserves on less than full attention.
Disappointing..................2001-05-30
There isn't a plethora of books devoted to Genghis Khan out there and this may stem from a lack of historical information. No doubt, a large part of accepted knowledge is lore or estimation. Having an avid interest in asian history as a whole, I eagerly started this book. I was soon keenly looking forward to the kernels of interesting narrative that dot the book throughout. However, the uninspiring space between those kernels is daunting and requires determination. It may also require a tally board as one attempts to keep up with the family, allies, liaisons, enemies, followers, and friends of this Mongol warlord. Read it for the knowledge gained, but don't waste a rainy day, La-Z-Boy, fireside opportunity on the effort.
Confusing and Disappointing.......2001-05-12
I find this book extremely confusing. Many names were utilize throughout the book which makes it hard to follow. As an individual who is not familiar with the Mongolian history, the author fails to elaborate or explain the details of why a character does something. In this sense, I find the book disappointing. It is also disappointing that it does not go in depth of Gengis Kahn's warefare strategy. TWO THUMBS DOWN!
Pretty good account of Genghis Khan........2001-05-11
There are few sources available to research Genghis Khan & the author does a sound job of sifting & comparing these accounts. Despite the dearth of reliable information the nature of the Khan, his relationships, strengths & weaknesses, are conveyed to the reader adequately, albeit with certain amount of "poetic licence." The book starts slowly with general background information on the Mongols involving a huge number of uninteligible & pretty much unpronouncable names. It is a difficult read here. However, when Genghis makes his appearance & is actually the subject matter of the text, the book does take off. I enjoyed learning more about a larger than life character & I feel that few authors could have got to grips with the warrior khan better.Whilst not being a big fan of footnotes, I do think that this account would have flowed much better if the author had made his decisions & just put forward the information he was proposing, detailing his sources later. The casual reader would have benefited from a smoother read & the scholar could have verified the reasoning later.
Customer Reviews:
Understanding Wounded Knee.......2000-09-10
Hyde's chronicle begins with the surrender of the Sioux to the U. S. government, and the beginning of the "noble experiment" of transforming Native Americans into Neo-Europeans (by making them farmers, for example). The book ends with the tragedy of the Wounded Knee massacre, and can be read as an analysis of all the factors leading up to that incident, which revealed the failure of said experiment.
Hyde recounts the many factors which led to the resumption of hostilities between a small minority of Sioux and the U. S. Army. the author clearly has favorite villains on both sides: from religious philanthropists on the East coast, who had never met a live Sioux in his native habitat, to Sitting Bull who went about caching firearms, to the corrupt politicians who replaced relatively knowledgeable Indian agents with inexperienced political cronies. Hyde paints the portrait of all of these actors and more with verve and detail.
Missing from Hyde's account is any in-depth analysis of Sioux culture that would allow us to understand the appeal of the Ghost Dance. Instead, Hyde's account posits that Sioux and white are motivated by the same factors: greed, political infighting, fear, hatred, and hunger. But Hyde's focus on action and decision, his love of detail, and his sardonic style make for gripping and informative reading. Recommended for anyone interested in frontier history or in the fraught relationship between whites and Native Americans.
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A Sioux Chronicle
George E. Hyde
Manufacturer: University of Oklahoma Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000JF13WA |
Customer Reviews:
Good and informative, if needlessly polemical.......2007-02-04
A very fine book about non western mathematics, concentrating in such civilizations as Ancient Egypt, Babylonia, China, India, the Arab world, and to a lesser extent, precolumbian civilizations. There is a lot of information here. Unfortunately, the book is unnecessarily polemical. To highlight the contributions of non western civilizations to mathematics, Gheverghese feels the need to belittle all the time the western contributions to mathematics, which any independent observer would say were crucial ones. A worthwhile book for those interested in the topic, nevertheless.
A lively introduction to our mathematical heritage.......1999-10-20
The book brings out a very important balance to the context of history of mathematics. Most of us have no idea that Mayan civilizations could have had developed mathematics. This book will change our view. Even in the context of Indian mathematics, the book draws attention to the context of Kerala mathemtics, to show the continuity of Indian mathematics in 13-14 th centurary. Best part I liked about `quipu'. It is a mop which consists of a collection of knots, often dyed in one or more colours. He discusses how `quipu' of Inca tribes are actually mathematical records, a hard disk of their time. The book is written in a lively form. As a information, The title ` Crest of peacock' means mathematics as as the head of all knowledge.(
Amazon.com
The scrubby forests of southern Georgia, dotting a landscape of low hills and swampy bottoms, are not what many people would consider to be exalted country, the sort of place to inspire lyrical considerations of nature and culture. Yet that is just what essayist Janisse Ray delivers in her memorable debut, a memoir of life in a part of America that roads and towns have passed by, a land settled by hardscrabble Scots herders who wanted nothing more than to be left alone, and who bear the derogatory epithet "cracker" with quiet pride.
Ray grew up in a junkyard outside what had been longleaf pine forest, an ecosystem that has nearly disappeared in the American South through excessive logging. Her family had little money, but that was not important; they more than made up for material want through unabashed love and a passion for learning, values that underlie every turn of Ray's narrative. She finds beauty in weeds and puddles, celebrates the ways of tortoises and woodpeckers, and argues powerfully for the virtues of establishing a connection with one's native ground.
"I carry the landscape inside like an ache," Ray writes. Her evocations of fog-enshrouded woods and old ways of living are not without pain for all that has been lost--but full of hope as well for what can be saved. --Gregory McNamee
Book Description
Janisse Ray grew up in a junkyard along U.S. Highway 1, hidden from Florida-bound vacationers by the hedge at the edge of the road and by hulks of old cars and stacks of blown-out tires. Ecology of a Cracker Childhood tells how a childhood spent in rural isolation and steeped in religious fundamentalism grew into a passion to save the almost vanished longleaf pine ecosystem that once covered the South. In language at once colloquial, elegiac, and informative, Ray redeems two Souths. "Suffused with the same history-haunted sense of loss that imprints so much of the South and its literature. What sets Ecology of a Cracker Childhood apart is the ambitious and arresting mission implied in its title. . . . Heartfelt and refreshing." - The New York Times Book Review.
Customer Reviews:
Musings on our many environments from a kindred spirit.......2007-04-03
"Ecology of a Cracker Childhood" is probably the most moving autobiography I've ever read. By turns heartbreaking, inspirational, and motivational, Ray's story is one of an outsider in every respect; the daughter of a junkyard owner in rural Georgia, she faces a number of obstacles including her father's precarious mental stability. Looking back with a mix of fondness and acceptance rather than anger, Ray looks at how her environment (built and natural, as well as home) shaped who she became. Ray intersperses the book with chapters on long-leaf pines, gopher tortoises, and other uniquely Southern flora and fauna that is endangered and rapidly disappearing. While it may be jarring to the reader, Ray is making a larger point; we are forcing the environment to adapt or die to suit our needs rather than adapting to the environment. Ray writes lovingly of how nature slowly reclaims the wrecked hulks of cars in her father's junkyard; nature slowly, steadily winning over man and man's folly. Along the way she recounts unusual tales of her difficult path to adulthood that are profoundly moving. In some respects the chapters are by turns explanations and a badge of honor rather than excuses. Her recounting of a rare visit to the North will likely register profoundly with any Southerner who has ventured there. Perhaps it is because Ray and I are the same age or perhaps because our backgrounds are eerily similar, but I feel a connection and a deeper understanding and appreciation for where she's coming from and who she is. Ray is unabashedly unapologetic and "Ecology" will alternately move you to fits of laughter and sometimes nearly to tears, but it will not leave you unmoved.
Nostalgic look at redneck culture (3.25 *s).......2007-02-19
This book combines a nostalgic autobiographical look at the author's childhood in the 1960s and 70s in Baxley, a small town located in the coastal plains of Georgia, with an examination of the deteriorating ecosystem of the region, in particular longleaf pine forests. The flow of the book is decidedly non-chronological as she interleaves various family vignettes with commentary on a range of environmental concerns, often focusing on the huge reduction in various animals of the region such as the red-cockaded woodpecker, the gopher tortoise, or the indigo snake and the relationship to the loss of longleaf pines. Ultimately, it is left to the reader to draw the connection between cracker culture and the ecosystem.
The author traces her roots to Borderlanders, of English-Scottish origin, who settled the region in the early 19th century. They were known as "crackers" which has become synonymous with "redneck." She grew up on the side of US-1, the main North-South highway of the time, in a clapboard house situated in the midst of her father's junkyard. That was the playground and learning environment for the author and her siblings, seldom having much interaction with others.
The author holds her father Franklin, named after Pres Roosevelt, in great esteem. As were many in rural areas, he was a tinkerer and seat-of-the-pants mechanic and a supplier of used parts to similar persons. He was also a religious fundamentalist, driving his family many miles to attend services of a small, predominately black sect. He enforced rigid standards of dress and behavior on the entire family. However, he also was inclined to aid the downtrodden and hurt, either man or animal. Though the family seemed rather poor, a contradiction is that on at least two occasions her father bought tracts of land.
As perceptive as the author undoubtedly is, she turns a mostly accepting eye to a culture that was most assuredly ignorant. Her father and grandfather, Charlie, were men of violence, Charlie having a reputation of having beaten any number of men half to death. Frank was quick with the strap, seeing fit to administer whippings for the mere observance of a boy killing a turtle that had clamped down on his shoe. The author had to hide from her father the reading of books or the watching of television at her grandmother's. Both her father and grandfather were admitted to the hospital in Millegeville, GA for the insane for a relatively short period. One wonders if cracker culture itself contributes to unstable behavior.
In addition, for a book concerning the culture of 1960's rural Georgia, there is a puzzling absence of any commentary on race relations, other than attending church. There is little in the author's recall of her childhood that suggests how she managed to end up at a small college in north Georgia on scholarship - was it because of her childhood environment or despite it?
The environmental destruction of the coastal plains predated the author's birth by several generations. Like many from rural areas, the author was comfortable with plants and animals. But neither she, her father, or their neighbors were in any sense environmentalists. Undoubtedly, her past made her gravitation to the subject in college a not unnatural development. But her growth to environmental activist is absent in this book. It seems to be assumed that the reader will understand such a trajectory.
The book is spotty, vague, and even at times seems like a fairy tale. The author's recall of climbing trees and laying on the ground communing with nature as a child is undoubtedly now viewed through poetic license. In a not untypical approach, she chooses to discuss the ecosystem by having lightning, clouds, and trees hold a discussion about their roles. It's difficult to pinpoint what the author is attempting to convey in her reminisces about her childhood with good-natured, yet violent and ignorant, people and her focus on ecology. Her discussions of clear-cutting old-growth forests and replacing them with tightly packed, quickly growing, and environment-killing tree farms is not well tied to "cracker" culture. Nor is she inclined to search for culprits.
Does cracker culture exist today? Should the reader be alarmed or appreciative? Is cracker culture a hazard to our environment? The author seems to be leaving the answer to questions like these to the reader. Some might well expect more from the author.
Thoughts from a Transplanted Cracker.......2006-11-07
All of Janisse's work, but most especially Cracker Childhood, is so very much a snapshot of South Georgia. She grabs you, her reader, by the hand and transports you to her South -- a South where Gone with the Wind is just another goofy movie starring a British actress, a South where Faulkner defied and defined a culture, a South where loggers are systematically erasing the long-leaf pines that once embraced elemental hard-scrabble lives. If you are game for an adventurous romp through dismal swamps, junk yards, and back woods then this is the read for you. Once you take it up you will be loathe to put it down.
Thank you, Janisse, for a wonderful trip!
LITERATE LOOK AT A TIME-WARP CHILDHOOD.......2006-08-10
We noticed when we moved south to Georgia some twenty-five years ago that in many ways we'd dropped back in time. Janisse Ray was born in 1962; it may as well have been 1932. I thank her for sharing her knowledge of the flora and critters around her - many now gone forever. Whenever I see a long-leaf pine from now on, I will treasure the sight.
A book for all........2006-02-20
Janisse Ray pens a memoir not only of her life, but also of the life of the forests she grew up surrounded by. She writes earnestly and with conviction about growing up on a junkyard in rural Georgia; she is forthright about not only her childhood, but also about how it affected her when she went off to college and was independent of her family. Additionally, she writes with this same passion and candidness of the other rural Georgia and its inhabitants: the forests that are being diminished and with them, their occupants.
The chapters are interwoven together, those of family and those of forest and fauna. She does this beautifully allowing the reader to see the interconnectedness not only of people, but of people and the land as well. She takes the reader on a personal journey in both arenas; frankly discussing both her father's mental illness and what the destruction of the longleaf pine means for the fate of so many of the forest's denizens.
Though she writes particularly of the Southeast and its plight with logging and clear cutting of forests, it's an account of what is going on all around us. The epilogue of the book drives home just how much damage has, and is being done there; she includes lists of those species marked as proposed for endangered, endangered, and saddest of all, extinct.
A great read not just for environmentalists or those with a love for the wilderness as her MFA in creative writing shines throughout; she will keep anyone with a desire to hear what she has to say intrigued for the duration. She has definitely written a "people book."
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- List of works from "Today's Best Military Writing"
- A "must-read" for anyone in the field
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Today's Best Military Writing: The Finest Articles on the Past, Present, and Future of the U.S. Military
Manufacturer: Forge Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Aviation
| Military
| History
| Subjects
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General
| Military
| History
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General
| United States
| Military
| History
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Military Science
| History
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ASIN: 0765308878
Release Date: 2004-08-26 |
Book Description
Today's Best Military Writing is the first-ever collection of the finest articles on the military published in the past five years. Esteemed military historian and bestselling author Walter J. Boyne has gathered twenty-one writers, both military and civilian, and their published articles and essays on all aspects of the various branches of the armed forces and on the military history of the United States.From searching analyses of wars spanning two centuries to examinations of how our country's modern armed forces are coping with new threats that are more dangerous than any they've faced before, these articles represent the best of the best---incisive, thoughtful, and probing opinions and information, often written by the people who have lived and breathed their topics.Article subjects in this volume include:*A chillingly logical hypothesis that could be the next step in terrorism---mating cruise missiles with biological warfare*A call to assign coastal U.S. defense to the branch of the armed forces that is most equipped to deal with it---the Coast Guard*The history and development of the F-15 Eagle, one of the most famous jet fighters in the world*Little known facts about the use and deployment of artillery pieces during the Indian Wars of 1860-1890*The role of U.S. Army chaplains tending to German war criminals during the Nuremberg Trials.
Customer Reviews:
List of works from "Today's Best Military Writing".......2006-09-28
As this book consist of a compilation of articles, I thought it would be useful to the would-be purchaser to include a list of all the articles contained herewith. They are (in order):
-"Lieutenant Andrew H. Foote and the African Slave Trade," By Spencer C.
Tucker
-"The F-15 Eagle: Origins and Development, 1964-1972," By Jacob Neufeld
-"No Master Plan: The Employment of Artillery in the Indian Wars, 1860-
1890," By Maj Prisco R. Hernandez, ARNG
-"Clarifying the Origins and Strategic Mission of the US Marine Corps
Defense Battalion, 1898-1941," By David J. Ulbrich
-"Birth of the American Way of War," By Thomas Fleming
-"More than Numbers: Americans and the Revival of French Morale in the
Great War," By Col Robert A. Doughty
-"Task Force Kingston," By Martin Blumenson
-"The Making of a Hero: What Really Happened Seventy-Five Years Ago After
Lindbergh Landed at Le Bourget," By LtCol Raymond H. Fredette, USAF(Ret)
-"Even in Auschwitz...Humanity Could Prevail: British POWs and Jewish
Concentration-Camp Inmates at IG Auschwitz, 1943-1945," By Joseph R.
White
-"U.S. Army Chaplain Ministry to German War Criminals at Nuremberg, 1945-
1946," By William J. Hourihan Ph.D.
-"The Emerging Biocruise Threat," By LtCol Rex R. Kiziah, USAF
-"The Looming Biological Warfare Storm: Misconceptions and Probable
Scenarios," By Col (Dr.) Jim A. Davis, USAF
-"Winged Cowboys: The Story Behind Air Mobility Command's Latest Biennial
Rodeo," By Philip Handleman
-"Defending Against the Non-State (Criminal) Soldier: Toward a Domestic
Response Network," By Robert J. Bunker Ph.D.
-"Homeland Security is a Coast Guard Mission," By CMDR Stephen E. Flynn,
USCG
-"Homeland Defense," By Adam J. Herbert
-"What Can We Learn From Enduring Freedom?" By Dr. Milan Vego
-"Combat Search and Rescue: A Longer Look," By Col Darrel Whitcomb, USAF
(Ret)
-"Pearl Harbor," By Barrett Tillman
-"Mortal Sting: How the USS HORNET Cured the Imperial Japanese Navy of
Its Victory Disease," By Edward L. Byrnes
-"No Gun Ri Revisited: Historical Lessons for Today's Army," By Brig.
General John S. Brown
I hope this proved useful, JPW
A "must-read" for anyone in the field.......2005-12-09
The market for yearly anthologies of "best" articles in various genres appears to be insatiable. A quick search of Books in Print reveals such titles of as The Best American Short Stories 2004, The Best American Mystery Stories 2004, The Best American Travel Writing 2004, and The Best Adventure and Survival Stories 2003. "Best of" collections promise to deliver the finest writing in a given field to readers overwhelmed by the volume of articles being published. Consequently, it comes as no surprise that some enterprising author would eventually publish an annual anthology of the best military articles. The 2002 edition of the Standard Periodical Directory listed over 450 military related magazines and journals excluding military history journals. No military professional can possibly keep up with all this material, especially during wartime. Walter Boyne's new volume will be greatly welcome by officers, enlisted personnel, and DOD civilians trying desperately to keep up with all the new ideas and information being generated in this field.
No single theme dominated Boyne's choice of articles, but he is sensitive towards the needs of war-fighters engaged in The Global War on Terrorism (GWOT). Navy personnel involved in maritime interception operations, for example, will find insights from Spencer Tucker's essay, "Lieutenant Andrew H. Foote and the African Slave Trade." In trying to interdict slave traders of the coast of Africa during the middle of the Nineteenth Century, LT Foot confronted many of the same challenges that destroyer commanders today grapple with in trying to intercept terrorists in the Persian Gulf and Red Sea. Army soldiers will enjoy "No Master Plan: The Employment of Artillery in the Indian Wars, 1860-1890" by Prisco R. Hernandez, and see correlations between how field artillery was employed in the Indian Wars and how it is employed today in Iraq. Forward deployed Marines at embassies and other outposts will similarly benefit from David Ulbriich's "Clarifying the Origins and Strategic Mission of the US Marine Corps Defense Battalion."
Thirteen out of twenty one articles in this anthology focus on historical events. The balance covers more current operations. One of the most chilling contemporary articles is Rex Kiziah's "The Emerging Biocruise Threat." Another one that air power professionals will appreciate is Darrel Whitcomb's "Combat Search and Rescue: A longer Look." Whitcomb not only discusses the evolution of CSAR, but why it is critical for the Armed Services today and how it should change to meet to the emerging challenges of the GWOT.
A retired Air Force colonel, the former director of the National Air & Space Museum, and the author of numerous military history books, Boyne points out in his introduction that many of the articles in his volume received awards, but that he never allowed these prizes to dictate his selections. One of the few shortcomings of his book is that he relied only on his own expertise to choose the best military writing of the past five years. For subsequent volumes, Colonel Boyne might consider enlisting a panel of experts to help him sift through the voluminous literature of this field. If formed, this panel also may want to consider translations of foreign articles, as well as web published material in its selection process. The Armed Forces desperately need works like this one and Walter Boyne has proven himself to be up to the task. With some refinement in his methodology and annual updates, Today's Best Military Writing promises to emerge as a "must-read" for anyone in the field.
Book Description
"Outstanding. . . . A model of lucid writing, thorough research, and penetrating interpretation, this is one of the best books on Africa in recent years."
—Foreign Affairs
"No other available account of the civil war is as concise, accurate, or lucid."
—Christian Scholar's Review
"Cogently argued and supported by a wealth of observation"
—Times Literary Supplement
“By far and away the best on the Liberian civil war. It is difficult to praise it too highly: lucid yet avoiding over-simplification, and entirely free of cant or ideological preconceptions, it is a model of its kind.”
—The Sunday Telegraph
"Ellis has written a very honest and brave book about a ghastly human experience which has, one learns, much less to do with the primordial past than about the future."
—Ecclesiastical History
“…a well-researched and carefully told story of the war…an account of the war as the Liberians experienced it.”
—Books & Culture
Liberia has been one of Africa's most violent trouble spots. In 1990, when thousands of teenage fighters, including young men wearing women's clothing and bizarre objects of decoration, laid siege to the capital, the world took notice. Since then Liberia has been through devastating civil upheaval. What began as a civil conflict, has spread to other West African nations.
Eschewing popular stereotypes and simple explanations, Stephen Ellis traces the history of the civil war that has blighted Liberia in recent years and looks at its political, ethnic and cultural roots. He focuses on the role religion and ritual have played in shaping and intensifying this brutal war. In this edition, with a new preface by the author, Ellis provides a current picture of Liberia and details how much of the same problems still exist.
Customer Reviews:
Those Wacky Liberian Transvestites.......2000-09-10
One can almost imagine the conversation between Stephen Ellis and his NYU Press editors as they mulled over a title and a marketing scheme for this book. Ellis is a scholar of African affairs who, I gather, doesn't typically write the sort of book that can be marketed to the non-academic set. Nonetheless, this volume boasts a snappy title, drawn from a Percy Byshe Shelley poem, and a striking book jacket photo of three bewigged Liberian rebels who, like the Liberian civil war itself, manage to appear at once both frightening and farcical. Looks like the editors got their way.
But, as they say, one shouldn't judge a book by its cover. This is an unapologetically academic tome, with extensive footnotes and a fifteen-page bibliography. If you are not of an academic bent, or not seriously curious about the truly unique character of the Liberian civil war, you might want to skip this book.
But if you are looking for a very good summation of the Liberian conflict, a primer on ethnicity and religion in Liberia, and an interesting examination of how these factored into the conflict, then this is a must-read.
My most vivid impression is that this is not so much one book as two separate volumes, one focusing on the war itself, and the other delving into Liberian, history, economics, and anthropology. The first section, on the war itself, is quite well done and very readable, almost journalistic in tone. Ellis draws from a wide variety of sources, including his own travels to the country, to describe and explain the Liberian civil war and the conditions in which it took root. Commendably, he cites Liberian sources whenever possible, though this tendency also raised one of my quibbles. For some reason, his citations of things like US Congressional testimony are from Monrovia newspapers rather than the original sources themselves, something I had been taught to avoid, especially when the original sources are so accessible (just a few mouse clicks away).
Ellis also occasionally falls into the trap of providing too much information, seemingly just because he did the research and wants to use it. For example, he goes on for pages and pages about the bases of the Nigerian and Ivorian economies by way of explaining the economic interests of both countries in the Liberian conflict. He could have summarized this information in much less space without taking anything away from his thesis.
That having been said, Ellis makes some important points about the conflict. One is the tendency of some analysts, myself included, to be too quick to ascribe ethnic labels and motivations to the key players. The situation is more complicated than that, with clan affiliations, personal ties, and other considerations often more important. He also delves into the unique religious and cultural backdrop of Liberia to explain some of the seemingly wierd and grotesque practices that became hallmarks of this conflict -- like the transvestism and ritual cannibalism practiced by some of the combatants.
One can't help but conclude that, for all Liberia has been through in the last twenty years, it still has a long way to go to find some political equilibrium, much less to achieve its promise. Charles Taylor, while more clever and formidable than most of his predecessors in the Executive Mansion, is at least as brutal and venal as any of them, including the late Samuel Doe. And, sadly, Taylor appears incapable of mending the deep wounds that still beset Liberia. No one will be surprised if he, too, is toppled by yet another self-aggrandizing military man out to plunder the country. Liberia deserves better.
Liberia Unmasked.......2000-07-06
The author has drawn on an impressive range of sources to give us an in-depth look at the Liberian civil war. The book is like an onion: the outer later is a description of what happened; the second lays out the historical, social and economic framework, and the core discusses contributing psychological and spiritual factors.
Whether or not you accept his analysis of the role which traditional religious ritual played in the way in which the war was carried out, the fact remains that the Liberian warlords, most of whom had enough education to know what they were doing, consciously manipulated young, poor and uneducated soldiers to commit murder, torture, rape and terror in the interests of seizing power and the spoils of war. When foreign governments intervened, more often they did more harm than good. There are no heroes in this book.
If there is a weakness in Ellis's analysis, it is in the period of the 70s and 80s; he gives somewhat cursory attention to the failings of the Tolbert regime which led to the 1980 coup and to the dynamics between the Doe government and the international community, especially the United States and its short term interests in the country. As a result, no meaningful conclusions can be drawn as to how and when the rapid descent into madness might have been prevented--despite an acknowledgement that things could have turned out differently. This is a minor cavil to an otherwise perceptive study of the nature of the challenges facing Liberia if it is to take up again the task of nation building.
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Early Emission Line Stars (Monographs on Astronomical Subjects,)
C.R. Kitchin
Manufacturer: Taylor & Francis
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Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0852744021 |
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