Sharing birth: A father's guide to giving support during labor

Book Description

This classic, step-by-step guide for anyone planning to help a woman through labor shows precisely what to do to reduce the mother's fear and pain during labor, support her through childbirth, and help her during the first days after the baby is born, enhancing parent-infant bonding as well as reducing the chance of postpartum blues. Sharing Birth gives the father the confidence to take an active part in this miracle, the birth of a child. Carl Jones is a certified childbirth educator and author of the best-selling Mind Over Labor and several other books in the field. He lectures to parents and professionals throughout the United States and Canada about using creative imagery (visualization) in labor, giving effective labor support, and prenatal intuition. He has attended over 100 births, helping couples to give birth naturally.

Book Description

This important new study offers an in-depth analysis of the military and political progress of the Revolutionary armies, paying special attention to the legacy of the old regime, the remarkable resilience displayed by the old regime powers, the reasons for the revolutionaries' success on land--and the reasons for their failure at sea.

Customer Reviews:

good account of sometimes overlooked wars.......2007-06-22

The wars between Revolutionary France and the other European states before the Peace of Amiens are sometimes neglected compared to the succeeding Napoleonic Wars. This book provides a good account of these wars and explains lucidly the connection between events in western and eastern Europe. The author also shows how the book both arose from domestic French politics and helped shape them. What I found particularly interesting was the sagacity of Robespierre - his comments about "No-one loves armed missionaries" and "You cannot export liberty at bayonet point" take on extra significance when one considers recent events in Iraq. The way in which wartime necessities were used to justify suppression of political and personal liberties also has an awful contemporary resonance. For anyone wanting a brief and readable account of these wars this is as far as I know the only one available. One complaint I would have is that the author could have used better maps, but this does not detract from what is an excellent account which all students of the period could benefit from reading.

The Art of War of Revolutionary France, 1789-1802

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Too much missing for it to be worth anything
Prelude to Empire
A Good Synthesis of Other People's Research
Revolutionary French Armies

The Art of War of Revolutionary France, 1789-1802
Paddy Griffith
Manufacturer: Greenhill Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Europe | History | Subjects | Books

General | Military | History | Subjects | Books

Strategy | Military | History | Subjects | Books

Military Science | History | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1853673358

Book Description

33 maps and diagrams & 40 illustrations & 26 tables & 6 x 9 & Comprehensive study of a crucial military period & New information on the generals of Revolutionary France Between the Fall of the Bastille and the Peace of Amiens, French revolutionary armies scored resounding victories over the armies of Austria, Prussia, Britain, and Spain. Paddy Griffith captures the verve and excitement of these campaigns, which together demonstrated that French armies were the most powerful in the world, even before Napoleon's legendary Grande Arme. The period was, in fact, a major turning point in the history of warfare. This wide-ranging volume covers army organization, operations in the various theaters of war, the navy, Representatives on Mission, the government's relationship with the armies, and armies in battle. Also examined are the important figures of the time, including Dumouriez, Jourdan, Hoche, and Carnot. Paddy Griffith was a senior lecturer in war studies at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst for 16 years. He is the author of numerous articles and books on the history of warfare, including Battle Tactics of the Western Front, 1916-18 and The Viking Art of War.

Customer Reviews:

Too much missing for it to be worth anything.......2003-09-10

Too bad that Griffith omitted overwhelming information about Bonaparte's armies. Hummm...just like his selective presentation in "Tactics of the Civil War," Griffith uses only certain, selective materials that support his positions, and deliberately omits obvious and conflicting information because, it doesn't fit his agenda. I will no longer support Griffith's efforts.

Prelude to Empire.......2001-11-07

Readers electing NOT to slog through Ramsay Phipp's five volume "ARMIES," might as well read this thought-provoking, well-researched volume filled with keen insight, wry humor, and sensible observations on a confusing subject which has been much overshadowed by the later campaigns of the Emperor Napoleon. In my opinion, Paddy Griffith's books are almost without exception works worth reading due to his ability to analyze a subject and present his theories in a highly entertaining fashion. In "Art of War" the author explains how these wars were fought and reveals the organizational and doctrinal underpinning for the follow-on Napoleonic war machine. I also admire military historians possessing the perception to state "there could never be any meaningful divorce of logistics from operations. "Griffith's grasp of logistical demands commands respect as well as his description of army organization and staff work. He plainly sees the staff as a force- multiplier and gives a very nice nod to Berthier and Thiébault in this vein. I was taken by his description of the republic's Representatives on Mission (forerunner of the Stalinist commissar) as well as a nice section on the role of the French march battalions (socialization of the conscript). He also has a good section on the internal Armées Révolutionnaires. His text is supported by useful explanatory diagrams, maps and tables. I also find his word choice enviable, as when referring to Buonaparte's Armée d'Italie as "meridonal hooligans." His whimsical humor makes for a few chuckles by the fire. I particularly recommend his bibliographic essay and notes which provide the reader good advice for further study. I suggest T.C.W. Blanning's highly readable THE FRENCH REVOLUTIONARY WARS and, later on, John Lynn's opus to the Armée du Nord, THE BAYONETS of the REPUBLIC. All in all an enjoyable nuts and bolts guide to this period.

A Good Synthesis of Other People's Research.......2001-03-11

Griffith, a former lecturer at Sandhurst, culls together a lot of the material from other sources - such as Lynn - and tries to paint a portrait of the French war machine during the period 1792-1802. It is a decent overview but not very original. The author is also possessed of a fierce anti-Bonapartist bias and he not only ignores the 1796-7 Campaign in Italy and the 1798 Campaign in Egypt, but he takes frequent gratuitous swipes at Napoleon (comments like "unfortunately Bonaparte escaped being lynched by his troops" or "unfortunately Bonaparte was able to return from Egypt"). There is much good information on other theaters, such as the Spanish frontier and Rhine. However, there is very little on the War of the Second Coalition and the narrative essentially runs only to about 1798. The chapter on the French Navy is a skimpy overview. Griffith's conclusion is that French armies of 1792-5 were not very good, but they had decent commanders who knew how to get the best out of their fragile infantry units. French relied heavily on artillery, fortifications and rough terrain initially. Their main advantages were that they had a simple strategy (survival) which they didn't have to coordinate with any allies and they had plenty of troops who kept launching "impulse" attacks. The Allies were hampered by poor coalition diplomacy/strategy and limited numbers of troops. Excellent bibliography (the book's strongest point). Maps are plentiful but crude. Many tables, but few are very enlightening.

Revolutionary French Armies.......2000-12-01

Paddy Griffith's comprehensive work explores in detail the inner workings of French Revolutionary Armies. The book answers many questions about this period of intense warfare; how did revolutionary armies function; how were they supplied; how were they commanded; how did they fight and how successful were they against their 'conservative' enemies. He charts the rise of the French tactical systems employed during the Napoleonic Wars exploding a few myths along the way e.g. the reality of French 'skirmishing' tactics. In tone this is an academic volume and as such valuable to any serious enthusiast of the Revolutionary and Early Napoleonic Wars Period.

From the Publisher

This is the first ethnographic study of Snowbird, North Carolina, a remote mountain community of Cherokees who are regarded as simultaneously the most traditional and the most adaptive members of the entire tribe.

Customer Reviews:

Inspiring.......2006-03-19

This is more than a book about a remarkable community of people. It is an inspiring guideline for how to live.

Makes me homesick........2004-03-02

My family has roots in the Snowbird community; Both of my grandparents on my father's side lived in the Snowbird area, as do many of my cousins to this day. My two aunts moved to the main Qualla rez, and my father left Snowbird for the Navy, and then college in 1956, and never moved back. Even so, there is no place on earth where I feel more at home than the Snowbird mountains.
I preface the review with these statements because when I read this book, I felt like I was "back home." Dr. Neely obviously cares a great deal about this community. Perhaps it makes her ethnology somewhat biased, but it certainly livens up this book! Her descriptions of the annual gospel singing event at Snowbird were on the mark, and her description of the constant factionalism among the Eastern Cherokee band is also (sadly) accurate.
The most useful thing about this book for someone who knows nothing else about the Cherokee is that it explains how the "harmony ethic" is still a part of the way Cherokees live, and how it has subtly changed the Cherokee way of practicing Christianity, and how we deal with modern political and economic life. It shows that it is possible to be "traditional", in a sense, while being fully engaged with the modern world. It also shows that Indians are not the cardboard cutouts so often seen in the movies, or in "New Age" explorations of native spirituality.
If you read this, back it up with Finger's broader histories of the Eastern band, Mooney's classic exploration of Cherokee mythology, and, if you take them with a grain of salt, the Garretts' "Cherokee medicine" series. Then, take a trip to Graham County, preferably around Memorial Day weekend when you can be a part of Snowbird's annual "Fading Voices" festival at Little Snowbird Church, stopping in Robbinsville to visit the Junaluska Burial Place. You'll be welcomed, but if you can't make it Snowbird, this book is the next best thing.

Interesting book from a great professor.......2000-09-12

I was lucky enough to take a course from Dr. Neely (Modern American Indians) at Northern Kentucky University and this was a required textbook. Her class was one of the most interesting I have taken as an anthropology major. Her detailed ethnograpy on the Snowbird Cherokees is a must for anyone interested in Cherokee Indians or Indians of the Southeastern United States. She spent several years living with the Snowbirds prior and after writing the book if I remember correctly. You really get a feel how life is like for the Snowbirds. I definately recommend this book!

"Authoritative work filled with detail and respect".......1998-07-30

By the time chapter one is finished, the reader has the comforting sense that they have somehow become part of the Snowbird community. Chapter two, one of my personal favorites, defines a "real Indian." You just might be surprised at the definition Sharlotte uncovered and the source of some of the discrimination felt by the Snowbird population. If for no other reason, this book should be read for this chapter. Far too often, we are satisfied to settle for loose definitions penned by someone without the slightest notion of understanding and the result is invariably and simply wrong. Sharlotte, though, has listened carefully to the voices of these fascinating people; she has let them define their existence within the parameters of their own culture. There is no finer type of understanding than the one which is born within the confines of the specific culture and this book humbly delivers a powerful punch of humanistic reality. Simply put, this work is an import! ant contribution to the very essence of cultural relativism and should not be missed.

Snowbird Cherokees : People of Persistence

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Snowbird Cherokees : People of Persistence
Sharlotte Neely
Manufacturer: University of Georgia Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000K3GD9Y

Book Description

For thousands of years, people have used nature to justify their political, moral, and social judgments. Such appeals to the moral authority of nature are still very much with us today, as heated debates over genetically modified organisms and human cloning testify.

The Moral Authority of Nature offers a wide-ranging account of how people have used nature to think about what counts as good, beautiful, just, or valuable. The eighteen essays cover a diverse array of topics, including the connection of cosmic and human orders in ancient Greece, medieval notions of sexual disorder, early modern contexts for categorizing individuals and judging acts as "against nature," race and the origin of humans, ecological economics, and radical feminism. The essays also range widely in time and place, from archaic Greece to early twentieth-century China, medieval Europe to contemporary America.

Scholars from a wide variety of fields will welcome The Moral Authority of Nature, which provides the first sustained historical survey of its topic.

Contributors:
Danielle Allen, Joan Cadden, Lorraine Daston, Fa-ti Fan, Eckhardt Fuchs, Valentin Groebner, Abigail J. Lustig, Gregg Mitman, Michelle Murphy, Katharine Park, Matt Price, Robert N. Proctor, Helmut Puff, Robert J. Richards, Londa Schiebinger, Laura Slatkin, Julia Adeney Thomas, Fernando Vidal

The Moral Authority of Nature.(Book review): An article from: Argumentation and Advocacy

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The Moral Authority of Nature.(Book review): An article from: Argumentation and Advocacy
Terence Check
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Argumentation and Advocacy, published by Thomson Gale on June 22, 2005. The length of the article is 1348 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: The Moral Authority of Nature.(Book review)
Author: Terence Check
Publication: Argumentation and Advocacy (Magazine/Journal)
Date: June 22, 2005
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 42 Issue: 1 Page: 50(3)

Article Type: Book review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

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The Moral Authority of Nature
L Daston
Manufacturer: University Of Chicago Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OPIKMQ

Book Description

The day after the World Trade Center was destroyed, Tamim Ansary sent an anguished e-mail to twenty friends, discussing the attack from his perspective as an Afghan American. The message reached millions. Born to an Afghan father and American mother, Ansary grew up in the intimate world of Afghan family life and emigrated to San Francisco thinking he'd left Afghan culture behind forever. At the height of the Iranian Revolution, however, he took a harrowing journey through the Islamic world, and in the years that followed, he struggled to unite his divided self and to find a place in his imagination where his Afghan and American identities might meet.

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A passionate personal journey through two cultures in conflict

Customer Reviews:

West of Kabul, East of New York.......2007-01-05

A fine, engaging book that offers insights into Afghanistan and its people and the current world condition. Along with The Kite Runner, the people of Afghanistan come to life for many of us who have no, or little, prior knowledge of this part of the world. On a larger scale, the book is touching and true about the human condition anywhere. Well written, often amusing, this is a warm memoir.

West of Kabul, East of New York: An Afghan American Story is a good read........2006-11-04

A friend who is working in Kabul suggested that I read this book. Another friend who saw that I was reading it told me that the author is the cousin of a colleague! It's a small world. The book is a good read and I would suggest that anyone who is interested in culture and learning about Afghan Americans read it. It's a quick read and worth the time.

fast moving tale of afghanistan then and now.......2005-01-01

this was one of the first books i read on afghanistan. come to find out quotes from this book are all over the web. it is apparently a well known work. the author does a superb job of explaining his life and past living in afghanistan prior to the state the country is in now. with well defined images of the area, people, and culture, the authors tale will keep you reading without stopping. there are also great clarifications of terms and language used that is not familiar to those who are not privy to the language of aghanistan. the travels the author takes as a grown adult also give great insight into other areas, such as algeria, and has tales of interesting interaction with those who follow varying degrees of islam. a great read even if your not heavily into the afghan cause or culture.

interesting and informative.......2004-08-11

i read this book for college summer reading and i thought it was wonderful. i learned a lot about afghani culture, but it was an interesting and compelling story throughout. i highly recommend this book

One of the best books I've ever read!!.......2004-02-09

Wow! It is so rare to finish a book in just a few sittings simmply by lack of will-power to tear yourself away from it. Rare still is it to find a non-fictional book having that effect. Buy this one. If you like that feeling of not being able to resist reading "just 10 more pages" and having it turn into 50, you won't regret this book.

In brief, it is about a hyphenated man - born in Afghanistan by an american mother (the first american mother ever to live in Afhanistan) and an Afghani father. By high-school, he has moved to America and 'loses track' of his Afghani roots - truly Americanized. The real 'blow by blow' of the book comes from a trip he took as a freelance journalist back to Afghanistan to write about it before/during the cold war, and his subsequent return to America, ending with his torn feelings over Sept. 11.

The beauty of this book is that he remains sympathetic both to his Afhghani and American sentiments. While recognizing the hell that the middle east can often seem, he never fails to recall his fond memories of growing up Afghani. At the same time, he dances close to the conclusion that he is, for any intent or purpose, an American first and an Afghani second (without ever really imposing that choice upon himself).

As the other reviewers will tell you, the sparkle that is this book came about after the world trade center bombings. The author, who writes educational childrens books for a living, decided to write an e-mail on Sept. 12 to 'set the record straight' seperating the Afghani fact from the Taliban fiction. Subsequently, the e-mail, which he mailed to 20 or so people, got forwarded enough times that it reached possibly 1,000. The e-mail (and you may have gotten it) is included as an epilogue, and he explains his feelings on the 'middle east question' in the prologue and last chapter of the book.'

Product Description

The day after the World Trade Center was destroyed, Tamim Ansary sent an anguished e-mail to twenty friends discussing the attack from his perspective as an Afghan American. The message reached millions.

Born to an Afghan father and American mother, Ansary grew up in the intimate world of Afghan family life. When he emigrated to San Francisco, he believed he'd left Afghan culture behind forever. But at the height of the Iranian Revolution, he took a harrowing journey through the Islamic world to rediscover his roots. In the years that followed, he struggled to unite his divided self and to find a place in his imagination where his Afghan and American identities might meet.

Here in his own words is one man's personal journey through two cultures in conflict.

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West of Kabul, East of New Your: An Afghan American

West of Kabul, East of New York: An Afghan American Story
Tamim Ansary
Manufacturer: Picador
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0374702535

Customer Reviews:

West of Kabul, East of New Your: An Afghan American.......2007-10-12

My first exposure to Afghani literature was "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini. Shortly after reading this book I picked up Tamim Ansary's book and could not put it down. I wish every American would read this book. Ansary's book is brilliant, informative and places you right in the heart of the struggle of the Afghani people from the Soviet invasion in 1979, to the seizure of power by the Taliban in 1996. Ansary weaves a tapestry of understanding that should not go untold in any household.

West of Kabul, East of New York: An Afghan American Story

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West of Kabul, East of New York: An Afghan American Story
Tamim Ansary
Manufacturer: Picador
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OTIEE6

Customer Reviews:

The Dutch defense in 1940.......2007-05-08

I thoroughly enjoyed the small unit tactics of the Dutch and German forces during this brief yet significant battle. I didn't realize the impact that the Dutch defense had on the overall impact of the German paratrooper and airmoble forces . . . the German air transportation fleet was devestated in a few short days. The maps were also significant in that they give a good visual on how the small unit tactics played out. I would have liked to have seen more photographs with Dutch soldiers in them. Overall, a very good book on a subject that doesn't have much attention devoted to it.

A MUST Read for WWII Buffs!.......2006-12-04

As one who, as a young officer in The Netherlands Army, was in the thick of the May 1940 battle for The Hague, I can vouch for the accuracy of this remarkable historical exposee. There has been much confusion about this battle in which the Dutch thoroughly defeated the German Airborne forces, downed or disabled hundreds of German aircraft, and even managed to ship some 1,700 German POWs off to England. Hitler had been furious at the Dutch for their resistance and ordered the "Shock & Awe" bombing of Rotterdam with a threat to do the same to Amsterdam if they did not capitulate immediately. The Dutch had no choice but to capitulate. German units moved in immediately, took over all media and the Department of Defense, while putting out a gag order forbidding any discussion of this defeat by anyone. All media reported it as yet another German victory! Only after meticulous research of--now de-classified--German files, could Ltnt. Col. Brongers' expose the cover-up of this, Hitler's first, major defeat, which made his plans for a speedy landing in Britain impossible. This book is a MUST read.
T. van Renterghem, former officer and veteran of The Battle of The Hague

The wonderful book dispells forever the accepted idea that the blitzkreig rolled over the Low Countries unimpeded........2006-12-04

An incredible read filled with first-person accounts of bravery under fire. Not only do I recommend this book to every World War II history buff, but I feel it should be required reading for every university Modern History course. Since the end of the war, it's been "understood" that the Nazis met little or no resistence on their march to the English Channel. Not only has this accepted view given the Blitzkreig much more credit than it deserves, it has done an incredible disservice to the Dutch and what they were able to accomplish. (Little or no credit has ever been given to the Dutch for decimating the German airborne troops and transports, thereby stopping the Nazis from using parachutists to invade England.) This book is way overdue, not only for setting history right, but for telling the little-known story of brave soldiers who performed valiently defending their country against incredible odds. And if this had been more widely known during the war, the myth of the Nazi supermen would have been uncovered long before Stalingrad.

What a shame!.......2005-12-01

The battle for the Hague is indeed worthy of of a book, and the author of this book has clearly used a lot on researching a battle.However,I think it is a shame that the book is so openly onesided. The author makes no secret about his intentions, and even the translator clearly states the personal and very subjective perspective: " have always been hurt a bit by the lack of credit to the Dutch forces from the Allied side for the performance in those days (p.7).
And so it goes on page after page, where Dutch are consistently brave raw recruits, who are fighting against elite airbone soldiers, who cowardly hide behind prisoners and white flags. just one of hundreds of example: "The result (of the battle) was remarkable...Among the Dutch there were many recruits who were firing a rifle for the very first time. An explanation can be found in their fast, immediate action, their courage, fighting spirit and often amazing resourcefulnes" (p.168). A few pages later about the Dutch pilots: "The pilots had joined in an unequal combat, without any hesitation and with the utmost bravery, with an an untra-modern force that outnumbered them many times (p.171). etc etc etc
I can as a person understand why the author, a dutch lieutentant Colonel, may feel so compasionate about this subject. However, as I historian I beleive it subtracts considerably from the credibility of the book, when in is so obviously unbalanced. Time and time again the author tips scales in the favout of his thesis, conveniently omitting some fairly important bits of information. Nowhere in the book does he mentioned that Holland had tens of thousands of active members in the local Nazi party, and around 50.000 Dutch soldiers went on to fight FOR the Germans particularly in SS units. It is relevant, because the author himself has chosen to consistently portray the Dutch as 'good' and the germans as 'evil'. In relation to the german units there are many factual errors. One is that the primary foe, the 22nd infantry division, is consistently described as being elite. It was not. It was just an ordinary infantry division - less than a year old - full of young recruits like the Dutch who fought them. I could go on and on.Worst though is that the author very thoroughly explains the preconditions the Ducth had to fight under - but hardly ever the preconditions for the Germans. Again this makes the book very unbalanced. Infact it reminds me of the kind of books on the second world war, which was published in the 40s and 50s. I think it is a great shame, because the Dutch did fight bravely and skilfully, and there is no need to tamper with the evidence in support of that case.
The best thing about this book is undoubtedly the extensive collection of eye-witness accounts. Most of them are naturally from Dutch soldiers, but they do add to our common knowledge of history, as it is not often accounts are translated from Dutch into English.
I have a lot of sympathy for the author, who feels so passionate about restoring Dutch honour and pride. But I do think a historian needs to distance himself as much as possible from his own personal perspective in order to give a fair account of what really happened.

The Battle for the Hague - 1940: The First Great Airborne Operations.(Book review): An article from: Air & Space Power Journal

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The Battle for the Hague - 1940: The First Great Airborne Operations.(Book review): An article from: Air & Space Power Journal
Gilles Van Nederveen
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

General | Science | Subjects | Books

Science & Technology | Subjects | e-Docs | Formats | Books

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Air & Space Power Journal, published by Thomson Gale on September 22, 2006. The length of the article is 692 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: The Battle for the Hague - 1940: The First Great Airborne Operations.(Book review)
Author: Gilles Van Nederveen
Publication: Air & Space Power Journal (Magazine/Journal)
Date: September 22, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 20 Issue: 3 Page: 120(2)

Article Type: Book review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Book Description

On any given day, policymakers are required to address a multitude of problems and make decisions about a variety of issues, from the economy and education to health care and defense. This has been true for years, but until now no studies have been conducted on how politicians manage the flood of information from a wide range of sources. How do they interpret and respond to such inundation? Which issues do they pay attention to and why? Bryan D. Jones and Frank R. Baumgartner answer these questions on decision-making processes and prioritization in The Politics of Attention.

Analyzing fifty years of data, Jones and Baumgartner's book is the first study of American politics based on a new information-processing perspective. The authors bring together the allocation of attention and the operation of governing institutions into a single model that traces public policies, public and media attention to them, and governmental decisions across multiple institutions.

The Politics of Attention offers a groundbreaking approach to American politics based on the responses of policymakers to the flow of information. It asks how the system solves, or fails to solve, problems rather than looking to how individual preferences are realized through political action.

Customer Reviews:

Important work on information in the policy process.......2007-09-09

The work begins by noting two key issues regarding information processing in (page viii): ". . .under what conditions it will be supplied, on the one hand, and how it will be interpreted and prioritized, on the other." This is nested within their broader "punctuated equilibrium" theory of policy change. This perspective suggests that there is stability in a policy system, with occasional bursts of rapid change (punctuated change) followed by stasis for a period (equilibrium). This is based on the biological theory of punctuated equilibrium, developed by Niles Eldredge and Stephen Jay Gould.

They use their massive "Policy Agendas Project" data sets to explore the use of information and how it fits into change processes. One key point: there is a plenitude of information available to decision-makers; they are not "information poor." This means that decision makers, then, must figure out which information to attend to, which information to assign a priority to. The end result (Page 11): "And prioritizing somehow means winnowing--dropping from consideration for the time being problems that can wait."

Another issue arises: which information to attend to and how to use it. Often, decision makers selectively attend to information (not paying attention to information at variance with their views and cherry picking information that supports their perspectives). As the authors note (page 17) ". . .information is not neutral; it creates winners and losers. People prefer to be seen as winners and do not like to admit when they are wrong."

How does information link to their punctuated equilibrium theory of policy change? They claim (Page 19): "If we put together the limits of human information processing and the characteristics of democracies that encourage error correction, we get a model of politics that is very static but reluctantly changes when signals are strong enough. The system resists change, so that when change comes it punctuates the system. . . ."

The bulk of the book explores how information is actually processed and how it is associated with change. The reading here will be slow going for those not conversant with statistical analysis. Nonetheless, persevering will be rewarding.

This is an important volume that looks at key political processes and change processes in a unique and compelling manner.

Politics of Attention: How Government Prioritizes Problems

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Politics of Attention: How Government Prioritizes Problems
Bryan D. Jones
Manufacturer: University Of Chicago Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OPD9FE

Book Description

Ecological restoration is the process of repairing human damage to ecosystems. It involves reintroducing missing plants and animals, rebuilding soils, eliminating hazardous substances, ripping up roads, and returning natural processes such as fire and flooding to places that thrive on their regular occurrence. Thousands of restoration projects take place in North America every year. In Nature by Design, Eric Higgs argues that profound philosophical and cultural shifts accompany these projects. He explores the ethical and philosophical bases of restoration and the question of what constitutes good ecological restoration.

Higgs explains how and why the restoration movement came about, where it fits into the array of approaches to human relationships with the land, and how it might be used to secure a sustainable future. Some environmental philosophers and activists worry that restoration will dilute preservation and conservation efforts and lead to an even deeper technological attitude toward nature. They ask whether even well-conceived restoration projects are in fact just expressions of human will. Higgs prefaces his responses to such concerns by distinguishing among several types of ecological restoration. He also describes a growing gulf between professionals and amateurs. Higgs finds much merit in criticism about technological restoration projects, which can cause more damage than they undo. These projects often ignore the fact that changing one thing in a complex system can change the whole system. For restoration projects to be successful, Higgs argues, people at the community level must be engaged. These focal restorations bring communities together, helping volunteers develop a dedication to place and encouraging democracy.

What 'restoration' means.(Planners Library)(Nature by Design: People, Natural Process, and Ecological Restoration)(Book Review)(Brief Review): An article from: Planning

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What 'restoration' means.(Planners Library)(Nature by Design: People, Natural Process, and Ecological Restoration)(Book Review)(Brief Review): An article from: Planning
Harold Henderson
Manufacturer: American Planning Association
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Online Books | Books & Reading | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B00082I714
Release Date: 2005-06-01

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Planning, published by American Planning Association on May 1, 2004. The length of the article is 406 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: What 'restoration' means.(Planners Library)(Nature by Design: People, Natural Process, and Ecological Restoration)(Book Review)(Brief Review)
Author: Harold Henderson
Publication: Planning (Magazine/Journal)
Date: May 1, 2004
Publisher: American Planning Association
Volume: 70 Issue: 5 Page: 45(2)

Article Type: Book Review, Brief Review

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Nature by Design: People, Natural Process, and Ecological Restoration

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Nature by Design: People, Natural Process, and Ecological Restoration
Eric S. Higgs
Manufacturer: The MIT Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OQ8XNQ

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