Book Description
A Southern Belle Primer meets The Rules in this engaging volume that explains the mystique of Southern women and why they always get what they want, and shows women how to get the same kind of romantic, professional, and personal success.
A born-and-bred Steel Magnolia reveals her secrets for success, and, frankly my dear, "Scarlett O'Hara couldn't have said it better."--Atlanta Journal Constitution
"A must read."-Atlanta Magazine
"Hilarious anecdotes about Dixie Chicks who have succeeded in life and love."-People
"Reading her book is like watching a hilarious episode of the sitcom Designing Women."-The Tennessean (Nashville)
"Rich's wit and charm come through."-Richardson News (TX)
"Who could resist? Down-to-earth, common sense tips for satisfying personal and professional relationships."-The Sun Herald (Biloxi, MS)
Customer Reviews:
NOT the real 'Steel Magnolia'.......2007-09-25
Sometimes lovely and insightful but mostly silly and stereotypical. There is a great deal of snobbery in this book even though this Southern Lady claims to have had hard times they are more along the lines of chipping a nail or running out of Aquanet. I gave it 2 stars because the great embellishment and novelty of her southern lala land is somewhat entertaining.
Making Southern Women Look Bad.......2007-08-18
What a disappointment. I can't believe anyone would write a book advocating flirting and high heels to get ahead at work. Take it from a native Southern woman - we are not as superficial and silly as this book makes us appear.
Worthless Trash.......2007-05-09
Probably one of the most pompous, self-inflated pieces of writing I have ever read. Ronda Rich creates a romanticized world of Southern women in which the largest majority of Southern girls seductively drawl their words, manipulate men into getting what they want, represent the highest apex of class and style and do it all with grit, spunk and modesty.
In reality, anyone who lives in the South knows that Ms. Rich is full of bull to put it nicely. The MAJORITY of Southern women are NOT perfectly manicured belles of class and distinction. As I was reading this book, I was overwhelmed by the sensation that Ms. Rich has decided that the South IS everything she's seen in Gone With the Wind and that she is the Scarlett O'Hara of her own little delusional world.
Among the most offensive paragraphs in this book (and there are many), the one that shocked me most was the notion that when a man in a position of authority - like a boss or co-worker - tries to feel "a Southern woman" up, we don't do slap him or claim sexual harassment, but instead tell him to be nice in an "enchanting, lilting tone." Is this woman kidding? She is suggesting that you respond to unwanted sexual advances by saying no, but in a suggestive tone? Maybe women like these are the ones that some men say "were asking for it."
TRUE Southern women don't bat their eyelashes at unwanted sexual advances, nor do they often file sexual harassment charges. Most often, they let the man know that if he touches them again, he's gonna get decked and have to explain to all the guys in the office how he got that black eye.
If you are interested in "scoring" a high-earning, powerful husband through your seductive femininity, then this is the book for you. But be forewarned, the author also wants you to understand that you will NEVER come first in his book, and you should accept that, like "all Southern women do." Also, even if you are married, you should still "flirt shamelessly" with other men as "all Southern women know" in order to get what you want.
In addition, as "all Southern women know," you CAN have it all. You should pursue your career like "strong, determined Southern women do", do everything you can to please your husband (or any other man you may want something from), bake from scratch, give all your remaining attention to your children, and still be able to throw elaborate holiday displays all year. Of course, like "all Southern women", you must do this with grace, dignity, a fresh manicure, and perfectly applied makeup.
I have yet to meet this Southern belle that Ms. Rich describes. I HAVE seen many harried, miserable Southern women in the upper and upper-middle classes trying to achieve this ideal to keep from being scorned by their peers (which Ms. Rich admits on more than one occasion they WILL BE!)These women are "esteemed" of sorts by their peers, always look their best, attend every social function, have their kids in all the right programs, etc.
What SMART Southern women know is that while these girls are pecked together like a bunch of hens, clucking about how classy they are, their husbands are flirting with the cocktail waitresses. These women live in a world of fantasy and savage competition with each other. They desperately crave the approval and attention of everyone around them. Ms. Rich extols the virtues all the while covering the pettiness, jealousy, and insecurity that lies at the root of what even she proclaims as the most judgmental women in the country.
The essence of the truth about these "most esteemed" Southern women is found on page 173, where Ms. Rich advises you to NEVER talk about your problems outside of your family, and sometimes not even within your family. Herein lies the core of the code of the South - APPEAR perfect in every way by never admitting that anything is less than perfect in your life. This is the heart of Ms. Rich's book. Many people are dazzled by these Southern vixens' charm because they don't ever see what lies beneath.
Ms. Rich tries to paint a picture of a perfect woman, but she doesn't exist. If you want a guide on how to manipulate men or how to become a shell of a person whose existence depends on fitting in to "high society" then you will enjoy this book. If you want a real guide on how to be a lady, considerate of others feelings, and a person of true class, you'd be better of reading Judith Martin or something equivalent. This book belongs in the trash can.
By the way, there is no stereotype that can cover every Southern woman. We are fiercly independent and cannot be labeled. We share some common traits, but our unpredictability and individuality make it so that pidgeonholing the way Southern women act and live can be a pretty daunting task.
Perfect.......2007-03-08
I almost wish she didn't write this book so all our secrets wouldn't be given out. But she describes southern women perfectly -- we are sugar and spice. Highly recommend this book.
She is Wrong.......2006-12-29
This book is great, and I love it, however I think the author should have checked a few facts better. On page 210 she writes that Blythewood, SC has an annual Kudzu Festival, however she is wrong. I was born and subsequently raised in Blythewood, SC and there was never a Kudzu Festival. The town is a very small town in Richland County, South Carolina, that I believe, she confused with another Blythewood. There is another Blythewood, and there is a Kudzu Festival, I do not know what state it is in, it is not South Carolina though.
Amazon.com
Taking inspiration from The Wizard of Oz, international management consultants Roger Connors and Tom Smith have adapted the underlying framework of one of the world's most famous morality plays to propose a better way of doing business. In their first book, The Oz Principle, they described the potential benefits of a related structure of corporate unification and discussed its long-range ramifications for organizational improvement. In their new effort, Journey to the Emerald City: Achieve a Competitive Edge by Creating a Culture of Accountability, they articulate a step-by-step plan for accelerating its development. The obstacle-strewn path negotiated by the story's legendary characters helped create an "understanding of what was needed in order to achieve the goals of each person on the team," write Connors and Smith. "Yet, the journey not only led to personal insight about what needed to change, but also a collective insight about how the team needed to think and act as a whole in order to get where they were going." Accordingly, the authors present a Yellow Brick Road-map here for altering behavioral patterns of employees and managers to get them working together more effectively to achieve superior results. --Howard Rothman
Book Description
"The transformation of corporate culture…has largely
eluded the recent wave of performance improvement
innovations. Connors and Smith fill this gap by…outlining
how their processes for culture change work not only in
theory but also in practice. This volume provides hands-on,
concrete tools for helping organizations fulfill their
potential." — Chairman and CEO, Eli Lilly and Company
Customer Reviews:
Long Term Success Must Read.......2004-03-14
One of the most challenging things for people to do is open their minds and accept new ideas and/or new thoughts about old ideas. Journey To the Emerald City affords readers the rare opportunity to overcome this challenge.
Following the metaphor developed in their best-selling book, The Oz Principle, Connors and Smith dive into the core issue surrounding the achievement of results in organizations...the company's culture. Simply put, the culture of the organization actually determines the results the company will achieve. Connors and Smith clearly let us know that the company culture is how the company both thinks and acts.
As readers of The Oz Principle found, the answers to the problems that plague most of us are most often found within ourselves. Journey To The Emerald City picks up where Oz left off. This is a step-by-step guide to first understanding your current culture and then defining what it needs to become in order to attain and even exceed your expected levels of achievement.
As a former TEC Chair, I had the privilege of working intimately with CEO's and Presidents of companies ranging in revenue from just under $2M to over $60M. One of the hardest steps any of these successful leaders had to take was creating a Culture of Accountability within their organizations. The reason for the challenge was painfully clear, most leaders do not know how to create a culture of accountability, let alone really understand what such a culture looks and acts like. More and more senior leadership teams are searching for the "magic program" to make people "more accountable." Happily, Journey provides just that program, but it isn't magic. It's practical and simple to understand. It's implementable, right now. It doesn't require any special training to understand, and in the face of potential return on investment of time, it stands head and shoulders above all other ideas on the subject.
In Journey, you will find a model called "The Results Pyramid." To borrow a phrase, this model is profoundly simple and simply profound. Readers will find their thoughts leading to circumstances and situations that exemplify and validate the model without effort. The beauty of the model is that it helps leaders define their business case for change, as well as defining the path along which the organization must be aligned in order to achieve success.
Readers are introduced (or reintroduced for readers of Oz) to the best practices that actually define "The Steps to Accountability," See It, Own It, Solve It and Do It. It is these best practices that, when applied and practiced within an organization, will lead to success. Connors and Smith clearly define the path and the processes necessary to change an organizational culture.
The final section of the book deals with accelerating the culture change within the organization. It's no secret that certain activities will impede and others will accelerate any change. Connors and Smith promote the use of what they call, "Focused Feedback" to accelerate and achieve the desired changes. Leadership is the key and the entire organization needs to be enrolled.
In making my decision to delve into this book, several things are worthy of note. First, as I mentioned, I have dealt with senior leadership for several years and believe they know they don't have all the answers. I wanted to have another tool to give them. Second, I read a review by someone who was frustrated with the book because he felt it was merely a promotional piece for the authors to sell their consulting services. This intrigued me because I have yet to meet an author of business and leadership books (myself included) who didn't want to be contacted by their readers and hopefully create some business relationship between these readers and themselves.
Lastly, I read The Oz Principle when it was first published in 1994. I have yet to find another business book that created as deep a feeling about "the right thing to do" as Oz did for me. Journey To The Emerald City runs a very close second. Having been exposed to authors writing about accountability from T.J. Rodgers to Jack Welsh and back to Andrew Grove and the Marines and our service academies, I understand the subject quite well (both as a service academy graduate and as a consultant). This book is a must in today's business environment. The stories support and motivate. The process is direct and clearly defined.
If you have the least concern for how to evolve, grow and define your company's future success, Journey To The Emerald City is required reading.
Gain a competitive Edge.......2004-03-13
In Journey to the Emerald City, Connors and Smith present the principles that make organizational culture THE competitive edge for the 21st Century. They describe in useful, applicable, and concrete ways how to blast away boundaries, create ownership, and drive performance by creating a culture of accountability. Applying the process found in Journey will give any organization a competitive edge!
David Mathisen
Sr. Vice President & General Manager
Orbital Transportation Management Systems
Good Content, Don't Need Toto.......2003-03-16
In 1998, the authors wrote The Oz Principle around the concept that "an organization will perform at its highest potential if, and only if, each of its members assumes personal accountability for achieving its results." Thus, Conners and Smith emphasize a corporate culture that is based on personal accountability, with leaders, goals, tasks, teams, and every aspect of organizational life connected to that theme.
I will admit to being put off by the title and the cover. Wizard of Oz? Dorothy and her red shoes? The Cowardly Lion? Do I have time for fables and games? There are some mentions of Frank Baum's classic, some quotes, and some relationships like explaining that managers don't have magic. Overall, however, this book is a solid management book on changing organizational culture. And that's a vital issue for a lot of companies today.
The book is organized into three sections whose titles give good insight into the value and flow of the text: Understanding Company Culture, Shifting to a New Culture, and Accelerating Culture Change. The ten chapters explain the concepts and a process for moving forward in an organized, results-oriented fashion. The book is filled with practical approaches that can open a company to achievements that have been trapped inside by a dysfunctional culture. The key is accountability that starts at the top of the organization with an open and complete style of leadership. No games: communication.
The authors show us how to change the way people think and act. They show how to get people involved in a positive way so transformation can occur. Culture change is a journey, a journey that can be taken at an agonizingly slow pace, a normal flow (whatever that is), or moved to a higher level of velocity and enthusiasm. Graphics and an index enhance the book's value, which is far beyond the connection to the Oz story.
You'll learn from consultants who have "been there" and achieved results. The knowledge you gain will enable you to achieve some change in your organization based on what these men have learned and share in this book.
It's to Laugh.......2001-01-30
Many business books are a form of utopian literature and should be treated as such. Given this premise, one would think that a book with a title like "Journey to the Emerald City" would be a top-notch business book as it suggests the authors might have a certain awareness of this genre.
Unfortunately, this in not the case here. Instead, this is yet another entry in the "book as selling tool" sweepstakes. In this sub-genre of the business book, the book is the foot-in-the-door for selling consulting services. Little more than a powerpoint presentation fleshed out with the usual miscellaneous facts and figures, these books are short on everything but jargon. They offer middle managers cozy, self-evident insights and simplistic advice that most company employees find insulting or at least insipid. (Around our office, the charts in the first chapter that show "non-aligned" and "aligned" processes and goals are considered a fine example of this facile and fallacious sub-genre as they keenly demonstrate the obvious in the most obvious fashion possible.)
Business books are not known for their sense of humor, certainly, because as we all know, business is extraordinarily serious. Yet, lack of wit and self-awareness are not virtures either. Nor is the plodding purposefulness with which the authors describe their "innovative" approach, although again, they are clearly in good company in this genre.
A shame really, especially since clearly the publishers felt strongly enough about the book to spend some extra bucks on shiny green foil on the jacket. Then again, perhaps the title is more apt than I take it to be. Like in the Wizard of Oz, we find there is no wizard behind the flashy curtain and special effects, but rather the usual seller of snake oil.
An Excellent Book!.......2000-04-07
An Excellent Book.. A must for all the mangers in any organisation.
Average customer rating:
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Agricultural Biotechnology and Transatlantic Trade: Regulatory Barriers to GM Crops (Cabi Publishing)
Grant E. Isaac
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ASIN: 0851995802 |
Book Description
Genetically modified agricultural crops that are approved as safe in North America (Canada and the United States) are facing significant regulatory hurdles in gaining access to the European Union. The development and commercialization of GM crops illustrate a complex challenge facing trade diplomacy - the challenge of regulatory regionalizm created by social regulatory barriers. This book attempts not only to identify these issues, but also to propose a regulatory development and integration strategy capable of overcoming this challenge. Contents include: o Social regulatory barriers o Agricultural biotechnology o Economic interests o Social interests o Regulatory development and integration o North American regulatory approach o European regulatory approach o Transatlantic regulatory integration
Book Description
Scientific discoveries about the animal kingdom fuel ideological battles on many fronts, especially battles about sex and gender. We now know that male marmosets help take care of their offspring. Is this heartening news for today's stay-at-home dads? Recent studies show that many female birds once thought to be monogamous actually have chicks that are fathered outside the primary breeding pair. Does this information spell doom for traditional marriages? And bonobo apes take part in female-female sexual encounters. Does this mean that human homosexuality is natural? This highly provocative book clearly shows that these are the wrong kinds of questions to ask about animal behavior. Marlene Zuk, a respected biologist and a feminist, gives an eye-opening tour of some of the latest developments in our knowledge of animal sexuality and evolutionary biology. Sexual Selections exposes the anthropomorphism and gender politics that have colored our understanding of the natural world and shows how feminism can help move us away from our ideological biases.
As she tells many amazing stories about animal behavior--whether of birds and apes or of rats and cockroaches--Zuk takes us to the places where our ideas about nature, gender, and culture collide. Writing in an engaging, conversational style, she discusses such politically charged topics as motherhood, the genetic basis for adultery, the female orgasm, menstruation, and homosexuality. She shows how feminism can give us the tools to examine sensitive issues such as these and to enhance our understanding of the natural world if we avoid using research to champion a feminist agenda and avoid using animals as ideological weapons.
Zuk passionately asks us to learn to see the animal world on its own terms, with its splendid array of diversity and variation. This knowledge will give us a better understanding of animals and can ultimately change our assumptions about what is natural, normal, and even possible.
Download Description
Scientific discoveries about the animal kingdom fuel ideological battles on many fronts, especially battles about sex and gender. We now know that male marmosets help take care of their offspring. Is this heartening news for today's stay-at-home dads? Recent studies show that many female birds once thought to be monogamous actually have chicks that are fathered outside the primary breeding pair. Does this information spell doom for traditional marriages? And bonobo apes take part in female-female sexual encounters. Does this mean that human homosexuality is natural? This highly provocative book clearly shows that these are the wrong kinds of questions to ask about animal behavior. Marlene Zuk, a respected biologist and a feminist, gives an eye-opening tour of some of the latest developments in our knowledge of animal sexuality and evolutionary biology. Sexual Selections exposes the anthropomorphism and gender politics that have colored our understanding of the natural world and shows how feminism can help move us away from our ideological biases. As she tells many amazing stories about animal behavior--whether of birds and apes or of rats and cockroaches--Zuk takes us to the places where our ideas about nature, gender, and culture collide. Writing in an engaging, conversational style, she discusses such politically charged topics as motherhood, the genetic basis for adultery, the female orgasm, menstruation, and homosexuality. She shows how feminism can give us the tools to examine sensitive issues such as these and to enhance our understanding of the natural world if we avoid using research to champion a feminist agenda and avoid using animals as ideological weapons. Zuk passionately asks us to learn to see the animal world on its own terms, with its splendid array of diversity and variation. This knowledge will give us a better understanding of animals and can ultimately change our assumptions about what is natural, normal, and even possible.
Customer Reviews:
Important points in an easy read.......2006-01-08
So, what can and can't we learn about sex from animals? Marlene Zuk has written an easy read that actually makes important points about our human-biased and, especially, male-biased interpretations of nature. She points out that nature is 'witless' - the world comes without an agenda - and that selection has produced an enormous diversity of behaviour including that of the sexes.
When we look objectively at other animals there is no universal way of being 'male' or 'female' regarding, for example, aggression, parental care or multiple sexual partners. In the last four chapters Zuk looks at menstruation, orgasm, homosexuality and spatial ability and discusses how looking at a wide variety of other species may shed more light on our own behaviour than ignoring other species or limiting our attention to only a few species.
An important point Zuk makes is that we cannot regard evolution as hierarchical and when we stop ranking species we can then simply look at how selection works to create enormous diversity. By looking objectively at all species our assumptions are challenged about what it means to be 'female' or 'male'. There is no reason for feminists to either oppose science nor to use 'nature' to assert some sort of female superiority. There is nothing in nature that tells us about relative values of the sexes or how we should or should not behave. And there is much in nature that can horrify us, such as parasitioids, so the 'naturalistic fallacy' needs to be avoided by us all.
Animals can show us how selection has worked to create enormous diversity and that humans have also been a part of this process. They can challenge our assumptions of what we believe to be natural, normal or even possible. Women's involvement in science can show up our biases in how we interpret various animal behaviours (eg female 'promiscuity' or 'adultery' or aggression compared to the same behaviour in the male). Any particular animal behaviour cannot be used to impose or justify the same behaviour in humans.
Marlene Zuk is making very important points about how we study ourselves and how we relate this to other species including the errors we are susceptible to on both fronts. For me the book misses five stars because it lacks enough examples of animal behaviours and enough depth of discussion and I am not sure that anti-science or eco-feminists, whom the book seems to be mainly aimed at, will be totally convinced by the argument.
waste of time.......2005-07-04
if you think you might learn something from the animals, you will be very disappointed.
Open your mind........2003-03-06
An eye opener for male and female readers alike.
Open your mind........2003-03-06
An eye opener for male and female readers alike.
Reconciling feminism and evolutionary biology.......2002-12-10
University of California, Riverside biology professor Marlene Zuk, whose specialty is insects, especially crickets, makes two main points in this modest volume. One, what is "natural" as observed in nature is not necessary right and should not be used as a guide for human society; and two, how we interpret the behavior of animals is colored by our biases, both anthropomorphic and male-gendered.
Professor Zuk writes from the avowed position of a feminist, although she makes it clear that she is not an "ecofeminist" nor does she agree with those feminists who believe that the exercise of science and "attempts to study the world are just culturally derived exercises relevant only in a certain social context." (p. 16)
In other words, Zuk wants to reconcile the ways of science, especially evolutionary biology, to feminists while pointing out to biologists that many of their preconceptions contain a male bias. She recalls a poem from A.E. Housman that includes the phrase "witless nature" which she takes as a cornerstone for her position. Nature "is not kind, not cruel, not red in tooth and claw, nor benign in its ministrations. It is utterly, absolutely impartial." (p. 15)
From this it follows (for most of us anyway) that we should not draw moral conclusions about how people should behave, nor should we form notions of what is "right" or "wrong" from observations of nature. This is a position that most professionals in evolutionary biology today appreciate, although this was not always the case, as Zuk is quick to remind us. She sees the antiquated notion of scala naturae (from Aristotle) which puts humans at the pinnacle of evolution as part of the reason for the errors of the past. Humans were seen as the positive norm, and to the extent that the behavior of other animals deviated from that they were inferior. Zuk also points to a "male model in biology" assumed by biologists (consciously or unconsciously), as an addition source of bias. She points to the idea that males are more aggressive than females as an example of an unwarranted preconception.
My experience (for what it's worth--I coached girl's basketball some years ago, and believe me the girls were VERY aggressive), and from what I know of aggressiveness theoretically, suggests that females are indeed just as aggressive as males in going after what they want. The reason that women use violence (a kind of aggressiveness) less than men do has to do with social conditioning of course, but also with the fact that a woman's reproductive capability is seldom if ever enhanced by the use of physical force while a male may use force to his reproductive advantage. In the case of non-human animals I am thinking especially of male lions killing the cubs of another male to bring the female into estrus. In the case of humans I am thinking of human males using the spoils of war to gain access to females and to nurture their offspring. (I am NOT thinking of rape since that sort of unsocial, high-risk behavior seldom leads to successful reproduction; more often it leads to ostracization and an early demise for the rapist, a state of affairs that is not adaptive.)
Zuk writes in a witty style that is easy to read. Her target readership is the non-specialist; indeed one gets the sense that she is addressing her undergraduate students. Politically speaking, she steers a middle course between the extremes of the sociobiological right and the socialist left, a fact underscored by the appearance on the cover of endorsements from Matt Ridley on the right, Patricia Adair Gowaty from the left, and Sarah Blaffer Hrdy from somewhere in the middle.
I would give a more ringing endorsement of this book were it not for the fact that there is virtually nothing new in Zuk's very agreeable presentation, and my lingering sense that a person who identifies herself as "feminist" biologist (instead of merely a biologist) is not entirely objective any more than the old guys from the patriarchy were. However, to be fair, at no place in the book does Zuk espouse anything close to a preference for the politically correct at the expense of scientific inquiry, as feminists sometimes do when the conclusions are not what they want. Zuk knows that to make science subordinate to what is politically and socially agreeable is to sacrifice science completely. Indeed, I see this as the profound central message of her book, and a reason to hope this book receives a wide readership.
Book Description
“I did not want to fail, because the stakes were too high. After all, I was after nothing less than the secret of human harmony.” The challenge that bestselling author Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson set for himself was formidable: to create a true interspecies peaceable kingdom within his own household. He hoped to learn if several different species–some, natural enemies–raised together from an early age could live peacefully side by side. So he took into his home seven young animals–a kitten, a rabbit, two rats, two chickens, and a puppy–and set about observing the whole process of socialization (or non-socialization) from the very beginning.
The initial results were mixed. Tamaiti, the kitten, made herself instantly comfortable, but Hohepa, the Flemish giant rabbit, remained inscrutably reserved. Kia and Ora, the rats, slept all day and became active at night. Moa and Moana, the Polish frizzle chickens, bonded with each other but to no one else. Mika, the stray pup, barked much too much. But as the hours and days passed in this never-before-attempted environment, the animals began to change in startling ways, as Masson wondered which animals would bond, and which would recoil from one another? Can animals, including humans, truly change when direct experience tells them it’s safe to do so? Would the experiment end in triumph, or in tragedy?
Raising the Peaceable Kingdom poses universal questions we’ve all had about relationships, social strife, and peaceful coexistence. In its intimations of the potential for planetary harmony, this elegantly written book is a work of major significance. As a unique account of life in an interspecies community, it offers unmitigated enchantment, joy, and delight.
Customer Reviews:
A little too preachy for me.......2007-09-13
I found the book to be a little too preachy about vegetarianism; I think the author is quite proud of being a vegetarian, and he hits on that point quite a bit.
I really didn't feel that inspired about what animals can teach us about tolerance or friendship, either.
I grew up on a farm, and have seen firsthand how "tolerant" and "friendly" animals can be towards each other. I guess that I am just a little too realistic to believe in a beautiful co-existence with nature; I feel that nature is nature, and will do its best to exist, no matter whose expense is taken.
Next Stop Stuart Little.......2006-03-05
If you can make it all the way to the end, this book will teach you about the eight rules of tolerance, then the nine rules of play, then back to eight for the eight rules of friendship. Occasionally, I feel that Moussaieff Masson jumbled the rules slightly, or stuck one in a list (say, for "friendship") where it might more accurately be conceptualized as a rule for "play." For example, "One step at a time." Now, he has this listed as the fourth rule of friendship, and I would urge squeezing it into the list of rules of play, even if this means expanding the number of play rules to an ungainly ten. Well, I never have liked one of the existing "rules of play" anyhow--the very first, "Know when to quit." It reminds me of the famous song by Kenny Rogers about The Gambler/ So perhaps that rule could be omitted, the line about "one step at a time" given its due among the rules of play, and then the rules of friendship would be reduced.
These rules are inspiring and, I feel, credence must be given to Moussaieff's own experiments using animals to prove his various points, such as rule 7 of the "Eight Rules of Tolerance," which is, "Possess nothing the other wants." But you have to admit, that's a hard one to follow in real life practice! Maybe for animals, who don't really "have" anything anyhow (except good looks and high energy). But for people, it's a different story. For what person, no matter how humble, doesn't have something that somebody else might conceivably desire? Masson himself is rather a pretentious man and some of us, both in the USA and his adopted New Zealand are united in this opinion, but most odd is his apparent lack of love for most of his pets. It seems like he just gets them to write about them, and when he's done writing about them, he lets them go to other homes.
Sometimes the results are amusing, sometimes one feels he just writes to shock, for he started as a controversialist and something of the tabloid headline will always cling to his name. "Visitors were sometimes shocked," he writes, in a discussion about the socialization of rats, "to see two small heads pop out from between Leila's breasts" (by the way, Leila is a grown human) "the whiskers twitching nervously, bright little eyes alight with curiosity." Next stop, Stuart Little!
A unique perspective, valuable insights, and a fun read.......2006-01-12
It's not often that you find these three elements -- uniqueness, insights, and fun -- in the same book, but in Raising the Peaceable Kingdom, you do.
Animals can teach us many things we really need to learn, and humans are just beginning to wake up to the idea, helped along by books like this one. Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson is a gifted and inspired writer, and I heartily recommend this book (and all of his books, frankly) to anyone -- from those who have pets/love animals and are already predisposed to enjoy the topic to those who might be a bit skeptical about what humans might learn from animals about getting along with each other. If you're not sure which side of that fence you're on, it doesn't really matter, because you'll enjoy the book either way.
Entertaining but dissapointing.......2006-01-10
As I have read amost all of Masson's books I was looking forward to this one. The premise is interesting, seeing if natural enemies can learn to tolerate each other, and hopefully become friends, if raised together from an early age.
Yet while I found the book easy to read and wanting to know the outcome, I was put off by several things. First, I did not think his writing style compares to his other books. I also felt that Masson was very repetitive in his beliefs of trying to create a natural environment for all. I do not feel differently from him, but I felt he was a bit over the top and could have distanced himself from several readers.
This book also caused me to look at Masson differently. I was upset to learn that many of the animals Masson gets for his research (including "Dog's Never Lie") were given away afterwards. While I am sure all animals went to good homes, I was dissapointed that they were not as much a part of his family as it came off. With the way Masson treated his dog in this book, I was glad the dog was given away.
But overall it was entertaining although it didn't live up to expectations.
An Unlikely Menagerie And The Resulting Chaos........2006-01-02
After spending eight years as a psychoanalyst, Mr. Masson set out to see if it is possible for "animals ...to live with other species in peace...and friendship." He admits halfway through his experience with the chosen menagerie to decide that his goal was to learn something about the roots of tolerance, friendship, and even compassion in humans from this project of raising animals together. Affection is different from tolerance. You cannot coerce affection, cannot force one animal to like or love another animal. But, he wrote, "the conditions which permit affection to grow can be cultivated, encouraged and rewarded."
In this project, he gathered together animals which would not normally choose to be together. Using domestic animals there in New Zealand, the final experiment included two rats, two chickens, a kitten, a puppy, and two rabbits. This in-home observation of the interactions of this diverse group lasted six months. I don't call that time enough to "raise any animal." We once had a rabbit for several months which my son won at the Fall fair; by Spring, 'Roger Rabbit' had to move on after he bit the tip of my little finger off -- no doubt, thinking it was a small carrot. With this disparent collection, he hoped to learn about the essential characteristics of enmity between humans (comparatively) and what made for cooperation, empathy, compassion and friendship. He came to the conclusion that "there are no experts when it comes to human emotions or animal emotions." He commented on humans inability to understand the feelings of other people. We are responsible for whatever we tame. In the movie, 'Fly Away Home,' a thirteen year old girl nurtured fifteen Canadian geese and led them to freedom. "We, animals and humans, can change. I have seen it with my own eyes in this "little experiment with the big ideas."
When cats are not compatible, it is generally about territory, and they don't have to justify their actions. It is a protective measure. Cats are the only ones who choose to live with humans. His young family already had two three year old cats who had their own ways to treat the young male cat; one ran away from him with a hiss and a snarl. The other showed more than curiosity toward the two rats. I have difficulty understanding how anyone would want to observe a rat outside of a lab, though his pediatrician wife became attached to them. I had a close encounter with a rather large gutter rat at the bus stop -- thought at first that it was a small squirrel coming toward me until I saw its long, skinny tail. My dad used to raise chickens, but he had a large group for which he built a chicken house and enclosed yard surrounded by chicken wire. I steered clear of them as the rooster was a mean character.
The family black-and-white pictures throughout the book showed different ones with the animals as they were initiated into a communal experience, which proved the impossibility of peaceful habitation in close quarters for some of their choices. It made me feel that he needed to watch Marc Morrone on his weekly "Petkeeping" television show. Now, he is an expert! "My experiment, to find the peaceable kingdom, was really in conflict with allowing the animals to live as close to a natural life as could be achieved in the suburbs of a large city. When they were all assembled, it was chaos and confusion with no order or effectual rules. One of his young sons said, "Dad, I thought you were an animal expert."
"Only a few months after these 'natural enemies' began to live in close contact, while they weren't yet best friends, they were one and all living peacefully together. I considered that a significant accomplishment, the implications of which fascinated me. As for the older cats, I wasn't sure they would ever adjust or that it was even reasonable to expect them to." The real surprise of the experiment, and the "unexpected success for me, was what had been happening" to the two established pets. The kitten was placid, "like Ferdinand the bull," no fighter. "Against all expectations and contrary to all rules of cat behavior and their evolution, the two older, semiferal cats had appeared to accept the younger animals. At the end, Megala, the one cat who had refused to join 'the peaceable kingdom,' even made friends with one of the rats, a transformation he never thought even possible. Megala (miracle of miracles) did what leopards do when they make friends: turned over and started to purr. "I guess Megala finally decided there was nothing like friendship across the species barrier." This justified his entire experiment as he watched the transformation and acquiescense. He felt rewarded at the result.
Since leaving the psychoanaylzing of humans back in Berkeley, California, his collection of books would make one think the has turned into an animal behavior expert. His books include THE CAT WHO CAME IN FROM THE COLD: A FABLE, THE NINE EMOTIONAL LIVES OF CATS, THE PIG WHO SANG TO THE MOON, WHEN ELEPHANTS WEEP and DOGS NEVER LIE ABOUT LOVE.
Book Description
Thirty million people worldwide are performing tae kwon do-the Korean equivalent of karate-and thousands of centers have sprung up in America. Kids, adults, and even seniors are joining in the explosive fun. With easy-to-understand text and 75 clear line drawings and photographs scattered throughout, this layperson's book explains in simple terms the concepts of tae kwon do-how to limber up for practices, how to defend oneself, how to practice on one's own or with a partner, where to find classes, how to rate teachers, and much more.
Customer Reviews:
It is the IDIOT's guide..........2007-02-18
So I would disregard the reviews of the experienced Tae Kwon Do readers, this book is not intended for them. It is for those new to the sport, thus the term IDIOT Guide. It doesn't really mean for dumb people. LOL. So it is for people like me looking to learn more about the sport
guide for Mcdojangs........2006-01-20
This book is helpful for beginners in Tae Kwon Do, It gives you a brief base on Tae Kwon Do in a way. It is not a book I recommend for Advance Tae Kwon Do Practitioners, people who have been doing TKD for a long time will find this book useless, I almost found this book offensive in a way that it portrayed TKD, and the fact that this books seems to base its validity on the accomplishments of Keith Yates who is a "10th Degree" black belt, regardless of the fact that no respectable TKD organization has a higher degree than 9th (and has very few ninth degrees at that). In my Honest opinion its just another person trying to profit off of the American Mcdojang.
For someone who isn't sure whether they want to take TKD.......2004-02-08
I was a little disappointed in this book. I have been practicing Taekwondo for the past 3 weeks. I was hoping to get some information on forms and some more technical aspects, in order to advance in the class. Instead this book sounded like it was for someone who never took a class before in their life, and was not sure if they wanted to start. Although I am no expert, the book seemed to focus on just explaining how wonderful Taekwondo is, and some other basic information. Also, I found it focused too much on Taekwondo as a sport instead of an artform. As the title suggests, it really did seem a like the perfect guide for an idiot.
great beginner's guide!.......2003-01-02
Keith D. Yates -- 10th degree black belt, an inaugural member of the Texas Martial Arts Hall of Fame, and one of the most respected martial arts leaders in America -- and co-author Eden have written a superb beginner's guide and introduction to Tae Kwon Do. There's a lot of good material in this book, including basics on blocks, hand-techniques, kicks, one-steps, free-sparring, self-defense, and beginning forms for several styles. I highly recommend this book to anyone exploring the martial arts, especially new martial artists, and parents interested in enrolling their kids in martial arts. For an in-depth book on forms (kata), also get Mr. Yates' excellent "The Complete Book of Tae Kwon Do Forms."
Not very happy.......2002-12-06
You will realize why the title of this book is correct if you buy it. There is very very little information in it; just a lot of rambling. I have picked it up at least ten times in hopes of finding some information but I just get the urge to trash it. If you are looking for a book to direct you in any way regarding forms, techniques,or basics; this isn't it.
Customer Reviews:
Realistic view of law practice.......2005-07-22
I only wish I'd read this before going to law school. Moll went around and conducted interviews of attorneys, former attorneys who've changed careers, law students, and people who are married to or are involved with attorneys. There are a great many interesting perspectives given by the attorneys as to their motivations and general feelings about the law, as well as a little bit about how they got to where they are. It's like a book full of informational interviews. I urge prospective law students to read this, and the rest of society might also enjoy learning what makes lawyers tick.
Good book about law.......2000-03-24
This book captures both the joys and pitfalls of wanting a career in law. I recently received an email message from someone discussing what they would do if they had their life to live over again. As someone who succumbed to the lure of the law, I certainly agree with those attorneys in this book who would NEVER even consider going to law school if they could go back in time! For me, like some people in Moll's book, law school was more than a means to a living - it was a way to finally fit in. Tired of being outsiders, some of us felt that law school would offer a way to be with people like ourselves: smart; witty; analytical; quick at times with the sharp tongue. Moll captures how this dream was more than deferred for some attorneys in his book. Instead of encountering people like themselves - legal people who worked hard when they had to but were essentially good at heart - they met mean, sometimes over-controlling attorneys, who were so jaded by their pasts that they imposed their anger on everyone around them (and even those far away) who didn't fit their mold of being a 'good little lawyer.' Some attorneys in Moll's book love their jobs. Those, in my view, are either the exceptions or those who had the family backgrounds, connections and money to make the law work for them, even before they entered law school. The others, like myself, have been disillusioned by attempting to work for and learning first hand about some of the most powerful attorneys who they at one time admired and sought out as mentors. It was especially revealing to consider the views of the minority attorneys who Moll presented in his book. Many undertook law careers as a way to make the world less of an uneven place for men and women of ethnicity. What makes me really sad about some of the self-proclaimed great attorneys (some in this book; some that I've encountered personally) is the fact that they profess a love for the law and its notions about equality. However, it is the same powerful attorneys who, at times, don't hesitate to use their control to deny opportunities to and even eliminate the career opportunities for those less powerful in the profession. It would be helpful for those lawyers to read - actually read - this book. Maybe Moll's book would lead some of them to the fact that becoming a mentor and ally to other legal professionals instead of attacking and seizing on other attorneys' shortcomings would go far in making their lives less empty and in making the law more of what it purports to be -- a place of equality.
Product Description
2005 WALL CALENDAR OF VINTAGE MOVIE POSTERS. INCLUDES LONE STAR, THE INVISIBLE BOY, THE SEA HAWK, LADIES THEY TALK ABOUT, EN MANHATTAN-MELODRAM, DAVIS JEZEBEL, THE PUBLIC ENEMY, SO THIS IS COLLEGE, THEM, THE CAMERAMAN, ZIEGFELD FOLLIES, AND AN AMERICAN IN PARIS.
Books:
- Winning at Human Relations: How to Keep from Sabotaging Yourself (Fifty-Minute Series Book)
- A Brief History of Economic Genius
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- Adam Smith's Lost Legacy
- Alternatives: The United States Confronts the World (Fernand Braudel Center Series)
- An Economic History of the Major Capitalist Countries: A Chinese View
- Applied Environmental Economics: A GIS Approach to Cost-Benefit Analysis
- Banking Regulation and World Trade Law: Gats, Eu and "Prudential" Institution Building
- Bright Promises, Dismal Performance: An Economist's Protest
- Building Assets, Building Credit: Creating Wealth in Low-income Communities (James a. Johnson Metro Series)
Books Index
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