Average customer rating:
- understandably slow.
- Great Concept, Slow Development
- Lordy, this is awful!
- Ok as long as there's more coming.
- Clash of two very different human cultures
|
Hell's Gate (Multiverse, Book 1)
David Weber , and
Linda Evans
Manufacturer: Baen
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 Evans, Linda
| ( E )
| Authors, A-Z
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
Weber, David
| ( W )
| Authors, A-Z
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
Adventure
| Science Fiction
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Science Fiction
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
Similar Items:
-
Hell Hath No Fury (Multiverse, Book 2)
-
Off Armageddon Reef
-
Yellow Eyes (Posleen War Series #8)
-
Unto the Breach (Paladin of Shadows, Book 4)
-
1634: The Baltic War
ASIN: 1416509399 |
Book Description
The Union of Arcana has expanded through the portals linking parallel universes for over a century and a half. In that time, its soldiers and sorcerers have laid claim to one uninhabited planet after another¿all of them Earth, and in the process, the Union has become the most powerful, most wealthy civilization in all of human history. But all of that is about to come to a screeching halt, for the Union¿s scouts have just discovered a new portal, and on its far side lies a shattering revelation. Arcana is not alone, after all. There is another human society, Sharona, which has also been exploring the Multiverse, and the first contact between them did not go well. Arcana is horrified by the alien weapons of its sudden opponents, weapons its sorcerers cannot explain or duplicate. Weapons based upon something called . . . science. But Sharona is equally horrified by Arcana¿s ¿magical¿ weapons. Neither side expected the confrontation. Both sides think the other fired first, and no one on either side understands the ¿technology¿ of the other. But as the initial disastrous contact snowballs into all-out warfare, both sides can agree on one thing. The portal which brought them together is Hell¿s Gate itself!
Customer Reviews:
understandably slow........2007-10-04
This book does seem to drag along for quite a while. It never quite gets "boring" but then, it's never quite edge of your seat exciting either. This book is cramed with world building which is some times tedious, but things REALLY pick up in book to. I reccomend you get this, even if only to understand the later books in the series.
Great Concept, Slow Development.......2007-10-02
While I have only read a handful of the works by David Weber I was in an airport bookstore and saw this and thought to myself, why not? Unfortunately at times I found myself wondering, why did I?
As many people have already commented the book is a bit how do you say...slow on the get go. Honestly it was really really boring and there was so much character development and back story that you sometimes forgot what happened at "Fallen Timbers" or to Sir Olderhan and his Shardoni throughout the book.
While admittidly it was slow in the beginning, after having now read the second book in the series I understand why things were done they way they were in this first book. The character development is some of the deepest I have ever come across in a book and you really begin to feel some pretty deep connections with the main characters by the end of this story.
However while following main characters is one thing, they have gone and personified the civilizations of Andara and Sharona in of themselves. It's difficult to pick which side you really want to win because of all the similarities to human history and fantasy.
Ironically though some of the deepest aspects of this novel have everything to do with the development of the readers link with each civilization and the political, and human response to such a meeting. In the end I would have to say that this really was a great read!
Lordy, this is awful!.......2007-10-02
I like David Weber. A lot. But this, this is just terrible. Page after page of people peering into one another's eyes. All of the female characters bursting into tears at the drop of a hat....again and again, and again. Heroic male characters who the average trooper wouldn't follow to the local waste water treatment plant, let alone into battle. Spend your hard earned money elsewhere.
Ok as long as there's more coming........2007-08-08
Now despite being billed as "A War between Science and Magic," it would behoove the reader to know that the last battle between these two cultures occurs on page 350 thereabouts. The problem is, its an 800 page book, and the only thing that happens for the rest of the 450 pages is a severe amount of preparation in character backstory and motivation for the rest of the series. Knowing Weber, this is to be expected for him to plant seeds here that wont pay off for several books down the line, as he does that unceasingly annoyingly in his Honor Harrington novels, making the reader wait YEARS to see where things are heading (while pumping out about 5 OTHER books between each Harrington novel). For this book, as a reader, I was constantly thinking, "Thats Ok and all that, but where's the war?" Then we get to the horrible disappointment of the ending, to find out that there ISNT one, and we have to wait for Book 2 to see anything interesting.
GOOD NEWS IS, that Book 2 will hit you like a thunderclap, with the big showdown between the dragons and the howitzers that we were promised in Book 1 finally arriving in a huge flying monster vs industrial war machine free-for-all. This should have been the ending to Book 1, and judging by the size of Book 2, only HALF the size of this one, it very well likely may have been, becoming a 2nd book in the editing process.
Just keep 'em coming at a quick clip. I can handle these waits as long as we get a steady stream of sequels. Book 2 had better have been short for a darned good reason, such as Book 3 being 800 pages or more... Dont keep us hanging for hangings sake.
Clash of two very different human cultures.......2007-05-28
Start with the very standard idea that a multiverse exists in which the universe has repeatedly separated into different alternates in which the same event has different outcomes. Now add a much rarer twist - contact is possible between universes with common history tens of thousands or more years in the past, but not with more recent ones. Gone are the "Nazis won WW II" or "Roman Empire still lives" contacts. Instead, humanity finds a chain of Earths in which there are no humans, but which are in an "Age of Mammals" which is pretty much as on our Earth.
Such a scenario allows for contact between (and clashes between) two human cultures which have developed in vastly differing manners - one discoverted technology and the other magic. Each approach blinded its adherents to even the possibility of the other way of life.
Further, to make things more even, the technology people have not yet achieved flight or radio communication, but do have railroads, steamships and late 19th century artillery and machine guns. Further, they have some psi "Talents", which may eventually balance the "Gifts" of the magical adepts.
Both civilizations have been actively spreading through the chain of alternate Earths, without meeting other humans, until they meet in a world newly discovered by both and far from the home world of either. A clash ensues, started by accident, but fed by paranoia, incompetence and egotism.
A interesting twist is the existence in the technology world of a pseudo-British Empire (headquartered in Ireland, so not quite British) whose past resembles Rome and its Byzantine avatar (including a clone of Constantinople as its past capital) - they even have "joint" sovereignty over pseudo-Gibraltar - and a psuedo-Ottoman Empire ("Othmaliz") whose Constantinople-clone capital is the site of the world conference called to address the crisis resulting from the clash of cultures. Why create a history very different from ours and then copy details of our history into the new history? Since that is what happens, I suggest the reader label a blank world map with the local names from the story to keep track of what's happening on "technology Earth" ("Sharona" - incidentally, Weber's wife's name is "Sharon").
The early section of the book, is, as other reviewers have mentioned, disjointed and hard to read. I almost gave up. After the first 50 or so pages, the story becomes much more interesting and is hard to put down.
The scenario has potential for a long series of high quality stories.
Book Description
The village of Llanfair is consumed by the wedding plans of Evan Evans and his fiance Bronwen. He wishes they'd leave him in peace to build Bronwen the dream house he's been promising her. When he finds a beautiful shepard's cottage in need of renovation he's thrilled, until he discovers the skeleton of a young child buried in the front yard. It's decades old, but the discovery eerily coincides with a present day missing child case that's suddenly taking up all of Evan's time. Evan dives into both, and soon realizes that if he can solve the decades-old death he just might find a crucial insight into the whereabouts of the child missing in the present day.
Customer Reviews:
Light, maybe, but deep.......2006-09-25
Evan's Gate
Rhys Bowen
I pick up one of Rhys Bowen's "Evan" mysteries whenever I'm in need of a fairly quick relaxing read. I know I can rely on this writer, and this series, to give me a thoroughly professional job of writing. Plot, characters, pacing, setting - all are first rate, but unless you are reviewing the book you don't even notice any of them, they're that good.
Evan, the Welsh policeman, bridges the two worlds, the ancient Celtic culture of Wales and the trendy life in the present day British Isles. He is most at home in the Welsh culture of yesteryear but his work and his life demand that he keep up with changing times. Many of us feel for him in this dilemma.
In this story the apparent abduction of a little girl resonates with Evan as the discovery of another child's body on his own land reminds him of another child who disappeared years ago in the area. As he searches for the present day missing child he wonders ever more deeply about the other child. Are there any links here? Could one of his childhood friends possibly be the murderer of one, or both little girls?
As you relax and enjoy the gentle tongue-in-cheek humor of Rhys Bowen you are led into much deeper waters than you expected. Very gently she presents both sides of child custody battles. Evan's quest to locate the missing child leads to his personal journey of self-discovery. The final resolution, Evan's realization of who might be responsible for the child's body found lying near his own new home, digs deeper than you might expect from an apparently light read.
I enjoyed this book thoroughly. On the one hand it was an easy read, the settings well drawn, the characters vivid and true to life, the writing fresh. On the other hand it left me thinking more deeply. The writer appealed to her readers on several levels and left at least this reader satisfied. Not many light mystery novels accomplish so much.
where's the kid?.......2005-10-02
8th in the Constable Evan Evans series. Ashley Sholokhov has disappeared from the beach while on vacation with her mother. Many search parties are on the case looking for the missing 5 year old, but the biggest discrepancy, in Evan's mind, is the lack of footprints in the sand around where Ashley was playing. Elsewhere in the area there is a birthday party in the works, celebrating the 80th birthday of Tomos Thomas. Unfortunately the missing Ashley brings an old case to the forefront of Evan's attention - the disappearance of Sarah, Tomos's granddaughter and Evan's playmate, who went missing 20 years ago. Now all the suspects have returned to the area and another child is missing. Evan works the case, although adjusting to his position in the Plainclothes Division is not as easy as it would seem. The story lines have the reader wondering how the puzzle will end.
Evans Gate.......2005-09-12
This series never fails to please. It covers the quirkiness and foibles of a Welsh village with the help of a good plot line and the very likeable Evan Evans.
The author has the talent to make you care about the characters and what happens to them.
Evan Evan's still fun, but this one disappoints a little.......2005-07-06
The Evan Evans series is a much admired set of "cozy" mysteries, and I've enjoyed each one of them, reading them in order--something I'd encourage any new reader to do. The wonderful characterizations, carried over from book to book, and the strong sense of place which pulls the reader into the small Welsh villge, combine with excellent plotting to make the books first class. But, I hate to confess, this eighth book of the series has what I think of as a major flaw in any mystery; some serious "pulling of punches." Earlier reviews by other readers have mentioned much of the plot, and I of course wish to spoil no one's fun, so I can't really explain my objection well. The problem is, what do we have the "right" to expect, as devoted readers and fans of mysteries? I felt a little cheated in this book and was surprised that Ms Bowen bent her own rules somewhat, perhaps moving the center of our interest from mystery to romance or something like it. By all means, read the book for its wonderful characters and the ongoing playing out of Evan's personal life, but be prepared if you're a hard-core mystery lover--you'll grumble a little when you're finished.
A very good read........2005-04-10
This is a well-written series which has, for me, become better over time as they become less light. There are red herrings, suspense and an ending which is sad and touching. Very well done.
Book Description
Delve into the mysterious world of San Angelo's Chinatown neighborhood.
The Dragon's Gate is a setting sourcebook for HERO System, M&M Superlink and Action! System! The book features a detailed description of the neighborhood, numerous businesses and personalities, both beneficial and dark.
Includes numerous NPCs, a map of Chinatown, adventure seeds, and an in-depth timeline of San Angelo's Chinatown!
Plus, the book contains character write-ups for some of the most popular superhero RPG systems around! Includes stats for HERO System, M&M Superlink and Action! System!
Average customer rating:
|
Escape at the Devil's Gate
Alan Evans
Manufacturer: Hodder & Stoughton Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
| Baby-3
| Ages 4-8
| Ages 9-12
| Animals
| Arts & Music
| Books on Cassette
| Books on CD
| Authors & Illustrators, A-Z
| Computers
| Educational
| History & Historical Fiction
| Issues
| Literature
| Obsessions
| People & Places
| Popular Characters
| Reference & Nonfiction
| Religions
| Science, Nature & How It Works
| Series
| Sports & Activities
ASIN: 0340231726 |
Average customer rating:
|
The gates of hell
Harrison Evans Salisbury
Manufacturer: Hutchinson
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
General
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
| Classics
| Comic
| Contemporary
| Literary
ASIN: 0091269806 |
Book Description
Tanizaki has long been regarded as one of the giants of twentieth-century Japanese writing. In the postwar period, most of his works have become known worldwide, and his place in modern literature is as assured as it is eminent.
What distinguishes this wonderful new collection--a novella (the title story) and two shorter pieces--is its lightheartedness, its comic realism. All three stories, however, are variations on a favorite theme: dominance and submission in private relationships. The "man" in the title piece is a typical Tanizaki hero--spoiled, self-indulgent, and obstinately ineffectual--caught up in a war between his vindictive former wife and her willful young successor, both rivals of the fourth party in the title: Lily--seductive, elegant, and magnificently in control--a tortoiseshell cat. The struggle among these three female characters for possession of this feckless man, and his bumbling attempts to assert himself, make for a series of richly entertaining confrontations.
This is followed by "The Little Kingdom," which describes the curiously shifting relationship between a hard-pressed schoolteacher and a small but indomitable pupil determined to establish his own rule. And the collection ends with "Professor Rado," a sly portrait of a self-important academic, seen from the point of view of a journalist eager to "get a story." In a series of interviews, the professor responds to questions merely with grunts; but by accident the journalist ultimately discovers a scandalous hidden side to this eminently respectable gentleman--one so comically grotesque that it could only have come from Tanizaki's well-known store of erotic curiosities.
Here is Tanizaki at his best, displaying--in a first international edition--the skills that made Mishima call his writing "above all, delicious, like French or Chinese cuisine."
Customer Reviews:
Ordered 09/02/2006, still on backorder.......2007-01-06
I would love to read this book. Have accepted slip in delivery by Amazon three times. Eventually, when it arrives, I'll read it.
(Amazon asked me to review "this recent purchase" on 03Jan07 ...)
(Amazon, you're great - but track who who ask to review what a bit closer ...)
Rubbery dialogs and odd obsessions.......2004-12-30
Three stories make up "A Cat, a Man and Two Women," each displaying a roughly similar variation on a theme, the ever-present Tanizaki idea of domination and submission. An interesting riff in the selected trio is the various flavors of dom/sub, being both sexual and completely non-sexual. To paraphrase, sometimes a power-struggle is just a power-struggle.
The titular story, taking up two-thirds of the book, sees a man, Shozo, who is a typical weak-willed Japanese man, pampered and childlike, bounced around as a pawn between three scheming women who checkmate each other in an attempt to win the dubious prize of Shozo's affection. Shozo holds the ultimate trump, however, by bestowing his love only upon his cat Lily. From there the game becomes win the cat and win the man. Shozo is clearly a Tanizaki-character, with the main variation being his non-sexual obsession, finding love where it comes unconditionally. But Lily has a will of her own.
"The Little Kingdom" is a classic tale of "if you can't beat them, join them." A poverty-stricken teacher struggles to keep control of his life and his country classroom, in the face of a student who is a clear leader. Recruit the leader and win the class is his plan. A short, and semi-predictable tale, but written with enough variations that surprises can still hide around the corner.
Finally, "Professor Rado" brings in the perverse nature that is Tanizaki's hallmark. Professor Rado frustrates a curious journalist, who decides to look deeper than what the professor offers in an interview. Tanizaki manages to incorporate life into this little character sketch, showing that even perversities can have perversities.
All three stories are clever, with a wry sense of humor. Cat lovers will understand Shozo with no difficulties, and teachers will understand why sometimes it is easier to give into the Little Kingdom. As for Professor Rado, well...someone out there will empathize with him! A short but fun read.
Great stories that ended too quickly........2004-10-28
I have mixed feelings about the three stories in a "A Cat, a Man, and Two Women". I really did love all three stories...great character studies, interesting people in interesting situations, and just enough of a comic touch to keep things rolling. However, in every case, the story ended abruptly, with no warning. I turned the page after the last paragraph in the first story, expecting the story to continue on the following page, and was shocked to discover that the story was at an end. While the stories do progress to what seems to be a foregone conclusion, I still found myself totally unprepared for the endings. There is no winding down; the stories suddenly end, almost as if the concluding parts were lost and never recovered.
A lovely, low-key novella, and more .......2004-10-04
I sometimes wonder whom I like more: Mishima or Tanizaki. I think what it comes down to is that, what the latter may lack in raw passion (though that may not even be a fair point of comparison), he makes up for in an essential humaneness which is lacking in the former. Though he frequently puts his characters in the lowest, most degrading of situations, one never (excepting, perhaps, in a few of his early stories, in which he flirts with French fin-de-siecle decadence) senses cruelty in his writing; his affection for even those undergoing the most perversely self-inflicted suffering is ever-apparent.
In the title novella which makes up the bulk of this volume, one sees this clearly. Although overall a lighter piece of work than novels like The Key or Naomi, and lacking in the masochistic power dynamics that characterize those and much of the rest of his oeuvre, there's plenty of room for cruelty which many other authors (including Mishima, no doubt) wouldn't have hesitated to exploit. All of the characters are quite immature and petty, and that the reader is able to feel something other than contempt for them and their little power games is a testament to Tanizaki's talent. And the ending leaves one with a perhaps unexpected sense of lingering melancholy. (To the reviewer who complains about the lack of a clear-cut ending, I've gotta say, if you're looking for firm resolutions, ya picked the wrong writer, pardner.)
This collection also includes two worthwhile short stories. The Little Kingdom falls thematically somewhere between Lord of the Flies and The Chocolate War, and hints at a Zola-like facility for depicting grinding poverty, while the (in my opinion, superior) Professor Rado is the most conventionally Tanizakiesque thing in the book, with the viewpoint character discovering the hinted-at masochistic proclivities of the reclusive Rado.
A worthy collection in all; a given for Tanizaki fans.
A Cat and Japanese culture.......2004-07-10
I picked this book up because I had previously read and enjoyed some of the author's other works. The title of the book basically says what the main story it is about A Cat, a Man, and Two Women. The Cat belongs to the man. One of the Women is the Man's ex-wife and the other Woman is the Man's wife. The man pays too much attention to the cat and not enough to his wife. For example he has his wife cook the cat gourmet meals and feeds it to the cat. I have a cat and really liked this book because it tells you how cats think and act. But you might not like it if you don't have a cat.
Average customer rating:
|
A Cat, a Man, and Two Women
Manufacturer: Kodansha International
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
British | Short Stories | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 4770015119 |
Average customer rating:
|
A Cat, a Man, and Two Women
Manufacturer: Kodansha International
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 999317338X |
Average customer rating:
- A great book for moms of preteen girls
- A must-read to understand adolescent girls OR boys!
- Realistic and honest
- A "must read" for every parent!!!
- Disappointed
|
Queen Bees and Wannabes: Helping Your Daughter Survive Cliques, Gossip, Boyfriends, and Other Realities of Adolescence
Rosalind Wiseman
Manufacturer: Three Rivers Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Parenting
| Parenting & Families
| Subjects
| Books
Teenagers
| Parenting
| Parenting & Families
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Parenting & Families
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Health, Mind & Body
| Subjects
| Books
Similar Items:
-
Queen Bee Moms & Kingpin Dads: Dealing with the Parents, Teachers, Coaches, and Counselors Who Can Make--or Break--Your Child's Future
-
Odd Girl Out: The Hidden Culture of Aggression in Girls
-
Mean Chicks, Cliques, and Dirty Tricks: A Real Girl's Guide to Getting Through the Day with Smarts and Style
-
Girl Wars: 12 Strategies That Will End Female Bullying
-
Odd Girl Speaks Out: Girls Write about Bullies, Cliques, Popularity, and Jealousy
Accessories:
-
Health o Meter HDC100-01 "Grow with Me" Teddy Bear Scale for Babies and Toddlers
-
Braun IRT 4020 ThermoScan Ear Thermometer
ASIN: 1400047927
Release Date: 2003-03-04 |
Book Description
The Basis for the Movie Mean Girls
PARENTS CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN GIRL WORLD
Do you feel as though your adolescent daughter exists in a different world, speaking a different language and living by different laws? She does.
This groundbreaking book takes you inside the secret world of girls’ friendships, translating and decoding them, so parents can better understand and help their daughters navigate through these crucial years. Rosalind Wiseman has spent more than a decade listening to thousands of girls talk about the powerful role cliques play in shaping what they wear and say, how they feel about school, how they respond to boys, and how they feel about themselves. In this candid and insightful book, Wiseman discusses:
• Queen Bees, Wannabes, Targets, Torn Bystanders, and others: how to tell what role your daughter plays and help her be herself
• Girls’ power plays, from birthday invitations to cafeteria seating arrangements and illicit parties, and how to handle them
• Good popularity and bad popularity: how cliques bear on every situation
• Hip Parents, Best-Friend Parents, Pushover Parents, and others: examine your own parenting style, “Check Your Baggage,” and identify how your own background and biases affect how you relate to your daughter
• Related movies, books, websites, and organizations: a carefully annotated resources section provides opportunities to follow up on your own and with your daughter
Enlivened with the voices of dozens of girls and parents and a welcome sense of humor, Queen Bees and Wannabes is compelling reading for parents and daughters alike. A conversation piece and a reference guide, it offers the tools you need to help your daughter feel empowered and make smarter choices.
Customer Reviews:
A great book for moms of preteen girls.......2007-06-08
This book was such an eye opener. It helped me to not only understand where my girls are right now but also helped me understand some of the things I experienced as a girl in middle and highschool. I think every mother of a preteen daughter should read this book.
A must-read to understand adolescent girls OR boys!.......2007-05-07
Though this book is intended for parents, anyone who spends time with young people- mentors, teachers, program administrators, etc.- will benefit from the insights and detailed instructions contained in this highly readable volume!
It is clear that Ms. Wiseman has done her homework. Working with diverse groups of teenagers for years myself and having been one not THAT long ago) I recognize and relate to the characters and conflicts she describes and value the advice she offers.
If you've seen the movie, MEAN GIRLS, which was based on this book, you've gotten a small taste of what's addressed here- cliques, fads, teen politics, gossip, sex, and parental influence- but there's lots more!
And for those of us who are raising boys to be honorable and respectful young men, Queen Bees and Wannabes is a terrific resource, too.
I've often heard that there is no "manual" for raising kids. I respectfully disagree- there are MANY manuals for raising kids and this is the best one I've read dealing with adolescents and teens.
READ it and encourage others to do so. The young people in your life will thank you for it!
Realistic and honest.......2007-04-20
I am a 25 year-old girl who has experienced many of the situations cited in this book, either as the target or the bully. I grew up an overweight, unpopular, artsy little girl. In the 8th grade, I lost a ton of weight, grew, and my clothes became trendy. Needless to say, things changed. With one easy swoop, I went from victim to bully. Only now, as a (young) adult, I come to terms with both my nerdy, victim past and my mean girl high school years, with the help of this book. As other reviwers noted, most teenage girls will probbaly experience both sides of the scenario and often are a combination of the traits lised for each of the diff. person. types. As others noted with this book, there is no judgement imposed on the "mean girls". Most girls have "mean" moments, no matter how quiet, shy or unassuming, and I think Wiseman portrays this accurately. Sometimes, the worst bullying is from girls who simply follow others or stealthily do things, like not inviting someone out with a group of friends or not being honest because they're too "nice". I find it completely annoying that alot of the mothers/teachers/family friends/etc. who are commenting on here refuse to believe that their daughtes/students are not like that. ALL girls, or kids, are to some degree. It doesn't make them evil or not great kids. It makes them human. You can still be "hysterically funny, kind, emotional, creative and most of all INDIVIDUALS" as one reviwer wrote but still have mean girl moments. I don't think Wiseman oversimplifies. I think alot of the parents and teacher do in their reviews. Kids are much more complex than being good or bad. The mean girls need love too and have problems as well. I'd like to believe that some people are just mean and that's it but that's often not the case. Some are defensive or have family problems or are insecure or are being abused or may be depressed. Wiseman doesn't demonize anyone in this book, which I find great. In addition, to the reviewer who said she has no credentials and should not be writing about this, as a youngish adult woman, I'd rather have someone who knows what goes on and is close in age commenting on this stuff than someone who is out of touch.
A "must read" for every parent!!!.......2007-04-01
It can be painful to look back honestly at your junior high and high school experiences. But it will better enable you to help your children navigate through those emotionally turbulent years. Rosalind Wiseman has the personal and professional experience to guide any reader to a better understanding of the pitfalls and landmines on this journey. She offers not only her words, but the words of many 11-21 year olds that are currently in the trenches. Very interesting, very insightful, and seemingly dead on target. A surprisingly easy read although the subject matter is almost gruesome at times, in the degree of painful insight it offers.
Disappointed.......2007-02-28
Just not that impressed with this book. The write-up was much better than the book itself. Superficial. Will be selling my copy as used.
Product Description
Forget the stereotype of sugar and spice. Girls are mean. From the author of DEFENDING OURSELVES: PREVENTION, SELF-DEFENSE, AND RECOVERY FROM RAPE, comes a guide to the adolescent girl's landscape and how to survive it. Helping parents understand their daughter's friendships, the power hierarchy within cliques (which includes such roles as the Queen Bee , Sidekick, Torn Bystander, Messenger, and Target), Wiseman offers much needed advice on both what to do to help your daughter and how to talk to her (Don't use slang your daughter uses). She addresses such topics as boys, sex, and drugs as well as what to do if your daughter needs professional help. Each chapter has a Check Your Baggage section, which challenges parents to recognize their own biases and remember their own experience with adolescence. Wiseman also addresses the issue of homosexuality with her characteristic straightforward humor and no-nonsense practicality.
Book Description
Holy Cows and Hog Heaven is written by an honest-to-goodness-dirt-under-the-fingernails, optimistic clean good farmer. His goal is to:
Empower food buyers to pursue positive alternatives to the industrialized food system.
Bring clean food farmers and their patrons into a teamwork relationship.
Marry the best of western technology with the soul of eastern ethics.
Educate food buyers about productions.
Create a food system that enhances nature's ecology for future generations.
Holy Cows and Hog Heaven has an overriding objective of encouraging every food buyer to embrace the notion that menus are a conscious decision, creating the next generation's world one bite at a time.
Customer Reviews:
jumpy but good advice.......2007-09-04
A book that crams a lot of fact, exposition and commentary into fastfood sort of reading.
Mr. Salatin has excitement in his tone and energy in his thinking. He makes the idea of eating local practical and palatable
My only angst is his tone toward the migrant farm worker (who 'does not speak english'). Has he forgotten that this is part of our history as much as the Pennsylvania Dutch farmer, the Swedish immigrants in Minnesota, the Germans In Wisconsin, etc. ? If he resents cheap labor, it was irrelevant for him to focus on people "who don't speak english" That is a backward anglo rooted sentiment and has nothing to do with sustainable practices and gearing toward a peaceful future for locally responsible consumers and producers
Otherwise, this is a great handbook to use for wiser living.
Changing the World One Mind at a Time.......2007-05-12
Joel Salatin is a nut! But from my experience, all visionaries tend to be a bit nutty. I came to reading this book after reading Michael Pollan's, The Omnivore's Dilemma, which is a great book in it's own right, and which dedicates a generous portion of its pages to Joel Salatin and his farm.
Joel Salatin is among the minority of Americans who have a keen insight into just how far this country has gotten off track, and he is dedicating his life to doing whatever he can to get people back on track. I am guessing he is a deeply happy man (if not a tad disturbed), because it shows in his love for the earth and the food it creates with his generous help.
This book will change the way you eat, or if not that, it will at least change the way you think while you stroll the isles at the supermarket, browsing isle after isle of plastic food. It has had a very positive effect on me and my family, and I recommend it to anyone who pauses, even for a moment, to consider the quality of the food that they eat. If you don't waste time on such trivialities, well maybe it is time that you did, for the sake of yourself, your race and the earth. Joel Salatin will help you navigate the territory.
Joel, I could have done without the Christian rhetoric, particularly the anti-abortion sentiment that peppered your book. I understand though ... you don't seem to be able to contain your passions any more than I can mine. We differ on some things, but agree on most. The writing can be a bit tricky in places, leaving me re-reading sentences over a few times, trying to decipher the meaning. But, all in all, this is a great book, and should be required reading for every citizen, non-citizen and illegal immigrant that shares this great country in decline.
I weep for the future, but Joel Salatin provides me with a little ray of hope.
Old way of eating Resurrected.......2007-03-09
I like this book as a follow-up to Michael Pollans:"The Omnivores' Dilemma", in which Mr. Pollan visits Polyface Farm. It's good to meet the farm owner via his book, and to read his philosophy of appropriate treatment of animals grown to feed people. His animals lead peaceful, comfortable lives until their last ride. The meat industry has forgotten that these animals are living creatures who feel pain and distress. Thank you Mr. Salatin. Susan Hyson
Holy Cow - One Consumer's Transformation.......2006-07-09
This book has transformed the way I look at the food on my family's table. For pretty much my whole life, I had absolutely no problems with "industrial" food products. I trusted them as being safe, somewhat nutritious, and fairly tasty. I didn't make any effort to avoid processed foods - heck, I figured they were actually pretty nutritious with all the vitamins and minerals that were sprayed on them.
When I visited my farming grandparents in Maine (very small family farm closer to Polyface than a monocrop giant), I DID notice how amazingly delicious their simple foods were - potatoes I had dug out of the ground earlier that afternoon, freshly picked peas and corn on the cob, and perhaps some lettuce, tomatoes, other greens, and butter pickles my grandmother had pickled herself. I loved collecting the eggs from their hens, picking chives from their garden, and watching my grandmother can stewed tomatoes from her garden.
However, I took it for granted that times had changed and their way of life was, by necessity, going the way of the ox and cart. In fact, the first time I visited a farmer's market I was taken aback by the prices, which were significantly higher than our grocery store. I completely missed the point of what a farmer's market represented.
This book, however, turned me completely around as far as food is concerned. I was fascinated by Joel Salatin's descriptions of his farming practices versus industrial farming practices. After reading this book, I joined a local CSA and signed up for a local delivery of Polyface meat (lucky me!!) I frequent farmers markets and feel a genuine sense of gratitude towards the people who work their land and sell their crops, thereby giving people like me and my family an alternative to the supermarket chains, at least for part of the year.
But this book resonates beyond the idea of eating locally and supporting farmers (even if it costs more) who farm in a self-sustaining way. It is really a wake-up call for consciousness about everything we take for granted. It is a wake-up call to recognize the choices we make every single day. It is a wake-up call to shake off the sense of apathy and of "what can one person possibly do." We can't do everything, but that doesn't absolve us from the responsibility to do the small things that we can.
A+++ (and his meat and eggs really ARE delicious!)
Intended to empower food buyers to choose other than from the big industrialized farm system.......2005-09-07
Written by a farmer, Holy Cows & Hog Heaven: The Food Buyer's Guide To Farm Friendly Food is intended to empower food buyers to choose other than from the big industrialized farm system. Menus and what's chosen for them is a conscious decision, Joel Salatin maintains: eating in sync with the season rather than choosing imported foods, understanding specialty and diversification in foods, and getting sanity back into food regulations are only a few of the topics addressed in a title designed to return eaters to neighbor-friendly terms.
Books:
- Inspector Imanishi Investigates (Soho Crime)
- Killer Smile
- Kissed a Sad Goodbye (Duncan Kincaid/Gemma James Novels)
- Late for the Wedding
- Lead a Horse to Murder: A Reigning Cats & Dogs Mystery (Reigning Cats & Dogs Mysteries)
- Legend of the Jade Dragon: A Chintz 'n China Mystery
- Legends: A Novel of Dissimulation
- Manifold Destiny: The One! The Only! Guide to Cooking on Your Car Engine!
- Miami Purity
- Mindstar Rising (Greg Mandel)
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Thunderhead
- The Master Cleanser
- Physics With Illustrative Examples from Medicine and Biology: Mechanics
- Plant Secondary Metabolism
- Surgical Pathology Dissection: An Illustrated Guide
- The Getaway Home: Discovering Your Home Away from Home
- The Faithful Dead
- Infiltrate: The Front Lines of the NYC Design Scene
- The Architecture of McKim, Mead & White in Photographs, Plans and Elevations
- Land That Moves, Land That Stands Still
