Good Families Don't Just Happen: What We Learned from Raising Our 10 Sons and How It Can Work for You

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Heartwarming

I Too Can Do This

Some good advice, but not what I really need

Parenting advice with real credibility

Excellent and practical book, full of valuable ideas.

Good Families Don't Just Happen: What We Learned from Raising Our 10 Sons and How It Can Work for You
Catherine Musco Garcia-Prats , and Joseph A., M.D. Garcia-Prats
Manufacturer: Adams Media Corporation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Good Marriages Don't Just Happen: Keeping Our Relationship Alive While Raising Our Ten Sons

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ASIN: 155850804X

Customer Reviews:

Heartwarming.......2006-04-17

This is an anecdotal style book that uses many personal stories to illustrate examples of lovingly interacting with your children and giving them appropriate responsibilities. It is not a practical, how-to manual, and because they are not professional writers, it is a bit slow in parts. I nodded my head in agreement with many of the ideas. I would like to have read a few more practical strategies vs. general ideas. I would recommend it to readers who hope to integrate faith and parenting.

I Too Can Do This.......2002-01-04

I first read this book a few years ago after seeing the authors and their sons on a local talk show. I found the book to be very inspiring and several of Mrs. Garcia-Prats' suggestions have stayed with me. This book reinforces the belief that expecting your children to help with siblings or around the house and be responsible for their own behaviour does not make you a bad parent. In fact, it makes you a good one. If the Garci-Prats can do it with 10 kids, I think my husband and I can handle our 4.

Some good advice, but not what I really need.......2000-11-09

Now that I've seen all the rave reviews of this book, I feel a bit bad about saying anything negative about it :-). I can certainly understand what people see in this book- the authors do indeed give some very important principles for raising kids, and they back up their words with some definite success stories!

However, I really think this book might be more powerful if it weren't so careful to avoid controversy. In other words, most of the principles found in the book can be found in other books on child rearing- be an example yourself, respect the child, be positive, read to the kid... the bulk of the book is taken up with this sort of advice which, while certainly true and valid, has been abundantly covered in other sources.

To be frank, when I picked up the book I was hoping it would discuss at length how to keep kids protected (but not overprotected!) from the popular culture. While television and "appropriate" movie choices are covered very briefly, the serious but touchy problems of influencing book and music choices aren't. What do the Garcia-Prats do? How do they/will they handle problems with computers, including internet and video games? Another vitally important issue that is not adequately covered is sexuality- with ten boys, it's an issue they must grapple with at some length. How???

This book takes a remarkably sunny view of the outside culture, considering it was published in '97. Problems with bad schools (e.g. condom pushing and other sex ed woes) are not discussed, though cooperation with the schools and teachers is. The Garcia-Prats seem to have access to a couple of good schools; any advice for those who do not? What about problems with bad or unsuitable friends? Similarly, books and reading are presented as universal goods, without addressing the obvious problem that many books for adults, and even some for teens, are pornographic, easily available at the library, and innocuous in appearance.

So as a conclusion, I'll say that while this book is a fairly solid contribution for the general populace, it will not be a complete resource for the parent who wants Christian guidance about some of the worst trends going on in our country today.

Parenting advice with real credibility.......2000-10-26

The market is full of parenting how-to books. As a father of nine children, I've read a lot of them. Few pack the powerful credibility this book. Here is golden advice from the crucible of real life - dross all gone. Just the right mix of humor and seriousness. A great book!

Excellent and practical book, full of valuable ideas........1999-12-25

What a wonderful book! So many good, useful ideas for would-be parents that I would recommend this book as a prerequisite reading to anyone who intends to become a responsible and loving parent. This book really gives you a detailed account of this family's life. But they do not stop there. By showing you how they live, they clearly show you what are the values behind the way they live. For instance, they show you that they prefer to spend their time in their children's lives than watch TV. Hence, the reading time with each of their children that is something valued and important in the Garcia-Prats family.

This book is fabulous to me because I really believe that, with the application of most of the good ideas of this book, any willing couple can create a successful, loving and happy family, no matter the number of children they decide to have. So many good ideas that I decided, after having read this book once, to read a chapter regularly to inspire myself on applying the really good ideas for my future family. A small regret. There is no picture of the parents. I know, it is not the most important but they are the ones who created this happy family.

Thanks, Catherine and Joseph Garcia-Prats for your wonderful book.

Customer Reviews:

A Very Unusual Set of Letters.......2006-08-18

William T. Shepherd was a soldier in the First Illinois Light Artillery during the Civil War. He fought in most of the early battles in the Western Theater including Fort Henry, Fort Donelson and Shiloh. Although no mention is made of college, he was quite well educated for the time and in the fall of 1862 he was made a clerk. He remained a rear area soldier for the rest of his service and survived the war.

During his time of service he wrote some 150 letters home, mostly to his mother and father, but also to other relatives. These have been carefully preserved and form the basis of this book.

His letters are unique in several ways:

First, as mentioned, he was quite well educated for the time.

Second, he served in the west. Education was much better in the eastern states, making him more unusual.

Third, he served as an enlisted man. The correspondence or memoirs of officers is much more common. But as an enlisted man he experienced the war at an entirely different level than an officer.

Finally he was a rear area soldier, especially concerned with logistics. Here is a view of supplying the army from one at a low level that again is quite rare in the literature of any war.

Book Description

Writers and historians have traditionally portrayed Chinese immigrants in the nineteenth-century American West as victims. By investigating the early history of Idaho's Boise Basin, Liping Zhu challenges this image and offers an alternative discourse to the study of this ethnic minority.

Between 1863 and 1910, a large number of Chinese immigrants resided in the Boise Basin to search for gold. As in many Rocky Mountain mining camps, they comprised a majority of the population. Unlike settlers in many other boom-and-bust western mining towns, the Chinese in the Boise Basin managed to stay there for more than half a century.

Thus, the Chinese portrayed all the stereotypical frontier roles-victors, victims, and villains. Their basic material needs were guaranteed, and many individuals were able to climb up the economic ladder. Frontier justice was used to settle disputes; Chinese-Americans frequently challenged white opponents in the various courts as well as in gun battles.

Interesting and provocative, A Chinaman's Chance not only offers general readers a narrative account of the Rocky Mountain mining frontier, but also introduces a fresh interpretation of the Chinese experience in nineteenth-century America to scholars interested in Asian American studies, immigration history, and ethnicity in the American West.

Customer Reviews:

This book will open your eyes!!!.......2002-04-03

I strongly recommend this book. It is about time that someone wrote a book about the virtues of the Chinese people living in the western U.S. during the 19th century. Most similar books concentrate on the discrimination and other injustices done to the Chinese workers who worked on the railroads, for example.

"A Chinaman's Chance," however, focuses on the positive Chinese experiences. Did you know that the Chinese had superior eating habits and work ethics? Hidong Sidong was the first Chinese man to lead an asian hiking expedition in the 19th century. Did you know that? Do you know who invented Rocky Mountain oyster stew?

I strongly recommend this book.

An innovative, pathbreaking work on the Chinese in America........1999-06-12

Recent scholars have begun to examine the impact of the ethnic experience in the American West unlike ever before. Most have concluded that ethnic immigrants have had little opportunity for advancement in the United States. Professor Zhu counters this arguement with his pathbreaking work, A CHINAMAN'S CHANCE, THE CHINESE ON THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN MINING FRONTIER. Rather than depicting the Chinese as helpless victims, unable to fend for themselves in a new land, the author demonstrates that not all immigrants allowed themselves to be victims. Using the American legal system, armed opposition, frugal economy, a superior diet, and adaptation to the environment, the Chinese of the Boise Basin, Idaho displayed a resilency hardly matched by European immigrants and even American migrants to the Rocky Mountain West.

This study is a must-read for students of the American West and Frontier and those interested in ethnic history in Victorian American. His research is impeccable, his writing witty, and his commitment to telling a real, even compelling story is unprecedented in ethnic history.

A CHINAMAN'S CHANCE is outstanding history!

New interpretation.......1999-06-06

A well researched and written book. I used to live in Idaho and heard of a lot of stories about the Chinese experience in the area. But this book gives me new imformation. We do have to pay more attention to positive aspects of ethnic minorities. I enjoy reading this book.

This book is about the exception to the rule........1999-05-08

This is a clearly-written and well-researched case study about nineteenth-century Chinese immigrants who come to Idaho in search of mineral wealth. Rather than focus on racial discrimination and violence, Professor Zhu makes the case that while there were problems, there were also opportunities. In telling this neglected story of success and achievement, the author reveals a more complicated picture of the Chinese experience on the western frontier.

Not impressed........1999-04-25

Lacks something. Disconnected anecdotes and stories. Doesn't present a whole picture of what went on here. I don't agree with some of the conclusions.

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The Iron Dragon Never Sleeps
Great book

The Iron Dragon Never Sleeps
Stephen Krensky
Manufacturer: Tandem Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: School & Library Binding

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ASIN: 0785784047

Customer Reviews:

The Iron Dragon Never Sleeps.......2003-09-30

This is a SUPER book! It was a very basic reading level and I'm kinda a big, advanced reader, so that's why I rated it so low, but it really was good. The characters were believable and it encouraged me to think- as my english teacher says, "to be a good reader" I recommend it to everyone, except people who think they're above good books that just happen to be at a low reading level. To them, I recommed a sour lemon to match their sour attitude!

Great book.......2000-12-06

This book was great. Everyone should read it.

Racial Frontiers: Africans, Chinese, and Mexicans in Western America, 1848-1890 (Histories of the American Frontier)

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De Leon's American West...

Racial Frontiers: Africans, Chinese, and Mexicans in Western America, 1848-1890 (Histories of the American Frontier)
Arnoldo De León
Manufacturer: University of New Mexico Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0826322727

Book Description

Once neglected, racial minorities are now the focus of intense interest among historians of the American West, who have come to recognize the roles of African American, Chinese, and Mexican people in shaping the frontier. Racial Frontiers is both a highly original work, particularly in its emphasis on racial minority women, and a masterful synthesis of the literature in this young field.

De LeÃ³n depicts a U.S. West populated by settlers anticipating opportunities for upward mobility, jockeying for position as they adapted to new surroundings, and adjusting to new political and economic systems. Minority groups discarded unworkable political traditions that had followed them from their homelands and sought to participate in a democracy that they trusted would see to their well-being. Many embraced capitalism in preference to the economic systems they had left behind but refused to give up their cultural traditions. The result was a U.S. West of many colors.

Known as a skilled writer, De LeÃ³n tells countless stories of the lives of men and women to guide the readers through his narrative. Personal histories and revealing quotations illustrate the struggles and victories of the newcomers, enriching our understanding of the settlement of the trans-Mississippi West since the middle of the nineteenth century.

Both a synthesis of the recent literature and an explanation of what happened when distinctly identifiable races interacted on the frontier.

Customer Reviews:

De Leon's American West..........2004-04-30

Arnoldo De Leon's book Racial Frontiers: Africans, Chinese, and Mexicans in
Western America, 1848-1890 is yet another academic book dealing with minority groups and
their role in the history of the western United States. The "races" De Leon
chooses to concentrate on consist of Africans, Chinese, and Mexicans. His
primary thesis: These three minority "races" either adapted or were pushed aside
by white prejudices and institutions in the burgeoning American west. In what De
Leon sees as an openly hostile and often violent environment, these "races"
competed with whites and each other while doing their best to cling to their
traditional values and cultures.

Under De Leon's model, the American West is not only viewed as an actual
frontier, but a "racial frontier" as well. De Leon's racial frontier is a place
where races and cultures meet. More importantly, it is a place where his three
target "races" interact with each other and what he generally presents as the
homogenous white race. De Leon sees this interaction in political, social, and
economic terms. Definitions aside, the American West offered many minorities the
opportunity to start their lives anew. African-Americans, Chinese, and Mexicans
all sought out the dream of the new frontier. In the face of racism and a
general distrust from the dominant culture, even disadvantaged groups found
advantages in the American West.

In place of celebrating obvious successes in early race relations in the
American West, De Leon attempts to place the square pegs of history in his round
multicultural holes. One of many glaring instances occurs in his description of
1880's Presidio County in Texas. He describes a community made up of whites,
blacks, and Mexicans centered around the military installation of Fort Davis.
This community lived as one, and intermarriage was not unheard of. De Leon's
explanation is presumptuous beyond belief: "Thus all three races had to modify
their imported identities to exist as part of a tricultural community" (p. 100).
What? How does De Leon know what their "imported identities" were? Could it
possibly be that these people were united by a commonality beyond their
nationalities and the color of their skin? Could it be that some "Anglo"
community leaders were not knuckle-dragging racist thugs? He even goes on to
admit that there is no historical evidence whatsoever to back up his claim, but
this seems to matter little to De Leon.

In referring to whites, or "Anglos" as Dr. De Leon sometimes calls them, he
shamelessly baits the reader into inferring that all whites held racist
attitudes: "...whites had constructed attitudes toward people of mixed ancestry
that argued unluckily for Mexicans" (p. 31). Really? Whites also "...meant to keep
the oppressed some distance from one another, lest they question white dictates
over jobs and wages" (p. 51). All whites? Additionally, whites "...saw little of
redeemable quality in the ways of Africans, Chinese, and Mexicans." (p. 68) If
not all whites, which whites is De Leon referring to? On nearly every page, De
Leon uses his broad brush to vilify and misrepresent an entire group. Isolated
acts of violence become the rule and successful interactions between groups are
downplayed by De Leon. Is he referring to native born American whites? Mexican
whites of Castilian or other European decent? Protestant or Catholic whites?

Pale, olive, or brown skinned whites? Or is it just anyone who qualifies as a
white oppressor in De Leon's scheme of things?

The author scornfully refers to Gaudalupe Vallejo as having tried to "pass
herself off" as white, but was she not? A cursory inspection of the globe
reveals that Spain is indeed located on the European continent and Spaniards are
indeed Europeans. Subtle differences in Mediterranean and Latin skin tones
aside, for the author to refer to Mexicans as a separate "race" is historically
inaccurate on nearly every level.

The author makes much of the frontier lynching of minorities and does his best
to emphasize the racist motivations behind them. Sing Lee, Chepita Rodriguez and
the legendary hanging in Downieville California are all cited as examples of
"...the victimization of helpless minorities" (p. 33). What De Leon fails to
mention is that racially motivated lynching was a relatively infrequent
occurrence in the American West, and that most of those found dangling at the
end of ropes were Caucasians. Considering that the most violent areas of the
West were populated by a generally young, male, and heavily armed population, it
is near miraculous that violence of this sort was not even more prevalent.
Regardless, as the population increased, collective violence declined markedly,
most notably because it was considered the lowest form of barbarism by the
dominant "Anglo" culture.

Book Description

Chinese immigrants played a dynamic role in frontier America, yet scholars of Asian America have focused for the most part only on the Pacific Coast, especially California. This reader fills that gap by collecting memoirs, documents, and historical analyses from the other Western states--from the Cascades to the Great Plains--to provide a comprehensive overview of the Chinese in nineteenth-century America.

Lixia of Gold Mountain: A Story of Early California

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Lixia of Gold Mountain: A Story of Early California
Clara Stites
Manufacturer: Fithian Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1564744213

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A Irish boy with a great heart
greatest bok eva!
A Different Kind of Hero
A Different Kind of Hero
A brave book!

A Different Kind of Hero
Ann R. Blakeslee
Manufacturer: Marshall Cavendish Corporation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Library Binding

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ASIN: 0761450009

Customer Reviews:

A Irish boy with a great heart .......2005-03-02

This book is about a Irish boy (Renny). Who is 13 and lives in an all irish mining camp with his da (dad), his mam (mom), and to sisters (Nora and Bridgey). One day whale Nora and Renny were at school a Chinese boy (zi) come in with Miss Maynerd (the owner of one of the gold mines). Miss Maynerd wants to get zi an eduction. the miners are outraged.
I liked the book because it showed me how hard it was back in there time, and how much race impacted there thought.

greatest bok eva!.......2004-05-07

It rocks! I mean there's Renny and his Da, Lon he has lots of problems at school because a chinaman comes and sits next to Renny at his desk, all Rennys best friends are turning againt him, his mother thinks he's to soft haerted and his Da, well lets just say that Lon and Renny have a long journey to cover and will meat many friends on the way. read this and you will never read anything better

A Different Kind of Hero.......2002-11-08

Do you love historical fiction books?If you do you should read A Different Kind of Hero.The book is about is about a boy named Zi who comes to a mining camp in Colorado.People at his school are treating him in a bad way. For instance,a boy named Finn beat up Zi on his first day of school.The main character Renny was nice enough to share his seat with him and walk him home so he wouldn't get hurt again.Will Renny be kicked out of town or will he become the town's hero? You're going to have to read the book to find out.
I liked the book because it shows friendship between Zi and Renny.I also liked the book because I love learning about the old days.Since the book was so good I'm going to read it again.
I think the author Ann was trying to tell us don't judge a book by its cover.In other words,don't judge a person by their looks.People in the camp were judging Zi and his family by their looks.

A Different Kind of Hero.......2000-06-13

A Different kind of Hero is middle school reading level book.It is about a 13 year old boy who lives in Colorado mining countryaround the early 1880's. The boy befriends a chinese boy who comes to the town with his father to be a house servant. This is in the runner of the towns house. There is lots of contraversy around the boy and his father. The white Irish boy goes against most of the town and more importantly his father. This story tests what a boy believes in, and his fathers love, and friendship.

A brave book!.......1999-12-28

This book is a great book. The boy did not obay his fater some times and and stod up to him. There is a sad part to this though. These people in the book did not like Chines people and were trying to kick all the Chines out of there land. Don't worry, it ends with a happy ending. So it you can take a little of happyness, sadness, and bravery I think this book is going to be great for you.

Frontier Defense and the Open Door: Manchuria in Chinese-American Relations, 1895-1911

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Frontier Defense and the Open Door: Manchuria in Chinese-American Relations, 1895-1911
Michael H. Hunt
Manufacturer: Yale University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Mission Impossible: The Unreached Nosu on China's Frontier

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Mission Impossible: The Unreached Nosu on China's Frontier
Ralph R. Covell
Manufacturer: Hope Publishing House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Racial Frontiers: Africans, Chinese, and Mexicans in Western America, 1848-1890.(Book Reviews)(Book Review): An article from: The Journal of African American History

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Racial Frontiers: Africans, Chinese, and Mexicans in Western America, 1848-1890.(Book Reviews)(Book Review): An article from: The Journal of African American History
Albert S. Broussard
Manufacturer: Association for the Study of African American Life and History, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

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Book Description

This digital document is an article from The Journal of African American History, published by Association for the Study of African American Life and History, Inc. on March 22, 2004. The length of the article is 1200 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: Racial Frontiers: Africans, Chinese, and Mexicans in Western America, 1848-1890.(Book Reviews)(Book Review)
Author: Albert S. Broussard
Publication: The Journal of African American History (Refereed)
Date: March 22, 2004
Publisher: Association for the Study of African American Life and History, Inc.
Volume: 89 Issue: 2 Page: 189(3)

Article Type: Book Review

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The Exploratorium: The Museum as Laboratory
Hilde Hein
Manufacturer: Smithsonian Institution Pres
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000J5JR8M

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