Hard Labor: Reflections of an Obstetrical Nurse

Average customer rating:

Unrealistic expectations

Good but incomplete

What I missed

loved it

I'm ready to "start getting ready" to be a mother.

Hard Labor: Reflections of an Obstetrical Nurse
Susan L. Diamond
Manufacturer: Forge Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Pregnancy & Childbirth | Women's Health | Personal Health | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
General | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0312853084

Book Description

An obstetrical nurse who spent nearly a decade working on labor and delivery wards, a childbirth instructor, a mother of two, and now a registered doula (a type of birth attendant), Susan L. Diamond has an unmatched perspective on the impact of modern medicine on the process of birth. Hard Labor reveals the triumphs and tragedies that fill labor and delivery wards.

Customer Reviews:

Unrealistic expectations.......2006-03-14

Sadly,having worked with the author in a major military medical center, her observations were distorted by her own need for validation. She had unrealistic expectations in an institution which did not provide (and could not at the time)for individuality. There were no epidurals available, there were overworked military staff who were working 12 hour shifts 6 days a week.There was a chain of command that unbeknownst to her were forced to"make do". In a military teaching hospital the med. students, the interns and residents were required to train by placing monitors etc; as they were expected upon transfer to another facility to function in every capacity.She neglected to see that others such as myself attempted to protect patient rights, provide comfort and a joyous experience despite everything. I was also a prepared childbirth instructor and I tried to prepare parents for the restrictions of the hospital and maintain dignity.Ms Diamond was often too busy complaining rather than to see anyone elses' attempts. What she doesn't know was that I was removed as the headnurse because I tried to protect the patients and staff.Since then I have had the joy of delivering hundreds of babies when our doctors couldn't arrive prior to the delivery. The culmination of a lifetime was delivering my own son with his mother and I using lamaze and no pain medication.The delivery was everything we could have wished for; for any parents.Ms Diamond never realized how much I cared even though I am a man and a nurse.

Good but incomplete.......2005-09-26

A good guide to what happens in hospitals. Unfortunatly, Ms. Diamond is still so convinced of some obstetrical myths that she doesn't even acknowledge them (eg. episiotomies as unnecessary, not cutting umbilical cords.) Definitly worth reading if you're planning a hospital delivery. But don't forget to read one of Henci Goer's books to get all the facts.

What I missed.......2003-08-29

Hard Labor was a wonderful book and I felt I partially lived my life-long dream through Susan's stories. As a former CNA, I could relate to many of the exhaustive work she described.

I hope she writes more books and shares more of her stories!

This is a well-written, excellent insight into a noble profession. And, makes me wish I hadn't quit nursing school because of a knee injury.

loved it.......2001-07-23

I loved this book so much I read it twice. It inspired me to persure a career in teaching prepared childbirth. The language was harsh and I also feel uncalled for, but you can't beat the book. Must read.

I'm ready to "start getting ready" to be a mother........2001-06-05

I am 28 years old and I don't remember a time when I was ever excited about having a baby. I did not want children because I was so afraid of giving birth. I was terrified. I got married a year ago and I felt like I had to do something about my fear. I wanted a baby but I did not want to go through the birthing experience. I bought this book and all my life-long fears are GONE! It's incredible. For the first time in my life I feel like this something that I have control over. Something that I can do. I don't know why I ever felt any other way. Now, I feel like I can make educated choice about childbirth. I have not decided yet where I am going to give birth but it wont be in a hospital!!! I am planning on having a baby in about two years and I am starting to get ready NOW (intellectually, mentally, physically)! I am going to get all the books that Susan suggested. She sounds so awesome. I wish I could have her as my doula. From being absolutely terrified about childbirth , now I am extremely excited about being a mother. Thanks Susan, wherever you are.

Average customer rating:

excellent history of the worst imperial war

Vivid writing, primary sources, comprehensive understanding

Totally engrossing book

Sensational book

Eerie parallels to Vietnam

The Boer War
Thomas Pakenham
Manufacturer: Random House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

South Africa | Africa | History | Subjects | Books
Southern Africa | Africa | History | Subjects | Books
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The Boer War 1899-1902 (Essential Histories)

Commando: A Boer Journal of the Boer War

ASIN: 0394427424
Release Date: 1979-10-12

Book Description

The Boers of South Africa responded to Britain's annexation of the gold-and-diamond-rich Transvaal region by declaring war on October 11, 1899. The English believed the fighting would be over by Christmas -- never dreaming they were on the brink of one of the longest, bloodiest, most costly and humiliating military campaigns in their history.

Mammoth in scope and scholarship, as vivid, fast-moving and breathtakingly compelling as the finest fiction. Thomas Pakenham's The Boer War is the definitive account of this extraordinary conflict -- a war precipitated by greed and marked by almost inconcievable blundering and brutalities . . . and whose shattering repercussions can be felt to this very day.

Customer Reviews:

excellent history of the worst imperial war.......2007-01-24

Pakenham's work remains a standard in the history of the Boer War, not only for its scope, but for its clarity and readability. He certainly covers the gamut of the war, but those interested in the causes and precursors to the war would be better served with a different work, as those details are lost in his description of military aspects.

As I suggest for many works of this scope and quality, if there is one book you must read on the Second South Africa War, make it this one.

Vivid writing, primary sources, comprehensive understanding.......2004-10-14

Atr the outset, it should be noted that this book could be usefully supplemented by reading COMMANDO by Deneys Reitz - A Boer journal ,of the Boer War.
Much of the horror of 20th century warfare - trench warfare, concentration camps, shooting or otherwise mistreating prisoners - was carried out in the Boer war. Some readers, and I am a general reader not an historian, will have been aware of elements of the Boer War such as the shooting of prisoners by Lt "Breaker Morant" which was and is something of a cause celebre in Australia retold in books, plays and a fine contemporary film. But the one feeling I have after reading this fine book by Mr Pakenham is a far greater sympathy for the Boers and a much better appreciation of the contribution and sacrifice that black Africans made in what was touted as a "white man's" war. In fact it was a black man's war too with c100,000 black riflemen seeing duty, and fighting in effect for the right to vote. Mr Pakenham provides evidence to suggest that the successful survival by the British at the siege of Mafeking was made possible by the sacrifice of black Africans.
Item: 3500 horses perished in one day in one cavalry charge.
Item: 400,000 horses, mules, donkeys died in total
Item: Lord Kitchener invented the concentration camp using a Spanish model re Cubans
Item: The British military and politicians did not care about the thousands of women and children in concentration camps and as the result of disgusting conditions many many died as a result.
Item: It was not superior marksmanship or courage that won, but the application of the knowledge that defence was superior to attack with the new, smokeless, high velocity, weapons.
The book is very well written, with a reliance on much primary source material, especially diaries and letters of the major British protagonists
including Sir Alfred Milner, High Commissioner for South Africa and Lt Governor of Cape Colony who is revealed in his own words as a thoroughly despicable character. The reader also gets a very real feeling for the exigencies of the landscape, the boredom of routine for the military, the clash of battle where the stones on the ground or the mud on the banks of a river become as frighteningly real as the whizz and splat of dum dum bullets. Clearly the writer has experienced the landscape firsthand. The reader also gets a very real picture of the characters involved, their weaknesses and strengths, including some ordinary and very likeable soldiers or "Tommy's".
The likely causes and consequences of the war are made clear to the reader. The usual suspects - imperial supremacy of the British; greed for gold, diamonds; denial of franchise; nationalism - are covered and a re-evaluation of the protaganists undertaken. It is a fair and balanced re-assessment of the task faced by General Sir Redvers Buller and his inability to overcome it whilst appreciating his intelligent appraisal of the situation he found himself in. On the other hand it reveals Lord Kitchener as arrogant and hard working but overrated and over-compensated for his role. The book also emphasises the CRITICAL role of transport and supply.
We are still living with the consequences of it today but one redeeming reality is that democracy and a free press are likely to inhibit a repetition. What was that? Guantanomo Bay? Oil? Imperialism? Franchise? Prisons?

Totally engrossing book.......2004-09-21

Exposing the origins of the war as basically blatant attempt by jingoistic imperialists like Milner, in Britain, in league with Cecil Rhodes and his (...)cronies, to grab power (and gold, and diamond) in South Africa. It must be said that the Boers were not exactly victims in the war, prior to that they had inflicted much sufferings on the Blacks and were now getting their just desserts for past sins.

The British Army also came out of this war with a sullied reputation for sexual depravity (Lord kitchener, Baden Powell, Douglas Haig), inept generalship. plunder, pillage, indiscrminate and wanton destruction of life and property, as well as pioneering the use of concentration camps for Boer women and children, who were deliberatedly left out in the cold to rot, and die from hunger, disease and assorted inhumane treatments.

What is amazing was that the Boers were totally reconciled with their imperial masters and co-colonists in one generation, and would enlist en masse in fighting for the rotten British Empire in the Great War. Apparently, the deal was struck that high sounding Victorian Britain would look the other way on the mistreatment and apartheid policies in South Africa, provided the Boers pay fealty to their London masters after the peace.

The Boer War, in essence, was a war fought between 2 unscrupulous, greedy races over the spoils, both material and human, of Africa.

Sensational book.......2003-09-14

I'm very pleased that Thomas Pakenham's classic has been reissued as an affordable paperback. Now I can stop borrowing the library's hardcover copy. This is without doubt the finest, most authoritative general history of the Boer War. Pakenham's lively writing style makes the book readable and enjoyable, and the scholarship is so good that you know what you are reading is reliable.

Eerie parallels to Vietnam.......2003-04-29

There is much to commend about Thomas Pakenhamýs history of the Boer War. The nature and origins of the conflict are cogently presented. He describes the main actors in the tale ý Alfred Milner, Cecil Rhodes, Paul Kruger, Jan Smuts, etc. ý with a dramatic flair that greatly adds to the readability of the book and turns the history of the conflict into a clash of personalities as much as a clash of empire. The author also does a superb job putting the events of the Boer War in the context of the Victorian Age and the last days of Splendid Isolation of the British Empire. Finally, the book has a number of detailed, but easy to follow maps that greatly enhance the readers ability to follow and digest the narrative (those who frequently read military history understand that this isnýt a trivial point).

Ironically, however, the thing that struck me the most about this book was something the author never commented on at all: the remarkable historical parallels between the Boer War and the US war in Vietnam sixty-five years later. In light of salient differences in the conflicts (time, place, technology, people, the outcome -- the British ýwoný-- etc.), the wars followed a similar trajectory and the British and American forces developed similar responses to similar challenges.

To begin with, the British and American forces suffered from a significant handicap in intelligence collection and mobility, a disadvantage neither side was ever able to overcome. Second, both the British and Americans deployed massive amounts of troops to the theater, but only a small fraction were ever able to engage the enemy, creating an extremely long and cumbersome ýtailý with precious few ýteeth.ý Third, the inability to effectively hold territory or engage the enemy in open battle deprived the British and Americans of traditional battlefield metrics, and ultimately led to the use of enemy ýbody countý (Kitchener called it ýthe bagý but it was the same idea in principle) as the ineffective but de facto measurement of success. Fourth, the challenge of keeping the civilian population separated from the marauding guerillas led the British and Americans to the same response, including locking local populations up in protected communities (called ýlaagersý in South Africa and ýhamletsý in Vietnam) and the creation of a protective fence to prevent the enemy from penetrating territory ostensibly held by local forces. Fifth, attempts to fight the enemy on even terms led both the British and Americans to develop their own version of guerillas to fight along side friendly locals (the carbineers in South Africa ý including the famous Breaker Morant ý and the Marine Corpsý Ruff-Puffs in Vietnam). Finally, the British and American war efforts were gravely undermined by massive public unrest against the war on the home front.

Book Description

This book looks at the ways Victorian ideas about gender and race supported British imperialism at the turn of the century. It examines the Boer War of 1899-1902 through the war writings of literary figures such as Arthur Conan Doyle, Olive Schreiner, H. Rider Haggard and Rudyard Kipling, and also through newspapers, propaganda, and other forms of public debate in print. Paula M. Krebs' analysis of the part played by ideas about gender and race in public discourse makes a significant new contribution to the study of British imperialism.

Customer Reviews:

Definately worth the money!.......1999-03-25

I am not really a person of literature but this book I thought was really worth the time and money.

Small Arms of the Anglo-Boer War 1899-1902

Average customer rating:

Interesting and Indispensible Reference Book
Great Boer War Book!

Small Arms of the Anglo-Boer War 1899-1902

Manufacturer: Kraal Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 1874979316

Product Description

A definitive work on the Small Arms of this significant historical conflict by Dr Ron Bester and Associates, the majority of whom are SAAACA members. The majority of the examples photographed in the Book are drawn from Collections held in South Africa and maintained by SAAACA members. A 'must have' reference for anyone with an interest in Boer and or British Military Arms of the period. The first in a unique series of two, the second edition will deal with the Artillery used on both sides. Over three hundred pages A4 format, in full colour on high quality paper, hardcover bound with dust jacket for the Standard Edition. This is a limited print-run publication with many new and previously unpublished facts complimented by many colour photographs

Customer Reviews:

Interesting and Indispensible Reference Book .......2007-01-01

The penultimate book on weapons of all kinds used during the Anglo-Boer War (1899-1902). Presented in a very easy to read style, it's a "hard to put down" book for any British or South African arms enthusiast. Monumental research provides fresh text and never seen before pictures clarifying types of weapons, as well as contract details and usage. Highly recommended.

Great Boer War Book!.......2005-10-23

This is the best book on weapons used during the Anglo-Boer War or 1899. The author lives in the Free State and is deply ivolved in recording the history of the Boere. A must have book one weapons of the era.

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The Boer War
Denis Judd , and Keith Surridge
Manufacturer: Palgrave Macmillan
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

South Africa | Africa | History | Subjects | Books

General | Military | History | Subjects | Books

19th Century | World | History | Subjects | Books

The Boer War 1899-1902 (Essential Histories)

ASIN: 1403961506

Book Description

The Boer War was an epic both of heroism and of barbarism. Fought by the British against the Dutch inhabitants of South Aftrica, the Boer War had an extraordinary cast of characters including Commanders-in chief buller, Roberts and Kitchener, Winston Churchill, Arthur Conan Doyle, Emily Hobhouse, Rudyard Kipling, and Gandhi. The war revealed the ineptitude of the British military, and exposed the corrupt underside of British imperialism . For the first time, Judd and Surridge debunk several myths. There was not, for instance, a straightforward divide between the Boers and British. In fact, the overriding aim of both sides was to maintain European supremacy and to keep Africans and Indians "in their place." Giving us a sense of how the Apartheid era was born, The Boer War is a gripping read.

Hamlyn History of the Boer War, 1899-1902 (Hamlyn History)

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Hamlyn History of the Boer War, 1899-1902 (Hamlyn History)
David Smurthwaite
Manufacturer: Hamlyn
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Africa | History | Subjects | Books

Strategy | Military | History | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0600596524

Average customer rating:

Informative, enjoyable, definitive
Superb
An excellent non-academic history of the war...

The Great Anglo-Boer War
Byron, Farwell
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0393306593

Customer Reviews:

Informative, enjoyable, definitive.......2006-08-22

Quite easily the best book on the topic of the second Anglo-Boer war. If there were but one book you read concerning this timely subject, it is this one. The author leads the reader on a fast-paced but thorough and enjoyable tour of the people and places involved. The intermixture of battlefield strategic and tactical decisions are interspersed with human stories of the men who carried out the orders and the political forces that fueled the conflict. A must have for the panoramic big picture with detail enough to satisfy the most avid military historian. It is a work I come back to again and again.

Superb.......2006-05-12

Simply put, one of the greatest, most detailed and yet most readable histories, military or otherwise, to ever have been published. If you have even a passing interest in history, this book is for you. The parallels that can be drawn to our present day situation in the middle east are shocking, and this book was written quite a while ago.

An excellent non-academic history of the war..........2000-11-04

This is an absorbing, well written account of a neglected (by American readers anyways) war at the turn of the last century. Rather than being a dry academic text, Farwell's writing style serves to bring the war to life 100 years after the fact.

Coupled with other accounts of the war, like Goodbye Dolly Gray (another excellent book) written by Rayne Kruger, the average reader can understand some of the causal factors of South Africa's apartied system and gain an insight into the history of a long troubled region.

Book Description

This book examines the uniforms, equipment, history and organisation of the armies that fought in the Boer War. Both sides are covered, and the campaigns summarised. Uniforms are shown in full illustrated detail.

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The Boer War: 1899-1902
David Smurthwaite
Manufacturer: Hamlyn
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Africa | History | Subjects | Books

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Mythology & Folklore | Encyclopedias | Reference | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0600607739

Book Description

The Boer War pitted the might of the British Empire (with more than half a million men mobilized) against 80,000 South African Boers--and this detailed and lavishly illustrated history goes right to the heart of the struggle. A timeline gives at-a-glance information on what spurred the conflict and how the events unfolded, while eyewitness accounts from soldiers of all ranks describe the brutality from both viewpoints. The in-depth narrative, by a renowned historian, studies the strategies, politics, and social implications of the strife, and looks at some of the major figures involved--including Winston Churchill. In more than 200 pictures, including hundreds of vintage photographs, follow the road to war, the first offensives, the guerrilla fighting, and finally the road to peace. Illuminating.

The Boer War: Historiography and Annotated Bibliography (Bibliographies of Battles and Leaders)

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No Bore

The Boer War: Historiography and Annotated Bibliography (Bibliographies of Battles and Leaders)
Fred R. van Hartesveldt
Manufacturer: Greenwood Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Africa | History | Subjects | Books

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Southern Africa | Africa | History | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0313306273

Book Description

One hundred years after the Boer War, the British continue to debate what went wrong, while the war has significant nationalist overtones in today's South Africa. This book examines changes in interpretations of the war and provides a bibliography of major sources on the Boer War, now sometimes called the South African War. The bibliography focuses on the military history, but also includes some historical accounts of the political debate. The first part of the book provides an extended historiographical essay, while part two provides an annotated bibliography of the titles discussed in part one. Historiographical questions concerning the Boer War are numerous. Discussions of military operations focus on the early use of modern weaponry and the effect of guerrilla tactics on a traditional force, while other historians debate the question of British military leadership and organization. Questions also revolve around British imperialism and the "scramble for Africa." Frequently called the second war for freedom by South African authors, the war was the reason that South Africa, unlike other British colonies, gained independence without majority rule. This makes the war of continuing relevance to the turmoil in South Africa, the collapse of the minority government, and the continuing problems of the current government. This book will provide a useful tool for those wishing to research the war.

Customer Reviews:

No Bore.......2000-08-27

Academic accounts of regional conflicts are often dry and tedious reads. Dr. van Hartesveldt's retelling of the history of this conflict is engaging and accessible. He gives life to the stories of the men who fought in this bitter struggle and provides an understanding of the importance of the Boer war in the greater story of the rise and fall of the British empire. An enjoyable and enlightening read.

Customer Reviews:

useful but could have been better.......2004-12-13

Traditional Jews have always been divided in their attitudes towards aggadah (that is, stories in the Talmuds and Midrashim written in the centuries after the Second Temple's destruction), as opposed to decisions about Jewish law, which Jews continue to follow). Mystical commentators tend to treat these stories as historical truth even if they seem absurd, while rationalist commentators tend to treat them as fables designed to make a point, and still others seek to split the difference in various ways. 16th-century scholar Azariah de Rossi subjected aggadic stories to historical criticism, and was criticized by mystics and pietists as a result.

Segal makes some effort to describe de Rossi's methods and his critics. However, he does not fully describe the substance of de Rossi's work. As a result, I found it difficult to understand some of Segal's discussion. (If Segal presupposes that readers have read de Rossi's work, his technique would be easy to understand. However, his first chapter is a mini-biography of de Rossi- a fact indicating that Segal assumes otherwise.)

But I still learned something from Segal's book- specifically, how far European Judaism had swung towards the anti-rationalist side of the debate, thus making Jews easy prey for delusions such as the Sabbatai Sevi movement of the 17th century. (Sevi was a false messiah who attracted considerable support).

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Physical Sciences Student Lab Notebook

Manufacturer: Hayden Mcneil Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Spiral-bound

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Legends Series: Leyendas latinoamericanas (Leyendas)

ASIN: 193088270X

Book Description

70 duplicate carbonless pages spiral bound. Pages are sequentially number and the duplicate COPY page is white for easy reading by laboratory instructors and teaching assistants. Additional features include: a full color wrap around back cover which includes a periodic table of the elements and other relevant data, an essay on how to keep a lab notebook, a perforated lab safety sheet, and table of contents for students to track their experiments.

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