Book Description
This impassioned and informed book is the first to describe how government and industry have failed working families and what we can do to get beyond this critical impasse.
This hard-hitting book draws on the first systematic national research on how the need to meet family obligations is affecting working Americans of all social classes and ethnic groups. What happens when kids get sick? When an elderly parent is hospitalized? How do poor families cope with work-family demands? Jody Heymann's research points to a widening gap between working families and the health and development of children. Outdated labor policy and practice must be brought into the twenty-first century, argues Heymann. To do less is to abandon the precepts of equal opportunity on which America is founded.
Customer Reviews:
The family in crisis.......2006-10-27
According to a poll taken of readers of "Redbook" magazine, family comes first. However, those polled revealed that they felt that the American family is in crisis right now. Stress comes from all sides: work, school, other family members who might become ill, etc. This book, a brilliantly researched and argued treatise on childcare in the 21st century in America, shows unequivocally that Americans need to focus on this problem. I was disheartened to read of 11-year-olds called on to take care of younger siblings while Mom and Dad work. I sympathize with the parents who are struggling to find ways to pay for daycare; I did that when my kids were 4 and 2.
Excellent and enlightening book.......2006-05-05
This book is amazing. It synthesizes all of the various reasons that today's families are under more stress and strain, and how public policy can be revised to help. From drastically changing demographics, to public policies that have failed to keep pace, it covers a sociological history of family and work life over the past century. It also provides solutions for change. I see this book as a good starting point for researchers and policy makers to brainstorm on practical solutions. It's a useful resource for any lit review having to do with family and workplace politics, including school change, daycare change, elder care, and protection of the family unit. Great book. I felt hopeful by the end, in spite of all the work that needs to be done, b/c the solutions are possible.
Examines the lifestyles of American working families.......2001-02-06
America's working families are in jeopardy, with children being raised in two-income households where both parents are working and workplace demands cutting into home life. The Widening Gap examines the lives and lifestyles of American working families, considering their class, ethnic background and family obligations. Case histories supplement analysis of modern gaps between workplace demands and family health.
Removing Causes of Children's Problems from Parental Jobs.......2001-01-08
Most people have a job that allows little leeway for spending necessary time nurturing children and older relatives when they need special help. After all, employers are hiring the employee, not the family. Right? Well, read on to learn what some of the consequences of that system are now.
Many people feel overwhelmed today by how to earn a living, take care of the family, and raise children. For women who work outside the home, a recent study showed that the average work week is 85 hours for work, commuting, home chores and errands. Even with that tremendous effort, what's to be done when your 7 year old suddenly becomes very ill at school? How do you get your child home after an after-school activity? If you don't have much money, who takes care of your 3 year old?
The conclusion of this book is that millions of children are being shortchanged in the process. And the children who are being shortchanged the most are the ones with the most significant needs and with the lowest-income parents. As a result, we face a future of underprivileged youngsters numbering in the tens of millions becoming ineffective adults, rather than having a society that provides equal opportunity for all based on their potential to pursue the opportunity.
The book is based on four quantitative studies, comprising interviews with a total of 7500 people. These studies focus on finding out how family needs are being met, and what the consequences are for children. These studies appear to be the first quantitative studies to take the anecdotal evidence we see all around us of problems, and find out what is happening to all of U.S. society.
Most U.S. children are being raised in households where every adult works for a wage or a salary. School days and school years are shorter than work days and years, so there are many uncovered hours. Half of those who would like help with child care cannot get any, adequate or not. Many of the rest have inadequate child care because adequate care is not available to them or too expensive. Children are mostly being left to fend for themselves. As the cases suggest, this is often dangerous. It is never good for the children.
When children are ill, they are sent to school anyway. If they need attention because of special or just doing their homework, often one parent has to work evenings or weekends and cannot spare the time to help out while the child is home from school. If the family only has one parent at home (as so many do in our divorce-riddled ranks), these children are raising themselves.
In addition, one household in four is helping an elder relative.
Children in school who are having the most problems are the ones whose parents are around home the least.
Life as an adult in these households is "predictably unpredictable." As a result, something unexpected happpens about once a week in 30 percent of the households that requires someone to leave work. The women in the family usually rise to the occasion. Their employers often take it out on them in terms of reduced promotions, raises, and security.
The U.S. model for dealing with this has been to either rely on employers to provide help voluntarily, or to ignore the issue. As Dr. Heymann points out, many employers are never going to see this issue as being in their self interest to solve. In fact, the problem is largely invisible because people who leave work to take care of parents or children rarely tell their employers that's what they are doing. Other excuses or no excuses are provided.
Dr. Heymann argues for increasing the social safety net to cover children better. Since so many people cannot afford or find good preschool care, she argues for this becoming something that the community offers . . . in the same way it covers the later grades. Since these formative years are very important, large educational gains should result. Dr. Heymann also argues for many kinds of paid leave from work to help children.
Beyond that kind of legislation, there are things that employers can do. Focus on output rather than attendance. Provide more flextime. Allow more work to be done at home.
Government can do more. Let routine administrative things be done by mail or telephone. Provide after-school care at no cost in every school. Have transportation so elderly people can get to appointments, and children can get home after the work day ends. Have teachers available to help students after school whose parents are still working.
Although the author did not suggest it, my reaction is that we probably need to start a large number of experiments to see what works well and what does not. These experiments could be funded by companies, company foundations, and community foundations. From such experiments, we can find the most effective ways to improve this crushing burden on the development of children and on their parents. Although the working poor need this help the most, everyone needs help in some instances. The question is simply what the best ways are to improve things.
Investing more in helping our vulnerable children and older citizens will repay us handsomely. Let's find the best way to do it!
A sociological masterpiece.......2001-01-06
This book brilliantly addresses the issue of a non family friendly society that focuses more on the tenents of capitalism than the health and well being of children. Excellent discourse, research, and recommendations...A must read for all who are interested in issues of disparity, family strucutre, health, and culture.
Book Description
The Valley Campaign conducted by Maj. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson has long fascinated those interested in the American Civil War as well as general students of military history, all of whom still question exactly what Jackson did in the Shenandoah in 1862 and how he did it. Since Robert G. Tanner answered many questions in the first edition of Stonewall in the Valley in 1976, he has continued to research the campaign. This edition offers new insights on the most significant moments of Stonewall's Shenandoah triumph.
Customer Reviews:
Thrilling, informative, the best.......2007-04-13
A well-written and thoroughly researched account of one of the most impressive military campaigns in history. Mr. Tanner's portrayal is an enjoyable read without the sappy hero worship yet with all the details that gave us the Stonewall legend. No one can doubt the genius of this unlikely military leader nor his place in military history. Few could compare to the Elder Jackson's pious and quiet humility in victory and genious of maneuver. The valley campaign is studied to this day as a model of the indirect approach and the importance of maneuverability. Mr. Tanner gives us the best account yet of that campaign to thrill and inform. Very highly recommended.
A Remarkable Book!.......2004-10-17
I have always been fascinated by the Valley Campaign, and surprised that nothing appeared to have been written specifically on the Campaign itself - at least nothing definitive.
I just knew Tanner's book was what I was looking for, just by the appearance of it. And in fact it is THE definitive account of the Shenandoah Campauign of 1862.
This is a remarkable campaign history. Never does Tanner's pacing seem off. He tells the reader precisely what he or she wishes to know. At proper moments he gives a literary touch to th writing; at other times he tells us what the soldiers were thinking; and at other times he tells amusing anecdotes.
THe sheer amount of research that must have gone into this book is phenomenal. Most books on civil war battles and campaigns tend to rely on accrued secondary evidence, and those pieces of primar evidence that are already widely known.
Tanner, on the other hand, has miraculously discoverd sources NEVER before seen. He is so thorough that the bibliographu and notes take up a seriously large portion of the book. And the information is important - a good deal of it clarifies points that have always been puzzling. For example, he proves that the famous Staunton maneuver, where Jackson seemed to deliberately leave the Valley on foot, only to return by train, was actually ad hoc, and probably not intended.
On the other hand, the new evidence regarding the march south from the Battle of Winchester really makes you feel sorry for the Valley soldiers - my feet really almost felt sore even reading about walking that fast, and going without sleep for so long.
Jackson himself comes across as a flawed genius, which he undoubtedly was. While he was a remarkable soldier, one must admit that there were certain aspects of his character that nearly defeated him on occasion; his almost continuous friction with his subordinates, his extreme strictness, his extreme inflexibility, his religious fervour, his inability to know when his soldiers were past breaking point.
Yet we also see Jackson's incredible energy, his strategic genius, his unerring instinct for what to do next.
Ultimately Tanner's book is about as definitive as a campaign book can get, and is highly recommended to anyone interested in the Civil War.
Excellent History of the 1862 Valley Campaign.......2004-09-14
Tanner has written an excellent summary of the Valley Campaign that established Jackson as a Civil War legend. He manages to describe the experiences of privates and officers who fought in the campaign. While the majority of the book focuses on the Southern side, Tanner is fair and objective in his description of the abilities of the main characters.
Before going into the campaign study, Tanner describes the early history and importance of the Shennandoah Valley and why the area was such an important objective during the Civil War. The maps were okay but could have been more detailed and numerous to enable the reader to better understand the campaign movements and locations.
I particularly appreciated Tanner's fair treatment of Jackson: while we Southerners tend to idolize Jackson, Tanner points out Jackson's most serious flaws: secrecy and inability to get along with subordinates. Indeed, both tendencies probably would have kept Jackson (had he survived the war) from attaining the status of Lee, Grant, Sherman, Thomas, and Johnston. Admittingly, I have read of Jackson's tendencies in several other books.
I highly recommend the book as the standard for a study of the 1862 Shennandoah Valley Campaign. Read and enjoy!
Awesome.......2004-05-04
I'm only about 1/3 through, but I can tell that this is an awesome piece of work. I'm surprised not to see more feedback here.
Tanner does an excellent job of presenting the Confederate deatils of the early valley campaign. He gives an excellent quick history of the valley as far as original colonization, American Revolution tie-ins, etc. He also paints a good picture of the strategic importance of the valley. So far reading, I'm surprised that more action did not take place within the 2 mountain ranges that make this "valley."
Tanner covers every level of the campaigns from simple private, to captains, to regimental colonels, to brigadier generals, all the way up to division commanders and of course General Jackson. Detailed troop movements are given, yet I did not find myself lost in details. Maps are excellent and numerous.
Also, very important, is reference to other Eastern developments which caused the ebb and flow in the Valley. You get the details as to why certain troops found themselves headed in or out of the valley, especially for the Union side.
The writing is very clear, concise, and at times very poetic. I wouldn't say Tanner is another Catton or Foote, but he comes pretty darn close. Much better than a typical dry account of campaigns you usually see out there.
I've been doing a lot of reading on ACW lately. I wasn't quite sure whether to read this because there seemed to be so many other more important works out there. But I'm glad I'm reading it as Tanner does an excellent job of briging this often forgot and vital campaign to life.
Remember it is Jackson's brilliance in the campaign which delays McCellan from striking Richmond by causing panic in Washington and delaying troop concentrations, and more importantly, it is his superiority in the Valley which allows him to break loose and help kick off the 7 Days (although he was MIA in helping).
Any serious ACW student should read this book.
I feel like I was there in the valley.......2003-10-11
Very well written, detailed account of Jackson's dazzling Shenandoah valley campaign. The valley campaign, Jackson's last significant independent activity before attaching himself to General Lee, makes for great civil war history. The author writes in a way that makes you feel like you're a part of Jackson's army, from lowest private to brigadier general. The maps, most of which are reproductions of Jed Hotchkiss's maps drawn at the time, could stand a little more detail but the narrative fills in most of the gaps pretty well. Focuses entirely on Jackson during the campaign and his place in the overall picture at the time. While this book is probably not for novices, it is an excellent and informative read for those with an interest in Jackson and/or the Northern Virginia theater of the war.
Customer Reviews:
A Good Look into Jackson's Mind.......2004-06-18
The book offers a detailed account of the Valley Campaign from the Confederate point of view, and Tanner does a really good job of getting into Jackson's mentality as the Campaign unfolded.
Tanner acknowledges that his book only covers the Confederate actions in detail at the very beginning. So while we get a good account of how Jackson's army marched and faced Milroy, Fremont and Banks, the book doesn't explain the Union forces' inactivity and movements as much.
Tanner maintains objectivity by critically analyzing Jackson's relations with subordinates and finding fault with Jackson. He also makes it very clear that while Jackson was clearly a strategic expert regarding maneuver, his tactics on the battlefield were nowhere near as good (and this important point becomes more obvious during the Seven Days and Second Bull Run).
All in all a good account. More maps would have been nice but they were ample enough. Tanner did a good job of analyzing every critical aspect of a very complex campaign.
THE Book to Own on The Valley Campaign.......2004-02-20
This is quite simply THE book to buy on the Valley Campaign. Tanner first wrote this book in the 1970's and updated it in 1996 after new light had been shed on the subject. I have been told by more than one person that this is the one book you need to read to understand the campaign. After finishing the book, I am absolutely convinced that this is the one book you must own on this campaign. Tanner covers everything from the Stonewall Brigade's reentry into the Valley all the way through the trip to Richmond prior to the Seven Days. Tanner analyses the action instead of just reciting what happened. He also offers more than one viewpoint in certain controversial areas of the Campaign. All in all a great book, and one that I'm glad to have in my collection. 599 pp, 14 maps
Definitive Account of the Army of the Valley, Summer of '62.......1999-01-06
Generals such as Patton and Rommel were drawn to study Jackson's Valley Campaign because of the successful use of mobility and concentration of force in local engagements to overcome theater area force inferiority. "Stonewall in the Valley" is an incredible story, fundamental to an understanding of the ACW for amateur and professional historians alike. A testament to Mr. Tanner's zeal for history and accuracy was his willingness to go back and undertake a major revision, twenty years after initial publication of the original classic. It is rare that one can point to a signal source of this type as an undisputed, authoritative classic - Hennessy's "Return to Bull Run" and Coddington's "Gettysburg Campaign" are two other examples. Mr. Tanner's work is a success at every level. Whether discussing national politics or the effect of local roads on soldiers' shoes, the commentary is thoroughly researched and rendered with an understandable authority. He is equally adept at identifying and explaining causes and effects and debunking many of the popular myths that have arisen over the years. This is not another contribution to the plethora of Stonewall legend making compilations - this is a serious historical work which examines exactly what happened, the when and the how, the why and why not. There is a most enlightening addition in this revision which discusses the operational art of war - actions which translate overall theater strategy to local area tactics - in the context of Stonewall's Valley Campaign. Mr. Tanner bucks the trend in giving Joe Johnston some credit and in rendering just criticism of the mighty Stonewall where appropriate (more often and harsher than expected). If only we were so lucky as to have a treatment such as this for every other ACW campaign - we can only hope.
A detailed analysis of Stonewall Jackson's Valley Campaign.......1998-10-19
Probably the most detailed analysis of Jackson's Valley Campaign I have ever read. Tanner has gone to great length to document every detail of the classic campaign fought in the Shenandoah Valley in 1862. New evidence and extensive analysis are presented in an effort to explain some of the controversies of the campaign. Tanner's conclusions differ in some respects from the traditional explanations of some of Jackson's actions but he backs them up well in light of new evidence. The book will make for rather dry reading for those not interested in military history but for the Civil War buff and Jackson admirer it is the best account I have read of Jackson's career as an independent army commander.
Customer Reviews:
Narrative account gives to much credence to biased sources.......1998-11-28
Davis's book seeks to make the history of the events of 1741 more engaging by presenting them in a sort of narrative form. Unfortunately, this method does not allow for the necessary critical analysis. The major resource available to historians studying these events is a journal of the proceedings written by one of the judges in the case, and he wrote his journal for the explicit purpose of defending the proceedings against criticism. While Davis shows some skepticism in his handling of the sources, making the history into a narrative forced Davis to take his biased source a little too much at its word. Nonetheless, it is a fascinating subject and well worth exploring.
An excellent, scholarly read. A must for all NY historians........1998-11-02
Davis has done an excellent job of painting a word picture of 1740s New York City, and its white residents' fears and concerns about slavery. The story of the uncovering of the "plot" and the subsequent executions of 34 people (white and black) is at one once a scholarly piece of work and an adventure tale. My only complaint was that Dr. Davis did not speculate as to the motivations of some of the white "plot leaders." Were Hughson and his wife merely tavern owners who tried to use Blacks for their own personal gain, or were they sympathetic with the plight of the slave and abolitionists 125 years before it was popular? Being a descendant of John Hughson, I was particularly interested in this question. None of my calls to Prof. Davis were returned.
Product Description
BRAND NEW leather bound book accented with gilt! ! Facsimile reproduction of original work.
Book Description
"This is an excellent and stimulating account of the history and development of physics, a pleasure to read and of great value to anyone with an interest in the nature of science."--John Polkinghorne, The Times Higher Education Supplement "A marvelous, technically competent, literate, engagingly written book that every student (whether a science major or not) in a science courseand instructorsshould have to read."--James T. Cushing, American Journal of Physics "Physicists should make every effort to enjoy this well-conducted tour of the history of physics."--John Barrow, New Scientist "A brilliant presentation of the ideas of modern physics presented in a richly painted historical setting. . . . This book contains more physics than most physicists know, and more intellectual history than most historians know, woven together in a thoughtful, erudite, and enthusiastic presentation that is unique in both popular and academic science writing. . . . The rise of statistical physics, quantum mechanics, particle physics, and cosmology are accompanied by trenchant examples that encapsulate the core of current controversy, and the older material is informed by recent sophistications of historical scholarship."--Choice
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Balancing Acts: Easing the Burdens and Improving the Options for Working Families
Forgotten Families: Ending the Growing Crisis Confronting Children and Working Parents in the Global Economy
Weaving Work and Motherhood (Women in the Political Economy)
Families We Choose
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