Book Description
A major bestseller in Italy, Paul Ginsborg's account of this most recent and dynamic period in Italy's history is essential reading for anyone wishing to understand contemoprary Italy. Ginsborg chronicles a period that witnessed a radical transformation in the country's social, economic and political landscape, creating a fascinating and definitve account of how Italy has coped or failed to cope as it moves from one century to the next. With particular emphasis on its role in italian life, work and culture Ginsborg shows how smaller families, longer lives and greater generation crossover have had significant effects on Italian society. Ginsborg looks at the 2000 elections, the influence of the Mafia, the decline of both Communism and Catholicism, and the change in national identity. This is modern history at its best.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent detailed history of contemporary Italy.......2004-10-02
This book by professor P. Ginsborg is an excellent, detailed history of contemporary Italy. Starting with the post-war period, it goes all the way to the end of the '80s, taking into account all the changes made in the italian politics, but mostly in the italian society . The analysis of the attitudes, the way of thinking and the way that the italian society operated during that period is particularly interesting.
Italy: the ABC Murders.......2003-03-21
Paul Ginsborg's previous book, "A History of Contemporary Italy 1943-1988" is perhaps the best history of the postwar period of any country. It benefited not only from thorough research and fine organization but from a coherent and compelling thesis. Despite the many signs of vitality and progress in the Italian Republic, it faced severe problems in government and society which required urgent and farlasting reform. However, Italian political life was structured in such a way to make sure that reform never happened.
"Italy and Its Discontents" is the sequel. Although at times Ginsborg is somewhat cheery and optimistic, this is a depressing tale. In many ways it is a complex and nuanced tale, as Ginsborg discusses with enviable nuance the strengths and weaknesses of the Italian economy, the decline of the industrial working class and the plague of youth employment, the always persistent "Southern" problem, the clash between mass culture and a rising "civil society," and the many weaknesses of the Italian bureaucracy. He pays particular attention to the changes in the family, the rise of secularism, and the decline of Catholic and Communist cultures. He also discusses the strengths and weaknesses of Italian politics, the complexities of corruption and the mafia, the less than impartial judiciary, and the complexities and failures of political ideologies.
And yet in some crucial ways Ginsborg's tale is very simple. Italian democracy in the 1980s was severely flawed both by corruption and by the success of vested interests in preventing, delaying or diluting vital reforms. The most honest and thoughtful party were the Communists, so much of the energy of its political class was dedicated to making sure they never had power. Italian politics in the eighties and nineties would be dominated by three people: Andreotti, Berlusconi, and Craxi. Andreotti was a "Christian Democrat" and deeply complicit in its corruption, patronage and ties with the mafia. Craxi was a "Socialist" who drapped himself in fashionable "Anti-Marxist" rhetoric while taking shakedowns and bribery to new heights. It was a politics of secret anti-communist forces (the Gladio), murdered anti-Mafia prosecutors, the strange and sinister P-2 Masonic lodge, sycophantic intellectuals, and one demagogic president. It was also a politics in which the Vatican banker would pay $7 million to Craxi's secret Swiss bank account and then be found hanging a year and a half later from Blackfriars' bridge. Craxi and Andreotti dominated Italian politics until 1992-93 when revelations of massive corruption decimated the Christian Democratic and Socialist parties. But just when it appeared that the Italian Left would finally be able to take power, Berlusconi appeared. Having been granted monopoly control over Italian television by Craxi, and having used that to help coarsen Italian cultural life, Berlusconi simply bought his own political party. Forza Italia became the new party of the Italian Right, replacing the factionalism and debate of the Christian Democrats with a cult of personality around Berlusconi. He ostentatiously disassociated himself from the Christian Democrats with Thatcherite rhetoric, notwithstanding the fact that he would face charges on ten trials over the coming decade. Making deals with selfish Northern Regionalists and Neo-Fascists, Berlusconi decisively won the elections of 1994 and 2001.
It is a pretty depressing sight by the end of Ginsborg's book. Measures to improve women, the environment and education have all been limited or delayed. Concerns about the gap between formal democracy and everyday life, the presence of clientelistic politics, politics that take into account the modern family: "these seem all to be far down the agenda of government, if indeed they are present at all." The Democratic Party of the Left has purged itself of its Communist Past, it fears that any sign of prinicple or vigor will be cursed as Stalinist. Instead of the popular mobilizations of the past, it pursues an unimiginative Technocracy that so far can't compete with Berlusconi's media monopoly and demagoguery. Ginsborg points to some positive signs. Despite the increasing xenophobia, the crassness of Italian television and the shallowness of soccer culture, there is also increasing interest in literature and culture. Working-class involvement in political and associational life declined, but there was rising voluntarism. And most of all there was the rise of feminism, many of whose challenges could not be ignored. One should not be too optimistic on this score. Certainly Ginsborg's account is full of qualifications and he notes that the new "civil society" is limited to a minority of the middle class. There are good reasons to suspect that it will not succeed or become an isolated minority dismissed as bien pensant elitists. Much of the chattering classes spent much of the past two decades, when not gushing about Craxi, searching for the "normalization" of Italian politics. Leftist and "utopian" ideas have been purged, while Silvio Berlusconi is now a mainstay of Bush's coalition of the willing. Now he is to be honored by an American right, once so easily appalled by Monica Lewinsky. Apparently money can buy you happiness, and much else.
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The Family, Civil Society, and the State
Christopher Wolfe
Manufacturer: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0847692256 |
Book Description
The exact place of the family in a healthy political community, and the appropriate way to sustain it, are profoundly complicated and difficult questions. The distinguished contributors to this book endeavor to provide some answers.
Book Description
Rights of Inclusion provides an innovative, accessible perspective on how civil rights legislation affects the lives of ordinary Americans. Based on eye-opening and deeply moving interviews with intended beneficiaries of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), David M. Engel and Frank W. Munger argue for a radically new understanding of rights-one that focuses on their role in everyday lives rather than in formal legal claims.
Although all sixty interviewees had experienced discrimination, none had filed a formal protest or lawsuit. Nevertheless, civil rights played a crucial role in their lives. Rights improved their self-image, enhanced their career aspirations, and altered the perceptions and assumptions of their employers and coworkers-in effect producing more inclusive institutional arrangements. Focusing on these long-term life histories, Engel and Munger incisively show how rights and identity affect one another over time and how that interaction ultimately determines the success of laws such as the ADA.
Book Description
Focuses on the role families need to play and the importance of values in the U.S.
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Civil Society and the Market Question: Dynamics of Rural Development and Popular Mobilization (Published in Association with UNRISD)
Manufacturer: Palgrave Macmillan
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ASIN: 1403949158
Release Date: 2005-09-22 |
Book Description
Rather than focusing upon advanced countries, where civil society growth is seen as a post-market development, this volume explores developing countries, with case studies examining grassroots developments and experiences. This important collection moves the focus to rural development, where local social relations and economic exchange remain more powerful and relevant than the operation of markets.
Book Description
American Mobbing, 1828-1861: Toward Civil War is a comprehensive history of mob violence related to sectional issues in antebellum America. David Grimsted argues that, though the issue of slavery provoked riots in both the North and the South, the riots produced two different reactions from authorities. In the South, riots against suspected abolitionists and slave insurrectionists were widely tolerated as a means of quelling anti-slavery sentiment. In the North, both pro-slavery riots attacking abolitionists and anti-slavery riots in support of fugitive slaves provoked reluctant but often effective riot suppression. Hundreds died in riots in both regions, but in the North, most deaths were caused by authorities, while in the South more than 90 percent of deaths were caused by the mobs themselves. These two divergent systems of violence led to two distinct public responses. In the South, widespread rioting quelled public and private questioning of slavery; in the North, the milder, more controlled riots generally encouraged sympathy for the anti-slavery movement. Grimsted demonstrates that in these two distinct reactions to mob violence, we can see major origins of the social split that infiltrated politics and political rioting and that ultimately led to the Civil War.
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Biosocial Aspects of Social Class (Biosocial Society Series ; 2)
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0198577249 |
Book Description
This volume, an ideal guide for social anthropologists, social scientists, and human biologists, provides information on many important questions concerning social class and class differences. Readers will find coverage of the variety of class schema, fertility, marriage, and mortality,
morbidity, the extent and effects of migration, the question of genetic differences, and more.
Customer Reviews:
Captain Miller's diary.......2006-03-01
Average civil war diary of company level officer. Most entries provide little more than two or three sentences to note the significant items of the day. Captain Miller spent a lot of time convening courts martial and less time with his company. Most notes indicate the efficiency or number of cases handled rather than the nature of the trials. Captain Miller was present at the Battle of Prairie Grove but merely lists the dead and wounded of his company to give an account of the largest battle his regiment fought in. Solid source of information for those interested in the 20th Wisconsin but light in entertaining the reader.
Customer Reviews:
True Report of Army Life in WWII.......2006-02-09
Mr. Obermayer's book is an excellent read. The chapters feature a summary and then copies of Mr. Obermayer's letters to his family during World War II.
What makes Mr. Obermayer's story interesting is that he was a young man who didn't like the Army, but did his best to serve his country.
Every since the movie "Saving Private Ryan," and the book "The Greatest Generation," the public has viewed WWII veterans as people who were on a crusade. "Soldiering for Freedom" brings back the facts of 1940 military life we've forgotten. He describes:
* The hurry up and wait so common to military operations.
* The dependence on rumors for information and the concurrent frustration of not knowing what's happening.
* The forming and training and then re-forming and retraining. He goes through a dizzying number of programs and units: college based technical training, Combat Engineer battalion, Airborne Engineer battalion, a medic in a Fuel line detachment, and legal clerk.
* The senseless and unfair rules: officer only facilities of higher quality than the enlisted men were provided, censor ship of his mail, working for officers and noncommissioned officers who had less intellegent and/or education than him, etc.
* The resentment and lack of support from liberated French people for the war effort.
This is a part of the Army and the war that use to be shown in the television show "Sergeant Bilko" or the "Sad Sack" comic books--Civilians with an uneasy alliance to military life who often spent their time in uniform doing the best with what little the Army gave them.
I wish all Americans would read this book!.......2005-08-28
I cannot praise Mr. Obermayer too highly. So much of what we think we know we learn from the media these days--and so much of what we think we know about World War II and 'the greatest generation'-- is so much hogwash. When we get discouraged at how things are going in Iraq or elsewhere these days, it is fascinating to learn how people--and our soldiers--really thought about things during the last years of "the good war." He is (and was--as a young man) a wonderful writer.
Lessons from World War II.......2005-07-29
Mr. Obermayer brings vividly alive a GI's life in the final years of World War II in Europe and the occupation that followed. But he also finds lessons in that period that inform us today-- especially his insights into the ongoing conflict between the United States and France that had fertile roots in 1944 and 1945.
Must read for all ages.......2005-05-13
This book is not only an excellent history lesson on WWII but it is a fascinating account of values applicable today such as family unity, education and patriotism. I am impressed at Mr. Obermayer's attention to detail, his astute observations for a young soldier at that time and especially at his commitment to daily letter writing to his parents. I have shared his writings with my children in hopes that they will adopt the same diligence when they leave the nest. There is much to enjoy and learn by reading "Soldiering for Freedom".
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- A stunning one-of-a-kind collection
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Baby Bird Portraits / Watercolors in the Field Museum: Watercolors in the Field Museum
George Miksch Sutton , and
Paul A. Johnsgard
Manufacturer: University of Oklahoma Press
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Paint Watercolors That Dance With Light
ASIN: 080613769X |
Book Description
George Miksch Sutton is one of the best known and most beloved bird artists of the twentieth century. This marvelous book presents thirty-five paintings of downy chicks, nestlings, and fledglings painted from life by Sutton. The exquisite watercolors, housed in the Field Museum of Natural History, span three decades and depict nineteen species of North American birds. Many of the paintings are reproduced here for the first time.
In his introduction to the collection, ornithologist Paul Johnsgard discusses Sutton's contributions to bird art and to ornithology. And is essays accompanying the paintings, Johnsgard describes his and Sutton's personal encounters with the birds.
Customer Reviews:
A stunning one-of-a-kind collection .......2006-12-19
Simply put, this is a stunning collection of 35 watercolors of downy chicks, nestlings, and fledglings painted from life by one of the premier bird artists of the 20th century, George Miksch Sutton. The 19 species of North American birds, many reproduced here for the first time, are exquisite paintings standing alone but the highly readable, informative text by internationally renowned ornithologist Paul A. Johnsgard is both indispensable and helps make this a must-have, one-of-a-king bird lovers delight. The book is a steal at this price.
Customer Reviews:
Two Great Birders = One great Birding Guide!.......2004-06-04
Both Lynne Carpenter and Joel Greenberg are well known in the Chicago area as great birders. And I've been lucky to have had the pleasure of birding with both of them. I am so grateful that they've committed their knowledge to this book. If you bird in the Chicago area then this book is a "must have" for your birding library.
Please do more cities!.......2002-12-13
Absolutely unparalleled -- I completely agree that this book is the best I have seen of its kind. I only wish there were such exquisitely detailed birding information available for other cities I frequent, such as Philly, D.C., and Boston.
The Best Book of its Type I Have Ever Come Across.......1999-11-23
Kudos for Joel Greenberg and Lynne Carpenter's recently published book. I have sampled many, many bird finding guides, as most dedicated birders have, but I rank their new `Birders Guide to the Chicago Region', as the best of its type. Its comprehensiveness, indexing, maps, species accounts and locations, accuracy and ease of use are unparalleled. Lynne and Joel: You have my highest compliments for an absolutely first rate job!
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Baby Bird Portraits
George Miksch Sutton , and
Paul A. Johnsgard
Manufacturer: University of Oklahoma Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0806129859 |
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Chicago Area Birds
Steven Mlodinow
Manufacturer: Chicago Review Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0914091565 |
Book Description
This attractive guide identifies the birds most likely to be seen in the backyards, streets and parks of the Windy City. The books introduce the fascinating and popular pastime of birdwatching and include advice on building feeders and birdhouses. Color illustrations help you identify birds quickly while the text provides interesting information about each bird. These books are easy-to-use references for the urban birdwatcher.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent basic guide for Chicago area.......2004-06-04
I've been watching birds for 30 years and found this is a useful book for beginning birders and experienced birders for Chicago area birds. This guide cannot be all inclusive of species in the Chicago area, due to the large amount of birds that travel through the area during migration. However, what it does include is more information on the familiar species than other guides. Information includes behavior, habitat, songs and calls, tips for quick ID, and abundance charts for each bird species. It would be a great addition to any Chicago birding library.
Good birding resource for the Chicago metro area.......2002-05-11
Unlike regional or national bird identification guides, this book contains very targeted information about how and where to observe birds in the Chicago area. It includes maps of numerous suggested areas for effective birdwatching around the city (downtown, as well as suburban areas to the north, south and west, and even into NW Indiana). It also has information regarding local birdwatching and ornithological groups.
For example, it may say that one bird can be observed "over the Des Plaines river in springtime." Or that others are generally found only in the suburbs or rural areas fringing the city, though local colonies may establish themselves in the lakefront parks. A nice touch.
Additionally, each bird description a time-graph that charts the relative frequency of sightings for a given species in the Chicago area over the course of a year. Together with the visual identification chart and the descriptive text, it helps the beginning birder judge whether s/he really just saw a female "English Sparrow," as opposed to a "Song Sparrow," or a "Field Sparrow," etc.
Bird identification is by way of paintings, and not photos. The paintings are not as detailed or reliable as some other volumes (e.g. Sibley's Guide), but they are sufficient for the book's limited purpose which is as a local/regional supplement to these larger and more detailed tomes. Recommended.
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Birds from Nepal ([Chicago. Natural History Museum] Publication 826)
Austin Loomer Rand
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
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ASIN: B0007EVSTQ |
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