My G-String Mother: At Home and Backstage with Gypsy Rose Lee

Book Description

Erik was 12 when Gypsy decided she was through with striptease—'I’m forty-two years old. Too old to be taking my clothes off in front of strangers.' Her endless schemes for staying famous and maintaining their extravagant lifestyle—a best-selling writing career, a musical based on her life, a disastrous attempt to turn her home movies into a blockbuster—make for comedic yet poignant reading. My G-String Mother is a stylish, incisive portrait of two lives: an awkward adolescent who was as much confidante, co-conspirator, and companion as son, and the legendary woman who told police at a raid at the famous Minsky’s burlesque house, 'I wasn’t naked. I was completely covered by a blue spotlight.'

Customer Reviews:

Insight.......2007-05-13

What an entertaining book. I truly enjoyed "My G-String Mother: At Home and Backstage with Gypsy Rose Lee." The book is well written and full of great pictures of an era. I so enjoyed the descriptions of Gypsy's house, her wardrobe, and her choice of life-style. Further, the story provided insights of her life and relationships. The photographs of the important people in her life were excellent and certainly enhanced the book. Gypsy Rose Lee was a woman of substance, intelligence and certainly paved the way for independent women of the future.

Buy the Book - It'll surprise you - and so will Gypsy!.......2006-05-15

I've spent hours interviewing Erik Lee Preminger about his life and his famous parents. I've read other things he's written and watched his compilation of his mother's home videos. This guy is the real deal. He had a childhood most kids couldn't survive intact and he emerged from it as a smart, honest, hardworking, funny and very kind man. He loved his mother when he was a kid, and when he was an adult, he learned to appreciate her strengths (and she had a great many!) and forgive her weaknesses (and we ALL have a lot of those).

He sees Gypsy for what she was - a brilliant, clever, hilarioulsy funny, talented (even her stripteases were punctuated by comedy pieces that she wrote) often selfish, often generous, ambitious and relentlessly hardworking woman.

She REALLY had the childhood from Hell and HER mother makes Gypsy seem like Mother Theresa! But she too emerged from the ashes as a never bitter woman who practically invented the phrase "Carpe Diem."

She had quilting bees at her house with dozens of Hollywood superstars. She adored her beloved little Chinese Crested dogs. She hosted a popular tv talk show. She wrote a best-selling murder mystery. She was still doing USO tours and making our troops laugh when she was ill with cancer. And even that couldn't dim her indomitable spirit. Her acceptance of that terrible illness should be a lesson to us all.

Until I met Erik, all I knew about Gypsy was the tiny bits portrayed in the play and movies, but after reading about her in Erik's books, listening to him talk about her, I have learned to love her dearly.

Erik writes with a very clear, unpretentious style about a child's life with a famous (and infamous) woman and about his eventual understanding of what a truly remarkable woman his mother was. And listening to him talk about his relationship with his dad (when they finally got to know each other) moved me to tears. That should be the next book he writes!

Buy the book. It'll surprise you.

At Home and Backstage with a Legendary Mother........2005-11-22

Young Erik undoubtedly suffered some frustration from having a famous, tenacious, indomitable mother in the form of the glamourpuss Gypsy Rose Lee. But his portrait of her is a tender one--he does not idealize her, but he does not lambast her. It is a mature and loving representation of the bond between a mother and child in the theater business. It is also an interesting account of successful single motherhood far ahead of its time. Anyone who loves Burlesque, Vaudeville, Gypsy Rose Lee and Theater History with love this book. A fun, entertaining non-fiction read.

Overlong and overwrought bio.......2004-06-15

Preminger's half hearted attempts at humility don't exactly leave him coming off smelling like a rose (Gypsy or otherwise)and I think he may have watched one too many performance of AUNTIE MAME. While the chapters go by quickly enough, the reader can't help but find this dysfunctional family pretty tough to like or admire. Selfish and mean spirited characters disguised in campy, candy coating.

Intimate Glimpse of a Fascinating & Eccentric Star.......2004-02-14

Erik Lee Preminger doesn't paint a rosy portrait of his mother, the enigmatic Gypsy Rose Lee, but it isn't a hatchet job either. Miss Lee was obviously a difficult, frugal woman, but also was warm, loving (to an extent), funny, brainy and to her public, glamorous. Preminger's recollections are alternately maddening and hilarious, but the reader finishes the book with the notion that the "Queen of Burlesque" was indeed an amazing piece of work. Why Gypsy Rose Lee isn't more of an icon today is beyond my imagination!

Gypsy: Memoirs of America's Most Celebrated Stripper

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Wow
The Book Behind the Musical
GYPSY ROSE LEE: TANTALIZING STYLE OF BURLESQUE, WRITTEN WITH A WONDERFUL SENSE OF HUMOUR AND A TOUCH OF CLASS.
Great Life...
Exciting, but Leaves 'em Wanting More

Gypsy: Memoirs of America's Most Celebrated Stripper
Gypsy Lee
Manufacturer: Frog, Ltd.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1883319951
Release Date: 1999-07-15

Book Description

The touching, hilarious memoir of legendary stripper Gypsy Rose Lee reveals her childhood trouping across 1920s America as the rear end of a cow in vaudeville. Her rise to stardom as The Queen of Burlesque in 1930s New York occurred when gin came in bathtubs, gangsters were celebrities and Walter Winchell was king.

Filled with an outrageous cast of characters, including Broadway's funny girl, Fanny Brice, who taught Gypsy how to be a star; gangster Waxy Gordon, who fixed her teeth; and her indomitable mother, Rose, who lived by her own version of the Golden Rule: "Do unto others... before they do you."

Customer Reviews:

Wow.......2007-03-08

If you're a fan of the musical Gypsy, like me, you'll read this book. I've read from various websites, that the book is not entirely factual and that you need to read Gypsy's sister June's book, early Havoc, to get a clearer picture of what life on the road was like. But, entirely accurate or not, it's highly fascinating and an excellent look at the theatre of the time.

The book bears small resemblances to the show: There really was a monkey named Gigalo, Louise was given farm animals as pets for her birthday, there is a man that Rose links up with for several years who manages the troup, they did eat Chinese food constantly, make coats out of blankets, and a cow really talked to Rose in a dream.

There are major differences between the show and the book: The switch from Vaudeville to Burlesque was less dramatic in the book than the show -almost natural. "Herbie", Rose's companion and manager, left long before the act went Burlesque. And one very 'big' difference: you'll notice in the show that Grandpa calls Louise "Plug" but we dont' really know why. The little girl playing Louise was too adorable for words and grew up to be the stunning Natalie Wood. But, Gypsy got the name plug because she was a large child. And she grew up large. It wasn't until a couple years in Burlesque that she became more svelte. This is also a major point in the books, detailing the diets she was on and how it destroyed her self-esteem as a child.

Gypsy, the movie, is a fun-filled version of life on the road for a vaudeville troupe. Yes, there are hard times, but nothing so bad. Gypsy the memoir describes eviction, near starvation, nights of sleeping in the cars, almost frozen, con artists - real life struggle.

It's a quick read that is terribly fascinating. I highly recommend it.

The Book Behind the Musical.......2007-01-12

"Gypsy" is an autobiography by one of the most famous pair of sisters of the 1940's: Gypsy Rose Lee, born Louise Hovick, the stripper, actor, and eventual talk show host; sister to June Havoc, the actor, born June Hovick. In it, Lee covers some of the same material as does Havoc in her two-book autobiography: Their vaudeville childhood on the road with their monstrous stage mother Rose,and their adult struggles to continue their showbiz careers, and to deal with their mother. This book, furthermore, is the basis for the brilliant stage musical and movie, "Gypsy."

Perhaps because she was the elder sister, perhaps because she was more business-minded, Lee's book provides a much fuller, more accurate picture of their vaudeville years than do Havoc's. She cites actual contracts, salaries, and the logistics of their never-ending trouping, from Vancouver, Canada to Tiajuana, Mexico; from San Francisco, California, to Portland, Maine. She names the many animals that trouped along with them, including numerous dogs and guinea pigs, a cat or two; Gussie the goose; Waupie the lamb; Gigolo the monkey; and Porky the pig.

She gives more complete versions of incidents than June does, such as the time "Roxy" Rothfels, an influential New York theater owner-impresario, wished to buy June's contract to see that she got training in singing and dancing equal to her talents; he was repulsed by a hysterical Rose. (June's recounting of the story is so sketchy that it's puzzling.) Gypsy, moreover, seems to have monopolized the few pictures of their earliest years for her book; June's books are scantily illustrated.

Gypsy tells us about meeting the handsome young manager of a Detroit bookstore, George Davis. (It's beyond the scope of this book, but Davis was eventually to invite her to that famous literary boarding house in New York's Brooklyn Heights' Middagh Street, where she was to live with W.H. Auden, Carson McCullers, Jane and Paul Bowles, and Benjamin Britten, almost everyone of them alcoholic and gay, though she was not. She was to bring the money and the cook that kept the enterprise going a few years more, and Davis, a highly-talented editor, was to midwife her phenomenal first book, "The G-String Murders.")

The author does tell us of the day she became Gypsy Rose Lee (Gypsy, a traveling entertainer;Rose, Mom's name; and Lee for Louise) on the marquee, and a burlesque star. She was fifteen years old. She talks about working with Fanny Brice, her years with the Minsky Brothers, and in Florenze Ziegfeld's "Follies." She mentions her frequent arrests, and the inspired publicity stunts that kept her in the public eye for many a year. She closes her book with the call to Hollywood. The attempt to extend her career to films was not ultimately successful, but her career as an entertainer was to last for quite a while yet.

GYPSY ROSE LEE: TANTALIZING STYLE OF BURLESQUE, WRITTEN WITH A WONDERFUL SENSE OF HUMOUR AND A TOUCH OF CLASS........2006-05-23

Rose Louise Hovick is known to the whole world as Gypsy Rose Lee a highly respected top paid burlesque queen of her day. In the 1930's Gypsy turned stripping from sleaze into an art form, this was done with the main use of tease, quick wit and intelligence all done with her tongue in cheek style, quoting well known Literature phases even in French. This book is bewitchingly colourful; it keeps you engaged throughout each chapter with Gypsy's smart, comic storytelling.

This book takes you back to Vaudeville those wonderful days of the family oriented shows in there heyday. Gypsy describes what it was like to be part of the Orpheum circuit on stage and behind the scenes. Gypsy Rose Lee wants us to remember Rose Louise Hovick little miss nobody the talentless one. A girl with the bad teeth who played one of the boys in the back row of her little sister's show, Dainty June And Company.

Dainty June and co. was run by Mama Rose the famous of all show biz mothers. Mama Rose real name Rose Thompson married John Hovick, Rose was age fifteen she had her two girls then divorced him. A very shrewd woman who had an intoxicating and intimidating personality. Con artists, awkward jealous stars and gangsters would not get in the way of her plans, being a star that's what mattered. Vaudeville had been fading for sometime the talkies were taking off, although Mama Rose thought Vaudeville was just going through a bad patch much worst happened Dainty June runs away from her all consuming mother at thirteen and gets married. Mama Rose decides this is just a hiccup in the mean time it was all about making money; Rose Louise Hovick is now the money maker but how! They still had to find her talent. Determination, Mama Rose was unstoppable lies and deceit she would succeed however rough it gets, seedy hotels, living in a tent, where there was a will there was a way. Through the eyes of a young girl, silently watching, learning, waiting, waiting and waiting all Rose Louise needed was a chance, a chance to shine and it came in an expected way.

An array of real life comedy characters shine through in this book. None larger than life Mama Rose herself, tricks up every sleeve and woe betide anyone to cross her path. Grandpa and Big Lady (Grandma) always on hand to bail them out. June Horvick Sister to Gypsy (Was Dainty June became a Film Star in her own right without Mama Rose intervention) Fanny Brice famous stage star/Baby Snooks gave Gypsy her first acting role as a child (Barbra Streisand portrayed Fanny Brice in the film Funny Girl) Billy Minsky ran burlesque theatre shows in New York and gave Gypsy her break as a big star. Rags Ragland (John Lee Morgan Beauregard Ragland) had been a boxer, then a burlesque comedian, broadway performer, then Hollywood, Good Friend to Gypsy in her early days. Florenz Ziegfeld, Ziegfeld Follies took on Gypsy. Waxey Gordon, bootlegger racketeer, gangster helped get her teeth fixed. Lastly and let me not forget those wonderful comedy animals that performed and travelled with them around the country one by one they lost their lives in a tragic way but bless them all.

This book is sheer Entertainment, In the prologue Gypsy mentions that although her memory of things are sharp and clear for the trivia; her memory of names and dates escape her in certain places but you can deduce from historic events what year you are actually in. Maybe for yourself as a reader you may find this irritating especially with the lack of dates but after reading the whole story you begin to understand, date juggling became part of life when Gypsy was a child.

Example: Gypsy birth date changed frequently depending on what town and theatre they worked that month or week and they were endlessly trouping around. Gypsy was constantly underage (Mama Rose went to great lengths to change documentaion when need be). Newspapers were only read for reviews of their performances of their shows. Dates on a day to day basis were not necessary or a requirement to gypsy as a child she was to busy trying to remember her new date of birth and different details to keep the authorities at bay.

A few other pointers the publication of this book was back in 1957 taboo's were still out there, this book is based on Gypsy's early days. Relationships with men therefore were few and only briefly covered.

Gypsy only son Erik Lee Preminger although was introduced in the Prologue was still only young at the time of publication and out of respect for him absent details in certain places may have been for that reason. Another reason may have been for Gypsy's own privacy and precautions of those times. Take all this into account when reading.

Even though I have mentioned the above points this does not take anything away from the book, it's completely fascinating to read what shines through was Gypsy Rose Lee's incredible Zest for life and her intelligence. It's Irresistible.

Great Life..........2004-10-08

Many people don't knwo who Gypsy Rose Lee was, if you don't she was one of the most highly respescted highly, highly paid strip teasers in the business. What made her different though was the class with which she did it. There was nothing leude, or vulgar about her acts, which was what made her a star. If you like reading about lives you normally wouldn't, like a burlesque queen. Then this is definately for you. She had an amazing life, and anyone can learn alot about how to face life through this book. It is not that long and is fast paced, filled with comedic interludes. All I can say is enjoy the show...

Exciting, but Leaves 'em Wanting More.......2004-03-31

Much like the style of her burlesque, Gypsy Rose Lee's memoir offers just a tantalizing glimpse of the real Louise Rose Hovick.

Breathlessly relating her childhood spent in the popular, family-oriented entertainment of the early 1900s vaudeville variety show circuit with her star younger sister, "Dainty" June, and their shrewd stage manager and mother, Rose, Lee easily engages readers. Pages fly by, from skits in front of local lodge brothers to shows before burgeoning audiences in lavish theaters across the country as they tirelessly shop their ever-polished singing, dancing and comedy act. A faint picture slowly emerges of Lee as a bright, introverted young girl yearning for more attention. Despite the rough road life and her own disappointment, not much self-pity shows.

What does show clearly is Lee's budding business savvy. After her sister leaves the act, Lee turns the tragedy into opportunity with a little peroxide and PR. Cleverly, she also leaves her hair dark, creating a distinguishing detail out of a common hair color. As vaudeville dries up and she transitions to burlesque, she again demonstrates uncanny sense in choosing her famous stage name. A shorter portion of the book details her rise to the top of the burlesque world, a story peppered with desperate scam artists, benevolent gangsters and jealous stars.

Disappointing is the absence of some relevant detail. Dates are rarely specified, which might otherwise allow readers to more easily trace Lee's story and place it in context with other historical events. No discussion is offered about burlesque and the law, or Lee's thoughts about it. Famous vaudevillians such as Abbott and Costello are mentioned, but only in passing. Significant details are also conspicuously absent. Despite mention of her son, Erik, no mention is made of his father, and hardly any of her relationships are discussed. Privacy, timing and taboo may account for these latter absences, however.

Book Description

Alyosha Taikon, a Swedish-born son of a coppersmith and member of the Kalderash clan of Romanies from Hungary, can neither read nor write. But he has dictated his life story, presented here in both English and Romani. His story of transition from coppersmith to nurse, a decision that led to his rejection by the Gypsy community, is extensively illustrated with striking photographs and humorous drawings and accompanied by footnotes for those using it as an aid to learning Romani. Also included are English translations of some typical Romani stories as told by Alyosha's father.

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Gypsy: A Memoir of Gypsy Rose Lee
Gypsy Rose Lee
Manufacturer: Olympic Marketing Corp
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Striptease: The Untold History of the Girlie Show

ASIN: 0671622862

Cushla: Memoirs of a Reluctant Gypsy Girl

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A pleased reader

Cushla: Memoirs of a Reluctant Gypsy Girl

Manufacturer: General Store Publishing House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 1897113048

Customer Reviews:

A pleased reader.......2005-11-30

I found this book unexpectantly when the author was doing a book signing at a local mall. I bought it as I like to support local authors and was pleasantly surprised what a delightful read it was. It kept my interest from beginning to end and I found it to be a charming yet heart wrenching story. I am passing it on to my 13 year old to read as I think it's the type of novel that adults and children can equally enjoy. Congratulations Elizabeth!

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Gypsy
Lyle Rishell
Manufacturer: AuthorHouse
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1420863339

Book Description

"The 20th Century was a period of major international political, economic, social, and scientifc advances and dramatic changes that moved the United States, and indeed the world, in ways that most people cannot imagine or comprehend. If we take time to review history, however, we can discover how and why these changes evolved during that period. Lyle Rishell, who lived through three quarters of that century, and who was very much a part of them, has woven a story of people and places and experiences that bring life to these happenings. His story, while not unique, is compelling in that he has recalled in detail many of the changes that brought this country and the world to where we find it today. He freely admits that his acomplishments were little, and his involvement during the period minimal when one looks at the total picture. Yet, he is able to take the reader into this panorama of his life in a way that makes us voyeurs, traveling where he has traveled, seeing what he has seen, and meeting the men and women who were a very real part of his odyssey. His accounts of growing up in a small Pennsylvania village during the Depression, of the war that descended upon us, the Cold War and the continuing Wars of Liberation, are real. His picture of a young soldier serving in the Occupation Armies in both Japan and Germany following WW II, and his combat tour in the Korean War, are moving. He describes his failures and a few successes with both sadness and exhilaration. But above all, as he travels throughout the world, he finds adventure in far-flung places, capturing the essence of life and culture in many lands, and the people who make his odyssey alive and exciting. And when he writes of what he considers to be the Pillars of Life--Faith, Family, and Friends--you will laugh and cry with him, and get a feeling of his love of life that is a gift for all of us."

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Gypsy (A Memoir By Gypsy Rose Lee)
Gypsy Rose Lee
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000WZOS92

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Gypsy MaMa
Dela Poggia
Manufacturer: 1st Books Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1410754901

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Gypsy, A Memoir
Gypsy Rose Lee
Manufacturer: Harper & Brothers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000MZLVUG

Gypsy: A Musical (Suggested By the Memoirs of Gypsy Rose Lee)

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Gypsy: A Musical (Suggested By the Memoirs of Gypsy Rose Lee)
Arthur (Book); Styne, Jule (Music); Sondheim, Stephen (Lyrics) Laurents
Manufacturer: Random House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000MBNWB6

Sean Wilentz, Director of American Studies Program, Princeton

Michael Lind's unsettling and ambitious new book brilliantly challenges the culture-war extremists of both the right and the left, develops a sweeping reinterpretation of American history, and offers an original vision of a better American future. Even at points of disagreement, I am greatly impressed by the toughness of Lind's intellect, the breadth of his knowledge, and the decency of his aspirations for our country. This book may well prove to be the most consequential book of the year--and several years to come.

Book Description

Are we now, or have we ever been, a nation?

As this century comes to a close, debates over immigration policy, racial preferences, and multiculturalism challenge the consensus that formerly grounded our national culture. The question of our national identity is as urgent as it has ever been in our history. Is our society disintegrating into a collection of separate ethnic enclaves, or is there a way that we can forge a coherent, unified identity as we enter the 21st century?

In this "marvelously written, wide-ranging and thought-provoking"* book, Michael Lind provides a comprehensive revisionist view of the American past and offers a concrete proposal for nation-building reforms to strengthen the American future. He shows that the forces of nationalism and the ideal of a trans-racial melting pot need not be in conflict with each other, and he provides a practical agenda for a liberal nationalist revolution that would combine a new color-blind liberalism in civil rights with practical measures for reducing class-based barriers to racial integration.

A stimulating critique of every kind of orthodox opinion as well as a vision of a new "Trans-American" majority, The Next American Nation may forever change the way we think and talk about American identity.

*New York Newsday

Customer Reviews:

Liberal Nationalist Revolutionaries Arise!.......2004-09-04

Author Michael Lind, recognizing current problems with multicultural leftism and the non-assimilation of immigrants into American culture, provides a practical agenda for a liberal nationalist revolution that would combine a new color-blind liberalism in civil rights with practical measures for reducing class-based barriers to racial integration.

This book will change your ideas and perception about our collective American identity and the road we are traveling on toward the future. For example (p.188): "While middle-class and working-class Americans have divided over racial preference and symbolic issues, the overclass-dominated political elite of both parties has waged a generation-long class war against the middle class. That class war has been waged on three fronts: regressive taxation, free-market globalism, and the new feudalism."

I rate this easy to read and understand text at five stars for tackling the fundamental issues that the main-stream media will not. Our national future may depend upon this book! A great read.

Exploding myths, offering solutions.......2004-06-02

Every so often, I come across one of those books that really makes me think. Michael Lind's penetrating look at modern America, "The Next American Nation: The New Nationalism and the Fourth American Revolution," is one of those books. I should elaborate a bit on that statement: books that REALLY make me think are ones that I will ponder at odd times during the day, or think about as I am falling asleep at night. I usually don't do that with a mass-market paperback or the latest popular novel. No, certain books on history, society, or philosophy sometimes find me puzzling out their theses while I engage in the mundane activities of daily life. Not every book has such an effect on me, but Lind's effort did. Written nearly ten years ago, "The Next American Nation" asks questions and puts forth conclusions imbued with intelligent insight and forceful conviction. It's iconoclastic, attacking the dogmas that presently govern every facet of our society. Despite the book's age, the issues Lind addresses continue to have relevance in the here and now. The author was once an editor at Harper's and The New Republic, as well as a contributor to The New York Times and The Washington Post.

"The Next American Nation" probably falls under the category of American Studies, a once vaunted field of scholarship that fell on hard times once the multiculturalists took over academia. Lind's explorations borrow liberally from history, politics, sociology, and philosophy in a quest to put forth an overarching argument about where America should go in the future. According to the author, the United States has experienced three revolutions during its history, and it must experience a fourth one if it is to survive. Lind claims these revolutions birthed three distinct republics: Anglo-America (1789-1861), Euro-America (1875-1957), and Multicultural America (1972-present). Each republic put forth a national formula unique to its time. Anglo-America associated itself with Protestant Christianity flowing from a dominant Anglo-Saxon population. Euro-America embraced all white Europeans as authentic citizens while supporting a broader Judeo-Christian ethic. Multicultural America, which Lind despises for reasons he explains in minute detail, rejects the emphasis on Americans of European descent by elevating minorities to the status of autonomous nations within the larger society. Multiculturalists reject Christianity, replacing it with secular humanism as the new civic religion. Wars and other social turmoil led to the rise of these republics.

Each republic survived due to grand compromises, extraconstitutional bargains that allowed the upper classes to thrive. Anglo-America's implicit agreement between the northern upper class and the southern planters allowed slavery to thrive until the Civil War. In Euro-America, the agreement was between white industrialists and poor white laborers to keep non-whites out of the work force. Multicultural America thrives on the repudiation of white supremacy while elevating five socially constructed race categories, which then compete for special favors from the government. Social classes, whether real or artificial, play a central role in Lind's analysis of American society. The author argues that a white overclass exists today, a class that thrives through credentials earned from top schools and nepotism at the highest levels of business and government. This overclass has taken control of both political parties, and uses multiculturalism to defuse resistance from minorities. Lind claims a black overclass, created through race-based handouts like affirmative action, relies on the white elites for power even as they condemn the white power structure. Meanwhile, the majority of the minority population languishes in slums across the country. In other words, multiculturalism is a tool of the elite designed to pit racial groups against one another while the upper classes rob the country blind.

Michael Lind offers a solution to our problems. Scrap multiculturalism, the author avers, or else America will end up looking like a third world country (high crime rates and slums with the upper classes living in gated, privately protected communities). Liberal nationalism should become the Fourth American republic, nationalism based on a common language and shared social and psychological traits called Trans-America. Intermarriage will play a large role in this new nation, with the melting pot once again reasserting itself. Trans-America will abolish the nearly unchecked immigration of low skilled immigrants (they drive down wages for poor citizens), replace the current plurality election process with one of proportional representation, and ban political fundraising. Lind even offers a canon of Trans-American heroes from the past, from Alexander Hamilton to Frederick Douglass.

Whew, is that a lot of material! I'm not even touching on key parts of his argument, but you get the idea. His solutions, however, do have many problems. Replacing the current way we elect officials, for instance, sounds like a solid plan. I would love to get rid of big money in politics. Proportional representation may not be the way to go since this form of government must rely on forming coalitions to elect leaders. Look at the difficulties in Israel and India, where the government is always collapsing as multiple parties duke it out for control. That's not the biggest problem in this book, though. Lind's ideas about class in America are solid, but how will he get people to think about class in a non-Marxist way? Class and Marxism go together like shoes and socks. Most people cannot even envision one without the other. Any effort to overcome the divides between social classes will have an uphill battle in a country that spent fifty years battling Marxism, to say the least. Still, Michael Lind's book is an effort to come up with some solutions to our current problems, one that goes outside the current dogmas in the process. The author is intelligent, a good writer, and truly seems to care about his country. A stellar read.

A Book America's Bipartisan Elite Does Not Want You to Read.......2002-03-05

It is impossible to do justice to such a wide-ranging book in only a few paragraphs. Fundamentally, Lind provides a three-phase interpretation of American history. As he sees it, the U.S. has experienced three genuine "revolutions": the American Revolution which led to the era of "Anglo America" (1789-1860), the Civil War/Reconstruction which led to "Euro-America" (1876-1954) and the Civil Rights Revolution which led to "Multicultural America" (1970-present).

The book's middle chapters are a devastating critique of today's status quo. Lind finds fault across the political spectrum. "Since the 1970s ... racial preference policies, associated with the political left, have been extended into one area of American life after another ... [Meanwhile] government policies unfavorable to labor, of the kind one thinks of as conservative, have been pursued under both Republican and Democratic administrations." However, "In reality there is no contradiction between left-wing civil rights policy and right-wing economics."

Instead of threatening the system, multiculturalism is corporate America's secret weapon. In the early 1970s it was President Nixon who instituted the first great wave of affirmative action and school busing, with the intent of driving a wedge between the labor and civil rights movements. (The strategy worked.) After the 1990 census, the first Bush administration collaborated with the civil rights establishment to reapportion and create as many black and Hispanic congressional districts as possible, thereby pulling the rug out from under white Democrats in surrounding districts and making it easier for the GOP to win control of Congress in 1994. As Lind notes: "Tokenism provides suitably 'progressive' camoflauge for a system of divide-and-rule politics ... Without the political division of wage-earning white, black and Hispanic Americans along racial lines, it is doubtful that the white overclass would have been able to carry out its agenda of destroying unions, reducing wages, cutting employee benefits, replacing full-time workers with temps, and shifting the burden of taxation from the rich to the middle class, with so little effective opposition."

Today there is no two-party system in the U.S. Rather, we have a one and a half party system -- a socially conservative corporate party (the Republicans) and a socially liberal corporate party (the Democrats). The "conservative" elites on Wall Street and the "liberal" elites in Hollywood both support outrageously high rates of immigration, affirmative action, and a dogmatic commitment to free trade.

Lind puts forward a series of policy proposals that are an iconoclastic blend of conservatism and liberalism. Lind favors a system of "proportional voting" that would blow up the two-party duopoly and open the door to new parties and policy options. He would break the grip of special interests by banning all paid political advertising and replacing it with free and equal media time and mandatory debates. He would raise wages by banning unskilled immigrants (and potential terrorists) from entering the country and by repealing laws that encourage the use of temp labor. He similarly favors a "social tariff" on Third World imports. (Lind is not a knee-jerk protectionist; he opposes tariff barriers between First World countries.) He supports the repeal of affirmative action, not only for women and nonwhites but especially for wealthy white kids who secretly benefit from "legacy preference" in college admissions. He favors a "war on oligarchy" that would drastically reform the legal and medical professions too.

This is an amazingly original and bracing book. Don't hold your breath waiting for Lind's ideas to be implemented any time soon. But he brilliantly spells them out, and that's the essential first step.

Get real........2000-11-15

This book is just another installment of Lind's unofficial series, "Why I hate Republicans", or "Why I hate people who have it better than me in life". Completely one-sided arguements explain why white people are evil, why Ronald Reagan was worse than Stalin, and why rich people are worse than the nazis. His obsession with racist polices dominates the entire book; every other word is "racist". Liberal professors will LOVE this book, and while it opened my eyes to another viewpoint, it didn't change my own, but rather, pushed me more to my original side.

A refreshing conception of American nationalism.......2000-07-11

Lind does a terrific job of stating what should be obvious, but is rarely admitted: there is a place for an inclusive, liberal American nationalism. Lind efficiently disposes of most arguments that America is built solely around an idea or around the Constitution. Instead, he argues, American nationalism stems from a shared culture and history, which is inclusive and which evolves over time. A very thoughtful exposition of a very important idea.

Next American Nation: The New Nationalism & the Fourth American Revolution

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Next American Nation: The New Nationalism & the Fourth American Revolution
Michael Lind
Manufacturer: Free Press Paperbacks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000O6KNHK

Next American Nation: The New Nationalism and the Fourth American Revolution, the

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Next American Nation: The New Nationalism and the Fourth American Revolution, the
Michael Lind
Manufacturer: Free Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Leather Bound
ASIN: B000J0TGNS

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Excellent Resource!!!!

Rain Forests: Tropical Treasures (Ranger Rick's Naturescope Series)

Manufacturer: National Wildlife Federation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Ages 4-8 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
General | Ages 9-12 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
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Astronomy Adventures (Ranger Rick's NatureScope)

ASIN: 0945051417

Book Description

A jungly journey of kid-pleasing indoor and outdoor activities (arts and crafts, science experiments, games, curriculum tie-ins and more) gives children a keen awareness of the importance of rain forests and inspires them to help preserve these endangered tropical environments. This is just one volume in the award-winning Ranger Rick's NatureScope¨ series for grades K-8: premier material for teachers, parents, scout leaders, and camp counselors from the National Wildlife Federation¨, America's leading environmental organization.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent Resource!!!!.......2000-08-07

As a high school science teacher I found this to be one of the best resources out there. All lessons have excellent research and background so anyone could pick it up and use it in their classroom. The lessons are also interdisciplinary. Each lesson starts out with a quick guideline as to appropriate age level, subjects covered, and materials needed. Some activities are very elementary but I feel that all lessons could be adapted even for high school students. This book also provides the reader with a great list of agencies and other contacts for further information about rain forests. I recommend this book for any educator.

Rain Forests: Tropical Treasures (Ranger Rick's NatureScope, 4)

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Rain Forests: Tropical Treasures (Ranger Rick's NatureScope, 4)
Judy Braus
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000UEZFPQ

Product Description

68 page educational magazine introduces plant and animal life and the people of tropical rain forests through text, activities, craft projects, and reproducible worksheets.

Ranger Rick's Tropical Treasures: Rain Forests (75044)

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Ranger Rick's Tropical Treasures: Rain Forests (75044)

Manufacturer: Natl Wildlife Federation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Reference | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 9990744092

Tropical rainforests: A disappearing treasure

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Tropical rainforests: A disappearing treasure
Judith Gradwohl
Manufacturer: Smithsonian Institution
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Rain Forests | Nature & Ecology | Science | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B00071V290

Visits to the exhibition Tropical rainforests: a disappearing treasure

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Visits to the exhibition Tropical rainforests: a disappearing treasure
K. J Black
Manufacturer: Institutional Studies, Office of the Secretary, Smithsonian Institution
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Rain Forests | Nature & Ecology | Science | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B000722DVK

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