The First Man-Made Man: The Story of Two Sex Changes, One Love Affair, and a Twentieth-Century Medical Revolution

Book Description

In the 1920s when Laura Dillon felt like a man trapped in a woman’s body, there were no words to describe her condition; transsexuals had yet to enter common usage. And there was no known solution to being stuck between the sexes. Laura Dillon did all she could on her own: she cut her hair, dressed in men’s clothing, bound her breasts with a belt. But in a desperate bid to feel comfortable in her own skin, she experimented with breakthrough technologies that ultimately transformed the human body and revolutionized medicine. From upper-class orphan girl to Oxford lesbian, from post-surgery romance with Roberta Cowell (an early male-to-female) to self-imposed exile in India, Michael Dillon’s incredible story reveals the struggles of early transsexuals and challenges conventional notions of what gender really means.

Customer Reviews:

Neither one thing, nor the other...........2007-07-02

This is neither a particularly insightful look into the general subject of the transgendered, nor a riveting account of these particular individuals. Much posturing, of the "as he gazed over the deck of the ship, he felt....." variety--describing in only the broadest, most hackneyed terms the inner monologues of personalities more difficult to fathom than most. And the over-hyped "love affair" chronicled between the two transgendered principals proves to be much more smoke than fire.

All these paeans to Pagan are a mystery to me. The book's a bore.

Beyond gender (hello hooray).......2007-06-28

Gay is the new straight and trans is the new gay. Maybe, soon enough, TG will become the neo hippie. All in your mind. Dolly Parton, after all, has had a lot more surgery than Christine Jorgensen ever did. So let us now push further.

Not as emotional or as 'literary' as Chris Beam's Transparent, Pagan Kennedy has nevertheless penned the 1st trans book anyone outside the trans world 'should' read. Trans is coming soon to Hollywood, I betcha, and here's a real contender.

The First Man-Made Man works several themes - history (Hirschfeld, Benjamin, et al.), drama ('burned by the blonde') and ideology (modern ID data necessitated HRT and SRS, which led to mainstream cosmetic surgery) - quite cohesively.

Kennedy's metanarrative is not 'transition' however, but self-actualization via reinvention. Protagonist Dillion's eternal quest (from FtM, then from Oxford Englishman to Tibetan monk) keeps the humanist foundation of this saga transparent - and tendentious.

Kennedy's conclusion that, by today, "gender had become ... a show tune you lip-synched when it matched the secret beat of your own heart" will assuredly infuriate postops (deal, ladies) but it will resound with a bewildered (mainstream) boomer.

Robert Owen, roll over - the new plastic man and woman (and genderfu**er) have arrived, to conquer the universe.

Which sounds about right on time to me!

Most people think Christine Jorgensen was the first.......2007-06-11

This is the story of Laura Maude Dillon, AKA Laurence Michael Dillon, woman, auto mechanic, member of the British peerage, security guard, physician, world traveler, man, and finally religious pilgrim. There are huge gaps in the story, out of necessity since much evidence of what he did at certain times in his life are long gone, but it does tell a story of a troubled person who was relatively openly transgendered in the 1930s and died mysteriously in 1962 in India at the age of 47.

Included was a brief early history of plastic surgery and a lengthy introduction to the only "woman" he appears to have ever loved, a man in transition to a woman. There is also commentary on the British class system and gender roles of the 1940s and 1950s, so this is quite a multifaceted book for being barely 200 pages.

What's this obsession with the word "vertiginous"?

Understand Transgenderism.......2007-05-10

The true story of two sex changes is interwoven with scientific, medical and social history. You'll understand how difficult it is to change genders.

Spellbinding and fantastic.......2007-05-09

The First Man-Made Man is enthralling, as gripping as the most powerful novel, written with exquisite authority and mastery. Rich in fascinating biographical, sociological and medical research, it's as suspenseful as a Hitchcock thriller. I was hooked from the first page and couldn't put this gorgeous book down, reading it breathlessly. The characters leap from the page, extraordinary and courageous. Pagan Kennedy takes a subject that might, in less capable hands, be sensationalized, and instead turns it into a profoundly human and moving story about yearning and loneliness, and an intense, existential quest for identity. The restless, searching spirit of Michael Dillon, brave and reviled, is captured vividly. He emerges as a vulnerable person of tremendous grace and dignity. From the posh halls of Oxford to the back of a dingy garage, from a ship sailing across the open seas to a remote Tibetan Buddhist monastery, First Man-Made Man catapults the reader into one memorable man's wild, often hostile, world. This poetic adventure is unforgettable.

My Gender Workbook: How to Become a Real Man, a Real Woman, the Real You, or Something Else Entirely

Average customer rating:

Excellent introduction to nonstandard gender
Overly simplistic
Well-Meaning, and Sometimes Well-Done, But Often Flawed
She doth protest too much....
Good book but could be better

My Gender Workbook: How to Become a Real Man, a Real Woman, the Real You, or Something Else Entirely
Kate Bornstein
Manufacturer: Routledge
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Nonfiction | Gay & Lesbian | Subjects | Books

General | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Gender Outlaw: On Men, Women and the Rest of Us
Genderqueer: Voices from Beyond the Sexual Binary
Hello Cruel World: 101 Alternatives to Suicide for Teens, Freaks and Other Outlaws
Queer Theory, Gender Theory: An Instant Primer
Miss Vera's Finishing School for Boys Who Want to Be Girls

ASIN: 0415916739

Amazon.com

Kate Bornstein's 1994 book of autobiographical theory, Gender Outlaw, drew a line in the sand about the whole boy/girl thing. "Who needs it?" America's most active transgender activist questioned. Now, in My Gender Workbook, Bornstein has assembled a collage of simple exercises, quizzes, puzzles, and essay questions that systematically break down our ingrained ideas about how women and men--and whoever is in between--should act. Bornstein's breezy, "hey, let's all discover who we might really be" style works to make this potentially threatening material accessible and even intriguing to almost all readers. Just glance down, check out who--or what--you thought you were, and get ready to answer a few questions.

Book Description

Gender isn't just about "male" or "female" anymore - if you have any doubts, just turn on your television. RuPaul is as familiar as tomato ketchup with national radio and television shows, and transgendered folk are as common to talk-shows as screaming and yelling. But if the popularization of gender bending is revealing that "male" and "female" aren't enough, where are we supposed to go from here? Cultural theorists have written loads of smart but difficult-to-fathom texts on gender, but none provide a hands-on, accessible guide to having your own unique gender. With b /b b i My Gender Workbook /i /b , Kate Bornstein brings theory down to Earth and provides a practical approach to living i with /i or i without /i a gender. br br Bornstein starts from the premise that there are not just two genders performed in today's world, but countless genders lumped under the two-gender framework. Using a unique, deceptively simple and always entertaining workbook format, Bornstein gently but firmly guidesyou to discover your own unique gender identity. Whether she's using the USFDA's food group triangle to explain gender, or quoting one-liners from real "gender transgressors", Bornstein's first and foremost concern is making information on gender bending truly accessible. With quizzes and exercises that determine how much of a man or woman you are, b /b b i My Gender Workbook /i /b gives you the tools to reach whatever point you desire on the gender continuum. br br Bornstein also takes aim at the recent flurry of books that attempt to naturalize gender difference, and puts books like i Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus /i squarely where they belong: on Uranus. If you don't think you are transgendered when you sit down to read this book, you will be by the time you finish it!

Customer Reviews:

Excellent introduction to nonstandard gender.......2007-08-07

Kate Bornstein's writing is a pleasure to read! My Gender Workbook is a great way to start looking at nonstandard genders if you're used to thinking in strictly binary terms. While there's room in her viewpoint for girly girls and manly men, there's definitely a bit of bias towards transsexual and genderqueer folks. The quotes from different sources in the sidebar create a variety of perspectives on gender, in case you don't identify too strongly with Kate Bornstein's personal story (which, let's face it, isn't common to most of us).

If you're already breaking the gender binary- that is, if you're the sort of person who'd be interested in this book- then likely it wouldn't provide much more than some much-needed encouragement. However, if you're new to transgressing gender, then this is probably the book for you.

Overly simplistic.......2006-12-11

I used this book in a college class, and from an academic standpoint, I found it simplistic and many of the exercises seemed pointless. Even worse, Bornstein advocates a "gender-free or gender-bent" presentation of oneself, not realizing that because society creates gender rules, becoming gender-free is still buying into those rules through one's rejection of them. I think everyone should work through their gender issues on their own and not feel bad if they do happen to be a very feminine woman or masculine man (this book assumes every reader doesn't fit into any stereotype, or if they do act stereotypically male or female, it's not because they want to.) From the standpoint of someone reading this book casually, it's very affirming of our differences, but don't forget to read other gender-theory books as well.

Well-Meaning, and Sometimes Well-Done, But Often Flawed.......2006-02-28

There is stuff here that is good, and all of it is well-meaning. That said, this book is very much a mixed bag.

It suffers from having little sense of who it's audience is. I'd certainly wager that a large majority of people who are reading this book are feminists, queers, or transpeople - or, like myself, *all* of these - and a lot of it is very basic, even frustratingly so, for these people, and this simplicity often shifts back and forth with more advanced stuff. This means that the beginners who do read this may well get lost, and that the people who get the basics will get bored. A lot of it also feels simply cheesy, and even if I wasn't already familiar with the theories and practices presented, I think I would feel condescended to.

It also seems somewhat more MtF oriented than FtM; I can't really give a specific example, but it seemed to have more of a by-and-for trannygirls vibe. I suppose this is part of the problem with having the whole book on genderqueerness written by one white, MtF, middle-class person. Ze certainly tries to give voice to people of different backgrounds, and often succeeds, but having side comments and self-descriptions is different than having real input. This isn't so much an issue of specific instances; rather it's the assumption that one person's experience - any one persons experience, no matter how gender-transgressive they are - is sufficient to write what tries to be a guide to transgressing gender and identity; I think this book would have been much better as a collaboration.

That said, a lot of it is very good. It certainly will help some people understand some more things about themselves, their own (lack of) gender(s), and gender as a whole. The very least it will do is reassure trans/genderqueer/gender-variant people in it that they are not alone, no matter how much it seems so - a worthy goal.

She doth protest too much...........2006-01-27

...wow, I have to read this book for college, what is higher education coming to? So far I'm a fourth of the way through and have no idea what hir theory is. Ze says one thing and then completely contradicts hirself. Hir Gender Identity/Power Pyramid is so biased. Ze spells pyramid wrong, unless "pryamid" is some play on hir words. One of hir points is that to be at the top of the Gender/Power pryamid you must possess a well-formed, above-average-legnth penis. According to studies on Penis legnth world wide, the Irish are the most well endowed, followed by african americans. So according to Kate's pryamid the Irish should be the #1 super power in the world, followed by Africa at #2. Therefore any high ranking man in the USA must be of Irish descent.

Her pyramid has a foundation of strippers, Mr. Potato Head, aliens and cone headed midgets just to name a few. Then at the top is a white man, who has no eyes, holding a son who has no eyes. Basically Kate is evilizing the white heterosexual male who has children. It almost seems that she is creating this them vs. hir mentality in hir pyramid. In hir quizzes ze also gives gender points for being "white" and having blue eyes. Implying hair and eye color has anything to do with gender seems to be a Nazi like theory to me. Ze hirself has blonde hair and blue eyes. Sounds a bit hypocritical. Kate may be confused, that could be why there are contridictions throughout the readings. The evilizing of white, blonde haired blue eyed males seems to stem from self hatred of her former identity. She also seems to be fixated on genetalia and reproducing children, perhaps steming from the loss of her own penis, whatever size it may have been.

I beleive the point of this book so far has been to confuse you so much that you too will be at a loss for what your gender is and buy more of Kate's confusing books to try to figure it all out.

Good book but could be better.......2003-04-09

The layout of this book -- as a workbook with exercises you can do as you move through it -- makes this a very interesting way to examine gender issues in your own life. However I found two problems with the book. First, not all of the sections flow smoothly and the stream of consciousness moments can be distracting and patronizing on a few occassions. Secondly, I think the definition used of "gender" is far to broad to really give the book a solid foundation to build on. You'll find yourself agreeing or disagreeing with much of the book -- isn't that the appropriate thing for a book of self-growth?

Skull Wars: Kennewick Man, Archaeology, and the Battle for Native American Identity

Average customer rating:

an 8 star book -covers prehistory & archaeology
Origins of the Army Medical Museum and its collecting policy
Read this book.... AND read the scientific journal articles!
Factual, biting and rivetting style
Where do I begin?

Skull Wars: Kennewick Man, Archaeology, and the Battle for Native American Identity
David Hurst Thomas
Manufacturer: Basic Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Constitutional Law | Law | Subjects | Books

General | Law | Subjects | Books

Legal History | Perspectives on Law | Law | Subjects | Books

Red Earth, White Lies: Native Americans and the Myth of Scientific Fact
Ancient North America, Fourth Edition
Ancient Encounters: Kennewick Man and the First Americans
The First Americans: In Pursuit of Archaeology's Greatest Mystery (Modern Library Paperbacks)
Repatriation Reader: Who Owns American Indian Remains?

ASIN: 046509225X
Release Date: 2001-04-03

Amazon.com

Since its discovery in 1996, the issues surrounding Kennewick Man have grown ever more complicated and controversial. Out of this fracas comes Skull Wars, David Hurst Thomas's masterful contribution to the debate. The book is sure to stir passions even as it seeks to offer a better way for archeologists, anthropologists, and Native Americans to work together in the future. When it was determined that Kennewick Man, a skeleton with Caucasoid features discovered near Kennewick, Washington, was estimated to be more than 9,000 years old, it effectively lobbed a grenade into the already tense arena of the origins of the pre-Columbus peoples of the United States. Thomas, curator of anthropology at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, leads the reader through the development of American anthropology and archeology, the many reinterpretations of Native Americans by non-Indians, an assertion of native rights, and the eventual intercession of the federal government, ironically, as protective party. Skull Wars is a gripping account of the way race, scientific practice, history, and politics converged around an ancient skeleton. --Julia Riches

Book Description

When a 9,000-year-old human skeleton washed out of a Columbia River cutbank in July 1996, it ignited a controversy that has not stopped burning. Archaeologists proclaimed the skeleton, named "Kennewick Man," one of the most important finds of the century and proceeded to plan extensive scientific analysis. Many Native Americans, meanwhile, with equal fervor declared such studies a desecration and demanded the skeleton for reburial. An acrimonious and highly public argument ensued, complete with lawsuit.

Why? What was at stake that demanded that battle lines be drawn?

In Skull Wars, renowned archaeologist David Hurst Thomas traces the five-hundred-year roots of the Kennewick Man controversy. From Thomas Jefferson's invention of scientific archaeology to the brutal massacres in which skulls of Indian warriors were sent east to build museum collections; from the strange fates of Ishi and Qisuk to the astonishing power of oral tradition in preserving centuries-old memories, this book tells what really went on between archaeologists and Indians-and shows how the two groups can work together in the future.

Customer Reviews:

an 8 star book -covers prehistory & archaeology.......2007-08-20

I really savored every page of this book. One of the best I have EVER read on both an OVERVIEW of american prehistory, and american archaeology. Addresses all the important questions, and most importantly to me, the author seems very unbiased. At FIRST i thought he was going to be definitely a Pro-Native American viewpoint, since Prof. Vine Deloria wrote the foreward. However, although the authoer is PC, he is in such a way as not to be "in your face" with it. I think a very balanced book. I will keep my copy handy and refer to it often, as it is a truly VALUABLE resource! I understand more of the political ramification so of the government vs the Indians now, and the author told it in a way so as not to bore you to tears. Very well done, and my sincere, heartfelt compliments to the author, for a job well done.

Origins of the Army Medical Museum and its collecting policy.......2004-08-05

Dr. Thomas' discussion on pages 57-58 of the Army Medical Museum's role in collecting human remains is misleading. The Museum (now the National Museum of Health & Medicine) was established in 1862, during the American Civil War, to begin the study of military medicine and surgery in wartime. It was not established at the urging of Professor Agassiz. US Army Surgeon General Hammond's orders pertained specifically to collecting the remains of Union and Confederate soldiers, who were overwhelmingly white, to study surgery before the era of x-rays or aseptic surgery. Thousands of specimens were sent into the Museum, including General Daniel Sickles' leg, which he personally had shipped after it was struck by a cannon ball and amputated. The specimens were studied and used to compile the six-volume study, The Medical and Surgical History of the War of the Rebellion. After the war, the Museum did expand its collecting focus and collected Indian anthropological artifacts and remains. The artifacts were deposited with the Smithsonian Institution, based on an agreement the Smithsonian proposed in 1869. Human remains were transferred to the Medical Museum, where they were kept and studied side by side with those of American soldiers. The Museum continued collecting Native American remains until the late nineteenth century when the role was returned to the Smithsonian Institution, where it remains today.

The star rating was insisted on by Amazon's computer - this note only pertains to Dr. Thomas' pages on the Army Medical Museum.

Michael Rhode, Archivist
National Museum of Health & Medicine

Read this book.... AND read the scientific journal articles!.......2004-07-22

This book is one of the better discussions of the issue, and far more factual than the arrant nonsense published by James Chatters. If anything, David Hurst Thomas errs only in trying to be fairer to certain of the current generation of scientists than they deserve. The truth is that there was never really any doubt over the direct genetic relationship between PaleoIndians like Kennewick Man & their modern Native American descendants, and that this has always been a purely political fight over control of ancient human remains... seen by the descendants as ?ancestors? to be protected, but viewed by scientists as ?research material? to fuel their careers with. (Several of the plaintiff scientists have even admitted that they had been searching for a legal ?test case? for years, hoping to gut NAGPRA. And their behavior was calculated to raise the hackles of local tribes & prevent any NAGPRA sanctioned study. They didn?t even TRY asking tribal permission under NAGPRA guidelines)

PaleoIndians & Native Americans share the same mtDNA haplogroups (which are found at low levels in Asia & the Pacific, & virtually nonexistant elsewhere). Craniometrically, some PaleoIndians (Buhl Woman, Wizard?s Beach Man, etc) show close affinities to modern Native Americans, the others don?t closely match anybody but show general affinities to Native American, Beringian, SE Asian, & Pacific populations. The largest & most comprehensive PaleoIndian craniometric study to date (Powell & Neves? ?Craniofacial Morphology of the First Americans?, from the American Journal of Physical Anthropology) determined that PaleoIndians overall DID match up with modern Native Americans, with the differences falling within the range of known evolutionary processes such as genetic drift. Linguistic & genetic studies of modern Native Americans reveal that their ancestors arrived here LONG before the PaleoIndian era (Linguistics says 30,000+ years, DNA says 20,000-40,000+ years).

Yet strangely, none of this is mentioned by scientists prominent in the Kennewick debacle. Instead, people WITHOUT biology degrees make false pronouncements about DNA, people without physical anthropology degrees (or who have them & should know better) make false & stereotypical pronouncements about craniometrics, and so on. You have the noted C.Loring Brace (a several times past director of the American Eugenics Society) claiming that ?all? Indians craniometrically match Asians such as Chinese (when his ?only? match turns out to involve one group of related tribes commonly thought to be late arrivals, and geographically nearest to Asia to boot... hence most subject to later geneflow). And he has been quoted by reporters as speaking of ?mongoloid invaders who exterminated the caucasoid first arrivals?. Other scientists speak of ?caucasoid? looking PaleoIndians, WITHOUT mentioning that these same traits are found among various modern & historical Native American tribes, and WITHOUT mentioning that rather than being typical only of ?Caucasoids? (they actually show up in ASIA before they are found in Europe), these traits are common among various Asian & Pacific populations... and are even found among some African groups! Much hooraw was made in the papers of mtDNA ?haplogroup X? as a link between ?ancient Americans? & Europeans, but it was rarely noted that the haplogroup is MORE common in the Near East than it is in Europe, and that it is also found in North Africa, Asia Minor, India, and SIBERIA?. and that the European haplogroup lineages form a DIFFERENT sub-clade than do the Native American ones, and have been phylogenetically shown to NOT be ancestral to them. Numerous scientists claimed that modern Indians didn?t possess the same head shapes as did PaleoIndians, stereotyping PaleoIndians as being narrowheaded (dolichocranic) & modern Native Americans as broadheaded (brachycranic), despite the fact that some PaleoIndians (like Marmes Rockshelter) were brachycranic & MANY modern Indians (including the majority of those east of the Mississippi & on the Northern Plains, & many South American Indians) were narrowheaded & that brachycranic Indians were actually in the minority overall! Scientists have quoted Christy Turner's old claim that all Native Americans possessed Sinodont dental patterns, like NE Asians, & did NOT match PaleoIndian dental patterns...when in reality Turner was shown to be mistaken, numerous Indian tribes have been shown to be Sundadont, or intermediate, and PaleoIndians have been shown to possess traits found in BOTH Sinodont & Sundadont populations. This suggests that either PaleoIndians arrived BEFORE Sinodonty evolved (~20,000 BP), or that they were a mix of peoples possessing both dental patterns.

Worse yet, while prominent scientists have shown themselves more than willing to make wild claims regarding PaleoIndians & Native Americans, even BEFORE study is conducted... they have not been as willing to offer correction when actual studies subsequently prove them wrong. Whether speaking of Kennewick, Penon Woman, or Lagoa Santa, the scientific craniometric truth behind their appearance has generally received less coverage than the ?pre-game speculation?.

Digressing a bit, I should note that I feel it helps if reviewers first had a good grasp of the facts. A prime example is the anonymous reviewer from Bogart, Georgia, who makes makes several glaring errors. ?Bogart? speaks of ?Caucasoid skeletal remains?, when PaleoIndians have been clearly shown to NOT be Caucasoid... merely to possess certain traits called ?proto-Caucasoid? by some researchers, and more accurately (given where they first evolved) called ?proto-MONGOLOID? by others. (A point to mention is that these self same traits are found in Australian Aborigines... hardly an indication of any ?Caucasoid? connection).

?Bogart? also claims that ?ancient artifacts? (& possibly the purportedly Caucasoid remains, his phrasing is a bit vague) ?predate the fabled land-bridge to Siberia in the last ice age?... yet the midpoint of the landbridge's existance (the last Glacial Maximum) predates the oldest proven archaeological site in the Americas (Monte Verde) by at least 7,000 years, it's first appearance is even earlier. For that matter, no landbridge was needed. The Bering strait can be WALKED over during most winters, when the ice freezes, and there is also evidence that humans in the Pacific had boats capable of crossing that distance well over 60,000 years ago.

?Bogart? also fatuously speaks of these purported ?remains & and ancient artifacts? as having more in common with ancient sites in Europe ?than with anything Asian or typically Native American?. The problem with this is that the oldest remains in the Americas match up with Pacific & East Asian peoples, NOT with Europeans (see various craniometric studies, particularly those of Joseph Powell or Walter Neves). (For that matter, the oldest ?anatomically modern?, or ?non-neanderthal?, human remains in Europe are actually a closer match to MODERN Native Americans than they are to modern Europeans, according to C. Loring Brace?s own data! It is likely relevant that genetic studies indicate major population replacements in Europe since the time of these first settlers).

As for artifacts, Clovis era artifacts have been tied to ?ancient European? peoples (i.e., ?Solutreans?) only by those with lots of theory but little fact to support it, or by those naively parroting them. The purported Solutrean tie has been discounted as a superficial similarity, differing on more points that it matches, by the ACTUAL Solutrean experts such as Lawrence Guy Straus. And pre-Clovis lithic artifacts in the Americas (Monte Verde, Cactus Hill, Topper, Meadowscroft, etc) are typically unifacial rather than Solutrean or Clovis type bifacials, and have been stated by the excavators of those sites to have NO similarity to Solutrean lithic industries.

?Bogart? says that Native Americans ?may not be the earliest immigrants to the Americas?, exposing ignorance... or bias... or wishful thinking... in one fell swoop. Currently, ALL evidence (DNA, linguistic, craniometric, lithic, etc) points to modern Native Americans as being descended from the earliest known inhabitants of the Americas. In those cases where claims of biological discontinuity have been espoused, closer scrutiny finds only inaccurate or out of context data behind such claims.

So for example, ?Bogart? erroneously states that ?DNA is found among some groups of "Native Americans" that matches a strand found only in Europe?. He is speaking of mitochondrial haplogroup X, which back at the time of the initial Kennewick furor was widely reported in the popular press (having been planted there by anthropologists & archaeologists WITHOUT biology degrees) as being a ?European? haplogroup totally absent from Asia. Nothing could be further from the truth (read actual scientific journal articles like Smith et al?s ?Distribution of mtDNA haplogroup X among Native North Americans? in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology, or Reidla et al?s ?Origin and Difusion of mtDNA haplogroup X? in the American Journal of Human Genetics). Even at the time of the initial reports in the press it was known that haplogroup X was MORE COMMON & more diverse in the Near East, & that Native Americans had the same overall frequency of it as did Europeans (negating any thought of their having obtained it from ?partial ancient European? ancestry), and that the Native American & European lineages came from DIFFERENT sub-clades of haplogroup X. And rather than ?absent? in Asia, it had for the most part NOT YET BEEN LOOKED FOR in that region. One of the first direct attempts to search for it turned it up among a Siberian population (again, at the same level as in Europe & North America). Subsequent studies found it to be even further ranging (India, Africa, etc). For anyone to call it a ?European? haplogroup today is as misleading as it would be to call black hair merely a ?European? trait, despite it?s being MORE common in other parts of the world that predate the settlement of Europe.

I highly recommend this book. But I also recommend visiting your local university library, or searching the internet, for copies of scientific journal articles dealing with DNA (most of this is NOT available from other sources) & linguistics & archaeology & Ice Age conditions. By neccessity, ANY single book simplifies or glosses over certain things, without ample background, the reader can be inadvertantly misled. Other useful books would be Thomas Dillehay?s ?The Settlement of the Americas.? Sadly, more detailed books like those edited by Robson Bonnichsen of the Center for the Study of the First Americans are chronically out of print, poorly described (?conference proceedings? that DON?T say when the conference took place, or books that don?t give publication dates allowing you to determine whether they might be outdated or not, etc) or are unreasonably delayed in publication. But if you can find a copy, ?Ice Age Peoples of North America? is a good read. If it ever comes out (delayed twice already), ?PaleoAmerican Origins? promises to contain invaluable information.

Factual, biting and rivetting style.......2003-11-08

As an author myself, one of the kindest remarks about my work was paid by a detractor. She had written that "Davis' words may be factual, but they are biting, irreverent and at a total disregard for social ideals.." "Skull Wars" puts me in mind of this same quote, only I am hardly a detractor. Thomas's style IS biting. His "no holds bared, this is the plain truth" writing may well ruffle some eurocentric feathers. And it may well upset more than a few Arianists. So what? His work is direct, lucid, and to the point. His willingness, and in some areas blatant will for the disregard for political correctness must be applauded. This is a great bit of writing. Period. In an age of "warm and fuzzy, let's all get along at any cost", too many Americans have forgotten (or are ignorant of) the bloody history of our forefathers. I have often remarked that the Native people's biggest mistake was not burning those three ships right into the sea.

This is an excellnt example of an interesting page turner brimming with facts in favor of social-political agendas. A must for all historians.

Where do I begin?.......2003-07-03

I wouldn't even assume Chatters was simply foolish; I'd assume he did a racist snow job worthy of Broca himself. He basically compared East Asian features to Kennewick man, said "no", and then decided it was Caucasian, ignoring some very important differences between American Indians and East Asians.

Let's first look at the stereotypes: Cradleboard compression, arthritis, and presence of all teeth. Wouldn't it be BLINDINGLY obvious that arthritis and dental problems weren't really a problem traditionally, just like how sickle-cell is a side effect for defense against malaria? And cradleboard compression similarly is a cultural, and therefore Lamarckian, trait.

On to the cephalic, or cranial index. First developed as a way to "explain away" such annoyingly inconvenient groups as Buryats and Mongols, who had larger - but broader - heads than Caucasians. (And they still couldn't explain groups like the Xhosa, Iroquois, and Eskimos.) Not that it matters; it varies widely in Europe, brachycrania occuring more in Finland, Lappland, and much of southern Europe, and a mixture of meso- and dolichocrania occurring more in the rest of Europe. East Asian groups are more likely brachycranic. In the Americas, you get a much different picture: Iroquois and Eskimos, as I mentioned. North America's generally dolicho- or mesocranic, while Central America's generally brachycranic, and South America's generally dolichocranic. (Of course, that's all assuming it's heritable.) I'd even say that plains Indians might be more dolichocranic; remember, most of the remains from that time spent their infancy on the cradleboard.

Chatters also describes the gnathic index, which is quite funny, since most forensic reconstruction books tell you a prognathous face is rarely Caucasian. Oh, and the bigots of the 19th century track prognathism as a Bad Thing, which means it can't be very common in Caucasians.

He then describes a number of other "And that's a problem because..." traits that make me wonder if he's ever seen an Indian (a long, broad nose, for example), as well as traits which are a compilation of several traits (Turner's patterns, where Turner prematurely marked Indians as sinodont without any studies).

But Chatters is a soft-liner: Loring Brace effectively ruled Indians descendants of Neanderthals as a result.

On the other hand, Skull Wars showed that one in a thousand anthropologists who have heard of Kennewick man isn't a Thor Heyerdahl wannabe.

Though I wish he'd tell that the Bering Strait theory was unanimously agreed to even before Vitus Bering was born, based on a tortured interpretation of Aztec history. It was NEVER tested.

Average customer rating:

Sad Example of Disguising Political Propaganda as Research

Intelligent, nuanced, and well-researched

Killing The White Man's Indian, A Considered Opinion

Beautifully written and highly informative

Dead on unromanticized, incisive, truthful.

Killing the White Man's Indian: Reinventing Native Americans at the End of the Twentieth Century
Fergus M. Bordewich
Manufacturer: Anchor
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Native American | Americas | History | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0385420366
Release Date: 1997-04-14

Book Description

In the face of a new lightly romanticized view of Native Americans, Killing the White Man's Indian bravely confronts the current myths and often contradictory realities of tribal life today. Following two centuries of broken treaties and virtual government extermination of the "savage redmen," Americans today have recast Native Americans into another, equally stereotyped role, that of eternal victims, politically powerless and weakened by poverty and alcoholism, yet whose spiritual ties with the natural world form our last, best hope of salvaging our natural environment and ennobling our souls.

The truth, however, is neither as grim , nor as blindly idealistic, as many would expect. The fact is that a virtual revolution is underway in Indian Country, an upheaval of epic proportions. For the first time in generations, Indians are shaping their own destinies, largely beyond the control of whites, reinventing Indian education and justice, exploiting the principle of tribal sovereignty in ways that empower tribal governments far beyond most American's imaginations. While new found power has enriched tribal life and prospects, and has made Native Americans fuller participants in the American dream, it has brought tribal governments into direct conflict with local economics and the federal government.

Based on three years of research on the Native American reservations, and written without a hidden conservative bias or politically correct agenda, Killing the White Man's Indian takes on Native American politics and policies today in all their contradictory--and controversial-guises."

Customer Reviews:

Sad Example of Disguising Political Propaganda as Research.......2005-04-04

Bordewich has written a book that may appear to go againt stereotypes of Native Americans but this is just a thin disguise for the real purpose of the book which is an all-out assault on indian rights. On just about every issue, Bordewich glorifies those Indian peoples who are willing to assimilate to mainstream American culture while portraying those who want to hold on to their own, unique cultures as "fundamentalists" who are hopeless in their devotion to romantic stereotypes. Accusing anyone who is not willing to go along with his obviously conservative political bias of being addicted to stereotypes is Bordewich's way to squash anyone with different political views. His political bias is so strong that in several occasions it affects the quality of his research since he tries at all costs to pigeonhole the facts to fit his thesis. Pretending to be an objective reporter out to debunk stereotypes makes this a very deceptive book. My advice is to stay away and read someone who is more honest about his/her agenda.

Intelligent, nuanced, and well-researched.......2003-06-29

Bordewich's study of contemporary Indian politics stands out from the usual polemics, presenting humanity instead of stereotypes. More importantly, it focuses on the present and future of native Americans, not just the past, and does justice to the complexity and diversity of American Indian tribes. Borderwich's book was obviously a labor of love. Highly recommended for anyone interested in the most important issues and questions facing Indians and non-Indian Americans alike.

Killing The White Man's Indian, A Considered Opinion.......2000-02-02

As a Caucasian who lived on two South Dakota Indian Reservations (Rosebud and Cheyenne) as a child, and whose father was an Indian Agent, I approached this book with some trepidation. However, Fergus Bordewich has crafted one of the most studious, readable and important books ever written on this subject. His research is exhaustive, yet related in a way which is entertaining and informative at the same time. There is grist for thought for anyone who has ever had an opinion on how the "Indian Problem" ought to be solved. This will be painful at times to proponents on all sides, as Bordewich's carefully balanced research points outs mistakes and avarice, both willful and accidental, by many. His conclusions will not be universally accepted, as many of his proposals are sure to be viewed with suspicion by one side or the other. Particularly noteworthy are his thoughts on "sovereignty." He points out that the Native American's general view of sovereignty does not match the definition, and fails to recognize that true sovereignty means total independence from the existing US government. This book is recommended for any student who is doing serious research about any aspect of the Native American in contemporary America. This book also is just plain good reading for anyone with an interest in how Native Americans have reached their current position in the American society.

Beautifully written and highly informative.......1999-03-08

"Killing the White Man's Indian" is perhaps the best book I've read on Native Americans. It treats the subject even-handedly while exploring critical issues of "Indian Country." The book is beautifully written, well researched, fairly presented, and highly informative. It is an excellent read for any student of Native Americans.

Dead on unromanticized, incisive, truthful........1998-01-25

In my library I have over 100 books dealing the with the American West and especially American Indian history. Original journals and histories written by such as Charles Willard Schultz and George Caitlin and Fr. DeSmet have made me crave a modern, no nonsense, unsentimentilized non New Age study re the American Indian. Bordewich's book is one of the best. I wish Hollywood and others who portray the American Indian would read it. I think the American Indian who reads it would learn a great deal about their own history. I know I did. This is not a book for those with preconceived notions garnered from watching "Dances with Wolves." This is a book for those who are searching for the truth. Well written, and well thought out,it needs to be on the shelf of every student of American Indian history.

The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother

Average customer rating:

Entertaining, Yes...Informative, No....
If you like stereotypes...
A Jewish Mother
Parenthood Pride -- A Mother Must Whimper
Very disappointing...

The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother
James McBride , Andre Braugher , and Lainie Kazan
Manufacturer: Phoenix Audio
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

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Life on the Color Line: The True Story of a White Boy Who Discovered He Was Black

ASIN: 1597770884

Amazon.com

Order this book ... and please don't be put off by its pallid subtitle, A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother, which doesn't begin to do justice to the utterly unique and moving story contained within. The Color of Water tells the remarkable story of Ruth McBride Jordan, the two good men she married, and the 12 good children she raised. Jordan, born Rachel Shilsky, a Polish Jew, immigrated to America soon after birth; as an adult she moved to New York City, leaving her family and faith behind in Virginia. Jordan met and married a black man, making her isolation even more profound. The book is a success story, a testament to one woman's true heart, solid values, and indomitable will. Ruth Jordan battled not only racism but also poverty to raise her children and, despite being sorely tested, never wavered. In telling her story--along with her son's--The Color of Water addresses racial identity with compassion, insight, and realism. It is, in a word, inspiring, and you will finish it with unalloyed admiration for a flawed but remarkable individual. And, perhaps, a little more faith in us all.

Book Description

This national bestseller tells the story of James McBride and his mother--a rabbi's daughter, born in Poland and raised in the South, who fled to Harlem, married a black man, founded a church, and put 12 children through college. Unabridged. 6 CDs.

Customer Reviews:

Entertaining, Yes...Informative, No...........2007-10-15

The Color of Water chronicles the childhood of James McBride, an inter-racial kid born of a Jewish mother and a Black father. The book describes James' mom's philosophy of raising her kids as "colorless," with undeniably good principles such as education, respect, and family unity. James is one of the youngest of many kids, and thus is relegated to menial chores and destined to ignorance in his early years, because his mother refuses to answer any of his questions.

At first, the book is actually quite interesting as you learn of the fiber of the Jordan/McBride family. The older kids are generally more rebellious and usually argue with each other about race and politics. The younger kids look up at the older kids but they reserve their ultimate respect and admiration for mommy. As the book progresses, however, the story gets extremely redundant and stereo-typical as other reviewers have mentioned. Apparently, mommy failed to instill the notion that skin color doesn't matter to their kids as they each begin to turn to racial groups and rebel against the "white man."

This book can be a page turner if you focus on only reading the book for the sake of it's story. If you attempt to read this book to gain knowledge on how to raise your kids or any other ultimate motive, I am sad to report that you will likely be dissapointed, as was I.

If you like stereotypes..........2007-09-27

If you like reinforcing stereotypes, then James McBride's book is for you. Jews have big noses, they only care about money, and of course, his converted mother only finds love through Jesus. But let's move past that. A great mother? Perhaps her children would not have had to eat sugar as a meal or wake up at 3 am (when she came home from work with free food from her employer) to eat-- else they went hungry if she had the number of children that she and her could support. Perhaps living in a house where the dog's feces is kicked under the radiator is not an indication of a strong mother. How about when she pays one fare for the subway and puts herself and the twelve children through on that one fare. These are not virtues. The writing was weak; the message was weaker.

A Jewish Mother.......2007-09-24

Legal History of the Color Line: The Rise And Triumph of the One-drop Rule

A better title for this book would be: A Dark Mulatto's Tribute to His Jewish Mother. The word "black" denies the European Jewish ancestry of the author and his siblings and the word "white" denies his mother's ethnic heritage. Mrs. McBride's Jewish ethnic values were far more important to her children's success than being "white."

Parenthood Pride -- A Mother Must Whimper.......2007-08-13

"Times were different then." Something espoused by the author's mother -- a Polish Jew who grew up in the Jim Crow south before World War II, and then raced away from her self-described purgatory to New York -- where she embraced mixed union, poverty and Jesus Christ.

How people of mixed races could live without constant clamour and request for surrender is not known to the 21st century people -- I grew up with bussing and other issues, but never saw a segregated movie theater, water fountain, or seating area. We really don't know how far we have come. And, we don't know how hard the struggle of others has been.

And, to help us understand that path, we have James McBride's autobiography/biography -- in pica print is his tale and in italic (every other chapter) is his mother's biography written by her son or her autobiography as transcribed from her taped sittings with her son.

Some things which she lived with will astound you -- I refer not to the biracial issues, but to the classic violations of Judeo-Christian ethics by the author's grandfather. As a rabbi and devout conservative Jew, the author's grandfather, we learn, abused his spouse emotionally (if not physically), abused his daughter sexually, and abused the black man in the south for personal financial gain. Interestingly, all had the same achilles heel -- each was a weakened victim. The wife a victim of polio and contract marriage, the daughter a victim of youth, and the black people victims of unadulterated 1930's racism.

Emerging from this broiling escapade by the father came the flight of a young woman to New York (the author's mother) who raised 12 bi-racial children whose faces and hair told most strangers they were anything other than children of a conservative Jew who emigrated from Poland.

In the even-numbered paragraphs (those autobiographical passages of the author), I had laugh-out-loud episodes when he recited events of his naive youth when he asked questions about his race, about his mother's race and more. Like Frank McCourt, he delivers the lines in such accurate manner that you feel as though you are sitting back and watching kids in action doing their thing which we, as adults, can not well remember nor well imitate.

This was solid fun reading based upon an extremely unique factual content.

Very disappointing..........2007-07-18

I was very disappointed with this book, especially given so many positive reviews. Though I certainly admired McBride and his siblings' ability to achieve so much given so little, I was appalled and even morally offended by the sheer stupidity and negligence of his mother as she is described (apparently in her own words) throughout the book.

I think we the readers are so overwhelmed with empathy and admiration for 12 children rising out of poverty despite obstacles of racism, poor education, no support from extended family, etc., that we forget to ask the obvious question: why would any person raise 12 children in poverty in the first place?? How is this a good decision? A mother has no job and no discernable skills, and is married to what seems like a great man - wouldn't she think after the 4th kid that "maybe I should make sure I can provide for my first 4 children before I have a 5th..or a 12th?"! To me, this is morally reprehensible! And if that's not enough, the book is littered with negligent decision making while raising her 12 kids. For example, when she drives a car without a license, she seriously risks jail time (and bankrupcy/legal problems if she hits something/someone). What would happen to her kids then? I guarantee if this same woman with no license and 12 children ran into your car, you'd be thinking much different thoughts, the nicest being "what a complete moron"! She obviously must have been a good, strong, moral woman, but she was also lucky. For every 12 child family success story, there are probably 100 other abject failures.

If I went into the woods with no water and no food and no sense of direction, and I made it out alive after 10 days of on-the-verge-of-death adventure, you might be inspired by the luck/perseverence/moral fortitude...or you might just think "why did that moron go into the woods with no water, food, or sense of direction"? That's the way I felt about this book.

Killing The White Man's Indian; The Reinvention of Native Americans at the End of the 20th Century

Average customer rating:

Exhaustively researched, thoughtfully written and fairly argued...
Political Hatchet Job of Indian Peoples
Great new look at modern American Indians
...as if the Indians were destined to vanish...
Killing the White Man's Indian

Killing The White Man's Indian; The Reinvention of Native Americans at the End of the 20th Century
Fergus M. Bordewich
Manufacturer: Doubleday
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Civil Rights & Liberties | Current Events | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Black Elk Speaks: Being the Life Story of a Holy Man of the Oglala Sioux, Twenty-First Century Edition

ASIN: 0385420358
Release Date: 1996-01-01

Amazon.com

Are the modern Indian nations little more than "reminders of a history that we would prefer not to remember," a guilty afterthought? Bordewich answers that yes, thanks to a century and more of federal mismanagement of Indian affairs, they are. Their people are plagued by alcohol, suicide, despair, and neglect. In writing of our nation's dishonorable dealings with its indigenous peoples, Bordewich asks that we examine history closely and that we take issue with received wisdom. After looking at past and present in this lively and provocative book, Bordewich envisions a future in which Native America determines its own destiny.

Book Description

Customer Reviews:

Exhaustively researched, thoughtfully written and fairly argued..........2007-07-30

I disagree with the reviewer on here who thinks the author is trying to push some kind of ridiculous agenda. Although I did learn a lot that I didn't know before, it's pretty common knowledge that many reservations are poorly-run places with little to no infrastructure and utilities where the people live steeped in poverty. Is the author's idea that Native American societies should participate in modern business in order to revitalize their economies and provide for their people a racist and degrading proposition? Do you really think his arguments for overhauling badly mismanaged tribal governments in order to better service native peoples are given in the spirit of racism and deceipt?

I think shedding such a unique and supposedly sell-out perspective as his on the subject is extremely important. Sticking to an agenda of just romanticizing the lost Native world won't soon help alleviate the poverty, alcoholism and dysfunction that plagues "Indian Country" in this day and age.

Political Hatchet Job of Indian Peoples.......2005-10-29

Bordewich pretends to be dispelling stereotypes about Indian peoples, but this is just a thin disguise for his real agenda. The book is an attack against Indian sovereignty and against the existence of tribal cultures. Bordewich argues that Native peoples should just assimilate into mainstream American culture and forget about their own. Any Indian who dresses in suit and tie and embraces Bordewich's very conservative political agenda is portrayed in this book as a "good Indian". Anyone else is portrayed as a romantic blinded by stereotypes. Bordewich, however, does not have the decency to be honest about his political agenda, but tries to make his conclusions appear as the work of an impartial observer. In order to beef up his argument, he quotes many scholars out of context and completely twists their statements in an effort to give legitimacy to his conclusions. This is one of the most dishonest, sneaky books I have read in a long time.

Great new look at modern American Indians.......2005-01-13

Fergus Bordewich does a fantastic job as he examined how the American Indians all over the United States are beginning to reinvent themselves, using the "white man's" methods to regained land control, increased in tribal power and regained the upper hand in their own destiny. The author does a good job explaining this as he traced the trouble past history of white-Indian relationship, he leaves no doubt for much of the American history, the Indians were basically left high and dry by the federal government and its white population. This situation helps created many of the myths and misconceptions people have of the American Indians today. However, by the book, the image may not reflect reality.

The author then began to investigate what many of the modern day American Indian tribes are doing to readdressed their plight and what actions seem to be working and what was not. The book reads very nicely, clearly written and reflects on many information that most Americans today are not aware of. That the American Indians are conducting an silent revolution out there in various forms of guises that might reshape the way other Americans look at the American Indians and how they look at themselves.

The book come highly recommended and its informative context should benefit anyone who reads it.

...as if the Indians were destined to vanish..........2002-01-10

The more I learn, the more my skin crawls when I hear references to the "vanishing Indian." If anything, it is even more evidence that our mainstream media is telling us what they want us to believe. Oh, it was a valiant effort made in the creation of "the land of the free and the home of the Brave," but it was not successful. Attempted genocides are rarely, if ever, completely successful. For that, we can be grateful...but just barely.

From the book:
"We, the Indigenous Peoples of this red quarter of Mother Earth, [have survived] 500 years of genocide, ethnocide, ecocide, racism, oppression, colonization and christianization. These excesses of western civilization resulted from contempt for Mother Earth and all our relations; contempt for women, elders, children and Native Peoples; and contempt for a future beyond the present human generation." (Taos, New Mexico, 1992)

Native Americans kept this country and the living forms within it pristine for thousands of years before it was "discovered" and "civilized." In 200 years it has been desecrated, vandalized, poisoned almost beyond repair, in the guise of "Manifest Destiny."

It's incredible to even consider "Patriotism" without considering the roots of its "success." One Nation, "Under God":

"In New England, zealots such as Cotton Mather encouraged the Puritans to regard the Indian as a principal actor in the cosmic drama that governed even the smallest details of life, a 'spetial instrument of God' to punish errant souls in the eternal struggle between good and evil. In such a climate, killing Indians became not merely warfare but the cleansing of sin itself.' ... The degree of violence that was woven into the texture of early frontier life fairly boggles the mind of our, in some ways, far more delicate age. In the 1650s, Dutch colonists brought back eighty decapitated Indian heads from a massacre and used them as kickballs in the streets of New Amsterdam."

"It was widely assumed by Americans that Indians were destined to vanish before the onrush of civilization, a view of things that conveniently allowed cynicism to blend with sentimentality...It was as if the Indians' disappearance were the result of some force completely beyond the human power to stay, like a tidal wave or a change of seasons."

The stories are horrendous, and should be required reading for anyone who claims to be a Patriot. This is not to say that Patriotism, in itself, is wrong. Not at all. Just that it should be an informed Patriotism, one that accepts responsibility for its history with an investment in a better and healthier future.

"Between 1850 and 1859, the federal government reimbursed the State of California $924,259 for what was basically freelance murder. ...In April of 1852, miners at Orleans Bar, 'after meeting to discuss the Indian problem, voted to kill on site all Indians having guns,' a local newspaper reported without comment. The next month, near Weaverville, 153 Wintuns were slaughtered in reprisal for killing five cows that belonged to a white man. In 1853, at Yontoket, several hundred Tolowas were murdered in the midst of their harvest dance. A survivor described it, 'The whitemen built a huge fire and threw in our sacred ceremonial dresses, the regalia, and our feathers, and the flames grew higher. Then they threw in the babies, many of them were still alive.' ...Until the 1880s, California courts barred any kind of testimony from 'Indians, or persons having one-fourth or more Indian blood in an action in which a white person was a party.'"

"Professional slave hunters raided Indian villages with impunity, seizing women and children for sale to miners and to brothels in the gold rush towns. In the mid-1850s, a pubescent girl sold for about $300 and smaller children for as little as $50."

Yes, the roots of child sexual slavery go deep into our history.

But the book is more than horror stories and balanced history. There is a future here, and a challenge to the belief that the "savage Indian" has been wiped from the face of the earth. Historical guilt has its limitations, and that is not the purpose of the book. The history of Indian law under federal policy and Indian education opened my eyes to an expansion of Indian culture that I found heartening and exciting. "More consistently than any other in the nation's history, Indian policy has embodied the nation's unending struggle to apply moral standards to the conduct of public policy."

America is not the only nation to attempt to wipe out indigenous tribes, and that is another course of study. The difference, in America, as the book points out, is that America continues to struggle with that history -- and that is something to get Patriotic about. It is a record that, though flawed, is unequaled by any other nation in its dealings with aboriginal peoples.

The book raised a question about tribal sovereignty that was new to me, and that I continue to struggle with long after having read the book. Does it move them forward, or hold them back? Would mainstreaming the American Indian be empowering? Or would it take from them what remaining culture they have left? That is the ultimate question of "celebrating diversity" vs. the "melting pot" theory of America. It is not limited to Indians. And it is a concept we must struggle with, perhaps to the point of redefining what it means to be "mainstream" in America.

Another concept that made me think was the lack of "civil rights" legislation under reservation law: free press, free speech, and separation of powers. If Federal Law is "hands off" reservation land, where to Indians find justice if their governments are corrupt? For that matter, where do we? Perhaps the question is not, who should have the power, but how do we as a nation challenge corruption?

"What are the limits of federal powers? How can tribalism be squared with the legal and moral dictates of equal protection under the law? What is the role of the states in Indian Country and of the tribes in constitutional democracy? What is the civil juristiction of tribal courts? How can the United States support tribal regimes that reject fundamental aspects of American democracy? What is the basis for asserting that reservation Indians shall have representation in state government but without taxation? On the other hand, what is the basis for asserting that non-Indian residents of Indian Country shall not be represented in tribal government yet be subject to tribal law, courts, and taxation? How can we, as Americans, tolerate double standards?"

Good questions, all of them. And Bordwich doesn't answer them. But he certainly gives us plenty with which to mull them over and discuss them. The important thing is that we not ignore them. The Indians aren't. And we are all in this together.

Killing the White Man's Indian.......2000-01-10

There aren't many books about Native Americans that tell the truth the way it should be told, truth without bias or idealism. The author has done a commendable job in supporting his information with excellent references. While reading this book, I found myself shaking my head in agreement because it addresses facts and issues that need to be addressed more often in the manner in which they are presented. This book will turn the reader from a romantic to a realist.

Average customer rating:

The DSM-IV Personality Disorders

Manufacturer: The Guilford Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0898622573

Book Description

Reflecting the tremendous progress in the study of personality disorders, this authoritative work examines the background, influences on, and evolution of DSM-IV classification and offers critical analyses of each personality disorder diagnosis. A thorough assessment of both the achievements and limitations of DSM-IV, the book is clearly written and organized for optimal accessibility. Based in part on reports from the DSM-IV Personality Disorders Work Group previously published in the Journal of Personality Disorders, this volume provides a detailed update for psychiatric clinicians, clinical psychologists, researchers, residents, educators, and students, as well as an important account of the current state of the classification of personality disorder. By identifying and exploring key issues it sets the stage for the empirical and conceptual work required to build the foundation for a valid classification of disordered personality.

Average customer rating:

What's it like to be a man without testicles
This Book Changed My Life
Men and Sexuality
Honest,refreshing, humbling
Man Made: A Memoir

Man Made: A Memoir
Ken Baker
Manufacturer: Tarcher
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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They Don't Play Hockey in Heaven: A Dream, A Team, and My Comeback Season
A Natural History of the Senses

ASIN: 1585420832
Release Date: 2001-03-01

Amazon.com

Ken Baker was a working-class boy from Buffalo, New York, who dreamed of playing professional hockey; his idea of masculinity was formed by a father who chain-smoked, warned his sons that "girls will ruin your life" (he had to marry the author's pregnant mother), and sneered at doctors' warnings to mend his bad habits--"You gotta die of something." But Baker had a tumor in his brain that flooded his body with the female hormone prolactin; he leaked milk from his nipples and could hardly ever have an erection. His wince-inducing memoir pulls no punches and uses no euphemisms in telling what it was like to be a sexually dysfunctional man in a sex-saturated society. Female readers may take a certain grim satisfaction in learning that men, too, can feel vulnerable and sexually exploited, but most will simply marvel at Baker's willingness to reveal the gory details of his failure-riddled sex life. Although he makes some high-minded claims about the insights he gained from his ordeal ("I was able to journey to a biological place few men will ever know.... My manhood today is stronger because of it"), what's really gripping here is his blow-by-blow account of what it felt like to dread sex instead of chase it, to approach intercourse as a test rather than a pleasure. We can only be relieved that surgery restored him to hormonally normal masculinity at age 27, although the girlfriend who stood by him through it and then listened to him explode with testosterone-charged rage when she complained about his subsequent insensitivity might disagree. Baker's slick prose reflects his background in celebrity journalism (he worked at People and is now a senior writer at Us), but there's no denying the fascination of his bizarre story. --Wendy Smith

Book Description

The bracingly honest memoir of a star athlete who lived with a brain tumor that flooded his body with female hormones and sent him into a sexual netherworld from which he would emerge with insights about sexuality and manhood few could imagine.

On the surface, Ken Baker seemed a model man. He was a

nationally ranked hockey goalie; girls threw themselves at him; fans cheered him. Inside, though, he didn't feel like a "man." Baker found that despite his attraction to women, he had little sex drive and even less of a sex life. To his anguish, he repeatedly found himself unable to perform sexually. Despite strenuous workouts, his body remained flabby and soft.

In his eventual career as a Hollywood correspondent for People, Baker found himself challenged and tormented by the sexually charged atmosphere of Tinseltown. His relations with women fractured. Physically, matters would grow more bizarre as he would one day find himself lactating.

The macho culture that reared Baker made it agonizingly difficult for him to seek help. But he would eventually learn that he was suffering from a rare brain tumor that flooded his body with massive amounts of a female hormone. Six hours of brain surgery would accomplish what years of therapy, rumination, and denial could not. Finally, Ken Baker would be able to feel-and function-like a man.

At a moment of heated debate over nature versus nurture, Man Made-like no other book-illuminates the biochemical nature of sexuality. Moreover, it is a fascinating chronicle of growing up sexually as a male in America-and a profound recollection of the pain that accompanies sexual dysfunction in our post sexual-revolution culture.

Customer Reviews:

What's it like to be a man without testicles.......2004-04-15

A prolactinoma is a pituitary gland tumor that produces excessive amounts of the hormone prolactin. This slow-growing tumor accurs in both men and women and is often not identified as the source of health problems until it has grown to a rather large size. In a male, excessive prolactin has an emasculating and feminizing effect. Testosterone levels decrease, the sex drive all but disappears, and erections are practically impossible to achieve. To make matters worse, when prolactin reaches high enough levels in the blood, it can cause males to lactate.

At least 10 years of Ken Baker's life was spent in the confusing world created by his prolactinoma. He was unable to understand why the rest of the guys around him were so sex-obsessed. He could not figure out why 500 sit-ups a day didn't flatten his stomach even though his fellow hockey players were able to build up their bodies with less dedication. He didn't understand why a young athletic male such as himself could rarely ever achieve an erection. He didn't know why his headaches were getting worse, and he certainly had no clue why he was lactating. But to designate Ken Baker's years living with a prolactinoma in his head as an emasculated hell would not do justice to his profound experience. He has had the rare opportunity of observing the members of his own gender with the mindset of someone somewhere between male and female. He saw us for what we are. The obsession with sex, the never-cry-in-public manliness, the male chauvinism, and other characteristics we as males possess, Ken Baker could not relate to. When finally diagnosed and treated (most importantly, when sex drive and erections returned), he was finally able to understand why so many men possessed the characteristics that he had disdained for so long.

This book several other storylines besides the chief one of the author's struggle to understand his "emasculation." He describes his relationship with his father who he loved very much despite the fact that he was often unsupportive, tempestuous, and even racist. The descriptions of his relationships with his brothers invoke both laughter and sadness.

I recommend this book to anyone who accepts the fallacy that male attitudes, sex drive, and the such are solely under the control of the mind and that males just choose to be what they are. Ken Baker is proof that a little hormone called testosterone has quite a bit more to do with it than you think.

This Book Changed My Life.......2002-02-03

As a man diagnosed with the same malady as the author, reading about someone who had endured the same misery as myself was both shocking and reassuring. Ken Baker describes his journey in compelling and sometimes painfully honest prose. His description of a descent into a torturous abyss is rivaled only by his ascent from the very depths of despair. Most of my family and closests friends have read this book and have a new found understanding for the hell some of us have endured. Mr. Baker's book is a worthy example of the power of the human spirit.

Men and Sexuality.......2001-07-18

Many women seem not to recognize that men can go through much of the same sex-related anguish that they themselves must suffer. While we may not be as vulnerable as women, cultural confusion, ignorance, shame and stinging embarassment are all in the mix for most men to whom sex is not always the big joke we make it out to be. It is often a great frustration, even for the well-adjusted. Mr. Baker's story highlights these issues through his own severe case (thank God it's rare) giving hope to anyone who has ever felt like the only one in the world who isn't getting any.

Honest,refreshing, humbling.......2001-03-16

Ken Baker's Man Made takes you into the world of a boy searching for his own manhood in a world that tries to dictate it for him. It is well written. Humor is peppered throughout what was a tormenting experience for the author. It is about a disease but it is not a book about being sick, but rather a book about living and overcoming the obstacles life presents.

Man Made: A Memoir.......2001-03-14

I could not put this book down. The writing is superb, the story truly amazing. What an incredible story told so well.

February Man: EVOLVING CONSCIOUSNESS & IDENTITY IN HYPNOTHERAPY

Average customer rating:

The excelent book

February Man: EVOLVING CONSCIOUSNESS & IDENTITY IN HYPNOTHERAPY
Milton Erickson , and Ernest Lawrence Rossi
Manufacturer: Brunner/Mazel
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Compulsive Behavior | Mental Health | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

General | Mental Health | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

General | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Hypnosis | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Psychotherapy, TA & NLP | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

General | Medicine | New & Used Textbooks | Stores | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

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Similar Items:

My Voice Will Go with You
Conversations with Milton H. Erickson, Volume I: Changing Individuals (Norton Professional Books)
Patterns of the Hypnotic Techniques of Milton H. Erickson, M.D., Volume 1 (Patterns of the Hypnotic Techniques of Milton H. Erickson, M.D)
Time Distortion in Hypnosis: An Experimental and Clinical Investigation
Uncommon Therapy: The Psychiatric Techniques of Milton H. Erickson, M.D.

ASIN: 0876305451

Book Description

This book is a fascinating case study that illustrates the use of multiple levels of consciousness and meaning to access and therapeutically reframe traumatic memories that were the source of very severe phobias and depression. A rare record of Erickson's pioneering genius in facilitating the evolution of new patterns of consciousness and identity in a patient.

Customer Reviews:

The excelent book.......2007-06-01

The bool it is excellent for those who want to explore more that just hypnosis or just therapy.

Coming Out Every Day : A Gay, Bisexual, and Questioning Man's Guide

Average customer rating:

BUY THIS BOOK!
helped me a lot!!!

Coming Out Every Day : A Gay, Bisexual, and Questioning Man's Guide
Ph.D. Bret K. Johnson
Manufacturer: New Harbinger Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Coming Out | Nonfiction | Gay & Lesbian | Subjects | Books

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Coming Out: A Handbook for Men
Outing Yourself: How to Come Out as Lesbian or Gay to Your Family, Friends, and Coworkers
Becoming Gay: The Journey To Self-Acceptance
Coming Out of Shame : Transforming Gay and Lesbian Lives
When Husbands Come Out of the Closet (Haworth Series on Women: No. 1) (Haworth Series on Women: No. 1)

ASIN: 1572240644

Customer Reviews:

BUY THIS BOOK!.......2003-07-06

As a 26 year old guy just coming to terms with my sexual orientation, this book provided the guidance I needed to accept who I was as a gay man and the support I needed to come out to my best friend. Dr. Johnson has put together a great book from start to finish. Not just a book of advice, this book makes you look at your life and do a personal inventory. I've also read "Outing Yourself" but found this book to be better. If you are questioning your sexual orientation, or just need a great guide book to coming out gay or bisexual, this book is for you! Thank you, Dr. Johnson, for writing this book!

helped me a lot!!!.......1997-06-26

really good self help book

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