Nation-building in the Post-Soviet Borderlands: The Politics of National Identities

Book Description

The emergence in 1991 of the fourteen borderland post-Soviet states has been accompanied by the reforging of their national identities. Such attempts to rethink or reimagine the nation have had a major impact in reshaping the political, cultural and social lives of both national and ethnic minority groups alike. This book analyzes these national identities and explores their consequences for the borderland states, with substantive studies drawn from the Baltic states, Ukraine and Belarus, Transcaucasia and Central Asia.

Covenants: A Borderlands Novel (Borderland (Roc))

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TERRIFIC FANTASY PAGE TURNER
Excellent !
Pretty Good
aight
A fabulous fantasy adventure

Covenants: A Borderlands Novel (Borderland (Roc))
Lorna Freeman
Manufacturer: Roc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0451459806
Release Date: 2004-05-04

Book Description

Rabbit is a trooper on the Border Guards, just another body in the King's army. But when his patrol encounters a Faena-one of the magical guardians of an uneasy ally-Rabbit is thrust into a political and magical intrigue that could start a war. Because Rabbit isn't just another trooper. He is the son of nobility-and a mage who doesn't know his own power...

Customer Reviews:

TERRIFIC FANTASY PAGE TURNER.......2007-08-18

Wow. THis is what I call state of the art fantasy fiction. A fascinating, fresh world peopled with interesting characters and a story that won't stop. Can't wait to read the next two books in the borderlands series. Kudos to the author!

Excellent !.......2007-04-15

I was thoroughly impressed with this book and the follow up, The King's Own. It took the basics of fairy tales and broadened it to be a much more complete world and reality. Lord Rabbit is endearing in his somewhat haphazard rise as a magician of his elements. This is a storyline I will definitely keep on my bookshelves to read over and over again in future years. I recommend it highly.

Pretty Good.......2007-03-05

There's a lot to like about this debut fantasy, though the book has some flaws, which I'll address below. I give it three stars, but it's really a three and a half.

First, the good stuff. The book's most obvious strength is its main character, Rabbit. It's a first person narration, and Rabbit's voice is naive, frank, wry, funny--and completely compelling. The voice, alone, makes the book worth reading. Rabbit's conflicts, both internal and external, are interesting; as a reader, I followed his adventures with great enjoyment.

I also appreciated how the author used the revelation of information to create tension in the plot. I found myself flipping back to earlier scenes, and saying to myself, "ah-ha, so that's why so-n-so did such-n-such."

The magic system is cool, and the concept of the Borderland is rich with possibility. I have no trouble believing the author will write other fun books in this world.

That said, the book has some problems.

J. Hulet's comment is right on: he/she complains that Rabbit and Co don't seem like actual soldiers. I agree that the military structure here is awfully loose. The men are constantly insubordinate to their officers and don't seem to have many duties to keep them busy. Military discipline seems nonexistent.

Freeman could have cut 30,000 words from the middle of the novel. There's loose prose all over the place, and many, many redundant scenes.

For example, one writing 'tic' I see repeated here is an action scene followed by a chatty scene in which those involved in the action scene rehash in conversation the action. Yeah, yeah, we get it: you don't have to show the scene and then tell it.

Another problem is that there are too many tertiary characters. That is, the stage is too crowded with extras that lack personality and purpose. Pointless set dressing.

'White room' scenes. This might seem to contradict my previous point, but too many of the scenes are poorly blocked (I don't know why I keep using movie terms!). The setting is often not adequately described, and the characters' positions in relationship to each other are not clear.

The plot structure is way off, especially at the beginning. There's way too much pointless wandering around before the plot gains traction and starts to move. Seriously, with the overblown wordcount and the plot problems, I wonder if Freeman's editor was asleep at the wheel.

Ordinarily, these kinds of problems would have made the book unreadable for me. Yet thanks to the compelling voice, I still enjoyed it. It's fun, and I'll consider reading the second one in the series, though I'll hope to seem some improvement.

aight.......2007-01-26

This is a good book, the style is very hard to comprehend and understand. Eventually you get used to it, overall it drags when it is not supposed to and goes through major events way to quick or just does not really acknowledge it and goes on with the story. The plot was good and that is the only reason it is getting four stars, if written a little better with more thought then yea it gets five stars.

A fabulous fantasy adventure.......2007-01-23

I picked up this book on a whim with about fifteen other books of the same genre. Two months later, most of the other fourteen books are still in the bag and I ended up heading to the mall on Boxing Day to pick up the sequel.

It's hard to pin down exactly what makes this book so engaging, but a large part of it may be due to the author's ability to avoid many of the standard fantasy pitfalls. The large cast of characters is never overwhelming, and all of them are distinct enough to be interesting in their own right and therefore memorable. Seeing everything through Rabbit's eyes means that you end up feeling very invested in the storyline, while at the same time it also means that you spend a large portion of the book having *no idea what is going on*, which is much more enjoyable than it should be. The questions are all answered in ways that make sense, the powers used never seem to veer into the godlike, and the evil characters range from the merely petty to the humanly greedy to the sadistically deranged. Funny as all heck, too.

I guess that the reason this book is so enjoyable all comes down to the likeability of Rabbit himself. It's not that everyone likes him, and certainly he's not the typical hero type, but rather that there is a strong current of affection for him that runs through the book and you end up sharing in it. The guy needs a keeper, really, and there are several characters in the book who seem to feel the same way. It's hard not to feel fond of a character whose insistence on being 'just a horse soldier' passes all reasonable limits fairly early on, just as it's hard not to feel fond of a world where the human invaders lost the war but the magical residents couldn't stop arguing amongst themselves long enough to kick them out.

I'd recommend this book to anyone who enjoys fantasy, fiction of the 'men-with-powers' type, humorous POV, strong friendships, quests, fallible narrators, and generally excellent writing. (In other words, everyone. Everyone should read this book.)

meXicana Encounters: The Making of Social Identities on the Borderlands (American Crossroads, 12)

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A vital contribution to studies of the border, gender and the mass media

meXicana Encounters: The Making of Social Identities on the Borderlands (American Crossroads, 12)
Rosa Linda Fregoso
Manufacturer: University of California Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0520238907

Book Description

meXicana Encounters charts the dynamic and contradictory representation of Mexicanas and Chicanas in culture. Rosa Linda Fregoso's deft analysis of the cultural practices and symbolic forms that shape social identities takes her across a wide and varied terrain. Among the subjects she considers are the recent murders and disappearances of women in Ciudad Juárez; transborder feminist texts that deal with private, domestic forms of violence; how films like John Sayles's Lone Star re-center white masculinity; and the significance of la familia to the identity of Chicanas/os and how it can subordinate gender and sexuality to masculinity and heterosexual roles. Fregoso's self-reflexive approach to cultural politics embraces the movement for social justice and offers new insights into the ways that racial and gender differences are inscribed in cultural practices.

Customer Reviews:

A vital contribution to studies of the border, gender and the mass media.......2005-11-03

The reader accompanies Fregoso on a passionate stream of close analysis and brilliant social critique. She reviews the ways that movies, fiction, and other cultural products continue to mark the lives of women on the border with oppresive myths of national and personal identity. Her cultural criticism covers, but is not limited to, mainstream movie portrayals of Chicana swomen, Mexican and American coverage of the Ciudad Juarez feminicides and some Chicano concepts of family and manhood. Fregoso is an important voice in the fields of both gender studies/women studies, and media studies, but this is just her standpoint, her expertise. The implications of her work ripple throughout all of contemporary critical theory.

The Borderlands of Science: Where Sense Meets Nonsense

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A popularity contest for ideas
An excellent treaty on critical thinking
Shermer Ruins the Book by Talking Too Much
An Excellent Primer on Critical Thinking
Very well arranged

The Borderlands of Science: Where Sense Meets Nonsense
Michael Shermer
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0195143264

Book Description

As author of the bestselling Why People Believe Weird Things and How We Believe, and Editor-in-Chief of Skeptic magazine, Michael Shermer has emerged as the nation's number one scourge of superstition and bad science. Now, in The Borderlands of Science, he takes us to the place where real science (such as the big bang theory), borderland science (superstring theory), and just plain nonsense (Big Foot) collide with one another. Shermer argues that science is the best lens through which to view the world, but he recognizes that it's often difficult for most of us to tell where valid science leaves off and borderland science begins. To help us, Shermer looks at a range of topics that put the boundary line in high relief. For instance, he discusses the many "theories of everything" that try to reduce the complexity of the world to a single principle, and shows how most fall into the category of pseudoscience. He examines the work of Darwin and Freud, explaining why one is among the great scientists in history, while the other has become nothing more than a historical curiosity. He also shows how Carl Sagan's life exemplified the struggle we all face to find a balance between being open-minded enough to recognize radical new ideas but not so open-minded that our brains fall out. And finally, he reveals how scientists themselves can be led astray, as seen in the infamous Piltdown Hoax. Michael Shermer's enlightening volume will be a valuable aid to anyone bewildered by the many scientific theories swirling about. It will help us stay grounded in common sense as we try to evaluate everything from SETI and acupuncture to hypnosis and cloning.

Customer Reviews:

A popularity contest for ideas.......2006-07-17

Shermer's book is an attempt to classify various lines of research into science, nonscience, and `borderlands' science, but he follows no rigorous methodology. Instead, he subjectively classifies various theories, practices, and lines of research into his three categories, based upon how popular certain theories are among mainstream scientists, and how much the theories, practices, and lines of research appeal to his narrow scientific fundamentalism.

There really is no need for this book. The celebrated philosopher Karl Popper brilliantly solved the problem of the demarcation between science, and philosophy, ideology and nonsense decades ago, and his work has been endorsed by scientists from Einstein to Hawkings. The criterion is testability. Scientific theories are theories that are capable of being tested by experiment or observation. Our theories can never be proven correct, although a single counter-instance can prove them wrong.

One can sum up Popper's famous demarcation between science and non-science by saying that the criterion of the scientific status of a theory is its falsifiability. Accordingly, theories that are not falsifiable in principle cannot claim to be scientific, and so belong to metaphysics, ideology, or pseudo-science.

Popper's criterion of testability provides a clear, logical way of separating science from ideology and philosophy. Hence, string theory is not science but philosophy, as it currently makes no predictions capable of being tested. Popper argued that Marxism started out as a scientific theory: it predicted that capitalism would lead to increasing misery among the masses, and then be overthrown by revolution and replaced by socialism; it also predicted that this would occur first in the most technically developed countries. When the so-called worker's revolution first occurred in then-backward and agrarian Russia, supporters of the theory did not accept this as a refutation: the theory was simply modified so that it became immune to falsification. In other words, Marxism was transformed into an ideology.

The universal property of scientific theories cannot be stressed enough. A scientific theory cannot be merely speculation about a particular fact or an isolated event, because nothing new and non-trivial can be predicted from such a speculation. This point has to be stressed, because it has caused a great deal of confusion among philosophers and historians of science. For example, Shermer writes in the book:

"Popper's attempt to solve the problem of demarcation ... between science and nonscience begins to break down in the borderlands of knowledge. Consider the theory that extraterrestrial intelligent life exists somewhere in the cosmos. If we find out by making radio contact through the SETI program then the theory will have been proven absolutely ... But how could this theory ever be falsified?"

Shermer's mistake is his categorization of the statement `extraterrestrial intelligent life exists somewhere in the cosmos' as a scientific theory. It is no such thing. It is merely speculation about a specific fact, from which no non-trivial predictions follow. (For instance, it does not follow from this that such life would want to contact us, would share our values, would be friendly toward us, and so forth.) It is no more a scientific theory than the statement `there are white swans somewhere on the lake.' Such statements about specific factual matters can indeed be confirmed, even proven `beyond all reasonable doubt.' But this is only because they are not universal statements. Scientific theories are universal statements about how facts fit together, and from such universal statements follow predictions about specific facts. So, from the universal statement `all swans are white' follows the prediction that `the next swans we will see on the lake will be white.' The former is a (simple) scientific theory; the latter a prediction about a specific fact that follows from the theory, and that may used to test the theory.

Note that Shermer would have formulated his idea as a scientific theory if he had stated it in a universal, testable form, such as: "life arises quickly wherever there is water and an average temperature above freezing, and given a few billion years, some of this life will become recognizably intelligent." This is a universal statement that relates specific facts to each other, can be used to make predictions about how much intelligent life exists elsewhere in our galaxy, and can be tested (at least in principle) by sending probes to planets in which conditions for life appear to have been appropriate for a few billion years. If intelligent life is not found, then the theory is refuted, and must either be abandoned or modified.

It is precisely at the "borderlands of science" that Popper's criterion works so well. Parapsychology for instance, most certainly is a science to the extent that it makes predictions capable of being tested. But Shermer gives little attention to this field, as it conflicts with his ideology of materialism.

Shermer is not a scientist, but an historian. And as an historian he has no excuse for being woefully ignorant of the history of science. At one time reports that rocks sometimes fall from the sky (what we know call meteorites) were dismissed by most scientists as superstitious fantasies. The idea that the continents could drift was ridiculed for decades. Even X-rays were considered an elaborate hoax. Those who ignore the lessons of history are doomed to repeat them, and Shermer has simply not learned that popularity of ideas cannot be used as a guide to separate science from nonsense.

But Shermer is an intellectual lightweight who is simply out of his league when discussing the philosophy of science. If you want to read something really magnificent on the subject, I recommend "Replies to my Critics", in The Philosophy of Karl Popper, Part II, edited by Paul Arthur Schilpp.

An excellent treaty on critical thinking.......2005-05-20

This is the second book on critical thinking I read by this author. The other was "Why People Believe Weird Things." They are both excellent. Michael Shermer is quite a polymath and original thinker. Armed with a Ph.D. in History of Science and an M.S. in Experimental Psychology, Shermer has acquired an outstanding understanding of the scientific method.

He is an excellent writer who has developed a lively style. He turns dry material (the integrity of science) into very entertaining books. You will note that my review jumps around quite a bit. That's because the book does too. It does not always follow a sequential pattern. However, it makes the book more fun to read.

At the beginning of the book, the author provides you with very good critical thinking tools, including 10 different steps to test a claim, and how to spot a crank. He also provides his assessment of the scientific credibility of various theories by assigning "fuzzy fractions." A 0.9 denotes a theory that is totally credible and well supported by science. A 0.1 denotes just the opposite. On such grounds, I like his distinction between SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) where he assigns it a respectable 0.5 and UFO where he assigns it a disrespectable 0.1. Thus, the search for extraterrestrial intelligence may have scientific merit. Meanwhile, testimonials of alien abductions have none.

Near the end of the book, Shermer comes back to providing more thinking tools as he shares six key steps on how to develop one's creative genius in the chapter: The Amadeus Myth. This is a fascinating chapter where he uncovers that what we interpret as gifted genius is incredibly hard work. We just observe the end product: virtuosity. But, this masks the incredibly hard life long work these individuals had undertaken whether they were Mozart or Einstein.

Over several chapters he covers the interesting research from Sulloway who conducted psychological analysis of what makes a likely scientific innovator. Through his work, the author studies in detail the profile of Carl Sagan, Stephen Jay Gould, and other scientists. Such luminaries typically have a very high openness to new ideas combined with an equally high level of skepticism. And, it is this combination that makes them unique. How many people do you know are open to new radical concepts, yet have the critical thinking quotient of testing such wild claims. That's the type of mind that can differentiate between SETI and UFOs without being either embarrassed or gullible.

The author also provides an excellent synthesis on the subject of ecocide. In just a few pages, he summarizes very efficiently what Jared Diamond took over 500 pages to investigate in his most recent book "Collapse." Shermer describes how several regional primitive civilizations exploited their natural resources to the detriment of their own survival. These included the Incas of Machu Picchu and the Polynesians of Easter Island among others. He then asks the chilling question of what will we do? Will we prevent further environmental deterioration? Or, will we commit ecocide too? All along he promotes policies based on the best scientific evidence supported by data absent of any political bias.

Throughout the book, there is an underlying admiration of Darwin. He is the benchmark of scientific integrity, and scientific timelessness. He was with few peers in his capability of fighting the status quo, questioning his theories until he had anticipated every rational rebuttal the scientific community could throw at him. In one chapter, he contrasts Darwin with Freud. Darwin was concerned primarily with the scientific basis of his theories. He never stopped refining them, researching them deeper to make sure of their validity. As a result, Darwin's posterity is second to none. Instead, Freud got more concerned about fame and posterity than the soundness of his theories. As a result, posterity was not kind to Freud. As a sign of things to come within the book, early on Shermer had assigned a fuzzy fraction of 0.9 to Darwin's theory of evolution. Meanwhile, he assigned only a 0.1 to Freudian psychoanalytic theory. In other words, Darwin's theory fully withstood the test of time, while Freud did not.

Shermer Ruins the Book by Talking Too Much.......2004-06-19

I expected more of Mr. Shermer in this outing, given his excellent work in Why People Believe Weird Things. But then, in that book, Shermer took on and successfully skewered the easy targets, such as UFO nuts, believers in astrology and other New Age fantasies, revisionist Holocaust deniers and whatnot. However, his latest effort basically amounts to little more than a barely intelligible rant than thoughtful scholarship. Shermer begins with a bold objective- trying to lay down demarcation lines between generally accepted science (as is generally accepted by scientists themselves), iffy propositions which he calls borderlands science, and a large group of topics that he labels non-science and pseudo science. I must say without hesitation that he fails miserably in his objective, partly due to his poor choice of content, but mostly because of his even poorer writing style.

Although the book starts out well, the writing steadily devolves, and by the fifth chapter, the reader must set his or her shoulders and hunker down for some very painful reading. Like most PhD holders, Shermer has acquired an impressive amount of scholarly trivia over the course of his education, yet somehow did not the master the mechanics of good writing. This actually is not hard to believe, as too many people finishing PhD programs in engineering, science and to the dishonor of all liberal arts traditions, English and history programs can not string together a few decent words of prose. Honestly, many of these programs think that they can make up for a lack of erudite soul with an overdose of abstract quantitation and esoteric facts.

And boy oh boy does this approach show in Mr. Shermer's stilted and constipated text. Moreover, as someone who regards himself as a champion of the hypothesis test and the scientific method, he really should know when to appropriately use such methods, and when not to use them. In reading his text, I got the feeling that in his graduate training he only attended the lectures in his Statistical Methods for the Social Sciences having to do with hypothesis testing, and studiously skipped all the other lectures, particularly those having to do with measurement, validity, operational definition and level of trust in results.

I say this because in his chapter on Psuedoscience and Race, he utterly fails to lay down an operational definition, and merely assumes that everyone shares the same common definition of race and knows what he is referring to. He also fails to consider the history of race and the common knowledge that race is a social construct, not a biological phenomenon. Though he provides a context (U.S. race relations), he does not provide an operational definition. He also seems unaware of considerable population genetic and molecular genetic evidence which would make it impossible for most in America to claim, at least from a genetic standpoint, to be truly 'white' or truly 'black'. Thus, from this one would have to assume, especially when reading Mr. Shermer's screed, that he defines race based on physical appearance pretty much like everybody else. However, scientists would take a different point of view, much as many a bigotted proponent of eugenics have on many occasions.

A second bone of contention that I have with Mr. Shermer's overly scientific and inappropriately quantitative approach to everything is his use in Part II Borderlands People, of quantitative methods to evaluate purely subjective things. Some variables we measure are concrete and have meaning that is fixed, such as weight, temperature and volume, athough we can use metric or English units to evaluate them. However, as I recall from one statistics text (the actual text is Richard M. Jaeger's Statistics A Spectator Sport), things like intelligence or neuroticism are totally subjective because their meaning and their measurement can change depending on who is evaluating and measuring them. For such things, there can be no common agreement as to definition or even measurement.

Which I believe Shermer should have learned, thus invalidating the invocation of Sulloway's work in his exposition. A good educational regimen in statistics (which I believe should begin with Moore's Statistics: Concepts and Controversies) would emphasize the importance of looking behind the numbers, using the appropriate measurement methods, and taking into account information other than that in the test when drawing conclusions. None of this was done within this text.

Still, I did learn a few things, being quite surprised to learn that there was actually a black champion cyclist, and Mr. Shermer did make a number of correct points. I also give him credit for (grudgingly) admitting, in his last chapter, that scientists are people too, and are motivated by the same concerns and issues like everyone else. Yet, this does not make up for the overall bad writing and worse scholarship. I expect, no, I insist on better from a self-respecting skeptic.

An Excellent Primer on Critical Thinking.......2004-01-10

Michael Shermer gives an open and honest account about the inner workings of scientific thought as well as exposing ideas that-even today-many take as fact. The above reviews criticize Shermer for presenting science as philosophy, but there is no question that science is a belief system-it is influenced by culture and opinion. It does not exist as some purely isolated set of truths, partitioned from reality. This is Shermer's point about many scientific ideas throughout the book, not a blunder or misstep. Yes, science uses a particular method to understand the world. But Shermer points out that there are culturally driven forces behind the things we chose to study. Anyone versed in scientific method understands this. Throughout the book, Shermer stresses the criteria for labeling something "science".
Using a textbook definition of science will get you nowhere if your intent is to understand how science truly works. If you want to find the true meaning of life, for instance, rarely would you use Webster's to find it.
This is a great book for anyone truly interested in science and scientific thought. Shermer uses interesting stories, facts and ideas to relay his message that science may not always be as cut and dry as we may think, but its the best method we have of interpreting the world around us.

Very well arranged.......2004-01-09

The Borderlands of Science, like all good science books includes philosophy. When you are writing about the importance and big picture of science, writing about philosophy is inevitable and very much necessary to show the meaning. Because Shermer has so much experience in cricism it is only right that he debunk nonsciences such as remote viewing. I will be anxious for new literature.

Working Wilderness: The Malpai Borderlands Group Story and the Future of the Western Range

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Saving Land from the Developers
Land management issues in the West: hotbed of contention

Working Wilderness: The Malpai Borderlands Group Story and the Future of the Western Range
Nathan Sayre
Manufacturer: Rio Nuevo
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1887896813

Book Description

Which is worse, cows or condos? Can the public lands be "saved" if the private lands are paved? What does the future hold for the West's vaunted open lands, its ever more precious water, and its fire-prone forests? Is ranching a doomed myth—as its critics charge—or the key to real conservation?

The Western range is America's most legendary landscape. It is also among its most threatened and most fiercely contested. More than 400 million acres of the West are used to raise livestock: half of the land privately owned and half of it public. In recent decades, the private lands have been rapidly converting to residential development, both around booming cities and in remote, scenic, "exurban" areas. The public half of the range has become mired in political battles and lawsuits between environmentalists, ranchers, and public agencies. In Working Wilderness Nathan Sayre examines an unusual alliance that has worked for ten years to answer these questions and preserve the wide open range: The Malpai Borderlands Group. 50 color & b/w photos.

Customer Reviews:

Saving Land from the Developers .......2007-09-13

In the early 1990s the Nature Conservancy purchased the Gray Ranch in the bootheel of New Mexico, the most ecologicially diverse area of the United States. I've always resented that the Conservancy resold the ranch to a private foundation and thus denied public access to a huge (321,000 acres) and spectacular wilderness. This book explains the factors leading to the sale and resale of the Gray Ranch. I now understand the Conservancy's motives -- but I still think the Gray Ranch should have been made accessible, at least on a limited basis, to a public hungry for wide-open spaces.

The owners of the Gray Ranch and a dozen other big ranchers make up the Malpai Borderlands Group in the high, wide, and lonesome country of southwestern New Mexico and adjacent Arizona. The ranchers have put their land in conservation easements to protect it from one of the worst environmental threats to the West: sub-division of big ranches into five acre ranchettes. The Malpai ranchers are also in the forefront of developing new and improved practices of managing rangeland. All in all, they're a damned good bunch of people. I would hope that their dedication to preserving open space would spread, especially to the ranches just across the border in Mexico.

Not mentioned in this book is another huge threat to the environment along the border: the proposed Wall to keep out illegal aliens which will also inhibit the movement of jaguars, ocelots, antelope, deer, and a host of other creatures who need to pass back and forth over the border in search of water and food.

"Working Wilderness" features wonderful photographs -- alas, not all of them labeled -- and an informative text about the Malpai Borderlands and the people who live and work there. There are sections about preserving, endangered species, the use of fire as a management tool, profiles of ranchers and conservationists, and a message that cooperation is possible between cowboys and environmentalists to preserve the greatest asset of the Western United States: open space and room to breathe.

Smallchief

Land management issues in the West: hotbed of contention.......2006-04-23

WORKING WILDERNESS: THE MALPAI BORDERLANDS GROUP AND THE FUTURE OF THE WESTERN RANGE may sound so specialized that one would think it limited only to college-level regional holdings - but it's not. The Western range covers the extent of America's western landscape and its history reveals it's one of the most fiercely contested areas in the country when it comes to land management issues. Private lands have lately been changing to residential development, further involving political and social issues conflicts, which are chronicled in WORKING WILDERNESS. Here geography professor Nathan Sayre examines the alliances that have worked to preserve the open range, The Malpai Borderlands Group, and provides an unusual expose of their efforts.

Average customer rating:

excellent new author
A little disappointing.
not bad
Better than the first
loved it!

The King's Own: A Borderlands Novel
Lorna Freeman
Manufacturer: Roc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0451460715

Book Description

When Rabbit joined the Royal Army of Iversterre, he was just trying to get off the family farm. Instead, he got mixed up with a magical from the Border, learned he couldn't escape his noble lineage, and developed some surprising talents that he can't always control. But with Iversterre sliding toward the abyss, Rabbit needs to master his powers quickly-before someone else does it for him.

Customer Reviews:

excellent new author.......2007-10-10

I've purchased both of Lorna Freeman's books after reading them at the library. She has definately become a new favorite author. How do ordinary citizens deal with magic in their midst? How long can people close their eyes to their own history? A hero named Rabbit is only the first unusual part to this tale of swords, elves, elementals and ordinary people. I can't wait for another installment of Rabbit's adventure. If you want the real story. Buy the books!

A little disappointing........2007-05-15

So I read and reviewed the first one, also giving it three stars, and shortly afterward read the second book. As in the first, the narrative voice--Rabbit's--remains strong. The flaws of the first remain, too--the book is poorly plotted and overlong. There's waaaaaay too much running around to little effect in the latter half of the novel. Another reader has commented on the 'white room' problem. Like that reader, I had trouble visualizing many of the settings.

The main problem? It was forgettable. I read it a little while ago and can barely remember the plot.

Summary? Competent, but not distinctive.

not bad.......2007-01-26

Better than the first.......2006-08-16

In the first book the author made some serious mistakes with the main character in trying to describe him as one thing and have him behave in a manner that didn't make sense.

Second book, much better consistency between a character acting like what he is supposed to be. I especially loved the way the author played off of his youth and apparent inexperience when it came to dealing with the opposite sex.

The story line was interesting again and the originality of how magic and different races exist is worth thinking about. I really enjoy the interactions between the various races and the fact that they are not automatically all best friends. To often authors neglect the conflict that is innate when bringing new people into a group to work together.

I wish that there was a little more detail on what is happening that is helping him gain better control of his powers because it felt like it just "magically" happened. I also like the fact that despite his great powers he is very limited in how much he can do with it all. It's like saying he has great talent, but no technique in how he uses it. Very good and understandable explanation.

On the whole I can't wait for the next book because the author is getting better at writing the characters without getting bored. To be honest, I can't wait to see what she is going to write next!

loved it!.......2006-07-17

I can remember picking up Covenants when it first came out and being utterly surprised on how much I enjoyed it. This one was not a disappointment. It's been some time since I read the first book and I had to really think hard about the previous situations and people from the first, but it did not ruin the storyline of this one. Yes, previous characters are mentioned and are active in this one, but I found it easy getting back in the grove of this strange and interesting land.

Rabbit, our hero, has two teachers now--Laurel(the cat man) and Wyln (the elf--also great, great uncle to the king). Speaking of the king, King Jusson is a primary character in this novel and I found him quite endearing. Someone is trying to bind Rabbit to them and the group doesn't know who, but the attack continues on Rabbit as his previous home town is attacking the king and Rabbit, also. It doesn't take long before the king and Rabbit realize the two are connected.

This book is very well written. The characters are well-rounded and full of life. The world in intriguing. I'm looking forward to the next in the series!

Russia and A Borderland In Transition Azerbaijan

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One of the best books on Azerbaijan
Russian and a Divided Azerbaijan
Thorough, objective, and well-researched.
Substantial addition to understanding of Azerbaijani problem

Russia and A Borderland In Transition Azerbaijan
Tadeusz Swietochowski
Manufacturer: Columbia University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0231070683

Book Description

-- History Today

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One of the best books on Azerbaijan.......2006-01-21

Tadeusz Swietochowski represents the region and relations between the countries in a very objective way, basing the statements on actual facts and deep understanding of the political situation in the region.

I thought I knew a lot about Azerbaijan, but after reading the book, I realized how many other things were happening in the history of this contry and specifically in its relations with Russia.

Russian and a Divided Azerbaijan.......2001-08-14

Azerbaijan, Swietochowski rightly notes, is "the quintessential borderland," being Turkish and Iranian, Sunni and Shi`i, Muslim and Christian, Russian and Middle Eastern, European and Asian. He also notes its other points of interest. Falling under Russian rule from 1804 on, Azerbaijan stands out as the first part of the Middle East brought under the rule of a modern European colonial power. Having been divided into two parts (Russian and Iranian) since 1828, it is the nation that has by far the longest endured the strains of split development.

Writings in English on Azerbaijan are meager and not of the highest quality. Russia and Azerbaijan improves matters by helping to make sense of the country's history, but its account is limited to coverage of the northern (i.e., Russian) part and to a dry, top-down history (for the Russian imperial period the author relies inordinately on literary magazines).

Current interest in Azerbaijan stems from its dramatic return to history as a vital pivot between Russia, Turkey, and Iran; as a newly important oil exporter; and as the Armenians' opponent in a vicious war since 1988. Contemplating the Turkish-Iranian rivalry for influence over independent Azerbaijan, the author foresees Turkey connecting Azeris to the larger world; but Iran, because of its Islamic emphasis and its inclusion of souther Azerbaijan, will have a greater impact on their evolving national identity.

Middle East Quarterly, December 1995

Thorough, objective, and well-researched........1998-10-23

Bravo! Finally a history of this republic that is well-written for the historian and the novice alike. Swietochowski is very objective in his approach, and systematic in the presentation of his research. I highly recommend this book for anyone wanting to know more about the two Azerbaijans and Russian involvement in the Caucasus.

Substantial addition to understanding of Azerbaijani problem.......1998-03-11

Reviewed by VICTOR KIRILLOV in International Relations, Volume XIII, No 1, - April 1996 -

The author's expertise on the complicated issues of both Russian and Middle Eastern history, politics, economy, culture and languages is beyond doubt. Indeed, while reading the book one cannot escape the impression that Tadeusz Swietochowski knows a great deal more than he writes about. Out of respect for his readers he carefully and skilfully selects the most salient and convincing facts and events to enable a better understanding of his subject matter which is not widely known to Western, and not only to Western, audiences.
Thus, he correctly points out that the Treaty of Turkmanchai signed on 10 February 1828 between Russia and Iran constituted a momentous event in the history of Transcaucasia, and, in particular, in the history of the Azeri people, that is of the natives of Azerbaijan. For the Azeris, the conquest of their earlier semi-independent Khanates by Russia and Iran, finally provided for in the 1828 Treaty, meant a partition of their land and people that has lasted to this day. `The international aspect of Azerbaijan's division', the author remarks, `created a delicate balance of power in one corner of the turbulent Middle East, a situation resembling that of nineteenth-century East Central Europe, where maintenance of a partitioned Poland ensured lasting peace among Russia, Austro-Hungary and Germany'. Internally, the two Azerbaijans, the Iranian one to the south of the Araxes, and the Russian, later Soviet and now independent Azerbaijan to the north of it, were put on different tracks of historical development. The author's coverage of Russian and later of Soviet policy in Azerbaijan is a splendid piece of research into a subject which has only been lightly covered by Russian and Soviet authors themselves. Given all the dark and bright sides of Russian colonial rule, there is one feature, as Mr Swietochowski rightly assumes, which stands out: Russian and Soviet domination contributed to the Azeris' development into an independent nation with political, cultural and religious aspirations running contrary to the deep-rooted beliefs of their Southern relatives in Iran. The process of historical differentiation has gone so deep that even the most radical nationalists in the last days of the former Soviet Azerbaijan hesitated to advance the slogan of unification of the Azeri nation. The Programme of the People's Front of Azerbaijan, adopted in June 1989, merely provided for the restoration of economic, cultural and social ties between the divided nation and the creation of direct human contacts between relatives and friends.
Pan-Turkic and Muslim sentiments in the former Soviet Azerbaijan certainly exist, and they are scrupulously analysed by the author. Extreme bitterness over the dramatic events in Azerbaijan's conflict with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabagh especially contributed to the rise of anti-Western and anti-Russian feelings in Baku. Yet, even at the peak of the crisis these feelings did not become dominant in Azerbaijani society. This is one of the principal explanations of the seemingly paradoxical fact of the recent reappearance of former Soviet nomenclatura rulers on the political scene and the virtual collapse of the nationalistic People's Front. It also explains, at least partly, the reasons lying behind the relative international stability of the new independent Azerbaijan which has found itself at the very epicentre of Russian-Turkish-Iranian geopolitical rivalry. The author also gives other well-founded reasons for that. Until now neither Iran nor Turkey has expressed any desire to fill the power vacuum in Transcaucasia created by Russia's retreat. Iran is obviously reluctant to incorporate six million well-educated, Turkic-speaking people from the former Soviet Azerbaijan, fearing that this might dramatically change the character of the Iranian state itself. For its part, Turkey fears any distraction from its goal of integration with Europe. Meanwhile, both states as well as Russia restrict themselves to securing strategic and economic advantages in Azerbaijan without incurring undue burdens.
Finally, as the author concludes, the people of Azerbaijan itself, `are apt to take guidance from their ancient political heritage: moderation and compromise'. There, he believes, `extremism locks a fertile ground, and its avoidance has been understood as the essence of the community's survival'.
Based on original sources that include Azerbaijani, Russian, Polish, British and American archives, this elegantly written book by American scholar Tadeusz Swietochowski, who already enjoys a high reputation as a researcher of both Middle Eastern and Russian history and politics, substantially adds to our knowledge of the fascinating problems and developments in this region of the world.
VICTOR KIRILLOV

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Living with Strangers: The Nineteenth-Century Sioux and the Canadian-American Borderlands
David G. McCrady
Manufacturer: University of Nebraska Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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The Making of the Mexican Border: The State, Capitalism, and Society in Nuevo León, 1848-1910

At America's Gates: Chinese Immigration during the Exclusion Era, 1882-1943

Ringside Seat to a Revolution: An Underground Cultural History of El Paso and Juarez, 1893-1923

ASIN: 0803232500

Book Description

The story of the Sioux who moved into the Canadian-American borderlands in the later years of the nineteenth century is told in its entirety for the first time here. Previous histories have been divided by national boundaries and have focused on the famous personages involved, paying scant attention to how Native peoples on both sides of the border reacted to the arrival of the Sioux. Using material from archives across North America, Canadian and American government documents, Lakota winter counts, and oral history, Living with Strangers reveals how the nineteenth-century Sioux were a people of the borderlands. The Sioux made great tactical use of the Canada-United States boundary. They traded with the MÃ©tis of Canada-often in contraband goods such as arms and ammunition-and tried to get better prices from European traders by drawing the Hudson's Bay Company into competition with American traders. They opened negotiations with both Canadian and American officials to determine which government would accord them better treatment, and they used the boundary as a shield in times of warfare with the United States. Until now, the Canadian-American borderlands and the people who live there have remained a blind spot in Canadian and American nationalist historiographies. Living with Strangers takes readers beyond the traditional dichotomy of the Canadian and the American West and reveals significant and previously unknown strands in Sioux history. David G. McCrady is an independent historian living in Winnipeg.

Ranching, Endangered Species, And Urbanization in the Southwest: Species Of Capital (Environmental History of the Borderlands)

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An intriguing and ground-breaking book

Ranching, Endangered Species, And Urbanization in the Southwest: Species Of Capital (Environmental History of the Borderlands)
Nathan Freeman Sayre
Manufacturer: University of Arizona Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Conservation | Environment | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0816525528

Book Description

How the Buenos Aires Ranch became not only a rallying point for multiple agendas in the "rangeland conflict" after its conversion to a wildlife refuge but also an expression of the larger shift from agricultural to urban economies in the Southwest. Sayre evaluates both sides of the controversy--from ranching's impact on the environment to environmentalism's sometimes misguided efforts at restoration--to address the complex and contradictory roles of ranching, endangered species conservation, and urbanization in the social and environmental transformation of the West.

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An intriguing and ground-breaking book.......2005-04-02

Sayre's book on ranching and endangered species uses a compact study area, the Altar Valley of Southern Arizona, to analyze various forms of human and 'natural capital.' The book is deep in the area's history, ecology and current resource management practices, and yet also steeped in theoretical arguments that make perfect sense given his overall argument. The Bobwhite Quail plays a central role in producing a landscape of "Nature" (big "N") that becomes the pivot-point for contemporary rural politics between ranchers, environmentalists, and federal agency workers. Really good research, and still accessible; kudos to the author.

Barrios and Borderlands: Cultures of Latinos and Latinas in the United States

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Barrios and Borderlands: Cultures of Latinos and Latinas in the United States
Denis Heyck
Manufacturer: Routledge
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0415903955

Book Description

b /b b i Barrios and Borderlands /i /b paints a portrait of the complex and fascinating mixture of Latino cultures in the United States today. This unique anthology embraces a broad range of genres, disciplines and ethnicities. It highlights the diversity of Latino cultural expressions and points out the distinctive features of the three major Latino populations: Mexican, Puerto Rican and Cuban. br br The book is organized around six central cultural themes: family, religion, community, the arts, (im)migration and exile, and cultural identity. Each chapter focuses on a particular theme by presenting readings from a variety of genres, including short stories, poems, essays, excerpts from novels, a play, photographs, even a few songs and recipes. These materials allow readers to approach Latino cultures from a multiplicity of perspectives. br br The anthology also presents interviews and oral histories of Latinos from diverse walks of life and geographic regions. A migrant worker from the orange groves of Florida, an ethnomusicologist from northern New Mexico, a community organizer in the i maquiladoras /i that line the border, a refugee from Central America, a muralist from Los Angeles, a museum director from Chicago, and a Spanish-language television executive from Chile--these are some of the people whose stories enrich the anthology. Their voices provide authenticity, immediacy, drama and inspiration. The interviews draw readers into the subject in an intensely personal way and weave together the various thematic strands of the book. br br b /b b i Barrios and Borderlands /i /b tells the valuable story of Latino cultures in this country and integrates that story into the larger framework of United States cultural history. Avoiding a chronological approach, it offers a dynamic and integrated way to look at Latino cultures which allows readers to draw comparisons with mainstream culture and with their own personal experiences. The book includes an introduction and a timeline reviewing thehistory of Latinos in the United States as well as a glossary of Spanish terms.

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