Book Description
In The Children Are Free, Rev. Jeff Miner and John Tyler Connoley offer a comprehensive yet easy-to-read examination of the biblical evidence regarding loving same-sex relationships and God's attitude toward them.
In Chapter One, the authors lead the reader through a discussion of each of the six passages traditionally used against gay, lesbian, and bisexual people. In their friendly and authoritative style, they demonstrate how an anti-gay interpretation is a misapplication of these scriptures.
Then, in Chapter Two, Miner and Connoley turn our attention to the biblical stories and passages that affirm loving same-sex relationships. Did you know Jesus once met a gay person? Jesus' loving response is just one of the well-researched stories presented in this chapter.
Chapter Three asks readers to take seriously the call of Jesus to think more deeply about biblical rules. And Chapter Four calls Christians to action, making a connection between the conflicts in the early Church and those occurring within the Church today.
This book belongs in the library of any Christian questioning the role of Scripture in the lives of gay, lesbian, and bisexual people, or the role of GLB people in the Church.
Customer Reviews:
Simple book delivers profound insight.......2007-09-01
This book is for those who wish to find out the truth about what the Bible REALLY says about homosexuality. It isn't for those who want to read it in order to disprove it. It is for those who need a clear, concise and Biblically sound response to the major scriptural passages concerning homosexual expression. Approach the book with an open mind and ask the Holy Spirit to speak to you. Don't come to it with your preconceived ideas, even if you're supportive of gay people. Let something fresh come to you from this book, because it has the power to do that. It is infused with God's character - love, humility, sound reasoning and clarity. It has something to say to the church if only the church would open their ears to listen.
A book that answers the question it asks........2007-08-05
This book is biblically sound and addresses both the clobber passages so often misquoted on same-sex relationships and other passages not normally considered as speaking to this topic. I have recommended this book to many of my friends.
This book doesn't leave you with a cloud of suspicion over your head.......2007-05-20
I have read over 20 books on the subject of homosexuality and every one of them left me feeling they weren't being completely honest or they were relying on speculative historical data. Many books on this subject are looking for loopholes or excuses. This book is so straight forward and honest. The authors remind us over and over again that we need to be careful what questions we bring to the bible: in this case "Is a relationship of two people of the same sex possible and can it be blessed by God?" The Children are Free is very simple and very clear.
This book, as well as "Calling the Rainbow Nation Home" and "A Time to Embrace Same Gender Relationships in Religion, Law and Politics" are the 3 essential books that I would recommend to any person of the Christian faith who is truly struggling with the issue of homosexuality.
The Children Are Free.......2007-05-16
What a great book!
Just the thing I have been trying to find!
Both solid scholarship, faith-insight and wrestling,
but also timely and provocative.
Thank you, Amazon, for making this book so readily available
to the interested public.
I sincerely hope more people will get this book
and study it, inch by inch, line by line.
I did not realize how un-faithful I have become concerning
this topic.......needed to have my biases challenged by one
who really cares deeply about this subject.
if only..........2007-05-13
The first half of this book should be available as a pamphlet! It was a wonderfully done examination and explanation of how one can read the Bible, believe in it, and still not condemn homosexuals.
But the second half ruins the whole thing. In the second half, they spout Spong-ian anti-theology that attempts (and fails) to undermine not only traditional Christianity as a whole, but also their own argument in the first half. If the first half were there all alone, it could be a book to present to conservatives to show how the traditional understanding of the key passages is in error. But the second half undermines that usage, as it claims that the Bible is just a set of myths and legends, that it doesn't really matter what it says, only what you get out of it: UU uselessness. And for this reason, no conservative will be convinced of anything but their own fears that all the people who support homosexuality are hopeless liberals who don't believe in Biblical authority.
I am deeply disappointed, and I plan on looking elsewhere for help in presenting the *good* arguments to those of us who believe in the Bible. I strongly recommend that a person buy the book, and read only the first half, and tear out the second half and burn it.
Average customer rating:
- Free At Last
- wise and deep novel
- Ordinary Family Relationships--Extraordinary Book
- A great Southwestern read
- Over-baked Cake
|
Yellowcake
Ann Cummins
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 Contemporary
| General
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Literary
| General
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
United States
| Short Stories
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| United States
| World Literature
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Look Inside Fiction Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
Similar Items:
-
Red Ant House: Stories
-
You Must Revise Your Life (Poets on Poetry)
-
Circadian (Poets, Penguin)
-
'Night Mother.
-
The Undercards
ASIN: 0618269266 |
Book Description
For her acclaimed collection of stories, Red Ant House, Joyce Carol Oates hailed Ann Cummins as "a master storyteller." The San Francisco Chronicle called her "startlingly original." Now, in her debut novel, Cummins stakes claim to rich new literary territory with a story of straddling cultures and cheating fate in the American Southwest. Yellowcake introduces us to two unforgettable families"one Navajo, one Anglo"some thirty years after the closing of the uranium mill near where they once made their collective home. When little Becky Atcitty shows up on the Mahoneys' doorstep all grown up, the past comes crashing in on Ryland and his lively brood. Becky, the daughter of one of the Navajo mill workers Ryland had supervised, is now involved in a group seeking damages for those harmed by the radioactive dust that contaminated their world. But Ryland wants no part of dredging up their past - or acknowledging his future. When his wife joins the cause, the messy, modern lives of this eclectic cast of characters collide once again, testing their mettle, stretching their faith, and reconnecting past and present in unexpected new ways. Finely crafted, deeply felt, and bursting with heartache and hilarity, "Yellowcake" is a moving story of how everyday people sort their way through life, with all its hidden hazards.
Customer Reviews:
Free At Last.......2007-09-20
"Yellowcake" called to me from the library shelf because of the Native American theme. Perhaps I didn't read closely enough, but I didn't realize I was a reading a book with a main element of cancer death. Ann Cummins does an interesting job of focusing on a group of characters all affected by radioactivity in the uranium mines. The term "yellowcake" apparently comes from the radioactive residue that coated machinery and was frequently handled by Native American workers. However, all that is background for the story.
It is in the narrative that the novel bogs down. There are so many characters that it becomes hard to keep them separate. After reading, I'm still a bit confused as to who belongs to whom. In a novel where there are several races as well as mixed blood, I was frequently confused about each character's heritage. It seemed to be an important issue; so it needed to be made more clear.
For a substantial portion of the book, we follow Ryland Mahoney who is in failing in health and walks with an oxygen tank. The story goes into Ryland's dream life punctuated by consciousness. Ryland was the foreman at the mine. Others blame him for the deaths of their loved ones. One of the most effective chapters is where Ryland takes a bath and falls asleep in the tub, becoming unable to move due to hypothermia. This leads into a series of chapters about a funeral. For quite a while, I thought the funeral was for Ryland. Instead, Cummins clumsily makes the funeral about a very minor character named Woody that appeared for about three pages. There doesn't seem to be any intentional misleading. We're supposed to recall the huge cast of characters and determine who has died by the family members involved. This was one of the most ineffective parts of the book.
Cummins also seems to explore many relationships in the book, leaving them open-ended. We have the reappearance of Sam who apparently is still married. Delmar is Sam's half-Native American, half-White son. Sam's wife Lily has failed to file divorce papers for something like 17 years (can't recall exactly) because she apparently still loves Sam. However, she then gets very frightened after giving Sam $5,000 and then claiming that he stole the money. No one addresses the fact that she's lying. Meanwhile she becomes totally paranoid about Sam attacking her and deteriorates mentally. Sam goes swimming in a stream and that's the last we hear of him. Cummins takes a major plot line and then drops it like a hot cake at the church pancake social.
Other love relationships are also unclear. Cummins spends less time developing the characters Becky and Harrison. Political issues about the reopening of the mine come into play, but the relationship is left hanging and unresolved. All of this leads to the experience of having dropped in on the life of these characters. Unfortunately, we exit the book not sure of what has happened. "Yellowcake" seems muddy and unresolved. The book's pacing bogs down as Cummins spends huge amounts of verbiage describing things that add no particular value to the unfocused plot.
In the end, this book was depressing. Segments were well written. But it was a story that I waded through to be able to joyfully exclaim as I turned the last page, "Free at last! Free at last! Great God Almighty, I'm free at last!" Maybe the best way to be free of this book is to not start it. Taxi!
wise and deep novel.......2007-04-01
I flat-out love this novel. The review in the Washington Post, which described the "marvels of insight and sympathy" in Ann Cummins's perceptions and character depiction, seems to get at what makes it so great -- that the book should have such a gripping set of intertwined plots, all beautifully balanced, along with wonderful writing, urgent human questions, and believable characters.
It's a wonder to have so many vivid people in this novel, all completely distinct and all seen with a mixture of clarity and compassion. Ann Cummins seems to understand people of all different ages, genders, backgrounds, celebrating their quirks and strengths without excusing any of their faults.
This is a novel that you experience as if you were living it rather than reading it. The book provides an education in how it feels to inhabit different lives. How are people caught in their circumstances, what kinds of choices do they have to make, and what do their choices cost them and the people around them? What are the specific human results of bottom-line decisions? At what point does peace of mind or duty to the family feel more important then doing the "right" thing? What is the right thing, and how do we know?
As a reader, I have a weakness for literary page turners, writers like Iris Murdoch or Toni Morrison who can keep you up all night with great plots and beautiful language, writers who can create characters you seem to know better than most of the people in your life. Yellowcake is that kind of literary page turner. It is a pleasure to read, and at the same time it makes demands: its intelligence asks for intelligence on the part of its readers. It leaves you bigger afterward, if you're able to face the questions it raises.
Ordinary Family Relationships--Extraordinary Book.......2007-03-28
Knowing nothing about the southwest, Navaho culture, uranium mining, or the illnesses that come from it, I entered a whole new world when I read Yellowcake. But not entirely new: Families seem to be the same everywhere, and the author has been able to capture the rich functions and dysfuctions of daily life in families and extended families when everything is going on: wedding preparations, terminal illness, new relationships blossoming, old relationships exploding. The inter- and intracultural, inter- and intragenerational relationships bring light to the external circumstances in the novel, just as the external circumstances push and pull the characters to their best and worst behavior. I've learned some about the southwest, Navaho culture, uranium mining, and Yellowcake, but mostly, I've entered a world of some very real people, and watched them as they've made difficult decisions under difficult circumstances. I loved the book, and didn't want my relationship with these people to end.
A great Southwestern read.......2007-03-27
Having lived for many years in New Mexico and being an enthusiastic consumer of fiction set in the area, I grabbed Ann Cummins' novel off the shelf as soon as it was published.
I expected a muck-raking story of oppression and exploitation in the notorious open-pit uranium mines. But what I found instead was a complex interweaving of several distinct stories, all centering on the difficult choices--and compromises-- we all must make in life. The characters were well developed and richly diverse, especially the half Navajo hero who holds the story together. I finished the book in a single evening, staying up far later than I should have on a work night. I was wiped out the next morning. It was well worth it.
I've read a lot of other "southwestern" novelists---Udall, LaFarge, Anaya, Hillerman, and even Willa Cather. Ann Cummins is right up there with them.
Over-baked Cake.......2007-03-23
The author's first novel (after a highly-praised book of short stories) bogs down in too much detail, and too little dialogue and action. The reviews told me this book was worth reading, so I was hopeful. It opened with a good scene, then fell flat. Little tension. Slow pace. I kept trying to move forward, but the narrator kept holding me back. Long sections, page after page, of big block paragraphs where the author is telling more than showing. Heavy-handed authorial (narrator) intrusion makes the reader feel too distanced from the characters to care enough about them.
Feels like pieced together vignettes. Or a short story stretched too thin and then overly padded into a novel. Where's the plot? There is a story in there somewhere. But the narrator keeps interrupting with details that overwhelm and frustrate the reader. I felt like every time I started to get close or warm up to the characters, the author/narrator pulled me aside to tell me about them.
The author needs to get out of the way and let the reader interact directly with the characters. Cummins may be trying too hard to prove her worthiness as a novelist. She needs to see from the reader's perspective. Less is more. And this felt more like a docu-drama than a novel. It's a worthy subject, and a valid effort at character study, but as a story it grows tedious. Obviously a capable writer who needs to smooth out the lumps and mix her ingredients better.
Book Description
“A YOUNG WRITER OF IMMENSE GIFTS . . . One of the best books I have ever read about contemporary life in the mountains of southern Appalachia. . . . I could see and feel Free Creek, and the mountain above it.”
–LEE SMITH
After his mother is killed, four-year-old Clay Sizemore finds himself alone in a small Appalachian mining town. At first, unsure of Free Creek, he slowly learns to lean on its residents as family. There’s Aunt Easter, who is always filled with a sense of foreboding, bound to her faith above all; quiltmaking Uncle Paul; untamable Evangeline; and Alma, the fiddler whose song wends it way into Clay’s heart. Together, they help Clay fashion a quilt of a life from what treasured pieces surround him. . . .
“A long love poem to the hills of Kentucky. It flows with Appalachian music, religion, and that certain knowledge that your people will always hold you close. . . . Like the finely stitched quilts that Clay’s Uncle Paul labors over, the author sews a flawless seam of folks who love their home and each other.”
–Southern Living
“Unpretentious and clear-eyed . . . A tale whose joys are as legitimate as its sorrows.”
–The Roanoke Times
Customer Reviews:
Somewhat disappointing..........2006-10-27
I read both A PARCHMENT OF LEAVES and COAL TATTOO prior to reading this one, and while I liked CLAY'S QUILT, I felt it was lacking some of the beauty and charm of the other two books.
I found it a bit difficult to like some of the characters (Cake and Evangeline were a bit to cliché for me) and I felt there could have been more written about Dreama and Darry's situation. I also found some of the story predictable - I could see the bar brawl and the confrontation between Clay and Denzel coming down the road a mile away.
I was also a little confused on what I was supposed to surmise about the relationship between Clay and Cake. A couple of times while I was reading this book, I though for sure I was going to start reading some scene from BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN.
Also, having read A PARCHMENT OF LEAVES and COAL TATTOO prior to this one, I became very aware of some inconsistencies in the three stories. For example, in COAL TATTOO, Easter and Anneth refer to both of their grandmothers by their first names, Selena and Vine. In this book, there are references made about "Granny" - I don't recall the two grandmothers ever being referred to as Granny in COAL TATTOO. Also, the character of Marguerite seemed to just pop up out of nowhere. She did not exist in COAL TATTOO.
I thought that the last 50 pages of this book were well worth reading the entire story, but if you have not done so, please read the other two books in this trilogy.
Truth and honesty???.......2006-10-02
This book (and other's by Silas House) celebrates too many negative aspects of life in Kentucky's Eastern Appalachian Mountains. First, Clay is an undereducated coal miner who drinks and does pot and spends his free time in bars. Second, the other characters are equally undereducated, one a teenage mother, and almost all are in abusive relationships. Third, Clay falls in love with another man's wife and the two fight it out in a drunken brawl at a local bar (which is apparently the only entertainment around).
Moreover, the overall theme of House's work is that of "celebrating one's heritage". While this may be a good thing for many people, Clay's family never encourages him to better himself. He doesn't go to college, and while Clay does briefly leave home, he later returns and builds a house right in Aunt Easter's yard. Having come from a large family in Eastern Kentucky, I know that this is one of the problems in the area, no one wants their children to leave, and thus people rarely reach their full potential.
Clay's Aunt Easter doesn't leave her own home very much either (Easter behaves similarly in the Coal Tattoo), and she condemns Clay's mother for trying to "live a little". Clay's mother equally fails at leaving home and comes back to Eastern Kentucky in The Coal Tattoo. It would be one thing to celebrate the families and communities if they were strong, but they are not. The Eastern Kentucky region is fraught with issues of poverty, under or no education, unemployment, drop outs, drug abuse, and a large amount of people on government assistance (Clay's cousin in the novel is on WIC). While other areas of America have the same issues as Eastern Kentucky, I wish that some writers would have enough courage to honestly write about them. And I wish House's novels had explored these issues more instead of adopting the attitude of acceptance and celebration. While Eastern Kentucky is an area rich with its own language and culture, people who are endearing and pioneering, and people who are agrarians at heart, the area does have many problems that cannot continue to be brushed under the rug. Many Eastern Kentuckians do not have proper educational opportunities (or do not take advantage of those offered), are slow to accept change, and most do not want their children to leave the area.
Of course there are other major issues in all three of House's novels that he addresses very well. In particular the issues of big coal companies taking over the land, taking advantage of the undereducated, and reeking havoc on the land and the environment. The coal companies and timber companies are in direct conflict with the agrarianism that many of the older generation of Eastern Kentuckians have held onto. In addition, House adequately explores the dangers of the coal mining and timber mining industry in his novels. However, I was left wanting more truth and honesty from House's work, but I suppose the literary world will have to wait for such a writer.
Outstanding - Clay and Alma are great character in fiction.......2006-07-23
Silas House's trilogy on the lives of people in Kentucky coal country is one of the best-written series of novels I have seen in many a year. The writing is not only superb in structure but gripping and evocative without seeming forced, as so many modern novelists seem to be. His characters are not always likeable but are always interesting: they are real characters, as opposed to "types," and that makes all the difference in the world between a light read and something deeper.
"Clay's Quilt," the third and last book in the series, focuses around the maturity and life of Anneth Sizemore's son, who is only four years old when his mother is murdered by the stepfather he never knew and doesn't remember. Haunted by her image and wanting resolution, he spends the bulk of his young adulthood searching for pieces of her to put together like the crazy quilts his granduncle Paul makes. Raised equally by his kindly aunt Easter and his wilder but equally kindly uncle Gabe, Clay matures into a deeply sensitive young man, inheriting that side of his mother without even realizing it.
One of the best aspects of this book is the character of Alma, the estranged fiddler daughter of a powerful Baptist preacher who leaves her abusive, cocaine-snorting husband to live a life of relative freedom with her even wilder sister Evangeline, a singer in a honky-tonk. Alma's deep connection to music is as mysterious and unexplained as Clay's connection to his family and the area in which he was raised, and lives. Descriptions abound in the book of the way Alma's deep, intense focus on creating and/or performing music remove her completely from the physical plane and put her in the realm of pure spirit. Though Anneth and Easter both responded to the folk, pop and country music they heard in "Coal Tattoo" in an intense way, Alma's connection as both composer and performer kept me spellbound. This is as close as music comes to theism, and Silas House explains it in a way that is both logical and completely understandable, at least for her.
Highly recommended.
Long live House!.......2006-05-21
I had the privelege of reading this book years ago, and immediately sat down to write its creator; little did I know that he would write me back (spending the time to scratch out his thoughts on a post card no less) and express how truly down to Earth that he was.
I have read all three of his books, and was lucky enough to meet him in person when he came to Birmingham. Even though, "A Parchment of Leaves" remains to be my favorite, I still love anything he writes. I can't tell enough people about this writer who not only celebrates life, but through his novels, urges others to do the same. While Clay's Quilt is tacitly connected to the 'trilogy' about Anneth and Easter, Clay's mother and aunt, it can still be read on its own.
I never have been to Kentucky, but when one reads a Silas House novel, you will not be able to say you haven't experienced the spirit of Appalachia anymore. Stunning, lyrical, and absolutely heartbreaking. I can't recommend it enough.
Although this review is a nod toward the author more than his work, I assure you once you read one of his books you will be an instant fan, as I was.
A Welcome New Voice in Southern Fiction.......2006-03-26
There's a great new voice in Southern fiction, and it belongs to Kentucky novelist Silas House. Two years ago, I had the privilege of reading "The Coal Tattoo," his third novel, and was haunted by its depiction of how land, religion and family simultaneously freed and circumscribed an unforgettable Appalachian family. So when someone in my book club suggested we read "Clay's Quilt," House's first novel (which addresses a later generation in the same mountain family), it was my top choice.
The novel has everything: passion, family, faith, violence, and did I mention passion? One recurrent theme is the idea that there exists only a razor-thin separation between life-making zeal -- for God, for music, for family -- and life-destroying violence. The same characters are capable of both extremes, even Clay, the gentle young miner at the heart of the story. House uses a quilt as a metaphor for Clay piecing together his family hstory (and yes, this has been done before; quilt-as-metaphor is certainly familiar literary territory, but I can't think of anyone who's done it better than House). When his own unspeakable act of violence causes him to remember the details of his mother's tragic death, Clay stands at the brink of the abyss, pulled from self-loathing and depression only by the grip of his family's love.
I loved the literary symbolism in this novel, particularly the red birds, who flit in and out at key moments, and Anneth dancing in the snow in her red coat. But House uses these not merely to impress the critics but to emphasize the characters' unbreakable ties to the land where they live. The birds, the flowers, the trees (which House describes at one point as "burning" with God's presence) are extensions of the family and their love for each other. The people are inseparable from nature.
I think that Silas House ranks up there with Wendell Berry and Barbara Kingsolver as the holy trinity of Kentucky writers. I'm going to read "A Parchment of Leaves" next, which takes the Sizemore family back yet another generation.
-- A longer version of this review was posted on March 17, 2006 at The Review Revolution (janariess.typepad.com).
Average customer rating:
|
Tax Facts on Insurance & Employee Benefits 2005: Life & Health Insurance, Annuities, Employee Plans, Estates Planning & Trusts, Business Continuation (Tax Facts on Insurance & Employee Beneftis)
Manufacturer: Natl Underwriter Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Taxes
| Accounting
| Industries & Professions
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
All Titles
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
Similar Items:
-
Tax Facts on Investment 2005: Stocks, Bonds, Mutual Funds, Real Estate, Oil & Gas, Puts, Calls, Futures, Gold, Savings Deposits (Tax Facts 2)
-
Tools & Techniques of Employee Benefit And Retirement Planning: Tools & Techniques Of Employee (Tools and Techniques of Employee Benefit and Retirement ... of Employee Benefit and Retirement Planning)
ASIN: 087218658X |
Book Description
At a time of astonishing confusion about what it means to be a man, Brad Miner has recovered the oldest and best ideal of manhood: the gentleman. Reviving a thousand-year tradition of chivalry, honor, and heroism, The Compleat Gentleman provides the essential model for twenty-first-century masculinity.
Despite our confusion, real manhood is not complicated. It is an ancient ideal based on service to one's God, country, family, and friends—a simple but arduous ideal worthy of a lifetime of struggle.
Miner's gentleman stands out for his dignity, restraint, and discernment. He rejects the notion that one way of behaving is as good as another. He belongs to an aristocracy of virtue, not of wealth or birth. Proposing neither a club nor a movement, Miner describes a lofty code of manly conduct, which, far from threatening democracy, is necessary for its survival.
Miner traces the concept of manliness from the jousting fields of the twelfth century to the decks of the Titanic. The three masculine archetypes that emerge—the warrior, the lover, and the monk—combine in the character of the "compleat gentleman." This modern knight cultivates a martial spirit in defense of the true and the beautiful. He treats the opposite sex with the passionate respect required by courtly love. And he values learning in the pursuit of truth—all with the discretion, decorum, and nonchalance that the Renaissance called sprezzatura.
The Compleat Gentleman is filled with examples from the past and the present of the man our increasingly uncivilized age demands.
Customer Reviews:
Gandhi or Galahad?.......2007-09-25
Miner has provided an excellent description of concepts of honor and chivalry and "gentlemanly" behavior across the last two thousand plus years. The discussion is wide-ranging, from Trappist monks to stoic philosophers to medieval knights and modern warriors. A particularly telling point came towards the end, where Miner comes to pick up his son at school. It turns out that his son has been involved in a fight. He asks the teacher who started it, and she looks at him in disbelief. She wants to know if it matters. Miner replies that it does. He wants his sons to emulate Galahad, not Gandhi. He wants sons who are ready to decide what is right and to defend it. That is not, of course, to say that Gandhi's ideas might not have been important and relevant, but perhaps not applicable to this situation (in Miner's opinion). There is a difference between aggression and self-defense. There is a difference between being devoted to justice and being a bully. A "compleat gentleman" is dedicated to defending the weak, and standing up for what is right. He has manners, but not in a foppish manner. He is generous. He gives of himself, financially, emotionally and physically, but not in a "showy" manner. A few reviewers have been upset that Miner did not serve in Vietnam. He discloses this fact openly, and does not beat it to death, and regrets his decision. In any way that one looks at this, should he be punished for the rest of his life for the decision made then? The concepts of the book are important, and not momentary failings (or not, given the nature of the conflict) of the author. The only issue I might take with the author is on his assessment of dueling. It is mostly disparaged, where other scholars of the topic have considered it an indispensible "final rememdy" of an insult to honor. Some consideration of this topic would have been appreciated. My six year old son will get his own copy as soon as he can read at this level.
The A Rather Compleat Book.......2006-07-02
The first 3/4's of the book is mostly historical documentation and facts about knights and the concepts of chivalry as they were and as they are commonly (and often wrongly) interpreted. For those of you who love history you'll love it. For those of you who don't, bear with it because it all comes together at the end. It's also presented in a way that's interesting and not just a textbook drone. While I don't agree with absolutely everything Miner had to say he got me thinking and that's what mattered. A refreshing read for anyone interested in the truer workings of manners and chivalry. I'd recommend it. You won't be able to put it down.
Enjoyable, challenging, enlightening.......2006-06-13
What does it mean to be a gentleman? That is the concept that Miner seeks to explore and does so by examining history, delving into the great concept of chivalry and the time-honored traditions that have transcended generations and cultures to give a foundational view of the concept of a gentleman. While some cultures in some eras associated the concept of the gentleman with social status, title, wealth or birth; Miner argues that the concept is better represented by the concepts of true nobility - character, dignity, restraint and discernment.
Miner is a lover of history and traces the concept of manliness from the days of the knights and the proverbial Round Table to the "women and children first" mentality found on the sinking Titanic. He writes that three masculine archetypes emerge - the warrior, the lover, and the monk - to combine in the character that Miner calls "the compleat gentleman."
Miner's warrior is a man who has something to live for - and is willing to sacrifice his life either to protect it or even to further it. The warrior is not necessarily a man of war, but a man prepared to do battle for that which he loves. His life is marked by preparation for something great and then is lived out pursuing those ideals to which he is called. One great line Miner uses to explain his warrior is from the writings of the great philosopher Epictetus who said, "For it is better to die of hunger, exempt from fear and guilt, than to live in affluence with perturbation."
If Miner's gentleman is willing to die for something he loves, it is because he loves deeply and with great passion. While romantic love definitely makes the list, it is not the sole occupant - love of God, country, and cause are also worthy objects of a gentleman's passions.
Finally, Miner's gentleman is a monk. I loved this one. Miner tells us that the word monk comes from the Greek monakhos, meaning solitary - but Miner's concept of aloneness is time for reflection and study - viewed another way, the monk is a lover "of learning and of truth."
Running throughout the book is the theme sprezzatura - a concept Miner says underlies this "compleat gentleman." It is a self-awareness and self-restraint and differs like night and day from self-centeredness or even apathy. The concept is what Christians might refer to as meekness, a trait often associated with Christ, and clearly as misunderstood. Sprezzatura is the ability to think before one speaks, to grasp the gravity of words and actions; and even to know when inaction or silence is the best avenue. It carries with it a "James Bond" like persona where actions speak louder than words, and the words flow like honey from the lips of a man with a license to kill.
Miner doesn't delude himself or the reader into thinking that this "compleat gentleman" is around every corner; quite to the contrary, "all things excellent are as difficult as they are rare" writes Miner. He gives men something to strive for, something to hold up as an ideal and an understanding that throughout history there have been men who have risen above the standards of the day to truly be called gentlemen - and we sure need more of these in this day and time!
The Compleat Gentlemen is not a Christian book, nor does the author purport it to be so; but Christian men will agree with Miner's argument that men need to be men of honor and integrity. The book is a challenging read, but well worth the effort and I would suggest it for any man, especially for a young man considering the path of his journey.
Fascinating.......2006-03-29
Up front, the only serious disagreement I have with the author is his support for putting women in combat. I understand his reasoning, but his lack of military experience causes him to oversimplify the question.
I find it entertaining that readers here were offended and surprised that a book with a picture of a sword on the cover and references to chivalry (which means, roughly, "horsemanship" -- knighthood) would speak positively of service in war. If you think that nonviolence in the face of evil is the more gentlemanly route (other than in very strict circumstances), then fine. Be the gentleman while your wife and children are killed before your eyes by a criminal. I, on the other hand, will be doing my utmost to defend them. (Defend your wife and children, that is, mine will already be safe.) Those who are disturbed by the use of violence in this "less hostile and disgusting world" should stop using freedoms that were bought for them (not by them) with spilt blood. And perhaps check out a wonderful country such as, say, Somalia, and tell me if the world is *really* less hostile.
Yes, the author should have fought in Viet Nam when he had the chance. Alas, hindsight is 20/20, and at least he now realizes his failing.
I found his discussions of the Templars, in particular, fascinating. Aside from their questionable personal hygiene, they seem to exemplify the very highest sort of warrior ideal. It is also a relief to see a group of extraordinarily brave men get the credit that is their due, rather than more hateful lies about conspiracies to conceal the "divine feminine."
If you are a woman, you will be relieved to know that there are still men out there who "get it." If you are a man, you will understand what it is that you felt was wrong with our society's cult of weak men. This book will challenge you. It did me.
History, Not "How To".......2006-02-20
We bought this book hoping for an instruction manual on teaching our boys how to be chivalrous in an age of decay. While it is an interesting read, it is not so much a "guide" as a plotting of time. A more appropriate title would be, "The Compleat Gentleman: An Historical Discourse." Great on detail and well-written, but we were misled by the title a bit.
Book Description
Today, fear affects even the strongest of us. Sometimes it's immediate, caused by a sense of imminent danger-the kind we felt after terrorists destroyed the magnificent World Trade Center, tore a giant wound in the Pentagon and killed thousands of people. But sometimes fear becomes a normal way of life. In his best-selling memoir October Sky (aka Rocket Boys), Hickam introduced us to the rugged town of his youth, Coalwood, West Virginia, and the people who took on the hazardous and often brutal enterprise of coal mining. To survive and prosper, these people relied on an approach to living that would get them through hard times with an almost unnatural resilience. Over a lifetime, they learned to take on these attitudes: We are proud of who we are. We stand up for what we believe. We keep our families together. We trust in God but rely on ourselves. These attitudes are summed up in the Coalwood Assumption: WE ARE NOT AFRAID Through poignant memories of his youth, best selling author Homer Hickam helps lead you beyond fear to find the courage and strength to live more happily and look toward to future with optimism.
Customer Reviews:
Stories of Strength and Courage.......2002-11-23
Homer Hickam wrote a very enjoyable and informative book about his hometown of Coalwood, West Virginia, and the people who helped nurture him as a young boy. With his childhood stories, he took me on a journey through time to a place that many today would dismiss as "old-fashioned," and Hickam would argue was "the way things can and should be."
Inspired by the events of September 11, 2001, Hickam reflected on his youth and realized the values he grew up with in Coalwood were what many people needed to move on with their lives following the tragic terrorist attacks on America. Hickam expertly wove his thoughts and experiences into the four "Coalwood Attitudes of Strength and Courage" (We are proud of who we are, We stand up for what we believe, We keep our families together, and We trust in God but rely on ourselves), which led to the "Coalwood Assumption" that most Americans found themselves either wanting to say or saying repeatedly following 9/11: "We are not afraid."
In his introduction, Hickam explains the purpose of this book: "If you want to stop being afraid, or if you want to avoid the habits of fear and dread, this book can help by teaching you a philosophy of life that will fill your heart and soul with a sense of well-being and confidence. It is a philosophy that was developed by real people who led good, happy and hearty lives while managing to raise a crop of children who went on to have successful lives of their own."
Hickam is a master storyteller, and his stories contained many powerful moral and inspirational passages. Some I related to as personal memories, others as things I missed growing up or never thought about, and still others as a father wanting his young son to experience in his childhood.
This book has a lot to offer to many different people with many different needs in many different situations. I encourage everyone to read this book and let Hickam take you on a journey of discovery into your heart and soul.
Fear diminishes the quality of life.........Don't let it!!.......2002-08-09
We Are Not Afraid is a very inspiring book about strength and courage in perilous times. I think everyone who reads this will come away a stronger individual for it. If you have children, sons, daughters, nieces or nephews I think it is even more important to read this!!! The book was just such a "thinker". It is only 213 pages, it reads quickly but it lasts long after you close the cover.
While it is a collection of stories about growing up in a small coal-mining town in West Virginia it makes you stop and think hard about what really should be important in life, the values, the morals, the spirit, all the things that went into creating our great Nation. Mr. Hickam points out that yes times are perilous, but that there have been many perilous times and many hardships and challenges and being afraid is not a way to meet these. He pulls no punches when he discusses the United States of America. He dismisses those who want to focus on our failures as a Nation and fail to acknowledge our ability to correct our errors and move forward as a whole. This book is a life lesson on how not to live your life in fear, and how to overcome and surmount obstacles in your way. This is not accomplished by promising "pie-in-the-sky" but by learning from the examples of others ways to be strong and have courage and face life with your head up. This revolves around four important attitudes. #1 We are proud of who we are. #2 We stand up for what we believe. #3 We keep our families together. #4 We trust in God but rely on ourselves. These may sound simplistic to many people, but when they are broken down and explained you will know that it is possible to live a good purposeful life and not be diminished by fear and to pass this on to those around you.
Great advice for a weary world.......2002-06-18
The advice I found in this book has changed my life, too. Somebody told me I should read this when they caught be dragging around filled with worry. What can a little book do to change that I asked and they said well, just read it and see. The insights in this book have been just amazing. Homer teaches through stories that are fun to read but after you're done, you just sit back and go I really see that. I really, really do. Honestly, I've spent money on a lot of these selfhelp do better kind of books but the way Homer does it, I think I really got my money's worth this time.
A philosophy for life.......2002-04-02
I read this book. It changed my life for the better. Enough said. Hickam is very gifted. Who are his people? You'll be surprised.
Homer hits a home run!.......2002-03-29
I'm a strong person,an Idaho farm boy, but, I too, was weakened by the events of September 11. I needed salve for my soul, softening of my hardening heart,a mental map to see my way out of this mess. I found it in Homer Hickam's incredible new book, WE ARE NOT AFRAID. Homer writes with a wit and warmth that envelopes you like a comforter and touches the full range of your emotions. From your funny bone to the childhood memories you have tucked away in your mind's attic, WE ARE NOT AFRAID hits the brass notes and the softest keys. The world needs more Homer!...
Book Description
A study of prostitution in 19th-century Virginia City
Book Description
In this powerful anthropological study of a Bolivian tin mining town, Nash explores the influence of modern industrialization on the traditional culture of Quechua-and-Aymara-speaking Indians.
Customer Reviews:
The true people's history of the mines.......2000-03-13
The best part about this book is that it was written 20 years after June originally arrived in Bolivia to write a book on the miners. Now she has returned and reviews the history of those 20 years and shows where today's miners, family and culture stands. This book is not a comparision of the past with the present but rather a building upon a tremendous history and struggle.
For the person not familiar with the mines and miners of Bolivia this is an excelent introduction. Here one meets a world turned upside down and inside out. Mountains are filled with spirits and miners, men ans women - side by side - fight for a better life. June enables one to share in the peoples' long history of struggle through insightful first hand accounts. She also shares her personal experience while reporting the stories and brings a more human element to the work.
June has done an excellent job identifyng and bringing to light the intricate web of cultural, political, and economical elements of Bolivian mining. I myself have relatives from the mining regions of Bolivia and wish to congratulate June on her depth and understanding of the people she presents. It is rare to find someone that has the ability to understand the cultural nuances that have a 5,000 year old tradition and see how the still prevail, albiet sometimes hidden or changed, in today's world. I wish to congratulate her on taking the time to understand the people she was studying and not perpetuating common stereotypes, of disorder, ignorance or misbegotten religious views.
I highly recommend this book to all!
The Horrors and Triumphs of the Bolivian Tin Mines..........2000-02-02
This book was read by myself and 15 others as a requirement for a senior course at University...
I found Nash's depiction of the Bolivian tin miners excellent. Not only did the author manage to complete a traditional anthropological ethnography, but she has presented it in a format which has made it interesting to anyone.
This book should be read by anyone studying or interested in Anthropology, inequality, or the trials and triumphs of Latin America...
Book Description
Northern Minnesota is a land of beauty and heritage, but also a land wealthy in natural resources. Its rich iron ore has shaped the destiny of the United States and in times of war helped to protect the world.
Marv Lamppa recounted this history in his acclaimed PBS television series "Iron Country." Now, the full story is available as a book - an exploration of Minnesota's Iron Country - revealing the lives of a remarkable people and the industrial and political forces that built a region and a nation.
Customer Reviews:
Minnesota's Iron County.......2007-06-03
This book is one of the best books ever written on Minnesota history. I originally caught the 12 part documentary on the local PBS station in the Twin Cities and was hooked. The book is a companion to the series, but has the time to get deeper into the subject matter. Marvin Lamppa writes the book as he narrated the sries. If one has seen the series, you can almost hear Marvin reading the text you read in the book.
Iron County is more than just iron mining. This is an economic history of the region that included the fur trade and logging, railroads and agriculture. But naturally the prime focus is iron ore. The subtitle "Rich Ore, Rich Lives" tells how booms and busts and changing mining patterns impacted the lives of those who lived it. Harsh climate conditions and harsh working conditions transformed these people, largely immigrants, into a culture that still exists today. Political patterns that grew out of the mining industry are still readily recognizable today. Labor unions left an impressionable mark on the iron range. The local towns are still prevalent in Minnesota politics and legislative decisions.
This book has a strange format, two columns rather than single paragraphs. This gives it the appearance of an overgrown magazine, but it is richly illustrated and Marvin Lamppa's writing shills make every page come alive to the reader. Lamppa remains the preminent historian of the iron range and anybody else will be hard pressed to write a better book.
Just what the Mesabi needed, long overdue.......2005-11-28
If you're even faintly interested in a fantastic overview of Range history, you'll definitely spend a lot of time with this one, period -- even if you only look at the pictures.
But after seeing this you may well wanna delve deeper into Mesabi history and if so look no further than this book's exhaustive bibliography and/or check out the 12-part PBS-TV series produced by Marvin himself.
Marvin Lamppa is a well-known & highly-regarded Finnish-American scholar & Range historian.
Wonderful history of the Iron Range.......2005-02-03
I received this book as a Christmas present and have found it to be an absorbing down-to-earth account (pun intended) of the amazing history of Minnesota's Iron Range. From a look at the region as it stands today, one might never know of the Range's truly exciting, often checkered past. I know that I, though a Ranger for most of my life, was fascinated by how many of our towns came to be, or conversely, came to their end. In addition to its detailed and absorbing written account, the book is also a treasure trove of historical pictures from many towns and mines across the region. And for the many people whose lives, or those of their parents, have been tied to the mines, the book's main emphasis (as one might guess from the cover) is how a land of trappers and swamps became one of the world's largest, richest, and most advanced sources of iron.
I highly recommend this book not only to those of you who are native to or familiar with the Iron Range (for whom the book may inspire not a few drives through the region to view the places that are steeped in so much history - I know it did for me!), but also to those who are not, and who may be interested to see how Minnesota of old compared to the raucous Wild West. I guarantee you, you'll be surprised.
FASCINATING IRON RANGE HISTORY.......2004-08-02
Marvin Lamppa's book is 8.5 by 11 inches and 280+ pages. It is nicely bound, well-illustrated, and clearly written. It includes endnotes, a glossary, a thorough bibliography, and a good index. It covers the general history of most of northeastern Minnesota from prehistory to the present, its exploration and settlement, and the exploitation of its fur, timber, and mineral resources. The heart of the book, however, is the exploration and settlement of Minnesota's Mesabi, Vermilion, and Cuyuna iron ranges and the development of the iron mining industry. The book presents the history of these areas in much greater depth, explaining how social, political, and economic factors caused mining camps to become villages and allowed some villages to become prosperous cities while others became ghost towns. It examines tragic mining accidents, desperate labor struggles, forest fires, economic depressions, and the ongoing effort to keep the mining industry prosperous despite the exhaustion of high grade iron ores.
This volume is a welcome addition to my collection of local history books. It is engrossing, insightful, and full of fascinating detail about the region. I highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in this part of the country.
Book Description
West of Highway 81, there lies another Kansas. While it accounts for two-thirds of the state's land area, it is sparsely populated and nearly desert dry. Before 1940, it was still distinctly rural-a place that some residents called the "Edge of the World."
Several generations of the Miner family have lived and farmed in Ness County, providing Craig Miner with a rich and very personal backdrop for this heartfelt and compelling portrait of western Kansas. In Next Year Country he recounts the resilience of his fellow Kansans through two depressions and the Dust Bowl, showing how the region changed dramatically over fifty years-not for the better, some might say.
In this striking regional history, Miner blends the voices of real people with writings of small-town journalists to show life as it was really lived from 1890 to 1940. He has fashioned a richly textured look at determined individuals as they confronted the vagaries of raw Nature and learned to adapt to the machine age. And he captures the drama and vitality of rural and small-town life at a time when children could die in a blizzard on their way home from school, in a place where gaping holes of cellars and wells from abandoned homesteads posed real hazards to nighttime travelers.
No mere nostalgic reverie, Miner's book chronicles the hard challenges to these Kansans' ambitious efforts to create a regional economy and society based on wheat in an area once thought only marginally suitable for cereal crops. His diverse topics include the history of agricultural experiment stations, new approaches to irrigation, and the impact of the tractor and the combine; the role of women's clubs in developing culture, the growth of higher education, and the rise of the secession movement; and how people responded to pests, from prairie dogs to grasshoppers, and to radical groups, from the IWW to the KKK.
Next Year Country depicts the kind of rugged individualism that is often touted in America but seldom seen anymore, a testament to how people dealt with both Nature and transformative change. It is both a love song to Kansas and the best kind of regional history, showing that life has to be taken on its own terms to understand how people really lived.
Customer Reviews:
Another hit by historian Craig Miner!.......2006-08-13
This book is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand what life was and is like on the unforgiving Great Plains. Although this book focuses on Western Kansas, it provides a vivid picture of the hopes and dreams of those who populated the Great Plains between 1890-1940.
Being a fifth generation resident of Western Kansas, this book gives me a startling view of what challenges my ancestors went through, and makes me proud that we have survived to this day in "Next Year Country."
Craig Miner's personal connection to Western Kansas makes this book especially poignant, and his attention to detail is vast.
Most importantly, the book causes one to ponder the future of the Great Plains as a whole, and gives one hope that our forbearers survived obstacles much greater than we face today.
Books:
- The Cultivation of Hatred (Gay, Peter//Bourgeois Experience)
- The Gettysburg Gospel: The Lincoln Speech That Nobody Knows
- The Glory Field
- The Great Bridge: The Epic Story of the Building of the Brooklyn Bridge
- The Greco-Persian Wars
- The Lady & Sons Savannah Country Cookbook
- The Latino Experience in U.S. History
- The Long Exile: A Tale of Inuit Betrayal and Survival in the High Arctic
- The Native American Book of Change (Native People, Native Ways Series, Vol 3)
- The River Where America Began: A Journey Along the James
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Edie Factory Girl
- A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier
- The Accounting Cycle: A Practical Guide to Accounting Basics
- The Spade Series: An Introduction to Duplicate Bridge: An Introduction to Duplicate Bridge
- Wiley GAAP 2007: Interpretation and Application of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles
- A Long Way Home: Twelve Years of Words
- Witches, Midwives, and Nurses: A History of Women Healers
- Essentials of Accounting, Legal Office: Practice Set
- The Self-Organizing Economy
- Tuyo Es El Reino / Thine Is the Kingdom
What the Bible Really Says About Homosexuality
Jesus, the Bible, and Homosexuality: Explode the Myths, Heal the Church
Stranger at the Gate: To Be Gay and Christian in America (Plume Books)
New Testament and Homosexuality
Taking a Chance on God: Liberating Theology for Gays, Lesbians, and Their Lovers, Families, and Friends
