Reviews (19)

This is a very nice and good book!!!!
I have read this book and I think that it is very good. It is one of the most interesting books I have really enjoyed.When I was reading it, it made me feel like I was really in the story. I think that Veronica is a very smart kid to be going to so much home problems and still managed to be in the honor classes. The book is a great way to teach children how lucky you are to have parents who care about you. This book is really good that when I was reading it I felt that I didn't want to stop reading it. I would recommend this book to my friends and family.

Porsha Lettries
I like this book because all that Veronica went through she kept her head up through the whole thing, how she became very successful in life, and how she got straight to the point. One thing I didn't like about the book is when the father was being very abusive towards his family. One thing I learned from the book is, whatever happens in yo life just keep yo head up through all circumstances and never worry about what people say. I think a lot of young people should read this book because I think it shows a positive example because she became a successful woman.

What a great memoir!!! You HAVE TO READ IT!!!
This book was very good, it wasn't excellent but it was good.Although the beginning of the book might not get your full attention keep reading.This book talks about the trials and errors of the life of Veronica Chambers.One of the main issues of this book is domestic violence, and how she and her mother deal with it.I'm sure the title might not seen interesting but give it a chance.You will see that not everyone has a perfect life and that you can succeed in many things and accomplish many goals.

Mama's Girl
Mama's Girl was a great book. I really liked how Veronica explained everything and said everything correct. She had struggles almost everyday of her life and she overcame them almost every time.I loved that. I also like how the story was detailed; it was like you are Veronica. I learned from this book not to be selfish because it will come back. I think my friend Lee should read it because he has struggles everyday and he needs to know how to deal with them.

Forgetting the past
I liked this book because it reminds me of my mother. Whenever my mom was around 13 years-old her dad would go to clubs. This book should be read by teenagers because it has bad words and little kids should not be reading this kind of book. If I was Vickie I would put my stepmom in jail for beating me up. By reading this book I feel how she felt because of all the beating and cursing of her dad. I wouldn't like to be in her spot because I would probably run away from home. I think she shouldn't forgive her mom because her mom really didn't pay attention to her. I learned to have patience before doing something that you would regret later in life. Veronica had lots of patience because she never argued with her parents instead she kept things to herself. ... Read more

Book Description

From the powerful author of Birdy, Dad, and A Midnight Clear, the acclaimed memoir about a family's tragedy, recovery, and spiritual renewal. It is the true story of the events that changed Wharton's life and gave him a belief in an afterlife--the story of the tragedy that killed his 36-year-old daughter and her family in a highway collision, told amazingly from his daughter Kate's point of view, as well as his own. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

My father was described in the book very breifly
My father was a close freind of the deceased in the book. He never met the author, but he knew the family. He was described in the book as building his own house (which is fictional, because he never built a house). This book is very graphic in how the bodies were found, and how the family was killed. Wharton makes up some of the names and of course some of the events in the book.

Non stop reading ~~ tears pain and anger into taking action!
A year and a half ago I read the, then latest book, "Ever After," by my favorite author, William Wharton. The author of "Birdy," "Dad," and most recently, "Houseboat on the Seine," depicts the horrendous 23 car pile up on Oregon's Interstate 5 in the summer of '88, that occured due to field burning near Albany, Oregon. Seven deaths resulted out of overt negligence on the part of Oregon laws, businesses, political action committees and the farmer(s) involved. The author dealing with the personal impact of this tragedy, eventually decides to take action and attempts to pursue legal recourse. The book outlines the tremendous forces that come into play within our business/legal/political system(s) when it comes to assuming responsibility/liability for both the personal and ongoing environmental disasters that evolve out of negligence and irresponsibility. This book stirs even the apathetic into action

moving memoir of daughter's death by artist/painter
William Wharton, author of DAd and Birdy writes a moving account of his daughters death in Oregon and of his attempt to bring attention to the dangeous practice of field burning by large seed companies. An intensely moving experience, especially if you have children. Highly reccommended ... Read more

Book Description

Award-winning novelist Larry Brown's first work of nonfiction looks back at the life he left--that of full-time firefighter. "A wonderful book."--John Grisham "Larry Brown is never romantic about danger and . . . in this book he goes through his life with the same meticulous attention with which Thoreau circled the woods around Walden Pond."--The New York Times Book Review. A BOOK-OF-THE-MONTH -CLUB selection. ... Read more

Reviews (16)

Very Disappointing and Grievously Boring!
I thought this author would share his experiences of life as a firefighter; I thought wrong.He shares more about his dog not being able to produce puppies than he does about the various accidents and fires he has been a part of.I was shocked by how much he digresses, over and over again he talks about animals which have absolutely nothing to do with firefighting or even his life!The author has written a book that will put the most astute reader to sleep.I wish it had been a bit more interesting, but alas, it was not.

Notes from the Firehouse in Oxford, Mississippi
I did not know of Larry Brown until I saw the film "Big Bad Love," based on one of his stories. I wasn't crazy about the film but was fascinated by the imagination it emerged from, and gave one of his books a try. For starters, I read his memoir "On Fire," about his years as an Oxford, Mississippi, fireman. I thought it would be about fighting fires, responding to emergencies, and what goes on in the firehouse in between. I expected some reflection on the world of firemen, which I understand to be a social order of its own, like policemen.

There is all of that and considerably more in this wonderful collection of short essays, many of them dashed off during those off hours in the firehouse, often recounting an experience Brown and his compatriots just had, rescuing someone trapped in a smashed car, putting out a fire, or just screwing around. You learn something of the process of firefighting as Brown reconstructs the events of several fires, including one in the top floor of a building at Ole Miss. He explains how they use the Jaws of Life. You learn about the daily routines of checking equipment for readiness, as well as continual training in CPR and different kinds of fires.

But much in the book is unexpected. There are pieces about dogs, hunting, lost kittens, cookouts, practical jokes, watching hawks, petty thefts, driving, drinking beer, and S and V on HBO. Essays that will stay in my memory include his account of a trip to New York to appear on the Today show when one of his books is published and learning while he's there that his wife and son have been hurt in a car accident, then discovering when he finds out they are OK that his dog Sam has died. The mental image of him crying in the airport is vivid and moving.

On a more hilarious note is an account of a long day's drive to a training exercise in the Delta, where they arrive late and drunk. On a more literary note, there's his account of setting up a hose to provide fake rain for a documentary film at William Faulkner's home, just down the road from the firehouse. His reflections on Faulkner sitting in the house and writing novels are full of awe and respect for a giant of letters, a giant who had a cup of coffee every night at a local restaurant where he always left a dime tip for the waitress.

If you've read or you're thinking of reading Brown's fiction, I recommend this book. It's a wonderful introduction to the man and his world, andyou get a sense of the raw material that feeds his imagination.

Waste of Time
I don't know how this book ever got published.It was a rudderless account of unrelated stories about nothing.Many stories revolved around actions you probably warned your kids never to try... and Mr. Brown seemed to be pretty proud of that.

Made in America (Mississippi in particular)
Judging from the reviews here, one would expect Larry Brown's "On Fire" to be a travesty of modern nonfiction, an insult to firefighters and rescue personnel, and a rough estimate of the degree to which mankind has fallen from some form of enlightened perch. For grief's sake, people, it's only a book, and a fairly good and compelling one at that. Apparently many people (either in or out of the fire service) have such lofty expectations of their heroes (reinforced sadly by the events of September 11) that to envision firefighters as doing anything more rowdy than a tough game of touch football is to destroy the halos we all love to put on them in our society. Truth is, folks, and this is a firefighter talking here, most of them have the same ordinary, mundane concerns as you and other dead-end jobbers do, especially those whose careers take them down dark paths (as dryly and matter-of-factly as Brown writes them here). They love and hate, they rage and submit, they work and play, they hunt and fish, they drink and smoke, they are ordinary men and women, and they are somehow more important for many of the reasons Brown indicates. What I feel is the book's greatest strength is that Brown's portrayal is as much a myth-destroyer as it is a myth-builder: firefighters, he seems to say, rise above the mundane when asked, and slip beneath it when allowed.

Now as for the whole hunting / fishing / cruelty to animals bent that seems to turn everyone off, I suggest you all buy a plane ticket to Memphis, drive south toward Oxford itself, and observe the country Brown writes about and writes from. In case you haven't read any of his other works, it's pretty consistent with other Larry Brown, and yes, it's country-boy living. Some can handle it, and some don't. As for Brown, I think he probably feels as I do: thanks for stoppin' by, and if you see something you don't like, then don't let the door hit you too hard. Frankly, I read Larry Brown for just that attitude and reality, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

If you're looking for a glorious depiction of firefighting, or a glamorized portrayal of the Mississippi South, you're invited to read a few fictional accounts of each. But if you want the cold, hard reality of life that only Brown ever seems to bring to light, the pop open a cold one and join him for a tale or two. It'll be, as he says, "mighty fine".

Reading ON FIRE not a waste of time
ON FIRE is not a book about firefighting; it is a book about a man's life who also happens to be a firefighter.Brown is a regularguy who worked hard to become a writer, not because he didn't want to be a firefighter, but because he thought he could do something else to contribute to others, doing work as a writer.
I think the book is very good.I do not think the book is great.I think the book is worth reading, but I also think if you want to learn more about firefighting there are probably better books out there.Still, I think the book was not a waste of time, as some other reviewers thought it was. ... Read more

Book Description

Thirty years ago Piri Thomas made literary history with this lacerating, lyrical memoir of his coming of age on the streets of Spanish Harlem. Here was the testament of a born outsider: a Puerto Rican in English-speaking America; a dark-skinned morenito in a family that refused to acknowledge its African blood. Here was an unsparing document of Thomas's plunge into the deadly consolations of drugs, street fighting, and armed robbery--a descent that ended when the twenty-two-year-old Piri was sent to prison for shooting a cop.

As he recounts the journey that took him from adolescence in El Barrio to a lock-up in Sing Sing to the freedom that comes of self-acceptance, faith, and inner confidence, Piri Thomas gives us a book that is as exultant as it is harrowing and whose every page bears the irrepressible rhythm of its author's voice. Thirty years after its first appearance, this classic of manhood, marginalization, survival, and transcendence is available in an anniversary edition with a new Introduction by the author. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

This book was awesome.........
it takes you into another time and place and makes you feel as if you were there partaking in every moment described by the author. Being a Puerto Rican growing up in New York's Spanish Harlem was and still is hard, he also describes certain racial issues he confronted as a Puerto Rican of color. Overall the book takes you through a journey through Harlem and other areas in a distinct and creative way. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

An amazing woman's life, part 2
This is the second book of Carolina Maria De Jesus's life. She was a black woman writer living in the slums of Brazil in the 1950's. A reporter discovered her & made her famous. You really need to read the first book, "Child of the Dark" to enjoy & understand this one. The book is written like a diary; I devoured the pages in this book, eager to learn more about her life. After Carolina becomes famous & moves out of the slums she encounters different problems but all & all she's much happier. It was great to read about her eating in restaurants, buying & cooking food for her children, not having to be hungry anymore. I cheered for her as she took her first shower, her first car ride, plane ride, her first stay in a hotel. She buys clothes & jewelry for herself & I'm so happy for her I could burst. This woman went from being a scavenger to being a guest at governor's mansions, appearing on TV shows, and doing tons of book signings all across Brazil and many other South American countries. The relationship between Carolina & Audolio Dantes (the reporter who discovered her & made her famous) is also explored and adds interesting aspects to the story. For example, she can't cash checks or withdraw money without him. This diary only covers one year of her life so be sure to read the "Afterword". It explains what happened to Carolina after this book was written. She is an amazing, amazing woman who deserves much admiration.

The moving story of what happened to C. de Jesus
Many readers know Carolina de Jesus's memior "Child of the Dark" but few knew that she wrote a second book about her bitter journey from her favela shack to the brick house of her dreams. There, she was treated just as badly as she had been when she was a scavenger for garbage in the favela. As a former Peace Corps volunteer in Brazil (too many years ago!!) I loved this book. It is riveting, unexpected, and filled with insights about how Carolina de Jesus saw the world. The editor's background description and analysis is excellent, too. ... Read more

Reviews (14)

Agonizing tale, but left me full of questions.
As a two-time adoptive mother myself, and a social scientist, I was both troubled and irritated by this book. Yes, the social work establishment was to blame for not revealing more information to the adoptive parents before and during the difficult adoption. Yes, it is crucial for adoptive parents to know that love is not enough--that there are problems caused both by nature and previous nurture that a loving adoptive home cannot cure. My heart went out to Anne Loux and her family as I was reading this book. BUT--and these thoughts were constant as well--why was the adoptive family so quick to select these girls? Had they done an adequate job of preparing their birthchildren? Of educating themselves about the potential problems of adopting older children? Had they given sufficient thought to the effect of adopting two children simultaneously on the structure of their existing family? And, most importantly, when problems were beginning to surface, why didn't they strive harder to find appropriate help? The family physician, the social worker, the school's teachers, were obviously inadequate to the task--why didn't the family look further before it was too late? It seemed to me as if the adoptive parents had virtually given up on the girls even while it might have been possible to help them if proper sources of help had been sought.

Good book, and the author is nothing if not honest
The girls who were adopted were not yet 3 and 4 years old, so it is easy to see how optimistic the author was being to readily adopt them. I can't see how the mother giving up a career to sit at home with her kids would be any more helpful to these girls. (She had 3 biological children in the same age range who faired well with her working part time). If anything, it enlightens readers to just much the first few years of life can impact the character and psyche of a child. In this case, the differences between the biological children and the adopted girls were huge. However, in my personal experience, children being reared from birth by the same parents can also have have huge differences in their behaviors.
I feel that the author was just being brutally honest in her assessments of these two girls. I would recommend this book to anyone, but would hope it didn't dissuade anyone from pursuing adopting an older child. Just remember that, unlike many wards of the court who have physical limitations clearly outlined, some children have suffered abuse that may not be clear for months or even years. It is a commitment, to say the least. Also, the time frame is relevant. In current times, these children are studied and tested, and their histories are reported openly before adoption is considered. I know this, because I have looked into adopting an older child.

Read but don't think it has to be so for you
It is impossible not to be disturbed and deeply moved by the inescapable trauma the two abused girls caused the author's family (and the inescapable trauma the children had been exposed to prior to adoption). Those of us who have not experienced such a situation think it harsh for the author to challenge the notion that a stable home environment is always the best answer for abused or neglected children. Not having walked in the author's shoes, we may be quick to say that Ms. Loux's family wasn't the right family to cope with the two seemingly incorrigible girls. I am unwilling to make that judgment, but I do wonder whether Ms. Loux and her husband, who had full time careers, should have ventured into adopting older children who can be presumed to have suffered damage. The children must, in essence, have been raised by babysitters or other caretakers rather than by Ms. Loux. I am also wondering how much time Ms. Loux spent with her children's school teachers and whether there was adequate therapeutic intervention for the children and the family as a whole. All this would have required ongoing attention by Ms. Loux, and it is difficult to see whether a dual career family can meet the needs of abused children. Yet, I observed a neighbor who had adopted a seven-year old girl from a severely abusive home, and the adoptive parents did everything imaginable, including full-time care by the adoptive mother, to rescue this little girl. We tried to help too. Still, the girl went down an unstoppable path of self-destruction that included pregnancies, drug use, prostitution and ultimately lingering in prison with AIDS. This adoptive mother does not go so far as Ms. Loux in saying that 'her daughters have earned respect for their lifestyles and choices...She (Margey) keeps all the money she makes from prostitution to buy drugs.' To respect this life style must surely be the limits of hope for this adoptive couple. It is sad all the way around, but this book should not keep other prospective parents from adopting older children. Each situation is different.
Gisela Gasper Fitzgerald, ADOPTION: An Open, Semi-Open or Closed Practice?

An important perspective, yet it should not be generalized
Ann Kimble Loux's book, The Limits of Hope, is the story of her adoption of two girls, ages three and four, after she and her husband had had three biological children. It will no doubt be read by many people in many different ways. Some will come away with a sense of outrage at a system that would place children with a traumatic history with a family and fail to convey to them any of that history. Some will be outraged at the lack of preparation the family had prior to taking on the challenge of raising two such damaged children. Some will be shocked at the apparent inability of an upper middle-class family, with highly educated parents, to get access to appropriate information and services they needed for their children. Yet others will be heartened to read of a family that stuck with their difficult children, when so many such adoptions are disrupted (i.e., the adoption fails and the child is back in "the system").

At the time when Ms. Loux adopted her daughters, it was common thought that even children with traumatic histories would be fine as long as they were given some stability and love. It was also common practice not to disclose to the adopting family any confidential information about the children's prior life. This has changed. We now know that early childhood trauma is not something that will just heal itself (for most children), and prior to the adoption of older children, comprehensive information about their backgrounds and histories is given to the adoptive family. However, much of what Ms. Loux has to say about her experience is still relevant. More and more, older and older children are being placed with families for adoption. It can be a lifeline for those children - but the families need to understand what they are undertaking. Ms. Loux seems to believe that these children probably cannot be raised in families, because she views her children's adoption as, essentially, a failure. While her assessment of her family's experience is no doubt accurate, I would take issue with generalizing it to the entire population of hurt children who are finding loving, permanent families.

There is practically no discussion in the book about how Ms. Loux dealt with the schools - no individual education plan meetings mentioned, no special education. There is little mention of therapeutic services for the children or the family as a whole. These are serious omissions, either in the book or in the provision of care to the girls. Clearly, children with as many problems as these children had needed therapeutic intervention and special education services. If the omission is in the book, it is a shame, because information on dealing with these service providers is invaluable for parents with special needs children (and virtually all older adopted children have special needs). If the omission is in the care, it is disturbing: Ms. Loux and her husband were both educators, and her brother is a psychiatrist. It was difficult to understand, while reading the book, why Ms. Loux was not getting more, and earlier, help from her brother, and why the family was not receiving more services.

The tone of the book was relentlessly despairing. I could not help but wonder whether there was no joy in the family's life. Was the negativity the result of the difficulties, did it contribute to it, or was it part of a spiral over which no one was able to gain control? I also had no sense of how the presence of the adopted children affected the biological children, or the parents as a couple, and those are things that would have been of great interest to readers. As a parent of one child adopted "through the system" and two biological children, I wanted to read about the ways the adopted and biological children affected each other - both good and bad. Another issue which would have been important to address is that of the dual career family. Both Ms. Loux and her husband had full time careers. It is possible that a dual career family cannot meet the needs of children who are suffering the effects of early childhood trauma. It may be that someone needs to be more available: both to the children on a day-to-day basis, and to the schools, the therapists, and when necessary, hospitals and partial hospitalization programs.

For families who are considering adopting an older child, or who have already done so, this book is important in that it points out, with brutal clarity, the difficulties that they may face. What is missing is the positive aspects of such adoption: despite the extraordinary difficulty of raising such children, there are the moments of joy, of accomplishment, of triumph. While Ms. Loux at times bemoans her inability to have adjusted her hopes and expectations to the reality of who her children were, she does not seem, even now, to have come to peace with the fact that their dreams are not the same as her dreams for them. All parents have to come to terms with that; even more so adoptive parents of older children. Prospective adoptive families need to hear: "Your life will change in ways you cannot imagine. You must think carefully about your biological children and how this will affect them. But if you hang in there with your child, and can be proud of his/her victories, however small, because they are his/hers, if you can focus on your child and his/her needs and wants, you may save a life, and enrich your own." Ms. Loux has made it clear, however, that if people think that they can adopt children whose early lives have been traumatic and incorporate them into a "normal" upper middle-class home with little upheaval, they are setting up everyone - the parents, the families, and the children - for a terrible fall.

A troubling, important book
This book is very disturbing. It is certainly disturbing in the way it was intended to be, as it details the problems experienced by a fatally idealistic family and their two adopted daughters who came from a background of abuse and neglect. One must, of course, condemn the fact that the family was kept in ignorance of the girls' problems. This is explained as a product of the time, in which everyone involved in adoption is described as believing that a loving family is all that is needed to heal even the most severely abused. Now such secrecy would be criminal; 30 years ago it is still an indication of inexcusable ignorance on the part of all the adults involved in the process. The truly disturbing aspect of the book for me, however, is the attitude of its author, the girls' adoptive mother. Although she claims her daughters and the rest of the family were abused by the system, she seems not to see the significance of her own failures. She admits much that must be painful to admit; for example, she sees in retrospect that the two newcomers were always seen as separate in important ways from her already-formed family of two parents and three children. Does she understand how truly awful that must have been for the girls, how lonely it must have been always on the outside, how terrifying to encounter expectations they couldn't possibly live up to? The insensitivity of the mother to her daughters' problems is mind-boggling, never mind that it happened 30 years ago. With all allowances for the difficulties she encountered trying to parent these troubled children--and I would not try to minimize that--she still falls short in understanding that they are the true victims. Instead one has a sense that too much of her rage is on her own behalf: rage that *she* didn't get the support she needed, rage that the girls turned out to be much for difficult for *her* than she expected. It is quite painful to read her monotonous detailing of the girls' delinquent and self-destructive behavior, not only for the obvious reasons, but especially because of the eager tone in which she recounts the outrages and how difficult it was for her to deal with them. She has yet to reach the point where she understands that, whatever her sufferings, those of the girls have been worse, because the destruction is of them, because they entered the family with various handicaps and with no resources to deal with these, and because they were the children and she was the adult. I guess I cannot contradict her claim to love them deeply, but I would like to see her gain a better understanding of their pain and see how her own must take a back seat to theirs. Of course she has been cheated of a normal mother-daughter relationship with them, but life has cheated them of much, much more. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

A Role Model inLiving in the Japanese Language for Mastery
Donald Keene's personal story on his life-long devotion to the study of Japanese never fails to attract those interested in Japanese and Japan.

I find his accidental first encounter with a strange language, Japanese, quite amusing. A mistake to put a record on a player has eventually led young Keene to dare to learn Japanese and finally to write one of the most comprehensive history of Japanese literature several years ago. My vivid memory is that on a new-year TV program Keene and a notable Japanese poet talked about Japanese literature. The Japanese poet was never equal to Keene on topics in Japanese literature. It might be true that Keene's profound knowledge and appreciation of Japanese literature has no rival even in Japan, maybe except Dr. Jinichi Konishi, Professor Emeritus of Tsukuba University.

In this work, Keene puts an exciting and enchanting account of mishaps, adventures, good luck with Japanese which fascinated and nurtured the author as a distinguished Japan scholar.

I especially love to read his struggle and clever strategy of how he finally reached Tokyo and then, without staying there for even a night he took a night train for Kyoto from which his literary quest originated.

I believe we can enjoy reading detailed episodes that reveal his solid dedication and patience in learning Japanese and Japan. The author's well-thought-out expressions often help us discover the best way to describe in plain English some peculiar aspects of Japanese culture.

Interesting, personal and written with verve!
As someone living in Japan I enjoyed reading this book. Donald Keene is one of the great scholars on Japanese literature and equally at home in it's many facetted culture. The work Dr. Keene has delivered with this autobiography has the feel of many years of being submerged in a fascinating as well as a, for a Westerner, incredibly complex literary culture written in a wonderfully easy to understand style. Not only for those interested in Japanese literature and culture, but also for those who just want to have a good read. While traveling or before going to sleep. Nothing deep, but personal and a joy to read!

A personable and insightful autobiography of a great scholar
Donald Keene is not only one of the WestÕs great literary and cultural translators of Japan, he is an important figure in the history of modern Japanese literature. In this readable and inspiring autobiography, Keene succinctly recalls his experiences with Japan, its language and its culture, and the numerous academic and literary figures he has encountered.

Keene, like many early Japan scholars in the United States, was initially trained by the military for intelligence work during World War II in the Pacific. Most of the book deals with his life between the war years, when he first struggled with the Japanese language, through the 1960s, when he was at the height of his associations with such famous Japanese writers as Yasunari Kawabata, Kobo Abe and Yukio Mishima. Keene was a great fan of Mishima, who is probably the most legendary Japanese writer in the West. Keene knew him well professionally, and openly discusses his efforts to lobby for a Nobel Prize for Mishima. He also talks about the dejection that overtook Mishima for never winning. Keene relates his own sense of loss at the suicides of both Kawabata and, especially, Mishima, and even finds fault with himself for not recognizing sooner the trajectory of MishimaÕs demise.

Keene's autobiography is highly recommended to anyone interested in the literature or scholarship of Japan, as well as to anyone interested in the life of an unusual and inspiring individual. ... Read more

Book Description

Set against the backdrop of the Cold War, Outer Search\Inner Journey is the extraordinary autobiography of a German orphan adopted by American parents.Peter F. Dodds powerful writing style engages the reader through incredible tales of family, adventure and romance... a book that once opened, is difficult to put down. ... Read more

Reviews (10)

Peter's book is true to the heart of other Ger. born adoptes
As a German born adoptee my self. Outer search inner Journey made me realize that my own feelings for Germany and how I have lived my life were ok. that it was normal to think and feel like Germany was and is my homeland.
When I first started to read Peter's book it made me mad. how could someone wright things that I feel in a book so that others could read it? When I was done reading the book I was able for the fisrt time to tell a lot of my feelings to my adopted family. Thank You Peter!!!!I would have never been able to open up as much as I have with out this book to help me. This book told me that I am OK and not a crazy adoptee. Just another G.B.A.. Outer search Inner journey is a bright light for Adoptees from other lands!! Thanks again Peter Dodds
For the Record I have been reuinted with my Birth Familys. Bdad in the States and bmom passed away but I have a sister and brother in Germany.

True feelings of a foreign-born adoptee--no whitewash.
This is a throughtful, beautifully written book that rings true to adoptee experience, particularly that of those who lost not only their birthfamily but their culture because of adoption. I am a poet and essayist, and also a birthmother/activist with over 20 years experience in adoption reform. I highly reccomend this book to birthmothers who want to know the soul of a male adoptee, to adoptees seeking a kindred spirit, and to those wishing to know how it really feels to be an international adoptee, including adoptive parents. International adoption today is largely driven by market values and greed, and abuses in the sytem are everywhere, despite the sincere love and caring of individual adoptive families . Anyone considering or involved in foreign adoption should read this book, and take its message to heart. Peter Dodds has provided helpful insight for us all by telling his personal story in such an honest, vivid, and literate way. A cut above most "my true story" adoption memoirs.

This could be a Movie
I could not put down the book! You will truly become part of the story. I felt I was there right along on the incredible journey to find Peter's birth-mother. I have not read a book in a long time that has stayed with me long after I have finished it- like "Outer Search, Inner Journey." If you are looking for a book that will lift your spirit, and celebrate the joy of overcoming adverse conditions-this is a must read. I hope there is a sequel.

I couldn't put it down
I picked up Outer Search\Inner Journey on a Tuesday night and started reading that evening. I was so captivated by this story that I took the next day off from work to finish reading this incredible book. I am not adopted but enjoy reading autobiographies. This book drew me into the author's life, his experiences-thoughts-feelings--like none other I have read. I felt I was by his side every page of his life. After reading this story, I am surprised adoption agencies placing foreign children don't discuss the destrutiveness caused by the child's loss of language, culture, heritage, history and family, as well as the emotional toll caused when a child is taken from her/his native land. I have friends who beleive it is quite fashionable to adopt children from abroad. This book offers a picture of the complexities and drawbacks of international adoption. Still, the author doesn't blame and his story is one of overcoming immense barriers to find purpose and fullfillment in life. A must read for everyone desiring to read a superbly written book with a powerful plot!

Thought-provoking portrayal of the other side of adoption.
Most people would like to believe that adoption is a lovely solution to the problem of an unwanted child. Taking a child from one world and immersing him or her into another without regard is as absurd as expecting a horse to live under water. Like Peter F. Dodds I was taken from my homeland, Germany, and plunged into another world. The shock and trauma that he went through is as honest and as real as it gets. What happened to Peter Dodds is what happens when trauma, (in this case the trauma of transcultural adoption), is not taken care of. As I read through this book I felt the chill of recognition at his questions as well as his confusion regarding his own identity. In many ways his struggle mirrored mine. This is a book that anyone involved in inter-country adoption should read. ... Read more

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Called "Her Majesty" because of her resemblance to Queen Victoria and known as "the measuring woman" among the Indians whose land allotments she administered, Alice Fletcher (1838-1923) commanded respect from both friend and foe. She was the foremost woman anthropologist in the United States in the nineteenth century and instrumental in the adoption of the policy of severalty that dominated Indian affairs in the 1880s. This is the full and intimate story of a woman who, as she grew in understanding of Indian ways, came to recognize that she was the one who was alien, a stranger in her native land.

Joan Mark recreates the long and active life of Alice Fletcher from diaries, correspondence, and other records, placing her achievements for the first time in a feminist perspective. Sustained by a sense of mission. Alice Fletcher challenged her society's definition of what women could be and do. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Women's history for all
Alice Fletcher was a woman of many interests and talents. As one of the first woman anthropologists in the U.S., she spent many years working with, studying and advocating for Native American tribes. This book is an interesting study of her life and the times in which she lived. A really interesting read. ... Read more

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Magical
Beautifully told story of a young Mexican-American girl growing up in El Paso in the 1940s. Ms. Lopez-Stafford shares her recollections of her barrio and all it's colorful characters.

Awesome
Great book, I read it for a Chicano Studies class but I enjoyed every moment of it. A good memoir for anyone interested in the daily life experiences of Chicanas in the U.S. ... Read more

Book Description

The fascinating biography that illuminates the manwhose work changed modern culture.
* Gives a complete biographical view of Campbell's life and a personal perspective of who he was through the voices of his friends and colleagues.
* Written by two of Campbell's preeminent students with exclusive access to his notes and journals.

Joseph Campbell forged an approach to the study of myth and legend that made ancient traditions and beliefs immediate, relevant, and universal. His teachings and literary works, including The Masks of God, have shown that beneath the apparent themes of world mythology lie patterns that reveal the ways in which we all may encounter the great mysteries of existence: birth, growth, soul development, and death. Biographers Stephen and Robin Larsen, students and friends of Campbell for more than 20 years, weave a rich tapestry of stories and insights that catalogue both his personal and public triumphs. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Transparent to Transcendence
The fire in Joseph Campbell's mind burned through the dross of a mundane existence and forged a character who was ultimately "transparent to transcendence" (his own remarkable phrase).

The book is dense at times because of the Larsens' careful documentation and because Campbell's very life was so dense with accomplishment and discovery. I found the Larsens' scholarship to be impeccable and the coverage of a remarkable life thorough. Because they were friends of the Campbells, an air of authenticiy is added to their work. My only disappointment was their lack of reporting of his deeper response to his illness and impending death. I feel more information in this delicate area would have been appropriate because of the biographical nature of the work and because of Campbell's own personal spiritual belief system.

I highly recommend this volume to anyone who wishes to learn more about one of the most formidable intellectuals of the 20th century. Because the book is so well-written, entertaining, and well-documented, it will enliven the days of your reading...and well beyond!

Joseph Campbell: A Fire in the Mind
Since Joseph Campell was such a prolific writer of journals, letters, essays and books, this book was able to capture, in such detail, not only his life events but also the evolution of his studies and thoughts about myth, art, religion and the world. I originally checked this book out at the library but I am buying it as a reference guide because it touches on so many fascinating points about religion and the most prominent spiritual leaders in the last century. ... Read more

Book Description

New edition of an introductory textbook on the history and theory of anthropology through a series of biographical sketches of some of its founders by some of their most famous students. Biographies include Boas, Kroeber, Radin, Malinowski, Benedict, Stew ... Read more

Book Description

The only intellectual biography of the groundbreaking author of Orientalism, published on the first anniversary of Said’s death.

Few public intellectuals have had such a big impact outside the academy as Edward Said, whose work has been the subject of much debate and discussion over the last two decades. From critiques of ideology mixed with philosophical reflections, to intellectual histories, literary criticism, and radical sociopolitical analysis he has single-handedly sustained a permanent insurrection against the status quo.

This, the first full-length intellectual biography of the groundbreaking author of Orientalism, reveals some startling observations. Abdirahman Hussein argues that underneath Said’s carefully constructed eclecticism there is a global method in his work. His key text is not Orientalism but Beginnings, and the Palestinian experience informs all his texts, not simply those that deal explicitly with the catastrophe of 1948. Palestinian life has been scattered, discontinuous, and affected by what he calls the "synchronized rhythms of disturbed time." Edward Said’s oeuvre mirrors this state but simultaneously transcends it in a permanent search for a new synthesis. Hussein argues that this informs Said’s approach not only to Conrad, Swift, and Eliot, but also to Lukács, Williams, Gramsci, and Adorno.

Hussein’s biography itself is bound to become the object of criticism and counter-criticism, a vital book that spotlights the collected writings of one of our most gifted cultural theorists. ... Read more

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better served
It is a fact one would be better served reading Said rather than this book. Even the author of this book must likely vouch for such. Herein however, Hussein has patiently parsed and related the strands and materials from which Said works. The volume is clear to be sure, but lacks the polished prose and sparkle of its subject. This work does not review the life course of its subject. Rather, it reviews the works of the author, influences and arguments, aesthetic and political. For the most part Abdirahman Hussein writes of his subject with approval that at moments appears to be gushing. It is generally a disappointment that there are not more works of this nature and as a result of such puzzling paucity, this volume proves pleasing. Edward Said's work compels intellectuals to engage themselves politically and ideologically. As a result of a lacking synthesis or presiding theoretical bent in Said's work, some may conclude that it comes less thoughtfully produced. Mr. Hussein does well to clearly demonstrate that Edward Said's critical might and blight stem from the acute care he brings to his site specific interpretation of texts and situations. As curious and losing as it sounds, Hussein shows Said at work cultivating reason and taste while showing the world too often subdued and framed by something other than reason. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Towards ending the history of anthropology coverup
In Peace's preface he writes of anthropology's historians Geo Stocking and Dick Handler "failures to consider the political beliefs and actions" of the anthropologists they chronicle--a charge that well summarizes the central devastating shortcoming of the history of anthropology for the past 30 years. This biography goes a long ways towards suggesting how anthropologists can reintegrate politics back into their disciplinary histories. Peace builds an interesting historical account of White and establishes the deep impact of Marx and socialism on White's life and theory.

Fascinating biography
Author Peace has done a masterful job in exploring the work of this eccentric and complicated anthropoligist.
His work and personality are examined and startling facts sensitively revealed.
It is well written, informative and shows a true understanding of the man's personality and brillaint theories.
Well worth reading!
Kathy Boncuk ... Read more

Amazon.com

Japan is not what you would call a direct culture. Refined through centuries of close living, honed over the years to a subtle edge, Japanese communication tends toward the gentle allusion and the discreet sign as opposed to the blunt, brash, in-your-face openness that often characterizes American interchanges. So it's appropriate that Norma Field's portrait of postwar Japan emerges indirectly from her personal tale of family duty. It's the summer of 1995, and Norma Field, the product of a Japanese mother and occupation GI father, has returned to Japan to care for her grandmother, who has suffered her second stroke. As Field concentrates on learning to read the signals of her grandmother's stroke-impaired face--the almost imperceptible difference between the nod "yes" and the nod "no"--she digresses in a series of short vignettes. Field reminisces about her childhood (taking loyalty oaths in the American Embassy, sharing the warm futon with her aunts and grandmother in the Eight-Mat Room), ponders death with dignity versus putting feeding tubes up her grandmother's nose, sees anew the photography of Domon Ken in an exhibit commemorating the 50th anniversary of the end of the war, and observes visiting American businessmen misunderstanding Japanese hospitality. Neatly compartmentalized like a lacquered bento box lunch, the whole is much more than a sum of the beautifully crafted parts. Thoughtful and moving, Field's untraditional memoir provides insights into both American and Japanese histories and cultures. Delve into her observations on the long flight to Narita and your whole visit will be enhanced by Field's appreciation of the personal Japan that lies beneath the surface. ... Read more

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Provactive, Beautiful, and my Thesis Topic
This fragmented narrative draws connections between the personal and political narratives of individuals and nations. It is by far one of the best books I've read. ... Read more

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This book examines the lives and careers of four American women--Sophonisba Breckinridge, Edith Abbott, Katharine Bement Davis, and Frances Kellor--who played decisive roles in early twentieth-century reform crusades.Breckinridge and Abbott used their educations in political science and political economy to expose the tragic conditions endured by the urban poor.Davis became the first superintendent of the New York State Reformatory at Bedford Hills and was a leading figure in prison reform.Kellor's sociological training gained her admittance to the smoke-filled rooms of national party politics and eventually to a high-ranking position in the Progressive Party.In Endless Crusade, Fitzpatrick follows these four women from their collective experience as University of Chicago graduate students at the turn of the century to their extraordinary careers as early-twentieth-century social activists, exploring the impact of their academic training and their experiences as professional women on issues ranging from prison reform to Progessive Party politics.Fitzpatrick examines how each woman struggled, in various settings, to promote effective social reform.Their shared commitment to social knowledge and social change, she shows, helped to shape the character of early-twentieth-century reform. ... Read more

Book Description

With Mary Wollstonecraft and her A Vindication of the Rights of Women, published in 1792, a modern female consciousness came clearly into being, one that tied the mind to the body. This beautifully written biography, the first new study of Mary Wollstonecraft in thirty years, argues that it is her life and letters that are her most lasting legacy.Her story reads like a novel -extraordinarily scandalous in conventional terms (a close involvement with a woman, two male lovers, an illegitimate child, and a habit of initiating amorous relationships), yet in her own terms always principled and highly moral. She strove to reconcile integrity and sexual desire, the duties and needs of a woman, motherhood and intellectual life, domesticity and fame. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

A fine telling of this incredible woman's story
I had the pleasure of reading this book while doing research for my biography, "Theodosia Burr Alston: Portrait of a Prodigy" (Corinthian Books, September 2002). Mary Wollstonecraft's "A Vindication of the Rights of Woman: With Strictures on Political and Moral Subjects" (London: J. Johnson, 1792) had a profound influence on U.S. Vice President Aaron Burr, who became one of her earliest and most influential supporters in the United States. He immediately embraced Wollstonecraft's concepts of equal education and incorporated them into creating, through his teenage daughter, Theodosia, his model for the ultimate woman of the future: an exotic new intellectual hybrid embodying the education of a man with the natural qualities of a woman who possesses both the ability to reason -- and a soul (!!). Janet Todd's insightful telling of Wollstonecraft's life and her careful explanation of how Wollstonecraft's credo developed was both enlightening and enormously instructive. Todd's clear writing style makes her subject come alive. As a scholar writing a biography of Aaron Burr's daughter, I bought this book and read it because I had to. But I was so delighted with it that I then went back and re-read it because I WANTED to!

revolution? what revolution?
This is a very good book. It is based on comprehensive research, extremely detailed, well written and sensitive. It is the best biography of Mary Wollstoencraft ever written and will remain so for a long time.

The really curious thing that comes through is that Wollstonecraft was less of a feminist than one might think. In fact she was an intelligent, sensitive, somewhat high-handed and dominant, woman. Her dearest wish in life was to find a man worthy of her; her dearest fear, to be abandoned by him.

At the time she wrote her most famous work, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, she was thirty years old and a virgin. The volume drips with contempt for women less talented, and less chaste, than herself. This is what makes her interesting; she is a textbook-case. Is it possible that with her, as with so many others, feminism at bottom is simply an attempt by women who do not have a man to avenge themselves on those who do?

Very detalied and intelligent, but reads slowly
I truly enjoyed this book, as I had to read it for a paper. It tells of Mary Wollstonecraft and her travels, focusing mostly of life after A Vindication Of The Rights Of Woman becuase it is heavily documented.

This is not a simple book. I found myself going to the dictionary a lot but those words help in the showing of this book as an intelligent piece of work.

Janet Todd has gone into a lot of detail when describing Wollstonecraft's life. If it described more, we'd be reading about how she held her fork and what exactly the bread looked like. Thoses details paint a more brilliant picture of MW than expected but can make the book move slowly. So much information is packed into the pages making the book a bit hard to swallow all at once.

I sincerely recommend reading the book in more than one sitting. ... Read more

Book Description

An engrossing biography of Theodor Adorno that offers a new perspective on his life and writings

Theodor W. Adorno—philosopher, cultural critic, sociologist, and music theorist—was one of the most important German intellectuals of the twentieth century. This concise, readable life is the first attempt to look at his philosophical and literary work in its essential political context.

Central to Adorno’s intellectual development were his musical training, his father’s Jewish roots, and the rise of National Socialism in Germany, which forced him to emigrate to the United States. While in exile, he and Max Horkheimer wrote Dialectic of Enlightenment, a bold attempt to illuminate the dark side of modernity, and on his own Adorno wrote a series of connected essays on the “culture industry”—his indictment of mass culture.

A co-founder of the famous Frankfurt School, Adorno returned to head it after the war, assuming a key role in the intellectual life of postwar West Germany until his untimely death in 1969. Jäger’s biography sheds new light on many aspects of Adorno’s life and writings and on his relationships with such figures as Paul Celan, Bertolt Brecht, and Walter Benjamin.



Lorenz Jäger is an editor of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung in Germany. He has published numerous books on twentieth-century cultural history.


... Read more