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In the 1960s, Judith Rollins was working for CORE in Louisiana, where she was housed by a remarkable woman--Odette Harper Hines, whoselifelong activism benefited the NAACP, the WPA Writers Project, and theRed Cross along with countless people on whose behalf she worked for racial justice.Recorded by Rollins over eight years, this is a spirited oral history of an extraordinary woman whose public life intersected with such figures as Walter White, Thurgood Marshall, Ralph Ellison, and many others. ... Read more

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Laud Humphreys (1930–1988) was a pioneering and fearless sociologist, an Episcopal priest, and a civil rights, gay, and antiwar activist. In graduate school during the late 1960s, he conducted extensive fieldwork in public restrooms in a St. Louis city park to discover patterns of impersonal sex among men. He published the results in Tearoom Trade. Three decades later the book still triggers many debates about the ethics of his research methods. In 1974, he was the first sociologist to come out as gay. Laud Humphreys: Prophet of Homosexuality and Sociology examines the groundbreaking work through the life of a complex man and the life of the man through his controversial work. It is an invaluable contribution to sociology and a fascinating record of a courageous life. ... Read more

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This innovative biography is a work about collaboration:Harriet'slife with members of her family, friends, and lover; Harriet's joint work withJohn Stuart Mill; and the author's interaction with the reader. Jo Ellen Jacobs,after exploring Harriet's life, her intellectual development, and herrelationship with John Stuart Mill, argues persuasively that Harriet and Johncollaboratedextensively on many works, including On Liberty. ... Read more

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Baudrillard Live is a compilation of interviews with Jean Baudrillard, the ``father of postmodernism,'' and one of the foremost French intellectuals of the twentieth century. Complete with new interviews as well an introduction from a leading authority on Baudrillard's work, this book offers the reader an unprecedented sampling of Baudrillard's compelling and far more accessible conversational thought. The interviews cover a wide range of topics, from his meditations on experience of going to the cinema, to his views on film, photography, the Gulf War and the New World Order. This collection provides an invaluable supplement to Baudrillard's often difficult writing, and even clarifies several points of contention in his work, particularly those issues relating to postmodernism. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Interesting Interviews
This book consists of Baudrillardfs interviews about various topics such as cinema, power, politics, and his books and articles. Time when he was interviewed varies but his insistence is consistent. Probably, this is because Baudrillardfs attitude toward his works is consistent and very prudent. The constitution of his interviews has no problem. He always answers questions clearly. Above all, I am impressed by his answer about his sociological or philosophical position. He considers himself neither a sociologist nor a philosopher: gTheorist? I agree. Metaphysician? Perhaps. Moralist? I donft know. My work has never been academic, nor is it getting more literary.h He is very free to talk about his works, which makes this book interesting. Therefore, this book is very helpful to understand Baudrillardfs thoughts and how he uses words such as gpowerh, gimageh, and gsimulationh. Moreover, this book contains index of key words, which is also helpful. ... Read more

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Malcolm Waters presents a clear introduction to Bell's arguments and a critical appreciation of the strengths and weaknesses of his work. He draws mainly on the three books that have made Bell famous, The End of Ideology, The Coming of Postindustrial Society and The Cultural Contradictions of Capitalism, but Waters also covers lesser-known works on education and social forecasting. Daniel Bell is a thoroughly comprehensive account of the work of a key, albeit highly controversial, contemporary sociological figure. ... Read more

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Joseph Keene Chadwick taught at the University of Hawai'i until his untimely death at the age of thirty-seven in 1992. He was a gifted teacher and scholar of Irish literature. He was also an early advocate for gay studies and Pacific literature, and an accomplished translator. In addition to many published essays on these topics, he left an unfinished book manuscript on William Butler Yeats' theory of tragedy. This volume, which includes two chapters from his book on Yeats, presents Chadwick's early interventions into the areas of Irish and gay studies and translation alongside commisioned essays and work by contemporary scholars and writers, including Frank McGuinness, Witi Ihimaera, George Haggerty, and Elizabeth Butler Cullingford. ... Read more

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Excellent
I thoroughly enjoyed this book about Bandelier. If you are interested in Bandelier or history it's a great read. ... Read more

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Set against the magnificent backdrop of Australia'sgeological,human, and natural history, An All Consuming Passion is the story ofamateurbotanist Georgiana Molloy. In 1829 she married a retired Army captainandemigrated from Scotland to the remote southwestern corner of Australia.WilliamLinesweaves the story of Molloy's life and increasing commitment tobotanywith the broader story of colonial invasion. He uses Molloy'sexperienceknownmostly through her prolific lettersto highlight issues such as genderinequality in colonial society, the British misunderstanding and abuseofAboriginal culture, and the impact of Aborigines and colonists on thelandscapeof Australia. ... Read more

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Life story of Omer Stewart, a defender of religious freedom.
Omer Call Stewart was a man with many missions. He was among the first to study the use of the hallucinogen peyote in the Native American Church, and he was a stalwart defender of Native American religious freedom in many influential court cases. Omer Stewart was a student of Alfred Kroeber and produced important ethnographies of various Ute, Paiute, and other American Indians in the western U.S. He began his religious life as a Mormon and ended his life as an atheist who sincerely supported and respected people's religious commitments. He was a longtime teacher and practitioner of anthropology who embodied what it means to be a social scientist. Cannibalism is an Acquired Taste is his life's story.

Carol Howell's book on Stewart is a wonderful blend of family stories, good science, and the early history of American anthropology. Howell has compiled a series of interviews with Stewart and his family, pertinent letters from Margaret Mead, Ruth Bunzel, and other contemporaries of Stewart, and manuscripts that illustrate key points in an anthropologist's life. The book could have been a wild melange, but instead it wonderfully illustrates Stewart's many interests and wide range of involvement. This mix of views makes the book appropriate for a variety of audiences, ranging from people interested in anthropology to those simply interested in the life of one of the more interesting personalities of the twentieth century. Throughout, the blunt honesty and yet true humility of Stewart shines through.

For an anthropologist, Stewart's life is an alluring case study of how a professional comes into being. The passion and mistakes of a young anthropologist are clear in Stewart's early work with Julian Stewart and Alfred Kroeber. His journey from being a committed Mormon disciple to being a practicing scientist devoted to understanding the wide-ranging aspects of human culture is fascinating for anyone who has seen their own life change. From the 1930s to the 1970s Stewart constantly found himself in the midst of the key controversies and central areas of anthropological research. His life traces the change from Indians being non-citizens to their being active participants in national politics and issues. As an anthropologist, I can't think of a better or more fully described life of a student of culture.

For the curious lay-person, the honesty of this account of Omer Stewart's life is striking. He serves as a wonderful cursor tracing many of the changes of the twentieth century. From his travels as a Mormon missionary in the twenties to his discovery of anthropology in the thirties to his service to the Chief of Staff in the Pentagon in the forties, the first half of his life illustrates the radical shift in U.S. policy from isolation to world leader. The second half of his life cuts a course of social activism in racial integration, Indian religious freedom, and scientific debate. For Stewart, the practical consequences and rightness of an endeavor often weighed more heavily in his decisions than did anthropological theory or the opinions of his mentors. At times, we--the curious voyeurs--want to know more about issues such as Stewart's friendship with famous people such as Robert Redford--the Sundance resort is on the old Stewart ranch above Provo Canyon--but the focus on this biography is squarely on Stewart and the issues at hand, not on gossip.

I recommend the book highly to anyone who is interested in the practice of anthropology or in the active pursuit of Native American rights. Stewart was an anthropologist who did not shy away from a fight for people's rights. In this time when we often do not know what many individuals think or believe, Omer Call Stewart is a bright light illustrating how to live a life that is true to one's convictions. Carol Howell's book is a fascinating synthesis of sources that paints a picture of Stewart that is strikingly on target for those who knew him. Omer Stewart's wit was an acquired taste, but unlike cannibalism, it ultimately worked for the good of humankind. ... Read more

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Deep in the jungles of Ecuador live the Cofan people, a so-called primitive clan little changed over the centuries. Their leader has led the Cofan in a cagey, media-wise, and sometimes hostile struggle against an uninvited new neighbor - Big Oil. This leader, this "Amazon Stranger," is an American named Randy Borman. Author Mike Tidwell spent many months with the Cofan people and with Borman - and has returned with this riveting tale. Amazon Stranger is the story of a man obsessed with the jungle and desperate to save it and its people. It is an unforgettable book, written with vividness and drama by a superb investigative reporter. ... Read more

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vivid, fascinating, heartbreaking and hopeful
This book is at once an adventure story, a profile of a fascinating individual, a heartbreaking account of one of the greatest environmental crimes taking place in the world today (the destruction by oil companies of one of the world's richest ecosystems, Ecuador and Colombia containing the greatest biodiversity of the entire Amazon Basin) and a David-and-Goliath story of a tiny Amazonian tribe, the Cofan, battling for survival against multinational corporations. As all of those things, it bears comparison with Joe Kane's "Savages," but the Cofan have already dealt with much more destruction than have the Waorani, and this book spends more time on first-hand descriptions of both the riches of the Ecuadorian rain forest and the consequences of oil exploration. (I would recommend this book not only to activists who are trying to save the Amazon, but also to those who are working to save the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge from oil exploitation, to explode to smithereens the notion that oil exploitation would not devastate the ecology there.)

The editorial reviews here cover just about everything else I would say about this book, so I won't repeat their comments, just direct the reader to them.

...One factual error this book makes repeatedly that I would like to correct: although they speak the same language as the Indians of the Andean highlands, and although they expanded northward into Cofan territory relatively recently, the Amazonian Quichua are NOT migrants from the highlands and NOT newcomers to the rainforest. They are true Amazonian people, distinct syncretic cultures created from the remnants of various destroyed Amazonian tribes who blended together and adopted their lingua franca (Quichua) as their first language. Though the Amazonian Quichua have been influenced (=weakened) by missionaries for much longer than the Cofan, their roots in the rainforest are every bit as deep. ... Read more

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Although Jim Cairns's reputation has been marginalized, the past 25 years have revealed that he was the major thinker and the driving influence behind the reforming policies and ideals of the Whitlam government. This book follows Cairns's ideological journey and preoccupation with finding the key to social change. It also offers a broad social and political context to Cairns's life, including the ideological character of the Labor Party over the past 50 years. Examining the protracted ideological and political rivalry between Gough Whitlam and Cairns, this work positions Cairns as a hero of the left. ... Read more

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Beyond Loyalty is the powerful and inspiring story of a young man whose life and education were rudely disrupted by the U.S. government's imprisonment of Japanese Americans during World War II.

Few Japanese Americans have written so frankly about the humiliation they felt during World War II. Moreover, Kiyota is perhaps the first "renunciant" to share publicly the mental anguish that led to and resulted from his decision to relinquish his U.S. citizenship. Further, as a "kibei nisei"--one of a small group of Japanese Americans who spent part of their childhood in Japan--Kiyota writes from the vantage point of an individual who is at home in two very different languages and cultures.

Recent events such as the Gulf War have made it all too clear that there is still much to be learned about democracy's treatment of its ethnic minorities. By putting a human face on issues of constitutional rights that arise in time of crisis, this absorbing account deserves a wide readership. ... Read more

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I RESPECT SENSEI Kiyota more after reading his biography.
This book is how to remain a Knight & Gentleman and to pursue your Life Mission against all the odds of life.

Dr. Kiyota had a dream since boyhood to educate college students about the Western and Asian cultures & philosophies. He successfully achieved his mission by having been teaching for over 30 years as a professor and as a sensei. I am taking his class, "Kendo: Integration of Martial and Liberal Arts" and I am happy to have finally found my Sensei. There is a lot to learn from him as an open-mind and objective individual!!!

The book is full of documented facts, critical thoughts, and beautiful language. I have invested about 15 hours of concentrated reading with only 3 breaks: to sleep and to eat. In overall, Dr. Kiyota is the person one should meet in life and to shake his hand!!! ... Read more

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Publishers Weekly review 09/22/97
Although the subtitle of this touching, beautifully written volume indicates otherwise, the book is in fact a biography of the author's parents' troubled marriage. Writing with grace and generous doses of humor, Lyle (The Foraging Gourmet) describes her early years with her mother as a wonderful time when women in the community banded together to take care of each other. Family conflict began when her father, Marine Corps Brigadier General John Seymour Letcher ("the youngest officer in the history of the Marine Corps to have a General's command in battle") returned from the South Pacific of WWII an angry, controlling man who proceeded to grind his family into submission. The author explains that her mother had entered into a loveless union with a man who was by turns charming and viciously domineering largely because, as a woman, she was blocked form most other options. During the long marriage she was subject to depression, for which she was occasionally hospitalized. Lyle skillfully describes her own life-long struggle to differentiate herself from her father, in whom she saw many of her own traits magnified and distorted. Describing her journey to come to terms with him, she is as funny as she is frank, and emerges as a compelling figure, every bit as strong and capable as her father but without his apparently self-involved rage. ... Read more

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Ephraim George Squier and the Development of American Anthropology is an intellectual biography of Ephraim Squier (1821-88) and his contributions to the development of the nascent disciplines of archaeology and anthropology. During his career, which spanned the years 1845-77, Squier consistently articulated the need for a more holistic and integrated approach to the study of humankind.

Although Squier is best known today for the classic book he coauthored with Edwin H. Davis, Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley, Terry A. Barnhart shows that Squier's fieldwork and interpretive contributions to archaeology and anthropology continued over the next three decades. He turned his attention to comparative studies and to fieldwork in Central America and Peru. He became a diplomat and an entrepreneur yet still found time to conduct archaeological investigations in Nicaragua, Honduras, and Peru and to gather ethnographic information on contemporary indigenous peoples in those countries. He published an important and still not fully appreciated comparative study, The Serpent Symbol, and the Worship of the Reciprocal Principles of Nature in America, which attempted to systematically account for parallel cultural developments that he attributed to the psychic unity of humankind.

A wealth of unpublished sources illuminate Squier's wide-ranging interests and controversial career, his intellectual circle, and the public interests of an energetic and expansive American nation. Terry A. Barnhart offers us the first intellectual biography that explores the personal and professional life of a remarkable and significant figure in the history of American anthropology.

Terry A. Barnhart is a professor of history at Eastern Illinois University. ... Read more