Editorial Review

Preceding the phenomenal success of Mitch Albom's Read more

Reviews (20)

Touching View of Humanity
Reading Tuesday's With Morrie touched me deeply, since I struggle everyday with a congenital heart problem--and I never know when the next day may be my last.Morrie's wisdom, humor and expriences is brought through from Mitch Albom's terrific writing.Morrie's words cannot be more insightful and wise as my body is beginning to break down....I re-read his book quite often, so I can feel uplifted.
Morrie:In His Own Words
If you've read Tuesdays with Morrie, then this has to be a companion read.They cover the same material but In His Own Words definitely makes you, as the reader, think of your own immortality and how to better yourself so that in the end, you will have contributed all that is important to you.

Wise advice for the dying, plus a little bit for the not-so-dying
Schwartz, the protagonist of Mitch Albom's Tuesdays with Morrie, gives candid, helpful advice about making the most of your remaining days or months or years. I read Tuesdays with Morrie and thoroughly enjoyed the insights into listening to and caring about others. Albom did an effective job of culling out those parts of Morrie's advice that applied most readily to those of us who don't feel that our deaths are imminent.
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Subjects:  1. Biography / Autobiography    2. Death, Grief, Bereavement    3. Self-Help    4. Social Science    5. Sociologists    6. Sociology - General    7. Specific Groups - General    8. Self-Help / Death, Grief, Bereavement   

Reviews (7)

A great read; valuable for its place in history
As a modern twenty-something who wasn't even born when this book first came out in 1972, I enjoyed picking up what is undeniably a part of the history of American sexual culture.I tried to keep in perspective how shocking this book must have been in the 1970's, before our bookshelves and televisions were plasted with frank talk about sexual health and sexual deviance.To me, the opening lesbian girlhood fantasies and the nymphomania (of course all prostitutes love sex) seemed cliched, but I don't doubt Hollander's account of her early sexual life and introduction to the profession.
Sex Alone Cannot Make A Book Interesting Past A Certain Point
I wish there were half-star ratings, cause this is really about a 3.5. It's not that great of a book but it's not that bad. I can understand how it sent out shock waves once upon a time but in 2005 this created only the most minor ripples across my neither-prudish-nor-licentious sense of values. This autobiography doesn't stray far into eroticism but it does get graphic with unvarying frequency. It isn't obscene and not even that lurid, though the discussion is highly frank. I liked The Happy Hooker, literate and intelligent South African native Xavieria Hollander's memoir of her years as a prostitute and madam, but it ultimately ended up without much room for depth. She writes an interesting account of growing up in a strict South African home where her scholarly father made her speak a different language for each day of the week, and she tells an unapologetic version of her entrance into the world's oldest profession (she gets pre-tty candid, let me tell ya) but after that...things fizzle. Hollander stays on the game a little too long but eventually graduates to madam and momentarily the book finds its pace again with its Business 101 insights into exactly how an escort service was operated (bribes, low-key underworld connections and lots of "favors" to vice cops) but gradually it strays into nothing but a catalog of sex, sex and more sex, which contrary to what you might think, gets boring to read about after the first ten descriptions. (Ugh.) This dated, anachronistic tale of life at the height of the so-called Sexual Revolution, an era that bestowed on those of us born later a legacy of drug resistant STD's and an inferiority complex that we'll never live up to what our ancestors were getting up to, is a goofy, eye-popping but never embarrassing read.

Panthers fan
OK read.Funny in the begining but gets really boring after 200 pages.It is sex here sex there all over the world.U just get tierd of reading it.If you are sex fanatic it will be a funn read but if not u will get Tierd of it after 200 pages ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Hollander, Xaviera    6. Prostitutes    7. Prostitution    8. Reference    9. Sexuality    10. Sociologists    11. United States    12. Women    13. American English    14. Biography & Autobiography / General    15. Biography: general    16. Novels, other prose & writers: from c 1900 -   

Reviews (45)

I love Good Books
and this is one of them.This is a good quality book written from an interesting perspective.I highly recommend.

Page Turner and Eye Opener!
I really enjoyed this book.I live in Korea as the wife of a US military officer.I have lived here for over a year and have daily contact with many Koreans.This book gave me valuable insight into the Koreans around me.Obviously not everyone is the same.However, this book taught me a lot about Korean culture and traditions, some aspects of which have sometimes confused and frustrated me.The morning after I stayed up half the night finishing this book (I couldn't put it down), as I drove around, I looked at these natives of my host country through entirely new eyes.
Compelling Story
Although this book gets off to a weak start, after that it quickly picks up. I picked this book off of the dollar stack at a local book store and was pleasantly surprised. I learned quite a bit about Korean history and enjoyed Lee's interpretation of her grandmother's life story. Also, I see potential. I would like to reed another book by Lee. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Family & Relationships    5. Family Relationships    6. Korean Americans    7. Lee, Helie    8. Sociologists    9. Baek, Hongyong    10. Biography & Autobiography / General    11. Biography: general    12. Marriage, family & other relationships   

Editorial Review

The 30th anniversary edition of this classic memoir about growing up in Spanish Harlem includes an afterword reminding us that its streets are even meaner now, thanks to crack cocaine and the dismantling of government poverty programs. As a dark-skinned Puerto Rican, born in 1928, Piri Thomas faced with painful immediacy the absurd contradictions of America's racial attitudes (among people of all colors) in a time of wrenching social change. Three decades have not dimmed the luster of his jazzy prose, rich in Hispanic rhythms and beat-generation slang. ... Read more

Reviews (46)

Still a classic!
My mother had this book for one of her college courses while I was in junior high so I gave it a try and loved it. It came up as a recommendation for me on Amazon recently and I went to dig it out but couldn't find it so I ordered a new copy. I just finished it and ten years later it was even better than I remember (being that I'm that much older and that much wiser.) This book is a classic and I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys an honest, gritty and above all, true story of growing up on the streets.

Powerful
A brutally honest story that is hard to put down. My favorite book of all time.

Excellent Book
Very good book, very well written and related. I advise also to all the readers that buy the book titled: Tu Alto Precio... Mi Gran Valor, writing by the puertorican writer Miguel Amadeus. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1928-    2. Biography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Ethnic Studies - General    6. Hispanic American Sociology    7. Literary    8. New York    9. New York (N.Y.)    10. New York (State)    11. Puerto Ricans    12. Social Science    13. Sociologists    14. Specific Groups - General    15. Thomas, Piri,    16. Biography & Autobiography / Personal Memoirs    17. Modern fiction    18. North America    19. Thomas, Piri   

Reviews (31)

new information
This book was written by an ex con and former friend/cellmate of Manson's. It was written based on Manson's account of the events of his life. The two talked behind bars and then the author would write Manson's words down to the best of his ability. Manson did not write anything and a tape recorder was not permitted in prison so the ideas were Manson's but the wording was the authors. That said the author does his best to use Manson's wording whenever possible and tries to not veer off from Manson's account of his life story.
I don't believe Manson had anything to do with this.
Ok, if your a Manson collector of course you have to have this, but otherwise it is not even a good read, let alone Manson's words.
WHAT???GIVE ME A BREAK!!!!
Hell, I'm not even going to read this book before I tell you all what I think!No reason to waste my time reading ANYTHING written by an animal like Manson.
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Subjects:  1. 1934-    2. Biography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. California    6. Criminals    7. Manson, Charles,    8. Sociologists    9. Biography: general   

Reviews (2)

Easy to follow. Must Read.
Thank you Dr Marshall for writing the story of the Omega Boys Club. I think you have outlined here, very well, how anyone with knowledge, dedication and insight can touch the hearts of our youth!
Can you name the risk factors for youth violence?
Marshall has succeeded where others before him have failed. Street Soldiers offers all the "urban reality" stories to get you out of your comfortable chair, but doesn't simply stop there.Outlining a clear and concise approach for dealing with youth violence, Marshall has put forth the solution for tackling one of our nations hidden epidemics.Whether your a frontline worker with youth or not, you will find this a must read book to find out how you can best help stem this incidious disease impacting all of us. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. African American teenagers    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Black American Sociology    4. Blacks In The U.S.    5. California    6. Gang members    7. Popular Culture    8. Popular Culture - General    9. Rehabilitation    10. San Francisco    11. Societies and clubs    12. Sociologists    13. Sociology    14. Social Science / Popular Culture   

Reviews (10)

Fellow orphan
Richard McKenzie's presentation of his experience being reared in an orphange is certainly on point. His represents the early life travels of many children in need of a home in the first half century of our country. The lifetime benefits he received as a student resident of the Home are invaluable to his successes achieved in his professional endeavors. As so many of his contemporaries reared in an orphanage demonstrate, they are proven, productive and responsible members of their respective communities. I share in McKenzie's deep feelings for his Home and the wonderful memories he expresses in tales some tall but all true; for I should know, I was there too!

Compelling book
The Home by Richard McKenzie is a compelling book that I highly recommend.Life has not been easy for McKenzie.At age ten, after his incompetent, alcoholic parents were no longer capable of providing even a modicum of care McKenzie was placed in an orphanage where he remained until finishing high school.The book is mostly an account of his years in an orphanage, and he does not sugar coat the experience.It was tough, much tougher than what he would have experienced if he had been raised in a stable family environment. But for whatever its faults, the Home was caring.McKenzie makes a very credible case that orphanages offer a viable alternative to today's system of foster care where children are often mistreated and robbed of the chance of developing the skills needed to become successful adults.He documents that many of the children who grew up in the Home have done very well and are respected citizens in their communities and in some cases beyond.In fact, Richard McKenzie went on to become an internationally recognized economist.

The Home: A Beautifully Crafted Story
The Home is a poignant, coming-of-age story about kids growing up in an orphanage in North Carolina.It is a story that illustrates how a supporting, loving, yet strict staff, nurtured and educated these children as they grew to adulthood.
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Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Foster Care Services    5. History    6. North Carolina    7. Orphanages    8. Orphans    9. Sociologists    10. Child welfare   

Reviews (3)

A real credit to the late Mr Heyerdahl [1918-2005], who is a real credit to Western Civilization!
The Norwegian born Mr Heyerdahl was an
Great read
This is a greatly written book. For all Thor's sense of humor and eye for the paradox often shines through. We hear a lot about his obstacles getting his travel adventures accepted in scientific circles as real research and also get a side of Thor indicating that he is a very determined man. We hear about his romantic life and philosophy about he important things in life. A great book that will teach you not only about geography and archeology but will make you laugh and think deeper about life.

Diary of an adventurous man.
To use Thor's own words... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Social Scientists & Psychologists    5. Sociologists    6. Biography: general    7. Geographical discovery & exploration   

Editorial Review

Marc Parent worked for four years as a caseworker for Emergency Children's Services in New York, acting as the final protector of children from abusive parents, as "the one on the front line--the last hope for a kid in trouble." His job was to make house calls and decide if a child needed to be removed at once. He has selected eight cases illustrating the extreme pressures of the work and indicating why it is that the system so often fails in its mission. He recounts unsparingly how three years into his job he made a fatal mistake, failing to recognize the plight of a little boy who later died of starvation. This compelling account is an important documenting of the weaknesses of the child support system. ... Read more

Reviews (182)

A beautiful, yet emotionally challenging read...
I read this book very, very quickly. That's the only way to read it, to avoid breaking down and sobbing throughout every chapter. And there are some doozies in here.
beautifully written
turning stones is a wonderful book.its a collection of true events and stories of children at risk , all beautifully written and lovingly compiled by the author , marc parent ,who was himself a case worker in children's welfare services[new york] for 4 years.this book narrates many stories of various children who are abused in some way or the other.also, this book gives us an insight into a case workers life and the dilemnas he faces while attending tochildren in need.every chapter has a new story to tell and the readers will find it very compelling not to put the book down.a wonderful book for anyone interested in children or human interest stories.

True Stories!!
As a former child protective services and case worker for seven years in Georgia, I know exactly what Marc Parent and his "kids" have gone through.Although the laws and procedures are different, all CPS workers have to go through the same despair and red tape when we try to protect kids.It is literally impossible to a legal guardian to 40 kids.
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Subjects:  1. Abused children    2. Biography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Case studies    5. Child welfare    6. Child welfare workers    7. New York    8. New York (State)    9. Parent, Marc    10. Sociologists    11. Sociology    12. Teaching Methods & Materials - Social Science    13. Education / Teaching Methods & Materials / Social Science   

Reviews (1)

Great for students
Bellah has gathered Durkheim's most oft-cited writings (including Elementary Forms, Division of Labor, Suicide, and Sociological Method) and arranged them topically in this work.The book begins with Durkheim's review of French social thought, then chapters on "Sociology and Social Action, The Evolution of Morality, The Learning of Morality," and "Social Creativity."A lengthy introduction gives an overview of Durkheim's biography, other writers who influenced his thinking, as well as summaries of the major works whose selections are within.It's an excellent book for both undergraduate and graduate theory courses: most selections are between 10 and 20 pages. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1858-1917    2. Durkheim, Emile,    3. General    4. Literature: Classics    5. Social Science    6. Social ethics    7. Sociologists    8. Sociology    9. Ethics & moral philosophy    10. Social Science / General    11. Sociology, Social Studies   

Subjects:  1. Biography / Autobiography    2. Language    3. Language Arts & Disciplines    4. Linguistics    5. Literacy    6. Social change    7. Social structure    8. Sociologists    9. Language Arts & Disciplines / Literacy    10. Sociology, Social Studies   

Editorial Review

A road-trip and self-discovery book with a difference: McIntyre hitchhiked across America with no money, accepting only the "kindness of strangers"--rides, food, shelter, and the occasional beer. This book grew on me with every page, just as McIntyre's feelings for the ordinary people he met grew with every mile. Few books I've read since Studs Terkel's Hard Times (a classic oral history about the Great Depression) so effectively captured the day-to-day lives of typical Middle Americans, with all their strengths and weaknesses. Highly Recommended. ... Read more

Reviews (17)

Great book
Uplifting, There are good people out there, and the most generous sometimes have the least.

refreshing glimpse of American spirit
in light of recent events this book shed a ray of light on the dimming light of humanity in our world. A man leaves home with only identification and hitch hikes across the country relying only on the "kindness of strangers." Although he clearly points out that were he not male and caucasion the outcome could have been much different, the story is still heart warming. I have recommended this to sooo many friends and all have thanked me profusely for helping them search their hearts and souls with out being battered with questions of faith.

Up lifting must read
I have purchased numerous copies of this book to give to friends. After recently rediscovering book and reading for 5th time I was checking amazon to see if Mike McIntyre has any other titles. I felt compeled to write a review. In light of the recent World Trade center attack I really need something that confirmed my belief that good people are all around us. It really lifted me out of my gloom. A++++ ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography/Autobiography    2. Description    3. Description and travel    4. General    5. McIntyre, Mike    6. Sociologists    7. Travel    8. Travel - General    9. United States    10. Journeys    11. Travel writing    12. USA   

Reviews (1)

Nice Overview of Bourdieu
While not always terribly kind to Pierre Bourdieu (okay, the truth is that this book erupts into scathing critique at some points!), this is a very readable overview of Bourdieu's main ideas and books.Jenkins sees tremendous value in the questions Bourdieu poses and in how he always theorizes from a point of view informed by field research, and in still trying to get a grasp of this French theorist's work, I found this book equally valuable to my own purposes. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. General    2. History & Surveys - Modern    3. Philosophy    4. Sociologists    5. Sociology    6. Sociology - General    7. Philosophy / General    8. Social theory   

Subjects:  1. General    2. History & Surveys - General    3. Social Science    4. Sociologists    5. Sociology    6. Sociology - Social Theory    7. Western philosophy, c 1800 to c 1900   

Editorial Review

This memoir by 24-year-old Chelsea Cain, who grew up on a commune in the Iowa outback, recounts her nostalgia for her toddler years, when her parents picked berries, puffed pot, and plucked the banjo while the outside world seemed to be going straight to hell. Deciding that her caffeinated modern life is a vile repudiation of her parents' admirable values--and shaken by her mother's bout with cancer--the author leaves southern California for Iowa. Not to establish or join a commune but to rent an Iowa City apartment and begin graduate school at the University of Iowa, as we learn from her biography. Along the road to Iowa, there are plenty of wry observations on the modern world and reflections on the more idealized values of "the hippie movement." The sanest characters in this brief book are Cain's clear-eyed and chastened parents. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

dissolving the generation gap
This is a very moving account of a young girl who feels the need to reconnect with her roots.Cain was raised on a hippie commune in Iowa but as a college student in California feels estranged from her background.This spurs a decision to move back to Iowa to rediscover the little girl she was.It's a simple enough premise but it is very well written.Her mother's bout with melanoma is the impetus for the journey. Then there is the search for a former friend thought to be dead which adds texture to the tale.The road trip is a great American motif and Cain handles it in her own unique circumstances.This is a tale about self-rediscovery as Cain attempts to bridge a hippie past with the current gen X values.It is clich� at times but very personal and honest.There is a lot of universal soil in this book.It can be appreciated by anyone who enjoys an honest account of dealing with illness and loss of innocence.

One of the best books I've ever read
Chelsea Cain and I worked together a few years ago at the university newspaper in Iowa City. She was an excellent writer then, and Dharma Girl is wonderful as well. As a person, she is one of the nicest people I'veever met. I feel blessed to have had the opportunity to know her. I can'twait for her next effort.

a quick read; worth the paper it's printed on
In Dharma Girl, Chelsea Cain is trying to appeal both to the Gen X reader who is searching for some meaning in her life and to the aging hippie, nostalgic for life on the commune and hoping that it all made a difference somehow.The book is a quick read which I really did enjoy, even though I do not fit into either of the two categories above.The most engaging aspect of the book is the tension over whether she will be able to locate one of the commune members with whom she had a special friendship ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Cain, Chelsea    5. Communal living    6. Hippies    7. Iowa    8. Iowa City    9. Sociologists    10. United States    11. Young women    12. Biography: general    13. Travel writing    14. USA   

Subjects:  1. 1805-1852    2. Adventurers & Explorers    3. Antiquities    4. Biography    5. Biography & Autobiography    6. Biography / Autobiography    7. Biography/Autobiography    8. Central America    9. Explorers    10. Historical - General    11. Mayas    12. Mexico    13. Native American Archaeology    14. Sociologists    15. Stephens, John Lloyd,    16. Central American & Caribbean archaeology    17. Photography / General   

Subjects:  1. Anthropology - General    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Social Science    4. Sociologists    5. Sociology   

Subjects:  1. 1940-    2. Africa - General    3. Anthropologists    4. Anthropology - Cultural    5. Biography    6. Biography / Autobiography    7. Jackson, Michael,    8. Personal Memoirs    9. Political anthropology    10. Sierra Leone    11. Social Science    12. Sociologists    13. Sociology    14. War and society    15. African studies    16. Ethnography   

Reviews (1)

A very highly recommended original source material for Native American Studies collections
Translated for the first time from the original Dutch into English, Montana 1911: A Professor And His Wife Among The Blackfeet presents the diary of Wilhelmina Uhlenbeck, the wife of anthropologist and linguist C. C. Uhlenbeck, who traveled to Montana to conduct fieldwork among the southern Piegan Indians. Her diary is reproduced in full, chronicling her perspective of the three-month stay, and also thoroughly supplemented with notes, an introduction to Blackfeet and their mythology, a biographical sketch of the couple, and a selection of the writings of C. C. Uhlenbeck that parallel the text from his wife's diary. Black-and-white vintage photographs illustrate this remarkable hands-on, up-close and personal perspective of Native American daily life and culture. Montana 1911 is a very highly recommended original source material for Native American Studies collections.
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Subjects:  1. Anthropology - General    2. Archaeology / Anthropology    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Historical - U.S.    5. History    6. History: World    7. Native American    8. Sociologists    9. United States - State & Local - West    10. American studies    11. Anthropology    12. North America   

Reviews (4)

The ideal is never preserved in the actualpractice.
Amitai Etzioni calls himself the father of the communitarian movement. When you reduce his philosophy to its kernel, it can be stated thusly: Serving the community is the highest good, but selfinterest is evil. What he is really saying is that individual freedom is evil. The truth is that self-interest propels a free society. Productivity is motivated by self-interest. Socialism robs people of the desire to produce. Why should anyone work harder than the next when they all get paid the same? That is why socialist countries are poor. You ban self-interest (individual freedom) and you kill productivity. Then the elite ruling class have to threaten the people to produce. When that happens you get a bare minimum effort, just enough to get by. The society is not free. If the individual is not free, the community is not free.
A great intellectual leader of our time
This is the story of a professor and his passionate sense of calling to serve others.It is a window into a life that combines academics, public affairs and service to society. A still humble man, he has risen to the status of advisor to several national leaders, advocating a vision of public policy that is guided by intense intellectual energy, personal responsibility and compassion.His "third way" perspective may be the the right solution to many pressing question facing democracies in our time.

The Mind of an Active Intellectual
My Brother's Keeper. A Memoir and a Message by Amitai Etzioni is an exciting intellectual biography. It may also be entitled: "An Active Intellectual as a Young and as a Mature Man". But this book is much more than an interesting personal memoir. In addition to a fascinating life story and an intellectual biography, it leads us along the pitfalls and dilemmas of modern society during the second half of the 20th century and points outthe directions of a moral life in a "good society". Etzioni's ideas as expressed in this book, and in his previous ones, are not unrealizable utopian longings. They are firmly based on contemporary reality. He piercingly analyzes present dangerous trends and forces in social, political and economic developments on one hand and the values and morality of the communitarian movement, which he founded, on the other. Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Communitarianism    5. Literary    6. Personal Memoirs    7. Sociologists    8. Sociology - Social Theory    9. Biography & Autobiography / General    10. Biography: political    11. Non-Classifiable    12. Political science & theory    13. Social theory    14. USA