Biography Books

A well written book about how Yunus successfully lent money to impoverished people in Bangladesh and, in so doing, empowered them to create better lives for themselves. The pages echo Yunus's faith in the human spirit, his dedication to eradicating poverty, and his tenacity to succeed in the face of naysayers cries. He talks about the origins of the banks name, The Grameen Bank and notes that Grameen derives from the word gram, or village.

Yunus denounces typical methods of poverty reduction, such as those that tie funds to skills training. And he acknowledges that he has critics in this regard. He writes, "I firmly believe that all human beings have an innate skill. I call it the survival skill. The fact that the poor are alive is clear proof of their ability. They do not need us to teach them how to survive; they already know how to do this. So rather than waste our time teaching them new skills, we try to make maximum use of their existing skills. Giving the poor access to credit allows them to immediate put into practice the skills they already know - to weave, husk rice patty, raise cows, peddle a rickshaw." (p. 140).

Banker To The Poor: Micro-Lending and the Battle Against World Poverty
This is a life changing book! This book will change the way that you think about poverty and how to end it. In this book, Professor Yunus tells of his own journey in first recognising that the University in which he lectured in Economics, needed to impact his local community, and secondly, doing something about it. The book has all of the elements of a good novel, humour, romance, and drama, but it is so much more. Buy this book, read this book, and then join Kiva.org to make a difference.

This audio book was absolutely wonderful. I found it really inspiring and engaging. I was really surprised by how interesting it was, I was afraid it would be a little dry but that wasn't true at all. I enjoyed every chapter. This book really did make me want to change my life, it gave me a lot to think about that I'm still working with. In fact I hope I never stop thinking about it and the issues it opened up.

The reader was very good, he had enough inflection in his voice to keep it interesting, but did not over play the words. It was the sort of narration that provided a similar feeling to reading myself, where I could put my own emphasis and voice to the words and not be distracted by the an overly dramatic narrator.

Banker to the Poor is a really clear way of explaining what microfinance is as well as showing the drastic difference that $40 can make in people's lives. Shows the humanitarianism of microlending, why it's better than just giving people money, and how it can be a useful tool to help many people. I really recommend this book for anyone, and especially so for anyone interested in helping others or setting up programs to help others (my church is using microlending now).

Muhammad Yunus constructed a system in Bangladesh to help the poorest of the poor get loans for tiny amounts of money. Since its inception 1980, variations on this system have spread all over the world with great success.

Yunus starts with the premise that credit should be a right, not a privilege, and the people who need credit the most are the ones locked out of the standard credit system. He recounts a story of a woman who makes bamboo stools. She borrows money to buy the raw materials from a middleman, and as repayment for that loan, she is forced to give the finished stool back to him. He then pays her 2 cents for her work. The raw materials cost only 22 cents, and if she just had that capital herself, she could buy her own bamboo and reap all of the profits from the final sale of the stool. But she doesn't have 22 cents and therefore is effectively a debt slave.

Most people who hear about the concept of microfinance for the poor immediately ask, "Why do poor people pay the loans back?" The answer provided in "Banker to the Poor" is multi-faceted and not wholly satisfying, but it is clear that the system does work. Repayment rates are generally higher than loans given to the so-called credit worthy in standard loan arrangements. A rate of over 98% has been achieved.

Repayment is encouraged by a combination of (1) a high level of interaction between bank workers and the borrower's communities, (2) fair and respectful treatment by the bank, (3) the formation local peer groups to encourage repayment, (4) short loan terms with weekly payments, (5) loans primarily to women, and (6) the fact that the borrowers know this is their one shot -- if they shirk repayment, they are screwed. Their *lives* are their collateral.

The book is an easy, entertaining read, and the enthusiasm of the author for the topic is clear. His stories of individuals who have risen out of poverty through micro-loans is stirring, but toward the end of the book, he talks about poverty in a more philosophical way, and one can't help criticizing his idealism. He proposes a version of socially-conscious capitalism that he claims could help eradicate poverty from the entire world. Under his proposed system, corporations would be motivated by the sum of social utility and profit, not just profit alone. It's a nice thought, but it seems a little naive. But perhaps it takes such unbridled idealism to truly make an important difference in the world, as it seems Yunus has done.

The book is about illegal immigration. I read it before my college-aged daughter for insight on what she needed to accomplish. It is an OK story, definitely makes you think twice about trying to get into the US illegally!

First things first: I need to address that I am reviewing the BOOK, based on my experience of reading it, and nothing else. I am not rating Ms. Nazario, or Enrique, and I am not making a statement about illegal immigration.

Nor am I reviewing this book to provoke outrage or negativity. Think of this review as an invitation: if it speaks to you, the information is probably useful, and will inform your decision to purchase or not purchase this book. If it doesn't speak to you, don't read my review; no one is forcing you to. In either case, you have made the right choice.

I'm reviewing the book. And I really didn't like the book. There's a few reasons for this:


1) THE WRITING STYLE IS BORING

No doubt Ms Nazario is a talented journalist, but I do not think that her style of writing is engaging. Unlike the writings of Eric Schlosser or Malcolm Gladwell--two journalists who I felt became successful at the art of writing longer nonfiction--Nazario's prose feels choppy and disjoint, unable to find its own rhythm or build momentum. Due to this lack of momentum, I found that I had to put the book down every few pages.

Perhaps this style was unintentional--it would work well in a short newspaper article, where there is a very small space to write, and one can get away with a repetitive sentence structure and narrative "attack"--but Nazario's much longer (and larger) story suffers from the monotony of her style.

The style reminds me of the camerawork on shows like CSI, where quick, jerky movements of the camera imply a constant sense of urgency, even though two characters are simply discussing the details of an autopsy (which, frankly, they do every day). Climactic situations deserve this urgency; the narration of a character's history does not. Nazario's style indiscriminately applies this sense of urgency in the same way that Fox News indiscriminately seeks to frame any situation in terms of a crisis. In America this style of reporting/camerawork is popular, but to me it is simply tiring.

Some reviews of the book call it "Gripping." Those reviews are accurate. However, I don't need my attention to be constantly gripped. Which brings me to


2) THE LACK OF MENTAL/EMOTIONAL DEPTH AND NUANCE

Nazario, politically, does not present a one sided story. However, the book is one-sided in the way it frames Enrique's life in terms of lack, absence, and failure. Undoubtedly, Enrique lacks a lot, most importantly his mother. A better writer would be able to get away with this, but Nazario's prose gets stuck in the formulaic traps of standardized journalistic writing.

This, coupled with the constant sense of urgency in her writing prevented me from seeing Enrique's situation as anything other than... well, urgent... and bad. Her train of thought rarely stops for imagery, metaphor, reflection, or interior monologue. When it does stop, it does not stop for long. The result is that rather than rather than "feeling" and "knowing" Enrique in all his pain, I merely caught a glimpse of him--literally and figuratively, as if I were looking through the window of a fast-moving train.

There is almost no humor whatsoever, something that the aforementioned Schlosser does manage to squeeze in while tackling equally dark subjects. One might say that humor does not fit the storyline, but I disagree: everyone's life is a mixed bag. Life is not uniform, but variegated, a vast ecosystemic swirl of light and dark.



3) THE STORY MOVES PREDICTABLY

While I've never been to Honduras, I have travelled elsewhere within the Third World. I've also read a lot. Thus, I have a large amount of firsthand and secondhand experience about the difficulties people face in impoverished areas.

Had I not had these experiences, I might like Enrique's Journey. But to me, it offers nothing new. I felt like I "got the point" of the book within the first two pages: "Enrique's life sucks, and he has very few choices, and that's a shame."

Based on my experiences, I'm not arguing that these things aren't true--I'm reviewing the book, not people--but it leaves me wondering: why read the rest of the book if it's not going to teach me anything I don't already know?

I already know how bad the external conditions are in these areas. I wasn't surprised to read about people looking for moldy bread in a landfill; that's reality for these people. It's also nothing new, nothing I can learn from.

For anyone who can't find Honduras on a map, lacks media-literacy, or awareness of the ways in which multinational corporations take advantage of political corruption in the Third World, or of who works in the kitchen of their favorite restaurant... for that person, I can see this book being an "eye-opener." Ditto for American high schoolers, who lack the knowledge of these conditions.

Enrique is unique. He's a person. No one will ever be Enrique. Had Nazario's writing taken me into the mind of Enrique, or at least subtly pointed as to his state of consciousness--a no-no in journalism, but a must in nonfiction--I would have learned a heck of a lot.

This book was hard to put down as well as hard to read. It evoked the full range of emotions. The inhumanity of some mixes with the incredible generosity of others. It is a story of the best and the worst that humans can be. It puts a human face on the problem of immigration. You will never look at undocumented workers the same way again.
Sonia Nazario does a tremendous job of describing the immigration problem from many different perspectives. Although she focuses on Enrique's journey to the United States from Honduras, she also gives us a view of all of the people who are touched by immigration. She wisely gives us no answers. In fact, we are left knowing that there are no easy answers.

I happened on this book at church on Sunday morning, part of the United Methodist Women's Mission reading. I guess I was meant to pick it up and read it. I have not had much compassion for the plights of immigrants. Coming to the United States illegally. Flooding our society with push 1 for English every where you call. Teaching our children in grade school to speak Spanish if only a small amount. Getting services from welfare systems and even social security benefits........are those meant for United States citizens. Now I have a different view. The living conditions of these individuals is deplorable at best. The prices we have to pay to buy our children and grandchildren Tommy Hilfiger clothes when people in Honduras are sewing these clothes in sweat shops working 10-12 hour days and making $30 a week. And what they endure to even get here with the Mexican authorities treatment on the way.........There has to be a way to allow them the opportunity to apply for Visas and work permits for 6 months out of the year to come and work and make enough to raise their families.....................MY EYES ARE OPEN. An excellent read!!!!!

This book greatly impressed me and I read it straight through in one sitting. The author's knowledge and perspective of this issue really helps to illustrate all angles of the immigration debate. Enrique's harrowing journey tugs at the heart and the outcome of the book builds an reaction of unexpectance. I highly recommend this book for anyone who has any interest in Central America, poverty, geopolitics, or the immigration debate itself. What a great piece of literature!

Reviewed by Nia Jones
UrbanBookSource.com


From her heart to ours, Faith Renee Evans finally shares her side of the legend. From her life before Big to her life after, she keeps nothing, and I mean nothing, from her reader. Written in a conversational tone, Faith's memoir recounts what life was like as the first lady of Bad Boy Records and the wife of Hip Hop king, Christopher Wallace.

Keep the Faith begins in the beginning capturing what life was like for Faith in her early years. Born to Helene Evans, an aspiring singer and entertainer and a man known only as Richard Swain, who was rumored to be a white man, Faith's life began in Dade City, Florida. At the age of three she moved to Newark, New Jersey with Mae and Bob, who she calls her grandparents, but who are really her cousins. Faith got her first taste of performing at the age of three in the Emanuel Baptist church where she awed an audience with her angelic voice. From that point on she knew that she had to make a living with her voice. And so she did, with gigs at weddings, funerals, church engagements, and beauty pageants.

Faith's memoir continues from her early childhood on to her adolescence. By the time Faith graduated from high school, at the top of her class with a full academic scholarship to Fordham University, she had already landed her first paid gig as a background vocalist for the singing group Hi-Five, been repeatedly abused by her then boyfriend JT, a small time drug dealer, who also gave her a venereal disease, had two abortions, was in the midst of an illicit affair with a married man many years her senior, and had already briefly dated Redman, who was simply known as Reggie at the time.

During her freshman year at Fordham, Faith reacquaints with an old friend, Kiyamma, who she begins to spend time with in the studio during her downtime. Eventually Faith becomes pregnant with Kiyamma's child and drops out of Fordham to move to Oakwood, California with Kiy and the rest of his crew who were in the process of negotiating a recording contract. Once on the West coast, Faith and Kiy's relationship sours quickly and Faith moves back to the Brick City (with money Redman gives her) before the birth of her first child Chyna. Shortly after Chyna's birth Faith meets Puffy and is offered a deal by him on the spot to join Bad Boy Records.

Although much of who the public knows to be Faith Evans is associated with the Notorious BIG, he is not mentioned until page 109. From there on Faith shares their courtship, marriage, and separations, "That roller-coaster ride would become symbolic of our relationship--many ups and downs, some within minutes of each other. We moved forward very quickly and then backward just as fast. But through all of it, we were right next to each other, holding our hands, closing our eyes, and enjoying the ride." Along with the basics she also shared her side to all the tabloid topics such as her beef and brawl with Lil' Kim, "When Big and I were together, she played her position--in the back. Way back," her interactions with Charlie Baltimore, "Oh no no no...you got it all wrong. Don't ever call my f***ing house," her fall out with Mary J. Blige, "'Hey Mary,' I said when we crossed paths. It was crowded and I knew we wouldn't really be able to stop and talk for long. But Mary just looked through me, as if she'd never seen me before in her life," and Missy Elliot, "'Um, hey, Missy,' I heard Toni saying. 'I don't think she's here right now...' I sucked my teeth and continued unwrapping my dishes from one of the boxes. 'You ain't gotta lie,' I said. 'I'm sitting right here. But I don't talk to phony people," and of course her rumored relationship with Tupac, "His two friends left. We were now in his hotel room--alone...As soon as the door closed behind his friends, Tupac turned to me. His face was completely different. His teeth were clenched, his nostrils were flared, and his eyes were narrow...He was staring at me like he thought I was the one who set him up," and ultimately the murder of Big.

Keep the Faith is a swift read that is meant to tie up many loose ends to stories the hip-hop world has wondered about for more than a decade now. Although this is just her side to a knotty story, it's a side we haven't heard before, and a side that should be read.

What did you like best about this book?
I liked the honesty of this memoir. It tells the story, the complete story of a young girl who grew up to marry an eminent legend and was forced to deal with the fickle music industry all while dealing with her own scars.

What did you dislike about this book?
In some sections of the book the tone was too conversational, almost as if it was one girlfriend talking to another, telling her side of a story. Although this is what makes the book more personable, it also takes away from the memoir in some instances.

How can the author improve this book?
I would personally suggest that the conversational tone of certain passages, be toned down a bit to give the book more credibility within literary circles. Although I am sure this book was not written with the hopes of it winning laureate awards, I think monitoring the tone would help the overall feel of the memoir.

As someone who is a true lover of music (every genre) and sometimes overly obsessive with every aspect of my favorite stars lives, I will have to say that Keep The Faith is definitely a must read!!!

I have been a fan of Faith's since her debut album and was very eager to get some closure of all the relationship rumors between Faith & Biggie, Puff, Mary J, Lil Kim, Charli Baltimore, Missy, Tupac and the list goes on and on. I appreciate Faith's honesty in this book. She painted a vivid picture of her life. The ups and downs, the good and the bad. There were so many questions from the fan regarding these broken relationship rumors and Faith's involvment with the West Coast (Tupac). Faith puts it all down in her book. I was intrigued with every chapter. I did not want to put the book down. Faith answered all my questions and so much more. I'm sure that this was healing for her as it did provide closure for me.

Faith is "A True Champion" for sharing her story with the world.

This book was so good. It was like watching a movie. I almost felt like I took a trip back to the mid nineties. Faith was good at making it seem like she was talking to you. I was laughing at certain parts and saying whaaaaaaaaat at other parts. I respect Faith for keepin it real. She really told how she felt about certain things. I'm glad she didn't hold back on saying certain things about certain celebrities. I feel a connection to Faith now. Thank you Faith for keepin it real!!

Wow, is all I can say. In just over 24 hours I read this entire book. I kept putting it down to savor it, but I just kept picking it rigth back up. I have been an avid fan of Faith since 1995 and am a die hard supporter of her to this day. I thought I knew everything there was to know about the First Lady, but after I read this book, I realized there was so much more. Her honesty and rawness will really make you appreciate all the struggles she went through. I dont know what the dude who rates her 2 stars was talking about, Faith by no means has painted herself to be innocent about anything. In fact she paints a picture of a young girl distraught and without the proper guidance and a lot of young ladies today should be able to read, relate and draw inspiration from this book. It's a must read for anyone who's ever loved Faith Renee Evans!

First i must say that this book put me through a number of emotions. I laughed, I cried, I got angry and in the end i felt happy for Faith and as a fan i finally got closure . I remember clearly wondering back in 96-97 if any of the things said about faith in the media was true. I felt sorry for her. More because she didn't respond to any of the accusations in the media. I was more stuck because there are two sides to every story. I wanted for her to come out blazing on all the hatters but no response until now. Faith if you ever get to read this review I just wanna say that i am proud and happy for you. You have come a long way. Coming out with this book showed me that we have a lot in common. I too am a gemini and reading how you handled certain situation in life and people showed me we are a lot alike and that you are human just like everybody else. Reading your book was like theorpy for me. Many times i would laugh and say to my self while reading this book " I did the same thing too" But now that i am older i have learned to take care of me. Thank you Faith I put you on my list of favorite books right with the Coldest Winter ever. Your book was just that good . God Bless and remember to keep the faith.

This memoir chronicles the year after the death of Didion's husband. It is an interesting treatise on grief and mourning, if a bit too cerebral at times.

Didion's husband, John, dies from a cardiac event right before Christmas. Shortly before his death, the couple's daughter, Quintana, suffered an embolism which led to her hospitalization. So basically, Didion has to deal with the death of her husband of 40 years while caring for her hospitalized daughter, who is still clinging to life.

Didion had, I thought, many interesting things to say about the death of a loved one - how we never expect life to change so drastically, so quickly. How we can never really know what to expect, how we will feel, until it happens to us. How most of us may think of our reactions to death in immediate terms - the funeral, etc. - but we never adequately consider the long years of absence thereafter, and how we will deal with those. How, despite what our rational mind knows (this person is gone forever, etc.), part of us still hopes/thinks they will return to us, miraculously.

My criticism of the book is Didion's tendency to over-intellectualize everything. By turns this habit was both interesting and tiresome. Having read the book, though, my guess is that this is the kind of person she is. I would bet that, were I to read one of her novels, I would find the same penchant for the slightly pretentious.

At any rate, I enjoyed the book. Not a must-read, but worth picking up if you have some time.

Didion repeats unnecessary details. That might be fine when reading the book, but I listened to it on CD, so it was maddening.

I thought the book was overrated and the insights were minimal.

I am not of Ms. Didion's generation. I am not a member of her moneyed "jet set." I have never written a book. However, I have to say that her "Year of Magical Thinking" resonates with the way I reacted to the sudden death of my daughter. I recognize the tricks that the mind plays to protect you from the pain. I probably would not call these mental processes "magical." I see them as protective and necessary.

As a result of my appreciation for Ms. Didion's memoir, I would like to address a couple points that stand out among the other reviews here. First, denial does not happen because you will it or because you are too weak to face reality. Despite emotional strength and intelligence, you cannot process all aspects of a significant loss at one time. This causes unusual thoughts at unusual times that do not always jive with everyone else's reality.

Additionally, many dissatisfied reviewers, point to the way Ms. Didion did or did not experience, express, write about her emotions as a result of her grief. I have to admit that I also reacted very intellectually to my loss. My mind was continually trying to process the situation, to go down every path to help myself come to grips. While most people believed that my emotions were in check, I was in shock and drowning in "what-ifs." I can relate to Ms. Didion's racing mind and flat countenance.

Finally, several reviewers claim that people in the Western Hemisphere(and pointedly Ms. Didion) do not handle loss well because our culture has taught us to dread, not embrace, death. This probably has validity. However, I cannot believe that anyone in any culture can unexpectedly lose a beloved spouse or child without pronounced shock, grief, and mourning.

Because of my own life experience and personality, I found this book to be very comforting. It validates many of the thoughts and feelings that I have faced.

I thoroughly appreciate the way she ends the book, by pointing out that no one "has an eye on the sparrow." My daughter's death reinforced my belief that random, horrible things happen with no reason, purpose, or plan. We each must face these things in our own way and time.

My one criticism of this book centers around something that Ms. Didion admits within the text. She says that she does not want to stop writing the book because it will mean that she is letting go of one more attachment to her husband. As a result, this book has about 4 or 5 chapters too many.

I highly recommend this book for readers who have experienced loss or are interested in how other people experience loss. I found it to be a very realistic, intimate portrayal of one person's experience.

K, on the continuum of accepting Buddhist to never-gave-death-serious-consideration, this story is definitely on the latter end. Right or wrong it is you think of the sort of celebrity mindset might be like. The rosary-like recitation of everything-is-extra-special details of vacations and houses and people and celebrations and work and dates that she went on about... those were evidently the anchors to her life. From the extreme shock of this author, the transitory nature of all of this wasn't obvious. I guess if you really didn't ever seriously contemplate your absolute aloneness this book could serve as a cautionary tale.

One magical thinkingish word that was unintended might throw light on the author's shock about physical illness and death. The author mentioned a timeframe in which "... I had my daughter." Presumably, there is absolutely no difference in any other aspect of raising and loving a daughter whether you are the biological mother or not, but there is a significant physical difference between pregnancy and birthing compared to adopting. She might have gotten her daughter, been gifted a daughter, adopted a daughter, but "had?" That verb seemed revealing bit of magical thinking. Especially when you consider the life-changing immensity and gravity of "having" a baby irregardless of genetic deformity or other problems, irregardless of pain and risk to oneself, and then hopefully, triumph. This experience can hardly be defined as identical to her description of the day her and her husband picked up a newborn from the hospital.

The audiobook is better than the book. I'd give five stars for the reader of the audiobook, Barbara Caruso. She is fantastic; her voice goes right into your DNA. I'd listen to anything she read.

In "The Year of Magical Thinking," Joan Didion chronicles the death of her husband, author and screenwriter John Gregory Dunne. One evening, Dunne died of a severe heart attack while the couple ate dinner. The day had seemed like any other, aside from the fact that they had just returned from a hospital visit with their grown daughter, Quintana, who was in a coma from an unidentified illness. Didion found herself lost, coping with the trauma of her husband's death at the same time that she faced the uncertainty of her daughter's recovery. This stress manifested itself in numerous ways, including the "magical thinking" from the title. Specifically, Didion talks about wanting her husband back so badly that she tries to trick herself into thinking it possible, such as convincing herself that if she kept his clothes, then he would come back for them. Or vice versa - if she gave away his clothes, this meant that he couldn't come back in the future.

Anyone who has experienced the death of a loved one will likely find something in this superb book that hits them - something that describes their grief perfectly. As is typical, Didion goes through various stages of grief and finds herself wanting answers. She wants to know how her husband died, and she goes about it like an author would - researching the topic. Didion also recounts bits and pieces of their life together as she attempts to piece together a new life. At times, she is a bit of a name-dropper, chronicling her fabulous Hollywood life and her friendships with famous authors. However, in the end, she was a widow grieving a loss, just the same as anyone else; death affects us all, is universal. Didion's beautiful writing and the way she discusses her grief is universal as well.

Overall, "The Year of Magical Thinking" is a sublime work of non-fiction that deservedly won the National Book Award. However, I was slightly annoyed by one aspect of the book - the lack of details about Dunne's age. At the beginning of the book, I assumed, based on how Didion writes about her husband, that Dunne was in his 50s. I haven't read anything else by Didion, so I didn't know much about her life. In actuality, Dunne was 70 years old when he died. Gradually, Didion acknowledges that his death was somewhat expected - Dunne had had heart problems for years. Perhaps her neglecting to tell us that earlier about his heart problems and his advanced age is part of her "magical thinking." If one doesn't acknowledge the heart problem, even when writing about it after his death, then said heart problem does not exist. Of course, the age of a loved one is fairly irrelevant to the person left behind; one is still alone. It's a minor point, perhaps, but one that affected my reaction to this otherwise amazing book.

This review is of the audiobook version, which consists of 4 CDs. The reader is Barbara Caruso, who does an amazing job of embodying the "voice" of Didion. The reading is simple and straight-forward, with very little accompanying music, which really suits the tone of the book.

This item arrived within the standard 4-14 business days and in wraps. Crisp corners and well packaged, because I order two items from Amazon they placed the rather large texts in a small box. Well done.

Very , very unhappy with this book and the seller. The book reeks of cigarette smell, it is impossible for me to hold the book in my hands for more then 15 to 20 minutes at a time. Would never buy anything from this seller.

This book was used as the text for a class in library science. It is a very good introduction to the subject and very readable. Anyone interested in studying information or library science might want to check this out to get an overview. It deals with current issues, but it is a foundational text, so the discussions on marketing and Web 2.0 are just mentioned.

Yes it proved uninspiring reading, but get over it! As someone completely new to library science, I learned a lot from Dr. Rubin's book. What do you expect from an academic textbook? Not everyone who writes is a natural storyteller. Despite the fact that this book could be revised differently, it gets the job done rather well. It introduces you to library science, so quit your whining about its dryness.

I bought this book for a graduate course. It has a lot of great information in it, but it's sooooooooo boring.

It had some writing in it, but overall a good deal for the price. Thanks

87 years after the Declaration of Independence, the Emancipation Proclamation was enacted and after the the ratification of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution Enslaved Americans gained thier freedom.

Before the civil war Abolitionist were the Advocates of change in America the struggle to gain ones freedom from the experiences of slavery in the south is told from the true experiences of Fredrick Douglass. From Slavery to the Struggle for freedom to escape is the story told here, but also the story of survival to activism in the Abolitionist movement to change America.

During the nearly 100 years after the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of 1787 Black America finally found Freedom, But between Slavery and Freedom was the struggle of the freedom fighters of the Revolutionary Abolitinist Movement to bring slavery in America to an end. This is the story of the virtues of a victim of Slavery turned into a revolutionary success story, This is the story of Fredrick Douglass.

As a political junkie, I watch several news and commentary television shows. On the day that Barack Obama was declared the nominee of the Democratic Party for the presidency of the United States, black journalist Eugene Robinson was speaking. He said that we should all stop for a minute and appreciate the significance of this event. In the early 1960's black people had a very difficult time voting and in the southern United States, whites who killed blacks were generally acquitted if brought to trial. Now, there is the very real chance that a black person will be the next president.
One of the greatest assets Obama has is his incredible gift for speech and communication. He is extremely articulate and is capable of delivering his words in a manner that resonates. I was privileged to attend one of his rallies and was even able to ask him a question.
When blacks were slaves, they were property, nothing more. If their owner was dissatisfied, they could whip or even kill their slaves with impunity. Therefore, to truly appreciate and understand how far things have come in the United States, it is necessary to read some of the descriptions of how slaves were treated.
This is one of the best accounts of the horrors of slavery ever written. Douglass was one of the first articulate blacks to appeal to whites. He was even the vice presidential candidate of the Equal Rights Party in 1872. The presidential candidate was Victoria Woodhull, the first woman to run for president of the United States.
Douglass describes the brutal and indiscriminant treatment that a slave was forced to endure. When a slave showed any sign of independence, the goal of the white supremacists was to break them by any means necessary. Mothers and fathers were separated from their children, food was withheld and physical mistreatment were all weapons in the arsenal of the slave-breaker.
In this moment of the triumph of racial equality, it is an excellent look back to read the writings of Douglass. It gives you a perspective on how truly historic the nomination of Barack Obama is and will continue to be.

The Narrative is another book, like Hiroshima, that ever person should read. The in-depth look into Douglass' life shows how slaves were treated during the 19th Century. It explains why the struggle for freedom that led to the American Civil War and why it was such a brutal confrontation.

"I expose slavery in this country, because to expose it is to kill it. Slavery is one of those monsters of darkness to whom the light of truth is death." Frederic Douglass

Frederic Douglass tells us the REAL story about slavery in early America. From the first page to the last, I was totally transfixed. There are so many things to admire about this great American. On top of being brilliant and brave and benevolent and broad-minded, etc... what I truly admire about this amazing soul was the fact that he is able to tell us his story sans bitterness. For let me tell you, if the majority of us had to endure one iota of what this man went through... Let's just say that those saccharine sweet saga's like "Gone with the Wind" left a few pertinent things out!

This is one hell of a powerful story! The brutalities of slavery will disgust you, but to see this beautiful soul rise above it all is something special. He is the most important figure in nineteenth-century black American literature and a man that merits more attention than he gets. This is a magnificient achievement, an important work of art.

Very highly recommended!

I liked learning about his life and what he did for fun. This was an amazing book. It went well with me after reading The Black Swan. Similar stuff in a way. [...]

A wonderful biography of a unique, fascinating and enthralling person. The author brings freshness to this much-written subject by drawing on voluminous personal correspondence that remained sealed for 50 years following Einstein's death. The book is a remarkable achievement by being both highly readable and accessible, and providing scientifically sound explanations for the lay person of complex concepts of physics. As a history of science, of the early 20th century, and as a perspective on one of the most engaging and innovative personalities ever, this book is total education and refreshment. Especially moving is the fundamental thread of Einstein's personality as a lifelong quest for unifying principles, married to unsentimental devotion to reason, logic and a faith in the comprehensibility of the universe. (Good luck with that one.)

I had a mild interest in reading about Einstein, but frankly put off reading this biography for the simple reason that it seemed thicker than my interest. But what a wonderful read it is. Isaacson does a graceful job of keeping the pace moving, and an estimable job of explaining the science (to us non-scientists) without letting it bog down the story.
And, quite simply, Einstein is also a fascinating person to read about, especially his later life as an internationalist and world icon. Highly recommended.

Very interesting book. Easy to understand. A fascinating overview of WWI and WWII. Well-written, informative and enjoyable to read. Hard to put down.

Isaacson's biography comes in at 551 pages in the hardcover edition. Given the heft, if you want to hit a demographic of more general readers, you better offer more than just Einstein's contributions to science. Isaacson nails this higher standard by offering an Einstein who is an archetypical freethinker of Western Civilization in the twentieth century, providing the reader a personal glimpse into the technological, cultural, religious, and political movements that drove that century.

After quickly moving through Einstein's youth where Isaacson destroys many of the falsehoods regarding Einstein as a child supposedly not showing much promise; Isaacson then focuses much of the first part of the book on Einstein's development of the theory of general relativity and his development of relationships within the scientific community that allows him to work on a broad array of issues within theoretical physics, but also partnering with others on engineering projects as well. This part of the book will reward those primarily interested in better understanding the creation and progression of the theories in which Einstein contributed his expertise.

I would also recommend that readers monitor the online website sciencedailydotcom as they read this book. I was amazed at how many times news stories cropped up confirming some aspect of Einstein's arguments that Einstein was forced to infer or was weakly validated with evidence given the lack of modern day equipment. It's impressive to track what is mostly the validation of his arguments but also the occasional falsification with additional empirical evidence we are now collecting.

Isaacson explains the science so any high school student who passed physics can easily understand. For those that are not at that level, I still recommend reading the book since Isaacson serves it up in fairly small doses and concentrates much of it in the earlier part of the book, plus the explanations are simple enough anyone should understand some of the more major findings. This part of the book is a bit of dry read, but will serve the reader as a useful resource for future reference. I've probably got about 50 notations I marked on especially illuminating topics.

I found the last part of the book that focused on the non-scientific aspects of Einstein's life particularly interesting and well worth the investment in time given the size of the book. I'm not sure Isaacson consciously decided to make Einstein an archetypical freethinker of the twentieth century, but I've never read about a more worthy candidate to view the development of liberalism and its resultant benefits in the twentieth century with the possible exception of FDR. In fact, I would view FDR as the leader of the movement and Einstein as a perfect example legitimizing why we should strive for liberal democracies, especially given Einstein's fellow scientists' contributions to weaponry used against Germany, where most of these fellows resided prior to the rise of Nazism.

I was very impressed with how quickly Einstein was able to develop strong positions regarding his beliefs in politics, religion, and economics, starting in his early teens where he quickly realized the logical absurdities of organized religion. What has taken me decades to develop in regards to my core principles Einstein developed within a few short years as he takes on these topics. Besides being an especially prescient thinker about these issues, Isaacson's Einstein held positions that were often solidified well before such positions were popular. His positions were consistently predictive; where Einstein willingly discarded certain core beliefs if the evidence argued heavily against it - just like any good scientist does by constantly attempting to falsify their theories with the best opposing arguments.

A great example is how Einstein perceived the threat Nazism posed to Germany well before most people realized they were a threat to anyone, which caused Einstein to emigrate from Germany in the very early 1930's while many of his Jewish scientific colleagues stayed behind at that time, though many got out a few years after. By that time Einstein was a well-known pacifist, having been very outspoken about World War I, however when Germany started invading their neighbors and the war drums started pounding for a new world war, Einstein's fellow pacifists were shockingly disappointed that Einstein wisely discarded his pacifism and supported the free world using force against Germany, showing that Einstein was no blind ideologue even for his closely held beliefs.

Isaacson's freethinking Einstein doesn't just address the positive aspects employed by freethinking and secularism, but also the social risks that occur as traditional institutions like the sanctity of marriage and family if they are separated from the fear of ostracization by one's religious community - a non-factor for the secular Einstein. Isaacson's Einstein is an incredibly selfish husband and father to the point of effectively disowning a son though no fault of the son's.

Many of the sources used to report on Einstein's life were published for the first time in this book given the release of a huge cache of correspondence between Einstein and others that was owned by the family and never offered to previous biographers. Here we see a more humanized Einstein, even though his humanity always was evident during his life and subsequent biographies. There is also an almost comedic storyline regarding the ineptness of FBI surveillance against the perfectly harmless Einstein, with a kicker regarding Einstein's relationship with a spy that I won't elaborate on here since I view it as a spoiler. The spy story was never told in previous biographies given that a subject country just released its files on Einstein just prior to Isaacson starting this book.

Some of this new documentation also provides Isaacson the opportunity to effectively discredit a favorite meme going around in social conservative circles that Einstein was sympathetic to their beliefs in the existence of a creationist / intelligent designer providential God who fine-tuned the universe. Isaacson goes for the jugular and discredits any notion this falsehood is true. A certain creationist cretin named Ray Comfort, who is working with an ex-TV child actor, actually claims he is the next Einstein and this is getting a lot of traction with social conservatives. Given that social conservatives have been actively and massively involved in historical revisionism regarding Western Civilization and their role in it, Isaacson's focus on Einstein's religious beliefs was most welcomed by me to set the record straight to attempt to rebut this effort.

Isaacson dedicates a full chapter on Einstein's god after first explaining in another full chapter Einstein's perception of the Universe. Isaacson's reportage is nuanced and perfectly constructs and deconstructs many of Einstein's communications on these matters, some of which often appeared contradictory unless one understood how Einstein used certain terms and framed some of his perceptions regarding reality. For example, Einstein occasionally claimed to be religious, but his use of the term meant the challenge to obtain knowledge beyond what science knew regarding the underlying forces of the universe, and not blind faith in religious dogma that one could never know and therefore "God must of have done it".

As a summary, if one wants to better understand the twentieth century in terms of how we progressed from zero liberal democracies in 1900 to one hundred and twenty countries coupled with incredible progress in understanding the universe and leveraging that knowledge in technology leaps that is difficult to comprehend even looking backward; than Isaacson's Einstein provides the perfect archetype from which to view that progress at a more personal level. Einstein's approach to thinking and responding to societal issues will certainly now personally serve as a model for me on how to view civilization just like I was influenced by John Locke, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, Charles Darwin, Abraham Lincoln, and Teddy and Franklin Roosevelt, Crick & Watson, Gates, Jobs, Venter, and soon I hope, Obama. Therefore I am grateful this book was written and I invested the time to learn from it.

The author wrote many of these for The New Yorker and other publications; what is even more remarkable, however, is that he wrote these essays when he was beginning his career as a surgeon.

Surgery is among the most controversial, and difficult fields in medicine. The risks are so high, the complications so abounding.

I began reading this book with a jaded and jaundiced eye, hoping to find validation for my subjective impression of a field gone awry.

Intead, I had greater respect for the field of surgery, in the author's well-written and incisive book.

Similar to his other book titled Better, Dr. Gawande divided his book into three sections: Fallibility, Mystery and Uncertainties. As much as I enjoyed reading the five fascinating stories about medical mysteries (Mysteries about Friday the Thirteenth, pain, blushing nausea and food obsession), I found the two other sections more stimulating and inspiring. Speaking from his own experience (many of them gruesome and daunting), he successfully convinced his audience that medicine is full of uncertainties and doctors, just like any other human beings, are not infallible (even though we may hope that we are not).

In Education of a Knife, he candidly and modestly described the enthralling, and at times disappointing and frustrating, learning process he went through to administer a central line on live patients during his surgical training. The discomfort he caused during his first few unsuccessful trials led him into asking the question, "Is it possible to train the novices without harming patients or putting them at risk when only relentless practices can lead to perfection?"

Another story that caught my attention is When Doctors Make Mistakes. I was mesmerized by his honesty and morality in telling the mishap he encountered during his first emergency tracheotomy. We, human beings, have the natural tendency to hide our failure. When we make mistakes, we often shift the blame to others as a damage control. It is incredible that instead of hiding this episode of embarrassment, he laid it all out in complete details and full disclosure (just like a journalist would for the most controversial and intriguing story) to make the point that doctors are infallible no matter how much they strive for perfection because there are always other contributing factors such as "the lack of standardized protocols, the surgeon's inexperience, the hospital's inexperience, inadequately designed technology and techniques, think staffing, poor teamwork, time of day, the effects of managed care and corporate medicine, and so on and so on." If Six Sigma is not achievable in medicine (as possible in other industries) at our current time, the least we should do perhaps is to aim closer to this target?!

Whose Body Is It, Anyway? is another thought-provoking story included in this book. It examined the various questions about patient involvement in decision-making during the treatment process. The key question is not whether patient and their families should be involved in the decision making process, but how best can physicians guide them through the process and work collaboratively with them when they are clearly incapable of making the decision during such vulnerable moments in their lives when emotion overrules logic (as demonstrated by Dr. Gawande's own "childlike regression" during his daughter's hospitalization).

Excellent book on the imperfections of medicine. Keeps the reader interrested through the entire book - it's almost sad when finished...

Atul Gawande gratefully takes the reader to the back of the OR, a place open for a few, yet intriguing for many. Dr. Gawande is extremely frank and poignant, as he describes actual cases from his own surgical practice. He admits that cutting someone open for the first time is hell, praises surgery which gives chance to obese people, wonders about doctor's intuition, and remains human in every case.

As always, Atul Gawande is not just writing about medicine; this book reaches far beyond the realm of the operating room. He touches on the most complicated ethical questions of medicine and society as a whole. Gawande speaks of mistakes and our imperfect judgment; tackling the questions of good doctors gone bad along with malpractice claims and punishments. He makes the case for autopsy as a means of learning. He admits that medical students must practice on cadavers or animals in order to cut people open; all ethical questions are answered by means of vivid examples.

For instance, in the 1980s the death rate from a particular surgery would be about 10%. When the new surgical treatment of heart pathology arose, surgeons started trying the novice. At that training period, the rate of children death from this particular intervention increased to 25% of cases. Sounds horrible? Yes, but after surgeons learned, the rate fell down to just a couple percent. Was it worth it? Sure, granted the number of lives saved in the long run. Never, granted now many kids died just due to surgeons' learning. Would any doctor let anyone practice on his own kid? Never. At the same time, learning is a necessary part of medical progress.

Those questions dominate the book; Gawande ponders at the patient's right to choose, reminds us that doctors are human and prone to mistakes, reveals mysteries of complications, which are usually open only during the M&M - Mortality and Morbidity Conference behind the closed door. Gawande is not afraid to open the doors. Moreover, he is confident that openness is the only way to reduce the complications.

I almost wanted to say the book is too idealistic, except it's written by a person whose profession is to think realistically. Great book!

The first part of the book is the typical medical error conversation - the system needs changes, but, instead, the last doctor to touch a patient is always ultimately responsible. The last two sections of the book are full of interesting patient stories and antecdotes, leaving the reader with a sense of "why do I pay so much for services that are not consistent and not scientifically proven?" Gawande does an excellent job pointing out some of the uncertaintaties of medicine and some of the major health disparities and inequalities - the poor are usually the ones that are used as training tools for interns and residents, and receive subpar-care compared to the well-insured.

A very easy and quick read.

Sometimes the irony of a certain situation strikes me as highly profound. The person that recommended me this book happens to be an assistant manager that I work with. She told me how she learned so much from Dungy's life, and how it changed her life. And her recommendation of this book was what convinced me to read it. Yet when the store manager threw her a bone that she didn't expect, she didn't handle it like a professional. She handled it like a little first grader because she didn't get what she deserved, and because life isn't fair. And after reading what Tony Dungy went through, and how he pressed on, I want to press on, regardless of my circumstances. So my goal isn't to be better than my assistant manager, but to focus on my life. That's what Tony Dungy did. He focused on his life and on his team and his goals.

"Quiet Strength" sums this up very well. All the while he looks back on his career in football, it never seems like he chalks it up as bragging rights. He just counts it as the life he lived. He takes lessons from the great Chuck Noll, to just go out there and "Do what we do" as a team. He talks little about his family, but from what I can see, his family comes before football.

Dungy takes disappointment combined with elation in the ups and downs of his career, let alone his life. Things have not always come easy for this man, and have in fact, gotten harder in some aspects. Especially in one situation with his son that many knew about in the middle of the 2005 season. But that didn't stop Tony Dungy from pressing forward. And it didn't stop him from leaning on Christ Jesus in the thick of things.

As I still see my assistant manager from day to day, I still extend my hellos and she extends hers. There is very little respect for her these days from my perspective, but that's ok. I do what I do. I'm pressing on. Tony Dungy pressed on. Tony Dungy is an NFL Champion, and all he has to show for it is quiet strength. Because that's all he needs! Thank you, Tony Dungy.

I highly recommend this book to ANY reader--the football fan, the God fan, the prayer fan, or othewise. It is an excellent, life-changing read.

This book is very powerful for anyone striving to excel with God as your guide. Tony Dungy is a great example of a faithful man in the face of tremendous success and soul shattering pain. Thanks for writing the book, all of us that read it are indebted to you.

Tony Dungy shows that the quiet man can accomplish great things. Coaching,and life do not require boisterous, bloviating and bullying to be sucessful. We need more coaches like Tony. In sports and in life itself.

Even if you are not a football fan, there are "life" lessons and leadership qualities that can be very beneficial to anyone who has to deal with people. This book is inspirational, using Christian principals, useful in everyday life.

After reading this text, it is very clear to me why Nisa: The Life and Words of a !Kung Woman is considered to be a classic in anthropological literature. Shostak does a fascinating job telling the story of Nisa, a fifty something female member of the !Kung tribe in the Kalahari desert of Africa. The !Kung are classic hunter and gatherers.

The majority of the text is essentially an interview between Nisa and Shostak about Nisa's daily life (the remainder of the text is narrated by Shostak), and the experiences that she has had regarding many aspects of life, including marriage, childbirth, and sex, and family life.

The text is exploding with interesting details of !Kung life. For Example, according to the !Kung, the gods gave them a wonderful thing when they gave them sex. The !Kung people spend much time talking about sex and about sexual endeavors. Also, !Kung women predict the coming of their menses by the phases of the moon. If the moon comes and goes without the commencement of menstruation, pregnancy can be suspected. This suspicion greatly increased when other symptoms of pregnancy are present, such as nausea or unusual emotion. This ethnography is jam packed with great conversation starters such as these.

In Nisa, Shostak manages to include an abundance of dialogue of Nisa and additional narration, while simultaneously producing a very easy read. Nisa is a must read for anthropology students, those wanting to know more about the !Kung people, or anyone who enjoys biographies.

Majorie Shostak's account of her anthropology trip to Africa's Kalahari Desert examining the rituals, lifestyles and existence of the !Kung tribe is not to be read like an expanded version of a National Geographic article. It is written with academic rigor and precise examination of a !Kung woman Nisa. The majority of the book is told through Nisa's words which are translated into English with as much accuracy possible by Shostak. Shostak prefaces each chapter with a more general description of the events of Nisa's life which follow. The !Kung have such a different life style than Westerners, so naturally the story telling methods Nisa uses are a little unfamiliar. There is much more repetition of certain phrases and ideas that some of us might find excessive. If one can get past this they will soon see what an expert Nisa actually is. Also it is a tribute to Shostak that she didn't slice up the narrative to make it more accessible for Westerners.

The book in begun with an extensive introduction, about 40 pages. Although at first this might feel over detailed and cumbersome, it is a necessity to read it before jumping into Nisa's narrative because some of the actions taken might seem unfathomable without a better understanding of !Kung life. For instance, when Nisa describes stealing and hoarding food for herself as a child, we might feel she is extremely selfish. But after reading the introduction we understand that in !Kung life there is virtually no private property. Imagine being a young child and having nothing of "your own." I think we all would have stolen to some extent. Also during the time the book was written there was a struggle within the anthropology communities as to whether these "field work" expeditions we're even worth taking. There were many who thought that the "white man" was so engrained with his own cultural sense of morality that any attempt to interpret or understand someone different would be wasted time. So it is possible that in parts of the long introduction Shostak was justifying to her academic circle why it was important that she did go to see another kind of life.

After the introduction is over, we move into various important events in Nisa's life, described by Nisa and prefaced by Shostak. Although these interviews were not given chronologically they are presented in as workable a series events as possible. We are taken first through her childhood in which Nisa's mother has her second child and no longer allows her to breast feed because it is believed that once her younger brother is born, it is his milk. We are then taken, to various cases of childhood problems. The `Discovering sex' chapter is worth noting, children go away and as Nisa says "play sexually". Although the parent's sometimes mildly scorn this, they remember how important is was for them in developing as sexual beings, so they pretty much look away. I think that our incredibly sexually conservative and private culture could learn something from this. It shouldn't necessarily be discouraged for children to discover certain aspects of themselves, and have sexual feeling, (we should stop pretending as if they don't!)

We are then taken through trial marriages; theeseoften "fail", because the girl married is too young. The most important events in a !Kung woman's life are first menstruation, marriage, and childbirth.

Another chapter worth noting is most clearly illuminates why Shostak's expedition into the Kalahari was so vital to understanding !Kung life. The chapter entitled 'Change' accounts the arrival of the very different Christian cattle herders. The Hero brought, (among other things), permanent villages, alcohol, western religion, tobacco, etc. Although some people might consider some of these things "civilization", (and I would not count myself among this crowd), the sad truth is that !Kung culture is dieing. More and more are forsaking the old way of life for the much more stable continuous food source. And even if the corrupt regimes they live under exploit their way of life to promote tourism, they are being stifled the the exact same regimes. Nisa's generation is the last link to the nearly completely un- westernized !Kung life. Without Shostak's magnificent book we would have a much harder time understanding this beautiful nomadic way of life.

One of the amazing thing about this book, unlike many other cross cultural examinations, is that it doesn't concentrate on some of the "shocking" taboos that might have made it a bestseller, (just under Tom Clancy). It instead just tells the story of a woman. One does not finish it and say, "wow they're different they need Jesus." One feels a connection to Nisa, and we realize not that we are different but that we are more similar than we would know or like to know. This also shows us that they're clearly are universal human emotions. Nisa goes through, love, hate, guilt, grief, regret, resentment, fear, happiness, etc, just like every human being! To go through it is to be human. Even in a culture totally different than ours these emotions are still there. In an age where we feel like we must "spread democracy", like we're spreading humanity, it is all the more important to realize that the same humanity exists whether or not they are infested with corrupt corporate puppets. I would recommend this book to anyone who feels lie they want to know more about other societies, and ways of life, in a more in depth format.

We have two wonderful women to thank for this powerful book on !Kung life, or !Kung life as it should be.

Marjorie Shostak offers readers an interesting and insightful account of her relationship with a member of the !Kung San people of the Kalahari Desert during the early 1970s, a woman known by the pseudonym "Nisa," in her seminal work Nisa: The Life and Words of a !Kung Woman. The book is a coupling of both Shostak's ethnographic insight and Nisa's life history told in her own words, along with some very interesting photos taken by the author. Shostak admittedly runs into barriers that she must cross, particularly as to whether or not she can trust Nisa, who the rest of the tribe regards as a liar, but really, much can be seen in the lies that people choose to tell as well as the truths. Either way, Nisa's stories are compelling and give the reader a great window into their hunter-gatherer society and the dynamics that make it work. It reveals techniques of tribal socialization and ethic reasoning, the importance of intimacy, as well as offering a model (however debatable it may be) for the ways in which the status of women is compromised by changing demographics.

Nisa's life history account reveals many instances in which can be seen a socialization process that is meant to turn her into a more productive and adaptive person in society. These instances can especially be seen in Nisa's childhood. The !Kung place a high value on sharing in their culture, and Nisa's early tendencies to selfishly covet and hoard food for herself was counterproductive to this ideal. Nisa's mother dealt with her daughter's stealing firmly, often hitting her and screaming such things like, "Nisa, stop stealing! Are you the only one who wants to eat klaru? Now, let me take what's left and cook them for all of us to eat. Did you really think you were the only one who was going to eat them all?" (Shostak 53). By this form of punishment, her mother not only chastised Nisa for her counterproductive actions, but she also reinforced the social norm of the culture - namely, sharing.

Nisa's life history account is also filled with stories of intimacy. The frequency of these stories, as well as her descriptions, reveal much about !Kung principles and social organization. Marjorie Shostak at first assumes that Nisa's focus on sexual matters is her attempt at finding a common ground with a fellow woman, but she soon realizes that it is in fact quite characteristic of !Kung society. The !Kung say that "when the gods gave people sex... they gave us a wonderful thing" and its importance is seen as significant as that of food in sustaining life (Shostak 237). They find talk of sex to be important and it is often used as the subject of jokes "in a deliberate way to dispel tension" such as making pornographic gestures to cheer a man up who had been spat in the eye by a cobra (Shostak 237).

But the act brings out other qualities of !Kung life as well. Many men and women of the society frequently take secret lovers. They see it as an exciting and passionate alternative when those fires have burned out between their spouses. For many women, especially, self-esteemed is gained through their secret games and rendezvous. It also symbolizes another belief among the !Kung, namely, the vitality of women and sex in the social organization: "women are strong; women are important... because women possess something very important, something that enables men to live: their genitals. A woman can bring a man back to life, even if he is almost dead. She can give him sex and make him alive again. If she were to refuse, he would die!" (Shostak 257).

However, despite the powerful feelings a woman may have for her lover(s), it is very important to them that responsibility to their husbands are their main priority, signifying another element in the social organization. Even their lovers understand, as one of Nisa's did when she did not show as promised. He said, "if it was because of your husband, that's all right. But if you do it again, I'll beat you!" (Shostak 245). As Nisa explained:

"When a woman has a lover, her heart goes out to him and also to her husband. Her heart feels strong towards both men. But if her heart is small for the important man and big for the other one, if her heart feels passion only for her lover and is cold toward her husband, that is very bad. Her husband will know and will want to kill her and the lover. A woman has to want her husband and her lover equally; that is when it is good" (Shostak 257).

Perhaps the most significant aspect of this work is the changing status of !Kung women as result of environmental and demographic change. Traditionally, !Kung women have experienced relative equality with men. This is do mainly to the hunter-gatherer existence in which they live, for "!Kung women are recognized by men and women alike as the primary economic providers of the group" by gathering vegetables, roots, etc. (Shostak 216). However, as Tswana and Herero herdsmen have been in the past century moving in on their territory, and whose "village sites expanded to encompass more of the traditional !Kung waterholes, maintaining the !Kung way of life became increasingly difficult" (Shostak 194). This change has affected woman, though, most of all. As some of the !Kung began to settle in these villages they became second-class citizens, for the women's pattern of child caring began to see drastic changes. While these women had previously had a child perhaps once every four years, now those "who live more sedentary lives have shorter birth spacing between children" (Shostak 195). This could be because of cow's milk's effects of birth patterns or women being "better fed and less active," but "in any case, with two children to carry, the women are less likely to go gathering; they become more dependent of the new food sources, animal husbandry and agriculture" (Shostak 195). Because the role that gave women their equal position is now being threatened, so too is their status.

Shostak's study works on a number of levels, and can indeed by appreciated on many as well. Whether one is interested in an ethnographic study of hunter-gathering tribes, or is concerned about feminist issues, or would just like a unique and interesting tale that provokes consideration, this book comes highly recommended.

The book is written by Shostak a woman, about Nisa also a woman, and that makes it more appealing because it deals with a lot of women issues. I know that Marjorie Shostak is now dead and Nisa is dead too. When you live with the author and the person she is writing about all this time it suddenly becomes a part of your life and you begin to mourn their death. I really admire Nisa and all these !Kung women and how courageous they live but I also know they don't live according to this book anymore. Long a go they changed their lifestyles.

Nisa is an autobiography of a young girl who is part of the Kung tribe. I feel that this book was a very easy read, and some parts of it were interesting but others weren't.

The Kung people have many cultural customs and traditions, such as a woman should give birth alone and in silence, or you shouldn't drink your mother's breast milk if you have a younger sibling. But, Nisa is sort of a rule breaker, or as we would call her, a rebel. Nisa had three husbands, I think. Now, many women in America have had multiple husbands so it's not that big of a deal but along with Nisa's three husbands she has at least 17 affairs, or as they called them lovers. When her husband would go out to hunt for two or three nights another man would sneak to Nisa's hut and they would make love until her husband came back. Many times Nisa got caught, and many times she didn't.

Nisa sometimes had reasons for leaving her husbands, but one of them she just didn't like. The Kung have something that is called a tribe headman. This man decides whether it is ok to get a divorce or not. One of the times Nisa didn't even go to the tribe's headman she just went back to her mother's village. Another time Nisa's husband, who was the father of her children died. Nisa cried and cried, but eventually she got over it. Nisa's next husband was a different story. He beat Nisa all the time, sometimes her back even swelled up. Nisa went to the headman to tell him that she wanted a divorce, but he gave her husband another chance. The next time Nisa went with bruises and the headman told her that she could divorce her husband.

Nisa got pregnant many times, but actually only had 2 kids, one girl and one boy. The Kung people believe that women can have miscarriages in many different ways. For example, they Kung believe that, if the child is not wanted by the mother of father that god will take it away from them. Another way is if the mother is hit or injured while she is pregnant the baby may leave her. Nisa miscarried for many reasons. A lot of the time it was because it wasn't her husband who caused her to get pregnant, it was one of her lovers and it was hard for her to tell her husband, so she just kept lying. Another time Nisa's 3rd husband got very mad at her and hit her with a stick, which made it seem as if the baby wasn't wanted.

Like I said before, I thought that Nisa was a very easy read, but it was still very informative. I really enjoyed how each chapter had a little bit about the culture, and a little bit about Nisa and how she fits in with her culture. Because the book was like that, it made it easier to stay interested because it wasn't 20 pages all about the same thing. I thought it was kind of cool that Nisa was a rebel, because if Nisa just followed all her customs it wouldn't be a very interesting book to read. Nisa seemed like she was very intelligent. She knew how to work her way out of trouble, how to cover up things that she knew she did wrong, and most of all how to lie. I never said that she was necessarily intelligent in a good way. If I were to compare this book to The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, I would say that I enjoyed this book more. I think this is because The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down had whole chapters about the war and their trip to America but I was more interested in Lia herself. That's why I liked Nisa so much, the book was more about her then the culture.

I recommend Nisa to people who are interested in autobiographies, but ones that are also about other cultures. I think this book offers a wide range of topics and is a very good book to debate this book. If I were to rate this book I would rate it 4 stars, because it kept me interested yet it was a very easy read.