Social Sciences Books

Hillary Jordan brings the story of Mississippi delta bigotry and honor together through the voices of her main characters. She deftly weaves each character's perspective into an intriguing tale of love, commitment, racism, and passion that speaks volumes about what humans can both inflict and endure.

Jordan's skill in capturing the nuances and tones of each character's personality makes this book a very enjoyable read. At times the characters might seem stereotypical and the plot somewhat predictable, but the novel carries the story off very well, and in the end Jordan succeeds admirably, leaving the reader with a tragic yet hopeful conclusion. Such skill requires courage to attempt and much talent to achieve, but Jordan does so brilliantly.


This is great, quick read you won't want to miss.

I found this to be a very disturbing story -- one that will haunt me for a long time. Jordan's first book is a masterful portrayal of the cruel, evil underbelly of the deep mucky, nasty, bigoted post WWII south.

Mudbound was the best read of the summer. Well written and penetrating. I hit the middle of the book and "bam"! Stayed in my pjs till I finished it. Loved the lay out of the chapters. They were divided into the voices of each character except the grand father. A must read for anyone who loves southern novels.

This is a debut unlike any that I've come across. It possesses the grace and fluidity, polish and drama that usually come with experience. Hillary Jordan's talent for psychological acuity is remarkable. Jordan is a gifted writer whose ability to speak to the reader with economy is enthralling. It's about life before, during and after WWII, as well as farmlife. This reader felt Laura's bewilderment [annoyance, as well as stoicism] at facing life without the everyday amenities [household running water, etc.]. Mudbound is about the complications of a marriage, [racial] prejudice that this reader has always found disgusting, as well as shameful. I [almost] meshed with Laura from page one. [It was extremely easy to get into and stay with this story.] Her [Laura's & Jordan's] insights were a treat to this reader's eyes, as well as ears. [Marital status bringing a certain "cachet" -- how dated is that -- or is it?] I could hear all of the characters speak [it's that amazing]. Jordan tells each character's story through his/her voice [a la Picoult, etal.]. Mudbound is an astonishing tale of two families. [Laura & Florence are wonderful!!] It's filled with insights, different kinds of love, a character's sensual/sexual awakening, as well as hate [racial prejudice] that is beyond shame. I predict that Mudbound will, someday, be declared a "classic." This reader came to care about each character, as well as his/her fate. At times, this book left me gasping. Fans of Pat Conroy should run out to buy this book!! This is recommended reading without reservation!

Two world wars, poverty and racism combine to create tragedy in this powerful story of a Mississippi family living on a farm with no electricity and no running water, heavy rains cutting the farm off from civilization until the raging river abates. It is here that Henry McAllan brings his wife, Laura, a former school teacher from Tennessee, their two daughters and his ancient, angry father, a mean-spirited man who looks at the world through hate-filled eyes. Henry has promised Laura a rent house in town when he buys the farm, but fate conspires to defeat that plan and the city-bred woman must make do with her lot in life at "Mudbound": "This was the truth at the core of my existence; this yawning emptiness, scantily clad in rage." Henry is oblivious to his wife's unhappiness. Landsick, all Henry can think about is his farm and what he hopes to accomplish. But then Henry is not an introspective man, leaving his cantankerous father to harass an already overburdened wife.

When Henry's younger brother, a pilot, returns from World War II, Laura's life markedly improves, Jamie filled with a lightness that seems to make this harsh world more bearable. Even Henry is overjoyed, doting on the brother who has always looked up to him. It is 1949 in Mississippi, Jamie not the only returning soldier. Nearby, Hap and Florence, Henry's share tenants, welcome home their oldest son, Ronsel, one of the decorated black troops that served under General Patton. The bright shine in Ronsel's eyes soon dims in the glare of the white man's criticisms. Racial tensions still thrive in the south, Ronsel quickly cataloging the danger if he remains in this place. Whatever he has come to know of the world has no value in this town, where blacks are little more than irritants to the superior whites.

In alternating chapters, Laura, Henry and Jamie speak of their experiences at Mudbound, their personal histories, the shattered hopes and disappointments life has dealt them, the endless battle with the sucking mud that smothers everything and everyone. In other chapters, Florence, Hap and Ronsel tell another story, a loving family who bear their troubles together, a strong black woman who works the fields when her husband is injured, who worries for an older son who has lost his way in the confines of this limited place. Certainly tragedy is not unexpected in this novel, given social conditions and the ready aggression of men outraged that a returning soldier thinks too highly of himself. A dark drama unfolds, one more act of rage and stupidity, fulfilling a destiny begun long ago. Jordan takes hold of this bitter tale and rides it to the end, each of her characters a study in longing, loss and the evasive remnants of hope that hide in the human heart: "When he is best, he is a little worse than a man; and when he is worst, he is little better than a beast." Luan Gaines/ 2008.

Okay, so I bought the book because I'm a fan of the show, and the movie was fun, if not as sexy and smart as the series. I just found this book really boring - it seemed as though Bushnell couldn't really be bothered writing it... maybe that was to convey the superficiality and heartlessness of the people, but how can you care about people like that?
Give me the show over this any day - in the end it was the friendships between Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda and Samantha that gave it its zsa zsa zsou - and the superb acting.
Some chapters are insightful but overall, it's bland. I'm just glad that it spawned the series though!

I have to admit when I first got the book I expected something similar to the series. Even though this was not the case, I was not dissapointed. A lot of the stories made me laugh out loud to myself. I saw truths in the stories. This book and the series makes one enjoy being a girl!

Beware!! This is not a novel!! If you want an engrossing read and you want the girls from sex and the city, do not let this fool you. This book is more of an essay. Paragraph after paragraph of what appears to be the newspaper column maybe. Not novel format at all. I was real disapointed because I enjoyed Lipstick Jungle and Trading Up and Four Blondes. This book is nothing like them.

I'm an absolute Sex and the City nut. Been addicted to the show for years. Happy to finaly have the book it all come from.

The book is a collection of chronicles initially published in a magazine. Put together, they don't really make a book, they make... a collection of chronicles bound in a single volume. It is pleasant to read one or two at a time. Bushnell is a kean and witty observer. But one cannot read the whole book at once. The fantastic narcissistic quest for pleasure and consumer love, and parade of money and social status of these bachelor New Yorkers between 30 and 45 quickly gets tiring.

This textbook is well written. It catches your attention with case studies and then in a way that makes sense, teaches the concepts.

I used this text in a MSW program HBSE class. It was easy to read and a good informative source on basic human development. Each chapter has questions and intensive vocabulary which was helpful.

The title was all that attracted me to this book. It seemed poorly written and nobody in our book club enjoyed this book. The characters came and went and then reappeared (the book was in chronological order versus taking one character at a time) which made it confusing. It was a hard read. I actually got through another book club pick "Andersonville" by Kantor- almost 1000 pages with less trouble.

Although this book was listed by the vendor, it was out of stock so I never got it. My account was credited, but why list the book when it isn't available.?

I recieved the book promptly. The book is in good condition. I am currently enjoying the book and it is alway nice to see history thru a woman's eyes. Thank You Cokie Roberts

One of the most sophomoric books to hit the market in a while, the prose is bad, the content is mere filler of cute stories of women doing very little, and the author can't stay on the subject at all.

Ms. Roberts did a fine job on sharing the little known history of our founding mothers. It opens one's eyes to the role women really did play in the war for independence.

A LIFE SAVER!!!! While our current epistemology is founded on classical philosophy...who can read and understand it?!?!?! Donald Palmer's book "Does the Center Hold" is a wonderful addition to any college course's dry text book. The question is why a teacher wouldn't use it as the main text is a mystery to me!!!

While philosophy is a difficult subject to master and I am convinced becoming secure in philosopher's and their differences is more than a 3 credit course can offer, this book will help a beginning student through the hair pulling stages of, "WHAT ARE THEY TALKING ABOUT????" Take my word for it....Why? Because I have survived philosophy with the help of this book AND I still have my beautiful pageant hair!!!

BUY IT!!!

I purchased this book for my Philosophy class and I must say it is a very easy text to understand. The illustrations help dirve points that would normally be overlooked. I enjoyed this book a lot.

I was skeptical about this book after buying it at a used book store, yes they still exist. Handwritten font, pictures and an incredibly wide range of topics and an author I wasn't very familiar with. Once I started into it I basically inhaled it. This has to be the best introduction to philosophy you could wish for. Compared to Scruton's or Warburton's respectable books for example this book is really a unique piece of work. The drawings are incredibly humorous and the expertly distilled presentations and conclusions are light enough somehow that you can read huge swaths of this book in a sitting.

I recommend you reread the book a few months later and on the 2nd reading spend more time on the quoted text and less on the authors conclusions. This is totally appropriate for bright and curious high school age kids or their older comrades.

After this book personally I would then move on to Warbuton and Scruton and then on to Russell.

This book is an excellent introduction to philosophy. The author makes complex philosophical problems relatively clear without sacrificing their inherent complexity, and he organizes philosophers and philosophies according to their response to various philosophical problems. His writing is fair and honest and he does not appear to have an axe to grind. The illustrations are both humorous and really helpful. It is through books like this that anyone can gain insight into the importance of philosophy and its ramifications in daily life.

This topical introduction has hundreds of humorous illustrations drawn by the author. Writing in an engaging conversational style, he presents the issues typically covered in introductory courses, but with unusual clarity. I used the first edition several times as the core text for my Introduction to Philosophy class with great success.

Those who have read the first edition will miss the wonderful handwritten script. It has been replaced by a font called Tekton that is, unfortunately, somewhat tiring to read.

Topics were covered very well and this book will help me a lot with future classes.

I felt that was too much to pay for a book that did not have a cover. I was really disapointed, but I guess it beats paying the full price.

The text is very clear and informative. I've only just started reading it but the format and the language used is great. It really puts the decision of becoming an educator in perspective. It's almost like a parent saying, "Are you sure this is what you want to do? Have you considered, this, that and the other?" I like it! It's exactly what I needed.

This is a very good, probably the best textbook available in the U.S. regarding the topic of history and philosophy of education, intended for undergraduate students. The authors did minor updateds to the previous edition. Since there has been little change as to history and philosophy of education in the last few years, you do not have to buy the last edition unless your instructor requires so.
The content is presented in 16 chapters, as follow:
1-2 Teaching profession, preparation of teachers
3-5 World roots of education, Pioneers, historical development of education in the U.S.
6-8 Governing-administering, finances and legal aspects of public education
9-11 Cultural and social aspects, race/social class, equal access to the educational system
12-14 Philosophycal aspects, the purpose of education,curriculum
15-16 Internation education, school effectiveness and reform in the U.S.

or anything even close and along with Whitaker's Dancing with the Family, this is a brilliantly written book. More than any other book on working with families and learning about the dynamics of our own, this book has by far stayed with me the very most and left the deepest imprint and the most valuable learning. Its a book to read again and again and I am truly grateful that Napier took the time to write this book. I wish it was required reading for all us human beanies.

Napier's self-reflections as well as his piecing together a fascinating case study makes this book an inspiring, if a little dated, read for those considering or heading into family and marriage therapy.

This book was recommended to me by a psychologist as a new way to look at how we each develop in a system (in particular family relationships), and that system must be taken into account. It did just that. Through the story of a family in crisis, alternated with chapters of description and consideration of why the crisis develops, the reader is invited to understand how we can view their issues as part of a whole. For me some of the more important points included:

* How we behave and what we feel is greatly influenced by the family we are in and the dynamics of that family. For example, a daughter in the family "is elected" to become a problem because the parents need something to draw their attention away from the problems of their marriage.
* How we behave and what we feel actually can start way before we're born in grandparents and great-grandparents family dynamics.
* That communication and agreements can happen within the family even without the knowledge it's happened.
* Not to underestimate the need in healthy family dynamics for conflict.
* That healthy dynamics require honest communication of emotions we are feeling.
* Exercise of our respective authorities (parents for instance having more experience than kids so show it) are needed in healthy families.
* many more things
I did find some of the descriptions of behavior felt dated such as Freud framing more of the discussion than I currently hear in the field (both for his contributions and failures)and I believe we'd currently put different emphasis on some theories. For this I dropped a star off the rating. Nevertheless it opened my eyes to a wider understanding of myself and the dynamics of intimate human relationships around me, that become part of who I am.

I first read this gem many years ago, long before I became a therapist myself. What an eye opener! Even reading the first Chapter (it's all of 11 pages) is enough to get you thinking in a fresh way about family problems. It certainly worked that way for me.

The book really is about Carl Whitaker, M.D. Augustus Napier was his understudy. Whitaker worked within the idea of family-as-a-system without limiting himself too much with theory. This allowed his methods to evolve as he treated more and more families. And it allowed a book like this to be written: lucid because it makes so much sense, dramatic because so much happens in the family whose treatment it describes, hopeful because it shows how much impact family therapy can have.

It wasn't that he didn't know theory. It's that as person he was intuitive, following his gut time and again, and eventually coming out with some guidelines for other family therapists, such as: -The therapist doesn't control the content of a family session, but she or he does control who will be there (this is dramatically dealt with in the first few chapters), -The therapist can cause change by stirring things up and getting family members to look at problems freshly, and -The therapist's job is to re-vision the problem as a communication that is somehow functional.

Typical is Whitaker's view that often the "identified patient" in the family is a stand-in for some other problem that the family cannot face without the help of a therapist.

Since this great book was written family therapy went through a boom time, was very popular. Then it became integrated into what is often called multi-modal therapy, in which family members sometimes come in individually, sometimes in small groups (ie the parents one time, the children another), sometimes as a whole. Still, it is necessary to understand family systems in order to work this way.

People looking into therapy will find this a great explanation of family issues that otherwise may seem baffling. It might also be a motivator to treatment.

Therapists trained individually will find this a fine introduction to working with families. They will also benefit from reading other luminaries in this field.

Awesome book about family therapy. Am studying for Masters in Family Therapy so this is perfect vicarious way to look behind the scenes (inside the therapists heads) as they enter disjointed world of the subject family. They share what they are feeling, thinking and why they do what they do. An excellent example of whatworking with a co-counselor is supposed to be like. Dynamics of all the Relationships exposed in easy to follow honest terms.

I teach Finite Mathematics at the community college level, and have no problem with this textbook. While the book is not uniquely good, I think that some of the complaints leveled against the text are a little off-base. First, the book does not assume that the student has no calculator. Many sections include an addendum showing how to perform the pertinent tasks on their calculator, and the book includes a calculator tutorial.

Further, while it is true that the textbook doesn't dedicate much energy to theorems, that is somewhat irrelevant. This is an applied mathematics text; it exists to show a student how to use concepts. It does not exist to discuss the origin of these concepts. That is beyond the scope of the text, and presumably beyond the scope of any course utilizing the book.

This is a perfectly usable textbook, but don't expect miracles. Many students will see matrices and mathematical game theory for the first time in this text. Doing Gauss-Jordan by hand is slow, tedious work. The book can't change these types of facts. As always, math is a language. The way you learn a language is by practicing and practicing until one day you find you understand the conversation.

I would give this thing -10 stars or more if it were an option from the pull-down menu. The text is little more than a workbook; it has little explanation to go along with the problems you will get assigned as homework. I attend a large university so compounding this problem is the level of math this text is for, freshmen. Freshman classes are taught by "lecturers", or graduate students who, while very knowledgeable of their field, have little or no teaching experience so prove to not be able to effectively fill in the numerous blanks this book leaves. Also, these size of these classes tend to be in the hundreds and with the lecturer himself/herself being a student as well, can not devote the time needed to teach this subject because of the strains their own course loads put on them. Also this book claims that it "aims to provide students with the quantitative skills needed for their chosen fields and to lay the foundation for more advanced courses in mathematics."(qtd. by Amazon from Book News, Inc.) My college uses this text for Business Mathematics but having worked before attending college I can not recall some of the examples in the book as being used in my office...ever. As an example the book uses the old "bag full of different colored marbles, probability of pulling out a given color" exercise. There is also the "5 people on a row of 8 seats in a movie theater different combinations" exercise. That might have been just the example the lecturer picked but I saw no real exercises in accounting and such. The book also assumes that there is no software or calculators in existence to figure out compund interest and such other things so one has to painfully struggle through word problems with one example that is supposed to fit the dozens of different problems given in the book. So, if you are a weak math student like me, prepare to ask lots of questions and go to office hours regularly to beg for help when this book has no explanations. All in all this book leaves you scratching your head unless you already know the math concepts in the book(in which case you should not be taking a class that uses this text). Anyone who has a choice of what text to get should avoid this one. Also, if you can take a course with a different text then by all means do so. I would flush this thing if it would fit in the toilet.

This was the required text for my Finite Mathematics class. There is absolutely no detailed information. Students have virtually no tools to apply to problem solving. Apparently there is also no student workbook to demonstrate the steps that Tan failed to illustrate in this text. Slow painful torture is preferable to the struggle one faces when trying to make progress through this textbook.

This book is not nearly as bad as the other reviews indicate. I teach a course in finite mathematics at the college level and I examined it for possible adoption as a textbook. While it is not the best text I have seen, so I will not be using it, the quality is just below that of the book I use. Therefore, I would have no trouble using this book in my class.
The coverage in college courses in finite mathematics is standard and this book adheres to those standards. Topics are introduced via worked examples; there are exercises at the ends of the sections and review questions at the end of the chapters. The writing is clear, and the explanations are thorough. Solutions to the odd numbered exercises and all of the review exercises are included. While I hesitate to strongly recommend this book as a text, there is no delay in saying that it is one of the better options available.

This was the text book that was used in a course I took in Finite Math. Do not waste your time or money on this book. It does not go into any depth whatsoever, many of the thereoms shown were just pulled out of the authors hat without any proof of any kind. I honestly, had a hard time staying awake as I would read it, since it is so dull. It places far too much emphasis on phony applications and almost known on good solid theory. I only wish I could give this book a negative rating.