Social Sciences Books

This is a very good undergraduate research text. I use it in a Human Services class with criminal justice majors as well as Human Services majors and have had good results. I teach from this book in regular land based classes and online. It is a book that I reccomend students keep on their shelf - particularly if they are going to graduate school. The examples in the text are clear and the organization is easy to work with.

this book is useless without the CD Rom which was missing. I want a refund. Keven Mosley-Koehler
koehlerk@ewashtenaw.org

This book is very good for people, who just now have started to work with SPSS and never have done it before: easy to understand how to enter data, make graphs, and other very important things. Almost all is shown by examples of SPSS.

This book is very helpful in becoming acquainted with the rather complex SPSS statistics software program. I recommend the book for others who need assistance in learning how to use this statistical software and need it presented in a practical manner for the lay person.

SPSS for dummies did get me started. It did not match up exactly with some actions, but served the purpose.

The "For Dummies" series are funny books and are sometimes helpful but, much like Sparknotes or Cliffnotes, they are inherently flawed. This is ESPECIALLY true for anything that has to do with computerization; if you really need to earn something then you really need a book that will teach you a solid way to generate results. In the case of SPSS I really thinks this is true and then some - the program gives you all sorts of ways to test and to generate answers BUT the word dummies doesn't really play here.
If anything, it seems criminal to tell people they can learn something without hammering away at it.

A few of my students have used this book and the truth of the matter is this: they learn the most basic functions of the program but, when asked to perform something a little more difficult, they freeze and their eyes frost. The book doesn't add in the terminology needed, doesn't cover the ideas behind concepts, and doesn't even cover the stuff an introduction class would.
If you need help and need it badly, this would set you back and confuse you even more. Instead, you could buy a SPSS Basics book to grasp the immediate, look into an Experimental Design class to learn what SPSS is attempting (you can look online and see what classes require, then mirror the class without taking it if you can't afford the time), or you could consult the program and the book that accompanies it. Either way, this is not progression but the illusion of progression and you can tell that by reading exactly what it promises to teach you.
Very bad primed.

Mr. Fagan has written an easily read account of climate and its effects on history. He makes the story interesting and wanting the reader to forge ahead into the book. He unfortunately starts off the prologue and spottily throughout the book with a false premise. He believes that man has caused much of the global change in climate since 1860, which is of course completely false. If he had only followed the logic he uses throughout the book, an opposite conclusion would be more appropriate, that climate change is just that-change and will happen whether man is on the earth or not. With this notable exception, the book is a good read. Don't get drowned by all the numbers thrown around from chapter to chapter. Skip over the decimals surrounded by numerals and enjoy the book.

Brian Fagan does an excellent job, with the knowledge we have today, of illustrating what lights paleoclimatology may be able to shine on today's global warming, with sufficient warnings for the humans that are causing it.

Specifically, the flight to the Sunbelt, especially the Desert Southwest, with its low-density sprawl and little mass transit, on the one hand, and demand for air conditioning, on the other, continuing to fuel anthropogenic global warming, Fagan would be excused if he didn't serve up a whole plateful of Schadenfreude crow for the largely conservative denizens of this part of the U.S. to digest.

He didn't, but he could. Why?

Based on paleoclimatology, it appears likely that this part of the country will experience the same long-term drought that wracked the Anasazi at Chaco Canyon, then later at Mesa Verde. Of course, the nearly 20 million of Southern California's Southland, the almost 5 million of the blot called Phoenix and the moving toward 1.5 million inexplicably in the Las Vegas area are a lot more thirsty for water than the Anasazi were.

But, move beyond the U.S. The droughts of sub-Saharan Africa that started in the early 1980s are also likely to get worse in the 21st century. So, too, are problems in China, especially north China.

Beyond this, Fagan documents the variety of ways in which civilizations of this time, from 900-1300 AD or so, called the Medieval Warm Period by British paleoclimatology pioneer Hubert Lamb, tried to deal with climate change of their era, or fell apart when they were able to deal no longer.

With excellent explanatory sidebars on climatic patterns, chapter-by-chapter maps of civilizations under discussion and more, Fagan details the power of climatic change, with a sobering bit of reality for our times.

Brian Fagan explores the story of climate change between 800 and 1300 C.E. and the impact of that climate change on different regions of the world. Unlike Europe, most other regions of the world suffered from drought, not bountiful harvests during that period. Understandably, Fagan is inclined to rename the so called Medieval Warm Period into the Medieval Drought Period.

Fagan usually does a good job of explaining how proxies such as tree rings, ice borings, and deep-sea and lake cores can be used to deduce the climatic evolution during a given period in a certain area. Direct methods (instrument records and historical documents), climatic forcings (such as volcanic eruptions), and computer modeling are other techniques used to study ancient climatic change. Today's world can particularly benefit from the lessons that Fagan draws from the implosion of both lowland Maya civilization and Angkorian empire.

Unfortunately, Fagan's narration is at times confusing due to the use of side stories that slows down reading without adding too much value to his narration. Worse, Fagan makes bold, controversial statements at the beginning and end of his book that are apparently built on his exploration of climate change between 800 and 1300 C.E. and its impact on different regions of the world.

For example, Fagan states that global warming since the end of the Little Ice Age (from roughly 1300 to 1860 C.E.) is caused in large part by human activity (pp. xvi-xvii, 230). That statement flies in the face of what Fagan explores in the rest of his book. Many non-human made factors play a significant role in influencing climate change. Furthermore, Fagan quotes Al Gore and his documentary "An Inconvenient Truth" on global warming as an impartial authority on the subject without mentioning at the same time the nine significant errors found in that documentary. Fagan could benefit from reading the ruling rendered by High Court Judge Michael Burton in 2007 in London on that subject if he has not yet done it. Similarly, Fagan could find another perspective on global warming by watching the hard-hitting documentary "The Great Global Warming Swindle," which is on sale on Amazon.com.

To summarize, what the international community needs, is impartial facts instead of propaganda, and workable, economically feasible solutions instead of undue pessimism about the future of humanity.

Brian Fagan has written an interesting, very readable book. Those who are concerned about global climate change will love it. Those who are unconcerned will hate it. Those who are looking for a well-reasoned scientific argument will come away disappointed.

In 1992, Al Gore published a political treatise on global warming called Earth in the Balance: Ecology and the Human Spirit. Gore's argument was much the same as the Prophet Jonah's argument to the Assyrians: change your evil ways or perish. Gore supported his argument with statistics and with examples of earlier civilizations that outstripped their resources and perished. Although Gore did not claim to be writing a book of science, his book was highly acclaimed in its time.

Sixteen years later, the debate has moved on and the Great Warming adds very little to it. Fagan claims to be conducting a scientific inquiry, yet his conclusions are based more on politics and less on science than Gore's political treatise. If footnotes water the garden of knowledge, this book is an arid desert. Fagan's poor choice of where to irrigate does not help.

Here is one example: "Violence was a fact of life in medieval Europe and an integral part of politics." (P. 23.) It seems rather obvious that in a society where rent and taxes are paid by providing military service to an overlord, there will be violence. Fagan overstates his case here though. He does footnote that but not his sweeping statement that the Medieval Warm Period was less warm than today. (P. 16-17.) It does not help his credibility when he later contradicts himself, admitting that this question "is still a matter of much debate." (P. 232.) If medieval agriculture was possible during the Medieval Warm Period in places that are too cold to support crops today, such as the Swiss Alps, Trondheim (which is well north of Oslo in Norway), and even Greenland, as he notes, then why is global warming necessarily harmful? He cites numerous contrary examples from other parts of the world, but one is tempted to recall an old adage: it is an ill wind that blows no good. Whatever the change in climate, it seems to help some and hurt others. His book is full of examples.

Fagan has a tendency to make sweeping statements without proof. Some of them are clearly wrong. His lack of footnotes hurts him seriously because it causes one to question other facts within his realm of expertise that might be correct. For example, he claims that the "Capetian kings (of France), whose dynasty began in 987. . . created an ideology that proclaimed they were chosen by God." (P. 24.) This is a ridiculous statement and it is easily disproved. Hugh Capet did indeed found the Capetian dynasty when he became king in 987 but he and his heirs hardly invented the concept of the divine right of kings to rule. The preceding dynasty, the Carolingians, were named for Charlemagne, who had been crowned by the Pope in 800 as the first Holy Roman Emperor. That is as good as it gets for divine right in medieval Christendom. The Carolingians' predecessors, the Merovingian kings of the Franks, also claimed divine right. It took papal sanction for the first Carolingian king to depose the last Merovingian king. In many cultures of the ancient world as far back as the Pharaohs and perhaps even before them, rulers often claimed either to be gods or to have been descended from the gods.

Fagan speaks glowingly of expanding trade in the ninth century and how Charlemagne controlled important trade routes across the North Sea. This claim no doubt would come as news to the Vikings, who sacked Paris twice in the ninth century before unsuccessfully laying siege to it in 885-886. In the ninth century, the Vikings sacked coastal cities all over the North Sea, in the Irish Sea, and even as far south as Spain. They were strong enough to settle in many of the places they attacked, such as England, Scotland, and Ireland (and later, Normandy). Dublin was actually founded by the Norsemen in the middle of the ninth century. There was little trade across the North Sea in the ninth century. If anyone controlled such trade as there was, it was the Norsemen and not Charlemagne or his successors.

Fagan's French geography is questionable: "Some parts of France, such as Brittany, were in shambles. . . . Only the western, Celtic-speaking regions escaped invasion. . ." (P. 24.) Brittany is of course both the westernmost part of France. In the ninth and tenth centuries, it was perhaps the most Celtic part.

Fagan also gets into trouble by overemphasizing climate in English history after the Medieval Warm Period: "the greatest fear of England's Tudor monarchs was urban unrest caused by grain shortages." (P. 32.) Henry VII founded the Tudor dynasty by defeating his predecessor in battle and thereby ending the Wars of the Roses. His greatest fear appears to have been a renewal of civil war after his death. That may have been true also for his son and successor, Henry VIII, who left detailed instructions in his will about the succession. Henry VIII is well-known for founding the Protestant Church of England and for his many marriages. Although he concerned himself deeply in all the affairs of his realm, grain shortages do not seem to have been his biggest concern. His son, Edward VI, was a boy king with a brief reign. Mary, who attempted to restore the Catholic Church, was certainly more afraid of the Protestants than she was of grain shortages. Elizabeth was concerned about plots by Catholics within her realm, by her cousin Mary Queen of Scots, and by Philip, King of Spain. Most of Fagan's readers will have heard of the Spanish Armada, sent by Philip. That completes the Tudor dynasty so one has to wonder which Tudor monarchs Fagan meant, and where he got his information.

Fagan might be on firmer ground in discussing geological and archaeological evidence of drought in the American southwest, in the Yucatan peninsula, in Peru, in Cambodia, and in China. He seems much more comfortable here than in dealing with reported history. Even in discussing China, which has had a bureaucratic tradition for two thousand years, he relies almost solely upon archaeology and geology. He suggests that the Chinese histories tend to focus on matters other than climate. Maybe he is right, although neighboring Korea and Japan have kept records dating back more than a thousand years showing the dates when the cherry trees blossomed in the spring.

His discussion of the influence of climate on Pacific trade winds and on the monsoon is interesting, and he makes a good case for how changes in the monsoon and the trade winds led to the settlement of the Pacific islands and to the downfall of the Pueblo, the Mayans, and the Khmer (although the last one occurred after the end of the Medieval Warm Period). His argument that climate change led to the depredations of the Mongols is interesting but speculative. Since other invaders such as the Khitan, the Seljuk Turks, and the Magyars had invaded civilized lands from the Eurasian steppes over a period of several hundred years before the election of Chinggis Khan as Great Khan in 1206, and the Arabs had expanded out of Arabia in the seventh century, well before the Medieval Warm Period, his conclusion is certainly an oversimplification.

All in all this is a "good read" and perhaps even useful for its discussion of the complex relationship among the monsoon, trade winds, ENSO, La Nina, and the ITCZ. However, I cannot call it a good book.

Climate change is a regular item in the news. Most articles and books look at the future - few address the past. While the human condition is a large consideration, real effects are not often dwelt on. Brian Fagan makes up for both these lacks in this finely researched and comprehensive study. In a framework centred on a millennium in the past, he takes us on a global tour of what is known as The Medieval Warm Period. Lasting for half a millennium, about 850 C.E. to 1300 C.E, Fagan shows us the importance of understanding the global nature of climate and its interconnected elements.

In Europe, the era was later named the High Middle Ages. Flourishing trade, wine grown in the British Isles and shipped to France [!] and the mighty cathedrals erected typified the period. Elsewhere, conditions weren't as salubrious. In the North American Southwest, drought brought to a close the civilisation of Chaco Canyon and toppled the great Mayan Empire. In Asia, the great Ankor Wat, built to symbolise a vast and rich realm, was abandoned to the jungle. China's peasant population, always at the edge of survival, was driven from their lands in many places by alternating extended droughts and torrential rainfalls stripping the soil. Even the Mongol Horde was prompted to move in what proved nearly catastrophic for Europe, driven by the need for grazing lands.

Enduring climate change has been a human consideration from the beginning. Even our evolutionary roots lie in the drying of Africa and the subsequent emergence of the savannah. In one sense, climate is what brought us the role of the one bipedal ape. The development of agriculture made us yet more vulnerable to shifts in climate, Fagan reminds us. Dependence on rainfall is the foundation of raising crops, alleviated only a little by irrigation canals. Irrigated farming plays a major role in this book, with the South American and other civilisations struggling with problems of water management. Those lacking such amenities, such as California Indians, suffered drastically when the severest droughts in thousands of years killed off natural food supplies.

Fagan's talent as a writer is equalled by his feeling for the human condition. In each region he describes, it's more than weather changes that he's concerned with. It's what that meant to the local population and how it reacted. The author uses a deft ploy to capture the reader's interest at the beginning of each section. He sets up a local scene with imaginary, but carefully defined, participants. The situation reflects the weather and social conditions, indicating how those interact to produce behaviours and adjustments.

At first glance, this book may seem merely a "history" with little meaning for today's conditions or those of the future. However, it is far from that - being instead a diagnosis for what is to come. Fagan concludes by reminding us of past population dislocations resulting from the great droughts. That pressure is certain to emerge again, and he asks how ready we are to deal with it. Although climate change is "normal", as the events of the Medieval Warm Period demonstrate, the population today is vastly larger than it was then. With the human contribution to warming accelerating the process, it will be billions of people affected by what is to come. In the earlier time, some people, such as the Chaco Canyon residents, had the ability to adjust, our capacity to follow their example is curtailed by our high density centres. This book is an overdue warning of what we, or our grandchildren, will be facing. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

Most people cannot remember when their childhood ended. I, on the other hand, have a crystal-clear memory of that moment. It happened one night, in the summer of 1966 when my elementary school headmaster hanged himself. I was twelve years old."

Moying Li's headmaster is the first casualty of the Cultural Revolution in her memoir, SNOW FALLING IN SPRING. Written with clarity and eloquence, Li's story is about the difficulty of being separated from the people and places she loves. It is also about the solace she finds in banned books and forbidden education during those years of darkness.

SNOW FALLING IN SPRING begins with a brief overview of the events leading up to the Cultural Revolution. After a struggle to repel Japanese invaders, China was divided by civil war. The fighting finally ended with the founding of The People's Republic of China. Some of Li's earliest memories involve melting down household goods for the Great Leap Forward, which was a plan for China to catch up and compete with the industrialized world. It was not a success. The failure of industrial and agricultural policies led to widespread famine. Her father's struggle to understand what happened introduces one of the overarching themes of the book: the redemptive power of education. "'Ignorance,'" her father tells her as he stays up late reading each night, "'that's our enemy. In the future we need to educate ourselves.'"

Li is sent to a special school for learning foreign languages. But her education is repeatedly interrupted by the political turmoil, including the Chinese Cultural Revolution, "a political movement initiated by Mao Zedong.... characterized by political zealotry, purges of intellectuals, and social and economic chaos."

Li's teachers are denounced by zealous students who dress in army uniforms and swear their loyalty to Chairman Mao, the architect of the cultural purge. One of the central features of the Cultural Revolution was "reeducation," in which people were sent to labor camps to help purify the pollution of Western influences and a bourgeois (privileged, middle-class) lifestyle. Li's father, previously a writer of film scripts, spent most of the Cultural Revolution in a labor camp cleaning out pig stys. Like many teenagers during this time period, Li's cousin is also a candidate for reeducation. She is sent to live in a mountain village in Mongolia, subsistence farming with peasants.

During this time it became dangerous to criticize the government. The offense that leads to Li's father's imprisonment is a stray comment made while having difficulty cutting out a picture of Chairman Mao. "'It's like cutting meat with a dull knife,'" he jokes. But any comment or opinion can easily be taken out of context to denounce co-workers and neighbors. SNOW FALLING IN SPRING is filled with scenes of people being denounced for equally minor offenses. Schoolmates turn on each other, friends become enemies, and people are forced to denounce their own family members in the hopes of protecting themselves.

The relationships that remain sustaining in this environment of suspicion become all the more poignant. Li's Lao Lao (grandmother) is a foundation of strength and generosity throughout the book. Li also has a remarkable number of dedicated teachers, many of whom form the membership for her secret reading club. Li's father sends her a reading list from labor camp with instructions on where to find the banned books on the list. "'Even though school is not teaching you much, and all our books were taken away,'" her father writes, "'I want you to try to educate yourselves.'"

It is through this reading list that Li finds a renewed sense of hope. Her engagement with books and her commitment to educating herself, in an environment in which both of those activities are dangerous, is the most moving aspect of the memoir. She speaks to reading not just as an escape, but as a place of survival, solace and possibility. It is a profoundly positive, creative approach to reading, an activity that is often regarded as passive.

SNOW FALLING IN SPRING also has the advantage of being a memoir, which means it provides the immediacy of first-person experience but also a human face to historical events. This makes it easier to separate the horrors and excesses of a totalitarian regime from the people living under it. As the author says herself at the end of the book, as she leaves China to come study in the United States, "China was the land that had given me birth, love, and friendship. It was also the place of my darkest nightmares. People would judge it in different ways. Some would appraise it kindly; others would be harsh. To me, however, China was simply home --- breath and life of my childhood and of my youth."

--- Reviewed by Sarah A. Wood

"Snow Falling in Spring" is a very smooth and pleasant read from the beginning to the end, despite of the dark period that the story was set in. I have read several books about the Cultural Revolution in China, and Li's book is one of my favorite because it is really a story about ourselves, a story when everyone in the book was trying to define and redefine themselves during the most chaotic and tragic period of time. Li not only told the story about struggling and suffering, but also told the story of hope, of how to keep hope alive in a seemingly hopeless time. I really enjoyed the book and would like to recommend to readers of all age.

"Snow Falling in Spring" is a wonderful book, telling stories about a difficult period of Chinese history and making the reader feel a part of that experience. The story from a child's point of view opens up the reader's experience and allows the reader to step into the child's shoes and feel and see the author's experiences. This is a book about human experience. "Snow Falling in Spring" is definitely a book to be shared with the whole family. I gave this book to my parents and my son who loved it. They all insisted that I give this book to my nieces and nephews as well. I recommend this book as something that the whole family, can read and talk about.

A beautiful,inspiring story. This wonderfully written book tells of a young girl's growing up during the Chinese Cultural Revolution. Li's spare but powerful prose paints a portrait of a turbulent period in modern China. She also reveals the power of and indomitable human spirit. Li's recall is truly remarkable and she has the ability to bring her characters to life for the reader. A special find - don't miss this one.

Moying Li's memoir serves as a balance to traditional Chinese literature. The women in her story are strong, self-directed, and anything but subservient! Moying's grandmother was especially inspirational.

This guide provides nothing more than the history instead of a guide on Karma Sutra. Wish I could sue the author for such lies!

Nothing can't really beat the Kama Sutra for information about sex and relationships. The ancient text is suprisingly informative and helpful, even in our modern age. A lovely book with nice illustrations that everyone should have in their library. That is the "something old." If you are looking for "something new" to add to your library along with the Kama Sutra, try The Sensuous Couple's (Flip Over) Guide to Seismic Oral Sex. This text is a flip over book that gives you everything you need to know about cunnilingus on one side, then flip it over you can learn everything you need to know about fellatio. If you want to make your library totally complete, add Five Minutes to Orgasm Every Time You Make Love: Female Orgasm Made Simple to the mix. You won't ever have to buy any more books. Your library is complete.

Historically very interesting and informative.
Drawings are quaint.It does give a better insight into the subject of human sexuality.

This book gives you not only the original text of the 14th century Kama Sutra, like some other books also do, but it also gives you beautifully photos from very old and newer drawings, medals, pottery and many other art forms. The photos relate to the topic dealt with at that partical episode.
A book you should place for ever in your library, not only the hardcore sex-fanatic, but also every person interested in literature and in the origin of our Western culture.

This is the exact form of the Kama Sutra that I have been looking for. It is illustrated with original Indian artwork. It is an abridged version of the Kama Sutra text but it has the sections that most individuals are most often interested in, the ones on sex. It is not a book that is all about sex but has a large part about relationships and gives some good insight into the Indian culture.

The concepts of the book are very interesting, and some of the articles are engaging, but overall I found this book to be an tedious and dry read.

Fascinating, thorough in its analysis, beautifully designed reader/player. Good, well-rounded selection of texts and new media objects with no attempt to be exhaustive (to the editors' credit). I plan to use it as one of the texts in an upcoming university course.

This huge tome is a must have for anyone who wants to deeply understand hypertext and its precursors. From William Burroughs to Doug Englebart and Augosto Boal to Ted Nelson this book presents a huge range of articles (and discursive commentary) of interest to computer scientists, writers, new media workers, artists and everyone in between. This is one stop shopping for new media literacy with over 800 pages of good stuff, much of it very hard to find outside of this volume.

I was totally humbled by this book. If it could be made manitory reading for all.....they should pass a law. You will not be the same after reading this book.

A suggested read for anyone (emphasis). Through the essays, abridged novels, and interviews, one can gather a personal and philosophical history of MLK, a summary of the civil rights movement, and a greater understanding of life and religion (which are inextricably attached really). I particularly appreciated the notion that civil rights was really about human rights on a global scale. He oft points out that poor whites, Latinos, and Asians, faced the same issues in the U. S. and across the globe.

A central theme is the principles of nonviolent resistance, which are essentially (if properly understood) unbiased and unwavering compassion and respect for (all) human life. I believe this is the single greatest area of failure in our current society. The book has entrenched that position further, with a deepened understanding of what it means, where the problems have exhibited themselves, and how we might improve upon the situation.

I must say as a native Alabamian and habitant of Birmingham for almost 10 years, the book has particular relevance to me. However, the history chronicled within is the history of man and is therefore applicable to everyone.

As a Hispanic-American increasingly involved in speaking out about social issues and looking for inspiration, I stumbed upon this incredible book.

I have since learned to love the writings and speeches of Doctor Martin Luther King. They are mighty and powerful and beautifully crafted. Biblical in their content and style, they are tremendously moving. They simplify the complicated and elevate the important!

His words ring out as loud and clear today as they did some forty years ago. For example, in one of his last and most radical speeches, "Where Do We Go From Here?" Doctor King exhorted:

"Let us go out with a 'divine dissatisfaction!

Let us be dissatisfied until America will no longer have a high blood pressure of Creeds and an anemia of Deeds!

Let us be dissatisfied until the tragic walls that separate the outer city of wealth and comfort from the inner city of poverty and dispair shall be crushed by the battering rams of the forces of justice!

Let us be dissatisfied until those that life on the outskirts of hope are brought into the metropolis of daily security!

Let us be dissatisfied until slums are cast into the junk heaps of history and every family is living in a decent sanitary home!"

This book is recommended for anyone looking for wisdom and inspiration and wishing to learn more about Doctor Martin Luther King and America's civil rights movement.

Buy it! Read it! And get involved in the battle for social justice for all Americans.

Yesterday, the 40th anniversary of MLK's assassination, I spent the better part of the day thumbing through A Testment of Hope. The book is an old friend of mine. I've read and reread it for nearly twenty years now, both privately and with students in at least a dozen classes.

What I like so much about editor James Washington's collection is its comprehensiveness. In a single volume, one finds MLK's thoughts on nonviolence, civil rights and integration, the Vietnam War and poverty, Christianity and social responsibility, and justice and morality. His ideas are conveyed here through essays, sermons, interviews, and lengthy, meaty excerpts from his five books. Everything that one could want is here, including what I personally take to be his very best work: "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" (1963), "Love, Law, and Civil Disobedience" (1961), "A Christmas Sermon on Peace" (1967), "A Time to Break Silence" (1967), the "I Have a Dream" speech (1961), and Stride Toward Freedom's masterful discussion of the tactics and principles of nonviolence (1958).

Today, four decades after his death, the country is still struggling to grow into MLK's vision of reconciliation and nonviolence. One can only imagine how sad he would be at the post-9/11 turn toward militarism the nation has taken, the current wave of sentiment against Latino immigrants, the constant economic disparity between white households and African American ones, or the upswing in hate crimes against Muslims. In re-reading A Testament of Hope, I was reminded yet again of how very much we need a present-day prophet of King's caliber, vision, and courage, and of how very grateful I am that we once had King himself.
________
* "And I submit that the individual who disobeys the law, whose conscience tells him it is unjust and who is willing to accept the penalty by staying in jail until that law is altered, is expressing at the moment the very highest respect for law." From "Love, Law, and Civil Disobedience," p. 49.

Martin Luther King Jr. the great American Civil Rights leader was a voice not only for black people in the United States, but for Mankind as a whole. He dreamed but he did not dream for black people alone but for every single American, and every single human being. Essentially his message was one of hope.
He was perhaps the most powerful speaker the United States had in the twentieth century. His 'I have a dream' speech on the Mall in Washington at the height of the Civil Rights movements was a call for and affirmation of human dignity and freedom.
He spoke in the language and rhythms of the Bible.
In his Nobel Prize Speech he articulated his faith in nonviolence as a means for human liberation. While it might be possible to question the validity of the non- violent option when confronting the most ruthless forms of totalitarian Evil it nonetheless is tribute to the spirit of King's deep Christian faith that he so passionately preached the 'non- violent doctrine'.
This book is a testimony to one of the truly great Americans of the twentieth - century. A man who by his example , by his deeds, ( And his words too are great deeds) gave hope and freedom to so many.
This work could not be recommended more highly.

"It is written on the limitless constellations of the celestial heavens, on the depths of the emerald seas and on every grain of sand in the vast desert that the world which we see is an outward and visible dream of an inward and invisible reality." - Sufi saying.

This book is a beautiful re-introduction to the "Sacred Geometry", the study of the simple mathematical patterns that dominate the universe. At the same time this practice both argues for a creator and also one who is unlike the standard "Holy book" picture for his basic engines of creation unfold like a lotus flower into infinity.

Unlike most stuff found in a "New Age" store, this book is not arguing you to believe anything, it shows you and teaches you and lets your own mind do the work. If I ever become a teacher I'll use bits of this book to try to get students to actually think and hopefully enjoy math, arts, the sciences.

Artfully done with many interesting side notes. Easy to read, the book raises many deep questions. Well worth the price!

Colleague Michael Schneider (who I had the pleasure of interviewing on community radio/TV a few years ago) wrote this outstanding book that has wonderful little illustrations and photographs showing how geometry and number remind us universal archetypes every where we turn in nature, art and architecture. For over a decade I've recommended this book as a perfect complement to my Sacred Geometry Design Sourcebook which you can also find here on Amazon or on my website at www.GeometryCode.com. If you want a great place to begin exploring sacred geometry (even though he doesn't call it that :-), A Beginner's Guide... and SGDS make a great pair of references.

A Beginners Guide to Constructing the Universe shows the mathematical underpinnings of nature by explaining how nature makes use of the numbers 1 - 10 and also 12 and 13. For example number six is used by nature in the construction of many things including walls of cells as the six sided hexagon is a very stable geometric object. There is some focus on mystical aspects of math but not too much so that there ends up being a lot of practical knowledge to be found here. The Fibonacci sequence is presented along with the use it is put to by nature. There is a presentation of the golden mean also. I highly recommend this book to those who have had interest in math drilled out of them by the drudgery of unfocused arithmetic and algebra lessons. This book is a peak into the fascinating world of mathematics and should whet your appetite for more. One book to consider after reading this book is "Fascinating Fibonacci's" as it contains more detailed information on the material found in chapter 5 of this book.

First I bought two copies. Sent one to my 90 year old mother who read it cover to cover. Then gave away the other as an emergency gift. Then bought two more. Now I have to buy more because I read my own copy and have three people to whom I would like to give the remaining copy. Let's see, that is 2 + 2 = 4 + 2 or 3 = 6 or 7. Now I know what those numbers "are". This book is precious. It allows one to see the magic and the mystery in common objects and relationships around us. Nicely written. A lot of fun. The whole book is worth the price just for the fantastic quotes in the margins, let alone the chapters. I love this book. I am glad to know more about the radiant essence of my apples, bowls, desks, steering wheel, hands - and everything around me. Thank you Michael Schneider.

As good as this book was, it wasn't actually necessary to the series. 'Valiant' was entertaining, but not what I expected when someone told me it was the next part in the series after 'Tithe'. While it does relate it still is sort of its own story withing the full story. Great on its own, it didn't need to sneak into the middle.

When I first started this book, I wasn't sure I would like it as much as I liked Tithe. My advice is to stick with it! It ended up being a good read. Although it doesn't seem to have connections to Tithe other than the fact that it deals with Faerie, characters from this book show up in Ironside, the actual sequel to Tithe. If you have already read Ironside, I don't think that there is information that will ruin Valiant for you, and I would still read it. I would recommend this book to teens who liked Tithe, enjoy fantasy and even those who like books that are more realistic and are looking for something a little out of their comfort zone because of the very real and 'human' conflicts that plague the main characters.

I bought this book and the two others in the series because it was in the Young Adult section and usually that means that the books are good and mostly clean (no overt sex or foul language). These books are YUCKY!!!!! I could not read them! The "F" word was used constantly. The mother had sex with her teen daughter's boyfriend. It went on and on! What good is a faery-tale if you can't get past the filth?! Don't waste money on these books. I wouldn't read them if they were free.

An amazing and unique modern day fairy tale. For anyone who loves fantasy or fairy stories, or books about strong women, i would suggest. Think "the weetzie bat books" and make it more "today" (the main girl is prone to think of video games often, etc), sexier, more raw, more dangerous, and add some serious girl toughness. think tank girl living underground in the tunnels in nyc and battling fairies (and they aren't typical tooth-fairy demure types) and being a hero. Think strange drugs and romance. this book literally took me to a world i have never heard another author describe.

I found this in the young adults section, but if you are buying for your a younger kid, i would read it first and decide. There is a lot of drug-type use and bondage sex and regular sex, lids living underground and running away, and other things that some kids might not be ready for. To put it a different way, it is very RAW. While i am all for kids reading mature books, this one gets pretty intense in a way that i think could be inappropriate. In my opinion the "mature" aspects are what makes the story really amazing, but i think this is definitely not for the younger or more immature reader. I am certainly not a prude, but i really would not want my 12 year old reading this. But i would totally buy it for her when she was a bit older!

but that is just me.

YA fantasy seems to be more popular than ever, and Holly Black's right in the middle of it.

As another reviewer mentioned, this is better than Tithe, though the world of teenagers that Black serves up is a bit raw and sensationalist. In Valiant, the magic drug use keeps it honest, and not edgy for edgy's sake. (Still a few too many unnecessarily "brutal" elements make it a bit callow.)

Definitely a fast paced book that'll hold your interest.