Social Sciences Books

Annette Weiner has really captured the essence of the people of the Trobriand Islands in this ethnography. She was following in the footsteps of Malinowski a well known person in her field. She was not afraid to question his findings or contradict his beliefs. In the course of this ethnography, readers will come to know the culture of the Trobriand Islands. You will understand the importance of yams in their every day life. The rituals that you know see has odd will be proven to be spiritual and have more purpose that you could have ever imagined. You will learn in detail what the death of a Trobriander means to the entire community. Reading this book will leave you in awe of these people. You will learn of a culutre that is of matrilineal descent and what that means to them. This novel will open your eyes to a whole new world. A world of traditions and spiritual beliefs. The people of the Trobriand Islands will amaze you and you will walk away from this book with more knowledge and more respect for this people than you could have ever imagined.

"Scholars" like Rothenberg love to choose subjects like racism, Native American history, and feminism. They do this because these subjects allow them to not only feel "multicultural," but to feel as if they are somehow saying, "I told you so" to American conservatives and any white citizens who might feel that racism is overblown.

The fact is, racism is overblown. Take Hurricane Katrina for instance. African Americans and liberal whites were screaming, "RACISM!!" after the failure of FEMA to respond effectively to the disaster. This argument dies when you look at FEMA's response to Hurricane Andrew in 1992. That hurricane decimated predominantly white neighborhoods in Miami to the point that the chief of Miami disaster relief, Kate Hale, said, "Where the hell's the cavalry?" FEMA did not respond effectively then. In fact, they have never responded effectively to a major disaster. But, I suppose Katrina is different, right? Wrong.

Katrina is only one example in a sea of them. The Paula Rothenbergs of the world like to use South Africa as an example. They claim that country came together for a national dialog and collectively eliminated Apartheid. What they fail to acknowledge is the fact that their "invisible racism" is still alive an well in South Africa and always will be. White South African shop owners still prefer white South African customers. This will never change, no matter how many books like Rothenberg's are published.

There has never been a society without subtle preferences for one's own race and there never will be. As long as people like Paula continue to press white people for ever more "progress" on this "invisible racism," they'll merely push this supposed invisible-racism-free utopia further away.

This book was a pretty good source of article information for a class I took. If you are looking for something that helps open the mind regarding what "white" means in race/status this is the book for you.

This book is highly readable and the analysis is very good. The only reason people would be reacting so negatively is if they have an investment in perpetuating racism. If you do not, then you will appreciate this book and its contribution to helping us understand the dynamics of privilege and how we can unconsciously fuel racism. The first step to changing something is understanding it. Nothing is helped by sticking your head in the sand and denying a problem exists. I encourage everyone who cares about ending the racist (and sexist and classist) power structure in our society to read this book.

This book is ridiculously myopic and ignorant at best, extremely racist at worst.

If you are intelligent enough to realize that word "racism" applies to all races, then you don't need this book. If, however, you think that the only people who are racist are whites, make sure you pick this book up to for your propaganda horse-blinders.

Simply because the book is well written does not make it true. If the author states something as fact, don't buy into it. If the author cites a source, check out the source; it will be, without a doubt, written by someone who shares the exact same mendacious views (Who's parroting now?). Citing a source that is without any genuinely academic purpose does not create a strong foundation for supporting an already weak hypothesis. Even the author, within the first 10 pages, admits that what she is trying to prove is "invisible", and therefore that much more insidious. In other words, the department of "I just pulled these stats, findings, thoughts, citations, and facts out of my rear" is alive and well within this book.

If you read this book with an open-mind, and you haven't already been tainted by one side or the other, you'll see more hypocrisy in this book than a book titled "Why I Love and Practice Democracy" written by Joseph Stalin. Within the first two chapters you'll find yourself wanting to debate the author, calling her out on her BS, and asking her why there aren't inter-connected footnotes that chronicle her contradictions.

If I could give it zero stars, I would. The book does nothing but stoke the coals of racial tensions, persuading those who believe in "The Man" and "The System" to dig in their heels with their misguided and misinformed positions.

It wasn't long ago that I was a very active and outspoken advocate of social change, an activist if you will. I marched on the WTO convention in Seattle and have joined numerous activist groups in protesting the ills of American society, the economy and our awful "President" Bush and his senseless wars on Afghanistan and Iraq. I would like to see a reformed America where people are truly equal. One thing I was fond of taking a stance against was racism, or at least, what I thought was racism.

However, after attending rally after rally and marching alongside everyone from Black Power advocates, La Raza, gay/lesbian/bisexual rights workers, punk rock anarchists and various Maoist and Marxist groups(a philosophy I have since renounced), I slowly began to realize that "racism" when spoken by activists on the Left had a different meaning than what I thought it was. Racim basically equals white people, and white people equals bad.

I cannot march with such hypocrites anymore. I will not stand up for equality when I'm told I should be ashamed for what my ancestors did, nevermind that those accusers know nothing of who my ancestors were and what they experienced. I'm tired of being guilty for being white. When I discussed this with a La Raza member at a recent antiwar demonstration he merely replied "Well, I hate to say it, but you guys kinda deserve it...I mean, you did invent it."

It is this kind of idiocy that permeates the anti-racist movement in America. When they talk of racism, what they really mean is bad bad Whitey, slavery, and "Eurocentrism". But never do you hear about the thousand year old oppression of the Irish by their Anglo Saxon neighbors in England. Rarely will you hear about the discimination faced by Lapps in Finland. And if you mention the Rwandan genocide of the Tutsis people will claim that whites instigated it and turn a blind eye to similarly brutal tribal warfare in other parts of Africa. Mention the vicious attacks upon black Sudanese by Arabs of the north and you'll get confused looks. Mention the name Idi Amin and you'll get people asking "Who?".

Taking a stand against racism means you should take a stand against ALL FORMS OF RACISM! It isn't race exclusive. If African powers colonized America instead of European ones and whites or other ethnic groups were enslaved then the result would be the same! Have whites committed atrocities against peoples of different color? Of course. Have blacks? Oh yes. Have asians? Some of the worst in human history.

The point of my argument is that human beings are human beings, and all are capable of brutality against those they feel are different. This includes the Aztecs and Mayans that Latino activists like La Raza and MeCHA are so fond of admiring, and African civilizations such as Kush and Nubia that Afrocentric intellectuals fawn over. It is just as Nieztche said: The strongest and most succesful of nations are those who are well practiced in cruelty.

If anything, the anti-racist movement in America promotes segregation and isolationism more than it promotes peace and tolerance. Basically, their core belief is that whites are bad, but everyone else is ok. Because of this, I cannot in good conscience support a movement which seeks a racist role-reversal instead of destroying racism in all its forms utterly and completely.

Free your mind

If you're interested in reading more recent reviews and commentary about The China Price, please see my blog at http://thechinaprice.blogspot.com and the book's website at http://thechinaprice.org. There are links on those sites to purchase the book through Amazon.com as well.

This book gives an in-depth look at the human cost of cheap merchandise from China, both to Americans and to the Chineese workers that make them.

I just finished reading the book here in Hong Kong (of course, it's not available on the mainland.) An aspect of the reporting I really admired was the author's obvious efforts at objectivity and even handedness. I've lived in China off and on for nearly 7 years, and can say without any doubt that many or even most Chinese people are really very nice, with compassion and human feelings. On the issue of corruption, yes it's rampant in China and extends into every activity. But, the Chinese are doing pretty much what any of us would do in similar circumstances, at least I think so. It's easy for us to condemn China sometimes, but on the other hand we didn't have to exist in this reality, and it's almost impossible to place ourselves in their shoes. My biggest gripe against China--the biggest threat it represents to the world and to its own people, and something I don't feel was discussed adequately in the book, is that the government of China has created a truly FASCIST STATE, and their efforts at reinforcment are getting stronger and more desperate. The wonderful, deep Confucian influences manifested through Chinese civilization were leveraged and transformed by Mao and his successors into a twisted form of Orwellian mind control. In China today, people are free to hold any opinion they choose as long as it's the opinion they are told to have. Promotion of nationalistic fervor in China through the education system and media equals or maybe even exceeds previous efforts of Nazi Germany, Imperial Japan or Peronist Argentina. It's a scary place.

Discussions of free trade sing its virtues, while the reality is something different: the unequal terms of that trade, especially vis a vis China and the United States, where two sets of rules are at work. One result is the 'China price' and the growing imbalance in trade relationships. The larger picture shows the other side to globalizaton: the exploitation of cheap labor, disregard of environmental law, and the generally totalitarian nature of this mutant form of capitalism. This book usefully presents the information absent from most public media discussions of the issues of free trade and is an eye-opener. However, the portrait given is of an unstable situation that can't last forever, whatever new mutation lies down the road. Residents of the United States have been caught up in an ambiguous contradiction, the destruction of domestic industry, and the addictive temptations of Walmartization. As the wheel turns from this unstable new development in global capitalism to the next combination, some awareness of the disinformation created by 'economics' discussions in the United States is needed to correct the long-term destructive character of this confused, yet to some very profitable, constellation of capitalist trickeries.

The China Price does a really good job explaining what goes on in China's factories and, in particular, the whole system that has been built up in China for avoiding monitoring by Westerners. Ms. Harney's thesis is that in many cases, Western companies producing goods in China know the prices they are paying make fair employment and decent environmental standards impossible. I recommend the book to anyone interested in how China has managed to achieve the China price and what the societal and environmental costs of that price has been. I also recommend it to anyone thinking of doing any manufacturing in China, be it on your own or through outsourcing. This book will teach you what really goes on in China manufacturing.

This book may have saved my sanity. I am completely math dumb! And to even think I can do calculus was just never a thought. So when I had to take the class to graduate I cried! I bought this book and poured everything I have into studying it over and over. I passed the class and never have to take calculus again!

It is a great cal. book I have ever read. The explanations are very clear and the use of examples are great. This book is good for university students. Suggest to use!

This book is all right as a college calculus textbook. I used it for two semesters and found it very helpful.

This book gives you a really good understanding and overview of basic music. I would buy another book from the same author!

This book, while it reads quite like a textbook has short chapters and many helpful things like tips on how to listen to music and cds for the computer.

I requested this book for my college music class. I saw many offers from b&n and other book stores and I found amazon having the best price and received the book on time. the book was in great condition and my fellow students were surprised when they heard the price and the shipping response. i totally recommend this site and book for school. The book was comprehensible and well illustrated.

This is and comprehensive excellent reference book on all aspects of American Art which would be a must for anyone who is serious about the subject. I would not recommend buying a used version--only a new one.

This was a very nice book to use for one of my College classes. They didn't however sell it in the bookstore at campus. Getting it online was great and the book had everything I needed.

If you only own one book on American Art it should be this one.

I'm an Art History major and this is a required text for my American Art and Architecture course. This book is a great supplement to lectures, but the black and white images are very dissapointing. When color is so key to artwork, I am baffled as to why so many pages lack this important element. I can understand perhaps the architecture pages being in black and white, but this is unacceptable for paintings, especially when it is so difficult for a student to find these rare works elsewhere.

I strongly recommend that if you are an instructor you seek a more visually appealing text.

I needed this for my psychology class and the price was fair. I was disappointed though, b/c in the description it said no highlighting and there was moderate highlighting in the book. The main reason I had bought this particular one was b/c the seller had said in the description "no highlighting".

I received my book very quickly, within a few days. The cd's and book were in excellent condition. would definately buy from this seller again.

Ordering was simple and easy and step by step or day by day tracking of the order placed. Shipment was fast and I received the book within 3days of placing the order. I was very pleased with everything.

If you teach music appreciation courses, or are simply a curious, music hungry student, either way you'll benefit from the excellent coverage and pedagogical approach of this text. The chapters are about 10 pages long and extremely well-written, with lively descriptions and eye-catching illustrations that bring to life the concepts under consideration. The recorded music that comes with the text is marvelous--Naxos recordings--that also serve to highlight period style in grand style. Whether for study or pleasure, this text, with its 2 CD's, is hard to top.