Social Sciences Books

I can't sing Hakim's praises enough - from her History of US series to the The Story of Science, all three volumes so far. I've been an avid science fan my whole life, but not a hard science major, and I gasped all the way through these books as I learned things I never knew, but thought I'd known, or finally understood things I'd known about but that had puzzled me. Get over the "distracting" sidebars - they didn't bother me at all and they were full of great stuff. I ate these books up and I was only reading them to preview for my homeschooler who hates math and is bored by science, but loves history. Joy Hakim has a wonderful ability to take a huge subject (all of US history, for instance, and the development and progress of scientific thought in this case) and make it manageable, new and a fun read. I have a new respect for Mathematics after reading this book. My daughter is discovering that science and math really are amazing and play a critical, pivotal role in the unfolding of human history.

I will organize my review into 4 parts: 1. What I was looking for, 2. The ideal audience for this book (just my opinion), 3. Strengths and weaknesses of this book, 4. Who could benefit by owning this book.

1. People of a certain age may remember the Time-Life series of science books. I especially loved the volumes devoted to physical science and math. Those books were written for kids in the upper grades but, in fact, the text was at an adult level. Even today, I enjoy actually reading them, not merely browsing, as the text is sophisticated enough to "pull me in". The photo essays were also magnificent: dramatic, human, entertaining and adult. I was looking for something like those, but of more recent vintage, when I came across "The Story of Science". Did I find it? No, not exactly. But I bought the book anyway. Read on.

2. This book is written for 5th-graders. Period. End of story. I will not negotiate that point. The evidence: words such as "ratio" and "circumnavigate" are defined for the reader. I clearly remember "ratio" being introduced in 5th grade. The other words which are defined are of similar level. Also, the book, while not thin, is built for small hands in terms of height and width. Finally, there is a general lack of sophisticated vocabulary and a peppering of the text with leading questions, meant to induce thinking. These are all hallmarks of a book written for children who are still rather small. The constant interruption of the narrative by questions would be annoying to an older child or adult. If your 7th-grader is still reading this book, you need to push her to move on; she will fall behind in reading skills. Trust me on this; I have taught alot of kids.

3. Weaknesses: None. This book is superb in every way.

Strengths: The text is well-written, lively, questioning, just like the topic it explores.

Words are defined, pronunciation is indicated.

There are numerous side-bars to explain even off-topic issues which have been briefly touched upon.

Example: the King James Bible is quoted at the beginning of chapter 1 (as are other mythological texts; this is not a narrow-minded book). Will a Junior High School student know who King James was? I hope so! An adult? Uh, if you have to ask.... But, normally, a 5th-grader will not. So, Ms. Hakim explains a bit about him in a side-bar. Very nice! It is this, "no stone left unturned" approach that makes this book so excellent.

The graphics are great to look at, informative, and add a delightful dimension. They are sophisticated enough to give this book an adult feel. Only the text, really, clues us in to the target audience.

4. Anyone can benefit by owning this book. I find the text too simple, and too frequently interrupted by simple-minded, kid-type questions, to be really engaging. It doesn't pull me in the way the Time-Life books still can. But, the text is certainly "browsable": read a bit, and then pore over the great, informative graphics and side-bars and, in general, just delight in the lively, colorful presentation of the material.

So, finally, I am still looking for those elusive updated versions of the Time-Life books. But, this book is great on its own level. Give it to a 10- or 11-year old and watch her take off! But, be wise. Unless your kid is remedial, snatch it away when they enter Junior High. Replace it with what? Well, you can always get the Time-Life books at an online auction. They will complete your child's science and literacy development to the intelligent High School level.

I typically don't go around recommending books, even good ones. However, this book is well worth the recommendation. It approaches the subject assuming the reader is interested and gets them even more into the subject. It covers math, technology, philosophy, language arts, and geography. Makes mention of art, poetry, exploration, socialization and other factors that influenced the thinking of the ancient thinkers.

It is recommended for K-8 but I have learned so much just by going through and making a lessonplan based on the book. One little problem, it is so interesting I keep reading and studying and the lessonplan is taking forever. LOL

Hats off to Hakim again,
Maeven6

As a homeschooler who follows the neo-Classical approach, I had high hopes that "The Story of Science" would be a valuable addition to our study of Ancient times. The first 21 chapters are a fascinating look at the scientific knowledge of ancient civilizations including the Sumerians, Ancient Egyptians, Phoenicians, Ancient Chinese, and of course the Ancient Greeks. Ms. Hakim does an admirable job at explaining often complex topics in a comprehensible and entertaining way.

Unfortunately, the last 80 pages of the book covering the medieval period have a serious anti-Christian bias. For example, Ms. Hakim promotes the false story that St. Cyril had the Library of Alexandria burned, when in fact it was most likely done by a lawless mob of peasants that included both Christians and pagans. She also criticizes monastaries for "locking up" knowledge behind closed walls, when actually they were sanctuaries in a continent overrun by barbarians. She selectively quotes early Christians such as St. Augustine, St. Jerome, Tertullian, Lactantius, and Cosmas to portray them as backward and anti-intellectual while portraying Islamic, Jewish, and Chinese scholars in a completely positive manner. The great Christian intellectuals Sts. Albertus Magnus and Thomas Aquinas are only portrayed positively because Ms. Hakim considers them to be "rebels" against the Church.

I would give 5 stars to the portion of the book covering the Ancient times but only 1 star to the portion of the book covering the medieval period. My advice to Christian homeschoolers wishing to use this book would be to stop on page 189 and skip the remainder.

My daughter is using this book in her 6th grade science class. She complained that it was very confusing and difficult to follow. I began reading the book and absolutley agree! The author weaves and rambles through several different paths before arriving at her point. Along the way there are several side bars, barely related facts, and discussions centered on topics which only minimally correpsond to the material, all which confuse and complicate matters. I have never encountered a more wordy and overwhelming book. Note to Teachers: if you want your students to like and understand science, don't use this book.

Charles Lemert's two books, "Social Theory" and "Social Things", are widely used as reading in undergraduate Sociological Theory courses. I find both books to be quite lacking. In "Social Theory" Lemert chooses painfully short excerpts from many important theorists while providing little to no discussion or analysis of the work.

The sections of Weber, Marx and Durkheim (the three founders of sociology) are well-chosen, but it is easy to find quality works from these authors.

This is not a bad boor per se. It is a mediocre collection from start to finish. Charles Lemert is a preeminent scholar, but any PhD could churn this book out in six months.

I read a lot of books on the economy and workers, and unfortunately too many of them are plodding and overstuffed with statistics. That's why the Big Squeeze was such a pleasant surprise. It's a wonderfully big-hearted book, and it's also a terrific read. It's the best book on American workers that I've read in recent decades (or at least it's a tie with Barbara Ehrenreich's wonderful Nickel and Dimed).

The Big Squeeze is unusual because it tells very moving, very human stories about two dozen individual workers -- the software engineer who has to train the worker from India who was to replace her, the "temp" whose company keeps her as a temp for 10 years, the Air Force veteran who works for three retailers in a row that erase hours from employee time cards to save money. Depressing, but very gripping stuff.

What's also impressive about The Big Squeeze is it sees the trees and the forest. Better than any other book that I've read, it explains in detail how American workers are being systematically squeezed--on wages, health insurance, pensions, job security, pressure to work harder and smarter. The book also examines in a intelligent and accessible way the many complex forces that are causing this squeeze, e.g. globalization, Wall Street's push for greater profits. The book deals with some complicated matters, but it moves quickly, never getting bogged down.

Greenhouse tells one eloquent story after another about how Americans are being squeezed at work. With things getting worse for the nation's workers, Barack Obama and John McCain should be required to read this book so they could see what's really happening in the American economy.

Selective statistics have a very long history of being fabricated to deceive.

Anyone who calls for MORE regulation and hampering of an already long UNFREE, UNHAMPERED market by govt, reveals their total ignorance and reject the very foundations of liberty we cast OFF KGIII's lesser oppressions to achieve.

Our current problems stem precisely because Govt privileges the few at the little seen disbursement of costs upon the many. In no way is this in line with the General Welfare clause that insists ALL govt spending benefits ALL taxpayers equally, as a battleship would, and bridges to nowhere or midnight B-Ball never will.

One can easily see the praises come primarily from establishment parrot commercial reviewers. The praises from individuals just show how duped the establishment has made them.

See if this sinks in any:

Jean-Baptiste Say
"[The different ways of producing] all consist in taking a product in one state and putting it into another in which it has more utility and value ... in one way or another, from the moment that one creates or augments the utility of things, one augments their value, one is exercising an industry, one is producing wealth.

The productive power of industry is limited only by ignorance and by the bad administration of states. Spread enlightenment and improve governments, or, rather, prevent them from doing harm; and there will be no limit that can be assigned to the multiplication of wealth.

But personal interest is no longer a safe criterion if individual interests are not left to counteract and control each other.

If one individual, or one class, can call in the aid of authority (governments) to ward off the effects of competition, it acquires a privilege and at the cost of the whole community; it can then make sure of profits not altogether due to the productive services rendered, but composed in part of an actual tax upon consumers for its private profit; which tax it commonly shares with the authority that thus unjustly lends its support.

The legislative body has great difficulty in resisting the importunate demands for this kind of privileges; the applicants are the producers that are to benefit thereby, who can represent with much plausibility that their own gains are a gain to the industrious classes, and to the nation at large, their workmen and themselves being members of the industrious classes, and of the nation."


THIS is exactly what ails our society - a highly corrupt, counter-productive, overly concentrated, over-powerful, over-spending, unconstitutional Govt, that operates to enrich it's oligarchic few off the backs and lives of common men who actually produce.


And Greenspan explains the PRECISE mechanism how:

Alan Greenspan - "Gold and Economic Freedom" 1967
"An almost hysterical antagonism toward the gold standard is one issue which unites statists of all persuasions. They seem to sense - perhaps more clearly and subtly than many consistent defenders of laissez-faire - that gold and economic freedom are inseparable, that the gold standard is an instrument of laissez-faire and that each implies and requires the other. . . . This is the shabby secret of the welfare statists' tirades against gold. Deficit spending is simply a scheme for the confiscation of wealth. Gold stands in the way of this insidious process. It stands as a protector of property rights."

And so does Keynes via his admired Lenin:

John Maynard Keynes
Lenin is said to have declared that the best way to destroy the capitalist system was to debauch the currency - "By a continuous process of inflation, governments can confiscate, secretly and unobserved, an important part of the wealth of their citizens. By this method, they not only confiscate, but they confiscate arbitrarily; and while the process impoverishes many, it actually enriches some....The process engages all of the hidden forces of economic law on the side of destruction, and does it in a manner that not one man in a million can diagnose."



Those who choose to remain the gullible sheep 100 yrs of compulsory indoctrination has produced - please sell me YOUR barbaric relics, GOLD, and keep on keepin on with that ignorant faith in samaritan benevolent Govt that loves YOU more than it's own enrichment!

W, Clintons, Obama are ALL CFR/NWO puppets whether actual members or not.

The new bosses? Same as the old bosses. Especially when they all belong to the same power elite clubs who plan our futures and the world's in total secrecy outside of govt where no sunlight prevails.

This author is just another overpaid socialist govt shill. Catch his book presentation on C-Span booknotes and see for yourselves. What blatant crap!!

Book is easy to read. Author presents lots of examples of how our American middle class is being squeezed out, and the increasing differential between the poor and the rich, or upper class. His answers are dissapointing unless you are left wing liberal. He places blame on the awful big/greedy companies. Thinks the era of the 50's/60's was our best because we had big Unions to get benefits for workers. His answer now is basically for the government to contol most everything, and to return to the area of big Union representation. Never mind much of our American industry is crippled in the global economy due to the huge legacy costs to workers brought on by the Unions before we had to compete in a global economy. Yes, we have big problems today, but this is not the answer that will solve things.

I imagine that many conservative talk show hosts who have heard of or even read "The Big Squeeze" will dismiss out of hand Steven Greenhouse's new book as just more predictable liberal negativity. After all, according to Sean Hannity on one recent afternoon program it is possible for everyone to become rich in America if they are just willing to work hard enough. This is hogwash, Mr. Hannity. Everyone is not cut out to be an enterpreneur or a stockbroker. The reality is that in America today 10% of the population controls nearly 50% of the wealth. The gap between the richest Americans and the rest of us has been increasing at a alarming rate. Good paying jobs are being shipped to other nations and millions of Americans employed in retail or service industries are being forced to work in miserable conditions just to scrape by. "The Big Squeeze" is about the sobering new realities facing an ever increasing number of American workers today. And for the most part what Steven Greenhouse has discovered is not a pretty picture.
It would appear that the American worker is under attack from all directions. Over the past two decades the U.S. has been inundated by millions of illegal aliens from places like Mexico, Guatemala and Haiti. The presence of these additional workers helps to depress blue collar wages in this country and places a strain on the public services we all have to pay for like schools and hospitals. Meanwhile, despite that fact that Americans are among the most productive workers in the world U.S. corporations have accelerated the outsourcing of good paying white collar jobs to places like Pakistan and India where workers are happy to work for a fraction of what his American counterpart makes. Greenhouse spotlights a number of instances where American workers were actually forced to suffer the indignity of training their foreign replacements or else risk losing their severance packages. This one hits especially close to home because my wife found herself in just this situation a few years ago.
As the grip of "The Big Squeeze" gets tighter and tighter, increasing numbers of Americans are forced to accept lower paying positions at outfits like Wal-Mart and Family Dollar. Steven Greenhouse hightlights a whole host of appalling working conditions too numerous to mention here that employees at these retailers are forced to endure. To me the most disturbing one was that in many smaller stores Wal-Mart employees working the overnight shift were actually locked in the store with no manager present and with absolutely no ability to get out in case of an emergency! How can they get away with that?? In the course of "The Big Squeeze" Greenhouse does give kudos to both the discount retailer Costco and the accounting firm Ernst and Young. He praises these companies for the value they place on their employees and cites them as models for other companies to follow. Greenhouse also believes that if the challenges facing American workers today are ever to be reversed then labor unions must play a major role, particularly with those doing lower-paying jobs like janitors and nursing home workers.
For most Americans, what Steven Greenhouse has to say in "The Big Squeeze" will really come as no surprise. The problems outlined in this book are myriad and the implications for most workers are quite frightening. Steven Greenhouse argues that America should take a second look at globalization and perhaps make some adjustments along the way. "The Big Squeeze" is a highly readable and informative book. Recommended!

Greenhouse's focus is to ask "Why, in the world's most affluent nation, are so many corporations intent on squeezing their workers dry?" Corporate profits, economic growth, and worker productivity have grown strongly, while pay has languished. Median income for non-elderly households in 2006 was $2,375 lower in real terms than six years prior. Income inequality now more closely resembles a 3rd-world country than an advanced nation - if it was the same as in 1979, the bottom 80% would receive $8,000 more in yearly income.

Almost one-fourth of the workforce earns less than $10/hour, and generally also lack benefits. Health costs now account for 16% of GDP, up from 5% in 1960. Meanwhile, the proportion covered by pensions (especially defined-benefit - eg. IBM) is declining, and large corporations (eg. United, Delta, and U.S. airlines, LTV and Bethlehem Steel) are defaulting on existing obligations.

Corporations flaunt overtime laws (eg. Wal-Mart, Target), and even fail to pay workers for all their time worked (H-P, Wal-Mart). Circuit City has twice replaced its longer-term workers earning higher salaries with new recruits at lower pay scales, while Microsoft, H-P, and others make the term "temporary" workers an oxymoron in a bid to deny benefits to large numbers of long-term employees.

Three decades ago employer-provided health insurance protected 70% of private-sector workers - now it is down to 55%, and their coverage is no longer as extensive. "Independent contractor" status is extensively exploited (saves Social Security, etc. payments) by eg. FedEx, and their use of the tactic is expanding (to FedEx LTL) despite adverse court rulings.

What fuels these actions? Greenhouse answers - takeover threats, deregulation (airlines, trucking), pressure from jobs lost through automation (also used to create an environment of close supervision), outsourcing, streamlining (eg. delayering, eliminating overheads), increasing costs of employer-funded health care (especially vs. non-coverage by Asian firms), and the "Wal-Mart" effect (low employee pay and benefits; forcing suppliers in the same direction).

There are few heroes in "The Big Squeeze." The most obvious is Costco - higher pay, benefits, sales, and profits/employee than Wal-Mart and Sam's Club, while much lower employee turnover and shrinkage. Greenhouse also suggests Las Vegas casinos (courtesy of strong employee unions) and Timberland shoes - however, both are exempt from strong commodity-like or foreign competition and thus not as impressive as Costco's achievements.

Don't economists agree that globalization to the max is good for us? Not all - Paul Samuelson, Nobel Prize winner in economics, says: "If you don't believe (offshoring) changes the average wages in America, then you believe in the truth fairy."

Unions used to be a strong offsetting force vs. management. However, just 7.5% of private sectors are now in unions - the lowest rate since 1901. Yet, 53% of non-management, non-union workers say they would like to join. What holds them back? Greenhouse suggests that one reason is the 2,000+ "union-avoidance" consultants 9Only 100 in the 1960s).

Greenhouse also suggests a need to improve organizing tactics, and offers the SEIU's approach to organizing janitors in Houston as a good example. They began by getting elected officials who were pension-fund overseers with large real-estate holdings to urge Houston building owners to press cleaning contractors to cooperate. The SEIU also promised not to begin bargaining until at least 55% of the employees' contractors were organized (no "unfair" disadvantages). Finally, they leveraged their strength by picketing opposing janitorial firms with work in other cities.

Greenhouse's Recommendations: Increased Social Security taxes (to ensure its stability), increased income taxes on those with higher incomes (benefited most from globalization), changing health care to a single-payer system (much less overhead), and working to restrain health care costs.

Reading "The Big Squeeze" sometimes hurts as one sees how people are taken advantage of. My only criticism is that Greenhouse does not lay enough blame at the feet of globalization.

My 5, 7 and 9 year old daughters continue to love the series. You have to be careful though this time. Even though the books are slightly adapted for the US market the week in this series still begins with Monday as typical in Europe. Sarah the Sunday Fairy is the last of this group of seven books.

...doesn't deliver on the substance. This book was very disappointing in its very superficial treatment of the topic.

This truly excellent small book gives a thorough and non-mathematical overview of the dangers and usefulness of statistics. Giving real-life examples of statistical manipulation (without beating one over the head with mathematical formulae). A marvelous way to look at Social Statistics with an inquisitive and educated eye - without having to know the mathematical basis for statistical analysis.
AS an undergrad I actually did graduate level work in statistics but enough years have passed that I would be hard pressed to use the knowledge. This book gave me an excellent way to look at statistics in such a way that they are now much more useful to me, not just in my clinical practice but in reading the newspaper.
Emilio J. Vazquez, MD

First and foremost, as an avid fan of the topic of Statistics in general, I felt compelled to read this book. I had read another of Joel Best's book, More Damned Lies and Statistics: How Numbers Confuse Public Issues, and it was shocking to say the least. In the process of deciding which book I was going to read I contemplated between How to Lie with Statistics by Darrell Huff, but I felt that book was more of a `pocket-guide' instead of a dense book. Also, I wanted to read a book that was perhaps more current, in terms of publication than Huff's book. Published in 2001, Best's book shows some current social statistics, which perhaps may be more relevant in our time period.
Upon finishing Best's book I notice that it was jam-packed with information that the average person wouldn't know about every day statistics. For example, he touches on the topic of AIDS statistics, and prostitution statistics, in an effort to show that the statistics are skewed. In my opinion, I think it was very appropriate that a sociologist wrote this book because, it is virtually a reflection of how society reports, views, and interprets statistics. It is mind-stirring when he shows that statistics on the same subject cannot be accurately compared if they are from a different time-period. Due to the fact that Ceteris Paribas is not present when comparing statistics from different time periods, in essence they are like comparing, as Best puts it, "apples to oranges".
Also, another startling area of the book is when Best describes the misunderstanding and the fallacies that occur with reporting and interpreting statistics. For instance, in chapter three of his book, he reports that an estimated 150 thousand women are diagnosed with anorexia, or better known as the most common eating disorders among young women. While that may be a `good' statistic, people began to misinterpret that statistic with the conclusion that 150 thousand women die because of anorexia. This fallacy occurred because people assume that anorexia can be fatal, and since 150 thousand of them had it, they then assumed all of them died. This, as Best puts it, is far from the truth, as less than 100 of them actually die (roughly around 70). He gives other examples of common social problems with statistics and shows that a post-hoc fallacy is very common in a world where people are rather naïve when it comes to statistics in general.
Perhaps the notion of statistics causing social problems is one too radical for the average American to recognize. How can statistics be the cause of problems? Best also addresses that a `bad' statistics can cause social problems. On page fifty, Best explains how "measurement decisions are hidden" and often times some statistical reports ignore controversies about measurement, and even well-established measures can be controversial. Not surprisingly, some of the measurement decisions, are just plain wrong. The reports to some statistics that the media feeds us are just completely wrong.
Best mentions another rather relevant problem; "questionable definitions". He cites that often times the definitions for a particular statistic are vague and can easily be manipulated. He asks us to consider the flurry of media coverage about `epidemics'. We must ask ourselves, what is an epidemic? More importantly, how does the particular author reporting the statistic define what an epidemic is? Making a vague statement like that can be very dangerous to society. It can spread false fears, and in essence, a misrepresented sense of reality. Another important factor when determining if a statistic is manipulated is based on sample size. Best gives us examples of how a small sample size is really a poor basis for generalizations. For example, let's consider that I ask 3 women to give their view on abortion and they can either choose pro-life or pro-choice. My results are going to be 0%, 33.3%, 66.6%, or 100%, depending on their responses. However, it is absurd to think that a true conclusion can be drawn from such a small sample size.
I feel this book is a great book to read, not only for entertainment purposes, but also as a preventative measure regarding everyday statistics that we encounter. In his final chapter "The Critical Approach", he requests that we use a method of critical thinking when viewing statistics. The author encourages us as a society, to interpret statistics in a skeptical manner, but warns us not to be cynical. We cannot just take statistics at face value. I feel that we hold a responsibility to inform ourselves and view new information with a skeptics view. It is vital to prevent social chaos by swallowing every bit of numbers from the media, politicians, and activists. I think that perhaps if society took a less naïve approach to things of this nature, then we would not have so many "stat wars" in our society. Finally, the most important part of the book is that it encourages the reader to take a skeptic view on social statistics. I recommend this book to virtually any active member of our culture.

"Statistics," Joel Best asserts in his concluding chapter, "are a sort of fetish," borrowing a term from anthropology to describe objects that different cultures invest with magical powers. "We think of statistics as facts that we discover, not as numbers we create. But of course, statistics do not exist independently; people have to create them. Reality is complicated, and every statistic is someone's summary, a simplification of that complexity." And as they say, therein lies the tale.

DAMNED LIES AND STATISTICS offers an outstanding introduction to the use and misuse of social statistics. This book is not a mathematical treatise - far from it. In straightforward prose filled with real world examples, Mr. Best deconstructs the processes by which social statistics are created (sometimes as little more than educated guesses) and take on a life of their own, primarily through blind and unquestioning repetition by the media. He also delineates how such statistics are sometimes mutated, misinterpreted, misapplied, and manipulated.

In Mr. Best's view, there are no perfect statistics, just better or worse ones. Every statistic involves human choices: defining what to measure, determining how to measure it, deciding whom to count or how to count it, and choosing how to deal with unreported cases (the dark figure) of whatever is being counted. Not only does every statistic contain identifiable but generally unrecognized strengths, weaknesses, and dark figures, but many of the most controversial and heavily publicized statistics were created by people in advocacy positions. As Mr. Best repeatedly points out, advocates use statistics to reinforce public concern about the seriousness of their pet issues. Since large statistics capture more attention, publicity, and financial contributions for the advocacy group than small ones, issue advocates will naturally be drawn toward problem definitions, counting measures, survey methods, and assumptions most supportive of their goals.

Mr. Best does a commendable job of citing numerous real world instances of bad or misleading statistics, including several whose original meanings were gradually transformed into altogether different interpretations. His examples range over a full panoply of public domain issues - female deaths from anorexia, prevalence of church arsons, homicide incidence by race, teen suicides, the number of crack babies, attendance figures for the Million Man March, the number of homeless people, the number of children killed with guns, and so forth. The author breaks down his examples into readily understandable classifications, such as bad guesses, deceptive definitions, confusing questions, biased sampling, misinterpretation of results, and improper comparisons between groups or over time. Only in his final chapter, "Thinking about Social Statistics," does his penchant for classifications lead him astray. His assessment of how to address the prevalence and too-willing consumption of bad statistics offers little more than a call for the public to stop being naïve or hypercritical about numbers and instead become critical consumers. He offers no call for improved practical education about statistics in schools, no demand for better training on this issue in schools of journalism, no request that the media research and report more frequently (even as background on their websites) the methods and assumptions behind the numbers they report. In an age where issue-measuring numbers multiply uncontrollably and are available instantaneously, the public needs more reality check protection and online access to this background information than ever before.

DAMNED LIES AND STATISTICS is an easily readable and informative introduction to the human problems of statistics. I recommend it (along with Cynthia Crossen's equally valuable TAINTED TRUTH) as an interesting supplement for high school advanced placement or college statistics classes or first classes in current affairs or sociology. No mathematical background is required, but students and other readers will find much in this text to discuss and contemplate. I recommend this book highly for people of modest math backgrounds who are concerned about the rampant and seemingly uncontrollable growth of fetish-like numbers that purport to define our major social issues. Mr. Best would argue that there is always more to these numbers than immediately meets the eye.

This book does what I believe it was intended to do very well: It provides a window through which the general public can get a first glimpse of the dangers of accepting statistics as absolute. The book's length, title, and repetition of certain common statistical flaws address are tailor made for the general reader.

Damned Lies and Statistics is on my required reading list. If more people understood how they were being numerically manipulated from all angles, we'd all be better off. And I believe that is the ultimate job of a writer.

The overall content of the textbook is generally well laid out, it is the explanation that of the content that is lacking in substance. The first 8 chapters are well written and interesting in concept; it is the latter portion of the book that lacks in substance. Too many statistics that seemed to draw very little conclusion regarding church service attendance greatly detracted from the subject of religiosity. the information is adequate for the subject, but was not the most compelling information.

Johnstone, professor sociology at Ball State University, presents a thorough sociological examination of religion and its phenomena.

The book has been updated six times. Its latest edition, the sixth, published in 2001, utilizes current statistics and trends in the upgrading process, thereby maintaining the usefulness and legitimacy of the text.

The text examines: (1) The sociological perspective of religion; (2) The sources of religion; (3) Religion as a group phenomenon; (4) Becoming religious; (5) The church-sect continuum of religious organization; (6) Religious conflict; (7) Religious politics; (8) Religious fundamentalism; (9) Religion and the economy; (10) Religion and the class system; (11) Women and religion; (12) Major historical developments in religion; (13) Black and Native American religion in America; (14) Denominational society; (15) And, the future of religion.

Johnstone organizes his text in a way that parallels the topics examined in regular introductory sociology texts. Non-majors find this method easy to follow. He is also very readable with many indepth analyses (i.e. Northern Ireland or abortion) that illustrate his material. Unfortunately, the author loses some authority with the students when covering non-historical material that is out-dated with statistics from 15-20 years ago. Teachers need to seek extra sources to continually update material about recent developments (i.e. racial attitudes).

"Special Circumstances"
The words have sent chills down Tally's spine since her days as a repellent, rebellious ugly. Back then Specials were a sinister rumor- frighteningly beautiful, dangerously strong, breathtakingly fast."

And Tally is now one of them; in fact she is a part of a special group called Cutters, the best of the Specials, the most dangerous, the most crazy in some cases... And she now has a new choice to make to stay the way she is: a fast, deadly fighting machine or to be just normal pretty again, even if it means undoing everything that's been done to her and everything she's been through.

This was actually recommended to me by my mom, who was told about it from a friend at work (yay for being a high school English teacher), and she lent it to me. I liked this whole series a lot and I'm looking forward to looking into the fourth book of the trilogy (even the author still calls it a trilogy) Extras.

I haven't read these books but my 12 year old daughter loves them. Don't really understand, the series was a trilogy; uglies, pretties and specials but then there is a forth book called Extras. Of course my daughter loved that one too.

In "Specials", we see the final stage of the natural progression of the heroine Tally through the stages available to her: Ugly in the first novel, Pretty in the second, and now Special in the conclusion to the trilogy. Pretties undergo a mandatory surgery at 16 to become stunningly beautiful (albeit with an insidious side-effect). Specials are those Uglies and Pretties who have shown a predilection to live on the edge, and are thus recruited to become part of an elite force that ensures that the city is safe. Specials get their own surgery: their beauty becomes cruel, and their bodies become superhuman. Again, there is an insidious additional side effect to the Special surgery, which Tally discovers toward the end of the book.

Tally, as a Special, is tasked with finding the Smokies that have infiltrated her city and are sharing the secret of the true goal of the Pretty surgery. In the process, she discovers that her Special surgery has made her see Zane in an entirely different, and entirely unflattering, light: she can only focus on his weakness and how her new body is in every way superior to his. She decides that Zane must also become Special, and hatches a plan to convince the Special leader that Zane too deserves the distinction. Zane succeeds, but not without a high cost.

Throughout this book, we see Tally wrestle with her demons: her guilt over Zane's debilitating injuries from the previous novel, her guilt over the city's discovery of the New Smoke in the first novel, and her complex relationship with her best friend Shay that has unfolded and grown ever more messy in each novel. Her demons come together in unexpected ways. I don't think that it's fair to say that she wins the war with her demons, but they are dispensed in one way or another -- not always to Tally's benefit.

Westerfeld's Pretty dystopia is anything but pretty, and presents a captivating discussion about the nature of beauty and our desire to avoid conflict. He doesn't present a neat ending where everyone lives happily ever after. Specials is a satisfying ending to the trilogy.

In the third installment of the "Uglies" series, Tally Youngblood has changed yet again. She's a Special, the elite police force of the city, imbued with super strength and speed, unbreakable and unbeatable. Perfect.
Yet Tally can't forget Zane, her boyfriend from her pre-special days, tragically damaged in his attempt to reverse the mind-dulling effects of becoming "Pretty"--damage Tally still blames herself for.
Now Tally is once again torn between allegiance to her best friend and fellow Special Shay, and feelings of love and responsibility for Zane.
This was probably my favorite (so far, anyway, since I haven't yet read "Extras") of the "Uglies" series. In the previous two books, I had a lot of trouble "bonding" with Tally and relating to the decisions she made. But the emotional climate in this book seemed much more plausible, and Westerfield's dialogue shines. My only complaint is that the action scenes were a little too complex--you almost needed to sketch a diagram to keep up.
Jacquelyn Sylvan, Author, Surviving Serendipity

I will begin by saying simply: this book took me by surprise, and I mean that in a very good way. The two books before it had been very good, yes, and I was expecting relatively the same quality out of this one. However, after I had finished the first few chapters, I knew that this book was (and ths might sound cheesy) different; and I'm quite serious about that. It literally took me by surprise, and its magnificent, extremely well-crafted ending left me not only in awe for a moment (because of its amazingness, in case you're wondering) but actually envious of Scott Westerfeld's writing talents. I would recommend this book to anyone and every one.

Not only do the footnotes provide the author's interpretations of the theoretical orientations and selected articles, but the footnotes are sexist. Why mention only Benedict's sexual experiences in the field and not Malinowski's? The whole point of an introductory text is to get students thinking about the theoretical traditions of anthropology and develop their own interpretations of the paradigms, not be lead into thinking or conceptualizing in the authors' ways. Awful text; I will never use it to teach my students.

How many times have you heard someone say "This is the best theory book ever!" Well, this time it is ture. This is one of the best, well rounded books I have read in a while. They give clear explanations of the theories, and then give you examples of the literature to apply it to. Their footnotes also help clarify points in the examples. I would recommend this to any serious anthropology major, or anyone interested in anthropology.

I bought this for my Theory in Anthropology class. It gives a good background of the theory of major contributors to cultural anthropological theory.

I bought this book as a textbook for a class of Anthropolocial Theory and Method. Except for the sociobiology section and Darwin, we read the majority of this work in class. I give this collection of original writings five stars because the commentary seems appropriate, as do the readings. I am greatful that McGee and Warms (over the objection of reviewers) inserted the E. O. Wilson material (sociobiology). I am also greatful that McGee and Warms pointed out the current attitudes toward: 1) Ruth Benedict Fulton and 2) Margaret Mead's Samoan work. I, in short, believe McGee and Warms give fair analysis. My perspective is as a graduate student in anthropology with an undergraduate degree in biology.

I can compare ANTHROPOLOGICAL THEORY to another compendium of original writings--Bohannan and Glazer's text which is no longer in print, High Points in Anthropology.

Bohannan and Glazer have no index!!! McGee and Warms have a 17-page index that is helpful.

The major change I would make to this book is probably a change that needs to be made to anthropological knowledge in general--I do not believe anthropologists (including McGee and Warms) understand evolution. Otherwise, there would be some additional commentary about "lineal evolution."

I used this text for an anthropological theories course in undergraduate work. It's a pretty decent collection of work from major figures in anthropology.

Spencer, Tylor, and Morgan, Levi-Strauss, Marx, Boas, etc, etc. There is also a lot of work done to try and tie a common thread through as much material as possible. Contextualization of how a theory came to be, and what it might imply are pretty well done. Chances are, you're buying this book for a class, rather than pleasure, and though this can be kind of dry, it's fairly well done. Some selections are puzzling in terms of what they illustrate for that author, but by and large it shouldn't kill you to read this book.

There are footnotes, too. These seem like a blessing to begin with, especially if you don't have much of a foothold in the material, there is a lot that you are caught up on quickly, and it can be very helpful. On the flipside, the editors can be very heavy-handed in guiding the reading, and can be sometimes inane in their commentary. This is the major failing of the book, it's more to read, and the later in the book you get, the less useful it is.