No comments about Three Latin American Sociologists: Gino Germani, Pablo Gonzales Casanova, Fernando Henrique Cardoso.

No comments about Promises to Keep: Thoughts in Old Age.

No comments about Max Weber and the Dispute over Reason and Value: A Study in Philosophy, Ethics, and Politics (International Library of Sociology).

No comments about La Teoria Social de Ortega y Gasset: Los Usos.

No comments about Max Weber, Democracy and Modernization.

No comments about Emile Durkheim: Sociologist and Moralist.

No comments about The Guggenheims: An America Epic.

3 comments about Little Sister: Searching for the Shadow World of Chinese Women.

1. This novel is even more trite, than the authors boring monologues on mail order brides. Rather than familiarize the reader with the subject matter at hand, the author pumps her own ego repeatedly. What I did find amusing were the multiple references to the author's own homoerotic, incestuous, and pediphilific tendencies. In a word this novel blows. literally.



2. I've read stacks of books on China--both before, during, and after living there--and I will certainly add this one to my recommendation list. There are plenty of writers comfortable with giving pure "reportage" on a foreign country they have lived in, supposedly factual accounts of dramatic encounters or distanced anecdotes about the sights and sounds, but few willing to speak honestly about how they are personally affected by that place and the people they grow close to--or the complicated reasons that motivate them to go in the first place. Why travel to another country if you aren't willing to be changed by it or admit the concerns and questions you bring with you? Why read a memoir if you want just the facts or a large scale "objective" account and not something of the writer too? Read an encyclopedia or history book if that's what you're after, although these won't give you a sense of what it is for you as an individual to be in that place. Checkoway's beautiful account of her year in Hebei Province and the lives of the Chinese women who were brave enough to tell her their stories enriched my own understanding of the women in China who had befriended me, leaving me longing to return and at the same time profoundly aware of the way travelers are constantly compelled, each for their own reasons, to try to connect across cultures and political divisions. There is a haunting, respectful quality to Checkoway's prose. She admires these women for their courage, determination, and insights, and by the end of the book, I admire them--and Checkoway--too.



3. This tells you more about the author than it does about China; the writer claims to know Chinese but commits some obvious howlers ("horse-horse camel-camel" for "ma-ma hu-hu") that shows she speaks very little. Much better books about China include Kristoff & WuDunn's China Wakes, the Tysons' Chinese Awakenings: Life Stories from the Unofficial China, or Jan Wong's Red China Blues : My Long March from Mao to Now.

No comments about A Weber-Marx Dialogue.

4 comments about Ten Sisters: A True Story.

1. This is a fabulous book. I happened to see a documentary on PBS about this family. So after watching it, I checked out Amazon to see if there was a book, also. I ordered the book and read it in 1 day. I could not put it down. Highly recommended!!



2. I became interested in "Ten Sisters" when I noticed that the story took place in my home state of Illinois, but specifically central Illinois. I just graduated from EIU which is located in Charleston and just next door to Mattoon. Reading about the Waggoners in those towns was such a joy, but meeting nine of the sisters was an even greater honor. They signed my book at the mall in Mattoon and were extremely gracious at my interest in their stories. I wasn't able to finish the novel before I met them, but even so, reading the chapters after I had met the authors gave the book a personal touch. I was in disbelief at some of the personal trials they went through. It is amazing that any of them survived so much heartache and uncertainty! My favorite aspect of the book is how Jenny and the older sisters wrote about the same period of time, but by the time you get to Vera's, Audrey's, and Doris' chapters, you are set in a completely different timeframe with completely different lifestyles. It is amazing how so many different stories come out of one very close, very special family. They told me that they will be coming out with an audio version of the book and they'll be featured in a popular women's magazine in Nov. or Dec. I'll be sure to check it out, and you should too!



3. I really don't like to read...let alone do a report on something that I have read! I don't know why, but I actually like doing it for this book...... It has some really funny, sad, and just odd things in it. I mean who would have a pet goat as a kid? I am in Highschool and lots of my friends and teachers were all dying to read this book. I would sit in class and read bits and pieces and the kids around me would always want to hear more...it was weird! Stuff like having a boxing ring in the front yard, or ten sisters sleeping in one bed not knowing who wet the bed in the morning...for some reason that sparked their interest???? Then there was the sad stuff in the book that was described in detail. It really made me learn a lot more then I already knew about these ladies, it's like stepping into their shoes (although they didn't wear them too often) I really like the book, after I read it there were just soo many things to tell about it in the report I did for my sophmore English class that it ended up getting an "A"...which is odd for me! :) This book is great...there are just soo many things to like about it, so many stories. The part I really like about the book though was that sometimes the sisters had different view points about the story, it was kinda neat to see what each one said about certain things...if they remembered or included it. And living in Iowa, it was a big highlight of my life...not many things can do that here! thanx-AM



4. Courage comes at an early age... these women had it in 1942 and even today display that same courage. As I know each one of these women personnally, my review may be a bit biased...but anyone that reads this work will see that I am only telling the facts. Each sister is a remarkable work of art. This book is a true "Love story" about "Family" and the meaning it gives to our lives. "Divided" as a family at such an early age has given great meaning to "togetherness" as each sister worked their way from mid 20th Century to present day.... Their style of writing is free and bold as they tell of perceptions and feelings. Just to get ten sisters to sit down and author a book together is almost fiction. Yet again their spirit of "one for all" won out, and I, a reader won too. This book is "true LIFE" at its worst, and best