No comments about The Radical Durkheim.

No comments about A Misfit's Manifesto: The Sociological Memoir of a Rock & Roll Heart.

5 comments about NEXT YEAR IN CUBA-P348546/2 (NXT REP).

1. Gustavo Perez-Firmat's memoir is a heartfelt read.
   For anyone who has straddled the hyphenated word Cuban-American and thought themselves as a CBA (Cuban-born Americans) or ABC(American-bred Cubans), this book is a secret treaure.
   Perez-Firmat takes the reader on a cultural literary journey as he tries to come to terms with exactly what and where home is. Is it the place you were born (Cuba), the place you were exiled to, (Miami) or the city that you find yourself most at peace with (Chapel Hill, North Carolina) Perez-Firmat offers a tender philosophical introspective read on all the above.
   The book took me to the corner merchants and restaurants of la saguesera to the academia of Chapel Hill, where Perez-Firmat later settled in as he pursued a master's in literature. Or as he puts it, "Living with an American spouse, dealing with American stepchildren, and speaking English at home, I am much more aware of my nationality that I ever was before." (p.171)
   His memories of his family dynamics (two grandmothers sharing a two-bedroom with him, his brother and their parents) will be relatable to anyone with a large Hispanic family or to fans of PBS 70s show "Que Pasa USA?"
   But his take on his "romance with teaching" really resonated with me.
   I enjoyed reading the often humorous tales of this professor in the classrom as he teaches college students about Spanish literature. In one scene, Perez-Firmat goes on to describe his philosophy for teaching, which can serve as a lesson to many aspiring teachers.
   "I'm a successful teacher to the extent that I can get my students to fall for me...In a deep sense, I am the material...Like other love affairs, teaching has its own pace and moods, its good and bad days, its coded language, its rewarding or bitter conclusion. Sometimes you walk into a class and it's love at first sight."



2. As a young person who was born in the United States but whose parents were born in Cuba, identity has never been black and white for me--although it has always been blue, red, and white. This book crystallized so many emotions that I had felt my entire life but had never really examined. If you are 22 and have never been to Cuba, but still call yourself Cuban or if you are 60 and think if your childhood on that island paradise everyday--this book will make you laugh, it might make you cry, and it will certainly make you think. For over forty years now Cubans have been hoping for that "next year" to come to fruition, but we are still waiting. This book will make you long for "next year" like never before. Read it--you will never forget you did.



3. That is the question that has echoed throughout the Cuban exile community for over 40 years. As the older generation fades, the new generation continues to ask, to wonder, if the next year will finally be the year when Cuba will be free and Castro will be, and there's no other way to say it, dead.

   Perez Firmat and I stand a generation apart, yet reading this book, there really was no difference. The Cuban-American experience has much to do with yearning, an emotion that this book succeeded in evoking. We yearn for the Cuba we hear our relatives talk about. We yearn for the freedom of this never-seen homeland, to see the end of the tyranny. And we also yearn for this America, for the apple pie and Coca-Cola life we see and hear all around us, yet can never fully belong to.

   Being Cuban-American is not only complex, it is two extremes thrown together. Finding our identity as we straddle two nations is a challenge even now, 40 years later, and even to people like me, first-generation Cuban-Americans. You are forced to ask over and over again, What am I? I am not Cuban, I was born here in the U.S. But I am not American, my "Cuban-ness" is such a strong, obvious part of me it cannot be denied.

   Next Year in Cuba does a great job of giving an eloquent, humorous voice to this complexity. It's a great read on the Cuban-American culture, sure to give a better insight and appreciation to those wanting to know more.




4. That we Cubans and Cuban-Americans can find humor in any situation--even the most tragic and overwhelming--is a testament to our strength. This book is a poignant, funny, and sometimes sad tale of one man's struggle to find his identity. It is a very personal self-examination, but one that most of us (all us "hyphenated" people) can relate to. Are you Cuban? Are you American? Are you "of Cuban descent"? Are you Cuban-American? Are you one person at home and another at work? These are difficult questions, and he walks us through the even more difficult process of trying to find an answer. Does he have an answer? Yes and no. The author also explores the Cuban community's rise from its initial status as an underprivileged, immigrant, "exile" community, to its present role as an assimilated, politically active, financially powerful ethinic force. All of this adds more depth to his own personal identity issues. The book is fascinating, thoughful, and full of relatives we can all look at and say "I have an aunt/uncle/mother/father/etc. just like that!"

   In the wake of the Elian Gonzalez saga, I just hope everyone reads this and remembers how and why we got here. Thank you, Professor Firmat.




5. This book made me come to terms with what being a Cuban born American means to me. Perez Firmat shares his own personal and sometimes painful experiences with the readers. In doing so he made it easier to define and understand my own experience as a Cuban-American who loves the United States yet has a yearning to gain a deeper understanding of his own Cuban roots.

1 comments about Chicago Days/Hoboken Nights.

1. As a fan of Daniel Pinkwater's eccentric stories, I was delighted to find a copy of "Chicago Days/Hoboken Nights". While not a straight forward memoir, it is a collection of memories and anecdotes that showcases Pinkwater's unique sense of humor and even more uniquely lived life.
   
   Starting with his childhood, in which his family moved around a lot, Pinkwater recollects his immigrant father's capitalism and his school days as an overweight outsider. His father isn't exactly pleased when Pinkwater wants to major in art in college, neither are Pinkwater's professors or the would-be artist himself, finding his interest in art doesn't necessarily translate into talent. He then progresses into his early days as an artist, struggling to make a living in Hoboken fulfilling his artistic dream, always on the cusp of gaining entrance into the art world, before realizing his singular niche in the world of children's writing.
   
   "Chicago Days/Hoboken Nights" is definitely a fans-only book. It is a jumble of not always connected remembrances, some more scattered than others, as Pinkwater moves from topic to topic with few connecting strands. It is a book that allows readers a glimpse into the mind of the rotund genius who has written novels about giant chickens and lizards who make music. It is a book that is to be enjoyed a few memories at a time, a book that will produce a number of laugh-out-loud moments, a book that will leave fans thirsting for another sip.

5 comments about Schliemann of Troy: Treasure and Deceit.

1. Heinrich Schliemann, like it or not, is a historical figure. Most scholars do not like it, and try to kill the name of the man. Still, every one of them would very much like to do something similar to what Schliemann did. This is a book by such a scholar, and is unfair, because it concentrates only upon Schliemann's shortcomings. They were many indeed, but they have very little historical substance.
   
   Common mortals do not enter the great stage of History because they are gentle or honest or loyal or god-fearing. They do because they have large souls, and great vision, and strong will, (and good fortune).
   
   They may be liars, hypocrites, egoists, deceivers, even murderers (how many people suffered or were killed because of Julius Caesar's personal honour or Napoleon's personal ambition?). But they can see deeper, they can touch the hearts of men, they can make nations dream. They can create.
   
   Notwithstanding his shortcomings, Schliemann did create: he gave new life to archeology.
   
   But David Traill wants us to dismiss Schliemann and forget his achievements, just because he wasn't a fully honest citizen.



2. Many consider this book to be nothing more than a hatchet job on the famed excavator of Troy, Heinrich Schliemann. But author David Traill seems mainly interested in pointing out discrepancies and untruths that have surfaced in the life and work of the man. For example, almost every account of Schliemann's life and work makes mention of the "dream" Schliemann had as a child depicting him finding and excavating the Homeric city, but Traill believes that dream was an invention and finds no mention of it anywhere until after Troy was discovered and excavation begun. Is that proof enough of its falsity? Traill believes so. Traill gives other examples of Schliemann falsifying work, changing reports, or inventing scenarios. Schliemann claimed to have witnessed the 1851 fire in San Francisco, but Traill cites information that separates Schliemann from the scene by a month. This has little to do with archaeology, but Traill believes it establishes a pattern of behavior that casts shadows on the major work in the field that Schliemann did accomplish. Traill does not trash the man completely; he's impressed by his learning, perseverance, and even his accomplishments at Troy, Mycenae, and elsewhere. He just wants his readers to be leery of some of Schliemann's claims in his own writings. Seems fair enough to me. The book is also informative and well written - an enjoyable read.



3. This book is easy to put down and never pick up again. Yet, it's disturbing enough that you'll never forget it. Anyone with the slightest interest in archeology will forever cringe when encountering the name "Schliemann." He destroyed so much while searching in all the right places. But hindsight, perhaps, has been unfair to him. Still, this book isn't that interesting of a read.



4. David Traill investigates the Schliemann biographies (largely based unquestioningly upon Schliemann's own writings and statements) and finds that most of Schliemann's story is fiction. In the process, Traill reveals Schliemann to be an enigmatic figure as bizarre as any fictional character. Phenomenally ambitious and extremely intelligent, he was also completely unscrupulous when it came to getting what he wanted. In his pursuit of fame, Schliemann reinvented himself a number of times, from county to country (he spoke several foreign languages with complete fluency and perfect pronunciation), business to business, marriage to marriage. Through his business dealings he became wealthy enough to devote all his time to his archeological interests. Archeology was a young science then and Schliemann was not a professional. The way Traill paints Schliemann, we are fortunate that the bulldozer had not been invented then. In his zeal to excavate Homer's Troy, he virtually demolished it. Traill builds a convincing case that Schliemann "salted" his diggings with fake artifacts both at Troy and Mycenae. The "Mask of Agamemnon" is probably a fake.

   The story of the marriage to the final Mrs. Schliemann is a fascinating one in itself. He virtually bought her from her parents in an arranged marriage when he was over 40 years of age. He molded her into the wife he wanted, forcing her to study night and day to become as fluent in languages as he was, converting a naïve girl into his helpmate and intellectual companion as well as his fellow archeologist.

   Traill probably goes overboard in his zeal to discredit Schliemann. He wants to make his case so strongly that he goes for overkill. There were times when I wanted to say to the author, "Yes, he was an S.O.B., but you said that already! Now get on with it!" As a result this book was not an easy reading experience for me. However, I feel that this book is essential reading for anyone who has an interest in archeology. It certainly reveals the importance of questioning evidence and investigating the sources. There are more balanced accounts of Schliemann available, but Traille's book gives a good context to place them in.




5. According to Traill, Schliemann was not only a generally unpleasant character, but a liar and a cheat as well. Traill wants to dislike Schliemann, and he succeeds. Is the author biased, as a previous reviewer believes, or was Schliemann really such a rat? It's hard to trust this writer.

   It was a struggle to get through this book. I wanted a life of Schliemann without so much about the technicalities of archaeology, which I found confusing and uninteresting. Only brief glimpses of Schliemann the human being appear.

No comments about One Life Richard E Leakey an Autobiography.

4 comments about Ancestral Passions: The Leakey Family and the Quest for Humankind's Beginnings.

1. Morell's astounding level of research reveals the Leakeys individually, as a family, and as dogged searchers for the truth about man's origins--and as living, breathing humans. Through letters, diaries, journals, personal interviews, and family archives, they speak to the reader with unprecedented candor about their personal travails, but more importantly, about their early struggles for funding, their fossil discoveries in remote desert locations, their constant surprise by the historical record, and their uncertainty, to this day, about modern man's exact lineage.
   
   Some Leakey peccadilloes, never secret, are fully documented here: Louis's constant womanizing and his "adoption" of young female researchers, such as Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey, and Birute Galdikas; Mary's scotch-drinking, her cigar-smoking, and her intolerance of those on her Stinker List, some of them other researchers; and Richard's boyish brashness and arrogance, along with his health problems and dislike of Donald Johanson. Less appreciated, however, is the fact that before Louis's work and significant discoveries, people still believed that early man was from China or Europe, not Africa. Mary Leakey was the first person ever to excavate a Paleolithic site, and her meticulous care about documenting the tools and animals found in the same stratae as her hominid fossils, told here in detail, revolutionized the way fossils were recovered and catalogued. Richard found as many hominid fossils in two years (1971 and 1972) as Mary and Louis found in 36 years, and his level of dedication to research since finding his first hominid fossil at age 6, his mentoring of young researchers, and his creation of museums and foundations in Nairobi have perhaps received less attention than they deserve.
   
   The Leakeys believe at least two and perhaps three or four different hominids may have lived in certain areas simultaneously, sharing space for a million or more years, and that the exact line of descent to modern man is still unknown. Tens of thousands of extinct, fossilized species of hippos, elephants, saber-toothed cats, crocodiles, antelopes, and even insects, unearthed by the Leakeys, are overwhelming evidence that if species, including hominids, do not change and adapt, they die. While some may argue about how certain hominids are labeled, no one can argue with their existence in the historical record, and nearly all of them have been unearthed by just one family. These contributions continue beyond the purview of this book into a new generation: Dr. Louise Leakey and her mother Maeve (Richard's wife) found yet another completely new hominid species in March, 2001. Mary Whipple



2. This is a long, engrossing, detailed book about the Leakey family and their impact on paleoanthropology in Africa. It's a real pot-boiler of a book--hard to put down and a totally fascinating study of the family. You get a real sense of their human failings as well as their triumphs. The family comes across as stubborn, intense, egomaniacal and prickly, as well as totally dedicated to their pursuit of man's ancestry in Africa. Although the author has a higher opinion of the Leakeys than some of their rivals (Donald Johanson), she by no means glosses over the more unsavory aspects of their characters. I would highly recommend this book, regardless of your level of familiarity with paleoanthropology.



3. Amidst the splendor and corruption of Africa, this family battle the weather, the government, the prejudices, the lack of funds, and even each other. Their intelligence and love for the country is evident as they search for prehistoric evidence of earliest humans. The more I read about them, the more I admired their contribution to East Africa and to the world.



4. This is an engrossing story of archealogy's first family. The title hints at their adventures, loves, intrigues, battles, all most passionate. I could not put the book down. The landscape of archealogy will forever be, for me, after this book, a color filled map with the land of our ancestors fully pictured in my mind. No longer will archealolgists seem to be dull digging tan people,but exciting real people, made of the passion of us all. A superb read

1 comments about Max Weber and Karl Marx (Routledge Sociology Classics).

1. Lowith's 1932 essay on Marx and Weber remains the definitive statement of the deep commonalities between these two thinkers. That is, it argues that Weber's central concern is to develop a fundamental theory of capitalism, as with Marx. For decades, it was "necessary" to attempt to parry Marx with Weber. Lowith's stood as an accusation of "bad faith" with regard to all such attempts, especially those who would evacuate Weber of all critique, even if only existential. Derek Sayer's "Capitalism and Modernity" is perhaps most in the spirit of this minor masterpiece.

1 comments about Beyond Loyalty: The Story of a Kibei.

1. This book is how to remain a Knight & Gentleman and to pursue your Life Mission against all the odds of life.

   Dr. Kiyota had a dream since boyhood to educate college students about the Western and Asian cultures & philosophies. He successfully achieved his mission by having been teaching for over 30 years as a professor and as a sensei. I am taking his class, "Kendo: Integration of Martial and Liberal Arts" and I am happy to have finally found my Sensei. There is a lot to learn from him as an open-mind and objective individual!!!

   The book is full of documented facts, critical thoughts, and beautiful language. I have invested about 15 hours of concentrated reading with only 3 breaks: to sleep and to eat. In overall, Dr. Kiyota is the person one should meet in life and to shake his hand!!!

5 comments about Streets: A Memoir of the Lower East Side (The Helen Rose Scheuer Jewish Women's Series).

1. this is my favorite book. if anyone has similar taste to me then i highly recommend them to read it.

   i'm going to describe it as a story of a girl growing into a women on the streets of the lower east side of manhattan. she tells of different jobs and the boarders that her and her mother board to help pay the rent. its very hard for me to describe becuase of 2 reasons 1) you can't describe it you have to read it 2)i read it a year ago.

   i was getting so into reading it that i never wanted it to end. to last forever. so i tried to do so by reading a limit of pages each day. i live in NYC and by reading the book i had grown a stronger love for the city and thats another reason i loved the book. i also loved the stories she has of her childhood. the down fall of the book? well, it was and made me sad. it was kinda a depressing book. you now. like a heart-acher.

   it was indeed a pleasure to read and in the future, if you do read it, i hope you enjoy.

   thats my review! i hope i helped!




2. this is my favorite book. if anyone has similar taste to me then i highly recommend them to read it. i was getting so into reading it that i never wanted it to end. to last forever. so i tried to do so by reading a limit of pages each day. i live in NYC and by reading the book i had grown a stronger love for the city and thats another reason i loved the book. the down fall of the book? well, it was and made me sad. it was kinda a depressing book. you now. like a heart-acher.

   it was indeed a pleasure to read and in the future, if you do read it, i hope you injoy.

   thats my review! i hope i helped!




3. Streets: Memoir Of The Lower East Side was written in 1922 and published for the first time in 1955. This remarkable memoir of a young Jewish girl's coming of age in the tenement slums of New York's Lower East Side is gritty, candid, vivid, engaging, sensitive, and streetsmart. Bella Spewack overcame obstacles of gender, background, and religious discriminations to succeed as a celebrated journalist, playwright, and screenwriter. Streets is highly recommended, articulate reading and will prove of special interest to students of American Jewish history, Women's Studies, and biographies reflecting the triumph of the human spirit over social and cultural barriers.



4. This is a coming of age story depicting the harrowing early life of an extraordinary talent. Told with an amazing eye for detail and a highly developed sense of humor, this is one of the most moving autobiographies I have read. Bella Spewack writes of her thirst for knowledge and determination. In later life Bella invented the Girl Scout cookie, became a noted journalist and wrote successful plays and movies. Streets tells of the difficult circumstances of her childhood.



5. This book was written by a very eloquent author in 1922. At 23years of age, she carefully details her struggles of growing up inpoverty on the lower east side of Manhattan. This is one of a few books that deals with the difficulties faced by immigrants of to New York around the turn of the century. Her battles are those of a poor, Jewish girl growing up without a father in tenement housing. I thouroughly recommend this book to Jews, feminists and historians.