5 comments about Tales Of The Lavender Menace: A Memoir Of Liberation.

1. Oh, what a fun read! This is one person's perspective, one person's story. Karla Jay does not claim to speak for all feminists, and it is important that those willing to take the time and energy to write their experience do so -- it is in so doing that herstory manifests. We all have our own perspective on the time in which we live -- just note how many people yell at the TV while watching the news!
   
   I loved reading this book. It helped me to remember my own time during the 60s in which I missed out on much of the fun Ms. Jay experienced, but have certainly benefited from the work she and her cronies did. For that, I am truly grateful.
   
   I loved this book. It captures a sense of "being there" that too many books lack. Her history of family dysfunction is far from uncommon, given the numbers of traumatized children and that trauma, without treatment, tends to be intergenerational. It's part of the story, certainly. After all, isn't Patriarchal madness part and parcel of the history of the world?
   
   Karla Jay chose not to avail herself of therapy. On the other hand, she had access to Academia that escaped me, and it supports her today. I probably have more confusion around that. Interestingly enough, we both managed to live our lives without ever driving a car. I know there are more of us out there!
   
   A great book, again, a fun read. Definitely a "Feminism 101" reader.



2. I found reading this book a little like looking through a high school yearbook. It has a certain "those were the days, my friends" feel to it. It's interesting mainly because the times were interesting, and it's fun to look back. But it left me wanting something more substantial.

   There are details galore about the titillating (sex, drugs, agents provocateurs, etc.). In contrast, there's very little of the emotional candor or 20/20 hindsight one might expect after the passing of thirty years.

   In the Epilogue Ms. Jay writes "It is hard for me to explain how the protagonist of this memoir emerged as a tenured full professor ... I am no longer the person at the center of this political autobiography, not even vaguely..."

   And that's exactly my problem with the book. Jay offers a chronicle of events -- large and small -- but there's little of the introspection and reflection I expect in a personal memoir.




3. I shared some, though by no means all, of the exciting times described by Karla Jay in her book. I am very proud to have worked with her on four books, and pleased to remain her friend. This shouldn't disqualify me from recommending this book to friends and stranger alike. The word "liberation" in the title of this book is key. Read this book to find out more about the pioneers of feminism and gay liberation. You'll learn a lot and have a good time. I laughed out loud at some lines I've heard before, and some that were new to me. You'll surely enjoy Karla's humor, too, along with her honesty and compassion for her fellow human beings, male and female.



4. Karla Jay gives the most intimate-and politically interesting-view of the early years of radical feminism and gay liberation (roughly 1968-1971) that I've seen. Alongside the moving sketch of her own tragic family, the book gives a close-up view of some of the movements' then-key players, the political thinking of the time, and lots of 1960s-era sex. Very clear-eyed in its political assessments, giving both a sense of how seductive it was to be a 'radical' then-without any excuses for some of the era's whackier ideas. Essential and fabulous background for understanding today's lesbian and gay politics.



5. I was lucky enough to snag a pre-publication copy of Tales of the Lavender Menace. This is Karla Jay's affecting memoir of her transformational journey through the heady early years of the women's and gay liberation movements. Jay writes with courage, humor and complete candor, starting with her difficult family and her student life at Barnard College. Her first-hand experience with political protest and police brutality caused her to begin to question her original values. Consciousness-raising groups, lesbian dances, and a generous helping of sex complete the picture. She does not spare the reader any intimate details, as we learn how she literally re-invented herself, from a middle-class college student to a radical lesbian feminist. Not just a witness to, but also a participant in the rapidly changing history of the sixties and seventies, Jay takes the reader on a hilarious, whirlwind tour of the era. I was amazed at how much detail she remembers. For her, and for the reader, the personal really becomes the political. Buy (do not burn or steal) this very engrossing book; I couldn't put it down.

1 comments about W. E. B. Du Bois and American Political Thought: Fabianism and the Color Line.

1. When most think about Dubois, one of the first theoretical formulations that come to mind is the oft-quoted "double-consciousness." In this work, Reed's central task is to situate African American political thought squarely within the material context in which it occurs using W.E.B. Dubois as the focus for this project. Along the way Reed slices and dices Henry Louis Gates and the new black intellectuals, as well as the troublesome concept of "double consciousness" that Reed shows to be overstudied at best. Clearly among the best works of its kind to come to light in some years.

5 comments about Paradise Fever: Growing Up in the Shadow of the New Age.

1. The Secret Life Of Plants author hs a lot to answer for. The movie version of Tompkins' book inspired a bizarre soundtrack by Stevie Wonder that completely derailed Stevie's career; and now come PARADISE FEVER, which describes what living with Peter Tompkins was like for a lonely, self-absorbed young boy at the dawn of the 1970s. Ptolemy Tompkins knows how to write, and he paints an affectionate portrait of his "stupid" mother--she called herself "stupid" seemingly to prevent anyone else from calling her that, but actually she was smarter than her husband in lots of ways. And even the father comes in for some sympathy. But mostly it was a case of too much, too soon. Peter Tompkins did some brave things in World War II, in Rome, as a spy in exile, and he specialized in garnering factoids from old libraries like the Vatican or the Library of Congress. Soon enough he was leading the complete gonzo lifestyle, investing heavily in new age philosophy and the boon of free love. Betty Vreeland moved in, Ptolemy's mom moved out--though not far, because she ws often needed. Mom and Dad called the little boy "Ptolly," which was bad enough.
   
   Though the book has some interesting things to say about the 1970s, Tompkins lets it get away with him, when it comes to describing how in later life he became addicted to heroin and to booze. Then a great chasm of self-pity yawns, and so, ultimately, does the reader.



2. My husband and I rarely like the same books, but we both loved this one--the most amazing story of a childhood like no other. Reading this book is a bit like watching a car wreck; you can't turn away. (That's a compliment, if you can't tell.)



3. By turns hilarious and haunting, this memoir about growing up on the furtherest fringes of the New Age achieves a crazy kind of balance--a tilt-a-whirl balance. It's not a simply an expose of New Age self-absorption and infantilism (though it certainly is that). It's written by someone trying to make sense of his own wacky childhood experience, and trying to capture what was wonderful and not-so-wonderful about his fantastical father. What comes through is the author's basic sanity. The elder Tompkins is completely at home in the subterranean, labyrinthine byways of the occult. The author isn't--for all his drug and alcohol abuse, his feet are planted in this world. What struck me was how his feelings and attitudes and speculations about his father seemed so universal. Improbably, I saw my own, completely average, un-New Age dad in the elder Tompkins. The author gets at the essential mysteriousness of our fathers.



4. There was something about the present new-age movement that always bothered me but I couldn't nail what it was; Ptolemy didn't have this problem and he articulates my sentiments perfectly. The final chapter was life-changing for me. eerie. real.



5. I hadn't heard about this book, but I saw it on a table at the store and liked the weird cover. Now I see by the reviews that other people know how sensational it is. No, sensational is the wrong word. It's an unsensational -- but sensationally funny -- book about a sensational time. It's a book for anyone who has thought, "Wouldn't it have been great to grow up on a commune among really progresive people?" Well, I still wish I had, but now I see how those good, utopian ideals can get all mixed up with self-interest and create something really screwy -- in this case the guy who wrote this book! I can't think of another book that's so affectionate, satirical, and bitter at the same time. Actually, the bitterness swamps the last section, where the guy is all messed up on alcohol and heroin. I'm not sure if I think this part is as successful -- it kind of takes the air out of the proceedings. That said, I think he WANTED to take the air out of the book, to rub your face in all the ugly consequences of "the New Age." I love this book in the way some people said they loved The Ice Storm; it's better than The Ice Storm.

1 comments about Baudrillard Live: Selected Interviews.

1. This book consists of Baudrillardfs interviews about various topics such as cinema, power, politics, and his books and articles. Time when he was interviewed varies but his insistence is consistent. Probably, this is because Baudrillardfs attitude toward his works is consistent and very prudent. The constitution of his interviews has no problem. He always answers questions clearly. Above all, I am impressed by his answer about his sociological or philosophical position. He considers himself neither a sociologist nor a philosopher: gTheorist? I agree. Metaphysician? Perhaps. Moralist? I donft know. My work has never been academic, nor is it getting more literary.h He is very free to talk about his works, which makes this book interesting. Therefore, this book is very helpful to understand Baudrillardfs thoughts and how he uses words such as gpowerh, gimageh, and gsimulationh. Moreover, this book contains index of key words, which is also helpful.

1 comments about Around the World in 30 Years: Life as a Cultural Anthropologist.

1. The author is amazing. Having travelled all around the world and to write a brilliant book about each county's culture. Great learning tool

1 comments about Montana 1911: A Professor and his Wife among the Blackfeet.

1. Translated for the first time from the original Dutch into English, Montana 1911: A Professor And His Wife Among The Blackfeet presents the diary of Wilhelmina Uhlenbeck, the wife of anthropologist and linguist C. C. Uhlenbeck, who traveled to Montana to conduct fieldwork among the southern Piegan Indians. Her diary is reproduced in full, chronicling her perspective of the three-month stay, and also thoroughly supplemented with notes, an introduction to Blackfeet and their mythology, a biographical sketch of the couple, and a selection of the writings of C. C. Uhlenbeck that parallel the text from his wife's diary. Black-and-white vintage photographs illustrate this remarkable hands-on, up-close and personal perspective of Native American daily life and culture. Montana 1911 is a very highly recommended original source material for Native American Studies collections.

2 comments about Por estas calles bravas.

1. This book was something that stirred alot of things inside of me. I was so awestruck, that I did what I have never done with any other author and that was write a letter. The best way to tell my review is to share part of the letter so here goes. Soul searchind is something most of us do at one time or another. Looking for the meaning of life, why we are here? Etc, etc. Sometimes we indulge in our sorrow so much that we forget to see that life is beautiful. So beautiful like our first love, our only love or the love of our lives. How familiar I find the feelings you describe of trying to be cool and the best of friends with your dad. Remembering your mother and the softness, tranquility and peace of mind you can only find in a mother's arms. The elated feeling you had when Trina was your girlfriend Your sense of being a true gentleman, treating her like your secret treasure. The flood that washed over you when she was lost to another man. Damn!!! That tore open an old wound. The author made me feel his pain, his joy to a lesser degree because nothing can compare to living the actual events. The memoir translated into Spanish in no way lost its power whats more there are certain things that can double the impact spoken in the tongue of Cervantes.



2. it takes you into another time and place and makes you feel as if you were there partaking in every moment described by the author. Being a Puerto Rican growing up in New York's Spanish Harlem was and still is hard, he also describes certain racial issues he confronted as a Puerto Rican of color. Overall the book takes you through a journey through Harlem and other areas in a distinct and creative way.

No comments about Beyond the Enlightenment: Lives and Thoughts of Social Theorists.

1 comments about The Best Families: The Town & Country Social Directory, 1846-1996.

1. The book was nothing of what I expected,own fault. I guess I was expecting manymore photographs of the various High Society familys.Instead I received a book of small blurbs, almost telephone book-ish, about the familys. THere are about 20 or so families pictured witha few small collections of pictures. Would work for a reference book I suppose.

No comments about Judith Butler: Sexual Politics, Social Change and the Power of the Performative.