5 comments about On Borrowed Words: A Memoir of Language.

1. I read this book and I found that the author had been extremely careless in its writing. Even though it is an autobiography, the author makes reference to "historic facts" which are false. If this book reflects the author's cavalier attitude towards accuracy (in historic facts as well as in language accuracy) then this book casts a shadow on the author's intellectual integrity. Otherwise the book is an "easy read" and it is entertaining.



2. Ilan Stavans, Mexican/American Jewish writer, wrote a book about his experience as an insider/outsider. This is a condition shared by many in our times of high geographical mobility. It is a condition his/my people have known for at least two thousand years. The difference is that he, as many in the present, is not running away from persecution -- much as he might find himself in a somewhat more tolerant environment on an American campus than he did in his native Mexico City -- but one that moved from one culture to another by choice. The thing to note is that in both, the cultural context of his birth as well as his present cultural environment, he is still not quite mainstream. When it comes to language, this becomes a much more complex matter. It runs into the impossibility to render thoughts with mathematical precision in translation but it means more than that: translation has power over that which is translated, in a very active way.
   
   This multi layered predicament is liberating and a bonus for those who know how to take advantage of it.
   
   Ilan Stavans writes in a very readable and crisp and clear way. If you are a person with stakes in many cultures and languages, if you are a Jew at that, you will feel over and over again that you should have written this book. If you are not, you will come very close to understanding this predicament which will make so many things clear to you. In either case, read this book. It is so well written that you will be enriched by it and will enjoy the experience.



3. As an American Jew with insider knowledge of the Mexico City Jewish community, I was startled and later heartwarmed by this book, and in the end proud of Stavans' courageous autobiographical outpouring. He has expressed facts about the Mexico City Jewish community and its effect on how one grows up there and how one views the world from this shtetl within one of the largest cities in the world.

   I am enormously proud of how he has expressed himself in a language still somewhat foreign to him. He has given the reader some food for thought on how we all sometimes live on immigrant islands trying so ferociously to protect our languages and cultures while our offspring yearn to find a meaning in the country of their birth.

   I suppose I'm a bit prejudiced since there are family ties here, but this book is outstanding and worth your reading. It definitely deals with the great questions of the humanities. His "let it all hang out" style must have cost him dearly amongst the family and the community, but as a writer he is definitely true to himself. I admire him greatly. This is a must read.




4. Ilan Stavans' On Borrowed Words flows nicely. It is at once an autobiograpical account of Stavans' intellectual journey, a rich detail on the literary works that have shaped his worldview, and a commentary on the influence, power, and limitations of language. The reader will develop a greater awareness of the books and influences that form one's belief system after reading Stavans' memior.
   Credit Stavans for not unnecessarily dwelling on his past as a minority, but for developing (though his detail of language in his life) his own persona.



5. This book is a well-written, fascinating memoir of a childhood and young adulthood of a Jewish childhood in Mexico city. The characters are memorable - Bobbe Bela from Russia, the actor father, the talented and unstable brother, and the author himself seeking home and identity. A significant component of his seeking identity is found in language - Spanish, Yiddish, Hebrew, English. He compares multiple languages with masks of an actor, one of many elements in his tale that cause the reader to reflect. Another component is the author's finding his calling as an author - the influences (and absence of encouragement) that shape his writing, the language and the content. Another component is his searching for his Jewishness - in Israel, in Spain, in theology books (and classes), in Yiddish literature.

   This memoir is excellent reading on being human - the reader gains insight into human experience as a whole through the detailed exposition of what it means to be a specific human, Ilan Stavans.

1 comments about Between Breaths: A Teacher in the Alaskan Bush.

1. This book took over eight years to research and write, and is a labor of love yet grounded in sound historical research. You will get to know Donna in a very personal way, experience her growth into a thoughtful and caring adult, share her enthusiasm for her new teaching career and delight in her introduction to falling in love (and out of love)! You'll hold your breath as she rides with student pilots across the frozen tundra and wind and snowswept mountains, landing in remote bush villages as they stop to ask directions, and let go a huge sigh of relief as they land on fumes. It is a book of hopes and dreams fulfilled and lost. It is a book Donna had hoped to write, but could not---so instead, I wrote it for her with the help of her twin sister and older sister, best friends, colleagues, former students, and even a landlord; as well as extensive research in local, regional, state, and national archives.
   Please enjoy it! I think she would be proud!

No comments about Subject to Fiction: Women Teachers' Life History Narratives and Cultural Politics of Resistance (Feminist Educational Thinking Series).

No comments about Wooden Valley: A Teacher's Memoir.

5 comments about Iron & Silk: A Young American Encounters Swordsmen, Bureaucrats and Other Citizens of Contemporary China.

1. Sometimes travel books can come across as "looking down" on the locals for their backwards and silly ways. This book shines in quite the opposite direction. Mark Salzman does an admirable job of telling about the challenges of his years in China in the 1980s, when China was still getting used to having Westerners within its borders. He encounters numerous bureaucratic hurdles, faces them with diligence. He meets many smart and wonderful locals and appreciates their talents. He realizes that many things he took for granted - electricity that always came on, a steady supply of food, mail service that delivered on schedule - were not to be assumed here.
   
   The book is very well written. There were numerous parts that I laughed out loud at, and then read it to whoever was sitting near me at the time. There were other sections that were very sad. A woman commits suicide and everybody is worried that her children will suffer - her suicide is a crime against the Party, and her children will be punished as somehow not having properly prevented it.
   
   There are many stories that illustrate a variety of differences between how Mark (and most Westerners) would interpret a situation, and how the Chinese do. It is fascinating to see him stymied by cultural misunderstandings, figuring his way around taboos and rules. A Westerner might say "Well why not just do XXXX and get it all done with?" But to the Chinese, it is far more proper to do things in a very different way.
   
   One story that stuck with me involved a Chinese person trying to explain to Mark why the Chinese are so patient and accepting. The Chinese person said: once there was a farmer who had his horse run away. People said "how awful" but the farmer did not worry about it. Then the horse came home with a whole herd of friends. People said "how lucky!" but again the farmer did not react. Then the farmer's son broke a leg training one of the new horses, and people said "how awful" - but the farmer did not mind. Then the army came looking to drag away recruits for the war, and the son was safely ignored. This story was an example of why short term ups and downs should just be accepted as part of life's long term path.
   
   Highly recommended for anyone interested in the Chinese culture.



2. This memoir is light and humorous and a wonderful way to learn about Chinese culture.



3. This was how Mark Salzman's students thought of him in China. His account of his time spent there in the early 1980s is a fantastic journey in and of itself. His narrative style is intriguing as he does not probe into the thinking of the Chinese people that he encounters day to day. He presents his experiences always on the surface and rarely speculates on the speakers intentions. Even though he is fluent in Chinese he does not seek to offer insight in the mindset of the culture he lived; he only reports it. Although such dialogue may sound superficial and trivial it is not. Salzman draws us into the events by merely presenting his encounters with his Chinese friends and acquaintances, and chance meetings. So powerful are the stories that the words and actions of the individuals portray an honesty and passion that is captivating.
   The uniqueness of everyday Chinese thinking he faced for two years is inherently surprising, delightful, curious, odd, shocking, and hilarious.This was truly a memorable account of a young man who came not only to teach but to learn as well.



4. "Iron and Silk" is a delightful book and film. I had the pleasure of reading the book awhile ago; but was delighted to see the film in a local Asian film festival in my community.
   
   The author Mark Salzman plays Mark Franklin in the movie of the same name. It is a memoir (a true story) of Mark's travel and teaching experiences in China (Changsha, Hunan Province). The events took place during 1982 - 1984 and Mark became as much of a student of Chinese life, martial arts, calligraphy, tai chi as he was a teacher of the Middle Aged English Teachers (a group of Chinese Russian teachers at the Hunan Medical College who had been told to forget Russian and now learn English).
   
   Mark always wanted to be a Kung Fu master growing up, and he took lessons from a local teacher; but always felt like the smallest kid on the block. From a young age, he loved all things Asian. His mother was a musician and his father a social worker; but he found that he had developed an exceptional talent for the cello. He was admitted to Yale at 16 because of his cello expertise; but soon decided that he would major in Chinese languages and philosophy (again not much of a surprise). As part of a Yale program, he found himself traveling to Changsha, Hunan Province, China to teach English to a group of Chinese Russian teachers who were being asked to retrain. For two (2) years he lived, taught and learned a great deal in China about the Chinese people and also about himself.
   
   He always wanted to study martial arts from a true wushu master and was fortunate enough to find as his teacher, the grand master himself: Pan Qingfu (known as the Iron Fist). Pan was the best in the world and was known as the Iron Fist because he punched a heavy iron plate 10,000 times a day! Mark was also learning Tai Chi and Chinese manners and etiquette from Teacher Wei and calligraphy as well from other teachers.
   
   Mark soon found that "as a student in America, he had searched for ancient wisdom, as a teacher in China, he learned to find it in himself." Mark Salzman, when interviewed, stated: "Learning about another culture doesn't mean you have to reject your own, It allows you to see yourself from another perspective, see your good side and your bad side and appreciate what you have." Some will say that the book and the movie focus on martial arts and in part that is one of the major themes; but the blending and the co-existence of the two cultures in the classroom and in social interactions is illuminating.
   
   There are many humorous and philosophical revelations in both the book and movie. Telling Mark that he has a big nose by saying, "You have a very 3 dimensional face"...is probably the most diplomatic way of stating the obvious. Mark might have been able to name the book, "Let's Make a Regulation" if he wanted to only focus on the difficult aspects he faced in being a foreigner living in China. The Washington Post reviewed that "Salzman demonstrates with skill and subtlety just how China society works."
   
   This Pulitzer Prize finalist in 1987 is dated; but describes the undercurrent that still exists in part today. The movie's script stayed true to the book; yet the movie was shot in Hangzhou and not Changsha. Make sure to stay for the vignettes and movie credits at the end; they are another joyful experience of the film and you will not be disappointed that you waited. Mark found out that happiness was not a simple thing in China and though he valued being well liked and mastering a skill; his Chinese friend felt that "these goals can be achieved easily. All you have to do is to be kind and work hard. But to eat and sleep well that is a difficult wish, because you cannot control these things yourself."
   
   One interesting note is that on the last night of the shooting of the movie, the brutal crackdown occurred in Tiananmen Square (June 3, 1989).
   
   I loved this book and the movie and the delight that two very different cultures shared in learning about each other. All that I can say is "very well done" (Manhaodilei!)
   
   Mark really learned Qong Fu: a skill that transcends mere surface beauty!
   
   Bentley/2007
   Iron and Silk



5. I've seen this movie some 15 years ago and very much enjoyed to see it again.

No comments about The Life of Elaine Goodale Eastman (Women in the West).

No comments about G.A. Henty, 1832-1902: A Bibliographical Study of His British Editions, with Short Accounts of His Publishers, Illustrators, and Designers, a (Polyglot ... Press Literary Bibliographies Series).

5 comments about A Forgotten Voice: A Biography of Leta Stetter Hollingworth.

1. Far more than a biography, this book is also a history of gifted education and a snapshot of the life of the exceptionally gifted in our society. I learned a great deal while reading it, not only About Leta Hollingworth and her contemporaries in gifted, but about myself, and my fit within my world.

   As a biography, "Leta" captures the imagination, taking you to turn-of-the-century Nebraska during the westward expansion. Life was not easy then, and Leta had a harder time of growing up than most. They say "What doesn't kill us makes us stronger," and this certainly applies to Leta's young life. Continuing to college at an early age, Leta faces a new challenge: she is a young woman in a man's world. While she is highly successful there, many still will not accept her, and her struggles continue.

   As a history book, "Leta" is just as interesting, and should be required reading for any education or psychology degree program. The relationships between many of the leading historical figures in gifted psychology and education are explained, and the reader learns how their theories and experiences intertwine to form the basis of gifted theory of today.

   And most importantly, Ann Klein has done a terrific job combining the elements of Leta Hollingworth's life into an enjoyable volume. Don't miss this book!




2. A Forgotten Voice: A Biography of Leta Stettler Hollingsworth
   By Ann G. Klein, Ed.D

   Which of us remembers when female students were not expected to excel in academic endeavors because of a belief that female physiology stood in the way of logical thinking and reasoning? Who of us can recall the time when equality in education meant that all children must learn the same things, at the same rate, and by the same processes of learning? Early in the 20th century, an exceptional young woman, Leta Stettler Hollingsworth, challenged those myths.
   In her book, A Forgotten Voice: A Biography of Leta Stettler Hollingsworth, Dr. Ann G. Klein describes the hardships of Leta's early life and her struggle to take advantage of every educational opportunity possible to her. Leta's husband, Henry Levi Hollingsworth (Holly) was her constant companion, support and mentor. Together they moved from rural Nebraska to New York where each would find success and satisfaction though their involvement in the relatively new field of psychology at Columbia University's Teacher's College and at Barnard.

   After a stint of baking lemon pies and researching the effect of caffeine in Coca Cola, Leta completed her graduate studies and had the opportunity to work with such eminent researchers and scholars as John Dewey, Lewis Terman, Edward Lee Thorndike, and Naomi Norsworthy. In addition to becoming an active feminist, Leta studied and worked with school children, primarily focusing on those who demonstrated very high intelligence. She was instrumental in founding the Speyer School, a New York City School for Exceptional students. Leta Hollingsworth served as educational advisor of the Terman classes for those students who scored 130 or above on the Stanford Binet IQ test.

   In working with the Terman students, Leta introduced cooperative and thematic studies, observed the "special perplexities" (social and emotional needs) of gifted children, noted the frequency of uneven (asynchronous) development, and recognized the benefits of grouping gifted students to provide stimulus and challenge.
   
   While the life of Leta Stettler Hollingsworth was cut short, her influence lives on. I thank Dr. Ann G. Klein and Great Potential Press for sharing her with us.




3. BOOK REVIEW
   by
   Bob Heckel

   A Forgotten Voice: A Biography of Leta Stetter Hollingworth

   by

   Ann G. Klein, Ed. D.
   Great Potential Press, Inc. 2002

   Psychologists have rarely been the subjects of published biographies, or autobiograhies, for that matter. The few published exceptions have had little to do with their psychological contributions, but much to do with their personal lives. Elitist Henry Murray rated an extended biography and even a review in The New Yorker, not for his psychological contributions, but rather for his affair(s) and his social connections.

   So it is a rare treat to find a biography of one of the early important female contributors to the areas of clinical, school and developmental psychology, Leta Stetter Hollingworth(1886-1939). Dr. Ann Klein has produced a major contribution in her work, despite the extreme difficulty of tracking down information on a very private, independent, determined, taciturn midwesterner(some might have called her "feisty"). Dr. Klein's effort took 12 years to completion, during which time she sought every possible source and visited the few living relatives, as well as the places of Leta' s early life, the small towns and rural areas of Nebraska.
   Her task was made doubly difficult because her husband, eminent psychologist Harry Hollingworth, destroyed her letters, and gave her research papers to her colleagues. Some of her poetry remains, and are presented in the book.

   This work documents and describes the triumph of Leta's overcoming the traumas of her mothers death when she was three, an errant and neglectful father, a cruel stepmother, life in the primitive conditions of prairie living in a sod cabin. From this she rose, through her determination and extremely high level of ability to successfully complete her college training at Nebraska. There she met her husband, Harry and together they sought degrees in psychology at Columbia. Leta faced the problems of all women of that time, a psychological community that felt higher education was inappropriate for them. The book rercounts her struggles, the important figures who played major roles in her academic life and interests, Thorndike, Terman and others. Well documented are the flowering of her intersts and work with the gifted which resulted in a number of books, papers and research projects, many still highly relevant 64 years after her death.

   Her efforts on behalf of female equality brought her in contact with some of the most outspoken and radical feminists of the time. She a active participant in their work, though she was not a political liberal. She also held conservative views on eugenics, heredity and other topics, not unlike many eminent psychologists of that time( Cattell, Terman, Yerkes, Hall). In many ways reading about her views suggests positions not unlike Libertarians of today.

   What is missing in this work is a glimpse of the inner person. Leta was very private, and if she left any of the kinds of notes which would help us understand her long illness with cancer(10 yrs.), her feelings about not having children, or a deeper insight into her relationship with her husband, this was not to be.What does come through is a triumph over incredible odds, and the achievement of the highest level of success by a very determined woman.

   This is a book well worth reading. Thoe interested in the gifted might become acquainted with the press publishing this work. They offer a number of interesting works in this area.




4. As a history buff and a lover of biographies with an interest in the studies of human potential, I found this book fascinating. What a great opportunity it was to get to know Leta Stetter Hollingworth from her own perspective as well as the perspective of her husband, family, co-workers, friends, and rivals. The book was nicely rounded, and the balance of personal information combined with historic and academic information was satisfying. Well, almost anyway. The book definitely left me wanting to learn more about Leta.



5. "A Forgotten Voice" is not just one more "I've got to read this because I should" biography. Dr. Klein has woven the threads of Leta Hollingworth's life and the strands of educational philosophy (both past and present) into a cloak well worth the trying on. I highly recommend this volume to anyone with an interest in gifted education/psychology and/or the lives of influential women. You will not be disappointed.

No comments about Confessions of a School Master.

1 comments about Tales from Sacred Wind: Coming of Age in Appalachia: the Cratis Williams Chronicles. (Contributions to Southern Appalachian Studies, 8).

1. The stories of Cratis Williams are essential for the getting a glimpse of Appalachia. He is/was indeed the leading spokesperson and scholar of life in the Applachian Mountains. These stories deal mostly with his childhood growing up in rural Eastern Kentucky. These stories are unforgettable and profound.

   Cratis Williams eventually came to Boone, North Carolina to teach school. He returned again after receiving his Ph.D. from New York University. Appalachian State University's graduate school is named for him.

   "The Cratis Williams Chronicles: I Come to Boone" is another book that goes into detail about his coming to the high country of North Carolina. Highly Recommended.

   If you're at all interested in peeling back the stereotypical images of Appalachia and peering into a region with soul and character, give Cratis Williams a read.