Social Services & Welfare Books - Page 12

Duncan's Masonic Ritual and Monitor

Malcolm C. Duncan

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 38 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Just what I was looking for 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

I was looking for a book like this. I am New to the fraternity and am trying to learn as much as possible. If you are interested in learning more about the fraternity this book is for you.

good book but a bit old 3 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

the book is from 1866, remember that.
I explains very detailed, incl passwords and so, all seven degrees. Including interpretations and meaning. Some very excellent footnotes and commens I don't find other places. Ceremonies have changed since then but the main points exists. If you read the forst three degrees in this book you have a good understanding what the three degrees today is about. That way you might understand more of freemasonry than many real third degree masons today :-) Todays books or often high-flying and not so down to target as this book.
Nice and small pocket book. OK to buy, even though it's available for free on internet.

Editorial Review:

Or a Guide to the Three Symbolic Degrees of the Ancient York Rite and to the Degrees of Mark Master, Past Master, Most Excellent Master, and the Royal Arch. Explained and interpreted by copious notes and numerous engravings. Duncan's Masonic Ritual and Monitor will be a cherished possession of any Mason who receives it. Retaining all the traditional charm of McKay's Standard Edition, this volume includes both the Guide to the Three Symbolic Degrees of the Ancient York Rite and to the degree of Mark Master, Past Master, Most Excellent Master, and the Royal Arch, as written by Malcolm C. Duncan.

World on Fire: How Exporting Free-Market Democracy Breeds Ethnic Hatred & Global Instability

Amy Chua

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 90 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Market-dominant Minorities breed instability 4 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

Amy Chua writes about a subject that should get far more attention than it does: that most of the developing world has ethnic minorities that dominate the economy and that the majority are fundamentally hostile to the minority. Chua claims that the economic and political reforms pushed by the West fail to take into account this fact and, therefore, the result is repeated instability and violence.

Free markets mainly benefit the ethnic minorities that already have the wealth, business connections and social capital, while doing little to benefit the masses. Democracy empowers the ethnic majority, who then use that power to persecute the market-dominant minorities. While Chua clearly beliefs that free market democracies are essential to the stability and prosperity of developing countries, she is ultimately very gloomy about the possibilities of a smooth and fast transition.

Chua starts by showing that, in contrast to the Western nations, developing countries invariably have a very small ethnic minority that dominates the economy. In Latin America and southern Africa, it the whites. In Southeast Asia, it is the Chinese. In Central and East Africa, it is the Lebanese and Indians. In Russia, it is the Jews. In West Africa, it is the Ibo and Lebanese. Most of this is not new, Charles Sowell for example has written about this subject in great depth, but it is a topic that has been seriously neglected.

Chua then shows that Western efforts to push free market and democratic reforms have one of the three following results:
1) Ethnic majorities use their new-found political power to nationalize companies owned by market-dominant minorities.
2) Market-dominant minorities protect themselves by supporting coups against the hostile democracies, leading to "crony capitalism."
3) In the most extreme cases, ethnic majorities undertake ethnic cleansing and genocide to eliminate market-dominant minorities.

One of the most interesting and thought-provoking sections in this book is about Jews in the Middle East and Americans globally. Each can be seen as international market-dominant minorities. While the rest of the book is focused on a minority in a specific nation, Chua shows that the same angst and violence that is focused on national minorities is also focused on the Jews in the Middle East and American globally. Because Jews and Americans are different ethnic groups who benefit disproportionately from free markets, the majorities focus their hatred on them.

Finally, Chua wraps up with a serie of recommendations on what to do. This is probably the weakest part of the book, because she has caught herself in a conundrum. She has spent the entire book attacking Western promoted economic and political reforms, but she still believes that such reform is essential in the long-run. Her most interesting proposal is for market-dominant minorities to use philanthropy in their home nation to help the majority, particularly by funding high-profile national symbols. She also makes the case that Western nations need to be aware of the fact that nations with market-dominant minorities will react fundamentally differently to free market and democracy than ones that do not.

Chua's main contribution is to introduce readers to the concept of market-dominant minorities: a concept that every observer of international affairs should be aware of (but few appear to be). For this, she deserves a five star rating. But the book has a number of glaring flaw that drop the rating to four stars.

My main problem with this book are the following:

1) Chua never shows how much the market-dominant minorities benefit their own nation. Charles Sowell shows that these minorities are often the drivers of their nation's economies conferring great benefits on the majority. Chua occasionally implies this, but more often she focuses on the suffering of the masses and the implication that their hatred of the rich minorities is partly justified. I wish she were more clear as to the tremendous benefits that market-dominant minorities bring, and the fundamental irrationality of the haters.
2) Chua continually claims that free markets and democracy are breeding or at least exacerbating ethnic tensions, but she never gives any evidence of to an increase in ethnic tension over the last generation. She does give a lot of examples of ethnic riots, murders, nationalizations and coups, but she never shows that the frequency and severity have increased over the last generation. My guess is that the facts would show the opposite, completely argument against reform. Chua also makes frequent references to leftist/communist dictatorships of the past oppressing market-dominant minorities (a very interesting point), but she casually skips over the fact that this completely contradicts her overall argument. Anti-market authoritarian regimes are just as capable as market democracies of oppressing market-dominant minorities
3) Sometimes Chua appears to be far too pessimistic about the standard-of-living of poor ethnic majorities in developing countries. She continually states that they are left behind by economic reform, but she never gives any concrete evidence. Based upon the hundreds of millions of people who have been lifted out of poverty in the last generation, it is difficult for me to believe that the contrast is as stark as she suggests. Clearly the progress is not as fast or as widespread as we would like, but it is not the stark ethnic divide that she suggests.
4) Chua is also quick to label authoritarian regimes as "democratic" to support her argument. To label Zimbabwe, Serbia and Rwanda in the 1990s as democracies (to give just three examples) is a bit disingenuous. They were actually some of the most authoritarian and anti-market regimes in the world. If she had a tighter definition, I think that she would find that the authoritarian regimes are just as capable as democracies of oppressing market-dominant minorities. It is quite possible that these anti-market authoritarian regimes are worse for their country than the ethnic tension that Chua says market economies breed.

Overall, though, I would highly recommend this book.

First Year Sobriety: When All That Changes Is Everything

Guy Kettelhack

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 11 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

The first in a series of three recovery guides for the first three years of sobriety, First-Year Sobriety uses the voices of many women and men who are struggling in the often baffling territory of their first year of sobriety to show that despite their differing experiences, all are united in the process of giving life without alcohol or other drugs a chance.

These are people who are alternately amazed, appalled, delighted, depressed, illuminated, disturbed, or simply thrown by their first days, weeks, and months of sobriety. Kettelhack explores the challenges all seem to face: learning to break through loneliness, isolation, and fear; finding ways to deal with anger, depression, and resentment; and learning how to deal with a new and sometimes overwhelming happiness.

Guy Kettelhack has written seven books on recovery. He is completing a Master's degree in psychoanalysis, and is an analyst-in-training at the Boston and New York Centers for Modern Psychoanalytic Studies. A graduate of Middlebury College, Kettelhack has also done graduate work in English literature at Bread Loaf School of English at Oxford University. He lives in New York City.

My Body Is Private (Albert Whitman Prairie Books)

Linda Walvoord Girard

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 17 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Not a preschool book 3 out of 5 stars.
51 of 58 people found this review helpful.

After reading the reviews, I ordered this book thinking that it would be appropriate for my 3-year old. It seems too advanced for a child that age. There is a part of the book where the girl does not want her uncle to touch her because he holds her in his lap and rubs her arms and makes her uncomfortable, and another picture where her older brother "pins her down," and tickles her until it hurts, so the father has to tell him to stop. The mother also warns the child that others might want to take pictures of her private parts. While I understand that these are important illustrations of unwanted behavior, they don't seem right for a younger child. The text is also geared toward a school-aged child.

A Truly Stellar Work! 5 out of 5 stars.
50 of 53 people found this review helpful.

This is a book I wish I had when I was a child. The mother and child featured in this story are beautifully illustrated and I like the intelligent conversations they have about improper touching, whether or not it is sexual.

The book respects readers' intelligence by using the proper terminology for genitalia and the generic term "bottom" to mean the buttocks. I like that. Too many works are weakened by silly euphemistic or babyish names for the anatomy that do nobody any real service. This book is a good teaching tool and an excellent forum for discussion of a serious topic. It is one that all ages would find beneficial.

Another reviewer made the good point that boys also can be sexually abused and this is never addressed in this book. I agree that this already excellent work would have been even more effective had the discussion included a brother as part of the discussion. While it is only natural to want to preserve a child's innocence, it is still very vital to empower children with information about what constitutes desired (non-sexual) and "good" touches and what doesn't. This in turn will help families build a more safety-savvy world.

This book does an excellent job of defining "privacy" replete with examples, e.g. "private parts" are the parts of one's body that is generally covered by their underwear or a bathing suit. The girl featured in the story declares that nobody can touch her private parts in ways she does not want and then goes on to describe other kinds of touching she doesn't like, such as sitting on her uncle's lap. On the flip side, "good touches" are highlighted, such as loving cuddles and dancing and an arm around the shoulder. The distinction could not be more clear and for that I salute this book!

Gray areas such as tickling are explored. Tickling can be fun, but it can also go too far where the one being tickled is not enjoying it. That is another example of when to demand that a certain "touch" or tactile activity be stopped. The children are well within their rights to do so at any time. Hugs and kisses are described as generally being welcome and acceptable, but children should not be forced to kiss or endure being kissed by someone who makes them feel uncomfortable.

The literary mother is very wise; she makes it plain to her daughter that it is the child's feelings that are paramount and not to worry about hurting somebody's feelings if she tells them not to touch her in ways she does not like. Genital touching including being forced to touch someone else's private parts is discussed; the girl is also told not to take photographs of somebody's private parts or willingly allow anyone to photograph hers. My favorite part was when the mother tells her daughter that the predator is NOT always a stranger and can be someone the child knows very well, including a relative. That point CANNOT be stressed enough. The child is told to try to escape as soon as possible and tell an adult she trusts what happened.

I agree with another reviewer that there is a dearth of stories like this for boys as boys also can be the recipients of sexual abuse. Since the girl has a brother, one wonders why he was not included in this safety talk since part of the discussion involved him. His safety has to be considered as well. Another good point is made by having the mother tell her daughter that it is never acceptable for "other children" as opposed to "older children" because that could be misleading. Those few things notwithstanding, I feel this is one of the best books I've encountered on this very serious subject.

I also recommend Sandy Kleven's "The Right Touch: A Read Aloud to Help Prevent Child Sexual Abuse," Cornelia Spelman's "Your Body Belongs to You" which is ideal for the preschool set on up and Peter Alsop's collection "Songs on Sex & Sexuality," most particularly the song, "My Body." All of these works address a very serious issue in gentle, direct and intelligence complimenting ways and are geared specifically for families.

Editorial Review:

A mother-child conversation introduces the topic of sexual abuse and ways to keep one's body private.

Life at the Bottom: The Worldview That Makes the Underclass

Theodore Dalrymple

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 75 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Completely lacking in empathy 1 out of 5 stars.
2 of 8 people found this review helpful.

The author is just dripping in self-righteousness. He places 100% of the blame for bad situations on the decisions the poor have made. He shows no grace or empathy. His observations aren't necessarily wrong- but he extends his assumptions to everyone in the same situation.

This is how he explains that abused women choose to be abused:
"At first, of course, my female patients deny that the violence of their men was foreseeable. But when I ask them whether they think I would have recognized it in advance, the great majority- nine out of ten- reply, yes, of course. And when asked how they think I would have done so, they enumerate precisely the factors that would have led me to that conclusion. So their blindess is willful." P40

These sorts of explanations are given for all different types of ailments of the impoverished.

Editorial Review:

A searing account of life in the underclass and why it persists as it does, written by a British psychiatrist who treats the poor in a slum hospital and a prison in England.

Case Files: Family Medicine (LANGE Case Files)

Eugene Toy, Joe Bedford, Donald Briscoe, Carlos Dumas

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Not good for the shelf 2 out of 5 stars.
10 of 10 people found this review helpful.

I used this book extensively for the Family Medicine Shelf--and that was a bad idea. It's very basic and covers good cases that family medicine people might see on a daily basis, but for the shelf, this book is not even close to being enough. The Family Medicine shelf is an Internal Medicine test, essentially, so using this book did not help for it at all. Use 1st AID for Medicine or 1st Aid for the Step One (yes, that's right) for the Family Shelf and you will be fine (even if Family is your first rotation). This book is not good for the family medicine clerkship shelf!

Editorial Review:

REAL-LIFE CLINICAL CASES. FOR THE BASIC SCIENCES AND USMLE STEP 1

. .

Clinical correlations are increasingly emphasized in the teaching of basic medical science. Students, therefore, need exposure to clinical cases to pass course exams and ace the USMLE Step 1. This book presents 60 real-life clinical cases illustrating essential concepts in family medicine. Each case includes an easy-to-understand discussion correlated to key basic science concepts, definitions of key terms, family medicine pearls, and USMLE-style review questions. This interactive learning system helps you to learn instead of memorize.

. .

• 60 clinical cases correlated to high-yield family medicine concepts.
• Family Medicine Pearls highlight key points. USMLE-style comprehension questions with each case.
• Primer on how to approach the basic sciences.
• Proven learning system improves exam scores

. .

American Dream: Three Women, Ten Kids, and a Nation's Drive to End Welfare

Jason DeParle

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 25 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

An immensely moving, informative, entertaining book 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I really loved this book. Its a very quick read and its also extremely informative. You will learn so much about what its like to live in poverty in the US. It also details the history of welfare in America, how it was changed, and where it stands now. The book is no liberal propaganda either. The NY Times reporter who wrote the book comes to some very surprising, often conservative-leaning conclusions. You will be amazed at what he found and often moved to tears by the stories of the three women. An absolutely essential read.

Editorial Review:

In this definitive work, two-time Pulitzer finalist Jason DeParle cuts between the mean streets of Milwaukee and the corridors of Washington to produce a masterpiece of literary journalism. At the heart of the story are three cousins whose different lives follow similar trajectories. Leaving welfare, Angie puts her heart in her work. Jewell bets on an imprisoned man. Opal guards a tragic secret that threatens her kids and her life. DeParle traces their family history back six generations to slavery and weaves poor people, politicians, reformers, and rogues into a spellbinding epic.

With a vivid sense of humanity, DeParle demonstrates that although we live in a country where anyone can make it, generation after generation some families don’t. To read American Dream is to understand why.

This Land Is Their Land: Reports from a Divided Nation

Barbara Ehrenreich

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 23 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

What would Ehrenreich do if the 'rich' opted out 1 out of 5 stars.
3 of 10 people found this review helpful.

Why is it that I always get the sneaking suspicion that when Robin Hoods like Ehrenreich talk about the 'rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer' she has in mind a great big tax increase? What would happen if all those nasty rich people just opted out and took their compensation off-shore, in the form of long term share grants? I am not an uncritical fan of Ayn Rand, nor do I consider myself 'rich' - but gosh, when I keep reading about the nasty rich people (read: sucessful risk takers who already pay virtually all of the taxes in this country), I can't help but ask - Who is John Galt? You're poor and want to improve your situation? I would suggest that you get an education, put off having children until you can afford them, live within your means and save your money. Apparently that is too simple and smells of a Protestant work ethic. Gotta find those scapegoats.

Editorial Review:

America in the 'aughts---hilariously skewered, brilliantly dissected, and darkly diagnosed by the bestselling social critic hailed as "the soul mate" of Jonathan Swift.

Caring for Patients from Different Cultures

Geri-Ann Galanti

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 7 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

APPALLING book ! Full of insulting stereotypes & little insight! 1 out of 5 stars.
9 of 12 people found this review helpful.

I have a long-standing interest in cultural issues in healthcare and so I eagerly bought this book. It's in the 3rd edition--I figured it must be good.

It is appalling! You can turn to almost any page and find a portayal of a person from a minority culture that is presented in such a way that it makes the person sound like an idiot. Not just immigrant and ethnic minority patients--immigrant medical professionals, too.

In addition, she does not modify her gross generalizations by saying, "HIGHLY OBSERVANT Muslims" or "LESS-ACCULTURATED Mexicans" or even "SOME Chinese." No, for Galanti, she generalizes about Muslims, Mexicans and Chinese, with no gradations according to people's country of origin and degrees of orthodoxy (e.g. Muslims), generations in this country, fluency in English, etc.

I am afraid this volume will perpetuate stereotypes. Yes, it may be "fun reading" for people who know nothing about the topic, but they will end up with a view of "how weird those people are!" rather than either any true cultural understanding or a better sense of how to adapt their own practice to meet their patients' needs.

i have never returned a book in my life--this is going to be the first.

For alternative choices on related topics consider:
Culture & Clinical Care (Lipson & Dibble)
Ethnicity & Family THerapy (McGoldrick)
Child Abuse & Culture: Working with diverse families (Fontes)
The spirit Catches You and YOu Fall Down (Fadiman).

Stay away from this one!

Editorial Review:

"An excellent book for those interested in providing culturally responsive and effective care to our nation's increasingly diverse population"--Dr. Robert Like, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School

Chicken Soup for the Surviving Soul: 101 Healing Stories About Those Who Have Survived Cancer

Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Patty Aubrey, Beverly Katherine Kirkhart, Nancy Mitchell-Autio

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 13 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Beautiful 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

You won't find a lot of technical mumbo jumbo here, but what you will find is a beautifully written book of inspirational stories to soothe the cancer-ridden soul. I tend to shy away from anything that has "chicken soup" on the cover, but this was given by a colleague and I've treasured it. Great gift to newly-diagnosed loved ones and friends.

A Must Read Book if Cancer is in Your Life! 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

If you haven't read a Chicken Soup book buy one NOW. When you find one that fits your life it is inspirational and comforting to read. They definitely name this series correctly~It will comfort your soul while your read it.

I read this book when a loved one had Cancer. It helped kept me going one day at a time. Even tho his life was lost to Cancer I would recommend this read to anyone who's life has been touched by Cancer.

Bring your Kleenex!

Merna

Pocket of Pearls: A 30-day pocket workbook to start hearing a softer voice inside of you!

Editorial Review:

In this special collection, you will read incredible stories from those who have reached beyond the pain of body and soul to survive cancer. It is a potent tonic for physical and spiritual healing.