Social Sciences Books - Page 11

Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Life of Boys

Dan Kindlon, Michael Thompson

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Subjects -> Health, Mind & Body -> Mental Health -> Emotions
Subjects -> Health, Mind & Body -> Psychology & Counseling -> Child Psychology -> Development
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Social Sciences -> Sociology -> Marriage & Family

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 110 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Reviving Ophelia, Mary Pipher's groundbreaking book, exposed the toxic environment faced by adolescent girls in our society. Now, from the same publisher, comes Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Life of Boys by Dan Kindlon and Michael Thompson, which does the same for adolescent boys. Boys suffer from a too-narrow definition of masculinity, the authors assert as they expose and discuss the relationship between vulnerability and developing sexuality, the "culture of cruelty" boys live in, the "tyranny of toughness," the disadvantages of being a boy in elementary school, how boys' emotional lives are squelched, and what we, as a society, can do about all this without turning "boys into girls." "Our premise is that boys will be better off if boys are better understood--and if they are encouraged to become more emotionally literate," the authors assert. As a tool for change, Kindlon and Thompsom present the well-developed "What Boys Need," seven points that reach far beyond the ordinary psychobabble checklist and slogan list. Kindlon (researcher and psychology professor at Harvard and practicing psychotherapist specializing in boys) and Thompson (child psychologist, workshop leader, and staff psychologist of an all-boys school) have created a chilling portrait of male adolescence in America. Through personal stories and theoretical discussion, this well-needed book plumbs the well of sadness, anger, and fear in America's teenage sons. --Ericka Lutz

MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, Sixth Edition

Joseph Gibaldi

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Total reviews: 83 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

The Best of Class 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

The Modern Language Association has developed a crisp contemporary style with ready application well beyond the realms of modern literature. The style is an evolution of Chicago style. The reference format for the "Works Cited" in MLA-speak, are virtually indistinguishable from those in Chicago-style bibliographies. However, MLA has added a unique parenthetical "author-page" citation to reference sources in the text. This is easy for both scholars and non-scholars alike to comprehend and use, making this a good general-purpose style.

The MLA Handbook does an excellent job of representing the style, though with occasional foibles. These tend to be more a distraction than a nuisance, and are often ignored when the style is used in scholarly publication. For example, there is a marked predisposition for the use of abbreviations in references. This is unnecessary, and can present some rather unsavory phrases when sounded out, such as "U of Chicago P" for University of Chicago Press. Page space is rarely so confined as to make the parsimonious use of letters productive, so many authors and journal editors forgo this frugality. The handbook devotes an entire twenty-page chapter to the topic.

There is a tendency in the handbook expand features beyond their useful application. In the last edition the requirements for presenting quotations was elaborated far beyond the needs of most scholars. This was circumscribed in the current edition, but references to electronic sources were elaborated far beyond their credible application. Such references can have up to fifteen elements! An ephemeral online source cannot be made permanent and credible by elaborating the reference to it, and this appears to be an attempt to do just that. These features, too, can be employed as needed or safely ignored.

Missing from the handbook is any reference to the use of headings and subheadings in research papers. The handbook claims that most instructors discourage their use. However, an informal sampling of articles published in the MLA's own journal, PMLA, found that about half did make use of subheadings. This seems a bit hypocritical, especially in a handbook that gets a mite preachy about plagiarism. Do as I do, do as I say, or what? To be credible the handbook should reflect the style as applied in print.

These criticisms border on the trivial simply because there is nothing else to complain about. At its best, the style employs simple rules. For example, if a number can be written in one or two words write it out. Otherwise use numerals, and always use numerals for precise measures. In contrast, APA (American Psychological Association) style has elaborate rules requiring some small numbers to be written as words, others as numerals. MLA style is free of such exceptions. As long as the style and handbook are approached with a measure of tolerance for its idiosyncrasies, it is easy to use and adequately comprehensive for all the tasks of scholarship. Only if you have delved into other research styles such as APA, AMA (American Medical Association), and Chicago can you appreciate the simplicity of MLA style and the masterly way it has been documented in the handbook. There is elegance in ordered simplicity, and more so than any other research style, MLA style has achieved that elegance.

Editorial Review:

Since it was first published in 1977, the MLA Handbook has sold nearly four million copies worldwide. Now completely revised and updated, the guide contains detailed information on using computers for research and writing and on citing electronic publications. Features include two-color printing, lie-flat binding, and a complete subject index.

Loot: The Battle over the Stolen Treasures of the Ancient World

Sharon Waxman

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Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

A journey across four continents to the heart of the conflict over who should own the great works of ancient art

Why are the Elgin Marbles in London and not on the Acropolis? Why do there seem to be as many mummies in France as there are in Egypt? Why are so many Etruscan masterworks in America? For the past two centuries, the West has been plundering the treasures of the ancient world to fill its great museums, but in recent years, the countries where ancient civilizations originated have begun to push back, taking museums to court, prosecuting curators, and threatening to force the return of these priceless objects.

Where do these treasures rightly belong? Sharon Waxman, a former culture reporter for The New York Times and a longtime foreign correspondent, brings us inside this high-stakes conflict, examining the implications for the preservation of the objects themselves and for how we understand our shared cultural heritage. Her journey takes readers from the great cities of Europe and America to Egypt, Turkey, Greece, and Italy, as these countries face down the Louvre, the Metropolitan Museum, the British Museum, and the J. Paul Getty Museum. She also introduces a cast of determined and implacable characters whose battles may strip these museums of some of their most cherished treasures.

For readers who are fascinated by antiquity, who love to frequent museums, and who believe in the value of cultural exchange, Loot opens a new window on an enduring conflict.

The Irregulars: Roald Dahl and the British Spy Ring in Wartime Washington

Jennet Conant

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Subjects -> History -> Americas -> United States -> General
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 31 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Amazon Best of the Month, September 2008: Long before Willy Wonka sent out those five Golden Tickets, Roald Dahl lived a life that was more James Bond than James and the Giant Peach. After blinding headaches cut short his distinguished career as a Royal Air Force fighter pilot, Dahl became part of an elite group of British spies working against the United States' neutrality at the onset of World War II. The Irregulars is a brilliant profile of Dahl's lesser-known profession, embracing a real-life storyline of suave debauchery, clandestine motives, and afternoon cocktails. If this sounds oddly familiar, it's no coincidence: both Ian Fleming (the creator of 007) and Bill Stephenson (the legendary spymaster rumored to be the inspiration for Bond) were members of the same outfit. Although "Dahl...Roald Dahl" doesn't quite carry the same debonair ring, there is no discrediting this fascinating look at the British author's covert service to the Allied cause during WWII. --Dave Callanan

Black Belt Patriotism: How to Reawaken America

Chuck Norris

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 30 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Black Belt Patriotism by Chuck Norris 4 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Great book by a great Patriot. I bought it for my grandson who is in first year high school. I know he won't learn anything true about America in the federally funded schools who get their orders from the ungodly United Nations. America's only hope is a divine intervention.

Cheers for Chuck 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This is mostly a superb book which should be read by everyone who can read English. I was especially appreciative of the inclusion of The Declaration of Independance and the Constitution in their entirety.
Two things kept me from rating the book 5 stars:
1. The chapters on health and nutrition are inadequate. Both are extremely complex subjects which require separate books each as a minimum. The result is a vanilla treatment of the subjects which detract from the power of the rest of the book.
2.His idea of one Representative per state undermines the foundation of the United States. The House of Representative is the seat of Democracy and the Senate is the seat of a Republic. Our country is neither a Democracy nor a Republic: it is both and that is the true Genius of our Constitution along with the Separation of Powers. However I do agree that the House is too big and unwieldy: maybe 250 mermbers?

Editorial Review:

Martial arts master, actor, and political activist--there is no job Chuck Norris can't do. Now the original tough guy is at it again, stepping back into the role of bestselling author with his new book, Black Belt Patriotism. In Black Belt Patriotism Norris gives a no-holds-barred assessment of American culture, tackling everything from family values to national security. More than a cultural critique of what's wrong with our nation, Black Belt Patriotism provides real solutions for solving our problems, moving our country forward, and changing our nation's course for the better. Chuck Norris--the hero, icon, and legend--is back, packing a political and cultural punch, as only he can deliver.

The Bottom Billion: Why the Poorest Countries are Failing and What Can Be Done About It

Paul Collier

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Subjects -> Business & Investing -> Economics -> Economic Policy & Development
Subjects -> Business & Investing -> Popular Economics -> Policy & Current Events

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Total reviews: 46 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

In the universally acclaimed and award-winning The Bottom Billion, Paul Collier reveals that fifty failed states--home to the poorest one billion people on Earth--pose the central challenge of the developing world in the twenty-first century. The book shines much-needed light on this group of small nations, largely unnoticed by the industrialized West, that are dropping further and further behind the majority of the world's people, often falling into an absolute decline in living standards. A struggle rages within each of these nations between reformers and corrupt leaders--and the corrupt are winning. Collier analyzes the causes of failure, pointing to a set of traps that ensnare these countries, including civil war, a dependence on the extraction and export of natural resources, and bad governance. Standard solutions do not work, he writes; aid is often ineffective, and globalization can actually make matters worse, driving development to more stable nations. What the bottom billion need, Collier argues, is a bold new plan supported by the Group of Eight industrialized nations. If failed states are ever to be helped, the G8 will have to adopt preferential trade policies, new laws against corruption, new international charters, and even conduct carefully calibrated military interventions. Collier has spent a lifetime working to end global poverty. In The Bottom Billion, he offers real hope for solving one of the great humanitarian crises facing the world today.
"Terrifically readable."
--Time.com
"Set to become a classic. Crammed with statistical nuggets and common sense, his book should be compulsory reading."
--The Economist
"If Sachs seems too saintly and Easterly too cynical, then Collier is the authentic old Africa hand: he knows the terrain and has a keen ear.... If you've ever found yourself on one side or the other of those arguments--and who hasn't?--then you simply must read this book."
--Niall Ferguson, The New York Times Book Review
"Rich in both analysis and recommendations.... Read this book. You will learn much you do not know. It will also change the way you look at the tragedy of persistent poverty in a world of plenty."
--Financial Times

Gomorrah

Roberto Saviano

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Total reviews: 35 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

A groundbreaking major bestseller in Italy, Gomorrah is Roberto Saviano’s gripping nonfiction account of the decline of Naples under the rule of the Camorra, an organized crime network with a large international reach and stakes in construction, high fashion, illicit drugs, and toxic-waste disposal. Known by insiders as “the System,” the Camorra affects cities and villages along the Neapolitan coast, and is the deciding factor in why Campania, for instance, has the highest murder rate in all of Europe and whycancer levels there have skyrocketed in recent years.

Saviano tells of huge cargoes of Chinese goods that are shipped to Naples and then quickly distributed unchecked across Europe. He investigates the Camorra’s control of thousands of Chinese factories contracted to manufacture fashion goods, legally and illegally, for distribution around the world, and relates the chilling details of how the abusive handling of toxic waste is causing devastating pollution not only for Naples but also China and Somalia. In pursuit of his subject, Saviano worked as an assistant at a Chinese textile manufacturer, a waiter at a Camorra wedding, and on a construction site. A native of the region, he recalls seeing his first murder at the age of fourteen, and how his own father, a doctor, suffered a brutal beating for trying to aid an eighteen-year-old victim who had been left for dead in the street.

Gomorrah is a bold and important work of investigative writing that holds global significance, one heroic young man's impassioned story of a place under the rule of a murderous organization.

The Irony of American History

Reinhold Niebuhr

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Subjects -> History -> Americas -> United States -> General

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Total reviews: 7 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

“[Niebuhr] is one of my favorite philosophers. I take away [from his works] the compelling idea that there’s serious evil in the world, and hardship and pain. And we should be humble and modest in our belief we can eliminate those things. But we shouldn’t use that as an excuse for cynicism and inaction. I take away . . . the sense we have to make these efforts knowing they are hard.”—Senator Barack Obama Forged during the tumultuous but triumphant postwar years when America came of age as a world power, The Irony of American History is more relevant now than ever before. Cited by politicians as diverse as Hillary Clinton and John McCain, Niebuhr’s masterpiece on the incongruity between personal ideals and political reality is both an indictment of American moral complacency and a warning against the arrogance of virtue. Impassioned, eloquent, and deeply perceptive, Niebuhr’s wisdom will cause readers to rethink their assumptions about right and wrong, war and peace.
“The supreme American theologian of the twentieth century.”—Arthur Schlesinger Jr., New York Times
“Niebuhr is important for the left today precisely because he warned about America’s tendency—including the left’s tendency—to do bad things in the name of idealism. His thought offers a much better understanding of where the Bush administration went wrong in Iraq.”—Kevin Mattson, The Good Society

“Irony provides the master key to understanding the myths and delusions that underpin American statecraft. . . . The most important book ever written on US foreign policy.”—Andrew J. Bacevich, from the Introduction

Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do

Studs Terkel

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Subjects -> Business & Investing -> Industries & Professions -> Industrial Relations
Subjects -> Business & Investing -> Organizational Behavior -> Workplace

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 23 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Book was STOLEN from Chicago Public Library 1 out of 5 stars.
3 of 62 people found this review helpful.

The book was in great condition, with one MAJOR catch: it had a Chicago Public Library bar code on it. I called the library, read them the bar code, and they asked me to please return it, as it had been taken without their permission. Amazon kindly sent me another book, and the stolen edition goes back to the library!

Life-altering perspectives 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

This book changed my life. I read it when it was new, at a time when I was becoming incredibly discontent in my first real career position job. What struck me about the people in this book was that almost all of them are busy doing work they don't really care for, and which many of them downright hate. They feel trapped and are unhappy, but they stick at it because they have bills to pay. The people who in contrast were doing work that they *loved* had a magical time of it. They were also few and far between. After I read this I questioned why people choose to make themselves unhappy at work they hate, when they could (as we say these days but didn't, then) "follow their bliss" and find what gives them joy. I have never looked at work the same way since, and the insights I gained from this book gave me the courage to leave a bad situation in order to find a better path to fulfillment. This is an amazing work of oral history, and the love work/hate work issue is just as relevant today.

Editorial Review:

Studs Terkel records the voices of America. Men and women from every walk of life talk to him, telling him of their likes and dislikes, fears, problems, and happinesses on the job. Once again, Terkel has created a rich and unique document that is as simple as conversation, but as subtle and heartfelt as the meaning of our lives.... In the first trade paperback edition of his national bestseller, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Studs Terkel presents "the real American experience" (Chicago Daily News)--"a magnificent book . . .. A work of art. To read it is to hear America talking." (Boston Globe).

The Lost Boy: A Foster Child's Search for the Love of a Family

Dave Pelzer

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Total reviews: 451 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Inspiring. 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

The Lost Boy: A Foster Child's Search for the Love of a Family by Dave Pelzer is a sequel to the heartbreaking memoir, A Child Called "It". Pelzer explains what happened after he was taken away by his abusive mother and neglectful father. This book is really uplifting and moving. I highly recommend this fascinating story and his quest to find a foster family who will love him unconditionally. Enjoy!

Editorial Review:

Imagine a young boy who has never had a loving home. His only possesions are the old, torn clothes he carries in a paper bag. The only world he knows is one of isolation and fear. Although others had rescued this boy from his abusive alcoholic mother, his real hurt is just begining -- he has no place to call home.

This is Dave Pelzer's long-awaited sequel to A Child Called "It". In The Lost Boy, he answers questions and reveals new adventures through the compelling story of his life as an adolescent. Now considered an F-Child (Foster Child), Dave is moved in and out of five different homes. He suffers shame and experiences resentment from those who feel that all foster kids are trouble and unworthy of being loved just because they are not part of a "real" family.

Tears, laughter, devastation and hope create the journey of this little lost boy who searches desperately for just one thing -- the love of a family.