Anthropology Books - Page 10

Can't Stop Won't Stop : A History of the Hip Hop Generation

Jeff Chang

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Subjects -> Entertainment -> Music -> History & Criticism
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 26 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Forged in the fires of the Bronx and Kingston, Jamaica, hip-hop became the Esperanto of youth rebellion and a generation-defining movement. In a post-civil rights era defined by deindustrialization and globalization, hip-hop crystallized a multiracial, polycultural generation's worldview, and transformed American politics and culture. But that epic story has never been told with this kind of breadth, insight, and style.

Based on original interviews with DJs, b-boys, rappers, graffiti writers, activists, and gang members, with unforgettable portraits of many of hip-hop's forebears, founders, and mavericks, including DJ Kool Herc, Afrika Bambaataa, Chuck D, and Ice Cube, Can't Stop Won't Stop chronicles the events, the ideas, the music, and the art that marked the hip-hop generation's rise from the ashes of the 60's into the new millennium. Here is a powerful cultural and social history of the end of the American century, and a provocative look into the new world that the hip-hop generation created.

Kluge: The Haphazard Construction of the Human Mind

Gary Marcus

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 68 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Missing some relevant factors 3 out of 5 stars.
2 of 8 people found this review helpful.

It was with great interest that I received a review copy of "Kluge", because I myself am halfway through writing an Environmental Psychology book about modern human society.

I was dismayed to find that the author gives 13 pieces of advice at the end of book, of how human beings can avoid our instinctual reactions and be more rational, and then doesn't follow them. He doesn't "consider alternate hypotheses" (as I will elaborate) and he doesn't "distance himself".

Many EP authors, such as Rubin, describe how our instinctual propensity to belong to groups, leads in modern society to our predilection to pick ideological groups to support. We choose between Democrats, Republicans, Conservatives, Liberals, as well as Jocks, Goths, Cheerleaders, Stoners, and more in High School, and later Evangelicals, Atheists, Newagers and on and on.

Unfortunately, almost all academicians and scientists do the same. They accept the media conventional wisdom that "evolution" and "intelligent design" are opposing sports teams. Like Marcus, they immediately fall prey to the emotional responses (that ironically, he describes in detail in this book) that "science" and "evolution" are "us" - our tribe - and must be defended. It's interesting that only a philosopher like John Paul II has ventured that evolution and intelligent design are not intrinsically incompatible.

Mr. Marcus disproves his own overall premise - that the human mind is haphazard and thus not designed - partway through the book. In Chapter Six, he mentions video games, and how they have to be balanced somewhere between too easy and too difficult. But he fails to notice how this can be applied to his premise - because he doesn't follow his own advice to "consider alternate hypotheses" and "distance himself". Somehow, he is postulating a "designer" of the human mind who is stupider than a video game designer. This is what he is clearly saying with his premise that any imperfections in the human mind indicate that it is not designed. In reality, if all human minds were perfect, then human life would be like a video game that was so easy, it became boring. That would be "Stupid Design", not intelligent design.

I'm not trying to start yet another discussion of ID (there are already too many hundred thousand page discussions on that subject), but from the cover, subtitle and conclusion of the book, it seems to be the premise of the book to "debunk" it, and it clearly fails to do so.

Furthermore, as other reviewers have mentioned, the author's grasp of Evolutionary Psychology that is evidenced in this book, is somewhat lacking. I will echo that the author seems to largely ignore the effects of Sexual Selection, and I will second the recommendation of "Red Queen" as an excellent text on that subject.

Marcus strangely also largely ignores the effect of the fact that modern civilization has only existed for 10,000 years - far too recent for any genetic adaptations - and thus we are adapted for a situation far different from modern human society. Bizarrely, he does mention this factor in a footnote in Chapter Seven where he quotes Kurt Vonnegut, and dismisses it with the odd statement "mental disorders have been around as long as humans have". Uh, how can he possibly know that ? No writings exist from before civilization, so there is no way to know either way. From an EP viewpoint, the human mind is adapted to a tribal lifestyle, and it is certainly a reasonable, even probable premise that all of the problems that Marcus describes in his book are simply a result of human society changing far more quickly than humans can genetically adapt.

Having said all that, I do give Marcus points for his interest in this important subject matter, and in his relatively readable presentation of the ideas. Our media encourage the viewpoint that some people ("experts") are highly rational and competent. To the extent that this book helps to disabuse people of this unrealistic notion, it can be of value.

Editorial Review:

How the accidents of evolution created our quirky, imperfect minds---and what we can do about it.

Out of Mao's Shadow: The Struggle for the Soul of a New China

Philip P. Pan

Amazon Price: $18.48 List Price: $28.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Simon & Schuster Amazon Marketplace: 49 new & used starting at $14.00

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 16 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

From an award-winning journalist for The Washington Post and one of the leading China correspondents of his generation comes an eloquent and vivid chronicle of the world's most successful authoritarian state -- a nation undergoing a remarkable transformation.

Philip P. Pan's groundbreaking book takes us inside the dramatic battle for China's soul and into the lives of individuals struggling to come to terms with their nation's past -- the turmoil and trauma of Mao's rule -- and to take control of its future. Capitalism has brought prosperity and global respect to China, but the Communist government continues to resist the demands of its people for political freedom.

Pan, who reported in China for the Post for seven years and speaks fluent Chinese, eluded the police and succeeded in going where few Western journalists have dared.

From the rusting factories in the industrial northeast to a tabloid newsroom in the booming south, from a small-town courtroom to the plush offices of the nation's wealthiest tycoons, he tells the gripping stories of ordinary men and women fighting for political change. An elderly surgeon exposes the government's cover-up of the SARS epidemic. A filmmaker investigates the execution of a young woman during the Cultural Revolution. A blind man is jailed for leading a crusade against forced abortions carried out under the one-child policy.

The young people who filled Tiananmen Square in the spring of 1989 saw their hopes for a democratic China crushed in a massacre, but Pan reveals that as older, more pragmatic adults, many continue to push for justice in different ways. They are survivors whose families endured one of the world's deadliest famines during the Great Leap Forward, whose idealism was exploited during the madness of the Cultural Revolution, and whose values have been tested by the booming economy and the rush to get rich.

The Little Ice Age: How Climate Made History, 1300-1850

Brian M. Fagan

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 63 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Vividly Written and Extremely Valuable History 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

The author of this book is not an environmental determinist, but he makes a plea for us to observe weather as best we can, not only in our time, but in history, and study its interplay with human social, political, artistic, and military activity. He speaks of ice cores, tree rings, contemporary chronicles, and even paintings as ways to recover information about the weather of the past, and his focus is of course the cold years in Europe between 1300 and 1850. The book is filled with vital details; it is filled with precisely stated and very readable observations about what weather has meant to people, what it might mean to us, and it urges us to be more conscious of what is happening with weather today. I found it extremely inviting and thought provoking, and highly recommend it to anyone interested in European history and art. There is tremendous scope here. Anyone interested in Global Warming ought certainly to read the book, too. Quite a pleasure. Quite a terrific book.

Editorial Review:

The Little Ice Age tells the story of the turbulent, unpredictable, and often very cold years of modern European history, how this altered climate affected historical events, and what it means for today's global warming. Building on research that has only recently confirmed that the world endured a 500year cold snap, renowned archaeologist Brian Fagan shows how the increasing cold influenced familiar events from Norse exploration to the settlement of North America to the Industrial Revolution. This is a fascinating book for anyone interested in history, climate, and how they interact.

My French Life

Vicki Archer

By: Penguin Books Australia Ltd Amazon Marketplace: 14 new & used starting at $28.98

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 19 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

PRETENTIOUS, PRETENTIOUS, AND BEYOND PRETENTIOUS!!! 1 out of 5 stars.
11 of 14 people found this review helpful.

I have never read anything so utterly pretentious -- how wonderful that Ms Archer found this paradise and, at untold cost, restored it brick by brick, stone by stone, using the best local craftspeople,artisans, antiquarians and the like (and who all, along the way, became her new best friends)-- and telling us in the most mundane style how lucky she is to be able to sit and watch the olives grow while also tripping off to Paris or London (her now home).

Her ultimate coup, it seems, and which Ms. Archer proudly tells us she has received, was recognition,by the French Security person at the airport,of her HERMES BERKIN handbag. He informed her that she had bought the most perfect item in the whole world, made with utmost craftsmanship at Hermes-- and she has the privilege of owning it! MON DIEU!!!

Luckily, I got this book from my local library and thus have not added a centime to her rather full coffers. SAVE YOUR MONEY! BETTER TO DONATE IT TO A WORTHY CAUSE!!!!

The Politically Incorrect Guide to the South (and Why It Will Rise Again)

Clint Johnson

Amazon Price: $13.57 List Price: $19.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Regnery Publishing, Inc. Amazon Marketplace: 40 new & used starting at $5.95

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 35 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Lots of Emotion and Insult 1 out of 5 stars.
4 of 13 people found this review helpful.

"...Guide to the South" is packed with pro-South bragging interspersed with anti-North insults. Everyone not "Southern" is lumped in with the "Northerners" and insulted broadly, at every turn. Too often, the bragging made it impossible for me to distinguish between the author's opinions and facts about the South. For example, the author claims that Southerners are less racially prejudiced than Northerners with regards to African American / Caucasian interactions, but no current day evidence is presented, just historical annecdotes. This claim could be true, but I couldn't tell from reading "...Guide to the South". Having read and enjoyed other Politically Incorrect Guides, I was extremely disapointed.

Editorial Review:

The latest installment in the New York Times bestselling Politically Incorrect Guide series expands on the pro-South slant of the hugely successful Politically Incorrect Guide to American History. Author Clint Johnson shows why the South, with its emphasis on traditional values, family, faith, military service, good manners, small government, and independent-minded people, should certainly rise again.

Millennials Rising: The Next Great Generation

Neil Howe, William Strauss

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 71 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

By the authors of the bestselling 13th Gen, the first in-depth examination of the Millennials--the generation born after 1982.

"Over the next decade, the Millennial Generation will entirely recast the image of youth from downbeat and alientated to upbeat and engaged--with potentially seismic consequences for America." --from Millennials Rising

In this remarkable account, certain to stir the interest of educators, counselors, parents, and people in all types of business as well as young people themselves, Neil Howe and William Strauss introduce the nation to a powerful new generation: the Millennials. They will also explain:

Why today's teens are smart, well-behaved, and optimisitc, and why you won't hear older people say that.

Why they get along so well with their Boomer and Xer parents.

Why Millennial collegians will bring a new youth revolution to America's campuses.

Why names like "Generation Y" and "Echo Boom" just don't work for today's kids.

Having looked at oceans of data, taken their own polls, and talked to hundreds of kids, parents, and teachers, Howe and Strauss explain how Millennials are turning out to be so dramatically different from Xers and boomers and how, in time, they will become the next great generation.

Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind : Intercultural Cooperation and Its Importance for Survival

Geert Hofstede

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 21 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Monumental Book Well Worth the Read 5 out of 5 stars.
6 of 6 people found this review helpful.

The father and son team of Geert and Geert Jan Hofstede have done a remarkable job breaking down the (measurable) elements of the world's cultures, usingt the somewhat antiquated IBM studies combined with more recent (less comprehensive) studies. The end result is that nations can be evaulauted on the basis of criteria such as "uncertainty avoidance," "individualism" and "power distance from superiors."

The work is enlightening and helpful to anyone who works internationally. It is also useful to break down one's own nation (for example, some Americans lean toward the British way of thinking while others are more German-like). The same criteria that divide nations also divide families within a society.

Businessmen, missionaries, pastors, counselors, journalists, and social scientists should devour these materials!

This should be required reading for anyone planning to live overseas or anyone who deals with internationals. In short, this book is relevant to our modern "shrinking" world and quite well done.

Like most significant works, this volume has its weak points.

Although the authors claim to espouse a "values neutral" position (which I have always argued is an impossible and illogical position), their Dutch/Swedish preferences ring out loudly and clearly (humanistic, environmnetalist, etc.). Although the authors do make a serious attempt to look at things from other perspectives, they simply cannot divorce themselves from their own cultural preferances. This is not bad -- they simply need to be above board and stop pretending to take the role of the neutral outsider (at least to better influence those of us who are American conservatives; we are big into distinguishing between fact and evaluation of fact; these evaluations are always done through a person's own personal gridwork).

The authors also have occasional trouble connecting a few dots. For example, on the bottom of p. 355, the Hofstedes are tactfully scolding the U.S. for its lack of foreign aid (again, showing their own bias), but on the top of p. 356 they add, "Looking back to half a century of development assistance, most observers agree that the effectiveness of much of the spending has been dismal." They then say those countries which did improve did so because of their cultural values, not foreign aid. But they seem incapable of concluding that good intentions (and even money) is not the most effective way to solve these problems. They just don't get it.

The same is true with contributions through governments to Tsunami relief. It should be expected that individualistic countries would be more prone to give as individuals, not as collective societies. Rather than look at total giving (or perecentage) OF A SOCIETY, they authors confuse a society with its government. Lots of missed "dot connections" in this work.

Despite the books weakspots, it is overwhelming strong and rich with fascinating content. It is a "mind opening" work -- well worth the read. You simply must read this one!

Editorial Review:

Despite calls for better co-operation between countries and different cultures, there is still confrontation between people, groups and nations. But at the same time they are exposed to common problems which demand co-operation for the solution of these problems. Cultures and Organizations helps to understand the differences in the way strategists and their followers think, offering practical solutions for those in business to help solve conflict between different groups.

Under the Tuscan Sun: At Home in Italy

Frances Mayes

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Total reviews: 433 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Buying a villa in the spectacular Italian countryside is a wonderful fantasy -- even if 17 rooms and a garden in need of immediate loving care are included in the asking price. Frances Mayes -- gourmet cook, widely published travel writer, and poet -- changed her life by doing just that. Sprinkled liberally with delicious recipes for inspired Italian dishes, amusing anecdotes about the risks of being your own contractor, and a savvy traveler's reminiscences, Under the Tuscan Sun is Mayes's enchanting account of her love affair with Tuscany: of scouring the neighborhood for the perfect panettone and the perfect plumber; of mornings spent cultivating her garden, and afternoons spent enjoying its fruits in leisurely lunches on the terrace; of jaunts through the hill towns in search of renowned wines; and the renewal not only of a house, but also of the spirit. An unusual memoir that combines the appeal of M. F.K. Fisher, Peter Mayle, and Martha Stewart, Under the Tuscan Sun is a feast for the senses.

Fascinating womanhood

Helen B Andelin

By: Pacific Press Santa Barbara Amazon Marketplace: 5 new & used starting at $5.00

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Total reviews: 167 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

How to Make Your Marriage a Lifelong Love Affair

What makes a woman fascinating to her husband? What is happiness in marriage for a woman? These are just two of the questions Helen B. Andelin answers in the bestselling classic that has already brought new happiness and life to millions of marriages.

Fascinating Womanhood offers timeless wisdom, practical advice, and old-fashioned values to meet the needs and challenges of today’s fascinating woman. Inside you’ll learn:

∑ What traits today’s men find irresistible in a woman
∑ How to awaken a man’s deepest feelings of love
∑ Eight rules for a successful relationship
∑ How to rekindle your love life
∑ How to bring out the best in your man—and reap the rewards
∑ Plus special advice for the working woman—and much more!

Fascinating Womanhood offers guidance for a new generation of women—happy, fulfilled, adored and cherished—who want to rediscover the magic of their own feminine selves.