Book Description
This fascinating book is the first volume in a projected cultural history of the United States, from the earliest English settlements to our own time. It is a history of American folkways as they have changed through time, and it argues a thesis about the importance for the United States of having been British in its cultural origins. While most people in the United States today have no British ancestors, they have assimilated regional cultures which were created by British colonists, even while preserving ethnic identities at the same time. In this sense, nearly all Americans are "Albion's Seed," no matter what their ethnicity may be. The concluding section of this remarkable book explores the ways that regional cultures have continued to dominate national politics from 1789 to 1988, and still help to shape attitudes toward education, government, gender, and violence, on which differences between American regions are greater than between European nations.
Customer Reviews:
A brilliant examination.......2007-09-29
In this brilliant and masterful account the Anglo-Saxon immigration to America is illuminated through an examination of their origins. Even if most histories of the settling of America have distinguished between the Puritan culture of New England, the Quakers of Pennsylvania and the Southern gentry, few have ever done so in such a systematic and interesting way.
This study is a massive undertaking that examines the four major immigrant waves that broke on the shores of America in the 17th and 18th centuries. It examines foremost the immigration from East Anglia to New England, the immigration from the south of England to Virginia, the North midlands to the Delaware and the `borderlands' to the backcountry. This book shows that these were distinct patterns of immigration that were short lived and were particular phenomenons. Alongside the pattern and geographic extent of the immigration their were parallel differences in culture. These are illustrated through the examination of twenty four characteristics of each `folkway' of the immigrants. These vary from the types of sport they played to their superstition and their belief in `freedom' as well as their manner of speech and way they named the young.
This book may be heavy handed for some, slightly academic, but it is also a brilliant examination of the origins of American culture and the divisions and cultures inside America. It uses pictures and drawing as well as statistics, maps and diary entries to illustrate the point. One particularly interesting examination of that of architecture in the new world.
A brilliant book, that cannot be ignored if one wants to read about the origins of America and its peoples.
Seth J. Frantzman
about the last group............2007-09-06
At last I understand why there is so much more violence, us v. them, a much higher murder rate, and just plain orneriness among my fellow southerners.
anthropology about us.......2007-08-29
David Hackett Fischer makes you conscious of cultural bents so ubiquitous that you may not have grasped them before, even as they've grasped you.
His writing is careful and persuasive. Organized in the manner of folklore studies, in sections by category of behavior and custom, the book can serve as a reference book--yet one ends up reading long passages, spellbound by recognition.
Campaign strategists, and other voters, should take note of the section at the back reviewing the influence of cultural roots on US presidential campaigns.
terrific.......2007-04-23
No doubt about it. This was a great book! The research is impressive and almost entirely rooted in primary and archival sources. The thesis was clear, ambitious, and bold. I have read few other books from which I have learned so much.
Ambitious!.......2007-03-17
I give this book high marks just for its very ambition! A must read for those interested in early US history. This is the longest book I have ever read without a narrative!
Average customer rating:
- Pointless
- Dreadful reading!
- Slow Man, Engrossing Story
- Autotherapy?
- Thank you.
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Slow Man
J. M. Coetzee
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
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Binding: Paperback
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Coetzee, J.M.
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ASIN: 0143037897 |
Book Description
J. M. Coetzee , one of the greatest living writers in the English language, has crafted a deeply moving tale of love and mortality in his new book, Slow Man. When photographer Paul Rayment loses his leg in a bicycle accident, he is forced to reexamine how he has lived his life. Through Paul's story, Coetzee addresses questions that define us all: What does it mean to do good? What in our lives is ultimately meaningful? How do we define the place we call “home”? In his clear and uncompromising voice, Coetzee struggles with these issues and offers a story that will dazzle the reader on every page.
Customer Reviews:
Pointless.......2007-08-08
Not sure of the point of this novel. Paul loses a leg in an accident and must hire a nurse. OK SO far, so good.
He falls in love with this nurse and tries to help her family. Then Elizabeth Costello turns up (Why?) Out of the blue. No explaination as to why she is there, her purpose or even why she is in the book at all. How does she know things about Paul Maryna? Did I just not get this book??? Forget it and get a different one.
Dreadful reading!.......2007-07-23
I continued to read this book because I read good reviews about it. But once I finished reading the book, I was upset that I wasted my TIME on this book.
Slow Man, Engrossing Story.......2007-06-09
Ever since I heard John Coetzee speak at an animal rights conference in 1999, I've been drawn to his writing. I found Slow Man every bit as engrossing and entertaining as I did his Booker Award-winning Disgrace. Coetzee's distinctive style--a frank, intimate narrative in the third-person--is strongly present here. What might on the surface seem to be a mundane tale--an elderly, stubborn man confronted with dependence on outside care while recovering from a debilitating injury--Slow Man sweeps along. It is not so much the plot but the intensity of its delivery that makes this such a winning novel. Paul Rayment is so real you can virtually smell his breath rising from the page. Elizabeth Costello, a strangely recurrent name in Coetzee's books, is by contrast slightly mythological here, but an excellent foil for the main character. If Coetzee ever writes a sequel, I hope he chooses this one.
Autotherapy?.......2007-05-19
The book hits you hard on the first pages: a sixty-year old man, Paul Rayment, is knocked off his bicycle in a road accident in Adelaide, and has to have a leg amputated. In hospital and back at home he suffers from post-operative indignities, and from depression, his reactions wincingly and bleakly described. He resents his nurses, his social worker and his physiotherapist: at their best, he feels, he is only another case for them; at their worst they talk to him as if he were a child. He becomes more acutely aware than he has ever been before of his loneliness: part of his depression is due to the fact that he has no wife (he divorced many years ago) and no children. He becomes increasingly tetchy in what he says, but even then he keeps much of what he thinks (represented in italics) to himself.
Then he gets a sturdy Croatian-born home nurse, Marijana, who knows intuitively how to look after him without infantilizing him, and he comes to love her. She is a married woman with three children, the eldest, Drago, an attractive 16 year-old boy. Paul does not have, but would love to have, a sexual relationship with her; meanwhile he wants to help her by being a surrogate father to Drago and by paying his fees to go to college.
And then suddenly, a third of the way through the book, this very realistic account suddenly shifts gear. Out of the blue Paul is visited by one Elizabeth Costello, who, we are told, is a well-known Australian novelist. Perhaps there really was a novelist called Elizabeth Costello - but (to me at least) it is clear from her first appearance that the Elizabeth in this story is not a real person at all, but is Paul's inner voice: clearly the italicized inner voice is no longer sufficient. She `knows' things about Paul - his very thoughts, his relationships with Marijana, even about chance encounters which no real person could possibly know. She encamps herself in Paul's house: Paul cannot get rid of her, and his efforts to do so are feeble. When he does try, she says, `I did not come to you: you came to me'. Paul thinks (pretends to himself?) that she is wanting to write a novel about him and the others, but that she is not sure how the plot will work out.
Though I conceive of her as a ghostly presence, it is the genius of the book that she is presented as (or Paul imagines her as) a very solid presence indeed, with a heart condition and fleshy freckled shoulders. And as such, disconcertingly (if my interpretation is right), she seems to be a presence to Marijana and to Drago also. All the time she tells Paul that his relationship with Marijana and with Drago is an impossible one and rests on a range of misconceptions that he has both about them and about himself.
But if most (though not all) of the rest of the book is an interior dialogue and a kind of auto-psychotherapy (there is a sly allusion to Freud five pages from the end), it is a sophisticated and probing one, in which Paul's views of himself are ruthlessly, subtly, sometimes cruelly, exhaustively and exhaustingly challenged, with some superb and revealing images. One would not go to a therapist if one did not already feel damaged in mind as well as in body. That does not mean that one does not put up a strong defence against what the therapist suggests. So it is with Paul's resistance against what Elizabeth, his inner self, tells him. By the bleak end I think he has learnt a lot about himself; he has come to terms with the fact that he has been harbouring impossible hopes; he knows now that he cannot have life on his terms; he has to live with being the sort of person he is: crippled, lonely and slow like a tortoise carrying the carapace of his essential character.
Thank you........2007-03-19
When I was young, Herman Hesse showed us the path toward enlightenment. Oh, the road has often been grim and unsubstantial. We, who have searched our hearts, believed in tales told to Madmen Only. We entered alternate worlds and found ourselves, not the Magic Theater, wanting. Not since The Steppenwolf or Siddhartha have I been so absorbed in a novel as Slow Man by J.M.Coetzee. Not 'absorbed', but 'imprinted'. I feel the substance of the man, the silent communion he has with characters, the dialogues between himself and himself in different forms. The grappling of the eternal questions, the need for cohesion, for what they now call 'closure', and the realization, I think for I am not sure, that the road will go on, if not with legs, than with hands. If not to walk, then to crawl, not toward death, but toward life. There is a fusion of artist and character here. The character is real; he at last can be true to his tortoise shell. He will prevail. Perhaps not, this Elizabeth Costello, this gentle, ironic Coetzee clone.
When you read this book, you can understand the irony of an 'original' Fauchery, a photograph being taken as a joke by Drago Jokic, whose name is likened to a joke by Coetzee, or was it Elizabeth Costello, o, perhaps, it was Paul Rayment? No, none of this is true because this book is mine.
I will, since I am now sixty-two, sally forth in my humungous tortoise shell toward new adventure. I will not hold my breath to await the executioner's axe or the next calamitous event.
Thank you, my friend, you changed my life with this work. Though it is not considered your best, it is even better because it has the subtle nuance of distance, time, and, above all else, the wisdom of an exceptional master.
Product Description
A Vietnam War Novel. ...get ready to have your socks knocked off...(from back cover) Military writing at its best-Rick Casady
Customer Reviews:
Ridiculous.......2007-09-07
There are a few characterizations in this fantasy piece that ring true, but those few that do exist are smothered by the absurdity of the rest of this novel. It might have helped if the author had taken 10 or 15 minutes to do a little research geography alone. Yes, there were covert missions aplenty into Laos and even southern China. Yes, many were FUBAR at the moment of conception. But the portrayals in "Slow Walk through the Gardens..." don't even reach the level of comic book. Prospective readers are encouraged to save their money. There are plenty of accounts, and even some fiction, available on Amazon regarding US intervention in Laos...all far better than this mess. Without a doubt, "Slow Walk...Gardens of Hell" one of the worst books written to date on the war in Southeast Asia. Too bad "zero" stars was not a rating option.
Not sure if this non-fiction book is really fictional.......2007-07-29
I have read dozens (hundred, plus??) of first person accounts of their action in SE asia. SOme of this story is so radically different I am having a hard time believing it. THe basis is that he was a graduate student in guerilla warfare hired by the CIA to help them in Laos and Thailand. The guy that hires him gets fired so the author is shipped off to do combat patrols.
He appears to be a CIA contractor, but not a CIA actual employee. His willingness and ease with which he supposedly kills superior officers and other members of the US Army either makes him the most honest author of the war to date or not completely honest about his history. As a civilian contractor I don't understand if he was under any contract, and if not why not just leave if it was so bad for him. Also, as a civilian, why the hell was he taking ANY orders from Army personel. As a discharged veteran, any military person who tried to give me orders I would tell to get bent as I am a civilian now. I don't understand why he allowed himself to be ordered into situations when he was not official CIA and his directions weren't coming from the CIA.
That being said I am not a combat veteran so I will leave others to decide if it is true or not.
Other than that it is an interesting read if nothing else. If you can keep a skeptical outlook it is a quick read.
A graphic look at the Vietnam War.......2006-10-10
This novel is an intense look at the realities of war from the perspective of a soldier who was just trying to make it out alive. The main character is an American intellectual who was hired by the CIA to conduct intelligence in Laos and vietnam. Unfortunately for him, the CIA dropped the program and didn't know what to do with him. He was sent to command a small patrol in Laos as an "equivalent" officer, which meant that he was never officially part of the military, but was treated like one. Through a combination of resourcefulness, craziness, booze, drugs, and just plain luck he survived in the enemy-infested jungles of Laos against remarkable odds only to have to fight for his own survival against the local military brass who wished he would just disappear. He made a few friends but even more enemies as he did everything in his power to come through it all alive.
Product Description
One of the mysteries in the Mario Balzic series. Mario Balzic is a police chief very close to the population of his small Pennsylvania township. This solving of this strange murder in his town brings out all of his loveable traits including his fierce unpretentiousness.
Customer Reviews:
flimsy.......2006-07-01
this book was hard to force interest in, for me. The phony accents so exaggerated;it also seemed to me that Balzic is trying to be Peter Falk, and failing miserably. I don't think I'll read another by this author. Very flimsy, especially the last quarter of the book. Would not recommend to anyone. You can read about the plot (if you can find one, that is) in other reviews.
Thank Goodness it was cheap.......2004-07-27
Thank goodness it is a small book. Thank goodness I found it at half price day at the local booksale. Thank goodness I didn't bother to buy the rest of the series if they are like this one.
Lots of dull un-insightful talk. VERY dull un-insightful talk while the chief chews everything over. Now I am not one who turns down a good book with insightful characterizations and conversations. Action is not needful for a mystery. I am one who turns down pointless conversations and poor characterizations.
Avoid city contract problems, find missing husband, find out about major dealers. None of which develop into anything but proceed to bounce off and around each other almost pointlessly while a loose interconnection of the missing but NOT missing[??? or is he missing?] husband wanders thru it. Then a rapid here's what happened in the end shoved into a few pages. Yeah and why should I care? The author didn't if he took something that could have been expanded and gave me a slap dash summary of a few pages.
Characterizations leave a lot to be desired. I never got a full image of anyone even from the chief's view and we won't go into the image of the chief I did get. 177 pages of boredom in one small package. Too bad I didn't get it on bag day for about a penny.
An Original Right Off the Vine.......2003-10-13
K.C. Constantine's 'The Man Who Liked Slow Tomatoes' came highly recommeded by one of the best crime writer's to grace the genre, James Crumley. He lists this book as a classic and I can confirm that it doesn't disappoint. Constantine weaves a tapestry of small town crime in PA. where local politics, family affairs, and ex-coal miner petty hoods grate on the nerves of boozy, hard nosed fireplug detective, Mario Balzic. Like the slow tomatoes that remain at the thematic heart of the book, the charaters here take their sweet time in revealing their intent, developing at a pace which allows the reader to get a full taste of what they're all about. Balzic ain't no Marla Maples cozy, but he also isn't Sam Spade lurking in noir shadows with a tommy gun about chatter at any minute. More like he is the penulitmate small town detective, relying on a few smooth moves, a hangover cure, and a knowledge of his environment and its PA. locals to win the day.
Well-crafted, but dreary.......2003-02-26
The writing here is good, very good, and the characters are
subtly and richly drawn. The setting and dialog are
convincing, and the emotions will stay with you. Which
is perhaps the problem!
There is no redemption here. The mood and events are
dark, the deaths pointless. There is no brain-teasing
mystery, no real lesson about human nature beyond that
it can be ugly and destructive. I don't normally wonder
about the point of books, but I have to admit that after
this one I did. What was the point of all that? Did I
need to be reminded that life can be painful? Maybe
I did. In retrospect I think it was worth the time
to read, but I can't say I _enjoyed_ it.
There are a very few technical flaws (the drug-dealer
side-plot seemed entirely unnecessary, and the sudden
solving of the "mystery" at the end was abrupt and not
entirely convincing), but my complaint about this book
is not with the execution, but rather with the nature of
the project. A single beam of light would, I think, have
made this a more worthwhile work.
Among the best of modern mysteries.......1996-12-31
K.C. Constantine is a mystery writer wrapped in a mystery. Writing for 20 years or more, no one knows who he really is and, at his best, he is the best mystery writer in America. The Man Who Liked Slow Tomatoes is his best work. The characters, ordinary people living ordinary lives, come alive across the pages. You understand their strengths and sympathize with their weaknesses. Plot is secondary to character in Constantine's Rockburg mysteries, but the plot here will not disappoint. His recent works have had some ups and downs, but he seems back on track now. This book is the best introduction you can get to a master of the trade
Average customer rating:
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Hombre Lento/ Slow Man
J. M. Coetzee
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
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Coetzee, J.M.
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Spanish
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Coetzee, J.M.
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ASIN: 9685960097 |
Average customer rating:
- Virgnia Tech Magazine
- The last Slow Dance
- Marion from Virginia
- Review On "The Last Slow Dance"
- Excellent, Uplifting story
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The Last Slow Dance : a Novella
Mary Gauden Hughes
Manufacturer: Henri Butler Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
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ASIN: 193084705X |
Customer Reviews:
Virgnia Tech Magazine.......2005-04-05
"Life doesn't just happen to us. There is one spectacular moment when it happens for us," says Mary Gauden Hughes (psychology '81). Her book, The Last Slow Dance, conveys that sentiment in the story of a musician who must decide between his career and the love of a writer who may have found her best story yet in him. These two "not-so-young" lovers must figure out how to balance their dreams and fears when love is involved and when the past isn't resolved.
The last Slow Dance.......2002-02-19
This is a powerful, poignant and compelling love story of love found and the transforming power of this love. The story is marked by Hughes's simplicity of form and purity of line, comparable to the best selling author, Nicholas Spark's novel, The Notebook. A pleasant and relaxing read.
Marion from Virginia.......2002-02-14
I certainly have enjoyed "The Last Slow Dance." It would be a great movie as it would be interesting for young folks as well as older folks. It is so nice to read a book that doesn't have unnecessary and unwanted descriptions. It is a book that you can be proud of. Keep more books coming!
Review On "The Last Slow Dance".......2002-02-14
This book was great! I fell in love with the characters in the first chapter. Micheal Mcain is such a deep character. I'm sorry that can't write much now, but this book is great!
Excellent, Uplifting story.......2002-02-12
I read this book in one sitting! What an excellent, uplifting story of life and love. This author's writing style is beautiful and easy - it flows so well - you just can't put it down. If you liked The Bridges of Madison County, you will also love The Last Slow Dance. I look forward to more books by Mary Gauden Hughes.
Books:
- Animal Farm and 1984
- Around the World in 80 Days
- Arrowsmith, Elmer Gantry, Dodsworth (Library of America)
- Art in China (Oxford History of Art)
- Art in the Hellenistic Age
- Bhagavad-Gita:: The Song of God
- Brideshead Revisited
- Buddha, Vol. 2: The Four Encounters
- Buddha, Volume 1: Kapilavastu (Buddha)
- Candide: Or Optimism (Penguin Classics)
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