Amazon.com
"What began as a relatively bounded project examining the domestic debate over Central America evolved into a comprehensive history of U.S. policy toward the region during its decade of crisis--how policy was made, how it worked, and how the administration tried to sell it to the American people."
According to William LeoGrande, American involvement in Central America in the 1970s and '80s can be understood only in the context of the Cold War, and its greater struggle against the Soviet Union. Central America--and by this William LeoGrande means mainly El Salvador and Nicaragua--was simply one of several stages upon which these political war games were played. This was especially true during the Reagan years, during which U.S. policy "shifted from Carter's attempts to seek a negotiated settlement in El Salvador, and coexistence with the Sandinista government in Nicaragua, to Reagan's effort to achieve military victory for the Salvadoran government, and the ouster of the Sandinistas by covert proxy war."
In Our Own Backyard, LeoGrande traces the evolution of American policy in Central America as well as its reception by the Congress and people of the United States. He discusses the schisms within Reagan's own ranks, the struggle between the Republican White House and the Democratic congress, and how the ever-present shadow of Vietnam continued to shape American attitudes well into the 1990s. This is a book that liberals will love and conservatives will find plenty to disagree with.
Book Description
In this remarkable and engaging book, William LeoGrande offers the first comprehensive history of U.S. foreign policy toward Central America in the waning years of the Cold War. From the overthrow of the Somoza dynasty in Nicaragua and the outbreak of El Salvador's civil war in the late 1970s to the final regional peace settlements negotiated a decade later, he chronicles the dramatic struggles—in Washington and Central America—that shaped the region's destiny.
For good or ill, LeoGrande argues, Central America's fate hinged on decisions that were subject to intense struggles among, and within, Congress, the CIA, the Pentagon, the State Department, and the White House—decisions over which Central Americans themselves had little influence. Like the domestic turmoil unleashed by Vietnam, he says, the struggle over Central America was so divisive that it damaged the fabric of democratic politics at home. It inflamed the tug-of-war between Congress and the executive branch over control of foreign policy and ultimately led to the Iran-contra affair, the nation's most serious political crisis since Watergate.
Customer Reviews:
A subject not many like to think about.......2003-01-25
Excellent book. LeoGrande tells us a disturbing tale that would be fodder for nightmares. And it's all too true.
That these people were once in charge of our government, and today are not sitting in jail is appalling.
An exhaustive account of US policy in Central America........1999-06-08
Leogrande documents the strong role the United States played in El Salvador and Nicaragua during the civil wars in these countries. He apologizes for excluding Guatemala because that would make his necessarily long work even longer. The actions of all players - the CIA, State Department, National Security Council, the Sandinistas, the Contras, the FLMN (Salvadoran rebels), the Organization of American States (OAS), and many others - are presented in a detailed narrative which illuminates the extraordinarily intricate background behind the headlines. As such it shows the tremendous power, resources and determination the United States has for controlling events south of its border. Though lengthy, I found this book extremely absorbing for I experienced history coming alive on its pages. Leogrande has produced a valuable work which will no doubt appear on any major bibliography on US policy in Central America.
182 Pages of Index.......1999-04-18
Mr. LeoGrande has written a 590 page book with an additional 182 pages of notes and index. Only a university with a great basketball program such as UNC (the publisher) could afford to humor such a person. On the book cover, it states Mr. LeoGrande is an employee of "American University" yet doesn't bother to inform me about this school. Is it well-known like Harvard or MIT? At any rate he knows how to go on and on about his chosen subject.
Great analysis of the U.S.-El Salvador relations durings 80s.......1999-01-20
LeoGrande's academic analysis of the U.S. military involvement in Central America is the best account yet of the U.S. foreign policy towards Central America during the Eighties. Although, his focus is on El Salvador and Nicaragua, it is the painstaking assessment of the relations of the U.S. and El Salvador during the 1980s that makes this book valuable to its readers. Regarding El Salvador, the theme of the U.S. foreign policy was simple: support the Salvadoran military to stop the marxist-led FLMN guerrillas even if the military's death squads engage in massive human rights violations. The book should be useful not only to those interested in Central America, but also to those who live with, work with and do business with Central Americans in the United States. The Civil War in El Salvador displaced over 1 million persons, most of whom fled to the United States. During the Salvadoran Civil War, about 60,000 people died. The children and grandchildren of Salvadorans who were able to make it to the U.S. should find LeoGrande's book as an excellent introduction to the reasons why their forebears came to the United States. LeoGrande's book is informative, engaging and insightful.
Book Description
“One day soon, our government will suddenly run out of cash, unable to meet its payments, leaving the United States as bankrupt as any banana republic. We are far more vulnerable than most Americans realize. . . With a debt of $7.3 trillion, if interest rates were to hit the levels we saw 20 years ago, it would take every nickel collected in income taxes just to pay the interest on our existing debt. There would be no money left for defense, or homeland security, or education, or Social Security.
This scenario is hardly fiction. That the United States of America can literally go broke is no longer a fantasy but likelihood—unless we stop the train now speeding us to Armageddon. If we do not get our financial house in order, and soon, our great nation will collapse under the weight of its financial obligations.
I believe we can prevent the catastrophe. But time is short. In the final reckoning, it’s up to us to do what’s needed to save America’s future.”—from
America the Broke
The dirty little secret that neither George W. Bush nor Congress are willing to confront—that America’s reckless spending, disastrous deficits, and exploding debt are speeding our great nation to financial ruin.
Imagine a world in which you lose your job because your company goes under, your retirement money disappears, the value of your home tumbles overnight, your bank stops allowing cash withdrawals, and your ATM card is canceled. The price of groceries has risen so fast that you don’t have the money to pay for them at the check-out counter . . . and the country is bankrupt.
That is exactly the future that economist Gerald J. Swanson sees America hurtling toward—unless we rein in our country’s reckless spending. In America the Broke, Swanson, coauthor of the runaway New York Times bestseller Bankruptcy 1995, argues that the United States is on the brink of financial collapse. Thanks to George W. Bush’s two tax cuts, the White House and Congress’ escalation of domestic spending, two wars, and an economic recession, what was a $200 billion annual surplus three years ago under Bill Clinton has become a river of red ink. The White House’s official projected deficit for 2004 is $521 billion—the largest deficit in U.S. history. With a national debt spiraling upward of $7.3 trillion, a huge trade deficit, and personal debt at an all-time high, we are standing at the edge of a financial abyss that could undermine the financial security of our families and our children’s children.
“Deficits don’t matter,” claim Vice President Dick Cheney and other members of the Bush Administration. But the facts revealed in America the Broke paint an alarming picture.
Next year’s projected deficit will exceed the amount all our cities spend on police, fire protection, medical care, and every other civil service in an entire year. It is more than we could save from abolishing Medicare and Medicaid completely.
The real deficit—the deficit the government doesn’t want you to know about—including the hidden funds we “borrow” from Social Security is nearly $1 trillion.
Rising interest rates alone could trigger staggering payments on our skyrocketing debt, soaking up every dollar the government takes in, leaving America bankrupt.
What does this mean for you and me? If the dollar goes into free fall, banks could close, businesses go bankrupt, real estate values crumble, and middle-class families could lose everything they own.
But there is hope. We can save ourselves—if we demand that our political leaders act now to eliminate the deficit and reduce the debt. In a year of deficit denial, America the Broke is a critical wake-up call regarding our government’s reckless deficit spending—as well as a blueprint for rescuing our economy and saving our country.
Customer Reviews:
facts and fear.......2006-06-15
The U.S. is obviosly not a closed economy. Right now, the U.S. debt held by foreigners is so great that it is not in their interest to see the dollar fall, nor would it be good for their exports-the 2001 recession wreaked havoc on their exports. The U.S. if it were to go down, would drag much of the world down with it and makes the issue very complex. As of now interest rates are still low, but rising, and the government will not raise interest rates as high as the early 80's because that will throw the economy into recession and burst the housing bubble. Housing prices have never declined in nominal terms and the government knows that high interest rates would kill the mortgage market, dragging down the banks and thus the economy as well. There is a delicate balance to say the least. This book does a good job of presenting the situation, but the scenario will not be so grim. Germany and Japan recovered quickly after they destroyed themselves and the world in WW2, and the U.S. has not gone nearly that far or will it ever.
He is right, but it is too late.......2006-03-24
This book is very informative and easy reading. Yes, our government has led this country to a brink of bankrupcy. But what will the people do? Will they really write letters to their congressman and join google and yahoo groups and spend their energy to fix our country? No. Most people will just go on complaining and do nothing. Yes, some people will take civil responsibility and do all the right things as the book suggests, but it is too late. I am just being realistic. Like the author says, every great empire comes to death, and a new one begins. America had it's moment of glory and it got too fat. My point is, just as the politicians are corrupt, most people are also corrupt. No one was forced to use credit cards and get into irresponsible debt. We have only ourselves to blame.
Great introduction to the HUGE problem we face.......2005-12-07
I asked my husband what he thought the most important political issue was, and he said "the deficit." He's a pretty smart guy, and even though I was surprised he didn't say something more "exciting" like abortion, the war, or the environment, I thought I would look into it anyway. I got Swanson's book from the library and just couldn't put it down. Swanson succeeded in enfuriating me with this topic. He writes in a very conversational way that is clear to understand for the beginner. And proved for me that, once again, my husband was right! :)
A must read, but how are we to fix it?.......2004-11-15
The author does an excellent job of alerting us to America's fiscal problems, and for those who need a better understanding of them, this is a must read. It is well written and provides realistic scenarios if we fail to fix the system.
But Gerald Swanson describes only the symptom, and like other economists he overlooks the disease (our moneyed political system) and the real cure (public funding of political campaigns). To expect "honesty, responsibility and good government to return to government" is a pipe dream when the fat cats who fund our political elections are paying for just the opposite. What part of "he who pays the piper calls the tune" do we not understand?
Swanson also favors privatizing some of our government functions, and I would agree if we could get private campaign money out of our public electoral system. Private companies can give campaign contributions to control the outcome of their investment; government entities cannot. One need only look at the "privatized" rebuilding of Iraq under Halliburton for evidence of the affects it would have on U.S. taxpayers.
On the health care cost crisis, the author offers only four choices: Raise taxes, reduce benefits, change eligibility guidelines, or continue borrowing to finance Medicare and Medicaid. But there's a fifth and needed action: control the spiraling health care costs which are increasing at double-digit rates! We struggle to find ways of "paying" for health care but continue to allow the medical community to run open loop while building unneeded hospitals, buying excessive numbers of high-tech scanners and ordering medical procedures that are not needed. Physician self referrals have run amok. A single payor health care system is long overdue, but both sides of the isle have been AWOL on the issue and will remain so until the $100 million per year that is given by the medical and pharmaceutical industries is replaced with public funding of campaigns.
That said, this is still a must-read book. But the author and his colleagues must now address the common denominator; the dollar bill. Congressmen are bought and paid for by special interests and they will continue putting them ahead of public interests until the funding of elections is paid for by the taxpayers. For $15 per taxpayer per year we could fund both state and federal elections and eliminate over $2000 per taxpayer per year in government giveaways. Only then will we see balanced budgets, reasonable government spending and a fair tax system. That's a bargain at a hundred times the price.
This book tells you what you can do help protect your future.......2004-09-28
America the Broke is one of the most important books I have ever read. Its conclusions are very disturbing because they are founded on a detailed and systematic analysis of existing facts. Swanson's logic is irrefutable.
In clear, honest and straight-forward language Swanson shows how politicians in their hunger to be reelected have deceived you and me. They have run up over 7.3 Trillion Dollars in Debt. To put this in perspective it would take over thirty one thousand years spending one dollar a second to reach a Trillion Dollars.
He explains specifically the accounting scams that have been used to intentionally hide the truth from us and how seriously we have already been harmed.
Swanson's step by step analysis reveals why you and I may soon be forced to say good bye to our jobs, our businesses, our homes, our savings, our retirement, and our future.
He offers us a solution to this awful mess. He sets forth the specific action each of us can take to force our political leaders to tell the truth and stop spending America into bankruptcy.
Please buy and read America the Broke immediately. Let's take action before it is too late.
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In Pursuit of the White House 2000: How We Choose Our Presidential Nominees
Manufacturer: Chatham House Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 1889119172 |
Book Description
The 1859 novel tracing the life of a mulatto foundling abused by a white family in 19th century New England.
Customer Reviews:
Slave of Northern Abolitionist but free.......2007-05-07
This book was written by a woman who was supposed to be a free Black woman. In fact she was treated like a slave, a Black wage slave. She was oppressed by a family of who were Northern Abolitionists. Yet, she was treated like a slave. Succeeding generations of whites studying the book denied her and her class the ability to write such a book: they claimed the book had to have been written by a white person and that it was a novel, not real.
Millions of Black women who have slaved in white kitchens and cleaning white homes during and since slavery have a spokesperson in Harriet E. Wilson. This book helps us understand not just to pity them, but to understanding their ability to fight back with their minds.
buy it with the Foreman & Pitts introduction.......2005-05-08
Though I currently have the 1983 edition with the introduction by Henry Louis Gates, Jr (whose name is in the introduction for almost every important Af-Am text in circulation, it seems), I plan on getting this latest edition.
Until recently, biographical details on Wilson were limited. Indeed, they seemed to trail off soon after the publication of her book (a death certificate for her son six months after its printing has suggested to some that her call for support went unheard). This introduciton offers new and happier information, showing that Wilson lived a long life--in part as a successful lecturer on the Spiritualist circuit.
In any edition this is a great book. Really, "great" isn't superlative enough to cover how important and interesting it is. But if you're going to buy it, get this edition.
The North Wasn't Much Better.......2000-09-15
The female child of a white female outcast and a black freeman, the author gives a detailed account of what it was like being raised by a white family in the pre-Civil War North of the United States (a household where she was abandoned by her mother at 3). This biography gives a general idea of what a Negro's life in the North was like -- and it was not much different from that life of a slave in the South. The mistress of the house was brutal beyond measure, but many of the other family members were reasonably kind (though not kind of enough to put a stop to the abuse), and it makes one shudder to think of what could have happened in a family who had nothing but Negro-haters in it. Still, she recounts how she got a small measure of schooling, and how she eventually became a Christian (something which the lady of the house -- a Christian herself -- opposed) and her eventual marriage. An upsetting story, it is nevertheless of much more value than "Uncle Tom's Cabin" as it was told from the point of view of the victim and not a sympathetic white.
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Lbj's Texas White House: "Our Heart's Home"
Hal Rothman
Manufacturer: Texas A&M University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 1585441414 |
Book Description
This scarce antiquarian book is included in our special Legacy Reprint Series. In the interest of creating a more extensive selection of rare historical book reprints, we have chosen to reproduce this title even though it may possibly have occasional imperfections such as missing and blurred pages, missing text, poor pictures, markings, dark backgrounds and other reproduction issues beyond our control. Because this work is culturally important, we have made it available as a part of our commitment to protecting, preserving and promoting the world's literature.
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Memories of the White House: The home life of our presidents from Lincoln to Roosevelt
W. H Crook
Manufacturer: Little, Brown
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
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ASIN: B00085OGBQ |
Book Description
Hans Breuer, Austria’s only wandering shepherd, is also a Yiddish folksinger. He walks the Alps, shepherd’s stick in hand, singing lullabies to his 625 sheep. Sometimes he even gives concerts in historically anti-Semitic towns, showing slides of the flock as he belts out Yiddish ditties.
When New York-based writer Sam Apple hears about this one-of-a-kind eccentric, he flies overseas and signs on as a shepherd’s apprentice. For thoroughly urban, slightly neurotic Sam, stumbling along in borrowed boots and burdened with a lot more baggage than his backpack, the task is far from a walk in Central Park. Demonstrating no immediate natural talent for shepherding, he tries to earn the respect of Breuer’s sheep, while keeping a safe distance from the shepherd’s fierce herding dogs.
As this strange and hilarious adventure unfolds, the unlikely duo of Sam and Hans meander through a paradise of woods and high meadows toward awkward encounters with Austrians of many stripes. Apple is determined to find out if there are really as many anti-Semites in Austria as he fears and to understand how Hans, who grew up fighting the lingering Nazism in Vienna, became a wandering shepherd. What Apple discovers turns out to be far more fascinating than he had imagined.
With this odd and wonderful book, Sam Apple joins the august tradition of Tony Horwitz and Bill Bryson. Schlepping Through the Alps is as funny as it is moving.
Customer Reviews:
Not For Jews Only.......2007-09-23
To paraphrase comic Jeff Foxworthy, if you find this engaging travelogue entirely humorless... you might be an Anti-Semite. (Reading it might be a good self-test.) Although Jewishness and Anti-Jewishness are portrayed throughout, Mr. Apple's writing is so genuine and fluid that anyone with an appreciation for English will enjoy its exceptional quality. While comparisons have been made to Woody Allen, author Sam Apple might better be described as the Hunter S. Thompson of Generation X. Perhaps "Rolling Stone" would do well to engage him to cover the upcoming Presidential election--and those uncomfortable with Jewishness (Jews and non-Jews alike)--would find it less frightening to enjoy a bright new literary light. Meanwhile, try this one: reading through it is no schlep.
A Tale spiced up with enough lively and sometimes humorous commentary that will unquestionably keep readers turning the pages........2006-10-01
Sam Apple, author of Schlepping Through The Alps: My Search For Austria's Jewish Past With Its Last Wandering Shepherd, first encounters Yiddish folk-singer Hans Breuer at a concert and slide show in New York. Breuer, as Apple points out, is not just your ordinary run-of-the mill Yiddish folk-singer, rather he is truly a wandering Jew and as he reveals in his book, "If you ever happen to be hiking the Alps and you see a man singing Yiddish songs as he watches a dog chasing a sheep in a raincoat, no need for concern."
Apple, who grew up in Houston and now makes his home in Brooklyn, was quite intrigued by this forty-five year old Austrian shepherd. The result was a one thousand word article that eventually has being turned into a witty yet insightful book, wherein much of Apple's research was accumulated while traveling in Austria as an apprentice to Breuer.
During their first encounter in New York, Breuer mentioned to Apple that he wanted to bring Yiddish to the uninitiated in the Austrian Alps. When asked if he wanted these individuals to remember their Yiddish neighbors, his reply was: "I want to make them confront for the first time in their lives this culture that their uncles and fathers destroyed." With this in mind Apple decided to voyage to Austria and find out for himself what it was like to be a shepherd in the twenty-first century and to make sense of Han's Jewish identity or as he states, what it really meant for him to sing in Yiddish. He also wanted to learn about sheep, Yiddish music and anti-Semitism.
Apple's engaging narrative is what Yiddish speaking readers would probably classify as a good "meinsa," something akin to an old wife's tale only this story is actually true. Apple beckons us to follow his meandering through the Alps following a herd of sheep, a shepherd, his mistress and young lamb herders, while picking up along the way various shepherding tips from his mentor and learning about Austria's past and present political landscape.
During the course of his apprentice with Breuer, Apple learns about Austria's post-war anti-Nazi legislation that led to the sentencing to death of several Nazis and the conviction and incarceration of thousands of low-ranking Nazis. However, a few years after the enactment of this legislation, a general amnesty came into effect and all but a handful of the worst offenders were free to live happily every after. In fact, the government's constant line about complaints about Austria's behavior during the Holocaust was that if you have one take it to Germany.
Quite telling of Breuer's psyche is that he associates the Austrian countryside with fascism and anti-Semitism. When he encounters people along his shepherding path, he believes that they are all staring at him with cold eyes, aware that he is not one of them. Apple notes that Breuer enjoys being a living part of a dying tradition, where Yiddish and shepherding are relics of another time- nonetheless he takes great pride in both. Moreover, he is not quite sure how much of his own romanticizing of wandering and Jewishness has drawn him to Breuer. However, what he observes about Breuer's shepherding is "the rejection of modern society in the aftermath of the Holocaust. In his Yiddish songs I inevitably listened for the millions of missing Yiddish voices that should have been singing along."
Apple does an excellent job of capturing the flavor of the Austrian Alps with its little villages and inhabitants who seem to either have collective amnesia pertaining to their past or consider themselves blameless. Although he never does find as many anti-Semites as he originally feared, Apple does provide his readers with some serious insights, spiced up with enough lively and sometimes humorous commentary that will unquestionably keep readers turning the pages all the way to the end.
Norm Goldman, Editor Bookpleasures
Spot-on social observations from an adolescent personality.......2006-04-26
"Schlepping Through the Alps" opens a fascinating window for Americans into the little-discussed world of Austria's internal politics. Unfortunately, the view is clouded by Sam Apple's insistence on foisting descriptions on the reader of his neuroses, his sexual adventures with a "hip" Austrian woman, and the banal details of the protagonist's dysfunctional family. Woody Allen worked comic wonders with the neurotic secular Jewish character, but that persona lost its freshness nearly 30 years ago. If a reader may offer advice to Mr. Apple for his next book, it would be to share more of the results of his impressive interviewing and observation skills, and to keep his private life private.
Best Jewish Novel In A Long, Long Time.......2006-03-31
I don't understand how people can fall over themselves to sing praises of Jonathan Safran Foer and his ilk when Sam Apple clearly trumps the ever-living hell out of the supposed new Jewish literary elite. Shelpping Through The Alps draws vivid pictures, raises intense emotions, explores history and modernity, is refreshingly honest and non-pretentious, and best of all, is side-splittingly funny. I generally hate novels, but I couldn't put this one down. It's an inviting read and I invite you to read it and compare to the works of every other Jewish novelist adorning Nextbook, Guilt & Pleasure, et al. Could you honestly say you'd rather see another Everything Is Illuminated than a new book from Sam Apple? I doubt it.
A good book to schlep around.......2006-01-21
Sam Apple, a young, Jewish writer from Houston, decided to spend several weeks with Hans Breuer, a Yiddish-folksong-singing, Austrian, wandering shepherd. This books tells of his visit. We learn about Hans's personal history, and how he came to his most unusual occupation. We also learn quite a bit about anti-Semitism in Austria, both historical and present-day. Both of these are fascinating topics. Whether you enjoy this book will depend on whether you also find interesting its third topic, which is Apple's own rather extensive neuroses.
This book has at least two major strengths. First, the topic itself is certainly fresh. I, for one, have never before read a book about anti-Semitism and modern shepherding. And second, it is very funny. Apple has a number of amusing adventures, and he never hesitates to use self-deprecating humor.
I enjoyed this book very much. I felt its focus was a bit too varied--I had a hard time shifting from discussions of Nazi atrocities to descriptions of Apple's sex life. Also, I finished the book without truly feeling that I understand Hans Breuer very well. Nevertheless, I do recommend it, both for its entertainment value and for its educational value.
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Black Becomes a Rainbow
Agi L. Bauer
Manufacturer: Feldheim Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0873065735 |
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- A new look at the holocaust
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The Girl In The Check Coat: Survival in Nazi-occupied Poland and a New Life in Australia (Library of Holocaust Testimonies)
Christine Winecki
Manufacturer: Mitchell Vallentine & Company
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ASIN: 0853036357 |
Customer Reviews:
A new look at the holocaust.......2007-07-10
There are many books on the holocaust but none quite like "The Girl in the Check Coat." Christine Winecki, a journalist by trade, provides a beautiful narrative that weaves together her life story with that of her husband Oton. Whereas Christine survived the war in occupied Poland, her husband-to-be was exiled to Siberian and subsequntly stormed the ramparts of Berlin with the Polish army. The story of Christina and Oton offer us a rich perspective on Jewish life during World War II including the constant threat of death in occupied Poland and the counting of every gram of bread and butter among the starving exiles in Siberia. Another unique aspect of Ms. Winecki's novel is that the narrative continues past the war years with a fascinating account of how Christine and Oton navigated their lives through marriage, birth of their two daughters, anti-Jewish backlash in communist Poland, and finally emigration to Australia. In sum this well written, insightful, and moving book spans the best part of the XX century from the the blissful life in pre-war Poland through the hell of the holocaust to the tranquility of life in Australia. A must read indeed!
Average customer rating:
- good coverage of Sir John Monash
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The Jews in Australia
Suzanne D. Rutland
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
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ASIN: 0521612853 |
Book Description
Although Jews represent only a tiny proportion of the national population, they have made outstanding contributions and influenced Australian society immeasurably. This book explores how the Australian Jewish community differs from others around the world. It traces the community's history from its convict origins in 1788 through Australia's contemporary vibrant Jewish culture, and highlights its social and cultural impact. As well as looking at the emergence of a specific faith tradition, the book also explores how Jews, as the country's first ethnic group, have been assimilated into multicultural Australia.
Download Description
Jews form only a tiny proportion of the Australian population, yet they have made outstanding contributions and have influenced Australian society immeasurably. Stories such as that of Sir John Monash, Australian commander-in-chief during World War I, whose legacy continues through Monash University, show how Jews have reached the highest echelons of Australian society. The Jews in Australia explores what makes the Australian Jewish community different from other Jewish communities around the world. It traces the community's history from its convict origins in 1788 through to today's vibrant Jewish culture in Australia, and highlights the social and cultural impact the Jews have had on Australia. As well as looking at the emergence of a specific faith tradition in Australia, the book also explores how Jews, as Australia's first ethnic group, have integrated into multicultural Australia.
Customer Reviews:
good coverage of Sir John Monash.......2006-11-04
Perhaps few people outside Australia will read this book, but as an expatriate Aussie, I found that it shed light on a key group of immigrants who enriched that nation's culture. We see how in the 19th century, Jews were able to take part in political life with almost no restrictions. Fewer hinderances to rising to high office than in Britain itself. The book reminds us of now largely forgotten Jews who became parlimentarians in the various State parliaments prior to Federation.
While during the First World War, we see the rise of Sir John Monash. A Jew who became commander in chief of the Australian Imperial Force in Europe. It is somewhat jarring to note that apart from Leon Trotsky, Monash was the only Jew in modern times, outside Israel, to command an army. In the War, Monash's troops dealt a major defeat to the Germans in 1918, as acknowledged by Ludendorff himself. The book shows good research, by giving prominent mention to Monash. His name is known to most Australians via Monash Uni. But one might wonder how many actually know of the man.
Book Description
Rich in ideas and emotions, this epic story of the entwined lives of two vastly different families spans three continents during the most turbulent years of the 20th century. Alice Lewin survived World War II as a young child. After decades of burying her past, she decides to visit the Kindertransport archive, where she learns of the existence of a possible relative, Henry Lewin. She travels to Australia to hear his story, but she is in no way prepared to learn the truth. This information has profound ramifications—and both Alice's son, Raphe, and Henry's daughter, Laura, struggle to deal with their connected lives. Not only do the thefts of the World War II define their past, but this deception also threatens their future.
Customer Reviews:
An Insightfully Interwoven Narrative.......2006-12-12
Goldsmith's novel addresses the complicated issue of Jewish identity in Europe before WWII and the ramifications that we seek to come to terms with today. Many people today fail to understand the unbelievably complex and diverse Jewish make-up of Europe pre-WWII. This element is insightfully interwoven into the narrative.
The Prosperous Thief is an intriguing, multi-dimensional story that spans continents and generations. Novels with this much care and thoughtfulness are a real rarity.
A different perspective from the other reviewer.......2006-04-11
The New York Times review as well as the Amazon reviewer prompted me to buy the book. As I thought, the Amazon reviewer totally misunderstood the reason for Heinrik to assume a Jewish identity, after WWII had ended. He was a Nazi and thus, he could cover up his crimes and escape, using a new identity. This was plausible.
I liked the entire story except for the ending.
The two seperate story lines are very believable, with one family's decendants wanting to ignore the past and the other dwelling on it.
Slightly disappointing, but she is a good story teller.......2005-12-14
I like the writing of A. Goldsmith, and was intrigued until the middle of the book. The character development of Heinrik and Henry along with their families was very fascinating in the beginning. The plot development lost me when Heinrik admitted to the granddaughter that he killed Henry for his identity. I could not figure out why he would do that since he could have just said that he saw him die based on his poor condition. I did not get the feeling that he admitted this because of any type of internal cleansing. Also, it did not make sense that he would want to adopt the identity of a Holocaust Jew during those times. I also found it odd that both Raphe and Laura would connect in the way that they did....in other words, the first half of the book was well done but it fell apart during the last half and became somewhat hard to believe.
Average customer rating:
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Far From Where?: Jewish Journeys from Shanghai to Australia
Antonia Finnane
Manufacturer: Melbourne University Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Australia
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ASIN: 052284846X |
Book Description
In 1947 the town of Darwin welcomed a ship carrying refugees from China: mainly Jewish refugees who had fled Europe to find a haven in Shanghai. At the end of World War II they joined the thousands of immigrants entering Australia.
These Europeans did not stay in Darwin and many eventually settled in Melbourne. In time they were followed by other Russian refugees from Bolshevism and the Iraqis, who were Shanghai's former merchant princes.
Antonia Finnane traces the extraordinary lives and experiences of some of these Shanghai immigrants, remembered and related as oral history by the people themselves.
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Inside Outside: Life Between Two Worlds (Imprint Lives)
A. P. Riemer
Manufacturer: Harpercollins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0207173982 |
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Coming Out Jewish
Jon Stratton
Manufacturer: Routledge
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Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0415222087 |
Book Description
"This book makes a crucial bridge between the newly emerging Jewish Studies and Cultural Studies that will be essential reading for critics in both fields as well as those concerned with issues of identity and multiculturalism." --Nick Mirzoeff, author of An Introduction to Visual Culture
What does it mean to be Jewish in today's world? In his new book, Jon Stratton helps readers understand the nature of being Jewish as a racial and ethnic identity, addressing issues of migration, assimilation, diaspora and multiculturalism. He argues that Jewishness is being misunderstood in an increasingly non-spiritual and non-essentialist way.
Weaving autobiographical material through a number of chapters, Stratton introduces his own experience of being brought up in a highly assimilatory household. He explores attitudes to Jewishness as expressed in cultural policy and in popular culture, considering the ambivalent place of Jews in Europe, the United States and Australia. Stratton discusses the place of Jewish thought within cultural studies, referring to theories of diaspora and identity developed by authors such as Ien Ang and Stuart Hall, and also writers for Jewish Studies such as Daniel Boyarin and Sander Gilman.
Through his discussions of Jewish identity in various countries, he drives home the point of being an Othered people in a modern era. Chapters of particular interest and controversy include discussions on the rise of anti-Semitism in Germany and the development of the German nation state, and the Jewish origins of cultural pluralism in the United States.
Average customer rating:
- A mother and daughter learn to accept each other's differences
- Very real .. and helpful.
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Black Becomes a Rainbow: The Mother of a Baal Teshuvah Tells Her Story
Agi L. Bauer
Manufacturer: Feldheim Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0873065727 |
Customer Reviews:
A mother and daughter learn to accept each other's differences.......2005-11-21
This narrative is mostly about the relationship between Natalie and her mother, Agi. Natalie comes from an upper middle class mainstream Jewish Australian family. Natalie eschews the comfortable upper middle class secular life that her mother envisions for her to become a baal teshuva, a repentant one. Natalie joins a Hassidic sect
Black is a reference to the clothing Hassidic men wear and the rainbow is the joy Agi eventually finds in being the grandmother of five Hassidic children.
Agi is at times meddlesome and disapproving and at others very helpful,
Mother and daughter eventually come to accept each other's differences.
Recommended for anyone interested in the Bal Teshuvah movement, Hassidism, or any non-religious mother who feels lost or distraught because her son or daughter has joined a fundamentalist religion
Very real .. and helpful........1999-05-31
Helpful book for parents of children who become bal teshuva. Realistic yet heartwarming and encouraging.
Average customer rating:
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Jews at the Crossroads: Tradition And Accommodation During the Golden Age of the Hungarian Nobility, 1729-1878
Howard N. Lupovitch
Manufacturer: Central European University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 9637326669 |
Books:
- Palestine In Crisis
- Pillsbury Doughboy Family Pleasing Recipes: 170 Super-Fast and Easy Recipes That Everyone Will Love
- Pirates (The Discovery Series)
- President McKinley, War and Empire: Volume 1: President McKinley and the Coming of War, 1898 (American Presidents Series)
- Race, Place, and Medicine: The Idea of the Tropics in Nineteenth-Century Brazil
- Renaissance Utopias and the Problem of History
- Roughneck Nine-One: The Extraordinary Story of a Special Forces A-team at War
- Shadow Warriors: Inside The Special Forces
- Six Silent Men...Book Three (101st Lrp/Rangers)
- So Far from God: The U.S. War With Mexico, 1846-1848
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