Freedom Walkers: The Story of the Montgomery Bus Boycott (Bank Street College of Education Flora Stieglitz Straus Award (Awards))

Book Description

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks refused to move to the back of the bus and give up her seat to a white man. This refusal to give up her dignity sparked the Montgomery bus boycott, a yearlong struggle, and a major victory in the civil rights movement. Source notes, map, bibliography, index.

Customer Reviews:

A must-read for teens as well as adults.......2007-02-25

One might think that they've heard the story about the early days of the civil rights movement, and specifically the roles of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rosa Parks as far as standing up (or sitting down, as the case may be) for what is right. However, Russell Freedman tells this story as a collective experience, from the points of view of the teenagers, men, women, leaders and followers who sacrificed for over a year in this boycott in order to bring about change. Yes, it lasted for over a year. How many of you knew that? I did not. It was the length of time and the full sacrifice that was made that really spoke to me from the pages of this book. A great wrong was being legislated in the city of Montgomery, Alabama, and all across the South, and a dedicated group of African Americans, led by Martin Luther King, Jr., finally decided not to be victims any longer.

As I read, the sense of the injustice settled over me heavily. It is hard for me to believe that this world existed only ten years before my birth. Hearing the quotes and seeing the pictures that were carefully selected proves that this story is not just a kind of legend or myth. It's not a pretty story, but this is a fair telling of these events. There are a few sympathetic Whites mentioned, but in general, there were not many who were willing to defend the rights of the minorities. I continue to live in hope that times have changed and will continue to change so that a time will come when color or nationality or creed truly doesn't make a difference. It was lack of knowledge, ignorance, that created the attitude of superiority and hatred of that time, and so I feel that it is my responsibility not to forget, and to learn about this time and those individuals and groups who have brought change, and to teach my daughter as well.

Is this book a downer? Not really. I was left with a slight feeling of incredulity at the actions and justification of the White leaders and the lengths that they went to in order to try to keep the Black citizens "in their place." However, it is the conviction and peaceful actions of the African American citizens, day after day, month after month, after living with a lifetime of unfair treatment, that left me with a feeling of hope. One person, or a group of single individuals, can make a difference. They have made a difference throughout history and each of us can continue to do so. Around the time I began reading this book, I came across a quote by Martin Luther King, Jr. in my day planner. I also happened to be grappling with my response to a difficult situation. This quote inspired me to do what I knew was right, even though it would have been much easier to ignore the situation or try to forget it: "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."

Richie's Picks: FREEDOM WALKERS.......2006-11-11

It has always confused me how someone managed to take that excellent photograph of Rosa Parks being fingerprinted after her arrest for failing to give up her seat on the bus. After all, nobody knew that she, on that particular day, would be on a crowded bus, would be commanded to give up her seat by a bus driver who wanted to make room for an oncoming white passenger, and would be arrested and fingerprinted. But I've certainly seen that particular photograph in plenty of places, both in print and online.

Among the whole range of new things I learned about the Montgomery Bus Boycott from reading FREEDOM WALKERS was that the photo to which I am referring was actually taken when, months later, Ms. Parks gave herself up for arrest the second time, in this case for breaking "an obscure 1921 state law prohibiting boycotts 'without just cause or legal excuse.' " (A mass series of arrests on this charge, including Rosa's and Martin's, was one of the tactics employed by the city government that, in cahoots with the bus company, was trying to break the Boycott.)

So, for me, another history mystery was solved thanks to the meticulous work of Russell Freedman, a guy whose name has long been synonymous both with top quality research and with an ability to consistently craft children's informational books that read as compelling stories rather than compilations of facts.

I often worry about how the current trend of teaching to tests and NCLB mandates results in teachers needing to "cover" so many things that students are growing up oblivious to, or know only superficially of many important issues. As is said, "Where is the learning in coverage?"

It was just in the past couple of weeks that I was astounded to encounter an entire classroom full of eighth graders where not a single kid knew anything about Linda Brown and the historic court case to which she was central. How are students to learn to get along with each other and grow up to forge world peace if they don't even know the relatively recent history of intolerance in America?

Of course, most kids have at least heard of Rosa Parks -- whether or not they are fans of Andre 3000 and Big Boi -- as there have long been a selection of kid-friendly picture books that focus on this American icon.

FREEDOM WALKERS goes far beyond the basic knowledge contained in those picture books to provide an accurate and articulate look at the people, the times, the politics, and the constitutional law issues that surrounded the Montgomery Bus Boycott. We learn, in fact, that Rosa Parks was not the first woman of color to be arrested for failing to give up a bus seat and then considered for a test case. That's another fact most kids don't know. Not even I understood how ugly it got immediately in Montgomery after the Supreme Court ruled that Alabama's bus segregation laws were unconstitutional and the boycott ended victoriously. Talk about terrorism:

"The White Citizens Council had predicted violence, and sure enough, violence erupted before Christmas. Early on the morning of December 23, two days after the boycott ended, a shotgun blast was fired into King's home, scaring everyone but causing no injuries. On Christmas Eve, a car pulled up to a bus stop where a fifteen year-old black girl was standing alone. Four or five men jumped out, beat her, and drove away. Then shotgun snipers began to fire at integrated buses, sending a pregnant woman to the hospital with bullet wounds in both legs...
"In January, bombs were set off at four black churches in Montgomery and at the homes of three ministers -- Ralph Abernathy, Robert Graetz, and Martin Luther King. The Bell Street and Mount Olive Baptist Churches were almost completely destroyed, and all three houses were severely damaged. Miraculously, no one was hurt."

Some of the photos included in the book will be familiar to many. Others I have never laid eyes on before. An engaging read filled with intriguing facts and photos, FREEDOM WALKERS is the latest outstanding book by a true master of informational writing for young people.

On the march.......2006-10-16

Sometimes I wonder about the process that your average author of non-fiction titles for children goes through. What, for example, makes an author, such as well-respected and brilliant Russell Freedman, decide to write about the Montgomery Bus Boycott? The man could really write about anything he wanted. He could do a book about The Black Panthers (since not a single non-fiction children's title exists on the subject) or the life of Boss Tweed or how Kalamazoo, Michigan became the Celery City, if he so desired. Instead he concentrates on the honestly inspiring boycott that sparked the Civil Rights Movement. When I heard this I felt at first that this particular subject had been "done". There are oodles of books on the topic. Why would Freedman feel he needed to add his two cents as well? Then I thought it through. Sure, there are lots of books on the boycott, but who do they praise? Nine times out of ten the real focus of the story is Rosa Parks. Once in a while it'll mention the other Civil Rights leaders here and there. The true heroes of the movement who've never really had their due, however, were the average joes. The black maids, elderly, children, and working folk who gave up their comfort, jobs, and who knows what all to support a cause that had never been won before. With "Freedom Walk", Freeman is giving credit where credit is due, to both the leaders and the people who made it happen.

It's a story of heroism on a local level. An understandable tale that doesn't lose any of its power over time. This is the story of the Montgomery Bus Boycott as it occurred from start to finish. But rather than concentrate on a single person or persons, Freeman gives credit and voice to some people you may not have heard from before. There was Jo Ann Robinson who lent her support. And there was Claudette Colvin, a young woman who refused to give up her seat on a bus before Rosa Parks did. And finally there were the people who participated in the boycott and their single-minded heroism. Freeman recounts all of this with an even hand and a great deal of intelligent editing.

Part of what I loved so much about this book was the sheer number of photographs and background information I found I'd never encountered elsewhere. I don't know where Freedman was able to find so many remarkable pictures (the Acknowledgements may offer some clues) but they are, quite frankly, part of the book's real lure. There's an image of a Coca-Cola machine where the "only" part of the words, "White Customers Only!" is written in the same font as the Coke logo above. Did Coke itself write these words on their machines? There were also mug shots of Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. that I've never seen in a book before.

The title also debunked "facts" that I'd heard and believed incorrectly in the past. When I read Rosa Parks's autobiography, "I Am Rosa Parks", she mentions in the story that she was not the first black woman to refuse to give up her seat on a Montgomery bus. One Ms. Claudette Colvin was a potential case for challenging the segregation laws, but in the end was passed over because her out-of-wedlock pregnancy might have caused problems. As it turns out, Ms. Colvin wasn't used because she was "too young", had fought with the police. Her bun in the oven? "...it was later rumored that she was pregnant". Rumored! Russell Freedman: Rumor Debunker.

Freedman knows how to bring out details that kids might miss in other books about the boycott. He concentrates a bit more on Martin Luther King Jr. than I expected him to, but that just makes good sense. He mentions how risky it was for drivers to allow people to volunteer their cars, especially when it might be "driven by strangers". He talks about the mass meetings that would booster morale during the boycott (I always wondered how people kept their spirits up). And once bus integration was legalized, there were twice-weekly mass meetings training sessions on dealing non-violently with potential bus situations. It's funny that he never mentions that moment when the Montgomery city leaders met with some church leaders not associated with the leaders of the boycott who then declared that it was "over". But then, I'm sure a lot of details like this one had to be judiciously pruned.

Which brings me to Freedman's talent with brevity. I've been having a real problem lately with non-fiction books for kids that are so thick and packed to the gills with excess information that few children but the truly dedicated will ever be able to slog through them front to finish. This is part of the reason I love Freedman's books. Somehow or other, he knows exactly the length to make his titles. "Freedom March", covers all the pertinent information, is interesting and informative, and never comes across as a tome. It's so engaging that kids who might otherwise not be the least bit interested in this period of history may find themselves truly engaged.

To sum up, a moment in history with a happy ending is a rare and wonderful thing. And though I was incredulous that anyone, even Russell Freedman, could present the Montgomery Bus Boycott in such a way that it would be both interesting and new to young readers, somehow the author has managed beautifully. A fine piece of non-fiction and a bit of necessary reading.

The Goose Girl (Bank Street College of Education Josette Frank Award (Awards))

Average customer rating:

best book in a lng time
The Goose Girl
Enjoyable read
A Lovely Princess Tale
Not Princess Fluff

The Goose Girl (Bank Street College of Education Josette Frank Award (Awards))
Shannon Hale
Manufacturer: Bloomsbury Children's Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 158234843X

Book Description

Anidori-Kiladra Talianna Isilee, Crown Princess of Kildenree, spends the first years of her life under her aunt's guidance learning to communicate with animals. As she grows up Ani develops the skills of animal speech, but is never comfortable speaking with people, so when her silver-tongued lady-in-waiting leads a mutiny during Ani's journey to be married in a foreign land, Ani is helpless and cannot persuade anyone to assist her. Becoming a goose girl for the king, Ani eventually uses her own special, nearly magical powers to find her way to her true destiny. Shannon Hale has woven an incredible, original and magical tale of a girl who must find her own unusual talents before she can become queen of the people she has made her own.

Customer Reviews:

best book in a lng time.......2007-10-09

This is an outstanding book and I do reomened this book to all ages. It is a magical fairy tale and even a person who dosn't like fairy tales much would love this book. I read this book over two months ago. I've read many other books in that time. But I still can't get this story out of my head. I loved this book and will read it many more times still. This is the best story in a long time, I hope that you read it and if you do, KNOW that you will love it as much as I did.

The Goose Girl.......2007-10-05

The Goose Girl is an inspiring book. It is a journey for both the character and the reader, who experience change in their own lives. Never before have words so easy and enjoyable to read, strike me. That have uplifted me, and left me wanting more.

In the beginning, Ani is not confident about herself, and the position that she is asked to fulfill, like almost anyone. As she faces her future with the prince of a neighboring country, is betrayed by those she thought she could trust, and having to make an entirely new life out of something that did not seem possible, the reader is enticed into the companionship between Ani and her new friends, the suspense and loveliness of the blending of experiences. The life changes of the "Prima Dona" to a servant is not an easy task, for anyone. Whether you are going from junior high/middle school to high school, or raising your own children and trying to cope with the new challenges of being a parent. Everyone wishes that they could have the opportunity to hear the whisperings on the wind, listen to animals and have a bond tighter then humans do with each other.

This book for me was revealing, relaxing, enjoyable, and invigorating. It is not everyday that you are able to be pulled into a book that grabs you by the shoulders, and makes a mystery, suspense, love and comedy into an enjoyable book for any and all ages.
I've met Shannon Hale, and she is an amazing author. She is so "intone" with herself; as a woman, wife, friend, daughter, mother, etc. She is aware of the need for good, wholesome literature that makes you want to run through the fields and experience and view life as you've never seen before.

Enjoyable read.......2007-08-31

I read this book because I have three daughters and someone told me they would like it. Actually I really enjoyed it, so much so that I bought and read Enna Burning as well.

A Lovely Princess Tale.......2007-08-22

"The Goose Girl" may be looked at as two things. It is a tale about a princess, a retelling of an old Grimm tale (one that I have not yet encountered). It is also a sort of fantasy book including speech with animals and magic control.

And yet, "The Goose Girl" does not fall into the common, stereotypical traps set by these genres/types. It is a book that is remarkably enough not stale, with twists, excitements, and constant changes. It may be the simple story of a princess going through hardships to achieve her goal, but it has so much more than that. It has side characters that spice up the story, plot turns that make things different, and a comfortable pace. The magic and fantasy of the story do not control it, which means that lovers of reality will still be pleased by this story.

It's a well-written book with an interesting plotline and some very fun characters. But it has its flaws as well. "The Goose Girl" is an almost 400-paged book, and it certainly feels it at times. While there is an unobstructed flow, there are many points in the book where it grows tedious and begins to drag. This book could do with a good edit.

If you don't mind that it drags on a bit, it's really a great book. You don't have to love princesses or fantasy to enjoy this book. It's not that kind of a book. It's eloquent, enjoyable, and for any reader who can handle a bit of bulk. Enjoy.

Not Princess Fluff.......2007-07-15

Hale has a lovely writing style and the ability to create characters you can really rally behind. Ani's tranformation from shy and insignificant to regal was not done in a cliche way, and she remained true to her character (her slightly anxious character) all the way through. I enjoy introspective characters and Hale is excellent at creating them. Do not pass off Hale's work as "Princess Fluff" as all of her YA novels have a rich writing style, moral conflicts, and even a dose of uglyness (murders, battles, abandonment) that keeps her books feeling real, despite the magical elements.

Lewis: Main Street and Babbitt (Library of America)

Average customer rating:

Beautiful edition of two important American novels
Relevant to today's Society
America the beautiful?

Lewis: Main Street and Babbitt (Library of America)
Sinclair Lewis
Manufacturer: Library of America
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0940450615

Book Description

Sinclair Lewis drew on his boyhood memories of Sauk Centre, Minnesota, to explore middle-class life in America as no writer had done before. These remarkable novels combine biting satire with an lingering affection for the men and women who, as he wrote of Babbitt, want to "seize something more than motor cars and a house before it's too late." "Main Street" was a phenomenal event in American publishing and cultural history; it is a wry, sad, funny account of a woman who attempts to challenge the hypocrisy and narrow-mindedness of her Midwestern community where the romance of the frontier has dwindled to drab reality. "He is America incarnate, exuberant and exqusite," H.L. Mencken said of George Babbitt. With this boisterous, vulgar, gadget-loving real estate man, Lewis fashioned a new and enduring figure in American literature, the total conformist--and captured the noisy restlessness of American commercial culture.

Customer Reviews:

Beautiful edition of two important American novels.......2004-11-09

These two novels have changed their reason for importance since they were written. When new, they were very current. Full of fashionable slang, capturing the rising tide of America's urbanization, female independence, new machines, greater sexual license, and the pressures all this put on an agrarian culture. Now they capture memories of a time that seems more distant than it is. All of it seems so innocent and simple. Yes, the writing is very good if not great and the characters still do live, but their context is a memory.

Lewis' writing is certainly effective, memorable, and attractive. All reasons to keep reading him and enjoying the stories and thinking about what he has to say. I think what keeps him from being timeless is that it seems to be all about evoking a time and place. There is certainly nothing wrong in doing that; it is just that as the times change the writing may not survive being transplanted into the new context. I think it is a testament to the author's power that he is still read and lives in our present, even if his influence continues to diminish.

At the end of "Main Street" when Carol Kennicott says, "But I have won in this: I've never excused my failures by sneering at my aspirations, by pretending to have gone beyond them." I think we admire her. However, when she continues, "I do not admit that Main Street is as beautiful as it should be! I do not admit that Gopher Prairie is greater or more generous than Europe! I do not admit that dishwashing is enough to satisfy all women! I may not have fought the good fight, but I have kept the faith." any intended irony is made more strange by the added irony of history and cultural change since these words were written. It all feels more distant and even unnecessarily argued given where we are now. Do young people today even wash dishes? Europe generous?

The name Babbitt lives on as a kind of archetype. When someone is called a Babbitt, everyone of a certain age and older knows exactly what is meant. When I grew up in the `60s he was revived as an epithet for our parents' generation and yet the baby boomers became more conformist and materialistic than any previous generation. Maybe that is why we haven't taught George F. Babbitt and his exploits to our children as well as we might have.

The perfect sentence for Babbitt is, I think: "Nothing gave Babbitt more purification and publicity than his labors for the Sunday School." Will anything else help you understand his character more fully?

The Library of America is a largely magnificent series of very handsomely done editions that are of such quality that they are permanent additions to your library. I love having them on my shelf. They are a joy to read, hold, and admire. In addition to the two novels there is a chronology of Lewis' life that serves as a mini-bio, John Hersey provided the notes on the text. A fine edition of two important American novels.

Relevant to today's Society.......2002-03-21

I read "Main Street" several years ago. It impressed me then and the memory of it has stayed with me. I had previously read "Babitt" and "Arrowsmith" which were both good novels but neither compared to "Main Street". Both previous novels poked fun at small town middle America. As a resident of North Dakota, I got a good chuckle over Lewis's portrayal of Arrowsmith's brief trip to our fair state. My recollections of "Babitt" are that it was rather satirical in its' imagery of a shallow well-to-do man. All of us could chuckle at him because he reminded us of so many people we knew. The impact of "Main Street", to me, is how we see the world through the eyes of the main character; the doctor's wife. She is a real person dealing with real observations about real people in a real community. Something in her clicks and says, "this is all too shallow, too plastic, too predetermined". We agree with her and yet feel somewhat uncomfortable in doing so because there is so much that she questions and much of it we have already accepted. I was extremely impressed with Lewis's portrayal of this feminine character and how he chose her (as opposed, for example, to her husband) to be the eyes of his reality. For that time and place, it was, I think, a bold move on the author's part. And it works! I remeber the impact of her questioning her relationship with her husband. It almost seemed like a scene out of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers".

This book was the one that made Lewis notorious in his own home town. I expected to have to appreciate the times to be able to appreciate the book. I found myself sensing issues and scenarios that are just as common and real today. If you only have time for one book by America's first Nobel Prize-winning author, I recommend that you select this one to read. You won't be sorry!

America the beautiful?.......2000-04-08

Both Mainstreet and Babbitt are critical and realistic apraisels of life in America. More specifically mid-western America. Carl Van Doren commented saying,"Not one of them ( the contemporaries of Lewis) has kept so close to the main channel of American life as Mr. Lewis or so near to the human surface. He is part of a channel and a surface. To venture into hyperbole, not only is he one American telling stories, but he is America telling stories." These books once swept the nation with controversy due to their honesty of American life. I would recommend these books to anyone who enjoy books about people and the details concerning their lives, dreams and aspiratins. Lewis slowly draws the reader into the ever intricate and mediocre lives of the characters. While the stories are rarely fast paced they are certainly worth the read. If I had to make any recommendation I would advise reading Babbitt first due to the fact that it is more involving and fluid than Mainstreet. In addition to the two novels this book is published under a beautiful binding made to library standards. Enjoy.

Average customer rating:

welcome to "main street"
A timeless quest
Down On "Main Street"
not for me
We All Live in Our Small Towns!

Main Street (Modern Library)
Sinclair Lewis
Manufacturer: Modern Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Classics | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0375753141
Release Date: 1999-03-02

Book Description

With Commentary by E. M. Forster, Dorothy Parker,
H. L. Mencken, Lewis Mumford, Rebecca West,
Sherwood Anderson, Malcolm Cowley, Alfred Kazin, Constance Rourke, and Mark Schorer

Main Street is the climax of civilization," Sinclair Lewis declared with a typical blend of seriousness and irony. "That this Ford car might stand in front of the Bon Ton Store, Hannibal invaded Rome and Erasmus wrote in Oxford cloisters." Main Street, the story of an idealistic young woman's attempts to reform her small town, brought Lewis immediate acclaim when it was published in 1920. It remains one of the essential texts of the American scene. Lewis Mumford observed: "In Main Street an American had at last written of our life with something of the intellectual rigor and critical detachment that had seemed so cruel and unjustified [in Charles Dickens and Matthew Arnold]. Young people had grown up in this environment, suffocated, stultified, helpless, but unable to find any reason for their spiritual discomfort. Mr. Lewis released them."

Sinclair Lewis (1885-1951), was born in Sauk Centre, Minne-sota, and graduated from Yale in 1907; in 1930 he became the first American recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature. Main Street (1920) was his first critical and commercial success. Lewis's other noted books include Babbitt (1922), Arrowsmith (1925), Elmer Gantry (1927), Dodsworth (1929), and It Can't Happen Here (1935).

Download Description

The first mainstream book to attack conventional ideas about marriage, gender roles, and small town life, "Main Street" established Lewis as a major American novelist.

Customer Reviews:

welcome to "main street".......2007-10-01

I feel like every book I read is time I literally have to steal from the rest of my life. I feel resistance to my reading habits- from my job, my wife, etc. It's like I have to fight for every moment for every single book that I want to read. I guess that makes it more rewarding, but it also means that my reading habits have acquired a patina of guilt- like I'm a drug addict. That's how I feel about it - that I have to keep it secret, that I have no one to share it with, that I am isolated and alone when it comes to my reading habit. It's a small part of my life, but a distinct one.

Main Street was an epic commerical success when it was released in the 20s. It's an odd choice for a commerical blockbuster, but Lewis must have captured the zeitgeist- I see it kind of like an American take on existenalism. Primitive, rudimentary, but accurate and complex in its own way. Main Street tells the story of Carol Kenicott, who marries a small town Doctor from Minnesota in the first fifty pages and then spends the rest of the book bitching and moaning about the vagaries of small town life- with it's close mindedness and preachy intolerance.

After this book "Main Street" entered the American lexicon as a short hand for a collection of attitudes that embodied small town america- and a negative anallysis of those attitudes, but Lewis's book is more sympathetic to small town america then one might expect.

The true hero of this book is Doctor Kennicott- who puts up with wife Carol's complaints with barely a whimper. As for the attitudes of main street- I think all of America, with maybe a few big city exceptions, resembles Main Street- Lewis notes that many of the people in his fictional Minnesota town left for southern california, so in that way I think this is a useful book to read for "blue staters" when they are trying to understand what makes the "red state" world tick.

A timeless quest.......2007-07-05

I wish I had read this in high school as it was undoubtedly on our reading list. I had confused Sincliar Lewis with the Upton Sinclair (a common confusion I suspect) muckracker novels which didn't appeal to me. How wonderfully Main Street captures the arrogance of youthful certainty about how others should improve themselves or, in this case, the town. If you like movies of the 1930s, you will like this book's dialogue style. This book is not an easy read as one sometimes needs to reread a paragraph to determine whether it is inner thoughts or dialogue, but the book offers a fascinating peek at the issues of the time and how they were viewed by many Americans. Many of those issues and attitudes linger on. Carol's quest to make a difference is a timeless quest that is no more easily solved today than it was then.

Down On "Main Street".......2007-04-16

"Is it really my failure, or theirs?"

Carol Kennicott asks herself this question nearly 250 pages into "Main Street," regarding her impossible relations with the residents of the town of Gopher Prairie, Minnesota. By this time, I was asking a similar question: "Is it really my failure, or Sinclair Lewis's?"

"Main Street" seemed a good idea as it sat on my shelf. Touted as a satirical look at middle-class America, it was Lewis's first successful novel, ushering in a new era upon its publication in 1920, and breaking critical ground for the Golden Age of American Literature, of Hemingway, Fitzgerald, and Faulkner. Lewis was the first American to win the Nobel Prize for Literature. How could I go wrong picking it up?

The book tells the interminable story of Mrs. Kennicott, who marries a country doctor while imagining herself an improving influence on his as-yet-unseen town of Gopher Prairie. Imagine her surprise when she is greeted not as a liberator but grist for the gossip mill, with her Big City ideas and lack of churchiness.

Carol's alternating turns of resistance and acceptance are about the sum total of this plotless book. Lewis's descriptive powers are much in evidence, and you find yourself trapped in G.P. as much as Carol, his descriptions of noisy neighbors and smug dinner parties bearing the unmistakable imprint of someone who grew up in small-town Minnesota and knew of what he wrote. The problem, when you get past the period slang and the barbed commentary, is that the subjects of Lewis's satire are so miserable and nasty you can't understand why Carol thinks she can change them, except perhaps with the idea nature couldn't possibly create people as one-dimensional as those found here.

I thought I'd never read a duller work about small-town Americana from the early 20th century than Thornton Wilder's "Our Town." My apologies, Thornton. "Main Street" is as down on the same locale that "Our Town" exults, only Lewis lays on derision with a dripping trowel. Wilder, by contrast, seems almost surgical in the delicacy with which he makes his points. Lewis makes sure that when he presents us with the atheistic radical Miles Bjornstam, he is not only a voice of reason and affability to Carol but ultimately run out of town for his beliefs on the heels of having suffered a great tragedy, just in case we didn't otherwise get how miserable a town Carol is stuck in.

"And you want to reform people like that when dynamite is so cheap?" Carol fumes early on.

There is one effective section in the book, when Carol first discovers how isolated she has become and feels the "moist, fleering eyes" of prying neighbors so powerfully she draws down her window shades. Passages with her husband, the stolid, straying, but not worthless Dr. Kennicott, present some desperately-needed ambiguity.

But the book just keeps going, hammering home the same points, before winding down with an ending that feels more like a cop-out, in which the still-radical but more placid Carol settles for the status quo while imagining her sleeping infant daughter as "a bomb to blow up smugness." Polemics can produce great writing, but seldom great literature, and "Main Street" is a case in point.

The Signet Classic edition from 1998 features an introduction by Thomas Mallon which was the most enjoyable part of the book, candidly pointing out the book's faults but arguing for its continued value, as it imagines Carol's experience being like that of a young Hillary Rodham first arriving in Little Rock. Suffice to say I had a lot more fun reading it than I did the rest of this book.

not for me.......2007-01-06

I didn't care for this novel. I thought that the book had too much needless, useless information. I didn't care for the long winded descriptions and explanations, they didn't lend anything to the story. I also thought that the characters seemed one dimensional. All of the characters seemed like little molded toys and not real people. On the positive side, I got to look at a small midwestern town during this time period.

We All Live in Our Small Towns!.......2006-12-29

Obviously the protagonist Carol wants more to life in Gopher Prairie. She wants culture and intelligence and witty conversations. Of course where can you find that now without paying a price. Even in the urban cities lies problems beneath the surface, I think Carol should learn to appreciate what she has much like the author who despised small town America. If you come from a small town, it does not mean that your mind is small. Of course, most people travel around the world seeking a utopia or paradise to call home. Carol represents the author's resentment and hatred toward his hometown. I thought it was funny that the author wanted a Pulitzer when he would receive literary's highest honor of the Nobel Prize for Literature and the first American to receive such an honor. Oh well, be grateful what you have and remember the grass may not be as greener on the other side.

From College to the Real World : Street-Smart Strategies for Landing Your Dream Job and Creating a Successful Future!

Average customer rating:

AWESOME book. A must for everyone, not just college student
Spectacular Book!
Great book
Enough appetizers, this is the main course!
A Must Read for All College Students

From College to the Real World : Street-Smart Strategies for Landing Your Dream Job and Creating a Successful Future!
James Malinchak
Manufacturer: Positive Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Job Hunting & Careers | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Guides | Job Hunting & Careers | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Teenagers Tips for Success : Create a Future, Achieve Your Dreams and Become VERY Successful

ASIN: 0964692406

Book Description

"Universities were built to give you knowledge, this book was written to GET YOU HIRED!" This book explains exactly what to expect when competing in the "real world." It will not waste your time with the traditional methods usually taught for pursuing a job. This book teaches exactly what you must do to separate yourself from the crowd. The strategies in this book have one objective: TO GET YOU HIRED!

Customer Reviews:

AWESOME book. A must for everyone, not just college student.......2001-07-26

This great book has taught me the value of being yourself and how TO land that perfect job. Matching your "I will" to your competitors "IQ" is a task that is sure to lean future employers into your direction. This book not only gives you step-by-step instructions to follow when getting ready for an interview, but also how to write a resume, and possible interview questions that you will be asked but more importantly, those that you should ask! Also, this book shows you competitive ways to overpower the competition in job interviews, to set yourself apart from the rest of the pack including those with more experience, qualifications, etc. You too can land that perfect job with a little help from James and his book. I used James techniques to help me to be elected to an elite board of directors that normally takes 2-3 generations to be involved with, but I did it in less than 6 years. I have also used these techniques to help me be awarded thousands of dollars in college scholarships, just by following a few simple tasks. This book is awesome, not to mention Jame's motivational speaking events. James is a talented individual and he is putting his talent to work in today's society. He will stop short of nothing to achieve his goal and he will help you to accomplish YOUR goals. This book is a must for anyone looking to land their dream job, not just college students. An enthusiastic TWO-THUMBS UP!!

Spectacular Book!.......2000-02-07

James Malinchak has put together a great source of information for anyone on the search for a career. The inspirational quotes were especially helpful to me every day. Malinchak's use of his own personal experiences makes every page very accessible to readers. I love this book!

Great book.......2000-02-07

This book should be read by all college students preparing to enter the real world. It will give you strategies that will help you land the job of your dreams. The book is easy to read and the author does a great job of relating to students.

Enough appetizers, this is the main course!.......2000-01-25

As a college professor and education consultant, I've read many career-focused books for the "college student." And most are good, but all of them fall short of Mr. Malinchak's "nuts-and-bolts-think-outside-the-box-here's-how-to-REALLY-do-it" book of strategies and ideas. He not only gives you information you WON'T find in other student-focused books, he speaks from experience. What a concept...an author who has actually DONE was he writes about in his book. This book breathes integrity, and it doesn't hold back on any punches. This book is good food without the fluff and fillers. I've recommended this book to all of my students, and I will continue to do so until someone can show me one that's better. Way to go James, it's about time someone let the SECRET out!

A Must Read for All College Students.......2000-01-25

WOW! James Malinchak's book, From College to the Real World delivers an insider's step-by-step action plan on how to go out and grab that dream job.

Book Description

“This is America—a town of a few thousand, in a region of wheat and corn and dairies and little groves.” So Sinclair Lewis—recipient of the Nobel Prize and rejecter of the Pulitzer—prefaces his novel Main Street. Lewis is brutal in his depictions of the self-satisfied inhabitants of small-town America, a place which proves to be merely an assemblage of pretty surfaces, strung together and ultimately empty.

Customer Reviews:

It may sound good..........2007-03-30

The other review is nice and all, but if you value your time, you will not waste it on this dreadful book. Sure, it sounds like it has some significance. It does not, however, posses a plot that makes you actually want to read. This is the book that you'll be crying over, because you've gotten to the 200th page with 200 more to go, and nothing interesting has happened at all yet to grasp your attention as a reader. Needless to say, most of the sales of this book go toward naive students (such as myself) who have no idea what they are getting themselves into. Please, it you ever want to to enjoy reading again (or get a decent grade on that paper you've been assigned,) do not attempt to read this book. You will find yourself abstaining from most forms of literature following the completion of Main Street.

Excellent and Well Told Story.......2004-06-04

Carol is a girl with big dreams. When she marries Kennicott, she moves from the Twin Cities where she has supported herself, to rural life in Gopher Prairie, Minnesota, where it is her dream to transform the sleepy town into something better.

The ups and downs of Carrie Kennicott's life were felt by each member of our Family Book Club. Just when it seems things can't get any worse for Carrie, they can -- but sometimes they get better.

This book has been subject to a lot of literary criticism. Surely, the story can be studied in many ways at many levels. However, one does not need to have a master's in English in order to get a lot of enjoyment out of Main Street.

Set in the 1920s, Carrie's story -- her feelings, the changes she tries to make to Gopher Prairie, and all of the people she meets there -- could easily be told today with only minor changes. And, although this book is overall rather depressing in nature, there were quite a few places that it had me laughing out loud.

Main Street really captures the aura of small town America, especially middle Minnesota. The real life Gopher Prairie is Sauk Centre, Minnesota. It's an interesting place to visit, as the main street there has now been renamed Sinclair Lewis Boulevard.

Average customer rating:

Short but sweet

When Poetry Ruled the Streets: The French May Events of 1968
Andrew Feenberg , and Jim Freedman
Manufacturer: State University of New York Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

20th Century | World | History | Subjects | Books
General | World | History | Subjects | Books
General | France | Europe | History | Subjects | Books
Paris | France | Europe | History | Subjects | Books
General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Prelude to Revolution: France in May 1968 (Radical 60s, 9)

May '68 and Its Afterlives

A Small City in France

The Imaginary Revolution: Parisian Students and Workers in 1968 (International Studies in Social History)

Worker-Student Action Committees: France, May '68

ASIN: 0791449661

Book Description

More than a history, this book is a passionate reliving of the French May Events of 1968. The authors, ardent participants in the movement in Paris, documented the unfolding events as they pelted the police and ran from the tear gas grenades. Their account is imbued with the impassioned efforts of the students to ignite political awareness throughout society. Feenberg and Freedman select documents, graffiti, brochures, and posters from the movement and use them as testaments to a very different and exciting time. Their commentary, informed by the subsequent development of French culture and politics, offers useful background information and historical context for what may be the last great revolutionary challenge to the capitalist system.

Customer Reviews:

Short but sweet.......2004-07-16

This book is divided into two parts. The first offers a day by day account of the May '68 revolt in Paris. The second is primary documents.

There is not that much written in English about the May '68 rebellion, and until Mark Kurlansky's book came out this was the best source. That said, it is not perfect. It is not written by historians, but by two American students who witnessed (and participated) in the events. They are now both professors, so they are obviously very intelligent, but their lack of historical training is very evident. This book offers no real historical analysis of the events. It should probably be considered more of a "collective memoir" than anything else.

That being said, it is an excellent source. The primary sources in the back can be a little thick sometimes, but this is obviously not the authors' fault.

Book Description

On June 12, 1962, sixty young student activists drafted a manifesto for their generation--The Port Huron Statement--that ignited a decade of dissent. Democracy Is in the Streets is the definitive history of the major people and ideas that shaped the New Left in America during that turbulent decade. Because the 1960s generation is now moving into positions of power in politics, education, the media, and business, their early history is crucial to our understanding. James Miller, in his new Preface, puts the 1960s and them into a context for our time, claiming that something of value did happen: "Most of the large questions raised by that moment of chaotic openness--political questions about the limits of freedom, and cultural questions, too, about the authority of the past and the anarchy of the new--are with us still."

Customer Reviews:

More SDS History.......2002-04-08

This is another history concerning the SDS, or the Students for a Democratic Society. Miller admits in the introduction that he was a member of SDS and is sympathetic to what they did or tried to do. Not only is this book shorter than Kirkpatrick Sale's excellent history of SDS, but its focus is different as well. Where Sale focuses on the group as a whole, Miller provides more of an intellectual history of SDS. Miller provides exacting detail on the early period of SDS, especially the convention that produced the Port Huron Statement. For a much more thorough and detailed history of the SDS, please refer to Kirkpatrick Sale's SDS.

I still really enjoyed reading Miller's book. I like books that discuss intellectual development, and this one certainly accomplishes that. There is even an entire chapter devoted to C. Wright Mills, the radical sociologist that so many in the New Left idolized. Mills's idea of publics and his concerns about technology spoke directly to the alienation many young leftists felt. Miller points out that both Mills and the New Left shared a crucial weakness; both articulated problems without posing any effective solutions. This is most apparent in the idea of participatory democracy, the cornerstone of Port Huron. This idea, much touted by SDS members for most of its history, was never adequately defined in the document. Miller shows that many of the SDS projects, such as ERAP, were attempts to put participatory democracy into practice. The end result was failure because a concept such as this would probably only work on an extremely small level. As more people are brought into the mix, participation becomes problematic because so many different ideas are brought forth. Process and decisions become arthritic and meetings drag on for hours without results.

Miller seems to bog down considerably when he moves into the second half of his work. He provides four accounts of four separate members of SDS, one of whom is of course Tom Hayden. The problem with this technique is that none of these members had much to do with SDS after 1965. The later struggles of SDS are subsumed under these four accounts. Therefore, not nearly enough detail is given to the PL-SDS and Weather split in 1969. For description of the old guard of SDS, Miller is an excellent source. Just don't expect to find out much about late 1960's SDS.

Outstanding account of SDS and Tom Hayden.......1999-06-26

While Miller is notably weak in is treatment -- and I would say understanding -- of the impact of the counter-culture and the civil rights movements, this is probably the most authoritative account to SDS, the student dimension of the anti-war movement, and the intellectual history of the New Left. His treatment is highly critical but born of a sympathetic hopes. He vastly overestimates the impact of the 1960s on American politics, and misses out of the opportunities to demostrate the lasting impact which developed through the "new social movements" of the 1970s and the present.

From Main Street to Wall Street: For-Profit Higher Education: ASHE Higher Education Report (J-B ASHE Higher Education Report Series (AEHE))

Average customer rating:

Thorough, systematic, and resourceful

From Main Street to Wall Street: For-Profit Higher Education: ASHE Higher Education Report (J-B ASHE Higher Education Report Series (AEHE))
Kinser
Manufacturer: Jossey-Bass
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Education | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | Education | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0787985287

Customer Reviews:

Thorough, systematic, and resourceful.......2007-08-23

I've read a lot of books on for-profit universities lately, and this one is by far the most systematic and thorough study. The author digs up many interesting details and has a keen eye for history and typology. The study has its limits, however -- the extraordinary lobbying efforts of the industry are only superficially covered; the international reach of the for-profits and their plans for their global future, financed by high-profile private equity investment firms, is not really covered; and generally the latest developments over the past several years or so are not in the book -- academic scholarship is much slower than its object of study.

Average customer rating:

Capps' novel is rare treat
A must-read for those who loved the movie AND a great book in its own right!
Great Book - If you read with open eyes
Capps captures the world he intends to capture in this book
Worth reading

Off Magazine Street
Ronald Everett Capps
Manufacturer: MacAdam/Cage Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Movie Tie-Ins | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Psychological & Suspense | Thrillers | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 1931561745

Customer Reviews:

Capps' novel is rare treat.......2007-07-31

The basis for the film "A Love Song for Bobby Long," this novel by Ronald Everett Capps is a languid, halting look at the depths to which a man's soul can plummet from such great heights. While by no means a hero, but not quite a scoundrel deserving of such heartbreak, Capps' view of Bobby Long is a rich tapestry of wordplay, images -- surreal, carnal and otherwise -- that evoke episodes of longing, lamentation and, ultimately, just desserts. By no means a plodding read, but not a fast one, either, this is a work to be savored and enjoyed. If you've a front porch and a comfy chair, by all means, use them. If not, just be sure to take your time with this piece of contemporary southern literature.

A must-read for those who loved the movie AND a great book in its own right!.......2006-11-30

I bought this book because I really loved the movie "Love Song For Bobby Long." I, too, was an English major and I totally identify with Bobby and Byron, both in their high-falutin dreams and in their failure to move forward in their fields (writing, teaching, etc.). And I have a deep love for and knowledge of the city of New Orleans, which I felt the movie did a fair job of depicting. So, for me, the book had large shoes to fill.

The first part of the book disappointed me because [SPOILERS TO FOLLOW:::] it differed SO MUCH from the movie. Lorraine in the book is the polar opposite of the person described in the movie; not only did she not own a house or leave anything to her daughter in her will (including a dress that her daughter could wear), but she was far more pathetic than the the boys she left behind: Bobby and Byron.

But once the book introduced Lorraine's daughter into Byron and Bobby's lives, it started to loosely resemble the movie and, as I'd originally hoped, provided more insight into and a different perspective on the main characters. That's when I fell in love with the book, and I swear, from that point on, I literally could not put it down until I'd reached the end, and even then I didn't want it to stop.

I guess that's how I know I've read something really special -- the end of the book feels to me like the loss of a dear friend, and I mourn for it.

I can honestly say that I love this book every bit as as much as I love the movie based on the book, and I can't recommend one over the other. I DEFINITELY recommend that everyone read Capps' book AND rent the DVD. This story is a Love Song for Everyone, not just Bobby Long.

Great Book - If you read with open eyes.......2005-07-29

I struggled with this book at first, but time spent with the characters ends up being well spent.
Yes, it is an unusual book.
Yes, it blurs the boundries on what is considered "decent".
Just one thing to remember... the author puts a few clues in front of us at the beginning...the Tao is what it's all about. If you have any interest in taoist "philosophy" then you will easily understand.
No the book is not like the movie "A Love Song For Bobby Long". In its own way its far more moving.

Capps captures the world he intends to capture in this book.......2005-07-13

Meaning that he almost perfectly portrays the characters he writes about. He captures the setting, the southern element, the drunken states, the misery, the intellect, and the love that the main characters have to offer. This book is depressing but at the same time eye opening and somehow inspriring. This book offers a great, accurate picture of what New Orleans can be to folks outside the tourist realm. I've met the author and can honestly say this guy has some stories to tell...and has done quite well telling this one.

Worth reading.......2005-03-24

I enjoyed this book and got through it quickly. It's dark and sometimes depressing, but the writing is excellent. I felt I knew the characters and fell in love with them all.

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