Biotechnology and Plant Protection: Viral Pathogenesis & Disease Resistance : College Park, MD 19-21 October 1992

Average customer rating:

A Good Introduction

Great Book for Beginners

Another book with inflated amazon.com reviews

Write, Edit, Revise and Rewrite...

A little powerhouse full of great instruction for writers!

How to Write Articles for News/Mags, 1/e (Arco's Concise Writing Guides)
Arco
Manufacturer: Arco
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Academic & Commercial | Writing | Reference | Subjects | Books
Journalism | Writing | Reference | Subjects | Books
Newspapers & Magazines | Writing | Reference | Subjects | Books
Writing Skills | Writing | Reference | Subjects | Books
General | Reference | Subjects | Books
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Similar Items:

The Reporter's Notebook : Writing Tools for Student Journalists

Associated Press Guide to Newswriting: The Resource for Professional Journalists

The Art and Craft of Feature Writing: Based on The Wall Street Journal Guide

Associated Press Reporting Handbook

Complete Idiot's Guide to Publishing Magazine Articles

ASIN: 0028621905

Book Description

A professional journalist shows students how to write hard-hitting news stories and attention-getting feature articles for newspapers and magazines.

Customer Reviews:

A Good Introduction.......2007-03-21

Though this is hardly a definitive source for article writing, HOW TO WRITE ARTICLES FOR NEWSPAPERS AND MAGAZINES by Dawn Sova is certainly a worthy introduction to the craft. IN less than 100 pages, Sova presents a fast paced guide taking the reader from start to finish. Along the way, the perspective writer will find such information as a sample query letter, constructing an effective lead and even grammatical advice.

This brief introduction is well written and easy to understand. It contains practical advice that will surely help aspiring writers. Short on depth, but that is to be expected from such a small introduction. The back cover states the book is "perfect for amateurs and seasoned professionals" but I believe seasoned professionals might find it a bit too basic.

Great Book for Beginners.......2007-03-01

I just finished reading this book about a week ago. It's a fast read packed with a lot of helpful info for any freelance writer who wants to write for magazines or newspapers. I buy a lot of books on freelance writing, and this one is one of the better ones I've read.

Another book with inflated amazon.com reviews.......2004-03-20

This book isn't terrible, but it's hardly authoritative. It's a straight rehashing of the basics of newswriting, no doubt taken mostly from journalism textbooks. The advice isn't bad, but it's given with little flair, and the writing examples (from the author's own clips) are dull and uninspiring.

It's like an extended high school report -- the author is obviously not an expert on the subject, and she pieced together information from better books to make this one. But even on those terms, the book doesn't succeed, because the advice is spotty and unconvincing.

Write, Edit, Revise and Rewrite..........2004-01-29

...The golden rule of writing. This book is short, sweet and to the point, easily read and digested. The title explains exactly what you get. If you're an aspiring magazine writer, get it.

A little powerhouse full of great instruction for writers!.......2001-07-12

I picked this little (113 page book) up at the library and thought it might be of passing interest. I never thought such a little book could be packed with so much great information! I started out reading this book with a little post-it note pad next to me, figuring I would put a couple little notes on a few interesting pages, make some notes, then be done with the book. Well, now the book has a million little post-it notes in it and I think it's time to buy my own copy! Here are few chapter headings: Getting started (generating ideas & focusing on the subject), gathering information (fact vs. opinion, observation, interview, etc.), writing the effective article lead ...there are 10 useful chapters in all. They are written clearly and to the point -- no fluff here to fill in pages. One truly useful item in the book is a sample query letter (for an article). This is a great little book! Now I think I'll buy my own copy -- maybe you should too!

The Partnership Book: How to Write a Partnership Agreement (Partnership Book (W/CD))

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Great start for writing a Partnership Agreement
Excellant Book, but......
All-Encompassing Book on Partnerships

The Partnership Book: How to Write a Partnership Agreement (Partnership Book (W/CD))
Denis Clifford , and Ralph E. Warner
Manufacturer: Nolo
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Customer Service | Industries & Professions | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Legal Guides | Small Business & Entrepreneurship | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Law | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0873373715

Book Description

Many people dream of going into business with friends. The Partnership Book shows how to turn that dream into a sound partnership agreement.

The book thoroughly explains the legal and practical issues involved in forming a partnership. In plain English, it covers:

* partnerships compared to other business forms * the financial and tax liability of partners * contributions of cash, property and services * what happens if a partner wants out * how to value partnership assets * admitting new partners * buying out a partner's interest * death of a partner * limited partnerships * and much more

In print for over 20 years, the 6th edition of The Partnership Book is totally revised and updated to reflect the law and realities of today's business world. All the forms for creating a partnership agreement are provided as tear-outs and on CD-ROM.

Customer Reviews:

Great start for writing a Partnership Agreement.......2005-09-23

This book gives you an excellent foundation for writing a partnership agreement. It saves tremendously on the cost of having a lawyer write the whole agreement. We just had to use a lawyer to insure nothing was omitted.

Excellant Book, but.............2002-01-04

I read the book and found it very helpful with my plan to form a real estate parnership. I found the examples at the end of each subjet very helpful. However, it seems the authors went to a great length to demonstrate to readers that they are NOT gender biased, to the point where one would find himself sometimes cringing. Their objective could have been attained better by replacing all the He, she, him, her, with "he/she" or "him/her", and let each readers to choose the jender for themselves.

All-Encompassing Book on Partnerships.......2000-07-28

I found this title to be all-encompassing if you're considering entering into a partnership - whether it's an existing partnership or whether you're starting up a new partnership. In fact, I purchased another title on this same topic and I ended up returning it because I didn't see where it covered anything that wasn't already covered in The Partnership Book. I feel much more comfortable entering into a partnership after reading this book as I feel that I now have the necessary information to make proper decisions. I strongly urge anyone considering entering into a partnership to read this book.

How to Write a News Article (Speak Out, Write on)

Average customer rating:

Very Well Written

How to Write a News Article (Speak Out, Write on)
Michael Kronenwetter
Manufacturer: Franklin Watts
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | History & Historical Fiction | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Teen Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
ASIN: 0531157865

Customer Reviews:

Very Well Written.......2000-06-11

This is a book directed specifically at students interested in journalism. It talks about the many aspects of journalism, mainly focussing on print journalism. They explain the five types of news (straight news, analysis, human interest, etc.) and is very well written. Buy this book!

Writers Handbook New 1989 Edition: How To Write And Sell Short Stories, Novels, Plays, Articles, Verse, Humor, Juveniles

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Writers Handbook New 1989 Edition: How To Write And Sell Short Stories, Novels, Plays, Articles, Verse, Humor, Juveniles
Unknown
Manufacturer: The Writer, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000NDOJ6K

The art of snail mail.(how to write letters and correspondence)(Brief Article): An article from: New Moon

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The art of snail mail.(how to write letters and correspondence)(Brief Article): An article from: New Moon
Marie Agnello
Manufacturer: New Moon Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Book Description

This digital document is an article from New Moon, published by New Moon Publishing on September 1, 2002. The length of the article is 653 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: The art of snail mail.(how to write letters and correspondence)(Brief Article)
Author: Marie Agnello
Publication: New Moon (Magazine/Journal)
Date: September 1, 2002
Publisher: New Moon Publishing
Volume: 10 Issue: 1 Page: 22(2)

Article Type: Brief Article

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Briefly: how not to write one.: An article from: Florida Bar News

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Briefly: how not to write one.: An article from: Florida Bar News

Manufacturer: Florida Bar
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Florida Bar News, published by Florida Bar on November 15, 2003. The length of the article is 1237 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Briefly: how not to write one.
Publication: Florida Bar News (Magazine/Journal)
Date: November 15, 2003
Publisher: Florida Bar
Volume: 30 Issue: 22 Page: 10(1)

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Briefy: how not to write one.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor): An article from: Florida Bar News

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Briefy: how not to write one.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor): An article from: Florida Bar News

Manufacturer: Florida Bar
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Florida Bar News, published by Florida Bar on January 1, 2004. The length of the article is 582 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Briefy: how not to write one.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
Publication: Florida Bar News (Magazine/Journal)
Date: January 1, 2004
Publisher: Florida Bar
Volume: 31 Issue: 1 Page: 2(1)

Article Type: Letter to the Editor

Distributed by Thomson Gale

How to Write a Killer Essay.(for college admissions)(Brief Article): An article from: New York Times Upfront

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How to Write a Killer Essay.(for college admissions)(Brief Article): An article from: New York Times Upfront
Glenn C. Altschuler
Manufacturer: Scholastic, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B00099KXI6
Release Date: 2005-07-28

Book Description

This digital document is an article from New York Times Upfront, published by Scholastic, Inc. on December 13, 1999. The length of the article is 484 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: How to Write a Killer Essay.(for college admissions)(Brief Article)
Author: Glenn C. Altschuler
Publication: New York Times Upfront (Magazine/Journal)
Date: December 13, 1999
Publisher: Scholastic, Inc.
Volume: 132 Issue: 8 Page: 36

Article Type: Brief Article

Distributed by Thomson Gale

How to write a motion.(Tips for the Young Lawyer): An article from: Florida Bar News

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How to write a motion.(Tips for the Young Lawyer): An article from: Florida Bar News
Francisco, Jr. Ramos
Manufacturer: Florida Bar
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Florida Bar News, published by Florida Bar on November 1, 2003. The length of the article is 735 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: How to write a motion.(Tips for the Young Lawyer)
Author: Francisco, Jr. Ramos
Publication: Florida Bar News (Magazine/Journal)
Date: November 1, 2003
Publisher: Florida Bar
Volume: 30 Issue: 21 Page: 13(1)

Distributed by Thomson Gale

How to write a news release.: An article from: Policy & Practice

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How to write a news release.: An article from: Policy & Practice
Frank Solomon
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Management | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Policy & Practice, published by Thomson Gale on September 1, 2006. The length of the article is 818 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: How to write a news release.
Author: Frank Solomon
Publication: Policy & Practice (Magazine/Journal)
Date: September 1, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 64 Issue: 3 Page: 34(1)

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Book Description

Superb reproductions of all 8 pastel drawings from Frederic Remington’s famous portfolio A Bunch of Buckskins. Printed on heavy stock.

Book Description

Provides advice on all aspects of Quarter Horse ownership. Endorsed by the American Quarter Horse Association.

Customer Reviews:

A "must" for owners and riders of this remarkable animal.......2005-03-06

The American Quarter Horse Association has participated in producing The American Quarter Horse: An Introduction To Selection, Care, And Enjoyment, a virtual 'bible' of detail on the American quarter house, packing in details for all levels of riders and owners from novices to professionals. From an introductory history of the breed to detailed tips on selecting a horse, stabling, grooming and health, black and white and color photos throughout supplement all the basics needed to own or assess a quarter horse. The American Quarter Horse is an essential reference and a "must" for owners and riders of this remarkable animal.

It's absolutely awesome! READ IT!.......1999-03-11

This is one of the best books ever written. Calling all horse lovers- Read this book!!

Foundation Dams of the American Quarter Horse

Average customer rating:

Foundation Dams of the American Quarter Horse
Robert Moorman Denhardt
Manufacturer: University of Oklahoma Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Reference | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0806127481

Average customer rating:

2007 American Quarter Horse Datebook
David R. Stoecklein
Manufacturer: Stoecklein Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Calendar

Color | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Average customer rating:

P J Downs
Excellent Photographs

The American Quarter Horse
Becky Prunty
Manufacturer: Stoecklein Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Nature & Wildlife | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Photography | Miscellaneous | Sports | Subjects | Books

General | Sports | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1931153620

Book Description

Some people say the American Quarter Horse is one of the most popular equine breeds-the horses are used in many different disciplines throughout the world. They are highly valued for their superior athletic abilities, good breeding, and intelligence, and are considered outstanding all-around horses. This new book by photographer David R. Stoecklein is a celebration of the Quarter Horse, the history of its evolution, and the ranches that breed these powerful creatures.

Customer Reviews:

P J Downs.......2005-08-02

The American Quarter Horse is a beautiful book. The photographer, David Stoecklein captures my imagination with his stunning photography. This book covers all aspects of the daily life of the Quarter Horse in the most gorgeous and interesting way. Becky Prunty, an experienced rancher, excellently describes the life of the Quarter Horse. Recently a friend came to visit me and picked up this book off my table and was so impressed by it, asked me to order her one.

Excellent Photographs.......2005-03-24

This is a fantastic view of the working Quarter horse in the American west. Lots of working horses, broodmare bands, ranches , stallions, and all of the American Quarter Horse, which has grown to be as big an icon of the American west as the mustang. And yes, the Quarter horse is the single most popular breed in the USA and probably the world. A great addition to any coffee table and library.

Foundation Sires of the American Quarter Horse

Average customer rating:

Outstanding and Interesting book
Great Information on the Quarter Horse

Foundation Sires of the American Quarter Horse
Robert Moorman Denhardt
Manufacturer: University of Oklahoma Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Sports | Subjects | Books

Reference | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0806129476

Customer Reviews:

Outstanding and Interesting book.......1999-04-27

This is a great book, it is very interesting, and tells a lot about the American Quarter Horse, and its sirs.

Great Information on the Quarter Horse.......1999-04-27

This is a great book, it has fantastic information about the Quarter horses sires.

Average customer rating:

Best Remudas
Jim Jennings
Manufacturer: Bright Sky Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Collections, Catalogues & Exhibitions | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Animal Husbandry | Agricultural Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books

All Deals | Blowout Books | Stores | Books

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Home & Garden | Blowout Books | Stores | Books

Science | Blowout Books | Stores | Books
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ASIN: 1931721823

Book Description

Remuda: "Group of working horses bred for the ranch specifically to work and pen cattle."

To recognize the contributions made by working ranch horses to the heritage of the American Quarter Horse breed, the American Quarter Horse Association annually presents the Best Remuda Award. Beginning in 1992, with the Haythorn Ranch of Nebraska, the Association has honored fifteen outstanding ranches for their efforts in raising American Quarter Horses, an essential "tool of their trade."

Best Remudas features photography and descriptive text about each of the ranches and their horses. The current titleholder is 2006 honoree Tule Ranch, which raises horses and cattle in the Texas Panhandle's Palo Duro Canyon. Preceding it was the famous Babbitt Ranches, which operates more than a half million acres near Grand Canyon in Arizona. In 2004, the largest ranch in Canada, the Douglas Lake Cattle Company in British Columbia, was honored, and the remuda highlighted in 2003 was found in the Mojave Desert of California: Lacey Cattle Company. Their excellent "using horses" stay in good shape on only 5 inches of rainfall per year.

In 2002, W. H. Green Cattle Company brought the award to the rolling plains of Texas.

Average customer rating:
Opposite of Fate a Book of Musing
Amy Tan
Manufacturer: G P PUTNAMS SONS
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000WU7V9Q

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OPPOSITE OF FATE: A BOOK OF MUSINGS
AMY TAN
Manufacturer: Putnam Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Asian American | United States | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B000MDDAWK

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The Opposite of Fate: A Book of Musings
Amy Tan
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Asian American | United States | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0965815781

Average customer rating:

That rare book I can recommend to any would-be writer

I had no idea.

Serendipity in Essay Form

Disbelief

Story of Serendipity

The Opposite of Fate: A Book of Musings
Amy Tan
Manufacturer: Putnam Pub Group
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Authors | Arts & Literature | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
General | Asian American | United States | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
General | Essays | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Tan, Amy | ( T ) | Authors, A-Z | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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Saving Fish from Drowning: A Novel (Ballantine Reader's Circle)

The Hundred Secret Senses

The Kitchen God's Wife

The Moon Lady (Aladdin Picture Books)

The Bonesetter's Daughter: A Novel (Ballantine Reader's Circle)

ASIN: 0786541407

Amazon.com

Amy Tan begins The Opposite of Fate: A Book of Musings, a collection of essays that spans her literary career, on a humorous note; she is troubled that her life and novels have become the subject of a "Cliff's Notes" abridgement. Reading the little yellow booklet, she discovers that her work is seen as complex and rich with symbolism. However, Tan assures her readers that she has no lofty, literary intentions in writing her novels--she writes for herself, and insists that the recurring patterns and themes that critics find in them are entirely their own making. This self-deprecating stance, coupled with Tan's own clarification of her intentions, makes The Opposite of Fate feel like an extended, private conversation with the author.

Tan manages to find grace and frequent comedy in her sometimes painful life, and she takes great pleasure in being a celebrity. "Midlife Confidential" brings readers on tour with Tan and the rest of the leather-clad writers' rock band, the Rock-Bottom Remainders. And "Angst and the Second Book" is a brutally honest, frequently hysterical reflection on Tan's self-conscious attempts to follow the success of The Joy Luck Club.

In a collection so diverse and spanning such a long period of time, inevitably some of the pieces feel dated or repetitious. Yet, Tan comes off as a remarkably humble and sane woman, and the book works well both to fill in her biography and to clarify the boundaries between her life and her fiction. In her final, title essay, Tan juxtaposes her personal struggles against a persistent disease with the nation's struggles against terrorism in the aftermath of 9/11. She declares her transformative, artistic power over tragedy, reflecting: "As a storyteller, I know that if I don't like the ending, I can write a better one." --Patrick O'Kelley

Book Description

Amy Tan has touched millions of readers with haunting and sympathetic novels of cultural complexity and profound empathy. With the same spirit and humor that characterize her acclaimed novels, she now shares her insight into her own life and how she escaped the curses of her past to make a future of her own. She takes us on a journey from her childhood of tragedy and comedy to the present day and her arrival as one of the world's best-loved novelists. Whether recalling arguments with her mother in suburban California or introducing us to the ghosts that inhabit her computer, The Opposite of Fate offers vivid portraits of choices, attitudes, charms, and luck in action—a refreshing antidote to the world-weariness and uncertainties we all face today.

Customer Reviews:

That rare book I can recommend to any would-be writer.......2007-06-17

The first Amy Tan book I read was THE KITCHEN GOD'S WIFE, and it blew me away. It did what a really fine literary novel ought to do, in my opinion: it spoke the truth about human beings. While I enjoyed Tan's use of her own Chinese American background to give the book its setting, and her sharing of her heritage with its characters, I took those things as judicious use of the oldest and best advice given to fiction writers: "Write what you know." I was surprised, therefore, to read in this memoir about Tan's amazement when she began hearing herself declared a "minority" writer. A "writer of color," and so on. With each of those labels came a heavy load of expectations, of responsibilities (as perceived by those applying the label) to which she must rise. What didn't surprise me one bit, though, was the resentment that followed Tan's initial consternation. Labels that seem perfectly logical, and therefore helpful, to someone else can be limiting and hurtful to the person slapped with them. To put it another way, being pigeonholed pinches. And attempting to live up to the expectations of readers, reviewers, etc. as one writes a second novel after producing a wildly successful first book has got to be the most creativity-stifling exercise in this world.

I remember something else about THE KITCHEN GOD'S WIFE. I'd never heard of Amy Tan when I happened to pick it up, scan it, and decide to take it home. I sought out THE JOY LUCK CLUB, therefore, only after getting to know Tan's writing from her second book; and although I enjoyed her first, I thought (and still think) that her second novel is better by far. What I loved about both books was the universality of their themes, and of the characters I met in their pages. I'm not Chinese American (I'm a Down East Yankee, thank you very much, with Maine coastal roots three centuries deep). But I recognized the women she wrote about just the same! And despite cultural differences, I also recognized their joys and their sorrows; their dilemmas, and the ways in which they resolved them.

People are people everywhere, and writing is something writers do in order to stay sane. That's what Tan's work tells me. Both her novels, and this memoir that will be joining Stephen King's ON WRITING as that rare book I can recommend to any would-be writer. "Read this first, and then decide whether or not you're really cut out for this life," I can say. "This writer tells it like it is, and you need to know what you're getting into."

I had no idea........2007-05-14

I finised this book several weeks ago and still can't get it out of my mind. That last chapter was brutal. This book was also responsible for me hunting down a copy of "The Best American Short Stories - 1999". Thanks Amy, I've read all your (adult) books and have enjoyed them all.

Serendipity in Essay Form.......2007-04-05

Tan gives the reader a glimpse into her life with this collection of essays covering everything from a China trip with her mother to a childhood crush.

Disbelief.......2007-01-29

I enjoyed the style of Amy Tan's writing in this collection of essays, which span a broad range of topics: a China trip with her mother, a childhood crush, and the violent death of a friend, to name a few. I enjoyed the glimpse Tan was able to give the reader into her real life, and the contrasts between her reality and the fiction she writes. I liked reading about how she writes her novels, where her ideas originate and how she sometimes struggles to keep a book going when her inspiration seems to have failed her. Tan jumped off of the pages as a real, three-dimensional person, and one that I liked.

I was uncomfortable with one aspect of the book, though. Tan writes at one point that she realized as a child that memory was highly suggestible. She reveals that when she writes something, sometimes what she's written becomes confused with the actual truth. She presents two meetings with writer Vladimir Nabokov, then reveals that she never actually met him, that these were fictional constructions based on wishful thinking.

This seeming willingness to be foggy about the truth made me a bit suspicious about much of the book. Tan writes in many of her essays about the overwhelming string of coincidences she's noticed in her life. She writes of her friend predicting the circumstances of his death, which then come to pass almost exactly as he'd thought. She describes being worried about an unforseen bill for her cat's medical care, then being involved in a fender-bender with the man at fault offering to pay her, in cash, the exact amount of the worrisome bill. This focus on coincidences and also on proving the existence of ghosts or other friendly spirits that inhabit Tan's life, made me feel she was not a reliable narrator and perhaps I shouldn't take what she had written to heart.

Rather than simply appreciating her writing and the stories of her life, I found myself pulling back from Tan frequently with disbelief, which weakened my enjoyment of her book.

Story of Serendipity.......2006-12-13

Time and time again as children, we are told to do our best to accomplish our goals. We have it reinforced in us by parents, teachers, religious, and other community leaders. It's inbred in us that it is our greatest opportunity and privilege as citizens of the United States of America to do our best to accomplish our dreams. Some people do succeed, some don't, and sometimes people end up involved or doing something that they never thought or even considered being a part of or thought that they would get into. All things are possible, but sometimes our path in life takes unexpected turns for whatever reason because of the people we are close with.
Even before graduation, high school students typically decide in their senior year that they are going to college to further their education. Then somewhere along the line, they may end up doing something different: they may change a major, change universities or colleges, instead of college, they may decide that they should drop out to become a mechanic because it's a skilled trade, or maybe they decide that instead of art school they want to pursue a career in medicine. Maybe, like Bill Gates, they don't even finish high school and drop out to program computers that end up being the next big thing. There is the occasion that students stick with their original plans, and there are times where something happens to change it all.
Now imagine that you're in your senior year at Berkley at the University of California. You are on your way to getting your doctorates in linguistics and aren't really sure what you're going to do with the rest of you life after that point. Then something drastic happens. One of your good friends and roommates is murdered the night that he moves into his brand new apartment. In Amy Tan's case, the entire course of her life changed with the event of that friend's death and with influence of her mother upon her own life.
Throughout our lives we come across people who make a great impact upon us that later comes back to aide or hinder us somehow in the most difficult times we experience, like in a traumatic time as Amy experienced with the death of her friend, the trial of the murders of her friend, and the passing of her mother. The life of Amy Tan is a great example of how relationships can truly influence and change our fate, as she writes about her experiences in her book, The Opposite of Fate: Memoirs of a Writing Life. The book offers a look into her life as she deals with the struggles of so much tragedy and recalls each as an important step in her life as a writer. Chopped full of humor, touching moments, and sadness Opposite is an emotional journey that shows the human part behind the writer that typically is only revealed a little in her fiction. She writes for herself and to preserve her memories and the memories of others that were close to her. Tan has never forgotten her roots or those who influenced her life in such a way that made her become a writer. The Opposite of Fate gives evidence to readers that much of our fate is influenced upon the relationships we develop with others and the events that happen with those people in our lives
By taking a look at Tan's biography, we can also learn a little bit about her that will already be discussed in the book, although it isn't necessarily covered in the book itself. Amy was born on February 19th, 1952 in Oakland, California. She lived there with her mother, and her younger brother until 1966 when her mother uprooted them and insisted they move to Switzerland after both her father and second brother died from brain tumors. She went to high school in Switzerland and later came back to the United States to go to college. Tan went to five colleges: The Linfield College in Oregon, San Jose City College, San Jose State University, the University of California in Santa Cruz, and finally The University of California at Berkley. She became a freelance writer after she graduated college with her linguistics doctorate and became a language development consultant mainly working with children, although she never wanted anything to do with children except to be studied as subjects. She's written many books, her most popular novel that was published, The Joy Luck Club, was later turned into a movie. As for family life, Tan and her husband Lou DeMattei don't have any children but have been married since 1974. Tan does have two half sisters and an uncle who live in China, and an older brother who lives in Vancouver, Canada. Tan and her husband have two homes, one in New York and another in San Francisco. The house in San Francisco was close where her mother lived before she died in the year 2000 from a combination of old age and the later stages of Alzheimer's disease. Tan was her mother's care giver for a great deal of the rest of her mother's life and her mother, in turn was then revealed to be Tan's most influential ties according to Opposite.
As a child, Amy often listened to her mother lament over the tragedy of the same kind of death happening in the same family twice. Both Tan's brother and father died within a year of each other from brain tumors. As a teenager, like most, Amy dreaded hearing her mother's nagging. More than that, she despised hear her mother's hysterical ravings, suicidal threats, and the attempts that the entire family witnessed time and again from the time she was a little girl and even into her mother's old age. Although Tan has no real qualms about this happening now that she's older, as a teenager she would ignore her mother's suicide threats in the open, but deep down she was "terrified that one day my mother would carry out one of those empty threats" (Tan 130). She admits to having let her eyes glaze over and act as if the verbal threats were just dead noise then later would find herself staring into the bathroom mirror feeling ill and scared at the thought of her mother carrying out some plan to kill herself. Now as an older adult, she has come to accept the idea that if her mother had been completely happy and well adjusted earlier in her life, she would not have become the writer that she is today.
As many parents would have great hopes for their children, Amy's mother and father wanted Amy to become a doctor or a concert pianist even though she showed no interesting in actually playing the piano. As a little girl, the typical motherly anecdotes of "don't cross the street without looking," came as absolutes of impending death, "if you don't look, you get smashed" (Tan 33). However if her mother had been like most simply saying," it's alright honey, you don't have to practice, go outside and play," it's questionable whether or not Tan would have chosen the same path. Perhaps, if her and her mother had not had such tragic lives, she would have become the doctor or concert pianist that her parents wanted her to be. Instead, she went to college to get a doctorates in linguistics, then chose a different path because of a tragedy that hit very close to her with the death of a room mate that she and her husband had lived, worked, and studied with for the better half of a year or so.
Pete was an engineering student at Berkley and worked along side Amy and her husband at The Round Table pizza parlor in San Jose. They often shared late nights of political, religious, and philosophical discussions over drinks and became close friends, even enough to start renting a new apartment together. Unfortunately the celebration of their friendship and their new apartment together was cut short the night that they had moved into the new apartment. Pete was murdered in his sleep by two burglars who had hog-tied him and left him for dead on the floor. After that, Pete starts to come to Amy in her dreams and through the dreams Pete delivers advice as life became harder and more complicated with the start of the trial that would decide the fate of one of his syndicates. About a month before Pete died, Amy had been trying to decide what she was going to do with her degree after she graduated but couldn't think of anything. Pete suggested that she start working with children in language development. After his death, Amy took Pete's suggestion and ran with it, in a direction that before hand she had never really intended to get involved.
As the trial came to a close, Pete told Amy that she should talk to one of his friends who come help her later when she became a writer. Tan automatically dismissed the idea until later when she received a letter from Rose, Pete's friend, thanking her for telling her about Pete's death. At that point, her fate was set in motion to bring her to being the woman and the writer that she is today. Pete stopped visiting in dreams but a new relationship blossomed with Rose as a result. Rose and Amy kept in contact through letters and eventually Rose became Amy's first writing mentor.
During the time of her mother's death, Tan came to realize how much of an influence her mother actually had on her. After dementia set in, her mother was no longer the unhappy person she had seen before. Instead of bad memories, her mother became to remember the memories she shared with Amy, going on trips and the happier times in their lives. Her mother wasn't the same person that she had grown up with before. Tan came to the cruel realization that for most of their lives, she had not been approaching her mother's needs the right way. She had missed the concept that her mother wanted to be depended on before her mother became ill as much as after the illness struck. For example, instead of scowling at her mother as a teenager, she should have acknowledged and appreciated what her mother was trying to do for her, and then she would have been able to get away with doing different things as well. She began to think that she could have solve so many problems by learning this earlier in life, and they could have had happier lives if she had only realized this earlier. During the time of the illness, Amy became much closer with her other and after her mother's death, started writing a new book, The Bonesetter's Daughter with the renewed appreciation she had for her mother.
Whether it is a friend, a parent, sibling, husband, wife, boyfriend girlfriend or any other type of relationship, these entities set up our lives in such ways that create a domino effect to get us to the point we are at or the point which we wish to achieve. It is an act of conscious choice at which we decide who we are, whom we will be with, and what we wish to be. Our parents may effect us on some level as to instilling in us what types of values we wish to make a part of our lives, but our decisions are still solely our own. Every once in a while, we have someone who comes into our lives and after meeting them everything falls in place whether or not we admit it, remember it, or even think about it. After that point, whatever happens in our life that involves them may change what we decide to do.
The book, The Opposite of Fate: Memoirs of a Writing Life brings readers to believe that fate is not only left up to us as individuals, but to the influences of people around us who are important to us that impact our lives. Tan's humorous writing makes the book a quick read, and also helps the reader to stay interested, even though it isn't necessarily in chronological order. Tan slipped in a lot of very emotional memoirs in the book that are both happy and sad. The tone of Opposite in comparison to Tan's other work is far less serious than that of The Joy Luck Club, or The Kitchen God's Wife, but does have a lot of very serious memoirs in it dealing with loss and the role of hope in people's lives. Opposite is a wonderful book and an exceptional choice to read if a reader enjoys Tan's style, and remains to be enlightening, interesting, and causes the reader to think about fate and who and how it is effected by the people we know and care about.
Fate is not entirely dependent on the people we are around, those we hand around or those we are friends with, but that is just a slice of the pie of things that influence us. In Tan's life, many different played a part in her success as a writer, but only one event led to the point where she made the conscious decision to take a step towards becoming a writer. Her Success after that came from what inspiration she got mostly by spending time and caring for her mother, and other writers she was close to like Stephen King, or her editor Faith Sale, her mentors, and close friends like Pete. Without these influences, there may not have been a chance to read any of her work, including this book.

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Amy Tan. The Opposite of Fate: A Book of Musings.(Book Review): An article from: World Literature Today

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Amy Tan. The Opposite of Fate: A Book of Musings.(Book Review): An article from: World Literature Today
Mona Knapp
Manufacturer: University of Oklahoma
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

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This digital document is an article from World Literature Today, published by University of Oklahoma on May 1, 2005. The length of the article is 538 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Amy Tan. The Opposite of Fate: A Book of Musings.(Book Review)
Author: Mona Knapp
Publication: World Literature Today (Refereed)
Date: May 1, 2005
Publisher: University of Oklahoma
Volume: 79 Issue: 2 Page: 87(1)

Article Type: Book Review

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