North Dakota Department of Transportation roadside research project: Wildflower inventory

Book Description

INTRODUCTION The cut-rate package trips and photos of tanning flesh and Mickey Mouse that fill the pages of glossy holiday brochures ensure that everyone has an image of Florida - but seldom one that's either accurate or complete. Pulling in nearly sixty million visitors each year to its beaches and theme parks, the aptly nicknamed "Sunshine State" is devoted to the tourist trade, yet it's also among the least-understood parts of the US, with a history, character and diversity of landscape unmatched by any other region. Beyond the palm-fringed sands, hiking and canoeing trails wind through little-known forests and rivers, and the famed beaches themselves can vary wildly over a short distance - hordes of copper-toned revelers are often just a Frisbee's throw from a deserted, pristine strand coveted by wildlife-watchers. Variations continue inland, where busy, modern cities are rarely more than a few miles away from steamy, primeval swamps.

In many respects, Florida is still evolving. Socially and politically, it hasn't stayed still since the earliest days of US settlement: stimulating growth has always been the paramount concern, and with an average of a thousand people a day moving to the booming state, it's currently the fourth most populous place in the nation. The changing demographics have helped overturn the common notion that Florida is dominated by retirees (though, coincidentally, the state song is a venerable spiritual entitled "Old Folks at Home"), or is part of the conservative Deep South, even if elements certainly do remain. The new Floridians tend to be a younger breed, taking advantage of the economic development along the Highway 4 corridor in the center of the state - and Florida's lack of a state income tax. Immigration from outside the country is also on the increase, with Spanish- and French-Creole-speaking enclaves providing a reminder of geographic and economic ties to Latin America and the Caribbean. These links have proven almost as influential in raising the state's material wealth over the past decade as the arrival of huge domestic businesses, including sections of the film industry that have opted for central Florida in preference to Hollywood.

Not all is rosy: in the past decade, Florida vigorously fought a reputation for violent crime against tourists; you're highly unlikely to encounter any trouble, but the perception still lingers on a bit. The state also served as a major political battleground for the contested presidential election in 2000, rarely putting its best face forward as legal eagles and demonstrative protesters descended here en masse for the messy proceedings. A bit more behind the scenes, Florida is engaged in a struggle to provide enough houses, schools and roads for its growing population; levels of poverty in the rural areas can be severe; and in an increasingly multiethnic society, racial tensions frequently surface. Expanding towns without jeopardizing the environment is another hot issue; large amounts of land are under state or federal protection, and there are signs that the conservation lobby is gaining the upper hand. Nevertheless, uncontrolled development is posing serious ecological problems - not least to the Everglades.

Customer Reviews:

great and useful!.......2002-06-24

Rough Guides are really good at telling it like it is and the Florida one is no exception. I had it on a recent trip with me and it never led me astray.

"Rough Guide" is a cut above.......2000-08-28

The "Rough Guide" series is primarily intended for a British/Australian audience, but American readers will nevertheless find them very good resources. In fact, the different perspective may make it more valuable than the Fodors/Frommer's standards. The Guide for the Sunshine State is no exception. Much more honest and balanced than most guides, it pulls no punches and comes off genuine in its recommendations. When the writers don't care for something, they say so. It's a refreshing change from the glossy chamber-of-commerce copy that is typical in most travel guides. While nothing revolutionary, this series is definitely a cut above the norm.

Amazon.com

Dead Run is the story of Dennis Stockton, mastermind of one of the most daring mass prison breaks in American history. It begins with his conviction for a crime he maintained that he didn't commit and weaves through his troubled life, his perpetual incarcerations, and his often brilliant, often comical escapades within the prison system. With frequent excerpts from Stockton's prolific diaries, the book reveals not only much about its surprisingly insightful protagonist but about the prison system in general, including institutionalized corruption, power-hungry guards, inmates, and prison officers. There's more than enough intrigue, action, and disturbing comedy to fill several thrillers, but Dead Run is a true story of a man who refused to sit still and wait for the hour of his death. --Lisa Higgins

Book Description

Summers are always stifling in southern Virginia, and they're even hotter on the Mecklenburg Correctional Center's Death Row when Dennis Stockton arrives there in July 1983. Charged with murder for hire, Stockton insisted he was innocent, but his jury sentenced him to die. In prison, he begins keeping a diary and it soon becomes his lifeline, nurturing dreams of freedom and publication as an author.

Mecklenburg's officials had always prided themselves on running a secure prison, but that left them vulnerable to an ingenious escape conspiracy. Though indispensable in the plotting, Stockton decides not to run, betting instead on a new trial and exoneration. The escape of the "Mecklenburg Six" is dazzlingly suspenseful, as they take hostages, don guards' uniforms, and, staging a monumental bluff, make history with America's first mass escape from Death Row. Mean-while, Stockton notes it all in his journal.

After the escape, a Norfolk newspaper editor, William F. Burke, Jr., writes to the remaining inmates, seeking information on the unprecedented breakout. Stockton's diary becomes the most revealing account, and when excerpts are published, a scandalous portrait of Death Row emerges: bribed guards, marijuana plants, homebrew alcohol, weapon stashes, unlocked cell doors, and jailhouse sex. Overnight, Stockton becomes the most hated man in Virginia's prisons for his exposé. During the next eleven years, he survives plots against his life and endures subhuman conditions.

Throughout his ordeal he struggles to find his voice as a writer, while battling to gain a new trial and escape the "monster factory," his name for Death Row. As Stockton's scheduled execution nears, the case against him begins unraveling, leaving readers to ponder the true nature of justice.

Customer Reviews:

Important.......2003-03-09

This tells the story of an innocent man killed by the state of Virginia for political reasons, an event made easy and in all probability common by a law banning the reopening of a case to hear new evidence later than 21 days after a conviction. This applies even to evidence illegally suppressed during the original trial.
The book is extremely well-written, and much of it is exciting and suspenseful, particularly that dealing with the escape. Stockton was in on planning an escape from death row, but did not take part in it. New evidence of his innocence had just emerged, and Stockton apparently had enough faith left in the justice system to believe that he stood a better chance of freedom by not escaping. He may also have been driven by a desire to declare his innocence. He later refused a deal from the state of life imprisonment in exchange for ceasing to appeal his conviction. He also published diary entries in a newspaper which he knew would win him the ill-will of many with power over him.
This excellent book is marred slightly by the introduction's instructing us that "...there is no need to pity most criminals." Such a comment transfers its author's inability to pity to the rest of us. I'd be curious to know how many readers of this book feel no pity for the escaped murderer who arrives at the border of Canada, grows scared, telephones his mother, and - on her advice - turns himself in to be killed.
More importantly, the comment about pity leaves the debates over criminal justice within the framework of a battle between vengeance and pity - a framework in which the reduction of harm done by and to both criminals and the falsely accused can have no place.
The vengeance-versus-pity idea shoves aside the question of innocence-versus-guilt, and even where guilt is evident it shoves aside questions of societal healing, restitution to victims, rehabilitation of offenders, deterrence, and costs to tax-payers.
Everyone knows that crime is most easily and cost-effectively reduced by fighting poverty. It is unlikely that America's recent draconian measures will reduce crime in the long run. Stockton chose to trust the system rather than attempt an escape, but he was relieved to be killed when the only alternative was the hell-hole known as a correctional institution, a place full of flying feces, rape, murder, and abuse of every sort.
Lately, Virginia has been doing to juveniles what it has long done to adults convicted of crimes. The director of the dept. of juvenile justice [pun possibly intended] has resigned effective Dec. 1, 1999, following the death of a retarded youth in custody, the initiation of a self-defense program allowing guards to hit and kick kids, a girl being handcuffed on her way to a hospital to give birth, and poor conditions at the state's largest detention center so egregious that the agency's board decertified the place last week citing overcrowding and sexual misconduct.
Concern for convicts (innocent or not) is not in conflict with crime reduction. It is in
conflict with state violence, with the anger promoted by politicians even in the names of victims who publicly disown it. As long as advocates of vengeance are permitted
to masquerade as advocates of crime reduction, justice will be a sham.
This book is so well done that to find anything significant to complain about, I had to turn to the introduction, which the authors didn't write. The authors are an editor and an ex-reporter for the Virginian-Pilot, a Norfolk newspaper. Much of what they write is taken from Stockton's diary, transposed into the third person, fact-checked, and supplemented. The only thing I could fault these talented writers for is the occasional misplaced journalistic balance. The preface mentions "ultimate fairness - or lack thereof," as if the whole point of the book were not to describe unfairness. On page 19, the authors accept the term "monsters" as a useful one, without really defining what it should mean. On page 234 of a book describing the Dantean conditions of a prison, they write of a victim's mother's dealing with the years before an innocent man was executed for her son's murder: "It was like she was in prison too." Maybe she had said those words, but had she read this book? Did she have any idea what being in a prison is like? On page 251 the authors say that Stockton was "witness to a struggle between justice and mercy." He wasn't. He was witness to a struggle between evil politics and vengeance on the one hand, and the demands of innocence on the other. Justice cannot be opposed to mercy because justice should be merciful. Justice is, after all, an attempt - where all else has failed or not been tried - to reduce harm.
This book is not just an exciting page-turner. It also provides a great deal of useful information, including some shocking statistics. For example: "An October 1993 report by the U.S. House Judiciary Committee said that forty-eight innocent men had been freed from Death Rows across the nation since 1972, That came to a nearly one-in-six ratio of freed to executed prisoners. Of the forty-eight men, 52 percent 'were convicted on the basis of perjured testimony or because the prosecutor improperly withheld exculpatory evidence.'" Is this surprising in a country with the bizarre practice of ELECTING prosecutors to office - and voting them out if they leave a crime unpunished?

Not what it purports to be.......2002-08-16

This book presents itself as a story of a prison escape, and while it does include information about the Mecklenburg escape, that's not what the book really is.

The real intention of the book is to make an anti-death penalty pitch and to suggest that Dennis Stockton is innocent.

I don't have a problem with either of those positions (I am against the death penalty myself), but I do have a problem paying for a book that isn't what it claims to be.

Moreover, if they want to make a pitch for Stockton's innocence, they ought to be much more thorough and fair. Juries, judges and the governor of Virginia disagree with that view. Now it may be that they're wrong, but in order to make a fair judgment you need a complete presentation of the facts. What we get here instead is a lot of suggestions about possible exoneration but no serious analysis.

Still, it's an interesting story that I can't give a "1" rating to in good faith. It's an OK book. It's just not what it claims to be.

Real Life, Real Drama.......2002-03-09

"Dead Run" is the best prison drama I have ever read, made more gripping by the fact that it is ALL TRUE. The bookd recounts the final prison term of Dennis Stockton, who was probably innocent and spent over a decade on Death Row. The first part of the book deals with the only successful mass escape from Death Row in American history, but the drama does not end there. Following that, by following Stockton through the system and finally to his execution, one becomes acquainted with the grim, crushing reality of the brutality and neglect of the American prison system.

On top of being a gripping tale of prison life, the book is a damning account of capital punishment and our prison system in general. By picking Stockton as a subject, a probably innocent man singled out by the UN as an example of a case of capital punishment that did not meet up with the standards expected of international law, the authors make a ringing statement against death penalty laws and procedures in the United States. Only the most rabid pro-death penalty advocate could read this book and not come away questioning their support for the execution of criminals.

A further feature that permeates the story is just how seedy and corrupt everyone and everything in the book are. The courts, the cops, the guards, the prisoners, the politicians - they are all part of the same basically corrupt world. Only (not coincidentally) the reporters and some of the witnesses come off as being white in a very grey and black world.

The book is a magnificent, cannot-put-it-down peice of work that I heartily recommend to any lover of a good non-fiction tale!

My GOD!! What a MASTERPIECE!!.......2001-05-29

What I wanted to know, after reading this simple, eloquent, masterfully written prose blockbuster is WHERE DO I GO TO NOMINATE THESE GUYS FOR THE NOBEL PRIZE??? Not since I read JAWS have I been so absolutely riveted!!! And I HATE prison books. And, let me tell you, I never would have thought that I would glean so many powerful management techniques from a book about prisons!! I have learned more about human nature and, you'll pardon the expression, it's "Dark Side", than I ever dreamed possible!! When I was growing up in Southern California I met quite a few prisoner, usually working in my mother's garden. Later, when I was at a large insurance brokerage in San Francisco we often had underwriting meetings that touched upon the subjects that this book treats so eloquently and persuasively. But, I have to say, if I'd read this book before I moved to Oregon I would have remained in "the life" and kept applying the valuable risk management techniques described therein to my business. I give the thing SIX stars!!!!

Impossible to put down.......2001-01-10

I'm not a big reader but this work reads fast and is extremely absorbing. I remember the Briley escape while I was in college, so the new context I never had was fascinating.

Dead Run: Untold Story of Dennis Stockton & America's Only Mass Escape from Death Row

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Dead Run: Untold Story of Dennis Stockton & America's Only Mass Escape from Death Row
Joe and William F. Burke, Jr. Jackson
Manufacturer: Times Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000NQMBDA

Book Description

El talento psíquico de la Dra. Monica Diedrich le permite comunicarse con fieles mascotas dándo voz a sus silenciosos deseos, preocupaciones, necesidades y alegrias. En esta cautivante colección de historias reales, Monica trae a nuestras manos el misterioso mundo de los animales. Conozca a Sunshine, el gato que disfruta de la música popular; la mascota que recibe visitas de un miembro de la familia recién fallecido; el fiel siamés quien retorna a su dueño después de haber fallecido como otro gato. Las historias de Diedrich confirman la fascinante personalidad de estas criaturas tan importantes en nuestra vida.

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Gorgeous modern pattern knitting for the experienced knitter

Fingering weight yarn dreams but.....there be steeks!

Inspiring ideas for the advanced knitter

Beautiful Sweaters!

Beautiful glorious patterns

Knitting Out of Africa: Inspired Sweater Designs
Marianne Isager
Manufacturer: Interweave Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Fashion | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
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Knitting | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
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Knitting Nature: 39 Designs Inspired by Patterns in Nature

Knitting Beyond the Edge: Cuffs and Collars*Necklines*Hems*Closures - The Essential Collection of Decorative Finishes

Victorian Lace Today

Knitting Rules!: The Yarn Harlot's Bag of Knitting Tricks

Inspired Cable Knits: 20 Creative Designs for Making Sweaters and Accessories

ASIN: 1931499985

Book Description

Beautiful and historic African carpets, baskets, and other textiles provide the design inspiration for these 16 sophisticated knitted cardigans, pullovers, and sweater vests. Intended for seasoned knitters, these projects use domino, double knitting, entrelac, intarsia, and stranded two-color techniques worked in fingering-weight yarns. The Shoowa Vest, the African Domino Pullover, and the Arrowheads Cropped Pullover show off fancy stitching, while other designs feature colors borrowed from the mud-dried fabrics of Mali, the block patterns of Ghana, or motifs from Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Zaire, and Zimbabwe. African animals decorate the Giraffe Vest and Zebra Cardigan, and elsewhere leaping antelope and birds in flight are used in repeating patterns. Full instructions and charted patterns for at least two adult sizes are provided for each design and high-quality photographs of the finished pieces showcase these classic additions to any wardrobe.

Customer Reviews:

Gorgeous modern pattern knitting for the experienced knitter.......2006-03-16

"Knitting Out of Africa" employs the abstractly modern traditional designs of Mali mudcloth, Zimbabwe basketweaving and other designs to create wonderful designer garments. The knitting is mostly suitable for the intermediate to advance knitter, mainly for the colorwork and assembly techniques.

My favorite designs in the book are the ones taken from basketweaving. There is a funnel neck pullover and a long tunic, both inspired by these baskets. Another great design is a modular knitting domino, rather like a kimono, with flap collar and wonderful black-white-gray geometric design. There are some intarsia animal prints, as well. All are modern looking, quite stylish and would make one-of-a-kind, elegant garments. Some designs could be adapted for men, but these are primarily women's sweaters.

Big thumbs up if you like pattern or colorwork.

Fingering weight yarn dreams but.....there be steeks!.......2006-03-14

I am very fond of this book. There is a sophistication of color in the designs that I find appealing. I prefer fingering weight yarn and if you do as well, you'll love the designs in this book. I'm not a fan of zippers in sweaters but the patterns which include zippers could easily be turned into a v-neck, etc.

I was surprised at how many of the patterns used steeks. Steeks require you to cut your knitting in a variety of ways (for sleeves, cardigan fronts, necklines). All of these can be reconfigured if you dislike steeks. Be aware of the need to noodle with the patterns if you choose not to steek.

The sleeveless giraffe pullover is to die for!

Inspiring ideas for the advanced knitter.......2006-03-01

As the title suggests, these are not sweaters for the inexperienced knitter. They are intricate works of art, and the recommended needle sizes show they are not for the impatent knitter. Read through the knitting techniques mentioned in the introduction, and if you aren't familiar with them, and you still want to make the gorgeous sweaters herein, then learn the technique elsewhere before tackling these sublime designs. You'll be amply rewarded for your efforts.

Beautiful Sweaters!.......2006-02-15

I was uncertain how I would like the sweaters in this book but after I saw them I realized there isn't a bad one in the bunch. They're classy interesting geometric designs. I'm not sure which one to make first. The only possible concern with this book is that a number of sweaters require fingering yarn.

Well worth the purchase and well worth knitting!

Beautiful glorious patterns.......2006-01-19

I love anything that has a sort of "wild" flare to it, and this book is filled with it. The patterns will certainly give you a good challenge, which we all need now and then. The tutorials are written so well that if you are a "medium" knitter, you will probably feel very comfortable trying these patterns.

Book Description

As his paintings magnificently attest, Claude Monet was enamored of flowers and gardens. Yet his interest went beyond the canvas. The beloved painter was also a passionate gardener, well versed in plant life and amply informed on the latest horticultural developments. Once he had achieved success and renown as a painter, he was able to devote himself to creating Giverny, one of the most beautiful and inventive gardens in all of France.

Now readers can enjoy the fruits of Monet's labors at Giverny and learn how they came to be. In this richly illustrated and revelatory volume, rare photographs are juxtaposed with reproductions of the artist's paintings demonstrating his masterful application of color and design both on the canvas and in the garden. Gardening expert Sydney Eddison and eminent Monet scholar Robert Gordon explore the relationship between gardening and art, offer insight on Monet's interest in plants, and examine the idea of artist as gardener, gardener as artist. Gordon discusses the artist's obsession with gardens and describes how Giverny evolved over time. In delightful anecdotes about the artist, his family, and his associates, he permits a privileged glimpse of everyday life in the Monet household.

Gardener's Pocket Book/the Artist's House at Argenteuil (Detail : Journals/Book in Slipcase)

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Gardener's Pocket Book/the Artist's House at Argenteuil (Detail : Journals/Book in Slipcase)
Claude Monet
Manufacturer: St Martins Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Stationery

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General | Journals | Our Favorites | Gift Ideas
ASIN: 1555509800

Average customer rating:

Poor writing, recycled premise.

Very Reassuring

Timely and Important: A Must Read For All Parents

All parents should read this book!

The Shelter of Each Other

Shelter of Each Other
Mary Phd Pipher
Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Mental Health | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
General | Sociology | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
General | Family Relationships | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books
General | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls

Another Country: Navigating the Emotional Terrain of Our Elders

Hunger Pains

Writing to Change the World

Letters to a Young Therapist

Accessories:

Health o Meter HDC100-01 "Grow with Me" Teddy Bear Scale for Babies and Toddlers

Braun IRT 4020 ThermoScan Ear Thermometer

ASIN: 0345406036
Release Date: 1997-03-25

Book Description

In The Shelter of Each Other, Mary Pipher does for the American family what she did for adolescent girls and their parents in her bestselling book Reviving Ophelia: she opens our eyes wide to the desperate realities we are facing and shows us a way out. Drawing on the fascinating stories of families rich and poor, angry and despairing, religious and skeptical, and probing deep into her own family memories and experiences, Pipher clears a path to the strength and energy at the core of family life. Wise, compassionate, and impassioned, The Shelter of Each Other challenges each of us to face the truth about ourselves and to find the courage to protect, nurture, and revivify the families we cherish.

"A canny mix of optimism and practicality gives Pipher's fans a way to resist the worst of the culture around them and substitute the best of themselves."

*Newsweek

"Eye-opening . . . Pipher's simple solutions for survival in this family-unfriendly culture are peppered throughout the heart-wrenching and uplifting stories of several of her client

families. . . . Highly readable, passionate."

*San Francisco Chronicle

"Compelling."

*USA Today

Customer Reviews:

Poor writing, recycled premise........2005-08-12

I expected so much more from the hallowed author of "Reviving Ophelia"! Instead, this book recycles the same old stuff about how this generation of children have no values, and how her generation (of course) was raised on the correct moral fiber. She even goes so far as to lionize both the Victorian Era and the 1950's, quite possibly the two most repressed periods of Western history. Every time she used the phrase, "junk food culture with junk values," I craved a Krispy Kreme and wound up gaining 10 pounds as a direct result of repetitive phraseology. As if decrying the state of any culture's youth is a new concept: I think someone in the Nile delta there may just be a clay tablet with heiroglyphics bemoaning the values of ancient Egypt's youth, their obsession with all the wrong things, and how the previous generation did things SO MUCH BETTER.
And, dear lord, the writing! Almost all of her sentences are ten words long (yes, I counted) which made the prose very stilted and awkward, and the effect was worsened by her insistence on beginning at least one sentence per paragraph with an indefinite article. Ouch. My advice? Look elsewhere for insightful commentary on today's family. Read "The Shelter of Each Other" only if you are looking for confirmation of your own previously-held beliefs on how today's culture is going down the tubes.

Very Reassuring.......2004-08-25

This is such a great book for parents raising children in the modern world to read. With all the messages we get about how easy it is to screw up our kids, this one shows how to set a good foundation. Also good I think for adults trying to heal relationships with their birth families.

Timely and Important: A Must Read For All Parents.......2002-05-21

I picked up this book after reading the equally important "Reviving Ophelia." "The Shelter of Each Other" is an important guidebook on how to get your family back from the clutches of American junk media, job stress and day care. This book is ungently needed by any parent with factory farmed kids who spend their days with nannies, in day care, and in front of the tube watching garbage videos. But it is equally useful to involved parents who want to be one step ahead of the corrupting and damaging influences of life in America today. Read it and heal.

All parents should read this book!.......2001-08-18

This book is absolutely amazing! She hits the nail on the head with this one. I honestly wish this were madatory for all parents to read. It has helped my family so much. I now have happier kids and I am happier myself. I recommend this book to everyone.

The Shelter of Each Other.......2001-08-17

Many of us would agree there is a crisis plaguing our family's today. With the influx and overload of harmful messages, overstimulation, and lack of connection, there exists a steadily increasing problem which threatens to destroy family relationships and values. Mary Pipher captures the essence of what challenges American families today in an entertaining and easily read forum. This book is extremely enlightening and inspiring, offering concrete information and newfound hope towards rectifying what's wrong with families today.

The Shelter Of Each Other - Rebuilding Our Families

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The Shelter Of Each Other - Rebuilding Our Families
Mary, Ph.D. Pipher
Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000JZUW36

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The Shelter Of Each Other - Rebuilding Our Families
Mary, Ph.D. Pipher
Manufacturer: G. P. Putnam's Sons
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
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ASIN: B000JZJ6DI

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The Shelter of Each Other
Mary Pipher
Manufacturer: Vermilion
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Household Hints | How-to & Home Improvements | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

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The Shelter of Each Other
Mary Pipher
Manufacturer: G. P. Putnam's Sons
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000S6CCBG

The Shelter of Each Other by Mary Pipher

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The Shelter of Each Other by Mary Pipher
Mary Pipher
Manufacturer: G. P. Putnam
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000VEOU56

2 LITLE BY MARY PIPHER, PH.D. THE SHELTER OF EACH OTHER REBUILDING OUR FAMILIES & REVIVING OPHELIA

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2 LITLE BY MARY PIPHER, PH.D. THE SHELTER OF EACH OTHER REBUILDING OUR FAMILIES & REVIVING OPHELIA
PH.D. MARY PIPHER
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000TB7Y36

Product Description

2 MARY PIPHER, PH,D * REVIVING OPHELIA SAVING THE SELVES OF ADOLESCENT GIRLS. * THE SHELTER OF EACH OTHER REBUILDING OUR FAMILIES.

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Shelter of Each Other
Mary Phd Pipher
Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OVE6T6

Customer Reviews:

Outside Looking In.......2005-12-15

there was a family who is very poor and they had two kids. the family sells honey for money and they teach the little girl to steel and lie. the boy gives her a talk and tells her that stelling and lieing is very bad. After a while she started listing to him. they are not allowed to see their grandparents because when their parents were 16 they arrested their dad, jp.Theu hardly ever even get to talk about them. They are both very sad because of it. They start to get to know this older couple and they are kinda like thier grandparents. One day they take the kids fishing, while they are fishing their dad and "uncle" steel the r.v that the older couple had lived in. THe take it and hide it. that was the last straw for the boy and he decides that he wants to run away to see his grandparents. he conns his little sister into running away with him and so one night they take all the money that was in their dad's waleltt and they head off into the woods so they can finally meet their grandparents. When ever their parents find out that they have ran away the called the cops and they start searching for them. they run into alot of trouble with the cops and they get to where their grandparents live. They get to know their grandparents and they stay with them for a while. Their parents show up at the house and want to take them away. The kids mom says that the kids can stay with her in her parents house with out him. he has caused a lot of trouble with that family and now they are trying to fix all of their prolmbms. That was the summary of the book that I came up with.

A great book for the intelligent reader.......2005-10-04

My impressions of this book may seem somewhat surprising. I bought it primarily to find out why Michael Reagan was so distant from his father and so detached from the broader Reagan family, and yet seems to be the embodiment of Ronald Reagan's political philosophy. What I got, instead, was a more important story and much more than that. I came to see this not so much as the story of Michael Reagan, but more as the classic example of a truly dysfunctional family. To me, it became the story of love and affection gone wrong. It was populated with family members who obviously cared about each other but seldom saw things the same way. The players always seemed to talk past each other and, no matter what they tried; they continually worked at cross purposes. I couldn't help but wonder: how many other American families act in just this same way and how many adopted children shared Michael's fears and feelings? This book isn't just about Michael Reagan. It is about life in America and the inner workings of a classically dysfunctional family.

Caught between two families, the Reagans and Jane Wyman, but feeling that he doesn't belong to either one, Michael Reagan takes the reader through a gut wrenching childhood of presumed privilege which often works against him and which is filled with thoughts of loneliness, unworthiness, and the constant fear of not being wanted; all as seen through the eyes of a child. One can only wonder how many other adopted children have shared these feelings. Then, even when he begins to feel that he might belong and that he is really wanted, he is once again put down. Brought home from boarding school and expecting his own room he is instead made to sleep on the couch so a servant can have a room of her own. Then it's back to boarding school; with more loneliness and fear.

To make matters worse, Michael is molested as a child and the child molester goes so far as to take nude pictures of him. This brings further shame, a sense of unworthiness, fear of being a homosexual, and a long-standing fear that he will be exposed bringing shame to his family. It might have helped if he had been able to tell someone, but how many children would be able to do that. Instead, he lived with it untold until this book was written.

In looking at all the characters in this book it seems impossible to say who, if anyone, was really at fault, or if they all just got caught up in something over which they had no control. In my view, though, by sharing his story with such brutal honesty, Michael Reagan has done a service not only to himself, but to his family and to the country at large. I've always admired him. I admire him even more after reading this biography. As a matter of fact, I couldn't put it down...

Right Wing Saddo Wants Your Sympathy.......2005-09-09

Michael Reagan wants your sympathy...he wants you to know that even heartless right wing radio personalities have it tough. As if anyone was particulary interested, Michael writes a rather flat biography with some fabricated drama thrown in for good measure. It is not particularly enganging. Had the book revealed more insight into Ronald Reagan, the man, this might have been an interesting read. As it stands, does anyone really care what hardships Ronald Reagan's adopted son from his movie star marriage had to endure? From other resources, I have come to find out Michael was not even a big part of Ronnies life during his presidency. You would not know it by listening to Michaels radio show, however, as he milks his relationship with Ronnie for all it is worth. This book, as well as his newer "Twice Adopted", are straight-to-Dollar Tree material at best. I must say, I did have an inkling of sympathy when Michael covers child abuse, as I believe child abusers to be the lowest scum on earth. But, as right-wing ignorant radio hosts are somewhere on that list, not all that far up, the sympathy quickly fades. I do feel bad for what happened to him, and admire him for having for having overcome his deamons. But, I still find the rest of the book to be the ramblings of a miniscule figure in history, who tries to make his association with a former president to be more than it really was. If you are a fan, by all means dive in.

If only the Reagan presidency went by this quickly!.......2005-08-12

I found ON THE OUTSIDE LOOKING IN, the autobiography of Michael Reagan (son of actress Jane Wyman and former U.S. president Ronald Reagan), hard to put down. I finished reading it in just a few days and wished the presidency of the author's father had come and gone as quickly.

Michael Reagan's dead honesty regarding his personal tragedies will compel you to keep turning the pages of ON THE OUTSIDE LOOKING IN. One would think being the son of a famous movie actress and, later in life, having your father elected governor of California and then president of the United States guarantees life on Easy Street. But as Michael Reagan discloses, no matter how good something like that looks, the reality can differ so greatly that you will ask yourself, "Why me?"

The only ON THE OUTSIDE . . . passages with scissor marks pertain to Ronald and Nancy Reagan. For instance, Michael Reagan mentions an incident where it was "the only time I saw my father and Nancy argue" but discloses no details. At least Michael Reagan admits showing his father and Mrs. Reagan a pre-publication draft of the book, even if he does not flat-out say he cut any text to please them.

But ON THE OUTSIDE LOOKING IN merits five stars nonetheless. Michael Reagan shows a ton of courage telling his story. I hope I can shake his hand some day.

A gutwrenching and inspiring story of the son of Ron Reagan.......1999-10-28

Michael Reagan with brutal honesty, and a whole lot guts, tells the gutwrenching but inspiring story of his much traveled life. From living a childhood that included such traumatic experiences as: being ridiculed for being adopted, being brutally molested by a camp councellor, having his parents divorce,and being constantly switched to different boarding schools,Michael grew up feeling very low about himself, and contemplated suicide on several occasions. His young adulthood was marred by consusion and self destructive behavior. While in his twenties Michael racked up staggering debt, had a failed marriage, and was dogged by a failure to hold down a steady job. While the young Michael was not extemly proud of his irresponsible lifestyle he had no great desire to reform himself because his parents, namely his mother, would always bail him out. It was in meeting his current wife Colleen that Michael experienced the turning point of his life. Colleen quickly let it be known that Michael's lifestyle was unaccaptable, and would have to be ended if they were to be together. This was to be Michael's ephinany, and it started the turnaround that allowed him to exorcise the deamons of his past, live a blessed, and honest life, and fully reconcile with his father. This book is sure to be an inspiration to anyone who has lived a trying life, and will provide valuable lessons to anyone who feels as though they are alone and that their life is spinning out of control.

Michael Reagan on the Outside looking in

Average customer rating:

Michael Reagan on the Outside looking in
Michael Reagan with Joe Hyams
Manufacturer: zebra
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000J2IN2Q

Average customer rating:

Michael Reagan: On the Outside Looking In
JoeHyams
Manufacturer: Zebra Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000NWRA94

Average customer rating:

On the Outside Looking In
Michael Reagan
Manufacturer: Random House Value Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0517146150
Release Date: 1995-05-21

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