For You, Lili Marlene: A Memoir of World War II

Book Description

In this touching sequel to Crunching Gravel: A Wisconsin Boyhood, [Robert Peters] recalls his search for self-knowledge and sexual identity as a young draftee in WW II. . . . This elegantly written memoir has much to say about the relationship between sex and the military life.Publishers Weekly Peters is neither sentimental nor mawkish in his coming-of-age story, which is made complicated by his ambivalence over his strong homosexual feelings. It is a rare adult who can convey the anxieties of youth as vividly as Peters does.David Azzolina, Library Journal Peters frank confessions and lush recollections paint a bittersweet portrait of a type of wartime experience that has seldom been explored.Kurt Chandler, The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

First Paperback Edition

Customer Reviews:

A behind-the-lines WWII cog's terrors.......2000-03-09

Nothing earth-shaking happens in the foreground of this brief (but intense) memoir of repressed longing and suppressed fear of a Wisconsin farmboy who was in the army but not in comabt during WWII. It may well make a mess of military chronology, but the feelings ring true. Peters wanted a kind of camraderie that was and remains forbidden in the American military. Typically of "the great generation," he desperately wanted to marry and to hide homoerotic desires. He received vicarious excitement from another clerk-typist bolder than he, who was acting on his homoerotic desires (and survived through his term of duty). The hard-scrabble existence of his Wisconsin childhood is also vividly and economically recalled.

Useless as history........1997-04-12

The new Amazon format forces the above number rating. This reviewer objects.

Mr. Peters is able to recollect the "well sculptured butts" of other soldiers very effectively, but his other memories of World War II are faulty. He jumbles dates and events, mislabels units, quotes wildly inaccurate statistics and anachronistic conversations (paratrooper berets in 1943?) and claims "D-Day jitters" despite apparently having arrived in Europe some months too late for that historic event. The Brits have a useful term for this: "a dog's breakfast".

Peters' erotic musing will find their audience, but military history readers will not take seriously a work which claims "O.D." stands for "off duty".

Average customer rating:
For You, Lili Marlene A Memoir of World War II
Robert Peters
Manufacturer: University of Wisconsin Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OS60S4

Average customer rating:
For You, Lili Marlene A Memoir of World War II
Peters Robert
Manufacturer: Univ of Wisconsin Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000UD7ZC8

Book Description

A harrowing look at the personal, social, and environmental impact of Americas newest drug abuse trend. Methamphetamine has been around for decades, but the recent surge in clandestine cooking labs in homes, hotel rooms, and even cars has made this toxic stimulant exceptionally affordable, accessible, and dangerous. With staggering facts and up-to-the-minute information, award-winning journalist Dirk Johnson has written the definitive book about Americas methamphetamine pandemic. Johnson examines the unprecedented physical, mental, social, and environmental destruction caused by meth use and meth production. He explains why this drug is so harmful, how it differs from other drugs, and how it has devastated individuals, families, and communities. While the facts are decidedly discouraging, Johnson describes successful national, state, and local efforts to fight meth production and prevent addiction, and shares hopeful stories from recovering meth addicts.

Customer Reviews:

FACTUAL.......2006-11-03

did not disappoint the reader. factual, truthful, eye-opening numbers-wise. saddening and cumbersome yet expectant

A must read!.......2005-10-11

Police departments in many regions across the United States say methamphetamine now represents 70-80% of their drug cases. Why? Meth is a cheap buzz and can be homemade with over-the-counter chemicals and cold remedies. It's also very quick to addict the user.

Federal surveys indicate that:
- 12 million Americans have used meth.
- More than 6% of high school seniors have tried it at least one time.
- 4% of nation's 8th graders have used it once.
- 2004 more than 17,000 meth labs were seized, compared to 7,500 in 1999.
- Meth abusers now account for more than 55% of all the people who seek help for addiction.

Today the phenomenon has moved to the heartland, the Midwest, and is moving east into big cities. It is no longer the drug of choice just for outlaw motorcycle gangs.

A gram can sell for $125, ounce $1700, a pound $13,000. But the mid 1990s, meth users discovered that they could make a less-pure form by themselves by copying recipes found on the Internet.

The drug's lure is that it produces a:
-- stunning burst of energy,
-- a feeling of euphoria,
-- heightened power of concentration,
-- a buoyant sense of self esteem,
-- an enhanced sex drive.

Smoking meth brings as much as an 8 to 12 hour high and 50% of the meth stays in the body after 24 hours. Meth seduces people who work long hours and become exhausted and females who use it to lose weight. The rush makes people feel great, as it affects the part of the brain that rewards people for doing things needed for human survival.

Now that you understand the who, what and why, it's important that every citizen learns how this drug is invading our country, being made in city apartments, small towns and abandoned farms or cabins.

The author, a senior writer and Chicago Bureau Chief for Newsweek, discusses mom and pop labs; women and meth; meth in the gay community; and young faces of meth. Prisons are bursting with meth users. Imagine being a child of meth users who don't sleep or eat for days while acting bizarre, and certainly not taking care of the children in their home.

Armchair Interviews says: If you are a parent, get smart about meth so you know more than your teen does. If you are a citizen, understand the emotional and financial disaster that meth is bringing into your town. Johnson's stories will blow your mind and break your heart.

Book Description

Largest, most comprehensive guide on the nutrients in commonly used household measures and market units of about 1500 foods. 2 mammoth tables give values for water, food energy, protein, fat, carbohydrates, mineral elements, vitamins, saturated, and unsaturated fatty acids. Supplementary data. 9 tables.

Average customer rating:

Horses: A Guide To Selection, Care And Enjoyment

Not what I expected

Excellent text used at local community college

Good, informative as an education and reference guide

Horses, 3rd Edition: A Guide to Selection, Care, and Enjoyment
J. Warren Evans
Manufacturer: Holt Paperbacks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Animal Care & Pets | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
General | Horses | Animal Care & Pets | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

The Horse

Stablekeeping: A Visual Guide to Safe and Healthy Horsekeeping (Horsekeeping Skills.)

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The United States Pony Club Manual of Horsemanship: Advanced Horsemanship B/HA/A Levels (The Howell Equestrian Library)

The United States Pony Club Manual of Horsemanship: Intermediate Horsemanship (C Level) (Howell Reference Books)

ASIN: 0805072519

Book Description

For almost twenty years, Horses has been the definitive horse care manual, an indispensable reference for anyone who shows, races, breeds, or rides horses. Now Horses is available for the first time in paperback in a completely revised and updated new edition, offering all the latest information necessary for the competent care and recreational use of horses today. It covers every vital phase of buying, managing, enjoying, and raising horses and features a wealth of illustrations and photo sequences showing step-by-step management procedures, as well as more technical information for advanced owners. The Third Edition also reflects recent findings in health care and research, and includes * A new chapter on business practices in the horse industry * Current recommendations for internal parasite control * Information on equine assisted therapy * Linebreeding, the Dosage Index, and the Rasmussen Factor * Recent information on coat color inheritance * The physiology of conditioning performance horses * The practical use of behavior for training Comprehensive, authoritative, and accessible, Horses, Third Edition is an essential reference book for anyone who cares for a horse, from novice to experienced owner.

Customer Reviews:

Horses: A Guide To Selection, Care And Enjoyment.......2007-08-23

Very informative and helpful for a new owner or beginner. It is a textbook worth having.

Not what I expected.......2007-03-25

I was expecting a book about the care, feeding, breeding and perhaps some history on the various horse breeds, and I was expecting photos. The care feeding and breeding information is there, but not much on the breeds, and what VERY FEW photos or drawings are included are ALL in black and white. The ONLY color picture is on the cover. This is probably why they don't let you see much from the Look Inside because people might not buy this book after they got to flip through it. I believe the information is helpful but it is sorely lacking in illustrations. We will keep it, but I would not reccomend it to anyone unless they are looking for a dry college text, or possibly an informational reference. It isn't a "fun" book by any means. My family is dissapointed.

Excellent text used at local community college.......2007-03-09

This is a required text for Equine Science course at our local community college and it covers A LOT of info. Highly recommend as a horse Bible. It is very thick so I wish I had purchased the hard cover for easier handling.

Good, informative as an education and reference guide.......2000-02-02

I used this book for an animal science class in college. I'm quite familiar with horses, but never the less, this book is definitely recommended for most anyone to have around as a basic horse book. For new horseback riders or owners, I'd definitely recommended it. The author covers essentially every topic imaginable, from behavior, conformation, breeds, stabling, feed, teeth, gaits, handling, conditioning, grooming, illnesses, farriers, diseases, performance, breeding and genetics. Even though I was familiar with most of the material covered, it is extremely handy to have such a book on hand for things like a dental chart for aging, or the wight to energy ratios for various grains. Just a lot of stuff down in writing that you might not always remember off the top of your head.

Horses, 3rd Edition: A Guide to Selection, Care, and Enjoyment

Average customer rating:

Horses, 3rd Edition: A Guide to Selection, Care, and Enjoyment
J. Warren Evans
Manufacturer: W. H. Freeman
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Animal Care & Pets | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

General | Science | Subjects | Books

Animal Husbandry | Agricultural Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books

Book Description

For almost twenty years, Horses has been the definitive horse care manual, an indispensable reference for anyone who shows, races, breeds, or rides horses.
Now Horses is available for the first time in paperback in a completely revised and updated new edition, offering all the latest information necessary for the competent care and recreational use of horses today. It covers every vital phase of buying, managing, enjoying, and raising horses and features a wealth of illustrations and photo sequences showing step-by-step management procedures, as well as more technical information for advanced owners. The Third Edition also reflects recent findings in health care and research, and includes

* A new chapter on business practices in the horse industry * Current recommendations for internal parasite control * Information on equine assisted therapy * Linebreeding, the Dosage Index, and the Rasmussen Factor * Recent information on coat color inheritance * The physiology of conditioning performance horses * The practical use of behavior for training

Comprehensive, authoritative, and accessible, Horses, Third Edition is an essential reference book for anyone who cares for a horse, from novice to experienced owner.

Average customer rating:

First Trapunto Project A Huge Success

Exploring Machine Trapunto: New Dimensions
Hari Walner
Manufacturer: C&T Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Applique | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
General | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Quilts & Quilting | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Trapunto by Machine

The Secrets of Elemental Quilting: Innovative Quilting Designs plus Trapunto Tips & Tricks

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Quilting: All About Trapunto (Quilting) (Quilting)

ASIN: 1571200436

Customer Reviews:

First Trapunto Project A Huge Success.......2000-08-25

Having seen Hari Walner on the HGTV show "Simply Quilts", I purchased this book to take a stab at her machine trapunto technique. I have no quilting experience,was using a 27 year old sewing machine, and my sewing skills were very rusty. My first project(Sparkling Dahlia)was a huge success thanks to the easy to follow instructions, illustrations, and patterns contained in this book.

I found real inspiration in the beautiful color photographs of the many quilts which incorporated the machine trapunto technique in combination with a wide variety of other quilting techniques.

I was pleased to see photographs and brief biographies of the 21 quilters who contributed to the book. It was also nice to see Hari credit those who assisted her with her own projects.

This book is not meant to be a beginning quilters "Bible". It is a wonderful book for anyone interested in adding the machine trapunto technique to their sewing skills repertoire.

Average customer rating:

Wow! Incredibly informative and a good read too!

Superb!

A premier publisher of books for gardening and landscaping

Gardening with Hardy Geraniums
Birgitte Husted Bendtsen
Manufacturer: Timber Press, Incorporated
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Perennials | Flowers | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
General | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Ornamental Plants | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Danish | More Languages | Foreign Language Nonfiction | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
Danish | More Languages | Foreign Language Books | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Heucheras and Heucherellas: Coral Bells and Foamy Bells

Hellebores: A Comprehensive Guide

Geraniums: The Complete Encyclopedia

Gardener's Guide to Growing Hardy Geraniums (Gardener's Guide to Growing Series)

Design in the Plant Collector's Garden: From Chaos to Beauty

ASIN: 0881927163

Book Description

Hardy geraniums were the first plants to shrug off the rigours of her coastal climate and grow in Birgitte Husted Bendtsen's garden every bit as well as they did in the fertile, sheltered plots further east in Denmark. Add to this their tolerance of dogs and children, resistance to pests and diseases, interesting foliage, and delightful flowers in a wide range of colours, and it is little surprise that Birgitte developed an insatiable passion for them. In this book, she shares her knowledge of cultivating the plants and highlights the most garden worthy species and varieties. Expert cultivation advice, including comments on soil preferences and hardiness, is followed by fascinating information on pollination, and failsafe propagation secrets. Captivating colour photographs display key characteristics of hardy geraniums including their legendary range of flower colour and intricate, often highly marked, foliage. Here readers may marvel at the many cultivars of Geranium x oxonianum, enjoy favorites like Geranium 'Ann Folkard' with its striking black eye against magenta background, and covet the fine-leaved, blue-flowering Geranium himalayense. Smaller varieties ideal for growing in rockeries, containers and troughs are described along with perfect geraniums for associating with roses of all colours. Birgitte Husted Bendtsen communicates like a true enthusiast and the text is peppered with interesting anecdotes including news of an exciting variety that is prized for its blue flowers and modest stature. With over 400 species and hybrids of hardy geraniums and 450 beautiful colour photographs, this book is both rich in information and beautiful to browse. It is a long-awaited reference that will delight seasoned enthusiasts and introduce a whole new generation of gardeners to the charms of the hardy geranium.

Customer Reviews:

Wow! Incredibly informative and a good read too!.......2006-04-02

In my garden planning, I keep running across stunning and adorable hardy geraniums. I got this book on a lark, and based on previous reviews, to get a little more information such as "will these actually look as nice in MY garden" and "are they as hardy as advertised"... I have read this book cover to cover since I got it a few days ago--the author is outstanding, showing a true passion for gardening and gardening using geraniums. She is entertaining and explains each of the variations/hybrids simply and thoroughly. This is the first gardening book I have read and finally "gotten" the latin names, understanding the characteristics of each of 'these' parents produces offspring having 'those' features. I know that's not a hard concept, but sorting through garden catalogs, garden stores, etc. I guess I'd get jaded and set my planning aside for a while. Birgitte explains the features of each kind of geranium and their best uses and placement (will this one work in a rock garden or only woodland settings?), as well as having a great photo of most every flower and some of their leaves to show the many variations and combinations. Many of the plants I have seen just recently on-line are included in this book, which made me pretty happy. I learned that Geranium 'Anne Folkard' may not survive a cold, damp winter unless I take extra care and shelter it a little, and G. pratense Midnight Reiter may not grow as fast as I would have liked it too to fill in the area where I wanted to place it.

After reading "Gardening with Hardy Geraniums", I am taking this book with me to the garden stores, with my slightly revised list, so if I see something else that calls out to me, I can look it up and know a heckova lot more than on the little plant tag. I wish more plant-specific books were more like this one--really interesting and informative without being just a list of plants with the same information on the plant tags.

Superb!.......2005-08-28

I already owned the well-known books on hardy geraniums by Trevor Bath / Joy Jones and Peter Yeo when this new book was published, so at first I hesitated a little before buying yet another book about this increasingly popular garden plant. I have not regretted buying it. I would't want to be without the other two books but the newcomer has a lot to offer: You will find many new cultivars that were unknown to the other authors; it's interesting to compare the experiences of someone gardening in Denmark, where climatic conditions are tougher, to those of English gardeners; there is a fascinating chapter on a leading Dutch breeder of geraniums; you'll find excellent chapters on cultivation and propagation, illustrated with useful pictures; there are 450 brilliant photographs, among them close-ups of flowers and leaves, so you can compare them handily, but also of whole plants and borders, so you get the "micro-perspective" as well as the "macro-perspective"; and, last not least, the author shows real passion when writing, very competently and wittily, about gardening with geraniums. If you are looking for a systematic and scientific monograph about cranesbills, you are better served with Peter Yeo's standard work (2nd edition), but if you are gardening and as crazy about geraniums as I am - then you can't do without this book!

A premier publisher of books for gardening and landscaping.......2005-08-07

Plenty of gardeners associate geraniums with potted plants which have a long flowering period: Gardening With Hardy Geraniums shows there's many more varieties available - over 400 in all - which are good garden cultivars. Over 400 photos cover the characteristics which distinguish them, from color to flower shape, while accompany summaries cover height, propagation, season, and background history. Avid gardeners with a passion for geraniums will relish Gardening With Hardy Geraniums as in-depth survey of geranium varieties. Timber Press is a premier publisher of books for gardening and landscaping. Send for their free catalog for a complete listing of their superb titles.

The Gardener's Guide to Growing Hardy Geraniums (Gardener's Guide)

Average customer rating:

a winner

The Gardener's Guide to Growing Hardy Geraniums (Gardener's Guide)
Trevor Bath , and Joy Jones
Manufacturer: Timber Press, Incorporated
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Reference | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0881922781

Customer Reviews:

a winner.......2000-06-09

A good read from beginning to end. I am fond of geraniums, but had no idea of the scope of the genus. The book helped me straighten out some of my mislabled orphans. Only a couple of problems - I wish it had far more photos of the leaves and flowers to help in identification, and the encyclopedia has no zone information for those of us in the US.

Average customer rating:

Hardy Geraniums
Peter F. Yeo
Manufacturer: Timber Press, Incorporated
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0881920193

Book Description

The garden-worthiness of hardy geraniums, or cranesbills, is often underestimated. Their cheerful flowers, intricate foliage, and versatility all call for them to be used more in the garden landscape.This new, updated version of a classic work offers full descriptions of more than 140 types of geranium, covering their natural geographical distribution and details of their varieties and hybrids. It provides a wealth of information on the history, nomenclature, classification, behavior, and use in cultivation of these beautiful and varied plants. Illustrated with over 50 color photographs and many more line drawings, including silhouettes of the different leaf forms, this unique book provides a complete study of hardy geraniums for all those involved in gardening, botany, and horticulture.

Average customer rating:

An elegant guide; short and pithy with excellent photos.

Hardy Geraniums (Rhs Wisley Handbooks)
David Hibberd
Manufacturer: Cassell
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Ornamental Plants | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Book Description

Successfully grow the popular, delicately beautiful, yet reliable geranium. The hardy varieties covered in this essential illustrated introduction aren’t restricted to conservatories or sunny balconies; these perennials provide excellent ground cover, pretty herbaceous foliage, and colorful pink or purple flowers. See how to choose the best variety for your soil and situation, and find out about care, cultivation, planting, and propagation. There’s a list of recommended varieties and cultivars for best results.

Customer Reviews:

An elegant guide; short and pithy with excellent photos........1997-09-09

There are at least three fine books on hardy geraniums. Yeo's book is exhaustively technical; Bath & Jones' is whimsical and lush; Hibberd's-though a much smaller book-provides an amazing amount of information, all of it well organized and well written. The photography, so important in a gardening reference work, is outstanding.

I own all three books, and Hibberd's is invariably the one that I use.

Karen Anderson (karenand@halcyon.com), Seattle, WA

Average customer rating:
The Gardener's Guide to Growing Hardy Geraniums
Trevor Bath; Joy Jones
Manufacturer: Timber Press, Incorporated
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000MBZGQA

Average customer rating:
A guide to cranesbills (Geranium)
Peter Yeo
Manufacturer: University Botanic Garden
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0007CBMTY

Average customer rating:
Hardy Geraniums

Manufacturer: Timber Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 9993953725

Average customer rating:
Hardy Geraniums (Wisley Handbooks)
David Hibberd
Manufacturer: Cassell
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OSGGT2

Book Description

"A down-to-earth, hopeful, useful--and, from the point of view of this 'recovered' depressive--accurate account of how to treat depression."--Mike Wallace, 60 Minutes.

Colette Dowling watched depression destroy her husband's life and leap to the next generation to nearly destroy her daughter's--until dramatic help was found. Now her ground-breaking book offer the same lifesaving help to the millions who still suffer depression and related disorders--which include panic, anxiety, phobias, PMS, alcohol and drug abuse, bulimia, migraine, and obesity. You Mean I Don't Have To Feel This Way? documents the latest research that links depression and related disorders to a physical cause and shows why willpower, understanding, and psychotherapy so often fail to work. It explains the state-of-the-art medical treatments that can bring about dramatic improvement--and often full recovery--within weeks. This important book includes: startling new links between eating disorders, addiction, and depression. How to recognize the symptoms of depression and anxiety disorders. Vital information about new treatments for depressed children and adolescents. A guide to breakthrough drugs for treating mood, anxiety, and eating disorders. The newest research on the use of antidepressants to prevent substance-abuse relapse. How to find expert help and evaluate the treatment you are given. Upbeat, filled with hope and warmth, Colette Dowling's book will change minds and save lives.

Customer Reviews:

If you have a substance abuse problem, a must read!.......2002-09-30

The author feels that many substance abusers have an underlying emotional problem like depression, anxiety, bi-polar disorder etc. They really need to be treated for this in order to get the substance abuse under control.

If you are having a substance abuse problem, read this book and be sure you get screened by a real professional for emotional problems. Keep an open mind and save yourself a lot of trouble and heartache. When the emotional issues get resolved, the substance abuse problem may practically take care of itself!

A great depression "primer".......2001-12-18

A great "primer" on depression. This is the first book I read on depression after reading Darkness Visible, and I still think it's one of the best, especially as the author's daughter, who suffered from depression, contributed to it.

Real Life Explanation of Depressive Illness and it's Affects.......2000-09-26

This was the first work on depression authored with a real life perspective on the illness and its affects on "life" that I had read. Having been trained in the mental health field and being employed in a mental health related job, this was the first work to help me feel better about my own illness. It was so easy to be understanding and supportive of others with this illness, but when it came time for me to understand and to be caring for myself, it all but elluded me.

Also in this work I found the connections between depression, addiction, weight related issues, and hormonal problems. Every little piece of my spotty medical history came into focus under the hands of the author in this book. I have yet to read anything that has helped me on the road to understanding my depressive illness any more than this book. Having a lay person relate information through her own real experiences is a definate plus as well.

This book saved my relationship.......1999-04-14

This is a very accessable book for anyone concerned about depression in a loved one or yourself. Written so people (not just professionals) can understand it. I've given it to several friends who were helped, too. Best of all, it helped my partner realize the behavior wasn't crazy but treatable. Excellent book.

This book takes the guilt out of mental illness........1998-07-17

This book is up to date in its information. It is very informative, and reader friendly. It explains the cause of some mental illness, addictions, phobias and anxieties. These down to earth explanations take all the guilt out of having a disorder, disability, or addiction. This distancing from self blame enables action and change.

You Mean I Don't Have To Feel This Way? New Help For Depression, Anxiety, And Addiction

Average customer rating:

You Mean I Don't Have To Feel This Way? New Help For Depression, Anxiety, And Addiction
Colette; With a foreword by Pope, Harrison G., Jr., M.D. and Hudson, James I., M.D. Dowling
Manufacturer: Charles Scribner's Sons
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000BU958M

Product Description

Help for Depression, Anxiety, and Addiction. From the Author of the "Cinderella Complex".

Average customer rating:

You Mean I Don't Have to Feel This Way
Dowling Colette
Manufacturer: Scribners
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000WM39Z4

You Mean I Don't Have to Feel This Way?, New Help for Depression, Anxiety, & Addiction

Average customer rating:

You Mean I Don't Have to Feel This Way?, New Help for Depression, Anxiety, & Addiction
Colette Dowling
Manufacturer: New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1991
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000NVANMQ

Book Description

Photographer Nacho López was Mexico's Eugene Smith, fusing social commitment with searing imagery to dramatize the plight of the helpless, the poor, and the marginalized in the pages of glossy illustrated magazines. Even today, López's photographs forcefully belie the picturesque exoticism that is invariably presented as the essence of Mexico.

In Nacho López, Mexican Photographer, John Mraz offers the first full-length study in English of this influential photojournalist and provides a close visual analysis of more than fifty of López's most important photographs. Mraz first sets López's work in the historical and cultural context of the authoritarian presidentialism that characterized Mexican politics in the 1950s, the cult of wealth and celebrity promoted by Mexico's professional photographers, and the government's attempts to modernize and industrialize Mexico at almost any cost. Mraz skillfully explores the implications of López's imagery in this setting: the extent to which his photographs might constitute further victimization of his downtrodden subjects, the relationship between them and the middle-class readers of the magazines for which López worked, and the success with which his photographs challenged Mexico's economic and political structures.

Mraz contrasts the photos López took with those that were selected by his editors for publication. He also compares López's images with his theories about documentary photography, and considers López's photographs alongside the work of Robert Capa, Dorothea Lange, Henri Cartier-Bresson, and Sebastião Salgado. López's imagery is further analyzed in relation to the Mexican Golden Age cinema inspired by Sergei Eisenstein, the pioneering digital imagery of Pedro Meyer, and the work of Manuel Álvarez Bravo, who Mraz provocatively argues was the first Mexican photographer to take an anti-picturesque stance.

The definitive English-language assessment of Nacho López's career, this volume also explores such broader topics as the nature of the photographic essay and the role of the media in effecting social change.

John Mraz is research professor at the Instituto de Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades at the Universidad Autónoma de Puebla in Mexico.

Book Description

On August 2, 1940, as on every other morning for weeks before, a long line of Jewish refugees waited outside the Japanese consulate in Kaunas, Lithuania. Many had already witnessed Nazi atrocities in Poland and other Axis-occupied lands, and they were desperate to escape. To leave Europe they needed foreign transit visas. And at the window, the smiling Japanese consul was issuing them. Before his government closed down the consulate and reassigned him to Berlin, he would issue thousands of such visas.

This is the story of Chiune Sugihara, a diplomat and spy who saved as many as 10,000 Jews from deportation to concentration camps and almost certain death, Because of his extreme modesty, Sugihara's tremendous act of moral courage is only now beginning to become widely known.

Unlike Raoul Wallenberg, the Swedish diplomat whose government sent him to Hungary with the express purpose of saving Jews, and Oskar Schindler, the German industrialist who at least initially had a vested economic interest in protecting the lives of "his Jews," Sugihara had no apparent reason to perform his acts of rescue. Indeed, he acted in direct violation of official Japanese policy, which directed all government and military personnel to cooperate with the murderous policies of their Nazi allies. Examining Sugihara's education and background -- a background shared with the colonial administrators and military men who committed "the rape of Nanjing" -- author Hillel Levine finds nothing that explains his extraordinary behavior.

Levine's search has taken him from the old Japanese consul building in Kaunas (now Kovno), Lithuania, to the Australian outback; across Japan from the rice fields of Sugihara's native town to the boardrooms of conglomerates where his younger schoolmates still hold power. But the more Levine sought answers to Sugihara's puzzling behavior, the more he encountered questions. Remarkably, Chiune Sugihara was not the only Japanese official to save Jews. Yet none was ever punished for insubordination. Was there a secret Japanese plan to save Jews from Nazi genocide?

Much Holocaust scholarship focuses on the perpetrators of evil, trying to illuminate what drove ordinary men and women to commit horrifying and murderous acts. But perhaps as difficult to understand is the phenomenon of rescue: what inspired courageous individuals to swim against the tide of cruelty and indifference. This sensitive and nuanced biography concludes that there is no link between a person's background and his moral inclinations. Mercy remains a divine mystery despite our human craving to reduce it to behavioristic formulas.

This book does not attempt to explain "man's humanity to man." Instead Levine has woven a fascinating narrative of one man's heroic efforts to save lives, in the midst of so many seeking to destroy them.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent Book.......2007-05-13

This book was fascinating, and should be required reading in all History classes.

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