Jottings from Dixie: The Civil War Dispatches of Sergeant Major Stephen F. Fleharty, U.S.A.

Customer Reviews:

Good old great-great-grand-uncle Stephen's Civil War musings.......2003-06-07

Stephen was my 2nd Great-grand-uncle. His brother William, my 2nd great-grandfather also served in the Civil War despite his brother's prostestations. I William's guard detail book from 1864. This is an interesting compilation of Stephen's writings from the Civil War.

Wonderful, New Addition to Civil War Studies!!.......1999-07-20

"Jottings" is a wonderful, welcome addition to Civil War studies. This collection of newspaper columns by Sergeant Major Fleharty gives a vivid account of the 102nd Regiment Illinois Infantry during the American Civil War. The introduction written by the two editors provides a splendid biographical account of Fleharty. This book is well worth purchasing for any student of our Civil War but especially for those interested in Illinois' role in the war.

"Jottings from Dixie ": The Civil War Dispatches of Sergeant Major Stephen F. Fleharty, U.S.A.: An article from: Journal of Southern History

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"Jottings from Dixie ": The Civil War Dispatches of Sergeant Major Stephen F. Fleharty, U.S.A.: An article from: Journal of Southern History
James A. Ramage
Manufacturer: Southern Historical Association
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B0008HO18W
Release Date: 2005-07-28

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Journal of Southern History, published by Southern Historical Association on February 1, 2001. The length of the article is 1108 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: "Jottings from Dixie ": The Civil War Dispatches of Sergeant Major Stephen F. Fleharty, U.S.A.
Author: James A. Ramage
Publication: Journal of Southern History (Refereed)
Date: February 1, 2001
Publisher: Southern Historical Association
Volume: 67 Issue: 1 Page: 190

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Amazon.com

John James Audubon's indelible portraits of American birds have long since cemented his reputation as one of our truly magical realists. Yet the artist, who was born in Haiti in 1785 and died 66 years later on his 30-acre estate in upper Manhattan, was not only a sublime featherhead but a trailblazing nature writer and diarist. Doubters should take a gander at the Library of America's splendid Writings and Drawings. This new compendium features 64 full-color plates, most of them from the Ornithological Biography, which demonstrate the compositional and dramatic brilliance that Audubon brought to his work: seldom has the black vulture, or Coragyps atratus, looked so elegant or sleekly satisfied, and his colloquium of ruby-throated hummingbirds (a.k.a. Archilochus colubris) is an almost comical study in group dynamics. Yet it's the texts--journals, letters, diaries, a brief memoir, and a pair of essays on artistic technique--that are the true revelation here.

Audubon was not, for the record, a kind of starry-eyed precursor to the Sierra Club, leaving nature untouched by human hands. It's telling that in his self-portrait, the artist is gripping neither palette nor paintbrush but a flintlock rifle. Gunning down his ornithological subjects was a necessary prelude to portraying them. Still, Audubon had quite a few of what we moderns would call conflicted moments, during which his admiration for, say, the Mississippi kite would temporarily halt the killing spree. Here the sight of a mother attempting to rescue its chick manages to stay his itchy trigger finger--for a millisecond, anyway:

My feelings at that moment I cannot express. I wished I had not discovered the poor bird; for who could have witnessed, without emotion, so striking an example of that affection which none but a mother can feel; so daring an act, performed in the midst of smoke, in the presence of a dreaded and dangerous enemy. I followed, however, and brought both to the ground at one shot, so keen is the desire of possession!

The aesthetic and taxidermal impulses have torn apart many a naturalist since then (although, to be sure, the stricken diarist was later annoyed to discover that another animal had cut in on his action: "What was my mortification, when I found that some quadruped had devoured both!") Elsewhere, Audubon records the topography of the Mississippi Valley in vivid detail, or grumbles about the tight job market: "Visited several Public Institutions where I cannot say that I Was very politely received; in one or Two Notable ones (Not Willing to Mention Names) I was invitd to Walk in and then out in very quick order." Audubon's early-19-century orthography, which the editors have meticulously retained, may take some Getting Used To. And the sheer piling up of avian corpses can seem almost comical to a modern reader. Still, Audubon worshipped pretty thoroughly, and very productively, at the shrine of the natural world. And let's recall his verdict on Liverpool's industrial landscape, which he observed during a 1826 visit: "Naked streets look dull." If only there'd been a long-billed curlew on hand! --James Marcus

Book Description

A landmark volume collects the writings and drawings of America's greatest artist-naturalist

The breathtaking art of John James Audubon's Birds of America has been celebrated throughout the world since it first appeared over 150 years ago. Less well known is Audubon's literary legacy -- the magnificent volumes of natural history he published during his lifetime, as well as the remarkable journals, memoirs, and letters left behind at his death. Now, with The Library of America's unprecedented John James Audubon: Writings and Drawings, Audubon the great nature writer takes his rightful place alongside Audubon the artist.

Here is the most comprehensive selection of Audubon's writings ever published, along with a spectacular portfolio of his drawings. The "Mississippi River Journal," the foremost record of an American artist's progress, details Audubon's first wilderness bird hunts. Selections from his "1826 Journal" follow him to Europe, where his abilities were finally recognized. Audubon's masterwork, the five-volume Ornithological Biography, is here generously represented by 45 entries. Charming, haunting, and violent by turns, these vivid intimate portraits of the habits and habitats of America's birds, from the curious mating rituals of the Wild Turkey to the sublime spectacle of the migration of the now vanished Passenger Pigeon, changed American nature writing forever. The "Missouri River Journals" evoke the vanishing American Indian and the hardships of frontier life. An extensive selection of letters charting almost 20 years of Audubon's artistic development, along with two essays on artistic technique and a brief memoir, round out the volume. For the first time, all texts have been painstakingly prepared from original sources. General and ornithological indices will aid the reader in the field as well as in the study. Sixty-four full-color plates, and fascinating manuscript sketches, some never before published, offer a unique perspective on Audubon's art.

Customer Reviews:

Talent, Passion, Perseverance: A Portrait of the Artist.......2007-08-17

Considering the high regard in which Audubon is held today, the reader may be surprised to learn how hard he had to struggle to get there.
Having failed repeatedly in his business ventures, he decided to concentrate his efforts on his true talent: observing, drawing and describing the birds of America. The fact that Alexander Wilson, a self-taught naturalist like Audubon, had pursued the same goal before him and enjoyed the support of the influential Philadelphia establishment seems to have encouraged rather than deterred young Audubon. He was sure he could do better, and in his jottings he never misses an opportunity to point out mistakes and shortcomings in Wilson's work.

The Mississippi River Journal of 1820-21 is, to my mind, the most interesting part of this collection. Raw diary entries, unedited and uncorrected, give a vivid account of this expedition which started in Cincinnati on a "flat boat" and ended in New Orleans. It may come as a shock to the reader that Audubon and his companions shot and killed practically all the birds he drew and described, and often ate them afterwards. They also bought birds from other hunters or, when in a town, at local markets. All manner of birds were briskly traded as food or pets, or for ornamental purposes.
During this trip, Audubon was destitute most of the time and always eager to get a free meal from a generous host. Letters of recommendation introduced him to a number of worthies, and he often replenished his funds by drawing portraits or giving drawing lessons to the children of wealthy citizens. There was some interest in his ornithological work, but not enough to secure financial backing. Through all these disappointments and humiliations, he remained a keen observer - not only of birds and other wildlife, but also of the country and the people in it.

His fortune changed with his visit to England and Scotland. Excerpts from his 1826 Journal show his surprise and delight in being graciously received, and even lionized, by important people who arranged for him to show his work in public and enlist subscribers.
The 64 color plates included in this book are selected from watercolors, aquatint engravings and lithographs, and show the full range of Audubon's art; they include birds that were abundant at the time but are now extinct (or nearly so), such as the Passenger Pigeon, the Carolina Parakeet, and the Ivory-billed Woodpecker. Forty-five entries from his "Ornithological Biography" give a fascinating account of the life and habits of American birds. To our modern sensibilities, his writing style seems a little effusive at times, and we might prefer to see our birds depicted in less dramatic poses; but there is no doubt about his enthusiasm, and he obviously captured the Zeitgeist.

The Missouri River expedition (1843) was designed to find new species of quadrupeds. This journal is more polished than the Mississippi Journal, but I find it less appealing. Somehow, A.'s true passion seems to have been birds, not quadrupeds.

Some personal letters, essays, autobiographical notes and descriptions of his technique round out the portrait of an artist who rose from obscure origins to the highest honors (member of illustrious societies, dinner with President Andrew Jackson at the White House), and whose name is still a household word in America today.

audubon's best single collection.......2007-01-04

to be read wholly as occasional readings and very enjoyable; allows one to imagine the bird life and other wildlife in America in the days of exploration and settlement, and how much of nature we have lost.

A Masterpiece of Nature Writing.......2000-10-14

Anyone looking for a chronicle of the American wilderness in its infancy would do well to start here. There is great charm in the journals of 1820, where the spellings are still Audubon's own, and the flavor of the times -- especially regarding life on the frontier, and concerning everyday life in old New Orleans -- is everywhere. With his "Bird Biographies" of everyday varieties, as well as descriptions of now-extinct species, such as the Carolina Parakeet, and Ivory Billed Woodpeckers, this book is a treasure not just for nature lovers and bird aficianados, but for lovers of history as well.

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Fatigue: Fight It with the Blood Type Diet (Dr. Peter J. D'Adamo's Eat Right 4 Your Type Health Library)
Peter J. D'Adamo
Manufacturer: Putnam Adult
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Nutrition | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
General | Special Conditions | Diets & Weight Loss | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
Blood Type Diets | Diets | Diets & Weight Loss | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
General | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
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Eat Right 4 Your Type: The Individualized Diet Solution to Staying Healthy, Living Longer & Achieving Your Ideal Weight

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Cook Right 4 Your Type: The Practical Kitchen Companion to Eat Right 4 Your Type

Blood Type O Food, Beverage and Supplemental Lists (Food, Beverage and Supplement)

Arthritis: Fight It With the Blood Type Diet (D'adamo, Peter. Eat Right 4 Your Type Library.)

Accessories:

Tanita BC533 Glass Innerscan Body Composition Monitor

ASIN: 0399152547
Release Date: 2005-03-17

Book Description

The Individualized Plan for Preventing and Treating the Conditions that Cause Fatigue

Dr. Peter J. D'Adamo's bestselling blood type diet plan that helps conquer debilitating fatigue. With specific tools unavailable in any other book, Fatigue: Fight It with the Blood Type Die(r) has four battle lans-individualized for all needs-for preventing and treating fatigue, and for alleviating the symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, and other fatigue-causing conditions

Book Description

Definitive, up-to-date coverage of nutrition

Nutrition for Foodservice and Culinary Professionals is the essential resource for the most complete, up-to-date information on nutrition and diet. New and expanded material in this Fifth Edition addresses such topics as biotechnology, vitamins, minerals, and organic foods. Many new tables and figures present a broader range of facts on the nutritional value of foods, as well as such timely material as "Food Practices of World Religions" and a "Reduced Calorie Menu for Asian-American Cuisine."

This new edition of Nutrition for Foodservice and Culinary Professionals features:

* New Dietary Reference Intakes for calories, carbohydrates, fats, proteins, and selected vitamins and minerals
* More "Chef's Tips" highlighting ways to incorporate nutritional knowledge into cooking and menus
* The Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes (TLC) Diet using the National Cholesterol Education Program 2001 clinical guidelines
* The 2002 American Cancer Society nutrition guidelines
* Up-to-date statistics on overweight and obesity in the United States and the latest information on weight loss, including drugs and surgery
* Updated Hot Topics, which discuss often controversial subjects related to nutrition, and expanded Nutrition Web Explorer activities

Nutrition for Foodservice and Culinary Professionals is used in certificate courses by the American Culinary Federation and the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation, and this Fifth Edition continues to be a bedrock resource for students and professionals in the foodservice industry.

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A cute little book about budgies

Parakeet/breeding

Step by Step Book About Training Your Parakeet
Darlene Campbell
Manufacturer: TFH Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Birds | Animal Care & Pets | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0866229701

Customer Reviews:

A cute little book about budgies.......2001-02-02

This is a cute little book about parakeets, including health care, training tips, supplies and breeding. It is fun to read but I was disappointed to see that most of the information found in this book can also be found in most budgie web sites. It will make a great present for a child with a budgie, but if you have Internet access, pass on.

Parakeet/breeding.......1999-03-11

how to train them, breeding them with the proper nutrition while there breeding

Step-By-Step Book About Budgerigars/Parakeets

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Step-By-Step Book About Budgerigars/Parakeets
Georg Radtke
Manufacturer: Thomasson Grant & Howell
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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

General | Animal Care & Pets | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0866224637

Book Description

“Provides detailed instructions and recipes for basic lye soaps made with animal or vegetable fats, and for hand-milled and specialty soaps using almond meal, chamomile, glycerin, and milk....Shampoo and liquid are covered as well.”—Library Journal. “You’ll also learn a little something about the history and origins of soap and soap making, fragrance, herbs and natural dyes.”—Woman’s Day Crafts & Needlework.

Customer Reviews:

I Love this book.......2007-07-28

I love this book. The edition I have (paperback) does not say add water to lye. Perhaps this has been corrected. It is emphasized in italics not to add water to lye. The photos are wonderful and gives you many ideas.
The recipes are simple ingredients. Since "Real" soap was made from these ingredients. (tallow and lard) It makes wonderful soap. She used a very simple method of handmilling. There are other ways. She keeps it simple. Most books I have read are very confusing. Out of all the books I have read this is my best book.

Vegans Beware!.......2007-05-23

Con: There are only 2 recipes that feature strictly non-animal based products. In-depth instructions on 'rendering' While you *can* change the oils, the lye calculations must be reformulated to compensate for the differing SAP levels. That, combined with the fact that the recipes are a bit lye heavy is, in my opinion, too much hassle.

Pro: The rebatch section has beautiful (triple lemon) and unusual (lettuce!) soap.
Pro: Very nice photos. Excellent wrapping/presentation ideas.

Recommendation: consider the library before making purchase.
Recommendation: "The Soapmaker's Companion" by Cavitch is more suited for (and leans toward) vegetarian/vegan soapmakers.

My goodness.......2006-09-01

Inaccurate and very VERY dangerous.
Mrs Coney suggests adding water to the lye instead of the other way round. THIS IS VERY DANGEROUS!

She then goes on to write about "trailings" (trace):

If you've stirred for nearly an hour and still can't see trailings, go ahead and proceed as if you have seen them. The signs are probably there, but you're not experienced enough yet to recognize what you're seeing.

VERY DANGEROUS AND MISLEADING. If proper trace hasn't been reached then it's very dangerous to proceed. Using some oils (such as olive, grapeseed and shiso) it simply takes longer to reach trace. I think most people making soap can understand what a thick custard (trace) looks like compared to milk (no trace).

Some of the recipes call for WAY to much lye! In some there isn't enough oil to change all of the oil into soap, leaving you with a soap which still has lye in it after saponification - very dangerous and a great way for the whole family to get some nice chemical burns. Enter some of her recipes into the online Lye Calculator at the-sage and you'll see what I mean.

More stupidity:

- Even thinking about mentioning the possibility of using liquid fabric dyes and food dyes in soapmaking
- Believing that you need to hand-mill and rebatch soap in order to use fragrances and additives
- Her way of making liquid soap is by rebatching soap with extra water added! Even a novice soapmaker can tell you that the only proper way to do this is by using Potassium Hydroxide (KOH) instead of Sodium Hydroxide (NaOH) in the soapmaking process.
- She doesn't even bother to suggest to properly test the PH of the soap before trying it: if the soap isn't ready, the lye in it will let you know right away by making your skin sting!.

Terrible, terrible, terrible and EXTREMELY DANGEROUS book.

Seasoned Soap Maker Loves This Book!.......2005-07-08

I've read a few of the reviews for this book, and I was quite surprised to see unfavorable ones! I love this book! I've been making soap for the past 7 years, so I'm not new to it. I've found this book helpful, and I've adapted my way of preparing my basic soap to this book's way - adding the lye is not any more dangerous then lye is inherently dangerous. Wear rubber gloves, and be careful! Lye is very caustic! I love the hand-milled soap recipes - I've created almost all of the ones in the book. The process of adding herbs, scents, & colors after the soap has cured is much more rewarding than adding these things to the lye/fat mixture (remember, lye is very caustic and will 'eat up' most additives). Hand-milled soap is very luxurious and quite easy to make - very exciting! I have lots of soap books, and this is the one I come back to most often. Try the olive oil castile soap - a nice soap that doesn't require special ingredients; and it's wonderful as a base for the hand-milled soaps, too!

Too intimidating for the the soap newbie.......2004-04-01

I found this book very intimidating, it was the first info I had bought and read about soap making,and the whole way it is written seemed to make soap making a scary prospect especially if you are afraid of lye, then add on top of that the rendering your own fat section! Ahhhhhhh------------! I bought it a year ago, read it put it on the shelf and said " I guess soap making is too hard, it's not for me! Now that I have access to the internet I have found other info about soapmaking and am finally ready to try it! Whew! It now doesn't seem so scary when I read other's directions and techniqes!I don't feel this is a good book for the soapmaking illiterate! Not for beginners!

The Complete Soapmaker: Tips, Techniques, & Recipes for Luxurious Handmade Soaps

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The Complete Soapmaker: Tips, Techniques, & Recipes for Luxurious Handmade Soaps
Norma; Coney, Norma J.; Sterling Pub Coney
Manufacturer: Sterling Pub Co Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000JEGU42

Average customer rating:

The Complete Soapmaker: Tips, Techniques & Recipes For Luxurious Handmade Soaps
Norma Coney
Manufacturer: Sterling
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000TKVG2W

Complete Soapmaker: Tips, Techniques And Recipes For Luxurious Handmade Soaps

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Complete Soapmaker: Tips, Techniques And Recipes For Luxurious Handmade Soaps
Norma Coney
Manufacturer: Diane Pub Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Soap Making | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0756776791

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The Complete Soapmaker: Tips, Techniques, & Recipes for Luxurious Handmade Soaps
Norma Coney
Manufacturer: Sterling Pub Co Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000NY3Q4A

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Average customer rating:

Nice pictorial reference

Trees and shrubs for dry California landscapes: Plants for water conservation : an introduction to more than 360 California native and introduced plants which survive with limited water
Bob Perry
Manufacturer: Land Design Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

General | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0960598812

Customer Reviews:

Nice pictorial reference.......2000-09-06

This book's strength is its pictures - realistic representations of dry California landscape plants. I would use it as a "brainstorm" book for getting ideas on which species to use in a particular landscape. The notations for each species are also helpful. Definitely one for the library.

Native Shrubs of Southern California (California Natural History Guides)

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Native Shrubs of Southern California (California Natural History Guides)
Peter H. Raven
Manufacturer: University of California Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Nature & Ecology | Science | Subjects | Books

Trees | Field Guides | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0520010507

Book Description

Southern California, with its valleys, high mountains and deserts, is exceptionally rich in native shrubs. Within this richly diversified area grow approximately 400 kinds of shrubs, and the great majority of them are mentioned in this book, which includes both color and black and white illustrations.

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California Native Trees and Shrubs
Lee W. Lenz
Manufacturer: Rancho Santa Anna
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0960580816

A Botanical trail guide: Featuring native and ornamental trees and shrubs

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A Botanical trail guide: Featuring native and ornamental trees and shrubs
Stephen K Stocking
Manufacturer: San Joaquin Delta College, Office of Information
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

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California Native Trees & Shrubs
Lenz and Dourley
Manufacturer: Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000KXQCXG

Native plants for erosion control in southern California (Leaflets of the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden)

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Native plants for erosion control in southern California (Leaflets of the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden)
Dara E Emery
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Binding: Unknown Binding

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Native shrubs and trees for the dry garden

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Native shrubs and trees for the dry garden
Katherine K Muller
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Binding: Unknown Binding

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

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Raising Children

Back to basics

How To Kindle a Soul in Our Times

Ancient wisdom modernized

Helpful for ALL ages

To Kindle a Soul: Ancient Wisdom for Modern Parents and Teachers
Lawrence Kelemen
Manufacturer: Targum
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Parenting | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1881927199

Product Description

Increasingly, forward-looking scientists and psychologists researching issues of childrearing are finding themselves looking...backwards! After years of failed experiments in education, it is the Torah's eternal wisdom that is proving itself the most effective, most humane, and most sensible way of teaching our children. In this fascinating, extensively-researched, and beautifully written work, Rabbi Kelemen, best-selling author, world-renowned lecturer, and acclaimed teacher, sets out a wonderfully practical Torah-based model for raising ethical, moral, and well-adjusted children, backing up his insights with over 400 scientific studies. This book is must reading for kiruv professionals and for parents, both observant and non-observant alike.

Customer Reviews:

Raising Children.......2007-01-09

Child Development is my field. I hold two masters degress in related fields - education and marriage, child and family counseling. This is the best book I have ever read on the subject of raising children.

The research has been done, so that a parent can know and understand the waking and sleeping health, including mental health, needs of their child. They can find the best methods to discipline their chldren. They will be more aware of the best ways to socialize them as well. Five stars to the best.

Back to basics.......2006-06-14

The strength of the book is in articulating and supporting its view of the basics, such as enough sleep, good diet, nurturing and loving environment and yes, no TV (the last point perhaps would go right to the heart of a modern family). In this age of supercharging kids with advanced educational techniques, these staples of child raring are increasingly likely to get overlooked.

The advice about insuring your child's full night sleep struck a special chord with me. Indeed, most of us can only spend any meaningful time with the kids in the late evening after work, which means that the hour of their going to bed is likely to be pushed back. Another point that surprisingly rarely appears in parenting literature is that it is difficult to give what you do not have, so to raise our kids' aspirations we must first become better people ourselves.

The book does a great job supporting its advice with the data from modern medical and sociological research. By comparison, it does not go to the same lengths showing the links with the Jewish tradition.

Overall, it serves as a good reminder of what should be the basics of parenting, but what in practice becomes so difficult to sustain.

How To Kindle a Soul in Our Times.......2004-03-20

I really like this book because Lawrence backs up his ideas with statistical analysis to prove his points. If you are interested in hearing how the Torah would tell you--how to raise children in our modern times, get this book.

Zev Saftlas, Author of Motivation That Works: How to Get Motivated and Stay Motivated

Ancient wisdom modernized.......2003-12-11

To Kindle A Soul affords the world an opportunity to glimpse into the Traditional Jewish world's approach to child rearing. Rabbi Kelemen evaluates the 3,300 years old child rearing methodology given to the Jews at Mt. Sinai against the findings of current behavioral studies and finds the tight correlation to each other staggering. The book is written so that anyone who is raising or planning on raising children, regardless whether they are Jewish or not, can learn and apply the teachings without having to become a Traditional Jew. Topics covered in To Kindle A Soul range from children's biological requirements to their emotional and spiritual needs and ends off with evaluating how television usage is affecting child and parent alike. The most important message in this book is that instead of using tricks to the change our children, we should transform ourselves into the healthy, compassionate, and productive people that we want our children to become.

Helpful for ALL ages.......2003-10-28

This is a useful book for teenagers to read too! He talks about working on yourself and developing good habits - definately something we teenagers have to work on. I loved it and it helped me change a lot of areas in my life.

Average customer rating:

A series of snap shots...

Awful

A life changing experence!

Haruko's World

Excellent Non-Fiction. As Interesting as the Best Fiction!

Haruko's World: A Japanese Farm Woman and Her Community: with a 1996 Epilogue
Gail Bernstein
Manufacturer: Stanford University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Cultural | Anthropology | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0804712875

Book Description

In Japan as in the United States, family farming is on the wane, increasingly rejected by the younger generation in favor of more promising economic pursuits and more sophisticated comforts. Yet for centuries past, the village and the family farm have constituted the world of the vast majority of Japanese women, as of Japanese men. The dramatic economic and demographic developments of the past two decades have orced extensive changes in the lives of Japanese farm women, many of hwom have been left virtually in charge of their family farms.

This book is a study of Japanese farm women’s lives in the present era: its central figure is 42-year-old Haruko, a complex, vibrant woman who both exemplifies and makes a mockery of the stereotype of Japanese women. Through Haruko we learn the work routine, family relationships, and social life of the women who are the mainstay of Japanese agriculture. Other women from Haruko’s village also figure in the story, and the author’s observations of them, based largely on a six-month stay with Haruko and her family in 1974-75, are supplemented with data from questionnaires and personal interviews.

An epilogue recounts the author’s return to Haruko’s village in 1982 and describes the changes that have occurred since 1975 in the lives of Haruko’s family and other village women. The book is illustrated with photographs.

Customer Reviews:

A series of snap shots..........2007-08-13

Haruko's World is a study by Gail Lee Bernstein of the women farmers of a Japanese community starting in October 1974 and ending in May 1975. She lived with one family and this allowed her access to interview and get information about family life and work in the townships in the area.
I thought I knew what would be found but was still surprised by a lot of the information. The farmers there were just starting to switch from family labor to hired hands and modern machinery. Japanese women on one hand seemed to be abused by the system and, yet, many wanted what American and European women were trying to leave, a full time job as a housewife. They HAD worked in the fields and factories and found the idea of spending all their time and energy for their FAMILY very appealing. By freeing them from much of the harsh farm related labor it allowed them to find second incomes and allowed them to feel more independent.
So while modern women outside of Japan fought to work along side men the modern women of the farms fought to get out of the mud paddies and sweat shops to become loving wives and happy mothers.
The author also visited Japan in 1982 and 1993 so we get some post-study information that helps us have closure and also always us to peek at the farming community as it continued to change. Most young people during this time period left for the city and a better jobs but the farming community in this study, because of reforms and good planning, were able to keep their population from decreasing.
Over all, the whole book was worth picking up and reading, even if it was only 224 pages.

Awful.......2007-08-02

I took Gail's class. It was pretty interesting, until we reached this book. If the minutiae of some peasant's woman's everyday life interests you and you consider it 'history,' then perhaps you will like this book. Also, it means that you are a very boring person. Just like Gail.

A life changing experence!.......2006-05-24

I picked up this book for my History of Japan class at the University of Oregon. I had some ideas of what to expect, but this book blew me away.

I took about 10 pills of aderall and read the book in 20 min. And it was the best 20 minutes of my life. Better then me meeting my wife, and the birth of our two young daughters.

Please buy this book, and change your life!

Haruko's World.......2006-01-30

Haruko's World is an excellent ethnographic treatment of the life of a rice-farming family on Shikoku, the smallest of Japan's four islands. Gail Bernstein gives us a compellingly human portrait of a rural family, especially of Haruko, the wife. The book is based on Bernstein's field research in 1974-1975, with an epilogue that is written after her return visit in 1982, and again in 1995. The reader gains an intimate understanding of rural life through the story of this hardworking, observant, and lively woman. Along the way, we also see how ethnographer and hosts come to understand each other. A wonderful book.

Excellent Non-Fiction. As Interesting as the Best Fiction!.......2002-11-14

In the early 1970s, Professor Gail Lee Bernstein lived with a rural farming family on Shikoku Island, Japan. There, she recorded the actions, words, thoughts, ideas, and struggles of her host family. As she overcame the initial resistance of her host family, and then eventually, that of the community in which she lived, Dr. Bernstein was exposed to a life that few foreigners have ever had a chance to write about.

Haruko (the matron of Bernstein's host family) helped, at and the same times, hindered, the ability of the author to record a true snapshot of the community. Of greatest importance was the interactions between several generations of the villiage's resident women.

A must read for students of Japanese History and/or Cultural Anthropology, and a great-if-read if you're anyone else.

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