A Bucket of Prop Wash: From Poverty to Silver Wings

Customer Reviews:

There needs to be a sequel!!.......2003-10-20

Wonderfully written controversial story of one man's experiences during his 30 year career beginning in 1917 during ww1 and continuing through ww2. The untold stories and ones you'd never expect to hear told as the writer saw it.

Average customer rating:

An irreverent account of fieldwork

No glamour, just the truth

So you want to do anthropology?

Outsider

Hilarious

The Innocent Anthropologist : Notes from a Mud Hut
Nigel Barley
Manufacturer: Waveland Pr Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
Social Scientists & Psychologists | Professionals & Academics | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
Cultural | Anthropology | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1577661567

Book Description

When British anthropologist Nigel Barley set up home among the Dowayo people in northern Cameroon, he knew how fieldwork should be conducted. Unfortunately, nobody had told the Dowayo. His compulsive, witty account of first fieldwork offers a wonderfully inspiring introduction to the real life of a cultural anthropologist doing research in a Third World area. Both touching and hilarious, Barley's unconventional story—in which he survived boredom, hostility, disaster, and illness—addresses many critical issues in anthropology and in fieldwork.

Customer Reviews:

An irreverent account of fieldwork.......2007-10-07

Nigel Barley is a social anthropologist and this is his account of his first fieldwork, a year living and studying the Dowayo people of Cameroon. Social and cultural anthropologists (also known as ethnographers) travel to exotic locales (sometimes in our own backyard) and live among a group of people for a year or more in order to come to know their way of life intimately and write about it. Most every Ph.D. student in the field will face this "rite de passage" in order to become "a real anthropologist," and is generally given precious little guidance in the matter, which seems cloaked in mystery and is therefore commonly a source of considerable anxiety. In recent years, the situation has been partially remedied with the publication of some texts on methods and techniques, as well as the development of courses on field research methods, but there is still little written on the human dimension - namely, what is life like "in the field"? This book joins a small club, which includes Malinowski's diary and Return to Laughter. What sets Barley's book apart is his wit. He faces some serious problems but - in retrospect at least - laughs at them. It is a very entertaining read. You will learn a lot about what to expect in the field. It will also be useful for anyone who will be living in Africa and possibly other developing regions, such as Peace Corps volunteers and missionaries. I was, however, uncomfortable throughout the book because the author seems to be very distant and detached from the people he lived with and studied. It is hard to find anything very positive about the Dowayo, and the book therefore serves to reinforce negative stereotypes about Africa and bolster Western superiority. I prefer the eloquence and wisdom of Return to Laughter.

No glamour, just the truth.......2007-09-30

Barley's account of life among the Dowayo of Cameroon is both truthful and funny. This book should be required reading for anyone considering fieldwork or for anyone who would rather be an armchair anthropologist. It clears away all the dry scholarship and objectivity of academic writing to demonstrate how it feels to do fieldwork. I also recommend The Lonely Anthropologist, a collection of similar tales, as a companion to Barley's account.

So you want to do anthropology?.......2007-05-18

This is a budding anthropologist's account of his experience with an obscure and previously unstudied people in the Cameroons. If you thought you might want to be an anthropologist, this will either inspire you or turn you to some more comfortable calling. The innocent Englishman describes in hilarious detail his dealings with bureaucrats, missionaries, village chiefs, and rainmakers, while trying to maintain anthropological distance. You learn a little bit of anthropology from the book; you learn much more about the anthropologist. He may have embellished his story in places, but he probably didn't need to. It would make a great film, but don't wait for that. It's one of the funniest books you'll ever read.

Outsider.......2006-07-08

It does not follow that a good student becomes a good teacher and/or a good researcher. The author's thesis was based upon ancient, defunct communities. Seeking to do field work, he casts about for an appropriate subject. Friends and fellow academics tend to remember nothing but the good times. Ethnographic adventures are productive of a license to be a bore. Anthropology has the reek of sanctity and divine irrelevance.

The author selects the Dowayo of North Cameroon for his study. In the Cameroons there are French young people, co-operants, doing foreign service as an alternative to required military service. They speak to Africans who are not their servants, and they explore the country beyond the diplomatic compound. Since Malinowski, anthropologists have tried not to talk to missionaries. Not cultural imperialists, most of the missionaries Nigel Barley encounteres are diffident about imposing their own views. Support of the missionaries turns out to be essential to his work.

In the Cameroons there is a huge antiquated administrative system. Dealing with the bureaucracy is a daunting task. In Africa the day begins at 5:30. The Dowayo are fond of termites. They place blacksmiths in a separate group. When registering with the sous-prefet, the author explains that anthropology is his job. The Dowayo believe in reincarnation. Their chiefs are simply rich men. Barley finds an assistant, Matthieu, a French-speaking, Christian Dowayo. They settle in Kongle, a mountain Dowayo village. Mountain Dowayo, as opposed to plains Dowayo, are considered more barbarous. The Dowayo language has four tones, and sometimes the tones are blended, a glide. There are different dialects. Fulani is the trade language. After nearly a year's stay the Dowayo refer to Barley as 'our white man'

Water in Dowayoland poses a danger. There are parasitic diseases. The author learns that in order to receive more information from his informants, he must supply verbal interjections as they speak to show that he is listening and to encourage the speakers to continue. He discovers that only men know the whole of Dowayo culture. Time is not something that can be allocated in Dowayoland. Plant fertility, circumcision, and rain are linked. Barley reads trash literature, obtained from a young missionary, after seven while everyone else is asleep. He has afflictions--malaria and viral hepatitis. A new sous-prefet has been educated in France, wears a Fulani robe, and is ambitious to reform the Dowayo, to turn them into proper Frenchmen, the author thinks facetiously. The Dowayo call the new sous-prefet the black white man.

On his way home, Barley finds the pace of Rome, a stop-over, bewildering. He is victim of theft there at his hotel and has no identification, airline ticket, or money. A barman who has been in Wales as a POW calls the British Embassy for him. He enters the UK politely, without his passport, after an absence of eighteen months. The monographs of other anthropologists have become more revealing to the author after his experience abroad. The book is amusing, thought-provoking. It recounts field work absent the usual filtering employed to produce a scholarly article.

Hilarious.......2005-06-10

This humorous and often hilarious account of Mr. Barley's time in Africa and the reality he experienced is very insightful. It dispelled the many inner inhibitions visitors often have about a new culture . True life in rural Africa can be boring, but there are many fascinating aspects about it if we have an open and curious mind. The works of Janvier Tisi and Chinua Achebe are other good books to read.

The Innocent Anthropologist: Notes From a Mud Hut

Average customer rating:

The Innocent Anthropologist: Notes From a Mud Hut
nigel barley
Manufacturer: Penguin Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Average customer rating:

The Innocent Anthropologist : Notes From a Mud Hut
Nigel Barley
Manufacturer: Henry Holt and Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000ORFVXU

Customer Reviews:

Wonderful.......2007-04-04

We live in the country, and don't have a lot of exposure to other ethnicities or ways of living. I bought this book because it was about adjusting to a new sibling, and I'd heard that it showed breastfeeding as well. But I was delighted to see such a wonderful book showing an urban way of living - riding on the city bus, and an African American family; a male baby sitter. I don't think the author was consciously trying to be 'different', but I think this book is great because so many children's books seem to assume that all children are growing up in suburbia (or even in the country), and that's simply not true.

The book covered the subject matter very well, too. I think it helped prepare our oldest daughter (3) very well for the arrival of her baby sister.

WILL THERE BE A LAP FO RME.......2006-06-28

VERY SWEET. IT REASURES AC HILD THER EWILL ALWAYS BE ROOM FOR THEM. LOVED IT

Sweet Story.......2005-09-23

I liked this book and thought the story was very sweet. I also thought it did a good job showing the older child how things will be changing while mommy is pregnant and after the baby is born. Although my son seemed to enjoy the story, he does not request to read the book very often.

A beautiful book to help prepare your first child.......2001-08-10

A realistic look at how your older child's world will change when the new baby arrives. This book will also remind you of the importance of making a priority of spending time one-on-one with your older child--even just 10-15 minutes snuggling and watching the birds!

Great for soon-to-be older sibling.......2000-05-17

This is a nice book to add to your reading time for a soon-to-be older sibling. I found it suitable for my 2 yr old, yet it is not too young for a 4-5 yr old.

The story shares the fears and concerns of a little boy whose mother is pregnant. The author skillfully manifests the boy's concerns into a surface worry that he doesn't have room on his mom's lap as her pregnancy progresses. Obviously, this is a manifestation of his fear that she won't have time and/or attention for him, but it's not played up. I really liked this approach, as most pre-schoolers have an indirect way of expressing or understanding their fears. It helps me as a parent remember that my child's concerns might show up in subtle ways.

Very well illustrated. I also liked that the characters weren't white. It's hard to find children's books that aren't about mainstream white families. (We're caucasian but try to stock a diverse book stash so our kids learn about other cultures.)

Highly recommend this book.

Average customer rating:
Will There Be a Lap for Me
Dorothy Corey
Manufacturer: ALBERT WHITMAN &+COMPANY
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000SHBU8G

Average customer rating:

great cook book

Definite must for on the go people!

My go-to cookbook

Simple - Easy - Great

Fast food, great taste!

Big Book of 30-Minute Dinners (Better Homes and Gardens Test Kitchen)
Better Homes and Gardens
Manufacturer: Better Homes and Gardens
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Baking | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
General | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
General | Quick & Easy | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
General | U.S. Regional | Regional & International | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0696210274

Book Description

It's the delicious, easy-on-the-cook answer to the "What's for dinner?" dilemma. Every recipe in this cookbook includes a strategy to get dinner on the table fast, from make-ahead steps to convenience products and a limited-ingredients list.

Better Homes and Gardens® kitchen-tested recipes.

Color photos, nutrition facts, and preparation and cooking times for every recipe.

Symbols flagging low-fat dinners.

Customer Reviews:

great cook book.......2007-05-22

I love this book. Pictures for every recipe and ingredients I can find at my local grocery store. Lots of fun going through for a shopping list, hard part is deciding what to make. Includes a kids' favorites section with dishes kids can help plan and make.

Definite must for on the go people!.......2006-11-07

This book is amazing. We have made four of the recipes so far and had four incredibly yummy meals and they took very little time and effort to do... just as it advertises. Go figure. By the time I get home from work the last thing I want to do is spend two hours making dinner, so I am very thankful to have found something like this.

My go-to cookbook.......2006-03-28

This cookbook has not failed me yet. I have tried about half of the recipes and would make all of them again. Only two meals needed a bit of extra spices, but that's an easy fix. The recipes are versatile, easy, have common ingredients, and each recipe is pictured as part of a well-balanced meal (giving those of us non-cretive types ideas on veggies or other sides). I recommend this book without reservations.

Simple - Easy - Great.......2005-12-27

I have never left a review before, but I had to write one about this book - All of the recipes are simple with easy to follow directions - And there are pictures to go along with every recipe - There is even a section of food for kids - Most of the ingredients are things that you are already going to have in your pantry - Fabalous must have for anyone who doesn't always have a lot of time -

Fast food, great taste!.......2005-10-26

I received this book at my bridal shower. I've since bought copies for many of my friends. I LOVE that every recipe has a picture and nutritional information. The ingredients are basic things that I always have in the pantry. The meals are quick, healthy and taste great. The directions are very easy to follow. I recommend this book hands down! LOVE IT!!!

Average customer rating:

Big Book of 30-Minute Dinners

ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 0760755736

Product Description

Synopsis With the Big Book of 30-Minute Dinners, you can serve delicious home-cooked meals even on your busiest days. This exciting volume, brimming with more than 270 enticing recipes, offers timesaving dishes that will please everyone in your family. And for health-conscious cooking, choose one of the low-in-fat dishes marked with a heart symbol. Every recipe provides: A full-color photograph Complete nutrition facts Preparation and cooking times A helpful cooking tip or menu suggestion

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Save your money and time...

Pets Need Scrapbooks Too!
Amber Russell
Manufacturer: Ambers Albums Pubns
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Animal Care & Pets | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
General | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0966663918

Book Description

Pets Need Scrapbooks Too! is your guide to creating a wonderful, fulfilling, and memorable keepsake for you, your family, and your pet to enjoy for years to come. Walk with the designer and author down the path of making a mini scrapbook of your dog or cat (or both) with this step-by-step, full color book. Your finished scrapbook will be done in no time using the 44 layout ideas included. This book is also a perfect gift for any animal lover.

Customer Reviews:

Save your money and time..........2000-09-07

I purchased this book since I was working on a cat album and thought it would give me some ideas. Instead, the "book" showed pictures and ideas of something a child would do.. The ideas and pages were not put together very well and were very simple. I would avoid the book if you are looking for ideas. Also, example pages in the book were "awful", they looked like someone with no talent put them together or a young kid. Again, save your time and money, do not buy the book..

Average customer rating:

Not so helpful

Worth every penny...

A Nice Reference for Natural Hair Care

another average book.

Not a real review but a question

Plaited Glory: For Colored Girls Who've Considered Braids, Locks, and Twists
Lonnice Brittenum Bonner
Manufacturer: Three Rivers Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Beauty & Fashion | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
Hair | Beauty & Fashion | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
General | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
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Nice Dreads: Hair Care Basics and Inspiration for Colored Girls Who've Considered Locking Their Hair

Going-natural: How to Fall in Love With Nappy Hair

Textured Tresses: The Ultimate Guide to Maintaining and Styling Natural Hair

ASIN: 0517884984
Release Date: 1996-05-21

Book Description

From the uptown micro braid to the simple cornrow, braids, locks and twists have come into their own. Plaited Glory gives the lowdown on everything from choosing a braiding salon to differentiating between styles and their costs. More than a "hair-do" book, this is a hari primer with a cultural twist. Photos.

Customer Reviews:

Not so helpful.......2006-12-03

I thought it was a funny and cute book, but overall it was not what I expected. My hair has been natural so I did not find the book too helpful. It was a nice read but if you are looking for a hair bible this is not it. This book is helpful only if you are unsure about going natural and would like to hear stories of another woman's hair story.

Worth every penny..........2006-08-02

I bought this book on the "Bargain Book" aisle and I'm so glad I picked it up. My hair has been locked for 8 years, but I still learned so much about maintenance and care. This book is for you if you are just starting your locs or if you want to learn more about maintaining your locs.

A Nice Reference for Natural Hair Care.......2005-07-20

This is a good book for basic care of natural hair. If you're considering going natural, you should definately pick this up. Plus, it's a good reference to have because it's information everyone can use.

another average book........2004-06-22

Read average books if you want to acquire average knowledge and grammar.
Worth a read anyway.

As you may or may not know African coily hair is quite unique in vision, texture, behaviour and probably in chemical make up too. Coily haired women around the world, go to the most extremes in terms of spending.
(Spending time, spending pain and the spending price to have African coily hair styled)
A hairstyle that we believe looks good or will help us to become socially and economically advanced.
Or maybe for our own self-esteem and maybe to attract the charms of a love interest.
Either way, psychologically and philosophically I believe that your hair is a reflection of the state of your consciousness, your internal beliefs and your relationship with the world.
What about exploring physics through african hair?
For example how much pressure, gravity and tension and tearing do we put our hair through by combing it?
let alone excessive harsh combing.
Mathematically speaking how many of you readers can tell me how many curls/coils per inch your hair has, and does it vary in coil and moisture?
Next question:When does the nature of the hair change and why?
(i know it does!)
It seems to me all these books on afro hair are good and I welcome it, but we still need to be more informed and they all seem to need better editing, just like Black American beauty magazines.I must campaign for better grammar and less air brushed photos!!!
It is as if we like to see ourselves falsely rather than the reality of what we are...
Black women need to demand more scientific reasoning from our books and be less competitive over black men which only fuels their egos and as a result probably creates more baby-mothers!!!
Sorry but I had to vent out my opinions.

I give this book four stars for the effort and time invested as a writer I know it takes time...
I maintain that it is still worth reading,more than any carcinogenic chemical so called hair treatment that you pay for.

Anyway what do I know I am a black african british woman!!!!
Most of you Americans think we in Britain have no trains or any kind of progressive development!!!
Anyway if I wrote my book answering my questions that I put to you how many of you would buy it?

Not a real review but a question.......2003-04-22

To buy this book I need to know whether it contains at least 75% of photos. Nobody writes about this, and i need catalogue with African styles, braids, twists etc for my African sister who lives in Kiev. I will be glad if somebody could give me links, preferably not US where I can buy such catalogues like Extra Braids or Braid World. Greateful.

Average customer rating:
Hilltop: My story
Emory Smith
Manufacturer: Friends of Hilltop Arboretum
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

General | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0964969203

Average customer rating:
202 Years on a Vermont Hilltop 1774--1976 Stories Told By My Fater Byron Oliver Rogers

ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000H020EM

Average customer rating:
202 years on a Vermont hilltop: Stories told by My father, Byron Oliver Rogers
Hope R Kjellerup
Manufacturer: s.n.]
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0006WDA7W

Book Description

A Whole New Way to Bond with Your Baby!

As a new parent, you are probably anxious about bonding with your baby. In Yoga Baby, you'll find a stress-free way to begin a healthy lifelong relationship between the two of you. Yoga BabyTM methods range from deep relaxation massage to postures enhancing specific developmental stages for your baby. Exercises are designed for newborns through two-year-olds to do with their mothers and caregivers, and they do not require previous yoga experience. While you give your baby a head start in sound emotional and physical learning, you and your baby will lay a solid foundation for a lifetime of learning and bonding together.

Customer Reviews:

This woman has no business giving health advice.......2007-04-13

There are a number of things wrong with this book, but the most glaring are her attempts at advising parents on the health of their child. Everyone who bothers to learn about childhood health on any level should be aware that giving young infants water is a bad idea. It messes with their electrolyte levels. She advises mothers to do so anyway. She also (in a hilarious attempt to address a concerned parent who feels that her child eats too much) tells mothers to thump the bottoms of the feet to get a child to eat every drop of milk possible. So wrong. That's a technique to make a child gasp and start breathing in the event of apnea.

She also takes a really narrow and negative approach toward fathers. One would think if you're enlightened enough to be doing yoga, you'd be enlightened enough to find a mate who participates in childcare without needing to be wheedled and cajoled into it.

Save your money on this one.

A Great New Baby Gift.......2003-12-17

I have given this book to new moms in my life and they have loved the book, the spirit of the text, the helpful photos and clear instruction. This book is excellent for new mothers with or without yoga experience. As a certified yoga teacher, I highly recommend it!

Disappointing.......2002-12-18

This book offered a great deal of information that was intellectually interesting. For the new Mom looking for a way to incorporate yoga into her life with a new baby it this is not the book.

Time consuming.......2002-03-26

If you just had a baby you obviously want the best for your new one. So babyyoga is one of the things you try. And it does work. But not with this book. You will never actually get started with babyyoga as this book is too difficult to handle for a beginner. There are no pictures of the actual moves so you have to read the whole thing. And tell me, which mother has extra time on their hands to read a yogabook from cover to cover?

A Wonderful Concept........2001-06-26

YOGABABY by DeAnsin Goodson Parker, Ph.D. with Karen W. Bressler, Broadway Books, 2000.

This book and this concept will surely be an inspiration to many mothers and those hands on fathers who want to make sure their baby gets off to the best possible start. I have not seen anything like it before. It is especially valuable in light of the mounting research indicating that the quality of the mother's physical and emotional interaction with infants has profound, life long effects on the mental, emotional and physical development of the child.

Dr. Parker, a psychologist and psychoanalyst, realized the book was needed because of the response she recieved from the YogaBaby program she has offered for years at the Goodson Parker Wellness Center in New York City. This a truly innovative, psychologically insightful, beautifully written and illustrated work. Dr. Parker shows how to use both ancient and modern strategies including massage, stretching, exercises and purposeful playing in order to bring about a deeper bonding while nurturing and awakening eight 'centers' in the baby.

Although, the book focuses primarily on the first two years it is reasonable to expect the benefits will last a lifetime and would include but not be limited to the creation of special time and a high order of communication fostering more trust and confidence, stimulating the immune system, promoting better sleep (possibly for the mother as well), aiding in digestion and assimilation, stimulating body circulation, encouraging neuromuscular development, preparing the baby for mobility, calming the emotions, soothing the baby, teaching the baby a way to soothe itself.

Although, the book is dedicated to first time mothers, as the oldest of nine with twenty six grandchildren, nephews and nieces I feel it offers wonderful insights regardless of how many children the mother has had. Reading this book as a man I was reminded how sublime and inexpressibly incredible is our debt to mothers who make baby nurturing an art form of the highest order.

R. Adam Crane, president American BioTec Corp., founder Health Training Seminars, author of MindFitness Training: Neurofeedback and The Process.

Amazon.com

Music critic/provocateur Norman Lebrecht didn't make the high muckety-mucks of the classical music industry at all happy with this iconoclastic book, but he did open a lot of eyes. In 328 fascinating pages, he exposes the foibles and failings (musical and otherwise) of the great conductors of the last century. Why are there so few really outstanding conductors, and so many surface-skimming mediocrities? How did the conductor go from a mere time-beater to a powerful, immensely well-paid figure who jets from continent to continent and from podium to podium, hobnobbing with presidents and tycoons instead of with other musicians? Lebrecht explores all these factors, along with the history of conducting, and in the process dishes a few good anecdotes. He also shines the light on Ronald Wilford, the superagent of Columbia Artists Management, Inc., who controls the careers of more than 100 conductors--and, therefore, controls much of classical music. Lebrecht gets a few facts wrong (mostly minor--there haven't, for example, been stockyards in Chicago for some decades), but most of his points are well taken.

Customer Reviews:

One of a Kind.......2006-10-18

This book is not tabloid. The book is going to brook criticism for being one of the only books to just start talking about the conductor problem. Like a dictionary for the music history of conductors. Why are orchestras going out of business whilst orchestral musicians are dreadfully unhappy and relatively poor? Who's left but the "maestro" who represents the star and rakes in the profits? Bad editing aside, we need to know more. pretty eezy to read.

One man's informed and unique view.......2006-02-05

Lebrecht writes trenchantly about the music business. Many of his observations are carefully considered, if impolitic. Those who idolize the "great conductors" will be very uncomfortable reading about their equally outsided foibles. The author's conclusions are his own and may not be to everyone's taste. However, Lebrecht has enough backbone not to be trying to please everyone--for that way also would lie a boring book. No, he's trying to tell the truth as he sees it. This volume does not pretend to be a complete or scholarly treatment of all the major conductors within recent memory and Lebrecht clearly has his favorites (such as Simon Rattle). The editing leaves much to be desired because typos abound. Is this entirely the author's fault, or does the editor share the blame? If you want to know that we're all human and some more so than others, this is a book for you. It's not geared to people who don't already know something about the subject, so you need to be a classical music buff to come away feeling the impact of what Lebrecht has told you. If you are, you will see clear examples of how the press is often prejudiced (not to say sometimes vindictive, as in the case of Mitropoulos), how public taste is shaped by odd events and sometimes how virtue is punished. I feel a little guilty giving this book only 4 stars because its writing is up to a high standard and its thesis is interesting, but the substandard editing is, nevertheless, distracting to the reader.

Newly Revised and Updated...but was it edited?!.......2006-01-15

Although I am deeply enthralled by the lives of great conductors and musicians, this was not enough to erase the embarrasment and, at times, utter disgust at the mistakes (typos, misspellings,etc.) and errors found throughout this book.
I bought the book on a whim and became deeply entrenched in its pages within minutes (this is not to say that this reads like Clancy but it is very interesting). But the more I read the more frustrated I became at the mindless and senseless editing that was done here. For instance, on one page alone there are 3 different spellings of Mahler's name:
1: The correct way appears- Mahler
2: Then this- Maler
3: And finally this- Mabler
The latter really bowled me over. And the further I read the worse it became. There are also misrepresented facts (such as the stockyards in Chicago) throughout.
In short, if you are looking for scholarship and true presentations, look elsewhere. If you are interested in various interesting anecdotes and trivia-like facts about conductors and you dont mind sifting through misspellings and foreign words with no interpretation, then you will enjoy this book. But I must warn you...any book with a typo on its back cover (The Maesto Myth) may be more of a hassle than good informal reading.

Overwrought piffle.......2004-12-08

Backstairs gossip, blurted out in a confused, breathless stream-of-consciousness rant. Nothing particularly new, poorly proof-edited.

The maestro myth must still be very powerfully alive if it tempts a supposed grownup to this extreme of incoherence.

Not much new here.......2002-04-11

For anyone seriously involved in the classical music arts world,
there is very little in this 'tell-all' attempt that will provide new information. In addition, the writing style jumps around in such a manner that the reader is often confused as to the subject matter at hand.

The Maestro Myth: Great Conductors in Pursuit of Power

Average customer rating:

The Maestro Myth: Great Conductors in Pursuit of Power
Norman LEBRECHT
Manufacturer: see notes for publisher info
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000RJRY4Y

The Maestro Myth: Great Conductors in the Pursuit of Power

Average customer rating:

The Maestro Myth: Great Conductors in the Pursuit of Power
Norman Lebrecht
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster (Trade Division)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Book Description

Who could have predicted that even into the 21st century, Jews would continue to feel the lethal blade of anti-Semitism, with unrelenting attacks on synagogues, rabbis, individuals, Jewish institutions and Jewish-owned property? Michael Moshe Checinski is not surprised. He has lived through the virulent anti-Semitism that produced the Lodz ghetto and the Nazi death camps. After the War, as a member of Polish Counterintelligence, Michael confronted the anti-Semitism that "cleansed" him from his native land. As a Research Fellow, he encountered the gargoyle of anti-Semitism at Harvard, and as Professor of Defense Economics, he came face-to-face with unrelenting anti-Semitism in the bastion of modern Democracy, The American-German Marshall Center. At each period in his life, Checinski believes firmly that he has finally arrived in a social Eden, only to discover that even the good people turn away and shrink from the fight against anti-Semitism. So, he begins to co! llect data -- reports, memos -- snippets of information that will corroborate what he has found out, first hand: that the tentacles of anti-Semitism cannot be cut off by just wishing them away, or ignoring them. They must be aggressively confronted and their root cause, destroyed. Checinski is on a crusade, but he is no Don Quixote. He is a proud Jew, fighting bigotry, and more often than not, pays a high price for his ideals.

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