Form-S-3 Books

These two samples of Nineteenth Century popular fiction make
for lurid and thrilling, if somewhat violent reading.
"City Crimes" especially would be a film far more gripping
than "Gangs of New York", although not for the faint-hearted.
Most of the works of this genre exist only on reels of
microfilm and hopefully one day will become more accessible.

In the "Coup d'etat Convention at Philadelphia" in 1787, Hamiltonian proponents of a strong central government, who had lamented the establishment of the confederacy since the publication of Gibbon's "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire in 1776, took the opportunity to overthrow the Articles rather than amend them (the meeting was called for "the sole and express purpose of revising the Articles of Confederation".) and replace them with a Roman-style Constitution. To camouflage their actions and intentions to secure a neo-Roman government as their tool to usurp the peoples' liberties in order to privilege themselves, they then stole the term "Federalist" and applied it to their series of Orwellian double-speak propaganda dubbed "The Federalist Papers". The true federalists who stood for the Principles of 1776 and the Articles of Confederation, were given the misnomer "Anti-Federalists". The key players in the anti-federalist "Federalist" movement were three young opportunists: James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and Fisher Ames.

Madison and Hamilton are legendary among students of U.S. history; Fisher Ames is relatively unknown. But in his time, his name was mentioned as often as his peers. He was an accomplished propagandist for the Federalists and it was he, at age 31, who penned the final draft of the First Amendment to the Constitution in an attempt to appeal to the true federalists (Anti-Federalists) for support of the ratification of the neo-Romanist document. Ames's oratorial skills were also brilliant; he delivered powerful speeches in sessions of Congress after the neo-Roman republic had been established. His best speech was made on behalf of Jay's Treaty, where Congress had sent the Supreme Court Justice to Britain to reach a settlement that would avoid war between the two countries, and Jay came back with a treaty that sold-out Yankee interests to the British.

During and after his political career, Ames wrote hundreds of letters to Federalist Party leaders, especially in Massachusetts. His letters give an insider's perspective on events and personalites surrounding the "Coup d'etat at Philadelphia" and the establisment of the U.S. Republic. In this two-volume set of the writings of Fisher Ames are 46 essays in Volume I and 292 letters and 17 speeches in Volume II. The essays are grouped under ten themes: Social Class and Character, From Consideration to Nation, On Founding and Patriotism, On Monarchical Versus Republican Government, On America's Political Parties, On Equality, Defending The "Federalists", Attacking the Republicans, On The French Revolution and European Parties, and Eulogies. These two volumes encompass 1,618 pages. As an historical representative sampling of Federalist thought in addition to their Orwellian doublespeak tricks, it is awesome.

For example, Ames wrote a letter under the name Bifron Janus, one of his many pen names. He titled it "Against Jacobins":

"We have a noisy party who call themselves republicans - democrats - equality men, etc. etc. etc. They are forever crying out the people - the people. This hyprocrisy would be a matter of diversion, if we could laugh at what is horrid. These bawlings are against the people, not on their side, and the steps they pursue are intended and well adapted to narrow the power of the people, not to enlarge it. They are anti-republicans, the real and truly dangerous aristocrats of our country, the very men who hate equality, and who try to rule and domineer in spite of the laws. . . When the Constitution was on its passage, this very party, then beginning to rally and to set itself in array, pretended great zeal for the Union, but the old confederation was, said they, equal to every national purpose."

From reading the hundreds of pieces of prose collected here, you will see how the Hamiltonians and other elites feared free enterprise and libertarianism. They seized political power through effective use of propaganda and disinformation in order to suppress free enterprise as much as possible, and to usurp the peoples' liberties in order to privilege themselves.

This is a scholarly book filled with history, technique, and current methods of producing the beautiful ceramic tiles, mosaics, and utilitarian items of Morrocco. To tell the truth, it would be worth having just for the photographs. From elaborate architectural installations to simple wares, the rich tradition of zillij is documented with artful photos. This book will enhance the library of any serious student of North African art or architecture. Eye candy with intellect.

My brother got me this book a couple years ago. I loved it and I'm a huge fan of Piraro's work.

See Dan Piraro Live
Dan Piraro, Clearwater Florida, April 1, 2007 [...]Piraro, the award-winning syndicated cartoonist will present a CHARITY EVENT entitled: Cartoons, Comedy, and Compassion -- get tickets today at BizarroArtist (dot) org.

This is a case of preacher and choir in that I love anything that portrays our moron-in-chief as the idiot he is. This is a little more sinister than the usual bush-panning, but that makes it all the more credible. Too sad, too true!

I was very annoyed at Marilyn Mal's comments about GWB protecting us from terrorism. I am sick and tired of hearing that. GWB lied to us about why he was going into Iraq and turned it around. Very naive people. I am not liberal nor conservative and am quite fed up with those thinking that if I don't support the mess in Iraq that I'm unamerican. I feel we need to finish the mess in Afganistan. Get your head out of the sand and see what else GWB has done. Everything has gone down in the dumps since he took office and it will continue!!!

I was introduced to this book yesterday and immediately had to buy a copy for myself to share with my friends and family.
So many Americans have their heads in the sand during this administration and think these are the "moral" ones. Look again. We have all been deceived and it is becoming more apparent with each passing day.
If left unchecked, we will have the ultra-rich and the very poor and nobody in the Middle Class.
Great conversation starter.

This book is great. It definitely sums up the situation and does so in a respectable manner. A friend brought a copy to work to share and I immediately had to buy one to share with my friends and family. I highly recommend getting a copy.

Lots of parts of motherhood are hard, exhausting and ... just plain gross. Laughter is the best way - if not the only way - to get through the tough stuff with as few scars as possible. This is the perfect book to fuel laughter and levity in motherhood.

Frustrated because your kid pooped his pants? Pissed because you just discovered a rotting milk cup under the driver's seat of your car? Exasperated because you haven't slept more than an hour stretch for weeks? Kari's hilarious compilation of commiseration will help you laugh through all that. Her ability to capture the quirks of parenting in 17 gut-laughing syllables (again and again and again) is amazing, and incredibly fun to read.

I read it... I laughed, I cried (it was better than Cats).
She described my life with two wee-ones to a tee. In honor of her book, I offer:

How did she do that?
She described my daily life.
Must find that spy-cam.

Buy it for yourself. Buy it for your friends who have children. Don't buy it for your friends who want children though... it might be enough to convince them otherwise. You could buy it for your friends who are pregnant though... it's too late for them.

This is exactly what I needed several weeks after the birth of my second son, while I witnessed my firstborn flip out the minute we came home from the hospital. I recommend this book for all post-partum moms - regardless of how many babies they've already birthed. It makes us realize that we are not alone - and, most importantly, that there are fleeting moments of humor even in the most difficult, exhausting and pathetic times.

Every mother should read this book, whether you just had your first baby, your fifth baby, or you already have grandbabies. It is incredibly funny and extremely well written. And Kari is right - since I have a 5 month old, 17 syllables really is all I have time to read!

This book is a must for every mama with a sense of humor! As you can see by reading the reviews (almost) all of the readers think think this book rocks. Buy this book! You will not regret it.

I purchased this item for my children, since in reading about this type of viewing exercises-that vewing these 3D stereograms is great to strenthen your eyes-and since the computer is often being used for so many different things. I thought if we had a book of these they could be used in any of our free time when doing them on the computer is not an option. This has worked out well. The kids love the book. The only reason I did not give this rating a five is because the drawings seem so much harder to view than the ones on the computer. My kids have been able to do it alright, but I get too impatient. Perhaps. it is an even better eye exercise done from the book Vs. the computer, but to me they are slighly frustrating.

I really love these books. I am fascinated by the technique used to get the 3-d affect. I have everyone out.

I love ALL these Magic Eye books! After a while, all you have to do is glance at the picture and you can immediately see the hidden object. You never know what will pop up!

What I love most about these books (I have Magic Eye I as well) is how I can practice 'receiving' an image. In order to see the image, you have to be very focused yet very open. You stare at it with soft eyes and readiness, then when your eyes are in the right position and the 3-D image starts to appear, you can't start 'grabbing' it with your eyes or it disappears. You have to be very still and wait and then it's as if someone turns a nob and this crisp picture shows up with amazing depth. It is a mindset that we don't practice much in our busy lives of doing and accomplishing things. A great lesson to be reminded of, showing how easy it is to let the most precious things come to us, if we can be still and present enough to receive and perceive. I look at the pictures at night before I go to sleep, or when I want to 'download' information from my subconscious mind. I know that practicing this 'receiving' muscle helps my intuition. These books are worth every penny!

This book has been around since 1994 and is still a lot of fun.These 3-D images seem to have reached their peak in the early 90's ;as far as I know anyway.I particularly enjoyed the Forward.Tom Baccei talks about their resident wizard."Some say that although his bulb seems good,his filament is short a few twists." In the words of Wizzy "Life is like a single beautiful butterfly in a gentle swirling snowstorm.When you find your own center,you'll find the butterfly.Then you can hop on and go on a ride forever."
When you've found all the 3-D images,try looking for that butterfly in the snowstorm and enjoy life.

Wonderful book, a treasure; it arrived quickly and in beautiful shape. I highly recommend this book.

Eliot's reputation has taken a beating in the last 20 years. He has been charged with anti-semitism, racism, elitism, and even misogyny. All of these charges are basically true. Nevertheless, as a critic his judgements are sound and dead-on. Read either "Traditon and the individual Talent" or "Dante" from this book and tell me if you think I am wrong. The book is worth the price for these two essays alone.

I found this book to be a useful compendium of essays that are usually scattered or incompletely represented in anthologies. It's an excellent supplement for a course on Eliot's work or to learn more about his critical perspectives and how they shifted over time. Very worthwhile.

When I was in graduate school Eliot was considered the great literary critic of the twentieth century, the person who set the tone . His understanding of the Literary Tradition and how each new author altered the way we read the whole was part of the ' religion' of literary studies. So too his essays on Dante and on the Metaphysicals ( his placing Donne at the center of the Tradition) and his famous reading of Hamlet in which he argued that there was emotion in excess of the objective situation, i.e. that there was no appropriate 'objective correlative'. As a graduate student I somehow went along with the crowd and did not have much to say about Bleider with a Burbank,and Bluestein with a Cigar' i.e. the culturally anti- Semitic Eliot. That Anti- Semitism along with a certain racism and anti- Feminism are too we have learned parts of the Literary Tradition .So some of the most beautiful and great works of literary creation are marred by moral failings. How ironic that Eliot who was a spiritual teacher in time should have been so faulty in this way .

An excellent selection of essays by Eliot. He is at his best in many of these-- ascerbic, crisp and correct. I am constantly amazed by the number of people who have opinions about the ideas and theories of Eliot, but who have never read his essays themselves. I suggest that before taking umbrage at what he is supposed to have said, a student of the modernists should at least read a bit of what he did say.

This selection is broken into two categories: Literary Criticism and Social and Religious Criticism. Essays such as "Tradition and the Individual Talent" and "What is a Classic?" (compare and contrast with G. Stein in "What are Masterpieces?") are particularly worth the time to read.

I wish that Kermode had included more of the social and religious essays and that he had not excerpted as heavily as he did throughout the book. I would personally rather read a longer book consisting of complete essays than having such a high percentage of the selection consisting of excerpts. Of the meagre three essays in the social and religious section, two were excerpted rather than being published in their entirety. Too bad.

This kind of anthology is long overdue, which is why it is so unfortunate that this is the only one on the market. Although it is meant to correct the absence of a panamerican perspective in the study of early American literature, trained hispanists everywhere would be outraged by the substandard introductions and shoddy editorial work here. A collection like this one needs at least one editor with a *solid* background in colonial Latin American studies and some recognition in the field.

This is a superb anthology. The texts selected by Castillo and Schweitzer ring with the conflicts of imperial expansion in the New World and provide fascinating new perspectives on writing in the early Americas. Annotation is painstaking and thorough, and the introductions provide useful contextual information without attempting to overshadow the texts themselves. A generous project, which will help to break down disciplinary barriers in new and exciting ways.

This anthology convincingly demonstrates that the geographical area which is today's USA has had a rich multicultural and multilingual heritage from its very beginning, contrary to what one might be led to believe when leafing through more traditional anthologies of 'American' literature that mostly include anglophone texts. Castillo and Schweitzer weave together a diverse collection of poetry, prose, songs, ballads, journal entries, oral narratives, letters, federal papers, cartoons, emblems and prints to illustrate the depth and breadth of American colonial culture. Special emphasis is given to previously not or only rarely anthologized texts, especially by Native Americans, women, and non-anglophone settlers and explorers. A must for all (American Studies) libraries. - W. W. Hoelbling, American Studies Department, University of Graz, Austria.

Richard Gray calls this edition "that rare thing, a landmark anthology,"[...] "a significant contribution to the rewriting of American literary history." While he is absolutely correct, his words do not convey the excitement that simply browsing through this volume generates. This anthology is a gem, full of well-edited pieces and excerpts that come together in the colorful kaleidoscope that seems to reflect the Literatures of Colonial America more faithfully than any prior attempt at "politically correct" inclusiveness. Indeed, the title itself is indicative of the scrupulous respect afforded these works irregardless of their origin; hierarchy is seemingly anathema to the editors, who have organized their material chronologically for the most part in order to give account of the vast experience and varying reactions of all the peoples implicated: European "discoverers," settlers, natives as well as both willing and unwilling immigrants. The editors, sensitive to the increasingly essential questions of gender, `race,' class, culture, language and nationality, have managed to bring together for the first time texts which jostle each other for primacy of perspective even as they complement and complete a far-reaching vision of this brave "New World." Opening the book to any page is an invitation to re-read and re-envision what we thought we new of Early America.
I am personally and particularly impressed with the knowledge and comprehensive understanding of the editors and with the care with which this anthology has been elaborated. Each text is introduced effectively and succinctly with enough information to situate the reader before letting the voices of the writers take over. The translations from Spanish and Portuguese by Prof. Castillo are excellent, and seem to faithfully relay not only the content but the flourish and form of their originals. No instances here of that horrible enemy of good prose, "translationese." This of itself is commendable and demonstrates Prof. Castillo's solid grounding in both the language and the cultures of the Iberian peninsula.
I suppose that for the sake of scrupulousness one should have a personal "nit to pick," and mine hinge on two suggestions for the next reprint. First, this anthology takes Oladauh Equiano at his word and propagates as historical "truth" the story of his early life; recent research has challenged that stance, alleging that Equiano was not born in Africa at all. Perhaps future editions should simply acknowledge the debate, which in any case does not seriously affect the importance of Equiano's text as a literary response to his age. Secondly, as so many wonderful texts from the Spanish-speaking world have been included, I think that it might also be useful to include Lucas Vazquez de Ayllon's influential reports and letters in the early 16th century, imploring the King of Spain to renew his funding by speaking of "La Nueva Andalucia" and intentionally misrepresenting the coordinates of his exploration of the east coast of North America to bolster his claims. This misrepresentation, through the translation into English of his texts, subsequently influenced English settlers (including the Pilgrims) in their choice of destination. It seems to me to be a wonderful example of the interrelatedness of the cultural, literary, and geographical co-incidences to which this volume so eloquently speaks.
But these are certainly minor considerations. The editing is excellent, the texts are stimulating and exciting, and the volume a worthy addition to the field, which will be useful not only in the classroom but in the personal library for consultation, or just plain good reading.

This book should be a part of the library of those who study black culture and history. It is an excellent guide to literature past and present. About ten years ago the Oakland Public Library published a list of the one hundred books that were classics. Supposedly by having read these books you would be considered well read. There were many I had read but people of color was sorely missing from this list. I am grateful that Max Rodrigues, who also puts out an excellent review of books by and about black people- QBR: The Black Book Review, published this great resource. Of course one can think of more books to be added to the list and in the publication last year readers were invited to add their own list of favorities. This book is a great referral tool and a timeless keepsake.

If your knowledge of black lit doesn't go beyond the latest Oprah pick, this book is essential. Although some of the picks can be argued, the short, opinonated summaries are fun to read and the list itself is a great guide to a year's worth of good reading.

Here's a handy rule: always be wary of any person or institution who claims to have produced a list of "essential" items in any field. A case in point: "Sacred Fire: The QBR 100 Essential Black Books," by Max Rodriguez, Angeli R. Rasbury, and Carol Taylor. The book is a list of 100 books from the African Diaspora, each with a brief descriptive commentary. The book features a foreword by Charles Johnson. While informative to a degree, this list is, in my opinion, seriously flawed.

In his foreword, Johnson mocks other recent attempts to create "essential" lists. He complains, for example, of the "nervous tokenism" of the "100 Best English-Language Novels" list from the Modern Library. Ironically, such criticisms could also be applied to this book! How did they come up with the list? Rodriguez is fuzzy on that point in his intro. He notes that the list stems from a request, addressed to individuals, to name 10 Black books that had the greatest impact on them. Rodriguez claims, "We asked everyone," then immediately admits that such an absurd statement is false. But he does note that he asked his sister!

Most of the books chosen are indeed essential classics. But I found the list as a whole too "safe," unimaginative, and narrow of vision. Johnson acknowledges the omission of such writers as Samuel Delany and Rita Dove in his foreword. Books with an experimental, cutting edge quality seem to be absent. I was also dismayed by the failure to include many historic literary milestones by African-American women. Books by Black gay men that deal directly with the black gay experience are also largely absent. Black lesbians are represented by a token appearance by Audre Lorde (with her book "Sister Outsider"). A number of groundbreaking anthologies also fail to appear. And where are the Afro-Hispanic writers? Even the remarkable science fiction author Octavia Butler is solely represented by "Kindred" -- an excellent book, but probably the "safest" and most conventional choice from her incredible personal canon.

Just a few books I would add to an expanded edition: Adrienne Kennedy's "In One Act," an anthology of plays by this award-winning, boldly experimental pioneer of drama; Phillis Wheatley's "Poems on Various Subjects," an 18th century landmark in poetry; Harriet Jacobs' "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl," perhaps the most important autobiography by a 19th-century Black woman; "Nine Plays by Black Women," a stunning anthology edited by Margaret Wilkerson; and Ann Allen Shockley's "Loving Her," a novel which broke new ground for the portrayal of sexuality in the Black novel.

Also try Audre Lorde's poetic, moving "Zami"; Alexis De Veaux's "Don't Explain: A Song of Billie Holiday," an amazing biography told in poetic form; "Brother to Brother: New Writings by Black Gay Men," the anthology edited by Essex Hemphill; "A Puerto Rican in New York and Other Sketches," by Jesus Colon, who proudly claimed a Black Latino identity decades before it was politically correct; Anna Julia Cooper's "A Voice from the South," a pioneering collection of essays; "Home Girls: A Black Feminist Anthology," edited by Barbara Smith; Pat Parker's "Movement in Black," the rich poetic testament of an outspoken Black lesbian; and Samuel Delany's "Dhalgren," an enigmatic epic which extends the boundaries of both science fiction and the African-American novel. I could go on, but I'll quit here.

As a policy analyst who continually struggles to get an accurate picture of controversial issues, I give this book high marks for covering three important criteria for good treatment of social subjects.

First, they provide a historical review. How could we get perspective on contemporary controversies if we didn't know that police in Boston and New York City did not wear guns in 1905, that only a small proportion of households owned guns through much of U.S. history prior to the 1960s, and that gun sales increased threefold in the 1960s over the 1950s? In other words, there is nothing in the American character or traditions that consistently links them to guns.

Next, a proper treatment must try for balance, and the authors are conscientious in providing pro and anti-gun positions in essays.

Pros and cons are not enough because partisan arguments often leave out key background information. The authors seek to provide such background by a whole host of diverse articles, for example, motivations for gun ownership, statistics on gun crimes, manipulation of public opinion by advertising, regional patterns (i.e. western and rural vs urban guns), social science perspectives, etc. In short, there is an effort to build background information so that readers can test out their own theories and experience.

Having said these positive things, I missed more than a limited list of readings at the end (no references for each essay). The authors let several essayists summarize - so you really end up doing the work of synthesis yourself.

However, the need for getting adequate and balanced information on touchy issues in the U.S. is so great that I concur with the Christian Science Monitor in rating the authors' effort highly.

I don't have a lot to say about this book, but since no other ordinary purchaser has reviewed it here, I thought it better to throw in a few comments than to leave you, the potential buyer, with no guidance whatsoever. First of all, this is a collection of over 40 essays by that many different authors. Some are clearly for more gun control, some are firmly against, and some writers focus instead on what the gun issue says about our culture, generally. Some of the works are very scholarly, like a shortened version of a master's thesis--chock full of historical detail and deep analysis. Some of these deep writings do not lend themselves to casual pleasure reading. Some essays go in the other direction, giving you plenty of passionate rhetoric but few factual details to support the writer's position. All in all, this collection of 43 essays by some of the biggest names in the gun control debate today is very useful for almost anyone. I would not say that it's a "must-have" for someone who has read several other books about gun control, because you've probably seen most of these ideas before. But for someone familiar with the gun control issue who does not already have a library full of books on the subject, this is one you should get. You will find yourself refering to it over and over again.