Customer Reviews:
Downside of Islam and Downside of Poverty.......2007-08-08
When I first read and reviewed this book I left only a cryptic notation, "downside of Islam" but I neglected the opportunity to point out that the book also captures the downside of poverty as well as the enormous cultural and emotionial indignities toward women that are sanctioned by Islam and not only practiced in Islamic countries but also exported to Europe and the USA, where women are treated behind closed doors in a manner that would put any normal American behind bars for years.
See also these books that I found helpful:
Good Muslim, Bad Muslim: America, the Cold War, and the Roots of Terror
While Europe Slept: How Radical Islam is Destroying the West from Within
Islamic Leviathan: Islam and the Making of State Power (Religion and Global Politics)
American Jihad: The Terrorists Living Among Us
While America Sleeps: How Islam, Immigration and Indoctrination Are Destroying America From Within
Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America
The Working Poor: Invisible in America
The Global Class War: How America's Bipartisan Elite Lost Our Future - and What It Will Take to Win It Back
A must read story about life in Iran.......2007-07-31
Ghazal's book offers a rare and insightful look of Iran, a land that is usually viewed via the political prism of its leadership and rarely from the point of view of its people. The author offers a compelling story of a girl and a young woman living in a land that is best described by the name she chooses for her ontology. And indeed, "Hell" is a difficult word for a homeland. But while reading the tale it becomes apparent that "Hell" is not a description given to the beautiful land of Iran but rather, to the political reality that engulfed the country and, with it, the life of a young girl.
Ghazal begins her story in Abadan, a picturesque city located minutes from the Iraqi border where she grew up as the youngest of eight siblings. As a child, Ghazal experienced the life before the revolution - life of relative freedom in where friendships with Jews were permitted and where reading the bible was not considered an unforgivable sin. These times and her inquisitive personality created a girl that would forfeit her need to reflect upon and question her surroundings) - something that means only trouble in post-revolutionary Iran.
Her story is a personal one of an inquisitive girl who is trying to follow her mind and her heart and that of a country busy with revolution and war that has little room for any form of dissent.
The book recounts the life before the revolution and the events that have led to the rise of Kohmeni. It offers an insider's view of the revolution, the US embassy hostage crisis and the war.
Having studied Islam for 17 years and following a struggle wither own faith, the author knows Islamic law. Her studies, documented in the second portion of the book, address many important questions and misconceptions about Islam. Her research affords some insight into why Muslim countries seem to be prone to terrorism and examines the link between poverty, ignorance and terrorism
Living In Hell is also a book dedicated to the oppression of women. Omid's personal experience s a woman who experienced abuse , is , unfortunately, not unique in countries like Egypt, Turkey, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Kyrgyz and other Middle East countries where traditional male dominated societies still practice barbaric "honor" killings
Ghazal Omid calls herself "A Rebel With A Cause" because her work have became one deeply associated with the cause of freedom in Iran, with human rights and with the life of many Iranian prisoners for whom Ghazal is one of the only voices of hope. "Living in Hell" was written also for these brave men and woman - since it shows that difficult and even impossible journey of struggle can end with freedom and hope.
Nir Boms is the Vice President of the Center for Freedom in the Middle East
A Powerfully personal account.......2007-06-25
Living in Hell is a powerful window into the daily struggles of women in Iran. It is filled with heart wrenching personal accounts of Ghazal's struggle against the oppressive nature of Iran's Islamic government and male dominated society. Anyone who desires to gain insight into the struggles faced by women in Islamic dictatorships should get this book, you wont regret it.
Truth Seekers Only.......2007-05-18
If you are a truth seeker, then this book will change your life forever. Ms. Omid has touched the very depths of my soul by her honest account and for sharing her experience, strength, and hope. I urge everyone to read her book! The subject matter is difficult to read if you have a conscience and are concerned about women and men in Iran. She may not be an expert on every act of abuse that happens around the world, but she does know first hand the type of abuse that goes on in the country she grew up in. I can not understand where the feminists and human rights activists are when it comes to the abuse women endure in Iran. Where are they? I can only deduce that those who ridicule such an honest account are the same types of people who thought Hitler was "good" for Germany. They turn their heads and dismiss the reality while unimaginiable atrocieties occur daily, especially if privilege and power are in their favor. Ms. Omid never accepts "status quo" and is not silenced by those who would consider themselves superior because they have different genitals. Her book is a reminder that one empathetic person in one's life can and does make a difference for the better. We can say "NO!" Most amazing is the way in which Ms. Omid puts her literal life on the line daily to speak up for those who have no voice. Her unconditional love for the people of Iran and her beloved country is indescribable. Because of Ms. Omid's book, I am extremely encouraged that the people of Iran can and do have the ability to stand up and stop the madness that their horrific, dispicable, murderous government is thrusting upon them. They need a little help from the rest of the world. Those who truly care are "the rest of the world!" Ms. Omid and her book is a gift to humanity. I recommend this book to everyone!!!! May her valiant spirit touch your heart too!
A Heartrending, Truthful, and Inspiring Autobiography.......2007-04-16
Ghazal Omid is one of humanity's treasures. She faced crushing poverty in her childhood in Iran, even with a father who usually was flush with cash but found little of it to spend on his own family. She was abused, mistreated, ignored, and utilized by family members only for what she could be bullied into giving up.
Standing up to the Revolutionary government in Iran in her daily life, her obstinate refusal to parrot the dictates of the Mullahs ended up with her receiving the tender mention of her name by Ayatollah Khemeni at Friday prayers as an "American patriot", tantamount to a death sentence by the nation's highest-ranking cleric, and plenty of the mindless myrmidons of the Revolution were inspired by the Ayatollah's words to carry it out.
Fleeing her home nation and making it eventually to Canada, Ghazal struggled with newfound difficulties of a woman raised in a controlling culture, suddenly faced with the open society of Canada, and initially had great difficulties coming to terms with her new life.
The abuse from her two horrible brothers in Canada, now devolved into the spychological abuse of a patriarchial culture in which women are regarded as burdens and not gifts to humanity, continued as Ghazal did her level best to rise above a lifetime of hideous maltreatment by the very men in her life who should have been standing up for her, protecting her, and helping her establish herself as an independent spirit in a unkind world.
Even in the face of this tremendously sad background, Ghazal decided to devote her life to help the people left behind in Iran, and to this day does everything she can do to help Iranian people, political prisoners, and resistance groups, overcome the death grip the Mullahs have on the people of her home nation.
She is an immensely strong, brilliant, and eloquent woman, and a role model of strength and determination that any woman would find inspiring.
This is a book that any woman in the West should read, to further understand the shackles hammered around the necks of women in Muslim countries, and more deeply appreciate the societies into which Western women have had the fortune to be born.
Those who have assailed this book in above commentaries completely missed the point of the book. This is no whine-fest, it is a sincere confession of a woman who seeks to make other human beings stronger by helping them realize the struggles that billions of women living in subjugation face on a daily basis.
My own life has been enriched by reading Ghazal's story, and anyone who reads her book with an open mind cannot help but come away with a different understanding of Iranian culture, and Islam in its true form, not the perverted politicized Wahabbist/Jihadist delusion that somehow a God out there is reveling in the deaths, or the sufferings, of innocents.
Book Description
This text is a concise history of Anglo American racism and school policies affecting dominated groups in the United States. It focuses on the educational, legal, and social construction of race and racism, and on educational practices related to deculturalization, segregation, and the civil rights movement. Spring emphasizes issues of power and control in schools and shows how the dominant Anglo class has stripped away the culture of minority peoples in the U.S. and replaced it with the dominant culture. In the process, he gives voice to the often-overlooked perspectives of African Americans, Asian Americans, Hispanic/Latino Americans, and Native Americans. An understanding of these historical perspectives and how they impact current conditions and policies is critical to teachers’ success or failure in today’s diverse classrooms.
Very brief and affordable, Deculturalization and the Struggle for Equality is an ideal supplement for Introduction/Foundations of Education, Multicultural Education, or any course that seeks to expand student notions of what U.S. education has been and can be.
Customer Reviews:
Manifest Destiny and other Historical Blind Spots .......2007-09-27
Joel Spring is nothing if not productive - if you look over the books listed under the author's name, you'll see a plethora of works. Amongst those are the continual revamps of this work and others like it, and they always seem to add something new to the fray. Whether its a new piece of the puzzle that deals with race or commentary on the semantic differences used to avoid saying the word "black" because we don't want to culturally offend, Spring' work says something about a topic that is more than just a topic. It is history and it is a map of progression and the reversal, showcasing both the motions that have pressed a people forward and how much that motion has been used to keep other people from moving ahead.
In the 5th edition of this book, Spring deals with an overview of Anglo-American claims of superiority, Native American struggles, African-American struggles, the things Asian Americans have endured, Hispanic/Latino history, and the Civil Rights Movement and the new Culture Wars. In those chapters Spring brings up interesting points, like the use of "positive stereotypes" for Japanese-Americans and the history on those, and on several other "footnotes" in history that aren't really footnotes at all. Although the book is somewhat small, checking in under 150 pages, it lists a codex of laws and horrors that make one wonder if the artifice of "colorblindness" will ever truly fall away.
One can hope, can't they?
If you find yourself attracted to the struggles of the now and wonder about the roots from which these struggles spawned, this is a god book to read. It has a lot more substance than the smoke and mirrors presented during "Hispanic Heritage Month" and other months like it, really giving you a feel of what Hispanic culture has endured. It goes beyond the superficial things that are presented so often these days, too, and makes the work relevant.
Personally, I hope to understand and can always use something to show me the faults of both the past and newborn "now."
A good read for future educators.......2006-11-05
This book gives a very different look at the history of Native Americans, African Americans, and Hispanics in the United States than you may have heard before. The content is easy to read, supplemented by statistics to help aid understanding. I would recommend this book to anyone who may be going to work in the education system.
The other side of American history.......2001-05-27
Spring's thesis is that white Anglo-Saxon Protestants have systematically denied educational access to ethnic minorities in order to establish and perpetuate their own system of privilege. This powerful, concise book covers historical injustices against many groups. The book falls short only when the author attempts to extend his analysis to the present day. In his understandable indignation at historical wrongs, Spring fails to acknowledge the extent to which most Americans' beliefs thankfully have changed.
Deculturalization and the Struggle for Equality.......2000-01-23
This book gives us a lot of examples of how the minorities in this country have had their cultures altered to fit the American version. There are examples of most of the major minority groups and how the education system has played a major part in the pattern of deculturalization.This book is a must have for any student who wants to know the real history, the stuff they leave out of the text books, for any parent or teacher who wants to give their children the truth instead of white washed history, and any person who is interested in the truth.
Average customer rating:
- A wide-angle view on American society...
- Outstanding!
- Still Relevent and Timely After All These Years!
- Why the culture wars continue?
- The Endless Culture Wars!
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Culture Wars: The Struggle to Define America
James Davison Hunter
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Culture War? The Myth of a Polarized America (Great Questions in Politics Series) (2nd Edition) (Great Questions in Politics)
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Is There a Culture War?: A Dialogue on Values And American Public Life
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One Nation, After All : What Americans Really Think About God, Country, Family, Racism, Welfare, Immigration, Homosexuality, Work, The Right, The Left and Each Other
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The Death of Character: On the Moral Education of America's Children
ASIN: 0465015344 |
Book Description
A trenchant commentary on the meaning of the battle between the new religious right and left, and how fundamentalists and progressives are engaged in a moral struggle to control the family, art, education, law, politics, and every aspect of American life.
Customer Reviews:
A wide-angle view on American society..........2006-02-22
Though the book was published originally published in 1991, it is no wonder that this book is still in print: it is as relevant as ever - and I daresay its relevance is increasing again.
In this book, Hunter gives us a wide-angle view of what is going on in American society since the second half of the twentieth century. Hunter argues that there is a culture war going on. Consequently, he aims at describing the historical and socio-political backgrounds of this cultural conflict.
In five parts, Hunter introduces the culture war (prologue and chapters 1 and 2), maps the lines of conflict (chapters 3 and 4), describes the means of the warfare: the discourse and technology (chapters 5 and 6), and extensively describes the fields of conflict: family, education, media and the arts, law, and electoral politics (chapters 7-11), and finally points out possibilities for a resolution (chapter 12 and the epilogue).
Hunter defines a cultural conflict as "political and social hostility rooted in different systems of moral understanding" (42). According to Hunter, the culture war in America revolves around different worldviews, "our most fundamental and cherished assumptions about how to order or lives - our own lives and our lives together in this society" (42). The contemporary culture war is "a struggle over national identity - over the meaning of America, who we have been in the past, who we are now, and perhaps most important, who we, as a nation, will aspire to become in the new millennium" (50).
Though Hunter acknowledges that the culture war is fought out mainy by the elite and 'knowledge workers', this cultural conflict intersects the lives of most Americans, because the conflict has an impact on every institution of American society: family, education, media, law, and politics.
Hunter writes brilliantly, avoiding jargon as much as possible and defining many concepts with exceptional clarity. This book is really an excellent read.
A personal note:
I am a European citizen and often quite puzzled by what is going on in America. This book gave me a really good perspective on the backgrounds of some American discussions, such as Intelligent Design and why the evolution-creation struggle constantly revolves around education textbooks.
Moreover, this book also made me realize that in contemporary Europe there are plenty of signs that, perhaps, a European culture war is at hand...
An eye-opener, most definitely!
Outstanding!.......2005-07-30
This book is outstanding! Not only does it comprehensively address the topic of the "culture wars," giving alot of historical perspective, but it does so in an unbiased manner (obviously, your agreement with this point depends on your perspective). Although this book was written in 1991, i.e., before the Internet, web-based fund raising, blogs, etc., its basic messages are still both sound and relevant. If you really want to challenge your thinking and open your mind to other positions on this subject, this book's for you!
Still Relevent and Timely After All These Years! .......2004-10-26
The title of my review refers to the fact that this book, while published in '91, is still quite an accurate portrayal of how the culture wars are conducted. The passing of 13 years and tenure of two presidents has not served to ameliorate the culture war between 'traditionalists' and 'progressives.' Hunter, then, was certainly right.
Hunter's main thesis with this book is that, quite frankly, the culture war being fought over our schools, family policy, law, entertainment, etc. is not a war that will likely EVER engender a consensus. In fact, as it stands now, it seems even to proclude rational debate in favor of charged rhetoric, miscaricaturizations of opponents, and...well...mudslinging.
Hunter asserts this thesis, backs it up with chronicles of how the culture war has been conducted thus far, and conjectures as to why it is so. First, he says, we are dealing with core philosophic differences over questions to do with 'how the world should be.' Thus, both sides have deep emotions on the said issues. Second, there is no incentive to try and foster consensus because in an adversarial system like ours, the game is about power - the power to get your policy instituted and your other's quashed. Third, each 'side' operates using somewhat incompatible philosophic assumptions. To the anti-abortion-rights activist, it is a child and abortion is murder. To the abortion rights activist, it is only potential life and prohibiting abortion is denying the mother freedom of person. Where one sees freedom (either of the mother or fetus), the other sees either servitude or murder. Incomatibilities like these, says Hunter, will ensure that there will be no satisfactory end to the culture war - just a long, tiring, rhetorically charged, and endless, struggle.
Hunter makes his arguments well, is quite convincing, and is as objective as possible. He gives both sides due consideration, never caricaturizing them. While the book focuses on the culture wars from somewhat of a religious perspective (Catholic and Evangelical v. Liberal Protestant and Jew) in the end, the book is about the culture war PERIOD. Highly reccomended reading.
Why the culture wars continue?.......2002-06-01
This was a textbook for me in seminary. I am in a conservative Presbyterian denomination and studied at a very conservative seminary, and this book got some interesting reviews from the students.
For me, it was a little difficult, since I don't have much background in sociology, but as I trudged through it I really grew to appreciate it. Some of my other classmates loved it too, but there were several who were quite taken aback by it. They didn't like it because Hunter didn't come out and condemn those who were on the wrong side of the culture wars.
But that is just the point - in this book he does not try to point out who is wrong and who is right, his object is to demonstrate why neither side is able to persuade, or prevail against the other.
Each side in the culture war has it's own set of presuppositions and assumptions that it speaks from. Because of this, that which seems most persuasive to one side completely misses those on the other side, because they don't share the same presuppositions. We are talking past one another.
Another problem that Hunter addresses is the issue of extremes and inflammatory rhetoric. Hunter says that, by and large, the culture wars are being fought by people on the extreme ends of their positions. So, the battle of the culture wars is usually fought with inflammatory rhetoric that doesn't persuade, it just angers.
As a sidenote I recently read a story about how communists used to train their young recruits. This particular communist said that when a young person adopted communism the best thing they could do was immediately set them on a street corner passing out communist leaflets. They would get attacked mercilessly, but this attack would only serve to harden and solidify the young communist in his or her beliefs.
I think Hunter shows this - the inflammatory rhetoric used by those on the extreme ends of the culture war debates, only serves to harden the other side in their respective positions.
So, if you are looking for quick answers, or a strategy to defeat your opponents, you won't find it here. But, if you are willing to begin to at least try to understand your opponents, as well as the larger issues, this is a great place to start.
The Endless Culture Wars!.......2001-08-06
In this work Hunter looks at the culture wars and how they play out in the fields of the family, education, government and the media. His book is well researched and makes several good points. For instance, he argues that both sides must agree on basic definitions and standards before debate can make any sense. I had trouble with two aspects, though.
First of all, although the first half of the book is devoted to our history and earlier culture conflicts, Hunter never adequately explains how those fights led to our present one. How, for instance, does Protestant-Catholic argument about Bible use in public schools translate into today's argument over condom distribution? How does discrimination against Jews cease while controversy over homosexuals increases? It is clear that new coalitions have formed, but it is less clear just why.
Secondly, Hunter has an bothersome tendency to sprinkle the book with sociological jargon. He may be a sociologist, but the terms don't add much to our knowledge. Groups are said, for example, to use positive and negative face when talking about themselves and their opponents. But in the end isn't mud slinging simply mudslinging. Isn't ugliness mere ugliness. And while any book of this kind needs examples, Hunter goes overboard by providing examples everywhere. As a result the book becomes hopelessly predictable at times.
Customer Reviews:
(RAW Rating: 4.5) - What is happening to black men?.......2007-08-04
Demico Boothe has explored the reasons so many black men are indeed in prison in, WHY ARE SO MANY BLACK MEN IN PRISON? He begins with his own story of a shaky upbringing and his subsequent dabbling in drug dealing. He was caught with a few grams of crack cocaine but because it was the dreaded crack, he was given 10 years in prison. When he left prison after serving his time, he was actually railroaded back into prison by a crooked justice system. He delves deeply into our justice system and the motives behind all the new prisons that are being built. He gives succinct and reasonable views of exactly what is happening now in the United States and how the past has played a role in the present. He uses persuasive statistics regarding the number of black men in prison as compared to the number of white men who are incarcerated.
Demico Boothe has done an excellent job of researching his subject and it is a plus, if unfortunate for him, that he has actually experienced first hand what he's talking about. I knew I was hearing the real story rather than just statistics from an intellectual who had no real idea of what the prison system is really like. I would have liked for Boothe to search a little deeper into the Haiti, Aristide and USA question, maybe even reading Randall Robinson's take on the situation, and then he might see it a bit differently. Otherwise, it is a good book and one every one in America should read. We indeed, have a crisis going on.
Reviewed by Alice Holman
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers
Why Are So Many Black Men In Prison? A Comprehensive Account Of How And Why The Prison Industry Has Become A Predatory Entity In.......2007-06-09
The book was very interesting. I learned soooo much about the government and the prison industry. I did some searching independantly to check on the things reported in the book and they are very true. Great Read!! Buy the book.
A Must Read.......2007-05-25
Mr. Demico's book is a must-read for anyone concerned about young African American men. Although I did not agree with every conclusion he reached, Demico's main premises are convincing. As a white woman who teaches mainly students of color, I am always impressed, and often in awe, of those young men who reach college with so much going against them. Demico's books lays bare not only the horrible inequalities of our society, but also the racist attitudes of our political system - - Democrats, Republicans, and most everyone in between.
Why are so many Black Men in Prison?.......2007-05-13
I is a well put together book. He really goes into a lot of detail of how our society is really set up.
Why are so many blacks in prison?.......2007-05-12
I found this book very interesting. As a white devil myself, I had no idea that I was responsible for forcing blacks into committing crimes and then subsequently clogging up the whole "Prison Industrial Complex"(tm). I will try to stop causing this, as I am sure it is creating a LOT of trouble for everyone! Sorry!
It is probably also my fault that young black men dressed in XXXXL clothes overtly threaten me and my family members routinely. Can anyone tell me what I should do to make this not happen?
I imagine it's also my fault that black on white violent crime is WAY higher than white on black violent crime, even though blacks constitute about 12.5% of the population, and whites are about 70%. But since it is impossible for a black to commit a hate crime according to our criminal justice system (since blacks are not under any circumstances racist), statistically, there are more white on black hate crimes. Boothe notes a statistic regarding hate crimes, but he skips the one about interracial violence in general.
In sum, Boothe notes that just about everything blacks do is actually MY fault, because my skin is white. Boothe, I've got a word for you.
Introspection.
Book Description
The civil rights movement’s most prominent leaders, Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929–1968) and Malcolm X (1925–1965), represent two wings of the revolt against racism: nonviolent resistance and revolution "by any means necessary." This volume presents the two leaders’ relationship to the civil rights movement beyond a simplified dualism. A rich selection of speeches, essays, and excerpts from Malcolm X’s autobiography and King’s sermons shows the breadth and range of each man’s philosophy, demonstrating their differences, similarities, and evolution over time. Organized into six topical groups, the documents allow students to compare the leaders’ views on subjects including integration, the American dream, means of struggle, and opposing racial philosophies. An interpretive introductory essay, chronology, selected bibliography, document headnotes, and questions for consideration provide further pedagogical support.
Customer Reviews:
Malcolm and Martin.......2007-03-10
This book presents the differences between arguably the two most famous civil rights activists of the fifties and sixties, as well as showing the convergence between their ideas and ideals toward the end of thier respective lives. It is readable, succinct and thorough. I highly recommend this book, especially to anyone who will be teaching this period in history to middle or high school students.
Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, and the Civil Rights Struggle of the 1950s and 1960s: A Brief History with Documents (The Be.......2007-01-05
This book is absoltely terrific. It gave me everything I needed to understand the differences and similarities between these two phenomenal leaders.
Book Description
Avoiding the easy definitions and caricatures that tend to celebrate or condemn the "hip hop generation," Hip Hop Matters focuses on the fierce and far-reaching battles being waged in politics, pop culture, and academe to assert greater control over the movement. At stake, Watkins argues, is the impact hip hop will have in the lives of the young people who live and breathe the culture. The story unfolds through revealing profiles, looking at such players as Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, widely recognized as America's first hip-hop mayor; Chuck D, the self-described "rebel without a pause" who championed the Internet as a way to keep socially relevant rap music alive; and young activists who represent hip hop's insurgent voice. Watkins also presents incisive analysis of the corporate takeover of hip hop; the culture's march into America's colleges and universities; and the rampant misogyny that undermines the movement's progressive claims. Ultimately, we see how the struggle for hip hop reverberates with a larger world: global media consolidation and conglomeration; racial and demographic flux; generational cleavages; the reinvention of the pop music industry; and the ongoing struggle to enrich the lives of ordinary youth.
Customer Reviews:
Important for Scholars of Hip Hop Culture.......2006-06-28
An important discussion of the history and meaning of hip hop music and culture. Inspires academics to "get it right". Read this, watch documentaries "Style Wars" and "RIZE" and I promise you'll be throwing dance parties in your living room and writing operational definitions for "Bling".
Average customer rating:
- Compelling new biography of King
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From Civil Rights to Human Rights: Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Struggle for Economic Justice (Politics and Culture in Modern America)
Thomas F. Jackson
Manufacturer: University of Pennsylvania Press
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Turn Away Thy Son: Little Rock, the Crisis That Shocked the Nation
ASIN: 0812239695 |
Book Description
Winner of the 2007 Liberty Legacy Foundation Award of the Organization of American Historians for the best book on "any historical aspect of the civil rights struggle in the United States from the nation's founding to the present."
Martin Luther King, Jr., is widely celebrated as an American civil rights hero. Yet King's nonviolent opposition to racism, militarism, and economic injustice had deeper roots and more radical implications than is commonly appreciated, Thomas F. Jackson argues in this searching reinterpretation of King's public ministry. Between the 1940s and the 1960s, King was influenced by and in turn reshaped the political cultures of the black freedom movement and democratic left. His vision of unfettered human rights drew on the diverse tenets of the African American social gospel, socialism, left-New Deal liberalism, Gandhian philosophy, and Popular Front internationalism.
King's early leadership reached beyond southern desegregation and voting rights. As the freedom movement of the 1950s and early 1960s confronted poverty and economic reprisals, King championed trade union rights, equal job opportunities, metropolitan integration, and full employment. When the civil rights and antipoverty policies of the Johnson administration failed to deliver on the movement's goals of economic freedom for all, King demanded that the federal government guarantee jobs, income, and local power for poor people. When the Vietnam war stalled domestic liberalism, King called on the nation to abandon imperialism and become a global force for multiracial democracy and economic justice.
Drawing widely on published and unpublished archival sources, Jackson explains the contexts and meanings of King's increasingly open call for "a radical redistribution of political and economic power" in American cities, the nation, and the world. The mid-1960s ghetto uprisings were in fact revolts against unemployment, powerlessness, police violence, and institutionalized racism, he argued. His final dream, a Poor People's March on Washington, aimed to mobilize Americans across racial and class lines to reverse a national cycle of urban conflict, political backlash, and policy retrenchment. King's vision of economic democracy and international human rights remains a powerful inspiration for those committed to ending racism and poverty in our time.
Customer Reviews:
Compelling new biography of King.......2007-01-09
This is the most important and original book on Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. to be published in years. Jackson offers a persuasive account that challenges the conventional wisdom about King and his goals. King was not just the apostle of nonviolence. He was not just someone who wanted everyone to get along. King was a radical--who saw that personal transformation was not enough. Jackson shows how King saw the black freedom struggle as one of power and economics. This book is beautifully written and deeply researched. It will be impossible to think about King in the same way ever again after reading Jackson's account.
Book Description
A series of essays about the social, political, and intellectual dimensions of the Revolutionary War
Customer Reviews:
A good read for the dedicated military historian.......2001-03-02
This book is not meant for the casual reader. However, if you are a serious history buff and don't mind engaging a book intellectually this is a good book to spend some time with. I had the pleasure of having John Shy as a professor at the University of Michigan. I have nothing but positive feedback on his scholarly work. The somewhat narrow scope of the book's topic and the assumed background knowledge might deter a casual reader. History buff who wants to dig deeper into Revolutionary War issues? Then this book is a good one to pick up!
Interesting Read...must have for any Military History buffs.......2000-11-13
This was a nice collection of intelligent and well written essays on the American Revolution. I chose this book based on a recommendation from my history teacher. It was a requirement to write a book review on it.
This book contains a great amount of information on the American Revolution. The author seems to have done much pain-staking research to bring details to life. Unlike a traditional history book, this book focuses on specific aspects of the Revolution. It brings to light much of went on militaristically and socially on both sides of the ocean during that time. If you have ever wanted to know more about the American Revolution then what you learn in College or High School US History, this book is a must have. It is written on an academic level and requires a high degree of English comprehension.
Overall an enjoyable experience.
Book Description
In this provocative reinterpretation of one of the best-known events in American history, Woody Holton shows that when Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, and other elite Virginians joined their peers from other colonies in declaring independence from Britain, they acted partly in response to grassroots rebellions against their own rule.
The Virginia gentry's efforts to shape London's imperial policy were thwarted by British merchants and by a coalition of Indian nations. In 1774, elite Virginians suspended trade with Britain in order to pressure Parliament and, at the same time, to save restive Virginia debtors from a terrible recession. The boycott and the growing imperial conflict led to rebellions by enslaved Virginians, Indians, and tobacco farmers. By the spring of 1776 the gentry believed the only way to regain control of the common people was to take Virginia out of the British Empire.
Forced Founders uses the new social history to shed light on a classic political question: why did the owners of vast plantations, viewed by many of their contemporaries as aristocrats, start a revolution? As Holton's fast-paced narrative unfolds, the old story of patriot versus loyalist becomes decidedly more complex.
Customer Reviews:
Forced Founders review.......2007-07-06
Woody Holton, in his book Forced Founders Indians, Debtors, Slaves and the Making of the American Revolution in Virginia argues that Americans weaned on the stories of the Virginia elite, who for ideological purposes decided a revolution was needed, are misinformed. Desperation was the true reason that Virginia, and the likes of Jefferson and Washington and the other privileged gentry, moved towards declaring independence from British rule. Their desperation was in response to growing pressures placed on the gentry class by other segments of society. Forced Founders is divided into four parts covering three time periods. The first two parts cover the time period that is essentially the decade after the Great War for Empire, from 1763-1774. The third part covers the years 1774-1775. The fourth and final part covers the year of 1776. In all four parts Holton looks at the Virginia elite and their relations to various parties during that time period. The two parts Holton breaks the first time period down into are the problems that the gentry faced, and the solutions they came up with for those problems.
In Holton's thesis, he states "that the Independence movement was powerfully influenced by British merchants and three groups...Indians, farmers and slaves." (206) Holton uses letters and papers from contemporaries of the time. He also uses secondary sources to fill in the gaps. These sources he uses to good effect. Unfortunately, he only scratches the surface of the pressure these groups placed on the gentry class. One weakness of his research is that he has not found new sources,
but uses existing sources of the gentry class, to explain their relation to the other classes. Even though Holton acknowledges the bias of the elite, he says he was able to get the other groups' perspective. (xxi) While Holton's goal is to show that the revolution was not just a tax revolt, but also a class conflict (206), the book focuses mainly on the economic reasons that these groups were able to affect Virginia's elite society. This focus changes the typical perception that most Americans have of the founding fathers; it makes them seem less principled and god like. They are more identifiably human, as they are shown to be looking out for themselves. The examples that Holton uses are supportive of his thesis, but due to the breadth of the issues associated with these groups, his examples only scratch the surface of the importance these groups played. A second problem is that the Virginia gentry are still the primary focus of the book. Those groups that exert pressure on the founding fathers continue to be relegated to the second tier in importance. A better title might have been Virginia's Founding Fathers: The Economic Pressures That Drove Them to Revolution since most parts of the book deal with the economic effects each of the groups had on the Virginia founding fathers. Besides economic concerns, Holton alludes that another reason for the drive to independence was the founding fathers fear of losing their preferred position in society.
I felt that Forced Founders was a good read though it suffered from its brevity. A more in depth look at other pressures besides economic ones placed by these groups on the gentry would have strengthened his thesis. In addition, despite offering a slightly different perspective on the social elite of Virginia, Forced Founders still has them as the primary focus, continuing to foster the second-class status of other groups, thus perpetuating historians' tendency to consign them to its back page.
Glenn Williams' review.......2006-09-02
My comments concern Mr. Williams' unfavorable review of this book. While Williams has done a capable job outlining his quibbles with the book, and its obvious he read the book in detail, his points are actually peripheral to Holton's main points. Yes, he may have failed to stress what was a skirmish and what wasn't. Or maybe someone could argue that such-and-such a treaty meant this rather than that. But Williams' points actually are fairly trivial, and do not get to the heart of the thesis. I mean, if Holton doesn't get the nuances of the Virginia militia exactly right (or to Williams' definition of right) does it really matter all that much? No.
The book is a good read, well-organized, and ought to be read.
FORCED ARGUMENTS.......2006-05-02
While the book is a "good read" and "thought provoking," I have serious contentions with Holton's interpretation and analysis on many levels, not the least of which center on his lack of understanding and/or misinterpretation of the military and Indian issues which he attempts to cite as supporting his thesis, and which in turn causes me to question his other conclusions in "Forced Founders."
First, he apparently does not know the difference between the provincial militia of the royal colony, the independent militia formed at the resolution of the First Virginia Convention (and Continental Association after the First Continental Congress), or the Virginia militia as constituted by Virginia's revolutionary government, the Virginia Minutemen (as different from common militia) formed by the state in response to a resolution by the Second Continental Congress, the formation of Virginia State Troops or the establishment of the Virginia Continentals. To him, all those organizational concepts seem to be interchangeable.
Second, it is true that Virginia's last royal governor, John Murray, the Fourth Earl of Dunmore, formed his "Ethiopian Regiment" by offering freedom to the military age male slaves of rebel masters (not all slaves), but Holton's explanation leads the reader to believe that the project was an overwhelming success. The primary source documents show that it was never accepted into Provincial service, and with less than 100 "effective" men present for duty, and about 60 sick on board hospital ships in May 1776, the regiment was disbanded. Furthermore, they were not Dunmore's only available troops. So how their presence forced slaveholders to support the revolution is questionable.
Holton also neglects to mention Dunmore's raising of the Queen's Own Loyal Regiment of Virginia, which was composed of white Loyalists. It too, like the Ethiopian Regiment, never amounted to much and was disbanded in 1776. But Holton doesn't mention them at all!
Third he mentions the battle of Kemp's Landing (a skirmish, actually) in November 1775, in which Dunmore's "army" (not just the black troops) drove Virginia militia from the field. He says nothing about the December 1775 battle (actually a larger skirmish) of Great Bridge that was a decisive American victory and forced the British to evacuate Norfolk (and Virginia until 1780).
Furthermore, Dunmore's army was about 600 strong, including the white Loyalist regiment, all the Loyalist militia he could muster, plus British sailors and marines, as well as the Ethiopian Regiment. Therefore, it is unlikely that the Ethiopian Regiment ever neared full "establishment" strength of 800 men, so I believe Holton overstates their influence. Also, the American force included Continentals, State troops, minutemen from Fauquier, Augusta and Culpepper Counties (from the western part of the Colony), as well as volunteers from Princess Anne and Norfolk Counties, including one company of "gentleman volunteers," and 250 North Carolina men.
Nor does Holton say much about those slaves who chose to stay with their masters, and how their action influenced decisions to support independence.
As for the founder's being forced by fear of the Indians, his argument on that score is also weak.
First, does he consider the Treaty of Camp Charlotte, which Dunmore negotiated with the Shawnee, Mingo and western Delaware nations in October 1774, when they conceded defeat in "Dunmore's War"? After his flight from Williamsburg in June 1775, the terms of that treaty were finalized between Continental and (Revolutionary) Virginia Indian Commissioners and the same Indian nations in the Treaty of Fort Pitt in October 1775. The two treaties essentially kept the peace on Virginia's frontier (including in Kentucky) from 1774 until 1777 (after independence was declared!). So, Holton's claim that fear of the Indians forced the founders into supporting independence seems to be a weak one to me.
Second, Dunmore did plot to solicit the Ohio Indian nations to attack settlements on the Virginia frontier, unless its inhabitants affirmed their loyalty. However, the party of three Provincial officers he dispatched to put the plan into action (led by John Connolly), were captured by Maryland minutemen in the town of Hagers Town (Hagerstown) in November 1775, and Connolly was subsequently imprisoned in Philadelphia. The abortive plot was discovered when incriminating papers were found in Connolly's baggage, which was the source of Jefferson's indictment in the Declaration of Independence that king was "inciting the savages."
Third, Holton apparently also does not understand the operation of the Indian polities. He fails to mention that the Six Nations of Iroquois, who considered the nations in the Ohio country their "dependents" by right of conquest and "spoke for" them, were trying to maintain their neutrality early in the war. After being convinced by the officers of the British Indian Department (operating from Fort Niagara and Fort Detroit, not Virginia) that it was in their best interest to support the king against "the Bostonians," most of the Six Nations (the Onondaga, Cayuga, Mohawk and Seneca) and their "dependents," (Wyandot, western Delaware, Shawnee, Mingo and others) did finally come into the war in early 1777, when they struck backcountry settlements, according to British Indian Department officers, "from Fort Stanwix (at the head of the Mohawk Valley in New York) to the Ohio" and that the American backcountry "From the Susquehanna to the Kiskismenitas Creek upon the Ohio, and from thence down to the Kankawa [Kanawha] River is now nothing but an heap of ashes."
Finally, I don't believe Holton ever makes a convincing argument that tenants exerted influence to force their aristocratic landlords into supporting independence, and his argument about debtors falls short of being conclusive.
Who Were America's First Freedom Fighters?.......2005-05-21
In Forced Founders, Woody Holton writes about five non-elite groups in pre-Revolutionary America who struggled for relief from a long list of economic and political imperial burdens. Small landholders, merchants, debtors and even Native Americans and slaves in Virginia were affected by a global depression in which the price of tobacco had fallen close to its lowest historical levels, prices of other commodities had plummeted and the credit market had collapsed. Elite, wealthy Virginia gentlemen farmers like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry felt the squeeze but for Virginia's non-elites, the confluence of adverse economic factors became an overwhelming millstone. Everyone in Virginia suffered the effects of the Navigation Acts that restricted colonial trade only to Britain. Everyone was forced to adjust to the boycott of Britain passed by the Continental Congress. Virginia's economy staggered when small businesses and landowners defaulted on their debt, faced foreclosure of their assets and sunk into economic ruin. Holton's thesis is that well-to-do colonial Virginia leaders were pushed to choose rebellion against Britain by these non-elite groups whose meager resources made them defenseless against this toxic brew of imperial oppression and negative global economic conditions.
Perhaps the most powerful force behind the fight for independence was the paralyzing debt incurred by Virginia's growers. It was held primarily by their British merchant counterparts who bought their tobacco, sold them supplies and lent them money. The Virginians' debt was even more overwhelming because it landed on their balance sheets during one of the worst recessions of the colonial era. Virginian Arthur Lee wrote in 1764 that American colonists owed British merchants ₤6 million and British mercantilist policies drained an additional ₤500,000 a year from the tobacco colonies. Virginia's small landholders and business people - and no doubt, their counterparts in other colonies - realized British commercial, monetary and immigration policies favored the mercantilist-creditors back in London. Thus it was that debtors in Virginia became unrelenting critics of British policy, making them a persistent political force in favor of independence.
Virginia land speculators thwarted by British governance were another perpetual burr under the saddles of the colony's leadership, not least because of the unrest and threat of attack they created among Native Americans. Although the Indians ultimately lost the commercial, legal and military battles they fought in defense of their land, their efforts through tribal coalitions to enlist British support were irritatingly effective. One of the unintentional results of the Indians' occasional success against the white land speculators was pressure from them on Virginia's leadership. Independence from Britain would permit Virginia land speculators to move against the Indians, unimpeded by imperial interference.
Like all whites in pre-Emancipation America, colonial Virginians considered black Africans a serious threat to their security. Their fear boiled over when Virginia slaves began to negotiate in 1775 for their freedom with British Governor Dunmore in exchange for military assistance to help control civil unrest. White Virginians who'd been independence-neutral or British loyalists became overnight patriots. For them, the only way to restore order, preserve ownership and protect property was to escape British governance and begin a new governmental regime. It was ironic the slaves' ploy for personal freedom frightened Virginia's elites to support the fight for American independence.
Holton guides readers of Forced Founders through an intriguing but occasionally awkward review of the influence of non-elite groups on Virginia's road to Revolution. Its virtue is its point-of-view; its burden is its less-than-focused scope. In the end, it appears he does too little with too much.
However Holton is to be commended for thinking outside the box. He uses primary sources from the gentry to study Virginia's economically and politically important "non-gentlemen" because, says Holton, their records reveal the gentlemen as powerfully influenced by the actions of smallholders, slaves and Native Americans. Working top down and one class removed, he shows the American Revolution was not just a rich man's war. Historians are well-advised to incorporate such 360-degree-point-of-view thinking in all their examination of primary sources. As they pursue this method, however, they must focus their theses and remain alert to the dangers of scope creep.
A must read for anyone even attempting to study the era........2003-08-30
One of the most common misconceptions of Americans today centers around the revolutionary war, specifically the fact that this war was caused by colonist unrest due to excessive taxation, chiefly in Massachusetts. Fortunately, Holton is able to modify this fallacy, as he presents towards massive strife in the Virginia colony that can be linked as a direct cause of the revolutionary war.
By presenting tension between everyone from debtors and creditors to oppressed minorities (slaves and Native Americans) and the Anglo Saxon majority, Holton is able to paint a much more realistic picture of the times. Readers will be shocked by evidence presented; especially notable is the substantiation of rich landowners actually wanting to exterminate the slave trade prior to the war, almost akin to a sumptuary law, to preserve social boundaries. Also notable is the documentation of how close battle came to breaking out in Virginia as a result of Dunmore's actions, far prior to any serious action in Lexington, Concord, or even Boston.
Although this book makes an interesting read in correcting some of the misunderstandings more than two centuries of time have created, it also works well in conjunction with a study of the rest of the war. When Dunmore's actions are viewed as a precursor to those of Cornwallis, Tarleton, and Clinton, an even more worthwhile and in depth study of the era can be begun.
Thus, whether the reader is just has an interest in the time period or is a scholar striving to make connections, Holton's work is an excellent read. One can only hope that Holton or others can help paint a more realistic picture for the other twelve colonies.
Book Description
Praise for The Assassination of Julius Caesar:
"Parenti . . . re-creates the struggle of the late Republic with scintillating storytelling and deeply examined historical insight."-Publishers Weekly
One of America's most astute and engaging political analysts, Michael Parenti shows us that culture is a changing process and the product of a dynamic interplay between a wide range of social and political interests. It is not enough to study the prevailing political realm; we also must grasp developments throughout the entire civil society. In short, to understand a society we need to understand the problem of culture as well as that of power.
Drawing from cultures around the world, Parenti shows that beliefs and practices are readily subjected to political manipulation, and that many parts of culture are being commodified, separated from their group or communal origins, and packaged and sold to those who can pay for them. Folk culture is giving way to a corporate market culture. Art, science, medicine, and psychiatry can be used as instruments of cultural control, and even marriage, the "foundation of society," has been misused by heterosexuals across the centuries.
Using vivid examples and riveting arguments throughout, The Culture Struggle ranges from the everyday to the esoteric. Richly informed, penned with eloquence and irony, The Culture Struggle presents a collection of snapshots of our time that help us understand the world we live in.
Michael Parenti is a critically acclaimed author and an extraordinary public speaker. He received his PhD in political science from Yale University and has taught at a number of colleges and universities in the United States and abroad. He is the author of 18 books, including Superpariotism, The Assassination of Julius Caesar, and Inventing Reality.
Customer Reviews:
The Reader Struggle.......2006-06-02
As a progressive/liberal who grew up in the 60's and obtained a graduate degree in community psychology... except for some interesting recent examples this book provides... I have heard it all before. There is little new content in this 134 page book that reads like a group of collected college lectures. Political progressives are likely to feel, at least in part, that Parenti is preaching to the choir. It is good to seek alternative perspectives, to be awake. But now that we have had our consciousness awakened and enlivened... what shall we do?
It is regarding the "What shall we do then, given this is how things are?" question that inevitably comes up when reading this kind of book that the author is largely silent.
Where is the Saul Alinsky for our new century?
Timely. .......2006-05-25
I have appreciated Parenti's work since I was an undergraduate student studying sociology. His work has always been well-researched and reasoned, and accessible. He adopts a critical perspective, one where no subject, practice, or policy is off-limits.
I purchased The Culture Struggle after listening to a public radio interview (the name of the program escapes me) in which Mr. Parenti, whilst discussing his book, described the dangers of both ethnocentrism and mindless cultural relativism. Both are, he points out, dangerous. In TCS, Parenti picks apart a variety of socio-cultural issues--from the status of women to the medicalization of deviance--in a way that is thoughtful and engaging. He makes a point of grounding his ideas in "real world" examples, using familiar and not-so-familiar events and statistics to illustrate and support his claims. For example, in examining how economic and social forces shape notions of mental health and mental illness, Parenti introduces the "condition" of drapetomania. Drapetomania was, he tells us, a condition that affected enslaved persons. The symptoms? A desire for freedom from bondage. The text is filled with similar examples.
Most social scientists will not be surprised by the points Parenti addresses. We are already familiar with the status of women globally, the dangers of ethnocentrism, the social construction of reality...Parenti, though, breathes new life into these familiar concerns. He has a knack for reminding us why such matters are meaningful outside of the academic setting. We need to be reminded of this every now and again.
I believe that this text could be a powerful teaching tool in undergraduate sociology classes. It brings the core concerns to life and offers a window into what it means to think critically about the world around us.
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