Damaged Angels: An Adoptive Mother’s Struggle to Understand the Tragic Toll of Alcohol in Pregnancy Discount.

March 14th, 2011 by khloe6171605

Damaged Angels: An Adoptive Mother's Struggle to Understand the Tragic Toll of Alcohol in Pregnancy

Damaged Angels: An Adoptive Mother’s Struggle to Understand the Tragic Toll of Alcohol in Pregnancy Discount.

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Here’s a Detailed Description for Damaged Angels: An Adoptive Mother’s Struggle to Understand the Tragic Toll of Alcohol in Pregnancy:

Part heartfelt memoir, part practical guide, Damaged Angels recounts Bonnie Buxton’s struggles to raise an adopted daughter whom she didn’t realize was afflicted with fetal alcohol disorder. Her book also offers guidance to parents who have children with FASD. By the time Bonnie’s daughter Colette hit first grade, her parents were coping with her frequent stealing and lying, and the necessity of special education. At fourteen, she discovered drugs and sex; by eighteen, she was a crack addict living on the streets. After many frustrating years consulting numerous therapists, a TV news story gave Bonnie the answer she was looking for — and sent her on a quest for a diagnosis and help for Colette. Damaged Angels can aid and comfort all those affected by FASD — the most common cause of intellectual impairments in most industrialized nations — and reduce the number of babies born with this disorder in the future. The most important book on fetal alcohol disorder since Michael Dorris’s The Broken Cord, Damaged Angels is a book for every parent, practitioner, and teacher working with a child with FASD.

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  • Amazon Sales Rank: #108024 in eBooks
  • Published on: 2005-04-27
  • Released on: 2005-04-27
  • Format: Kindle Book
  • Number of items: 1

Hear What Others Have to Say About Damaged Angels: An Adoptive Mother’s Struggle to Understand the Tragic Toll of Alcohol in Pregnancy

Customer Reviews:

The perfect mix of fact and real-life example5
Bonnie Buxton does an amazing job in this book of thoroughly explaining the damage that prenatal alcohol exposure does to an unborn child’s brain and how that plays out in real-life examples, without painting a picture that is dark and hopeless. We get to see these real families working hard to make good lives for their children, feel their struggles, grieve in their failures and celebrate in their successes. This is a beautiful book full of life and hope.

From One Adoptive Mom to Another….5
Buy this book if you are thinking of adoption. Buy this book if you have adopted. Buy this book if you drank alcohol during your pregnancy. Buy this book if your mother drank while pregnant with you. It will answer all your questions and point you in all the right directions.

Finally, some answers.5
This is an excellent resource for parents of FAE/FAS children, adopted or by birth. If you have a child who doesn’t understand cause and effect, looks normal, but acts years younger than his or her age, this is the book for you.

From Publishers Weekly
One day, clicking around on the family computer, Buxton found her 14-year-old adopted daughter Colette’s will. What might have been a typical angst-filled document by another teenager was quite worrisome in this case: Colette suffered from fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD), an impairment that affects one out of every 100 North Americans, according to Buxton. The disorder made her violent and antisocial. By the time Colette wrote the will, she was addicted to drugs and prone to violent outbursts; before she was 18, she had endured multiple brushes with death. Canadian journalist Buxton thoroughly describes her frustrating attempts to get help for her two daughters (another adopted daughter also suffered from FASD). Her honesty and humility are blunt: “The fact that Brian [her husband] and I could make each other laugh at least once a day, often making evil jokes about our children, was what kept us relatively sane….” The devil really is in the details in this sometimes painful account. On the one hand, Buxton’s insistence on logging the minutiae of caring for her daughters is impressive, and she intersperses these sections with copious research and case studies on FASDs. On the other hand, her recounting of umpteen doctors’ appointments, forms and phone calls weighs the memoir down and buries some salient gems. (May)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author

Bonnie Buxton is a journalist who has written articles for numerous Canadian magazines and newspapers. She and her husband, Brian Philcox, are co-founders of FASworld Canada, the Canadian nonprofit organization that works at building awareness around the world. They live in Toronto.

–t2at

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Lover Revealed Black Dagger Brotherhood, Book 4 Coupon

March 12th, 2011 by khloe6171605

Lover Revealed Black Dagger Brotherhood, Book 4

Lover Revealed Black Dagger Brotherhood, Book 4 Coupon

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Here’s a Detailed Description for Lover Revealed Black Dagger Brotherhood, Book 4:

Butch O’Neal is a fighter by nature. A hard living, ex-homicide cop, he’s the only human ever to be allowed in the inner circle of the Black Dagger Brotherhood. And he wants to go even deeper into the vampire world to engage in the turf war with the lessers. He’s got nothing to lose. His heart belongs to a female vampire, Marissa, an aristocratic beauty who’s way out of his league. If he can’t have her, then at least he can fight side by side with the Brothers… When Butch sacrifices himself to save a civilian vampire from the slayers, he falls prey to the darkest force in the war. Left for dead but found by a miracle, the Brotherhood calls on Marissa to bring him back, though even her love may not be enough to save him…

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  • Amazon Sales Rank: #245 in eBooks
  • Published on: 2007-04-20
  • Released on: 2007-04-20
  • Format: Kindle Book
  • Number of items: 1

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Customer Reviews:

Lover Revealed- Butch’s Story5
After every Black Dagger Brotherhood Novel I read, I find myself with a new favorite character. After Dark Lover (Black Dagger Brotherhood, Book 1) it was Wrath, after Lover Eternal (Black Dagger Brotherhood, Book 2) it was Rhage, and after Lover Awakened (Black Dagger Brotherhood, Book 3) it was Zsadist. So I suppose I really shouldn’t have been surprised when upon finishing this novel I decided that Butch is my new favorite character.

“Lover Revealed” by J.R. Ward did not disappoint me in the least. Be warned that if you haven’t read the previous three books in this series, that you will not understand a large portion of the story.

The story focuses on Butch, and his relationship with Marissa. We also learn quite a bit about his past. There were moments were I was a bit teary-eyed so be prepared. I also loved seeing the friendship that Butch has with the rest of the Brothers. And I was glad to see that young John was back in this book, even though he had not completely recovered after earlier events (who can blame him?).

I’m already looking forward to the next addition to the Black Dagger Brotherhood Novels. At the end of this story we get a small sneak peek of Lover Unbound (Black Dagger Brotherhood, Book 5). Keep up the good work J.R. Ward, I can’t wait to read more!

Dark, Sensual and Satisfying5
I admit that when I read the first novel in this series a while back, I wasn’t overly impressed. I thought it was just ok, and I didn’t intend to read any more Black Dagger books. But then a lot of people recommended the later books to me and I found myself excited about giving this series another chance. And I’m so glad I did. Although I’m not super-devoted, ardent fan– i.e. I don’t think I’ll be spending time on any message boards discussing the novels in depth– I thought Lover Revealed was a very satisfying read with a compelling central romance and tons of intrigue, passion and great dialogue. In fact, I think that because my expectations weren’t sky-high, I found this book even more enjoyable and worth the money/time than I anticipated.

The story has already been summarized by many other reviews, so I won’t do so again here. But I found Marissa and Butch’s coming together to be very sweet and sexy. Many have said they didn’t necessarily feel their connection, but I certainly did. They had an intense, immediate attraction, first introduced in the initial book of the series, that developed into infatuation and then love. Marissa and Butch’s mutual loneliness at the beginning of the novel had me rooting for them to finally find each other again and once they did it was sweet, but full of the kind of angst and conflict needed to give the story its momentum.

A few things I liked: first, how expertly J.R. Ward weaves in secondary characters and subplots. This book does an especially good job of developing V’s character (his book is the next one and I can’t wait for it), including his sexual issues and deep loneliness. There are some homoerotic moments, as other reviewers have mentioned, but they’re pretty ambiguous, and overall the point of them seemed to be to show a) Butch and V’s intense friendship (very moving) and b) to set the stage for V to realize that he wants and craves real love and intimacy from a woman.

Also, I loved how, at 400+ pages, this book kept me engaged and left me feeling completely satisfied. I truly appreciate that the author releases new titles so quickly and keeps them packed with great storytelling and interwoven narratives.

There’s a lot of gritty suspense involving the Omega, Butch’s true nature is revealed (hence the title) and we see Wrath, Beth, Zsadist and Bella again– all of which kept me happily turning the pages.

I recommend this book to anyone who loves or simply likes this series. You can read it by itself, but it is better read as part of the series.

I was hooked from the first page and even though the darkness of these novels can sometimes feel a bit heavy, there are always sexy, romantic moments that balance them out. J.R. Ward is also an author you can trust to deliver plots and characters you can care about.

How Butch Got His Groove Back3
You know, I’ve about had it with J.R. Ward’s urban vampire series. The first one was great, but every book since them has been the same book, same formula, and same issues, just with a different main character. In Lover Awakened, JR Ward introduced us to the Black Dagger Brother, hardcore vampire warriors out to protect their race from the evil Lessening Society, their mortal enemies. The Brothers are really manly men. Tattooed, leather-wearing, trash-talking, rap music at the dinner table kind of guys with the occasional missing limb. Then there is Butch, the human side-kick.

Poor Butch. He had a awful childhood, used to have a coke addiction, currently is an alcoholic, got kicked off the police force, and being the Brotherhood’s human mascot isn’t helping his self-esteem any either. Things get even worse for him even the Lessers kidnap him, beat him up, and put a ball of pure evil in his stomach. His blood and other unmentionable fluids start turning black and he starts gaining weird powers. While recuperating he meets back up with Marissa, the beautiful vampire aristocrat that is the jilted ex-wife of Vampire King Wrath. Butch has been pining away for her for several novels, as an unfortunate misunderstanding instigated by Marissa’s brother has him thinking she wants nothing to do with him.

The main problem with JR Ward’s series is that these books at just bloated with repetition. The same series of events seem to play over and over again until the novel reaches a resolution. It goes something like this: Brothers fight the lessers. Cut to Brotherhood trainee John polishing his fighting skills. Cut to lesser boss Mr. X plotting evil. Butch and Marissa have a misunderstanding because the woman won’t tell him anything. Back to Mr. X plotting Evil. Butch gets drunk and pines for Marissa. Back to Mr. X again. Brothers fight lessers again. Butch and Marissa have another misunderstanding which sends him back to the bottle again. Back to John. And it seems to go on like this for four hundred and fifty pages.

I am seriously starting to hate the lessers and how much time is spent on them. As villains they are totally ineffective. Compared to the Brothers, they are like the minions on a Saturday morning cartoon. They have superior numbers, but not the skills to back it up. The Brothers mow through them every time, and all Mr. X can do is shake his fist and say “Curses! I’ll get you next time!”

Another fatal flaw of the series is that while Ward usually creates interesting heroes, her heroines are practically non-entities. Marissa might as well be a blow-up doll for all the impression she makes. Scratch that, she does make impression but it isn’t a very good one. The woman has a talent for pushing Butch away, not explaining why, and them wailing to herself that no man wants her. A practical misunderstanding on legs is Marissa. I wanted to give this woman a big slice of clue cake the entire novel. Butch isn’t that great of a leading man himself. It seemed like the entire novel he was either drunk, sick, or beaten black or blue. I couldn’t help but think that Ward was more interested in Vishous, one of the other Brothers, than she was in Butch.

I wish Ward would ease up on the urban slang. This book practically needs you to be at UrbanDictionary.com to decipher it at some points. If there is a slang term for anything, Ward is going to use it place of the proper word. The made-up vampire language is also starting to grate on me. Ward takes English terms and starts adding random h’s and z’s and calls it a new language. Seclusion becomes sehclusion and fearsome becomes phearsome. I dohn’t knohw zwhy buht it izs zstahrting to ahnnohy me. I think it’s because in my head I always picture the Brothers saying those words like I imagine Goofy from Disney cartoons might.

I’m just burned out on the Brothers, I guess. I think I’m giving Ward one more chance to add some variety to the series or I’m writing it off.

From Publishers Weekly
Newbies to Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood may struggle to fill in the backstory, but these erotic paranormals are well worth it, and frighteningly addictive. The six “brothers” are vampires: enormous, tattooed, tormented warriors who protect other vampires from destruction by the “lessers,” desouled humans in the evil Omega’s Lessening Society. Hero and ex-cop Butch is the only human allowed into the Brotherhood’s inner circle, but Butch is no mere human, a fact suspected by one of his vamp colleagues, and confirmed by the sinister plans of the Omega. The book is fully committed to its urban sensibility, the vampires’ rarified language (a glossary is provided) and their revved-up sex drives, and it all works to great, page-turning effect (with the notable exception of a chick lit–like attention to designer brands). Though Butch’s love interest, the virginal, aristocratic vampire Marissa, initially elicits more annoyance than empathy, she grows a spine as the book progresses and Butch’s destiny comes to light. In just two years, the first three books in the series have earned Ward an Anne Rice–style following, deservedly so; this entry should prove no less popular. (Mar.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review
Dark fantasy lovers, you just got served. — Lynn Viehl

It’s tough to keep raising the bar in a series, but the phenomenal Ward manages to do just that! From book one, human ex-cop, Butch O’Neal has seemed like the odd man out in her vampire brotherhood, but in this amazing novel he definitely comes into his own. The world of the Black Dagger Brotherhood continues to grow and become more layered, ramping up the tension, risk and passion. This is awesome stuff. — Romantic Times, Top Pick 4 stars

J.R. Ward’s unique band of brothers is to die for. I love this series. — Suzanne Brockmann

The Brotherhood is the hottest collection of studs in romance. — Angela Knight

Review
J.R. Ward’s unique band of brothers is to die for. I love this series. (Suzanne Brockmann)

The Brotherhood is the hottest collection of studs in romance. (Angela Knight)

Dark fantasy lovers, you just got served. (Lynn Viehl)

–t2at

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Best Place To Get Empire: A Very Short Introduction Online

March 10th, 2011 by khloe6171605

Empire: A Very Short Introduction

Best Place To Get Empire: A Very Short Introduction Online

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Empire: A Very Short Introduction Description:

A great deal of the world’s history is the history of empires. Indeed it could be said that all history is colonial history, if one takes a broad enough definition and goes far enough back. And although the great historic imperial systems–the land-based Russian one as well as the seaborne empires of western European powers–have collapsed during the past half century, their legacies shape almost every aspect of life on a global scale. Meanwhile there is fierce argument, and much speculation, about what has replaced the old territorial empires in world politics. Do the United States and its allies, transnational companies, financial and media institutions, or more broadly the forces of “globalization”, constitute a new imperial system? Stephen Howe interprets the meaning of the idea of “empire” through the ages, disentangling the multiple uses and abuses of the labels “empire” and “colonialism”, etc., and examines the aftermath of imperialism on the contemporary world.

  • Amazon Sales Rank: #123818 in eBooks
  • Published on: 2002-11-28
  • Released on: 2002-11-28
  • Format: Kindle Book
  • Number of items: 1

Customer Reviews:

From Sargon to Lord of the Rings…Still the same old story5
Readers and especially students who want a quick overview of the meaning of “empire” (by no means self-evident) will find a bright diamond in Professor Howe’s short text. Encompassed in this slender volume is an attempt to clarify what it means to have an empire, how that differs from colonialism, imperialism, globalization and other competing conceptual categories; a brief description of the leading empires — Roman, Ottoman, Austria-Hungarian, British, Chinese; and an especially good discussion of relatively recent debates on the overall effects of Empire, with particular attention on the consequences of empire for the dispersion of democracy and the creation of global wealth in countries formerly within the shadow of an empire’s reach. The issue of whether and to what extent the U.S. constitutes an empire is raised. This book is a great place to identify the many faceted debates associated with empire for more detailed, subsequent investigation.

Timely and Vital3
I have a number of these cute volumes from Oxford. They fill a useful niche in the academic literature on topics that are basic to understanding a wide variety of fields convering the humanities, history, and the social sciences. I found this particular volume on empire, however, a bit too broad and sweeping in historical scope; almost to the point where the concept of “empire” is rendered useless as an explanatory model. There should have been greater emphasis placed on “modern” empires that arose with the development of capitalism and its attendant imperial and colonial systems of maintanance. While the author’s politics seem much more tepid in comparison to other contributors to this fine series, this particular volume is still worth reading. I request of Amazon that all these Oxford “Very Short Introduction” titles be stocked for purchase because they are ideal refresher courses that can be transported and read easily while waiting for the bus, sitting in a cafe, or occupying oneself until a beautiful woman who likes ideas wanders by.

A very GOOD introduction5
Kudos to author Stephen Howe for jamming so much solid info on empire and its related topics (such as imperialism, colonialism, decolonization, etc.) into a book that clocks in at under 130 pages. I’ve read three of these Very Short Introduction series books; they’ve all been good, and this one is the best so far in terms of readability and quality of information. Some of the books in this series can be surprisingly dense despite their slimness, but I found this one to be a quick read. Howe is probably better at raising questions than he is at giving final answers, but I don’t think that’s a bad thing — this is a messy topic. Think of it as kind of a primer, and you won’t be disappointed.

Howe does an excellent job of defining some of the terminology related to empire, which is no small task (not least because the terms are often so misused, confused, and/or politicized.) Much of the book consists of comparing and contrasting the different empires found throughout history. Admittedly, he spends more space discussing the modern (late-19th/early-20th century) European empires than he does land-based and/or ancient empires. If the book has a single ‘weakness,’ that’s probably it — though in order to bolster the sections about land-based and ancient empires, Howe would have had to break the ‘Very Short Intro’ format.

As someone who studied the British Empire in grad school, I was always intrigued by the idea of comparative studies on empires on a grand historical and global scale. However, there is surprisingly little comparative work done on empires out there — doubly surprising when you consider that, in the grand sweep of human history, empires have been much more common and have been around a lot longer (since about 4K years ago) than nation-states. Howe’s Very Short contribution is a good starting point, and provides a lot of food for thought for anyone interested in this topic.

Oh, one last thing — the Further Reading list at the end of the book is excellent.

Review
`excellent. He has a wonderful grasp of the issues … It is essential that such a book puts the modern history of imperialism into perspective, and he does this very well.’ Megan Vaughan, Oxford University

About the Author

Stephen Howe is Tutor in Politics at Ruskin College, Oxford. He is the author of numerous books and articles, and regularly contributes to the New Statesman and Independent.

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Best Place To Get Caribbean Ice – Excerpt from 2010 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award entry Online

March 7th, 2011 by khloe6171605

Caribbean Ice - Excerpt from 2010 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award entry

Best Place To Get Caribbean Ice – Excerpt from 2010 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award entry Online

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What is Caribbean Ice – Excerpt from 2010 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award entry?

In a world of formula mysteries, is there room for something different? Absolutely. Readers have an insatiable appetite for escapist stories that leave everyday life behind, take them to faraway, exciting places, and keep them turning pages. The islands are known for their mysterious Caribbean stew known as Callalo. Heres my recipe for: Caribbean Ice Callaloo Fill: A fictitious tropical archipelago with warm, crystal clear water. Add: Stolen diamonds Smuggling ring with a ruthless kingpin Fast boats A place called Skeleton Island A dead body – murder or accident? An expatriated French diamond cutter and other peculiar island characters Underwater caves Spice with: corrupt police dash of poison Simmer while stirring thoroughly Add: An American architect and his wife on vacation A falsely accused friend needing help Cover and bring to boil Continue raising heat gradually until the lid blows off Serve: Under palm trees in coconut bowls with umbrella drinks and Jimmy Buffett tunes. Matt and Ann Thornton planned a quiet vacation for reconnecting, but find themselves in the second honeymoon from hell when they discover a murder that rocks the peaceful islands and exposes a diamond smuggling operation. Thornton calls on his past covert training and investigative mind to save a friend while desperately trying to keep his wife and himself alive. The dangers drive the couple apart, but when they need each other most, they remember the love and loyalty their marriage is built upon. Using Matts clever mind, resourcefulness, and skills combined with Anns intuition and charms, they confront a near-maniacal villain. The plot twists and turns through high speed boat chases and daring escapes ending in an explosive confrontation on Skeleton Island. Ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances make for great vacation and leisure reading. Caribbean Ice is exactly that.

Details:

  • Published on: 2010-03-23
  • Released on: 2010-03-23
  • Format: Kindle Book

Here’s what Customers Have to Say:

Chilling4
Disturbing images leap from this piece: the thief shoving a diamond up his nostril and, later, the dead body in the ocean.

With an energetic pace and plenty of visual detail, this looks like an exciting story. I particularly like the tension between the vacationing couple who come across the dead diver — it builds interest and provides a space for future changes in their relationship. I’m already wondering how they’re going to be affected by their adventure.

Redundant information sometimes interfered with my enjoyment of this excerpt — I didn’t need to be told, for example, that Bindra “chose to trust” Beggar’s partner, as this was obvious from the action — but I have no doubt mystery fans will love to sink into this globe-trotting, screen-friendly thriller. Well done.

A Real Page-Turner5
Of the excerpts I’ve read so far, this is easily one of my two favorites. The exotic settings, the hint of intrigue, the sense of apprehension, all kept me turning pages. The story is intriguing, I like the author’s writing style, and more than anything, I’m incredibly curious as to how the two separate plots (separated by 20 years), connect. Excellent excerpt. I can’t wait to read the whole book.

This one has the solid feel of a real winner!4
“Caribbean Ice” opens twenty years ago on the west coast of Africa and tells us the story of Malleet Bindra, in fact an employee of a local diamond mining company but, in reality, little more than an indentured slave working for a daily pittance under excruciating difficult conditions. In an exquisitely narrated, exciting action sequence that seasoned veteran mystery and thriller writers would be proud to have created, we witness Bindra make his way to a new life aboard a tramp steamer as he escapes with the ill-gotten gains of his theft of a single twelve carat pink diamond.

The second story (which I’ll comfortably give very high odds on a $100 wager will ultimately mesh with the first) tells us of Matt and Ann Thornton on their second honeymoon, scuba diving off Skeleton Island in the San Pablos Archipelago. The story is developed slowly and lovingly. I would call it a textbook example of descriptive writing, poetic in its beauty, that would take the breath away from any reader who enjoys the out of doors and can appreciate the complexity, the majesty, the wonder and even the danger of the natural world in which we live. We’re left hanging on the edge of that proverbial reading cliff when the excerpt ends with the discovery of a very dead scuba diver inside an underwater cave.

Two different stories and two entirely different writing styles show us that Bill Hirsch has definitely got the right stuff. If he can do the same thing with plot that he’s done in these few pages with description and action, then “Caribbean Ice” will be a winner that I’ll be at the front of the line to purchase.

Paul Weiss

Amazon.com Review
CARIBBEAN ICE, a reference to diamonds, is a tale of two chapters, as unlike, it would seem, as fire and ice. First we go back twenty years to the west coast of Africa where a diamond mine worker dares to smuggle a diamond out by jamming it deep into his nostril and clearing the alarms at the exit successively. Like Keno in John Steinbeck’s THE PEARL, he becomes a target for thieves after trading it for money, but a benefactor promises to help him. From here the author cuts forward to the present, where an American husband and wife scuba dive into an underwater cave. There they find lots of lively sea creatures and one very dead human, dressed like them as a diver, only dangling in the space that is water trapped by cave walls. Together, the odd pair build intrigue. What’s more, the author shows an able hand at drawing a setting, giving the piece a strong pair of strengths in plot and description.

Amazon.com Review
This was an interesting and intriguing excerpt, well-written with good implied action. The author is a good story teller and his/her descriptions of the mines of South Africa and scuba diving were compelling.

–t1at

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Fastest Shipping Black, Brown, Yellow, and Left: Radical Activism in Los Angeles

March 7th, 2011 by khloe6171605

Black, Brown, Yellow, and Left: Radical Activism in Los Angeles

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Black, Brown, Yellow, and Left: Radical Activism in Los Angeles Description:

Laura Pulido traces the roots of third world radicalism in Southern California during the 1960s and 1970s in this accessible, wonderfully illustrated comparative study. Focusing on the Black Panther Party, El Centro de Acción Social y Autonomo (CASA), and East Wind, a Japanese American collective, she explores how these African American, Chicana/o, and Japanese American groups sought to realize their ideas about race and class, gender relations, and multiracial alliances. Based on thorough research as well as extensive interviews, Black, Brown, Yellow, and Left explores the differences and similarities between these organizations, the strengths and weaknesses of the third world left as a whole, and the ways that differential racialization led to distinct forms of radical politics. Pulido provides a masterly, nuanced analysis of complex political events, organizations, and experiences. She gives special prominence to multiracial activism and includes an engaging account of where the activists are today, together with a consideration of the implications for contemporary social justice organizing.

  • Amazon Sales Rank: #207441 in eBooks
  • Published on: 2006-01-16
  • Released on: 2006-01-16
  • Format: Kindle Book
  • Number of items: 1

Customer Reviews:

Don’t Study Los Angeles Without It5
While there are many books that purport to explain Los Angeles to their audiences, there are very few that succeed in balancing complex analytical work with solid, on-the-ground oral history from the region during this important period. Black, Brown, Yellow, and Left is one such book.

For those who live in Los Angeles, it is no secret that race plays an important, yet complex and often contradictory role in shaping the city. It is clear that Pulido has taken pains not only to keep this truth squarely in front of her throughout the book’s well-crafted narration, but to do so without much of the hip jargon, opaque theorizing, and self-indulgent navel-gazing that typifies so much academic work in the social sciences and humanities these days. Pulido is the kind of careful and quietly brilliant scholar that seems in such short supply these days: one who has not forgotten that scholarly writing should strive, at once, for clarity and rigor.

Neither too erudite in its analysis or too simlistic in its formulations and explanations, Laura Pulido has written a book with something for virtually everyone. Whether it be urban or labor history, ethnic or american studies, leftist politics or gender studies, Black, Brown, Yellow, and Left is that rare book that has the potential to become a classic in several fields.

If you’re looking for a book that will either simply valorize or condemn the 1960s radical left, then you will be better off seeking out one of the many self-absorbed polemicists that emerged from that period. But if it is meticulous scholarship and balanced assessment you are looking for, then look no further. It’s time to make some room on your bookshelf next to Carey McWilliams, Reyner Banham, Kevin Starr, and Mike Davis.

From the Inside Flap
“Black, Brown, Yellow, and Left is unique. No other work deals in such detail with the complex relationships between racial nationalism and the radical left during the 1960’s. A powerful and resonant achievement. Highly recommended!”–Howard Winant, author of The World is a Ghetto: Race and Democracy Since World War II

“Laura Pulido has written an invaluable study of the development of the multiracial Third World Left in southern California. She engages black, brown, and yellow radical activisms together, demonstrating how each vision differed but contributed to a movement that was ultimately more than the sum of its parts. Pulido’s powerful excavation of the Third World Left’s historical past provides reasons to hope for a more just, antiracist left future.”–Lisa Lowe, author of Immigrant Acts: On Asian American Cultural Politics

” We so greatly needed this panorama of information and analysis. Finally we have an author putting the pieces together with commitment, enthusiasm and a view to the future.”–Elizabeth (Betita) Martínez, activist and author of 500 Years of Chicano History/500 Años del Pueblo Chicano

About the Author
Laura Pulido is Associate Professor in the Department of Geography and Program in American Studies and Ethnicity at the University of Southern California. She is the author of Environmentalism and Economic Justice: Two Chicano Struggles in the Southwest (1996).

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The Magic Behind the Voices: A WhoÂ’s Who of Cartoon Voice Actors Lowest Price

March 6th, 2011 by khloe6171605

The Magic Behind the Voices: A WhoÂ’s Who of Cartoon Voice Actors. The Magic Behind the Voices: A WhoÂ’s Who of Cartoon Voice Actors

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Voice-Actor Guide Book5
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book from cover to cover!!! I give the book 5 stars BUT they did leave out MANY voice-actors who i felt held higher precedence over others. There is the inclusion of several one show or one character voice actors in here, like Chris Sarandon and Wally Cox in favor of several legends that aren’t discussed. Some of the legends missing are Stan Freberg; Hal Smith; John Stephenson; Howard Morris; and Henry Corden. However, the book is still 5 star material because the subject matter is rarely spoken about in many publications and since this book is a 2004 copyright, it’s fairly recent. I was earlier complaining about some of the legends being left out which is a shame…BUT there ARE many other legends included in this book, too. There are also write-up’s on current voice actors who have tons of credits under their belt already. The voice actors of whom i enjoyed reading about the MOST were my favorites to begin with: Mel Blanc; Daws Butler; Don Messick; Paul Frees; Paul Winchell; and June Foray. Bill Scott is spoken about in here…which is a rare treat. He is typically thought of as a cartoon writer and director instead of a voice actor BUT he gave voice to many characters on the Jay Ward cartoons with “Bullwinkle” and “Dudley Dorite” being his Top-2 popular roles. I learned a lot about Jackson Beck and Nancy Cartwright and i learned some things about Jack Mercer, Charles Adler, Dayton Allen, and several others. The bottom line is, the voice actor rarely gets time in the spotlight and THIS book and others like this go a long way in spotlighting cartoon voice actors. The book gets 5 stars on subject matter and 4 stars on it’s not including several key voice actors who made the field into an art form.

This is a great book and a great asset for my own book about TTV5
I sought out this book for its coverage of many voice artists that are now deceased particularly Norma MacMillan and Jackson Beck. This was a very helpful reference for my book about TTV called Created and Produced by Total TeleVision Productions. It was also a good read about other known and unknown vocal talents. Highly recommended!

Definitive history of the Cartoon voice5
This is the encyclopedia of cartoon voice. Details beyond details. Not only does this tell the story of the voices behind the cartoons, but also the obsession of the author (from Central Illinois of all places) to track all of this information down over a number of years and put together a one book history of some of the best loved character voices from our cartoon memories.

“The Magic Behind the Voices” is a fascinating package of biographies, anecdotes, credit listings, and photographs of the actors who have created the unmistakable voices for some of the most popular and enduring animated characters of all time.

Drawn from dozens of personal interviews, the book features a unique look at thirty-nine of the hidden artists of show business. Often as amusing as the characters they portray, voice actors are charming, resilient people — many from humble beginnings — who have led colorful lives in pursuit of success. “Beavis and Butthead” and “King of the Hill”’s Mike Judge was an engineer for a weapons contractor turned self-taught animator and voice actor. Nancy Cartwright (the voice of Bart Simpson) was a small town Ohio girl who became the star protégé of Daws Butler — most famous for Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound, and Quick Draw McGraw. Mickey Mouse (Wayne Allwine) and Minnie Mouse (Russi Taylor) are a real-life husband-and-wife team. Spanning many studios and production companies, this book captures the spirit of fun that bubbles from those who create the voices of favorite animated characters.

In the earliest days of cartoons, voice actors were seldom credited for their work. A little more than a decade ago, even the Screen Actors Guild did not consider voice actors to be real actors, and the only voice actor known to the general public was Mel Blanc. Now, Oscar-winning celebrities clamor to guest star on animated television shows and features.

Despite the crushing turnouts at signings for shows such as “Animaniacs”, “The Simpsons”, and “SpongeBob Squarepants”, most voice actors continue to work in relative anonymity. “The Magic Behind the Voices” features personal interviews and concise biographical details, parting the curtain to reveal creators of many of the most beloved cartoon voices.

More Details Before You Buy

  • Amazon Sales Rank: #222471 in eBooks
  • Published on: 2004-11-30
  • Released on: 2004-11-30
  • Format: Kindle Book
  • Number of items: 1

–t3at

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Best Place To Get How To Stop Bedwetting At Any Age Online

March 6th, 2011 by khloe6171605

How To Stop Bedwetting At Any Age

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What is How To Stop Bedwetting At Any Age?

Do your kids still struggle with bedwetting…the ruined sheets…constant laundry…and the embarrassing social effects?

Do you know someone that seems too old to be wetting the bed…but can’t seem to overcome it? Then you’ve found the right book!

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Knowledge is power, and in this case it’s comfort as well. Whether it’s one of your children, teenagers, or even yourself, knowing that you’re not alone can bring you peace. Not to mention that there’s something you can do about it.

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This is a complete guide to wetting the bed from knowing about the symptoms and causes to its solutions:
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Don’t let bedwetting control your life anymore. Help your child, an elderly, or yourself, overcome this embarrassing issue once and for all.

Details:

  • Amazon Sales Rank: #112285 in eBooks
  • Published on: 2010-03-12
  • Format: Kindle Book

Here’s what Customers Have to Say:

–t1at

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Get Treasure Island mobi Online Cheap

March 5th, 2011 by khloe6171605

Treasure Island mobi

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What is Treasure Island mobi?

Treasure Island is an adventure novel by author Robert Louis Stevenson, narrating a tale of “buccaneers and buried gold”. First published as a book in 1883, it was originally serialised in the children’s magazine Young Folks between 1881-82 under the title The Sea Cook, or Treasure Island.

Traditionally considered a coming of age story, it is one of the most frequently dramatised of all novels. The influence of Treasure Island on popular perception of pirates is vast, including treasure maps with an ‘X’, schooners, the Black Spot, tropical islands, and one-legged seamen with parrots on their shoulders.

- Excerpted from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

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Details:

  • Amazon Sales Rank: #14859 in eBooks
  • Published on: 2008-05-12
  • Released on: 2008-05-12
  • Format: Kindle Book
  • Number of items: 1

Here’s what Customers Have to Say:

classic pirate’s tale5
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

Robert Louis Stevenson created a rich story of suspense and adventure. A very easily read, fast-moving and enjoyable book. Highly recommended.

–t1at

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Twitter API: Up and Running-Retail —-! Sale Only Price Too Low To Display!!

March 4th, 2011 by khloe6171605

Twitter API: Up and Running. Twitter API: Up and Running

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This groundbreaking book provides you with the skills and resources necessary to build web applications for Twitter. Perfect for new and casual programmers intrigued by the world of microblogging, Twitter API: Up and Running carefully explains how each part of Twitter’s API works, with detailed examples that show you how to assemble those building blocks into practical and fun web applications. You’ll also get a complete look at Twitter culture and learn how it has inspired programmers to build hundreds of tools and applications. With this book, you will:

  • Explore every component of a Twitter application and learn how the API responds
  • Get the PHP and MySQL code necessary to build your own applications, with explanations of how these ingredients work
  • Learn from real-world Twitter applications created just for this book
  • Discover the most interesting and useful Twitter programs–and get ideas for creating your own–with the book’s Twitter application directory.

Twitter offers a new way to connect with people on the Internet, and Twitter API: Up and Running takes you right to the heart of this technology.

“Twitter API: Up and Running is a friendly, accessible introduction to the Twitter API. Even beginning web developers can have a working Twitter project before they know it. Sit down with this for a weekend and you’re on your way to Twitter API mastery.”
–Alex Payne, Twitter API Lead

“Twitter API: Up and Running is a very comprehensive and useful resource–any developer will feel the urge to code a Twitter-related application right after finishing the book!”
–The Lollicode team, creators of Twitscoop

  • Amazon Sales Rank: #11545 in eBooks
  • Published on: 2009-03-17
  • Released on: 2009-03-17
  • Format: Kindle Book
  • Number of items: 1

Good, but could be better3
This book provides a nice overview of the Twitter API with a few examples, but the organization of the book could make learning a little more engaging. There is a lot of up-front description of the disparate features, with no working examples presented until the latter chapters of the book.

I’m also not sure if the author had a clear idea of the intended audience. It seems odd that there are things like detailed walkthroughs of how to set up a Twitter account, but no thorough discussion of data parsing.

An excellent book on working with the Twitter API5
Twitter is a free social networking and micro-blogging service where users send and receive very small text-based posts. The short length of these messages and the simplicity of the service causes the message traffic to be labeled descriptively as tweets. However, even a very simple messaging service requires programming these days, and that is where this very accessible book comes in.

This book is an introduction to build web applications via the Twitter API. This book has three main parts: an overview of the Twitter social issues; background information on the languages and environment you need to create your applications; and finally code for sample applications that will get you started. Anyone familiar with computer programming and web applications should be able to just read the PHP scripts used to create the sample applications and understand how the underlying syntax works.

The reader needs a basic understanding of how applications are built and hosted on the Web. However, strangely enough, you don’t need to be a professional programmer. The XHTML, CSS, PHP, and MySQL code necessary for building the example applications will be provided and explained.

Chapter 1, “Hello Twitter”, is not your usual intro chapter on a basic Hello Twitter program. Instead it is a chapter on the culture and social aspects of Twitter. Anyone can pick up this chapter and understand what Twitter is and where it is coming from in a social and historical context.

Chapter 2, “Twitter Applications”, reviews third-party Twitter apps. The purpose, however, is not to present you with a directory of the world’s best Twitter applications. Instead, the purpose of this list is to show you some of the things that can be done with a web application using the Twitter API. These applications may provide some inspiration for your own projects.

Chapter 3, “Web Programming Basics”, provides an overview of the basic knowledge and tools needed to create the applications described later in the book. Although the Twitter API can be used to create desktop and mobile applications as well, this book focuses on the web platform built with PHP and MySQL.

Chapter 4, “Meet the Twitter API”, introduces you to the building blocks for your future application – the ways that you can send commands in Twitter. This chapter describes these specific request methods available through the Twitter API. Each section, presents one of the 40 existing API methods and explain what is needed to get data from Twitter using that method. These 40 methods are grouped into seven categories: Publishing, Information Stream, Follow Network, Communication, Member Account, API Administration, and Search.

Chapter 5, “Meet the Output”, takes a close look at the information Twitter sends to you in response to your requests for data. It goes hand in hand with the previous chapter on commands.

Chapter 6, “Application Setup”, shows what you might find under the hood of those Twitter applications mentioned in chapter two by having you build one of your own. In this chapter, you prepare your web environment to run a suite of sample web applications built to illustrate different interactions with the API. The setup includes establishing a Twitter account, creating tables in a MySQL database, and making a directory for included files. Chapters 7 and 8 contain descriptions of the applications and automated tasks

Chapter 7, “Sample Applications”, is where you examine the sample web applications that can serve as a base for your own projects. There are seven of them that all illustrate a different aspect of the use of the Twitter API. Detailed code is included.

Chapter 8, “Automated Tasks”, examines the code that performs the behind-the-scenes operations that give the tools their functionality. As in the previous chapter, the descriptions of the code in this chapter build on each other. The first application will be discussed in more detail than the later ones because they share a lot of code structure and logic.

The appendix provides a basic look at the Twitter API, listing the method path, whether it requires authentication, if it is charged against your rate limit, the HTTP method type, and any required and optional parameters.

This first book (as far as I know) on the Twitter API is a very good one, and highly recommended for those of you who are interested in writing your own applications.

Interesting Hodgepodge4
The author did a pretty good job of explaining the Twitter API, some basic Web programming techniques (PHP, CSS), a whirlwind tour of current and past Twitter-related websites and some more or less useful sample applications.

However, the editor at O’Reilly should have talked the author into whipping the book into better shape before publishing it. First, in a book that has more than 400 pages on a pretty simple API, one would at least expect a section that explains how Twitter actually works. A sample flow of messages, responses, direct messages with illustrating screen shots. A bit of history maybe? Was Twitter like that from the beginning? What changed? When? Also, the publisher should have looked at the index and said: “Dude, this is okay for an auto-generated index, but if you want people to actually use the book to find something, put some more effort into it”. Again, not the authors fault, that’s the editor’s responsibility.

I’m giving 4 stars because the author’s writing is solid, but, man, a big minus point for O’Reilly to let this slip into the open without stricter review.

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Get Crazy Bosses Online Cheap

March 4th, 2011 by khloe6171605

Crazy Bosses. Crazy Bosses

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Since the latter part of the century just past, Stanley Bing has been exploring the relationship between authority and madness. In one bestselling book after another, reporting from his hot-seat as an insider in a world-renowned multinational corporation, he has tried to understand the inner workings of those who lead us and to inquire why they seem to be powered, much of the time, by demons that make them obnoxious and dangerous, even to themselves.

In What Would Machiavelli Do?, Bing looked at the issue of why mean people do better than nice people, and found that in their particular form of insanity lay incredible power. In Throwing the Elephant: Zen and the Art of Managing Up, he offered a spiritual path toward managing the unruly executive beast. And in Sun Tzu Was a Sissy, he taught us how to become one of them, and wage war on the playing field that ends in a dream home in Cabo. Now he returns to his roots to offer the last word on the entity that shapes our lives and stomps through—and on—our dreams: The Crazy Boss.

Students of Bing—and there are many, secreted inside tortured organizations, yearning for blunt instruments with which to fight—will note that he has walked this ground before, looking for answers. In 1992, he published the first edition of Crazy Bosses, which was fine, as far as it went. Now, some 15 years and several dozen insane bosses later, he has updated and rethought much of the work. Back in the last century, Bing was a small, trembling creature, looking up at those who made his life miserable and analyzing the mental illness that gave them their power. Today, while still trembling much of the time, he is in fact one of those people his prior work has warned us against. His own hard-won wisdom and now institutionalized dementia make this new edition completely fresh and indispensable to anyone who works for somebody else or lives with somebody else, or would like to.

In short, Bing is back on his home turf in this funny, true, and essential book, peering with his keen and frosty eye at the crazy boss in all his guises: the Bully, the Paranoid, the Narcissist, the Wimp, and the self-destructive Disaster Hunter. If you loved the original, classic Crazy Bosses, you’ll be thrilled to plunge back into the new, refurbished pool. If you are new to the book, strap yourself in: it’s going to be a crazy ride.

  • Amazon Sales Rank: #46611 in eBooks
  • Published on: 2007-05-08
  • Released on: 2007-05-08
  • Format: Kindle Book
  • Number of items: 1

I’ve had my share…5
….of Crazy Bosses! Not only did I have them, I’m sure I was one, too – there’s nothing like a corporate environment to bring out interesting tendencies in anyone. When I received an anonymous e-mail at work, with excerpts from this book, I had to have it!

Easy to read, written with wit and actual substance, this book (predecessor to the very popular “Who Moved My Cheese?” and “When Smart People Work for Dumb Bosses”) helped get me through some difficult times.

If you can’t just stop working to do something you really enjoy — and not many can, aside from Dilbert’s Scott Adams and me — this book is like an emotional teddy bear with teeth. He defines different “Crazy Bosses” by behavior (most of us are a mix), reasons why they may be that way, and practical ways to work with them, because most of aren’t likely to get away from them, even if we change corporations and bosses.

The truth most of us don’t want to know is that the insanity of the business world is ours to deal with, not management’s to fix. There is no one coming to the rescue – and we each play our own part to the madness, by our own responses. This book is a good aid with suggestions on what to do and what NOT to do, to survive.

We have to rely on our own emotional and physical health, friends, a sense of humor and a sense of our own self-worth (aside from work) so we won’t feel like a victim.

The book I found the most helpful throughout my corporate life – and it was great in my real life, too – was M. Scott Peck’s “The Road Less Traveled.” “Life is difficult,” and once we figure that out, we can get on with living! If you are feeling like a victim, read these books and start a discussion with a friend or two!

Good luck – and rest assured that there *is* life after work!

A superb graduate class in business4
Find this book, read it, keep it tucked under your pillow. It is full of wit, humor, insight . . . and more than a dash of morbid truth. Well-written, it is the kind of book that management professors should have as required reading. This is one of two books that every serious student of business should have in his or her library; the other is “You Can Win at Office Politics,” by Dr. Robert Bell. Somehow they are both first-rate writing and first-rate philosophy. Don’t say you weren’t warned!

You Know, You Hate, You Are Them…Now Read About Them3
Seemingly written as post-game analysis following an 80s decade of mega mergers, business bungles and greed approval at every level, Stanley Bing’s 1992 “Crazy Bosses” was and remains an instructive, if flabbily written and weakly humorous survival guide to dealing with authority’s abuse in all forms.

Esquire columnist Bing wears his liberal business and political opinions on his sleeve. References to Nixon, the Reagans, and to candidate Gary Hart abound (the book also features an odd Oliver North analogy). He also name-checks notorious 80s figures like Michael Milken, Ivan Boesky, Jim Bakker, and even Lou Holtz. While some of Bing’s many anonymous testimonials shock and surprise (especially one on an alcoholic boss with a surprise happy ending representing his best writing here) many seem like workplace whining from people you also would not wish to work with, let alone for.

Bing properly blames psychotic boss behavior and its effects (obsessive perfectionism, unfair preferences, inconsistent policies) on need for short-term profits, demand to create and chart corporate culture, sycophants who feed need and ego of the powerful (making converts along the way), which in turn exert it over those beneath by stealing time, thought, and morale. Bing delves into these areas with some humor but often unneeded commentaries after quotes that speak well on their own. Yet his comments on workaholism, which in his chapter “Diaster Hunter” he groups with alcoholism, drug abuse, and sexual harrassment, properly expose that trait for the character and family-breaking flaw it is.

Although Bing’s recent “What Would Machiavelli Do?” seems to cover similar subject matter with more pointed humor, “Crazy Bosses,” with a 90s rewrite, could remain a useful reference to those needing instruction and reinforcement in the workplace. No employee, whether working for Ebeneezer Scrooge or Al Dunlap, is ever their job. Bing’s book reminds its readers of this fact, and is recommended reading where you find it.

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