Reviews (2)

Fine for beginning foodies but not for educational purposes
While comprehensive, this is too broad, too general and very stereotypical.Each 'cultural' group represented in the United States has the same diet as their fellows, it seems.It can also be very bland:since coming to the U.S., X group's consumption of 'junk' food, milk, and such, has increased.
A Remarkable Achievement
Cultural Foods: Traditions and Trends, by Pamela Goyan Kittler and Kathryn P. Sucher, Wadsworth/Thompson Learning, Belmont, California, is a remarkable achievement. The authors, both nutritionists with a gallopinginterest in culture, have examined the manyethnicgroups and cuisine traditions which comprise "what Americans eat." I was pleased to find that Native Americans, usually leftout of such surveys,were included, along withUgandans, Yemenese, Armenians, Basques and many, many others. Though initially written with food service professionals inmind,this is a book any foodie would devour. Itstarts with the food customs ofindividualcountries and then looks at how arriving immigrants have adapted their usual ways of preparing foods to American ingredientsand customs. Theauthors examine regional Americanfoodways and typical specialties andprovide anethnic foods glossary, a lengthy bibliography and a dense index which allows the reader to dip in and out of the book withease. Even the margins are peppered with food lore tidbits. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Cookery, International    2. Cooking    3. Cross-cultural studies    4. Customs & Traditions    5. Ethnic Issues    6. Ethnic Studies - General    7. Food habits    8. History    9. International And Ethnic Cookery    10. Methods - Professional    11. Quantity Food Production And Service    12. Regional & Ethnic - General    13. Cultural studies    14. Customs    15. Food & Drink / Cookery    16. Medical / Nursing / Nutrition   

Reviews (3)

From theory to practice
Understandable, practical book on how societal culture influence human behaviour and how this knowledge can be (and already is) applicated in various cross-cultural training programmes. The author combines the theory with examples from every-day life, so that the book can be understood by non-academic population.

Brislin makes it easy
Understanding Culture's Influence (2nd edition) has been my "foundation" book for a college course entitled Diversity In the Workplace. Excelent! Academic but Readable. Suitable as textbook.
Of the many good books on the subject of intercultural communication and psychology, this hits a good balance of readability and academic soundness.Lots of good illustrations.Great text for college interculturalcommunication courses. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Customs & Traditions    2. General    3. Movements - Behaviorism    4. Psychology    5. Social Science    6. Sociology    7. Behavioural theory (Behaviourism)    8. Cultural studies    9. Psychology & Psychiatry / General    10. Social, group or collective psychology   

Reviews (4)

You think Americans drink a lot now? Just wait...
The United States has long had a reputation for heavy drinking. Guzzling to the point of intoxication still reigns as a favorite pasttime for high school and college students, and even for some adults. Banning liquor on college campuses can lead to riots (a lesson learned the hard way even recently), and some people will jump through any impossible hoop to ensure their portion of the communal keg. Though alcohol still creates problems for the current generation, what were the attitudes of Americans towards it historically? Has drunkedness always been an issue in America? Not much literature existed on the subject in the 1970s, which the author noticed while researching nineteenth century temperance pamphlets. He then found that drinking weaves a deep and unpredictable path through United States history. But he found some unexpected things along the way. These findings led him to write "The Alcoholic Republic".
Interesting Study on American Alcoholic Consumption
William Rorabaugh, an associate professor of History at the University of Washington, provides a very interesting study of alcoholic consumption in the United States from the 18th century through the mid 1800s.He looks at the issue from the supply side (expense and technology in the production of distilled beverages and the import of rum) and the demand side.There is some eye-opening information in this work.The annual per capita consumption of alcohol between 1800-1830 exceeded 5 gallons; nearly triple today's consumption (p. 8).The demand for alcohol (particularly whiskey) stemmed from such things as alleged medical and dietary benefits, social camaraderie, a way to cope with a rapidly changing society, and such particle reasons as the lack of alternatives (water and milk was unhealthy and other substitutes were comparatively expensive) and strong beverages were needed to overcome the bland, monotonous American diet.Rorabaugh also devotes much of this study to the medical and moral critics of alcohol, including temperance societies.One doctor in the 1740s favored moderation: "not more than one bottle of wine each evening" (p. 32). I believe there is a lot of over-generalization in this study, especially when disillusionment over the voting system and the burden of living up to the ideals of the independent man are used as reasons for drinking (although drinking probably came before such feelings).Still, the book is extremely well-researched, with source notes at the end and several appendixes on estimating consumption of alcohol, cross-national comparisons of consumption, and cook books.The text, excluding the appendixes, is 222 pages and includes illustrations.

The Drunkenness of the American Tradition
If you enjoy reading history, pull up a chair and pour down the whisky because you are going to read "The Alcoholic Republic."It is on the drinking patterns in the United States and the reading is simply interesting as well fascinating.You thought drinking was terrible these days lets go back to the great alcoholic binge of the nineteenth century.Read more

Subjects:  1. Alcoholism    2. Customs & Traditions    3. History    4. History - General History    5. History - U.S.    6. Infectious Diseases    7. Medical    8. Social conditions    9. To 1865    10. United States    11. United States - 19th Century    12. United States - Colonial Period    13. History / United States / 19th Century    14. History, American | Early National   

Reviews (13)

Bitter Sweet
Mintz provides a fascinating history of sugar, placing it in context within the transatlantic world. Sugar acquired ever increasing importance as the means for its production improved, its availability spread and its price decreased. Underpinning the success of sugar was the tragedy of slavery. Not only did slaves serve the sugar plantations and mills, but Mintz makes a compelling case for sugar's being the single key force behind the firm establishment of black slavery in the western hemisphere.
Political Economy Canon; A Classic That Remade Anthropology and Cultural Studies
Sidney W. Mintz's Sweetness and Power situates economic analysis in consumption rather than production. The author believes that a producer's labor and exploitation is not enough to understand the exploitation of production. One must unpack the mythos of demand. Central to this is the idea that rational choice leads liberal individuals to consume products because it is in their best interest. Mintz correctly implies that in the historiography of western consumers and colonial producers, this liberal individual is almost always white, male, and couched in the trappings of "civilization." He criticizes prevailing practices in social anthropology that approach colonized peoples as pristine and discrete, a tendency that also has troubling sway over what he terms "anthropology of modern life." He sees the anthropology rooted in his study of a basic commodity-sugar-as a positive contestation of the bounded primitive as a mode of inquiry and one that connects rather than marginalizes its subjects.
How has sugar moved you
Mintz carefully placesimplications that sugar has caused human nature and culture to change and the end of his work, after a brief overview of all that we have been doing with sugar or rather sugar has been doing with us for the past 1000 years.Mintz�s work is divided into 5 sections: Food, Sociality and Sugar; Production; Consumption; Power; and finally Eating and Being. Mintz really hopes to build a base of facts to reveal to us how we as a people have identified with and sought to consume sugar over the past 1000 years and how that has affected us.Read more

Subjects:  1. History    2. History - General History    3. History: American    4. Modern - General    5. Social History    6. Social aspects    7. Sugar    8. Sugar trade    9. United States - General    10. Customs    11. History / Modern / General    12. History of ideas, intellectual history    13. USA   

Reviews (1)

Realy usefull
Real good analysis of event market. A lot of good ideas. A god seeing of what need to be done to catch new customers.
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Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Customs & Traditions    5. Industries - Hospitality, Travel & Tourism    6. Marketing    7. Non-Profit Organizations Management    8. Planning    9. Special events    10. Special events industry    11. Business & Economics / Hospitality, Travel & Tourism    12. Business & Management   

Subjects:  1. Anthropology - Cultural    2. Archaeology / Anthropology    3. Modern - 19th Century    4. Movements - Humanism    5. Philosophy    6. Social Science / Customs & Traditions   

Reviews (4)

A book to be savored
Malidoma Patrice Som�, author of Of Water and the Spirit, describes a broad spectrum of ways in which rituals can be helpful. His perspective is that of a shaman trained in the West African Dagara cultural tradition, now living and teaching in the US. He eloquently shares his experiences of powerful shamanic healing practices.
Profoundity of experience coupled with very skillful writing
This man has considerably more skill both as a thinker and as a writer than the average philosopher, or anthropologist, or even 'New Age prophet'. He really lays everything bare, like it or not, about the advantages of living in a subsistence community (as against our modern society). And further, he explains how the rituals work which those folks use to maintain links with the spirits of their ancestors, as well as with the earth and with each other. Healing and Community - the power of loyalty and bonding
I cannot stop reading Malidoma Patrice Some's accounts of his life and the lives of the Dagara people of Burkina Faso. The strong linkages between community, spirit, rituals, and individual growth are compelling and very engrossing. I first read "The Healing Wisdom of Africa: Finding Life Purpose Through Nature, Ritual, and Community," with awe and a realization of the connections that my own people lost when my ancestors were transported from this part of the world by slave traders.Read more

Subjects:  1. Customs & Traditions    2. Literature: Folklore/Mythology    3. Sociology    4. Body, Mind & Spirit / Mental & Spiritual Healing   

Reviews (10)

A gathering of winter traditions from many sources
Most people who celebrate Christmas know that numerous elements of our modern traditions come from older religions than Christianity, but the range of source traditions astounds me. There is, for instance, no one source of the practice of observing the winter solstice itself, of myths involving the death or sacrifice and rebirth of a deity, or of father and son symbols for the old year and the new. Many sources are cited in the book as possible origins of Santa Claus, of the giving of gifts, and the custom of bringing greenery indoors.
Tradition and ritual without faith
I've always loved Christmas.But a few years ago I deconverted from faith; I found myself, as an atheist and humanist, longing for a connection to the holiday I loved.This book helped me forge a new perspective on, and a new connection with, Christmas as a worldly and human celebration.
getting into the spirit
a fascinating and stimulating account that seems to put things into the proper perspective. Makes the myths all the more enjoyable. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Christmas    2. Customs & Traditions    3. Folklore & Mythology    4. History    5. Holidays (non religious)    6. Holidays - Christmas    7. Inspirational    8. Inspirational - General    9. Religion    10. Winter solstice    11. Body, Mind & Spirit / Spiritualism   

Reviews (6)

Care for the Dead...and Their Hard-Earned Savings!
In "Caring for the Dead," Lisa Carlson provides both an informative guide to DIY funerals and cremations, as well as a searing expos� of the funeral and cemetery industries.
Read it before you die!
This book is a must-read before you pre-buy your funeral and accoutrements. Caught planning someone else's funeral? Take time to read this book. This book has a load of legal information and practical advice to keep you from being scammed by those who are pros and have a ready audience in grieving people. Gets 10 Stars from Me
This is the update version of her original Caring For Your Own Dead and what I said about that book applies here. Lost count of the number of copies of this book I have bought, but I love giving it as a gift, and have used it myself actually when helping friends build plain pine burial boxes and oak burial boxes for loved ones.Read more

Subjects:  1. Burial laws    2. Death    3. Death & Dying    4. Death, Grief, Bereavement    5. Family & Relationships    6. Family / Parenting / Childbirth    7. Family/Marriage    8. Funeral rites and ceremonies    9. Handbooks, manuals, etc    10. States    11. United States    12. Recovery   

Reviews (24)

Unconvincing with a selective view of the research
Harris made a strong case for the beneficial role of the Hindu religion's belief that cows are sacred. The reason is because male draft animals are needed to plow the fields for next year's harvest, and cows are needed to breed the draft animals. Succumbing to temptation during a famine and killing your cow is like killing the goose that lays the golden egg.
one of the best academic books I've read
This book is pure gold. It eloquently explains the origins of culture by tying culture to the function it has for groups. It is absolutelty brilliant and accessible to the educated reader. I have recommended this book to all serious students of society. I'm a sociology professor and I have found it invaluable to my understanding of society and culture. If you're serious about understanding society and culture, you really must read this book. It's captivating and interesting, too -- hard to put down and entertaining.

Impressive accomplishment
This book succeeds where so many other books have failed - Harris has written a scholarly book that's fun to read. What's really surprising is how little controversy this book has provoked so far.
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Subjects:  1. Anthropology - Cultural    2. Archaeology / Anthropology    3. Customs & Traditions    4. Ethnology    5. Miscellanea    6. Sociology    7. Witchcraft    8. Cultural studies    9. Social Science / Anthropology / Cultural   

Reviews (13)

As good as dead . . .
This is the angriest book I've read about women in Islamic countries since Geraldine Brooks' "Nine Parts of Desire." Author Ann Jones, who has written before of violence against women, finds no reason to applaud the so-called liberation of women in post-Taliban Afghanistan, where traditional ultraconservative attitudes toward women (which she points out have no basis in Islam itself) continue to prevail. Considered property to be bought and sold, they have lives that often lead to child marriages, domestic violence, prison, murder, and suicide. A woman at odds with either her husband's or her father's family, the author argues, is as good as dead. She often holds accountable the often glamorized mujahadin, who fought the Soviets for a decade with arms from the West and then, after driving them out, went on to destroy much of what was left of the country with a long civil war.
Unravelling the Afghan Victory...
Okay, we never found the monster Osama Bin Laden, but look at what we did accomplish. We whupped the Taliban, chased down Al Qaeda, and broughtTruth, Justice and The American Way to the humble and grateful Afghanis.Oh, and we liberated the women folk too, while we were at it.People Magazine ran stories about women with nothing but one rat-tailed comb and a lot of grit opening up beauty salons. Men were free to fly kites, and everyone could listen to music and enjoy the harmless pastimes forbidden by their cruel opressors. With the U.S. running things, women could toss aside the burkhas and veils. Everyone was going to be free, equal and happy.After the pain and anger of the September 11th tragedy, we were back. Mission accomplished.So why is this Ann Jones stirring up trouble, looking around and telling us different. Why is she interviewing Afghani men and women? We already know they're better off now.Ms. Jones takes a deep look at what the overthrow of the Taliban means to the average Afghani, nd to the women in particular. What she sees is disquieting and discomfiting because it takes us beyond the spin.Her first-hand descriptions and conversations with Afghani women and men reveal not Kabul a la Disney, but one more Potemkin village.The rosy pictures of happy independent women heading to shops, offices or university classrooms are as phony as the doctored Iraqi photos of crowds straining to tear down Saddam's statue. "Men are first," is one of the first words we hear from an Afghani woman in the book's early pages. "Kabul in Winter" indicates that not much has changed except for the tune played in the American press. The destruction and the fighting continue...but now, America isn't paying much attention. After all, we already won. Who needs to hear about the Taliban regrouping? Or that women are slapped around by their husbands, their voices are suppressed, their actions monitored, just like in the bad old Taliban days. For those who want a dose of reality, Jones delivers. For those who want feel good infotainment, there's always Fox News and the talking heads who never get nearer to Afghanistan than a Pentagon press release.

Hard times in Afghanistan for women , educators and local citizens
This is an excellent book regarding the problems of the Afghan culture in regard to treatment and feelings about women and the conditions under which the educators must work.Ann Jones shows in detail some of the serious threats that the average Afghan deals with on a daily basis.The culture is imbedded with religious attitudes and will be a very, very long time changing or advancing.Democracy...a theory they dont understand as they have no frame of reference to compare with what they have now and in the past. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Afghanistan    2. Anthropology - Cultural    3. Archaeology / Anthropology    4. Asia - Central    5. Asia - Central Asia    6. Customs & Traditions    7. Description And Travel    8. History    9. History: World    10. Islamic Studies    11. Kabul (Afghanistan)    12. Social life and customs   

Reviews (12)

Informative
I am really interested in starting a consulting business and this book is sooo revealing about the ins and outs of this business. I would recommend this book to anyone thinking of going into this field.Davette Chatman

Everything I needed to know.
The title says that it is a "Step-By-Step Guide" and this is truly accurate.It gives, in detail, everything I needed to know about starting up a wedding consulting business.My daughter,daughter-in-law and I, have helped friends and family with their weddings for several years and thought we knew it all. Wrong!There are so many aspects of helping someone with all their wedding plans and we have done a lot.But when it comes to doing this for a living, it's another story.This book is very detailed without being overwhelming.We now know exactly what to do and how to achieve success with this business.I would recommend this book to anyone thinking about starting a wedding consulting business.

Start Your Own Wedding Consultant Business Book
This book was overall a good book if you're looking for good business sense. It really doesn't do the job on helping you get started with the actal planning business, just business. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Careers - General    5. Consulting firms    6. Entrepreneurship    7. Management    8. Marketing - General    9. New business enterprises    10. Wedding supplies and services    11. Wedding supplies and services industry    12. Business & Economics / Entrepreneurship    13. Service industries   

Reviews (4)

Great Book
I thought this book was great - it was really colorful. The overall feel reminded me of the book "Now I Know the Ten Commandments". I recommend it to anyone.
Halloween, are you for real?
An absolutely WONDERFUL book! Not For Christians Trying to AVOID Halloween's Celebration
I bought this book thinking I would use it to tell my kids about the real meanings behind some of Halloween's traditions (carving Jack-O'Lanterns, dressing in scary costumes, etc.),so they could understand why our family does NOT celebrate Halloween.I was disappointed to find that this book "waters down" the history of the holiday, and basically says it is okay to celebrate it along with the rest of the world, as long as we remember Jesus that day, and think of those who have gone before us.It mentions a verse of "Amazing Grace," then shows a Christian family celebrating with a Halloween party, smily jack-o-lanterns, "friendly" costumes, etc.The book does discuss Jesus, but doesn't really deal directly with any of the evil associated with this holiday.I know there are Christians who don't mind celebrating Halloween, and who would like a book to introduce a "Christian" focus to the holiday - if that is you, then this book is perfect for you.If you are like me and would rather NOT mix this holiday into your family traditions, I do not recommend this book.(Gail Gibbons has a book, "Halloween" that describes the holiday more accurately, but from a secular standpoint - I use THAT BOOK to describe Halloween history to my kids, then explain with Scripture why WE do not celebrate the day.) ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Children's Books/Ages 4-8 Fiction    2. Children: Grades 3-4    3. Halloween    4. Holidays & Celebrations - Halloween    5. Juvenile Fiction    6. Juvenile literature    7. Religious - Christian    8. Juvenile Fiction / Holidays & Festivals / Halloween    9. Picture Books   

Reviews (2)

Both intriguing and relevant
This volume is composed of an abundance of fresh, interesting, and frequently counter-intuitive anthropological essays that tackle the subject of fat. Most of authors choose unique topics like that of Nigerian force-feeding, or the south American "Pichtaco" (a mythical figure that abducts natives and steals their body fat), and even the nature of obese pornography. All of this is well written insightful, and frequently relevant to even the "normal" among us.
A whole new way of thinking
Fat porn? Spam? Starbucks? I will never think of fat the same way again. This book was so much fun to read--it really made anthropology accessible, and helped me look at fat as something completely subjective. I love that fat is beautiful in places around the world. I also love that other places around the world obsess about fat as much as we do. I highly recommend this book and can't wait for Fat II! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Anthropology (Specific Aspects)    2. Anthropology - General    3. Endocrinology & Metabolism    4. Gastroenterology    5. General    6. Medical / Nursing    7. Medical anthropology    8. Obesity    9. Social Science    10. Social aspects    11. Sociology    12. Social Science / Customs & Traditions   

Reviews (11)

Great Reference
This is very helpful in planning your Eagle's great day.I also used scout websites, but the book is very well laid out.I plan to pass it on to future Eagle parents.

from a user
This review is to tell you out there that this is possibly the best resource out there for planning Eagle courts of honor.How do I know?Because I used this book to plan mine.It has almost everything you need to know to plan this milestone in your Scouting career.Trust me; this is a very invaluable resource for all parents planning Eagle COH's.Adios and happy Scouting!

Mysteries dispelled
As a frequent visitor of Eagle Scout Courts of Honor I can honestly say that more folks ought take the opportunity to review Mark Ray's masterpiece. Planning an Eagle Scout Court of Honor isn't rocket science, but is a matter often clouded by the close association of the planner with the Scout being recognized as well as stale local traditions. Our Scouts deserve the best, they deserve a unique experience, and they deserve to be surrounded by folks who have enjoyed simple and stress free planning for the event. I'll take 10 copies! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Sports    2. Boy Scouts    3. Boy Scouts of America    4. Eagle scouts   

Editorial Review

That a nation should construct one of its most resonant national ceremonies round a cup of tea will surely strike a chord of sympathy with at least some readers of this review. To many foreigners, nothing is so quintessentially Japanese as the tea ceremony--more properly, "the way of tea"--with its austerity, its extravagantly minimalist stylization, and its concentration of extreme subtleties of meaning into the simplest of actions. Read more

Reviews (25)

The Tao of Tea
Kakuzo Okakura (1862-1919) was born in a Japan that had seen Commodore Perry but had not yet renounced the Shogunate. By the end of his life he had seen the Great War and Japan's first imperialistic military adventures in Korea and Manchuria that would culminate in the tragedy of the Second World War.