Reviews (1)

Superb!!!
Harvey Wallace's text book, which is being used in my Seminar:Domestic Violence Course, is a wonderful source of information about all types of domestic abuse.The extensive coverage on the many forms of child abuse isan excellent source of information for all careers, especially socialworkers, teachers, school psychologists, and future or current parents.Iam also very glad to see that Wallace includes Elder Abuse and Gay andLesbian Abuse in his book, types of domestic violence which often gooverlooked. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Abuse    2. Abuse - General    3. Family    4. Family / Parenting / Childbirth    5. Family social work    6. Family violence    7. General    8. Law and legislation    9. Social Science    10. Social Work    11. Social Work Practice    12. Sociology    13. Sociology - General    14. Sociology - Marriage & Family    15. United States    16. Victims of family violence    17. Violence in Society    18. Domestic violence    19. Social Science / General   

Reviews (6)

Good book, not so easy to understand.
Gave examples, but at times I thought that to become a STAR teacher, you had not only to conquer the world again, but also you have to fight the complete educational system. And yes, the system has some leaks, but also you will find understanding, passionate and caring people who you can trust. And with that you can win the battle, not by yourself but with other teachers, principals, administrative personnel. At the end the child will be the one who wins!!!

Please read if you're considering being an urban teacher
I am currently in the process of leaving New York City schools after a mere six months of bureacratic hell; I think if I had read this book, I wouldn't have taken the position.
On the mark
One of the other reviews says that Haberman has mised the mark, I think the other review has mised the mark.Haberman's book really comes down to one thing relationships.Teaching really comes down to one thing, relationships.Teaching is not about "technology".Haberman's book is a great read for anyone in or out of the classroom. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Education    2. General    3. Interviews    4. Poor children    5. Sociology    6. Teachers    7. Teaching Methods & Materials - General    8. United States   

Reviews (2)

It is not wisdom always to be wise Columbus found a new world and had no chart save one that faith deciphered with his eyes
Crews does a first- rate demolition job on a number of Freudian theories. These speculative theories according to Crews have been subject to no true empirical test, and thus have no real weight of evidence beyond them. One would only have wished that Crews while debunking Freud nonetheless would have acknowledged him to be a true pioneer in the overall human effort to understand ourselves, primarily through his bringing to general consciousness the central importance of sexuality in our lives.
Wisdom of the very wise
According to its opening words, "not everyone will like this book", and probably that is true. In particular, people who still believe in psychoanalysis, or just that Sigmund Freud was a great thinker who advanced our understanding of human psychology, will hate this book. Others who have espoused more recent sets of irrational beliefs, such as "intelligent design", will find much to dislike. All of these may well constitute a majority of the reading public, but they should still leave a substantial minority who will appreciate Frederick Crews's surgical skill in dissecting much of the nonsense that passes for science.
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Subjects:  1. 1856-1939    2. Essays    3. Freud, Sigmund,    4. History    5. Movements - Psychoanalysis    6. Philosophy & Social Aspects    7. Philosophy Of Psychology    8. Psychoanalysis    9. Psychology    10. Science    11. Sociology    12. Cultural studies    13. Social Science / Essays   

Subjects:  1. General    2. Performing Arts/Dance    3. Sociology    4. Drama / General    5. Medical / General    6. Religion: general   

Reviews (2)

Revisionist
I own the Fifth edition. While this history text is only an introduction to American History, it is revisionist, both in areas it emphasizes, and those it omits.
A fantastic and concise history of America.
This book is a very readable, and very unbias look at American History.It presents its subject without overflowing detail, and is very useful inthe teaching of American History.A great AP History Text Book, that isalso good for the novice historian. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. General    2. History    3. History - General History    4. Social Science    5. Sociology    6. United States    7. United States - General    8. History / General   

Reviews (8)

Looking Forward
Good insight into things to do to get ready for retirement. Humorous but insightful.

An In-depth Guide on How Not to Retire.
It's hard being old and set out to pasture.Some folks just give in and accept their lot of being pushed into a corner to live out some twenty or more years doing nothing, just existing.Why retire when you are not ready?There is no set age now for retirement.Keep on doing what you enjoy and make that money as long as you can!You will have time to enjoy it when you are ready!
An positive look at what retirement can bring
Taking a positive view on retirement as an opportunity to pursue options in your life that were not available while working full time, author Ellen Freudenheim provides a fresh look at the wide open world of a positive retirement.She suggests that you start by getting to know yourself again in a retirement perspective.From there you can branch out to altruistic opportunities, traveling, spiritual growth, hobbies, and passions.She ends the book with a section on dealing with practical matters of retirement such as paying for it and decluttering your life.Viewing retirement not as an end of your working years but the birth of another stage of your life including new opportunities makes Looking Forward a recommended read. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Aging - Retirement    2. Business & Economics    3. General    4. Personal Finance    5. Personal Finance - Retirement Planning    6. Personal Growth - Success    7. Planning    8. Psychology    9. Retirement    10. United States    11. Social Science / General   

Reviews (2)

chore to read
This is the most popular goup work text; however, not a student in my class likes this book. The information is all there and well organized but it is a chore to read it. The writing style is dense, dry, and laborious.

Group workPractice
The book has been written in simply language for the social work student/ practioner, however, anyone working with groups will find some useful information.Read more

Subjects:  1. General    2. Politics / Current Events    3. Public Policy - Social Services & Welfare    4. Social Group Work    5. Social Science    6. Social Work    7. Sociology    8. Social Science / General   

Reviews (1)

Why Post A Review For A Textbook?
Reviews are somewhat superfluous in light of the fact that this is a textbook and thus you probably don't have any choice about buying it, as was the case with me. Nonetheless, as textbooks go, I'd have to say I enjoyed this one quite a bit more than most. It's remarkably up-to-date, which is vital in media studies (there will undoubtedly be a 6th edition very soon), and it's a very fast and engaging read. The author doesn't always keep his liberal agenda well hidden, but that is perhaps forgiveable in an age of increasingly conserative media. On the whole, this stands a better chance than most of being a textbook that you actually keep rather than trying to cash in as soon as the course is over. I kept mine. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. General    2. Journalism    3. Language Arts / Linguistics / Literacy    4. Mass media and culture    5. Media Studies    6. Popular culture    7. Social Science    8. Sociology    9. United States    10. Language Arts & Disciplines / Journalism   

Editorial Review

Gary Klein studies decision-making in the field, tagging along with firefighters, standing by in intensive-care units, and watching chess masters play lightning-fast "blitz" games to learn how people make choices with time constraints, limited information, and changing goals. From this research, he and his associates have developed a theory of "naturalistic decision-making."Read more

Reviews (21)

4.5 Stars-Intuition comes from experience
Gary Klein has written a very good book on decision making in the real world that I recommend be purchased.His major point is that the vast majority of decisions people make are not based on the deductive rationality model of neoclassical economics.Such a decision making approach requires far too much relevant,reliable information and far,far too much time.The neoclassical model can't satisfythe time and information constraints that are operational in real world decision making processes.Klein argues persuasively that ,based on the empirical and experimental evidence carried out by many psychologists over the last 35 years,most decisions are based on pattern recognition:"This is one basis for what we call intuition:recognizing things without knowing how we do the recognizing...My claim in this chapter is that intuition grows out of experience...we can say that at least some aspects of intuition come from the ability to use experience to recognize situations and know how to handle them..."(Klein,pp.33-34).The reason I did not give this book five stars is that Klein appears to be completely ignorant of the nearly identical definition of intuition ,and its role in decision making, emphasized by J M Keynes in his 1921 " A Treatise on Probability "and his 1936 " The General Theory....".Keynes's understanding of the importance of intuition in decision making has been badly butchered by economists like R.O'Donnell,Bradley Bateman,and Roger Backhouse ,who identify Keynes's views on intuition with either (a) a priori thinking,(b)the "grey,woolly,fuzzy,monster" in one's head or (c)metaphysical vision.Keynes's seminal understanding of the importance of inductive reasoning ,argument from analogy,and pattern recognition are reproduced more effectively in Klein's book.Klein also recognizes that intuition may lead to the wrong answer.However,it is a self correcting process over time.Keynes would have agreed completely.Familiarity with the literature surrounding D.Ellsberg's concept of ambiguity would have also strengthened Klein's conclusions because an intuitive approach works better in decision contexts where the information and knowledge base is incomplete, unclear and ambiguous.The rational-deductive approach works,then,in thelimit in the case of information that is not complex and is total,complete, and clear.

even high schoolers loved this book ...
... because it affirms the way they believe they think and act.. at least that is what they told me when I proposed Gary's book to five classes of senior (restless minds) then had lively discussions with them through which I found that most had, indeed, read it... and as they get older, with more experience under their belts, they may need to be reminded of these tools.Also read Howard Raiffa, (e'st al) book, Smart Decisionmaking. - Kare Anderson, SmartPartnering

Recognition primed decisions
The book tries to characterize 'time critical decision making processes' .The author went out and interviewed guys leading firemen into burning houses, medics saving people in shock, soldiers deciding to fire a missle at an unknown airplane (fighter or commercial jet?), etc.When he started, he expected to find experts using the rational choice model. In this model, the decision maker collects data, then identifies 2 or more options, and picks the best.This was the academic model.Once in the field, he found none of the experts using 'rational choice'.Instead, they simply took a look at the situation, imagined what would happen if they acted on their first impulse.If the 'imagined future' looked acceptable, they would act.If the imagined future produced a disaster, they abandoned the line of thought and let another concept emerge from their subconscious.This new idea would be subjected to the same visual process.It was something like conjuring up a movie about what would happen.If they didn't like the movie that their subconscious provided, they trashed it and called up a second. The whole process was very fast.At no point was there a 'choice' between 'a' and 'b'.There was only 'will it work', yes or no. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Applied Psychology    2. Business & Economics    3. Business/Economics    4. General    5. Management - General    6. Psychology    7. Business & Economics / Management    8. Cognition & cognitive psychology    9. Decision theory: general    10. Management decision making   

Reviews (3)

The Peru Reader: The best Peru travelers companion
I took this book to Peru on a trip to see the great archeological sites. I was blown awqy by the information I got from this book. Not only was I informed on so many topics but introduced to several brilliant Peruvian authors. The book was so strong I wept deeply over the history of the native peoples, I was amazed at the strength to survive under the most difficult political and cultural situations. The book was so well written that all the history and politics, not my usual reading, soaked in painlesssly, actually joyfully. I wish there were such a great book to take on every trip I go on, it enhanced my trip a million times over.

Hefty, in-depth anthology
Perhaps this book's overwhelming for a newcomer. But, if you have a basic knowledge of Peru already, this over 500-page collection of stories, chapters from academic books, poems, folktales, political reportage, popular journalism and interviews, and historical and anthropological coverage satisfies the need in English for a comprehensive starter for further research and reading on many topics.
This is a great book if you are intrested in Peru
This book tells about it all from all sorts of people from the conquiersto the Indeans plus the shing path and the Presedint ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Economic conditions    2. General    3. History    4. History: World    5. Latin America - General    6. Latin America - South America    7. Peru    8. Social conditions    9. Sociology    10. American history    11. Cultural studies    12. POLITICS & GOVERNMENT   

Editorial Review

Human life, scientific journalist Matt Ridley suggests, is a complex balancingact: we behave with self-interest foremost in mind, but also in ways that do not harm, andsometimes even benefit, others. This behavior, in a strange way, makes us good. It alsomakes us unique in the animal world, where self-interest is far more pronounced."The essential virtuousness of human beings is proved not by parallels in theanimal kingdom, but by the very lack of convincing animal parallels," Ridleywrites. How we got to be so virtuous over millions of years of evolution is the theme ofthis entertaining book of popular science, which will be of interest to any student ofhuman nature. ... Read more

Reviews (40)

the most interesting book i read all year
examines the relationship between the human instict for social cooperation and the urges of the selfish gene and finds them completely compatible and explicable.
How does your light shine, in the halls of Shambala
In this terrific effort, another in a line of books that for me started with "Sociobiology" by Edward O. Wilson, Ridley gets to the heart of the matter in regard to human nature.He begins with a discussion of the "prisoners dilemma", and its emphasis on mutual aid, by using a story of Russian Prince Peter Kropotkin's escape from a Tsarist jail in 1876.We are quick to learn that the origin of virtue is trust, trust and the attendant cooperation that accompanies it. Indeed, this begs the question: "if life is just a competitive struggle, why is there so much cooperation about?And why, in particular, are people such eager cooperators?"This is Ridley's quest in writing this book, to find the roots of human society.As he says: " society works not because we conciously invented it, but because it is an ancient product of our evolved predispositions.It is literally in our nature."
A Materialist Case for Ethics
Ridley's purpose is not to be the ethicist, but to provide an interdisciplinary account of our constitutional foundations as homo sapiens, in order for a moral theory to reflect these innate foundations. He succeeds masterfully. Indeed, Ridley's "The Origin of Virtue" succeeds in a way that Robert Wright's "The Moral Animal" fails. Whereas Wright focuses only on the Modern Synthesis of evolutionary biology and molecular genetics, Ridley incorporates both and adds ethology, comparative psychology, sociology, politics, economics, game theory, and paleontology. Wright's scope is myopic, whereas Ridley's scope is expansive. The outcomes could not be more radically different.
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Subjects:  1. Altruism    2. Ethics, Evolutionary    3. Evolution (Biology)    4. General    5. Life Sciences - Biology - General    6. Life Sciences - Evolution    7. Science    8. Sociology    9. Biology, Life Sciences    10. Science / Evolution    11. Sociology, Social Studies   

Reviews (10)

Golden Pages of the Moor
Golden Age of the Moor is destined to become a classic if it isn't already that. If I could give it ten stars, I'd give it twenty. Teeming with boldly told truths and irrefutable facts about what was perhaps the most pivotal time period in the history of African and Western cultures, focusing on one of the greatest empires ever,this book is not merely agreat read; it is full scale reeducation. Zooming in on the Moorish occupation of Spain between the 8th and 15th centuries, this book offers readers an inspiring revisitation of that period. Here is an awesome compilation ofwell presented scholarly essays representing an all-star ensemble of front line scholars and progressive thinkers, complied and edited by the J. A. Rogers of this generation, Dr. Ivan Van Sertima. And speaking of Rogers, Golden Age of the Moor mirrors Rogers, as it too, displays many rare illustrations and photographs depicting historical Moors as the highly civilized and enlightened people they were. And this book boldly identifies Moors as an African phenotype. Moor Maur Moore Muur and More Knowledge
Superior book that's all I can say, nothing but the facts any detractors are just hating. Like Malcolm said "History is a just reward for all research" and thats what Ivan Van Sertima presents in one of his best works on Moor culture. I would recommend this book along with "The Huevolution of Sacred Muur Science Past and Present" by Noble Timothy Myers-EL (2005)

Historically incorrect revisionism
Since when does one have to be historically incorrect in order to be politically correct? I bought this book in order to get some good history on the Maghrib area, the Imazighren peoples generally do not have much written history except that which is in Arabic (Ibn Battuta, Ibn Khaldun, etc) or by the French colonizers. I have travelled throughout Morroco and am very much interested in the Sahrawi cause.
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Subjects:  1. African influences    2. Civilization, Western    3. Ethnic Studies - African American Studies - General    4. Europe    5. History    6. Islam - General    7. Islamic influences    8. Literature - Classics / Criticism    9. Medieval    10. Muslims    11. North Africa - History    12. Social Science    13. Sociology    14. Arabian peninsula    15. Social Sciences   

Reviews (12)

A question?
how now? a book written about the marginal, the "strung-out", decentered, in a stile one needs a very very expensive education to comprehend? on what side of the pasture are you on?
A landmark...
As you can already tell by the comments, there is a "clash of cultures" in the academy. It's between:
The Hindoo Empress Has No Sari
I expropriated this book from the Princeton History Department, where it was forlornly residing underneath a "Free To Anyone" sign. I got what I paid for. It's crap, and babble, and everything else that uniformly applies to anything written by a deconstructionist, structuralist, or similar academic mountebank. If you come across a copy, skim it for laughs. (Trust me: you won't have to get past the Introduction to find some uproariously awful sentences.) ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Anthropology - Cultural    2. Archaeology / Anthropology    3. Emigration & Immigration    4. Feminism and literature    5. Feminist criticism    6. History & Surveys - Modern    7. Philosophy, Modern    8. Postcolonialism    9. Social Science    10. Sociology    11. Women and literature    12. Anthropology    13. Cultural studies    14. Literary theory    15. Social Science / General   

Subjects:  1. Ethics    2. Ethics & Moral Philosophy    3. General    4. Philosophy    5. Social problems    6. Philosophy / General    7. Social Sciences   

Reviews (1)

A book that hits you where you live and shows you step by step how to influence one of the biggest markets in the nation today
I loved this book, it is one of the best that I've read this year.
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Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Consumer Behavior    5. General    6. Marketing +    7. Marketing - General    8. Business & Economics / Marketing / General   

Reviews (11)

Risk Analysis
A very good book, but a bit too much mathematical detail in deriving formulas for probability distributions; could use better descriptions of when to use each probability distribution.

Best Book for Quantitative Risk Analysis
I believe that this book is the best of many Risk Analysis books. The book's structure, starting from fundamental topics and guiding to advanced topics, is excellent. So, I translated this book into Japanese! You will make the best use of the book with Excel add-in Monte Carlo simulation software like @Risk and Crystal ball that you can get its trial version from the vendor's site(free!). But, the value of this book is not decreased with its sophistitated notation even if you don't have such software. You can enjoy the logic of Quantitative Risk Analysis. Now, the author is preparing his original software. I hope it will be as valuable as this book.

1st edition more useful to a practitioner than the 2nd
Unlike in the first edition, the author seems to have tried his best to eliminate any reference to any simulation software in the second edition. Result: it now reads like any academic simulation text, only less. The first edition wasn't broke. Why fix it? Bring back the classic Vose! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business/Economics    3. Decision Making & Problem Solving    4. Entrepreneurship    5. General    6. Industrial Risk Analysis (Engineering)    7. Management - General    8. Mathematical models    9. Monte Carlo method    10. Probabilities    11. Quality Control    12. Risk assessment    13. Sociology    14. Business & Economics / Management Science    15. Management decision making    16. Mathematical modelling    17. Probability & statistics   

Reviews (3)

One of the most important books of our time
Among the impossibly vast literature about how the Nazis took and held power, this book is one of a kind.It is an honest look into the minds of "typical" Germans, not as we see them, but as they saw themselves.The author admits his biases and overcomes them to let his subjects speak for themselves.We hear them, in their own words, make their excuses and justifications and evasions, but the same question will not stop coming up in our minds: "What would I have done?"This book is a journey of questions without final answers, and it deserves to be ranked as one of the essential books of our time.The fact that it is so little known, and particularly that it is not required reading in college courses, is a disgrace.

Chilling Look at Nazism from the German Perspective
Mayer gives us a chilling look at Nazi Germany through conversations and interviews with ten self described 'little men', who were all members of the party.The men tell of their beliefs and experiences during the years of the Third Reich.In some ways the scariest aspect of the book is how normal the men seem to be.Their Nazi beliefs are somehow more frightning as they do not come from high ranking officials like Himmler and Goebbles, but rather from ordinary civilians. Chilling parallels with today's society
Shortly after World War II, Milton Sanford Mayer traveled to Germany to find out the mind set of ordinary Germans who were "little men" in the Nazi Party.They did not know that he was an American Jew, althoughhe did not lie to them.To a man, they declared that their days underHitler were the best in their lives.I found the parallels with currentday America to be much to close for comfort, if you substitute white ruralculture for Jews in Germany.This book will open your eyes as to howtotalitarianism is welcomed by the mass of people if the media support it,and the economy is good. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1933-1945    2. Case studies    3. Europe - Germany    4. General    5. Germany    6. Jews    7. National characteristics, German    8. National socialism    9. Social Science    10. Social conditions    11. Sociology    12. European history: from c 1900 -    13. Social Science / General   

Reviews (9)

Vive La France!
Is not the words "Joie de Vivre" French for joy of life? Qui!
fluff history
Some more rigorous historical analysis would have turned this 'lite' read into something worthwhile.The crude translations of 17th-century France into modern-day America, irrespective of different economic systems and radically discrete cultures, turn what could have been an inspired thesis into the kind of chatter you'd expect to hear from grandma.

"stylish" social history
This was such a pleasant, historical read.I'm very interested in all things stylish, if not fashionable.This title interested me at once.It really describes how so many things we use today date back to the era of Louis XIV. Today's obsession with luxury goods really has its roots in France's history.Louis XIV wanted every aspect of his life, including those around him, to be luxurious.Today, many middle-class (and sometimes lower class) working person thinks they deserve a Louis Vuitton bag or Lexus SUV.Living in style is a privilege, but can be obtained with some creative thinking and budgeting, just as long as we have our priorities straight. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 17th century    2. Cookery, French    3. Customs & Traditions    4. Europe - France    5. Fashion    6. France    7. History    8. History - General History    9. History: World    10. Louis    11. Pop Arts / Pop Culture    12. Popular Culture - General    13. Social History    14. Social Science    15. Social life and customs    16. Sociology    17. XIV,    18. Social Science / General   

Reviews (10)

More insightful than Macchiavelli
This is a short book whose pages have a far greater impact than the title might suggest. As many reviewers have already noted, the book simply explains the mechanisms that guide the popualr imagination and outlines the simple principles that enable the few who grasp them to hold control over vast populations. What struck me particulalry was how the recipes for power suggested by Gustave Le