Book Description
First in a brand new series by acclaimed young adult author Sherwood Smith
The bestselling world of Crown Duel comes to the adult market.
Indevan Algara-Vayir was born the second son of a powerful prince, destined to stay at home and defend his family's castle. But when war threatens, Inda is sent to the Royal Academy where he learns the art of war and finds that danger and intrigue don't only come from outside the kingdom.
Customer Reviews:
Depth, true originality and a great plot in a very complex world.......2007-09-30
I waited until the sequel, The FOX, was out, before reading this. I was happy I did, the two books together - as SSmith points out on her website - make a better story arc to stop after. Stopping at the end of this book is really hard, you do not feel that you can let go at this point. And the more I read, the more I hate those cliffhanger endings. I want to be OK with leaving the characters in a place of temporary rest, or at the end of a big effort, and not right in the middle.
I am still eagerly waiting for the third volume, as this does not mean that at the end of FOX I am not very curious what comes next.
Yes, I agree with other reviewers, that this is a complex world that we discover only bits by bits - and that at the start names are a big problem, so many! solution: on her website, you can find a name list and index, I printed that out, it helped. It might be nice if it were right there in the book though. So I had to have just a little patience until I understood what was happening at the big level - history, culture, adult plotting and intrigue in the background. At the smaller one, the story of boys in a military training school should have been boring, I am not a boy, I am not interested very much in military, but I got pulled in fast, and she did not let go.
I was immersed in the world from very early on, and I read it every moment i could until the end of FOX.
Characters and their motives are very well described, you can understand even those who do evil things because their thought processes and feelings are drawn clearly, there are no over the top villains, the surprises are believable, the coincidences too. There is not too much jumping around from one character to the other.
I cannot say why this is such a very very good book, I just wish that SSmith were much more popular, so her backlist would be published, her new novels brought out quickly, I just want more of her work.
I read on her site that she has books without a publisher, it seems very sad to know how much I would like to spend money on her work and here she cannot sell it!!
Just one caution: Do not go for this if you want a quick and easy read, you have to be awake to follow all those plots and ideas, otherwise you will just be disappointed. Perfect for a long planeride or a quiet weekend or vacation.
Inda.......2007-09-26
I have literally just finished reading this book, and ordering the second one. For me, the world and characters that Sherwood Smith created were fascinating, and a pleasure to get lost in for a few hours. Granted --as i've read in other's reviews-- some of the names and titles were especially hard to grasp, being very similar in spelling and meaning. However, I did not have a problem disassociating any of the characters I found key to the plot, so it didn't hinder my reading too badly.
I love Inda's character, he's one of those un-assuming individuals, never realizing how much he influences the people around him, and never caring --or knowing--about all the power he could possess. I often found myself irritated when the author took me away from Inda's story to another character's story.
I found the "villains" in the book, the Sierandael and the Sierlaef [see what I mean about those names?] were irritating enough that I just cant want to see what eventually happens with them.
SO needless to say, I thoroughly enjoyed the book, and can't wait to recieve the next one in the mail!!
Mixed bag for me.......2007-09-05
I just finished this book and have mixed emotions about it.
Pros:
1. Well-written.
2. Interesting characters. I always like "bad" characters who have real motivations and personalities. I found myself quite caught up in these characters.
3. Complex world and plot.
4. Realistic violence. I liked the realistic portrayal of this war-like society.
Cons:
1. For me, the number one gripe was the sex. Not that it's graphic or described in any objectional way. However, I didn't like the philosophy that gender doesn't matter, monogamy doesn't matter, marriage doesn't matter, etc. Instead of any romantic relationships (maybe they're coming in a later book), people solved everything with a trip to the brothel. Unappealing to me.
2. The names and titles ARE hard to remember, definitely. It probably took me 50-100 pages to really get into this book and make sense of the politics.
3. I didn't like some of the "political correctness" of the book -- that women are just as tough as men, that all sexual aggression has been wiped out, etc. It doesn't strike me as realistic (and yes, I'm a woman).
4. I found the ending a bit bleak. Hopefully, things cheer up a bit in future volumes...?
I have the feeling that I will buy and read the sequel. Perhaps not a favorite book but definitely an interesting one.
surprising.......2007-09-04
Unlike Robin Hobbs' new triology about a second son going to military academy and failing for reasons not in his control (sounds familiar), this book keeps you interested and not disgusted and caring about its characters. The books are similar, but in this one the characters seem to have some control over their lives, even when chance takes control. And there is no half asleep magic that is inconsistent and doesn't make sense. You can understand what is happening. as well, there are multiple plot lines that keep you going. Fast paced. Well worth while.
Compelling, intricate fantasy.......2007-08-15
Suffice to say that this a novel one can really sink into. Admittedly, the world of Inda can be a bit overwhelming at first, the beginning so filled with detail that it feels like cold water closing over your head. Nevertheless, the culture and characters are so well-crafted that once you've adjusted, everything sharpens into focus and you are swept along the storyline quite enjoyably. I like that Inda isn't reminiscent of some generally tasteless, overly-contrived fantasies. The situations are real, the characters are real, and there's a natural current to the narrative. It simple feels more genuine than many things I've read.
Book Description
Anthropologies of Modernity brings together a range of anthropological writings inspired by the French philosopher Michel Foucault - specifically by his work on governmentality and biopower. It considers Foucault 's contribution to current theories of modernity and treats modernity as an ethnographic object by focusing on its concrete manifestations.Authored by some of the foremost writers in anthropology, these essays explore modern government as a field of thought and action. They examine the multiplicity of authorities, bodies of knowledge, strategies, and technologies involved in governing the biological and social life of the human. Their analysis is articulated around diverse phenomena, from colonialism and globalization to war, genetics, and AIDS; and they cover an array of geographic sites, from Brazil and French Guiana to Italy, Ukraine, and India. The volume thereby provides an overview of how anthropologists have engaged with Foucault and how Foucault has transformed anthropological theorizing.
Customer Reviews:
Globalization is complex.......2004-08-19
I disagree with the other reviewers. The study of anthropology often creates more questions than answers--that is why the field intrigues me. As for the reviewer wanting a simpler treatment of the subject... Fine in theory, but globalization is COMPLEX. The introduction of the book offers some themes to observe and asserts that 1) Globalization is not only about passive receivers of global imperialism. 2) Global ideas and products flow in many ways (not just core to the periphery). 3) Many circuits of globalization circumvent the west (or global north). The subsequent chapters then follow these threads.
I come from a critical background (i.e. that globalization is evil), but the examples in the book show that not all aspects of globalization are troubling. As for Appadurai and invention of words... keep giving the chapter another read. The man is simply (complexly?) a beautiful writer.
Creates more questions than answers.......2004-06-28
I read this book in a "Political and Economic Anthropology" class and found it to be somewhat disappointing. Cultural anthropology, by its very nature, is case study oriented, so it is no surprise that the articles focus on many different places and situations, many of which are interesting to read. However, I think the book failed to pull all the very diverse articles together and come out with a point or thesis for the anthology as a whole.
Throughout much of the reading, even after classroom discussions, I found myself asking "so what's the point?", "what is this book supposed to be teaching me about globalization in general?", "what does this particular article have to say about the broader processes involved with globalization?", etc... The introduction, written by the editors, is a good introduction to the concepts of globalization. The second article by Appadurai is theoretical in nature, but is almost incomprehensible. He uses so much jargon (and even some made-up words) and allusions to other theories that unless you already know what he's trying to say, his article will do little more than frustrate you. The remainder of the articles deal with individual case studies by various researchers.
This anthology contains some interesting articles that give glimpses into how some people and cultures are affected by and interacting with forces of globalization. In that regard, it is pretty good. However, if you are looking for an approachable, theoretical introduction to globalization from an anthropological standpoint which augments it argument with case studies (as oppose to just including them obstensibly for their own sake), you might want to look elsewhere
Disappointing.......2004-06-04
Characteristic of this reader is the bothersome overlap of topics. It dramatically fails to give insight in theories of globalization itself and the link between these theories and global reality. After studying this reader even experienced students of Anthropology will give anything for something that is less grandiloquent and more useful because of it's simplicity.
Book Description
Targeting Immigrants is concerned with the government of "illegal " immigration since passage of the U.S. Immigration Act of 1965. It explores how certain mentalities and intellectual machineries have rendered illegal immigrants as targets of government. It goes on to examine how authorities of various kinds - from social scientists, politicians, and government bureaucrats to policy analysts and the public at large - have created knowledge about and constructed illegal immigration as an ethical problem to be addressed and rectified. Targeting Immigrants analyzes the tactics that have been deployed to govern immigration and to reform the conduct of illegal immigrants in order to prevent illicit border crossings, particularly at the US-Mexico border.Drawing from printed source materials, including government publications, archival documents, newspapers, and popular magazines, this book traces the languages, voices, and subsequent actions of those authorized to make truth claims about illicit immigration. Targeting Immigrants will be invaluable to those studying immigration, the government of social life, and socio-cultural anthropology of the United States.
Amazon.com
You think parents don't get enough sleep? Inda Schaenen argues persuasively in this slim yet thought-provoking book that parents who have to wake their kids up every morning can't be the only ones suffering from sleep deprivation. She points to substantial pediatric evidence that sleep deprivation is a serious problem for children, with consequences ranging from grumpiness to (according to some experts) the exacerbation or even creation of disorders such as ADHD. And she insists that none of the activities consuming evening time are as important to a child as adequate rest.
For most of the book--including a final section full of recipes and tips--Schaenen is wearing her Mom hat. She details the daily mechanics of getting children to bed by 7:00 and talks at length about exceptions. The regime she follows, and recommends to parents, isn't easy: she plans the after-school snack for as close to 3:00 as she can get it, allows after-school play until 4:30, has dinner on the table at 5:00, starts the bathroom routine at 6:00, and settles in for storytime from 6:15 to 6:45. By 7:00, she's saying good night.
Of course many working parents may find her routine impossible. But Shaenen's main point sticks: if mornings are tense, you should be thinking long and hard about what family restructuring is necessary to ensure that your children are getting the rest they need. And, as she points out, the moms and dads who get an hour or two of downtime each evening are happier, saner, better parents. --Richard Farr
Book Description
Are children hardwired to stay up late, scarfing down cookies and soda and surfing the Internet? No, says Inda Schaenen, who advocates a no-nonsense, nurturing approach that will help you get your kids into bed by 7 o'clock -- and help you make a saner life for yourself.
Most kids today are overscheduled, and consequently they're often wound up and active until late in the evening. But when kids are exhausted, bedtime becomes a struggle and everyone loses.
The solution? Put your kids to bed at 7 o'clock and reap the benefits:
- Your kids get the rest they need to grow and learn.
- You set a daily pace that allows kids to be kids.
- You get a much-needed break in the evenings.
- The whole family thrives under less stress.
In this revolutionary book, Inda Schaenen helps you restructure your children's daily schedules from dawn till dusk, suggesting dozens of lifestyle changes that will reduce crankiness, improve school performance, and give you back control of your life. You'll learn why your kids need a 7 o'clock bedtime and, most important, how to make it happen. The book includes a detailed timetable; advice for dealing with vacations, school breaks, travel, And illness; and quick and healthful recipes. And Schaenen's wise, reassuring tone will inspire you to make this important and beneficial change.
Customer Reviews:
Awesome book. Misleading title........2007-10-04
Despite it's title, this book is not just about a bedtime. It's about a way of life, and of viewing the world that is completely counter-cultural to the way most people live modern life.
Several reviews complained that the authors advice is 'unrealistic'--for any number of reasons, that I will not get into here. This is a completely INSANE claim, although quite understandable considering the powerless way that most people view their lives today. Most people act as if they have no choice but to enroll their children in multiple extracurricular activities; that they have no choice but to have both parents working outside the home so that they can afford a huge home, brand new cars, flat-screen tvs, credit card debt, etc. --all of which they are, of course, forced to have. Hence, they are forced to make more money to pay for all of the above. (Note: this rant is NOT directed at parents who genuinely both have to work minimum wage jobs to afford rent, food & health insurance.)
Of course having a peaceful family life and quiet evenings is unrealistic if you are simultaneously 'trying to have it all.'
The author gives extremely sane and sound advice about paying respect to the ultimate best interest of children; this includes the right of children to live unhurried lives in which there is time for unstructured play, freedom from stress, and plenty of sleep. She puts this need for sleep on par with parental responsibilities such as providing food and shelter.
Bottom line: because parents insist on leading overloaded lives, their children suffer. And whether they realize it or not, so do these parents.
This author is right on the money, but she also humbly acknowledges in her book, that most people don't want to face their own unwillingness to sacrifice/compromise other things in life, to give their children what they REALLY need.
As she says in Chapter 4, entitled, 'Facing the Consequences':
"I sympathize with the salmon; It's not easy swimming against the current."
Today's current is very strong--emphasizing materialism, achievement & performance from a very young age, scheduling every single moment of the day, tv-watching to the detriment of early bedtimes...and so on, and so on.
Gee, I wonder why our country is going down the tubes.
Take what works and leave the rest.......2007-05-02
I subscribe to the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" approach to bedtime and sleep. The reason I got this book was that things were in need of some fixing in our home. Bedtime was creeping later and later and I was becoming resentful.
Schaenen's overall theories that children need more rest, parents need more rest, and bedtime can be viewed as the beginning of nighttime rather than the end of the day are all valid and helpful. I am also in agreement with her that children need to have unstructured playtime everyday, preferably outdoors, that television, video games, and computer are simply unnecessary for children, and that nutrition plays an important role in healthy children and sleep habits.
Her emphasis on family ritual and routine were also useful.
What I did NOT like about the book was Schaenen's endorsement of the Ferber method of sleep training for infants and young toddlers. It doesn't fit my parenting philosophy at all. We follow an attachment parenting approach in our home, and share a bed with our infants. Rather than setting Schaenen's book aside as another book contrary to my beliefs, though, I decided to overlook our philosophical differences about family bed & night nursing, and use the good pointers about getting my children off to bed earlier and more restfully.
I also appreciated the candor with which she shared anecdotes from her own family. I always enjoy books in which the author shows their own family life rather than just proclaiming what everyone else should be doing. It's always comforting to see a glimpse into another family's real life.
In summary, I will use many suggestions from this book regarding getting my kids off to bed in a timely manner. I will choose to overlook the recommendation to sleep train my infant.
Good ideas, but impractical for working parents .......2007-02-11
We're in Silicon Valley. No person in high tech gets home before 7. We eat at 7:30. We hang out with Daddy until 8:30. Bed is at 9.
They get up at 7:30. They take naps from 3-4:30.
She has nice ideas, but her schedule is highly unrealistic for most of the working world.
Good ideas, but preachy.......2005-03-15
I found this book after seeing that my 3 1/2 year old needed...SOMETHING.... to help with her sleep habits. The 19 month old falls right in line with the 7 bedtime, but ahhh...that strong-willed first child! I am also in a position to share ideas with other parents that might work for them. We had instituted the quiet time and had a good bedtime routine, as most practical parents do. She just wasn't ready for sleep by 7.
After I read this book, I implemented some of the ideas I found within Schaenen's wandering, "let me share with you how my family is perfect" (and strange), idyllic, description of her three children sitting around reading, listening to show tunes, and playing nicely together. Even when they are at their worst, I am still feeling like we are not getting the whole picture. The lengthy ramblings and examples don't fit my style as a reader or as part-time teacher/full-time mom looking for support.
With that said, I felt compelled to write my first-ever review. This is a book that might be overlooked due to this off-putting (in my opinion) style of imparting what I feel to be worthwhile, valid, suggestions that might help the AVERAGE family. Most of the information will not be new to the seasoned reader of parenting books.
What it does offer is a nice balance between doing what is right for your children (talking- and really listening to them, encouraging play for play's sake, and getting good sleep time) and having a little bit of your own life (after 7, of course!) Being a scheduler by nature, this book also offers me what many do not-an actual play by play of how this might work-rather than the usual theories without a plan for putting it into practice. I just could have done with less of the off-topic (condescending!) diatribes into the evils of TV, sugar and overscheduling- that is covered in later chapters.
Overall, a worthwhile tome to be read with care, thoughtfully considered, and worked into your own family dynamics. The practical suggestions are just difficult to glean, given the author's water drinking ("yum"-and I quote!), hard-to-relate to, style.
A must read book.......2005-03-12
I love this book and recommend it to everyone I meet. Are my kids in bed by 7:00 PM? No. We homeschool and have no reason to be up early for school every morning by 6:30 -7:00 so we moved everything back an hour. it works much better for our family while still giving us an early bedtime and enough sleep. I look around me and am saddend by all the over tired children I see, thier angry exhausted short tempered paretns who are keeping them up in the name o quality family time. My chidlrens behaviors changed dramatically when I instituted an early bed time. htier morning wake time did not change. We don't get all legalistic about keeping her rules but the closer we stick to them and the more routiened our days are the better bed time and sleep are for my children. Having the early bedtime also has reeduced thier night walking!! what a bonus.
Book Description
Women’s migration within Mexico and from Mexico to the United States is increasing; nearly as many women as men are migrating. This development gives rise to new social negotiations, which have not been well examined in migration studies until now. This pathbreaking reader analyzes how economically and politically displaced migrant women assert agency in everyday life. Scholars across diverse disciplines interrogate the socioeconomic forces that propel Mexican women into the migrant stream and shape their employment options; the changes that these women are making in homes, families, and communities; and the “structural violence” that they confront in the U.S.-Mexico borderlands broadly conceived—all within the economic, social, cultural, and political interstices of the two countries.
This reader includes twenty-three essays—two of which are translated from the Spanish—that illuminate women’s engagement with diverse social and cultural challenges. One contributor critiques the statistical fallacy of nativist discourses within the United States that portray Chicana and Mexican women’s fertility rates as “out of control.” Other contributors explore the relation between sexual violence and women’s migration from rural areas to urban centers within Mexico, the ways that undocumented migrant communities challenge conventional notions of citizenship, and young Latinas’ commemorations of the late, internationally renowned singer Selena. Several essays address workplace intimidation and violence, harassment and rape by U.S. border patrol agents and maquiladora managers, sexual violence, and the brutal murders of nearly two hundred young women near Ciudad Juárez. This rich collection highlights both the structural inequities faced by Mexican women in the borderlands and the creative ways they have responded to them.
Contributors. Ernestine Avila, Xóchitl Castañeda, Sylvia Chant, Leo R. Chavez, Cynthia Cranford, Adelaida R. Del Castillo, Sylvanna M. Falcón, Gloria González-López, Maria de la Luz Ibarra, Jonathan Xavier Inda, Rosa Linda Fregoso, Jennifer S. Hirsch, Pierrette Hondagneu-Sotelo, Eithne Luibheid, Victoria Malkin, Faranak Miraftab, Olga Nájera-Ramírez, Norma Ojeda de la Peña, Deborah Paredez, Leslie Salzinger, Felicity Schaeffer-Grabiel, Denise A. Segura, Laura Velasco Ortiz, Melissa W. Wright, Patricia Zavella
Book Description
This book provides an interdisciplinary series of comparative analyses of race, ethnicity and culture at a time when boundaries designating racialized groups are being radically redrawn.In recent years, race and ethnicity have become the focus of theoretical, political and policy debates. Particular attention has focused on how best to conceptualize racism(s) and racialized relations in the context of demographic shifts, changing class formations and new forms of global dislocations. This volume moves beyond the black/white focus to address with analytical rigor the diversity of racialized identities and histories and thus provide a state of the art commentary on the theorization of this field.This comprehensive and timely reader covers a range of topics including critical race theory, multiracial feminism, mixed race, the whiteness debates, citizenship and globalization. The contributors include Angela Davis, Stuart Hall, Richard Delgado, Robert Miles, Michael Eric Dyson, Saskia Sassen, Etienne Balibar, Patricia Hill Collins, Renato Rosaldo, Stanley Aronowitz, and Collette Guillaumin.
Customer Reviews:
Indispensable resource.......2004-01-09
Practitioner fields inevitably overlap in social science professions, making it impossible to effectively study how goverment and people impact each other without considering the social stratification and classification of inter-related groups. Past mono-discipline efforts understandably released incomplete, contradictory, and ultimately unhelpful studies. The picture generated only represented a selective fraction of what actually existed.
Miron, Torres and Inda eloquently bring historically separate social science disciplines together for social change where other people have previously and currently failed.
Ranging from case studies to quantitative analysis, the collection essays examine why race and ethnicity continue to be a controversial part of America. Bureaucrats and their constituents react negatively (even with open hostilities) because we subconciously fear what is different from our own immediate enviroment. It is also easier to blame these different groups for our real and percieved misfortune (such as the overseas relocation of factory jobs) than to critically examine the specifics of initially benign-sounding policies and our own (quiet) compliance for not applying the critical eye.
Aidia Hurtado's essay "The trickster's play" exposes the racism 'liberal' whites inadvertently engage in when they telling people of color just how damaged they are by racism and attempt to negate the critical different experiences between various ethnicities through 'color-blind' policies, subconciously denying racism's very existence.
Although other works such as This Bridge Called My Back (1982) do a far more comprehensive job of intergrating women of color into their policy prescriptions, the section on gender pointedly reminds readers they are constantly obligated to consider how gender and other subordinate idenities intrsect with each other. In the sociopolitical hierarcy of American society, the low income non-white woman was historically (and currently) branded as the least valuable society member. It is most telling that the same perpetrators are only begining to be held accountable now, but the global community clearly has a long way to go.
Book Description
The Anthropology of Globalization provides an exciting introduction to global change, focusing simultaneously on the large-scale processes through which various cultures are becoming increasingly interconnected, and on the ways that people around the world mediate these processes in culturally specific ways. This new edition also addresses the limits of global mobility and connection.Inda and Rosaldo have assembled some of the finest and newest work on globalization published in English by both established and emerging anthropologists, including Arjun Appadurai, Anna Tsing, Aihwa Ong, Didier Fassin, Sally Engle Merry, Tom Boellstorff, Karen Ho, and Andrew Lakoff. Beginning with a revised contribution by the editors, this second edition also includes new readings, helpful section introductions, and recommendations for further reading. It provides readers with a valuable resource on local and global processes that both promote and constrain movement and linkage.
Product Description
Two suburban housewives deep into childrearing and carpools delve into the slick world of biotech food production and nefarious marketing practices. Told with what one reviewer called "an intensely urbane wit," the story unfolds with "commentaries on millennial life practices that are a riot, fully half the fun. The plot itself is a light, funny, surprisigly serious, and totally unique. There may not be another novel today that successfully turns the health food industry into such a battefield of corporate espionage."
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Books Index
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General | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
The Fox
Senrid
Terrier: The Legend of Beka Cooper #1 (Beka Cooper)
Crown Duel (Originally Published as the Two Books Crown Duel and Court Duel) (Firebird)
The Privilege of the Sword
