La frontera / Borderlands

Book Description

Experimental, inventive, provocative and above all visionary, Gloria Anzaldua's work is widely recognized among scholars of Chicano/Latino, Gay and Lesbian, Women's, Postcolonial, Ethnic and Cultural Studies as a foundational elaboration of the politics and poetics of cultural hybridity. Both Borderlands/La Frontera and Making Face/Making Soul: Haciendo Caras are all about understanding the complex and competing social, political and cultural forces that shape-sometimes quite brutally-the experiences of women of color in the U.S., and they are all about taking that understanding and mobilizing it toward creative and revisionary efforts for making social change.

"One of the 100 Best Books of the Twentieth Century"-Hungry Mind Review (Spring 1999)

"Anzaldua's voyage of discovery, focused on the border and the new mestiza, is a preparation for the future. The border is a bundle of contradictions and ambiguities... This hybrid crossroads is just the right kind of training ground. It is fertile area for mutations and transformations. In Borderlands/ La Frontera, Gloria Anzaldua is our guide with an all-encompassing vision to charge the border with meaning."-The Americas Review

"[She] explores in prose and poetry the murky, precarious existence of those living on the frontier between cultures and languages. . . .she meditates on the conditions of Chicanos in Anglo culture, women in Hispanic culture, and lesbians in the straight world. ...a powerful document."-Library Journal

A "Best of 1987" Library Journal selection.

"Anzaldua's vision encompasses spiritual and experiential aspects of female power, as well as the day-to-day courage and struggle that has characterized Chicano survival."-The San Francisco Chronicle

Customer Reviews:

Classic.......2007-06-28

Not much can be said to some of the postings I see here--to those that suggest the third tier prose, those that call this work "racist," those that implore statements like "I hated it." These are the same people that vote for their own oppression, these are the very people that fancy their success on some sense of entitlement. Relax, you do not have to agree, but hear me out.

Classic. Classic.

With the colorful enagement of gender, consciousness, and subconscious indeterminacy, the creation of a new utopia (racial, linguistic, gender, cultural, etc) is suggested by the prose of self actualization. This book is about all of us--it is about the exchanges we have with domination, be it familial or societal. It's loose diction is its very strength, it does not confide to the subordination of patriachal, hegemonic forces of tradition. The reflexive allegorical stories and unpacking of our human complexity give it a breathing body and a compelling face.

Anzaldua suffered greatly for not writing like "the male pimps," those that claim a fanatical space in some high art and legitimacy canon. It was her filter of difference, it was her cries for something else, that connects with everyone at a spiritual level. I do not know how this can be connected to some mundane powerpoint presentation at a university; this piece involves the full of enagement of mind, body, and soul. To contextualize it--one needs to read consistently. In order to feel out her domain, one must be willing go beyond what "our mom said" or "what our 6th grade teacher" told us about this and that. This about the struggle for agency; this about search for Thoreau's Walden amidst sociohistorical forces that still "do not see."

Welcome it. This classic work of literature, philosophy, education...remains one of the most unrecognized treatises on being and becoming.

Overrated Drivel.......2007-01-16

I find it interesting that such a supposedly important and relevant contemporary work has only been reviewed by 11 people at the time of this writing. That alone tells you all you need to know since this is a book that is classed under both Latino and Women's Studies, and is part of many university literary programs.

The book is pretentious claptrap of the worst kind. If this book were judged on its merits rather than by popular, politically correct notions, it wouldn't come close to making the cut.

Alas, academia has embraced the book as a great work, and so it is required reading for an English M.A. program at a major university that I was accepted into. An English M.A.! Once I saw that this book was part of the program, I didn't even bother registering.

I don't mind rants against social, cultural and economic injustices. I've read many. But Ms. Anzaldua is no James Baldwin, that's for sure.

an excruciatingly painful read - only do so if you must.......2006-09-18

This book is a tormented stream of consciousness from a lady who was obviously fighting major demons. It is exactly the type of book that you would expect an amateur academic to "wow" and "gush" over, as it nicely fits into the dogmatic radicalism of Chicano Studies. The discerning reader, on the other hand, sees page after page of outdated cliches, sob-stories, and anger-filled tantrums. Anzaldua would like you to believe her suffering and self-searching is all the fault of the "white" culture encroaching upon the enlightened cosmic race of the mestiza. She'd like you to think that her mestiza/chicana/lesbian/female identity is the sole cause of her misfortune and hardship. What becomes overwhelmingly evident upon reading her unabashed torrent of decadent self-pity is the learned and self-enforced quality of her "opression". Anzaldua helplessly wallows in her romantic fatalism dreaming of the great mestiza revolution that will fix all of the world's problems by turning the middle class value system upside down.

If you like romantic literature, and enjoy the hopeless and sorrowful ramblings of society's self-marginalized, I might suggest "The Sorrows of the Young Werther" by Goethe or some poems by Lord Byron - at least then you get some literary value.

Racist Garbage.......2006-08-08

While most reviewers seem to be bent on lauding Gloria Anzaldúa's "insightful and progressive" writings, I can't help but take a different viewpoint. The vast majority of her essays, while cloaked in a sense of righteous equality, are quite simply racist drivel. She speaks of acceptance and tolerance for foreign cultures in America, and harps on the evils of correcting students when they use improper English, yet instills her writing with a blatant and offensive racism.

I make specific reference to the article "How to Tame A Wild Tongue". In her conclusion, she praises the perseverance and endurance of the mestizo race/culture, making reference to walking by "the crumbling ashes" of American civilization. An eagerness is felt to see the day that "white laws and commerce will rot in the desert". One would be hard pressed to come up with a more hypocritical conclusion. Here is an author preaching tolerance and acceptance of different languages and cultures throughout her entire article. She whines about the troubles she had fitting in with English speaking people. She goes in depth to explain the numerous bastardizations of Spanish that are spoken in various Hispanic cultures and tries to convince us of how each is a viable language, even so-called "Spanglish", just a blend of English and Spanish that you might hear in a high school Spanish I class ("el chairo = chair,la ceilingo = ceiling, etc.) . And after all that talk of acceptance, she ends by completely blasting American culture and expressing her wish to see it crumble to dust, while at the same time presenting the mestizo as the dominant race which will endure this fall. Talk about racist. I understand pride of your country and people, but this goes far beyond simple nationalism, especially in light of the overall message of the article. Tolerance is right out the window here.

Don't be fooled by Anzaldúa's overly wordy diction and pseudo-intellectualism. She is a flat out racist that for some reason is tolerated (forget that, praised to the roof!) in many academic circles. Her educational philosophy is naive, irresponsible, and fundamentally flawed. Hopefully her writings will soon fall out of the limelight.

Borderlands/La Frontera's Philosophical import.......2006-05-02

Other reviewers have covered many of the qualities of the work, so I want to dwell on just one point - don't be fooled into thinking that this work is useful only as a personal study on Anzaldua's cultural/gender/queer theory.

Anzaldua is of high importance to any philosophy of the social; within her writing you can find the key insights of figures such as Derrida and Nietzsche, as they relate to personal identity crafted out of a fractured heritage. Her point is that we are ALL borderlanders given that the human condition involves being stretched across a chasm of self-alterity. Only through a full recognition of this can a critical inventory of the self be undertaken, which is a prerequisite to responsibility and genuine care of the self.

Bone Volume 5: Rock Jaw Master of the Eastern Border

Average customer rating:

more fun adventures
Good Series -- Too Slow to Release
My son loves these books
Amazing
Once Again, Great Color with a Hitch

Bone Volume 5: Rock Jaw Master of the Eastern Border
Jeff Smith
Manufacturer: GRAPHIX
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 043970636X

Book Description

In this fifth volume of the BONE saga, Fone and Smiley Bone strike out into the wilderness to return a lost rat creature cub to the mountains. It doesn't take long before they run smack into Rock Jaw, "Master of the Eastern Border," an enormous mountain lion with a none-too-friendly disposition. Life gets even more complicated when they befriend a group of baby animals who are being orphaned by rat creature attacks. Everything comes to a head in an earth-shattering clash between Rock Jaw and Kingdok, the leader of the rat creatures.

Customer Reviews:

more fun adventures.......2007-08-17

The Bone series just gets better with every volume. This volume follows the adventures of Fone and Smiley as they travel to the eastern end of the valley and the difficulties they encounter along the way. As in the previous volumes, the characters are wonderful and fun, and the plot takes many twists and turns, making for great reading. I love Bone!

Good Series -- Too Slow to Release.......2007-05-07

This is an alright series, somewhat enjoyable, but not as exciting as say Harry Potter. But, I have found that it has been a great way to get my kids interested in reading a bedtime story. I want the whole set, but Scholastic really needs to re-evaluate this release schedule of only one every six months. I bet they wind up losing a lot of their early audience that drops off after the first one or two.

My son loves these books.......2007-04-03

My seven-year old literally jumped for joy when we received book 5. He loves these books, and I had great difficulty not reading the entire book to him in one sitting. As it was, he looked at every page of the rest of the book. At bedtime, he went to sleep with the book beside him.

Amazing.......2007-03-11

I go to the bookstore and find a book that looks good by the cover. I enver read it. I am very picky about finding the "perfect" book. And i just found it back in early March of 2007. I was on a band trip [took 3 hours] and my friend pulled out the 3rd Bone series book. I was curious and started to read it. I got a little bit confused because I didnt read the 1st or 2nd one. The coloring is amazing! It must of took forever to make it! It has alot of adventure, and keeps you wondering. I finished the 3rd book [175 paages] before we even got to our destination. I couldnt put it down! It is such an AWSOME book! on March 9th I bought book 4 and 5... I read both of the books in 3 strait hours! I cant wait untill the 6th book comes out so I can start to read it!!! If your kid wants a exciting book.. This is the book for you!

Once Again, Great Color with a Hitch.......2007-02-04

The fifth and middle installment of the Bone series returns to the epic's beginnings, temporarily putting aside the Valley's violent political upheavals for a fast-paced and funny story of Fone Bone and Smiley Bone encountering an assortment of cute talking animals as they try to return a baby rat creature to its home in the mountains. On the way, they run into the opportunistic Rock Jaw, a giant mountain lion, and the two stupid rat creatures, who are still bent on baking Fone Bone into a quiche.

Probably the weakest of the Bone series, Rock Jaw: Master of the Eastern Border is nonetheless exciting and entertaining, and does contribute further development to the story's unfolding mysteries.

Steve Hamaker's coloration is again bright and pleasing, but once again he mixes up the two stupid rat creatures. Physically identical but with distinct personalities, the rats are color-coded (brown and purple) in the color version, but at one point Hamaker switches them, causing some puzzlement.

Scrapbook Borders Corners & Titles: Fresh Techniques and Innovative Ideas for Designer Pages (Memory Makers)

Average customer rating:

too complex for beginners
Not For Everyone
Scrapbook borders corners & Titles
Worthwhile Book
Creative & Current

Scrapbook Borders Corners & Titles: Fresh Techniques and Innovative Ideas for Designer Pages (Memory Makers)

Manufacturer: Memory Makers Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Instructional & How-To | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

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Scrapbooking | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 189212713X

Book Description

This book inspires scrapbookers with fresh, fun ensembles of page borders, corners and title designs for seasonal themes-including holidays! Neatly corralled border, corner and title treatments provide a clean and crisp page that helps keep the focus where it should be - on your page.

More than 70 custom-coordinated page elements are included which work well together, alone or in completely different color schemes. These elements combine with scrapbookers' photos for the best-dressed pages around! Patterns and step-by-step illustrations are also featured for creating easy-to-make accents with designer appeal.

Customer Reviews:

too complex for beginners.......2005-10-11

I'm new to scrapbooking so got this book for ideas. There were few interesting ideas but...
1) Required too many tools and supplies that I didn't have (I already have several hundred $s worth of tool and supplies).
2) Too many steps! The design process seemed too complex. It seemed like it'd take me an hour just to get the first 5 steps done, let alone the remaing 15 steps.
3) The designs weren't to my taste. I thought lot of the designs seem to "folksy" or too busy looking. I prefer more clean and "modern" look.
Overall, I found the book to be more discouraging to a new scrapbooker like me than inspiring.

Not For Everyone.......2005-09-29

I like scrapbooking but am not interested in this book. I bought based on the descriptions and reviews. Very disappointed in that most of the pages, if not all, have something too thick on them. I like my pages to lay flat and not bulk up my albums. Cute ideas for framing or displays... but a lot of the best parts don't lay flat enough for me and my scrapbook albums. Lots of techniques are shown, but many are also too time-consuming or too involved or, as other said, require too many different materials/tools (thus cost too much) for me. I want cute and quick. Precious yet balanced with my time and effort.

Scrapbook borders corners & Titles.......2005-08-14

This is a great book for scrapbooking. I have several scrapbooks, and this book is my favorite. The pages are so nicely done, and each page comes with directions, and a supply list of materials you will need to complete the project.

Worthwhile Book.......2005-01-22

This book has a bit of basic information on tools and supplies and then has a section on each season showing different borders, corners and titles for each one. The ideas are unique and instructions are given with photos on how to complete each one. I think it is a worthwhile book.

Creative & Current.......2003-11-22

I'm relatively new to scrapbooking and don't have a lot of time to devote to it, so I look for books like this one to help me get ideas and learn new things. I found this particular one to be full of pictures and instructions. It even includes ideas for alternate ways of applying certain techniques - which can help you be more creative on your own. The book is arranged by themes, offering several ideas for each topic. It covers a range of skill levels and refers to a lot of different tools - some of which I didn't know existed. The only reason I don't give a 5 is because some of the topics could use a little more instruction or assume you are using certain tools - which can be VERY expensive for someone who doesn't do this full time.

I recommend this book for anyone who wants to add polish to their pages and give them a more finished look. It worth the $$ for sure.

Average customer rating:

GREAT BOOK FOR MY SEWING BUSINESS

Useless

Linda Lee

Needed more pictures

Great book!

Sewing Edges & Corners: Decorative Techniques for Your Home and Wardrobe (An Embellishment Idea Book Series)
Linda Lee
Manufacturer: Taunton
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Spiral-bound

Decorating | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
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Similar Items:

Simply Pillows (Simply)

Pillows, Cushions and Tuffets

Fine Machine Sewing Revised Edition: Easy Ways to Get the Look of Hand Finishing and Embellishing

Upholstery Basics (Singer Sewing Reference Library) (Singer Sewing Reference Library)

The Complete Photo Guide to Slipcovers: Transform Your Furniture with Fitted or Casual Covers

ASIN: 1561584185
Release Date: 2000-11-17

Book Description

This handy reference offers more than 40 major corner and edge techniques for garments and home decorating projects. Illustrated with 180 color photographs, the easy, step-by-step instructions are appropriate for all experience levels and cover everything from tablecloths and napkins to pillows, shams, vest, and ties. Its lay-flat binding makes Edges and Corners an ideal quick-reference tool.

Customer Reviews:

GREAT BOOK FOR MY SEWING BUSINESS.......2007-06-12

I bought this book, in the hopes that it would help me with the finer details in making up cushions. Well, I am more than pleased with the book. I was a little apprehensive, after reading some of the reviews here, but am really glad that I went ahead anyways, and bought the book. The book, is easy to read and the directions are easy to understand.

Useless.......2007-03-14

I couldn't wait to get this book, but what a disappointment. Don't expect to get clear instructions because you won't! The diagrams and instructions are extremely vague, and you will be left up in the air as to how to complete an item, you get one tiny bit of info and you're meant to just know how to finish the thing off. Not worth the money and if I wasn't so far away I'd return it!!

Linda Lee.......2007-01-12

I met Linda Lee and she thought I had just bought the book and offered to give me a new one, because I have used it so much already and she thought it was damaged... I just smiled and said no I brought mine to the class and she smiled knowing I have already but it to good use... worth the money...

Needed more pictures.......2006-04-15

Although the idea for this book is very good . Instead of staying on the subject and trying to explain to a novice what all this is about it goes on to other things like novelty edges etc which is not the reason I bought the book for. And they don't as usually make good use of the available pages for instance there are great big pictures of the finished project and tiny ones for the steps and very few for these. And then a whole page of a picture of materials which is completely useless like page 22, 86, 84, 72, 66 and of course page 58 which appears twice in this book. Such a waste of pages and photographs.

Great book!.......2006-02-28

Excellent book for sewers to have for reference - even if you are not into embellishment. There are many great ideas and techniques. A very good explanation of mitering corners. Easy directions with great pictures.

Collage: Revision de grammaire (Student Edition)

Average customer rating:

Ca marche!

Collage: Revision de grammaire (Student Edition)
Lucia F Baker , Ruth Allen Bleuzé , Laura L.B. Border , Carmen Grace , Janice Bertrand Owen , and Ann Williams
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Foreign Languages | Reference | Subjects | Books

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Accessories:

ASIN: 0072343982

Book Description

Collage is one of the most widely used and highly respected programs for intermediate French courses. As in previous editions, Collage is a component program and consists of a grammar review (Collage: Révision de grammaire), a cultural reader (Collage: Variétés culturelles, and a literary reader (Collage: Lectures littéraires). The program is coordinated by theme and by content, chapter by chapter across all 3 books. The result is a very flexible program that can be used in any combination and can be easily adapted to suit a wide variety of instructors and courses. The new edition of Collage retains the flexible format that works so well in the classroom, and offers a host of new features as well as a streamlined grammar presentation. The Fifth edition of Collage continues to introduce students to francophone countries and cultures throughout all of the components.

Customer Reviews:

Ca marche!.......2007-09-19

I'm using it right now for French 201. The only drawback is that it has a french/english dictionary in the back and not an english/french like the previous book. I think the authors presume that we shouldn't be using english at all (or minimally). Even so, it would come in handy for those of us still struggling with vocabulary. Merci!

Michael Savage Set-4 Most Recent Books in Hardcover

Average customer rating:

Sane, Sober and Relevant

Michael Savage Set-4 Most Recent Books in Hardcover
Michael Savage
Manufacturer: Nelson
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Similar Items:

ASIN: B000J3GPA2

Product Description

Fantastic Gift package of Michael's most recent 4 books all in hardcover. Included are: The Political Zoo Liberalism Is A Mental Disorder The Enemy Within The Savage Nation All 4 books are in hardcover with dustjackets. This a pack but is not in any kind of slipcase or presentation box.

Customer Reviews:

Sane, Sober and Relevant.......2007-06-08

I couldn't put down Michael Savage's "Liberalism is a Mental Disorder" - Dr. Savage NAILS the condition of our nation to a T- and offers a sane, sober and relevant solution to all Americans, and that is -in a nutshell- we must protect our borders, our language and our culture. I wish Dr. Savage was running for PRESIDENT! He'd have my vote....these are must read books for the day we are living in. God bless Mike Savage, God bless our troops, and God Bless AMERICA!

101 Full-Size Quilt Blocks and Borders (Better Homes & Gardens)

Average customer rating:

Not impressed
Lovely to look at...
Not really worth the space it takes.
A great motivator.
Great Eye Candy - But Not For Beginners

101 Full-Size Quilt Blocks and Borders (Better Homes & Gardens)
Better Homes and Gardens Books
Manufacturer: Better Homes and Gardens
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Spiral-bound

Applique | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

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Quilts & Quilting | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

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Similar Items:

ASIN: 0696207397

Book Description

Blocks and borders make up 101 designs and 28 projects divided into chapters of Floral, Country and Traditional, Americana, and Just for Fun.

Backed by the Better Homes and Gardens name, the country's leading publisher of craft publications.

101 full-size, 9-inch block patterns and borders with two photographed color options.

Bonus projects include tote bags, jackets, wall quilts, and other decorative pieces.

Blocks and borders can be interchanged—creating hundreds of other quilting possibilities.

Computerized schematic of each block shows various bed-size configurations.

Also includes suggestions for choosing colors, plus construction tips.

Customer Reviews:

Not impressed.......2004-08-30

Not as impressed as I thought. This has some very nice examples in it, but no way of knowing how much fabric, how to cut and piece together. Very self explanitory. I was looking for something a bit more definitive for putting the blocks together.

Lovely to look at..........2004-06-10

I agree with many of the reviewers - I found it very difficult to work with the patterns (tracing, no seam allowances, no light/dark suggestions) and the instructions were a tad confusing. I haven't put together any quilts from this book. However, it's a great book to look at and dream.

Not really worth the space it takes........2002-04-04

What a waste. This was one of the first quilt books I bought and I guess I was looking more for an encyclopedia or how-to for a number of basic blocks. This is NEITHER.

I also felt cheated about the number of blocks promised. They've thrown in a lot of very simple applique blocks to get to the 101.
I have since gotten Barbra Brackman's Block base program and that is a true encyclopedia. There are many rotary cutting or other technique books that would be so much better than this for actual block or quilt making. This has no cutting or assembly suggestions.

A great motivator........2001-04-18

This book is a really great motivator. I am a novice at quilting : I am currently on my fifth one. Most of the quilts I have done were pretty simple designs and this book challenged me with more complex patterns. It has inspired me to create some interesting variations. I admit that the instructions are a bit confusing, but overall I think everyone can benefit from it. The blocks vary from very simple to complex. From beginners to experts, this one has something for us all......

Great Eye Candy - But Not For Beginners.......2000-11-01

This is a large hardcover book with the pages spiral bound inside the cover so that the pages lay completely flat when the book is open. The big appeal of this book is played up in the title - the patterns are full size and can easily be traced onto plastic suitable for making templates. On the left side is a description of the block, sample images made up in two different color schemes, and the piecing instructions. The right hand page is the line drawing of the block with all of the pieces illustrated. In the beginning of each chapter, there are illustrations of sample projects that are very creative and attractive. My favorite section is the one on pieced borders. They seem like they would be a lot of work, but there are some beautiful patterns.

The book is beautifully illustrated and wonderful to look at, but it is only really usable for more experienced quilters. I would definitely steer a beginner away from this one. The piecing is very complicated on some of these patterns and there are no guidelines to help determine what the complexity level is on individual patterns. The piecing instructions are sparse and somewhat confusing. There is no discussion of fabric needs or advice on color arrangement, the only help being the visual illustrations. For a quilter with experience making templates and doing complicated piecing, this book has some wonderful blocks to play around with. I was looking at some of the blocks and thinking that they would be much easier to put together with the foundation piecing method and this would cut out some of the work having to make templates.

Amazon.com

"They stood in the doorway and stomped the rain from their boots and swung their hats and wiped the water from their faces. Out in the streets the rain slashed through the standing water driving the gaudy red and green colors of the neon signs to wander and seethe..." Thus begins Brad Pitt's throaty, near whispered telling of Cormac McCarthy's Cities of the Plain, the final installment of the Border Trilogy, which includes All the Pretty Horses and The Crossing. Pitt captures the essence of young John Grady, a pensive cowboy and brilliant horseman working a ranch in southeastern Texas in the early 1950s. Pitt glides smoothly from one character to another with subtle changes in voice and accent (although you'd never peg him as a fluent Spanish speaker); his performance gives enough to understand the differences in personality without ever becoming cute or obnoxious.

On the ranch, John Grady joins up with Billy Parham, and the two form an abiding friendship. Though Parham is much more a realist, he finds himself drawn further into Grady's dreams, namely a beautiful teenaged Mexican whore whom John Grady is determined to release from bondage and to marry. Through physical injuries, personal trauma, and many dangerous trips across the Mexican border, the two young men struggle to do what they think will make things right. A full cast of cowboys, landowners, barkeeps, pimps, and desperate whores set the stage for the final curtain call on the American West. (running time 3 hours, 2 cassettes) --Colleen Preston

Book Description

2 cassettes / 3 hours
Read by Brad Pitt
Abridgment approved by the author

In this final volume of The Border Trilogy, two men marked by the boyhood adventures of All the Pretty Horses and The Crossing now stand together, in the still point between their vivid pasts and uncertain futures, to confront a country changing or already changed beyond recognition.

In the fall of 1952, John Grady Cole and Billy Parham--nine years apart in age, yet with a kinship greater than perhaps they know--are cowboys on a New Mexico ranch encroached upon from the north, at Alamogordo, by the military. To the south, always on the horizon are the mountains of Mexico, looming over El Paso, Ciudad Juárez and all the cities of the plain.
Bound by nature to horses and cattle and range, these two discover that ranchlife domesticity is compromised, for them and the men they work with, by a geometry of loss afflicting old and young alike, those who have survived it and anyone about to try. And what draws one of them across the border again and again, what would bind "those disparate but fragile worlds," is a girl seized by ill fortune, and a love as dangerous as it is inevitable.

This story of friendship and passion is enfolded in a narrative replete with character and place and event--a blind musician, a marauding pack of dogs, curio shops and ancient petroglyphs, a precocious shoe-shine boy, trail drives from the century before, midnight on the highway--and with landforms and wildlife and horses and men, most of all men and the women they love and mourn, men and their persistence and memories and dreams.

With the terrible beauty of Cities of the Plain--with its magisterial prose, humor both wry and out-right, fierce conviction and unwavering humanity--Cormac McCarthy has completed a landmark of our literature and times, an epic that reaches from tales of the old west, the world past, into the new millennium, the world to come.

Customer Reviews:

Omit epilogue.......2007-09-05

I think the epilogue adds nothing to the novel, unless somehow I missed the point entirely. C. M. has elsewhere more skillfully put forth his theme that our destinies are predetermined practically from the "big bang" and that, appearances to the contrary, we really have no choices. The last thirty pages get to sound like a harangue.

Besides, I would have welcomed a novel about Billy's later life. I love C. M.'s beautifully descriptive language, and the series is ending too quickly for my taste.

Plain Spoken.......2007-07-22

If I'd known this was the third in a trilogy I never would have read it, not having read the other two. Might have been nice of the publisher to have put that somewhere on the cover--front or back--so people who are just browsing the shelves (like me) might have some idea what we're getting into. Just a suggestion.

Anyway, I suppose McCarthy's writing is fine if you enjoy the Hemingway style, which I don't. I'm not sure what's so beautiful about sentences that go "He shaved and showered and toweled off and got dressed." Seems kind of ugly actually. Reminds me of the stories I wrote in junior high. But he has a Pulitzer and a National Book Award and I don't. Take that!

So the conclusion to this supposed trilogy no one bothered to tell me was a trilogy is basically a Western-style "Romeo & Juliet" or "West Side Story" where two kids from opposing sides fall in love. In this case John Grady Cole is a cowboy on a small New Mexico ranch in 1952 and the girl is a 16-year-old Mexican whore. If you know anything about "Romeo & Juliet" you know how this is going to turn out.

A few of the author's style choices left me more than a little confused. Let's go down the list:

1. McCarthy doesn't use quotation marks so sometimes it's hard to know when someone is talking and when McCarthy is narrating.
2. McCarthy is adverse to using proper names so you end up with confusing pronoun use like: "After Oren had gone he sat over his coffee for a long time." Who's "he?" Oren was the last guy referred to but it doesn't make any sense if he left the room to be sitting over his coffee. This is especially a problem when the author starts out a new section or chapter with "He" and then we have to wait a few sentences to figure out the "He" in question.
3. Most aggravating of all is that the girl speaks only Spanish and McCarthy puts her lines IN Spanish. So tough luck if you don't know any Spanish. I wasn't too bad off since I took a few Spanish classes in high school, but some terms still threw me--and I didn't have a Spanish-English dictionary handy. If this were a movie we'd have the benefit of subtitles but in a novel we have to try and interpret the gist of it from the character's actions, sort of like playing charades.

I suppose that would have been fine for the unimportant characters, but a character central to the plot I sort of like to know what she's saying. Imagine if you were reading "Romeo & Juliet" and Juliet made all those romantic speeches to Romeo in Klingon? It just wouldn't have quite the same impact.

Another thing that bothered me is the characters are all so opaque. We never get inside their heads, so it's almost like a movie or TV show. The advantage of novels versus those mediums is that in a novel you can get inside the minds of the characters to see what makes them tick. Maybe since this was the conclusion of a trilogy the author figured he'd covered all that background already. But really I might as well have just popped in a DVD of "Unforgiven" or "Open Range" or something like that.

It's not all bad, though. Though I really can't substantiate it McCarthy seems to have a good eye for the period details. And there's some nice rapport between the cowboys that makes for good dialog. So at least it's not a boring read, except for the 30-page epilogue 50 years in the future that's mostly some old unnamed guy rambling on about dreams. I'm not sure what the point of that was.

Anyway, I suppose if you've read the other books in this supposed trilogy you'd be a lot better off than me.

That is all.

A fine book.......2007-06-20

This novel concludes the Border Trilogy. It follows protagonists from "All the Pretty Horses" and "The Crossings" through a final epoch. John Grady falls in love with an epileptic prostitute in Mexico and the men go down to try to rescue her. Grady intends to marry her.

This was the least interesting of the three books. McCarthy documents the day-to-day life of a ranching culture fast dieing out. Most of the dialogue lacks the brilliance of the previous books. Many of the scenes and much of the dialogue are simple give and take, with little revelation or philosophy. The epilogue is the exception. A brilliant conversation, falling in and out of reality, probing the meaning of death and purpose of life, takes place between an aged Billy Parham and a stranger. This final chapter is classic McCarthy.

Unlike the other books, which can be read on their own, much of the gravity of this book relies on previous books. The book would have little meaning to the reader who did not read the previous works. And this perhaps takes something away from the work itself, though I don't know how one could conclude a trilogy without falling back on the previous works.

But there is something else that the book lacks. It meanders for the first 150 pages, seemingly without purpose. John Grady is in love with a prostitute, the army is buying up ranch land, a way of life is dieing out.... The other books begin with a very clear direction, and though that direction shifts, there is always a strong sense of purpose to the narrative. The characters are driven and their actions and dialogue are inspired. There is tension. "Cities" falls short of that expectation. It is not a bad book, but it is not nearly as good as the others.

So much of the book is written in Spanish. There are entire paragraphs of conversation. McCarthy offer no explanation or restatement. I don't know what it would be like to read the book and not be able to read the conversations. I suspect that it would be annoying. But as a reader who can follow both conversations, the use of the Spanish seems authentic and almost expected.

masterpiece of the west..........2007-05-09

be sure to read ALL THE PRETTY HORSES and THE CROSSING before jumping into the third of this trilogy by Cormac McCarthy..it brings you John Grady Cole from PRETTY HORSES and Billy Parham from THE CROSSING..working as ranch hands in New Mexico..their life consists of trail drives, horse auctions and stories by the campfire...their lives change forever when John falls in love with a Mexican prostitute..Billy agrees to help resuce her and the ensuing events told in the masterful words of Cormac McCarthy make for a classic story that will stay with you for a long time..

The Measure of a Man.......2006-10-03

About 20 years ago, I bemoaned the lack of heroes in our society. The "anti-heroes", the good-bad guys had taken over and there were only the ones you love to hate in the spotlight. Cormack McCarthy wrote the first volume of his trilogy around the same time and I found some of the heroes I'd been looking for. McCarthy hasn't created his cowboy heroes, he communicated or maybe "channeled" them. It really seems to me that like some of the ancient storytellers, he serves as a medium for the ancient voices. That is not meant to minimize Mr. McCarthy's talent. No-one has been more successful as he in capturing the language and personalities of real cowboys.
"Cowboy" is more than a little ambiguous in our language. Some use the word to describe those who would take advantage of opportunities to scratch advantage from others without regard to conventional ethics or morality but for me and others, it suggests the rugged individualist who follows his own path, his own code, in the pursuit of his goals.
Maybe there's no place for cowboys in our current society and maybe that's too bad

Average customer rating:

Great children's book!
*LET THIS DOG DANCE INTO YOUR HEART*
Best of breed

Sheep
Valerie Hobbs
Manufacturer: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0374367779
Release Date: 2006-03-21

Book Description

The sheep closed in around him like a big, woolly blanket. The
puppy had never been so scared or so excited in his life. Soon
he was racing, feinting, dodging – learning what it means to be
one of the proud breed of Border collies, the finest sheepherders
in the world. Then, almost overnight, his life is turned upside
down. He finds himself in a series of strange places, with no
sheep, his family gone. With nothing but the courage he was
born with and a dream, he searches for the life he once knew,
gathering names and adventures as he goes. For a short time,
he’s called Blackie. To the Goat Man, he’s Shep. To Hollerin,
he’s Spot. There’s one name that threatens to forever haunt
him – Sparky, the name Billy the circus man calls him when he
reaches for the whip. But there’s another name that he is given,
one that finally makes him feel at home . . .

Known for her rich character development, the author brings
all her skills to delving into the mind of a clever, philosophical,
and hopeful dog searching for a home.

Customer Reviews:

Great children's book!.......2007-08-17

I purchased this book by accident and fell in love with it's character Jack the Border Collie and his quest for the perfect home. A heart warming story where Jack runs away from the spoiled child who dresses him up in doll cloths, the ultimate humiliation for a sheep dog. His adventures include hooking up with the Goat Man. I recommend it highly....!

*LET THIS DOG DANCE INTO YOUR HEART* .......2006-07-15

NO, wait a minute! Author Valerie Hobbs believes with " 'boy' ~ 'Blackie' ~ 'Shep' ~ 'Spot' ~ 'Sparky' ~ 'JACK' " that Dogs are NOT for Dancing.

The eyes of this multiple-named border collie tug at your heart from the cover of Valerie Hobbs' "SHEEP." 'Jack' is poised on the brink of adventure. He tells us all about his experiences on the way to achieving his life's dream: "A fellow's got to know he's made a difference." 'Jack' tells us that his passion is to be the best sheepherder ever. Valerie Hobbs' story may have been told many times but in the saga of 'Jack' there is a difference. This border collie has 'character' & 'determination' - - traits that most parents want to see in their offspring/litters of pups. The author includes the requisite reality checks from a sly hobo to a cruel circus master. As counter-balance 'Jack' absorbs a smattering of philosophy, Eisenhower vintage, from friendly adopted owner, the Goat Man: "Love and Grief grow in the same garden" / & / "make your sails of Patience."

Strengthening the story outline is a 'sniffing-out' of a dog's life told convincingly in 'first-person Canine.' This is the strongest part and reminds us that so-called "boys' stories" have great appeal for girls, too, and also grandmas brought up on "The Heart of a Dog" by Albert Payson Terhune (# 0899669840). Hobbs is as deft building her tale as 'Jack' becomes at streaking across fields and feinting sheep. So it is that 'Jack' continues to win (manage) friends and influence (herd) people to do what is good for them - - while delighting the readers of his auto-biography. .

Reviewer mcHAIKU suggests that 'Jack' may gain proud status as a classic.

Best of breed.......2006-04-11

People just don't give cover art enough credit. The cover of a book can make or break a novel, you know. Especially one for children. For example, if the art looks like it stepped out of a 1985 Twisted Sister music video, the book is going to suffer. If it's shiny and has lots of fantastical images crowding for attention, it will possibly do well as an impulse buy. Then you come to covers like the one accompanying Valerie Hobbs's, "Sheep". First of all, nice use of white space. Clever concept too. Who's gonna resist a picture of a dog imagining a sheep? But then you begin to understand just how smart the picture was. This is a book about a young border collie who dreams of herding sheep in spite of the increasingly difficult situations he finds himself in. The dog on the cover of this book is EXACTLY the right age. He's not too old and he's not too young. Add in the intelligent but quizzical look the dog is throwing you and you have a perfect complement to a lovely little book. So a tip of the hat to Patrick Doyle and a big big bow to Valerie Hobbs. "Sheep" is a lovely succinct little tale of a dog, his quest, and his place in the world.

Our hero has had lots of names over the years, but for the purposes of this review let's just call him Jack. Now Jack was born a border collie and he's a border collie through and through. His entire life is bent on the sole purpose of herding sheep someday. Unfortunately, tragedy hits his ranch long before he's old enough to start working alongside his father. When a fire forces Jack's owner to sell him off to the wide wide world, the little pup is devastated. He finds himself in a pet shop and sold to a little girl with let's-dress-the-dog-up-in-baby-clothes issues. With a quick leap over the fence and away, Jack is soon on the road and meeting all kinds of people. He jolts around with a man who lives entirely with a pack of goats. He takes up with a pair of "Of Mice and Men" type cons and after that is made to suffer in a two-bit circus. At last he finds a boy like himself who's alone in the world, and Jack finds that he can still make a difference in someone's life. Even if it doesn't involve herding sheep.

At a scant 115 pages, "Sheep" is an ideal book for any kid who's just gotten comfortable reading chapter books that don't have pictures in them. Jack's tale is always exciting but that doesn't mean it has to rely on constant action. If Hobbs is good at anything she knows how to carry a theme through a book without making it overly obvious or simplified. One of the things I liked about this story was how Jack had a certain innate dignity. Any time that dignity was compromised he would extricate himself from the situation and move on to another. This happens with his first adoption, results in a severe beating he receives later on, and is at the core of why he sticks with the boy he loves at the end. Add in the title's humor and the fact that you never have a moment's doubt that this is a dog you're listening to and you've got yourself a fine little book.

Of course books from a dog's point of view are hardly new. The first thing I thought of when I saw, "Sheep" was Ann Martin's, "A Dog's Life". Dog P.O.V.s exist in everything from the fantastical ("Dogsbody" by Diana Wynne Jones) to the comical ("I, Jack" by Patricia Finney). No one ever gets sick of them and it seems as if you can never have enough of them around. Certainly "Sheep" feels fresh and fine with every page. A great title for kids who refuse to read anything but dog books, kids who are reluctant readers, and kids who just like a good story. Simply swell.

Beyond Borders: Web Globalization Strategies

Average customer rating:

Too many basic mistakes
This book has gems
Very good reference-- but lacking some essential details
Great reference for website globalization projects
At last!

Beyond Borders: Web Globalization Strategies
John Yunker
Manufacturer: New Riders Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Strategy & Competition | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0735712085

Book Description

Companies know that globalizing their web sites will produce exponential revenue growth - Web Globalization Strategies: Beyond Borders tells web developers how to do it. By 2003, the US will account for less than one-third of the worldwide Internet user-base of 602 million. This book illustrates step-by-step measures to take to globalize any web site for almost any country in the world, while presenting spotlights on real companies who have globalized their sites and the benefits they've received.Most executives know they want to reach a global market but have no idea what obstacles they face. The web globalization process is complex, constantly evolving, and the languages themselves can be highly intimidating. This book will provide the reader with the understanding and "best practices" necessary to successfully manage a Web globalization strategy. Crammed with useful facts, tips, and ideas, this book will offer step-by-step advance on every aspect of web development, both technical and non-technical. Offers practical, in-depth information on such hard-to-research topics as online revenue models, online marketing options, site traffic analyses, usability testing, community building, legal issues, cost projections, and project management.

Customer Reviews:

Too many basic mistakes.......2006-10-07

If you want to localize your website following advice from an author who:

1) Believes that people in Iran speak Arabic;
2) Thinks that the "circle" is an accent used in Czech;
3) Thinks that "Czechoslovakia" still exists;
4) Thinks that the word "flu" is not understood in the UK;
5) Thinks that Telugo is a more important language for website localization than Italian;
6) Thinks that Romansch is related to German;
7) Thinks that German capitalization is "more complicated than in English"

by all means go ahead.

This book has gems.......2005-09-12

First of all - I love the books cover - but the watermarked immigration/customs stamps throughout the pages can be a bit distracting. And why page numbers are only given on odd numbered pages I have no idea.

This is the type of book where you read it and think - 'oh I know that already' but it really does help to have this as a reference when thinking about a multi language or culture website. Actually there are quite a few pointers that are great even if you're developing a site for just one language.

The book covers a range of audiences which is great - but some of the content doesn't become specific enough - want to have a definitive list of what browsers support unicode - check the index, there are 4 sections that have content on this but unfortunately not a single definitive reference.

It's a nice book to read - and for New Zealanders - we're not forgotten! Maori, and use of the Macron is mentioned, but not really discussed in great detail.

Very good reference-- but lacking some essential details.......2003-03-20

Overall, this book to be very thoughtful, insightful, and well-organized.

The book is a helpful introduction-- and probably invaluable to someone who wants to get into the business-- but some of the hands- on was a little lacking.

However, it's really not geared towards those of who are decision makers at larger companies-- for example, Yunker praises the infrastructure underlying Fedex.com, but fails to mention the company that designed the infrastructure--OnlineFocus. Additionally, the ESPN comments lack any reference to Starwave's global reach and how that may have helped them design ESPN for diverse audiences.

Great reference for website globalization projects.......2003-01-30

This is a solid reference book which can assist people who are planning multilingual website design and development projects. The case studies will definitely provide readers with good information from firms who have already created global websites, and the Hands-On chapters will benefit those who want to experience first hand some of the language issues you encounter when creating a multilingual web presence. I am with a firm who provides website globalization services and found Yunker's book to do a great job summarizing the issues.

At last!.......2003-01-09

This is a fantastic book - a thoughtful and well written overview that has been needed for quite some time. I am very pleased to have it, and would recommend it to all types of people, both hands on practitioners, the curious, and to my recalcitrant clients who do not understand what about web globalization should cost money!

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