Ramon Novarro: The Life and Films of the First Latino Hollywood Superstar

Customer Reviews:

What a Disappointment.......2001-12-20

The angle of sometimes neglected history, i.e Latino or minority history vs Anglo or majority history could have made this book very interesting. Also, Ramon Novarro, a mega-star of the silent and early talkies has only had one other biography written about him by A. Ellenberger. However, this book is a great disappointment. First of all, you have to wonder how much a biographer knows of his subject when he gets the date of his subject's death wrong (Oct 31 1968, NOT Nov 1 as stated in this book)
Secondly, the biographer states he is not going to talk about rumors, i.e. Ramon Novarro by repute was gay, and then goes on to try to suggest Ramon Novarro as having had affairs with some of his female stars. Almost as bad as the old movie studio publicity when, MGM tried in 1934 to publicise a 'romance' between Myrna Loy one of his co-stars. Apparently, this author had never read her reaction at the time as recorded in her autobiography in the 1980's, which states 'it was ridiculous, Ramon didn't even like the girls'.
It's nice to see another book on Ramon Novarro, a really great movie star, but this one is just plain disappointing.

Average customer rating:

tough trip through paradise 1878-1879
A Story not to be Soon Forgotten
Montana poetry
Reads like a novel
Paradise was tough to leave

Tough Trip Through Paradise, 1878-1879
Andrew Garcia , and Bennett H. Stein
Manufacturer: University of Idaho Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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My Life as an Indian
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Tough Trip Through Paradise
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ASIN: 0893012505

Customer Reviews:

tough trip through paradise 1878-1879.......2006-07-29

this is a great story from one who lived with the indians during the time before their decline. this book is hard to put down.

A Story not to be Soon Forgotten.......2006-03-24

This is an amazing true story of a very lucky person. So much living in so short a period. It is a very good and interesting account of our western indians and how they lived. The book is a good read, hard to put down, and leaves the reader wishing there were more.

Bennet Stein is to be congratulated on presenting Andrew Garcia's story so well!

Bob....

Montana poetry.......2005-11-28

I was introduced to this book by my late beloved Uncle Floyd Rittenhouse, himself a lover of Montana history. Tough Trip is some of the most authentic Montana frontier literature. Besides, its a great read.

Reads like a novel.......2005-10-13

This memoir reads more like a novel than any memoir I've ever read, with a plot that revolves around Garicia's survival and fortunes in both business (trading, trapping) and in love. Garcia's prose voice is also singular and entertaining, like Twain crossed with Gabby Hayes. And for lovers of tragedy you will not find tragedy more heartbreakingly rendered in any novel you are ever likely to read. Notice the other reviews where readers say they want to buy more copies to give to friends, and those who said that they didn't want the story to end. I can vouch for these sentiments as they were my first impressions upon finishing this gritty and moving story.

IMPORTANT NOTE: The newer version of this book (which includes "1878-1879" in its title) for some reason does not include photos included in the original paperback version. These photos include shots of Garcia, his wives and love interests, and his territory, and they are valuable to the reader if for no other reason than they depict the beautiful dress of the women in the tribes Garcia encountered.

Paradise was tough to leave.......2001-05-13

I read this book in the early 1970's when I was the author's age, and have never forgotten it. Andrew Garcia writes with bittersweet longing for a time when adventure was freely available for those foolhardy enough to risk all. He writes in imperfect, but colorful prose about simpler times. Villains humorously drawl, "I'll plug ya if ya move." His self-depracating wit sounds like a real Huckleberry Finn in the wild west. The center piece of the tale is the massacre of the Nez Perce tribe by the U.S. Army; which Garcia relates from the first hand account of his beloved first wife (a Nez Perce herself). Fireside desire for beautiful native women in isolated wilderness, tempered by his Catholic background make for great romantic tension. Whether exactly true or not does not matter. It is a wonderful story of adventure, love,and sadness. I look forward to re-reading it to escape back to paradise.

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Great Characters rolling the dice of life
Expanding the horizons of Hispanic literature
A bittersweet novel

A Handbook to Luck
Cristina Garcia
Manufacturer: Knopf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Monkey Hunting
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Dreaming in Cuban
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ASIN: 030726436X
Release Date: 2007-04-10

Book Description

From the acclaimed author of Monkey Hunting (“A miracle of poetic compression . . . An epic of anecdotes, a vista of brief and beautiful glimpses” —Los Angeles Times Book Review), a lyrical, haunting, deeply moving new novel.

Late 1960s. We meet three children: Enrique Florit, from Cuba, living in southern California with his flamboyant magician father . . . Marta Claros, getting by in the slums of San Salvador, forced to leave school to help support her family, her beloved older brother having already left home . . . Leila Rezvani, a well-to-do surgeon’s daughter in Tehran, her mother concerned only with appearances, her father an often foolishly vocal opponent of the Shah.

As we follow them across the next twenty years—the narrative moving among their lives—we see Enrique, a math whiz from a young age, sacrificing his dream of attending MIT to filial duty, and the dream of passionate love to the exigencies of reality . . . Marta, fleeing war in El Salvador, making her way illegally into the United States and finding wholly unexpected possibilities . . . Leila, allowing the expectations of her mother to pull her into an arranged marriage and the constricted life of women in postrevolutionary Iran. We see chance draw Leila and Marta into Enrique’s life—Leila and Enrique loving and losing each other, Marta the means to renewed hope for Enrique—and, throughout, “good luck or bad tilting life one way or another” for all of them.

With its cast of vividly drawn characters, its graceful movement through time and the psychological shifts between childhood and adulthood, and its subtle revelation of the essential hopes and doubts of ordinary people whose lives are made extraordinary by circumstance both tragic and joyful, A Handbook to Luck is Cristina García’s most beautiful, elegiac, and deeply emotional novel yet.

Customer Reviews:

Great Characters rolling the dice of life.......2007-07-03

I really enjoyed the complexity and unique-ness of all three of the main characters. They each had their own motivations to drive their choices--which were not always noble, but true to their characters. While "luck" wasn't an obvious metaphor each character did take a chance and it was just as much a gamble for them as it was for the reader. For all three of the characters I was willing to follow the choices they made--not knowing who would turn out the big winner, or who would lose it all. Just like in life sometimes there were high stakes, and sometimes it was just about breaking even. The journey of this book is a good one to follow.

Expanding the horizons of Hispanic literature.......2007-06-27

Cristina Garcia brings an array of characters to her latest novel, including figures from Cuba and El Salvador, and thus adds to the dimensions of Hispanic writing in the United States. A splendid read!

A bittersweet novel .......2007-05-06

Cristina Garcia's "A Handbook to Luck" centered around Enrique, the son of a Las Vegas magician from Cuba who was a genius in mathematics and was thrown into the world of poker as he grew up in the casino environment. Enrique had always blamed his father, Fernando for his mother's death as she died from one of Fernando's acts. He met Leila, a beautiful girl from Iran who was in Las Vegas for a vacation before her arranged marriage to another Iranian. Leila had to make the ultimate decision of whether to stay with Enrique or to return to California where her fiance was waiting. Then, there was Marta, who wanted nothing but to leave El Salvador to seek a better life in the United States and to be away from her abusive husband.

"A Handbook to Luck" focused on the intervowen lives of these three main characters from childhood to adult. This was a somewhat interesting read as the decisions that each of these characters made were life-changing and how by random chances that they met each other. This was a bittersweet, somwhat tragic and moving novel.

Average customer rating:

Dear Mr. Fantasy
Poorly done biography
If my words could glow.....
An above average biography
Truly An American Life

Garcia : An American Life
Blair Jackson
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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A Long Strange Trip: The Inside History of the Grateful Dead
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Dark Star
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ASIN: 0140291997
Release Date: 2000-08-01

Amazon.com

Anyone who ever attended a Grateful Dead show knows all too well how many "fans" virtually ignored the music in their pursuit of fun. What's worse, scores of closed-minded music critics dismissed the music out of hand simply because of the antics of these so-called fans. Author Blair Jackson sets out on a commendable mission to bring Jerry Garcia the musician into clear focus. Tapping his experience as both a devout Deadhead and a veteran journalist, Jackson's mission is a roaring success. He painstakingly details every musical turn that the Dead took and discusses every side project Garcia embarked on--from the endless stream of bluegrass, old-time, and jug bands of the early 1960s through collaborations both famous and obscure. (Even dedicated fans may not know of Garcia's futile attempt at joining Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys.) Garcia emerges as a talented, versatile, and obsessive musician with a voracious appetite for all forms of music--as long as it came from the heart.

In the process of documenting his musical career, Jackson also presents a picture of Garcia's fascinating offstage life, including the events and inspiration that translated into songs and solos. The author conducted scores of interviews with Garcia himself and with anyone else who could provide insight into Garcia's personality. While never glossing over the unseemly aspects of Garcia's life, Jackson doesn't dwell on them either. In fact, he openly offers connections between Garcia's drug use and his music when they prove appropriate. Neophytes may be turned off by the constant detailed references to specific songs and shows--even particular sound effects--but for the avid follower, Jackson's comprehensive book is a wonderful celebration of an underrated and misunderstood musician. --Marc Greilsamer

Book Description

He was there when Dylan went electric, when a generation danced naked at Woodstock, and when Ken Kesey started experimenting with acid. Jerry Garcia was one of the most gifted musicians of all time, and he was a member of one of the most worshiped rock 'n' roll bands in history. Now, Blair Jackson, who covered the Grateful Dead for twenty-five years, gives us an unparalleled portrait of Garcia--the musical genius, the brilliant songwriter, and ultimately, the tortured soul plagued by his own addiction. With more than forty photographs, many of them previously unpublished, Garcia: An American Life is the ultimate tribute to the man who, Bob Dylan said, "had no equal."

"A definitive portrait of the psychedelic bandleader."--San Francisco Chronicle

"A heartfelt biography . . . What remains constant throughout the book . . . is Jackson's ability to elucidate Garcia and the Dead's already overanalyzed musical style with an extraordinary freshness."--The Boston Globe

"A wonderfully balanced, insightful life story of one of rock's most enigmatic heroes."--Robert Santelli, The Cleveland Plain Dealer

Customer Reviews:

Dear Mr. Fantasy.......2007-02-01

I took to this book with a degree of hope given the position of Blair Jackson as a long time fan of the Grateful Dead, hoping that this biography would avoid the sensationalism of other books on the same subject and present the life of Garcia from the position of an informed, yet hardly disinterested, observer.

As I have turned the last few pages of the Epilogue I have to say that after a strong start the last few chapters of the book have left me rather dissatisfied.

This book offers a well researched, and somewhat detailed account of Jerry Garcia predominantly from the viewpoint of a man and his music. As to being a man there is no doubt, a man like the rest of us with his peculiarities and idiosyncracies, his strengths and his weaknesses. What comes across strongly throughout this lengthy account is a man who's love for music took him to great heights of virtuosity but who, in the process, suffered the fate of many in music, to become a celebrity drawing unwanted attention wherever he went whilst longing for the privacy to be that ordinary guy like everyone else.

Jackson's strengths in the book lie in the historical details of family life and upbringing, Garcia's life as a young man and the twists and turns of the musical developments. There is clearly a lot of factual and well documented material from a wide variety of sources from which we can derive some interesting perspectives of the general millieu of the life and times of the Grateful Dead and the larger community.

The people who knew the artist best of course, are those who were closest to him, the wives and the lovers but most importantly, the musicians who spent the most time with him. It is a sad reflection of our crazy corporate world today that we spend most of our lives at work and in the company of our colleagues and in the case of musicians that is probably truer than most. This however, points to, in my mind, the greates deficiency of the work altogether, the lack of insight into the mind of Garcia the man which can only be provided by those closest to him. To be sure the facts are there, especially the broad outlines but the intimate details are sadly lacking. One of the most telling moments in this regard lies in the epilogue where the lawyers for the last Mrs. Garcia argue that the marriage with Mountain Girl should not be considered a true marriage because of the couple living apart, only to fall flat when it is disclosed that this was the situation to with the last marriage. What insight into Jerry's mind can be gathered from those intimates who were close emotionally but separate physically. What is lacking are views from the bandmembers aside from the noticing of his health and well being.

The latter chapters of the book concerning around the last ten years of garcia's life are somwhat lighter than the earlier chapters signalling some loss of interest in the band by the author himself at that point?

The matter of fact treatment of the drug abuse issue is to be welcomed in stark contrast to the approaches of other books on the subject. It is better to be honest than to overlook or sensationalise and the truth of the matter is that many people in our society, for many reasons, have problems with some form of dependency and it is disingenuous for many to disappove without examining their own behaviour.

Overall I think that there is a place on the shelves for this book along with those of McNally and Lesh. It helps give us a broader picture of the life and times of Jerry Garcia and the Grateful Dead but in many ways it raises more questions than answers but it is well written and easy to read and in general the pros outweigh the cons.

Poorly done biography.......2004-12-18

What a disappointment this book is. For one is very poorly written. Blair Jackson is simply too much of a fanboy and too little of a writer with this particular book. Its presents itself as a biography of Garcia and far too many times it drifts off into a simplistic Deadhead's review of Garcias various tunes. Way too many pretentious references to Hunters lyrics and really his put downs on Weir and other members (thinly veiled but non the less put downs) reek of Garcia worship. He finds no faults in any Garcia tunes and plays up his ballads (which were often low points of Dead shows) like they were the shimmering representation of all that is the Grateful Dead.

He also glosses over many aspects of Garcias personal life, which is silly for a biography. There are more reviews of Hunter and Garcia tunes then there are facts presented about the man the book is about. If its something that can be said without bringing up anything critical then Jackson carries on about it, but if its a low point then he will place a sentence or at most a paragraph. Garcia is a complex man and his biography should have been more complex. I dont want to read another book chiming in with English 101 poetry reviews, I wanted to read a book that chronicled Garcias life in an unobstructed manner. Jackson turned out to be way too much of a fanboy of Garcia to make an effective book.

If my words could glow............2004-01-22

It turns out that writing books about The Grateful Dead is a lot like writing books about the Beatles; highly speculative, frequently pointless and ultimately frustrating, unless you're somebody like Ken Kesey or Ed McClanahan, writers who were there with the Dead from the start and speak the language. That said, Blair Jackson gets as close as anyone totally caught in the Dead's warp can to writing a definitive book on Garcia. Jackson's Deadhead banter sometimes gets in the way of, you know, communicating about why the rest of us should consider Jerry Garcia one of the greats. Mind you, I think he is, but the proof is ultimately in listening to one of the Dead's many live albums (and some of the studio ones as well) or Garcia's other records and HEARING why, not reading much of what's here. What IS worth the time is the extensive discography Jackson has at the end, which is a reliable signpost for what a non-Deadhead fan or a Dead newbie might find worth the time and money.

In sum, a good book for Deadheads or Dead admirers, not so great if you don't know what the fuss is/was about...but want to.

An above average biography.......2003-11-09

Recycled from when I was just a"reader":
For anyone who has been to a Grateful Dead show, the phrase, "there's nothing quite like a Dead concert" was as much a truism as "chances are pretty good that the sun will in fact rise tomorrow." Jackson's biography of the band leader (as this book makes clear, Jerry Garcia was the leader of the Group, as he was the leader of all of his side projects) explains clearly and insightfully the tremendous amount of energy that was put into their shows to ensure the uniqueness of each concert. Jackson also describes (but can't really explain) the almost bipolar nature of Jerry Garcia's personal life that led him to a life of drug abuse and heartless infidelity while at the same time being very lucid about his ideals. He was always clear about what he saw the band doing but was unable to envision a happy life for himself. The historical references are often interesting but there is an exhaustive discussion of his funeral at the end of the book and there's a lot of gossip that perhaps could have been deleted. I suppose there are people that like that kind of stuff.

Truly An American Life.......2002-12-10

Blair Jackson's biography of Jerry Garcia is fascinating. "An American Life" is a particularly appropriate title because of the breadth of Jerry's musical influences. The chapters dealing with Jerry's early days as a bluegrass banjoist were especially interesting. Jerry clearly embraced the entire gamut of American music, including mountain music, folk, jazz, blues and gospel. Mix all of these ingredients with a healthy batch of rock and roll and you have the Grateful Dead.

Jackson writes rhapsodically of the Dead's role in the psychedelic period of the 60's, and brilliantly brings that era back to life. The exploits of Neal Cassady, Ken Kesey, and the Merry Pranksters and their relationship with Jerry is a highlight of the book. The tales of Jerry's drug use are harrowing. His life took a downward spiral when cocaine and heroin replaced marijuana and LSD as his drugs of choice. Nevertheless, his passion for music and performing was undiminished. Jerry's all encompassing heart, soul, and spirit animated his music and transcended his physical being.

The book also includes a very informative "complete" discography along with the author's rating of each recording and very brief analyses of the music. The discography includes the Dead, JGB, solo projects, and highlights from Jerry's guest appearances on albums released by other artists.

Blair Jackson's writing style is highly readable and fully capable of projecting the reader into each scene from Jerry's life that he so vividly describes.

Book Description

With its historical thrust, chronological organization, and attention to "classic" works, American Short Stories offers a discriminating collection of both canonical and recent stories in a brief anthology made all the more flexible by its streamlined apparatus. Enriched Selection of Stories and Authors: more contemporary authors and an increased representation of ethnically diverse writers, with two stories per major author. The introductions of the five time periods clarify the two-hundred year history of the American short story, its developing forms, and enduring themes. Head notes introduce each writer. New author quotes, commentary, and biographical information help readers place the authors in relation to his/her time period, in relation to other writers, and to American literature in general. For anyone interested in fiction or American literature.

Customer Reviews:

Worth your time.......2007-07-19

This is a book worth reading. Although it was assigned by a class ofmine, I really enjoyed the collection of short stories.

Memories of Chicano History: The Life and Narrative of Bert Corona (Latinos in American Society and Culture, No 2)

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Memories of Chicano History: The Life and Narrative of Bert Corona (Latinos in American Society and Culture, No 2)
Mario T. García
Manufacturer: University of California Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0520201523

Book Description

Who is Bert Corona? Though not readily identified by most Americans, nor indeed by many Mexican Americans, Corona is a man of enormous political commitment whose activism has spanned much of this century. Now his voice can be heard by the wide audience it deserves. In this landmark publication--the first autobiography by a major figure in Chicano history--Bert Corona relates his life story.
Corona was born in El Paso in 1918. Inspired by his parents' participation in the Mexican Revolution, he dedicated his life to fighting economic and social injustice. An early labor organizer among ethnic communities in southern California, Corona has agitated for labor and civil rights since the 1940s. His efforts continue today in campaigns to organize undocumented immigrants.
This book evolved from a three-year oral history project between Bert Corona and historian Mario T. García. The result is a testimonio, a collaborative autobiography in which historical memories are preserved more through oral traditions than through written documents. Corona's story represents a collective memory of the Mexican-American community's struggle against discrimination and racism. His narration and García's analysis together provide a journey into the Mexican-American world.
Bert Corona's reflections offer us an invaluable glimpse at the lifework of a major grass-roots American leader. His story is further enriched by biographical sketches of others whose names have been little recorded during six decades of American labor history.

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Girl In The Hood
Wildcats!!!
Welllllllll
Greatest Book For Teenage Girls
Like Sisters on the Homefront

Like Sisters on the Homefront
Rita Williams-Garcia
Manufacturer: Puffin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0140385614

Book Description

When Gayle gets into trouble with her boyfriend, her mother sends the street-smart 14-year-old--and her baby, Jos--down to Georgia, to live with Uncle Luther and his family. There's nothing to do, nowhere to go, and no one around except kneesock-wearing, Jesus-praising cousin Cookie. Then Gayle meets Great, the family matriarch--and her stories of the past begin to change how Gayle sees her future. Williams-Garcia has surpassed herself.She has set these fictional characters firmly in the real world while still allowing them to rise from the pages and into readers' hearts and imaginations. --The Horn Book, starred review

Customer Reviews:

Girl In The Hood.......2007-03-04

Gayle was an `around the way girl,' straight from the projects of Harlem. She had a sharp tongue and funky attitude. She didn't respect her elders and she had absolutely no respect for her mother. She was the perfect example as to what would happen to a teen that would drop out of school and do nothing with her life. She had a baby with a married man at the age of 13 and she was pregnant with her second child at the age of 14, but her mother made her get an abortion.

Her mother sent her to live with her aunt and uncle in Georgia. It was a different environment for her. She couldn't hang out on the streets with her so-called "girls" anymore and she couldn't lazy around all day doing nothing. Her relatives in Georgia lived a nice life. They had a nice large home. Her uncle was the pastor of a church and they had a daughter named Cookie who was 16 and overweight.

Cookie was the lead singer in the choir and in-love with the local college's star football player. He respected Cookie but her cousin, Gayle, kept trying to get her to have sex with him. Cookie loved God and she respected her body and God's commandment not to have sex until you get married. Gayle was a bad influence but Cookie, on the other hand, was a great influence on Gayle.

Gayle decided that she didn't want to attend school and her aunt did not enforce it. She gave her a choice. She either go to school or stay home and work as the housekeeper and babysit her great grandmother that they called Great. Cookie chose to do the housekeeping. Although she felt that her aunt treated her as a slave. For most of the story, Gayle was trying to find ways to get back to Harlem. She wanted to make another baby with her boyfriend. That was her way of trying to get back at her mother for having her to get an abortion.

Great was a wise old woman who stayed in her bed 24-7. Cookie would bath, feed and change her clothes. After awhile, she grew to love her great grandmother. Great's last wish was to have some homemade Peach liquor. She told Gayle the ingredients and Gayle made her some but without anyone's knowledge. Her uncle would not allow alcohol in the house.

We laughed when Gayle was trying to buy a walkman. Walkman? Wasn't that in the 1980s? We knew then that the book was outdated. Nowadays, it's all about CDs and DVDs. Gayle's language was very, very hard to understand. She spoke in Ebonics which was hard for us to follow the story. But that was the language and lifestyle she grew up in. If you can manage through the dialect, then you'll find a good story behind it.

The premise of the story teaches that education is important and even though Gayle loved her baby, he interfered in the things that she wanted to do but couldn't because she had to tend to his needs first. Her priorities were screwed up but her relatives helped her to see the light. We recommend this novel because it had a good example. It answers the question what would happen if you disregard your education and get involved in premarital sex.

3.5 Snaps!!!-!
Teens'R'Us

Wildcats!!!.......2006-04-03

The month of Feb.We discuss this book and we really enjoyed it .
Thanks for the book.

Welllllllll.......2005-07-26

Well, this book is not bad. But it is good. But sometimes when your reading it your eyes just glaze over. It was a great story though.

Greatest Book For Teenage Girls.......2004-06-11

Williams Garcia, Rita. Like Sisters on the Homefront. Dutton: Lodestar Books, 1995.

Like Sisters on the Homefront is a book that could actually be used for learning from our mistakes. This book could actually teach some morals to a lot of people, especially teenage girls. It is about a girl, Gayle who makes a lot of mistakes in her life. Gayle is a very tough, brave girl who doesn't cry for anything, no matter how much it hurts. First she gets pregnant by a married man and later when she is 14 she gets pregnant again by another guy, but her mother makes her get an abortion. Her mother then sends her off to live with her very strict, Uncle Luther. There she has to work really hard and get along with her very upright cousin, Cookie. The only person she can relate to there is, Great, her great grandmother who teaches her about her family history. It is there where she learns her manners and becomes a respectful person and where she cries for the first time. The best part of all is that she decides to go back to school. Gayle changes her life a lot, all for the better.

Change

Change is common in everyone's life, in fact it happens constantly. Change is crucial in all lives because people should be open to different things. This is the only way that people will be able to succeed in life. In the book Like Sisters on the Homefront, Gayle a fourteen-year-old mother, changes dramatically for good. She changes from being a rude, mean, tough girl who above everything, has not, and does not plan to ever cry for anyone or anything in her whole life. Gayle changes every aspect of herself once it comes to her attention that those are not good qualities for any person to have. Gayle changes the way she acts towards school, her mother, her son, her sisters on the homefront, even the way she talks, and well of course she pretty much changes her attitude towards the whole entire world.
One thing that my parents taught was to be respectful to all elders whether I know them or not but Gayle sure is not even respectful to any elder, not even her mother.
Before Gayle went to her Uncle Luther's house she was always a really rude person to everybody whether she new them or whether she didn't. An example of this is when she was really rude to her mother. She would never listen to what her mother would say, she would ignore her, and she would not do what her mother would ask her to do. Whatever her mother would say she would do the complete opposite, everything her mother would say would go in through one ear and would go out the other ear. She was always mouthing off to her mother and as we all know that is very disrespectful. Gayle was also very rude to her aunt in Georgia, her cousin Cookie, and even her friends' mothers. After her journey of self-reflection she changes the way that she is, meaning that she is not so

disrespectful towards everyone. Some ways that show this is how she decides to listen to her mother. She also decides to be more open to new things. Like before she changes she hated church and she hated how Cookie was always talking about god and how her cousin is in the choir. After her change she decides to go to church on her own will and she even considers joining the choir.
Another one of her really bad qualities is her attitude. Her attitude also changes thoroughly. Before she went to her Uncle Luther's house she didn't care much for school or for baby, two very important things of her life. These are very important things because in order to make something of yourself you have to go to school and graduate. Her baby is also a very important thing because she has to take care of him and lead him in the right path, so that her son will not have such messed up life just like hers. This is something else that she is able to change drastically. She is able to notice with the help of other people that she has to do both things, finish school and raise her son properly. That is exactly the reason why she decides to go back to school to graduate and she also starts to take better care of her son. Another very important thing that shows how she changes her attitude is when she cries for the first time. Her crying shows how she is not so sober anymore.
So as you can see change is very important. Change is especially important when it has to do with the way you are. It might be hard but you should still try hard to change a little. It is very important to be open to a lot of new things as well as being a good person, concerning the your actions, your attitude, and being open to new things. Just like Gayle changed her life you can also change your own. It wasn't easy for Gayle to change her bad aspects, but she still did with the help of others. You should really read the book so that you can see how you can change and what could help you change while also reading how Gayle changes and what she does to change.

I recommend this book earnestly, because you can learn a lot from. This is a book that you can learn a lot from so that you won't make really bad mistakes that could mess up your life. So I really hope that you will really read this book so that you can be conscience and you can ponder about some things before you do them.

Like Sisters on the Homefront.......2004-02-04

What if your mother sent you away to Georgia because you kept getting into trouble? Gayle Whittaker, an impertinent 14-year-old girl, is very disrespectful toward herself and her elders. Her view on life is misunderstood because she thinks school is not needed. In addition, she has a baby, Jose, but gets pregnant again and her mother forces her to get an abortion. Her mother realizes that if she doesn't take action Gayle will get even more disrespectful toward everyone. She decides to send Gayle to Georgia to live with her uncle. At first Gayle thinks that sending her to Georgia is a waste, so she doesn't cooperate with her uncle and his family. Gayle starts to realize how important life is once she meets her great grandmother, who knows all about the power of her family.
Rita Williams-Garcia, the author of Like Sisters on the Homefront, used a lot of details to get her message across. I felt as though she expanded on certain subjects where she needed to and left some things to the imagination. She made it seem like you were the character. In comparison to other authors I think she used fewer details, but that didn't take away from the book.
I would recommend Like Sister on the Homefront to young females between the ages of 12 and 16 because it speaks to people who are confused about there purpose in life. I would also recommend this book to people who like realistic fiction because it teaches you that there are unexpected obstacles that are thrown at you in life, but you just have to make wise decisions when you reach those obstacles.

Average customer rating:

Hispanic Education in the United States
Eugene E. Garcia
Manufacturer: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Education | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Teaching Mysteries: Foundations of Spiritual Pedagogy
Reaching Out: Best Practices for Educating Mexican-Origin Children and Youth
Lessons from High-Performing Hispanic Schools: Creating Learning Communities (Critical Issues in Educational Leadership Series)
Working With Latino Youth: Culture, Development, and Context
Seven Curricular Landscapes: An Approach to the Holistic Curriculum

ASIN: 0742510778

Book Description

Among the many recent books on educational reform, Eugene E. Garcia's Hispanic Education in the United States stands out as a landmark work. Garcia vibrantly portrays what works in creating better educational opportunities and effective school reform. He also offers a telling reflection on the bicultural experience of minority groups in the U.S. Culture is an asset in any individual's educational attainment. Garcia shows how and why our educational reforms therefore must seek to build upon rather than downplay the native culture and language of minority students. Visit our website for sample chapters!

Sign With Your Baby Complete Learning Kit (ASL-based Book, Training Video & Quick Reference Guide combination) (Sign With Your Baby)

Average customer rating:

Easy to understand / user-friendly
Signing with babies works
Signing is cool -- don't need the video though
Too much marketing, Not enough vocab.
Best Baby Sign Language program

Sign With Your Baby Complete Learning Kit (ASL-based Book, Training Video & Quick Reference Guide combination) (Sign With Your Baby)
Joseph Garcia
Manufacturer: Northlight Communications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Pick Me Up! Fun Songs for Learning Signs
Sign Babies ASL Flash Cards, Set One: First Words
Baby Signs: How to Talk with Your Baby Before Your Baby Can Talk, New Edition
The No-Cry Sleep Solution: Gentle Ways to Help Your Baby Sleep Through the Night
What's Going on in There? : How the Brain and Mind Develop in the First Five Years of Life

Accessories:

Health o Meter HDC100-01 "Grow with Me" Teddy Bear Scale for Babies and Toddlers
Braun IRT 4020 ThermoScan Ear Thermometer

ASIN: 0966836707

Product Description

Birth - 18 months. Author and researcher Joseph Garcia offers a straightforward and light-hearted approach to teaching infants how to communicate using simple American Sign Language (ASL) signs. This powerful package which includes a training video, book and quick reference guide, can help you understand and meet the needs of infants and toddlers long before they can speak. Recommended by Dr. Burton White, a leading authority on early childhood development.

Amazon.com

Sign with Your Baby Complete Learning Kit will enable you to communicate at new levels with your baby long before she can speak. This comprehensive package of book, video, and reference guide shows how simple gestures can communicate ideas like "I'm hungry" or "help me." Caregivers grasp baby's needs immediately rather than learn through trial and error. Dr. Joseph Garcia has designed the system so it's not necessary to learn an entire new language, although it also provides a terrific start in American Sign Language for a hearing-impaired child. A fascinating introduction delves into the development of language in children and uses informative line drawings to demonstrate over 150 hand signs for all kinds of actions and nouns. The accompanying video provides practical tips for getting started, some insight into the hows and whys of this method from Dr. Burton White (director of the Center for Parent Education), and inspiring sights of young babies signing effectively with their caregivers. The laminated quick-reference guide lists some of the most common words in any parent's day: cookie, no, and up are but a few. Garcia's clear, concise methods make learning a breeze, and caregivers gain outstanding new abilities to give the best possible care for the babies entrusted to them. --Jill Lightner

Customer Reviews:

Easy to understand / user-friendly.......2007-10-11

This set has many forms of materials included - the quick-view card helpful for babysitters and grandparents, the DVD to fully explain the theory behind sign-language as well as properly demonstrate the motions of sign-language, and a book which covers many of the same points on theory of sign-language as the DVD. My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed watching it and after only 1 showing we both picked up many signs to be able to use with our little one.

Signing with babies works.......2007-09-10

We bought Garcia's DVD for our grandson at about 4 months of age. Signs helped him express his needs and even feelings with a minimum of fussing. He is now almost 3 and very verbal & advanced. It may be that he's just a great kid, but we believe signing with babies really works.

Signing is cool -- don't need the video though.......2007-07-08

I like the sign language. It was pretty great when our 9 month old told me he wanted milk the first time! I don't think you need the video though. You can just start repeating certain signs on your own. Just repeat them a lot and be consistent.

The problem we had is that we couldn't get our daycare providers to use the signs. So it seemed like any progress we made got undone by them. He would use the signs with them but they wouldn't recognize it. I can only imagine how that must have been frustrating and confusing for him. So make sure everyone around him is going to use the signs before you start teaching them.

Too much marketing, Not enough vocab........2007-05-26

I started at 7 months, he picked up the first sign at about 10 months, and the rest came around 1 yr. The video/book combination is good because the video shows you the signs and the book is handy for a quick reference.

Drawbacks:
1. I felt like much of the video was still trying to sell me on the idea of doing sign with my baby. It could focus less on marketing and present the information more efficiently.
2. The sign vocabulary is limited to the first stage of sign language learning only. It could be improved by including more vocabulary.

Best Baby Sign Language program.......2007-05-14

I have compared this program with other sign language programs, and it seems to be the best one I have come across so far. At one point, I taught another baby sign language course, whose name I will not mention. The program's signs did not always come close to actual sign language, which I found was offensive to the deaf community. Joseph Garcia's program follows actual signs from ASL, and the program is easy enough to learn if you are willing to put the time and effort into it. I would definitely recommend this baby sign language program for other mothers - the resources are varied - book, DVD, quick reference guide - it's the best out there!!

Encyclopedia Of Latino Popular Culture In The United States

Average customer rating:

Encyclopedia Of Latino Popular Culture In The United States

Manufacturer: Greenwood Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Popular Culture | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Reference | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

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