Book Description
Softcover version of the authorship and style manual for researchers, practitioners, and students of psychology and other behavioral and social sciences. Includes new features on contemporary language issues and publishing standards.
Customer Reviews:
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (Fifth Edition.......2007-10-05
This book is o.k. but has way too much information for the average college student who just wants the bare basic facts to get through a writing assignment. It took longer to find the information I needed than it did to write the paper.
I am glad that I chose the spiral format in that it is extremely easy to work with as opposed to the traditional bounded style book.
For someone who plans on writing a lot of papers this book is a must.
Buy the software instead!.......2007-10-04
If you have to write papers in APA style I recommend just buying the software instead. For what it is, I am sure it is fabulous, but working full time and taking a masters program I don't have time to look up how to do all the notation, etc. Just buy the software program and it makes it much easier.
Book Review.......2007-10-02
This book isn't the best APA manual out there. They only give one sample of an APA paper. In addition, it is somewhat difficult to navigate. But, this book is "THE" APA manual and so it the most accurate book for APA format.
APA Publication Manual.......2007-09-30
This is an excellent source for how to properly document refrences and sources uses APA format.
got what i wanted.......2007-09-28
textbook was cheaper than what they offered at the textbook store at my school. Was used but in good condition as the seller stated. Got what i wanted!
Book Description
This indispensable guide to style has long been the standard for publishers, advertising, and the medical community. This ninth edition features:
-Expanded chapters on legal and ethical concerns in publishing, statistical terms, and nomenclature
-An updated and expanded reference section
-A complete glossary of publishing terms
-A new typography section
-New policies for eponyms and numbers style
-A larger section pertaining to electronic referencing
-Broadened coverage of tables and figures
-Current information on electronic publishing and copyright issues
Customer Reviews:
If you are an academic physician you cannot miss it!.......2007-08-12
The base to write a scientific paper. You can learn the most important criteria to conduct and write a scientific research according with international guidlines. It is the style!
Excellent, comprehensive, and easy to use.......2005-08-02
The Manual is a complete guide to the AMA style and also an excellent grammar book. The topics are easy to find and the tables and lists are comprehensive. It is a great companion to The Chicago Manual of Style because it details the grammar preferred by the AMA and contains needed terminology. This is a necessary reference for medical publications proofreaders and editors.
A style manual you will rarely close.......2002-04-11
The specific goal of the American Medical Association Manual of Style: A Guide for Authors and Editors is to codify and collect the myriad instructions, rules, and dictums that AMA applies to the many journals, books, and other publications that are printed under its imprint. The more general goal, perhaps not stated, is to broaden the influence of those standards so they encompass more of the medical publishing community.
The book, developed by a committee of writers, editors, and publishers, is organized around five major categories, Preparing an Article for Publication, Style, Terminology, Measurement and Quantitation, and Technical Information. Each of these categories is, in turn, broken down into chapters that probe various aspects of each category. Finding information is easy, and the writers have used examples generously to make the points clear.
The first section, Preparing an Article for Publication, is, naturally slanted more toward authors and those who toil to prepare authorýs manuscripts for publication. There are many guidelines offering advice that ranges from preparing the abstract to preparing any of six different types of acknowledgments. Editors and copy editors would do well to review this chapter as well. The section on citing Web sites alone is crucial reading.
I suspect, but cannot prove, that many researchers will not read deeply beyond the opening chapter, feeling that the remaining sections are more the province of copy editors and journal editors. Perhaps there is some merit to that line of thinking, but all authors in the medical sciences would benefit from the copious advice here, and the better writers, Iým sure, do follow the principles of grammar, punctuation, capitalization, and usage set forth in the section on style. Common mistakes, such as confusing case and patient, redundancies, and the ever so ticklish topic of race/ethnicity are some of the many points discussed thoroughly.
The section on terminology is so mind-bogglingly detailed that all one can hope to do is remember that the AMA Style Guide will almost always have the answer if you have a question about an abbreviation (how many times is something mistakenly called an acronym instead of an initialism?), medical nomenclature (a huge chapter that is the heart of the book), or eponyms (which, thanks to this guide may now be a topic we can quit haggling over).
Measurement and Quantitation continue to be a bane for many writers and editors, though without delving too much into specifics, letýs say that this section will answer most questions but not without careful reading and perhaps a look at the Chicago Manual of Style for a bit clearer presentation on this topic. The chapter on statistics, unique to this guide, notes how to express confidence intervals, confirms that the word Student in Student t test is capitalized (sorry, but this text editor on Amazon.com does not display the italic t), provides a list of statistical symbols and abbreviations, and offers valuable tips about displaying equations. And those examples barely hint at the wealth of information here.
A final section on technical information provides a thumbnail guide to good layout and design of printed materials, worthy sets both of copyediting marks and proofreading marks (which are no doubt often photocopied and posted in a visible location), an excellent primer on how to edit hard copy, and a glossary of publishing terms.
If you are a medical writer or editor, odds are that you already either have a copy of this guide or you borrow one from a colleague. If you are an aspiring medical communicator, you will need your own copy so you can mark in it, attach tabs, and leave open on your desk.
thank you cheryl ýverson for that work.......2000-05-17
I read the book , I feel that work is very nice ,and I give that 5 star ,
I recommend it for all medical writers.......2000-03-27
I really liked this book. I was searching for such a useful manual for a long time, and at last found it! It is not only helpful and authorative but also written in a very user-friendly fashion. All those who are involved in medical writing can learn from (and perhaps enjoy) this book. Go on and take a look at it before starting to write your next piece!
Average customer rating:
- Calculations are only as good as your numbers
- Pants on fire?
- Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed.
- Very Interesting
- History as Science Fiction
|
History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
Anatoly Fomenko
Manufacturer: Mithec
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Similar Items:
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History: Fiction or Science? Chronology 2 (Chronology)
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History: Fiction or Science? Astronomical methods as applied to chronology. Ptolemy's Almagest. Chronology III
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Discovering the Mysteries of Ancient America: Lost History And Legends, Unearthed And Explored
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They Cast No Shadows: A Collection of Essays on the Illuminati, Revisionist History, and Suppressed Technologies
ASIN: 2913621058 |
Book Description
Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.
Customer Reviews:
Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03
Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.
Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19
Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.
Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09
There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.
For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.
Very Interesting.......2007-03-07
It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.
History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10
Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.
I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.
Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.
Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.
I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.
This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.
Amazon.com
Short and snappy as it is, Stephen King's On Writing really contains two books: a fondly sardonic autobiography and a tough-love lesson for aspiring novelists. The memoir is terrific stuff, a vivid description of how a writer grew out of a misbehaving kid. You're right there with the young author as he's tormented by poison ivy, gas-passing babysitters, uptight schoolmarms, and a laundry job nastier than Jack London's. It's a ripping yarn that casts a sharp light on his fiction. This was a child who dug Yvette Vickers from Attack of the Giant Leeches, not Sandra Dee. "I wanted monsters that ate whole cities, radioactive corpses that came out of the ocean and ate surfers, and girls in black bras who looked like trailer trash." But massive reading on all literary levels was a craving just as crucial, and soon King was the published author of "I Was a Teen-Age Graverobber." As a young adult raising a family in a trailer, King started a story inspired by his stint as a janitor cleaning a high-school girls locker room. He crumpled it up, but his writer wife retrieved it from the trash, and using her advice about the girl milieu and his own memories of two reviled teenage classmates who died young, he came up with Carrie. King gives us lots of revelations about his life and work. The kidnapper character in Misery, the mind-possessing monsters in The Tommyknockers, and the haunting of the blocked writer in The Shining symbolized his cocaine and booze addiction (overcome thanks to his wife's intervention, which he describes). "There's one novel, Cujo, that I barely remember writing."
King also evokes his college days and his recovery from the van crash that nearly killed him, but the focus is always on what it all means to the craft. He gives you a whole writer's "tool kit": a reading list, writing assignments, a corrected story, and nuts-and-bolts advice on dollars and cents, plot and character, the basic building block of the paragraph, and literary models. He shows what you can learn from H.P. Lovecraft's arcane vocabulary, Hemingway's leanness, Grisham's authenticity, Richard Dooling's artful obscenity, Jonathan Kellerman's sentence fragments. He explains why Hart's War is a great story marred by a tin ear for dialogue, and how Elmore Leonard's Be Cool could be the antidote.
King isn't just a writer, he's a true teacher. --Tim Appelo
Book Description
"Long live the King," hailed Entertainment Weekly upon the publication of Stephen King's On Writing. Part memoir, part master class by one of the bestselling authors of all time, this superb volume is a revealing and practical view of the writer's craft, comprising the basic tools of the trade every writer must have. King's advice is grounded in his vivid memories from childhood through his emergence as a writer, from his struggling early career to his widely reported, near-fatal accident in 1999 -- and how the inextricable link between writing and living spurred his recovery. Brilliantly structured, friendly and inspiring, On Writing will empower and entertain everyone who reads it -- fans, writers, and anyone who loves a great story well told.
Download Description
For years I dreamed of having the sort of massive oak slab that would dominate a room.... In 1981 I got the one I wanted and placed it in the middle of a spacious, skylighted study in the rear of the house. For six years I sat behind that desk either drunk or wrecked out of my mind.... A year or two after I sobered up, I got rid of that monstrosity and put in a living-room suite where it had been....In the early nineties, before they moved on to their own lives, my kids sometimes came up in the evening to watch a basketball game or a movie and eat pizza....I got another desk -- it's handmade, beautiful, and half the size of the T. rex desk. I put it at the far west end of the office, in a corner under the eave....I'm sitting under it now, a fifty-three-year-old man with bad eyes, a gimp leg, and no hangover. I'm doing what I know how to do, and as well as I know how to do it. I came through all the stuff I told you about ... and now I'm going to tell you as much as I can about the job.... It starts with this: put your desk in the corner, and every time you sit down there to write, remind yourself why it isn't in the middle of the room. Life isn't a support-system for art. It's the other way around. --
Customer Reviews:
Great Audio.......2007-10-09
This was such a treat. I listened to the six, eight hour cassettes, and it was a thrill. Stephen King is such an eloquent speaker. He is frank and funny-like when he does other voices in reading from other literature.
I enjoyed the authors honest style. It is so refreshing to hear a candid and friendly voice who offers the pearls of wisdom from his years of experience as a published author.
His mother offered him some advice when she heard that he wanted to be a writer: She urged him to get his teaching credentials so that he would have something to fall back on. After college, he was able to get one teaching position. The job didn't pay well. His manuscript for "Carrie" saved he and his family from poverty-as well as made his dying mother proud.
His pay from writing was good luck because he writes because he loves it.
It does show in his work and in this non-fiction book. He also urges other would-be writer's also to love their work.
My first book is Dreams in August: Life, Love, and Cerebellar Ataxia
Delighted.......2007-10-09
The book arrived in a timely fashion and in excellent condition. I had read a library copy of the book and I enjoyed it so much that I purchased this book for my son who also found it a great read.
For any writer who loves Stephen King..........2007-10-09
If you enjoy Stephen King novels and his method of storytelling and are looking to do some writing on your own, this book is for you. King carefully and comically explains his pet peeves, suggestions for greatness, and ideas for writing anything in this book. His anecdotes make On Writing read like a narrative rather than a how-to book. King gives creative and straightforward advice for all writers (not just the newbies). Definitely a recommended read!
Inspiring.......2007-10-08
The book can be broken into two sections, an autobiographical section and Stephen King's thoughts and tips on what is important for good writing.
The autobiographical part is limited to the parts of his life that he feels shaped and influenced him as a writer. Interesting and relevant though it is, this section really plays second fiddle to the other, which contains gems of his knowledge right from the first few lines. While reading the first section, I found myself constantly wanting to get through it to get to the second section.
That section, On Writing, I found instantly more useful than any other single source of writing tips or advice.
King begins with grammar and a few of his pet peeves before progressing to the more subtle points of quality writing and then to editing your own work. It is by no means an A-Z, all encompassing encyclopedia of how to be a writer, but what he does provide is what he thinks are relavent, useful pointers on how to improve. Here he completely succeeds. What he says makes perfect sense, and gives the reader actual tools that can be put into place immediately.
He does not beat around the bush and add in superfluous material in order to make the book seem more complete, which adds to the reader's confidence (as if there should ever have been a doubt) that what King has written is truly worth taking in.
King has a no-nonsense approach to writing, and I found myself laughing at regular attacks on sub-par writing or examples of writer commitment. He comes down heavy anyone who might think they have a god-given talent to write well without putting in the work. Writing, for him, is a part of everyday life and he believes that for any true writer it must be that way.
Overall, I found the book to be not only a very useful reference, but an inspiring account of what it takes to succeed as a writer.
Book Review - ON WRITING by Stephen King .......2007-09-26
I picked up On Writing because you can't do it much bigger than Stephen King has. Most books on writing are by grammarmongers or literary types, and I was interested to get the perspective of a writer of popular fiction. Previously, I'd only skimmed through Terry Brooks's Sometimes the Magic Works: Lessons from a Writing Life, but I don't think Terry Brooks is a very good writer, so that was the end of that.
Half the book is King's autobiography, and he focuses on the points in his life that he feels helped shape him as a writer. I felt like I didn't need most of this, although it was nice to know even Stephen King worked at some terrible jobs before he made it big. Those reading this book just for the writing lesson, and who care not for Stephen King, can skip this whole section, although there are some interesting tidbits on the publishing process.
King's points are several. The two keys to good writing, he says, are mastery of the fundamentals and hard work. A good writer should write all the time and read all the time. I agree with this.
King's strategy for writing is this: to come up with a foundational situation, not worry about the plot, and make it up as you go. There certainly is something to be said for this kind of writing, and it has a very romantic ideal, but I think this also explains why quite a few of King's otherwise-amazing novels have lame, deus ex machina endings.
On Writing is written in King's distinctive, conversational, foul-mouthed style, which is just as engaging in non-fiction, although he runs a bit long-winded at times. The book is pretty short, though, and it's a fairly quick read.
I can't say I learned anything new about writing, but I did have some concepts reinforced (like don't use dialogue attributions), and it was nice to hear it from the most popular novelist of our time.
King says you can't make a good writer great, and you can't make a terrible writer competent, but you can make a competent writer good. If that's you, then to you this book might just be
RECOMMENDED
Book Description
One of the truly legendary figures of American history, the soldier, explorer, and colonist Captain John Smith was a vivid and prolific chronicler of the beginnings of English settlement in the New World. This volume brings together seven of his works, along with 16 additional narratives by 13 other writers, that recount firsthand the tragic, harrowing, and dramatic events of the settlement of Roanoke and Jamestown.
A founder of Jamestown in 1607, Smith's courage, determination, and leadership proved crucial to its survival. A True Relation tells of the colony's perilous first year, while The Proceedings and The Generall Historie continue the story of its struggle to survive and prosper. A Description of New England and New Englands Trials describe Smith's exploration of the northern coast and the prospects for its settlement. In The True Travels Smith recalls his adventures as a soldier in Eastern Europe and his amazing escape from Turkish slavery. Advertisements for the Unexperienced Planters, his last book, is a critical examination of the successes and failures of the English colonial enterprise. Written in a consistently lively style, Smith's works are filled with suspense, astonishment, and keen observations of American Indian cultures and New World landscapes.
The 16 additional narratives include accounts of the "Lost Colony" of Roanoke, the horrific "starving time" at Jamestown, and a shipwreck off Bermuda. Amplifying and sometimes challenging Smith's version of events, these narratives capture the fear and fascination of early encounters with the Indians; the brutality, desperation, and ingenuity of settlers facing extreme hardship; the complex interplay of feuds and rivalries, both between the English and the Powhatan Indians and within the colony itself; and the enduring story of Pocahontas, who came to occupy a unique place between two cultures. Included in the volume are 29 pages of contemporary drawings, 15 of them full-color illustrations by John White.
Customer Reviews:
A must have for all who are interested in the early settlement of Virginia and New England.......2007-04-05
Captain John Smith did an amazing amount of living in the fifty-one years he lived on Earth. His life's journey began in 1580 at Willoughy, England. He left home at 16 after his father's death to become a soldier fighting in France for Dutch Independence from Spain. In other words, he was a mercenary. He went to work in the Mediterranean Sea on a merchant ship in 1598. In 1600 he went to the Austrians to fight in Hungary against the Turks and fought so valiantly that he was promoted to Captain. Fighting in Transylvania in 1602, he was wounded, captured, and sold as a slave to a Turk. He was then given to a girl who sent him to her brother to get training for Imperial service. Being very ill treated by this Pasha, Smith killed him and escaped. He fled through Russia and then Poland, was released from service, received a large reward and spent time traveling throughout Europe. During the winter of 1604-05 he returned to England. All this before the events we know him for began in Virginia and New England!
His restless nature somehow got him involved with the plans to colonize the Virginia territory for profit. King James I granted the charter and the expedition set sail on December 20, 1606. While this is more than a century after Columbus, it was still a huge and costly undertaking to what was almost unknown territory. The three tiny ships were the Discovery (20 tons), Susan Constant (120 tons), and Godspeed (40 tons). They did not land in Virginia until April 1607 after a voyage of more than four months. Smith was on the list of seven council members that was designated to govern the colony. The winter was harsh, fresh water was hard to come by, sickness ravaged the colonists, and the local Indians, ruled by Powhatan (Wahunsonacock), were antagonistic to the newcomers. Smith became the leader and led the fight against the Indian raids and negotiating with them for food enough to supplement their meager stores.
In December of 1607, the famous incident of Smith being taken to Powhatan and being saved by Pocahontas occurred. Like much in Smith's writings, it is hard to separate the braggadocio from the fact. Apparently there was some kind of ceremony that involved a ritual death and renewal of life whereby Smith became some kind of subordinate chief member of the tribe. Smith may not have understood the ceremony well and indeed may well have believed that the 11 year old princess saved his life.
Life was very hard at Jamestown and dissent grew. Smith was elected President in September 1608 and has the fort reinforced and emphasizes military training among the colonists. During the winter, Powhatan refused to provide food because he believes that the colonists are not there to trade but to take Indian lands. After difficult negotiations they trade swords and guns for food. Things continue to be difficult and now the resentment focuses on Smith. He is badly burned when his powder keg caught fire. A group leading colonists deposes Smith and he sails back to England part in resentment and part for treatment of his injuries in October.
He is active in promoting colonization of the new territories and heads back in 1614, but he cannot go to Virginia. He focuses on the area north that he called New England. Smith traveled to many areas there and in 1615 founded a colony in Maine. He is captured by a French privateer and is unable to return to England until December. In 1622, Indians kill more than 300 colonists. Smith's offer to lead the military fight against the natives is rejected.
During these years in England, Smith published some works to provide him some much needed income. He finds the right stories to tell and several of his writings sold quite well. He died in 1631 at 51 years old and was buried at St. Sepulchres in the City of London.
This summary of his life is there merest outline of events. There is much much more covered in this treasure trove of a book.
The wonderful Library of America provides us with Smith's "A True Relation", "The Proceedings of the English Colony in Virginia" (parts written by a variety of folks), "A Description of New England", "New Englands Trials" [sic], "The Generall Historie of Virginia, New-England, and the Summer Isles", "The True Travels", and his "Advertisements for the Unexperienced Planters of New-England". The words in these titles such as "trials" and "advertisements" had a much different meaning four hundred years ago. The point was that by 1620 thousands of people were risking their lives to try to settle in Virginia and New England and they wanted information. Smith gave them good information about what they were going to face. Oh, he certainly boasted and gave himself credit for things that others did, but his descriptions of what it takes to survive there are quite good.
This volume does not contain Smith's two books on sea travel. However, it does contain an additional four hundred pages of writings by others about the settling of Virginia. One covers the settlement of Roanoke before the Jamestown voyage. Others are written independently of Smith, at least one was written in response to his "Generall Historie" that upset some who felt he took to himself their deeds. They are all fascinating.
There are also pages of black and white plates showing aspects of Smith's life and other aspects of the early settlement including etchings of Smith and even of Pocahontas (Lady Rebecca) in her English finery during her one, fatal, year in England. There is another set of plates that are in color and show Indian life at the time of the events of this book. We get many useful maps, and index, notes on the text, notes on the plates, and a chronology of Smith's life.
This is a rich text that provides important history of early American settlement that everyone interested in the founding and history of our nation will want to read and know. The early events with the Indians are fascinating as are the descriptions of the trade and battles. Even the variety of spellings are fascinating. Yes, orthography was not standardized, but it is interesting how the same words are spelled differently even within the same writing let alone between authors.
A must have for all who appreciate American history.
Average customer rating:
- Can't Say It Better Than Zin!
- So you want to write a memoir?
- Capturing Memories
- On Writing a Memoir
- A good motivator
|
Inventing the Truth: The Art and Craft of Memoir
William Zinsser
Manufacturer: Mariner Books
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Binding: Paperback
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Similar Items:
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The Situation and the Story: The Art of Personal Narrative
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ASIN: 0395901502 |
Amazon.com
Every time Inventing the Truth appears in a new edition, editor William Zinsser can't help but add to it. The first edition (1987) evolved from a series of New York Public Library talks, for which the mandate was not to lecture about the genre of the memoir but to explain how a specific memoir came to be written. In the book's 1995 edition, Russell Baker, Annie Dillard, Alfred Kazin, and Toni Morrison were joined by Jill Ker Conway, Eileen Simpson, Henry Louis Gates Jr., and Ian Frazier. This time around, Zinsser has added a rich and charming reminiscence by Frank McCourt (Angela's Ashes).
The authors do stick to their assignment: Russell Baker credits his huge family with helping him "learn a lot about humanity from close-up observation"; Jill Ker Conway talks about her desire to write a female memoir that was not a romantic happily-ever-after; and Henry Louis Gates Jr. discusses "want[ing] to write a book that imitated the specialness of black culture when no white people are around." But there is also plenty of advice for writers here, and some general thoughts about the genre. Conway addresses the difficulty of "going back as a historian" and trying to understand "all the things you took as a given when you were a child." Gates warns us to "be prepared for the revelation of things you don't even dream are going to come up." And Annie Dillard contemplates the strangeness of spending "more time writing about [a scene or an event] than you did living it." --Jane Steinberg
Book Description
In this perfect companion for anyone beguiled by memoirs or embarking on writing one, nine distinguished authors -- Russell Baker, Jill Ker Conway, Annie Dillard, Ian Frazier, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Alfred Kazin, Frank McCourt, Toni Morrison, and Eileen Simpson -- reflect on the writing process.
Customer Reviews:
Can't Say It Better Than Zin!.......2007-03-17
Zinsser is a Zen master when it comes to memoir writing. The introduction to this book is nothing short of a tour de force. It inspires, articulates, and deconstructs the myths and perils of memoir writing. The title, INVENTING THE TRUTH, is well crafted because the book addresses the ardous task of conflating truth and memory. One caveat this book is not an easy read for high school students; in fact it is nearly inaccessible, however, a teacher or memorist could glean invaluable experience on the craft of memoir writing from the collection. In a college memoir class this book would be and should be a must-have. If this book were to be expanded again, I would suggest including exercises or contemplation questions for the writer,teacher, and student.
So you want to write a memoir?.......2002-06-01
Memoir writers Russell Baker, Annie Dillard, Alfred Kazin, Toni Morrison, and Lewis Thomas share their thoughts on writing memoir. The chapters are taken from a series of talks given on the subject.
The authors point out that memoir is not biography. The hardest thing about writing memoir, they agree, is not deciding what to put in, but what to leave out.
They point to Emerson, Thoreau, Twain, and each other as models of good memoir writers.
Annie Dillard says that she writes memoir to fashion a text. She advises that those who want to preserve memories will avoid writing memoir since the act of writing an event often takes more time than the event itself. She compares writing to taking care of a baby. "You don't take care of a baby out of will-power, you do it out of love," she says. It's the same, she says, with writing.
Capturing Memories.......2001-12-08
Capturing Your Memories
In the book Inventing the Truth: The Art and Craft of Writing a Memoir William Zinsser along with other well renown authors take the reader through the writing process of a memoir.
The book is divided into six sections individually composed by each author. In their own words they describe how to create a memoir that will be interesting, fluid, and accurate. A memoir is not just the facts as they are, but the facts as you experienced them. There are many other pieces of advice through out the book that add to the reader's knowledge of writing a memoir.
William Zinsser is a well renowned author and teacher. He has written and been editor for the New York Herald Tribune, and Life Magazine. Zinsser has also taught non-fiction writing at Yale University. In his book Inventing the Truth Zinsser gathers advice from many talented and experienced authors. They not only offer up advice but also describe their own trials and tribulations throughout the process. From Zinsser's boyhood in Long Island to Thomas's interpretation of evolution the book Inventing the Truth: The Art and Craft of Writing a Memoir gives comfortable and informative lessons that a writer will find useful.
On Writing a Memoir.......2000-12-08
According to Webster, the definition of memoir is "a biographical sketch, usually one written by someone who knows the subject well." It is from the Latin word memoria, meaning memory. But in Inventing the Truth, Annie Dillard says, "Don't hope in a memoir to preserve your memories. If you prize your memories as they are by all means avoid--eschew--writing a memoir" (70). Inventing the Truth: The Art and Craft of Memoir is a sort of instructional anthology composed of six chapters written by six authors. The purpose of this book, edited and introduced by William Zinsser, is to give writers different perspectives on how to write a memoir. If you are writing a memoir, or even just thinking about writing one, this book will be helpful to you. It contains examples of good memoir writing, advice on what to put in and what to leave out, and an overview of the process of writing a memoir. The advice given by William Zinsser and the other five contributors to Inventing the Truth pertains mostly to organizing memories. Annie Dillard's chapter entitled "To Fashion a Text" is very focused on memoir writing, and would not prove useful to the average Joe. However, Lewis Thomas' chapter called "A Long Line of Cells" would be interesting for anyone to read. Unless you are thinking about writing a memoir, this book probably will not entirely interest you.
A good motivator.......2000-10-08
A pleasant read, well written and even inspirational. A good motivator for the writer that needs to connect with other writers. I did find it helpful in terms of creating a concept of *focus* when writing a memoir. Still, if one is looking for help with craft or skill, it has its limitations.
Book Description
This second edition of a highly acclaimed and interdisciplinary book which quickly established itself as a seminal text in its field investigates the way in which travel writing has constructed an image of the world beyond Europe for European readerships.
Focusing on writing about South America and Africa in relation to the political and economic expansion of Europe, this long-awaited second edition of
Imperial Eyes:
- is updated throughout, including a new preface, an updated introduction and a postscript reflecting critically on the category of the Â`postcolonialÂ' and how it has changed since the first edition was published in 1992
- contains new material, which reads well-known Latin American texts through the concept of neocoloniality and continues to discuss more general questions of the postcolonial in relation to the Americas and new ways of expressing late twentieth-century experiences of migration and displacement
- contains new illustrations of relevant documents and artefacts discussed within the text.
Customer Reviews:
Fantastic book.......2006-05-05
Vituperative, scathing truths about the world they don't teach you in high school make this an excellent book for anyone who likes to uncover the scandal beneath social, economic, and political realities formed in history. Pratt's poignant and stinging language drives home every point in a very sophistocated and flowing discourse. If you haven't taken a college course in Sociology, Africana, or Latin American Studies or similar, this language may be new to you but Pratt makes it as easy as watching an on-the-edge-of-your-seat sports match.
Seminal book in the field.......2004-04-07
While I understand this book presents a challenge to the reader, it is a seminal book in several fields: Mary Louise Pratt's prose is clear for a literary theorist and her vocabulary/jargon is appropriate to the subject. _Imperial Eyes_ takes the reader through several stages of European travel writing, and the effects these works have upon European representations and constructions of the "other." Pratt's strongest arguments deal with Mary Kingsley and Africa, in my personal opinion, but her work on Linneaus is important and relevant to history and to identity studies as well. As a professor, I would assign this book to an upper-division undergraduate course, and would expect students to have the ability to grapple with her argument and her prose. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to have a better understanding of the formation of modern European identity, the ideological underpinnings of colonialism, and the construction of the "other."
Refreshing perspective, but obscurity overpowers message.......2000-03-13
Mary Louise Pratt has a lot of fresh and important things to say, but her writing style makes this book tough to read. I consider myself a good reader, I can usually pick out main ideas and meanings quite easily, but I found this book really frustratingly hard to read! Pratt flip-flops between a readable, clear style and one in which she employs almost indeciperable sentences. I think her message is really important and structurally, "Imperial Eyes" is smartly organized, but it takes a lot of patience and re-reading to understand it.
Book Description
Paine was the impassioned democratic voice of the Age of Revolution, and this volume brings together his best-known works--"Common Sense," "The American Crisis," "Rights of Man," "The Age of Reason," along with a selection of letters, articles and pamphlets that emphasizes Paine's American years.
Customer Reviews:
What a useful collection........2007-07-10
It's good to have all Paine's material in one handy volume. Plenty to read and think about. It's a pity he's not better known in the USA, considering his significance in the existence of the country.
We have it in our power to begin the world over again.......2007-07-06
This was a required reading for a graduate humanities class. John Keane's biography succinctly showed that Tom Paine (1737-1809) was the consummate revolutionary and a daring adventurer. Not only was he an important figure in the American Revolution, but he also traveled to France in 1791 to give that revolution a push. Paine traveled from England, just in time to stoke the flames of the revolution with his pamphlet Common Sense, in January 1776. To call Common Sense a sensation in the colonies is actually a bit of an understatement. It was an unparallel sensation and monumental work of Enlightenment rhetoric that quickly fanned the flames of rebellion throughout the colonies. In four months, over 120,000 copies were printed in the colonies--over 500,000 copies by years end. No other pamphlet printed in seventeenth century America came close to its success. Most importantly, Common Sense served to get the colonial patriots to drop their fear of open rebellion, and also emboldened those delegates who favored declaring independence from Britain. The delegates now had the confidence that a large segment of the colonists would support rebellion. Similar to the Declaration of Independence, the philosophical ideas in Common Sense are primarily from the English philosopher, John Locke (1632-1704). The most moving quote from the pamphlet became quite prophetic, when one considers the impact it ultimately had on the delegates in the congress, the drafting of the Declaration of Independence, and on the world. "We have it in our power to begin the world over again."
As a graduate student in philosophy and history, I heartily recommend this timeless classic to anyone who is interested in political philosophy, and history.
Teach Thomas Paine to all Ages.......2006-12-03
Paine truly is the forgotten founding father. Unbelievably, I never learned about him till college--and only then through specific history classes. In addition to this volume, I suggest one of my recent discoveries: The Elementary Common Sense of Thomas Paine; the 1776 document Common Sense adapted and illustrated for ages 11 on up. It is here on Amazon. Paine, and all of our country's founding documents, should be taught to kids early on.
Most Important Founding Father - outstanding one-volume edition of his writings!.......2006-07-22
Thomas Paine was the most consistent and important of all the American Founding Fathers. He consistently spoke up in favor of liberty and freedom; for example, his opposition to the institution of slavery (which he argued was immoral and un-Christian and thought it quite contradictory to claim to be a Christian on the one hand and support slavery on the other hand) - Paine also spoke up in support of women's rights, freedom of thought, the poor, etc.
The important thing about Paine is that he practiced what he preached, as opposed to just about every other founding father (e.g., Jefferson saying all are "created equal" but owning slaves, or Adams "dismissing" his wife's assertion that they too should be included in the political process). I don't think we ought to condemn those individuals for the beliefs that they had, indeed they were products of their time period - and they are worthy of study. However, I also believe that we should praise those who were able to step out of that period and see things as they are, this is what Paine was able to do.
If you doubt Paine's importance in the history of American independence, consider the following; probably no other phamphlet brought the idea of independence to the mind of the colonists like Paine's "Common Sense" did and it was Paine's "Crisis #1" that was read to Washington's soldiers before they prepared for the biggest fight of the American Revolution. Paine's defense of the French Revolution in his "Rights of Man" sparked off a publication war that has yet to be matched and his "The Age of Reason" delineated the philosophical ideas that most of the founding fathers had with regard to religion (regardless of what the religious right would have you to believe).
Paine's mistake was not believing what most of the founding fathers believed, that the "common man and woman" was not intellectual enough to handle the arguments that he (and the others) were advocating. It was his consistency which brought about his downfall - this is a shame, because he is one of the most important thinkers to come out of the Revolutionary Period in American history.
Timeless inspiration.......2006-07-08
Thomas Paine, especially in The Age of Reason, did not put forth completely original ideas. Many of his contemporaries had the same critisms that Paine did in regard to organized religion especially Christianity. However, Thomas Paine organized such thoughts in a way that they were accessible to common men. Unfortunately his brave and inspirational work was his downfall. Closeminded and fearful citizens, like RICKITHEREADER in our modern times were frightened that perhaps Paine was tearing a hole the the fabric of their blind faith and because of this, Paines' last work, The Age of Reason, left him to die alone and impoverished. He was abandoned, even by his intellectual contemporaries, most who agreed with him but were not brave enough to voice their beliefs in the common vernacular. I was inspired by Paine who wrote, "My mind is my own church," which was not the voice of an atheist but the voice of a man who really did know the "truth" and his true path. Unlike RickitheReader, I have read both the bible and Paine with an open mind and heart. The joy of reading is the ability to let it lead you to new places. Thomas Paine would have said it better. Read this compilation and it will lead you to new places, wherever your faith is.
Book Description
For anyone challenged by the changes and controversies in the world's most widely used language: Standard American English.
Right, Wrong, and Risky provides simple, direct answers to questions about word choice, spelling, grammar, and punctuationin straightforward alphabetical order. The answers are supported by thousands of up-to-date published usage examples. And the reader is told not just that particular usages are right or wrong, but why.
In addition, Right, Wrong, and Risky warns the reader about risky words like cleave and suspicious, and the many risky situations in which usage authorities disagree about what is and is not acceptable in Standard American English. For every such quandary, this book provides a risk-free solution.Browsers will learn why we tell stage performers to break a leg, why it's not really an insult to call someone a philistine or even a Neanderthal, and why it's wise never to use the word fortuitous or say the word forte aloud.
Customer Reviews:
Who Can Do Without?.......2007-01-27
I can't think of anyone who uses the spoken or written word who wouldn't be intrigued by this book. Oh, how we misuse our English language with word useage that we are unsure of or mangle. Although not meant as such, I bought this book as a reference gift for my Crossword Puzzle obsessed son. It is amazing the amount of research and scholarship that is invested in this book. Look up the definition of the word "peruse." My guess is you haven't been using it correctly. Welcome to the club.
A must for anyone who writes...anything!.......2006-12-08
If you write letters, books, emails or just quick notes to the kids, you need this book. I have been honing my writing skills for years and found a plethora of information that I can use everyday. This book showed me how far I still have to go.
I'm buying four copies for Christmas gifts, I'm sure they'll be well received.
Brillant Yet Flawed.......2005-12-04
I just bought this book today and was absolutley delighted to see such an up-to-date reference book on American usage. I have been waiting for a comphrensive yet readable book on this subject, and Mr. Davidson's book fills the bill fairly well. The entries are alphabetically arranged, with very entertaining and informative prescriptions on what's right and incorrect. On the more controversial entries he even suggests a "risk-free" alternative to keep the prospective writer/editor out of possible hot water. A nice touch! Most aspects of usage and style are covered. From the usual collection of confusing and misspelled words, to excellent discussions about fused gerunds, redundant phrases, and other matters likely to trip up people who want to write clearly and correctly for their readers. The excellent bibliography is exhasutive and lists all the books that have been published on this topic since the early 90s (and earlier!).
On the negative side, I was very disapppointed that there was no index for the individual entries. This proved to be especially troubling, since not all entries are listed where they should be. For example, in looking up the word "yet", I found it not under the y's, but under the b's with the entry "but, however, nevertheless, nonetheless, still, still and all, or yet?" An index would have been helpful to point me directly to the page on which this item was discussed.
Lastly, I was surprised there was no reference to the recent Cambridge Guide to English Usage (2004) by Pam Peters who is also at Macquarie University. The two books together should answer any usage question for years to come.
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