Boyer's URBAN MASSES AND MORAL ORDER was a book just ahead of its time. In the Foucauldian spirtit of the historical genealogy which has become the standard form of books about social power, Boyer periodizes the many manifestations of social control that rose in American cities from 1820 to 1920.

The first social control programs were the Tract Societies who distributed tracts showing new urban populations how to live morally, according to a kind of outdated bucolic Christian ideal. When tracts didn't work (none of the methods worked at all well according to Boyer), a number of other missionary societies stepped in with new ideas: the Children's Aid Society, the YMCA, the Salvation Army, the Settlement Movement, and finally, the City Beautiful Movement. Many of these societies went after children as the best hope for saving innocent urban unfortunates from the ills of the city, their ethnic parents, and the filthy Catholic and Jewish denizens of the tenements. The only exception was the Children's Aid Society whose founder saw urban urchins as extremely savvy, smart and supremely adaptive. Nonetheless, the Children's Aid Society shipped young people out to rural America in the belief that they could better prosper elsewhere than in the city. Most of the time this was done with parental consent, but sometimes kids claimed to be orphans so they could have an adventure with their friends.

Boyer's largest theme is the tracing of slow retreast of the strategy of personal contacts with the urban poor rendered by the "friendly visitor" of these many organizations as the means for moral uplift and social control, and its eventual replacement by the notion that a new achitecture, a new environment of playgrounds, swimming pools, outdoor concerts would have a mass civilizing effect. The prosletyzing was done in the form of buildings and patrolled urban spaces. Sans the religion, but still full of the moralizing and improving rhetoric, the progressive age government was enlisted in these new strategies of social control. And, of course, eventually, the "friendly vistior" became the social worker. But the same goal was pursued -- turning scary immigrants into solid middle-class citizens. Positive resentimentalizaion through civil space, through education, through public art in public museums, etc., is still a major strategy in large cities. Art and high culture as a moral instrument.

Boyer's other large theme is that all of these movements were essentially the same -- the tactics barely changed from generation to generation, with the exception of the spatial solution which had a different means but the same hoped for end. As one exhausted organization after another gave up, new organizations sprung to take their place, most of them presided over by men from rural communities who had moved to the city and were disturbed by the lack of social cohesion and surveillance they had experience growing up, and so sought to impose their rural or town Christian values and moral controls upon the city dwellers. The Puritans practiced this form of coercion in their small settlements, until the flock dispersed to such an extent that social control through surveillance could not work. By the end of the 19th century, city dwellers surpassed country dwellers, and much of the impetus of these early movements faded.

There is, of course, a parallel now with the Southern fundamentalists trying to impose their beliefs on the "godless" cities of the Northeast. In fact, in reading URBAN MASSES AND MORAL ORDER with an eye toward the rise of the South in the 70s and 80s, the same kinds prosletytizing are apparent. Although the intent of this particular social control movement was at odds with the free market ideologists on the other side of the conversative movement, the moral conservatives of the South and West (which had always been backward until vast flows of Federal money were diverted there by Southern senators after WWII), needed an ideology to go along with their grab for power. So, once again, we in the wicked urban North once more got to hear about our moral corruption -- as if nearly two hundred years of it weren't enough already.

A great read, a great synthesis, a real classic.

I found this book very informativ

This is the best baseball stat book out, my 10 yr old son has been devouring each addition since the 1994 edition. He has been searching for the 1995 editon(year of the strike). Any advise out there from anyone or publisher how to get his hands on one?

Traditional illnesses and high-risk behaviors of adolescents have often been addressed in novels where health issues are used to educate and engross teens: Using Literature to Help Troubled Teenagers Cope with Health Issues provides annotated bibliographies of works both fiction and nonfiction which explore issues relating to teen health, providing parents and educators with reviews which include student comments about the plots.

Of course this book's not to be taken seriously but for vampire lovers I got a kick outa this. It's focus is on traditional vampire beliefs, things that may not pertain to "modern" vampires. Like no reflection in a mirror, choking on garlic, afraid of crosses are those nasty things that mostly pertain to old timing vamps. It's packed with diagrams, history tidbits, and unintentional humor I think. The book takes you step by step through the process, what are vampires, tools you'll need - the works. If vampires were real this would be an excellent beginners guide.

Bradley Collins first suggested in his book on Leonardo da Vinci that psychoanalysis had great untapped potential in its application to the art history and the analysis of individual artworks. In his second book, Van Gogh and Gauguin, Electric Arguments and Utopian Dreams, Collins certainly makes good on his promise. Virtually every sentence in this book is a bullet. Exceptionally readable and zestful, Bradley Collins never fails to move the reader along merrily during this delightful tour de force. The section on Van Gogh leads off and with a wealth of primary material, letters, early sketches, notes and even recollections by contemporaries and other artists, Collins nails his powerful points with clarity and conviction. Van Gogh's conflicts are clearly linked to earlier infantile repressed syndromes which are then in turn brought into connection with his artworks. Collins is never dogmatic. He gives the reader freedom to doubt and hold back. The Gauguin section has less of an overwhelming primary material avalanche because we lack the enormous correspondence. Collins disarmingly admits this problem and comfortably proceeds within the limitations of the evidence. At all times, Collins wide ranging erudition in art history shines. His polished prose never has the feel of jargon yet he sent me to the dictionary a number of times and he will stretch the reader frequently. The choice of illustrations is superb and extremely helpful in supporting not only Collins' closely reasoned Freudian position but in enveloping the reader in this wonderful aesthetic journey. Collins use of footnotes is judicious and illuminating. One example: In one footnote Collins notes that at the time of Van Gogh's ear mutilation there was a concurrent rage among Japanese prostitutes for amputation and gift of a fingertip to keep the wandering hearts of a wavering client, and since Van Gogh like many of the avant garde artists of his day was a fanatic admirer of Japanese culture it is quite possible that he knew of this bizarre masochist practice when he cut his ear. Collins has mastered the art of putting more in his footnotes than many of his contemporary authors manage to put in their entire books.
This is a must read for anyone interested in art history, psychoanalysis or general cultural debate. One can only hope that Collins will continue to write on the topic of psychoanalysis and art history, which although it is not an especially popular topic, it is a field in which Bradley Collins may now be justly considered perhaps America's leading specialist. In my opinion, there were signs of genius on every page of Van Gogh and Gauguin, Electric Arguments and Utopian Dreams. Bravo to Collins. A book of such quality is only encountered perhaps once a decade. It is a real gem.

i referenced this book throughout my stay in vancouver. it came in very very handy during my stay there. before making any decisions, we checked to see what this book had to say

This well reseached tome is vital to texas botanists, natural resource professionals, and the layperson in untangling the web of name revisions of Texas plants. Preface to book detailing the history of Texas botany is fantastic.

Having made up my mind in advance to approach Braham's book with outright scepticism I put it down after reading with a newfound perspective on this troubling issue. The arguments contained within are surprisingly convincing and well-constructed. The book effectively demonstrated to me that many generally-held beliefs about Vatican policy during WWII are based on little more than second-hand and often erroneous information. Difficult to put down, this book is good reading for anyone with an interest in history and politics (whatever your spiritual persuasion).

Having my own personal Sunday Missal is one of the best purchases I have ever made! I feel very satisfied with it. I know I am more organized and better prepared for Mass. I can read the commentary ahead of time and reflect on the Readings/Gospel if I choose. It has also helped me select songs for choir practice that fit the theme for each Sunday.

Overall, it is a great bargain! The Millennium Edition lasts until at least 2021. Very inexpensive when you think how long it lasts. Most importantly, and the main reason I purchased it, is that I am the only person to handle it. Just think about how many hundreds of people (with colds and flu) handle the paper copy in the pew....