Like many of her fellow "Progressives," Jane Addams was born in the midwest and received an exceptional scholastic and religious education. She was strongly devoted to her father and shared with him a reverence for Abraham Lincoln not just as a man, but as a living ideal against which all men should measure their ideas and actions. Typical of many reformers of her era, Addams was not attracted to evangelical duty. Missionary work left her with a sense of futile detachment from the wretched social conditions she witnessed in East London. After visiting Toynbee Hall, Addams decided to establish a similar settlement house in the rapidly-growing city of Chicago, where "the evil and vices of American life seemed to be exaggerated." Her experiences at this settlement house are the subject of this book.

Although, on the one hand, Addams seemed the typical Progressive; on the other hand she did not follow many of the ideas of the more radical reformers. She was very practical and refused to be swayed by the claims of certain social movements and untried panaceas. she did not become a socialist. Although she greatly admired Tolstoy, she found his message "confused and contradictory" and doubted its suitability to the situation in Chicago. She deplored any violent tactics associated with socialist and anarchist groups despite their "noble motives." Addams demostrated an understanding of the ways in which strikes had a detrimental effect on people outside the labor movement (her dying sister was unable to see her family because the transportation system was blocked due to the Pullman strike. Unlike most reformers, she also had respect for the immigrant cultures represented at Hull House. A labor museum put native sewing machines and other instruments and crafts on display for all to enjoy.

One observation made by this reader was the animosity on the part of European reformers toward the work of the settlement residents. Tolstoy offered petty criticisms and one English visitor concluded that reformers in America were indifferent to the plight of the poor because they could not recite the "cubic feet of air required for each occupant of a tenement bedroom." Such remarks smack of a "caring competition." Addams, however, was well aware that the settlement house experiment was far from complete. Jane Addams' honest and humble account--albeit long and sometimes rambling (don't let the skinny paperback fool you)--demonstrated her unwavering commitment to achieving the improvement and unity of humanity.

Although, I did find this book to be hard to read at times, I did find it very interesting. It was an inspiring book, showing what a group of dedicated ladies can do when they set their minds to something. Jane Addams is quite the heroine along with the many other ladies that helped her run Hull-House. A very inspiring story. We should all be as dedicated to doing good in the world.

Most of the people who reviewed this book were forced to read it in college, admittedly. A couple of them openly confessed to having given up part-way through. My question: Why are you reviewing the book you haven't even read? Granted, it's not a Hollywood film, but it is perhaps one of the greatest works of the 20th century, written by an author who stands on par with Gandhi or Mother Teresa in her committment to social justice. Think about it this way: Addams' settlement house (or Hull House, as it was called) was like an ashram built in the middle of Chicago's dirtiest late 19th century slum. She was doing social work of a kind that had never been done before - working with immigrants, single mothers, orphins, troubled youth and the unemployed. The scope of her sociological experience has never been matched. Politically, Addams was an advocate for the abolition of war, and these views not only secured her the Nobel Prize, but also a black-listing with the House of Un-American Activities. I don't see what is not to like about this book. It is autobiographical in the strict sense of the term, but Addams was larger than life. If you are even vaguely interested in ethics, social work, sociology, social justice, or democracy, Addams' story will inspire and amaze you. Her life was a paradigmn of exellence. It was a life that will inspire you to achieve greatness yourself. I cannot over-recommend familiarizing yourself with this figure, and 20 Years at Hull House is the best place to start.

As a future Peace Corps volunteer in neighboring Burkina Faso, I was hoping to get insights into the lives of Volunteers and Africans in the area. This book fell horribly short of my expectations. Hirsch mentions virtually nothing about her duties as a Peace Corps Volunteer, giving the reader little insight into her work here. The book reads like a string of short, random memories that aren't organized in any meaningful way, and she often writes something that seems like it will be the beginning of a good story, but then abruptly switches topics. Even her discussion of Nigerian culture is minimal. What stood out most when I finished this book was Hirsch's several brief mentions of her sexual encounters in Nigeria, which earned her the title "Peace Corps Harlot" and which she describes with the bashful simplicity and superficiality of a twelve-year-old. I was hoping for something informative and inspiring, and this was definitely neither. I suppose that some people could consider this book to be a mildly interesting light read, but for someone interested in the Peace Corps experience, this book did nothing for me. Its 90 or so pages were a relief to finish.

I found this book left me hanging...it is not only slim in size but slim as well in development of the story. I was anxious to hear more about the people and the environment but instead was disappointed in what I got back. The idea to write this book was well taken but it could have easily been many more pages.

This was an interesting story and made you feel like you were there; gave you a good idea about Africa and about the Peace Corps.

When you want to improve upon your grammar skills, the ideal book will explain the rules to you, provide you with practice problems, and then provide you with explanations of the answers. All this will help you to refine your skills with confidence.

Unfortunately, all this is not here. This workbook is designed as a textbook, so the answers are not sold with the books. If you are with an educational institution, then you may be able to get the answer key (which is not always correct). This makes it hard to verify your understanding.

This workbook does have some things going for it. Before each new set of practice exercises, there are explanations of the area in question. This is usually enough to explain the material so purchasing "The Little, Brown Handbook" is not absolutely necessary. However, there is some material, like relative clauses, which are not explained too well for understanding with confidence.

I would use this for a class if I had the accompanying textbook. I would also take note that the instructions for the exercises usually have more than one thing you need to do. But as a refresher, I would not take this without a class.

An excellant book for someone riding jumping, but not for someone to teach it. An instructor should go to school for training, not buy a book and read it. And while this book had great techniques, no one can learn to instruct by just reading a book. Anyone who is currently taking riding lessons, or thinking about it, read this book, you'll definatly get something out of it, especially if your trainer is ripping you off.

The layout of this book is very strange, rendering it hard to use. Only a summary Table of Contents appears at the beginning of the book. Worse, it is split over two facing pages--that is, the Table of Contents is presented as one page with the book binding splitting the page in the middle. And, though the book is organized by numbered sections, the section numbers (incredibly) do not appear in the summary Table of Contents. There is a detailed Table of Contents, but it doesn't appear until the literal end of the book. It spans the last page and the inside back cover and is mostly hidden by a fold-in book flap (now that's handy). Of course, this also means that the index is not actually at the end of the book, as you foolishly might have expected; it preceeds that detailed Table of Contents.

It is a lot of work to use this book. The content may be good, but if you're looking for guidance on something specific, you're going to have to dig to find it. A guide should be easy to use, not a chore, in and of itself.

The Little, Brown Essential Handbook for Writers is a useful guide for grammar, style, punctuation, and other writers' needs. The plastic binding makes the book easy to manage when referencing and editing your work.

It isn't always as detailed as a writer might like on usage, but if you have a strong handle on usage, then this shouldn't be a problem.

The book is small and compact, so it doesn't take up a lot of shelf space, but it is full of useful information. It's also great as a writer's traveling companion. Information is quick and easy to find. I recommend keeping this one nearby when proofreading and editing one's work.