Perhaps best known for writing the Black National Anthem, Lift Every Voice and Sing , James Weldon Johnson wrote one of the first novels to probe the ambiguities of race, the novel The Autobiography of an Ex-Coloured Man. As a boy, the fictional title character is sent North with his Mother to be raised in Connecticut. He does extremely well in school and is even something of a musical prodigy.

But, he is stunned when one day in school a teacher asks the white students to stand, and scolds him when he joins them. He confronts his fair skinned mother and she reveals that she is indeed black and his father is a white Southern gentleman. His father later comes to visit, and even buys him a piano, but the child is unable to approach and deal with him.

As a young man, the death of his mother & sale of their house leaves him with a small stake & he determines to attend college. Though qualified, he rules out Harvard for financial reasons & heads back down South to attend Atlanta University. However, his stake is stolen from his boarding house room before he can register & he ends up with a job in a cigar factory.

When the factory closes, he heads North again, this time to New York City and discovers Ragtime music and shooting craps, excelling at the one & nearing ruin in the other. A white gentleman who has heard him play enters into an exclusive agreement to have him play at parties & subsequently takes him along on a tour of Europe.

Inevitably, he is drawn back to America and to music. He tours the South collecting musical knowledge so that he will be able to compose a uniquely American and Black music. But his idyll is shattered when he sees a white lynch mob burn a black man. In the wake of this experience, he decides to "pass" for white--not due to fear or discouragement, but due to "Shame at being identified with a people that could with impunity be treated worse than animals."

Abandoning his musical ambitions, he takes a job as a clerk, does well investing in real estate & meets a white woman who he wishes to marry. After examining his conscience he decides to tell her that he is black. After taking some time to confront this fact, she consents to marriage.

As the novel closes, the "ex-colored man" tells us: "My love for my children makes me glad that I am what I am, and keeps me from desiring to be otherwise; and yet, when I sometimes open a little box in which I still keep my fast yellowing manuscripts, the only tangible remnants of a vanished dream, a dead ambition, a sacrificed talent, I cannot repress the thought, that, after all, I have chosen the lesser part, that I have sold my birthright for a mess of pottage."

And the reader can't help but feel profoundly ashamed of a system of racial oppression that forced a man to make these choices--a wonderful novel.

GRADE: B+

An autobiographical tale of a very smart man, ( who is part black / park white ) raised in the north who discovers the south in his late teen years. It is a story of discovery of the world as he learns music, hard work, love, and the dark side of life.

I didn't get the doom and gloom impression of the south from this author, however, one must remember that the author here can pass for white. However, at the end of the book, Johnson regrets not having taken part in the civil rights issues of the day and wonders if he has forsaken his race for a wife, children, and monetary success. A bit of a rushed ending, but was very informative and interesting to read.

For a book which was first published in 1912, this is an amazingly relevant work for today. Johnson's novel (hidden in the form of an autobiography) graphically looks at relations between the races in American. The nameless main character is born in the South to an African-American mother and a white Southern aristocrat. He and his mother move to Connecticut when he is very young, allowing Johnson to show us the benevolent face of pervasive racism of the United States. Johnson avoids the easy "good" vs. "evil" view of the oppressed vs. the oppressors. Instead, the narrator becomes a permanent outcast, returning to the South upon the death of his mother and then to the ragtime era New York City. The style of the novel is clear and extremely readable--and very current. The end of the novel dives deep into the issue of racism, causing both black and white readers to question their long-held assumptions about who they are and who they appear to be to others.

I was very disappointed in this book. Having read all of his previous books, I assumed this one would be good too. The main character Hack Holland is believeable but there is not enough substance to carry the plot. I bought this book to read for my summer vacation up north and ended up with no book to read and no place to buy another one.... can anything be more depressing!..sorry James Lee

I thoroughly enjoyed this book about Hank Holland. The JLB style remains the same with the tough, rough main character, plagued by his own demons,but ultimately righteous in the end. It was enjoyable (and available in Mexico in Paperback, so not thoroughly out of print...) I'd read another book about the same character and I've read all but the most recent one of the Dave Robicheaux collection.

This will be a departure in some way for people that have read the series about Dave, but for those of us that simply love his written word, this is a stunning piece of work by Burke. I have read this book twice, something I don't do too often because there are just too many things stacked up in my "to read" pile. Hack is a good man plagued by demons of his own making, something that is NOT a departure in a Burke novel and is what makes this book one that is not easily forgotten. I think that the struggle we all make in our lives to do what is "right" is just rife with areas of grey. This is what makes reading this (and any) Burke novel an experience rather than several hours to kill time with a story. Just my opinion, I've been wrong before, as someone much wiser than me once said.

An easy read. Covers from 2900 B.C. to the 1990's with a particular emphasis on the 1800's. James Laver's writing style is wonderful, describing not only the clothing but the historical and social context for each style of dress. The fashions of each period are illustrated by a variety of historical evidence, including statutes, famous works of art, fashion drawings, diaries, cartoons and photographs. The book is not an in-depth study of each period but rather a very brief overview. The last chapter covering from 1940 to the 1990's was writen by Amy de la Haye and is markedly different in writing style. She does not discuss the social and historical context to the extent that Laver does but rather gives an overview of the major designers of each decade and their respective styles. As there is a lot to discuss in the last 50 years of fashion, I wish that this book had dedicated more than 31 pages to modern fashion.

This classic by James Laver is a very good introduction to the subject. This is not an exhaustive history of clothing that one should consult for lengthy descriptions, or pinpoint accuracy tied to the latest scholarship. But what this book is (and is wonderfully) is an overview of a very vast subject distilled into one portable volume. The illustrations are excellent and worth the price of the book in themselves. Great amounts of detail are lacking, but the student of costume history can look elsewhere for in depth information in the works of Boucher, Davenport, Ribeiro, and others. This book can provide the basic knowledge one needs to approach the more advanced publications.

There are discrepencies of terminology in comparison to other texts. This is especially true in his descriptions of Byzantine court costume; Laver uses some Greek terms as opposed to the Latin terms used by most other historians. Laver also has an ethnocentric bias and gives much information from an English point of view. As with Contini's "Fashion: A Social History" and Batterberry's "Fashion: The Mirror of History" (both sadly out of print), Laver's prose and scholarship are a little dated, and he predates political correctness. But the history of clothing is heavily tied to religion and superstitions, public morals and sexuality, gender and social hierarchy. To tell a politcally correct history of clothing is to apply a bias as skewed as the biases it would seek to rectify.

This is a highly readable and succinct account of its subject and is strongly recommended. Given that the wonderful Contini and Batterberry books are not available, Laver's very accesible text is an excellent introduction for the beginning costume historian.

This is a nice *SMALL* (which is important when you are carrying it back and forth to class) book that is FULL of pictures. Don't by this book if you are looking for detailed explanations of the costumes...go to Boucher if you are looking for that... But if you want a good colour pictoral quick reference, this is the one to buy.

I love it and use it all the time. It is cracked open to the picture of Rubens and Isabella Brant!

This is one of the most boring books I have ever read. If you want to see the facts, look no further, but if you want to stay awake long enough to finish, that's another story. I only recommend this book if you have insomnia because, it will put you right to sleep before you finish the prologue.
P.S. I had to read this for a U.S. history class.

The authors are professional political scientists, so if you're looking for a book to reaffirm your own prejudices regarding the 2000 election, you ought to look elsewhere. The reading can be a bit dry at times, but if its the facts you want, you'll find them here. This objective book should be read before tackling the more partisan accounts of the election; it will put them in perspective.

If you want an almost totally unbiased overview of the ENTIRE election of 2000 (including the primary season) this is the definate work on the subject. We have facts presented here IN CONTEXT, and in full. We have some opinions given at the end, but not before the entire history of the primary season, the general election and the post election are given such a solid going over that this should be the FIRST book you read on the subject before you read the books on the left or right.

Unfortunately it seems by the number of reviews and the sales rank of this volume, facts deviod of opinion don't sell. People seem to want to affirm their own beliefs (I plead guilty on occasion) rather that deal with all the facts. As a political junkie, and one with a great love of history. This book feeds me and leaves me full and happy. This is not to say that other books on the election are not worthwhile (I enjoyed Sammon's AT ANY COST, and accepted Greenfield's OH WAITER ONE ORDER OF CROW), some are some aren't but history is made of facts, and facts are what this book delivers.

If you want a complete and fair picture of the 2000 election buy this book, if you want a tilt to affirm the opinion you already have on either side then I urge you to try this as an alternative.

Author has included some email and web site information for ski area accomodations, tourist offices, etc, but it just touches the tip of the iceberg.

Verbier, Switzerland, one of the top ski areas in Europe, only gets 5 pages in the book. Does not provide any commentary on accommodations in Verbier other than number of stars in rating and prices. Some other large ski areas get better treatment. The Arlberg region gets 9 pages of coverage.

Book lacks maps of Europe and of ski areas.

Overall the book is a good starting place for researching a trip, but descriptive information is brief and basic. Still this book is the most recently published on the topic as of 10/98, so the currency of the information should be decent.

I live in Munich and use this book often as a reference. It contains very accurate information on lodging, prices, and qualities of the resorts. Very accurately summarizes the differences in the ski experience between the different countries.

Needs more detailed maps of the resorts and slopes with hotels, restaurants, etc. clearly marked. Needs to be more critical of some resorts so the reader can make a better decision about which one to visit.

Ski Europe was a great book for my winter stay in europe. The thing i liked most about it was that it was the only book i needed. It offered all the skiing info i needed for each resort (even a scection in each resort on snowboarding!), but it didn't stop there. Its an all around guide with info on the night life, hotels, and restaurants. it gave concice information about all the aspects of a skiing vacation, which made my off the slope hours much more productive. i strongly recomend this book for any skier or snowboarder, any level.
=Z

This book was surprisingly helpful and easy to follow. Step by step instructions, paragraphs, and plenty of examples. A short paragraph is written about each featured writer to help the reader better understand the stories. Makes English class a breeze!

Thanks so much for the great deal and fast shipping! The item arrived in perfect condition!

This is a book that you will use over and over again. I started using this book because it was a required textbook for a Writing Class that I just finished. The book talks about the purposes of writing, your audience for writing and qualities of writing. The book was especially helpful for planning and drafting your first essay. It shows you how to write using Illustration, Comparison, Cause and Effect and Arguments. It also gives you examples of these writing styles. At the end of each Chapter, you have discussion questions and suggestions for writing. It is full of possible topics for you to write essay's on.

A wonderful book full of ideas and resources.

This book omits several important events in U. S. History up to 1865. But is sufficient for introductory classes in U. S. History. While it does a sufficient job as a survey source, it is not recommended for an in-depth study of any period in U. S. History. Further, Roark seems to emphasize some events that seem less important to U. S. History.

This book is very well written, quite long, though

Not a bad book, although there are a few rather blatant editing errors, such as the date of the first Zionist Congress. However, Sinclair approaches the history of Jerusalem from the traditional European perspective, one which sheds a less positive light on the Muslims and Palestinians. Read Armstrong's Jerusalem instead.

Sinclair's "Jerusalem" reminded me of Stoppard's "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead." Both center on subjects that are often at the edge of the main drama. Sinclair attempts to tell much of world history from the perspective of Jerusalem.

If you're looking for a book to read while flying traveling for business, this would be a great one.

Joey is a choreographer and dancer living in New York City with his Chinese-American boyfriend Andrew. Joey wins a grant that will fund a year of study in Bali, so the two go there. Andrew makes the best of it by focusing on creating a home for the both of them, but Joey throws himself into creating his dance routine and slowly drifts from his lover of fifteen years. Andrew is shattered when Joey reveals that he's involved with a 19-year old dancer and that he wants to shack up with the kid. Andrew flies back to the States and slowly rebuilds his life. Joey takes his edgy dance and his new lover back to New York, but ultimately things fall apart and eventually Joey is left without the sense of stability he once had. What saved this book for me was the modern epistolary form, a series of email between various characters in the story. This gives it a gossipy, fast-paced feel that salvages this melodramatic story from being the tepid gay pop fiction cliche that it could've been. I was surprised that I liked it as much as I did, and that it wasn't as bad as I expected.

This suburban grandmother loved this book! The epistolary style particularly complements these characters... And what a cast of characters! I could not stop laughing as I read the entries made by the hilarious Tante Phyllis.Alarmed by the surprising behavior of long time friends, she spins off some of the funniest (and toughest) lines in the book. Phylllis is what we all want our best friend to be- funny, loving and brutally honest.
The love story that unfolds has all of the right moves as well. Set in Bali,interlaced with the drama of dance, the story covers it all. One does not have to be a gay man to feel Andrew's pain, or to feel the pull that youth and raw sexuality have on Joey. The story is a classic one, with a different twist. It's a good read- far away places, real characters, and a clever , clever format.

The first novel was Samuel Richardson's PAMELA. It told its story in letters that were exchanged among the participants. Jamie James has updated this technique by having the characters correspond via email. The difficulty with this "gimmick" is that the author must create a different syle for each of the correspondants. James does just that! (He is even able to capture the pain of a young boy's first love.) Like the other reviewer on this page, I expected a piece of "beach reading". It is not! The only thing it has in common with a "beach-read" is that it can be read quickly. Nor, is it one of the plethora of "gay-cute" books. In Joey, James has created a tragic character that corresponds to Aristotle's dictum. He is a true tragic figure because he knows that he, and he alone, is responsible for his fate. (This is where you missed out, Arthur Miller!) Now in case you get the impression that this is a dreary, gloomy work, let me assure you it isn't. There is much humor here. There is sharp satire here. You will become involved with these people; you will care about these people. You will laugh, you will cry, (and if you have a heart) you will love this book.

This is not it. Sorry. Not that it is an aweful book, but hardly comprehensive. Lonely planet's individual guides are passable, but what little savve they have is sadly editted out in this oversized under norished number. Having travelled in a good few of the countries mentioned here, I eventually ended up ditching the book and using photostats of the South American handbook, a vastly better publication. Remember that a guide book defines, to no small degree, how you see the places you visit. Following the lonely planet guides gives you great generic lonely planet experience. But if you want something more or different, the options aren't there. Sure, its colorful, and yes, it is useful as a map book, but as you only source of information on vast continent, follow the footprint

It is hard to concentrate so much information in a single book, covering all of South America from Colombia to Chile. Lonely Planet have tried and have done a good job, but the target was too ambitious... If you are literally running through South America with little time, and perhaps you don't want to carry the weight of too many guides, then do get this book. It is of some use, and offers interesting reading. Yet, if you plan to get to know each country more thoroughfully, you are much better off with Lonely Planet's (or other publishers') single guides on each individual country, and there are lots to choose from.

I have just returned to Norway after a year backpacking around in Latin America (of course accompanied by the Lonely Planet books). I do not claim to be an expert, but I know what I look for in a travel guide!

This edition of the LP South America did not disappoint me. (Please note that I used it only for Colombia, Ecuador and Perú). It is up to date on the information, and as with all the other LP books it is easy to find your way around with it. It includes maps over the big cities, good information about the hotels, restaurants, places worth visiting, and time schedules for bus, train etc.

You have to take into account that this is a guide that is meant to cover the whole South America so naturally it is not as detailed as the guides for each country separate. It is good as an overall guide if you plan to go to more than one or two countries, as you would try to cut down on the baggage you would have to carry around.

As for the prices for hotels and food, the book is not accurate.. But you cannot expect that. It is hard to keep up with all the changes, especially in the Latin American economy, where the inflation is "somewhat" higher than in the rest of the world. So, for prices, do your own research, or at least be prepared for changes! (We usually doubled the prices in the book and that gave us a good indicator of what to expect).

You will find that if you are walking around with the LP book under your arm, many of the local people will approach you and ask you if you need help. Say yes - even if you don't need help! It is a great opportunity to get in contact with the local people!

This book is a must on your travel!