I read this book in a women's studies class. It is based on a qualitative study about HIV+ women. It features a collection of voices from a series of interviews with several support groups, and focuses mainly on the emotional/spiritual aspect of living with HIV/AIDS. The two researchers who ran the study and edited the book are as much a part of the book as the women are. They keep a running commentary on the bottom of each page reflecting on the interviewing process and their relationships as researchers and friends to the women in the study, keeping the reader aware of the power differentials that might have an effect on the women's stories. The book also contains several angel "intertexts" which I personally didn't find to be very necessary, but Lather and Smithies explain it in the book. Overall, as a person who's never known anyone with HIV/AIDS, I liked how it focused on everyday "living" with HIV/AIDS. The voices of different women were featured and it showed the wide range of emotions and experiences that these women faced while living with HIV/AIDS.

This is a good reference to have handy for those who do not regularly write but yet critique the writer's work. It is easy to understand and contains examples.

I'm going to have to confess that I bought this book because of its title. I like to read and review vampire books, and believe that having some background knowledge can add some interest to a review. So I pulled the book down from the shelf, turned to one of the few pages in the book that actually contained the word vampire, and bought it. It was only when I started to reed it at home that I discovered that its real title is 'Magical Acts, Rites and Beliefs in Subcarpathian Rus.' The current title is an invention of either the translator's or the publisher. So, starting right out, the book loses a star for pretending it is what it is not.

What is it? Petr Bogatyrev was a Russian ethnologist who should have been better known than he is. He was born in 1893 and died in 1971. Among his other accomplishments besides this book is his translation into Russian of Hasek's 'Good Soldier Svejk.' He spent his early academic life studying the folklore and customs of Czechoslovakia, eventually earning an honorary Doctor of Philology for this book. He pursued his career in Russia upon returning, but eventually fell victim to the Stalinist fervor of the times and spent most of his life in obscurity. To our loss, since 'Magical Rites...' reveals a keen and interesting mind.

Bogatyrev was an exponent of the synchronic method of ethnography, which he came upon in his linguistic studies. In it's essence it was a rebellion against historical ethnography which attempts to trace backward from contemporary studies to discover the original myths and legends as they existed in some prehistorical period of cultural unity. Instead, Bogatyrev believed we should try to study the present legends and belief systems in context in order to understand their contemporary significance. This allows us to understand the 'magical' mechanisms underlying folk practices, categorize them appropriately, and recognize the sources of variation and commonality. This method reminds me most of Mircea Eliade, who uses a similar approach in 'Shamanism' in 1951, albeit with much greater success.

The flaw in this method is that the reader is often confronted with a massive catalog of facts, without the kind of organization that makes it easy to see the forest rather than get lost in the trees. Only in isolated paragraphs do we find discussions which gradually bring the material together into a conceptual whole. Often the message is disappointingly trivial. Bogatyrev spends a great deal of time and effort rediscovering Frazer's principals of magic; the law of similarity and the law of contact. But he never muses on his inability to discover examples of the law of opposition, and so leaves his findings in question, or at least, lacking in depth.

Since catalogs of Subcarpathian folklore are not common, the book's intrinsic value is greater than it's expository worth as a demonstration of methodology. That it belongs on the shelves of ethnographers is without doubt. The exposition is well written. The book is organized into a methodological introduction followed by a large section organized according to the folk calendar. Subsequent chapters discuss births and baptism, weddings, funerals, finally ending with apparitions and supernatural beings. In no case, however, should you by this in the hope of discovering anything relevant to vampires. They are most definitely not what Bogatyrev was interested in.

This book was originally published in French in 1929 with a title that translates as: Magical Acts, Rites, and Beliefs in Subcarpathian Rus'. The title Vampires in the Carpathians was added for this 1998 English translation and is really misleading. The last two chapters: "Funerals" and "Apparitions and Supernatural Beings" do make passing references to vampires, but focus mostly on other spirits. So if you are looking for a book on vampires, look elsewhere. What little is said about vampires will be only of interest to the serious scholar who needs to know every possible reference in the literature. The original title, which is the current subtitle, is a much more accurate description of what this book is about. However, Bogatyrev spends over 35 pages talking about his research methodology which he calls the synchronic method. Unless this is what you really want to learn about, I advise you skip the Introduction and Conclusion. His methodology is that he tells us what the ritual means to the people performing it at that time. He does not try to draw inferences back in time or determine origins. He just "tells it like it is" or, in this case, as it was back in the 1920's. What results is very unsatisfying. He tells you a ritual and what it means in village X, then tells you that in village Y they do the same thing, but have no idea why. Then, he relates that in village Z they don't do this at all. He goes through the whole religious calendar relating quaint old customs attached to each religious holiday, then does the same for rituals attached to births, weddings and funerals. We owe this author a debt of gratitude for documenting this snapshot of Carpathian village life. English-speaking folklore scholars will be glad to have access to this work and Americans of Rusyn descent may finally understand what crazy rituals and customs drove their grandparents to leave this rustic corner of Central Europe for the USA and Canada. On the plus side, this is an excellent translation and the biography of Bogatyrev is engaging. Not for any but the most dedicated readers.

This book is a treasure trove of folklore and customs of the Carpathian Rus. Following the service cycle of the Orthodox Church, the authors discuss the various folk customs asscoaited with each feast as well as marriag, death, etc. The probable origins and variations are discussed as is the intention of the act. It's a great read, but a bit heavy, being written in full blown academic style. For anyone interested in the small t traditions of these people, it is invaluable.

The illustrations for the version of Jack and the Beanstalk are wonderful, however, the text is from a 1807 version and is difficult to read easily. This is compounded by the fact that it is in rhyme so some of the words/grammer are really strange to keep the rhyme pattern.

This is a wonderful approach to the fairy tale stories. I've read several of Mrs. Capps-Burgess books and all of them are excellent! They make extra special gifts for the young reader.

Mrs. Capps-Burgess, the daughter of famed Arkansan Bible Teacher and farmer Charles Capps, does an extrodinary job of transplacing the traditional Fairy tales into Faith tales. A former reviewer has sent back her copy and declared that she, the reader, is religious. Herein lies the reason she misunderstands Mrs. Burgess. Mrs. Burgess is not religious, but rather maintains a relationship with Jesus Christ. It would be a mystery as to why Mrs. Burgess has written this new "twist" were it not for a fact that millions have stepped aside from religion and moved ahead toward this relationship building class for their children with Jesus Christ. In my opinion, only those parents who have strong Bible-believing faith, would approve of the works of Beverly Capps Burgess. Those who claim to be religious should probably continue to hold to traditional fairy tales.

This is the story of the tragic way in which the media circus surrounding the murder of the Ramsey's six year old daughter stripped them of their privacy, their wealth, and destroyed their lives. The Ramseys have been publicly accused of the murder of their daughter, tried and convicted in the court of public opinion, the media, and presumed guilty until they prove themselves innocent.
The story of JonBenet's last day of her life, Christmas Day 1996 is told by her parents.
The many ways the murder was exploited by the tabloids, the press, the Boulder Police Department with their leaks to the press, and the internet sub-culture with its hate-the- Ramseys forums is discussed and many of the side shows that have attached themselves to the case in bizarre ways.

The actions of the Ramseys and the investigators are discussed in the book in detail. A must read for the serious follower of the JonBenet murder case no matter which side of the fence one is on.

JonBenet Ramsey would be turning thirteen this August 6th, 2003, if her life had not been cut short at the age of 6.

For 6 years, the Boulder police, DA, and tabloids have tried this case with lies, hearsay and fake proofs. Their theory (among others) ? Patsy Ramsey, a mother of two with a history of cancer, found her six-year-old daughter JonBenét had wet her bed on Christmas night. She then became hysterical, killed the child, hid her body and made up a fake ransom note. Her husband covered it up.

"We were not able to find a slap in a supermarket" said a policeman. Routier, Downs, all the parents who killed their children had a history of mental illness, family abuse and those parents confessed to their crimes within a few days. JonBenet's parents have NO past history whatsoever. They have been screaming their innocence for 6 years. No evidence is linking them to the murder.

For 6 years, JonBenét Ramsey has been pictured as a 6 year old Lolita in revealing costumes, a "pageant addict" that her mother "forced on stage".. Being in pageants myself I can tell you that the average pageant child competes in 20 to 25 pageants in a year. JonBenet Ramsey competed in 9 pageants over 18 months, 8 of them were tiny local competitions. Had she lived, she would probably have never made it close to a local newspaper headline. She was just another kid.

This book tells the story of parents who not only lost their beloved child, but who were not allowed to mourn her. It tells the story of two persons who will never be able to have a fair and unbiased trial in America because their case was tried in tabloids and trash talk shows. It tells the story of a ruined investigation, because for 6 years the prosecutors REFUSED to look anywhere else but at the parents. What did they find ? Nothing.

I find it interesting that this book only gets 3 stars... but they always say truth doesnt sell.

I think that the only brainwashing that has been done in this case, is the spoon-fed "journalism" dished out to the public by the media. That's twisted enough. But what does that make those who allow it to be shoved down their throats (and there are a lot of you here, apparently). Shame on you if have allowed yourselves to subscribe to their "guilty until proven innocent" philosophy that is the judicial hallmark of so many communist countries. Shame on you if you don't even take the time to think about what YOU would do if you found yourself in this same kind of situation, and no one would believe you, or take you seriously. Funny our society thrives on wealth and fame, but when someone who is wealthy is accused of a crime, they are presumed guilty. This 'I am the judge' mentality of so many self-righteous Americans is very disturbing. Not to mention the rush to judgement when the accused are Christians----Whoa, Now that is a feeding frenzy by hypocritical despots indeed. I wasn't there---you weren't there. I tend to believe them, but then again, I don't pretend to be God, like a few of the reviewers here. But---they deserve the fairness shown to ANY OTHER accused persons in this country. What makes them different? Nothing but the fact that they have been placed in a courtroom of inexperienced, incompentent, and gullible people---media, "law enforcement", and book reviewers. Do me a favor---read this well written account, by the people who---yes, know more about the case than even you. Study some Christian literature. It might give some of you finger pointers some much needed humility. And read about communist techniques and propaganda---The American media uses those teachings as their guideline. Bottom line---there is as much to go on that the Ramseys are innocent as there is that they are guilty. If you can't see this-your guilty of ignorance.

Another one of those feminist and postmodernist professors is trying to infuse in her readership her bland ideas.
By using abstract language, Ms. Lather goes on to convert readers into her feminist ideas. Only radical feminists and gender-concerned individuals would enjoy this work.

In "Getting Smart", Patti Lather focuses on critical social science, liberatory education and how post-modernisms, neo-Marxisms and various feminisms make overt the ways in which power permeates the construction and legitimization of knowledge. Lather locates spaces for theorizing emancipatory practice necessitating a re-examination of those sites problematized by the postmodern, including subjectivity, agency, the production of knowledge and praxis. Lather creates a "multi-voiced" text weaving meanings that are more evocative than descriptive. She offers an example of her own research into women's studies students' resistance and demonstrates how meaning is constructed within different discourses of inquiry. She writes against the "authoritative voices" of foundational academic discourse while being aware that she is complicit in that which she critiques. Lather emphasizes that regardless of philosophical debates, the question is "What is to be done?". As a way to salvage emancipatory discourse and praxis she speaks in a "willful contradiction" of "theoretic fictions" (cultural Marxism and postmodernism) remaining committed to the open-endedness of the struggle over truth and reality. She refuses to accept the totality of the "radical negation of Enlightenment" and describes her refusal as a strategy of displacement which she grounds in her use of deconstructive theory.

As Lather traces her way through the contradictory discourses of feminism, neo-Marxism and poststructuralism she identifies the hallmark of a liberatory praxis as the ability to act "within an uncertain framework" at a time "marked by the dissolution of authoritative foundations of knowledge". She suggests that above all, emancipatory action requires reflexivity and the ability to attend to the politics of what we do. She recommends a "Foucauldian awareness" of the oppressive role of ostensibly liberatory forms of discourse."

Lather looks to pedagogy as a site for learning about strategies for a "postmodern praxis". She uses Lusted's definition of pedagogy that concludes that knowledge is produced at the intersection of three agencies, the teacher, the learner and the knowledge they produce. She concludes that it has been the practice of "transmissive" rather than "interactively productive" pedagogy that has been the "root of the failure of emancipatory objectives".

I applaud Patti Lather's project as a feminist, a critical theorist and as someone who appreciates the postmodern turn to a consideration of reality as constructed rather than found. As a teacher, a researcher and an activist, Patti Lather has created a dense, rich text that expands our understanding of what and how we can know and how emancipatory practice might be conducted.

What were they thinking when they put a $250 price tag on this CD? The words "u·su·ri·ous" and "ca·pri·cious" leap to mind. The Merck Index is a classic reference manual that belongs on any chemist's (or related professional's) bookshelf. But for a price difference of $205 between the cd and the printed book, the cd is just too poor a value to justify buying. Publisher take note and drop the price to a reasonable $49.99!

It is a very good edition, of course, the last and the best. Every time I have used older versions, so I cannot compare it with before edition. But I have to say that CD Rom is fantastic. Very complete. It is a very good choose

McElroy and Townsend's medical anthropology text is one of the classics in its field. I personally find the going very slow; I don't think that academic texts necessarily need to be presented in so pedantic a format. However, the information contained in the studies is quite useful to the anthropology student's understanding of disease in a cultural and ecological context.

Putting guilt or innocence aside, this book is not about Jon-Benet and her murder,it's about the parents. Written by themselves, with probably the help of others, this portrayal of innocence lost and tradegy obtained is nothing more than a spewing forth of their own personal reflections on themselves. It's shallow beyond belief. How these people can talk about being Christian when all they talk about is things, is beyond me.

Don't read this looking for slip ups or unconscious revelations about the role of the Ramseys in the death of their daughter. This is a closely edited, legally observed, and unabashedly self-serving book. (I'd love to see what was edited out.) Yet, between the lines we can catch a glimpse or two about who the Ramseys really are and what they are about and what they believe.

This is a well written and very well edited exercise featuring a centerfold of family portraits, including several modest shots of JonBenét. The Ramseys give a close rendering of the events of Christmas day, 1996, and the next morning. The story of Patsy's successful fight against cancer is told in some detail, and the beauty pageant issue is addressed. The book ends with John Ramsey's profile of the murderer and a chapter of advice on how to protect your children. There is no index.

Throughout, the Ramseys tell their story in the first person in alternating sections. First John speaks and then Patsy, and then John again, and so on. What they are intent on demonstrating is their innocence. They try to accomplish this by convincing the reader of their abiding love for JonBenét and for God, and their adherence to the Christian faith. Both seem to have a special relationship with God that allows them to hear his voice. John writes "there's a point where...you know and understand the truth of what God has done through human history and you grasp his plan for the future through his son, Jesus Christ" (p. 72).

Patsy in particular has felt the "divine intervention" in her life on many occasions, particularly in her successful battle against cancer (p. 77), but also when her cable TV line was accidentally cut, thereby preventing her from hearing the lies about her on television (p. 230). She has received messages from God (e.g., on pages 82 & 243). In fact in several spots Patsy seems to liken her experience to that of Jesus. As she was watching the "Geraldo Rivera Show" on October 22, 1997, for example, she heard voices calling for the crucifixion of herself and her husband (p. 229). And as Christmas, 1997 approached, her faith, like that of Jesus, was sorely tested, and she found herself "mad at God" and screamed, "I hate Christmas!" But there came a "stillness at the center of" her "being" and she "received a message from God" telling her that she more than anyone needed Christmas, and her faith was restored.

Even in day to day activities, Patsy found herself calling on God to guide her and he did. For example, before picking up the phone to insinuate herself into the Princess Di media discussion she was watching on Larry King Live, Patsy told her mother, "I'm praying that God will give me the right words." After being on hold for a while, "suddenly" she was "talking on live television, launching...into an attack on Larry King..." (p. 210). She relates on the next page that she was so successful that Larry King called to thank her and to ask her to appear on his show.

Almost as annoying as this "holier than thou" posturing was the Ramsey's unrelenting attack on the media and the Boulder police as the cause of all their troubles. I thought it was significant that they blamed the police leadership more than they blamed the officers who had so compromised the crime scene (p. 178). I also thought it telling that John Ramsey in particular tried to tie the crime to "how transient" their "University Hill neighborhood really was," and to people who "pushed New Age experiences" (p. 204). In Lawrence Schiller's book, he is quoted as saying that Bill McReynolds ("Santa Claus") should be a suspect partly because "he doesn't have two nickels to rub together." This high-handed and snide tone, I believe is as much responsible for the public's suspicion of the Ramseys as anything else.

Nonetheless, after reading three books on the subject, I am forced to say that I don't think there's enough evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that they are responsible for their daughter's death. I think the Boulder District Attorney's office and the Grand Jury are to be commended for not charging the Ramseys with a crime they could not prove. Whether this book will help their public image is another matter.

Having just finished this book, I am struck by the overwhelming feeling of sadness I have concerning everything regarding this case. The incredible ineptitude and tunnel vision of the Boulder Police Department and their immediate suspcion, but lack of evidence, pointing to the Ramseys, the feeding frenzy of the media and the obvious support of the tabloid publications by the misguided souls who purchase them, the utter depths of desolation and despair experienced by the Ramseys, and the loss of the light of JonBenet in this world all add up to an incredible American tragedy.

I felt that the Ramseys were extremely justified in writing this book. After years of unrelenting attacks in the media, and incredible pressure by the Boulder Police Department, I think they had every right in the world to tell their side of the story. And to me, their story is believeable. The extreme amount of their pain over the horrible murder and loss of their child, as evidenced in their writing, is something that could not be faked had they indeed been the murderers.

As to the contents of the book, I see it as part of their grieving process. The book is a diatribe against the failure of the Boulder Police Department to call in the FBI or to vigorously pursue other suspects, and against the supermarket tabloids which so shamelessly intruded upon their grief. Their early grief turned, through the years, to rage against the impossibility of their situation. It is *their turn* to speak out. Heavens knows, the rest of the world had its turn.

The Ramseys take us through the night of the murder, the ensuing *investigation*, and the subsequent media harassment, grand jury hearing, and end with an admonition to society to protect its children. Throughout their book, whenever a source is quoted the name appears with the source. There are no "unnamed sources" they rely upon to prove their point. Indeed, everything they have written is well-documented and is meant to be a counter-point to all the erroneous reporting.

One can't help empathizing with their feelings of utter hopelessness as they realized the murderer was not being pursued because they were the prime suspects.

Having followed this murder since it was committed, I am glad to finally have heard the Ramseys speak. I would encourage anyone who thinks they have all the "facts" in this case to read this book.

I bought this book when it first came out and before I knew much about poaching and how it was endangering wild plants, especially carnivorous plants. After reading the book and their opinion on field collection I'm appalled and ashamed to have spent money on this book and supported this business in any way.

I recently finished reading this book and found it both interesting and easy to read. With a slightly above average knowledge of botany, I was able to follow along. The pictures and drawings are great to look at and the writing style is fluid. If I had not recieved this as a gift, I would certainly buy it.

Typically found in nutrient-poor soils, carnivorous plants are true predators that attract, entrap, and digest insects for the purpose of obtaining minerals necessary to their growth, function, and reproduction. In Carnivorous Plants Of The World, James and Patricia Pietropaolo (founders of the Peter Pauls Nurseries in Canadaigua, New York) draw upon their more than 25 years of experience to provide the gardener, horticulturalist, and botanist with a comprehensive compendium of carnivorous plants from around the world. Each chapter specifically addresses a particular category of carnivores including Venus Fly Trap; Pitcher Plants; Sundew Types; Butterworts; and Bladderworts. Within each genus, the species in cultivation are fully treated while the remainder are listed with brief descriptions for identification. The authors then cover the issues of cultivation techniques, pests and diseases, propagation and hybridization. The "reader friendly" text is enhanced with line drawings, lists of carnivorous plant sources and societies, a glossary, and an index. Carnivorous Plants Of The World is an essential addition to any professional or academic botanical reference collection.