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Book reviews for "Taylor,_William" sorted by average review score:

American Project: The Rise and Fall of a Modern Ghetto
Published in Hardcover by Harvard Univ Pr (2000)
Authors: Sudhir Alladi Venkatesh and William Julius Wilson
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Misguided thesis
Venkatesh is pushing the thesis that the lives of the residents in the 'projects' have been too pessimistically portrayed by other authorities, and that for long periods of time they in fact managed to get along pretty well, through various informal and often criminal survival mechanisms they developed.

That is, as I say, his thesis. I am reminded of a story of a man who fell out the 40th story window of an office building. Mid way down, with his eyes firmly closed, he imagined himself flying.

"So far, so good," he said.

This author records comparable delusions, and the state of free-fall that of necessity must end. He thinks he is recording something better than that.

likinstik
"American Project" started out with the best of intentions, but along the way ,the author became a little repetitive. He should've explored the lives of the tenants a bit more. I think that would've made their situation a bit more understandable for the unaware. But, I give the author credit for trying to explain the lives,situations and forces, which keep the people disconnected from the rest of Chicago.

A sociologist explores life in a public housing high-rise
Venkatesh has done a superb job of describing the interrelationships between tenants, and the relationship between tenants and management, as well as chronicalling the changes in these relationships since Robert Taylor was constructed in the early 60's. Anyone who wants to move beyond the headlines, and find out more about the strengths and weaknesses of life in a public housing development should read this book.

That said, the author's background and training as a sociologist comes through loud and clear, and ultimately limits his book. While Venkatesh does a good job of detailing the social relationships among the players, he virtually ignores the larger political issues. Why was management so inept as to be virtually non-existent? Why did the drug/crime culture take hold, and how did the gangs transfor themselves into multi-state corporate enterprises? Most importantly, given that CHA is now in the process of demolishing virtually everyone of the buildings which form Robert taylor Homes, how do we avoid creating the same problems in the next generation of public housing.

Excellent bibliography, by the way. A very good place to dig for resources for anyone wanting to study the history of the Chicago Housing Authority since 1960.


Pebble in a Pool : A Novel
Published in Paperback by Alyson Pubns (2003)
Author: William Taylor
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pebble should have been left buried
Upon finishing this novel, I was almost offended at how boring and unbelievable the plot was. I read the entire thing only because I paid 10 bucks for it, and after awhile it became quite humorous. Like the scene where the two leads beat each other up and then end up kissing in the next paragraph. How much more pathetic can it get? And how are people supposed to believe the two characters love each other--by a black eye? I'm not sure what author's purpose was with this book, but it seriously gave me nightmares last night...

On the Brink of Adulthood!
It really is not important how realistic this story is, or if it could Really happen, the point is it is an emotional, complex story that is certainly well-written and a satisfying read for a lazy afternoon or evening. The characters are believable, and the story is full of action and emotional turmoil for these two main characters that are on the brink of manhood.

High school senior Adrian drinks too much one night, and in a terrible car accident is paralyzed and his girlfriend is killed. In the meantime, high school senior Paul, speaks out in defense of another high school senior who was killed in a gay-bashing murder. Paul's fundamentalist father kicks him out and Paul ends up living with a local artist, named Steve, who helps him. Paul's growing awareness of his being gay, coupled with his attempt to deal with his fanatic father, and also deal with the town's gay bashers, is a lot to handle for this young man. Paul's being on his own leads to unexpected love, and emotional consequences he never expected. At the same time, Adrian is due to go on trial for manslaughter, and it's at this point in the story that Paul & Adrian's lives become more involved in ways they never expected.

This is a story of unexpected friendship, love, and the struggle to do what's right, no matter what the consequences. It's a short book, but there's a lot of story here. Taylor knows how to successfully bring the struggles of young people today to the written page.

Joe Hanssen


Auditing : An Assertions Approach
Published in Hardcover by John Wiley & Sons (1996)
Authors: Donald H. Taylor and G. William Glezen
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Well for everyone who knows accounting
This is an auditing book for ones who know some accounting and want to learn basic and important aspects of auditing. Even this is not useful for introductory level, it can be still used for this purpose. Some of the examples are given from CPA firms and this makes the book efficient for later usage.


Biology E/M: The Best Test Preparation for the Sat II: Subject Test
Published in Paperback by Research & Education Assn (2001)
Authors: Linda, Ph.D. Gregory, Thomas, Ph.D. Sandusky, Rashmi Diana Sharma, Judith A., Ph.D. Stone, Cindy Coe, Ph.D. Taylor, J. M., Ed.D. Templin, Clarence C., Ph.D. Wolfe, and William Uhland
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Thorough review material
If you have not been near a Biology syllabus in a while, this is the book for you. The authors do not assume that you know everything. The chapters cover all the major topics (the only supplementation you may need is diagrams such as those of plants). I found that the practice tests could have been better structured because the Ecology tests are separated from the Molecular tests without the common core section that's used in the actual exam. All in all, a good book - using this book alone I earned a score of 660!


Drinking, Homicide and Rebellion in Colonial Mexican Villages
Published in Hardcover by Stanford Univ Pr (1979)
Author: William B. Taylor
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A study of Colonial Vice
This is a very academic book on a very sexy subject. William B. Taylor used official court documents from colonial Mexico to study the drinking patterns and their relation to crime and violence among rural peasants. It is a very interesting analysis of who was involved in crime and who was the victim of crime. This study also discusses relationships between husbands and wives, as much of the violence documentwas domestic. It is a very interesting book with many personal stories of the colonial actors.


The Eisenstein Reader
Published in Hardcover by British Film Inst (1998)
Authors: Sergei Eisenstein, William Powell, Richard Taylor, and British Film Institute
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Eisenstein In His Own Words
This book is a compilation of what Richard Taylor considers to be Eisenstiein's most important and relevant writing, not only on film but also on Russian history, politics, and Eisenstein's eclectic influences. While I think the book is very well put together, Eisenstein's writing itself can be esoteric and hard for the reader to decipher. However, if you can get past Eisenstein's puzzling language, you can glean a great deal of valuable insight into the work of a man who has been called one of the most influential directors of all time. I was most interested in Eisenstein's writings on other art forms that informed his film making, particularly Kabuki theatre and Japanese Haiku. However, if this is your first time reading about Soviet cinema, I would recommend starting with some of Taylor's other works such as The Film Factory or Inside the Film Factory.


Chronic Pain: Taking Command of Our Healing!: Understanding the Emotional Trauma Underlying Chronic Pain
Published in Paperback by New Energy Pr (1995)
Authors: Wm. R. B. Anderson, William Anderson, and Jesse Taylor
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Self righteous egghead
Well my title pretty much sums my idea of the author of this book...Ok I am a sufferer of Chronic Pain for the last 5 years. I am also a very spiritual person and I know all about the releasing of the situation. I released the situation, I released all the negativity surrounding the causation of my pain and injury. My pain did not go away...it has steadily increased. Dont get me wrong I believe the power of the mind is potent however it is not a cure-all. Most of the time the person is a push-over and very gullible, so when they 'cure' themself, well they never head the pain to begin with, or at least not as much as they deluded themself. This book is just another slap in the face for anybody suffering from chronic pain. It is our fault we are in pain. We must like it, we must have something wrong in our minds. Thats the message of this book. I cant tell you how many self-righteous doctors are out there who say that chronic pain is not real...but it is. When your body is in pain, it is very real especially when you are crying in agony for 5 hours straight and people think "get over it" This book only gives more pain then its worth.

Not what I had expected
I was hoping for something more substantial. The authors make a few interesting insights, yet the book lacks a lot, in my opinion. Not much to it.

Chronic pain:understanding the emotional trauma....
Challenge your thinking! A must read for anyone suffering with chronic pain. It will change the way you think about this soul destroying condition.


Cavalier and Yankee: The Old South and American National Character
Published in Paperback by Oxford Univ Pr on Demand (1993)
Author: William Robert Taylor
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Disappointing
If you think this book details the divurgence of American culture in the 1800s, you will be disappointed. Author spends too much time encapsulating the plots of dozens of novels, some of them rather obscure. His main point of the south as a declining culture and thus a culture winding its way to secession out of frustration is dubious. Author spends a lot of time detailing the decline of Virginia's worn out tobacco plantations but chooses not to discuss the spectacular economic growth of the South's western cotton plantations.


In Praise of Nature: The Landscapes of William Wendt
Published in Paperback by California State Univ. Art Museum (1998)
Authors: Glenn Constance W. and Sue Taylor Winter
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William Wendt would not be Happy
I purchased the soft cover version, 64 pages long, there are 8 color photos of Wendt's paintings and 13 black and white. I'm sorry to say, the black and white photos DON'T do his paintings justice. And the color photos of his art work in this book, AREN'T the greatest either. ...I'm NOT really impressed with it. As far as what is written about Mr Wendt in the book... well.... Topics include: California Art Club; Wendt and Stendahl, The Letters; Four Conversations on William Wendt; and a few other topics. If your looking for quality photos of Mr Wendt's art work, I wouldn't look here in this book. And if your looking for something more in-depth on the life of William Wendt, well... I'd probably look elsewhere. In conclusion, I feel I wasted [my $].

A case study for how NOT to publish an art book
Eagerly waited for this book from Amazon for two months, only to be sorely disappointed in the low resolution, muddy colors and blurry reproductions of the paintings. Even more disgusted that I paid ... for a book that onlyhas under 10 paintings in color, considering that Wendt was a master at selecting color for his CA masterpieces. Save your money for any Impressionism series that includes Wendt's work. Special thanks to Amazon for obtaining this rare book for me.


1 & 2 Corinthians
Published in Hardcover by Beacon Hill Press (1997)
Authors: Oscar F. Reed, William M. Greathouse, and Willard H. Taylor
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