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Book reviews for "Vorobeva,_Maria" sorted by average review score:

Thinking on Paper
Published in Paperback by William Morrow & Co Paper (1988)
Authors: V. A. Howard, Maria D. Guarnaschelli, and J. H. Barton
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A How-to-Write without being superficial
This a book that really epitomizes clear writing is a function of clear thinking. The first part of the book deals with the process of writing a first draft. I really liked how it laid out the stages and what was the objectives of each stage with being a cookbook. The last parts deal with reasoning for discovery and then presentation. Can be a quick read, but if you take your time and asborb the steps and the thinking behind, you will be a much better writer.

I don't know if I could've written a book without this book
So you've opened a new file and are staring at a blank screen. Now what?

Howard and Barton, two Harvard researchers in education, argue in Ch. 1, "Writing Is Thinking," that writing is about generating ideas, not just communicating them, and that writer's block comes from preoccupation with the "performance" aspect of writing (and also from the myth that you need to wait for flashes of insight from a fickle "muse").

Ch. 2, "From First to Last Draft," explains a process that puts concerns about performance at the very end, where they belong: (1) Record every thought you have on your topic--half-formed thoughts, confused thoughts, silly thoughts, sentences, phrases, lists, feelings, questions--quickly, with no concern about clear formulation, aiming for quantity, not quality. (2) Go over these notes and give topical labels to large and small chunks of text. (3) Retype your notes (don't cut 'n' paste), grouping sections by topic. While this step is fairly simple and mechanical, you'll inevitably do a bit of rethinking, ammending, and revising along the way, but without stirring up performance anxiety. (4) Rearrange the topics into a sensible sequence. (5) NOW work on performance issues.

The remaining chapters are about organizing ideas into an essay format, making an argument, and grammar and punctuation. These chapters may be helpful too, but I haven't read them. I think the real gift of this book is not so much that it helps you write well but that it helps you write instead of not writing.

The process works. I can vouch for it. I'm hyper-perfectionistic, but with the help of this book and Anne Lamott's "Bird by Bird," I wrote a book without ever getting paralyzed in front of a blank screen. (Now I just hope it'll work as well for my dissertation . . . )

"A wise, witty, and practical guide to improved writing...."
V.A. Howard and J.H. Barton, are two Harvard University researchers in education. They explore writing as a way of shaping thought and tackle the problem of writers block. I just came across this book in my Harvard Philosophy of Education class taught by Professor V. A. Howard; his course was as delightful and inspiring as his book! This is a MUST for any writers book shelf.


Torero
Published in Hardcover by Edition Stemmle (1901)
Authors: Ruven Afanador, Gloria Maria Pardo Vargas, and Hector Abad Faciolince
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The "Toreros" Take Center Stage!
In this bold and beautifully designed book, the bullfighter or "Torero" finally gets the attention he deserves, not as an object of the bull's attention, but as an object of desire, in a very sensual, yet masculine way. This is not to say these images by this talented photographer are of torero's just showing off their erotic appeal in tight costumes. There are many other photos of the rooms, equipment and costumes in settings by themselves that are very artistically photographed. The erotic appeal of the bullfighter is no longer censored and relegated to the background. These black and white photographs display many nude and semi-nude poses of very handsome, young, and athletic men in their tight fitting torero costumes, where little is left to the imagination. Afanador's admiration of male beauty is very apparent in this book of images. He has an eye for capturing the attitude, machismo, and inherent beauty and vulnerability of these brave men. I thought it was pleasing that Afanador features some of the torero's in their costumes on one page and nude on the opposite page in the same pose.

The poems by Gloria Marie Pardo Vargas, interspersed throughout the book, add to the enjoyment. This is a large over-sized book that is beautifully designed and bound (included is a red ribbon marker) that is a must for any collector of male erotica or for anyone who has always had a fascination with torero's and their beautiful costumes. I have only one regret, I would love to see a book of these same images in color showcasing the beautiful colors and patterns of the torero's costumes. This is a book that I will enjoy over and over again. As a collector, this is at the top of my list.

Joe Hanssen

Fiesta Brava!
A truly stunning collection of photographs concentrating on the erotic appeal of the torero - an aspect that has probably struck most honest aficiandos at one time or another. Quite apart from beautiful boys in (and out) of their trajes de luces, the collection is interesting for concentrating on very young toreros from South America - notably Colombia and Peru, though Madrid features strongly - and the less well-known names too. Miguel Angel Gomez and the brothers Pardo are especially notable: congratulations and thanks are due to Noel Pardo especially for his bravery in posing for some very fine nude shots. The additional frisson of the eroticism is the extreme danger the boys face, and here also is graphic photographic evidence of beauty marred in the corrida. There is nothing pornographic here, which is good, and the entire book is faultless in production. It should be on the shelves not only of every aficianado of young male beauty - but of every aficianado of the corrida also!

¡Que morbidez!
Ruven Afanador seems to be the spiritual heir of the little boy in the story of the emperor's new clothes. He insists on seeing--and proclaiming through his work--exactly those visual elements of the bullfight that everyone else sees but adamantly ignores. One of his major themes, perhaps the major one, is clearly announced on the dust jacket by the image of a semi-tumescent lad wearing only his taleguilla and grasping a pair of bull's horns (which may be why Amazon shows no cover illustration above). Afanador's style might be described as a cross between the baron von Gloeden and Helmut Newton, or maybe Diane Arbus with more than a dash of Robert Mapplethorpe. Like Mapplethorpe he finds morbidly erotic beauty in places where some would not care to venture, but beauty it is. And like all the above-mentioned photographers, he is an absolute master of his craft. Whatever you might think of the subject matter, the photos are technical marvels--one wants constantly to reach out and touch all those rich textures! The prospective buyer should also be aware that the range of subject matter goes beyond toreros in--and out of--their tight pants, and I would be doing Afanador an injustice to leave the impression that his work is merely pornographic. (One of the most striking images in the collection is a shot of four matadors' jackets hanging from meat hooks in the abattoir). And beyond all the possible influences I've mentioned, his is a style--rather, an inseparable combination of style and subject--that's very much his own.

I suppose that the few poems sprinkled throughout the volume are appropriate accompaniments to the photos, though they could easily have been dispensed with. The introduction is quite helpful, as is the thumbnail index at the end which identifies models and locations. The volume itself is richly produced and beautifully printed, with a sewn-in ribbon bookmark. ...

Even Hemingway, through Lady Brett, couldn't help remarking on "those tight green trousers," but for too long the majority of people (especially artists) associated with bullfighting have pretended to ignore all those lurid paquetes y nalgas. Afanador's stunning collection goes a long way toward remedying that ignor-ance. Overall, a long-needed addition to the body of art and photography associated with toreo.


African Masks from the Barbier-Mueller Collection, Geneva: From the Barbier-Mueller Collection, Geneva
Published in Hardcover by Prestel USA (1998)
Authors: Iris Hahner-Herzog, Maria Kecskesi, Lazlo Vajda, John William Gabriel, Laszlo Vajda, Collection Barbier-Muller, and Haus Der Kunst Munchen
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African Masks
This is the best book I have found on the psychology and understanding of African masks. Just fantastic, worth the money. 80% color plates, brief outline of basic African mask types and their interpretation, grouped by region and by style.

African Masks from the Barbier-Mueller Collection, Geneva
First-rate, high quality throughout, this volume does what a book of this type should do: packs in plenty of color plates of the masks, and shows them being worn (in black-and-white in situ photos) on the accompanying left-hand pages of the spreads. The collection is far-ranging and, though it cannot include every type of mask, it does manage to convey the incredible variety, richness and paradoxical sophistication of this art form. Highly recommended.

Wonderful!
This book has fantastic photos and information about the masks pictured. There are also archival photos of similar masks from earlier times. The most impressive part is the photos of the masks in use. I have often had trouble imagining how the masks were worn or used until this book. Not only are there photos of many of the masks in use the whole costume is also pictured. Truly one of the best books I've seen on the subject.


The American Frugal Housewife
Published in Hardcover by Friends of the Ohio State University Libraries (01 January, 1971)
Author: Lydia Maria Child
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A Classic, and things are still applicable.
I bought this book at a Revolutionar War event this past weekend and I've read it 3 times already (Purchased Sunday, and it's now Tuesday morning). My husband can't believe that I can't put this down. But I find it fascinating reading. Many of the little tips in here are still on many websites today for frugal living (olive oil and a little white vinegar for a wood furniture polish, for example).

Easy and fascinating reading for anyone interested in history, frugal living, and occassionaly a good laugh.

the nation would be better if everyone learned from this boo
The thoughts and ideas of the 1800's could be applied to todays world to make it a better place. Like putting more energy into our morals and pride rather than trying to keep up with the Jones'. A wonderfull and funny look at many things that have gone wrong with society over the years.
I read just a few pages in a little store, than had to come home and find it to buy for myself.

Philosophy for today
Both the prose and the basic philosophy espoused by this book are refreshing on todays palate. No over-wrought writing or get ahead mentality here. The book gives a wonderful view of household life in the 1800's, covering ground from pudding recipes to the best and cheapenst method for cleaning your candle stick holders and treating common ailments. Liberally spiced with the philosophy of a frugal housewife who's example many of us would do well to follow.


Ancient Mexico: The History and Culture of the Maya, Aztec, and Other Precolumbian Peoples
Published in Hardcover by Stewart, Tabori & Chang (1998)
Author: Maria Longhena
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An exhaustive pictoral tour of the areas mesoamerican ruins
BEAUTIFUL enormous glossy full-color photos that do more justice to the Mexican ruins than any other book I have EVER SEEN!! I love this book SO MUCH that, since I couldn't afford to BUY it, I went in to the bookstore about once every month or 2 for a YEAR AND A HALF to visit it, pore over it and covet it until a friend took pity on me and bought it for me as a gift! I have BEEN to several of the ruins pictured here, and they are MASTERFULLY captured in the photographs. The author even includes some of the little, lesser-known sites, such as Dzibilchaltun, especially dear to me as my Mexican host family took me there on a family day outing!! This book is just AWESOME!!!

A gorgeous book of ancient cultures
This book is packed with information and color photographs of the ancient cultures of Mexico, from the Olmecs to the Zapotecs to the Mayas to the Aztecs. The author even includes sections on the lesser known and understood cultures of Western Mexico. With a fold-out time line and detailed maps of the most famous archaeological sites, this book gives a good overview of the history of these cultures - and then hones in on specifics such as dress, burial customs, religion, war, and games. Extensive attention is also given to the major cities representing these peoples. With color photographs on nearly every page, this is a gorgeous addition to any library. As a reference book, or even as a coffee table book to browse through occasionally, ANCIENT MEXICO can't be beat.

Not for archaeology buffs only!
This book takes the reader thorough the history of pre-columbian mesoamerica, the daily life of the people and then tours a number of important archaeological sites in Mexico and nearby countries. It includes wonderful photos of amazing artifacts decorative pieces, ceramics and jeewlry and the archaeological sites. It is a stunning book and serves to emphasize the colossal loss the Americas sustained with the conquest. If you've been to Mexico and love it, this book is a nice memento. If you havn't, this will make you want to go.


Are You My Boyfriend?
Published in Hardcover by Stewart, Tabori & Chang (2002)
Authors: Maria Peevey and Megan Weinerman
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Are You My Boyfriend
Every single woman should share this with her friends! Hilarious and oh, so true! My best friend and I were walking through the bookstore and the little hot-pink book jumped out at me. We cried from laughter as we flipped through the pages. Between the two of us, we've dated pretty much ALL of them...and if you're a single female in the dating game, so have you! I highly recommend this book to be past around on your next "irlfriend night"

Inside scoop on all the boys
I love this book. I bought one for my girlfriend who was having a party. When I arrived she set the book down on the coffee table. Let me just say once it was picked up, it was never put down the rest of the night. People were loving trying to figure out which description best fit their man. Girls loved it, but every single guy at the party read the book to get the inside scoop on just what "type" they are. Watching them glued to the pages, self analyzing themselves was the best part of the evening. BUY IT, BUY IT, BUY IT. You'll have a blast.

The perfect Girl Talk book!
This book is hillarious. I literally spent all night talking with my friends about it! There are guys in here that are exactly like the men that you meet- and it makes you think of all the people you know that are like them. Quite a conversational topic- and great coffee table book! I've already bought 3 for other friends. Funny, the person that wants to read it the most is my boyfriend!


Aunt Maria
Published in Paperback by HarperTrophy (2003)
Author: Diana Wynne Jones
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Everyone has one
One of Diana Wynne Jones's funniest and most chilling, this is a delightful darkish story full of wry wit and excellent characters that will hit every perfect note.

Mig's parents have just split up, and her father vanishes in a sudden, strange car accident. Her guilt-ridden mother takes Mig and her teen brother Chris to stuffy Cranbury-on-Sea to spend some time with Aunt Maria, a picky, weird old lady. At first Mig thinks that things are normal, except for Aunt Maria's many and varied eccentricities.

But then she sees her father's car, belonging to a stranger. Chris says that there's a ghost in his bedroom. A mysterious cat appears, that strongly resembles Aunt Maria's former companion. And Mig notices that the people in Cranbury-on-Sea are very odd: Everything revolves around tea parties, usually headed by friends of Aunt Maria's, while the men and kids are all zombies. All except a very odd brother and sister down the road, and a person from the past who may hold the key to stopping the sinister aunt Maria...

Everyone has a relative like Aunt Maria: she's picky, nosy, feigns self-sacrifice to "guilt" adults into doing what she wants, wallows in gender stereotypes and inflicts those stereotypes on kids, plays favorites, complains constantly about noise, insists on everything being home-cooked, has a flock of weird old friends, calls you by your full first name, and is horrified if everything isn't completely clean. The main difference is that in this book, she's a malevolent witch who doesn't think twice about turning people into animals.

Usually Jones' female heroes are not quite as interesting as her male ones, but Mig was excellently written: smart, funny, sympathetic, understandable, poignant, and very pleasant. It's hard not to sympathize with her frustration over Aunt Maria, and her increasingly helpless position in a town of witches and zombies. Mum is nicely written, for what there is of her; she's less of a presence than the others are. Chris really steals the book: He's funny, disruptive, charming, smart (to a point) and sometimes needs to have his mouth taped shut. Antony Green is also nice, a smart and well-written character; Elaine is, with a minimum of effort, utterly creepy; Mr. and Miss Phelps are funny, very funny, making me wonder if they were used to add a slightly lighter note to an otherwise darker book.

The book is very evocatively written -- it's in diary form, but this doesn't make the narrative awkward as it is in many books. Jones shows that she's apparently had experiences with such relatives: the mother's guilty acceptance of Maria's demands is well-written, as are the kids' chafing and Maria's incessent demands and self-sacrificial selfishness.

A treasure, that is currently available only in the UK. Hopefully it will be reprinted soon in the US, so that more readers can enjoy it.

Engrossing and creepy, but fine for the younger set.
I made the mistake of starting this book the night before I was to start a new job in the morning. It was only through dint of mighty effort that I was able to put it down without finishing it. This is EXACTLY the sort of thing I was looking for when I scoured the library shelves as a child. (Fine for the older set, too!) I loved Charmed Life also. I'm looking for more of her books.

Teens shake up town engaged in unseen but deadly civil war.
In an interview with Diana Wynne Jones she describes how it felt to be a child during the war: "One didn't know that all those bizarre, and horrible, and mad things were going on, except there was a feeling all the time that something WAS bizarre, and horrible, and mad." That is the feeling I get when reading Black Maria. The two teenage protagonists, Mig and Chris, arrive in Cranbury-On-Sea after their father's disappearance, to spend Easter with their frail and manipulative Aunt Maria. (The British title implies that it should be pronounced in the old-fashioned way, "Ma-righ-a", and NOT as in West Side Story!) The town seems to have no children except the residents of the local orphanage, who all behave so much alike that they could be clones, and the men of the area are like zombies in boring grey suits. Mig and Chris joke about these things at first but they soon seem more serious. They also wonder who the ghost in Chris's room is and what he is looking for, whether the cat that Aunt Maria hates could really be human, and above all, what really happened to their father and his car. It seems that Aunt Maria and the respectable, devoted women who come to her daily tea parties know the answers, but neither they nor anyone else in Cranbury are willing to tell.

Forced to conform to the community's rigidly conservative ideas about male and female roles, Mig is somewhat overwhelmed at first, while her brother Chris rebels by becoming involved in the schemes of unfriendly Mr Phelps across the street. When Chris foolishly goes too far and Aunt Maria turns him into a wolf, Mig is left alone to find a way to get him turned back, and to release her family from her aunt's suffocating grip.

This is a complex book in the best tradition of Diana Wynne Jones, and is worth reading more than once to get the full impact out of it. What struck me most about this book is something that should never be mentioned in reviews, as it comes too near the end. But I would like to say ! that the subject is treated more effectively here than in any other book I know. In fact this section is in danger of overpowering the rest of the story, making the book much darker than the blurb would have you believe. But, if anything, that makes the book better. If you want an unconventional, thought-provoking read and are willing to involve yourself completely in the story, then I thoroughly reccommend this book.


The Callas Legacy: The Complete Guide to Her Recordings on Compact Discs
Published in Paperback by Amadeus Pr (1995)
Author: John Ardoin
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Indispensable reference for Callas and opera fans
John Ardoin's recent death is a real loss for opera buffs everywhere, as it means that there will be no more updated editions, at least by him, of this exhaustively researched guide to the recordings of arguably the greatest, certainly the most famous opera singer of the twentieth century.

At the time of its publication this incarnation had the most complete data about the diva's recordings on compact disc then available, including newly discovered complete performances of Aida and La Traviata. Even when the information goes out of date, as it inevitably will (new incarnations of live performances will appear, and perhaps rumored unpublished material will surface), Ardoin's gracefully written, knowledgeable and balanced commentaries on Callas' work will remain an endless source of pleasure. May _The Callas Legacy_ come back into print, and soon!

GREAT BOOK, GREAT LADY
This is not just an invaluable introduction to the greatest opera singer of the century. It is also a guide through those works, so that the more you know about Callas, the better this book gets.

The Best Guide to Callas' Recording
If you are a Callas fan or are planning to become one, this book is indispensable. One is faced with so many Callas recordings, both studio and live, that it is very hard to choose which ones to get without a good guide. And this book is the best you can find around. Ardoin leads you through every recording that Callas made, and he offers an objective and detailed analysis of her accomplishments. So if you are trying to decide which one out of her dozen or so Normas should be joined to your collection, you can read all about the pros and contras of every single recording. For the ones who already own an older edition of this book that dealt with Callas on records, this volume won't offer much new, there are new reviews on recently-surfaced Aida and Traviata, as well as a few concert arias, but the bulk of the book is the same as in older editions.


Che Guevara, Paulo Freire, and the Pedagogy of Revolution
Published in Hardcover by Rowman & Littlefield Publishing (2000)
Authors: Peter McLaren and Ana Maria Araujo Freire
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A very helpful book
This book should be in every library of those that really believe in the transformative dimension of education.
I really enjoyed reading it and I believe that I gained from it.
A big bravo to Peter McLaren and a humble "efharisto" (thank you) in Greek.

Setting the Record Straight on Two Solid Humans
Che Guevara, Paulo Freire, and the Pedagogy ofRevolution

Reviewer: Robert E. Bahruth, Ph.D. from Boise StateUniversity, Boise, Idaho

In order to contextualize the significance of the contributions of both Che Guevara and Paulo Freire for American readers, McLaren makes the analogy to Malcolm X and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. respectively. Whereas Che, Malcolm X and Dr. King were all dealt with by assassination, Paulo died of heart failure at the age of 75. One might suspect that Paulo's end may have been more violent - and he certainly suffered persecution during critical periods in his lifetime, including a long exile - had his ideas not been rejected by anti-intellectuals in the American academy. Often his work was dismissed, without careful consideration, by professors who claimed that his ideas only applied to third world contexts. To this Donaldo Macedo often asked the critical question: Have you been to East Los Angeles, Roxbury, Harlem, East St. Louis or Camden, New Jersey, lately? One might wonder how the world today might have been a saner place for humanity had Che, Malcolm and Dr. King truly enjoyed the protection of the first amendment's freedom of speech "guarantee," thereby living longer lives and pushing the causes of common people's human rights. It has been claimed that the reason why Che was not allowed a trial in an international court was because the powerbrokers who financed his murder - there were CIA agents present to orchestrate his assassination, including the way he should be shot to make it appear as though he were wounded in combat - feared the power of his discourse and how it might play in the minds of the oppressed peoples of the world. To set the record straight and to dispel the many myths generated by status quo propagandists, McLaren's scholarship allows readers to look into the life and the machinations of the mind of Che, while simultaneously calling into question how contemporary revolutionaries such as Comandante Marcos in Chiapas, Mexico are both inspired by the lived example of commitment and love that Che provided, as they are equally persecuted for standing up for the rights of subsistence cultures around the world who are not interested in joining in the vulgar game of globalization, consumerism, and the politics of greed. Were Che alive today, with access to the high technology that Comandante Marcos and others so skillfully employ as they advance the cause of their post modern revolution, he might not have had to resort to violence which was then his only option. With the co-opting of corporate media, many are hoodwinked by the spin doctors who claim objectivity. Journalism has sunk to such depths of integrity and moral bankruptcy that they have found it necessary to invent terms such as investigative reporting. What does this imply about all other types of reporting? To counter the propaganda of corporate media, Comandante Marcos has demonstrated the power of the internet as a tool of organization, fund raising, and moral support from around the world, as well as the means to dispel myths while informing the world of the atrocities and lies of the status quo. Che would have had a field day with such luxuries! McLaren's other subject, Paulo Freire, is addressed with great love, honesty and devotion. He shows us the gentle man, dedicated as was Dr. King, to nonviolent humanism and the cause of democratic ideals. Education which is not commodified or politicized to reproduce the status quo, but rather a process of conscientization which invites all humans to participate as agents of history, as readers and writers of the word-world. Paulo provided a vision which expresses the possibilities for a future which is less violent and anti humane than the world we live in today. His was an invitation for teachers to rise above the technicism of skill, drill and kill which banters learners into silence and submission. Along with Chomsky, Giroux, Aronowitz, Macedo, bell hooks, McLaren, Chávez Chávez and others committed to "teaching to transgress," Paulo was an inspiration to us all. I have often said that the degree to which the status quo rejects a vision is in direct proportion to its power to create change. Clearly, Paulo has been marginalized in mainstream academia, but for world class scholars and extraordinary humans who are ontologically clear, Paulo's is a message of hope and possibility. McLaren has made a great contribution by keeping Paulo's vision alive and challenging all of us to awaken to social consciousness. In Peter's own words in a recent interview he states so well what is at stake:

"We cannot -- we must not -- think that equality can occur in our schools or society in general without at once and the same time demanding and participating in political and economic revolution. No sphere of domination must remain unassailed by the project of liberation. We need to remain steadfast, we cannot embark in a flight from being, that is, a flight towards the world of commodities that can only objectify being. We need to remember that we do not own ourselves, we don't belong only to ourselves. We belong to being. Because we belong to being, we need not covet the fruits of capital, for they are also the fruits of exploitation. Exploitation violates being. To find our multicultural soul is always an exercise of praxis, not ownership. It is an act conjugated with love in the interests of social justice. I am not trying to be metaphysical here since I connect objectified being with labor, with the laboring and toiling body, with the alienated worker, with the commodification of labor, with the exploited and the oppressed...

Guevara's Radical Legacy
Peter McLaren has long been recognized as one of the pioneering figures within the tradition of critical pedagagy and his body of work thus far has been hailed, rightfully so, as cutting-edge in his field. Yet what makes McLaren's work both provocative and unique is that it transcends the boundaries of any one discipline--in this case, education, and speaks to much broader concerns within critical social theory as a whole. His latest book to which this review is dedicated, "Che Guevara, Paulo Freire, and the Pedagogy of Revolution," is arguably his most powerful contribution not only to social theory but to progressive Left politics as a whole. After reading this inspiring text, I was immediately reminded of E.P. Thompson's famous treatise "The Poverty of Theory" penned more than twenty years ago. In that text, Thompson was, of course, mainly concerned with the influence of Althusserian Marxism and the tendency of intellectuals to become so immersed within the web of "scholastic argument," so immersed within their "pseudo-revolutionary dramas" in the realm of pure Theory (with a capital T), that they tended to ignore the actual material conditions of embodied, historical agents. Thompson condemned such intellectual exercises for being diversionist tactics which lended themselves to the elitist division between theory and practice. Thompson's book was also a clarion call for the "Left" of his time to honestly re-evaluate itself. McLaren's latest effort is another such clarion call and it comes at a time when it is desperately needed. Indeed, it is a passionate plea for committed Left scholars to reassess the most basic constitutive principles which have dominated Left intellectual discourse for the last two decades. The beauty of McLaren's book is that it demands progressives to take stock of regnant social relations. At a time when the "text" has become the marionette theatre of the political, at a time when the critical interrogation of capitalism has become unfashionable among the avant-garde of the "cultural Left," McLaren reminds us of "real" concrete struggles that are taking place all over the world. At a time when the subject has been decentered and textualized within contemporary "left" theory, McLaren reminds us of living, breathing, bleeding historical agents engaged in struggle and he does so by drawing on the remarkable legacy of Che Guevara. Of course, Che the icon has become part and parcel of mainstream popular culture--his signature beret has been placed on the head of Taco Bell's chihuahua to hawk fast food; the site of his remains has become a tourist attraction and yet among the cacophony of commercial messages that have attempted to make a mockery of Che's legacy, Peter McLaren stands firm. His Che is a revolutionary committed to human emancipation, unafraid to confront the powers that be and the enormity of forces that steadfastly guard the status quo. McLaren's Che is not a caricature but rather a vivid portrait of a dedicated human being--Che was not only an extraordinary revolutionary figure, he was also a brave humanist and McLaren fearlessly picks up that torch and demonstrates how Che's legacy can illuminate our thinking about contemporary global conditions. McLaren's book will, without a doubt, stir a great deal of controversy and it may very well be condemned by weak-kneed academics caught up in the scourge of "discourse radicalism"--those who strike radical poses without ever leaving the confines of the academy; those who believe that turning texts on their heads can change the world. Such posturing is to be expected for McLaren has clearly thrown down the gauntlet--this is clearly a challenge to those that fashion themselves as progressives and Leftists to put their proverbial money where their mouths are. This is a book penned by someone who is not only an exceptional scholar but a passionate activist as well; someone who is unafraid to challenge the scholarly inertia that has plagued the intellectual Left for far too long. This is a book that all committed Leftists must read regardless of field or discipline--it is intense, informative, invigorating, and above all--inspiring.


Comfort Woman: A Filipina's Story of Prostitution and Slavery Under the Japanese Military
Published in Paperback by Rowman & Littlefield (01 March, 1999)
Author: Maria Rosa Henson
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Survivor's story
This is the most terrible book I ever read. This is a book about a 15 years old girl, Maria Rosa Henson. Maria was taken by the Japanese soldiers and forced into prostitution as a "comfort woman" during the Japanese occupation in Philippines. She was captured and had been sexual tortured and abused for years. After keeping her secret for over half a century, she broke her silent and told the public about her painfully experience. I was stunned by her words and as well the illustrations in the book. However, I admired her courage--her courage to tell the truth and to face her family. Her truth words definitely offer hope and perspective to other survivors who need too heal from the wound.

A Poignant Narrative of Truth Worth Reading
This poignant memoir of a Filippino woman forced into prostitution by the Japanese military during World War II is moving and touching in its simplicity of style. Maria Rosa Henson teaches us truth in these pages, truth which we need to understand. We must all do what we can to see that our country votes properly in the United Nations on this issue. So far the USA is the only nation within the General Assembly of the UN which has refused to uphold that reparations be paid to the thousands and millions of sexual slaves who have been tortured and abused worldwide by the war machine and the various militarists who destroy our humanity everywhere across the globe. The one who has written this book is her personal testitmony to help other survivors.Read this memoir and its introduction. It's worth your education.

War crimes
This is a very compelling story about the atrocities to which members of the Japanese army subjected a young Filipina girl. It is difficult, at times, to read and certainly not a book I would recommend for young readers. However, it definitely raised my awareness of the issue and the horrors experienced by these "comfort women". It also showed the resilience of women to love and survive again after such deplorable experiences.


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