Everyone who takes English history probably remembers 1066, William of Normandy, the Battle of Hastings, and King Harold; essentially the date, the location and the leaders of the combatant armies. Some may remember that the fight was over the right of succession to the throne of England after the heirless death of King Edward the Confessor. A few may even remember that Edmond Halley's famous comet made an appearance just beforehand, creating great consternation that was immortalized in the Bayeux tapestry. For most, Harold's reign seems almost a foot note, hardly more than an intermission before the main event of the Norman conquest. With William and his successors come castle building, classic knighthood, feudal society, all the "romance" of the middle ages. Harold is so often treated as a cipher to all of this that the true drama of this transitional age is often lost on the student. Harold is just "the loser."

Ian Walker's book brings this period more into focus. He approaches his subject by examining, not only Harold's own life and career, but that of his grandfather and father, creating a sense of the venue for the events of the Conquest. Harold is no longer just "the loser." He is a powerful and intelligent warrior, dealing as often in diplomacy as in bloodshed, able to play the chess game of power politics in a very turbulent time. He was in fact "the last Anglo Saxon king," and his time, like the withdrawal of the elves from Tolkien's Middle Earth, is the end of an era. His predecessor Edward was the last of the line of Alfred the Great, the king who had wielded the tiny Anglo Saxon kingdoms into the one kingdom of England. William and his successors would turn the island into a developing nation state striving for a place in a world among other rising nation states.

I found particularly interesting the author's approach to the period as one of a family biography. Harold was not just a famous figure in history, he was a member of an ambitious extended family. Like the Borgias in a later time and place, Harold's father and his grandfather played major roles in English political life during the years preceding the Conquest, as did he and his brothers in their own time. Walker follows these careers, because it is the net created by their liaisons that defined the period. Pull out any of these lynch pins, and the history of the era would have been vastly different. Interesting too were the careers of Harold's children, who went on to carry the family into succeeding generations of international leaders. I have often wondered what the fates of descendants of famous people have been. What did happen to Cleopatra's surviving children for instance? At least in this instance, more is documented about Harold's children which gives a sense of closure to Walker's book.

Thoroughly enjoyable and informative study.

This is a great book for anyone interested in the mysterious and obscure events of England in the year 1066. Walker does a great job, trying to bring Harold Godwinson to life.

This was an excellent, intense account of a unique king's biography. I read this book to get more info on William the Conqueror, but now I'm obsessed with Harold II. A must-read for history buffs.

I look forward to reading this book. One of the stories is reproduced on the Teaching Tolerance website...
The reproduction also includes audio and the site is well worth a visit. It is simply written, but that enhances rather than detracts form the message.

I read the original edition of this book nearly 30 years ago, and keep buying it for friends, and my own daughter - it is a sensitive, whimsical and accessibly deep look at Islam, the nature of life, the Turkish culture, and simple, transcendent morals. The humor, and the points of the fables are all gently made, with a great deal of charm and simple eloquence. One of my favorite books of all time. Great for anything from laughter, to learning about another culture, to simple and timeless morals, to an understanding of the common ground we share with Islam

I reviewed The Color Purple by Alice Walker as part of an eighth grade English study on racism in 20th century America. I read this alongside Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird. Walker's novel is the story about two African American sisters, Celie and Nettie. The first, Celie, a women doubting love and God in the middle of an unhappy marriage, just like the relationships she's had with all the men in her life; abusive and harrasive. The second is an African missionary learning to love and trying to help save a village from developing white men. I think that this books takes a while to get into, afterwards you'll be so consumed by the characters you won't be able to put it down. Reading The Color Purple alongside To Kill a Mockingbird shows the differences in the perspective of the narrator. These books differ; one is from a young white childs point of view and the other is from an adult African Americans. It shows the different approaches, attitudes, and understanding of the time to racism. From both perspectives the whites were in charge, the most blacks accepted that as a fact to live by; they knew it would never be overcome without the white men's help. In The Color Purple Celie was ruled over and accepted that the whites were better and more powerful. The only black in the book who goes against this Sophia. She insults and fights back to the mayor's wife when she asked Sophia to be her maid. In return she gets thrown in jail and looses everything. Seeing the harm that comes to Sophia when she tries to defend herself all the other blacks stay in line. In To Kill a Mockingbird there are a few white people who don't believe in racism. This gives the blacks support and they realize they may be able to help there town change. From this novel, The Color Purple, I learned that for things to change you need to make the people in power want to change. The white would not want to let the blacks share their power and importance. I also learned the happiness can be found in different ways and that there is no right lifestyle.

"The Color Pruple" provides a disturbing yet realistic account into the life of Celie, a young black woman with a tragic, abusive past who learns how to survive, how to let go of the past, and most of all how to love. I thought the medium with which Walker chose to write her book was perfect, the diary form of the novel establishes a immediate, intimate connection to the reader right from the start. Walker draws you in from the beginning, starting her book with a fairly graphic, explicit account of the physical abuse Celie's father subjected her to. I find Celie one of the most inspirational characters I have ever read about, she makes you believe that even in the darkest moments one can find hope, because for most women, life cannot get worse than Celie's.

The language used throughout the book emphasizes Celie's lack of educationa and the naivety of a young girl, being black and living in a world where men dominate every aspect of life Celie has only learned how to be submissive, suppresing all her own hopes and dreams. Enter Shug Avery and Sofia, and we start to see the insiprational woman Celie is inside--Shug represents the independent woman that Cleie longs to be but cannot find the courage to become. Through Shug's love and encouragment Celie learns to stand up for herself. She emerges powerful, strong and intelligent.

When I first started to read this book I felt I couldn't get past the first few letters. The violence that Celie encounters is unbearable to read, and sometimes I felt uncomfortable with many of the passages describing the graphic sexual abuse/actions and violence. However as I read on I realized the heart of the story overshadowed many of the disturbing scenes. This story is about self-discovery and the coming of age of a young owman long suppressed by the society she lives in. The sexual content is only there to try to express the freedom Celie was feeling, the self-discoveries she was making, the pain she was enduring--they weren't there to merely try to shock or discuss the reader.

I love the character Celie, her strength is remarkable. Alice Walker shows us the transformation of a great woman--what she was, what she is capable of, and what she has finally become. It's an extraordinary novel, and I would reccomend it to anyone looking for inspiration or strong female role models.

"I maybe black, I may be poor, I maybe a woman, and I may even be ugly! But thank God I'm here"

I have recently finished reading The Color Purple, by Alice Walker. This book had the most emotional impact on me, more then any other book I have ever read. It gives the reader a vivid and terrifying description of the life of a black woman growing up in the early twenty century. I read this book for my eighth grade English class. Everyone was assigned to read an independent reading book that relates and associates with the timeless classic, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Even though the main character in each book was placed in completely different situations, the same issues applied to both. There were both victims of sexism. Both their lives were dominated by men and Celie, in The Color Purple, was abused by them physically and mentally because they wanted to keep her in line and control her to a certain extent that doesn't allow her to think for herself. Scout, in To Kill a Mockingbird, had constant pressure upon her to be the lady society had shaped woman to be. The Color Purple opened up to an experience that many woman faced but was chosen to be ignored by the public. It expressed the harshness of reality and the pain inflicted amongst many woman of a different race during this period of time.

The Color Purple takes place in the south and spans thirty years in the life of Celie, a poor southern black woman. Alice Walker portrays the life of an innocent girl who is put through rape, physical abuse, teenage marriage, child birth and emotional abuse. Celie started out as a slave to her own family. Her mother is killed, and Celie and her siblings are raised by their father.

Celie goes through the transition of a slave to an individual. Celie is an extremely strong character that overcomes the many years of abuse that was put upon her. The book was conveyed in a style that is unique in its own sense and the use of the Southern English makes the book especially realistic and more like an actual journal. I have felt that it is the most powerful portrayal of a woman and her struggle to survive. This character shows the reader that she is a survivor and your future can't be determined from your past.

While this appears to be an excellent textbook, it was not a helpful resource to those looking for information on citing various references and sources. This book is strictly for those who are or will be writing papers meant for publication. However, if you are looking for a book with listings of how to cite your sources (i.e. a bibliography) you won't find that information here.

...I can honestly say that it was easier learning the Korean language than it is trying to master this obfuscatory, often convoluted way of formatting papers.

Notwithstanding, for those of us among the uninitiated, help is here in the form of this workbook. Mastering APA Style can be a tremendous resource if you remember two vitally important cavaets: (1)Don't try to discern the "logic" of why APA does the things it does, just do it the way they say to do it, and you won't get mixed up an frustrated. (2) The more you use APA, the better you will become. I am entering my second year of graduate school and I am convinced that it will take another two years to master all of the subtleties and nuances of the APA format.

This book, however, will make the ride much, much smoother!

To graduate students in any counseling field, this is your bible. All of your research papers must be done in APA style and that is exactly what this book in dedicated to. I help you in simple terms to learn and perfect the infamous APA style