1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus Review

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1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus ReviewMann gives the reader a comprehensive overview of the new theories concerning native American societies before the colonial period. The story is intriguing, and the fascinating narrative will hold the reader's complete attention. The assertions made are too numerous and complex to go into in any detail here, but in brief: we are told that the Western Hemisphere was actually much more populous than anyone had imagined previously. Most of the inhabitants were wiped out by plagues brought by the Europeans. Far from being either brutal and child-like, or "noble savages", the native Americans had established sophisticated societies which served large and growing populations, and which had great impact on their natural environments. No small Indian tribes living in a vast, untamed wilderness! To the contrary, fire was used repeatedly to burn off weeds and undergrowth, extensive mounds and other structures were raised to provide crop land and ponds for fish breeding, and cultivation was widespread. Indeed, Mann asserts that the Amazon, far from being the quintessential wilderness most regard it as, is actually a garden gone wild!
The tale is breathtaking in its scope. But is it true? The author of 1491 acknowledges that the new theories are controversial. For example: everyone agrees the Europeans brought diseases which wiped out large numbers of Indians. But not all agree that the original population was anywhere near the levels claimed. And many researchers contend that structures claimed to be of human origin, such as the Beni causeways in Bolivia, are actually of natural origin. This reader withholds judgement until a lot more evidence is forthcoming. However, everyone interested in history owes it to themselves to read this spellbinding story of an America that just might have been, and then watch as it is either confirmed or refuted by continuing, widely based research.1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus Overview

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A Historical Atlas of the Jewish People: From the Time of the Patriarchs to the Present Review

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A Historical Atlas of the Jewish People: From the Time of the Patriarchs to the Present ReviewI had received this book from two people, one from a very good friend of my father's, and once from a good friend of mine. I had used this as a resource for research projects in my middle school and in my Hebrew High School as well. This book has information about many well known, and not so well known Jewish events. It starts in 2500BCE with The Migration of The Patriarchs and goes all the way to Modern Israel in the 1990s. This book has many diagrams, photographs, and paragraphs explaining how the Jews were always everywhere in a hidden or obvious way. This would be an excellent gift for a bar mitzvah (when I had gotten it twice), bat mitzvah, birthday or any occassion for that matter. It is as well an excellent book to have as reference. I strongly suggest this book to any one wishing to find information about Jews playing an influence in the world.A Historical Atlas of the Jewish People: From the Time of the Patriarchs to the Present OverviewThe history of the Jews spans more than two millenia and encompasses most parts of the globe--an extraordinary saga which is set forth pictorially in this comprehensive, and richly illustrated and designed volume. With hundreds of brilliantly detailed maps, photographs, and drawings, and chronologies and commentaries by leading experts, A Historical Atlas of the Jewish People is both an authoritative reference work and a sumptuous gift volume.

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Managing Cultural Differences, Seventh Edition: Global Leadership Strategies for the 21st Century (Managing Cultural Differences) Review

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Managing Cultural Differences, Seventh Edition: Global Leadership Strategies for the 21st Century (Managing Cultural Differences) ReviewManaging Cultural Differences has been the "Gold Standard" in international management education for over 30 years. It is the essential reference for the kit of every international executive across the World, and has rightfully been adopted as a primary text by over 400 college and university business programs.
I first became aware of the work of Drs. Philip R. Harris and Robert T. Moran over 30 years ago, when the first edition of Managing Cultural Differences was just a twinkle in their eyes. Since then, this steadily evolving text has always been a part of my library, informing the development of many businesses from Japan and Taiwan to India, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.
This completely revised 7th edition, which highlights author Sarah Moran, updates the earlier work to include major new sections on the impact of terrorism and state security on cultures, and their inevitable impact on the cultural interchanges within the multinational corporation. In today's homogenized business environment, it is often difficult to appreciate the differences in how international colleagues and competitors see the World. Managing Cultural Differences gives students the base point to appreciate the significance of their counterparts' worldview, with advice on how to address the inevitable conflicts in interpersonal behavior.
The 7th edition contains major new insights into dealings in the Middle East. Because of interminable conflict, many American and European businesses are missing the largest economic boom of this quarter century, fueled by our rising gasoline prices. When the West wakes up to this new opportunity, Managing Cultural Differences (7th Edition) will be there to guide the way through the inevitable smoke and mirrors.
Leadership in business is a key theme throughout the text, showing aspirants how to assume responsibility and avoid unnecessary conflict in today's complex multicultural business environments. As global arbitrage opportunities morph out of East Asia, and into Central Asia, the Middle East and Africa, every business leader will need a copy of this encyclopedic guide to inform every decision, which cuts across the cultural divide.
The 7th Edition adds important case studies, with valuable chapter objectives, maps, and end of chapter discussion objectives. There are Power Point (tm) slides corresponding to each chapter outline, and 600 extra pages of instructor resources. The new student resource CD-ROM contains real-life cases, personal inventories, surveys, practice quizzes, and hyperlinked Web resources.
Managing Cultural Differences (7th Edition) is the essential primary text for every international business course.
Managing Cultural Differences, Seventh Edition: Global Leadership Strategies for the 21st Century (Managing Cultural Differences) OverviewThis new edition of a business textbook bestseller has been completely updated. In particular, the book presents a fuller discussion of global business today. Also, issues of terrorism and state security as they affect culture and business are discussed substantially. The structure and content of the book remain the same, with thorough updating of the plentiful region and country descriptions, demographic data, graphs and maps. This book differs from textbooks on International Management because it zeroes in on culture as the crucial dimension and educates students about the cultures around the world so they will be better prepared to work successfully for a multinational corporation or in a global context.*This classic has been praised as "the bible of multiculturalism" (New York Times News Service)*All demographic information fully updated, new case studies added to each chapter, CDROM with additional student resources new to this edition*Five-hundred page on-line instructor's manual available from publisher packed with exercises, resources, graphics and ppt slides for lectures

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How People Live Review

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How People Live ReviewI am VERY familiar with this book, having read it at night to my 11 year old son for months now! We just finished it. He loved it--he is a huge geography buff and was fascinated with the glimpes of so many cultures around the world. We both learned a lot about people and countries we had known nothing or very little about before now.
A few small things would have made this a much better book, however! I would have loved to have a small map on each 2 page spread about a culture, so that we could have seen exactly where the people talked about lived. I'd have liked very much to have some of the words in other languages spelled out phonetically, as I was often guessing wildly at how things were said. I also wish the book would have focused a little less on exotic and unusual cultures and a little more on more common cultures---the former was very interesting, but the latter would have given us probably a more realistic world view!
My sons are annoyed that I am writing so many complaints! They felt this was a wonderful book, and so did I---I just think it could have been even better!How People Live Overview

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On the Origin of Tepees: The Evolution of Ideas (and Ourselves) Review

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On the Origin of Tepees: The Evolution of Ideas (and Ourselves) ReviewThis book is great! I have to say, I'm not normally a big fan of sciency books, not because I don't like the subject, but because my brain seems to cloud over and not be able to take anything in. Somehow, this book broke right through the clouds. I loved the humour in it, and the fact that it is not only about cultural evolution but is also a story of a road trip across America. But what I like the most about it is the incredibly clear and enlightening way that Jonnie Hughes explains the concept. I'm now looking at everything just that little bit differently.
On the Origin of Tepees: The Evolution of Ideas (and Ourselves) OverviewWhy do some ideas spread, while others die off? Does human culture have its very own "survival of the fittest"? And if so, does that explain why our species is so different from the rest of life on Earth? Throughout history, we humans have prided ourselves on our capacity to have ideas, but perhaps this pride is misplaced. Perhaps ideas have us. After all, ideas do appear to have a life of their own. And it is they, not us, that benefit most when they are spread. Many biologists have already come to the opinion that our genes are selfish entities, tricking us into helping them to reproduce. Is it the same with our ideas? Jonnie Hughes, a science writer and documentary filmmaker, investigates the evolution of ideas in order to find out. Adopting the role of a cultural Charles Darwin, Hughes heads off, with his brother in tow, across the Midwest to observe firsthand the natural history of ideas—the patterns of their variation, inheritance, and selection in the cultural landscape. In place of Darwin's oceanic islands, Hughes visits the "mind islands" of Native American tribes. Instead of finches, Hughes searches for signs of natural selection among the tepees. With a knack for finding the humor in the quirks of the American cultural landscape, Hughes takes us on a tour from the Mall of America in Minneapolis to what he calls the "maul" of America—Custer's last stand—stopping at road-sides and discoursing on sandwiches, the shape of cowboy hats, the evolution of barn roofs, the 28.99 wording of jokes, the wearing of moustaches, and, of course, the telling features from tepees of different tribes. Original, witty, and engaging, On the Origin of Tepees offers a fresh way of understanding both our ideas and ourselves.

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Before the Revolution: America's Ancient Pasts Review

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Before the Revolution: America's Ancient Pasts ReviewDaniel Richter's "Before the Revolution" is among a handful of recent major histories of early America that compel a serious re-thinking of our political and economic origins - particularly in light of current voices in national and state politics. First, one must admire the extraordinary grasp of detail evident in this work. The book must be a summa of an entire lifetime of careful study. But more importantly, details in this work paint the larger movements of life throughout the settlement of this country. Richter's conceptual handle on the themes of America's early development are richly conveyed throughout every stage in this history. One looks to historians for far more than facts and Richter delivers in very compelling ways. The prose is lucid and gives a solid narrative sense without losing the reader among tangential episodes. The book gives yet more evidence of how profoundly early American culture and settlement events were shaped by religious and political trends in England and Europe. Richter captures the conflation of spiritual/religious motives with raw greed for land and power in ways that make a mockery of typical lay renderings of this time period. One's understanding of the sources for slavery of Native Americans, Irish and English down-and-outs,and then of Africans are exhaustively conveyed in this text. One cannot walk away feeling utterly freed from the lasting effects of this history.
Richter's work stands among several others of note for this time period. Fred Anderson's "The Crucible of War" is another richly detailed and comprehensive account of some of the same period. Kevin Phillip's "The Cousin's War" underscores some similar themes with again a rich narrative and conceptual grasp in showing how the issues arising from the English Civil War fed into the American Revolution and Civil War. Gary B. Nash's "The Unknown American Revolution" compels a radical re-understanding of the various forces leading into the American Revoultion - again with emphasis on the curious admixture of ideals and raw power-thrusting behaviors. Alan Taylor's "The Civil War of 1812" picks up a few decades later, but is again a masterful treatment of many of the same themes contained in these other histories.
I underline as I read to capture the most salient or instructive passages. Suffice it to say I found myself underlining something on almost every page of Richter's work. What a great text to use for a history course! To my reading, Richter and the other authors mentioned above make of most "history" that is taught in the secondary schools mere propaganda. We live in a bubble of fantasies about what our country was made from and judging from contemporary politicians' statements, we continue to fabricate moral myths from a past that offers little moral inspiration.Before the Revolution: America's Ancient Pasts Overview
America began, we are often told, with the Founding Fathers, the men who waged a revolution and created a unique place called the United States. We may acknowledge the early Jamestown and Puritan colonists and mourn the dispossession of Native Americans, but we rarely grapple with the complexity of the nation's pre-revolutionary past. In this pathbreaking revision, Daniel Richter shows that the United States has a much deeper history than is apparent—that far from beginning with a clean slate, it is a nation with multiple pasts that stretch back as far as the Middle Ages, pasts whose legacies continue to shape the present.

Exploring a vast range of original sources, Before the Revolution spans more than seven centuries and ranges across North America, Europe, and Africa. Richter recovers the lives of a stunning array of peoples—Indians, Spaniards, French, Dutch, Africans, English—as they struggled with one another and with their own people for control of land and resources. Their struggles occurred in a global context and built upon the remains of what came before. Gradually and unpredictably, distinctive patterns of North American culture took shape on a continent where no one yet imagined there would be nations called the United States, Canada, or Mexico.

By seeing these trajectories on their own dynamic terms, rather than merely as a prelude to independence, Richter's epic vision reveals the deepest origins of American history.
(20110315)

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The Cultural Nature of Human Development Review

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The Cultural Nature of Human Development ReviewRogoff's acclaimed concepts about how human development and culture naturally intertwine unfold in a highly intricate matter within this text.
Like Jerome Bruner, her prose can overpopulate itself with too many techy terms for the average educator; however, if you can push through the woods of her thick style, you will uncover many truths about culture.
As she puts forth, culture springs from the natural progression of social history and interaction. Each culture possesses its own scripts and nuances on what exists as "typical" development.
I invite anyone to delve into her mind.The Cultural Nature of Human Development OverviewThree-year-old Kwara'ae children in Oceania act as caregivers of their younger siblings, but in the UK, it is an offense to leave a child under age 14 ears without adult supervision. In the Efe community in Zaire, infants routinely use machetes with safety and some skill, although U.S. middle-class adults often do not trust young children with knives. What explains these marked differences in the capabilities of these children?Until recently, traditional understandings of human development held that a child's development is universal and that children have characteristics and skills that develop independently of cultural processes. Barbara Rogoff argues, however, that human development must be understood as a cultural process, not simply a biological or psychological one. Individuals develop as members of a community, and their development can only be fully understood by examining the practices and circumstances of their communities.

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It's Only a Movie: Films and Critics in American Culture Review

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It's Only a Movie: Films and Critics in American Culture ReviewAs a film critic for several online sites, I share with others of my
vocation a distress that while the public may be reading us, the
reviews themselves seem to be influencing only a few in their
choices of films. I like to say defensively that it is not the critic's
function to operate as a Consumer Reports guide, to send people
to the theaters or to guide them into settling back into their
couches. But the writing is on the wall; or, rather, the writing
should be there but it isn't: critics have lost much of the authority
they once had to influence the public. In a short book filled with
lush prose, Richard J. Haberski Jr. strives to tell us why critical
authority has declined albeit less rapidly than the current
NASDAQ chart, topping his tome off with a mixed conclusion.
On the one hand movies are such a joyful medium, the film world
may not really suffer for the breakdown in authority. On the other
hand, "It is sad that today movie critics appear powerless ot help
us discover the art of moviegoing."
Tracing a brief film history encompassing the impact of select
organizations like the National Board of Review on the movie
choices available to us, Haberski's book is most enlightening and
relevant (at least to critics like me) when it referees debates
among several major writers such as Pauline Kael, Andrew
Sarris, Stanley Kauffmann and Dwight MacDonald--writers who
have had often divergent viewpoints on such issues as the
importance of the director, the gap between the younger and
older audience, the relative values of elitism and democracy, and
most of all the big question of whether movies should even be
considered an art that justifies critical analysis.
Theory aside, the general public felt comfortable with the idea of
art until the dawn of the Pop era signalled by the ideas and
paintings of Andy Warhol. The book reaches a high point in its
examination of the Big Debate between the Andrew ("auteur
theory) Sarris--who believes that the director is the all-important
creator of a film, and the late Pauline ("It's Only a Movie!") Kael -
-who was known for toughness toward sugarcoated movies like
"The Sound of Music" and praised almost universally condemned
fare like "Bonnie and Clyde." Despite her staunch advocacy of
strong films, Kael amassed a large readership with her disdain
for pretension and love for good films whether or not they had
"something to say."
"It's Only a Movie!" is a must-read for critics and would make a
sure-fire addition to the library of movie buffs everywhere.It's Only a Movie: Films and Critics in American Culture Overview

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The Book of General Ignorance Review

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The Book of General Ignorance Review"This book is for the people who know they don't know very much." This comment, in the introduction of The Book of General Ignorance, sets the stage and presents the authors' challenge. I started reading it with a "Who do they think they are fooling" attitude.
They made me a convert. This book only gets more interesting as you continue reading it.
Some of the knowledge nuggets aren't big secrets, and in fact read as "trick questions," like "What is the tallest mountain in the world?" The trick is, "tallest," not "highest." Got it? Mauna Kea in Hawaii, not Mt. Everest.
Then, what is the most dangerous animal that has ever lived? Answer? A mosquito, responsible, the authors say, for the deaths of about 45 billion humans. Of course (and they know this), one mosquito isn't responsible for these deaths, there are many species of mosquitos, and mosquitos really don't (directly) kill anybody.
Trick question again.
Then there were the questions that didn't hold any surprise at all: "What is the main ingredient of air?" Answer: nitrogen.
But it got more interesting. What man-made objects are visible from the moon? None. Many are visible from "space" (a mere 60 miles above the surface of the Earth), but the moon is too far away. What is the biggest thing that a blue whale can swallow?What are violin strings made of?
There are so many questions answered, that there is something here for everybody.
This is better than Trivial Pursuit, because of the explanations given. This should be an entertaining book on CD to listen to on a long trip, and can easily be turned into a game for adults and kids.
So I started reading it with a chip on my shoulder, and the authors made me a believer. Interesting, indeed. The book just kept getting better.
And my favorite factoid? What is the longest animal alive today?
Hint... it is not a blue whale.The Book of General Ignorance Overview

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Ethnicity and Family Therapy, Third Edition Review

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Ethnicity and Family Therapy, Third Edition ReviewI first read this book several years ago. I am a professional computer scientist/applied mathematician, and have no training at all in any social science aside from history, government and anthropology courses taken in college (lo these many years ago). My interest in this book arises from the illumination that its chapters on the English, the Irish, the Italians and the Jews (the main ethnic groups in the town in which I grew up) have given to otherwise inexplicable bits of my life. For example, I could never understand why one of my Yankee friends would go into paroxysms of anger when, after inviting his daughter to Sunday dinner, she would accept, and then call with a (legitimate) excuse on Saturday; or why one of my mother's best friends, a woman of Irish descent, drove me wild for over 40 years with her teasing manner, although she clearly meant very well towards me. The pathways of social and familial relationships passed from generation to generation through the filter of ethnic heritage appears to be remarkably powerful, even in these post-melting-pot days. Read this book with an eye to self-discovery if you don't believe me!Ethnicity and Family Therapy, Third Edition OverviewThis widely used clinical reference and text provides a wealth of knowledge on culturally sensitive practice with families and individuals from over 40 different ethnic groups. Each chapter demonstrates how ethnocultural factors may influence the assumptions of both clients and therapists, the issues people bring to the clinical context, and their resources for coping and problem solving.
New to This Edition:
*Incorporates new research and clinical material.
*Chapters on several additional groups.
*Appendix offering a concise guide to weaving cultural information into assessment and intervention planning.

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The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know Review

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The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know ReviewI am a foreign citizen living in the US for about 4 years for graduate level degree in the US. Culture as well as language are the biggest obstacles of my life in the US. I overcame the basic survival and class language barrier after living 2-3 years, but the cultural barrier with combined with conversational language is very challenging. Not only for more socializing but also more nature English writing and speacking, I worked hard, and Culturacy Dictionary helps me a lot. It includes expressions from various areas, e.g. bible, literature, idiom, etc. During the reading or watching TV, I can understand better the implications and expressions rooted from relgion, history, literature, and other areas of culture.
I use this dictionary with several ways. First, just read the page I am intersted in. Second, I consult it during my writing to find better expression, and do more research to understand the background better via internet. Third, play game with this book with my American Classmates - in fact, this helps me the most. They explain what is not written in the dictionary, and this is the way I can acquire the knowledge of the expression easily and last long in my brain.
This dictionary is wonderful, I think, for both for navtive and non-native. Non natives can upgrade their English level with cultural understanding, and natives can be more sophisticated using their languages. It is a great tool, and I am happy to find it!The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know Overview

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Passport to the World: Your A to Z Guided Language Tour Review

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Passport to the World: Your A to Z Guided Language Tour ReviewZipping around the globe in a book is a little unusual, but I found this book by Craig Froman so intriguing I read it from cover to cover during my daughter Clara's ballet class tonight. The possibilities for using this book with your elementary age children are endless. I am sure my seven year old daughter will love this book. For one thing, every country represented shows children in native dress from days gone by and my Anna loves costumes!
The premise of the book is to cover 26 different languages and the countries where they are spoken. It's an alphabet book -- meaning it takes its organizational schema from the alphabet, one language for each letter. It is also an atlas. Each language/country covers a two page spread includes fascinating facts, pictures of the land and people, translations of several common words (hello, goodbye, thank you and peace) and information about the religions most prominent in the country. Also included are basic demographics for the country and the location with capital labeled on a map. This book is written from a Christian perspective.
I really enjoyed reading through the book this evening, and I am certain my children will also enjoy the book. Here is how I envision using the book. I will probably cover one language/country per week and have my children pray for the people still speaking that language. We will read the two page spread, look at the map and talk about some of the information presented. If they are really interested, we will look up more information in our more comprehensive children's atlas, Children of the World by DK publishing or on the internet. Then I will have them color a picture out of a reproducible coloring book I have that has native costumes for many countries.
I am so excited to have this book for our geography studies this year!Passport to the World: Your A to Z Guided Language Tour OverviewEncounter people from around the world without ever leaving home! Fill up your passport with stickers from around the world as you read about children and their unique cultures and customs. Children learn the amazing truth that we are all of one race, all Gods children. An out-of-the-ordinary geographic journey of 26 language groups from A to Z! Experience a wondrous global journey within the pages of a book, encountering places and people from around the world in a scrapbook like no other! Children will gain knowledge of intriguing facts about countries, including their capital cities, maps, flags, populations, and religions. Gathering stickers for their passport, readers learn greetings from 26 different languages, as well as interesting language tips as well. This is an attention-grabbing exploration of the world through the eyes of children.

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You Are What You Speak: Grammar Grouches, Language Laws, and the Politics of Identity Review

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You Are What You Speak: Grammar Grouches, Language Laws, and the Politics of Identity ReviewDo you split infinitives and dare to think yourself reasonably intelligent? Do you regularly end sentences with prepositions and refuse to believe the end of civilization is nigh? Are you or are you not threatened by ebonics or worried (or not) that Spanish is going to swamp English? This is the book for you.
Lane Green's You Are What You Speak is sharp, funny and filled with insight into the politics and pretense of languages' guardians and scolds. Cutting right to the chase, Green gives us a brief history of grammar grouches from Cicero and John Dryden to modern day cranks like David Foster Wallace and that queen of cranks, Lynne Truss. In doing so, Green not only reassures us that language isn't going to hell in a hand basket--only a small minority have ever thought so--but that it is flourishing as it should, from the speakers' needs.
More importantly, his considerable depth of learning debunks many myths. The split infinitive police are supported not by facts but early grammarians who based their rules on their knowledge of Latin (where it is impossible to split one-word infinitives). In English though, it is possible to do so and only undesirable when it creates confusion. As for dangling preps, Green says, by all means do. There is no reason not to, and for clarity's sake, plenty of reasons to go ahead. He provides some delightful examples of when following the dangling prep rule is preposterous.
The author makes the important point that a few grouches have forgotten that language created writing not vice-versa. Hilarious criticisms of England's great poets and writers by grammarians cinches Green's argument that the scolds have lost all sense of perspective and proportion. Throughout the book he advocates clarity of thought and precision, not some hind bound adhesion to a rule established by a finger wagging grumpus. Bravo.
Subsequent chapters deal with the link between nation-building and national language, the politics of language and the sub rosa agenda of politicians when they deride and decry Black English or the "rise" of Spanish speaking Americans. The French Academy's efforts to stem the tide of English seems rather like herding cats, and an explanation of Chinese and Japanese alphabets instills a new respect for the often caricatured Asian nerd.
You Are What You Speak is the very best sort of language exercise: clear, entertaining and educative. Absolutely terrific!You Are What You Speak: Grammar Grouches, Language Laws, and the Politics of Identity Overview"An insightful, accessible examination of the way in which day-to-day speech is tangled in a complicated web of history, politics, race, economics and power." - KirkusWhat is it about other people's language that moves some of us to anxiety or even rage? For centuries, sticklers the world over have donned the cloak of authority to control the way people use words. Now this sensational new book strikes back to defend the fascinating, real-life diversity of this most basic human faculty.With the erudite yet accessible style that marks his work as a journalist, Robert Lane Greene takes readers on a rollicking tour around the world, illustrating with vivid anecdotes the role language beliefs play in shaping our identities, for good and ill. Beginning with literal myths, from the Tower of Babel to the bloody origins of the word "shibboleth," Greene shows how language "experts" went from myth-making to rule-making and from building cohesive communities to building modern nations. From the notion of one language's superiority to the common perception that phrases like "It's me" are "bad English," linguistic beliefs too often define "us" and distance "them," supporting class, ethnic, or national prejudices. In short: What we hear about language is often really about the politics of identity.Governments foolishly try to police language development (the French Academy), nationalism leads to the violent suppression of minority languages (Kurdish and Basque), and even Americans fear that the most successful language in world history (English) may be threatened by increased immigration. These false language beliefs are often tied to harmful political ends and can lead to the violation of basic human rights. Conversely, political involvement in language can sometimes prove beneficial, as with the Zionist revival of Hebrew or our present-day efforts to provide education in foreign languages essential to business, diplomacy, and intelligence. And yes, standardized languages play a crucial role in uniting modern societies.As this fascinating book shows, everything we've been taught to think about language may not be wrong—but it is often about something more than language alone. You Are What You Speak will certainly get people talking.

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