No comments about Letters to his Parents: 1939-1951.

No comments about In Sierra Leone.

No comments about One Barber's Story: From Sicily to America.

5 comments about The Man Who Tried to Save the World: The dangerous life and mysterious disappearence of Fred Cuny.

1. The book reads like a thunderclap. It starts quickly and picks up pace, holding the reader's fascination the entire time. Anderseon summarizes the humanitarian aid community and the situation in Russia well. (Full disclosure: this reviewer is an expatriate in Russia working with refugees.)

   The errors in the book are therefore almost unforgiveable. It's simply incredible that someone who supposedly did so much research made such fundamental mistakes as:

   1. Referring to the newly constructed Embassy--the one with all the bugs--as "miles" from the older Embassy where he was speaking with the Ambassador. The two buildings are separated by about three hundred meters, and are visible to each other.

   2. Referring to a "two-million" dollar ransom for Cuny on one page, and eleven pages later referring to the individual who made it as the man who demanded "three million" dollars.

   There are other errors as well, all of them inconsequential to the flow of the story and its overall conclusions. I must admit, however, that it left me wondering what other facts did he get wrong that I did not know about.

   A final quibble is that Anderson presents Cuny's positive achievements as simple facts. There is no doubt that Cuny achieved much during his life, and he did a lot of good, but he and his approach to humanitarian aid were (and still are) much more controversial than the author indicates. The people Anderson blithely dismisses as angry at Cuny's accusations of ineptitude should have been given a greater say on how -they- felt about -him-. This is minor, however, and simply means the reader should be aware that the author has a bias, which is neither surprising nor unexpected.




2. What an inspiring man Fred Cuny was en what a great story.
   A lovely written book about a great man. There should be more people like him. Great book.



3. This is definitely a captivating tale about a horrid and bizarre situation, but one wishes for a little less of the author's not so interesting tale. The author strikes me as a bit too macho, exaggerating the risks and missing out on important details of Fred Cuny's life (focusing too much on the macho aspects that the author clearly favors). Definitely worth a read but don't be turned off by the author's overblown bravado.



4. I selected this book because I'd read the author's previous work, wanted to know more about Chechnya, and was curious about a man who would try "to save the world." Anderson's telling of the tale of Fred Cuny is illuminating and thought-provoking. I wanted to share this story with others who also knew little about the world where Cuny lived and worked. The continuing unrest in Chechnya makes this book as timely as it was on the day it was published.
   
   Scott Anderson leads the reader down the shadowy path taken by Fred Cuny and leaves one with the certainty that uncertainty like that faced by Cuny still prevails in many parts of the world. Recent events demonstate that even between the relatively safe borders of the USA, terror remains a daily concern. The people of Chechnya and other places where Fred Cuny worked to help others have known terror much longer.



5. I read this book a couple of years ago, and just recently reread it. What a fascinating story. For those who are interested in humanitarian crises, and what it takes to make things happen; within the myriad non-governmental organizations and governments as well; this is the book for you.
   Cuny's CV reads like a laundry list of the disasters (mostly manmade) of our time. Bosnia and Chechenya are the two most prescient issues in this book. Anyone who engages in these types of activities in the future would do well to read this book to see what kind of energy and fortitude it takes to get things accomplished.
   Cuny's demise is a tragic story with an even sadder ending, but I will let the reader get there on his/her own...
   A joy to read about such a remarkable person.

No comments about Three Latin American Sociologists: Gino Germani, Pablo Gonzales Casanova, Fernando Henrique Cardoso.

3 comments about Ever After: A Father's True Story.

1. William Wharton, author of DAd and Birdy writes a moving account of his daughters death in Oregon and of his attempt to bring attention to the dangeous practice of field burning by large seed companies. An intensely moving experience, especially if you have children. Highly reccommended



2. A year and a half ago I read the, then latest book, "Ever After," by my favorite author, William Wharton. The author of "Birdy," "Dad," and most recently, "Houseboat on the Seine," depicts the horrendous 23 car pile up on Oregon's Interstate 5 in the summer of '88, that occured due to field burning near Albany, Oregon. Seven deaths resulted out of overt negligence on the part of Oregon laws, businesses, political action committees and the farmer(s) involved. The author dealing with the personal impact of this tragedy, eventually decides to take action and attempts to pursue legal recourse. The book outlines the tremendous forces that come into play within our business/legal/political system(s) when it comes to assuming responsibility/liability for both the personal and ongoing environmental disasters that evolve out of negligence and irresponsibility. This book stirs even the apathetic into action



3. My father was a close freind of the deceased in the book. He never met the author, but he knew the family. He was described in the book as building his own house (which is fictional, because he never built a house). This book is very graphic in how the bodies were found, and how the family was killed. Wharton makes up some of the names and of course some of the events in the book.

3 comments about On Familiar Terms: To Japan and Back, a Lifetime Across Cultures (Kodansha Globe).

1. Donald Keene is not only one of the WestÕs great literary and cultural translators of Japan, he is an important figure in the history of modern Japanese literature. In this readable and inspiring autobiography, Keene succinctly recalls his experiences with Japan, its language and its culture, and the numerous academic and literary figures he has encountered.

   Keene, like many early Japan scholars in the United States, was initially trained by the military for intelligence work during World War II in the Pacific. Most of the book deals with his life between the war years, when he first struggled with the Japanese language, through the 1960s, when he was at the height of his associations with such famous Japanese writers as Yasunari Kawabata, Kobo Abe and Yukio Mishima. Keene was a great fan of Mishima, who is probably the most legendary Japanese writer in the West. Keene knew him well professionally, and openly discusses his efforts to lobby for a Nobel Prize for Mishima. He also talks about the dejection that overtook Mishima for never winning. Keene relates his own sense of loss at the suicides of both Kawabata and, especially, Mishima, and even finds fault with himself for not recognizing sooner the trajectory of MishimaÕs demise.

   Keene's autobiography is highly recommended to anyone interested in the literature or scholarship of Japan, as well as to anyone interested in the life of an unusual and inspiring individual.




2. As someone living in Japan I enjoyed reading this book. Donald Keene is one of the great scholars on Japanese literature and equally at home in it's many facetted culture. The work Dr. Keene has delivered with this autobiography has the feel of many years of being submerged in a fascinating as well as a, for a Westerner, incredibly complex literary culture written in a wonderfully easy to understand style. Not only for those interested in Japanese literature and culture, but also for those who just want to have a good read. While traveling or before going to sleep. Nothing deep, but personal and a joy to read!



3. Donald Keene's personal story on his life-long devotion to the study of Japanese never fails to attract those interested in Japanese and Japan.

   I find his accidental first encounter with a strange language, Japanese, quite amusing. A mistake to put a record on a player has eventually led young Keene to dare to learn Japanese and finally to write one of the most comprehensive history of Japanese literature several years ago. My vivid memory is that on a new-year TV program Keene and a notable Japanese poet talked about Japanese literature. The Japanese poet was never equal to Keene on topics in Japanese literature. It might be true that Keene's profound knowledge and appreciation of Japanese literature has no rival even in Japan, maybe except Dr. Jinichi Konishi, Professor Emeritus of Tsukuba University.

   In this work, Keene puts an exciting and enchanting account of mishaps, adventures, good luck with Japanese which fascinated and nurtured the author as a distinguished Japan scholar.

   I especially love to read his struggle and clever strategy of how he finally reached Tokyo and then, without staying there for even a night he took a night train for Kyoto from which his literary quest originated.

   I believe we can enjoy reading detailed episodes that reveal his solid dedication and patience in learning Japanese and Japan. The author's well-thought-out expressions often help us discover the best way to describe in plain English some peculiar aspects of Japanese culture.

1 comments about Max Weber: An Intellectual Portrait.

1. I want to give a shout out to Henri Edward Dongieux who authored the Amazon.com guide to "get to know Weber and Habermas". I want to give my stand disclaimer: I am not a sociologist or a student of sociology, just a general reader with an interest in the history of ideas.

   Funny story about this book: I bought Weber's theory of social and economic organization (with the foreword by Talcott Parsons). I don't know what I was thinking there. I read about thirty pages of Parsons introduction to Theory and was like, "forget this."

   So then the next day I'm surfing around Amazon trying to figure out how I'm going to figure out Weber and I see the above mentioned list. Well, Henri was right: this book is THE place to start if you're looking to access the ideas of Weber.

   One further digression before I actually review the book itself: Weber is hard to access for a couple of reasons: First, all his stuff has been translated from the German. This is compounded by the fact that Weber, despite his highly rigorous thought, was kind of making up terminology as he went and also by the fact that German has tons of words that don't translate well into English.
   Second, Weber kind of died before he finished pulling together the various strands of his grand theory together, leaving his work uncomplete.

   So, preliminary matters aside, I will move on to a description of the book. Since this is the first review of this work on Amazon (and how can that be?). I will provide a non-judgmental description of content and then a few observations.

   The book is divided into three Parts. Part One is called "German Society and The Protestant Ethic". Part Two is "Society, Religion, and Secular Ethic: A Comparitive Study of Civilisations" and Part Three is "Domination, Organization, and Legitimacy: Max Weber's Political Sociology". Before Part One, Bendix includes an introduction and a chapter on Weber's "Career and Personal Orientation". That first chapter is most illuminating and serves to ground Weber in place and time.

   The first part of the book is divided into two chapters. The first chapter talks about his very interesting early studies of eastern german agarian society and the various german stock exchanges. Bendix refers to these two early studies over and over through out the book. The second chapter of the first part of the book discusses Weber's most popular and well known ideas about the protestant work ethic and the spirit of capitalism. Having laid out the touchstones of Weber's work, Bendix moves into part two, which concern Weber's studies of world religion.

   Part two deals exclusively with Weber's interest in world religion. Bendix devotes a chapter each to his studies of China, India and Palestine. Bendix notes that it is obvious that Weber's main interest was in the roots of the west that he found in Palestine and so the chapters on China and India are of limited use (except as a guide to what Weber THOUGHT about China and Indian religion. Bendix concludes part two with a chapter summarizing Weber's "sociology of religion".

   Part three has a similar structure to part two. Bendix runs off a couple of chapters on charsmatic domination and traditional domination as a means to explicate Weber's theories of "Legal Domination" which represent, perhaps, Weber's main achievment. Again, Bendix points out that Weber's interest in chasmatic domination and traditional domination are really only "foils" for his overriding interest in "legal domination", in the same way that his studies of India and China are foils for his interest in the society of ancient Palestine.

   In part three, Bendix also includes a couple of chapters that tie the book together and link the three parts, as well as a further attempt to ground Weber in the thought of his day.

   OK, so that is the descriptive part. Now, some observations:

   First off, as someone who really didn't know anything about Weber's thought (outside of a cursory understanding of his thesis in the "Spirit of Capitalism"), I found this book to be immensely compelling.

   One can dismiss all of Weber's substantive conclusions about the nature of society and government and still be Wowed by the tremendous influence he has had on all social thinkers in the past century. I now see Weber's influence everywhere I look!

   I also feel like any further attempts to read Weber will be made about a thousand times easier becaue I have read this book.

   Although I read all but about twenty pages of this five hundred page book, I believe one could derive the same meaning from reading chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 9, 12,13, and 15, while skipping the rest.

   This book also has a handy index!

1 comments about Pierre Bourdieu (Key Sociologists).

1. While not always terribly kind to Pierre Bourdieu (okay, the truth is that this book erupts into scathing critique at some points!), this is a very readable overview of Bourdieu's main ideas and books. Jenkins sees tremendous value in the questions Bourdieu poses and in how he always theorizes from a point of view informed by field research, and in still trying to get a grasp of this French theorist's work, I found this book equally valuable to my own purposes.

No comments about Deconstructing Pierre Bourdieu: Against Sociological Terrorism from the Left.