3 comments about Jews in Poland-Lithuania in the Eighteenth Century: A Genealogy of Modernity.

1. It is well worth reading but I wish it was longer and more detailed. And, would it be so terrible if it were discovered that changes to Jewish religious practice in 18th Century Poland were borrowed or influenced from sources outside the Jewish religion? Maybe one day we will know more.



2. The subtitle is misleading: this thorough discussion of the non-integration of Jews in the Polish Republic for several centuries does not reveal the genealogy of modernity at all. It reveals why a modernized and nationalized Poland in the later nineteenth and twentieth century would not be able to tolerate such a large undigestible blob in its midst.



3. Please don't be put off by uninformed reviewers- I find these last critiques quite unhelpful. Hundert's work is the consummation of a career dedicated to bringing our understanding of the East European Jewish past out of a conceptual ghetto by taking the Polish context seriously and tracing the development of a Jewish social and economic niche in Polish towns and cities. At the same time, Hundert details inner Jewish life, covering every conceivable dimension of Polish-Jewish civilization during the 18th century- religious, communal, economic, cultural (especially print culture), social, etc. It provides an interesting description of the spread of kabbalah, the rise of Hasidism, and the emergence of a Polish Jewish bourgeoisie. Most importantly, Hundert draws attention to the demographic significance of Polish Jewry, which constituted about 3/4 of the world Jewish population by the 18th century! Admittedly, it can be dense at times; but would you prefer a sleek but superficial account? The persistent reader is rewarded with a rich exposition of East European Jewish life, which was decimated during WWII.

5 comments about A History of the Habsburg Empire, 1526-1918.

1. There is a reason why this book is out-of-print. It's as dry a book as I've ever read and is much more a critique on the Hapsburg Empire and less of a historical overview. The title implies that Kann will introduce the reader to the Central Europeon Power and detail much of the family's power over Europe but that's far from the case. Instead, Kann goes so in depth to pick apart the Hapsburg's, that impossible to keep track of where he's going. Although the chapters have a chronological order to them, Kann mentions events that happened during a five-hundred year span in the first three chapters and aimlessly wanders so much through the text, he should be arrested for reckless writing. Some writers can pull off writing like this and make it into a masterpiece (Son of the Morning Star by Evan S. Connell comes to mind), Kann simply makes it into a field of landmines in which the reader unexpectedly will step onto a trap and utter "Whaaat?" and have to skip back to try and figure out if Kann has a connection to the previous paragrapgh or if he's just writing instantaneous thoughts. Kann's rambling book reminds me of Paul Thomas Anderson movies - it's made purely to pleasure the writer while the rest of the world has its hands in the air wondering "What did I just read/ watch?"



2. This text is not a good history text. Any good text book will make the subject come alive, this book kills it. It is, however, extremely informative, if you can get through the introduction without dieing. NOT recommended for anyone who is not a post grad! (and even then, only if required for a class).



3. I am a history major at Indiana State University. In my spring term, I used the book (as one of my sources) for my research paper on the Great Siege of Malta of 1565. I will agree that this particular book is not the greatest reading in the world, but generally historians write books for historians. Also, I will agree with other reviewers that the book's title is misleading because it does not focus on the 16th century compared to others. The book was used in my research to help explain the rivilary between Charles V of Spain (the Holy Roman Emperor) and Francis I (King of France). The cause of the rivals were not because of the grudge with Charles V winning the election for the Holy Roman Emperor or Francis I imprisonment in 1525, but Francis saw the danger of the Habsburg Empire surrounding France.

   I will recommend this book for people needing information on the Habsburgs for research and to get it at your library or buy an used copy.




4. I was a History major in college. Though fascinated by the subject matter, I kept thinking that this was a complex topic made more difficult than need be. It makes one pine for the likes of B.Tuchmann or W. Bruce Lincoln or L.S. Stavrianos. If I can find a more readable work, I will buy it........otherwise, back to the slog!



5. a bit too , highly detailed , for someone with prior knowledge of the subject , with lots reading time. will read some day when I have lots of time .

5 comments about Mexifornia: A State of Becoming.

1. We know Dick Lamm as the former Governor of Colorado. In that context his thoughts are particularly poignant. Last week there was an immigration overpopulation conference in Washington, DC, filled to capacity by many of America's finest minds and leaders. A brilliant college professor by the name of Victor Hansen Davis talked about his latest book, "Mexifornia," explaining how immigration - both legal and illegal was destroying the entire state of California. He said it would march across the country until it destroyed all vestiges of The American Dream.
   
   Moments later, former Colorado Governor Richard D. Lamm stood up and gave a stunning speech on how to destroy America. The audience sat spellbound as he described eight methods for the destruction of the United States. He said, "If you believe that America is too smug, too self-satisfied, too rich, then let's destroy! America. It is not that hard to do. No nation in history has survived the ravages of time. Arnold Toynbee observed that all great civilizations rise and fall and that 'An autopsy of history would show that all great nations commit suicide.'"
   
   "Here is how they do it," Lamm said: "First, to destroy America, turn America into a bilingual or multi-lingual and bicultural country." History shows that no nation can survive the tension, conflict, and antagonism of two or more competing languages and cultures. It is a blessing for an individual to be bilingual; however, it is a curse for a society to be bilingual. The historical scholar, Seymour Lipset, put it this way: "The histories of bilingual and bi-cultural societies that do not assimilate are histories of turmoil, tension, and
   tragedy." Canada, Belgium, Malaysia, and Lebanon all face crises of national existence in which minorities press for autonomy, if not independence. Pakistan and Cyprus have divided. Nigeria suppressed an ethnic rebellion. France faces difficulties with Basques, Bretons, and Corsicans."
   
   Lamm went on: Second, to destroy America, "Invent 'multiculturalism' and encourage immigrants to maintain their culture. I would make it an article of belief that all cultures are equal. That there are no cultural differences. I would make it an article of faith that the Black and Hispanic dropout rates are due solely to prejudice and
   discrimination by the majority. Every other explanation is out of bounds.
   
   Third, "We could make the United States an 'Hispanic Quebec' without much effort. The key is to celebrate diversity rather than unity. As Benjamin Schwarz said in the Atlantic Monthly recently: "The apparent success of our own multiethnic and multicultural experiment might have been achieved not by tolerance but by hegemony. Without the dominance that once dictated ethnocentricity and what it meant to be an American, we! are left with only tolerance and pluralism to hold us together." Lamm said, "I would encourage all immigrants to keep their own language and culture. I would replace the melting pot metaphor with the salad bowl metaphor. It is important to ensure that we have
   various cultural subgroups living in America enforcing their differences rather than as Americans, emphasizing their similarities."
   
   "Fourth, I would make our fastest growing demographic group the least educated. I would add a second underclass, unassimilated, undereducated, and antagonistic to our population. I would have this second underclass have a 50% dropout rate from high school."
   
   "My fifth point for destroying America would be to get big foundations and business to give these efforts lots of money. I would invest in ethnic identity, and I would establish the cult of 'Victimology.' I would get all minorities to think that their lack of success was the fault of the majority. I would start a grievance industry blaming all
   minority failure on the majority population."
   
   "My sixth plan for America's downfall would include dual citizenship, and promote divided loyalties. I would celebrate diversity over unity. I would stress differences rather than similarities. Diverse people worldwide are mostly engaged in hating each other - that is, when they are not killing each other. A diverse, peaceful, or stable society is against most historical precedent. People undervalue the unity it takes to keep a nation together. Look at the ancient Greeks. The Greeks believed that they belonged to the same race; they possessed a common language and literature; and they worshipped the same gods. All Greece took part in the Olympic games. A common enemy, Persia, threatened their liberty. Yet all these bonds were not strong enough to overcome two factors: local patriotism and geographical conditions that nurtured political divisions. Greece fell. "E. Pluribus Unum" -- From many, one. In that historical reality, if we put the emphasis on the 'pluribus' instead of the 'Unum,' we will balkanize America as surely as Kosovo."
   
   "Next to last, I would place all subjects off limits; make it taboo to talk about anything against the cult of 'diversity.' I would find a word similar to 'heretic' in the 16th century - that stopped discussion and paralyzed thinking. Words like 'racist' or 'xenophobe' halt discussion and debate. Having made America a bilingual/bicultural country, having established multi-culturism, having the large foundations fund the! doctrine of 'Victimology,' I would next make it impossible to enforce our immigration laws. I would develop a mantra: That because immigration has been good for America, it must always be good. I would make every individual immigrant symmetric and ignore the cumulative impact of millions of them."
   
   In the last minute of his speech, Governor Lamm wiped his brow. Profound silence followed. Finally he said,. "Lastly, I would censor Victor Hanson Davis's book "Mexifornia." His book is dangerous. It exposes the plan to destroy America. If you feel America. deserves to be destroyed, don't read that book."
   
   There was no applause. A chilling fear quietly rose like an ominous cloud above every attendee at the conference Every American in that room knew that everything Lamm enumerated was proceeding methodically, quietly, darkly, yet pervasively across the United States today.
   
   Discussion is being suppressed. Over 100 languages are ripping the foundation of our educational system and national cohesiveness. Even barbaric cultures that practice female genital mutilation are growing as we celebrate 'diversity.' American jobs are vanishing into the Third World as corporations create a Third World in America - take note of California and other states - to date, ten million illegal aliens and growing fast. It is reminiscent of George Orwell's book "1984." In that story, three slogans are engraved in the Ministry of Truth building: "War is peace," "Freedom is slavery," and "Ignorance is strength."
   
   Governor Lamm walked back to his seat. It dawned on everyone at the conference that our nation and the future of this great democracy is deeply in trouble and worsening fast. If we don't get this immigration monster stopped within three years, it will rage like a California wildfire and destroy everything in its path, especially The American Dream.



2. "Mexifornia" is a must read for those concerned with preserving our forefathers culture in the United States. Davis sees it as it really is and pulls no punches in laying the blame squarely on those who are at fault in this dilemma.



3. I read Mexifornia soon after it was initially released. My feelings for the author and the book varied from pity to anger. "Good Mexicans" are those who attend his classes in the Classics. "Bad Mexicans" are usually "Indians from the small towns" and others who cling to their heritage and bring it with them. Hanson's historical amnesia excludes the fact that California was stolen from Mexico in a war of aggression so blatant that US Grant quit the army in disgust. Dr. Hanson happily earns a living on this stolen land and resents "bad" Mexicans from invading his private Anglodom. No mention of California Indians who no longer apparently exist. History is only for nice Anglophones in his home town, although "some best friends" are Mexican. No solutions here, just resentment for Mexican existence. Forget the book.



4. Finally a balanced, sensitive, yet very pragmatic book on the whole immigration and culture debate. Hanson lays out the strong case that refutes the pro-immigration lobby and all the ethnic pride industry that has been built up around the cult of multiculturalism in the United States. The real question that comes out of the book is what has the Government of Mexico really done to take care of its citizens in the past 100 years? Not much, and it has effectively outsourced its problems to its neighbor to the north.



5. I had received several emails about this book from conservatives who indicated that it made a strong case for sending immigrants back to Mexico etc. I am for Comprehensive Immigration Reform and wanted to see what the big deal was. I was surprised that the book took a very humane position on the plight of immigrant workers. Only the last two or three pages of the book did he seem to present his alternative solutions. This may point out that there may be no real solutions to the problem, but that working together we might be able to improve our lot. He continually made the point that we need to be talking about the issue rather than taking hard line positions on both ends of the spectrum. I also believe that some things have changed since he wrote the book, including bilingual and emersion language studies for children (at least in Texas).

2 comments about City of Industry: Genealogies of Power in Southern California.

1. 
   "City of Industry: Geneologies of Power in Southern California" is the kind of book that should be a best-seller but won't be. It should be because it is a thoroughly documented expose' of a tiny (pop 700), multi billion dollar railroad town in Los Angeles County that has manipulated itself to global importance, but has gotten where it is by breaking all of the rules and corrupting local and state politicians. The author, Dr. Victor Valle, formerly of the Los Angeles Times, should receive some high award for this effort, but he won't. The facts are all there in this book. However, this world, this nation, this state, that little town seem to prefer back-alley cheating and corruption as the means to satisfactory ends. Too bad, we haven't evolved into a more enlightened species. Thanks Prof. Valle. for a valiant, if futile, effort.



2. I grew up in Bassett, California and had heard and read of the going ons in Industry. An amazing piece of investigative work on Mr Valle's behalf. Great comparisons to Polanski's Chinatown also, intrigue from Sacramento to El Monte to La Puente.

1 comments about From Mud-Flat Cove to Gold to Statehood: California 1840-1850.

1. A great story of the settling of California. Irving Stone tells it well in this short history. Highly recommended reading.I believe you'll enjoy it as well.

5 comments about On Gold Mountain: The 100-Year Odyssey of a Chinese-American Family.

1. Most informative & interesting reading !!!!
   
   Good Chinese story of family culture



2. I am a long-time fan of Ms See's novels, but never got around to reading "On Gold Mountain", which is a work of non-fiction. Well, after reading it, I have to say that I found Ms See's account of her family's history interweaved with California's history in the late 19th and 20th centuries to be fascinating, and Ms See's meticulous research shows through her work.
   
   Lisa See is only one-eight Chinese, but has always been exposed to the elements of traditional Chinese culture, having spent a great deal of her formative years in L.A.'s Chinatown, surrounded by her Chinese family members. Thus, her account of her family [on the Chinese side] is both credible and compelling. Besides, Ms See also draws her material from numerous interviews with her Chinese family members, as well as journeying to the family village in China, amongst others. See's great-great-grandfather, Fong Dun Shung migrated from China to the US aka Gold Mountain with his two sons in 1867. Later, See's great-grandfather, Fong See [Dun Shung's fourth son] arrives in the US and works his way to becoming a prominent member of society & founding father of L.A.'s Chinatown. He also does something that is unexpected, scandalizing his family in the process - marrying a Caucasian. The saga continues with See's interweaving family history with accounts of California's history in the late 19th and 20th centuries. Another aspect of the book which fascinated me was of the early account of inter-racial marriage and its consequences, and of course, of the East-West connection.
   
   Ms See is a gifted writer, as evidenced by her mastery of writing both fiction and non-fiction, as well as being able to illuminate her stories through deep exploration of the main characters and settings. "On Gold Mountain" is a fascinating read indeed.



3. Great Book!! Learned more about Chinese history in the US than in a history book. Passed it on twice already, friends all say how much they enjoyed it.



4. This book was required for a class. It was nice because I actually enjoyed this book!



5. On Gold Mountain is the history of the See family and like most histories it is most interesting to the one telling it. For me, this book club choice was boring with a capital B. Approximately 400 pages of family history from Lisa See's great great grandfathers immigration to work on the transcontinetal railroad to her latest sojourn to the small Chinese town of Dimato to meet her great grandfathers and great uncles third and fourth family relatives from their concubines left in China. Make your head spin? Keeping the memebers of the original See family straight was tough but trying to keep up with the second wives, third wives and fourth wives and their children was frustrating and boring. It seemed to me that this was in essence the American story. It told about the lives of immigrants who came to a new place to find wealth and happiness and instead found discrimination, back breaking work and in the Fong See's case success. Lisa See interjects throughout the book facts regarding Chinese discrimination and hardship through the years as this group of immigrants struggle to become citizens with equal rights in this country. In all the most amazing part of the book for me was the marriage between Fong See and Letticie Pruitt. This was an unheard of union at the time and must have required a bravery on both their parts. The fact that this couple produced four sons and one daugther and two successful import companies is no small feat. As the book went on it was heartbreaking to read about the distance, petty differences, and shortcomings between the five original See children. I suppose that their story is also the story of every family. As children grow up they often grow apart. What original immigrant parents value their children often turn against. In the end, Lisa See provided a very detailed account of her families joys, hardships, success and failures. For me, it was about 200 pages too long and in the end bittersweet.

5 comments about San Francisco Then and Now (Compact) (Then & Now Thunder Bay).

1. This book is wonderful. A must have whether you live in the Bay Area or have visited here. Worth every penny.



2. Lovely to look at and reasonably informative. Will be most enjoyed by fans of San Francisco. I can't see midwesterners enjoying this book. But if you live in or have visited the city by the bay this may be the book for you.
   
   I received the book as a gift vut I would gladly paid for it.



3. I'm not using "conservative" in the current political sense, obviously. Everybody knows that John McCain has less than a snowball's chance in Gomorrah of winning in SF. I using the term conservative in its root meaning, something like "saving what was valued in the past." Preservation and conservation have the same Latin root. San Francisco has conserved more of its past than any western American city, and I could make a case, I think, for its preservation of more old-fashioned city life even than Boston or Savannah.
   
   Except for the tiny downtown financial district, San Francisco "looks" old. The vast majority of houses, churches, and schools were built in late Victorian styles and have been lovingly restored in the same styles. Even the relatively "new" streets of the Sunset are old-fashioned now, predominantly in modest Art Deco style of the 30s and 40s. And it should be no surprise that ATT baseball park is a booking success, since it's strikingly old-style brick in construction, with a street car stop at the front gate.
   
   San Francisco is a bastion of old-fashioned independent mom 'n pop businesses. There are thriving corner groceries and open-air once-a-week markets: independent restaurants ranging from very cheap to ultra expensive, but hardly any chain restaurants in the neighborhoods. The big chain grocery stores like Albertson's struggle to stay open in competition with locally owned stores like Andronico's, which has six stores around the whole Bay Area. There are more independent fitness centers and gyms in the neighborhoods; 24-hour fat farms are not the norm in SF. There are no malls that would be recognizable to most Americans in downtown or neighborhood San Francisco. The only malls - and very small they are by US norms - are on the suburban fringes.
   
   Even Boston is cut up by freeways today, though the traffic is no better managed than when I lived there in the early '60s. Seattle is sliced in half by its ineeffective central freeway. San Francisco is the place that blocked freeway construction in the late '60s. Several freeways have been demolished in SF in the last ten years! Streets in SF are narrow and parking is tough, but a measure to build more parking lots was recently defeated at the polls, and any attempt to chop wider streets through SF would meet with armed resistance.
   
   Baseball is the number one sport in SF. The fans of the football team pour in from the 'burbs to the hideous modernistic but crumbling stadium just at the edge of the city. The basketball team plays in Oakland. Any town where baseball rules has got to be considered conservative!
   
   People in SF are conservative dressers, especially by California standards. I know women who live in LA, who carry clothes they consider drab to SF when they visit, so that they will not stick out like the inflamed rear view of a peacock's tail. One never sees "his and hers" outfits on the streets, especially not pastels. Men wear less bling per capita in SF than in Omaha. A neck chain and an open shirt would get you sneered out of polite society in SF.
   
   Sweet old-fashioned window boxes are everywhere in SF. Street tree plantings are lovingly maintained. Open space is all-important to San Franciscans, and it's by stubborn resistance to development than SF has preserved more open space (finangling the take-over of decommissioned army, coast guard, and navy bases) than any comparably populated region of the USA. Nature is inherently conservative.
   
   The half-mile strip of upper Haight Street, which gets the attention of the "screaming heads" on TV and radio, is not populated by San Franciscans. It's the runaway and stumble-away refuge of the discontented - the "poor abused confused missused" - of all the dysfunctional "conservative" families and communities from Modesto to Miami. They come to SF to enjoy the true conservative values of privacy, tolerance, and neighborhood friendliness.



4. This is for anyone who has ever fallen in love with this wonderful city, that is any who has ever, however briefly, been there.
   
   The format is, as it is for all the "Then and Now" series to show vintage photographs paired with modern shots of the same view. The captions describe the scenes, giving short historical backgrounds. Anyone who has ever spent any time in the city will recognize some of the modern views and will probably find themselves interested in the vintage shots giving the history of the scene. Those who are planning a return visit just might want to slip this slim book into their luggage to take sightseeing. It also just might make a welcome reference for anyone reading about the old days in the City or watching an old film set there.



5. Great book with outstanding photos of the city in progress and then starting over after earthquakes. I missed the city so much I had to find a book that made me feel like I was there again.

1 comments about Saints of California: A Guide to Places and Their Patrons.

1. Saints of California is a remarkably readable compendium of saints whose names appear all over California, including cities, mountains, rivers, etc. Ever wonder who was Santa Barbara? Santa Ynez? San Luis Obispo? You'll find them here, along with an illustration of the saint, drawn from photos of art, statuary and other historic art works. Published by the Getty Museum in L.A. (the city's name is much longer than "The Angels" implied by the common useage--you can look it up!), this elegant and classy little book is well suited for anyone's bookshelf, as well as an ideal gift.

5 comments about San Francisco's Lost Landmarks.

1. We all know San Francisco is a growing, changing city. But it's not just businesses, buildings, and other human-created landmarks that have changed in San Francisco over the years. The coastline, streams, marshes, bays, hills, valleys - all these natural parts of the landscape were filled, leveled, increased, decreased, and otherwise radically modified in the City's early years.
   
   All that information is just part of the first chapter of this fascinating book. Other chapters look at famous San Francisco restaurants throughout the years, the theater scene, hotels, expositions, gambling halls, and many other notable attractions in this always-fascinating City by the Bay.
   
   It seems like fully half the book is pictures: photos, vintage drawings, theater playbills, even a menu for the Clift Hotel, that closed down just recently. The pictures are all interesting and clearly captioned. The information is all reliably presented and well-organized. The author, a San Francisco native and local historian, obviously did his homework well. What a fun book!



2. So many books appear yearly on San Francisco that it's easy to miss one - and San Francisco's Lost Landmarks is not one to miss; it holds riches like few others. Where competitors offer listings of dates and facts, San Francisco's Lost Landmarks uses vintage pictures to blend with history to tell of lost pieces of the past. From the Tivoli Opera House and Gardens to Ralston's failed Grand Hotel, San Francisco's Lost Landmarks is history at its best.



3. I am a fan of the 1960's coffee table, giant picture book histories of urban America distroyed. Lost New York, Lost Chicago, Lost Boston, and the now hard-to find pre hurricane Katrina, Lost New Orleans had a part in urban historic preservation awareness. Lost San Francisco never existed. And that's too bad. James Smith's book, Lost San Francisco Landmarks is a fine, well written work of local history. It explains San Francisco better than anything I've read. The why of Treasure Island, the tolleration of "civic sexuality" and the over use of quake prone land-fill engineering all get aired. It's A great read. RW Los Angeles.



4. Some very interesting tidbits here, but as a San Francisco resident I kept asking "what's there now?" It would have been great to include more (brief) history on what happened to the properties after these places were no more, or at least the addresses of the buildings that are there now. Some of this info is there, but it's hit or miss. Also, poor editing is a distraction throughout.



5. For a native San Franciscian, this was a thrilling read. I was shocked on what I learned and it is interesting to see how things change. Strongly recommended.

3 comments about Palm Springs Holiday.

1. This is an amazing overview of Palm Springs' history and its start as a vacation getaway. Lots of cool old colorful images from the 50s & 60s of the original motels, hotels and restaurants. He covers a little bit of history of the surrounding areas as well, like Palm Desert, Rancho La Quinta and the Salton Sea. Such a fun and awesome coffee table book for everyone to own if you live in Palm Springs or have a second home there!



2. Peter's book is fun and breezy, showing lots of great ephemera from Palm Spring's glittery past. The mid-century vibe is more on the kitschy side than the serious Julius Shulman-photographed books on the superb architecture in the area. It shows how middle class vacationers of the 50s got a taste of desert high style and a glimpse of Hollywood glamour. Sure to be a Palm Springs classic!



3. This is a campy sort of book that takes its reader back in time to when Palm Springs was the 'in' place and it could be equated with today's celeb glamorama South Beach. I enjoyed the background info on the development of Palms Springs and how it came into its own when it became a celebrity playground. The pictures of mid-century PS captured its heyday. While some of that still exists, the Palm Springs of legend has been given a second life in this book. I found it interesting on a lot of levels and it made me understand my grandmother's fascination with the place when she first visited there in 1952.
   I'd recommend this book to anyone interested in history, architecture, hollywood glamor, the desert. This is a fun read and very nicely executed.