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FACES OF POVERTY

PORTRAITS OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN ON WELFARE

An absorbing, solidly documented study of America's welfare system and the circumstances of five women and their children who are dependent upon it. Berrick (director of the Center for Research on Public Social Services at the School of Social Welfare at the University of California at Berkeley) focuses on five diverse families in her attempt to dispel stereotypical myths of welfare mothers. Too many Americans, contends Berrick, perceive welfare recipients as lazy, irresponsible, and conniving. Budget-cutting politicians, moreover, are quick to offer simple economic solutions to complex social problems. Three of the women portrayed here have temporarily fallen through the cracks and need some assistance to get back on their feet. The other two, products of highly unstable backgrounds, are not likely to walk even with society's crutches. Berrick is clearly sympathetic to the full range of her subjects. She argues that ``none of the women depicted here wanted to be on welfare, and few of them expected to use it for a long time.'' Long-term welfare users, comprised mainly of high school dropouts and women of color, are the exception rather than the rule. Berrick's statistics illustrate how welfare alone does not lift a family above the poverty level, and she elucidates how the system encourages mothers to cheat in order to make ends meet. The author feels that many condescending welfare officials also evoke hostility, and she is extremely critical of welfare workers, whom she describes as ``notoriously rude and unhelpful.'' One theme that emerges, though not addressed by Berrick, is these women's poor choices of matesmen who are mostly irresponsible and abusive alcoholics or drug addicts. A passionate, perceptive assessment of a complex and timely issue.

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1995

ISBN: 0-19-509754-8

Page Count: 256

Publisher: Oxford Univ.

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1995

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ROSE BOOK OF BIBLE CHARTS, MAPS AND TIME LINES

Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.

A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.

This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.

Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005

ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8

Page Count: -

Publisher: N/A

Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010

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THE MYTH OF SISYPHUS

AND OTHER ESSAYS

This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.

Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955

ISBN: 0679733736

Page Count: 228

Publisher: Knopf

Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955

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