3 comments about Isami's House: Three Centuries of a Japanese Family.

1. Isami's House is a fascinating book that provides a view of general Japanese history through the history of one family. As the back cover tease promises, this is an entirely new approach to history, one that presents the drama of modern Japanese history through the gripping ordeal of a single family. In this sense, Isami's House is a fascinating, gripping and original approach to Japanese history.
   
   Nevertheless, I found myself put off greatly by Bernstein's uneven writing style and odd organization. Bernstein's paragraphs are haphazardly organized, and her sentences are riddled with clause after clause. Often, it is difficult to tell exactly where the story is going, and sentences are so dominated by detail that the point behind each story is nearly impossible to decipher.
   
   Take, for example, this selection from page 60: "A ten-day spree of rioting by three thousand farmers in the Asakawa area in January 1798 - nine years after the French Revolution - brought a crowd to the Matsuura family's door on the morning of January 26. The fifth-generation patriarch, also called Yuemon (though his name was not written with the same characters as his deceased father's), had left with his wife and mother several days before; only family servants and a "young couple" remained at home. Rampaging peasants spilled out large amounts of the sake manufactured on the grounds of the family's compound and damaged other property as well." Did the ten-day spree of rioting begin on the 26th, or end then? Why does it matter that this happened 9 years after the French Revolution? Each sentence has a different subject, and little is done to link each separate idea together. Overall, this flaw in Bernstein's style leads to very bad, almost unreadable, prose.
   
   Bernstein's organization is also rather odd. The first half of the book seems to be organized topic by topic, and parallels are directly made between the family's exploits around the Meiji years and earlier family experiences. The second half, however, deals exclusively with the family's experiences during and after World War II. This leads to discontinuity: the first half seems to contain no narrative, and the second half seems to completely abandon the lessons learned in the first. I would have been much happier had Bernstein stuck with one style throughout.
   
   Nevertheless, it is a noble concept, and still a good book to read.



2. Contrary to the first reviewer on this site, I found Isami's House eminently readable, from first to last. The book's concept is, indeed, highly original and should serve well as a resource for understanding the evolution of family life in modern Japan.
   
   Essentially, this is the story of fourteen generations of the Matsuura family, who, until the postwar years, served as headmen of a village in northeastern Japan called Yamashiraishi. A substantial amount of information is provided about the family during Tokugawa and Meiji times, but the heart of the book concerns the family's triumphs and travails in the twentieth century. Many people in the family are discussed, including numerous in-laws, and several stand out prominently. The hero of the story, essentially, is Matsuura Isami, who lived from 1879 into the early 1960s. His wife, Ko, is also given considerable attention, as is the daughter named Toyo. It was Toyo who served as the host for Gail Lee Bernstein, the author, during her first stay in Japan, in 1963, when she was there as a graduate student of Japanese history. Since 1963 was when I, as a graduate student, also first visited Japan, I feel a personal connection to her experiences.
   
   Bernstein hit a mother lode in becoming close to Toyo's remarkable family, as Toyo was one of fourteen siblings (seven sisters and seven brothers); a fifteenth died young. This rich field of close relatives provides the author with a wealth of material for recounting the ups and downs of modern family life in Japan, taking us through the prewar years, the war years (Toyo's family was in Hiroshima when it was atom-bombed), the Occupation, and after, when Japanese values changed so rapidly in the midst of unparalleled economic development. Although there are so many characters that one occasionally has trouble keeping track of who is who, Bernstein does her best to keep the narrative clear, and we get to celebrate the various characters' achievements while also sympathizing with their catastrophes. The Confucian values Isami assiduously cultivated in his children bring rewards to some, but by the century's end they no longer have much relevance to the younger generation, and the strong familial rope Isami wove comes close to breaking. Japan, too, the author suggests, has suffered such a breakdown, and the family's often heartbreaking history comes to be seen as a microcosm of the nation's journey.
   
   Although extensively researched and documented, Isami's House is not a standard sociological tract for use in college classes; in fact, it often--especially the final chapters--reads like gossip, since Bernstein has maintained her ties to the family until quite recently, despite the eventual loss of the principal players. She is, to a degree, like a family member herself; still, her detailed recounting of the less savory deeds of some family members are unlikely to have been exposed to the world at large by the family members themselves. Thus we are given the kinds of insights into Isami's family that only someone with Bernstein's privileged position could provide. Perhaps one could raise ethical questions about the appropriateness of such revelations; on the other hand, the information--apart from the appeal it will have for most readers--has great historical, cultural, and sociological value for outsiders interested in the dynamics of modern Japanese family life.
   
   It should be noted that although Bernstein herself, mainly in the final chapters, becomes increasingly present as a family participant (albeit at one step removed), she never reveals much about who she is. She discusses arranged marriages, love marriages, divorce, childbearing problems, childraising problems, religion, work, etc., but never tells us whether she herself is married, has children, or has shared in any experiences akin to those she so closely chronicles. Her name suggests that she is Jewish. If true, what did this mean to a family that followed Buddhist and Shinto practices but which saw a good many of its members convert to Christianity? I, for one, would have found such personal information useful in understanding her position vis a vis some of the subjects she addresses. She injects herself into the narrative as a way of explaining how the family treated her; I believe we are just as entitled to ask, who is Gail Lee Bernstein?



3. 
   This book tended to be a little dry at times and definitely a little confusing due to all of the family members that you have to keep track of. Just to prove how difficult keeping track can be Gail Lee Bernstein has added a time line, two family trees and a list of central persons to the beginning of the book. The fact that there are so many different characters represented throughout the novel makes it very hard to become attached to any specific one. However, Gail Lee Bernstein does an amazing job transitioning between all of the characters and different generation of families. Even with all of its downfalls, Isami's House is an excellent description of how life and values changed in Japan since the Meji Restoration. I also really enjoy the pictures of the family throughout the book because when it comes to memoirs I love being able to put a face to a name.
   
   I would probably only recommend this novel to people who are truly interested in the history of Japan or its culture. Having a grasp on Japanese history would be helpful for the reader to posses, but it is not necessary.

5 comments about Contested Eden: California Before the Gold Rush (California History Sesquicentennial Series).

1. This book looks at pre-gold rush California from varorious angles. Essays on native California history, along with indigenous actions during early occupation years are major parts of this text. The history of "Californio" women and indigenous sexuality are also included.

   Californio and Anglo interactions between 1820 and 1850 cover new ground.

   At times the work appears a bit "heady" because the advanced vocabulary. However, this is a "must read" for any California scholar.




2. This book looks at pre-gold rush California from varorious angles. Essays on native California history, along with indigenous actions during early occupation years are major parts of this text. The history of "Californio" women and indigenous sexuality are also included. Californio and Anglo interactions between 1820 and 1850 cover new ground.

   At times the work appears a bit "heady" because the advanced vocabulary. However, this is a "must read" for any California scholar.




3. This book looks at pre-gold rush California from various angles. Essays on native California history, along with indigenous actions during early occupation years are major parts of this text. The history of "Californio" women and indigenous sexuality are also included. Californio and Anglo interactions between 1820 and 1850 cover new ground.

   At times the work appears a bit "heady" because the advanced vocabulary. However, this is a "must read" for any California scholar.




4. ....for my doctoral research, which involves the history of California. The editors made a conscious choice to show this history in less Eurocentric form; Native Californian voices and perspectives are taken seriously, and there is good ethnographic and naturalistic information to be had.

   While I'm not an expert in this area, I do question whether the persistent use of terms like "aristocracy," "hierarchy," "wealth," "headman," and "chief" are appropriate when discussing Native Californians. My impression is that our Western and European prejudices are still at work here.




5. Contested Eden is a book filled with information, it is too bad that it comes off so much like a textbook. The stories can be good, yet can also be tedious. It is very helpful in the study of California History, yet can put one to sleep at the same time. I recommend it, but with caution.

5 comments about City of Stone: The Hidden History of Jerusalem.

1. I just want to let you know that Maxine Kaufman-Lacusta, translator of Meron Benvenisti's latest book, Sacred Landscape, and Maxine Kaufman Nunn, translator of his previous book, City of Stone, are one and the same person--me. It would really be great if your link "all books by Maxine Kaufman-Lacusta" would include "and Maxine Kaufman Nunn" so that City of Stone would be included. Thanks.



2. This is the second book by Benvenisti that I have read, and I am quickly becoming a devoted reader of him! The way he writes about notoriously polemical and difficult problems; his (at times) common-sensical remarks, so natural but so seldom stated; his deep knowledge of the history, both distant and recent, of the city and of her conflicting communities and interests; the intelligence and fairness with which the issues are analysed; all this makes the book a very rare and important work and should enshrine its author as one of the very few knowledgeable and balanced persons whose opinions about these matters, even when one does not fully agree with them, are always worthy to listen to.



3. Some interesting facts on this storied city. Each chapter is pretty good, but not rivetting reading.



4. Benvinisti comes into the book with a clear bias - as a pro-Arab/Palestinian apologist - and the book reflects it. For example, in his opening chapter, describing the war that came after the UN's vote to recognize Israel, Benvinisti says that "In the wake of the UN decision, Jews and Arabs embarked upon a war that rapidly expanded into an armed conflict between the Arab countries and the nascent State of Israel" (Page 24). It seems to imply that the Jews and Arabs - equally responsible - began some kind of ethnic clash that snowballed into a war. Of course, that is a total distortion of history - the Arabs refused to recognize the Jewish state and moved to attack it and destroy it in the wake of the UN resolution.
   
   Of course the distortion allows Benvinisti to conveniently frame the battle of Jerusalem as one of Israeli territorialism and aggression, presenting the scheming Ben Gurion and his cabinet. But while such a dishonest representation may serve Benvinisti's political agenda, it does not service students interested in serious historical research and a true understanding of political issues.
   
   By all means, there is a legitimate Palestinian historical and nationalistic perspective, which should be studied, understood and appreciated, but use of such blatant historical distortion does not favor it, it only undermines its credibility.



5. Okay, the author is not an absolutist, unapologetic pro-Israeli. I marked up the book as I read it. When I initially finished it I felt somewhat disheartened about the book. I thought the book would be more about the history of almost every significant stone or brick in the city: where Jesus stubbed his toe while walking (and the religious significance of that) or where King David or another prophet found something of religious significance--but not to be. But after re-reading my marginal marks I realized how good this book really is. I thought that I had read a fair number of books about the Arab-Israeli wars and knew it all, but I found many new tidbits of information regarding the demarcation cease-fire lines from the 1948 War of Independence here, and explanations as to why the British and French were so interested in Palestine. (This is not a history of Christian missionaries in Palestine.) The author does cover a lot of Jerusalem history since King David, and reviews the theological importance of Jerusalem to Jews, Christians and Muslims. (This is NOT a bed-and-breakfast travel guide to Jerusalem!). The author does note the Muslim anti-Christian slogans in the Dome of the Rock. (This is not a history of the Muslim massacre of thousands of Jews during the 1920-40s, nor is it history of the Jews trying to defend themselves from Muslim attacks, nor a history of tank battles during the wars.) This is not a deep theological analysis of the religious beliefs in Palestine, but it is a very good review of the history of the theology as to how Jews claim this land, how Muslims demand unquestioned ownership of the Temple Mount, and how Christians are just caught up in this maelstrom. One of the major shortcomings of the author is his failure to note the intensity of the anti-Jewish and anti-Christian tenants in the Quran (as noted in Robert Spencer's: "The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam"). Another companion book to read is Gorenberg's "The End of Days."

4 comments about Florence: The Golden Age 1138-1737.

1. Penned by an eminent historian, this book is superb! Very striking is Brucker's unique narrative style. He makes the readers think as if the events happened only yesterday. I strongly recommend his other works as well: You will feel enlightened. No other historian can capture the cultural richness of Florence with such delightful charm. I guarantee you'll fall in love with the city, her citizens, and this historian, Gene Adam Brucker.



2. The word "amateur" comes from the Italian "amare" which means to love and this is a book for anyone with an interest in and affection for Italian city states and Florence in particular. Mr. Gene Brucker is a distinguished American historian (University of California, Berkeley) with an admirable record but the book he has produced about Florence is meant for the general reader and obviously aims at sharing his passion for the quattrocento (Florence's golden age, the 15th century and beyond) with as many people as possible. The result is splendid : in seven chapters dealing with the great families, the economy, the forms of government, the Florentine dominion, the Principato, etc., the reader is taken through a pleasant voyage in history. The writing is never heavy but neither is it meant for those who give up easily : some of the chapters - on the conflicts between Guelfs and Ghibellines for instance - do require more than a passing interest in the subject. The book is lavishly illustrated and contains a number of separate "two pagers" I greatly enjoyed, which present a number of interesting topics in themselves, such as the description of a city plan, the features of a traditional Florentine palazzo, the currencies in use, the reach of Florentine trade, the guilds, Andrea del Verocchio, the geometric theory of perspective and many other topics. An admirable book, to be highly recommended.



3. After reading Mary McCarthy's The Stones of Florence, I decided that I wanted to read a more straightforward history of the city. I picked this book based on the Amazon reviews, but never expected a coffee table-type book, albeit with a paper cover. Lavishly illustrated, The Golden Age of Florence covers the city from the initial stages of the Renaissance to its end. Florence was a turbulent city, sometimes ruled by a group of nobility, sometimes by its guilds, and eventually by the Medici. The city faced as much danger from its own internal squabbles as it did from its external enemies. Yet, despite this, the city experience unprecedented economic , industrial, and artistic development , producing some of the finest wool in Europe along with Dante, Machiavelli, Michelangelo, Botticelli, among so many.
   
   This book does a fine job of telling this story, not just the politics, but the economics and the various arts. It is a general overview, not meant to be a scholarly work. The writing is designed to bring the reader to the Florence during its Golden Age, drawing interesting portraits of all the relevant characters. I grew somewhat frustrated with the lack of connection between one event to another. Savonarola somehow sneaked up, took over the city, and died as a heretic, with no real explanation of who he was and how he came to take on such a role. Although the book itself only covers a 600 year period of time, an appendix in the back does have a brief synopsis of historical events starting from its founding and ending with the rule by the Austrians. The illustrations in the book are arranged in categories, so each page centers not on the text itself, though it may be related, but on the general theme. The author has selected drawings from manuscripts, photographs of sculptures and buildings, and representations of paintings.
   
   Despite any quibbles mentioned, I highly recommend the book for anyone who wants to learn a general overview of the history of Florence illustrated with some of the finest works of art that man has ever produced.



4. If you want to know about the most beautiful city on Earth during the Renaissance, look no further than this title. The author provides detailed information on everything you could want to know. Perfect for the history buff, lover of art, Florence-fanatic, or tourist headed to Italy. Much better than Michael Levey's Florence.

5 comments about My Blue Heaven: Life and Politics in the Working-Class Suburbs of Los Angeles, 1920-1965 (Historical Studies of Urban America).

1. I loved this book! I never thought of suburbs as being all that
   interesting or important, thinking that cities were important, and suburbs were minor satellites around them. This book, however, tells the real story of the working class suburbs of L.A. and how they developed. Often, one hears that the purpose of studying history is to understand why things are the way they are today. As a history buff, this book motivated me to travel to LA and ride around the streets of South Gate and some of the other suburbs, visualizing the events of days gone by. Ms. Nicolaides shows how these suburbs changed from street after street of self-built houses inhabited by struggling workers, chicken coops, and makeshift stores into the dynamic communities of today. Once I started it, I was totally engaged through the last chapter.



2. I was absolutely riveted by Ms. Nicolaides' study of LA suburban culture and how the struggles therein eventually culminated into the Watts riots. This is a must-read for anyone searching for answers about how these neighborhoods developed and how the families within them struggled from poverty to middle-class. It is written beautifully and I thoroughly enjoyed every page.



3. Though I've read many books on obscure topics, Becky Nicolaides' 'My Blue Heaven' surely tops them all for being a conversation-stopper. Telling someone you're reading a history of a blue-collar suburb of Los Angeles through the middle decades of the 20th century nearly guarantees eye-glazing, if not outright abandonment. Yet, if a reader has even a passing interest in any of the ambitious ground Ms. Nicolaides covers--urban trends, suburban sociology, the political emergence in the 1960s of the famous "silent majority," among many others--I wholeheartedly recommend this work. Only some thready allegations in the final chapter mar an otherwise superb survey.

   I'll also admit to a personal interest. Both my parent's families--at least two generations worth--hail from these neighborhoods. Beyond some sketchy childhood memories from the 60s, I don't have any solid impressions of how my immediate ancestors grew up and therefore found myself riveted by--in essence--a detailed family history.

   So beyond supplying a nearly endless string of familial "ah-ha!" moments for me, Ms. Nicolaides also blankets her study with incredible (and often myth-puncturing) detail; among them:

   * Impressive majorities of pre-WW2 homeowners actually *built* their own homes in the south LA "suburbs." Prototypical developer housing arrived much later.

   * In the late 20s (*before* The Depression) the average household spent over a third of its income on food--but only a quarter on housing

   * As soon as LA residents could drive, they did: 50% of residents owned a car by *1925* (concurrently compared to 16% nationwide, and 9% in Chicago), and as many commuted to downtown as took (excellent and cheap) public transit. This early automotive embrace neatly skewers the "Roger Rabbit myth," i.e., that evil oil companies "forced" Angelenos into smog-belching cars and conspiratorially drove the beloved streetcars out of business

   * Teenagers commonly hitchhiked (!) to popular hangouts like movie theaters and the beach

   This list could go on and on. The author is nothing if not comprehensive--and, as shown, she backs up her claims with reams of statistics. A more nuanced and revealing portrait of emerging suburban America would be hard to find.

   But the book reaches far beyond strings of lifestyle anecdotes, however fascinating and well-supported. The formation and consolidation of local political attitudes provide both the strongest and most contentious parts of her thesis. The author rarely misses a chance to show how these blue-collar suburbanites swung from being 1920s "Republicans" (boot-strapping home-builders and farmers) to 1930s/40s "Democrats" (New Deal-embracing proponents of post-war government expansion)--and finally back to 1960s "Republicans" (anti-Civil right protectionists), the so-called "silent majority." Her best work shows the underpinnings of these political transformations, fleshing out how they were both formed at the local level and reflected nationally.

   My strongest objection to her political theses comes in her final chapter--on race. Leaving aside any sensitivities about my south LA relatives being natural bigots (I can personally attest that many were), I'll only note that the author fails to connect some obvious dots about neighborhood segregation. For example, after a withering critique of blatant bigotry shown by the New Deal-spawned Home Owners Loan Corporation--their notorious loan appraisal maps included such lovely language as "blighted," "menace," and "subversive racial elements" while denying loans to blacks and hispanics--she conveniently neglects mentioning this government segregation complicity in any later contexts. This omission struck me as especially curious since she saves her strongest venom later for white homeowners who opposed many civil rights measures on economic grounds. Whether whites were segregationist bigots or trying to protect their property values (or both), to neglect the money-loaning agent who initially subsidized these conditions struck me as selective at best.

   A further racial swipe perhaps comes closer to the author's philosophical biases. After noting that Southern migrants to the area brought "a new style of working-class populism, melding racism, economic populism, and anti-elitism," (a point I'll surely concede) she notes in the same paragraph that "self-help, Americanism, homeowner rights, and a distaste for activist government persisted as core values (among residents); in the new context of economic prosperity and racial encroachment, they *blended easily with the southern political style*." (Italics mine.) We're to conclude that racism and populism "blended easily" with self-help and "Americanism" (whatever that is)? To be fair, Nicolaides sets the context ("The values forged in the distinctive context of working-class suburbia during the interwar years fused smoothly with these imported ideals"), but unlike the rest of the book she provides no evidence for these profound statements.

   Ultimately, I found 'My Blue Heaven' a five star effort with a severe markdown for these objections. Aside from an occasional anti-capitalist sneer ("the vagaries of the free market subjected working people to lives of economic instability ...")--almost *de rigeur* from an academic, I suppose--I found her scholarship sound, her organization tight, and her supporting data nearly overwhelming. (Indeed, she is her own worst enemy as topics lacking evidence clearly stand out.) I discovered more here about my parents and relatives than I could have probably ever unearthed on my own and for that Ms. Nicolaides has my utmost gratitude and respect.




4. the other reviewers have done a better job than I could, but I just wanted to add my 5 stars to this thoroughly enjoyable book. I lived in South Gate in its "past it's prime" years, and really enjoyed learning more about the city in the beginnings and in its heyday.
   
   I was really surprised at how the author could make what I thought would be a dry subject into something so interesting. This is a great book. If you're interested in Southern California history and culture you should read this book.



5. Coming on a little late as opposed to most of these reviews, I just wanted to add that if you grew up in this area as I did, this work explains a lot of why South Gate evolved as it did. I can relate to much in this book, and even though I don't now nor didn't then have many of the beliefs and standards that the residents did, it helps to explain them.
   South Gate is just a shadow of what it was in the post war years, with the good paying manufacturing jobs all but gone (of course that's status quo for many places), and has really "returned to it's roots" as commented by the author.
   I avoid the area now, it depressed me the last time I visited.

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.

1 comments about California: A History.

1. This seller shipped the book right away and at the same time we were on two different sides of the country and I still got it in a very timely manner. Thank you so much for the wonderful book and I hope to do business with you again.

5 comments about Letters from the Heart (Beacon Street Girls #3).

1. This book, #3 of the Beacon Street Girls is one of the best ones yet! Annie Bryant, the author, describes everything SO WELL! This series should go on and on and on! Keep writing these books Ms. Bryant! I picked this book up at Borders, and I could not put it down! It only took me 2 days to read! I'm serious, this is one of my favorite books in the series that is one of my favorite series! Just an awesome book, no questions asked.



2. I have to admit that lately I haven't been much of a reader lately. But since I've picked up this book I haven't been able to put it down.This book is something that girls can relate to. Many events that happen in this book happen in real life. This book is awesome!!!Find your self in an adventure that you won't want to get out of.



3. Although this book is great, I liked book 1 and 2 better. Maeve lies to her family and friends so she can go out on a date with a boy. She does get caught and learns a lesson though. I will for sure be reading book 4!



4. this book, another one of the BSG adventures is about Maeve. she has to suffer the fact that her parents are separating and a report is due about family. this really gets her off and her experiences are true gold, just like her letters



5. I liked this story very much. A teacher takes an
   interest in history in a different way. "history is about
   wars and presidents". says one student. The teacher disagrees.
   The students find history in their own families. They interview
   parents and grandparents. They find out things that are not
   in history books, but in real life history.

5 comments about Mexifornia: A State of Becoming.

1. "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.



2. 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.



3. 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.



4. 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).



5. Victor Davis Hanson's "Mexifornia" is one of the most thorough discussions about the topic of illegal immigration that I have read. Hanson is sympathetic to the plight of the aliens, is intimately familiar with the economic aspects that draw them to America (he owns a vineyard in the Fresno area) and he is witness to the changes and hidden costs that have come to California.
   
   He discusses the issue from the point of view of the illegal alien, the employers that hire them, the taxpayers that subsidize them, the way we used to bring immigrants into the larger American culture, the way we do it (or don't do it) now. It is not an anti-immigrant rate, despite some of the comments you may read in the reviews.
   
   I found this to be a fascinating read - It is much deeper than Geraldo Rivera's The Great Progression: How Hispanics Will Lead America to a New Era of Prosperity, a book that I've recently read that covers some of the same issues. However, we need more of these types of books that openly discuss the issue - books from all political and cultural perspectives that go beyond the screaming and posturing that cable news shows provide when they discuss the issues.

5 comments about Palm Springs Holiday.

1. Great book on the early days in Palm Springs. A must have if you are interested in the city.



2. "Palm Springs Holiday" is a fun ride through the desert city's past through photos, post cards, and other promotional items. I found myself chuckling at some of the wry asides provided in the captions.
   
   This book will be enjoyed by anyone who loves the Coachella Valley or anyone who just likes to look at post cards from the mid-twentieth century.



3. Gave this to my parents as a gift, both of whom have been visitors to Palm Springs for over 40 years. Conjured a lot of great memories for them and graces their coffee table as I write.



4. An entertaining book chock full of great photos of Palm Springs' past. I enjoyed the book very much.



5. Fun read with great pixs. Shows Palm Springs in it's Hollywood heyday. Many places are still there/