Crossing the BLVD: Strangers, Neighbors, Aliens in a New America

Book Description

A kaleidoscopic view of new immigrants and refugees living in Queens, New York—the most ethnically diverse locality in the United States.

For three years, Warren Lehrer and Judith Sloan traveled the world by trekking the streets of their home borough. This book documents the people they encountered along the way. First person narratives are illuminated by strikingly direct photographic portraits of the subjects alongside the objects of their worlds. Lehrer's postmodern, Talmudic design juxtaposes the multiple perspectives of these new Americans, now thrown together as neighbors, classmates, coworkers, enemies, and friends. They reflect on the good, the ugly and the unexpected in their stories of crossing oceans, borders, wars, economic hardship, and cultural divides. These soulful narratives are put in context by the authors' personal and historical observations. The voices, images and sounds collected here form a portrait of a paradoxical and ever-shifting America. 500 color illustrations.

Customer Reviews:

A glaring omission.......2007-01-13

The book is well done except the authors failed to include the ethnicity that was and continues to be among the largest immigrant group, the Irish. The authors dropped the ball on that one.

Should be required reading .......2007-01-11

If there was ever a time when we needed to be reminded that immigrants are the heart and soul of what makes this a textured, rich and interesting country, this is it. This book and its companion museum exhibit, which I was lucky enough to come upon serendipitously at Purchase College's Neuberger Museum, celebrates the gifts we have received as a nation from the diverse people who have struggled first to get here, and then to make a life for themselves here. Before we build walls on borders, before we villify those who are different from us, let's appreciate what we are gaining from the immigrants who choose the US as their home. Let's remember that very few of us are Native American. We have all benefitted from the open door to America.

Crossing the BLVD: Strangers, Neighbors. Aliens in a New America.......2005-10-07

Book is an excellent companion to a travelling show we saw at the University of Maine in Orono. It captures in an extraordinary fashion the incredible ethnic and cultural diversity within a relatively small section of Queens, NY.

Colorful and heartfelt tribute to a diverse population........2005-05-09

Queens, in New York City, is the most ethnically diverse community in the country. Over a period of three years, from 1999 to 2002, editors Warren Lehrer and Judith Sloan collected stories from a sampling of the borough's 2 million residents. The result is this book, a much needed tribute to the people, most of them immigrants, who make Queens such a culturally rich locale.

The stories are wide and varied: a Congolese man who fled his country to seek asylum in the United States, only to be detained for nearly two years once he arrived here; an Afghan woman and her mother who were separated from each other for 22 years; a gay Colombian couple forced to flee their home; a pair of Egyptian brothers who opened a cafe and restaurant in Astoria. It's impossible to summarize them all here.

The words of the storytellers are, for the most part, kept intact. Everything is quoted directly, and even the speech mannerisms of those with rough or accented English are preserved, making the book feel just as colorful and diverse as the people featured in it. In a few cases, where the interviewee spoke little or no English at all, the stories are translated from the teller's native language. The editors have included helpful explanatory notes where the storyteller's make reference to events and individuals with which the reader may not be readily familiar.

"Crossing the BLVD" is also a refreshing visual treat. There are numerous photographs, pieces of artwork, maps, and other visuals. Each page has clearly been laid out with loving attention. Font style, size, and placement, along with the placement of the pictures, is carefully balanced to achieve certain effects. The book is just as colorful and full of character as the people whose stories it relates.

This is definitely a book everyone should read. Though nearly 400 pages in length, the text is large and makes for quick reading. But this simplicity is only a cover for the rich, inspiring, and heartfelt stories these people have to share. "Crossing the BLVD" certainly has something to offer any reader.

FANTASTIC!.......2004-11-30

Well done and Bravo for Warren Lehrer and Judith Sloan for this formidable effort! I couldn't put this book down, not so much because the book has stories of gore or thrill, but because of the beautiful and thoughtful way in which it is crafted, laid out and presented. The subjects are treated with complete dignity, affirmation and love, something that is rarely seen when dealing with immigrants and foreigners. I applaud this multi-media venture [the accompanying CD and website are mindblowing as well] and the amount of effort it took. I put down the book feeling like I had had the best world education lesson ever-if only high school were like this I'd be so much further in life! Bravo!

Crossing the Blvd: Strangers, Neighbors, Aliens in a New America.(Book Review): An article from: The Oral History Review

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Crossing the Blvd: Strangers, Neighbors, Aliens in a New America.(Book Review): An article from: The Oral History Review
Courtney E. Martin
Manufacturer: Oral History Association
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B0009GPSF2
Release Date: 2005-08-01

Book Description

This digital document is an article from The Oral History Review, published by Oral History Association on June 22, 2004. The length of the article is 999 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Crossing the Blvd: Strangers, Neighbors, Aliens in a New America.(Book Review)
Author: Courtney E. Martin
Publication: The Oral History Review (Refereed)
Date: June 22, 2004
Publisher: Oral History Association
Volume: 31 Issue: 2 Page: 104(3)

Article Type: Book Review

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Keeping it real: a collection of first-person narratives bypasses pathos to illustrate immigration's rich complexities.(City Lit)(Book Review): An article from: City Limits

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Keeping it real: a collection of first-person narratives bypasses pathos to illustrate immigration's rich complexities.(City Lit)(Book Review): An article from: City Limits
Debbie Nathan
Manufacturer: City Limits Community Information Service, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Book Description

This digital document is an article from City Limits, published by City Limits Community Information Service, Inc. on November 1, 2003. The length of the article is 2866 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Keeping it real: a collection of first-person narratives bypasses pathos to illustrate immigration's rich complexities.(City Lit)(Book Review)
Author: Debbie Nathan
Publication: City Limits (Refereed)
Date: November 1, 2003
Publisher: City Limits Community Information Service, Inc.
Volume: 28 Issue: 9 Page: 36(4)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Book Description

Selected and introduced by acclaimed novelist and poet Paul Beatty, Hokum is a liberating, eccentric, savagely comic collection of the funniest writing by black Americans.

This book is less a comprehensive collection of African-American humor than a mix-tape narrative dubbed by a trusted friend—a sampler of underground classics, rare grooves, and timeless summer jams, poetry and prose juxtaposed with the blues, hip-hop, political speeches, and the world’s funniest radio sermon. The subtle musings of Toni Cade Bambara, Henry Dumas, and Harryette Mullen are bracketed by the profane and often loud ruminations of Langston Hughes, Darius James, Wanda Coleman, Tish Benson, Steve Cannon, and Hattie Gossett. Some of the funniest writers don’t write, so included are selections from well-known yet unpublished wits Lightnin’ Hopkins, Mike Tyson, and the Reverend Al Sharpton. Selections also come from public figures and authors whose humor, although incisive and profound, is often overlooked: Malcolm X, Suzan-Lori Parks, Zora Neale Hurston, Sojourner Truth, and W.E.B. Dubois. Groundbreaking, fierce, and hilarious, this is a necessary anthology for any fan or student of American writing, with a huge range and a smart, political grasp of the uses of humor.

Customer Reviews:

It's OK if I like this book too, right?.......2006-04-19

Just wondering. As a (typically?) paranoid Anglo-American, I may not "get" the secret messages in many of the selections that may or may not be there for an African-American reader, but I found most of the selections in this anthology hilarious. If it inspires anyone of any hyphenation to read complete works by Ishmael Reed or Chester Himes, it will have more than served its purpose.

Book Description

"Bollywood" - once a tongue-in-cheek term used by the English-language media in India - has become the dominant global term to refer to the prolific Hindi language film industry located in Bombay (renamed Mumbai in 1995). Characterized by music, dance routines, melodrama, lavish production values and an emphasis on stars and spectacle, Bollywood films have met with box-office success and enthusiastic audiences from Bombay to West Africa to Russia, and throughout the English-speaking world.

In Bollywood, anthropologist and film scholar Tejaswini Ganti provides a guide to the cultural, social and political significance of Hindi cinema, outlining the history and structure of the Bombay film industry, and its impact on global popular culture. Providing information and commentary on the key players in Bollywood, from composers to directors and stars, as well as material from current filmmakers themselves, areas covered in Bollywood include:

*Chronology
Main Themes in Hindi Cinema
*Key Characteristics of Popular Hindi Cinema
*Significant Filmmakers
*Significant Films
*Scholarship about Hindi Cinema
*Filmmakers Point of View

Customer Reviews:

just an introduction.......2006-06-23

Ganti's book is a brief but illuminating walk inside Bollywood. For someone who is perhaps not of Indian ethnicity, and knows nothing about Bollywood, the book explains much. You can learn about the sheer volume of production of movies each year. Though the budgets of each are lamentably much less than for a Hollywood movie.

The book also attests to India's increasing "soft power". Bollywood is one of India's main cultural exports, along with its cuisine. Several famous Bollywood movies are explained, in how they address universal human issues with an Indian touch.

critic.......2005-12-14

interesting and easy to read. A good first approach of the bollywood film industry. Not enough photos and no colours.

Bollywood 101.......2005-05-01

This little book by Tejaswini Ganti is the ideal introduction for anyone who wants to get to know Bollywood. Smart, concise, it's a very easy and informative read.

After an historical introduction to Indian cinema from the beginnings (just after the invention of cinema) to the glossy new millenium Bollywood of ZeeTV and NRI romances; Ganti procedes to a general presentation of the inner workings of the Hindi Film Industry (name usually prefered by scholars to the term Bollywood): how is a film made in Bombay ? who produces, how? who distributes, where? who has the power? This part along with the long historical introduction are the core material of the book, short but truly essential.

NB Ganti focuses on Bollywood (located in Bombay). for beginners who think that Indian cinema is Bollywood, take note: it's not. Therefore the book acknowledges Middle cinema, art cinema, tamil, telugu, bengali cinema but never deals with these topics.

After the "technical" part of the book, the rest is dedicated to an overview of the major films and personnalities of the profession. The major films chapter provides a very useful filmography that gives the neofit a very interesting selection of films to get to know Bollywood thru the ages. Each film has a detailed summary that sometimes includes historical insights or important trivia. Then there is the chapter about who's who in Bollywood, she lists major directors (although for most recent cinema many names are missing, as she herself underlines in the end notes), music and lyrics writers, actors and actresses (here again many recent actors and actresses box office sweethearts are overlooked but it's difficult to keep up with the star system and not all stars deserve such academic attention anyway, so if you're a Bollywood geek get over the absence of Salman Khan or Rani Mukherjee in that section).

The end of the book is a series of interviews with directors, actors, producers... and this is where you will eventually find the "new comers" such as ShahRukh Khan (in a really cute itw for that matter) ...

Ganti provides a short bibliography which is also very needed since ressources on Bollywood are not necessarily the easiest to find.

Overall a great little guide that can prove essential to any world cinema class or even (in my case) anthropology class.

as a complement to that guide I recommand Prasad's book Ideology of the hindi film a historical construction, a very insightful book with detailed analysis of such classics as Deewar for instance.

Book Description

In their attempts to understand the nature of musicianship, music psychologists have generally focused their attention on cognitive processes and abilities. Although a kind of folklore has long existed in musical circles relating to personality differences between players of different instruments, this is the first book to examine the impact of personality and temperament on musicianship. After an introductory chapter which summarizes the relevant personality theories, the book deals with each fact of the musicians' personality in turn: introversion, independence, sensitivity, anxiety, and gender issues. Different forms of musicianship (such as orchestral playing, singing and conducting) are considered next, to clarify the ways in which specific skills impact upon personality development or predispose a person towards different instruments and styles of performance.

The Musical Temperament: Psychology and Personality of Musicians.: An article from: Notes

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The Musical Temperament: Psychology and Personality of Musicians.: An article from: Notes
Raymond C., II Hawkins
Manufacturer: Music Library Association, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

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Book Description

This digital document is an article from Notes, published by Music Library Association, Inc. on March 1, 1998. The length of the article is 1616 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: The Musical Temperament: Psychology and Personality of Musicians.
Author: Raymond C., II Hawkins
Publication: Notes (Refereed)
Date: March 1, 1998
Publisher: Music Library Association, Inc.
Volume: v54 Issue: n3 Page: p674(3)

Article Type: Book Review

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The Musical Temperament: Psychology and Personality of Musicians

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The Musical Temperament: Psychology and Personality of Musicians
Anthony E. Kemp
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press(UK)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OKWQTE

Book Description

This fun and witty exposé of horse racing in America goes behind the scenes at the track, providing a serious gambler's-eye view of the action. Ted McClelland spent a year at tracks and off-track betting facilities in Chicago and across the country, profiling the people who make a career of gambling on horses. This account follows his personal journey of what it means to be a player as he gambles with his book advance using various betting and handicapping strategies along the way. A colorful cast of characters is introduced, including the intensely disciplined Scott McMannis, "The Professor," a onetime college instructor who now teaches a course in handicapping, and Mary Schoenfeldt, a former nun and gifted handicapper who donates all of her winnings to charity. This moving account of wins, losses, and personal turmoil provides a sobering look at gamblers, gambling, and life at the track.

Customer Reviews:

These great character sketches are all winners! .......2007-05-13

This is a fun book for the literate two-dollar bettor or for anyone whose pulse quickens when they hear the words "Breeders Cup" or "Kentucky Derby." Mr. McClelland really captures the variety and perseverance of the dedicated handicappers who make the track their second home. I grew up going to the track with my father, and have met the same types at tracks in the midwest and Florida years ago. (Maybe old horseplayers don't die -- they just go to another meet?) Some of the characters and vignettes are funny, some poignant; and all are well-written and very entertaining. Damon Runyon would have loved it!

Excellent Read.......2007-04-03

Every writer hopes for that one book that will define their career. Capote had his " Cold Blood" and Lee her "Mockingbird". And now Ted McClelland lands his with "Horseplayer". Yes, in it's own genre it is just that good. For anyone who ever dared to the grandstand side of the track. For anyone who ever revered Newman and Gleason dueling it out at Ames Billiards. For anyone that wondered what happened to the wagering in Seabiscuit. This is the otherside. "This is Ames Mr". No racing fan or handicapper that's worn the proud hand stains of Form print should be without a copy.

A Winning Ticket.......2006-09-13

Ted McClelland puts cash in the kitty and takes a year to explore the real world of handicapping the races....from the cheap seats at Hawthorne Race Course to the splendor of Arlington Park and at tracks throughout the country.

In Horseplayers, McClelland shares the thrill of cashing the tickets with the nice payouts and the struggles of searching for that one needed winner in the last race, along with the dreams and frustrations of regular fans who find life at the track.

There is the husband and wife who have different handicapping strategies, the railbird with a theory that makes calculus seem easy, the fan who looks for cashable tickets left on counters and the veteran who rumor has it is now not welcome in one facility.

It is a journey away from the million-dollar races, world-class stables and majestic runners adding new pages to the history books. These regulars - who are found with comparable stories at any track - are more at home seeking out that big play with the hard-knocking claimers on a Thursday afternoon than elbowing through the crowd on Triple Crown simulcast days or on bobblehead giveaway weekends in the summer. And Family Days? Forget it.

Though there aren't as many fans going through the gates as in "The Golden Era" of racing, they are as dedicated and have as many conspiracy theories about why that runner should not have stopped in the deep stretch, unless the jocks were doing something - somehow - to fix the outcome.

And that is what makes Horseplayers such a great read; because life is about trying to get that edge, playing the odds and cashing the winning ticket at the end of the day. And if the "sure thing" doesn't hit the board, there is always tomorrow.

Horseplayers: Life at the Track.......2006-07-13

Great read!!!.....As I went through the chapters, I thought to myself: " I KNOW these guys"!...very insightful on what goes on in guy's heads that makes horseracing such an intriguing and wonderful pastime. The characters are as varied as night and day, and the author's own experiences in gambling bring forth the why's and what-for's of the sport of kings. Highly recommended!

More than horse racing.......2005-12-06

This is a great book that provides a valuable and in-depth view of horse racing, the colorful characters that frequent race tracks and how the industry operates. It takes us on a search to find the holy grail of making money in horse racing and comes up with some pretty surprising and unexpected answers.

The book's audience should be far wider than just people who bet on horses, as the lessons and insights can be applied in many other areas, eg. stock trading to name just one.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book and could not put it down until I had finished it -- and this from someone who has never placed a bet on a horse or been to a horse race track.

Real-Life Handicapping: An Eclectic Horseplayers Year at the Track

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For the hardcore horseplayer or casual fan
A year of playing the horses with DRF expert Dave Litfin.

Real-Life Handicapping: An Eclectic Horseplayers Year at the Track
Dave Litfin
Manufacturer: City Miner Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0933944187

Customer Reviews:

For the hardcore horseplayer or casual fan.......1999-09-16

Dave Litfin, one of the country's most respected handicappers, has finally written a book that should appeal to the hardcore horseplayer or the casual racing fan. This book is interesting because it's not just about dry handicapping facts. Litfin writes about personal stories and experiences that makes racing one of the greatest games ever invented. I thought one of the most interesting parts of the book was his chapter on a horse's current form. After reading that chapter have an easier time figuring out when a horse is about to peak in his cycle or when he is about to degress. I feel more confident when I place a wager now. After reading this book I was ready to go to the track and test my newly acquired knowledge.

A year of playing the horses with DRF expert Dave Litfin........1998-09-18

Branching out from the specifics of the New York circuit, Real-Life Handicapping is the fascinating chronicle of a year in the life of a successful horseplayer. From autumn at Belmont Park, through winter at Aqueduct, to summer at fabled Saratoga, Dave Litfin not only gives handicappers a seasonal edge when playing these tracks, but emphasizes those universal, profit-producing techniques that get results at racetracks from coast to coast. In addition, Litfin's is a delight to read.

"There's plenty here that would benefit any horseplayer, from beginner to advanced." Barry Meadows

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Real-Life Handicapping: An Eclectic Horseplayer's Year at the Track
Dave Litfin
Manufacturer: City Miner Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000MHP1XC

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40 Years at Night: The Story of the Tonight Show
James Van Hise
Manufacturer: Movie Publisher Services
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 1556983085

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