A good book...for white women only
355924
I read the first 20 or so pages of this book. Sure it was ok, these women aren't that funny. They kind of bore me after a while. The one thing I should mention about this book is that if you are not a white woman, you will not appreciate the way these women call brown nipples 'disgusting'. They have one conversation about how their bodies will change, and how they wish things that are pink will stay pink. Then that's where the 'ewww- brown nipples are disgusting!" comes in. I hope I will stop at least 1,000 women from buying this book. I can't believe their editor let them put that in the book, that is kind of racist. I am so glad I read that part before it was too late to return it! I hope you found this useful.
2241882
Ok. So this is not my first time saying this and it definitely won't be the last. White authors need to stop with the pale =ugly; pale= ill bred; pale=poor; etc etc. Its ugly and it has to stop.

There was a quote in the book along the lines of dark skinned apes and I KNOW the author knows the racial implications of THAT. like that was just ugly.

Im tired of reading books where the paler people (read: white folks) are oppressed bc of their skin tone. Its dumb. Its make you look racist and stupid bc you use the darker tones people as the oppressors. And the racial implications of THAT is just...

Anyways. I will NOT be reading anymore of this series or this authors books. Have a nice day !!
2906975
They look like a man's arms! How can woman be famous on television with that ugly arms?? Pretty face is good but not the ugly arms.

Like the book though. The self-deprecation thing comes off as a bit forced sometimes and sometimes I found it a bit boring (the baby bit, the travelling-by-car bit, the boat bit) but I suppose others might enjoy what I do not and vice versa, so there.

I also think it's sort of a feminist book (at its core), and in being that tackles two really huge things with women: The aforementioned self-deprecation (which, I believe, in this book does not come from false modesty but is intentional in that it wants to say hello to all women in the world that it's alright to be totally messed up) and that thing about having to be beautiful. Also fathers, but who hasn't issues with fathers?

Speaking of fathers: Her arms, man. She seriously needs to do something about it. Shave them at least or something. And maybe do a little less iron pumping, or whatever it's called in english.
1749725
This book is extremely disappointing.  The publisher's review suggests that it is empowering for women, but it does this with the worst stereotypes.  The book thanks you, the woman reader, for doing the laundry, remembering birthdays, and spreading good cheer.  It thanks your girlfriends for listening to your complaints about your boss and fantasizing about playing pranks on HIM.

Before buying this book, try replacing the word "women" with your ethnic group of choice.  Would you describe that book as empowering?
4377373
Tannen's book is well done and worth the read.  No question.  But...  it's also imbued with a subtle (sometimes not-so-subtle) bias that female modes of communication and other propensities are inherently superior to males'.  The examples of female communications/activities are almost uniformly praised and those of males are frequently disparaged, either subtly or explicitly.

If you read the book, and I recommend you do, you should keep an eye out for the bias.  Actually, doing that is a good exercise in learning to spot this form of sexism.  Sexism is bad, no matter whom it is directed toward.

Overall, still, highly recommended.
565854
Just an FYI - this does not give a "scholary" account of a real lawyers confessions, but if you are a white male from the south then you will probably enjoy it - sorry for the pun on stereotypes, but likewise this book is full of them...  sort of misogynistic too..
79995
Mr. Fine has written a very good book, however, the title is a bit misleading.  Fine Beauty promises beauty basics and beyond for the African-American Women, yet very little space is devoted to teaching women how to master the art of make-up application. Instead, the majority of this book is an overview on Mr. Fine's career success, including more than half the book consisiting of pictures with or of his famous clientelle.  Also the end of the book contains more of Mr. Fine's famous friends in the "business".  I felt like I was reading his resume' or looking through his portfolio!
Don't get me wrong it wasn't terrible. The first section of the book does give information on make-up basics including tools, and tips for every area of the face.  I enjoyed this section.  I once believed that blush was something that women of color could not pull off sucessfully, but thanks to Mr. Fine's tips on blush color and application, I have tried it and it looks great.  Also, the tips on highlighting were helpful, but sadly, I was left wanting more.  If you enjoy star-gazing, then this book is for you.  If you are looking for an in-depth manual on how to make yourself look like a star, then look elsewhere. Mr. Fine's book can help beginners get off to a good start, and help intermediates refine their skills, but pro's will be sadly dissapointed.
2045037
This is not a bad book, if you are a woman. If you are a woman you will likely enjoy the s*** out of this book. It was well written and engaging but it really spent a lot of time on s*** most men don't find very interesting, like clothing and feelings. Also lots of talk about being cold and drinking hot tea, and how nice candles smell. Well, to be honest, I do enjoy a hot cup of tea myself but thats not really germane to this review. The plot was well thought out but it consisted primarily of silly bulls***. Sure two people did die in an arson incident but that played second fiddle to sleeping in the fetal position, crying, over-reacting. More tea. you get the idea.
1721346
This is a magazine for much older white women. The only place you see diversity is in the ads. So many Hispanic women and men in the USA but you won't find any in this RAG let alone any ethnic recipes.  As a PUBLISHER- it's offensive in my opinion not include all races.  If you're an older white woman in her 70's - this RAG is for you.  As a man I felt offended each time the magazine showed up at my door. The copy within the pages speaks to Anglo women ONLY - Men stay away!. Ads are also all geared towards women.  Since when does LIVING only apply to women?  If it was a monthly subscription I would have cancelled the first issue.  Very disappointed in the content.  Recipes are bogus and boring and home design techniques are dated and not very appealing.  Nothing really exciting to be found in this RAG.  I can see why it was only 7.00.  Still not worth the paper it's printed on.
2687098
This is an excellent, feminist documentary.  However, almost every woman presented is white and women of color are almost invisible in this work.  Remember the Schoolhouse Rock installment about women getting the right to vote and all the animated women are white?  This is equally homogenous and disappointing.
At one point, the narrator says, "Middle-class women are forced not to have or speak about sexual desires and feelings."  It's great that they brought up class, but race is absent.  At that time in history, Black women are stereotyped as lascivious and outside of the elite group of women who could be on a pedestal.  The white feminists interviewed here should know that, but they say nothing of it.
The work includes a white comedienne named Reno.  I like her and I wish her career much success.  However, they could have had Margaret Cho, Mo'Nique, or Margo Gomez laughing about the same women's issues.
In the book "The Color Purple," Shug showed Celie that she has a happy button down there.  This work speaks of white women informing other white women about their downstairs equipment, but you never see women of color addressing this issue.
This is a great documentary.  Don't get me wrong.  However, it borders on what bell hooks termed "white power feminism."  In a time when one out of four women in the US is of color, the monochrome presentation of this work is beyond troubling.  It's downright shameful!
2030316
The white woman on the cover looks like a character from a Danielle Steele novel.  Are all white women lascivious temptresses?  This book is obviously targeting a black audience, but using the word "Ain't" in the title is a bit condescending.  Apparently he wants to "open" people's eyes but does not want to use proper grammar to create any sort of legitimacy.

Although I don't deny the propagation of "white beauty" in America, discounting interracial relationships just because he was not smart enough to realize the farce of his own is narrow-minded.  I am biracial (Asian and Caucasian) and my lovely husband is of Jamaican descent.  We have both dated all races and we ended up together out of pure love.  There are no problems on either side of our families because of our differing races.  And honestly, if it was a problem with my family where I would have to make a choice my path would be clear:  I would never want to be around people that didn't support my happiness or would have a problem with someone of another race.  That includes family and friends.

The idea of "ethnic purity" in America is constantly fading.  Chances are that someone with very dark skin has white ancestors and vice-versa.  Whether that is because of terrible or normal circumstances, that is the truth.  Can't we all just get along?
4746854
Normally I like her books.  She is a gifted writer.  This one, however, was a disappointment regarding the subject matter.  All whites are racists and all blacks are victims.  The Confederate flag represents white bigots.  MSNBC is preferred over Fox News to protect a child's "exposure" to news.  She makes it seem like there has been no progress in race relations in the past 100 years.  Interesting twist at the end, but I had to struggle to get through all the angst and torment of white guilt and the obvious liberal bias about just about everything.
4089187
Although the book was very well written, I wonder how a white woman of this century can accurately describe the inner thoughts and feelings of a black female slave.  I believe she tried and certainly did her research.  However, it bothers me so that I found myself saying, "how do you know?". I would recommend the book.
4587542
Reaching back, like throw back, is a common term in some African American communities to describe a child that is born with the features of an ancestor.  Usually, it refers to a child that has distinct Negroid features whereas the parents may not appear so.  It can also refer to a child of two distinctly black parents who is born with white features.  The former is usually cause for concern when families are trying to "whiten or bleach" the line or pass into white society altogether.  This premise is the crux of the storyline of four generations of a family who has been fostered to believe that being white or white in appearance is the saving grace and desire of the black race.
Megan, Carrie, Ana, and Mignon, the women whose lives are told, have had their share of trials and tribulations with poverty, men, family, and self-esteem and independence issues. Raised on a Louisiana plantation, Megan is the product of a rape by the landowner, who in turn rapes both Megan and Carrie when they come of age, his own daughter and granddaughter.  If it sounds complicated, convoluted, and complex, it is.  But we find out later in the book the disastrous results of these complexities.  Meanwhile, Carrie suffers isolation and humiliation because she "reached back" and does not look like the rest of her light, bright, damn near white family.  Her "caramel" coloring guarantees that she will never be able to have the advantages of white skin or be able to passe blanc.  Some of her siblings do indeed move to New Orleans and cross over into the white world.  Carrie loves her childhood sweetheart, John, who is a dark brown skinned man ,  but marries a fair-skinned man because she believes that is best.  Her life is at first good but a series of circumstances causes her to question her choice and then she encounters John again.  Her daughter Ana "suffers" the same fate as Carrie and is "tan" colored, unlike her white- looking siblings.  She, in turn, is mistreated by both her siblings and father, a renowned minister. Ana's beauty and talent cannot be denied however and she becomes a singing sensation in Paris where her sense of worth is elevated, until again, as is the fate of the Devereaux women, she faces heartache.  Back home in Houston, she marries the near white Clark, whose background remains hidden for several years.  Ana's daughter Mignon, in trying to please her now passing for white father, marries a light skinned man.  As she matures and comes into her self-worth, she realizes her former choices and values have been misconstrued.
This book was my local book club selection and all kinds of emotions and comments were expressed.  The subject matter was not particular to everyone's liking-we felt the synopsis on the back of the book was misleading because it did not mention color issues--  but that aside, what we most agreed upon and which verified my feelings, is the immature writing style and the poor editing of this book.  Someone compared it to Cane River (women who believed in bleaching the line, desiring white appearance, etc) but that is where the resemblance begins and ends.  While Cane River was well written and less intrusive, Reaching Back has an undeveloped writing style, though in the last few chapters the quality of writing improved greatly. Though the spelling and grammar appeares flawless, the content editing of this book put it in the category of many self-published books, that while it is entertaining-there is plenty of drama, a quick read, and flows satisfactorily, misses out on being a better final product. Constant contradictions in timelines, misplaced names, even descriptions of the main characters, are glaring examples of poor editing.  I understand the author is writing a sequel to this book; I can only hope the editing is improved.  I offer congratulations to Ms. Simone for undertaking such a project and for telling her story.------
Dera
Apooo Bookclub
Marcus Book Club (Oakland)
346862
So Much More is a charming book written by two quite lively and  seemingly intelligent young ladies. I enjoyed their style. I didn't enjoy their message, as I believe it is damaging and very unhealthy to many young ladies.

I believe that their theology is way off base, which causes them to come to some weird conclusions. I believe it is damaging to young ladies to try to coerce them into doing things that the Bible does not demand of them in order to peddle a pet philosophy that works great for some who choose it, but not so much for the young ladies trapped in it. I also find the idea that a daughter needs to be a help meet to her father as disturbing and potentially abusive if the analogy is taken the whole way opens girls up to be abused by their fathers.

There were a few disturbing things in this book. Another was how much a daughters relationship with her father was elevated over her relationship with her mother, and how it was said she should be helping her father but with no regard to her mother.

Anna Sophia and Elizabeth also condone and encourage betrothal (with bride prices and all, selling girls as if they are property), girls not attending college (they don't think girls need an education because they are to be keepers at home and nothing else). There are many alarming things brought to light in this book.

As charming and endearing as this book is, it must be read with extreme caution if read at all. It really wasn't worth the money paid for it with all the error and the narrow minded, judgmental thinking going on.
1912632
I read the 2003 edition of the 1997 book. It is about the Europeanization of African gender thought after direct colonialism, taking mostly the Nigerian Yoruba as an example. The author disposes of the Western standards of history, state and philosophy including the supposed African lack of all of that. She analyses the differences of Western feminism and pre- and post-colonial African matriarchies (or what's left of it). African hearing instead of European seeing at the top of the senses and the consequences of that; and mostly genderless Yoruba names. And why there is a sisterarchy between European and African feminists. While critizising the Western gender dichotomy, she is also not so fond of too radical homogenizing of female and male. A fresh light on polygamy will challenge the Western feminist.

She avers homosexuality as a foreign concept to Africa, which clearly is a half-truth at best. The word and literal/direct concept is European, the fact that females and males developed various cultural norms of love, sexuality and sociability among themselves isn't exclusively so. Read for example&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Boy-Wives-and-Female-Husbands-Studies-of-African-Homosexualities/dp/0312238290/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Boy-Wives and Female Husbands: Studies of African Homosexualities</a>. In that context she fails to elaborate on the preclusion of sexuality when women may "inherit" other wives. Her neglect of this topic, turning it into a taboo, is clearly one of the weaker points of this book. I am also astonished to read vocabulary like "race" in THIS book, as the concept of races is even more European and in fact racist.

Overall, however, this book is recommendable for those interested in the subject. Who may also be interested in&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Re-Inventing-Africa-Matriarchy-Religion-and-Culture/dp/1856495345/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Re-Inventing Africa: Matriarchy, Religion and Culture</a>,<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Daughters-of-Anowa-African-Women-and-Patriarchy/dp/0883449994/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Daughters of Anowa: African Women and Patriarchy</a>,<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Return-to-the-African-Mother-Principle-of-Male-and-Female-Equality/dp/1878557068/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Return to the African Mother Principle of Male and Female Equality</a>,<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/When-Men-Are-Women-Manhood-Among-The-Gabra-Nomads-Of-East-Africa/dp/0299165949/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">When Men Are Women: Manhood Among The Gabra Nomads Of East Africa</a>, and more generally in&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/The-Mismeasure-of-Woman/dp/0671797492/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">The Mismeasure of Woman</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Myths-Of-Gender-Biological-Theories-About-Women-And-Men-Revised-Edition/dp/0465047920/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Myths Of Gender: Biological Theories About Women And Men, Revised Edition</a>.
3982164
This deck caught my eye for it's round, rather than rectangular, cards, and it's multiculturalness.
The deck was evidently created by feminists who have indeed created a feministic deck, and it would have been multicultural if not for it's being anti white men.
The booklet, written by Vicky Noble, repeatedly refers to a peaceful and idealistic matriarchial culture shared by all the people of all colours around the world that was crushed and opressed by white and monotheistic patriarchial invaders. This is supposedly supported by archeological findings, to which no references are given in the booklet.
The "Us = opressed multicultural womyn Vs. Them = evil white men" is shown in various places :
* The Son of Sword is a white man and a greedy murderer.
* The Emperor card is described in the booklet thus :
"symbolyzing dominion and dictatorship, the Emperor is the sky god, the boss, the patriarch using the intellect to accomplish his goals and force to carry out his demands. He represents the dangers of unrestrained power and private ownership : Zeus the angry thunder god and jehovah the jealus father."
Has the emperor *no* positive sides ?
* The Hierophant card features evil men enslaving women. A friendly coloured man as Shaman could have been portrayed instead, and the choice tells something about the creators' intentions.
* The devil is a white man enslaving women and coloured men.
* The Sun card features a black man and women of all colours, but not a white man.
* The World card feautres several women, but not a single man.
As a white man who was raised in a Judaistic culture but is not anything like the Emperor, Hierophant, or Devil of this deck I find this deck objectionable, a good example of feminism in it's worst, and I will not - indeed can not - use it.
The booklet has a few introductory pages with the feministic tones I mention above, meanings for each card, a short section on numerology, and an original spread.
The cards are of good quality material, but a bit hard to shuffle, possibly due to their shape.
Though the earth tones make some of the cards look a little dead, the art is colourful, beautiful, and original - it's unlike any other deck I've seen.
I would have liked the deck a lot, if not for it's anti white men attitude.