Depression Books

If you type in Robert Gwathmey on Google ,you will find the first chapter of Kammen's book.You will also find a review by Robert Beardsley of Harvard.Gwathmey led an exemplary life dedicated to social justice.He was one of the few whites to paint blacks. Kathleen Blackshear had painted blacks in the 30's & 40's also,but thereafter painted in abstract styles. Gwathmey was dedicated to his subject and was lauded for it.Rosalie contributed to Bob's career in many ways: 1. she got money from her parents so that they could get married and Bob could concentrate on fine art. 2. she joined Gwathmey in his interest in racial and economic justice, her photos of the the depression era were recognized.3. she worked as a textile designer to help support the family (some of these patterns can be seen on costumes of some of the street scenes he did)Kammen talks mostly about Gwathmey's life and loves.The work is well illustrated but, is not analyzed and evaluated in any depth.But, then there are more readers for the era that Gwathmey is noted for rather than the group of painters he was allied with.I admire social realism,socially conscious work for the artist's conviction . His steadfast adherence to a debunct area of figurative art.He avoided the fashions so prevelant in New York City.He stuck to his guns.His alliances with Jacob Lawrence and Philip Evergood are worthy of further study. He kept on painting into old age and died of Parkinson's disease. Rosalie was to contact Lymes disease in the 80's and would survive Bob by a few years.For artists you will learn the advantage of a partner who shares your politics and interests. The importance allies in art in following a direction that is not paramount in the art world.

The fascinating story of a rugged individualist and his unique family who battled the Great Depression with imagination, hard work,and- eventually- success. I was thrilled with their ingenuity and perserverance,amused by many of their experiences, and briefly terrified by their exploration of a deserted mine. You'll enjoy meeting Cy and his family,and sharing their life and dreams during some of the darkest days of our country's history.

What did Franklin Delanor Roosevelt's New Deal mean at a personal level? "The Roots of Penderlea: A Memory of a New Deal Homestead Community" seeks to answer that question. Cottle grew up on one of these agricultural colonies and recounts her life and times on one of these places and the heartbreak and triumph that occurred there. A personal look at what dragged America out of the Great Depression, "The Roots of Penderlea" is recommended for a memoir of a time rarely recounted.

This book does a great job in exploring the reasons why people feel down -- recommended highly.

La Rosa Corzo, Gabino (translated by Mary Todd) [1988] 2003 Runaway Slave Settlements in Cuba: Resistance and Repression University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill

This is an excellent book, but not unflawed. One can be a little put off by the author's acerbic criticism of previous authors' use of oral histories especially since he uses such in his own book. However one must also recognize the need of the author given his location and circumstance to occasionally mouth the official Castro "socialist" line, and take the approved side in the African-Indigenous Cuban Siboney conflict. Such a stance is necessary to allow him access to Cuban government archives, and keep his job. Below I discuss some other minor quibbles of mine.

Mary Todd's translations are at times a little in accurate, e.g. apparently translating "guano" frond palm roofing as fan-palm thatch. However, as in the case of the author Dr. Todd has done an excellent job and as such should be congratulated.

Overall this is a very valuable book, and it has taught me much. I did not know about Cuban history.

All this aside

Figure 15, pp. 94-95 in paper back edition, show a detailed map of Don Benjamin's holdings between the Bayamo and the Guisa Rivers. This figure illustrates the 1848 "escaped slave hunting" raids of Eduardo Busquet and Antonio Lora.

One can note, all though I did not see it in this book, that in the Cuban güajiro vernacular palenque can also be the enclosure, the arena or cockpit, inside the valla the cockfighting hut, where the gamecocks fight (Lionel Daley, personal communication 2005). This of course relates to the karst rock "cockpit" country in Jamaica where the Maroons, or groups of escaped slaves of Jamaica held corresponding sway. Maroon of course is derived from the Spanish Cimarrón.

I can interpret this map to show a "palenque'' (escaped slave settlements that were to fortified variable extent and are considered African in Origin) indicated as open square on the map and placed in a postion corresponding to the height of a cliff of the west side of the Guamá River (the one that flows south the join the Bayamo River) perhaps a few hundred yards from Paso Caimanes; another coming up what is now El Banqueo del Oro as closed triangle supposedly at the height of the Bayamesa. However, since this first site is too close to the house of Don Benjamin, it is very possible that the site of the first camp was a few miles further south, up the Arroyón Valley which has a hidden stream (Tío Mingo Stream). Even so the relatively close location of either of these sites implies a relationship between these Cimarrón and Don Benjamín Ramírez.

The third camp (closed triangle) is at the origins of the Guamá del Sur Torrent, however this map does not show that the Guamá River also rises further south than the Guamá del Sur Torrent. This location is approximately the place where Great grandfather Mambí Colonel Don Benjamín Ramírez (Rondón) prefect of the zone in the Ten Year War held camp. And if this is so this is place where Great Grandmother Leonela Enamorado Cabrera met about 1873 Mayor General Calixto Ramón García-Iñiguez and conceived grandfather Mambí (War of 1895) Brigadier General to be Calixto (García-Iñiguez) Enamorado [...]. It may also, with less certainty, be the place where Carlos Manuel de Cespedés was deposed as President of the Cuban Independence Movement.

Notice with great care the rivers at the head of the Bayamo, El Oro, La Plata y los Diablos. The Bayamito and Guamá Torrents to the South, once marked the south western and so eastern boundaries of Don Benjamín's land. Notice this map also shows Arroyón, the largest tributary of the lower Guamá, not the Tio Mingo Stream) and the Chorrerón or Salto de Guamá (unlabelled) and the Los Horneros (also unlabeled) where Francisco Maceo Osorio died of fever soon after the Céspedes trial.

This could be taken to indicate that the Cimarróns or escaped slaves had strong connections to the Siboney of the area, and fits the known fact that many members of both ethnicities participated in the Wars of Independence against Spain. The author on the other hand while he does mention some links and allows inference of other, perhaps because of ideological reasons does not tie the Cimarrón as close to the Siboney (Taíno, Island Arawak) as is indicated by Jose Barreiro's photographs of modern Taíno might justify.,

The book also mentions the tradition of dispersion of rural housing in the area, some tactics and the use of what are now known as "punji": sticks in guerrilla defense.

I loved this book, it was easy and simple to read, which is what you need when you are in emotional and physical turmoil and do not have the energy or the inclination to fathom a book. It taught me what I needed to know, and it helped , I felt calmer and more self contained. It can be used as a lifestyle guide by anyone whether or not you suffer from M.E. All the more remarkable that such a wise and gentle book was born out of such darkness. I do not understand how the healing process Elizabeth describes works , but it does, and I am one of lifes skeptics about many alternative things , but this therapy is something else and this book gives a simple and clear introduction to using it.

Walk by any health food store, drugstore or vitamin shop, and odds are you'll see a sign touting the supplement SAM-e as a fast and side-effect-free treatment for depression and arthritis. As a veteran science journalist, I became intrigued by this supplement, which is approved for use in 14 countries but only became available in the U.S. about two years ago. I spoke with scores of cutting-edge researchers as well as ordinary people who have tried the drug-usually with success but sometimes not. I concluded that a large number of Americans could benefit from taking SAM-e. The SAM-e Handbook is a thorough introduction to the supplement. It weighs the evidence of SAM-e's effectiveness and answers many practical questions not addressed by other books on the subject: Who is most likely to benefit from SAM-e? Who should steer clear of it? What doses are best for different problems? Which are the best brands of SAM-e-and which are out-and-out frauds? Where can you get the lowest prices? And how do you find a doctor who will help you use SAM-e effectively? Incidentally, the book's subtitle has changed since the publisher submitted data to Amazon. It is now: The Fast, Natural Way to Overcome Depression, Relieve the Pain of Arthritis, Alleviate the Discomfort of Fibromyalgia, and Boost Your Energy.

I liked the lyrical quality of the book so much, I also bought it in audio form so I could actually hear an Irish voice tell the story. I found that, when I read the book, there were passages that Banville wrote that were so beuatifully written that I had to close the book and think about what he had just said before continuing on. Every line written by the author (well deserving of the Man Booker Prize, I might add) is beautiful and hearing it told reinforced for me what a superb author he is.

The story itself is interesting, in a subtle, way. If you like language and stories about getting older and the memories one recalls of one's youth, then this is a story that could very well interest you.

Mark Davio's book is filled with relevant poetry to assist with experiencing all of life's journies. I have found it particularly helpful in finding joy in the midst of confusion. Definitely worth having on the shelf.

This book did an excellent job in describing the disorder and provided many answers to everyone's question as to what they can do to help themselves in overcoming this disorder. it also provided information for people and contact sources in eachof the 50 states. definitely worth reading.