5 comments about Good Wives: Image and Reality in the Lives of Women in Northern New England, 1650-1750.

1. This was fabulous! The author clearly does NOT hate Puritans. She is objective, insightful. It's a treasure!



2. I am very interested in finding out about colonial American women. This book didn't disappoint as far as facts. The author takes great pains to mention as much as she can about the women she's writing about. My only quibble with the book would be sometimes when the author introduces some facts, she would just leave the facts hanging there. There would be interesting tibits mentioned about a particular woman, then that tibit would be left and the author would go one to discuss something else.

   Still, overall this book is very enlightening about how women lived back in colonial times.




3. I am a senior in college majoring in history and I just finished writing a paper about this book for a college class, and after reading the other reviews for it here I feel I should write my own really quick to present a different opinion. It was a good book, and did give a good view into the lives of colonial women, but I'm wondering what anyone learned from it. There was nothing surprising at all, completely mundane. I do not feel there's a need to argue the importance of women in history, no one's writing any books about how great chairs are for sitting, it's understood. Of course no society could develop and function without women and all of the very important things they do, to me thats a given. Anyway, I wont go on any more but in my opinion the book just isn't groundbreaking or interresting on any level what so ever.



4. "Pots and pans" history. So that's what this stuff is called. If that is supposed to diminish it, allow me to suggest that nothing could be further from the truth.

   Nothing is more controversial in our society today than "woman's place," and no where is it more controversial than among women. (Any email list will bear this out.)

   But what was it like for the women who were the founders of this country? How often do we even think about how they lived, unless we happen to visit one of the burgeoning historical communities multiplying across the country?

   It was work, and it was hard work. Women were at home, and they were at home for a reason. Even getting to church was a major endeavor, and one they fought for, for it was women who built many of the major American congregations thriving today.

   Their relationships with each other sustained them, and also were likely to pose the most threat, for women could make or break the reputations of one another, upon which survival depended.

   Childbirth, pre, post and in between, determined the rhythm of life for generations of women. There were many births, and many of them did not live to adulthood. A woman who was able to nurture many children to see her grandchildren and great-grandchildren had accomplished a great deal, and was honored accordingly.

   They had to know and understand the rhythms of nature and the timing of how to use an oven they could stand in and work with its heat as it coursed over the length of a day. There were no timers. There were no temperature regulators. There certainly were no microwave ovens or dish washers or washing machines.

   They made medical tinctures as well as food, for doctors were few and far between and if they couldn't nurse their loved ones to health, they lost them more often than not.

   They acted as "Deputy Husbands," representing their husbands in their livelihood, not in their own right, but as stand-ins based on the status of their husbands. It was power, even if not their own.

   Well researched, thoroughly documented, well written and a very pleasant read, this book will allow us all to count our blessings -- and honor our foremothers.

   ...geminiwalker




5. I am a passionate fan of A Midwife's Tale, and so expected to enjoy Good Wives. It is different, but nevertheless, an incredibly valuable resource. I read with amusement the one-star review from the student who'd been compelled to read this for a college course and thought..."Gosh, he COULDN'T have read this book! He must be confusing the title!" It is crammed with interesting, offbeat, entertaining, and poignant glimpses into colonial American life. Perhaps I enjoy Ulrich's books so much because I live in a northeastern hamlet next to a 350-year-old village and run into history on my way to the grocery store (or local farm) to pick up eggs. If I haven't convinced you to give this a try, let me just throw in that this is quite a sexy little book, for the Puritans and colonials, contrary to folklore, were very susceptible to Eros. It's also a book one can pick up, read a bit, then take up later with no difficulty. If you enjoy history, particularly the Princeton "common man" school and not just kings and queens...you'll have a wonderful time with Good Wives.

5 comments about Drive I-95: Exit by Exit Info, Maps, History and Trivia.

1. This book is great! Not only does it give the standard I95 exit information (restaurants, hotels, etc.) but it also gives many points of interest for families...rest areas where you can play ball or places not far from exits where you can have fun.
   I can't believe how extensive this book is and how accurate since it's a few years old now and things they are a changin' along I95 North to South.
   We really enjoyed this book along our trip - reading ahead of time is recommended so that you can be aware of places to stop before you get there.



2. Drive I-95 by Stan Posner and Sandra Phillips-Posner has been released in updated 4th Edition. It is a very comprehensive guidebook for any drive along the North-South route of the United States most Eastward coastal highway. This edition now includes Florida. With maps, radar traps, radio stations, 24 hour gas info, good eats and sleeps, where pets are welcomed, unususal shopping opportunities, fun places to visit, and fascinating historical facts along the route, you cannot leave home for that highway without this book! You'll miss so much! The excellent book, with exit by exit itemized information, has won the Book of the Year Seal, Best Books Award, and Benjamin Franklin Award. It is compact and sturdy enough to tuck into your car door pocket. EXCELLENT!!!



3. As someone who travels I-95 often, I was delighted to discover "Drive I-95." What a valuable tool for the vacationer or the everyday traveler!
   
   This slick, spiral book is an ideal guide to everything you need to help make your trip more pleasant. Exits for every segment of I-95 from Massachusetts to the tip of Florida, where I-95 ends, are documented with important landmarks, motels, restaurants/fast food places, service stations, and drug and grocery stores. A book flap gives the dial location and program types for the strongest radio stations along the way. Following the map section, the traveler will find more than 100 pages of interesting tidbits concerning history and places found near I-95. These include segments, with exit numbers, about the Torpedo Factory Art Center, located in Alexandria, VA; Gadsby's Tavern (an historic restaurant at the same exit); St. John's Church in Richmond, VA where Patrick Henry gave his famous speech about liberty or death; the Best Western Space Shuttle Inn; Outlets at Vero Beach, FL; Worth Ave. in Palm Beach, FL and much more. The back inside cover has a list of motel chain 800 numbers.
   
   Drive I-95 is a treasure you will want to keep in your car as you travel from Boston to Miami and lots of places in between. What a great idea!
   
   --Mary Montague Sikes, author of Hotels to Remember



4. Now in a fully updated fourth edition, "Drive I-95" continues to be the premier guidebook for the more than 42,500,000 people who drive to Florida every year down Interstate 95. It accurately charts all 552 exits on I-95 from Boston to Miami. It is also a wealth of information about food options, motels, radar traps, radio stations, 24-hour mechanics (a unique feature not found in other travel guides) ATM machines, shopping recommendations, and even some of the best golf courses to be found along the route. With anecdotal stories such as the Ava Gardner Museum in Smithfield, North Carolina having been started with a kiss, to a listing of motel chain 800 numbers, to so much more, "Drive I-95" continues to be the premier and confidently recommended travel guide for anyone driving up or down I-95!



5. Haven't had time to actually use this book so far but my sisters. one of whom has used an older version of this book in the past, used theirs recently while traveling north. They found it very helpful in locating places to eat and stay overnight. We did notice however that one or two of the eating places in our own area of Santee are no longer in business.
   
   I hope to get my chance to use it shortly.

4 comments about Ethan Frome (Enriched Classics (Pocket)).

1. The Romeo and Juliet of its time, Ethan Frome is a suspenseful story about a man shackled by marriage to the lady of his nightmares, and when he finds the love of his dreams he is torn to shreds by what he should do and what he needs to do. An excerpt from the story that best summarizes his predicament is "With the sudden perception of the point to which his madness had carried him, the madness fell and he saw his life before him as it was. He was a poor man, the husband of a sickly woman, whom his desertion would leave alone and destitute; and even if he had the heart to desert her he could have done so only by deceiving two kindly people who had pitied him." As you can see the story has an intricately designed plot that keeps you wondering until the end.



2. I was surprised to receive this very thin, small novel, but within those 175 pages, Edith Wharton has woven a supremely delicate and beautiful tale. If you're looking to be taken away to another place and another time - but only have a few hours - this is the book for you! Anita Shreve's introduction is equally impressive.



3. Edith Wharton filled her novels with a feeling of ruin, passion and restriction. People can fall in love, but rarely do things turn out well.
   
   But but few of even her books can evoke the feeling of "Ethan Frome," whick packs plenty of emotion, vibrancy and regrets into a short novella. While the claustrophobic feeling doesn't suit her writing well, she still spins a beautiful, horrifying story of a man facing a life without hope or joy.
   
   It begins nearly a quarter of a century after the events of the novel, with an unnamed narrator watching middle-aged, crippled Ethan Frome drag himself to the post-office. He becomes interested in Frome's tragic past, and hears out his story.
   
   Ethan Frome once hoped to live an urban, educated life, but ended up trapped in a bleak New England town with a hypochondriac wife, Zeena, whom he didn't love. But then his wife's cousin Mattie arrives, a bright young girl who understands Ethan far better than his wife ever tried to. Unsurprisingly, he begins to fall in love with her, but still feels an obligation to his wife.
   
   But then Zeena threatens to send Mattie away and hire a new housekeeper, threatening the one bright spot in Ethan's dour life. Now Ethan must either rebel against the morals and strictures of his small village, or live out his life lonely. But when he and Mattie try for a third option, their affair ends in tragedy.
   
   Wharton was always at her best when she wrote about society's strictures, morals, and love that defies that. But rather than the opulent backdrop of wealthy New York, here the setting is a bleak, snowy New England town, appropriately named Starkfield. It's a good reflection of Ethan Frome's life, and a good illustration of how the poor can be trapped.
   
   Even when she describes a "ruin of a man" in a cold, distant town, Wharton spins beautiful prose ("the night was so transparent that the white house-fronts between the elms looked gray against the snow") and eloquent symbolism, like the shattered pickle dish. There's only minimal dialogue -- most of what the characters think and feel is kept inside.
   
   Instead she piles on the atmosphere, and increases the tension between the three main characters, as attraction and responsibility pull Ethan in two directions. It all finally climaxes in the disaster hinted at in the first chapter, which is as beautifully written and wistful as it is tragic.
   
   If the book has a flaw, it's the incredibly small cast -- mainly just the main love triangle. Ethan's not a strong or decisive man, but his desperation and loneliness are absolutely heartbreaking, as well as his final fate. Mattie seems more like a symbol of the life he wants that a full-fledged person, and Zeena is annoying and whiny up until the end, when we see a different side of her personality. Not a stereotypical shrew.
   
   "Ethan Frome" is a true tragedy -- as beautifully written as it is, it's still Wharton's description of how a man merely survives instead of living, hopeless and devastated.



4. Aristocratic New York woman residing in Paris writes about impoverished New England man's demise in love - a formula which few would encourage today, and certainly was a misanthropic venture in 1911 when this book was published.
   
   But, Wharton excels in her delivery. The dialogue incorporates much of the Massachusetts' accent. The description of the countryside: magnificent. "On a road I had never traveled, we am to an orchard of starved apple trees writhing over a hillside among outcroppings of slate that nuzzled up through the snow like animals pushing out their noses to breath." And, the story - Bronte meets Sterling. Depressing, grey as the winter weather, and as cold as a Massachusetts' December.
   
   Zeena, originally thought to be named Zenobia, is Ethan Frome's wife from hell. They live in the aptly named town of Starkfield. Zeena, ill and nagging, haunts Ethan as her querulous droning echoes in his psyche, whether he be in the home listening or safely outside working in the farm. Zeena's niece, Mattie or Matt, comes to aid her ailing aunt. And, without any appreciation, she does her chores.
   
   Frome's exclusive enjoyment is seeing Mattie's face each morning - so much does he like this that he commences shaving every morning to look right for her. The amorous affection is not a one-way road. Each becomes increasingly more entranced by the other. And, when Zeena leaves for an overnight stay at a doctor's, opportunity knocks.
   
   But, this is Wharton and written about people in puritanical Massachusetts in the late 19th century - much of the book is reminiscing in 1911 about what transpired 20 years earlier. Illicit love is the forbidden fruit. Contract or arranged marriages delivered sexual pleasure, not love of the heart. Wharton's characters often are prisoners of their societal marriages - Ethan Frome being worse than others as he also lacks any societal privileges or money. True love is doomed too often in Wharton's books: Selden in "House of Mirth", Newland Archer in "Age of Innocence" and Ralph Marvell in "The Custom of the Country" lead similar demises.
   
   The ending is tremendously depressing. I will not detail what transpired, as that would be unfair to readers of this review. But, its twist is what reminds me of Sterling or O'Henry. It was both alarming, and perfect.

3 comments about Quiet Water New Hampshire & Vermont:Canoe & Kayak Guide, 2nd: AMC Quiet Water Guide.

1. Excellent book, I recommend this to anyone. I use this book for canoe trip planning with my family. Detailed information is given here. As usual it is another fine book by AMC.



2. I purchased this book as a guide book for kayaking lakes that I may have not known about. I found the book lacking on listing ALL the possible lakes not just some the author knew. I was looking for a lake guide book that list every lake, pond, maybe river not just a few. I had the older book and that listed even less. This also concentrates on the wildlife and plant life rather than describing the actual lake. This could be a really good guide book if it were done better...........



3. As a canoeist I can only pray for titles similar to this series to span the continent. These guides offer listings by region and alphabetical indices, area maps, launch site directions and parking advice. Wilson mentions special points of interest -- geologic formations, settlements, graveyards, and odd indigenous species -- with sidebars covering nature lore. A super gift for the New England canoodler in your life.

3 comments about New Hampshire Atlas and Gazetteer : Topographic Maps of the.

1. This atlas is fabulous for driving around the back roads of New Hampshire. It has the names and route numbers of every single road in the entire state, even dirt roads, even indicates which is which. It is not very helpful for roads in cities or large towns, showing only the main ones. But in addition to that it lists canoe trips, state parks, every single private campground in the state, tons of hiking trails (in detail), national forests, snowmobile trails, downhill and cross-country skiing centers, some biking trails, fishing spots (in great detail), museums, historic sites, natural features, the arts, golf courses, covered bridges. Absolutely essential for exploring New Hampshire.



2. I highly recommend this atlas book. It has large maps, easy to use symbols, it loaded with colors and highly useful and interesting information. This atlas depicts all roads both big and small and tons of other useful information. It's nice to to look at different areas and discover new routes and attractions. I'm going leave this one in the car for all around reference and driving assistance when in a pinch.



3. I always buy a Gazatteer when going hiking in a new state. The New Hampshire version is as helpful as the other states that I have. I like the trail detail and the elevation markings.

No comments about AMC's Best Day Hikes in the White Mountains: Four-Season Guide to 50 of the Best Trails in the White Mountain National Forest (Amc's Best Day Hikes).

5 comments about Journey Around Boston From A to Z (Journey Series).

1. It seems a bit strange to use an alphabet book format for middle schoolers, but the idea is well-executed in this nicely illustrated guide to Boston. The book begins with an undetailed map of the Boston vicinity, continues with a paragraph of introduction, and then moves on to the alphabet. Each letter gets a full page and has an alliterative title with a few explanatory sentences and some related factoids. For example, "M" is entitled "Minutemen made ready at a moment's notice"; text describes the events in Lexington and Concord on April 18, 1775; watercolor pictures show the Minuteman statue in Lexington and the Old North Bridge in Concord; factoids tell us that British soldiers were called "regulars" and that the midnight riders (Paul Revere, William Dawes and Samuel Prescott) called out "The regulars are out! The regulars are out!" as they rode through the night. End pages depict an alphabet of objects other than those seen in the book, such as Magnolia for "M".

   With nice art and layout, this book imparts quite a few interesting facts about Boston, though one thinks it might have benefitted from an overarching coherence with which to motivate the more sophisticated young readers at which it is purportedly aimed.




2. JOURNEY AROUND BOSTON is another title in the series created by author, artist and one time teacher Martha Zschock. Zschock was a third grade teacher at the time she wrote the book. As a teacher she has the respects both the natural curiosity and intelligence of children. A mallard, a duck often associated with the city thanks to Robert McCloskey's immortal MAKE WAY FOR DUCKLINGS, leads visitors on a tour of Boston and the vicinity. Her book includes the familiar tourist attractions as well as lesser known and perhaps even ignored places in Boston. It serves as a wonderful introduction to Boston and its illustrious history.

   This book is a must for any family with young visitors coming to the city of Boston. It will also be of interest to the children of Boston who wish to learn a bit about the city and its history.




3. I discovered this book while doing a search for travel guides
   to Boston. I was surprised when this book popped up 2nd in the
   list, but since I collect children's illustrated books, I had to
   take a look, and found it to be absolutely wonderful. I do have
   to admit that it certainly would be for the very top end of the
   picture book gang, not those just learning their ABC's. But so
   what. It is wonderfully informative with beautiful illustrations.
   
   Whenever I run into an ABC book, I first look to the X's to see
   how the author handles that. I am pleased that this author
   did not feel compelled to use X's in the beginning of the words.
   Her X's became "Extraordinary Exhibits excite viewers." That is
   so much better than yet another xylophone.
   
   Perhaps my favorite page was "Y": Yarns have been spun at Ye Olde Union Oyster House for Years". The page was so compelling, I made special effort to get to the Oyster House though it wasn't
   on my original agenda.
   
   Besides a very attractive architectural illustration of the Oyster House, there is an insert that shows some of regional foods such as Boston Baked Beans and Boston Cream Pie. Below the
   pictures is a short paragraph about the pictures. In this case
   there is information about baked beans and why they were so popular with the Pilgrims. Below that is a wavy line (as there is on each page) with another bit of information, this time about
   lobster which is usually available in the waters close by.
   
   In September I am going to Cape Code and her A to Z book on
   Cape Cod will be part of my planning. I hope she keeps this
   wonderful series going, and if she branches out into Europe -
   so much the better! If you are reading this, Martha, I am going
   to London in the Spring next year and Venice in the fall, just
   in case you are looking for your next subject.
   
   Highly recommended.



4. A wonderful book to see Boston and find out about Boston. I would recommend this to anyone (adults and children) about to visit Boston. I am looking forward to buying more books by this author and illustrator.



5. I love Boston. I really do. This beautiful, progressive city known for being an academic, cultural and historical mecca is brilliantly presented in this delightful book.
   
   This book will take readers alphabetically through the city that has long established itself as the Cradle of Amerian History. The alphabet format is good and effective as readers will more easily remember the sites in and around Boston. The map of the Boston area is also a good idea and an excellent added touch.
   
   Using alliterative sentences is another good mnemonic device; readers will readily make associations with the places they are reading about in this delightful book about Boston. Readers also get text with chronicled detailed history about the places and historical events that took place in the Boston area. The lovely illustrations and rich history will delight readers of all ages. I highly recommend this one.

2 comments about Quiet Water Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island, 2nd: Canoe and Kayak Guide (AMC Quiet Water Series).

1. This is an excellent book for those yakers who are looking for an escape from motor boat laden waters. It is well illustrated and has helpful tips on where to put in and what to expect as you traverse the water ways.



2. we live in broad brook, connecticut and this is the first year we've had kayaks. in the early summer we met a woman on the scantic river near the somersville dam and she recommended this book. best tip of the year. there are so many great paddles in here that you'd never know about just by looking on a map. we'd been driving around, shooting in the dark, and mostly being disappointed by what we found. every paddle we've taken out of the book has been excellent. can't recommend it highly enough.

4 comments about The Photographer's Guide to the Maine Coast: Where to Find Perfect Shots and How to Take Them.

1. David Middleton and Bruce Morrison have created a very insightful guide to coastal Maine photographic "hot spots". I am a professional photographer based in Maine, and while I am quite familiar with most of the places mentioned in this book I was pleasantly surprised to find out about others I had overlooked or was not aware of. (I also have a few secret spots of my own that did not crop up in the book..thankfully... but that's what makes this fun - a guidebook is best put to use as a springboard for further exploration.)

   Photographers who live in Maine or are planning to visit coastal Maine will find much to enjoy here. You couldn't ask for a better resource. Even non-photographer types would do well to mine the gems of this book for general sightseeing and hiking tips.
   Middleton and Morrison put you smack dab in the middle of great photo opportunities. A bit of a warning here: after you get a copy of this book you will feel a sudden and intense urge to be out on the Maine coast with your camera.

   PS - Middleton's guide to Vermont photo sites is excellent as well.




2. This is a good guidebook. It has enough detail/description to allow one to rationally select "likely sites" without being overpowering. However, there are an number of annoying editing errors present. (For example, every time the text reads "this place is 0.05 mile beyond that place", what's really meant is "0.5 mile". This is wrong in every place it's mentioned!)



3. We followed his book to the letter and a great book with valuable infomation. Would recommend this book for anyone traveling to Maine and who likes Lighthouses. Wonderful and helpful tips.



4. My wife and I are planning our vacation to Maine for late Summer '06. We enjoyed the book, pictures, and suggestions for "great pictures."
   We'll see how it goes!

5 comments about Sociology: Exploring the Architecture of Everyday Life.

1. I found this book to be a very easy read. It breaks ideas down, many times into each perspective category. Each new topic is enhanced with numerous examples; that are relative to the reader. This book seems to be up-to-date and an accurate account of the social world.
   The main strength that I found was that the terms are presented with viable examples and situations. There are numerous charts, graphs, and diagrams with each addition of data. The book provides many means of understanding the new information. For instance, when the book discusses social norms, or folkways (as defined on page 113 in chapter 4) it explains what they are and how to test these in correlation with their contribution to society's stability. Norms such as chewing with your mouth closed are legitimately favored and accepted. These folkways exist in order to establish uniformity among people. This book reinforces the new terminology with examples and the "Your Turn" assignments for personal experience. I perceived this as a very effective method of teaching new information.
   I think there are limited weaknesses of this book. Perhaps the order of the ideas could be rearranged to flow better. This confusion might have stemmed from the order of the class agenda. A specific weakness that stood out to me was the elaboration for each topic unveiled. Every perspective is described in enormous detail which kind of draws out the ideas. For example, in chapter 6 when the book discusses impression management it goes into political perspectives (p. 187) and gives numerous different examples of George W. Bush preserving a certain image. These reinforcing examples seem to pull the reader away from the main idea because they expand the idea a bit too much. The reader only needs one or two examples to help gain knowledge of an idea. When reading a book for class, the simple breakdown can be done in a precise and more efficient manor.
   Compared to other collegiate books, such as an Anatomy and Physiology book, this text is more entertaining. The sociology book is written from a personal narrator who tells a story in each chapter. Chapters begin by putting you in a certain place and time. In chapter ten, the book sets the scene with the topic of "the 1997 Hollywood film Titanic" (p. 326). This provides the setting for the reader to relate to in order to think and prepare their mind to explore in the following chapter. More formal science books simply state information and lack conversation from the narrator.
   This book projects multiple lessons. The one that particularly stood out to me was the idea of race and ethnicity in chapter eleven. I found this comparison to be intriguing. The idea that race is socially constructed and "seen as a continuum of categories" (p. 379) really stands out. I have never really put much thought into race and ethnicity until this class. After reading this chapter I have learned a new definition of these two concepts. There really is no such thing as race but it is what we make it in society. I like the ideas presented in this chapter to explain race and ethnicity in detail.
   Overall, this book lays out the sociological world in an easily comprehended manuscript. The title ties into the superior concept of the text. That is, that the world of sociology is architecture built to protect and unify society. There is architecture in every category of sociology as well, like the architecture of cultures and economic status, to name a few. This book makes sense with every detail it presents and describes sociology in an informative way.



2. I really enjoyed this textbook for the most part and would definitely recommend it for other sociology instructors.
   The best thing about this book is that it is exceptionally easy to read because it is actually quite interesting. The author does a great job of relating the information in the text to real world examples which makes it much easier to understand. This also allows for the reader to understand how the ideas discussed in the text might have an effect on the society that they live in. Unlike many other textbooks, I found that this book had a lot of detailed, up-to-date data about what has gone on in different societies all over the world, not just in the USA. The author seems to be extremely knowledgeable about the subject, and also how it applies to different situations. I really like the author's writing style also. Although there are many new terms, they are defined in a way that makes it easy for the reader to grasp the concepts. Another thing I enjoy about this book is that the text flows really well. It isn't overly "academic" sounding, it can be read by just about anyone with a high school education.
   There is really only one thing that I didn't like about the textbook, although the examples are extremely helpful, they seem to be somewhat long and drawn out. Sometimes it felt like I was learning more about the event itself than how it is related to the sociological ideas being discussed.
   My favorite chapter is Chapter 12 which is titled "The Architecture of Inequality: Sex and Gender". I think this chapter is very interesting because the information discussed is so familiar. Everyone has had experience interacting with the opposite sex, and Chapter 12 discusses the differences in the way women and men are treated and behave. One of my favorite parts is the discussion of sexual violence towards women and how the author points out how women are told to take all these precautions to avoid being a victim of sexual violence instead of men being taught to control their sexual urges. If women do not take these precautions they are often said to be "inviting trouble" (p. 436).
   I learned a lot about human behavior and social structure from this textbook. It makes it so much clearer that even though we are responsible for our choices, most things that influence our choices are out of our control. They are a product of our beliefs, and our beliefs are a product of the environment in which we grew up. So even though we might initially blame an individual for something, their choice is really just a product of what they have learned from the world around them.
   I think that the author chose the title because it expresses that society is built like an architectural structure, each area plays an important part in its functioning, just like each piece in a building plays a part in holding it together and keeping it strong.



3. This textbook was incredibly easy to read. The content was interesting and presented in a very clear, understandable way that was easy to learn from. I didn't have to re-read anything just to get the basic idea like in some text books I've used. The photograph essays scattered throughout the book were on interesting, thought provoking topics.



4. I found this book to be interesting. I thought that the key issues that were talked were very important. I thought that it had very important topics that society as whole needs to look closely at. Overall I thought that this is a great text book for the class.
   The things that I liked most about this text book are that it went straight to the point in most chapters. It did not wonder far from the topic of the chapter like some books do. It gave you what was necessary for the topic and that is what I like. There was no loop whole that it took you through to get to where it was going. One draw back from this is the fact that it is almost boring to read. I had a hard time staying truly interested in reading the book because of this, it was vary robotic. However with all of this said I would rather read something that is straight to the point rather than something that carries on nonsense.
   One thing that I really like about this text is its affordability. Most text books are well into the one hundred dollar range and make it a negative aspect of the class. This book however is very affordable, I believe to be important. One draw back from this is that lack of creativity that book comes with. I think it would be more appealing if there were more pictures or graphs like in other texts, and add a little more color to the pages.
   If I was assigned another book for class that was comparable to this book, I would not be unsatisfied. I think that this book have everything that a good text book needs to have. Information is the key to a good text and this book has that.



5. The overall text was a pretty easy read and interesting. The text kept my attention and I loved the use of the author using personal examples when he would explain aspects of the architecture of our everyday life. It was not just a boring read but one of the best text books I actually looked forward to ready for my sociology class every night.
   
   Some of the strengths in the text would have to be the personal touch the author added to make it more than just a text book of information but more enjoyable for a reader to compare to their own lives too. A weakness would have to be maybe a more organized arrange of the ideas to go in order. Make the book flow a little more smoothly. This book is by far the best college text book I've had because it kept my interest and attention. The facts seemed really up to date and I learned a lot from this good read.
   
   I learned that everything around us is influenced by everything that we interact with and everything that interacts with us. Things from the micro view (small) to the macro view (big) all play a part in our every day lives and this book elaborates on each different aspect that can or does alter our way of living.
   
   The author chooses this title for the reason that our life is built and altered by building blocks in the every day world. Whenever something changes in the social world affects us and helps build our character and our own personal views for things. I didn't really understand but every minor and major event that takes place in our world will always have some affect on a person it being for a good or bad way. It made me open my eyes to acknowledge every piece of society and life that has made me the type of person I have become and will grow to become as I get older.