The Handicap Principle: A Missing Piece of Darwin's Puzzle

Book Description

Ever since Darwin, animal behavior has intrigued and perplexed human observers. The elaborate mating rituals, lavish decorative displays, complex songs, calls, dances and many other forms of animal signaling raise fascinating questions. To what degree can animals communicate within their own species and even between species? What evolutionary purpose do such communications serve? Perhaps most importantly, what can animal signaling tell us about our own non-verbal forms of communication? In The Handicap Principle, Amotz and Ashivag Zahavi offer a unifying theory that brilliantly explains many previously baffling aspects of animal signaling and holds up a mirror in which ordinary human behaviors take on surprising new significance. The wide-ranging implications of the Zahavis' new theory make it arguably the most important advance in animal behavior in decades. Based on 20 years of painstaking observation, the Handicap Principle illuminates an astonishing variety of signaling behaviors in animals ranging from ants and ameba to peacocks and gazelles. Essentially, the theory asserts that for animal signals to be effective they must be reliable, and to be reliable they must impose a cost, or handicap, on the signaler. When a gazelle sights a wolf, for instance, and jumps high into the air several times before fleeing, it is signaling, in a reliable way, that it is in tip-top condition, easily able to outrun the wolf. (A human parallel occurs in children's games of tag, where faster children will often taunt their pursuer before running). By momentarily handicapping itself--expending precious time and energy in this display--the gazelle underscores the truthfulness of its signal. Such signaling, the authors suggest, serves the interests of both predator and prey, sparing each the exhaustion of a pointless chase. Similarly, the enormous cost a peacock incurs by carrying its elaborate and weighty tail-feathers, which interfere with food gathering, reliably communicates its value as a mate able to provide for its offspring. Perhaps the book's most important application of the Handicap Principle is to the evolutionary enigma of animal altruism. The authors convincingly demonstrate that when an animal acts altruistically, it handicaps itself--assumes a risk or endures a sacrifice--not primarily to benefit its kin or social group but to increase its own prestige within the group and thus signal its status as a partner or rival. Finally, the Zahavis' show how many forms of non-verbal communication among humans can also be explained by the Handicap Principle. Indeed, the authors suggest that non-verbal signals--tones of voice, facial expressions, body postures--are quite often more reliable indicators of our intentions than is language. Elegantly written, exhaustively researched, and consistently enlivened by equal measures of insight and example, The Handicap Principle illuminates virtually every kind of animal communication. It not only allows us to hear what animals are saying to each other--and to understand why they are saying it--but also to see the enormously important role non-verbal behavior plays in human communication.

Customer Reviews:

The full explanatory power of this book is unlikely to be accepted any time soon.......2007-02-11

In The Handicap Principle, the Zahavis have created a compelling case for a seemingly paradoxical revelation: Strength may only be demonstrated by showing vulnerability.

The simplest distillation of its central tenets is that interspecies or intraspecies communication must be costly in order to be meaningful. While it would be useful for any animal to be able to view another's cardiovascular health, the body provides few outright signals of its internal function ... or does it? Amazingly, many seemingly useless appendages like peacock's tails do precisely that. If a peacock can grow a perfectly symmetrical, useless tail, chances are it's in good physical health otherwise.

When we pause to try to determine which traits are considered beautiful, the likely candidates are those with no obvious survival value (long lustrous hair, unblemished skin, clear eyes, perfect teeth, symmetry, and artfully placed fat deposits). All of these traits are also the ones most vulnerable to parasites, and the first to fade in the event of poor health or old age. These are the last places an animal will put its nutritional resources if it was worried only about its daily survival. It is their very wastefulness that shows their value. While no one literally wears their hearts on their sleeves, our dermis is a fairly good proxy of our overall health. This is precisely because of its exceptional vulnerability.

Indeed, any time a scientist wants to test material properties, he or she usually has to break the sample that is being tested. It is only by showing vulnerability that true (breaking) strength can be gauged.

Thorstein Veblen's The Theory of the Leisure Class, published in 1899, and Nancy Etcoff's Survival of the Prettiest both form interesting companion pieces to this work. The Zahavis demonstrate that Veblen's concept of conspicuous consumption applies to the animal kingdom as well.

Just like The Origin of Species or The Selfish Gene, the Handicap principle is a theory that has yet to be proven. From a scientific perspective, however, a theory is far more than a guess. Theories can be judged primarily for their explanatory power, and all of these works provide considerable ammunition. While The Handicap Principle is by no means proven, it provides an amazing lens through which to view the world. You'll never look at animals (or yourself) the same way again.

Truly Fabulous!.......2003-07-15

I thought that the Zehavis' research and book was outstanding.
I feel this book and their theory is a must for any comprehensive review of the literature on altruism.

Interesting research.......2001-12-15

One problem with this book is that it refutes other forms of cooperative altruism such as reciprocal altruism instead of combining them with the theory and expanding upon them. The Handicap Principle is one of a few theories on explaining cooperative behavior in different species and the authors here give it a good starting point to their theory. It seems that several theories stemming from evolutionary research need to use the cooperation they often rave about and come together to overcome their flaws.

Best book on evolution in many years.......2000-05-19

Why does the peacock grow that tail? Why does the springbok leap straight up into the air when it sees a predator? Why do people behave heroically? The handicap principle answers these questions, eloquently, simply and with an overwhelming sense of conviction. The peacock is advertising his fitness. He is saying to the female in essence, I am so fit I can carry around this cumbersome adornment and still scratch out a very fine living. The springbok is saying to the predator: don't even think about going after me. I am in such good shape I can waste energy jumping up and down and still have plenty of reserves to outrun you. Save us both the bother and go after someone weaker. (By the way, the springbok jumps straight up instead of sideways because by jumping straight up its performance can be effectively judged by a predator from any direction.) And the man who dives into the swiftly flowing river to save a drowning child is actually advertising his fitness and improving his station in society. He is so fit he can take chances that others dare not. He's the man the women want to mate with.

The Handicap Principle thus is about signals, signals between prey and predator, between one sex and the other, and between the individual and the group. The purpose of these signals is to display in an unequivocal way the fitness of the signaler. Note that such signals have to be "fake proof." They have to be what the authors call "reliable." An animal that can't run fast and has limited resources of energy can't waste them jumping in the air. It needs to get going immediately or to stay hidden if it is to have any chance of survival. A man leads with his chin. That's a signal that he's confident. When men had beards it was a little dangerous to stick your chin out since the other guy might grab your beard and you could be in trouble. People demonstrate wealth by wasting money. This is a "reliable" (if ugly) signal because without an ample supply of money, you can't afford to waste it.

Part of the beauty of this book comes from the personality of the authors, who spent a large part of their lives studying little babbler birds in Israel. I feel I know these little social birds just from the loving descriptions in the text. One can see that even though the Zahavis made their discovery of the handicap principle in 1975 and waited almost two decades before it was generally accepted in the scientific community, they harbor no bitterness, nor is their tone at all gloating. They come across as hard-working field scientists who love their work and nature.

Besides being full of exciting and original ideas, The Handicap Principle is also extremely well written. Each sentence is clear and to the point without the burden of unnecessary jargon or the wordy clumsiness sometimes found in such books. Amotz and Avishag Zahavi took great pride in effectively communicating their ideas to a wide audience. Additionally there are scores of exquisite, loving little black and white drawings by illustrator Amir Balaban of animals, birds, insects and people, etc., illuminating the text.

If you're interested in evolutionary theory, this is a book not to be missed. As Jared Diamond says on the cover, "Read this fine book, and discover what the excitement is all about."

I loved it, insightful, entertaining, astounding........1998-05-06

This very readable book covers a wide range of biological behavior, and really demonstrates the reality of the Handicap Principle. Not only am I convinced of its truth, but now understand much more about human behavior than before.

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Lotan brings Avishag to life.
Great Reading !!!!
Pure fun

Avishag
Yael Lotan
Manufacturer: Toby Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1902881559

Book Description

Of the scant female biblical characters, few are as intriguing as Avishag the Shunammite: a young girl brought from obscurity to the court of the aged King David, to warm the king's bed and stir his aged blood. Though 'exceedingly fair', she does not become the King's concubine. Reticent and loyal to David, she becomes an unwitting magnet, drawing the attention of the kingdom's most powerful men. As the sons of David - Adonijah the Judean and Solomon the Wise stake their claims, it is Avishag who will play the decisive role in the bloody rivalry for the succession

Customer Reviews:

Lotan brings Avishag to life........2006-01-07

The author is a well educated Israeli woman who has researched the story in the original Hebrew and doesn't appear to be pushing any agenda of her own. She gives historical background for her novel and includes some opposing viewpoints. There are only a few obscure lines about Avishag in the Bible but in Lotan's novel she comes alive as an intelligent resourceful young woman. Batsheva, on the other hand, comes across as rather evil.

Great Reading !!!!.......2003-04-14

The author writes from a knowledgable standpoint in the eyes of a handmaiden often forgotten until you re-read the Bible itself. While it is not as sensous as the Red Tent By Anita Diamant, the story sheds light on the period of instability when David's sons vied for position. Add this to your library of biblical fiction.

Pure fun.......2003-01-01

ItÕs a wonderful escapist book. Just lie back and enjoy the sounds, smells, and feel of ancient Jerusalem. Growing up reading the bible, this book brought all the biblical characters of this period to life in vivid colors and made them human and real.
Avishag is a beautiful character, the exact opposite the stereotype of the biblical concubine. SheÕs smart, independent, resourceful and powerful. If I were a teenager she would be a role model.

In short - I loved it!

Avishag (Tsad ha-tefer)
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Avishag (Tsad ha-tefer)
David Schutz
Manufacturer: Keter
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

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ASIN: 9650700366

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Agricultural applications of eng-of-day red or far-red irradiations (Agricultural Research Organization. Division of Scientific Publications. Special publication)
Avishag Kadman-Zahavi
Manufacturer: Division of Scientific Publications, The Volcani Center
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0007AN2Z8

THE HANDICAP PRINCIPAL: THE MISSING PIECE OF DARWIN'S PUZZLE
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THE HANDICAP PRINCIPAL: THE MISSING PIECE OF DARWIN'S PUZZLE
Amotz and Avishag with Naama Zhavi-Ely and Melvin Patrick Ely Zahavi
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press
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Binding: Hardcover
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The Handicap Principle: A Missing Piece of Darwin's Puzzle
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The Handicap Principle: A Missing Piece of Darwin's Puzzle
Amots; Zahavi, Amotz; Zahavi, Avishag; Ely, Melvin Patrick; Zahavi-Ely, Naama Zehavi
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OKNCRO

Signale der Verständigung. Das Handicap- Prinzip.
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Signale der Verständigung. Das Handicap- Prinzip.
Amotz Zahavi , and Avishag Zahavi
Manufacturer: Insel, Frankfurt
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 345816927X

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Testing the efficiency of different lamps and illumination regimes for photoperiodic irradiation of agricultural crops
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Customer Reviews:

Very Well Done.......2007-06-13

As I read the reviews for this product, my heart sank a little. I am, myself, a fan of the CoH/CoV games. So, like I said, I expected very little from the book as a result except for a backstory to add to my enjoyment of the game.

However, after receiving the book, and beginning to read, I was immediately captured by the writing style of the author. His descriptive wording and appropriate word use were the first items to catch my attention. However, after a chapter, the story was riveting.

As I said, I had read the previous reviews on this, and if I may say, perhaps some of them are overly critical. Keep in mind, for example, that the book is centered on two specific characters, those of Stefan Richter (Lord Recluse) and Marcus Cole (Statesman), and so therefore, mentions of the exploits of any other heroes prior to their appearance in the novel would be unwarranted. And, it would not seem illogical for someone with great powers to be eaither a) unaware of the vastness of them, or b) in an era when the world was just over the first industrial revolutions of America, afraid to show any level of supernatural ability, since the demonstration of such would instill fear in a great many people (including the politcial regimes of the day).

Also, as to Recluse's metal spider legs, since he is a technocrat and obviously a fan of the scientific, it is not unthinkable that such a person would either a) augment natural appendages which grew as a result of his transformation, to be fitted with metal, or to b) have created that metallic set of appendages.

Finally, though the characters might seem predictable, and "lightweight", the fact is that the author is playing on what we should expect. The great war hero, power hungry villain, megalomaniac Nemesis, plucky reporter, etc...are all the types of people we can relate with. Their characters are well fleshed out in the novel, and overall, it is a great read!

Nice to have some background.......2006-03-14

It's nice to finally have some good background written on City of Heroes.
And by one of the best game-related fantasy author, no less.
I raced through this book with delight. I hope you will enjoy it.

The book is weak and doesn't always make sense.......2006-03-04

As was described in an earlier review, the transformation of bandit Marcus Cole into Statesman was not adequately explained. I also want to know why Stephan Riechter, who becomes Lord Recluse, grows into a monster with metal-tipped spider legs on his back. This is not explained well either. There is also a scene where a non-super-powered reporter, who has been taking some martial arts classes, karate chops a large steel pipe or beam and bends it in two with her bare hands.

Also, the superheroes that come to aid Statesman pretty much come out of nowhere. Elementar seems extremely powerful and it's surprising that he did not do anything with his powers until Statesman came along.

I could go on if I felt like refering back to the book, but I don't. It's just not a very polished story in my humble opinion. I hope the author's own original works are better than this.

Defined by the game.......2006-02-25

It is very hard to write a compelling book placed in a world the writer themself did not invent. Just see any of the various Magic: the Gathering novels for a good example of what happens when a writer fails to carry off a convincing story.

The Web of Arachnos, on the other hand, weaves a compelling adventure about two inseperable friends who wind up dire enemies. The deterioration of their relationship and the creation of both a superhero and a supervillain is told with compassionate insight into what drives people to choose lifestyles and priorities most of us would label as "evil".

An excellent study of human nature set in the universe of a popular online game. What more could a modern reader ask for?

Not bad, but not great.......2005-12-11

It was... okay. Not a page-burner by any stretch, but if you're really into City of Heroes, it's not a bad read, either.

The book introduces us to Marcus Cole (aka Statesman) and Stefan Richter (aka Lord Recluse) and takes us through their origin at the Fountain of Zeus, the downfall of their friendship, and through the first major battle of good-versus-evil for Paragon City. Along the way, we get to meet the Dark Watcher, Elementar, Vambrace, and even Maiden Justice, grandmother of the famed Miss Liberty. All of the events take place during the 1930's in a time when villains were diabolical and heroes were few and far between.

As an interesting story of origins and a historical background for the City of Heroes game, the book was okay. As a standalone novel, though, it falls a bit short in a few areas.

The writing style, while not quite bad, is not as good as it should have been. The number of big men in the book that have fingers like sausages is amusing. There's not much depth to the characters. Everyone is good or evil. Stupid or smart. Small or huge. Straight-and-narrow or guilty-as-sin. Maybe the author was shooting for Golden Age comic book-type simplicity to go with the time period in which the novel is set, but it usually comes off as very predictable and common. There are no real conflicts in the book, other than those solved by fists and bullets. No inner turmoil, no real climax except when the unstoppable force meets the movable objects (an outcome that's a foregone conclusion), and not much suspense to make you have to read the next chapter to find out what happens.

Some of the details required quite a bit of suspension of disbelief. A fabled fountain of immortality under a site with millions of dollar's worth of undiscovered archaeological curiosities strewn about intact within an easy day's row of Crete? Stefan's transformation from Marcus Cole's closest friend to the twisted and murderous Lord Arachnos was a bit hasty and implausible. He went from Cole's loyal confidant to a backstabbing murderer with fascist ambitions in less time than it took Anakin Skywalker to go from saving the Republic to killing Jedi younglings. And the same hasty transformation happened to Marcus Cole as well. When we meet him, he is stealing priceless treasures of the ancient Library of Alexandria from a museum. One sip from the Fountain and he goes from being a criminal to putting away criminals. And even our new hero, upon closer inspection, has some curiously glossed-over flaws. He escapes justice for the crimes he committed by monetary bribes and payoffs. He enlists the aid of a crime family that, by the end of the book, the reader should still not be convinced is as legitimate as the author tries to lead us to believe.

I am still rating the book three stars because I believe that it serves its purpose adequately--to give us a glimpse of history that got us to the Paragon City we virtually live in today. I just hope that the next novel will give us a lot more reason to care about our favorite characters in City of Heroes and a lot more reason to come back for more. Ideally, I would like to see a novel that a non-player could read and that may even entice him or her to give the game a try. Unfortuantely, by that standard, this one doesn't quite measure up.

(The Freedom Phalanx is due to be published in April 2006 and is available here at Amazon.com. According to the excerpt in Web of Arachnos, it will be set in the mid-1980's.)

Book Description

Otto McGavin is peaceful and idealistic by nature, an Anglo-Buddhist, who seeks employment with the Confederacion because he believes in it and its mission to protect the rights of humans and nonhumans. The only problem is that the Confederacion needs him as a Prime Operator for its secret service, the TBII, and the TBII wants Otto as a spy, a thief and an assassin. It's not, of course, a problem for the Confederacion, which simply uses immersion therapy and hypnosis for Otto's training, and then sends him out in deep cover on a variety of dangerous missions on a number of bizarre worlds. But for Otto, it's a different matter: what he has to witness and what he is forced to do take a terrible toll on him . . .

Customer Reviews:

dissenting voice.......2007-02-21

So many others have raved about this book, I had to offer an opposing opinion. I read most of Haldeman's books in a two month window after being impressed with Forever Peace. AMSR had was my least favorite of them all, and was a chore to get through. I prefer books that have interesting plots and focus on character. The premise of AMSR is that the reader follows the main character as he inhabits different personas as an agent of the government. Problem is that the different sections seem disjointed, so I didn't get a feeling of continuous plot. And because the main character spends so much time impersonating other people, I didn't get a clear sense of who he was. As a result I was bored nearly from page 1.

After reading so many Haldeman books, I began to realize that he recycles themes endlessly. If you want a book about the immorality of governments, try The Forever War, which is one of his best. If you want a book about changing identities, you can get that in Camouflage, which is not a great book but at least I thought Haldeman did a better job of depicting a consistent main character despite the fact that his outer identity was always changing.

Impressive.......2006-08-12

There is nothing new here. We've seen this idea done over and over again in various forms and media. The idea of a secret agent who becomes disillusioned is rather large cliche and I am the first to express total surprise at how quickly I got absorbed into this story.

Otto McGavin is the protagonist who's job is to do the government's dirty work. We have the obligatory mistakes and stumbling before Otto proves his worth. We have the inevidable bitterness as time goes on watching the character decay and of course the inevidable "oops my government is bad" toward the end. So what makes this a classic? As always it is the author's ability to weave the story together and set a pace that moves quickly leaving you drawn into the tale. This would not have worked as a serious and detailed novel. Instead we have a series of short stories woven together to move the story forward in a quick fashion. The ending is both expected and brilliant at the same time. Some may say this is dated but I disagree. We are living in another vietnam that is more hostile, more brutal and unlike before, never ending and what better time than now to think about the issues brought up in this book.

What is the Worth of a Man?.......2004-11-02

In the mid-1970s Joe Haldeman was a comet in the science fiction field. In a very short period of time he became referred to as `the new Heinlein', a writer informed by the influences of the New Wave embodied in J.G. Ballard and Harlan Ellison, yet drawing on the tradition of `hard' science fiction and adventure.
His first novel The Forever War won both the Hugo and Nebula Awards for Best Novel in 1975. It examined interstellar warfare with a decidedly post-Vietnam jaundiced look, coupling this with use of relativity theory to show the effects of time passing more slowly for combatants, for whom everyone they know dies of old age during the war. It combined the toughness and scientific rigour of Poul Anderson with the emotional range and deft writing of Ray Bradbury. His second novel Mindbridge set an industry record for the largest ever advance (to that point) for a science fiction novel. His third was All My Sins Remembered.
In terms of its composition, this book was a collection of three previously published long stories or novellas, with `sandwich' material between them to connect the stories - and shape the eventual meaning of the narrative as a whole. The book follows Otto McGavin, a young Anglo-Buddhist on a future Earth who is recruited without his knowledge by the Confederacion, a virtually all-powerful organisation that combines corporate, government and military interests. He is trained to become a Prime Operator, one of only twelve skilled agents who carry out dangerous and highly important missions - often including assassination - both on Earth and in the many other worlds colonised over the centuries.
Each of the three stories details one of his missions, taking place over a period of no less than twenty-three years, up until he reaches the retirement age of forty-five. Each mission involves immersion therapy and hypnosis, with McGavin's personality painted over with the persona of somebody who he is impersonating. Because of the situations he must place himself in, there are often distressing results. When your body has been made to resemble a rapist, and the rapist's personality is overriding your own, how can you be responsible for what happens during your mission?
Between each story McGavin receives treatment to strip the layers of persona from him like an onion. He is debriefed and goes through past missions. But as the novel goes on, the reader becomes aware of the cumulative psychic damage going on. How much longer can he maintain any sense of self at all? Does he even exist any more, or is he merely a function of the Confederacion's will? The final page is perhaps the bleakest ending ever in science fiction, evoking dismay and frustration and even rage in the reader. In an instrumentalist society, perhaps in the end a job is all that one is, and nothing else.
Haldeman's skills as a writer of action are to the forefront in All My Sins Remembered. The sudden eruptions of violence and gore that punctuate the book are startling and convincing. One wonders how much Haldeman's tour of duty in Vietnam, which informed so much of The Forever War, also informs his portrait here of a man lost and submerged within the machinery of the Confederacion.
Since the point of McGavin's character is that he is faceless, and for much of the book has his personality suppressed, it is a remarkable feat that Haldeman keeps the reader concerned for him and feels such anger at the inevitable ending. Even in the limited space allowed for his original persona, McGavin's strong religious beliefs, so sullied by the climax, define him as a worthwhile human being, fundamentally decent and even admirable. The other characters in the book are sketched quickly, as befitting their origins as characters in a novella, but vividly, such as the alien philosopher who translates his function as "keeper of useful sarcasms."
The universe of the future is largely kept off the page, only small details serving to evoke a much wider canvas. Referring to a fencing master who taught him how to duel, McGavin says that he came from France. The exchange that follows says much in very few words: "All the way from France!" "No, not the planet; those are countries on Earth." When he travels around a city, McGavin uses the "slidewalk", a wonderful little detail that reminds one of Heinlein's classic line, "The door dilated," as a way of indicating future technology without the need to explain it. The linguistic origins of a term like `Confederacion', and the construction of a term such as `Anglo-Buddhist', also hint at future changes without beating the reader over the head.
Although bleak in a way very much of the period in which it was written, All My Sins Remembered is essential reading for anyone interested in science fiction or espionage thrillers. Even if one is not, it is a frightening portrait of what can happen to the human soul under a despotic regime. This is Haldeman's best book.

All My Sins Remembered by Joe Haldeman (Gollancz, 1977)

one of the finest works of sci fi .......2004-07-27

This is one of the best books I have read and read and read again. It's episodic format lends itself the the unfolding of excellent scenes written well. Sci Fi as if Hemingway were still writing in a new genre.

It has been reprinted in England by Gollancz in 2003 (ISBN: 0575072814)

Odd and great.......2003-11-07

This is the story of Otto McGavin, an agent who's job it is to protect the rights of aliens in the areas of space controlled by humans. The book is part sci-fi, part mystery, and part philosophical satire. This might seem an odd mix on paper but it is right up Haldeman's alley. This is the stuff he does really well.

For most of the novel this is a good story - well written and enjoyable to read. The last section however (the story is really more like several different novellas about McGavin's life) is knock-your-socks-off brilliant. I read it in one sitting and after taking a deep breath went back and read that section again. It's that good.

All my sins remembered,
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Ariel and Caliban

All my sins remembered,
Elaine Barrie Barrymore
Manufacturer: Appleton-Century
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

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ASIN: B0007DPC8U

Customer Reviews:

Ariel and Caliban.......2005-12-29

This is a much maligned book. You may question Elaine Barrymore's motives but this is a first-hand account of John Barrymore's last years and the description of his bitter fall and painfully slow suicide will linger on in your memory.

John Barrymore's family, especially his brother Lionel and daughter Diana hated his fourth wife Elaine with all their heart. They held her responsible for the break-up of his "fairy tale" marriage to Dolores Costello and accused her of trying to make a career at the cost of his reputation, even over his dead body. Their first count was unfounded: When Elaine, then a nineteen years old student, visited the actor at the New York Hospital in march 1935 his marriage existed on paper only. The last eight months had been a desperate Odyssey. After 40 years of drinking he had become so ill that he could not even remember the title of the film he was making. Dolores tried to save him by "kidnapping" him for an alcohol-free cruise, but her plans were thwarted by his perfidious manager. Barrymore hit a new low when he broke his nurse's nose. He was so afraid that his wife would commit him - his father died in an asylum - that he fled to India. His attempts to win back his memory with the help of Ayurveda and a guru ended - in a brothel! (His favorite anecdote). His fear of Dolores kept him from returning to Hollywood and repair the damage.

Can you really blame him for clutching at a straw? That he wanted to become the Svengali of a well-read young girl who believed in him? She was calculating ("Flatter him. Let him talk about himself. Sit at his feet") but outspoken ("What was this nonsense about my exploiting him? Barrymore would give me my deserved entrance into the establishment. I would give him the enchantment of my youth"). On her second visit he kissed her on the lips, and on the third day he won her sceptic mother over ("He's an actor. He wants to get you into bed"). He moved in her parental apartment and seduced her. Soon the Yellow Press got wind of this odd threesome. How his young "protegee" and her "duenna" enjoyed the publicity! And their new designer clothes...In the meantime Dolores cleaned out hubby's house thoroughy while Louella Parsons canonized her (Louis B. Mayer immediately offered her the mother-role in "Little Lord Fauntleroy"!).

Elaine describes her shock when confronted for the first time with John's "vanishing act": having lost his sense of direction he strayed for days through the streets of New York. He invited her and her mother for a cruise on his yacht. The first brawls. (Elaine claims that he was as jealous as Othello. She even starts her book with one of his threats: "What would you say, madam, If I tried to throw you off the terrace?" - but this was in 1940 when their marriage had become a public stage production). He bought her an engagement ring.

They broke up when Elaine started to play cop-and-robber with his manager. This genial but nonetheless pitiable actor had in fact fallen among thieves and was simply too generous and tired to strike back. He fled again, towards Hollywood. A tabloid encited her to catch him: ("Ariel chases Caliban!") and broadcast a pathetic plea to the general amusement of the nation. Elaine remembers diverting episodes - how the guests of a Hollywood party listened to John's outburst after a famous lesbian actress approached her - and spine-chilling ones: how she visited him during a detoxication treatment: ("It was a madhouse and its inmates were wild animnals") where he cried because Irving Thalberg refused him a role. Their wedding-night delighted her ("He made me glory in my sensuality" not him, the years were golden for her ("A lovely house in Bel Air" - with HER name on the contract), not for him (supporting parts in B-films).

By 1939 Barrymore's career suddenly recovered: he gave terrific performances in MIDNIGHT and THE GREAT MAN VOTES. In retrospect it seems like madness that Elaine chose this moment to talk him into making the MY DEAR CHILDREN tour that ruined him. I won't describe the details ( the film THE GREAT PROFILE (1940) does). How they broke up, how he caused scandal after scandal in Chicago, how she won her role back when she turned up at the New York premiere (dressed to kill, fighting Diana).

Most Barrymore biographers condemned Elaine. But when I read her description of the last stage of her husband's life - when he fell on the sidewalk while little boys screamed: "look at the drunk!" or their last meeting at Cedar's hospital - I felt deep compassion not only with him but with her. In later years Elaine became the first female stock-broker and a good friend of Marilyn Monroe. She never married again and died two years ago at the age of 88.

All My Sins Remembered: Another Part of a Life and the Other Side of Genius - Family Letters

Average customer rating:

All My Sins Remembered: Another Part of a Life and the Other Side of Genius - Family Letters
Wilfred R. Bion
Manufacturer: Karnac Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Psychoanalysis | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1855750031

Book Description

More of Bion's autobiography and selected letters to his family and friends.

Average customer rating:

A big luscious read!

All My Sins Remembered
Rosie Thomas
Manufacturer: Bantam
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0553563688
Release Date: 1993-12-01

Customer Reviews:

A big luscious read!.......2001-10-21

This book was first published in 1991 and it's taken me 10 years to discover it in an op-shop.It's a good read about a minor aristocratic family between WW1 and WW2 and is slightly reminiscent of "Love in a Cold Climate" by Nancy Mitford.Cousinly feuds are fought and forays into love affairs begun--some with tragic results.I found it to be a totally absorbing read and one which I can unhesitatingly recommend to lovers of family sagas. DO try to find a copy if you can and you won't be disappointed--I promise.

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ALL MY SINS REMEMBERED
Joe Haldeman
Manufacturer: Orbit
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000K5THAE

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All My Sins Remembered
Viscount Churchill
Manufacturer: Heinemann
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0000CMF73

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All My Sins Remembered
Joe Haldeman
Manufacturer: UNSPECIFIED VENDOR
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000VWC62M

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All My Sins Remembered
Joe Haldeman
Manufacturer: St. Martins Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000P1PU5O

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All My Sins Remembered
Rosie Thomas
Manufacturer: Penguin Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OJ0TEE

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All My Sins Remembered
Joe Haldeman
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000NQBL4U

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The Thinking Women's Prayer Book

She Who Prays: A Woman's Interfaith Prayer Book

Life and Joy

A Prayer Book for Syncretists

Prayerful reading

She Who Prays: A Woman's Interfaith Prayer Book
Jane Richardson Jensen , and Patricia Harris-Watkins
Manufacturer: Morehouse Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Anglican | Protestantism | Christianity | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
Prayerbooks | Worship & Devotion | Christianity | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
Hymnals | Worship & Devotion | Christianity | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
Women's Issues | Christian Living | Christianity | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Women's Uncommon Prayers: Our Lives Revealed, Nurtured, Celebrated

The Circle Of Life: The Heart's Journey Through The Seasons

Rejoice, Beloved Woman!: The Psalms Revisioned

WomanPrayers : Prayers by Women from throughout History and Around the World

For Praying Out Loud: Interfaith Prayers for Public Occasions

ASIN: 0819221139

Book Description

For nearly two millennia, Christian women have been taught to approach the Divine with the hearts and minds of men, from worshiping God as father to envisioning a holy life as a military campaign.

She Who Prays: A Woman's Interfaith Prayer Book offers women a new way to pray, drawing on feminine images of God and using the language and experience of women. With new translations of ancient hymns, and original prayers in the Christian and other faith traditions, She Who Prays will help women speak to God in their own voices.

Arranged in roughly the same format as the Book of Common Prayer, She Who Prays contains a seven-day cycle of daily prayer, prayers for special occasions, and a woman-oriented liturgical calendar honoring the lives of women of all faiths. There are also rituals of healing, reconciliation, and new beginnings, as well as a labyrinth prayer.

She Who Prays will help women tap into their unique spirituality. Rosemary Radford Reuther, noted feminist theologian and author, calls the book "an indispensable resource for feminist communities engaged in the work of creating liturgy. It encompasses both new creativity and deep roots in historical traditions. A treasure to be used over a lifetime

Jane Richardson Jensen, an author, translator, and scholar specializing in early Christian literature, is co-chaplain of Clare's Place, a women's spirituality center in College Station, Texas.

Patricia Harris-Watkins, chaplain of Clare's Place, is a scholar specializing in English as a second language. She has taught workshops in dream interpretation and vision quests, and integrates her Native American spirituality with her Christian faith.

Customer Reviews:

The Thinking Women's Prayer Book.......2005-10-07

Finally someone published a book that is prayerful and inspirational and not dependent on all the male gender God references that get so tiresome. Buy this book and teach these prayers to your children and grandchildren.

She Who Prays: A Woman's Interfaith Prayer Book.......2005-04-13

Not to diminish any one area...but, it all speaks to me. There is nothing that Jane or Pat wrote that I did not feel God's presence in. The entire book is beautiful. It's filled with the Holy Spirit and it makes you want to come back and read more. It's a work of art that is aesthetically pleasing, spiritually uplifting, cultural,...and entertaining!!! Both Jane and Pat are very gifted writers and scholars! Thank you for your gift to society! You are both wonderful spiritual leaders!!!

Life and Joy.......2005-04-05

One look at the Table of Contents of SHE WHO PRAYS: A WOMAN'S INTERFAITH PRAYER BOOK, and you know you're in for something quite different. The book is a collaboration between two very Spirit-filled women. This is no ordinary Prayer Book! Where, for instance, can you find prayers for 'Round People in Square Holes'? And the Weekly Collects written by Harris-Watkins are simply brilliant. However, to me, the truly astonishing quality of this Prayer Book are its depth of Spirituality, Mysticism, and Vision. The words coming out of the minds of these two women, and the way they have set them down on paper, have got to be Cosmically Inspired!

A Prayer Book for Syncretists.......2005-03-30

Given the sad present condition of the Episcopal Church in the USA, the publication of this book should not be surprising. The book is put forth by an Episcopal author as an alternative "prayer book" using "feminine images of God." Perhaps half of the text is unobjectionable, drawing on some Psalms and other Scriptures for readings. The Church Calendar (p. 102) is largely made up of Christian figures. But these orthodox citations are placed among a collection of non-Christian gods, feminist heroines and pagan conjectures, suggesting that all of them are equally valid. (Examples: January 14, 15, 22; February 4, 7, 9, 15, 19, etc. ad nauseum)

I take particular note of "A Rite To Redeem Eden's Goodness" (p. 164) and "A Ritual of Joining Two People Into A Covenant Relationship" (p. 160). The rite to "redeem" creates a complete substitute for the sacrifice of Jesus Body and Blood in the eucharist, re-enacting the eating of the "apple" that introduced sin to mankind. ("Taste and see that you are good" -- !!! p. 168) The "covenant joining" rite is written to avoid any limitation of the "two people" to a male-female marriage covenant.

An "alternative Lord's Prayer" by Jim Cotter is used repeatedly (p. 24, 30, 159, etc.). Cotter is a founder of a Gay and Lesbian Christian Movement in England (there is no identification of him offered in this book). The Lord's Prayer from Scripture is never used, presumably because it speaks of God only as a Father, and this book has a strident feminist agenda.

A new series of Collects (p. 166 ff) addresses God variously as "Heavenly Mother-Father," "Motherly Father," "Holy God of Inner Vision," "Mother Spirit," and in one case adopts a Muslim mystic's designation "God of the Beautiful Names." These are sprinkled among more orthodox titles, again suggesting they're all acceptable and appropriate - but also clearly shoving any unique Christian claims off the table.

Elsewhere the book offers prayers to Bast, the Egyptian Cat Goddess (p. 14), Arianrhod, the Moon Goddess of Wales (p. 24), the White Buffalo Calf Woman (p. 26), Pele, Goddess of Volcanoes (p. 40), Lilith (p. 45, "I was the first woman, created before Eve"), even to Thunder (p. 37) and Trees (p. 50)!!

This syncretistic embrace of any and all religions is made explicit (if you haven't gotten the point already) in a "Service of Reconciliation" (p. 175 ff) which includes prayer for "the followers of the religions of the world and for those with no religion" (p. 178) in which various cults and heretical sects, including wicca, are lauded for their contributions.

Prayerful reading.......2005-03-22

I've shared this with friends, and used it for my morning quiet time. It's been a comfort, despite having more Mother God stuff than I'm used to. The prayers for women from so many different places and faiths are great.

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