Baaa

Book Description

After the last person has gone from the earth, sheep take over the world, make the same mistakes as humans, and eventually disappear as well.

Customer Reviews:

my favorite book.......2007-01-10

i'm a fully-employed, college-educated adult, and this is still my favorite book of all time. macaulay's allegory has something new to offer each time you read it. i recommend this book for children and adults alike.

Sheep evolve to a point of self destruction.......2005-03-29

Borrowing from themes of George Orwell's Animal Farm in 1943 and the 1973 movie Soylent Green, David Macaulay's children's book Baaa draws parallels to these stories with demonstrations of matters of overpopulation, resource depletion, social hierarchies, and consumption by depicting sheep evolving to a point of self destruction. The post-apocalyptic storytelling evident in Baaa is reminiscent of Macaulay's earlier work titled "Motel of the Mysteries" in which twentieth century civilization as we know it has ceased to exist. The combination of intellectually savvy text with rich pen and ink drawings complement his analysis of societal ills while supporting a solid body of work.

Coincidentally, Baaa takes up where Motel of Mysteries left off as evident in the first passage of Mysteries. "In 1985 a cataclysmic coincidence of previously unknown proportion extinguished virtually all forms of life on the North American continent." The first line of Baaa reads "There is no record of when the last person disappeared." Perhaps as a continuation of his apocalypse, Macaulay populates his world with zealous sheep that end up emulating the horrors of human society. The conflicts and deterioration examined in Baaa, while not exactly uplifting, do impose a critical analysis of our social environment and collective behaviours. Macaulay is persistent with cautionary tales of potential futures in stories which should appeal to readers of all ages. The illustrations are smart yet playful and the text is very thought provoking. Baaa accomplishes Macaulay's social criticism with great ease proving that this book is a success.

Love it........2003-09-26

I really enjoyed reading Baaa it's funny yet a little disturbing. It's pretty cool, and I think it's the best picture
book, since I'm a little too old for picture books.

Its made of People! Peeeeeeople!.......2001-07-13

Baaa has to be the most disturbing "children's" book in the world. Starting with the complete disappearance of the humans, to the meat of the book (sorry, pun) with the sheep, to the last paragraph on the last page (the fish bit is beyond brilliant) this book doesn't stop with the foreboding visuals and narrative. I love the woodcut-style illustrations, and the story still gives me the creeps just thinking about it. I have to recommend it highly.

Gets the Mind Going.......2000-12-11

The best thing about this book is that the author never explicitly explains what happened. I read it aloud to my 5th grade class as a prelude to a lesson on making inferences, and the students found it absorbing and challenging. Don't assume that it's for young children because it's a picture book: the story is really too dark and the themes too complex for most children under ten. Teachers could incorporate this book into language arts or social studies instruction for students from the 5th to the 12th grade. Don't miss out- read it!

Average customer rating:

IIEYATB EBAHTEANCTA
BAAA AOPOHNH
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000PG22YG

BAAA Hosts Government Affairs Specialists in St. Pete.: An article from: Units

Average customer rating:

BAAA Hosts Government Affairs Specialists in St. Pete.: An article from: Units

Manufacturer: National Apartment Association
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Units, published by National Apartment Association on October 1, 2001. The length of the article is 525 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: BAAA Hosts Government Affairs Specialists in St. Pete.
Publication: Units (Magazine/Journal)
Date: October 1, 2001
Publisher: National Apartment Association
Volume: 25 Issue: 8 Page: 52

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Average customer rating:

BAAA
David. Macaulay
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin,
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000NYGF48

Average customer rating:

Moo! Baaa! Oink! Quack!
Unknown
Manufacturer: Brainwaves
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000RZPRQK

Record And Play Baaa! On The Farm (Board)

Average customer rating:

Record And Play Baaa! On The Farm (Board)
Roger Priddy
Manufacturer: Priddy Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OTOL7U

Amazon.com

The Shakers have long been a misunderstood Christian sect. At the time of their arrival in America in 1774, they were persecuted as witches who spoke in tongues and participated in wild orgies; today they are known more for their handcrafted furniture than for their beliefs or history. While their name stems from their original practice of employing frenetic dancing as a way to invoke the spirit of God, the modern Shakers work toward an inner stillness through labor, simplicity of living, and prayer. Though often confused with both the Quakers and the Amish, with whom they share certain traits, the Shakers are unique in that all of their members are converts (they are bound to lifelong celibacy), they embrace technology when it allows them to work more efficiently, and while they have turned away from the values of modern society, they do not insulate themselves entirely from the outside world, particularly when it comes to working with other denominations for humanitarian causes. Though thousands joined the faith in the 19th century, today only eight Shakers remain, all of them working together on a farm in Sabbathday Lake, Maine. It was there that Suzanne Skees, a graduate of the Harvard Divinity School, spent a month living and working with the Shakers in an effort to understand and document their way of life.

Ostensibly a work of journalism, Skees's motive for writing God Among the Shakers was as much personal as professional: "I went to the Shakers to look for God, who lately had been absent from my harried, distracted days.... I was living the American dream. Striving to build a career, family, and home. Along the way, however, hope had been lost to frenzy, and my spirit had dried up...." It is this effort to analyze, if not remedy, her lapsed spirituality that provides the most insightful passages of the book. She views her immersion into their community as a personal test of faith, and the approach--along with extended quotations--results in a candid and colorful view of the Shakers that often reads like a series of intimate conversations. Skees successfully conveys the appeal of their approach to life while acknowledging the difficulties in achieving simplicity in an increasingly complex world.

Though her prose occasionally leans toward sentimentality, her firm grasp of the history and theology of the Shakers makes her book informative, but it is her honesty in detailing her own transformation that makes it rewarding. --Shawn Carkonen

Customer Reviews:

Yuppy in Almost-Paradise.......2003-12-16

Author has a fluent, warm style; certainly not "journalistic" or "academic". Don't expect to learn much of value or pertinence about the historical United Society and its true uniqueness and achievment. But it is a marvelous insight into the social dynamics and culture of what purports to be an ember of the once blazing Kingdom. If the author doesn't know quite what she's looking for, neither do her hosts. God bless them all. It's a lovely read.

Quietly rivetting.......2003-01-10

I grew up within fifteen miles of the Shaker community in New Lebanon, NY and spent countless hours at the Shaker Museum and Library in Old Chatham, NY, but I realized as I read this book that I new almost nothing about the surviving modern day Shakers. This was fascinating reading--the evolution of the Shakers and the boundary spanning that goes on between the members of the sect and members of the World is thought-provoking.

I understand the author's fascination with the Shakers and her desire to see and participate in their world first-hand. I also understand her ultimate decision that the Shaker way was not a choice that she could make, but that she took important elements of that way back with her to her very contemporary life.

This is an excellent book for those who are interested in America's utopian communities and how the roots of those communites are still present in our America.

Me, Me, Me Among the Shakers.......2002-05-28

The author is one of those people who believe that the reader is as interested in her every thought as they are in the Shakers. This wouldn't be so bad if there were intellectual content to her thinking, but instead the reader is subjected to her aversion to the monastic life because she wants to learn about "art, music, dance, and wine." Leaving her family for a unique, three-week visit to the last Shaker community, the author tells us all about her guilt of leaving her children (with their father), her yearning for their little arms about her neck, and so forth.
I had to give up half-way through the book. The opening scarity of interesting information never improves.
There is no discipline to Skees' thinking nor to her reporting. She does not even mention the important doctrine of progressive revelation, which allowed each generation of Shakers to be founders of their religion. Instead we hear about her wish for a cup of coffee and other tiny musing that wouldn't interest anyone else. We are capture in the context of her self-involvement.
This author is a Harvard divinity graduate - and that demonstrates something very say about Harvard divinity studies. Her reporting of Shaker history is superficial. She seems to have no insight or compelling interest. She marshalls the obvious facts and repeats them to us.
If only someone who truly cared to understand into the soul of the Shaker religion and had written this book!

Not the best book about the Shakers.......2000-12-30

I would not classify myself as a Shaker scholar, however, I have read a variety of works about the people of today and those of yesterday. I don't think Skees' descriptions of the Shakers of today are completely accurate. I would caution folks to see that this book was more about how Shakerism might fit into her own life, almost a comparison. I didn't see this as a picture of the spirituality of the Shakers as much as it is the spirituality of Suzanne Skees.

An example of pop spirituality at its worst.......2000-12-05

This one, I'm afraid, isn't worth opening, and certainly not worth buying. Anyone who's curious about Shaker spirituality won't find much besides worn-out platitudes and Valley Girl depth here. I hasten to add that the fault lies with the author, not the Shakers.

Skees claims she went to Sabbathday Lake to search for "faith" and "stillness," but her book is screechily gossipy and ill-informed. Just two examples out of dozens: (1) She seems absolutely obsessed with Shaker celibacy, returning to it again and again throughout the book. She's equally unable to appreciate that religious celibacy is an ancient practice and unwilling to believe that Shakers and other celibates aren't as aflame with seething hormones as she describes herself. So instead of exploring the spiritual merits (or lack thereof) of celibacy, she focuses on how unnaturally bizarre it is. Her conclusion is worthy of a "People" magazine profile: she sagely decides that Shaker dancing must be a hot and heavy substitute for sex (p. 131). Presumably she would say that the ecstatic dancing of Hare Krishnas, Sufis, and Hasids is also nothing more than sexual frustration. (2) Although she's a Harvard Divinity School graduate, her innocence of traditional Christian spirituality is astounding and, cumulatively, exasperating. She gushes, for example, at the Shaker teaching that Christ is available to anyone who opens his or her heart to God, without the slightest recognition that this is a staple of Biblical teaching and subsequent centuries of mystical commentary. The upshot is that she hands the reader this spiritual gem as if it's an esoteric secret only she and the Shakers know about (p. 96). In doing so, she tends to trivialize it by wrapping it in melodrama.

Book Description

This volume presents 366 songs from the Shaker repertory. In addition, it features quotes from interviews and unpublished diaries, numerous photographs of Shaker singers and villages, reconstructions and diagrams of nearly 20 Shaker dances and marches, a checklist of 800 Shaker song manuscripts, and a survey of British antecedents of the American folk spiritual.

Shakers of St. Vincent (Profiles in Healing series)

Average customer rating:

Spectacular!!!

Shakers of St. Vincent (Profiles in Healing series)

Manufacturer: Leete'S Island Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Other Denominations & Sects | Christianity | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Shamanism | Earth-Based Religions | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

General | New Age | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Mental & Spiritual Healing | New Age | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Comparative Religion | Religious Studies | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0918172349

Book Description

A relatively unknown shamanic culture, the Shakers of the Caribbean island of St. Vincent, is illustrated through personal profiles, stories, and color photographs. A unique blend of West African spirituality and Protestant Christianity, this culture has a strong tradition of seeking personal instruction and spiritual training that is brought forth through a ritual called "mourning." The details of this ritual are examined in this book, along with personal testimonies of visionary journeys. Accompanied by an audio CD of their ecstatic gatherings and healing encounters, this book is a vibrant expression of spiritual healing and is a unique contribution to ethnographic literature.

Customer Reviews:

Spectacular!!!.......2003-09-10

This beautifully researched, written, and illustrated book with it's accompaning CD is a wonderful gift for anyone interested in the African Diasporic Religions!

The author via participant observation methodology and individual case studies (personal accounts) truly does an amazing job on outlining and further defining the concepts, beliefs, and practices of this often overlooked religious tradition! The pictures and writing are simply amazing....

This book also contains a beautifully well done Compact Disk that brings you right into the milieu of the tradition and culture of the Shakers.

Book Description

The Shaker tradition, from its origin in late eighteenth-century England to its flowering in nineteenth-century America, long has been of interest to students of sociology and American religious history. Yet, few attempts have been made to relate Shaker theology and spirituality to the mainstream of Western mystical experience. In presenting this collection of Shaker texts, Robley E. Whitson contends that Shakerism has been generally misunderstood and, consequently, undervalued as a source of useful insights into the divine-human relationship.

Here are collected the teachings of Ann Lee, Joseph Meacham, John Dunlavy, and others who walked in the Shaker Way as it unfolded over the decades. The foundational doctrines on community, celibacy, union with Christ, faith as process, and the male/female aspects of God are presented in the original writings of the movement.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent description of Shaker beliefs.......2003-10-26

"The Shakers: Two Centuries of Spiritual Reflection" is an excellent effort at understanding Shaker beliefs.

The book, from its introduction by Gertrude M. Soule, flows very well and gives good detail of the key aspects of Shaker life throughout the nineteenth century. The first writings are a testimony to how Shaker community served to give experience of the Divine to each Believer and direction to his/her life. There is an excellent description of Joseph Meacham's viewpoint of how Shakerism relates to the life of Christ, and there are several other simple but effective sources later in the book.

The next section deals with the way in which Shakers lived out their lives within the context of the Gospel and how Shaker theology was related to the ideal of Christ and Wisdom of earlier sects. Indeed, the whole chapter shows Shaker theology possessed a mystical spirit vased on the idea of the Light of God and the discernment of spirits. This areas shows how Shakers taught "to make the way of God their occupation" and how Shaker writers believed themselves illuminated by the divine Spirit.

The third chapter "Sharing The Christlife" turns the focus away from theological matters to practical Shakerism and the observation of a religious life. Here we see the character of celibate communalism that was a fundamental Shaker doctrine and how the interests of each Believer must be the interest of all. Shakers felt the Spirit led them into this order, and in the fourth chapter we see a return to theological reflection. Because Shakerism believed God to have both male and female attributes (Ann Lee was seen as the Second Coming by believers), this part focuses on the role of Christ, and simple description of the birth and life of Christ are most effective to see Shakerism's connection to the Peace Churches of the Reformation.

This part is more difficult to read than the relatively unchallenging earlier parts, but illustrates the manner by which Shakerism was effective in developing the humanity of Christ in a way rarely seen since the first millennium. There is a lengthy treatise on historical redemption that illustrates Mother Ann's historical role, and on the dual nature of the Godhead and Trinity. The last two chapters focus on the role of spiritual gifts in Shakerism that served to enhance their lives beyond rigid routine. The gift of peace, unity, and simplicity so evident in Shakerism during the nineteenth century are put out impressively throughout these parts. Written in touching mystical language, they show Shakers as people possessed of a truly joyful spirit.

Focusing on as many Shaker writers as possible, the book gives a very good understanding of who these people were and how they evolved during the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Rather than becoming incongruent, the use of many authors illustrates the communal spirit of the Shakers.

An impressive historical resource.

An Excellent Resource.......2000-12-13

This volume is an excellent introduction to the breadth of Shaker experience, the diversity of writings, and the depth of thought. Shakers are often unfairly associated with an idealized view of a lifestyle or fine furniture rather than their groundbreaking theology, vital interaction with society at large, and unprecedented ability to take themselves both lightly and seriously. This volume respects "the Believers" and kindly reveals them to ecumenically minded folks. Students who can appreciate a tradition with a fluid nature will enjoy this book.

Dominant's Encyclopedia of Movers and Shakers ; Saints, Sages and Spirituals

Average customer rating:

Dominant's Encyclopedia of Movers and Shakers ; Saints, Sages and Spirituals
Warren G. Bennice
Manufacturer: Dominant Publishers & Distributors
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 8178881926

Joy of Angels: Shaker Spirituals for Christmas and the New Year

Average customer rating:

Joy of Angels: Shaker Spirituals for Christmas and the New Year

Manufacturer: Sampler Records Ltd.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Spiral-bound
ASIN: B000GSQF2I

Love Is Little: A Sampling of Shaker Spirituals

Average customer rating:

Love Is Little: A Sampling of Shaker Spirituals

Manufacturer: World of Shaker
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 0944178014

Mel Bay An American Christmas: Shaker Tunes, Spirituals, Shape-Not Hymns, and Folk Songs

Average customer rating:

Mel Bay An American Christmas: Shaker Tunes, Spirituals, Shape-Not Hymns, and Folk Songs
Mary Lord
Manufacturer: Mel Bay Publications, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0786670584

Book Description

An American Christmas includes carols from the very rich Shaker, spiritual, shape-note and folk song traditions of the United States. They have been set as solo versions for the beginning to intermediate guitarist, who has been playing for about a year and would like to spread Christmas cheer using the guitar. The book is in standard notation as well as tablature. Chords are also included for accompaniment purposes, as are the lyrics and a CD recorded by the author. This is a collection of carols that will be appreciated by players of classical guitar and other styles as well, and that players can return to year after year as the Christmas season comes around. The collection can provide literature for guitarists who are looking for background music to play at Christmas parties, and for students playing in Christmas recitals.

Average customer rating:

Nine Shaker Spirituals
Daniel W. Patterson
Manufacturer: Shaker Museum Foundation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000NUIW6Q

NINE SHAKER SPIRITUALS, With a Brief Account of Early Shaker Song

Average customer rating:

NINE SHAKER SPIRITUALS, With a Brief Account of Early Shaker Song
Daniel W. Patterson
Manufacturer: Shaker Museum Foundation, Old Chatham
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000JJL2F4

Product Description

Preface: "In this little pamphlet the reader will find an interesting introduction to a field of folk music but little known. No pretense is made at exhaustiveness, for the field is far too wide to be encompassed in a few pages. It is, however, the hope of the Museum that many will find pleasure and profit herein, and will be encouraged to do research on their own in a field too long neglected." Songs included are: "Solemn Song", "Hymn, The Excellent Gift", "Hymn, Farewell Earthly Glory", "Dance, Square Order Shuffle", "Standing Song, O We Have Found a Lovely Vine", "Standing Song with Motions, Stubborn Oak", "Gift Song, Shepherd's Call", "Gift Song, Come Up Hither", and "Hymn, I Want to Be Like the Lily".

Book Description

Prominent CNN host and commentator Lou Dobbs unleashes his manifesto on the vanishing American dream

Through his nightly CNN show, Lou Dobbs Tonight, his syndicated radio program, and his monthly magazine column, Lou Dobbs has become one of America's most visible, popular, and respected voices on business and financial matters. Now, with War on the Middle Class, Dobbs takes an impassioned and rousing stance on the all-out class war that is turning the American dream into a nightmare.

The middle class has never been so vulnerable. Its every feature is under assault by politicians and the lobbyists who court them, big-business corporations that are sending their jobs overseas, and a media that relies on sensationalism instead of facts when reporting the news. In a sweeping analysis, Dobbs looks at every aspect of the decline of the middle class—from a lack of political representation to America's corrupt health-care system—to demonstrate how the gap between America's newest haves and have-nots is no longer merely financial, but instead includes the erosion of education, employment, government, and community. Dobbs proposes a series of measures to resolve each issue and incite people, whose future is being mortgaged to benefit a powerful few, to preserve their rights and dreams. War on the Middle Class is provocative, incendiary, and bound to be widely discussed—the perfect book to establish the terms of debate in this year's midterm elections.

Customer Reviews:

War On The Middle Class.......2007-08-23

Lou Dobbs tells straight forward how our government is misleading the American public, has taken away American jobs and with free trade has created unbalanced trade (with China). Every chapter brings on more disbelief at how our government operates.

Wake up America.......2007-07-13

This is a must read. The more people know about government the sooner they will help us to change it. The working man is getting screwed and Lou exposes are polititions for what they are!!!

Great book with good details.......2007-07-12

This is a book that outlines exactly what everyone already knows which is how the middle class is growing smaller. If you are looking for a book that she is going to try and show both sides, this is not the book. While I really liked the book, I knew what I was bying and already agreed with the idea behind the book. The book just clarified for me how America is working.

LU DUBS.......2007-06-30

Lou Dobbs in a nutshell:

1) Right-wing Conservative Republican
2) Fanatic
3) Idealogue
4) Rabble-Rouser
5) Zealot
6) Racist
7) Demagogue
8) Bigot
9) Polemicist
10) Resenter

I don't say more.

This was a wake-up call for me.......2007-06-25

This book was scarier than any Stephen King novel. I knew that Washington DC was out of touch with everyday citizens, but I was not aware of how deep pockets can make our elected representatives forget who elected them in the first place. Money really does talk, and if you don't have a lot of it, then it is unlikely the US government cares what you have to say. I have been seeing the gap widen between the rich and the poor with my own eyes as I am in the middle class but my brother is a consultant for a high profile firm on the West coast. He gets a lot of tax breaks for investments and gets to stop paying social security taxes after he hits the $90,000 mark every year. I barely have any money to save, much less invest. Read this book, and then check out Lou's show Lou Dobbs Tonight on CNN.

Average customer rating:

The Fight for Tonight
Ronald L. Smith
Manufacturer: S.P.I. Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Television | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Performing Arts | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1561712124

War on the Middle Class: How to Fight Back

Average customer rating:

War on the Middle Class: How to Fight Back
Lou Dobbs
Manufacturer: audible.com
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Download
ASIN: B000JGWCKG

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books