Rhythm Games for Perception and Cognition (Revised Edition)

Book Description

When Margaret Tobin Brown arrived in New York City shortly after her perilous night in Titanic's Lifeboat Six, a legend was born. Through magazines, books, a Broadway musical, and a Hollywood movie, she became "The Unsinkable Molly Brown," but in the process her life story was distorted beyond recognition. Even her name was changed—she was never known as Molly during her lifetime. Kristen Iversen's "Molly Brown: Unraveling the Myth" is the first full-length biography of this American icon, and the story it tells is of a passionate and outspoken crusader for the rights of women, children, mine workers, and others struggling for their voice in the early twentieth century. In the end, the real "Molly" Brown was far more fascinating than her myth, and Kristen Iversen has captured her in all her brilliance.

Customer Reviews:

Formidable Research, Page-turning Prose.......2006-06-14

This book reads like a good novel, but is footnoted at every turn. It has an astonishingly large bibliography for a character in history who was relatively unknown -- even by her own family -- before this book was written. I loved the structure of the book, and the way she placed the body of it between two creatively written accounts of Margaret's adventures on the Titanic and after. I literally could not put it down and became engrossed in the story of this courageous and astounding woman. Anyone interested in the lives of women at the turn of the century, and/or in the history of the Denver region should take the time to read this book.

Mrs. J.J. Brown in no way resembles the myths that sprung up around her, and Iversen does a good job of replacing those myths with a real human being. However, I did find myself reading certain parts of the book and asking if she didn't take her debunking a bit too far in the opposite direction. Would a conventional Edwardian society woman jokingly invite her butcher into her bathroom while in the tub? Read carefully, and you will find that Mrs. Brown thoroughly enjoyed mythologizing herself. She was a tale-spinner and public actress as much as she was an altruist and heroine. That is my only caveat about this book. Although accurate, it de-emphasizes her idiosyncrasies and therefore doesn't seem to give a full characterization.

It's a fantastically GOOD book! Well-written and exhaustingly researched! I can't imagine anyone complaining that there's filler in it. Meatloaf? It's unusual to see so much proof for information even in a biography. I am not surprised that her descendants love it.

Another relation........2005-11-01

I enjoyed this accurate and well researched biography. About 10 years ago, I found out that my great grandmother, Mary Landrigan, was Margaret's half-sister. For years, we attended Mary's and John Landrigan's grave in Montello, Nevada. It was a pleasure to learn more the Landrigans and of course Margaret Brown about the family.

Family Members' Review.......2004-03-03

Ok folks, let's get down to it. I've not left a review before because I thought it might sound as though I was being overly supportive with a bias. Well,I am overly supportive and I do have a bias. I am one of Margaret Browns great granddaughters.
I can't tell you how thrilled we were when Kristen got in touch with us and asked if we would speak with her. It was so exciting to know that someone was going to tell the truth about Margaret! I must tell you that the other material that was out there before Kristen wrote her book was astonishing. There was Timberline. Although it was entertaining, Mr. Fowler had my great grandmother
being raised on the milk of a nanny goat by a drunken Irishman named Shamus. This was due to the "fact" that Molly's mother had died from a broken heart when Molly was but six months old because she had birthed such an unnatural child!
We then have an incredible book by Carolyn Bancroft. She painted Margaret as a crude, brash, foul mouthed, illiterate, baffoon.
I must say however, in defense of Mrs. Bancroft, she grew up hearing simply terrible tales about my family. It is my understanding that her father and my great grandfather were bitter enimies ( family stories have J.J. Brown physically kicking Mr. Bancroft down his office steps...ouch!).
What I would like to tell you is this. From a member of the family, if you want to read a book that had the truth about Margaret Brown ... this is it! It also has some amazing pictures that had never been seen by the public prior to the release of this book. My favorite is Margaret and my grandmother atop camels just before Margaret left to sail on Titanic. Perfectly horrid hats but what a hoot!
I really hope that you enjoy this book. Margaret would have loved it!

MEATLOAF!!.......2002-12-05

When I was a kid, if my mother didn't have enough meat to go around, she would mix it with filler and serve us meatloaf. That's exactly what Dr. Iverson has done with this book. Though heralded as filet mignon for the extrordinary ability of the author to access documents that haven't been seen in decades, little is discovered in this book that isn't found elsewhere, unless you are interested in repetitive information about Margaret Brown's fashion statements or the lives of her friends. I wanted more substance on her suffragette contributions and what EXACTLY did she do for Juvenile Justice Reform, other than being a friend of a person who was the force behind the change? I read the book, with my 16-year old neice, who was writing a report on this legendary figure. Other than an opportunity to give us another source in the bibliography, we skipped most pages since they had nothing to do with the a woman who supposedly changed the course of women for equality, workers with improved rights, and wayward children. Sure, it gave us glimpses, but like her plunging necklines, it was only a peek and not enough of that to tell us the whole story. In addition, the chapters were not set up chronologically, so it was difficult to determine what forces or events in her life may have impacted her actions.
Want to know about turn of the last century hemlines? Read this book. Want to find out about Margaret Brown, read the shorter books that are out there.

WONDERFUL!.......2001-06-14

It was refreshing to finally read a book that contains the FACTS of Margaret Brown. Kristen Iversen does a wonderful job in her research with the Brown family and the forward is written by Muffet Brown (Margaret's great grand daughter). This book is a true celebration of women. It covers so much of her life and the important role she played in womens sufferage. Margaret was truly a remarkable, kind, and generous woman, far beyond her time. Talk about a MODERN woman! She traveled ALONE around the world without her husband, something that was UNHEARD of in the early 20th century. I coulnd't put this book down! If you are interested in the Titanic, the history of remarkable women and Newport, New York and Denver society - read this book. Margaret was a well respected and well regarded woman who WAS Denver society. Forget any of the trash you have read about this woman being a foul mouthed, tacky, Denver soceity wannabe....this books contains only the facts of what Margeret was, is and why all the myths of her live on...... Truly a fascinating woman!

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A must have for people interested in the Titanic.
The most intelligent explanation for the disaster

Titanic: Sinking the Myths
D. E. Bristow
Manufacturer: Katco Literary Group
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0964648407

Product Description

t was ten minutes past midnight, April 15, 1912. The giant new luxury liner TITANIC lay dead in the water. Half an hour earlier, her watch officer had spotted a growler in her track and taken evasive action. TITANIC had struck a glancing blow on her starboard bow---a collision that should not have been fatal. Many ships had limped into port after such a collision with ice. But TITANIC's life depended upon one transverse, watertight bulkhead, and it had been damaged by a fire in an adjacent coal bunker. Her designer, aboard to check her maiden voyage performance inspected that bulkhead. His prediction was grim, as he projected it to last a mere hour, if that. On the bridge of a nearby ship the master stared through his night glasses at faint white, flashes on the horizon. His wireless operator had caught the White Star Liner's call for help only minutes earlier. The master had given orders to prepare to aid the British ship. But what aid might she need? She had sent no internationally recognized distress signal, by wireless or by rocket. He ordered his wireless operator to contact TITANIC and ask again what help was needed. In moments, the operator arrived breathless on the bridge. "He says we are fools." D.E. Bristow's book plunges the reader back into 1912 to discover how a massive cover-up at the TITANIC inquiries hid the truth about the accident from the public. Conclusions, which originated with the natural necessity to protect TITANIC's owners from financial loss, have been perpetuated without regard for the facts by those who know nothing of the sea or ships. The real scandal of TITANIC lies not with the original cover-up, but with the perpetuation of it in the decades of misguided theorizing when the facts were known in 1912.

Customer Reviews:

A must have for people interested in the Titanic........1999-06-08

This is not your run of the mill book about the Titanic. It offers new insights as to why the ship sank so quickly and why ships close by did not go to the the aid of the sinking Titanic. Excellent research and documentation. Every Titanic buff must get this book. I have read over 14 books on the Titanic and this is one of the top two or three.

The most intelligent explanation for the disaster.......1997-11-01

Throw away all your other Titanic theory books. TITANIC: SINKING THE MYTHS is the only book I have ever read on the subject that actually explains why people behaved the way they did before and during the TITANIC disaster. Sorry, there are no 'conspiracies' here; Ms. Bristow, an ex-stewardess and friend of many sea captains, enumerates the instances of arrogance, stupidity, and shortsightedness that led to the unnecessary loss of 1522 lives. For the fact is, everyone on the ship could have been saved. By looking at the people's behaviour IN THE CONTEXT OF THEIR TIME Ms. Brisow explains what seem (to a 1990's reader) inexplicable actions. A long-forgotten shipwreck (to us, but not to the particpants in the TITANIC drama) influenced the behaviour of the radio men and probably of the ship's owner, Bruce Ismay, during the disaster. The famous Mystery Ships (two of them) were never a mystery at all; their names come straight from the records of the British Inquiry into the disaster and have been 'hid in plain sight' for 85 years. Ms. Bristow's analysis of company policy for steamships of that era and of the skulduggery behind the formation of the Marconi Company (one of the VILLAINS of the piece!) make fascinating reading. Her arguments are extremely convincing. The author's weaknesses include a tendency to repeat herself, and a noticeable resentment toward the "Titanic Establishment", whatever that is; they apparently don't countenance her arguments in any way. Still, they make sense, which is more than some other TITANIC-theory books do. The causes of the disaster are firmly rooted in the customs and historical trends of the time. Sadly, these influences are not unique to that period and the reader of this book will certainly be able to recognize more modern examples of petrified bureauocracy and inefficient planning. They say that generals are always preparing for the last war. TITANIC: SINKING THE MYTHS proves that you cannot plan for the last shipwreck.

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Popular Misconceptions Become Myths and Soothe Us
Psychobabble

The Myth of the Titanic
Richard Howells
Manufacturer: Palgrave Macmillan
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Book Description

The first critical analysis of the Titanic as a modern myth, this book focuses on the second of the two Titanics. The first was the physical Titanic, the rusting remains of which can still be found twelve thousand feet below the north Atlantic. The second is the mythical Titanic which emerged just as its tangible predecessor slipped from view on April 15, 1912. It is the second of the two Titanics which remains the more interesting and which continues to carry cultural resonances today. The Myth of the Titanic begins with the launching of the "unsinkable ship" and ends with the outbreak of the "war to end all wars." It provides an insight into the particular culture of late-Edwardian Britain and beyond this draws far greater conclusions about the complex relationship between myth, history, popular culture and society as a whole.

Customer Reviews:

Popular Misconceptions Become Myths and Soothe Us.......2000-07-02

I have always wondered why the Titanic tragedy has had such a profound grip on our minds and our imaginations. This fascinating book looks at the myths that have grown up around the Titanic, and interprets why these myths appeal to us. I found it to be a very profound insight into psychological benefits potentially provided the many misconceptions that stall our progress every day. To understand why we look at the myth rather than the opportunity is to learn how to be a stallbuster who can go on to achieve great things.

Howells found six parallels between the Titanic myths and those located in preliterate myths of various peoples. First, realistic detail is used to establish credibility for the fantastic parts of the story. Second, myths create an idealized version of the world that people would like to aspire to. Third, myths express truths about the societies (rather than the events) that create and believe the myths. Fourth, myths are an attempt to meet society's needs by expressing ideas that would be helpful if followed. Fifth, myths express the entire culture rather than just the thinking of a single author. Sixth, myths are a way of creating meaning out of an event that seems overwhelming otherwise.

Howell explores in depth the later writings about many of the mythical events of the Titanic. In these he finds many expressions of English Edwardian ideals of masculinity and social class. Further, parts of the myth express a desire to draw a lesson from the experience -- that of hubris (excessive pride) causing a fall. The parallels to Paradise Lost and the myth of Prometheus are immediately invoked.

The book is very well organized and clearly written. The introduction is a good overview of the book. The first chapter provides an accurate summary of what really happened on the Titanic. The second chapter explores the significance of myths and the Titanic. Chapters three through seven look at particular myths (Women and Children First! -- but some men escaped the disaster as well; Be British -- holding up the nation as an example to all; We Shall Die Like Gentlemen -- a reference to class even though a high percent of the upper class people survived; 'Nearer My God, to Thee' being played by the band -- a conflict between spiritual and secular values; and The Unsinkable Ship -- which should have been applied to Olympic, Titanic's predecessor). The conclusion makes a interesting parallel between the words used by President Reagan after the Challenger shuttle disaster and the little reported words of a duchess in unveiling a statue of the Titanic's captain in 1914. This comparison shows the fundamental needs that myth serves in a very profound way.

This book would be a good one to share with someone else (or even for a book club) and then to discuss in terms of how myths help and hurt us. Then you could discuss places where contemporary myths should be challenged. This will be a great stallbusting adventure for you!

Donald Mitchell

Coauthor of The Irresistible Growth Enterprise and The 2,000 Percent Solution

(donmitch@fastforward400.com)

Psychobabble.......2000-03-30

Mr. Howells exams enduring myths which developed during the two years following the 1912 sinking of the Titanic. He follows "the metodological tradition of authroities such as John Grierson and Clifoord Geertz, supported by thinkers such as Hegel an Kant" in taking a case study approach to the unsinkable nature of the ship, the concept of women and children first, of being british and dying as gentelemen. For the student of the Titanic disaster, the book does not reveal any new facts, simply it seesk to assign psychoanaytical concepts.

TITANIC LEGACY: Disaster as Media Event and Myth

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TITANIC LEGACY: Disaster as Media Event and Myth
Paul Heyer
Manufacturer: Praeger Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0275953521

Book Description

This is the first book to deal exclusively with the influence and meaning of what media historian Paul Heyer calls "our century's first collective nightmare." Using contemporary as well as archival sources, he explores a series of intriguing questions: Why has the TITANIC disaster affected the way we think about ourselves and our technology? How has the media made it into a morality play of mythic dimensions? What impact has that story had on the development of 20th-century communications? This timely and compelling book pays homage to the TITANIC's fateful voyage by attempting to explain not why she struck an iceberg on a cold April night in 1912, but what is surely her greatest enigma: the hold the event still has over us. Heyer assesses the impact of the TITANIC disaster on the 20th century by exploring the relationship between the event and a variety of media from 1912 to the present. The role of the media in the disaster begins with the TITANIC's distress call. Only a partial success, it resulted in a concerted plea for more wireless regulation. Subsequent newspaper coverage called the sinking "the story of the century." The mad scramble for information led to the use of every possible journalistic technique, ethical or otherwise. In his analysis, Heyer puts particular emphasis on the New York Times, which became the paper of record and achieved international prominence for its accurate and sometimes controversial reporting. As soon as press coverage subsided, the TITANIC tragedy resurfaced in literature and film. It has gone on to become one of the most enduring myths in 20th century popular culture. Heyer examines this phenomenon, and shows us how and why, following the discovery of the wreck (1985) and the Challenger disaster (1986), our obsession with the TITANIC has been greater than at any other time since 1912. This is a unique and provocative book that will appeal to readers interested in popular history, media studies, and American studies.

The Titanic in Myth and Memory: Representations in Visual and Literary Culture

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The Titanic in Myth and Memory: Representations in Visual and Literary Culture
Tim Bergfelder , and Sarah Street
Manufacturer: I. B. Tauris
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

History & Criticism | Movies | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 185043431X
Release Date: 2004-11-04

Book Description

Since its doomed maiden voyage in April 1912, the Titanic has become a monumental icon of the twentieth century and has inspired a wealth of interpretations across literature, art and media. This book is the first to present a fully comprehensive discussion of the diverse representations of the Titanic disaster in cinema, history, literature and art. The distinguished contributors draw out the connections as well as the differences in the way generations of artists and audiences have approached and used the tragedy and present an in-depth examination of its most recent interpretation, James Cameron's blockbuster film Titanic. The book is both a valuable comparative text for media studies courses and a good read for the broad Titanic market.

A Titanic Myth: The Californian Incident

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A Titanic Myth: The Californian Incident
Leslie Harrison
Manufacturer: S.P.A.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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MYTH OF THE TITANIC
RICHARD PARTON HOWELLS
Manufacturer: Palgrave Macmillan
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OTDO7I

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Titanic in Myth and Memory
Tim Bergfelder
Manufacturer: TAURIS I B
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000K3L8CG

Download Description

This comprehensive guide catalogs and explains the full range of the security challenges involved in wireless communications. Experts Randall K. Nichols and Panos C. Lekkas lay out the vulnerabilities, response options, and real-world costs connected with wireless platforms and applications.

Customer Reviews:

An Excellent Choice for the Professional.......2004-01-08

I really enjoyed reading this book. It gave a lot of sight on Wireless Security and gave a lot of useful information. Some of the chapters are long, but don't let that discourage you from purchasing the book. I found the last two chapters really challenging and difficult. Lan experience will help you get through the book. Some of the wireless solutions are easy to understand, and some of the wireless solutions are difficult. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn or write a paper on wireless security.

A very good book!.......2003-09-06

I liked this book for its wide and solid coverage of many things that could be tackled from many different angles. I have discussed its content with many colleagues and customers who read it and they all had the same positive feedback about it. Mind you this is an area that is rapidly moving forward, a couple of chapters could use a 2nd edition in the near future, especially regarding the newest standards, nevertheless this book covers a lot of material and very well!

I decided to write this note, because I was surprised and even taken aback by the irrelevance and unfairness of the comments from a previous reviewer (Aug.'03) purportedly from Australia, regarding the satellite security chapter.

The book does not make any sweeping pronouncements on commercial non-US satellite technologies like that reviewer claims, although no one denies that the reviewer's commercial example may very well turn out to be true or not true. So what? The satellite chapter of the book is clearly written from the US policy point of view (whether you like it or not, is actually irrelevant), which at the time the book was being written (a couple of years ago), presented specific and significant export hurdles. In fact the very same chapter the reviewer has a hard time with, actually discusses the use of the RPK-encryption algorithm (a New Zealand invention) in high-end satellite products of Communicado Data Ltd (a UK company). How can that same reviewer dare say that the chapter states "there is no encryption in commercial satellite systems" and that there is no mention of foreign products? Is he reading selectively what he criticizes? Or maybe he wishfuly infers it from what he projects that is written between the lines? Or maybe he does not understand what he is reading. Most probably he did spend too much time looking desperately for something bad to say about the book. This does not lend much credibility to his review. He comes across as a man with ....an ax to grind.....

Even if one takes at face value the reviewer's comment, namely that the authors allegedly did not have much knowledge on the subject, a far-fetched inference given their background, the named contributors, who have been working for the super-secret NRO, the US DOD, and the intelligence community should. I am sure that the satellite chapter would have never seen the light of the day if these people had not vetted what is being said in there. The Australian reviewer comes across as sharply biased and unfair, and most definitely with an ill-intentioned agenda against this book or its authors.

Even if the authors were at fault for such a little commercial detail, in my mind it would not constitute enough ground to even come close to raising doubts about the technical validity of the rest of the content. In fact I am amazed that Mr.Owen berates such a book that comes along with truly numerous references to go and check things out by yourself, with an impressive list of contributors, and above all with a very large number of happy and satisfied readers, as I am hearing it has become a technical best-seller, and rightfully so.

Did all these people miserably miss the point, when only Mr.Owen "down under" didn't? I seriously doubt it!!

Incorrect Chapter on satellites.......2003-08-12

Although on first reading the book appears to give a comprehensive introduction to wireless security. When I started to study the section on satellite security, two things became obvious. Firstly that the authors had little information on satellite security and they tried to fill out a chapter with more general information. More seriously though, the information they gave on satellite security is incorrect and, contrary to the book, encryption is widely used in commercial satellite systems. The book states that encryption is not used on any commercial satellite system. The Thuraya satellite system that covers the Middle East and Europe, for example, uses standard GSM encryption algorithms. Commercial satellites may not use encryption algorithms that have been blocked for export by the US Government, but that is quite different from not offering any encryption at all. As a result of this serious error, the validity of all the information in the book is now open to doubt.

Robert Owen

Wireless Security.......2003-04-13

Wow, this book covers so much material with such depth, accuracy and clarity. It aided me tremendously in my thesis at the university. Therefore, I must graciously thank the authors for the truly amazing work which they have done with this book. I recommend it to all students focusing on wireless security and its future potentials .

Wireless Security.......2003-04-13

I was recommended to read this book by my class mate and I am stunned at its depth and quality. It gave me so much detail in my studies of wireless security that I needed for my university thesis. I am pleased that there is literature out there that will put down all the facts without any "fluff." I must truly congratulate the authors for their work. I highly, highly recommend this to anybody with a thirst wireless security. I would give it more than a 5 if I could. I am also looking forward to reading Mr. Lekkas' upcoming book.

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