Written by prolific 19th-century author Gilbert Patten under his Burt L. Standish pseudonym, this mystery novel begins with Elizabeth Wiggin, the seventeen year old daughter of a judge, whose dog was wounded by a bull that suddenly went berserk.
He knew the earth experiment was still working even though the human-element component was running very much behind schedule. Tommy made a grumbling sound and slowly shook his furry head from side to side, crying, Wars, greed, jealousy, illnesses, unhappiness, dissatisfaction, obsessions for power - It s just not what I had expected! I know, but give it time. It will happen one day. The earth assignment is not as old as all the other projects we have been working upon , Eric hastily reassured. Tommy was not about to give up on the present venture and with this thought in mind, he stared with his numerous eyes into Eric s multiple eyes, and with many worrisome looks he mumbled, ..it s a nice place, shame about the human race! The above is an extract taken from the final piece of my foreword for the book Nice place, shame about the human race which attempts to create a better awareness of our everyday actions and elucidates the importance of discovering ones true identity for a better chance of living a happier, more balanced life. Mounting dissatisfactions and insecurities of our modern world, together with the general inquisitiveness of human nature to wish observe ones actions, are areas of modern life which have gained popularity over the last decade when searching for reasoning or answers to our everyday problems. Commencing at the aftermath of World War II and continuing to the present day, a journey is undertaken in trying to illustrate modern western society s increased negative attitudes and behaviour and of the importance of discovering who we really are with a view to more personal happiness. This book is an entertaining, slightly ironical check-in-the-mirror , if you like, of modern behaviour. It observes how modern society has seemingly done away with aspiring to reach higher goals and standards, and at the same time, appears to have become content with mediocrity and of aiming towards lower levels of existence. My main justifications for writing such a book were primarily based upon the search for answers as to why society in the modern western world has reached its present state of development in the constitution of which it finds itself in the present day; if it is possible to live modern life in a more balanced, friendlier frame-of-mind which would inexorably, lead to more happiness, and as an attempt to help you, the reader, into being more aware of our daily conscious and subconscious conduct towards fellow-citizens and of the ensuing consequences of those actions. We are to journey through the many different stages of modern western life as based upon our upbringing in an industrialised society; and although you may have heard some of the themes and topics many times before, I have attempted to pick out the quintessence of noting how individuals react within the confines of our various societies and communal boundaries. What type of person is Nice place, shame about the human race aimed for? Well basically, anybody who is still interested about the values of our modern society, but specifically, when amid the interference and confusion of modern society, one is searching for personal direction into discovering oneself. Emphasis has been placed upon the significance of living ones own individuality, thus being aware of who one really is, and of the importance of taking more self-responsibility for ones actions. Here is a short list of reasons compiled for those who would possibly find my work of interest. 1. If feeling a little out-of-touch with our fast-paced modern society. 2. When interested in achieving more personal awareness in everyday activities. 3. When concerned about societies present course of development. 4. When trying to understand modern societies push and shove mentality. 5. When searching for more in-depth reasoning to our lives. 6. When fee
"This is the perfect time for a modern-day Scarlet Letter--a radically empathetic book about public shaming, and about shaming as a form of social control. It has become such a big part of our lives it has begun to feel weird and empty when there isn't anyone to be furious about. Whole careers are being ruined by one mistake. A transgression is revealed. Our collective outrage at it has the force of a hurricane. Then we all quickly forget about it and move on to the next one, and it doesn't cross our minds to wonder if the shamed person is okay or in ruins. What's it doing to them? What's it doing to us?"--
This is the story of a pimp, Shame, the women he uses and abuses and how he recruited and maintained them on the street. First the street is revealed through Shame's mother, Latisa, as she works for different pimps, including a pimp/gambler who uses her to entice customers with live sex shows until they crossed organized crime. Shame has many run-ins with the law as a juvenile, but escapes detention while attending his mother's funeral. He falls in love, but is rejected when his lover finds out how old he is. As an adult, he encounters a couple of seasoned prostitutes. He convinces them to make him the kind of pimp they want. He quickly develops into a pimp like the rest of the vultures on the street. In the course of his initiation, a gangster pimp forcibly takes one of his women. Her wife-in-law attempts to rescue her. Shame moves on, recruiting young victims and learning from other pimps the ins and outs of the street. He meets a young woman and against the unwritten rules of the street falls in love. Fighting against his feelings he cons her into believing he's in trouble to get her into prostitution. When she finds out he is a pimp, she turns on him. She is kidnapped and drugged into submission. She tries to escape, but is found dead of a drug overdose. A policewoman who grew up with the drug victim conducts her own investigation. She goes undercover as a prostitute and another of Shame's women dies in a suspicious manner. She joins forces with a D.C. vice detective and they obtain enough evidence to get Shame arrested. The very dramatic trial does not turn out the way they expected and the victims of Shame decide to get their own justice.
The Widening Scope of Shame is the first collection of papers on shame to appear in a decade and contains contributions from most of the major authors currently writing on this topic. It is not a sourcebook, but a comprehensive introduction to clinical and theoretical perspectives on shame that is intended to be read cover to cover. The panoramic scope of this multidisciplinary volume is evidenced by a variety of clinically and developmentally grounded chapters; by chapters explicating the theories of Silvan Tomkins and Helen Block Lewis; and by chapters examining shame from the viewpoints of philosophy, social theory, and the study of family systems. A final section of brief chapters illuminates shame in relation to specific clinical problems and experiential contexts, including envy, attention deficit disorder, infertility, masochism, the medical setting, and religious experience. This collection will be of special interest to psychoanalytically oriented readers. It begins with a chapter charting the evolution of Freud's thinking on shame, followed by chapters providing contemporary perspectives on the role of shame in development, and the status of shame within the theory of narcissism. Of further psychoanalytic interest are two reprinted classics by Sidney Levin on shame and marital dysfunction. In both depth of clinical coverage and breadth of perspectives, The Widening Scope of Shame is unique in the shame literature. Readable, well organized, and completely up to date, it becomes essential reading for all students of this intriguing and unsettling emotion and of human development more generally.
Two influential families are embroiled in a web of deceit, leading to espionage and murder. The thriller begins in 1961 during the Cold War and centers on the newly constructed Berlin Wall, ruthlessly controlled by the ministry of state security, otherwise known as Stasi. John Groves, aided by Hans Von Klaus, seeks to rescue Hanss elder brother Dieter from the East German city of Leipzig and return him to the safety of the West. Suspected of being a dissident by Stasi, torture and imprisonment await the hapless former West German. Can Dieter be saved from the clutches of this highly effective secret police organization, or will it end in disaster?
Can a better understanding of shame lead us to see its positive contribution to human life? For many people, shame really is a destructive and health-disrupting force. Too often it cripples and silences victims of other people's shameful behavior, and research has demonstrated clearly the damaging effects of shame on our emotional wellbeing. To combat this, a mini-industry of resources and popular therapies has emerged to help people free themselves from shame. And yet, shame can contribute to a healthy emotional and moral experience. Some behavior is shameful, and sometimes we ought to be ashamed by wrongs we've committed. Eastern and Western cultures alike have long seen a social benefit to shame, and it can rightly cultivate virtues both public and personal. So what are we to make of shame? Philosopher and author Gregg Ten Elshof examines this potent emotion carefully, defining it with more clarity, distinguishing it from embarrassment and guilt, and carefully tracing the positive role shame has played historically in contributing to a well-ordered society. While casting off unhealthy shame is always a positive, For Shame demonstrates the surprising, sometimes unacknowledged ways in which healthy shame is as needed as ever. On the other side of good shame, lie virtues such as decency, self-respect, and dignity—virtues we desire but may not realize shame can grant.
A “startlingly original” novel of “recursive loops through the mind of a woman who is breaking down from not making the art she absolutely must make” (Alexander Chee, Paris Review). Alma and her family live close to the land, raising chickens and sheep. While her husband works at a nearby college, she stays home with their young children, cleans, searches for secondhand goods online, and reads books by the women writers she adores. Then, one night, she abruptly leaves it all behind—speeding through the darkness, away from their Vermont homestead, bound for New York. In a series of flashbacks, Alma reveals the circumstances and choices that led to this moment: the joys and claustrophobia of their remote life; her fears and uncertainties about motherhood; the painfully awkward faculty dinners; her feelings of loneliness and failure; and her growing fascination with Celeste, a mysterious ceramicist and self-loving doppelgänger who becomes an obsession for Alma. A fable both blistering and surreal, The Shame is a propulsive, funny, and thought-provoking debut about a woman in isolation, whose mind—fueled by capitalism, motherhood, and the search for meaningful art—attempts to betray her. A Harvard Review Favorite Book of 2020, Selected by Miciah Bay Gault