This is the extraordinary story of a nearly forgotten American superstar athlete. Texas girl Babe Didrikson never tried a sport too tough and never met a hurdle too high. Despite attempts to keep women from competing; Babe achieved All-American status in basketball and won gold medals in track and field at the 1932 Olympics.Then Babe attempted to conquer golf. One of the founders of the LPGA; Babe won more consecutive tournaments than any golfer in history. At the height of her fame; she was diagnosed with cancer. Babe would then take her most daring step of all: go public and try to win again with the hope of inspiring the world.A rollicking saga; stretching across the first half of the 20th century; WONDER GIRL is as fresh; heartfelt; and graceful as Babe herself.
#7111953 in Books John W Jandora 2008-06-30Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.21 x .38 x 6.14l; .75 #File Name: 0313355908128 pagesStates without Citizens Understanding the Islamic Crisis
Review
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Stateless MuslimsBy William Garrison Jr.The author is a retired U.S. Marine Corps officer who dutifully served America in Vietnam and in the Middle East (c.2005 AD?). As a fellow U.S. Army officer; I salute his duty; we've both supported the SOF at Ft. Bragg. Okay; we've got that issue out of the way. The author wrote almost a full sixty-six (66) pages to this tome. The author subtitled his book: "Understanding the Islamic Crisis." However; his book really doesn't significantly address this issue. About half the book is spent on noting how the philosophy of Locke; Hobbs; and the usual gang of `Western' philosopher suspects eventually evolved into `Western' democracy for the supremacy of the individual over the state; while the Arabs/Muslims coalesced around the right of the tribe (collective Islamist state) over the individual - basic Philosophy 101 stuff; nothing really new here. However; the author failed to significantly quote from the Quran/hadith in explaining how the teachings from those works (and from good old Ibn Khaldun) stifled the intellectual development of Muslims; besides noting generically that "they did." The author reveals once again that European countries drew the current boundaries of most Muslim countries after WWI; because Muslims who were living in tribal-communities couldn't rationalize their own - and this is why they are so poor; under-educated; undemocratic; scientifically underachieving; and thereby generally ticked off against the `West'. The author overlooks in noting that almost all of the Muslim-Arab countries have produced dictatorships rather than democratic-oriented states; just no discussion as to why. And there are so many generalizations regarding names and political movements that the novice reader won't understand them. The author opined that he hopes that some Muslims `reformers' will finally bring Islam out of its regressive state; but he acknowledges that he doesn't see that really happening any time soon. The author decries Arab `conservatives' for impeding reform; but he fails to identify them as being the Islamic religious leaders; who are going to lose their control over their alms-giving mosque attendees if intellectual reform ever occurs. The author failed to realize that one cannot understand the failure of Islam unless one understands the teachings of its originator: the prophet Mohammed (PBUH). I really don't `dislike' this book; its just that there really isn't anything really new here; or really that informative as to WHY there is no real Islamic `liberalization' occurring (hint as to why not: their theologians are logically against `bida'.)2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Difference Between the West and the Islamic WorldBy Crazy HorseDr. Jandora; a Middle East scholar; earned his BA in Government and International Relations at Georgetown University in 1969; a master's degree in Arabic and Islamic History from the University of Chicago in 1974; and a doctorate in Near Eastern History at the University of Chicago in 1981.He is the author of Militarism in Arab Society: An Historical and Bibliographical Sourcebook; Saudi Arabia: A Cultural Behavior Handbook; and The March from Medina: A Revisionist Study of Arab Conquests. A retired U.S. Marine Colonel; Dr. Jandora served in Vietnam and both Gulf wars. As an intelligence analyst working for the Special Operations Command at Fort Bragg; North Carolina; he deployed twice to Baghdad as a senior advisor in the Iraqi national security arena and also served as the senior advisor to the military and technical schools of the Saudi Arabian National Guard.His latest book; States Without Citizens; is not the usual broad brush macro view of the Middle East; but rather a relatively narrow and in-depth study of one aspect of Middle Eastern culture - citizenship - or more specifically the various reasons why many people of Middle eastern countries simply find it hard to identify with this term. Dr. Jandora begins his explanation with the evolution of the terms "freedom" and "citizen" from Classical Greek and Roman works and explains how Muslim scholars; after translating the Classical literature into Arabic; attempted to fit these Western concepts into their belief system. In most cases; the "fit" did not work very well.For example; Constitutionalism in Islamic society differs from Constitutionalism in the West; in which in the latter; "citizens adopt constitutions to define the concept and capacity of the state;" while in the Islamic world; "states adopt constitutions to define the concept and capacity of the citizen" (8).Dr. Jandora states that modernization efforts have replaced institutions but not values. This disconnect between reforms and ethics "accounts for the disconnect between achievement and aspiration: the ultimate cause of the crisis of Islamic society" (11); which one can readily see through the violent resolution of communal differences in Algeria; Sudan; Pakistan; and Indonesia; the inability to create national reconciliation in Somalia; Lebanon; Iraq; and Afghanistan; the physical attacks on freethinkers in Egypt and Iran; and various loyalties and causes that defy state borders. Among the latter; one should count the mujahideen who do not act as citizens of a state but as Muslim brothers who claim to fight for human redemption and their version of the "truth."Dr. Jandora explains the evolution and development of Humanism in the West and the impact Humanism had on various Islamic scholars; most notably Ibn Khaldun. Unfortunately; Ibn Khaldun came to the conclusion; shared today by many Muslims; that the tribe; not the state (polis) represented the nucleus of society. Ibn Khaldun and other scholars also had to deal with the very real problem that the ulema; or religious society; had already defined both what was knowable and what was worth knowing through "rational intellectual pursuit and mystical experience" (19); and all Islamic scholars agreed; lest one be called a heretic; that dogmatic theology superseded philosophy. Ibn Khaldun even established a list of forbidden subjects which included philosophy; astrology; and alchemy. These disciplines could only be studied if the scholar refuted them.Thus by the fourteenth century; with many cross-cultural contacts in and around the Mediterranean; the West was moving toward free thinking while the East was moving toward even greater dogmatism. This conservative move was; and still is; reflected in the dilemma over bid'a; or innovation; a term not used in the time of Mohammad; which leads some of today's Muslims to renounce scientific inventions to the detriment of attempts to embrace modernization and to manipulation by anti-Western ideologues.As Dr. Jandora points out; "the primacy of religious guidance marks the contemporary and enduring contrast between Islamic and Western sociopolitical thought" (32). For those of the Islamic faith; survival is the way to salvation; for through survival Muslims accomplish their historic mission of the subjugation of all mankind under a just (read Islamic) form of rule. This mission starts with the kin group; the tribe. For a Muslim; the individual interacts indirectly with the state as kinsman or brother; this relationship is communalism (group-centric); ethically one must favor others over self; right conduct comes from kin-group loyalty; and kin-group loyalty amounts to kin-group exclusiveness. To contrast with the West; an individual interacts directly with the state as a citizen; this relationship is citizenship; ethics (or right conduct) is reciprocity; the impulse to right conduct is civic virtue; and civic virtue amounts to involvement (34-35).Although numerous Islamic reformers have attempted to modernize Islamic society by adopting Western institutions and models; most have failed in large part because they attempted to replace or redefine state power as opposed to addressing civic ethics. The Islamic world has yet to embrace the ideas of civic activism or public service. The Islamic moral ethic strives for salvation while the social ethic strives for clan domination. In order to mitigate Islamic violence within the Islamic society and between that society and the West; Dr. Jandora recommends the West assist Islamic states in the creation of culturally authentic institutions that will instill a civic ethic of common cause and public service.States Without Citizens is an excellent; scholarly study of the over concepts Westerners usually assume have universal meaning; such as freedom and citizenship. Yet in addition to explaining how the societies arrived at their differing positions; Dr. Jandora makes specific recommendations for establishing civic ethics and the concept of public service in Islamic societies that are based on Islamic cultural experiences. For anyone in the diplomatic; military; business; or educational field dealing with any portion of the Islamic world; this small book will be truly invaluable2 of 3 people found the following review helpful. Not one wasted sentence.By Kindle CustomerDr. Jandora explains a problem and its solution elegantly and succinctly. His observations are without judgment. His discussion is scholarly without being long-winded or pretentious. My copy is well-highlighted.
