In recent years Twayne Publishers has done a fine service for the study of social movements through a series of now twenty-five short studies. These have included such movements as the American Peace Movement, the Antinuclear Movement and the Creationist Movement. While varying in analytical content, they have provided an unusually valuable basis for describing and thinking about the variety of objects contained in the term "Social Movements." Gregg Lee Carter, Professor of Sociology at Bryant College, has added another highly useful volume to that series. Carter's emphasis is largely on two gun control organizations, Handgun Control, Inc. (HLC) and the counterorganization, the National Rifle Association (NRA). Carter also analyses some of the issues and thinking about guns in the U.S., such as their relation to violence, the impediment to gun control in the Second Amendment, and what he describes as the "myth of the frontier legacy." Carter opens with a chapter on the relation of violence to guns and finds the data research ambiguous. In concluding the chapter he poses what he calls the central question for the rest of the book: "why the gun control movement has seen so little success. Why does the United States lack strict national gun control laws?" Much of the remainder of the book attempts to answer this question by closer analysis of the two organizations: the HLC and the NRA. Carter's analysis of the Second Amendment and the alleged role of a frontier legacy convinces him that these often cited explanations have little factual basis; yet the limited victories of the gun control movement and the successful opposition of the NRA remains a problem. The question is deepened by his analysis of polls. Large majorities support control measures although their intensity and commitment may not be deep. The author emphasizes that while the public appears supportive of gun control, they did not approve of banning guns. This reluctance, as he describes it, has been a defining issue in the gun control movement. From its formation in 1974, the HLC has broken with prior organizations that had advocated banning guns. In 1977 a "palace coup" in the NRA transformed that organization from being a spokesman for hunters and rifle users. Prior to that it was unopposed to controls, a sharp contrast to its present fierce antipathy toward all such efforts. Since 1977, it has been highly successful in preventing national legislation for controls. While the HLC, on the other hand, has had some successes, such as the Brady bill, in the main it has not achieved most of its goals. Carter also reviews a number of polls concerned with the sources of gun control support and opposition. While he points to sources of financial support and lobbying activities of the NRA he has no clear analysis of why the organization has been so overwhelmingly opposed to any gun control measures, why its membership is so intense in their support and why legislators are so readily influenced by them. Perhaps there is no ready answer, but to attempt one is essential to more effective analysis. Other lobbying groups have not had intense support like that of the NRA. Perhaps the virtue of shortness is also the vice of limiting analysis. It is fate of studying ongoing movements to be overtaken by events after being written. Currently the movement is seeking its goals on local playing fields and in the courts. Nevertheless the author's historical and sociological data make it a necessary study for social movement analysis and for those concerned with the issues of guns and their control in America.

Joseph Gusfield, University of California, San Diego

Choice, February 1998, p. 1070

Carter, Gregg Lee. The Gun Control Movement. Twayne/Prentice Hall International, 1997. 166p bibl index afp ISBN 0-8057-3885-1

Carter's short book provides a useful introduction to issues related to gun control in the U.S. Among the critical questions he examines are American attitudes toward gun control and the degree to which these attitudes correspond to the agendas of key organizations such as Handgun Control Inc. and the National Rifle Association. In addition, this book explores conflicting interpretations of the Second amendment, the effect of the frontier legacy on American views of guns, and the connections among society, politics, and the gun control movement. In a very well balanced assessment, the author analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of the pro- and anticontrol arguments and the organizational capacities of Handgun Control Inc. and the NRA. The introduction includes some valuable cross-national comparisons related to gun violence and gun control. The book also contains some important demographic profiles of typical pro- and anticontrol individuals, and examines the internal contradictionswithin each camp. In sum, this is a helpful overview situated in the broader context of social movement theory.

-Peter Seybold, Indiana University-Bloomington

Book Name: Prelude to Glory v. 4 The Hand Of Providence
Author: Ron Carter
Genre: Historical Fiction
Characters:
·Eli: American, but raised Iroquois Indian. Knows the land of northern New England very well.

·Billy: Lives in Boston with a mother and a sister. A very good soldier in the Continental Army and a friend of Eli's.

Setting: all over the northern Colonies.

Problem: The Revolutionary War

Character Motivations: Shoot or be Shot

Strength of book: Lots of Revolution information. Lots of action.

Weakness of book: To much talking.

Bring on Volume five - I'm addicted. Ron Carter is by far one of the best authors I have ever read. Please hurry Ron.

When you read between the sometimes funny, often poignant lines of "Hollywoodaholic," you realize that it is actually a coming of age story. The protagonist, the wayward screenwriter Wayne Carter, through the use of letters written to his loved ones over a 20 year period, shows us how he learned and grew from the ups and downs, loves and losses of his life in the movie business. As you read his letters, you can see his progress as a writer, a man, a friend, a son, a husband, and ultimately, a father. While striving for something just out of reach, he learns over time to trust God and to trust what he has in his hands. At the end of the book, though not the end of his journey, you find that he has found peace. You may also find that while reading the book, you took his journey with him.

"Hollywoodaholic, Confessions of a Screenwriter" is the tale of one man's dream of making it in Hollywood. Recounted from a journal-like approach, "Hollywoodaholic" is an inspirational and educational vehicle for the professional and the amateur alike. While the book may be somewhat of a Hollywood career guide, the "novel" also reads like one of the author's own extraordinary blockbuster movie adventures!

I would reccommend this book for anyone in their 20's or 30's especially, anyone who has ever felt alone, anyone who has ever almost wanted their parents to catch them doing something they shouldn't - just so they could talk, and anyone who has ever asked "does God even care that I exist?"
Betty Smartt Carter has my respect and admiration for sharing so courgeously! This book deserves to be read! I wish I was rich enough to stand on a street corner and give copies away! Don't miss it.

This is a book that I would recommend to just about anyone. Not only is Betty Carter down-to-earth, she is incredibly funny! I don't normally laugh out loud while reading, but several times I found myself shaking in my chair trying to contain my laughter.

Her honest account of her own struggles proves that there is hope for all of us.

It is a good thing to serve one's country, but to be denied the chance to reenlist due to fear and ignorance is entirely another matter. SFC Edward Carter was a military man who wore his uniform and duty proudly. As a child of missionaries in India and later in China, where he first helped the Chinese with the Japanese, as well as served in the Spanish War's U.S. Abraham Lincoln Brigade, he exemplified that he was willing t fight for a country that didn't give him a full fair shake. In the closing days of WW2, he was involved in a attack of a small town,despite heavy losses from his unit and even though he was injured himself, he wouldn't leave the scene until the job was done. Although his superiors felt that he deserved the Congressional Medal of Honor, they felt at that time, that due to his color, it would be denied which was rightly so. After the war, he reenlisted and helped to establish a California National Guard base in Los Angeles, and later served at Fort Lewis, Washington, where, he was cited for being an excellent soldier. Despite of his glowing records, he was denied reenlistment and no reason was never given. He appealled constantly for years, but to no avail, and he died in 1963 without justice being served to him. In 1997, after checking on conditions of African American soldiers in WW2, he was finally honored to received the Congressional Medal of Honor. His daughter in law, Allene, who wrote this book,also started to checking into his military and other files to see why he was denied reenlistment, which ended up into a full apology by the Army and President Clinton, as well as coverage in the media. It is an excellent book and highly recommended.

Honoring Sergeant Carter uncovers an important yet esoteric chapter in American WWII history and gives balance to The Greatest Generation. You may only come across a book as fine as this once or twice in a lifetime. If your budget allows only one book - this is the one. It is "intellectually honest," informative, passionate, and if you don't have ice water running through your veins, you will feel it!

While reading I reminisced of my late father who served in very close proximity with Sergeant Carter during and after WWII. They never knew each other. My father saw Sergeant Carter after the war - how could he miss him - the sharp and deadly soldier that Carter was described to be and one of the very few African Americans holding the Distinguished Service Cross. My father understood all too well what happened to many good men during this era. I look back on living in Germany as a youngster during the Cold War with my avid interest in WWII. I explored bunkers and shopped flea markets searching for relics. Most had the dreaded swastika on it. My father observed my hobby and explained to me in great detail how it was dangerous and in bad taste, but I could keep the collection. He then told me in no uncertain terms: "If you come across anything with a Communist marking on it ......etc, etc, DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME SON!!!" I shook my head yes - I was speechless. Honoring Sergeant Carter provided clearer understanding of why I couldn't speak that day.

Sergeant First Class Edward A. Carter, Jr., affectionately known as Eddie, was one of the seven African American soldiers honored at the White House with the Medal of Honor. This long overdue tribute (over 50 years) took place on January 13, 1997. When you read Eddie's story - that is backed with strong research and solid documentation - you will see how fact (in this situation) is stranger than fiction.

A must read for WWII historians and buffs who are sincerely interested in balancing their understanding of WWII. Honoring Sergeant Carter is a great companion book that will complement Tom Brokaw's The Greatest Generation.

A workshop guided by a master painter of portraits. Robert Carter Clark sets out here to teach you thoroughly from her professional experience, without cutting corners or resorting to caricature. Fully one-half of this fine book is given to draftsmanship. She begins with proportions of the head (male, female & infant) in Chapter One, then moves on to drawing features -- with special attention given to the windows of the soul, the eyes. Chapter Three is dedicated to drawing the body. In Chapter Four, Ms. Clark presents the difficult skill of capturing fabric folds. Chapter Five covers lighting for four different views. Charcoal portraiture comes next, then using color, stepping through hue, value, intensity, & flesh & hair tones.

Finally, she devotes chapters to painting portraits from life in oils & in watercolors. Oil techniques include wet-into-wet, monotone, & glazing.

"How to Paint Living Portraits" is a standout, user-friendly instructional book within a genre glutted with volumes that can be too light or too dense, or promise too much, too quickly. Roberta Carter Clark cooked this one right. She's an excellent teacher.

Bob Rixon, Pearl Art & Crafts

Great for anyone that has some experience in painting but is just beginning portraits. Detailed step-by-step instructions work you through the process. Lots of illistrations and color pictures.

Eddie Murphy meets Alan Dershowitz and the result is funny, insightful, and informative. In Sean Carter's writing I found that all too elusive alchemy--a work that is so funny and entertaining, you don't realize how much you're learning. I certainly wish this book was available when I was in law school. The book provides a solid basis for lay people and a refresher course for lawyers who took the Bar Exam more than three weeks ago. The genius of Mr. Carter's book is his use of comical and off-the-wall examples from the headlines to explain the law. Unlike the dry, bland, moribund classical examples of law school (with names like Greenacre, Mr. A, Mrs. B...), Mr. Carter fills his examples with identifiable people and places--O.J., Pamela Anderson, George W. Bush, etc. I hope he has a good attorney to represent him when the defamation suits start.

...

I highly recommend this clever opus.

...of hurting my sides at all the great jokes in his book!

This book is an easy-to-use and fun-to-use guide on the law. It doesn't cover everything, but it's not supposed to. But what it does cover is well-written and entertaining, something that's tough to do with any law book.

Both my one-year-old son and husband love this book! The pop-up characters are very clever and colorful. We received the book as a gift and have now given it as a gift twice.

I'm a speech pathologist and work mostly with the 1-3 year old age group, and they ADORE this book. I've worn out one version, and am getting a second one. Several autistic and severely language delayed children have spoken their first words with this book! It takes a beating, but is well worth it.

I have been coming back and back to "Illuminations" for many months. There is a surpassing beauty to the images and in the uncomprimising way in which they have been selected and printed. The text adds a useful dimension, including the "illuminating" foreward by the curator of the Getty Museum, who has spotted an obvious (so far relatively undiscovered)future major figure in photography.

Through the medium of photography, Carter renders the human form in breathtaking detail, capturing the inner soul of people by avoiding salacious or prurient poses. His mastery of his craft is reflected on every page of artful beauty. Each image challenges his audience to search further into the depths of mankind. A remarkable job. Thank you, Mr. Carter