( HEALTH ) The Barefoot Doctor's Manual, by the Revolutionary Health Committee of Hunan Province, $6.95 in the U.S. from: Cloudburst Press of America 85 South Washington Street Seattle, WA ,98104 This amazing volume of medical information used by the "barefoot" paramedics in China was.first published a couple. of years ago by the Fogarty International Center in Maryland and distributed by (of all people) the Dept. of Health, Education and Welfare and the U.S,. Government Printing Office. It was an impressive volume, but not particularly useful to us here due to the lack of an index and any clue as to Western common names or measurements for the herbs recommended. Both of. these problems have been remedied in this new edition. (There is also an edition available now from Running Press which I have heard is not as good, although I have not seen it). Plus this has been typeset with a better layout, so it is a more compact volume (still pretty hefty though). Thanks to our friends at Cloudburst for making this amazing resource more directly valuable to us. Canadians should order the book for $7.95 from: Cloudburst Press, Ltd., Mayne Isle, BC, and it is being distriquted wholesale to booksellers by the Stephen Greene Press, Brattleboro, VT 05 301. - LdeM , ( COMMUNITY ) Tenants' Rights: A Guide for Washington • State, Barbara Isenhour, James Fearn & Steve Fredrickson, 1977, $5.95 from: University of Washington Press Seattle, WA 98195 I wish I had had this book when I was renting my first apartment (or my second, third anq fourth). It's always such a scary business. This book lays out simply and clearly what to look for in a place, what to ask about, what to sign (and not sign) when renting a place. It also tells how to deal with problems such as repairs, evictions, subletting and getting your deposit back. It's gear:ed towards Washington state, but I don't think I'd' b~ steering you wrong to say that it would be a good ,i.nd thorough resource to start out with anywhere as long as you check with a local tenants union for details on the law in your state before sticking your neck OU t. -LdeM Organizers' Clearinghouse . , The Youth Project-West Coast Office 149 9th Street San Francisco, CA 94103 415/626-5570 • One of the secrets of creating change in the world today is learning how to use people well. I am particularly bothered by the wealth of people who want to be actively involved in doing "good things" but who lack experience and/or knowledge of where and how to plug in. On the other.hand, there are plenty· of groups often actively looking for people but having no way of effectively getting , the word out abol'.lt their needs. The Organizers Clearinghouse has been set up to help solve this problem at least for young p.eople-especially those just getting out of school. They are working on setting up a service to find the most effective means of locating jobs for people interested in activist kinds of work and identifying like\y candidates for groups all over the country needing staff help. They have a monthly memo that goes out to job placement offices in schools and other interested groups (we'll be getting it). If you have a job opening, let them know. If you're looking for a job, check them out every so often-they may have something you're looking for. We all need to continue to explore ways to train new people and match up skilled (or unskilled) people with groups so we can keep on keeping on in the most joyful ways possible. -LdeM Portraits of Chinese Women in Revo- ·lution, Agnes Smedley, 1976, $3.95 • from: The Feminist Press Box 334 Old Westbury, NY 11568 As regular RAIN readers have probably noticed by now, I especially love books that shed some light on what makes people ·tick. This collection of bits and pieces from a variety of Agnes Smedley's writings struck a special chord because it deals with individual women in the context of a changing culture. . Agnes Smedley was an American brought up in a very poor family during the Depression. (If you haven't . read it, her autobiographical novel, Daughter of Earth, 1973, $3 also from the Feminist Press, is a valuable insight into that culture and time.) She-wrote and tr~veled extensively in China during the period from 1928 to 1941. The shift from traditional to modern China was particularly important for women, and the stories in this book bring that time close and make those women real.' -LdeM December 1977 RAIN Page 17 After Ninety, Imogen Cunningham, 1977, $14.95 from: University of Washington Press Seattle, WA 98195 Oh, what a joyful book this is. It is a collection ·of photographs, by Imogen Cunningham, of people who've been around on this planet for at least ninety years. Also some of .Imogen herself in an impossible Tibetan hat. Lots of twinkle and spark here. If only we all had people like this around us all the time to learn from. If only our culture weren't so damn youth oriented. Let these pictures serve as a reminder of what we miss if we let go of our spirit too soon. -LdeM Special issue on J?eath and Dying, November 1977, $1.50 from: New Age Journal 32 Station Street Brookline Village, MA 02146 But if you're ready to go-or know of someone who's going-here's a fine assortment of articles and resources on transforming the feal's and the myths. It includes another in a series of articles I've found scattered in different places by my current hero, Elizabeth KiiblcrRoss. (See also a.recent issue of The Sun, $1 from : P.O. Box 7 32, Chapel Hill, NC 27514.) She writes here more about her work with the dying and outof-body experiences. There is also an article by Raymond Moody, whose book, Life After Life ($4.95 from: Bantam Books, 666 Fifth Ave., New , York, NY 10019) documents the similarity of accounts of near-death experiences. The references listed in the issue,will lead you far and wide into this once taboo field. - LdeM
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