Millions of Americans are using complementary and alternative medicine and spending billions of dollars, out-of-pocket, for it. Why? Do the therapies work? Are they safe? Are any covered by insurance? How is the medical profession responding to the growing use of therapies that were only recently thought of as quackery? These are some of the many questions asked and answered in this book. It describes a transformation in the status of alternative medicine within health care. Paving the way toward legitimacy is research currently underway and funded by the National Institutes of Health. This research is proving the safety and efficacy of certain therapies and the harm or inefficacy of others. While some therapies will remain alternative to conventional medicine, others are becoming complementary, and still others are busting the boundaries and contributing to a new approach to health and healing called integrative medicine.

They are often portrayed as outsiders: ethnic minorities, the poor, the disabled, and so many others—all living on the margins of mainstream society. Countless previous studies have focused on their pain and powerlessness, but that has done little more than sustain our preconceptions of marginalized groups. Most accounts of marginalization approach the subject from a distance and tend to overemphasize the victimization of outsiders. Taking a more intimate approach, this book reveals the personal, moral, and social implications of marginalization by drawing upon the actual experiences of such individuals. Multidisciplinary and multicultural, Identity on the Margin addresses marginalization at a variety of social levels and within many different social phenomena, going beyond familiar cases dealing with race, ethnicity, and gender to examine such outsiders as renegade children, conservative Christians, and the physically and mentally disabled. And because women are especially subject to the effects of marginalization, feminist concerns and the marginalization of sexual practices provide a common denominator for many of the essays. From problems posed by "complimentary racism" to the status of gays in Tony Blair's England, from the struggle of Native Americans to preserve their identities to the singular problems of single mothers, Identity on the Margin takes in a broad spectrum of cases to provide theoretical analysis and ethical criticism of the mechanisms of identity formation at the edges of society. In all of the cases, the authors demonstrate the need for theory that initiates social change by considering the ethical implications of marginalization and criticizing its harmful effects. Bringing together accounts of marginalization from many different disciplines and perspectives, this collection addresses a broad audience in the humanities and social sciences. It offers a basis for enhancing our understanding of this process—and for working toward meaningful social change.

This is a detailed and comprehensive account of women's participation in mainstream American politics at national, state, and local levels during the last 30 years. Hartmann traces their growing role in the political process and describes the issues around which they have mobilized--Equal Rights Amendment, the Equal Pay Act, Federal child care programs, and the appointment of women to high government posts. She notes how the black civil rights movement provided a new frame of reference for a women's movement, and discusses women's participation in the grassroots movements of the 1960s, in major women's organizations, such as the National Organization for Women and National Women's Political Caucus, and looks at women as political candidates and officeholders, and shapers of public policy. ISBN 0-394-35610-1: $29.95.

Faced with crowded markets, flat growth and growing consumer cynicism, brand marketers are looking for ways to deepen the emotional connection between their brands and customers. This book uses interviews and case studies to show how brands such as Harley-Davidson, Google, Zara clothing, and Camper shoes have outstripped the growth of their peers by igniting passion among employees and consumers alike. They are "passion brands," and they show the way forward for marketing in the 21st century. Drawing on both research and academic theory, the authors put forward a practical, systematic approach to the business of creating passion brands from existing brands. Always vivid, often contentious, Creating Passion Brands shows what really counts at the heart of branding today.

Women's leadership in Spiritualism and Christian Science / Ann Braude -- The feminism of "Universal Brotherhood," women in the Theosophical Movement / Robert Ellwood and Catherine Wessinger -- Emma Curtis Hopkins, a feminist of the 1880's and mother of new thought / J. Gordon Melton -- Myrtle Fillmore and her daughters, an observation and analysis of the role of women in Unity / Dell deChant -- Woman guru, woman roshi, the legitimation of female religious leadership in Hindu and Buddhist groups in America / Catherine Wessinger. -- Part 3. Contemporary women as creators of religion: Ritual validations of clergywomen's authority in the African American Spiritual churches of New Orleans / David C. Estes --. - Twentieth-century women's religion as seen in the feminist spirit.

Philip F. Williams has published nine books in East Asian studies, including The Great Wall of Confinement (UCal, 2004), and has been Professor of Chinese at Massey University and Arizona State University. --

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