Serendip is an independent site partnering with faculty at multiple colleges and universities around the world. Happy exploring!
Collectivism As a Cause for Suicide
I came across an online book on Tripod entitled Suicide Bombers: The Psychological, Religious and Other Imperatives compiled by Mary Sharp. The book has an article in it by Ofed Grosbar called "The Drama of the Suicide Terrorist," which reads:

Anat Berko: As Bruce Bennett said, "All clients' needs and expectations are vastly different"
I found The Path to Paradise to be one of the best books that I have read in a long time. The language used and the writing style made for a read easy on the eyes, although the complexity of the ideas, history, and emotion forced me to take my time with each paragraph. I loved the conversational style mixed in with Berko's own experiences and interpretations, and the combination of the historical and cultural details along with the personal depth that Berko gained in her interviews compelled me to keep reading. Reading The Path to Paradise, I thought that Berko essentially spelled out who she is to us: she is a Jew from Israel who spent hundreds and hundreds of hours interviewing suicide bombers and their dispatchers.

Notes from Class 11/9/10
NOVEMBER 9, 2010
Reading excerpts for the next few weeks, read online from Google Books (about 100 pages per class) except for Coles which we will read in its entirety
Online Reading: hyper reading / screen-based…NOT close reading, but distant! Hayles suggests that close reading is not the only kind of reading and there is a lot we can do with “machine reading.” Argues that machines can read!
Anne’s online paper comments are up! Read around and check out our linkings. Anne gives an overview of paper’s topics (many dictionary works, and very few documentaries covered)
Third 4 pg paper is due on Dec. 3 and final 12 pg paper due on Dec 17! Talk with Anne individually before final due on the 17th.

Washington Times Review of Path to Paradise
I was curious to see what the reviews of Path to Paradise were like so I searched a little bit online to find some. Most of the reviews I found were very positive (because most of the ones I found were on sites trying to endorse sale of the book) but one I found particularly interesting was a Washington Times review:




