Deaf Culture Our Way

If you're hearing and you want to learn abour the REAL Deaf world, pick this book up. It's worth it. If you're Deaf and you want to chuckle and sigh as you read about things you know all-too-well, this book is a fun read. I recommend it whole-heartedly! :o)


Required for a class   October 1, 2001
 4 out of 7 found this review helpful

I gave it a three because it wasn't too bad, but I know that I wouldn't have read it if I didn't have to. I had to read this book for a class along with "Deaf in America". This one was a little more light-hearted. It had funny little stories and jokes. Deaf in America was actually about the past and more of the culture.


light reading   April 29, 2001
 8 out of 10 found this review helpful

I was very disappointed with this book. I bought it in order to get some in-depth descriptions of deaf culture. I knew it was in anecdotal form, but I thought the anecdotes would have a little more in the way of substance. Instead, I got a bunch of very light, largely uninformative and uninteresting anecdotes. What I found particularly annoying was that some anecdotes were absentmindedly repeated throughout the book. For anyone looking to get deeper insight into deaf culture, I would instead recommend "The Other Side of Silence".


An absolute classic, and deservedly so!   September 9, 2000
 11 out of 12 found this review helpful

"You get into a fight with a friend. She gets tired of fighting and locks herself in a room. You are determined to get the last word in, so you write a note and pass it under the door . . . You go to a restaurant with a friend. The first thing you do after being seated is to remove the centerpiece so that you have an unobstructed view of your friend's hands . . . Even though you have installed an elaborate cordless doorbell light system, the pizza delivery man uses the knocker on the door. You wonder why your pizza has not been delivered."

These are just three of the Holcombs' classic "anecdotes from the Deaf community." This book is the third edition, and the first on which the Holcomb sons have collaborated with their father. It includes sections on hazards of new technology, the relay system, obsolete hazards, and classic Deaf jokes. These anecdotes are so universal that I had to stop myself from filling in the end of several of the jokes in conversation.

All in all, for the hearing person who wants insights into the daily experiences of Deaf people (or, I would imagine, for the Deaf person who wants a chuckle), this book is irreplaceable.