land_time_forgot_rs_0808_librivox_64kb_mp3.zip

We begin with a bit of wartime sea action. Us versus the Germans sort of thing, as a desperate group of men take over a German submarine.

It is just the thing they need to get to a Lost Island via an underwater passage and establish a base called Fort Dinosaur! Those left are forced to work together, whether German or not.

The whole island appears to almost be an evolutionary experiment, so there are clashes with beast men, and other sorts of clashes with some of the more advanced local girls.

This is a great ERB trilogy, so it gets 5 stars in my estimation. The movie cover is from the 1975 Doubleday edition. There is NO 1946 Doubleday edition. This mistake was simply from a misreading of the copyright page, which often occurs with Burroughs’ editions. If you are a old collector, you have already purchased Robert B. Zeuschner’s “Edgar Rice Burroughs: The Exhaustive Scholar’s and Collector’s Descriptive Bibliogrpahy.” If you are a beginning collector, buy the Zeuschner!

The Cold War: A New History by John Lewis Gaddis

“… Á T H L COLD WAR citizens of the United States could plausibly claim, in 1945, …”

This audiobook is a masterpiece! It is concise and easy-to-read, yet authoritative. Yale professor John Lewis Gaddis has been a distinguished scholar of the Cold War for decades, and this book received great reviews from George Shultz, Henry Kissinger, Brent Scowcroft, and experts on the former USSR, such as William Taubman (Pulitzer Prize author of “Khrushchev”) and Anne Applebaum (Pulitzer Prize author of “Gulag”). I highly recommend it!

Gaddis correctly begins the story of the Cold War during World War Two, and even before. The Allies kept their alliance together long enough to destroy Hitler, but USA and USSR emerged from WWII as superpower rivals. The Cold War was inevitable. Stalin wanted big gains from WWII because of the tremendous sacrifices that USSR suffered. He first wanted a buffer zone in Eastern Europe, and then he wanted Communist influence around the world. In contrast, Roosevelt wanted security and a better world - not selfish gains. FDR and Churchill issued their war aims through the Atlantic Charter: Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Worship, Freedom from Fear, Freedom from Want, the right to self-determination, etc. (The Russian generals, by the way, allowed their soldiers to rape 2 million German women).

Stalin distrusted USA and Britain because he suspected that Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill repeatedly postponed a second-front so that the Soviets would suffer maximum casualties fighting Nazi Germany. 20 million Soviets died in WWII, while 400,000 Americans died. In return, USA and Britain were distrustful of USSR. As FDR said two weeks before he died, “Stalin has broken every one of the promises he made at Yalta!”

USSR was founded on authoritarianism and hatred towards capitalism. In contrast, America was founded on the principle of restrained government and the individual’s right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Conflict between the two superpowers was inevitable, but nuclear weapons now existed and could annihilate the world. WWII had killed 55 million people. Could World War Three be avoided?

FDR tried to put in place a post-war system of international relations, such as the UN, to prevent WWIII. After FDR’s death, Eleanor Roosevelt worked to achieve the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Leading up to WWII, FDR had tactfully pulled America from isolationism to destroy Hitler. Would America stay engaged in world affairs as FDR had planned or slip back into isolationism? Would Stalin get what he wanted?

Stalin had the advantage in the early years of the Cold War, but he blundered. USSR had massive armies in Eastern Europe, and Communism was popular in parts of Europe. (Stalin’s mass murders were not yet known). Stalin calculated that capitalism would falter as it had during the Great Depression, that capitalist countries would squabble with greed, and that Communists would then legally gain power through elections.

Stalin dominated Poland by refusing to allow free elections as promised in writing at Yalta. Harry Truman gave a “tongue lashing” to USSR foreign minister Molotov to honor the promise, but nothing could be done. (Read David McCullough’s Pulitzer Prize-winning “Truman”). The much larger Soviet armies were initially checked by America’s monopoly on the bomb, but then the Soviets tested their own atomic bomb. That’s when George Kennan and George Marshall devised the strategy called containment. To win-over the Europeans, the Americans launched the Marshall Plan, which offered massive aid to ANY country that wanted it.

Stalin’s response to the Marshall Plan was a diplomatic disaster for USSR. He refused Marshall Plan aid to Eastern European countries, and then he blockaded Berlin. This appeared to be a setback for USA, but it actually reduced Stalin’s influence. Stalin himself brought down the Iron Curtain. Truman then proclaimed his Truman Doctrine and formed the NATO alliance.

One president who is often overlooked, but receives recognition in this book, is Dwight Eisenhower. Eisenhower rejected the idea that nuclear weapons could be used in limited combat, setting an important precedent to never use them. He understood the panic of combat and that an escalating nuclear response would result. According to Eisenhower’s official biographer, Stephen Ambrose, Eisenhower was pressured to launch a first strike against USSR “many times - at least four times” but he would not do it. (Read “American Heritage Great Minds of History: Interviews by Roger Mudd,” available at Amazon.com).

After the Soviets ruthlessly crushed the rebellions in Eastern Europe, killing tens of thousands, Eisenhower refused to help because he believed that a direct clash with USSR could destroy the world. His credentials as Supreme Allied Commander during WWII allowed him to pull this off as nobody else could. (In contrast, Lyndon Johnson felt he could not avoid Vietnam). Eisenhower instead emphasized the importance of avoiding a hot war and talked about the brutal concept of total war.

The Kennedy administration devised the strategy called MAD - mutually assured destruction. John Kennedy then gave his legendary “I am a Berliner” speech after the Soviets built the Berlin Wall, and he skillfully handled the Cuban Missile Crisis.

After the Watergate scandal, America’s Cold War policies came under scrutiny. Containment required making alliances with brutal regimes, such as the Shaw of Iran. The CIA occasionally used controversial tactics, such as the Eisenhower administration overthrowing the democratic (but socialist) government of Guatemala, the Nixon administration undermining the democracy of Chile (inadvertently bringing the tyrant Pinochet to power), and the Reagan administration supporting the El Salvador regime that utilized death squads. Detente also was scrutinized.

According to Gaddis, the 1975 Helsinki accord was a landmark event: “Brezhnev and the Kremlin leadership proposed a `conference on security and cooperation in Europe’ …[which] would require the United States and its allies to state publicly and in writing that they accepted the postwar division of Europe. The Kremlin leader was almost capitalist in the importance he attached to this contractual obligation, which he believed would discourage future `Prague springs’… and he was willing to make extraordinary concessions to get this commitment… most surprisingly, recognizing `the universal significance of human rights and fundamental freedoms… in conformance with the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations and with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.’

“…Liberals and conservatives alike denounced [the Helsinki accord]… Pursuing detente was hardly worth it if it meant perpetuating injustice by recognizing Soviet control in Eastern Europe… These episodes made Helsinki a liability to [Gerald] Ford during the 1976 presidential campaign… Helsinki’s effects inside the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, however, were equally unexpected, and far more significant. Brezhnev had looked forward, Dobrynin recalls, to the `publicity he would gain… when the Soviet public learned of the final settlement of the postwar boundaries for which they had sacrificed so much’… [Instead,] `it gradually became a manifesto of the dissident and liberal movement’… Brezhnev could hardly repudiate what he had agreed to… human rights… What this meant was that the people who lived under these systems - at least the more courageous - could claim official permission to say what they thought.”

The fall of the Soviet empire eventually came when Mikhail Gorbachev rose to power. Unlike his hard-line Communist predecessors, Gorbachev refused to ruthlessly crush the rebellions that broke-out under his watch, and the Soviet empire unraveled. Gorbachev won the Nobel Peace Prize and the first Ronald Reagan Freedom Award.

When Gorbachev first took power, the USSR economy was a shambles, because Communism is an inferior economic system. The Soviets also lost the Afghanistan war. Gorbachev felt he had to do something bold, so he implemented Perestroika and Glasnost reforms to try and revive USSR. Those freedoms allowed rebellion to take root, such as the Solidarity movement in Poland led by Lech Walesa. According to Gaddis, “When John Paul II kissed the ground at the Warsaw airport on June 2, 1979, he began the process by which Communism in Poland - and ultimately everywhere else in Europe - would come to an end.” John Paul II was a worldwide celebrity and openly condemned Communism.

According to Gaddis, “The Cold War itself was a kind of theater in which distinctions between illusions and reality were not always obvious. It presented great opportunities for great actors to play great roles.” With his good acting skills, Ronald Reagan at first applied the pressure, calling USSR “the evil empire.” Reagan modeled his presidential role after his idol FDR. (Reagan voted for FDR four times). He was deeply inspired by FDR’s supremely-confident bashing of Nazi Germany and spirited defense of democracy. (Read Douglas Brinkley’s “Boys of Pointe du Hoc” and Lou Cannon’s “President Reagan: The Role of a Lifetime”). Now Reagan would turn that role against USSR. Reagan restored America’s strength.

But once Gorbachev came to power, Reagan changed his position and welcomed Gorbachev as a good friend. The Cold War peacefully ended in 1987. (Read “Reagan and Gorbachev” by Jack Matlock, Reagan’s top advisor and ambassador to USSR). Then Reagan applied his charm through diplomacy, urging Gorbachev to go further with reform: “We hear much from Moscow about a new policy of reform and openness… General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization… Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!”

Gaddis writes, “Secretary of State Shultz, a former economics professor at Stanford, took it upon himself to educate… Gorbachev, as early as 1985, on the impossibility of a closed society being prosperous… Over the next several years, he used his trips to [Moscow] to run tutorials for Gorbachev and his advisors, even bringing pie charts… When Reagan visited the Soviet Union in May, 1988, Gorbachev arranged for him to lecture at Moscow University on the virtues of market capitalization.” Gorbachev’s reforms failed to revive the USSR economy. Instead, they unleashed Pandora’s Box of freedom. Once the door was opened, it could not be put back.

The Berlin Wall was decreed open on November 9, 1989. Gaddis writes, “The border guards at Bornholmer Strasse took it upon themselves to open the gates… Soon Germans from both sides were sitting, standing and even dancing on the wall.”

In his autobiography called “An American Life,” Reagan shared his warm feelings for Gorbachev and his fear that Gorbachev might be ousted by Communist hardliners: “I was concerned for his safety… I’ve still worried about him: How hard and fast can he push reforms without risking his life?” Eventually the hardliners in USSR finally got fed-up with Gorbachev’s liberal reforms and tried to oust Gorbachev with a coup, but the coup failed. Then everything unraveled, with Boris Yeltsin leading the resistance in the streets of Moscow. Yeltsin became leader of the new Russia and USSR ceased to exist.

By the way, Gaddis states that Reagan had long wished to abolish all nuclear weapons. At the Reykjavik summit, Reagan proposed abolishing all nukes and sharing SDI technology, which Reagan thought would make nukes obsolete, but Gorbachev declined. (Read Paul Lettow’s “Ronald Reagan and his Quest to Abolish Nuclear Weapons”).

Finally, I am in a unique position to recommend this book because I had the opportunity to witness the unraveling of the Soviet empire. In college I studied the Cold War and took a trip to USSR with my university when Gorbachev was in power and Bush senior was president. I saw firsthand that the Russian economy was languishing. I view Communism as a despicable aberration of history.

Rebellion was stirring in USSR in many places. I observed a vigorous rebellion in Lithuania. There was a huge demonstration, and Soviet helicopters dropped leaflets warning the Lithuanians to immediately stop the rebellion. I have one of the leaflets as a priceless memorabilia of the Cold War. Soviet tanks rumbled through the capital. But Gorbachev, unlike his predecessors, would not brutally crack down.

I also recommend the Pulitzer-Prize winning book about the collapse of USSR called “Lenin’s Tomb” by David Remnick.

The Global Cold War: Third World Interventions and the Making of Our Times by Odd Arne Westad

“… in a universalist under- standing of America’s mission. During the Cold War what set the function of these ideas apart from those …”

This fine book is devoted to a hugely important topic typically neglected in most discussions of the Cold War; the course and impact of the Cold War in the Third World. Most overview monographs on the Cold War concentrate on US-Soviet relations and/or the impact of the Cold War in Europe and Japan. Westad successfully attempts an overview and structural analysis of the Cold War in the Third World. Westad opens with a pair of summary chapters on the USA and Soviet Union leading up to the beginning of the Cold War. He then covers the early decades of the Cold War in the Third World concisely, and devotes much of the book to the last 2 decades of the Cold War, including detailed analyses of the events in Afghanistan, Africa, and Central America. Based on a wealth of secondary sources and analysis of primary literature from both US and Soviet archives, the narrative is comprehensive, clear, and punctuated with thoughtful analysis.

There is a lot of surprising information. While many readers will be aware of US interventions in places like Guatemala and Iran, Westad’s descriptions of the depth of US interventions in places like Indonesia and Brazil will come as a surprise. Similarly, his description of how the Soviet involvement in the Third World came to be seen as a crucial element of the legitimacy of the Soviet state goes a long way towards explaining why the events in Afghanistan had such importance. With respect to the battleground states of the various Third World countries where US and Soviet interventions took place, this is generally a series of tragic stories, usually involving considerable bloodshed and impoverishment.

Westad goes considerably beyond good narrative. Several well articulated themes run through the narrative. A basic concept is that the Cold War was driven by two competing ideologies about what should be the basis of modern society - American liberal capitalism and Soviet communism. Westad is very good on how ideological considerations consistently drove US and Soviet policy decisions, including the many cases where ideology led to gross misunderstandings of reality. Another important theme is the independent role of local elites in Third World countries. Over and over again, these elites or portions of them sought superpower support to pursue their own ends, often quite different from those of the superpowers. This led, for example, to the depressingly frequent US support of brutal dictatorships and the Soviet support of regimes who suppressed local communist parties. Westad is very good as well at showing how the Cold War involvement of the superpowers was entangled with decolonialization, another important theme. Both the US and Soviet Union presented themselves as, and made serious efforts to act as, modernizers. In a series of particularly ironic developments, both US and Soviet policies often mimicked the development policies of the imperial states they displaced.

My only substantial criticisms of Westad are his treatment of the origins of the Cold War. Westad presents US policies as rooted in a long history of US expansionism and capitalist ideology. There is considerable truth in this position but it ignores some of the specific circumstances of the 1940s. The failure of the post-WWI settlement seemed to demand a dominant international US role after WWII. Similarly, as Westad’s own narrative shows, US fears of the Soviet Union were driven in good part by Stalin’s aggressive and paranoid behavior.

Westad concludes by highlighting the frequently tragic consequences of US and Soviet intervention in Third World states, often transforming local conflicts into major disasters. The results of US and Soviet interventions in the Third World are among the most important results of the Cold War, and these results have been largely negative.

The Cold War: A History by Martin Walker

in an age where it seems to be accepted that ronald reagan won the cold war against the evil and godless commies, it was wonderful to see such an openminded history. walker tells it like it is, regardless of what the american establishment would want you to think. which isn’t at all to say that this book glorifies the ussr… stalin’s purges and gulag are given due space, as are the atrocities of eastern europe. but walker does not shy away from dean acheson and john dulles’s dishonest exaggerations of the soviet threat, reagan’s illegal wars and democracy-toppling, the stupidity and moral hypocricy of vietnam, and the strongly political machinations behind the scenes in washington. walker has done his research, and his arguments are fact-based through and through. the only person who really comes out seeming good is mikhail gorbachev, although even he was eventually phased out by his own revolution. definitely worth looking into, especially if you want to be able to understand the cold war objectively.

The New Cold War: Putin’s Russia and the Threat to the West by Edward Lucas

“… have been inconceivable: In the aftermath of victory in the Cold War, the West’s moral stock was high, while the Soviet Union’s …”

The free audiobook provides a trenchant analysis of Russia’s identity crises in the past two decades. The quests for that identity are still continuing and becoming increasingly dangerous for Russia’s near and far neighbors. Edward Lucas argues, that the Kremlin has been unable to define its ideology after the end of the Cold War, and instead has filled up ideological vacuum in Russia with anti-Westernism. Russian leaders seek to win hearts and minds of people inside, and even outside Russia, by throwing down a gage to Western values, disputing their very existence. The book proves their attempt has so far been partly successful, as far as foreign businesses dealing with Russia are concerned.

Readers will be caught up by Lucas’ talent to juggle with historical facts, figures and web sources to prove his statements, no matter whether that is the total annual amount of bribes paid in Russia ($ 240 billion) or the assessment of Putin’s German language skills (passable). His aptitude to bring those into play is at least as efficient as the Russian president’s answers in his annual tele-press conferences.

The author’s word of warning for Western business and political leaders is not to be complacent and talk airily about “a strategic partnership” with Russia at the time, when the idea, that peoples of the Eastern Europe might genuinely wish to be in alliance with worlds free countries is dismissed as sentimental nonsense. Every Russian investment, as discussed in the chapter seven, is politically loaded expression of foreign policy made by Kremlin Inc., but energy dialogue between Russia and the West “resembles a battle-hardened chess grand master playing against a bunch of inattentive and squabbling amateurs”. Instead talking about non-existing partnership he advises Western leaders to take a strategic pause, which would send to Russian politicians a powerful signal, making it obvious, that their thinking doesn’t lead to a new civilization but a dead end.

Total Cold War: Eisenhower’s Secret Propaganda Battle at Home and Abroad by Kenneth Osgood

Many of today’s baby boomers grew up in the 1950’s and recall President Eisenhower as an avuncular man typified by such snappy slogans as “I like Ike.” What many of them did not know was that Ike was an active propagandist trying to win the hearts and minds of citizens not only behind the Iron Curtain, but also at home, in friendly nations, and everywhere else on the planet, taking advantage of new and ever more expansive and rapid communications technologies.

Prof. Osgood has written a penetrating history of Ike’s propaganda campaigns, documenting how in a war of ideology, communications was often a more potent weapon than guns and bombs. With campaigns lauding not only the American good life, but also the American space and arms races, Eisenhower and his new Cold Warriors fought in an international arena of public opinion which they used to leverage negotiations to their advantage at home and abroad.

That governments and the powerful have always sought to shape public opinion is no surprise, and it should also be no surprise that Eisenhower, believing that the future of the free world was in the balance, fully utilized the tools of communications and propaganda to his own ends. Prof. Osgood’s book reminds us that propaganda comes in many form and guises, and even when we try to justify the means of propaganda by the ends of freedom, truly free people must never accept any speech, especially by governments, at face value.

Russian Fairy Tales (Pantheon Fairy Tale and Folklore Library) by Aleksandr Afanasev

“… In his retinue we find the leading Russian valiant knight (bogatir’, from the Persian bagadur, “athlete,” borrowed through the Tatar …”

I have owned since 1975 a copy of an earlier, hardcover, Pantheon reprint edition of this superb collection, which was originally published in 1945. I have used it for both light reading and for serious study (while in courses on Baltic and Slavic Folklore and Folktale Studies). The selection and translation of stories both seem first-rate. (For the latter, I have had to rely on the opinions of those who actually read Russian, instead of just having studied it in school.) The accompanying illustrations are properly enchanting — and only occasionally are placed where they give away the point of the story.

The only real drawback is that it is still merely a selection from about three volumes (depending on the edition you prefer) of “skazki.” This is the Russian term for oral tales of marvels, adventures, and misadventures, equivalent to the German “Maerchen.” In both cases, the English term “Fairy Tale” is the conventional, but not really adequate, translation. (As usual in large collections, only a handful of tales concern anything like fairies.) One of the requirements for the selection seems to have been that the tales chosen should be acceptable to American parents in the 1940s, but otherwise the considerable variety of the original seems to have been largely preserved. The suggested reader age of “9 to 12″ conceals the pleasure that adult readers with interests in folklore or Russian culture will derive from the volume. Fortunately, they may be lead to it by the fine supplementary material at the end, although this is now half a century old.

Afanas’ev (various transliterations) was one of the many nineteenth-century collectors inspired by the Grimms,. By most accounts he was one of the most responsible, even though his practices of recording and documenting texts are hardly up to modern standards. (Neither were those of the Grimms, for that matter.) The main collection from which this was excerpted was the sourcebook for Vladimir Propp’s “Morphology of the Folktale,” a key work in modern folktale studies, but as Roman Jakobson (yes, the Structural Linguist) points out in his commentary to this collection, the book had already established itself as a gem of Russian literature, an inspiration and resource for poets.

Medieval Knights (See Through History) by David Nicolle

“… to appear from nowhere and fought in a way that Russian warriors and European knights found almost impossible to deal with. THE MONGOLS The 1\-longols …”

This audiobook is perfectly laid out-pleasing to the eye. It is jam-packed with useful info!

Entertaining Tsarist Russia: Tales, Songs, Plays, Movies, Jokes, Ads, and Images from Russian Urban Life1779-1917 by James Von Geldern and Louise McReynolds

“… Velikosil’s neck in his teeth. No matter how much the knight twirled and 1. In Russian, “Velikosil” would translate as “Great Strength.” 20 Entertaining Tsarist Russia …”

One of the best ways to get to know a people is to learn what they believe, value, love, honor, and what they fear, loathe, and seek to avoid. One of the best guides to these attitudes and beliefs is what they do; this is the work they looked to to find out what to do. To learn it in their own words, articulately expressed and classically framed is a treat. To find it in a book that generations of a nation kept as their practical handbook for daily life is a marvel. It’s like a combination of Emily Post, Betty Crocker, and the Old Farmer’s Almanac, with elements of the Book of Common Prayer thrown in. You won’t find critical analysis, postmodern theory, contextualization or anything condescending here — just their own values and rules for living, as they held them. It ain’t everything, but it sure is a leg up on knowing what even modern Russians are about. And it is intensely amusing. Communism, Maffia and modernity have taken their toll, but old Orthodox Slavic values are alive especially among some more traditional emigrees. You will find their prescription for living here, flatfooted, naive, often amiable, occasionally hilarious, and sometimes enough to make a genteel modern person cringe. Whether you want to revive it, analyze it, critique it, or just understand it, this gives enormous insight into a tradition we need to know about. It is of the nature of “source material,” unless you are a Russian in search of a reference work for life. But it is well done, an important work to have translated. For anyone planning to visit Moscow during the rule of Ivan Grozny, this is almost the first thing to pack in your time machine–maybe right after your kaftan, axe, Slavonic Prayer Book and “prazdniki”– travelling icon. It is well enough translated and introduced, but the text itself is its own best reason to be and be read. Pouncy does well to let it be in a good, accessible form, in our language, in our alien world.

The Russian Concubine by Kate Furnivall

“… at his companion, and then nodded and moved his queen’s knight. “There are rumors,” he said, “that the Russian was an agent sent by Stalin to negotiate with General …”

Kate Furnivall has captured the Russian soul, the Chinese soul, the English soul and my own soul. I was torn between wanting to read it slowly so it would never end and wanting to finish it because of too much suspense. The characters are unforgettable. The history is researched and fascinating. Kate’s own mother was a White Russian refugee in China so no wonder she had such an advantage in getting everything so authentic. One has to read this with reverence for the Chinese people. This is the first time I have ever really understood the motivations of the Chinese Communists.

I have never read a novel in which so much suffering could be intertwined with so much love, courage and joy. It wasn’t only the suffering and joys of the main character, Lydia, but of all the characters which made it a joy to read. They were all complex characters and therefore came alive and believable at the skillful hands of this wonderful novelist.

Whether it is the opium trade or Sun Yet San or Chiang Kai Shek, Ms. Furnival gets it all just right.

Please let this be a best seller and let there be a sequel. I can’t say goodbye to Chang and Lydia and Albert and the rest of them.

Here is a warning, but not a spoiler: It is full of surprises.

The Portable Nineteenth-Century Russian Reader (Viking Portable Library) by George Gibian

Nineteenth century Russia Literature is one of the great Literatures of Mankind. Consider ‘War and Peace’ and ‘Karamozov’ Tolstoy and Dostoevsky alone, two of the giants. But also in that century Pushkin, Gogol, Lermontov, Turgenev, Chekhov other very major writers.
In this anthology there are also included Herzen,Solovoyev, Saltykov- Schedrin, Griboyedov, Goncharov, Tyutchev, and others.
The Tolstoy is ‘Ivan Ilyich’ and the Dostoevsky ‘The Grand Inquisitor’ .
There are clearly written introductions to each of the works.
This a an overabundantly rich anthology,an overabundance and richness which reflects the character of nineteenth century Russian Literature as a whole.

A Wine Journey along the Russian River by Steve Heimoff

“… Russian River Valley, Green Valley, even Knights Valley, which for all practical purposes didn’t even have any …”

. . . . which flows into the Pacific Ocean north of San Fransisco, is a marvelously varied strip of wine country. The river itself, as author Steve Heimoff makes clear, cuts its way through many different wine areas, and so this geographical feature–rather than winemaking itself–constitutes the unifying theme of the book.
This book which is filled with the sense of place, could be just another great American travelogue. But contrary to expectation, Heimoff abandons the river for a chapter on clones and the politics of American Viticultural Areas.
Now before your eyes glaze over, I have to agree with Heimoff that the business of creating new grape varieties and cloning them may be at the heart of the improvement in American wine for the next several decades. He is one of the first popular wine writers to recognize this and explain it all in layman’s terms.
These two achievements-making the region come alive and explaining the mystery of the clones, make this a must-read for developing students and lovers of wine.

A Hope in the Unseen: An American Odyssey from the Inner City to the Ivy League by Ron Suskind

“… RON SUSKIND A HOPE in the UNSEEN } An American Odyssey from …”

The young man in this book and I have something in common. We attended the same school. I was a student at this particular high school in the sixties. The circumstances and environment were much different back then. The neighborhood was decent. There was a Safeway grocery store, Chinese restaurant, McDonald’s, other restaurants and a sandwich shop, barber shops, beauty shops, hardware store, sports equipment store, People’s Drug Store, florist etc. There was a Catholic school, a junior high school, and an elementary school. There was a also big hospital near by. The community was nothing like what it is now.

The school was top notch. I remember the cheer leaders, the school clubs, Honor Society, G.A.A., Cadets (ROTC). Above all else students wanting to be recognized in a postive way. I would love to have some of the old year books. They are a history of what used to be a fine school.

But it is uplifting to know, that the young man who is the subject of this book has done well.Inspite of all the things around him, he managed to be a good scholar. Times change, situations change, and along with those things people change. A lot of nice neighborhoods and schools all over the country have changed. But in the rubbish there are the few that come out as champions. The odds are stacked against them. But they beat the odds. I am grateful that he had the kind of mother that he has. By the way I lived at 514 Oakwood Street S.E. The last time I saw my house the steps were falling down, broken and cracked. This was a house that used to be a beautiful townhouse.

The Price of Loyalty: George W. Bush, the White House, and the Education of Paul O’Neill by Ron Suskind

“… 2  RON SUSKIND and spaced, resting on the tray table. He checked it …”

Ron Suskind, thanks to Paul O’Neil, has written an excellent book giving us much insight on the inner workings of the White House. Suskind is a former Wall Street Journal writer. And, it shows. The substance of the book is dense with information and documentation. But, the prose is lively and easy to read.

According to the former Secretary of the Treasury, Bush and Cheney dominate the White House. Bush leads based on stubbornly held personal opinions, and Cheney executes the plans reflecting the President’s opinions. Occasionally, Cheney feeds opinion to Bush when the latter has none to begin with. But, everyone else is just there to make a case for supporting these same opinions. Thus, most of the Presidential decisions are not well founded in objective intelligence.

Within this managerial climate, there is no room for intellectual debates, exchange of information, or even consensus building. It is pretty much Bush and Cheney’s ways or the highway. Paul O’Neil, an intelligent, assertive, and independent thinker, did not fit within these parameters, and Cheney quickly showed him the next highway exit.

When Paul O’Neil was recruited as Secretary of the Treasury, he seemed to fit very well with the Administration. He fit perfectly the mold of the old guard intelligentia who had reached the top level in business, with also much government experience. He is definitely a conservative, pro business fellow. He seemed just another of the old boys. But, things did not turn out that way.

Paul O’Neil, an independent thinker, ended up clashing at every turn with the Administration. He is a conservative. But, that does not mean he is a unilateralist in foreign policy. Thus, he felt highly uncomfortable with the lack of strong international support for our invading Iraq.

On the domestic front, O’Neil felt very uncomfortable with the progressive dismantling of our strong fiscal position we had inherited from the Clinton White House. For him being conservative also means fiscally conservative. It does not mean unraveling the Federal government. O’Neil felt strongly that beyond the first tax cut that was necessary, the following rounds of tax cutes were dangerous as they created a rising structural budget deficit.

Finally, with his strong background in business and economics, he felt that the steel tariffs were totally unjustified and would trigger a rise in trade conflicts and unfruitful WTO trade negotiations.

If you objectively review O’Neil’s positions, he is typically right. And, the Bush-Cheney team is not. Our level of unilateralism can easily be considered excessive. The rounds of tax cuts were much too deep and did create a rising structural deficit. Also, the steel tariffs did poison the WTO round at Cancun and the overall worldwide trading climate. Recently, under pressure of penalties from the WTO, Bush had to eliminate these same steel trade tariffs. The later did not achieve anything besides political embarrassment in the international arena.

Interestingly enough, the Bush-Cheney team has chosen not to address any of the issues raised by O’Neil. But, instead they are conducting an investigation on potential government information leaks. This is probably another effort to shut O’Neil’s mouth once and for all. But, the jack is out of the box. Take advantage of it. This is a must read during this Presidential election year.

This book also nicely complements other related recent books such as Paul Krugman’s ‘The Great Unraveling’ and David Cay Johnston ‘Perfectly Legal.’ Reading these three books will make you a much better informed voter regardless of your party’s stripes.

The One Percent Doctrine: Deep Inside America’s Pursuit of Its Enemies Since 9/11 by Ron Suskind

This latest offering from renowned journalist Ron Suskind, “The One Percent Doctrine”, proves the wisdom of the old adage regarding truth being stranger than fiction. At the same time it also serves up a number of egregious examples of just how far reaching the terrible recklessness and near total disregard for truth and law in the fateful decisions made by the Bush administration in the three year wake of the events of 911 has been for the nation and the world at large. At heart, Suskind contends, is an absurd Cheny perception that even a “one percent’ probability of a terrorist attack requires immediate pre-emptive action. Given such a fascistic and dangerous interpretation of America’s presumptive place in the contemporary world, it is no wonder we have gone so recklessly far astray.

Indeed, it appears as though in making the world `safe from terrorism,’ we seem to be have been willing to suspend any critical oversight of the Executive branch, to allow the current administration make a mockery of the supposed restraints existing among the several branches of the federal government, and to do so by so taking the U.S. Constitution on a plunge so deep into the depths of the icy blue waters of obfuscation and circular logic that one wonders if the Founding Fathers have the bends. Under the current circumstances, one has to wonder if the federal government is this free to so prevaricate, engage in character assassinations, withhold truth and important facts, and do whatever it deems prudent in the pursuit of its goals, regardless of its legality or illegality, then just what kind of constitutional republic we really have operating here. One that perhaps bears an uncanny resemblance to the early days of the Third Reich, when Hitler used similar arguments to shout down his opponents and subvert the laws, one by one. Sadly enough, like then, these days almost no rises to shout back in vocal defiance of this transparently solipsistic view of the separation of constitutional powers or the excesses of Executive action.

According to Suskind, there is overwhelming proof that those at the highest levels of the food chain within the insular Bush White House, including both Vice President Dick Cheney as well as the President himself, consciously and deliberately used the events of 911 as a screen to pursue preconceived goals, many of which, like Iraq, were actually virtually unrelated to the events surrounding 911, and that the pursuit of Saddam Hussein in particular was seen as constituting an opportunity to create an example of how the new America of the neoconservative right would deal with tyrants and enemies they found along the way toward the new American hegemony they lusted after. Now, firmly ensconced in the quicksand of Iraq (one dare not call it a quagmire!), these morons continue to recklessly shed American blood as they learn, with what has become painfully monotonous regularity, the limits of American power in a complex, multifacted world.

What is most frightening about Suskind’s offering is the level of detail and example he provides to go over what many consider to be familiar territory already covered by Richard Clarke, Seymour Hersch, and a pursuing posse of notable others. Yes, indeed, the Bush team glossed over truths, disregarded inconvenient facts, disjointed other technical information to make it fit their preposterous cover stories, and honed the art of secrecy to a new cult of fascistic insistence that those who questioned their methods, arguments, or goals, were “unpatriotic” and are therefore somehow, unlike themselves, “unworthy to lead”. They concocted a witch’s brew of cover stories and different takes, employing a marketing and advertising firm to float various stories to the media in an attempt to determine which struck the most responsive chord.

They pressured Western Union and First Data Corporation into providing information covered by existing privacy laws, they held American citizens like Jose Padilla without charges for years without providing him any of the due process rights guaranteed by law. When the Supreme Court overturned this interpretation of Bush’s right to do so by virtue of his status as Commander In Chief, the Justice Department found other questionable means to get their way. Indeed, the nation of laws is under assault by an administration that only knows what it wants and will do anything it needs to effect the outcome it desires. In the last six years they have effectively gutted the environmental regulations constraining corporate rape of the national parks, have blunted consumer protection, emasculated the EPA, EEOC, and FDA, and have looted the federal treasury to the tune of nine trillion dollars, all subsidized, at least temporarily, by foreign investment. In the end, however, those left to pay the bill will be those taxpayers not benefiting from the overly-generous tax cuts proffered like booty and tribute by the neo-conservatives to the upper reaches of the socioeconomic ladder. It makes the mind reel.

The saddest aspect of the book is the picture it paints of the principals; Mr. Tenet, a man all too willing to do anything he had to in order to both placate the President and please his constituency within the spy community; Ms. Rice, who plays fast and loose with honor and truth in service to the President’s half-baked goals, Vice President Cheney, who looks more and more like the evil sorcerer, and the feckless George W. Bush, who seems to have mastered the Texas strut even while failing miserably to abide by the constitutional constraints incumbent in the office of the Presidency, and who in this account appears to be allotted the uneviable role of the sorcerer’s apprentice. This is a great book, and one I can heartily endorse. Enjoy!

The Way of the World: A Story of Truth and Hope in an Age of Extremism by Ron Suskind

This book floored me. Page after page I was stunned by the revelations. What amplifies it is that Suskind has everything meticulously documented. I think this book will be the key historical document to break the whole thing wide open (like the Pentagon Papers during Watergate). The credibility of our nation is truly in jeapardy by the despicable events detailed in Suskind’s book. He is an American hero and patriot for coming forward with the truth.

The first Faulkner book I read was in my junior year of high school. When I consulted my teacher about whether I should choose Faulkner or another author to read, she told me something along the lines of, “Faulkner’s regionalistic and enigmatic style is interpreted two different ways by two different types of people: One think that he is symbolic and profound, the other think that he is not and rather full of it.” Well, I do feel sorry for the ‘other’ group, because to not reconize the depth behind his more-poetic-than-most-poets words is just plain out wacky. I will say that he is not your typical fiction writer, his books do not have action oriented plots (or even any action in some cases), but he still somehow manages to catch your interest. I have never fell asleep while reading a book or story by Faulkner, and not many authors have earned this distinction. He also leaves you with a sense of reflection, again something distinguishing him from many others. Personally, I prefer short stories to novels, I find that my focus to the point and plot of the story is less distracted by the end as with a novel and I typically find that I retain more. I do enjoy Faulkner’s novels and have read quite a few, but this collection of short stories is just brilliant beyond brilliant. His words are potent and sharp in all of them, even if his point and meaning is more elusive. I completely and totally recommend that everyone read this collection of stories. Everyone. Really. That means you too.

Source: Miette’s Bedtime Story Podcast
Length: 37 min
Reader: Miette

The story: This story defines “Southern Gothic” for me. Faulkner introduces us to the life of Emily Grierson, a spinster in a small Southern town. Although Miss Emily becomes more and more reclusive, we gain insights into her character through the details of brief encounters between her and the townspeople. In this way, Faulkner builds up a portrait of a genteel lady of the Confederacy whose pride is so strong it seems the only thing propping up her life.

Miss Emily reminds me of some of the elderly belles I knew when I lived in Middle Tennessee. None of these women I knew were old enough to have lived through The War, as the Civil War is sometimes still familiarly called, but they had the superior sense of entitlement that comes in the Deep South from being female, white, and from an old respectable family. Of course, the South has changed greatly since Faulkner’s time - the rigid class structure has declined, racism is less pronounced, and life moves more quickly - but even now, if you’re in the right place and know the right people you can still find the echoes of the Old South that are so dark and so fascinating.

Rating: 9/10

The reader: Miette has a lovely British accent that’s quite charming. At first, I found it odd that a British accent should be reading a story about the South. Faulkner was from Oxford, Mississippi not that other Oxford. But, if I can enjoy Wodehouse read by an American, I certainly can love a Brit reading a story set in Dixie. The recording quality is amateur, but with no great flaws, it is an enjoyable listen.

I remember these stories being read to me as a little girl and I still find inspiration in them today! Raggedy Andy always kept pleasant thoughts and had a positive outlook on life. His philosophy: “You see how easy it is to pass over the little bumbs of life if we are happy on the inside”. His stories are a great way to teach children virtues and values. There is a wonderful afterward in this book from Johnny Gruelle’s grandson which shows what kind of a person he was, having a lot of Raggedy Andy’s character traits.

Zip file of the entire book - 48MB

“When I hear people say they have not found the world and life so agreeable or interesting as to be in love with it…I am apt to think they have never been properly alive nor seen with clear vision the world they think so meanly of…”.

The author says it all. I picked up this book in a little Gloucester bookshop a few years ago, but I’ve finally just had a chance to read it in its entirety. What a Joy! It reminded me that the stresses and travails we encounter in our daily lives are so trivial at best, compared to the world we pass by everyday. The author’s recollection of his boyhood on the Argentinian pampas and his adventures with snakes and birds and vizcachas made his words come alive, and I felt I was there with him. A treasure and one I would read to kids who have the gift of spirit in them, and to remind them that all of what he wrote is disappearing.

Zip file of the entire book 271MB

“… Shakespeare starts the monologue by embedding a stage direction to the coffin bearers in …”

As a nonactor I’m in the midst of reading this book. Now for the first time I’m completely grasping the prose and verse. In the past I’ve tried to read Shakespeare cold, with no help, and as a modern English speaker you can pick up some things yes, but this book makes it all, and I mean all clear. We get well over 100 of his greatest monologues, and every unfamiliar word is fully explained, as well as multiple interpretations of the lines.

I recommend this book to students, actors, writers, and layman for it will unleash the magic of the verse. And when it does you can read or see a performance and grasp it all…and there is so much to grasp, and a good play requires a good reader, a good performance, a good audience, and this book will make you one.

Zip file of the entire book (25 MB)

Contemporary Authors: Biography - McAlpin, Heller (1955-)

This audiobook, covering the life and work of Heller McAlpin, is an entry from Contemporary Authors, a reference volume published by Thomson Gale. The length of the entry is 434 words. The page length listed above is based on a typical 300-word page. Although the exact content of each entry from this volume can vary.

Nostalgia by Heller McAlpin

Nostalgia by young Heller McAlpin. Why on earth would anyone be interested in reading a book about a woman who moves to Paris and becomes an au pair? Well, The Pleasing Hour is one of the most lyrical and well-put novels I have read. It follows the story of a young American nanny in Paris and her anecdotes about the eccentric Tivot family.

I especially love the culture and backdrop of Europe in the story. I especially love the chapters of Spain. Learning about different cultures and settings is what makes literature of this kind so appealing. I have always been fascinated with Europe and this book satisfied my thirst for knowledge. Also, the story is both endearing and poignant. I highly recommend it.

People of the Book: A Novel by Geraldine Brooks

” -Heller McAlpin, Los Angeles Times Book Review “Clarity of vision, fine, meticulous …”

“The People of the Book,” by Geraldine Brooks, opens in Sarajevo in 1996. Under the watchful eyes of bank security guards, Bosnian police officers, two United Nations peacekeepers, and an official UN observer, a thirty-year-old Aussie named Hanna Heath has been hired to perform an exacting task. She is about to examine a precious fifteenth century codex, the Sarajevo Haggadah, “one of the rarest and most mysterious volumes in the world.” Hanna’s impressive qualifications include honors degrees in chemistry and Near Eastern languages as well as a PhD in fine art conservation, which as she patiently explains, is very different from book restoration. She knows her materials intimately: calf’s intestine, pigments, gold leaf, and parchment are some of the tools of her trade. The Haggadah, which was created in medieval Spain, is “a lavishly illuminated Hebrew manuscript made at a time when Jewish belief was firmly against illustrations of any kind.”

The book first came to light in 1894. After passing through many hands, it disappeared in 1992, when the Sarajevo siege began. After four years, it suddenly reappears and an Israeli expert, Amitai Yomtov, awakens Hannah at two o’clock in the morning to tell her the exciting news. Most scholars believed that the book had been stolen or destroyed during the fighting. It turns out that the head of the museum library in Sarajevo, Ozren Karaman, placed the Haggadah in a safe-deposit box for safekeeping. “Can you imagine, Channah?” Amitai exclaims. “A Muslim, risking his neck to save a Jewish book.” Now, UN officials want an expert to inspect the Haggadah for signs of damage.

Although she is technically proficient and has written many highly-regarded papers in her field, Hanna brings something extra to the table. “It has to do with an intuition about the past. By linking research and imagination, sometimes I can think myself into the heads of the people who made the book.” Indeed that is exactly what Brooks does in this meticulously crafted work, with its beautifully realized, three-dimensional cast of characters and its compelling and richly textured plot. As Hanna delves into the history of a priceless text, the reader is transported to 1940 Sarajevo, 1894 Vienna, 1609 Venice, 1492 Tarragona, and 1480 Seville. Along the way, we gain insight into the political, religious, and social turmoil that has beset the Jewish people over the centuries.

The author alternates chapters set in 1996 with those that take place further back in the past. As the story progresses, we come ever closer to the secret of who created this magnificent work of art. The journey is all the more wonderful because of the people who accompany us: Lola is a Sarajevan Jew who joins the partisans during World War II; destiny brings her to an Albanian scholar who will protect both her and the Haggadah from the Nazis. In Venice, we meet a bitter and sick Austrian bookbinder, Herr Florien Mittl. Ironically, this virulent anti-Semite is entrusted with the painstaking job of rebinding the Haggadah. In Venice, an alcoholic priest named Giovanni Domenico Vistorini is a censor of the Inquisitor. He may allow the Haggadah to “pass” or declare it a work of heresy and consign it to the flames. David Ben Shoushan, a poor Hebrew scribe in Tarragona, Spain, fills his mind with holy letters as he prepares to make his own vital contribution to the Haggadah. The final pieces of the puzzle fall into place in Seville, Spain, at the time of the Jews’ expulsion.

Against the backdrop of these tumultuous historical events, we observe the vitriolic Hanna soften, mature, and fall in love with Ozran Karaman, whose hidden grief after suffering a series of tragedies may prevent him from reciprocating her affection. An irritated Hanna repeatedly clashes with her aloof and disapproving mother, a highly respected neurosurgeon who has always belittled her daughter’s work. In the book’s one misstep, the author allows a bit of melodrama to taint her otherwise impeccable narrative when the protagonist uncovers some startling truths about her identity.

Geraldine Brooks shows how the Haggadah’s fate illuminates the prejudice and mindless persecution that have too often poisoned communities and nations throughout the world. Ozren wonders why more people do not realize “that to be a human being matters more than to be Jew or a Muslim, [or a] Catholic.” This is an engrossing, poignant, and skillfully constructed novel. It is a marvel of storytelling at its best.

Body Surfing: A Novel by Anita Shreve

” -Heller McAlpin, Newsday The Weight of Water “An engrossing tale…. Ms. Shreve …”

I may be a man, and not just a man, but a businessman, and the only times that I am not going over a spreadsheet or quarterly report are when I am on a plane, but that is when I like to prop a cheap airline pillow behind my neck, wrap myself in a thin airline blanket, and dive into the latest Anita Shreve novel.

I usually wrap another dust jacket over the book, something with “Success” or “Winning” in the title, but underneath the fake jacket I am unwrapping the lives, histories, and fates of complicated and compelling characters, and I often finish a Shreve novel in tears at the sheer power of her vivid and powerful descriptions of the turmoil within the human heart, at which point a flight attendant or a fellow passenger will ask if anything’s wrong, and I usually reply, “These success/winning/business strategies are just so powerful (sniff)… I can bench 200 pounds.”

“Body Surfing: A Novel” continues Shreve’s chronicling of the relationships between people seemingly thrown together by chance but whose lives eventually become so intertwined that one feels Fate, or an omniscient author, has brought them together.

Sydney, a young woman escaping her own past, steps into the seemingly idyllic, New Hampshire seaside home of wealthy architect Mr. Edwards. The elegant, two-story, white clapboard house with the wraparound porch and mansard roof has become a recurring character in many of Shreve’s novels, and here it serves as the repository of growing resentments, passions, and betrayals as Sydney becomes entangled in the Edwards family slow dissolution.

I fairly dissolved myself as I read of Sydney’s growing attraction to one of the Edwards brothers and the bitter actions of the other, all leading to a climax that left me, dare I say it, body surfing–on a wave of overwhelming emotions and uncontrollable feelings.

The Weight of Water by Anita Shreve

“… in this accomplished inquiry into the ravages of love.” -N. Heller McAlpin, Los Angeles Times “Shreve manages …”

Anita Shreve writes hauntingly beautiful books about important moments in our lives. The Weight of Water is a bewitching tale that most probably rings a bell in every woman’s life.

Hasn’t every woman imagined her loved one having an affiar - seen the signs and been absolutely sure but been wrong (we hope)? Anita weaves these feelings in amidst a haunting tale of murder and intrigue from the 1800’s.

I have read all of Anita’s books but this was definitely one of my favorites. I found it hard to put down and I also responded to many of the main characters emotions - many times I wished I could reach into the book and shake her.

Shreve is destined to be one of this generations best novelists!

The Four Adventures of Richard Hannay: The Thirty-Nine Steps/Greenmantle/Mr. Standfast/the Three Hostages by John Buchan

As my title says, the Four Adventures are real classics that spawned a whole library of imitators. Written as they were during the First World War and immediate post-war period by someone who both hob-nobbed with the political movers and shakers of the time & may have participated in some intertesting Intelligence work on his own (see Peter Hopkirk’s LIKE HIDDEN FIRE for some of the “facts” behind GREENMANTLE) they capture a time a place and a people at the height of British global dominance. Given that the first three tales were written during some of the most desperate days of World War I it is no accident that there is some pro-British propaganda, but as the excellnt introduction to this edition points out, Buchan is remarkably kind to both friends and foes, and while the Bad-Guys are truly Bad, they also have their redeeming qualities. THIRTY-NINE STEPS has been made into a number of movies, none of which do it justice. GREENMANTLE is my personal favorite & reading it again for the umpteenth time last year I was struck by how remarkably prescient Buchan was as to the problems we now face with an Islamic Middle East. Mr. Standfast actually wraps things up nicely, with some excellent descriptions of fighting on the Western Front, and I always felt that THE FOUR HOSTAGES was a bit of a tag-on that really wasn’t needed (the same can be said of the fifth and long out of print Hannay adventure THE ISLE OF SHEEP, which has been sensibly left out of this volume). If you like adventure stories with a strong male hero, a nice mystery, clearly defined Good and Evil, an appealing heroine (in the last three Adventures) and a good sense of history by someone who actually made part of it, this volume is for you. Readers of Alan Furst & the like will see where contemporary authors got their ideas & timing. This is a wonderful look into a now vanished world that still has clues to our troubled present.

Supernatural Buchan - Stories of ancient spirits uncanny places and strange creatures (Supernatural Fiction) by John Buchan

Supernatural Buchan - Stories of Ancient Spirits uncanny places and strange creatures. Buchan’s stories of solid characters clad in tweeds and braving all odds armed only with a stout walking stick have become popular classics. Perhaps it is therefore no surprise that the same character types populate his highly entertaining tales of the strange and weird - here collected into a feast of supernatural delights. In a Buchan story the hauntings and other manifestations are far more subtle than the usual blood-curdling phantoms. The author brings finely crafted detail and a profound sense of the spirit of landscape (specially that of his native Scotland) and place to locales that are as disparate as the stories themselves. Whether they are acknowledged or not, ancient other-worldly creatures, deities and people intrude into Buchan’s settings to influence and effect the lives of “modern” man. These wonderful tales of hidden threat and menace make dealing with the mundane concerns of our own world seem like child’s play.

Crowded with Genius: The Scottish Enlightenment: Edinburgh’s Moment of the Mind by James Buchan

“… parsimony and dirt, Edinburgh had made more history, as John Buchan later put it, than any town its size but Athens, …”

According to Thomas Cahill, the Irish Saved Civilization. Perhaps so, but according to James Buchan it was the Scots who moved civilization forward to modern times. Even at that, it was Edinburgh that became the pivot of the Scottish Enlightenment. With the expulsion of Bonnie Prince Charlie in 1745, the “auld Reekie”, stinky, backward, provincial Edinburgh, was transformed into an intellectual hotbed. Philosophy, science, medicine and other fields found expression through this city to the world. Pushing aside the clans, tartans and the remains of the Celtic traditions, a new outlook developed in Scotland’s capital. The speed of its rise was phenomenal. Within twenty years a wave of philosophers, scientists and poets, accompanied by a revision in social standards swept the city.

Analysing the Scottish Enlightenment is a monumental task. Controversies and inconsistencies abound. This Calvinist society rose to support a Roman Catholic pretender to the British throne. While condemning the Papacy as intruding on the lives of the faithful, the Scottish Kirk was thoroughly integrated into the education, politics and legal system of Edinburgh. Buchan neatly ties all these conflicting forces into a readable, highly detailed package. He is able to expose all these facets with minimal confusion as he introduces us to the major figures that would make the city a northern Athens. His focus is on personalities, with leading figures ambling, cavorting or dashing across the pages according to their style.

His first noteworthy figure is, of course, David Hume. Perhaps no individual set the tone for the Scottish Enlightenment as did Hume. Controversial and inconsistent in his own way, he struggled to shed the impediments of traditional dogmas while avoiding accusations of rebellion or heresy. He set the tone Edinburgh lights would follow - travelling the Continent, examining the human condition, and writing in “Southern English”, as Buchan calls it. The language of London was a key element in what was to follow. English, instead of “Scottish English” would be the export licence conveying ideas up and down the British island, thence abroad.

Hume is followed by such notables as Adam Smith, John Home, the strange saga of James MacPherson’s attempt to resurrect Scots’ traditions by fabricating them, and the founder of geology, James Hutton. Other, lesser known lights, but surely contributors to this Northern Renaissance are dramatist Alexander Wedderburn, publisher Robert Chambers and the more practical contributions of George Drummond. There is more to Edinburgh’s rise to prominence than the expressions of thoughtful men. In this period, the city descended from an enclave surrounding its “castle in the air” to build up the surroundings with residences, schools and market centres. The “salacious” hobbies of dance and the theatre intruded on the Kirk’s disdain and overcame it. Promenading, weather permitting, was no longer hazardous. Although whisky replaced ale as the most consumed drink, imbibing moved from ale house to town house. This practice helped enable the role women to improve and conversations expanded to include both sexes.

Buchan has granted us a vivid and readable account of Edinburgh’s burst of intellectual and social hatching. He does assume a certain level of knowledge on the reader’s part - a level unlikely to be found on this side of the Atlantic. He graces the narrative with some illustrative material, but no matter how much the publishers include, there couldn’t be enough. The maps of the city would be more useful if larger, but the tone the time is well conveyed. Some of his conclusions might be arguable, but his making Charles the son, and not the grandson, of Erasmus Darwin must be noted.

John Macnab by John Buchan and Andrew Greig

John Buchan’s book John MacNab is set in the highlands of Scotland. The three main characters, one a Cabinet minister, another a banker and the last an Attorney-General, are all suffering from boredom which they can only cure by doing something dangerous and difficult. Deciding to try to poach a salmon and two stags in a limited amount of time, risking reputation and a fine, as well as rough handling, they are cured of boredom. An excellent book for anyone who enjoys outdoor adventure novels.

Three Hostages (Wordsworth Classics) (Wordsworth Collection) by John A. Buchan

“… ever with me. This is desperately important. It was signed `Buchan‘, a horse which Sandy seemed to think had been a …”

Kudos to Wordsworth Classics for keeping these four books in print — affordable, too! I’ve now read all but one of the Hannay adventures (this one, plus “39 Steps” and “Mr. Standfast”) and thoroughly enjoyed them all. “Hostages” moves a bit slower and doesn’t have quite as much “local flavor” as the others; but it’s a fine book, with much to recommend it and much to remember.

I enjoyed especially the respectful portrait of Hannay’s wife, every bit as smart and tough as he — quite surprising in an era (and culture) that I had assumed would be somewhat chauvinistic — and a real relief from other spy stories in which the women simply scream helplessly until The Man comes along. Mind you, I have no political agenda — and indeed am quite conservative about gender roles; but I just find it so much more sensible and realistic when women characters act like human beings!

“Hostages” is also remarkably prescient about the onset of WW2, and how Hitler would try to rule the world not merely through brute force but through propaganda and mass hysteria. There is also some fine thematic development here, esp. the notion that a spy mission may achieve “success” without “victory.”

But the best thing about the book is its final chapter; as in “Standfast,” “Hostages” has a split climax; the main conflict is resolved about 35 pages before the end of the book, and then there’s a further, more nitty-gritty, down-to-earth duel at the end. Fantastic!

These books are great for folks looking for good old-fashioned adventure like James Bond, but without the girls and the violence.

Highly recommended.

Mountain meadow, by John Buchan (Lord Tweedsmuir) with an introduction by Howard Swiggett by John (1875-1940) Buchan

Publisher: Boston, Houghton Mifflin company (1941)

Pilgrim’s Way by Lord; John Buchan Tweedsmuir

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company (1940)

Sick Heart River by John Buchan and James Buchan

I recently read this book for a report in my English class. I usually never read anything outside of Sci-fi, fantasy, or well known classics. Although the first 30 or so pages I had trouble staying awake, it changed quickly into a book I couldn’t put down. There are some great characters in this book, and Buchan leaves the reader (listener) on your toes a lot. This book had a great deal of philosophy in it, and though it took me some time to appreciate it, eventually I found that this book has a very deep meaning to it. Sick Heart River may only be available in tape-form now, but it is the same story that I read. Sick Heart River has more twists and turns in the plot than some sci-fi I’ve read. I hope that you enjoy this book as much as I did. The way of ending the book is also VERY original. Other than this book’s slow start up, I enjoyed every page. Kudos to Buchan, a wonderful written book!

Greenmantle by John Buchan

Greenmantle is one of the finest examples of Buchan’s writing–if not the best, although Witch Wood is a contender. During World War 1, four men embark on a trip through wartime Europe and Germany to Constantinople. Their aim is to find a secret weapon: a nuclear ray? a new kind of aeroplane?–Well, I’ll only say, something totally different.

The story is longer, more philosophical, and of far wider scope than its predecessor, The Thirty-Nine Steps. There are more characters, more locations, more pressure on our heroes. There are many memorable passages of writing–from Germany in winter to the first sight of the mountains in Turkey. The plot relies less on coincidence than The Thirty-Nine Steps, but gets criticised just as harshly for it. The only place I’ve ever found coincidences not to happen are in realistic fiction (or, they’re bad coincidences).

Still, if you can accept the fact that this is a relatively optimistic wartime thriller (compared to some recent efforts) with plenty of adventure and suspense, you’ll love this audiobook.

Huntingtower (Webster’s Spanish Thesaurus Edition) by John Buchan

Huntingtower is a rare audiobook and a pleasure to listen. On one level it’s a gripping adventure story. On another level it’s a vindication of the overlooked characters of the thriller-world. The heroes here aren’t soldiers, aren’t highly-trained spies, aren’t adventurers. They are a married, middle-aged grocer; an old lady; a gang of indomitable street-kids; a cynical poet; and a gang of disabled soldiers. And there’s a dispossessed Russian princess-turned-spy in there, too, with a dispossessed Russian prince.

On another level the tale’s pure allegory–about the Realist (the cynical poet) and the Romanticist (the grocer) stumbling upon a slice of real adventure and finding out that it’s nothing like either of them expected. It’s a vindication of fairy-tales (there’s a princess in a tower!) and a judgement of thoughtless sentimentalism.

But all those levels work together to make up an often funny, often moving, surprisingly candid adventure through a Scotland lovingly evoked–yet another of Buchan’s unusual tales.

Castle Gay by John Buchan

“… John Buchan  ~ ~ ~ rr ~.~ III - — h~ …”

The sequel to Huntingtower features the lovable Scottish grocer Dickson McCunn together with the now all-grown-up Gorbals Die-Hards–or some of ‘em anyway. A newspaper magnate is kidnapped…by young divinity students, for a joke. Yes, you heard that right. The disappearence causes quite a splash in international circles, however, and when Die-Hards Dougal and Jaikie come across the magnate at a lonely farmhouse and agree to carry a message for him, Stuff Happens. Not the usual kind of thing one might expect from a book about conspiracies, revolutions, and the fast world of journalism, but enough to keep the pages turning.

Witch Wood by John Buchan

John Buchan claims to have written this fast-paced “dime novel” while recovering from an illness. The story of how Richard Hannay stumbles upon and then escapes from a pre-WWI German spy plot DOES have that “Perils of Pauline” flavor to it: in each chapter our hero Hannay seems to get himself in an impossible bind, then magically right out of it again. (A sample: Hannay is tied up and locked in a windowless shed in which, remarkably, the crooks have left a flashlight (!) and some explosives (!). And, boom boom, on we go to the next chapter).

The underlying scheme is never fully explained (what ARE the Germans up to, why is the visit of the Balkan consul so important, etc.), but it doesn’t really matter. The scent of the heathered hills of Scotland over which Hannay escapes rises from the pages, and the black-and-white specter of the classic movies Alfred Hitchcock made on the basis of this book will run through your mind’s eye in the few short hours it will take you to finish it.

I agree, however, with others who mention that Buchan’s occasional gratuitous anti-Semitism is jarring and put this book beyond the pale for many readers.

The Power-House by John Buchan

“… The Power-House BY JOHN BUCHAN, POPULAR EDITION William Blackwood & Sons Ltd. Edinburgh and London …”

A very interesting book which captivates your attention from beginning to end. John Buchan writes “lyrically”, candid, smooth style which provides readers with easy reading.

John Buchan: The Presbyterian Cavalier by Andrew Lownie

Mr Coker is entitled to his views but Amazon readers should be aware that all five editions of the biography received extremely favourable coverage. A selection of extracts follows:

“Andrew Lownie gives us a clear account of Buchan’s career, which rattles along as pacily as a Hannay thriller…Admirably readable, this book will be invaluable to those who are now encountering Buchan’s work for the first time in the World’s Classics and Penguin reprints which have begun to appear since his copyrights entered the public domain in 1990. Lownie’s lucid account of Buchan’s life redefines the man as infinitely more complex than we thought he was.” Sunday Times

“This, like many other questions about this amazing man, is answered by Andrew Lownie in his wonderful new life. Lownie explains, even more convincingly than Janet Adam Smith in the hitherto standard biography, how Buchan’s successes in life never satisfied his inner yearnings…Lownie explains this inner sense of failure of this exceptional man with vastly greater insight than any previous writer…Trumpets should now sound for Buchan; and I will sound one of my own for Andrew Lownie, who has brought this most extraordinary man to life in a way no previous writer has.” The Independent

“Lownie’s meticulous biography is particularly good on the financial pressures which influenced most of Buchan’s decisions…This formidably detailed study is a labour of love by a devoted Buchanite, a nuanced understanding of a figure who, for too long, has been regarded as an extension of his fictional heroes.” The Guardian

“Andrew Lownie offers a solid and convincing portrait of a complex man, and controls the innumerable aspects of Buchan’s life in an exemplary manner, without losing sight of the fact that Buchan was, in Simon Raven’s words, ‘a very odd fish indeed.’” Times Literary Supplement

“Andrew Lownie’s meticulously researched and attractively written new biography - the first since Janet Adam Smith’s in 1965 - presents us with a John Buchan who is a great deal more complex and nuanced than might be imagined from the assiduously self-promoted clubland hero persona Buchan himself created in his rise as public man and heartily outdoor countryman-author…Lownie is sympathetic to Buchan, but this is by no means a hagiography. With scrupulous honesty, Buchan’s faults and foibles are exposed to us along with his undoubted virtues…this exemplary biography, full of new insights and fresh documents unearthed and published for the first time, makes fascinating reading.” The Scotsman.

“Lownie’s study is equally well argued and written with an evident, though at times exasperated, fondness for his subject.” Scotland on Sunday

“He has been the subject of previous biographies, but Andrew Lownie’s is a welcome addition…Mr Lownie has done him proud.” Financial Times

“Brilliantly written and researched - and the first biography of Buchan in 30 years - Lownie draws on newly-released private papers to astutely pick his way through the public image and the passionately private man, painting a vivid and refreshingly readable literary portrait of one of the great unacknowledged and substantive figures in recent Scottish life.” Catholic Life.

” The best biography yet of the creator of Richard Hannay and The Thirty-Nine Steps. It shows Buchan to be the complex and rewarding figure his fans have always known him to be.” The Express on Sunday

” Lively and brilliantly researched new biography of one of Scotland’s most enduringly popular writers…Buchan’s was nevertheless an impressive life, and Lownie tells it with sympathy and style. The Scotsman

“It is hard to imagine how this deft portrait of the bantamweight politician and still highly readable thriller writer could be bettered…As Lownie’s excellent literary criticism suggests, Buchan’s paradoxical nature underlies the evergreen potency of his novels.” Independent

“This exemplary biography draws on private papers not used until now to give a most convincing portrait of a complex character as well as lucid and detailed criticism of Buchan’s literary oeuvre.” Sunday Telegraph

“…this biography (rightly acclaimed on its first publication in 1995) will help restore a much-underated author - and historic figure - to his rightful status.” Scotsman

“Andrew Lownie’s widely researched biography of this fascinating, complex and enigmatic figure has to be the definitive work. Lownie is admirably objective in his approach to Buchan and perceptive on the springs of his character.” Sarah Bradford, The Tablet

“…a compelling picture of the author’s life, and a wide view of British political, social and literary circles during the first half of the 20th century.” Scots Magazine

“…solid and scholarly…” The Globe and Mail.

“In his thorough and lucid biography, Andrew Lownie, a Scottish journalist and editor of several collections of Buchan’s stories and poetry, sympathetically evokes this `highly complex and private man who may not always himself have understood his own motivations and abilities.’ ” New York Times

“…the full sweep of this remarkable man’s career is well told by Andrew Lownie in John Buchan: The Presbyterian Cavalier.” Washington Times

Prester John (Webster’s Spanish Thesaurus Edition) by John Buchan

This is a good old fashioned adventure story– right along with lines of “King Soloman’s Mines”, “Allen Quartermain”, “Beau Gests”, “The Sea-Hawks”,”She”, “Scaramouche”,”The Scarlet Pimpernel”, etc.

“Prester John” is based on a character/myth of the same name. Thoughout the Middle Ages it was rumored that a priest named “Prester (Father) John” had traveled to Africa to convert the natives. But instead emassed a huge fortune and made himself king of this mysterous part of Africa. So as you can expect this story is full of lost civilizations, hidden treasures, deepest-darkest Africa, great friendship and ruthless betrayal, explorers of spooky places, tigers and lions, witch doctors, and just plan good old fashioned late-victoria adventures. And despite it being written 100 or so years ago, it is still very,very readable.

So if you just want 100% escapism, or to introduce a child to the joys (and excitement) of reading, you can’t go wrong with this story…esp.

Golden Girl: How Natalie Coughlin Fought Back, Challenged Conventional Wisdom, and Became America’s Olympic Champion by Michael Silver and Natalie Coughlin

“… in a crowded press conference, and, in perfect English, asked Natalie Coughlin a pointed question. …”

Despite what many bitter terrapin swimming fans may say, this is an excellent book that talks about Natalie and her path to success. FYI to people reading the reviews…the Terrapin Swim Team (which was portrayed in a negative light) has been soliciting their team members to comment on Natalie’s book…Just take their book reviews with a grain of salt! I absolutely loved it and it is a truly inspiring story of a girl whould not give up despite terrible obstacles! I will recommend to many of my friends inside and out of the swimming community!!!

Fast Lane to Victory: The Story of Jenny Thompson (Anything You Can Do… New Sports Heroes for Girls) by Doreen Greenberg, Michael Greenberg, Jenny Thompson, and Phil Velikan

Swimming is a sport that attracks so many girls, and this book can help them get a picture of what it means to be a champion. It is an easy read. It reaveals some of the things she struggled with in her life as she grew up. We used this book to write a biography report. The appendix has a list of highlights of Jenny’s career, and a history of women’s swimming. I also appreciate the “Sports Talk” section that is a spring board for discussing (1) dealing with disappointment, (2)body image, (3) competitive anxiety, (4) benefits of Sports participation for girls, and (5) other general questions about competing in sports.

Influencer: The Power to Change Anything by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, David Maxfield, and Ron McMillan

“… Swimming gold medalist Natalie Coughlin completes each leg of her races with fewer strokes than …”

This is an interesting, easy-to-read guide toward building one’s ability to influence others and to thereby create constructive change. Building upon the work of Albert Bandura, Stanley Milgram, and other psychologists who specialized in social learning theory, the authors of Influencer: The Power to Change Anything went hunting for people, all over the world, who were able to accomplish major tasks by influencing people to change their behavior. The authors then analyzed what these expert influencers did, so as to give the reader ideas on how to exert influence in more effective ways. The authors also included several examples of major efforts to bring about change, that failed dramatically, and gave their view of what was missing in those change campaigns.

So, what did the authors find? Most persistent problems that seem immune to change efforts, have one, or both, of two factors in common: the people involved do not feel capable of making the change; the people involved do not feel that the proposed change would be an improvement. In other words, the factors are ability and motivation. The authors also looked at three different levels, for each problem: the individual, the social group, the environment of the situation. Thus, if you want to influence people to make a change, there are six basic loci for change input: individual ability (i.e., skill training), individual motivation (e.g., incentives), group ability (e.g., increase networking), group motivation (e.g., modeling and healthy competition), environmental assets (e.g., make the necessary components more readily available), and environmental feedback (e.g., improve the consequence system for success and for failure).

In order to explain how these six different modes of, or targets for influence, can be affected, the authors use a handful of examples to illustrate what they mean. They keep returning to these examples, and the reader gets to know them well. The two best ones are probably the Delancey Center in California, where oft-convicted drug-abusing felons are helped to step out of that way of living and, with a high success rate (according to this book) become employed, law-abiding, drug-free citizens; and the Carter Center’s efforts to eradicate a horrible parasitic infection that was once widespread in Africa and Asia, called the guinea worm. By repeatedly returning to these examples, the reader not only understood the complexity of the approach needed, but also how it was done, without tremendous cost, using all six of the influence factors.

The book is written in a friendly, almost familiar, conversational tone. While that might not fit every non-fiction book, it worked well here, as another example of how to present information in a listener-friendly manner. It was also quite clear that the authors believe in what they say, passionately.

However, as can happen when researchers write about their theories, in a passionate way, this book seems to promise more than it actually delivers. I am a clinical psychologist, and I was particularly interested in one of the examples used, about a man named Henry, who wanted desperately to lose weight. Unfortunately, this ended up being the weakest, least-detailed example of the bunch. I ended up understanding much more about how to eradicate guinea worm infestations, than how to help Henry shed some pounds. The authors come out of a business orientation, and they did not seem sure on how to apply their methods to an individual with a personal problem. They tried, but they succeeded much less on dealing with Henry than on how to kill parasites.

I must say, though, that I think reading this book might end up being very valuable to me. It reminded me of a book that I read, written by a professor of mine, Sandor Brent, called Psychological and Social Structures. When I read that book, I thought it was so abstract and theoretical that I would never find its ideas to be meaningful or useful. Over time, though, I kept seeing examples of Dr. Brent’s ideas play out in front of me, in politics and in the agency where I work. Whenever a process changed, or new staff joined a team, or when an election was held, or a new law put in place, I could see many of Dr. Brent’s concepts unfolding and playing out. There is some value in Influencer: The Power to Change Anything and, like Psychological and Social Structures, I think that I will keep coming back to Influencer: The Power to Change Anything and some of its ideas, and finding new ways to apply what was presented.

It’s a Girl: Women Writers on Raising Daughters by Andrea J. Buchanan

“… They worship Venus and Serena and Natalie Coughlin, the Olympic backstroke champion. They think it’s okay for families …”

My husband brought this home for me and I tossed it on the book shelf for two years. I opened it last week and read and read and cried and laughed and when I put it down, I went to the computer and bought six copies, and will buy more to give to everyone I know with a teenage daughter. Read the story on page 199. it will KILL you! Amazing. And the one on page 36. I LOVE these women. Thanks Andrea.

Climbing the Corporate Ladder in High Heels by Kathleen Archambeau and M. Kathleen Archambeau

“… She’s now retired to pursue her medical degree full-time. And Natalie Coughlin, a Cal-Berkeley graduate, …”

I assumed that this book was just going to be dedicated to the woman of the work force. I was worried and didn’t really want to read it. After all ~ I was one who voted for George Bush. Now I regret that but I do not regret the fact that I read this amazing book about how to empower women in the corporate world. This is a book that should be read by men and women. It teaches us very valuable aspects to succeed in life and in our jobs. HOWEVER, I just got to the end of the book and was upset to see that there was no where to go from here! It left me with no action plan. However, Smiles to Kathleen for writing this wonderful book!!!

Leonard Maltin’s Movie Guide 2008 (Leonard Maltin’s Movie Guide) by Leonard Maltin

“… Lena Olin, Omid Djalili, Stephen Greif, Ken Stott, Charlie Cox, Natalie Dormer, Tim Mclnnemy, Leigh Lawson. The amorous bed-hopping lover of 18th-century …”

Have you noticed? There are two versions of this book (the other is Leonard Maltin’s 2008 Movie Guide (Leonard Maltin’s Movie Guide (Signet))) and they seem identical except for the price. But there IS another difference: the size! This one is bigger — 8 inches tall instead of 7. That may not sound like much, but it really makes a difference. The two books have exactly the same pages, just at different sizes, and the smaller one’s reduced type is much harder to read. In other words, stick with this one.

Size aside, this is an exhaustive reference work. It lists every movie made from 1960 through early 2007, as well as most major films before then. Each listing has a star rating and short summary of its film as well as key specs (director, major cast, running time and year released) and icons identify whether each film has been released on DVD, videocassette or laserdisc.

There’s also a list of mail order and online sources for obscure titles, and, on the last 57 pages, an index of actors. Want a quick list of every movie ever made by Humphrey Bogart? Reese Witherspoon? Jim Carrey? Here’s where to find them.

Overall, this is a great book for any Natalie Dormer fan.

John Currin by Alison M. Gingeras, Dave Eggers, John Currin, and Gagosian Gallery

These art books are getting crazy, price wise. At least someone is making an effort to publish. (Gagosian who also gave us Saville’s book) This is Currins raisone to date. Kind of odd considering his age. (What an ego trip that must be!) I like him, so it was a must buy for me. The book is large to begin with, 13 x 10. Color wise the reproductions are excellent. I have seen many of these in real life and as best I remember they have done a good job capturing the image. The general layout of the book is such that the main image being shown is on the right side and the image info is on the left. Many times there is also a drawing or photograph showing Currin’s ideas for the painting. It works very well, I thought. Every once in a while there will be a closeup, which there can never be enough for my taste. My beef is that they reproduced some images with far to much margin around the picture. I have to assume based on the sizes of the paintings given that they were trying to keep the ratio of picture to reproducton consistent. What I mean is that I think they were trying to reproduce large paintings larger and smaller paintings smaller. Why, I dont know. Size is ALWAYS a problem for me with art books. The good old days when a publisher would print a horizontal image sideways on the page are long gone. (Heaven forbid we have to turn the book.) Currin doesnt have to many horizontal pictures so its not a big issue. Eggers involvment with the book is in producing a fictional narative of what is occuring in the a few of the images (11 in total). Interesting idea. The two essays are very well written. If you are a Currin fan I think this is a book worth having. Its big and beautiful, even if all of the reproductions arent as large as they could be. If you think you want it, get it now. Im thinking there wasnt a big print run on this one. A big tip of the hat to Gagosian! Thanks snookie!! Keep em comming!!

John Currin by Robert Rosenblum

I had the pleasure of picking up this volume at the opening of Mr. Currin’s American retrospective in Chicago a few years back, and subsequently meeting Mr. Currin. He’s a very quiet and gentle man but you can honestly sense his vast knowledge of painting and the psyche lying just underneath his guy next door-ness. Painting and the psyche is exactly what his work is about. He paints mainly women, in the lushest and most traditional manner you can think of. He paints them in his own twisted version of neo-mannerism using extremely traditional oil painting techniques. Indeed, he’s probably the only painter on the contemporary art scene who’s capable of painting in the manner that he paints, which recalls Raphael, Cranach, and Chardin to name a few. He has a sense of style and color that challenges the greatest masters, but he never runs too far with his talent, he has always maintained an effortless and subtle outrageousness. Imagine if Russ Meyer had let Martha Stewart helm his pictures and you have a John Currin painting. This book is a sublime example of what an artists monograph should be. A terrific and long interview with the artist, a landmark and rare essay by Rosenblum on his favourite topic of figurative painting, and the best colored plates you can imagine, fully recreating the color and freshness of Currin’s paintings. I hate to touch this book because it’s value will undoubtedly increase as the monograph becomes rarer, but I find this impossible because it’s just so terrific and filled with Currin’s imagery and information. This is the definitive John Currin book, and a MUST for any fan of his work.

John Currin Selects by Cheryl Brutvan and John Currin

I have the book in my library but to tell you the truth I was not that impressed with it. Very small physically and not much to it.

Parkett #65 : John Currin, Laura Owens, Michael Raedecker by John Currin, Laura Owens, and Michael Raedecker

Presenting unique and in-depth collaborations and editions with leading contemporary artists, Parkett No. 65 will be published at the end of September 2002, featuring collaborations by three of today’s most exciting mid-career painters: John Currin (USA), Laura Owens (USA), and Michael Raedecker (The Netherlands).

Modern Art, Revised and Updated (Trade) (3rd Edition) by Sam Hunter and John Jacobus

“… John Currin. Thanksgiving. 2003. Oil on canvas, 68 x 52″.

It was a required book for class. I bought it and was very happy with the organization and explanation of the different movements and periods in Modern art.

A World History of Art by Hugh Honour and John Fleming

“… create form. At first glance, the paintings of the American John Currin (h. 1962) are unequivocally figurative. A closer look, however, reveals …“

As a student of fine and decorative art, “A World History of Art” has proved an invaluable resource for me. Unlike so many texts intended to provide a comprehensive overview of the history of art, this book is fresh and enjoyable, offering a wealth of information in a succinct and articulate manner. It is all too easy to deteriorate into ponderous, heavy prose when discussing the history of art, but Honour and Fleming generally manage to avoid the trap and move steadily and seamlessly through both time and place in discussing the progression of art.

“A World History of Art” is, primarily, an academic text and is therefore a proverbial doorstop of a book - I would not recommend it as a coffee table adornment, but would strongly encourage students or connoisseurs to consider it as a reference. It is an ideal source of general information for the university or postgraduate student, and would serve as an excellent introduction for anyone seeking to study the history of art.

Source: Librivox
Length: 5 hr, 48 min
Reader: rachelellen

The book: In the 1880s, the plains of Nebraska were a forbidding place to make a home. This book, whose title is taken from a Walt Whitman poem, follows one Swedish immigrant family trying to farm the land in the face of drought, sickness, cold, and insects. Yet, one member of the family, the eldest daughter Alexandra, loves this wild land, and so her father wills the farm to her on his deathbed. Around Alexandra swirl the plots of her brothers Oscar and Lou and the tragedy of her youngest brother Emil.

This is a book following three parallel romances. The first, of Alexandra and her childhood friend Carl Lindstrom, is a romance complicated by the calculations of what is prudent. The second, of Emil and the married Marie Shabata, is complicated by passion and jealousy. I believe that the third romance, that between the pioneers and the land that is the most complex. It’s a relationship of brain and heart, comfort and danger, life and death. This is a relationship that we don’t often see with our seemingly tamed land, but it’s what Cather wanted to document before it disappeared.

Rating: 8/10

The reader: Rachelellen reads beautifully. She has a clear American accent that is easy to listen to. Her phrasing and inflection compliments Cather’s flowing prose. The recording has a very slight hiss and a breath on the /s/ sounds, but this is only discernible at high volume. As I mention in my review of her reading Silas Marner, rachelellen is a captivating reader for a story that could be considered boring were it not for her skill in bringing it to life.

In “O Pioneers!”, her classic novel first published in 1913, Willa Cather wrote, “The history of every country begins in the heart of a man or a woman.” By revealing to us the hearts of those pioneer immigrants in this book, Cather offers a moving meditation on United States culture and history.

“O Pioneers!” tells the story of a community in Nebraska farm country. Her main character, Alexandra Bergson, is a Swedish immigrant. Cather creates a marvelous portrait of the community and its rich mix of European ethnic groups: Norwegian, Swedish, French, etc. It is especially fascinating to see the multicultural, multiethnic world they created in the United States. Cather also depicts the cultural and linguistic “shift” that takes place along generational lines.

Cather’s story deals with issues of economics, gender roles, and sexuality. In addition to the formidable Alexandra, she creates a cast of compelling characters. And her luminous prose style evokes all of the sensations of Alexandra’s world: the smell of ripe wheat, the chirping of insects in the long grass, the golden play of light in an apple orchard.

But this is Alexandra’s book. She is a great American heroine who reminds me of such beloved characters as Zora Neale Hurston’s Janie (from “Their Eyes Were Watching God”) or Alice Walker’s Celie (from “The Color Purple”). Like those great characters, Alexandra will break your heart, deeply touch your soul, and ultimately leave you feeling richer for having known her.

Finally, as an interesting companion text to “O Pioneers!” try “Anna Christie,” the 1922 play by U.S. writer Eugene O’Neill. O’Neill’s life and career were contemporary with Cather’s, and “Anna Christie,” like “O Pioneers!”, deals with a Swedish immigrant woman in the United States.

The praises of motherhood are sung, especially motherhood which embraces large families for the simple reason that children are blessings. Thankfully, the Nancy Campbell-style legalism (which many believe COMMANDS women to get up off their birthing beds, wake up their husbands and get to work on the next baby) is avoided entirely. “And the Lord BLESSED them….” How did He bless them? With fertility and children. Look up Genesis 1:28 and Genesis 9:1 and decide for yourself. No doubt children are blessings and no doubt having a large family is a wonderful, wonderful blessing to which I can attest (I have five children and would love to have more). However, the emphasis here is upon the reasons children are blessings - to one another and also to their parents who are given opportunity to live a life of selfless giving.

The end of the book appropriately contrasts the impact of the life lived in the light of death. The daughter/protagonist of the virtuous mother has worked for a wealthy, self-absorbed woman whose life is “busy,” but with details which hold no eternal weight. The other woman, the protagonist’s mother, has spent her life in selfless service to her beloved husband and many children. She is happy and content in this, having learned the secret to happiness is living a life in service to others. Although neither woman has died, the daughter/ protagonists imagines the funerals of her mother and her employer in her mind. She then comes to the inexorable conclusion that her wealthy employer would not truly be missed, by her wealthy socialite friends, her husband, or even by her own children. She is not central to their lives or well-being, having abandoned her opportunity to invest herself in them. The book is encouraging and inspiring to those whose vision of selfless parenting is under attack.

Zip file of the entire book (81MB)

Biblical Literacy: The Most Important People, Events, and Ideas of the Hebrew Bible by Joseph Telushkin

Other than the Christian Bible (until I read this book, I only thought of THE Bible as exclusively Christian), this is the only book about scripture that I’ve read written by a Jew. I’ve read agnostics, atheists, and Christians views on the Bible, but never the Jewish perspective outside of scripture itself–this was a mistake. Understanding from this perspective has opened my eyes to so many things I found confusing about the Christianity. So many Christians believe that the Old Testament is negligible in its importance, yet Christ reaffirmed the Old Testament teachings again and again.

As for the reviewer that faulted the author in his interpretation of Christian theologies like the godhood of Christ or the Virgin Birth, Christians reading this book need to remember that Rabbi Telushkin is NOT A CHRISTIAN. He is Jewish. He would no more defend the truth of Christianity than Christians would Islam. Yes, we have some common beliefs, but each religion is unique and separated from theological unity by critical, fundamental differences. Understanding this, the rabbi is actually not as harsh about Christianity as he could have been–he simply does not share our beliefs about Christ’s deity, and the book reflects this. Don’t fault him because he’s true to his faith.

I’m sure as with Christian authors, there are Jewish authors who disagree with Rabbi Telushkin. I don’t know if his are the accepted interpretations of Jewish scripture or just personal opinion. Still, I found much of what he had to say so very enlightening that I would not hesitate to recommend this book to Christians and non-Christians. It clarified so many issues for me and did nothing but strengthen my faith in Jesus. I look forward to reading other Jewish authors so that my relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ will be even stronger.

Law, Legend, and Incest in the Bible: Leviticus 18-20 by Calum M. Carmichael

“… 136 Law, Legend, and Incest in the Bible Biblical authors characterized cultic prostitution as a foreign phe- nomenon. The …”

Interpreting the perennially perplexing sexual regulations of Leviticus 1820 in a radically new way, Calum M. Carmichael offers a key to understanding not only the texts themselves but also the nature of lawgiving throughout the Pentateuch. Carmichael identifies and offers solutions to puzzles such as why the lawgiver explicitly prohibits certain obviously wrongful acts (such as a son’s intercourse with a mother), but not others (such as full brother with sister), why he censures children instead of adults in taboo couplings, and why rules not connected with incest (prohibiting Molech worship and intercourse with a menstruating woman) are included with rules about incest. Reading these laws against the events described in Genesis, Carmichael asserts that the conduct of biblical ancestors–from Lot’s fathering of children with his daughters to Abraham’s marriage to his half-sister–was the inspiration for the incest rules in Leviticus. He maintains that the Levitical codes cannot be separated from their larger narrative framework. Invaluable for biblical interpretation, Carmichael’s approach also has broader applications, clarifying as it does the tendency of lawmakers to formulate general rules in response not to obvious but rather to idiosyncratic problems.

I Am…: Biblical Women Tell Their Own Stories by Athalya Brenner

“… But, in ancient Israel and according to biblical laws, incest with both maternal and paternal sisters is generally prohibited (Lev. …”

Athalya Brenner is Professor of Hebrew Bible at the University of Amsterdam (Netherlands) and Roslyn and Manny Rosenthal Distinguished Professor-in-Residence at Brite Divinity School (Fort Worth, Texas). She is general editor of the Feminist Companion to the Bible.

The Oxford History of the Biblical World by Michael D. Coogan

If I ever had to teach a course in Biblical history, this would be the required text. I would also assign Coogan’s excellent “The Oxford Companion to the Bible” (B. Metzger & M. Coogan, eds.; Oxford UP: 1993) as supplemental reading. While “The Oxford Companion” is a one volume encyclopedia of general historical and theological Biblical topics, the “Oxford History” affords the most detailed and systematic (and illustrated) treatment of Biblical history and archaeology of the two. The two works complement each other very well.

“The Oxford History of the Biblical World” is a single volume work of outstanding scholarship and clarity. Thirteen chapters comprise the text (the prologue and epilogue are just as informative as the substantive chapters), each written by prominent experts in ancient Near-Eastern history. There is a consistent unity throughout the chapters despite their disparate authorships. Each chapter is thoroughly steeped in the history, geography, economics, culture and religion of the period. Lavish attention is given to the most current archaeological and etymological findings. There are also copious references to and excerpts of the most important secular texts of the period.

This solid foundation of scholarship gives the work a first-class objectivity. Both traditional and modern conclusions are explored in depth. While certain facts may give rise to multiple conclusions, the authors invariably make plain all available evidence for the reader.

The volume is richly illustrated. Most pictures are in black and white, but with excellent resolution. The 26 beautiful color plates are in the middle of the book. Among the illustrations are diagrams and photos of current archaeological excavations, excellent maps of varying themes and useful tables and charts. Font size is 11 point and 1.5 spaced.

The editors and contributors make Biblical history extremely accessible to the lay reader. This volume, however, does not have footnotes. It does have a select bibliography at the end of each chapter. The text flow is smooth and easy to follow.

No Bible historian should be without it!

Incest and Agency in Elizabeth’s England by Maureen Quilligan

“… the poem necessarily falls more heavily on the trope of incest itself than on the biblical story of the brother and sister couple, Miriam and Moses. …”

Provocative and highly instructive. Quilligan writes a history of women’s authorship that honors the filiation among women without being exclusively feminine, in that she takes into account significant male contributors to the ‘female line.’ Her work effectively combines sophisticated theory with a keen eye for historical detail to show how women authors of the period consolidated their authority as writers through the use of incestuous motifs.Quilligan draws theory from anthropology and French feminism, and detail from history. While her contention that incest (broadly defined) often empowers women as authors may be surprising, her argument is convincing — and she crowns it with a reading of Elizabeth I’s own part in this.

Marriage and Family in the Biblical World by Ken M. Campbell

“… 14:3-4; Lk 3:19). Some Second Temple authors legislate beyond the biblical incest injunctions. The Damascus Document goes further than the biblical listing …”

In this very informative volume six Protestant biblical scholars provide us with almost everything you’ve wanted to know about the institutions of marriage and family in biblical times. The six scholars cover all the territory, with incisive chapters on marriage and family in the Ancient Near East (ANE), in ancient Israel, in Greek society, in Roman society, in Second Temple Judaism, and in the New testament.

Taken together they provide comprehensive coverage of the issues as developed over several thousand years of biblical history. Family life and marriage patterns are expertly covered in detail, as are all the related questions: divorce, sexual ethics, adoption, parenting, abortion, celibacy, children, homosexuality, and gender roles.

Consider the chapter on “Marriage and Family in Ancient Israel” by Daniel Block. This is an excellent example of biblical scholarship combined with social and historical analysis. Block, who has written some excellent biblical commentaries on the book of Judges and the book of Ezekiel, here provides a detailed survey of the Old Testament understanding of marriage and family. It is very-well referenced, with 321 footnotes supplementing the 70 page chapter. All aspects of family life are covered.

His discussion on patriarchy is most illuminating. Block argues that the term itself is misleading, and should be replaced by the term “patricentrism”. This is because the biblical emphasis is on the responsibilities of the husband, not just his privileges and power. Wives, children and even slaves were treated with respect, even if a hierarchy of authority was in order.

Wives especially were not second-class citizens, as some might suppose. Indeed, women were not just property of the husband, with no legal status. Instead, the dignity of the wife is affirmed in the Old Testament, as is her influence in the household. True, examples of male headship being abused appear in the biblical accounts, but they are the exception to the rule.

It is interesting to compare this chapter with Victor Matthews’ chapter on the ANE, to see some contrasts and similarities. He discusses a number of practices which are very much in the news today, including contraception, abortion and homosexuality.

His chapter, along with the chapters on Greek and Roman families, show that although many differences exist, there have been some constants throughout this period. Family life has always been the center of all societies; marriage has been the norm; polygamy was always the exception; and homosexuality was nowhere widely embraced.

The last two articles on Second Temple (intertestamental) Judaism, and the New testament, show a continuation of that established by the Old Testament. Jesus of course, while affirming the traditional understanding of marriage and family, did indicate that his followers comprise a much larger family that in some ways transcends the natural family unit.

Thus in his calls to discipleship, willingness to leave family behind is a hallmark of serious commitment to Christ. Such radical demands do not however mean that Jesus takes a lower view of marriage and family. It is just that the demands of the gospel are to take priority over every aspect of life, no matter how good and noble they may be. Total allegiance to Jesus may mean abandoning more natural ties.

Of course both Peter and Paul will later to go on and reaffirm marriage and family, and even make qualification of leadership in the church dependent on how one rules in his own home. So while the New testament views marriage and family through the lens of God’s kingdom and purposes, it still retains its very high status and calling.

This book is an excellent source of information on all things pertaining to marriage and family in the biblical world. Given the contentious debates surrounding marriage and family today, this book will provide a good historical, social and religious framework with which to judge such discussions.

The Genesis of Justice : 10 Stories of Biblical Injustice That Led to the 10 Commandments and Modern Morality and Law by Alan M. Dershowitz

“… The imperative of motherhood-especially motherhood of biblical leaders-trumps even the rules against incest, as it did when Lot’s daughter raped their father in …”

Never underestimate Alan Dershowitz. That’s a lesson I learned when I was a student of his at Harvard Law School. Just when it seemed like he was cornered, with his argument tattered to ribbons, he would emerge with a counterargument that depended on his first argument being devasted. He had just successfully set-up the other professor (who shall remain nameless here) once again. Since then, I have seen him use the same strategy successfully time and again in many of his most famous cases. He has the nerve to skirt the edge of defeat to grasp victory.

So I was not surprised to see that having taken on the Book of Genesis as his client that a similar strategy prevails here. The book is based on his successful seminar on the same subject which he has recently been teaching at Harvard.

He does a marvelous job of taking a religious text and examining it as a source of legal precedent both in sacred and secular terms. Few would have the nerve, but your understanding of Genesis will be greatly improved as a result. He encourages you, as well as his students, to bring your own religious beliefs to the discussion. He proposes no official interpretations, and shares a diversity of opinions from learned Rabbis and religious thinkers of the Christian and Moslem faiths. In each case, he also shares his own interpretation. If you are like me, you will not always agree with him, but you will be interested to know what he concludes. He undertakes his inquiry in the spirit of a disputatious Hebrew school student who earned rebukes for his impertinent questions about where Cain’s wife came from. He also draws from the Jewish tradition of encouraging the faithful to study the texts for their meaning.

He clearly confronts the contradictions within Genesis through examining 10 stories, one per chapter. In the story of Adam and Eve and the expulsion from the Garden of Eden, Professor Dershowitz emphasizes that God changes the deal. Having told Adam that he would die if he ate from the Tree of Knowledge, Adam goes on to live quite a long life. Having never told Eve not to eat from the tree, God punishes her with pain of childbirth and expulsion also. He describes God as having erred in dealing with Adam and Eve. You’ll have to decide for yourself what your interpretation is. The title of the chapter is “God Threatens — and Backs Down.”

Here are the rest of the first 10 chapter titles. They give you a sense of the argument that Professor Dershowitz is building:

Cain Murders — and Walks

God Overreacts — and Floods the World

Abraham Defends the Guilty — and Loses

Lot’s Daughters Rape Their Father — and Save the World

Abraham Commits Attempted Murder — and Is Praised

Jacob Deceives — and Gets Deceived

Dina Is Raped — and Her Brothers Take Revenge

Tamar Becomes a Prostitute — and the Progenitor of David and the Messiah

Joseph is Framed — and Then Frames His Brothers

His basic points in these chapters are that bad things happen to good people and vice versa, that punishment on earth is often disproportionate and inappropriate (such as punishing descendents as yet unborn), and that the rules keep shifting.

Having driven you to the brink of despair about what Genesis means, he then offers his counterargument that all of this is purposeful on God’s part. In chapters 11 and 12, he argues that Genesis is there to set the stage for the Ten Commandments, so show what a world is like without firm and lasting sacred rules that apply to all people at all times. In this context, God’s apparent inconsistency is not so troubling, because it is replaced with the consistency of today. In chapter 13, he argues that a meaningful set of religious rules requires that there be justice in an afterlife. Otherwise, the obvious injustices in this life would leave people disaffected from religion. In chapter 14, he connects each of the Ten Commandments to one of the stories in Genesis. These form both a precedent for principle, as well, as a background for understanding the need for a better rule. He connects these points to secular law, as well.

Those with a Jewish religious education will find the material most familiar. To make the text more available to Christians and Moslems, he adopts the common English translations of the Hebrew for his usual references. Fundamentalist Christians will find an occasional nod in their direction, but will probably not find the information very helpful in many cases. Agnostics and people from religions not based on the Old Testament will find the perspective of creating a legal code primarily relevant to their interests. The modern-day examples of crime and criminals will be appealing to all.

I think any reason to spend more time with God’s word is good, and I applaud Professor Dershowitz for adding another useful perspective to the riot of apparent contradictions in Genesis. Those with faith will feel affirmed. Those without faith may find a pathway closer to that having faith.

After you finish this book, think of your own examples of religious texts that provide confusion in your mind. Then do some reading to better understand what those texts could mean.

Have faith and prosper!

What the Bible “Really” says About Sex: A New Look at Sexual Ethics from a Biblical Perspective by Tom Gruber

“… the taboo most people have been raised with which prohibits incest. In biblical times, …”

This book will challenge many of the evangelical-american paradigms regarding intimacy in human relationships. Many of our paradigms and opinions on sexuality do not come from actual statements in scripture but rather an interpretation of statements in scripture which are quite frequently taken out of historical context. The author does a great job of introducing these texts, placing them in historical context, and giving a layman’s explanation of the exegetics involved.

A criticism of the book is that every chapter seems to leave the reader with questions rather than conclusions (even though there’s a conclusion at the end of each chapter.) This is most probably the author’s intent, but it does place the burden of conclusion squarely on the reader. This will hopefully encourage those who pick up this book to do the research necessary in order to complete the arguments that the author starts.

If you pick up this book, you would do well to do as Paul encouraged the early church to do… search the scriptures yourself to verify what is being said. If you honestly search you will be surprised.

Ungentlemanly Acts: The Army’s Notorious Incest Trial by Louise Barnett

“… 135n Bentzini, Captain Charles, 196, 202, 240 Beulah (Wilson), 114 Biblical tradition and incest, 215-16 Bickler, Jacob, 89 279 …”

In “Ungentlemanly Acts”, author Louise Brooks gives us a history lesson in military law and in the sexual attitudes of polite society in 19th century America. “The army’s notorious incest trial”, in which Captain Andrew Geddes was accused of committing “conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman”, took place in 1879 and concerned events that took place at Fort Stockton, in the no-man’s land of the West Texas frontier. Captain Geddes was court-martialed because he had accused a fellow officer, Lieutenant Louis Orleman, of conducting an incestuous relationship with his teenaged daughter, Lillie Orleman. The courtroom drama lasted three months, during which the despotic nature of military law and the obsessive propriety of Victorian society combined to produce what now looks like a bizarre spectacle, indeed, as well as a probable miscarriage of justice. And the scandal didn’t end there. Eventually, even General of the Army William Sherman involved himself in the saga.

Louise Brooks places Geddes’ trial in its social and historical context by delving into the culture’s attitudes towards incest, as evidenced at the time by the Lord Byron-Harriet Beecher Stowe scandal, virginity, and the military’s view of justice and proper conduct. It is interesting to see how 19th century social mores, with all of their contradictions and peculiarities, were so graphically reflected in this one scandalous court-martial. Notorious court cases frequently make excellent eyes through which to see a culture’s less public character. I have to disagree with the author’s assertion in the book’s epilogue that incest continues to be a taboo subject. I think it could be described as a genuine preoccupation in some circles these days. And I question the author’s repeated claim that incest was thought to be so improbable and unnatural that the possibility of its existence was emphatically denied in Victorian society. There is ample evidence to indicate this was the case among the literate middle class -at least in public. But I find it unlikely that incest was so denied among the vast poor and rural populations who did, after all, share beds with their siblings well into their teens and, in many cases, lived on isolated homesteads or farms where they had limited contact with people outside of their own families. My understanding of rural and peasant culture leads me to believe that incest was tacitly acknowledged by most of America while it was being categorically repudiated by polite society. Regardless, Captain Andrew Geddes’ court-martial is a revealing slice of American history, and “Ungentlemanly Acts” does a good job of explaining the context and implications of the case. Recommended to anyone interested in the social history of the United States or in the history of military law and codes of conduct.

Mother-Son Incest: The Unthinkable Broken Taboo Persists; An Updated and Revised Overview of Findings by Hani G. Miletski

I am a psychotherapist and I cannot tell you how many times my male clients who have been sexually abused by their mothers were told this. One man was told this when he confided in his rabbi!

We are a society which does not allow for anyone to talk about about mothers. We see men as perpetrators and women as victims when it comes to sexual issues in general.

There are plenty of mothers who are sexually abusing their sons and daughters. There are at least five books on mothers who have sexually abused their daughters.

There is only one on mothers who sexually abuse their sons–and this is it. A wonderful and brave job to this author.

Thank you for writing this book.

Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky

To call Irene Nemirovksy’s Suite Francaise merely moving would constitute a failure of language. Her work is not only moving, but also haunting, nuanced, and bitter. Considering that Nemirovsky was writing about events in occupied France as they occurred, she is almost supernaturally insightful as to the motivations and feelings of the French and the occupying Boche.

Suite Francaise cannot be read, experienced really, outside of its context and Nemiorvsky’s ultimate fate. Suite Francaise was originally planned to consist of five books, but she had completed (more or less) only two novellas: Storm in June and Dolce. A Jewish Russian immigrant from a well-to-do family, Nemirovsky was an established writer (David Golder, The Ball, Snow in Autumn, The Courilof Affair (Everyman’s Library (Cloth))) when the war began and she fled to the countryside with her husband and two young children. In July 1942 she was arrested and vanished into the Nazi vortex. The story of how her books survived the war before being found and published is well told in the preface to the French edition (included at the end of the Vintage International edition). This volume also includes Nemirovsky’s notes as well correspondence. Do not put this book down without reading all of this additional material.

In `Storm in June’, Nemirovsky describes Parisians’ reactions to the German invasion and focuses primarily on the upper and middle classes with whom she was most familiar. The pictures she paints does very few of the characters much credit. Easy generosity snaps shut once the fleeing realize the extent of their peril. They find that the familiar levers of power no longer function quite so efficiently. Abject fear and growing deprivation reduces nearly everyone to a brutal equality. This commonality proves short-lived as the French army collapses almost immediately and many find their way back to Paris.

`Dolce’ relates life in a French village and the interaction between the inhabitants and the German occupiers. German officers are billeted in the better homes, except for the aristocratic Chateau Montmorts whose owners have reached other accommodations. The story centers on the developing relationship between the German officer Bruno and Lucille Angellier. Nemirovsky deftly explores the conflicting human feelings. In Dolce, Nemirovsky implicitly accepts human needs and emotions sometimes lead to less than ideally honorable conduct.

Oddly, Jews are the missing piece of Suite Francaise, but Nemirovsky planned to include them in the third book, `Capitivity’, which of course was never written due to her own captivity and death in Auschwitz.

Suite Francaise became a literary phenomenon upon publication in 2006. Remarkably, the book actually exceeds the hyperbole. Highest recommendation.

French Stories / Contes Français (A Dual-Language Book) by Wallace Fowlie

Each first-year student at the University of California must fulfill the Subject A Requirement. This requirement has evolved since its inception at UC in 1897-98: now many high school students may fulfill it through College Board Sat-II Writing test scores or Advanced Placement (AP) Examination in English scores. However, if you happen to be one of 16,000 students each year who takes the Subject A Exam on the morning of the second Saturday in May, you will be given a prose passage of some 700-1000 words to read and analyze. Then you will be expected to “write an essay responding on a single topic based on the passage’s content. The topic is one of two general kinds: one focusing almost exclusively on the reading passage itself, and the other encouraging students to draw upon their knowledge and personal experience.” So what does _French Stories/Contes Français_ have to do with passing this dreaded exam?

That May morning, as I squirmed in my seat in labyrinthine Dwinelle Hall, I settled on this topic: “The Use of Irony in a Short Story.” Somehow, I recalled the final story from _French Stories/Contes Français_: “L’Hôte,” by Albert Camus (1913-1960). “L’Hôte” (The Guest) is one of six stories from his _L’Exil et le Royaume_ (1957–the same year he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature). Editor Wallace Fowlie gives this brief synopsis: “The scene of the story is set on a high plateau of Algeria. An Arab has killed a man in a family quarrel, and he is brought to the schoolteacher who is to take him to prison in the next town. The story is constructed around a dramatic irony which forms the conclusion.” Without giving anything away, allow me to tell you, if you do not already know, that “l’hôte” has two meanings in French: “host” and “guest.” French is that kind of language: nuance and double-entendre abound.

After one year of formal French instruction, _French Stories/Contes Français: A Dual Language Book_ became my constant companion. I loved how I could read these ten short stories in French while I covered up the English translations on facing pages. If I stumbled over an unfamiliar word, I could peek, or I could look it up in the small vocabulary section at the end of the book. Since then, I have re-read this “French Reader” many times.

_Contes_ displays no overarching unity, for it is but a sampling of some of the best short stories from 200 years of French Literature. In chronological order, here is the listing of the stories and their authors: “Micromégas” (Micromegas) by Voltaire (1694-1778), “a philosophical tale written in 1752 . . . obviously imitating Swift’s ‘Gulliver’s Travel’s’ “; “La Messe de l’Athée” (The Atheist’s Mass) by Honoré de Balzac (1799-1850), illustrates the passion of “one of the most prolific writers in French literature, and one who has created the largest number of characters.”

Next is “La Légende de Saint Julien l’Hospitalier” (The Legend of St. Julian the Hospitaler) by Gustave Flaubert (1821-1880). This story, one of a volume of three stories (Trois Contes), was written by Flaubert in 1877, twenty years after _Madame Bovary_. “La Légende” differs from this earlier masterpiece because “[i]t is far from being a realistic study of contemporary life . . . .[but rather] it is the attempt to reconstruct medieval customs and characters.”

A “dark” favorite of mine, poet Charles Baudelaire (1821-1867) follows with “Le Spleen de Paris (trois poèmes en prose)” (The Spleen of Paris (Three Poems in Prose)), first published posthumously in 1869. These three works, “Le Vieux Saltimbanque” (The Old Clown), “Le Joujou du Pauvre” (The Poor Boy’s Toy), “La Corde (A Édouard Manet)” (The Rope (To Edouard Manet)) introduced the new genre, or “literary form,” of the prose-poem in France. The editor, Professor Wallace Fowlie of Duke University, stated that these prose-poems were “apologues or fables representing a moral truth.”

Other stories are “Meneut” (Minuet) by Guy de Maupassant (1850-1893); “Mort de Judas” (Death of Judas) by Paul Claudel (1868-1955); “Le Retour de l’Enfant Prodigue” (The Return of the Prodigal Son) by André Gide (1869-1951); “Grand-Lebrun” (Grand-Lebrun) by François Mauriac (1885-1970); and “Le Passe-Muraille” (The Passer-Through-Walls) by Marcel Aymé (1902-1967). “L’Hôte” ends the collection.

Fowlie’s introductions to each story are succinct summations of each author’s philosophy and purpose. He offers a few pages of endnotes and a “questionnaire en français” for each text. _French Stories/Contes Français_ is a book to be savored and studied. I recommend it to beginning students of the French language as well as to those who wish to refresh their memory of French literature.

Les Francais (3rd Edition) by Laurence Wylie and Jean-Francois Briere

Les Francais by Laurence Wylie is worth its textbook price for the serious intermediate student of French. Meticulously edited so that its material is coherant, demanding and ultimately accessible, it offers intelligent and objective commentary on the history and current trends of contemporary French culture. As an adult student of French language (and hence to some degree an autodidact) I hesitated before buying the book, partly due to its price and partly due to my concern that a textbook might not be useful outside a classroom environment. Yet among all the useful books on French language and culture I’ve bought, it’s probably the best value and the best use of my time I’ve encountered.

Grammaire Progressive Du Francais: Ave 400 Exercises by Cle and Eugene Collilieux

This challenges you to figure out French from the first–as a native speaker did. No English, but you can deduce what to do with just a little effort and common sense. My French friend recommended it–she teaches adults privately, and it is excellent!

Talk Dirty French: Beyond Merde: The curses, slang, and street lingo you need to Know when you speak francais (Talk Dirty) by Alexis Munier and Emmanuel Tichelli

This book is a true MUST for the lovers of the French language! You need to have an open mind, a good basic knowledge of French and this book will help you to prepare your speech for fun or for a travel abroad. I found that the use of the book enhanced my vocabulary, and was easy to follow. I could use my Dirty French is public, or I can use it in France. (which I did and I was met with stares of “wow, she has studied”)

Le Testament Francais by Andrei Makine

The book is well written. I have read the French, the Finnish and the English versions and I do admire all these works. The story is beautiful and at the end sensitive, too. The differences between 2 cultures come clearly up.

Angela Merkel (Modern World Leaders) by Clifford W. Mills and Arthur Meier Schlesinger

Angela Merkel by Gerd Langguth

Angela Merkel: Eine politische Biographie by Wolfgang Stock

Angela Merkel. by Gerlinde Wiencirz

Publisher: Hoffmann + Campe Vlg GmbH (December 31, 2003)

Angela Merkel by Jacqueline Boysen

Rauschenberg: Art and Life by Mary Lynn Kotz

‘Notes to accompany an exhibition’ would be a fitting title for this book for those who are unaware of Mary Lynn Kotz’ revised/updated biography of Robert Rauschenberg as they currently enjoy the spectacular traveling exhibition of his works, COMBINES, currently filling the generous spaces of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles. Though the accompanying exhibition catalogue/book COMBINES, also available through Amazon.com, touches on many aspects of Rauschenberg’s life, Kotz is a bit more conversational and adds to the art history aspect of the painter’s life by a broader survey of his output.

Rauschenberg is about as American as they come, being born in Texas to a conservative family, destined for a career in the ministry but instead electing to flee the home and settle in New York where his more bohemian aspects blossomed into the important art figure he has become. His life has been enriched by alliances with Jasper Johns and Merce Cunningham, by struggle with some addictions, a bumpy personal life, but he has always been a warm, friendly, rather selfless artist who was unafraid to create art that reflects his life and times.

Some of the more helpful information Kotz delivers concerns Rauschenberg’s idiosyncratic art techniques, creative modes in painting, photography, collage, construction, print making, and contributions to the theater (not only with sets designed for ballets, but incorporating poetry and media in a poignant manner into his sculptural works). Rauschenberg the Humanitarian also emerges as an icon for other artists to emulate in his serious work with global communication within the arts as a manner of inviting meaningful international conversation.

The book contains a generous number of full color plates of his art and his conceptual stages. The broad aspect of the works Kotz elects to include is very much in her favor as a biographer. For those who wish to understand the man behind the extraordinary art that is traveling the country, add this fine volume to the library. Highly recommended.

Robert Rauschenberg: Combines by Robert Rauschenberg and Paul Schimmel

This audiobook is a catalogue for current exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, and then the Museum of Contemporary Art, LA, and in Europe at the Pompidou Center, Paris and the Moderna Museet, Stockholm.

As installed at the Metropolitan Museum of art, the show is stunning. It’s astonishing that this exhibit is the first time these works from the 1950’s have been shown together. These “combines” — art somewhere between painting, collage, and sculpture — are a foundation of modern art, so much so that art of the second half of the century is hardly conceivable without them. This makes looking at the work afresh more difficult than usual, since seeing these pieces together in 2006 means also viewing through a legacy and school of influence.

But what phenomenal pieces they are! You can see Rauschenberg gobbling down visual techniques whole - collage, assemblage, juxtaposing printed images, materials, sculpture. They are daringly junky and breathtakingly beautiful. I have know idea whether you’d call this conceptual art, or the most luscious, messy opposite of conceptual art you’ve ever seen. The works are fearlessness. Really inspiring.

The catalogue has excellent reproductions, and the photography is quite good at conveying the depth of the pieces - some of the works are presented from several angles so the more sculptural pieces are well conveyed.

Robert Rauschenberg: Cardboards and Related Pieces (Menil Collection) by Yve-Alain Bois, Clare Elliott, and Josef Helfenstein

These works have a special place in Rauschenberg’s oeuvre, taking his marriage of art and life to the extreme. They are profoundly literal, and to my mind, the most audacious things he’s ever done. Here it is. If you want art in the modern world, if you want to see beauty in the world around you, take a cardboard box and put it on the wall. That’s it. Funny how his imagination then drove him to elaborate on this theme, from simple compositions to complex phrasings in cardboard boxes, to the extremes of trompe l’oeil, flourescent back-lighting, and other technically refined means, all to explore the basic premise: beauty is all around us, even in our cast-offs. And what we think of as disposable says a lot about our priorities. The superb essays in this book do their job of illuminating the art without smothering it in analysis. The works speak for themselves. I wish I could have seen the exhibition at Menil, though I did get to see many of these pieces at Sonnabend Gallery in NYC in the early 90s. This is a great book for the lover of modern art, but also anyone who’s ever spent quality time staring in rapt adoration at an oily mud puddle or a pile of raked leaves. Essential!!!

Robert Rauschenberg: Breaking Boundaries by Robert Saltonstall Mattison and Robert Rauschenberg

“… introduction Robert Rauschenberg is one of the most prolific and best-known artists of …”

Reflections of an artist mind unleashed, Rauschenberg’s images of political and social issues are portayed through scattered images and expressive paint strokes. His use of mixed media portrays an intensity between his paintings and the connection expressed in his life and his surroundings.

Random Order: Robert Rauschenberg and the Neo-Avant-Garde (October Books) by Branden W. Joseph

This study of Rauschenberg will doubtless make itself pretty much indispensable in the literature on the artist. It’s a brilliant study- Joseph is in command of the literature on the topic, demonstrates a great deal of theoretical sophistication, as well as showing a lot of sensitivity to the works and their context.

Joseph’s contention is to explore Rauschenberg’s work in relation to the Neo-avant-garde, seeking to show that his work (along with his colleague John Cage) was neither a farcical repetition of 1920s Dada (ie jaded attempts to “shock” the viewer), nor was it an ironic casting-off of the avant-garde project in favour of a capitulation to commodity capitalism (ie through his pop culture references and so on). Instead, Joseph argues- convincingly- that Rauschenberg (and Cage) sought to escape the tyranny of the self- the “ego” of Absract Expressionism, in order to open up perception to differentiation and multiplicity- an attempt to open up a space beyond the totalised structures of late capitalism. (Joseph’s concerns give away his being an ex-student of Benjamin Buchloh- hence these particularly Frankfurt School concerns). So for Joseph, Rauschenberg’s White Paintings, or his Tire Print with John Cage, were not simply juvenile pranks, nor farcical, worn-out shock tactics, but serious attempts to disclocate habitual modes of perception and cognition- in this way, Rauschenberg both differs from, and continues the avant-garde project of political change.

Joseph makes a good case- in particular, his first chapter, on Rauschenberg and Cage, where he examines their interest in temporality and flux in relation to the ideas of Bergson, is quite brilliant. But the level of discussion is sustained throughout- it’s a compelling and fascinating read which will doubtless provoke a great deal of thought.

As you would expect from the MIT Press, its not a study for the lay reader- the usual phalanx of thinkers are brought to bear- Foucault, Deleuze, Bataille and the like- although Joseph draws on them judiciously, without detracting from the focus of his study. In fact its very readable indeed- Joseph hasn’t succumbed (yet) to the puffed-up rhetorical excesses of some of his October colleagues.

Rauschenberg Posters by Marc Gundel

Addressing the Rauschenberg posters, I had expected more on the earlier years, particularly the civil rights posters and processes, and I was disappointed. But that not withstanding, you will find much rich material and insights which make this books worth owning.

Robert Rauschenberg: Transfer Drawings of the 1960s by Lewis Kachur, Jonathan O’Hara, and Robert Rauschenberg

Off the Wall: A Portrait of Robert Rauschenberg by Calvin Tomkins

“… Castelli’s New York gallery repre- sented both Robert Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns, which gave him a certain leverage. …”

Incredibly informative. Thomkins provides excrutiating detail in the most interesting way. Never a dull moment. If you have any interest in Rauschenberg, Johns, Happenings, etc., then you should read this book. There is no way that you will walk away without learning MANY new things.

Paris Changing: Revisiting Eugene Atget’s Paris by Christopher Rauschenberg, Rosamond Bernier, Alison Nordstrom, and Clark Worswick

“… of la belle epoch. In his remarkable rephotographv project Christopher Rauschenberg’s absolute passion for the work of Atget is clear. With …”

Last summer I saw the Atget exhibit at the Bibliotheque Nationale, which was a marvelous passage through a lost time. This book matches some of those absorbing old photos with photos of the same location taken today. I think it’s a fascinating book and I can lose myself in the nuances while comparing the photos. This pasttime may not be to everyone’s taste, but I highly recommend the book to thoughtful people who enjoy looking at things.

Hildegard von Bingen’s Physica: The Complete English Translation of Her Classic Work on Health and Healing by Priscilla Throop

I have tried to use this book once or twice. One of the things that still make me giggle is using lion’s ears to combat deafness. Then I remembered all these animal body-parts that are still being harvested for their medical qualities that are bringing the animals into extinction — like is the case with the rhinoceros and the shark. So I stop giggling and stick to the plant sections.

The recipes that Hildegard uses are sometimes hard to do because I simply have no idea what some of the plants she uses are. She also uses wine a lot, which is new to me. I come from a tea tradition, so boiling things in wine is a true novelty. Maybe this is why I have not used it much since it can be very different from what I know. On the other hand, it has provided me wonderful new experiences in the herbal work! I have not used the mineral section yet, and only stuck to the plant section.

At the very least, it is a fascinating treatise on medieval medicine. I do recommend it!

Hildegard of Bingen: Scivias (Classics of Western Spirituality) by Mother Columba Hart, Jane Bishop, and Barbara Newman

Hildegard was one of the most famoust mystics of the medieval period. A rarity amoung women of that time, she conversed with learned theologians and even the pope, was given considerable autonomy to learn and teach, and was a very gifted writer, poet, theologian, mystic, and scientist.

Hildegard’s visions, which are included in this collection, form a larger set of works of hers which include poems, songs and music, and various encyclopedias. Hildegard was a very learned woman for her time.

Her visions are very complex and involve many elements and themes. Some deal with classic theological motifs from the medieval period, such as the Church, Christ, heaven and hell, the last judgement and the fall. Others deal with the relationship between man (the microcosm) and the universe, while others deal with the mysteries of the Triune God and God’s prescence in nature.

Most striking in Hildegard’s visions is the intimate connection between man, God, and the creation. Mathew Fox rightly said Hildegard is a creation mystic; for her, the divine spirit fills and energises the universe, and the Earth itself is seen in terms as our mother and as sacred. Hurting creation is in fact a way we hurt ourselves, an ecological ethic which can certainly say a lot to us in this time, where our greedy carelessness towards the world and its resources threatens to imperil our very survival as a species. Hildegard also quite rightly and perceptively understands the goodness of creation in terms of the goodness of God, whose abundance is given to us freely out of love. Our sin in Hildegard’s system very much boils down to our selfish tendency to only see ourselves and our wants, rather than our relationship with the creation and the creator. In this way, Hildegard speaks to us today as the prophet, who warns us of the spiritual and material destruction and doom that will come to us if we continue to live in our wicked ways; demythologized and interpreted in our context, this can be read as a prophecy to our own destruction if we do not turn from our sinful selfishness which manifests itself in the reckless way we hurt and exploit other people and the environment merely to sate our own desire.

Hildegard’s work is filled with beauty and colour and is greatly enjoyable also as fine art, and indeed, Hildegard is as much a great artist as she is a prophet and mystic.

This collection of her works is quite good and takes us through the main cycles of prophetic visions

Secrets of God: Writings of Hildegard of Bingen by Hildegard Of Bingen

Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179) is one of the most remarkable figures of a remarkable age. She saw and interpreted visions of cosmic power and significance, yet took an active interest in nature, medicine, the arts, and the major political events of her day. Half of the book is excepts from Hildegard’s three books of visions. Full-page color plates illustrate four of the visions. There are also selections from her writings on plants, animals, stones and metals, and on medicine. There are 22 pages of the words to songs. Hildegard wrote two lives of local saints, and both are sampled here. Fifteen of Hildegard’s letters are given. Brief, informative headnotes introduce each section. A bibliography (up to date in 1996) and a discography of recodings of Hildegard’s music complete this book. Flanagan’s translations read well. Judging from the songs, the only part where I have the Latin original, they are faithful and not excessively interpretive. This book or Flangan’s biography of Hildegard are certainly good places to begin a study of this extraordinary human being.

Meditation Chants of Hildegard Von Bingen by Norma Gentile

Mystical, profound, Just seat , contact your inner self and hear. Contact God within you.

Hildegard von Bingen, 1098-1179

Publisher: P. von Zabern (1998)

Hildegard von Bingen by Michaela Diers

Publisher: Dtv (April 1, 1998)

Hildegard’s Healing Plants: From Her Medieval Classic Physica by Hildegard Von Bingen

“… HILDEGARD VON BINGEN [IX. VICHBONA] [Vichbona (vichbona) is cold. Let whoever suffers in …“

Hildegard Von Bingen was a mystic, a musician, a moralist, as well as a poet, playright, and prophet. She added a little science in there, too, and some believe she must have been a physician. She follows the tradition of the time in that created things are composed of four elements: hot or cold, and wet or dry. She then goes on to tell the medicinal uses for over 200 plants. From aloe to oats to valerian, even an opinion on St. John’s wort, it is amazing that the same plants continue to be a part of natural healing over 800 years after this book was written. That alone makes the book very interesting…

Feather on the Breath of God by Hildegard of Bingen

I’ll make this review more brief than is my usual habit — classical music is not an area of which I possess a lot of knowledge or experience — but I have to say that this is one of the most beautiful, expressive recordings I own. The writings of Hildegard of Bingen have gained more widespread notoriety in the last ten years or so, being popularized by several modern interpretations — some of which, notably the recording on Angel and the recent release by the Swedish group Garmarna are both interesting and revelatory — but this, as another reviewer noted, is the recording to have.

Hildegard von Bingen: Symphoniae (Spiritual Songs) - Sequentia by Hildegard von Bingen

This was the first CD of Hildegard Von Bingen I purchased, and still my favorite. The sprituality and brilliance of this 12th century composer has (in my opinion) rarely been duplicated since. The complexity of the voicings in “O quam mirabilis est” and “Spiritui Sancto honor sit” among the the others, are wonderfully inspired and articulate. There are also four instumental songs on this cd. Which are an excellent study in modal shifts between the medieval fiddles,flutes and harp.The musical brilliance of Sequentia is evident in these arrangements. To the best of my knowledge these are the truest renditions of Hildegard’s music extant.