Book Description
A full-blooded and characterful background book about the dreaded witch hunters who inhabit Warhammer's dark and gothic fantasy universe, the Old World. Full of details on hos they root out evil and disorder, many secrets are revealed about the Templars of Sigmar. Accompanying the text is wonderful design and fantastic internal illustrations. Certainly te grimmest book about the Old World so far!
Customer Reviews:
A must have for the avid witch hunter.......2007-05-28
Despite the small size, this is an essential handbook into the thinking of a Witch Hunter for the warhammer roleplayer. It cleverly covers witch hunting tests and trials that ensuring that zealous witch hunting will never be far from paranoia. While not covering any particular warhammer rules this handbook will allow first and second edition witch hunters to carry on in their often over zealous hunt for Witches, Warlocks, Demons, Undead and anyone who may doubt the witch hunter's authority.
Witch Hunter's Handbook.......2007-03-24
Mildly entertaining- journal style reading that won't change your gameplay. Might influence a gamemaster to throw one in a campaign as an NPC but nothing in here will be used as a resource during a game.
very very good.......2006-10-11
If you like the oldschool witch hunters on the warhammer universe this book is for you its like an actual ref guide on weapons short stories facts on how to spot and find diff sighs of chaos taint etc hope they continue this series
Average customer rating:
- sexist and shallow
- One of his best books ever
- Not for me, but not intended to be, either
- A Darkly Glorious Book That Pulls Few Punches
- Where's the end?
|
Virtual Mode (Virtual Mode Series, Book 1)
Piers Anthony
Manufacturer: Putnam Adult
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 United States
| World Literature
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
| 18th Century
| 19th Century
| 20th Century
| African American
| Asian American
| Classics
| Collections & Readers
| Drama
| General
| Hispanic
| History & Criticism
| Humor
| Jewish American
| Letters & Correspondence
| Native American
| Poetry
| Short Stories
| Women Writers
General
| Science Fiction
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Anthony, Piers
| ( A )
| Authors, A-Z
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
Hardcover
| Anthony, Piers
| ( A )
| Authors, A-Z
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
Look Inside Fiction Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
Look Inside Science Fiction & Fantasy Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
Look Inside Teen Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
Similar Items:
-
Fractal Mode
-
Chaos Mode (The Mode Series)
-
DoOon Mode
-
Robot Adept (Apprentice Adept Series, Book Five) (Apprentice Adept)
-
Out of Phaze (Apprentice Adept)
ASIN: 0399136614 |
Amazon.com
The first book in the Mode series, in which a man and woman from two alternate worlds face love and danger across time and space.
Book Description
When she falls in love with a strange man who disappears before her eyes, Colene says goodbye to reality--and hello to an infinite world of dragons, monsters, and impossible dreams.
Customer Reviews:
sexist and shallow.......2005-07-25
I was disturbed by the portrait of the young self-injuring woman and her sexual behavior, not because she was depressed and sexually active, but of the way it was described. First off, many self-injurers (cutters) are NOT suicidal. They may be depressed and angry and abused, but cutting can be a way to hold on, not let go.
Secondly, no girl who has just been raped would "smile" and permit a couple other guys to rape her. I'm not saying she would or wouldn't resist, but she certainly wouldn't act as if the boys had just done something mildly offensive. Does the whole thought of rape turn the author on so he can honestly not imagine a girl enjoying it or at least pretend to? It seems so.
Also, I found the character of Colene rather bizarre. In one scene, she's writing to her imaginary horsie, the next she's performing a striptease and slicing up her arm. If a girl really had all those sexual experiences, she'd be too jaded to believe in imaginarry horses. Take it from a former young horse lover. No girl that extensively sexually abused/raped would care one way or another about imaginary horses - unless perhaps she was very young.
One of his best books ever.......2003-12-25
I was completely unprepared for the depth of the main character in this book. Mr. Anthony writes as if he knows what it is really like to be this character. The adventures in the book are thrilling and they keep you interested. The writing assumes that the reader is intelligent and remains fascinating and page-turning from beginning to end.
Not for me, but not intended to be, either.......2001-08-29
As a longtime fan of Piers Anthony, I wasn't overly impressed with this book, or the remainder of the series (although I haven't read it all yet, and I do intend to finish it). I didn't feel drawn into the characters, and the story itself didn't enthrall me. However, this may be mainly because I am not the target audience for this series; judging by other reader reviews I have read, adolescent females feel a very strong bond to the lead character, and the book seems to touch thier emotions on a very personal level. I feel this is one of Anthony's strengths, the ability to write very specifically to his audience, and reach them completely, even if this lowers the appeal for others. If you are not an adolescent female, or have not been one, this may not be the book for you. However, it may provide some insight into what motivates and interests today's female youth.
A Darkly Glorious Book That Pulls Few Punches.......2001-05-13
I sympathize with the reviewer who said that the first few pages of _Virtual Mode_ turned them off of the book. I was given this novel as a gift when I was about eleven or so; I, too, read the opening passage and was disturbed into putting the book away, not touching it again for another year. Yet once I really began to read it, I found myself drawn into a grim reality where even the wonders of magic cannot compensate for the horrors of the human psyche.
I adore the protagonists: Colene, the mentally and emotionally twisted young woman whose attitudes and perceptions have been skewed almost beyond recognition; Darius, a man whose rigid sense of honor threatens to strangle his chances of happiness; Seqiro, Prima, and all the rest. Their conflicts and challenges may not be the stuff of epic fantasy, but they're interesting and can give one food for thought. Most moving of all, at least for me, was the exploration of Colene's emotions, history, and motivations. Anthony doesn't whitewash her situation: she's a deeply disturbed individual, and one who has cause to be that way.
I must admit, though, that as much as I love this book, I couldn't recommend that children--or possibly adolescents--read it without reservations. The folk who've said that it's full of sex are right; further, there's blood, vulgarity, remembered rape, and a host of other such things. While they add to the power of the story, they might (or might not) be considered inappropriate for younger readers. I doubt my mother would have gotten it for me when she did had she known what it was really about... but then, I didn't have any problems understanding it and certainly wasn't traumatized by it.
It's also true that the heroine is awfully young for all of the sexual situations she gets into, and that one could see the portrayal of women as sexist if one really wanted to do so. I personally read and enjoyed the story without worrying about such things, but I think that anyone who says _Virtual Mode_ shows sexism just may have a point. (Anthony *has* begun to disturb me in recent years with his fixation on the sexiness of very, very young women, but that's a subject better reserved for a Xanth review.) If such things offend you, you may wish to give this a skip.
Otherwise, I can say with enthusiasm that I feel _Virtual Mode_ to be a wonderful novel, one whose story and characters have stayed with me for years. Readers who enjoyed Anthony's Incarnations of Immortality series may find this one especially appealing, as its resemblance to that saga seems much more pronounced than any to the perpetually punny Xanth.
Where's the end?.......2001-02-24
I was enthralled at the beginning of this book, the suicide and depression were all too interesting for me to put it down, but then as it progressed the techno talk baffled me and I was looking forward to the end where I hoped the happy ending would be that they reached Darius' home. A struggle for me as it was my first fantasy novel and was bitterly dissapointed that there was no ending, but thats the way it is in a series I guess!!
Book Description
A refreshingly clearheaded and taboo-breaking look at race in America reveals our culture as neither Black nor White nor Other, but a mix-a mongrel.
Black Like You is an erudite and entertaining exploration of race relations in American popular culture. Particularly compelling is the author's ability to tackle blackface--a strange, often scandalous, and now taboo entertainment. Although blackface performance came to be denounced as purely racist mockery, and shamefacedly erased from most modern accounts of American cultural history, Strausbaugh shows that, nevertheless, its impact has been deep and longlasting. The influence of blackface can be seen in rock and roll and hip-hop; in vaudeville, Broadway, and drag performances; in Mark Twain and "gangsta lit"; in the earliest filmstrips and Hollywood's 2004 White Chicks; on radio and television; in advertising and product marketing; and even in the way Americans speak.
With remarkable common sense and clarity, Strausbaugh candidly illuminates truths about race rarely discussed in public, including:
- American culture neither conforms to knee-jerk racism nor to political correctness. It is neither Black nor White nor Other, but a mix-a mongrel.
- No history is best forgotten-however uncomfortable it may be to remember. The power of blackface to enrage and mortify Americans to this day is reason enough to examine what it still tells us about our culture and ourselves.
- Blackface is still alive. Its impact and derivations- including Black performers in "whiteface"-can be seen all around us.
Customer Reviews:
Errors and Misrepresentation Abound!.......2007-01-12
After reading John Strausbaugh's new book, Black Like You, I am stunned. As a scholar of Ohio history, I protest the cavalier libel of Dan Emmett, and Ben and Lew Snowden. The author has NO PROOF of his contentions. Where is the evidence that Dan Emmett was taught to play the fiddle by an African-American? (pg. 102) Strausbaugh doesn't even attempt to footnote that. Where is the proof that Ben and Lew Snowden "claimed to have taught [Dan Emmett] the song [Dixie]?" (pg. 104)
It is incredible to me that the source cited for this is a REVIEW of Howard and Judith Sacks' book, Way Up North in Dixie--and the review is misrepresented.
The second source cited is John Leland, in Hip: the History, who wrote that, in answer to Emmett's claim of authorship, the Snowdens "disputed this credit." (Leland, pg. 29) THEY DID NOT. It is telling that Leland--who also writes for the New York Times, also cites a review of the Sacks' book. (pg. 359, n29)
Mr. Strausbaugh's error is most egregious. How in the world did he deduce from Norm Cohen's review that "Ben and Lew Snowden, who'd been Emmett's neighbors back in Ohio and who claimed to have taught him the song." (104)
This material ABOUT the Snowdens did not surface until both were conveniently dead. IT IS HEARSAY, told by others ABOUT the Snowdens, never by those brothers. I shudder to think what other errors are incorporated into the book.
It's About Time.......2006-07-26
It's about time somebody had the guts to tackle a "taboo" subject like this one! Strausbaugh's careful reseach, keen perceptions and biting sense of humor make this book an enthralling and mind-expanding read.
Customer Reviews:
Review from "Dunbar on Black Books".......2004-01-15
The following review appeared in November 2000 online in "Dunbar on Black Books" (http://www.queenhyte.com/dobb/dobb_archives/dobb_00/nov_00.htm ):
One More River to Cross by Margaret Blair Young and Darius Aidan Gray (Bookcraft, ISBN 1-57345-629-2) is the first of a trilogy entitled Standing on the Promises. It is a historical novel about black Mormon pioneers. With it "Dunbar on Black Books" (DOBB) makes an exception to its custom of reviewing only nonfiction books. We do this for two reasons. First, this book, albeit a novel, observes canons of history more dutifully than some works that hold themselves out as pure works of history. In the author's notes, the reader is told: "We have been true to all the facts that we could find but have freely fictionalized the spaces between the facts." Second, this book deals convincingly with an important subject about which very little has been written: black Mormon adherents whose membership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City dates back as far as 1832.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints makes much of the point that this book is not an official publication of the church. Bookcraft, its publisher, states that the book does not represent its position. One must know that Deseret Books publishes doctrinal works by Latter-day Saint leaders, biographies, and "enlightening" church historical books and that Bookcraft is a registered trademark of Deseret Book Company. It is in this context that DOBB reviews One More River to Cross.
When we overhear Delilah Abel whispering to her sleeping son Eli[jah] on the plantation just before they flee, we may think that they are fictional characters. We later learn from citations of the records of baptisms in the Nauvoo Temple Church of the Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City that they were living people and that Eli[jah] Abel was baptized there. So that while we may have reservations about the dialogue between the persons in the book, or even the accounts of events that took place on the journey to Salt Lake City from Maryland or from Alabama, or from wherever, we know that Elijah Abel made it to Salt Lake. More than that, we are provided with evidence that he was one of the very few blacks to receive the priesthood in the early church and that he was ordained by the Prophet himself.
This book is one of the first, if not the very first, that this reviewer read by starting with the end notes. Quite frankly, to me the notes are a most significant part of this book. The authors make excellent use of records in the Missionary Record Books of the church, of information from conversations of Joseph Smith, as reported in Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, from U.S. Census records in Salt Lake City, and from Brigham Young's Journal, to mention a few of their sources. They have given us a book providing information about African Americans in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that is not widely available.
A word about the authors is in order. Heber G. Wolsey, former managing director, public communications, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints says of Darius Gray, the black co-author, "I know of no one who can express a more objective, more compassionate, more honest portrayal of blacks in the Mormon Church than Darius Gray." Gray is a former journalist and presides over the Genesis Group, an official arm of the Mormon Church. The Genesis Group was organized in 1971 to support church members of African descent. Coauthor Margaret Blair Young is a lifelong white member of the church, "with pioneer heritage," Mr. Wolsey points out. "She has felt deeply over the past few years the inspiration of her pioneer forebears, many of whom knew the Saints of color portrayed in this novel," he says.
This is an important book. It ought to be read by everyone as it throws light on some little-known facts about the history of the membership of African Americans in the early Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In this era in which Protestants are looking to their roots after decades of ecumenism, Darius Gray, as a black Mormon should not be on the defensive because of widely held, erroneous perceptions of the history of black membership in his church.
If this book were a nonfiction work, I would make the observation that an index would have been useful. The bibliography is excellent. William G. Hartley, associate professor of history, Smith Institute, Brigham Young University, says it all when he says, "In a way that pure history cannot do, this story attaches us to black Saints who deserve to be known about and appreciated by our generation."
With two more volumes to come, the contributions of African Americans to the Mormon Church should be well documented for the general public. It has been said that the best way to keep information from black men is to put it in a book and classify it as nonfiction. Perhaps Margaret Blair Young and Darius Aidan Gray have found a formula to set this situation right.
Not Just Promises--But a Real Delivery!!.......2001-03-13
Anthony and Joan both could not put this book down! Anthony read it first, then read parts of it to Joan, then Joan read it. In the spirit of The Work and the Glory series by Lund, Standing on the Promises, combines factual history and characters with an outstanding story. The characters really come alive and the reader can truly imagine themselves right in the story and experiencing the events portrayed. The actual events and research are documented after each chapter and provide a wonderful historical review of the evidence. After, becoming acquainted with Elijah, Jane and Isaac in other publications, being able to read their stories was truly inspiritational. We are eagerly awaiting the next book in this series!
Average customer rating:
- sexist garbage
- DoOon Mode
- Not as good as the other books in the series.
- Dissappointment to Anthony fan
- Haven't read yet but will...
|
DoOon Mode
Piers Anthony
Manufacturer: Tor Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
United States
| World Literature
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
| 18th Century
| 19th Century
| 20th Century
| African American
| Asian American
| Classics
| Collections & Readers
| Drama
| General
| Hispanic
| History & Criticism
| Humor
| Jewish American
| Letters & Correspondence
| Native American
| Poetry
| Short Stories
| Women Writers
General
| Fantasy
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Science Fiction
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Anthony, Piers
| ( A )
| Authors, A-Z
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
Hardcover
| Anthony, Piers
| ( A )
| Authors, A-Z
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
Look Inside Fiction Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
Look Inside Science Fiction & Fantasy Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
Look Inside Teen Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
Similar Items:
-
Chaos Mode (The Mode Series)
-
Fractal Mode
-
Virtual Mode (Virtual Mode Series, Book 1)
-
Pornucopia
-
Robot Adept (Apprentice Adept Series, Book Five) (Apprentice Adept)
ASIN: 0312874634 |
Book Description
Beyond the world we know there is a multiverse of Modes where many strange realities interlock in an infinitely intricate pattern, and a perverse and deranged Emperor plays a deadly multidimensional game with human pawns as his slaves.
Now, with DoOon Mode, Piers Anthony at last delivers the breathtaking climax to this awesome saga. Fearing the heroine Coleen's dawning power, the depraved Emperor Ddwng dispatches a terrible Mind Monster to assault her soul and bend her to his will. To protect herself, and those she loves, Coleen must journey back through many worlds to her own home on Earth, face her deepest and darkest fears, and draw the strength for a final confrontation to save the multiverse from tyranny and domination.
Customer Reviews:
sexist garbage.......2005-08-07
There is a kind of book, I particularly dislike. In it the main character is pretty, sexy, intelligent, resourceful, etc., etc., as well as sexually appealing to every single character of the opposite sex regardless of how inappropriate this is. The character may have a single flaw - but nothing that interferes with the pretty, sexy, intelligence. The author goes to exhaustive pains to make this clear to the reader.
This is such a book. We learn over and over and over that the character has a sexy body (she's 14) and is pretty. Why? Who knows? Maybe the author was in love with her himself. We get descriptions of the character's body ad nauseam. In very little time, I longed to throw the book across the room.
There isn't much action, just traveling from different Modes, but nothing really serious in the way of danger. The heroine deals with some painful memories by reliving them, and the way they are described seemed unnecessarily graphic. If you ask me, the writer wasn't sure whether he was writing a porn novel or a sci-fi/fantasy book.
The other characters have little distinguishing traits (except that they are Good or Evil, but always, always in love with the protagonist). The resolution with the parents and the protagonist was too good to be true and really read like a bad fantasy scene in a teen's imagination.
Over all, I found myself thinking: Who cares? Repeatedly.
Skip this one. Please.
DoOon Mode.......2004-11-08
Theirs would be an ideal romance if it were not for a variety of issues- Colene is a teen ager and Darius and adult, Darius, as king must marry a woman he can draw joy from- and Colene is locked in melancholia, and there's an insane emperor who wants to destroy them. Other than that, Colene and Darius have a perfect love. However, now they have a few more allies in overcoming these obstacles. Clones of themselves banded together with human/animal beings who are part of the emperor's game will help them try to beat the odds, along with the friends who have gone with the couple through the modes of reality on their quest. In this exciting, quirky and strangely hopeful novel, once more Piers Anthony makes use of the greatest magic of all- love, to defeat unimaginable evil.
Reviewed by Amanda Killgore.
Not as good as the other books in the series........2003-07-02
We get a conclusion, but it is unsatisfactory. I feel that the last few pages was hurried and not planned as good as they could have been.
But I guess that any finish is better than none.
Since I have read all the other books by Piers Anthony I know that he can do better.
Read the book. But dont expect too much.
Dissappointment to Anthony fan.......2002-05-11
As an Anthony fan for 19 years I was deeply dissappointed in this book. It was not as well crafted as previous books in the series and the characters and plot lacked cohesion. I particularly disliked the inclusion of the rape and child abuse scenes - they added nothing to the plot and could have been handled better.
Haven't read yet but will..........2001-12-29
From what I read in previous reviews, it sounds like Piers Anthony used a bit of all his books: Xanth, Apprentice, and Geodyssey. I agree that Piers Anthony has grown more in the past years, with writing all those books you have to. In the past few years he started the Geodyssey series-that may be the reason for the sex scenes in this book. But this book sounds like it explains the questions about Colene that arose from previous books. So of course this book should be based on more thought and flash back. Sometimes it's also good for the author to throw off the readers in the final book. It adds a different touch of flare-or just different from the rest.
Average customer rating:
- Great Kinsey photographs
- Quality throughout
- Superb!
- Compilation of Incredible Locomotive Photographs
|
Kinsey Photographer: The Locomotive Portraits
Manufacturer: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Kinsey, Darius
| ( J-L )
| Artists, A-Z
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Photography
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Photographers, A-Z
| Photography
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Subjects
| Photography
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Railroads
| Transportation
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
Pictorial
| Railroads
| Transportation
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
Railroads
| Transportation
| World
| History
| Subjects
| Books
Washington
| State & Local
| United States
| Americas
| History
| Subjects
| Books
General
| History
| Bargain Books
| Stores
| Books
Photography
| Arts & Photography
| Bargain Books
| Stores
| Books
General
| Biography
| Bargain Books
| Stores
| Books
Look Inside Art Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
Look Inside History Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
Similar Items:
-
Kinsey Photographer
-
Timber: Toil and Trouble in the Big Woods Ests
-
This Was Sawmilling
-
Glory Days of Logging/Action in the Big Woods, British Columbia to California
-
Deadfall: Generations of Logging in the Pacific Northwest
ASIN: 1884822657 |
Book Description
In the winter of 1970, Dave Bohn found the surviving negatives of Darius and Tabitha Kinsey. Bohn and his colleague, Rodolfo Petschek, initiated a long-term effort to reproduce in book form the magnificent Kinsey archive. Here you’ll find Darius and Tabitha Kinsey’s lifework on display in this volume featuring 53 superb photographs of the logging industry’s steam locomotives, historical essays by John Labbe on each locomotive and the logging operations it served, and excerpts from conversations with some of the oldtime engineers, firemen, and brakemen.
Customer Reviews:
Great Kinsey photographs.......2007-03-17
This is an excellent book with great photos of many geared locomotives. A must have for anyone wanting to detail a model of a geared locomotive, or just for looking at the pictures. Each photo has a short narrative describing the photo. A well done book.
Quality throughout.......1999-01-02
This is a beautifully produced work of a master photographer. The large format duotone prints are a joy to look at, with crisp detail and lovely tones. The book provides excellent examples of Darius' ability to capture the majestic beauty of hard working (but well cared for) steam locomotives (both geared and rod), along with the people whose lives they touched (engine crew, loggers, camp crew and families). I would have paid $20 each for several of the prints in this book. This is primarily a "picture book", but the additional commentary from railroaders and loggers of the Kinsey era adds that personal touch that the photographs so often contain.
Superb!.......1998-10-28
This book is a source of absolutely excellent photos of Shays, Heislers, and Climaxes used in the logging industry in the Pacific Northwest. With his huge box cameras and glass image plates, Kinsey was to B&W photography of the period as IMAX is to color motion pictures of today. The photos are the best B&W photographs I have ever seen on any subject. They are definitely of museum quality.
Geared Steam Locomotive Works
Compilation of Incredible Locomotive Photographs.......1995-12-29
I have looked at many hundreds of railroad books (and well over 100,000 photos), but the photographs in this volume are the best I've ever seen. Kinsey used a view camera and 11"x14" glass plate negatives to produce large contact prints for sale to the subjects (locomotive crew members) early in this century. The results are absolutely stunning; every photo has extraordinary tone and detail, impossible to produce with the small format (35mm and rollfilm) cameras commonly available today. This is a "must have" book for any photographer who wants to see what print quality large negatives are capable of producing.
Darius Kinsey is the "Ansel Adams" of railroad photography.
Book Description
About the Central European Classics series:
"Half a continent's worth of forgotten genius."--The Guardian
The new Central European Classics series was born some ten years ago in the dim cafes of Budapest and Prague when General Editor Timothy Garton Ash began jotting down titles recommended to him by local writers. Its aim is to take these works of nineteenth- and twentieth-century classic fiction
"out of the ghetto," onto the shelves of Western booksellers, and into the consciousness of Western readers.
The result of extensive discussion among writers, scholars, and critics, the rich tradition of Central European fiction has been culled to offer previously unavailable works written in Czech, Hungarian, and Polish that lend themselves perfectly to powerful and accurate translation.
Specially commissioned introductions by leading Central European writers explain why these titles have become classics in their own country, while at the same time, the works stand on their own as great literature in English. With future titles such as a new edition of Boleslaw Prus's Polish
masterpiece, The Doll, the Central European Classics series will contribute to a deeper understanding of the culture and history of countries which, since the opening of iron curtain, have been coming closer to us in many other ways.
The city of Warsaw, under Russian rule in the late 1870s, is the setting for this sweeping panorama of social conflict, political tensions, and personal suffering. The middle-aged hero, Wokulski, bold and successful in business, is being destroyed by his obsessive love for the frigid,
aristocratic society "doll," Izabela. The embattled aristocracy, the new men of finance, Dickensian tradesmen, and the urban poor all come vividly to life on the vast, superbly detailed canvas against which Wokulski's personal tragedy is played out.
For this edition, the existing translation by David Welsh has been carefully revised under the supervision of the leading Polish critic, Stanislaw Baranczak. A chapter excised by the Tsarist censor is included as an appendix. Baranczak also contributes to an authoritative and illuminating new
introduction to what is arguably the greatest Polish novel of the nineteenth century.
Customer Reviews:
be warned.......2004-09-06
While this tale is tedious at times, I found it relevent for our times. See it in a modern context. Our celebrities arfe the aristocrats. While we worship them and youthful beauty, our country is sinking, and while we fool around (sports events often usurp the evening news, for example), the Chinese are buying up our industries, taking jobs away, and we are powerless. This book was a warning to Poles to wake up. It's appropriate for us too. I read this during the O>J> Simpson trials when the rest of the country was watching the trial. There are some trials in the novel that we would find familiar to our court system. There are too many parallels for comfort.
When Things Fall Apart.......2004-04-09
In literary terms, "The Doll" struggles to stand on its own-which is not to say that it is a bad novel, just that you need to place it in its historical context, and, really, shouldn't you do this with just about any novel? As for whether it's Dickensian, well, "The Doll" was originally published as a serial, and it shows. In novel form, it is repetitive and about three hundred pages overlong. Still, if Pip were to wait until middle age before aquiring great expectations, he'd have been much like Wokulski, Prus's protagonist experiencing unrequited love for an unattainable beauty (the plot is also reminiscent of Krzysztof Kieslowski's hilarious film "White," the most Polish of the "Three Colors" trilogy).
But the more interesting comparison between Dickens and Prus lies in noting how much more political Prus is than Dickens. As Orwell notes in his perceptive essay on Dickens, the English author was not a political writer, even if all sorts of political movements tried to paint their stripe on him. Orwell emphasizes that Dickens didn't belong to any of these ideologies: he was a moralist. Prus, on the other hand, is quite political (his ancient-Egypt epic "Pharaoh" has as much to say about how political power works as Foucault or Robert Caro). At first, this does not make sense, as Prus, living in an occupied nation, had to contend with Russian censors. But this is actually what made him-and Polish writers in general-so political. Under imperial rule, political dissidents ended up in Siberia; as a result, literature was the only avenue for political discourse in Poland (though the more radical writers got booted even for veiled statements). Further, pragmatic political concerns weighed heavily on Prus's mind in a way they did not on Dickens's. Dickens had the luxury of sitting in London, the heart of empire, and waxing metaphysical. While Dickens clearly is the genius of the two, it's not only his gravity that allows him to dig so deep into the human condition. If Prus does not dig as deeply, it's partly because he's more grounded by Poland's grave reality.
Prus was a Positivist (reformer, not revolutionary), burnt out by the failures of the radical politics of Romanticism. He had even taken part in the Rising of 1863 before becoming, as historian Norman Davies elegantly puts it, "a repentant revolutionary." But by the time he wrote "The Doll" in the late 1880s, he seems disillusioned by Positivism (perhaps realizing that reform is impossible in an autocracy) and all forms of idealism. "The Doll" presents a world choking on decay. Despite what other reviewers say, "the (broken) doll" in the title is not Wokulski's love interest Izabela, but Poland (or even Europe, or if you want to get really ambitious, civilization).
With "The Doll," Prus mocks ideals, showing how ridiculous, dangerous even, they are in a disintegrating world. Writing at the end of the nineteenth century, Prus presages problems that would make for European horrors in the twentieth century: tensions among declining empires, the profiteering of war, and anti-Semitism. As another reviewer notes, anti-Semitism runs virulently through the world Prus presents. Reading it on the other end of the Holocaust, Prus's straight-forward matter-of-factness is shocking. While the other reviewer seemed to see a sort of journalistic distance in Prus's lack of commentary on his characters' anti-Semitism, I see Prus as so disconsolate, so demoralized by decay that he no longer cares. It is the most haunting aspect of the book.
But Prus's straight-forward cynicism makes "The Doll" difficult to recommend, because it is so out of place with the militantly hopeful Polish canon. Even Prus's Positivism is the lesser strain of Polish literature to Romanticism. To "get" Polish literature, read Mickiewicz's poetry, Sienkiewicz's novels, or Wyspianski's drama. These folks never gave up the dream of revolution, of a second coming of the Republic of Poland. Even when the Poles got down, they usually didn't find cynicism; they found despair, like in the work of Stefan Zeromski, Adam Szymansi, and Nobel Prize winner Wladyslaw St. Reymont.
So "The Doll"'s place isn't really in the Polish tradition. Better to think of it as a valuable piece of world literature. "The Doll" captures Europe's first stumblings into the free fall of the twentieth century. Prus wrote that his aim was "to present our Polish idealist on the background of social disintegration." He added that the 1800s "began with chivalry and dedication, and has ended with capitalism, corruption, and the pursuit of lucre." Prus was probably better off dying in 1912, before millions of Europeans died on battlefields and in gas chambers and prisons, a century so filled with horror that at its end, Poles gladly settled for "capitalism, corruption, and the pursuit of lucre."
Empty calorie realism.......2002-10-13
I got half-way through and quit; the book just didn't work for me. Prus obviously intended to write "realistically", and his rather disconnected deployment of scenes and character development does mimic the complexities of real life. So, in that sense, he was a success.
However, he completely fails on much more important levels. For example, the plot lacks even a hint of conflict. Wolkulski (the main character) faces no conflict as he gives in to his obsession for Izabella, nor does he seem to have any particular difficulty in achieving any of his foolish stunts to try to win her. Since it's obvious from the start the relationship is doomed, there's not the tension of "will he get the girl?" Not even the obvious potential friction of his being a class-crossing social climber creates any conflict (other than a few characters commenting on his boorish manners). A 600+ page book needs more conflict than that to justify itself. I could not uncover the purpose of reading (or of having written) the book.
Prus endows "The Doll" with the trappings of realist novels: frightening descriptions of the lowest of the poor, moral angst of rich do-gooders over the poor in their midst, endless analogies between streetwalkers and Mary Magdelene or poor men and Christ, and a vast panorama of characters representing all levels of society. However, Prus does not use these devices to move his story. They seem more like window dressing put in place to make the novel look and smell like the work of a realist.
Worst of all, Prus' story and characters don't seem to have any relevance beyond the pages of his book and there's no whiff of meaning anywhere. The best example of this odd characteristic is the anti-Semitism in the book. There are lots of cuts (broadly and with subtle acid) at the Jewish characters, however (as another reviewer mentions) Prus never addresses anti-Semitism in even the most vague way. He presents society only and makes no comments or suggestions to the reader. A newspaper article works as better fiction than that!
Reading this book was a bit like watching a movie you already know the ending to. It can be entertaining if the ride is interesting. Unfortunately, Prus' narrative is too dry and dispassionate and his plotting too erratic and minimalistic for the ride to pull you in. As a result, I just didn't care what was going on and didn't find any of the characters worthy of my attention. I didn't feel there was any purpose in reading the rest of the book.
An important tale of desire without love.......2002-08-12
Boleslaw Prus' The Doll falls into a category of books which could be described as peripheral realism. They are late 19th century novels which share nothing in common except that they are written in countries which are in the "periphery" of world literature. This is not a comment on their quality, but on the lack of curiosity of the Anglo-American mind to take the trouble to encounter them. Other examples of this trend are the Spaniard Benito Perez Galdos, the Portuguese writer Jose Maria de Eca de Quieros and the Italians Giovanni Verga and Antonio Fogazzaro.
"The Doll" is not of the same quality as such works as "Fortunata and Jacintha", "The Maias," or even "The Little World of the Past." Supposedly it is the story of a successful businessman who tries and fails to win the heart of a shallow, spoiled, aristocratic girl--the doll of the title. It is this story, but there is more to it than that, more than what Prus thinks. When the protagonist Stanislaw Wokulski is not worrying ineffectively over Izabela Lecki, he is a smashingly successfully businessman. Why he is so succcessful is not really made clear, Prus does not have Balzac's eye for describing complex financial transactions in compelling ways. Wokulski is obviously a good employer and obviously a man of charitable and humane impulses. The woman he assists, and whom his clerk thinks would be a better wife, Mrs. Sawatska, is a rather conventional portrait of female virtue. If there is anything truly "Dickensian" in this book, as the dust jacket promises, it is not Prus' sense of detail, which is meagre, or a fine talent for grotesquerie or wit, but instead the conventional, rather vapid portrait of his heroes. The style is prosaic, the social atmosphere rather narrow, and people wanting to learn about the urbanity or religious life or common people or entertainments of 19th century Warsaw should look elsewhere.
There is one passage that is an exception to this. It really is remarkable, the one that portrays Izabela's complete isolation from the real world. "If anyone had asked her point-blank what this world is, and what she herself was, she would have certainly have repled that the world is an enchanted garden full of magical castles, and that she herself was a goddess or nymph imprisoned in a body.
"From her cradle, Izabela had lived in a beautiful world that was not only superhuman but even supernatural. For she slept in feathers, dressed in silks and satins, sat on carved and polished ebony or rosewood, drank from crystal, ate from silver and porcelain as costly as gold.
"The seasons of the year did not exist for her, only an everlasting spring full of soft light, living flowers and perfumes. The times of day did not exist for her either, since for whole months at a time she would go to bed at eight in the monring and dine at two at night. There was no difference in geographical location, since in Paris, Vienna, Rome, Berlin or London she would find the same food--soups from Pacific seaweed, oysters from the North Sea, fish from the Atlantic or Mediterranean, animals from every country, fruits from all parts of the globe. For her, even the force of gravity did not exist, since her chairs were placed for her, plates were handed, she herself was driven in carriages through the streets, conducted inside, helped upstairs."
As for other parts of the novel, there is a continuing theme of anti-semitism as Wokulski and his colleagues notice with some concern its rise. Unfortunately it is not entirely clear whether Wokulski or Prus fully recognize its evil or whether they share some of it themselves. On a first glance Wokulski is a hard working businessman, the kind that Poland obviously needs, who is not appreciated by its inefficient aristocracy. They look down on him as an arriviste and the selfish, vapid Izabela either ignores him or toys with his feelings. But on another level Wokulski is not really attracted to her. He is in more in love with the concept of matrimony than with an actual person. It is not simply the conservative atmosphere around courting that hampers him, but Wokulski's own lack of force. This portait of Wokulski's ambiguity, an almost Hamlet like quality of indecision, does not make compelling reading. But it is an important portrait of impotent masochism and it is expertly done. It is this that establishes Prus' claim to greatness.
A European Classic.......2000-02-20
If you have any interest in European Literature, then this novel is worthwile reading. All the major characters are beautifully created; the feelings that they experience are very realistic. The author's style is very powerful, and the plot is interesting enough to keep you reading until the spectacular conclusion. Easily one of the best books I've ever read.
Customer Reviews:
Color my world.......2007-09-01
Colonel Dinshah was a genius, no room for doubt.
In this book you will discover an encyclopedia for myriad conditions and the applicable color(s). It's all laid out in black and white. (Sorry, couldn't resist.)
If you wish to dig deeper, check out: www.dinshahhealth.org.
There's a world beyond the one scaled within this book. I had
questions so I contacted the organization and was very impressed
with the demeaner and wit of Mr. Dinshah. He was most helpful
and courteous towards me.
It's a real shame that even back in the early 1900's the AMA felt so threatened by natural means of treating disorders and injuries. In
spite of the fact that there were many medical doctors who spoke in
favor of this modality, support for it dwindled next to nothing due to
allopathic medical organizations.
I'm a member of a yahoo group that explores and discusses the uses of
Dinshah's methods. If interested, here is the information:
ColorSpectro-ChromeTherapy@yahoogroups.com
Here's an article titled, "NASA space technology shines light on healing".
http://www.msfc.nasa.gov/news/news/releases/2000/00-336.html
Good luck on your journey and may it be filled with light!
Pure Light.......2007-03-25
Dinshah Ghadiali was a brilliant and extremely talented scientist. He was way ahead of his time and ahead of out time. His book "Spectro-Crome Metry Encyclopedia" is a complex synopsis of property of light and its use by humans. The book "Let there be light" written by Ghadiali's son Darius Dinshah is a good extract from his father book. It clearly explains application of light for therapeutic purposes. This a very useful and kind work.
Good, Better, Best.......2006-12-16
The best "how to" book I've ever read - Well organized detailing exact procedures in plain English - Includes treatment protocols for virtually every pathology - Information on where to purchase the best color materials and how to easily construct lamps and color boxes.
Lists analogous audio frequencies corresponding to the spectral colors, so the book is also an ultrasound manual - On a scale of 1-5, this book is better than sex...
Mindblowing Reality.......2005-06-24
I will put my hand to the Bible for what I'm about to tell: Light therapy works, absolutely! I have two cases for my evidence. Whenever I get the flu, I take the green light (supposedly the master color) and shine it under the covers on my liver while I sleep. (I use a flashlight rigged with a holder for the filter.) The liver is the organ charged with detoxifying all sorts of nasty things in your body, so it's a good place to start killing off virae. I've sufferd the most heinous flus - chills, raging fever, joint aches - but they rarely stand up to the green light for more than two nights. My mother uses it for the frequent head colds that attack her. A couple of days and it destroys the bugs. And that's what I beleive actually happens. Green's wavelength is anathema to the virus. The second case is quite dramatic. A woman I once worked with bled small amounts every day from her uterus for 3 years! I suggested the color indigo, shined on her waist at night. Within 4 days she stopped bleeding! It shocked even me. Darius Dinshah was a genius. He's long gone, but his research lives on.
Light Up Your Life.......2004-10-29
How to cure disease with a light source and a colored filter. The inventor, Colonel Dinshah Ghadiali, following a witch hunt, had to submit his research materials to the incinerator, under court order, in the late 1940s. This is a concise book stating the applications and means of applying Spectro-Chrome Therapy (see also www.dinshahhealth.org). The filters recommended in the book aren't available in Europe, but you can get equivalent colors in the Supergel range. So far, I have seen pretty impressive results for treatment of chronic back pain. (Would be 5 stars if the codes for the Supergel filters had been included.)
Average customer rating:
|
Tradition and Style in the Works of Darius Milhaud 1912-1939
Barbara L. Kelly
Manufacturer: Ashgate Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
General
| Classical
| Musical Genres
| Music
| Entertainment
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Music
| Entertainment
| Subjects
| Books
Composition
| Theory, Composition & Performance
| Music
| Entertainment
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Composers & Musicians
| Arts & Literature
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Europe
| History
| Subjects
| Books
Look Inside Biographies
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
Look Inside Entertainment Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
ASIN: 0754630331 |
Customer Reviews:
Courtesy of Teens Read Too.......2007-06-04
If you are looking for a book with non-stop action, then THE AMAZING FLIGHT OF DARIUS FROBISHER is a very good choice.
This book is about a boy named, appropriately enough, Darius Frobisher. Darius's father is a man that travels the world to very amazing places. A sad fact is that Darius's mother died when he was younger. While Darius's father is out, you may be wondering "who Darius is with, and what is he doing?" Well, most of the time Darius is making up trouble for Miss Hastings.
Miss Hastings is Darius's nanny, in a way, except they get into trouble together -- and Miss Hastings burns toast.
Anyway, when Darius's father goes on a hot air balloon ride and never comes back, Darius has to go live with his Aunt Inga (who is evil!). When Darius get there he finds something special that he just might be able to use to make a run for home -- and Miss Hastings -- where he can be happy again.
I give this book 4 stars for the really creative things the author does with this story!
Reviewed by: Liz
A wonderful story.......2007-04-21
There is wonderful friendship that develops between the author and the reader in this book. The author at times talks directly to the reader while telling the story. The characters are both lovable and hateful, and there are plenty of twists and turns to hold the readers attention. Snuggle down and read this to a favorite child or just enjoy it all by yourself.
Books:
- The Women Who Raised Me: A Memoir
- The Women Who Raised Me: A Memoir
- Time Warp Trio: South Pole or Bust (an Egg) (I Can Read Book 3)
- Too Much Tuscan Sun: Confessions of a Chianti Tour Guide (Insiders' Guides)
- Total Television: Revised Edition (Total Television)
- Ultimate Disney Trivia Book 3, The (Ultimate Disney Trivia Book)
- Until the Twelfth of Never: The Deadly Divorce of Dan & Betty Broderick
- Video Engineering (McGraw-Hill Video/audio Engineering)
- Video Scrambling & Descrambling, Second Edition: for Satellite & Cable TV
- Web Services Platform Architecture: SOAP, WSDL, WS-Policy, WS-Addressing, WS-BPEL, WS-Reliable Messaging, and More
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Grant Writing For Dummies
- Brief Encounters: A Dictionary for Court Reporting
- The Voice Actor's Guide to Home Recording
- The Lobster Coast: Rebels, Rusticators, and the Struggle for a Forgotten Frontier
- Trading Up: Why Consumers Want New Luxury Goods... And How Companies Create Them
- Arthur and George
- Zen Cart: Building an Online Store the Zen Way
- ACCOUNTING SYSTEMS INSTALLATION METHODS AND PROCEDURES
- The Pretender: How Martin Frankel Fooled the Financial World and Led the Feds on One of the Most Pub
- Tzili: The Story of a Life
The Life of Sigmar: Being the Epic Tale of the Warrior-God Sigmar, and the Founding of The Empire (Warhammer)
Empire at War: A study of the greatest batties ever fought by impreial forces (Warhammer)
WFRP Tome of Corruption (Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay)
Renegade Crowns: A guide to the Border Princes (Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay: Renegade Crowns)
Liber Necris: The Book of Death in the Old World (Warhammer)
