Book Description
Just as Gabriel Knight is finally settling into his ancestral home in Germany, he is called upon in his role as schattenjagger, or "shadow hunter", to help solve the savage killing of a young girl. The authorities claim it was a wolf escaped from the zoo, but the townspeople say it is a werewolf. Gabriel soon becomes certain the answer lies within an exclusive hunting club in Munich that celebrates the nature of the beast. As his loyal assistant Grace delves into the past to discover the truth, Gabriel finds himself ensnared in a sinister trap, in which the beast within himself becomes the greatest threat of all!
Customer Reviews:
a great read.......2007-07-11
This book mixes fact and fiction in a very entertaining way. This is not some cheap weird horror novel. The amount of history and research that went into the backstory is amazing. Even if you have not played the video game, this is great. If you have played the video game, then you must read this to find out what all was left out. The book answers a lot of questions that might have come up in the game. The game was cut short because of time and budget reasons, so several things were rolled into one. The book gives you the complete story.
Like playing the game.......2007-05-25
A well written, entertaining story, that parallels the game very well. If you have played and enjoyed the game you will enjoy this book also.
"Tell Her, To Put This With My Heart...".......2004-08-25
"The Beast Within" is the novelisation of the best-selling computer game by Jane Jenson, the sequel to "Sins of the Fathers" (also written in book-form), but you do not need to play the games nor read the previous book in order to enjoy and get the full benefit from "The Beast Within".
In "The Sins of the Fathers" Gabriel Knight became aware of his heritage as the German "Schattenjager" (translation: Shadow Hunter) after meeting his last surviving relative whilst solving the Voodoo Murders case. However, with the death of his great-uncle Wolfgang during the course of the story, the task of Schattenjager now falls to him. He's inherited Schloss Ritter, the family estate, and the services of the lovely housekeeper Gerde Hull, and his latest novel (based on his last case) is actually popular! But along with all this comes the responsibility of his calling, and he's about to face his next case...
The townfolk of Rittersburg come to his door one nightfall in order to inlist his services: a young girl has been killed, and the family believe it was the work of a werewolf. Gabriel agrees to take the case, and begins his investigation. The family home was outside of Munich, and soon Gabriel finds his first lead: there have been more than one wolf attack on the outskirts of the city, and the blame has fallen on two zoo wolves that escaped not too long before the deaths.
But are these wolves really responsible? Gabriel follows the suspicious zoo administrator to a nearby hunting club, where he's taken under the wing of the charming, aristocratic Baron von Glower. Within the secret society's closed doors are a host of secrets and suspicious characters, especially that of the irrational and violence von Zell.
Meanwhile, Grace Nakimura is minding the bookstore back in New Orleans. She was Gabriel's research assistant on the last case, and has eagerly awaited the arrival of a new case. Imagine her indignation when a letter arrives from Gabriel claiming Gerde can handle the research - she's off to Germany! But on arriving, Gabriel has already left, and Grace settles with researching werewolves. In the Schattenjager archives are references to not one, but two cases involving werewolves, and strangely enough both mention the shady figure of "the Black Wolf". The two cases are hundreds of years apart - could they be related?
She believes so, and is intrigued when King Ludwig (historically the last king of Bavaria before its union with Prussia) pops up in her research. What could he possibly have to do with werewolves? And is it relevant to Gabriel's case? The answers seem to be yes as Grace begins to unravel the tragic mystery behind "the fairy-tale king".
It sounds all very melodramatic, but believe it or not creator/author Jane Jenson makes it work. Both Gabriel and Grace's storylines intertwine perfectly, and her use of historical facts and mysteries surround King Ludwig and Richard Wagner was a touch of genius. Jenson definitely did her research, both on the historical enigma and on werewolves in general. Gabriel and Grace are both likeable characters, despite their shortcomings, and are backed up by equally intriguing people and places.
Sadly, Detective Mosely is not present, but is replaced with Kommisar Leber (who is a good character in his own right) and the story gradually becomes faster paced and more interesting as the chapters go by. Believe it or not, you'll actually end up learning some interesting facts as you read, and you'll definitely never look at King Ludwig the same way again.
If you have already played the game and are a fan of Gabriel Knight, then there are many reasons why the book could come in handy. More so that the novelisation of "Sins of the Fathers", the book gives more answers and details that are often missing in the game. For instance, it explains the reasoning behind the chandeliers and crystals that are so important to the final act, and reveal who the "High Priestess" is from the tarot card reading. Likewise, Gabriel's case is fully explained, something that was left up to the player to work out in the game.
On the other end of the scale however, I felt that Jenson left out some details - they may not have been important, but they were nice little touches in the course of the story: for instance, Grace's prayer at the lakeside, where she places a lily on the water where Ludwig died and her visit to the chapel of Altotting with an offering for the altar - a silver heart that Gerde has given her. It is funny that I'm complaining about it since my main issue with "The Sins of the Fathers" novelisation was that it kept in two many computer-game elements, but they were nice moments, and I would have liked to have seen them included.
The best way to describe the Gabriel Knight trilogy is to say it's a blend of Anne Rice's vampire novels and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer". Anyone who likes occult mysteries should love these series, both on the page and the computer screen. As I mentioned, the intricate storyline is excellent and well worth a look for any supernatural mystery fan.
GREAT!.......2002-06-09
The beast within was just a really great book. Jane Jensen doesn't get wrapped up with sexual tension, even though there is an attraction between Gabriel and his secretary. It's action packed, and just very interesting. Keeps you on the edge of your seat and wanting more. I can't wait until another one comes out. There better be another one. If you like Anne Rice, her she is, without all the adjetives, descriptions, and long agonizing histories that take up half of the book. It's action and horror- pure and simple.
Wow.......2002-04-16
This book is so great. It really brings the charcters to the point of which you think you know them yourself. Yes ladies and gentelman Jane Jensen has done it again and even better than before. A must have for super-natural and mythical realated likings. This bokk is by far one of the BEST books I have ever read...Kudos Jane...Kudos
Amazon.com
"In our minds stalks a beast... a cruel, mean and wicked beast." So begins Cait Irwin's gentle guide to conquering depression--a book she began as a young teenager after being hospitalized for suicidal tendencies. Writing the book was part of her healing process, and she hopes reading the book will help others regain their mental health.
Irwin tells her story of how the "beast" of depression gradually took over her life, accompanying simple yet eloquent text with her own comic-style drawings. These honest sketches, packed with feeling (and surprisingly, humor), in combination with her frank account--set in type resembling handwriting--lend to the sense that Irwin is letting us read her journal. We witness how hard the struggle was for her, through psychological symptoms such as paranoia, frustration, and stress, and the physical manifestations of lack of appetite, blurriness of vision, and exhaustion. But we also see how she climbed out of the pit--the snarling beast first leashed, then muzzled, then reduced to a tiny speck--with the help of her family, doctors, and carefully calibrated medication. Irwin may be young and she may not have a medical degree, but she offers depressed readers something extremely valuable: the wisdom and compassion that comes with experience. --Brangien Davis
Book Description
For anyone in the clutches of the frightening beast that is depression, this book can help. In vivid words and images, Cait Irwin shares her own compelling story: how she struggled with clinical depression at age fourteen, was hospitalized, sought therapy, found the right medication, and successfully made the long, arduous climb back to good health. This powerful volume shares an inspirational message with all who are waging their own battles with depression: There is a way out.
Customer Reviews:
Get this book!.......2006-03-03
I believe I have purchased over 10 copies of this book and given them all away. This book provide wonderful insight on how depression affects you. Cait's artwork has helped many teens and adults identify with depression. Buy and it and share it.
Well illustrated and good insights.......2003-05-30
Irwin's "Conquering the Beast" features some very nice illustrations but a few appear as if she drew them within minutes. Her advice and commentary on depression are indeed accurate and helpful. Still, Irwin and others who have experienced depression must recognize that anti-depressants do not really "conquer" depression. Although they certainly are a miracle, anti-depressants control and subside the symptoms. One hasn't really "conquered" this horror of an illness until the roots of the illness are finally gone. Nevertheless, I would buy or give this book to any teenager struggling with depression, or even family members of a depressed teen. Often those closest to the patient know little about this illness.
Conquering The Beast Within.......2001-09-05
The words in this book could have been taken out of my heart. My eyes widened as I read because these were my exact feelings. I am way, way past my teen years but what Cait wrote about is what I have lived through the past years. Cait, you have given us a gift with this book. The next time I see my psychiatrist I will give him this book so he can better understand. The pages say what I could never express.
Therapeutic for the author, but too fluffy for the reader.......2000-08-14
The author wrote this booklet and drew the illustrations to help her work through her depression. I'm glad it helped her, but I found it to be an extremely thin and repetitious "don't give up." That's an important message for people suffering through depression, but I found no insights worth holding on to.
The Grail for Peer Counselors.......2000-06-28
Ms. Irwin's book definitely is not a technical guide to depression with all its "sub-types," but the diary-like style without a doubt makes the reader connect with her struggle with and eventual victory over the terrors of depression. The book is useful for all ages, as the illustrations draw in the attention of any audience: child, adolescent, or adult. The very personal and individualistic nature of her writing as well as the blunt honesty of her family members who share their thoughts at the end convinces one of her earnesty and commitment. True, it may not give you specific information that a more technical work might contain, but the emotional comfort the book provides more than makes up for it, at the very least as a supplement to those requiring facts or to those who need an immediate "anchor" to sustain hope. The extensive and thorough list of mental health resources at the very end (complete with web addresses for those who are too shy for direct, personal contact) is an invaluable component of the book and supercedes any other list that I've seen in other works concerning mental health.
Book Description
PREPARE TO MEET THE BEAST WITHIN. A lonely wife cheats. A brutal husband gets revenge. A not-so-innocent stranger hears a cellar door scrape shut—and begins twenty years of indescribable horror, chained in total darkness, feeding on live rats and human flesh, becoming himself the nightmare creature that lurks within us all…
Customer Reviews:
Not Free SF Reader.......2007-09-03
A hillbilly religious nut isn't particularly nice to his wife, or to the thing that he keeps locked up. The combination of the two and a pregnancy will eventually cause very bad things to happen.
A horror type novel full of some unpleasant things, and not really very good to go along with all of that.
The Beast Within.......2005-08-06
Edward Levy's "The Beast Within" plays out like one of those great old Rod Serling "Twilight Zone" scripts. Levy, once declared to be the "2nd coming of Stephen King", writes in a gripping and visually effective style that brings the reader right down into the action.
The plot revolves around the loveless marriage of a socially backward couple. The ultra-religious husband is totally over-the-top in his beliefs about love, marriage, sex, and the woman's place in the home. His dowdy wife is left without any love or children from her fundamentalist husband. Their lives are turned completely upside down when a travelling salesman seeks their help with his car troubles and ends up bedding the wife. Caught in the act by the husband, the salesman soons finds himself locked in the basement for the rest of his life unless he can find someway to escape. After years of entrapment, the pitiful salesman becomes more beast than human and the book takes off from there.
If you are a fan of intense and violent horror, then you will enjoy "The Beast Within" and Levy's other great work, "Came A Spider". Both are terrific and extremely quick reads.
Re-released, and well worth it........2003-07-18
Edward Levy, The Beast Within (Berkley, 1981)
The Beast Within is the book that should have made Edward Levy a household name on a par with Stephen King and... well, okay, in 1981 Stephen King was really the only household name in horror. But the King was in one of his slumps, major presses were champing at the bit to sign AAA-league writers to produce the Next Big Thing. Well, Berkley already had Edward Levy, and here was the manuscript that was going to dethrone the horror master.
All well and good, and to Berkley's credit, they didn't handle the publicity all that badly. But then it was optioned for film...
If you've had the misfortune of seeing the atrocity that was Philippe Mora's 1982 film of the same name, be assured that what you saw was not, in any way, what Edward Levy actually wrote. (One wag, in a review of the film version of The Beast Within, called it The Script Without. Indeed.) The following description of the novel, if you're unlucky enough to actually remember the movie, will sound completely unfamiliar.
The scene opens in some past time. Say, sixty years ago, but in the rural area where the beginning of the story takes place, it might as well be six hundred years ago. A woman has been trapped in a loveless, arranged marriage with a Christian fundamentalist who makes Pat Robertson look like a godless heathen. A traveling Bible salesman (yes! Really!) shows up at the door, and you've all heard this joke a thousand times. Well, at least until the farmer catches them and chains the Bible salesman in his basement for years, treating him like an animal, until he actually becomes one. Levy sets the two men up against one another, one devolving, the other already devolved. These fifty pages (the fifty, of course, the filmmakers decided to cut out first) are some of the best writing in any eighties horror novel I've read (and I've read hundreds of them).
In any case, after the fundamentalist's death (by natural causes), the beast finally has a chance to escape. Now, we all know he's oversexed, and you know how sailors are after they've been on a ship for a year? Well, this guy's been in the basement a lot longer, and when you've had to eat off the floor (with a rather unsavory menu) for a long time, you tend to lose some of the social graces. Let's just say his escape and subsequent actions are not pretty, but they do produce a son, Michael MacCleary. All well and good. At least, until Michael reaches adolescence and becomes daddy's boy...
The Beast Within was the first novel I read where the setup took longer than the actual action, and I couldn't care less. After that first fifty-page whack to the head, Levy uses Carolyn (Michael's mother)'s pregnancy and Michael's early years solely to build suspense, taking up well over half the book's full length, and he does so wonderfully. By the time you get to Michael's teen years, the book would have to fall off a cliff to be bad. And it never does (certainly not to the "we had a few thousand extra in the special effects budget" way the film does). Levy takes the setup and delivers a climax that, well, let's say if the rest of the book were plausible, the climax would be the most plausible way to resolve things. But you suspended disbelief when you realized the first part of the book was going to be based on a bad joke, right? You should have. If you did, The Beast Within is one of the most rip-roaring horror novel rides you are ever likely to take. Sits on the short shelf, with Russo's Living Things, Trachtman's Disturb Not the Dream, King's Pet Sematary, and a very few other novels as one of the best horror novels of the eighties. It's an old, and very overused, cliché. But really, you don't want to finish this one late on a dark and stormy night. **** ½
Gripping.......2002-06-03
I thought I would read a chapter a night as I had "Came a Spider", but I ended up reading larger segments whenever I could. Still the ending came a little too quickly and without as much explanation as I wish for this book with such great plot and character development. Looking forward to the next.
intense.......2002-03-19
I read this book over the summer. I found it to be very exciting and I couldnt put it down until I was finished. I dont reccomend it for small children due to content. Sex and violence.
Very good story line -easy to follow,
Great-spooky.
Customer Reviews:
A comprehensive history of the American picturebook.......2006-05-25
Truly a labor of love, Barbara Bader's history of the American picturebooks from colonial times to the nineteen seventies is essential reading for anyone interested in children's literature. Bader is particularly good about the post-WWII period when writers like Margaret Wise Brown and editors like Ursula Nordstrom started the trend of incorporating the ideas of child psychology into picturebooks. Bader seems to have known everybody who was anybody in postwar juvenile publishing it seems, and she interviewed them all for this book. The result is a fascinating social history of the children's book business as well as perceptive analysis of the books themselves. This is an important book that deserves to get back into print.
Book Description
Looking at the how the werewolf has been interpreted by anthropologists, psychologists and criminologists, the author explores the werewolf's appearance across a number of popular forms, from film to graphic novels. The author looks at the roots of the myth and at its appearance in Gothic horror, at ideas of "the beast within" and Freud's "wolf-man" to representations of criminality, wolf imagery in Nazism, the "body horror" films of the 1980s and finally, to the werewolf's revival in contemporary fantasy.
Customer Reviews:
An EXCELLENT Study! .......2007-07-04
This book is excellent! It is a perfect blend of academia and theory without going overboard- du Courdray enlightens readers with many issues and themes while covering werewolf lore. Everything from feminism to Jung- Very useful and easy to read- an engrossing and fascinating study! I started it this morning and just finished reading it tonight!- Usually too much theory makes my head dizzy- but du Coudray's clear-cut and easy to follow theories were wonderful! This is a perfect book and will help me with future study--- AND gave me insightful ideas useful for my PhD dissertation. Thanks!!!!
Book Description
What¿s a girl to do when she can¿t change into the family wolf and Mr. Beast kidnaps her man? Take the evil on and kick some ass--with or without a furry coat. Cassidy Quinn, Private Investigator extraordinaire, helps down and dirty humans and monsters of Memorial City¿for a price. But when a friend phones with a puzzling medical case, Cassidy knows the big bad has come to town¿in the form of a rogue Werewolf out for blood. Making herself known to the new evil, she fights against his web of deceit and lies, battling to save her friends, family and sexy police detective Patrick Logan. One problem--the beast has targeted Cassidy for his mate and he has the upper fang since she¿s stuck in human form. When Cassidy finds Logan an all too seductive distraction, the beast¿s anger explodes and Logan is kidnapped by the werewolf. Can Cassidy find Logan before it¿s too late and he becomes the main course?
Customer Reviews:
5 Klovers! Courtesy of CK2S Kwips & Kritiques.......2007-01-15
Cassidy Quinn is a werewolf, born into a family of werewolves. Only one problem: she is twenty-eight years old, and has never been able to fully change into her wolf form. Sure, she has the super-strength and can partially shift, but something blocks a full change every time she attempts one. So, she uses the powers she has to good purpose as a private investigator and expert on lycanthropy.
When she meets Detective Patrick Logan, they rub each other the wrong way at every turn. But as a good friend of Cassidy's brother, and the detective assigned to a case she is involved in, the two are thrown together constantly, making their growing attraction harder and harder to ignore.
But the beast that committed the murders in the case the two are working on has targeted Cassidy as his mate and is determined to remove all competition for her attentions - especially Patrick! Can Cassidy fulfill her destiny and save both Patrick and herself before it is too late?
Kelly Ethan has spun a marvelous tale in The Beast Within! Watching Cassidy's struggle with her lycanthropy and her feelings for Patrick Logan while investigating the murders she has inadvertently become involved with was sublimely entertaining.
I literally could not put this book down until I finished it, although this kept me awake far past my bed time! When I thought to break for the night at the end of every chapter, I found myself needing to read `just one more chapter' to see what happened next. Before I knew it, I'd finished the book!
Ethan included some twists in this suspenseful story that I will readily admit I did not anticipate, although I usually can deduce most surprises before they occur. Any story that can surprise me automatically gets points! Balancing the story equally between the romance and the suspense, Ethan has paved the way for sequels starring Cassidy and Patrick, should her muse so guide her again. And I will be waiting with baited breath to buy them, if and when they happen!
Average customer rating:
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The Beast Within: Animals in the Middle Ages
Joyce Salisbury
Manufacturer: Routledge
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Binding: Paperback
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Perceiving Animals: Humans and Beasts in Early Modern English Culture
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Renaissance Beasts: Of Animals, Humans, and Other Wonderful Creatures
ASIN: 0415907691 |
Book Description
The Beast Within offers a unique exploration of the use of and attitude towards animals in medieval society. In the process, the volume sheds light on modern environmental concerns by tracing the roots of our current views about animals.
Joyce E. Salisbury surveys the ways in which inhabitants of Western Europe thought of and dealt with their animals from the 4th to the 14th centuries. She explores the impact of Christianity on our views of animals, and demonstrates the rediscovery, in the twelfth century, of the idea of an animal side to humans that made people start thinking of themselves as animals.
The Beast Within illustrates how, as property, food and sexual objects, animals in the middles ages had a distinct, and at times, odd relationship with the people and world around them. For example, animals viewed as property during the period shared in labor and increased their owners' status. However, these animals were regularly punished for the acts of their owners and owners were held responsible for the animals' behavior as well. When animals served as sexual objects for humans, much reflection, debate and even legislation was the result. Mythological and metaphoric animals also played important roles in the fables and religion of the day changing the views of humans about the beasts and themselves.
The Beast Within provides an interdisciplinary approach to the subject, weaving a historical narrative that includes economic, legal, theological, literary and artistic sources. A provocative and thorough work, this volume will inform and enlighten current debates on animal rights and offer an original contribution to the historical study of animals.
Customer Reviews:
Something to think about.......1998-09-04
Well-researched treatment of Western society's relationships with the domestic animal kingdom. Citing literature, art and historical accounts, this book traces the history of animals as fictional characters, anthropomorphic characters, beasts of burden, food, companions, and even lovers to humans. Interesting and enlightening stories accompany statistics to unjudgmentally describe these relationships and society's reaction.
I would love to see a sequel dealing with other cultures.
Customer Reviews:
Engaging and Delightful--more importantly, empowering.......2007-01-09
If you have daughters or ever were one yourself, read this book. Ellen Snortland will show you how to awaken your inner warrior. She provides a guide for the journey from passivity to confidence, from being being bullied to alertness, and from being at risk to healthy self-protection. Give yourself permission to walk the path to strength in mind, body, and spirit. Read it for yourself; share it with someone you truly care about.
Gotta read it!!!!!!.......2006-08-07
Violence and disrespect of women is so ingrained in our daily lives that many individuals, male and female, fail to see or identify it as such. It is all pervasive, ubiquitous and insidious. While the statistics say that one in three women is attacked, I think one would be hard put to find even one woman who has not had to deal with unwanted advances, unsolicited attention and even physical confrontation. Read this book! Learn to protect yourself. Teach your sisters, daughters, wives and mothers to protect themselves. The world will be a better place for EVERYONE when this occurs!
Female Martial Artist perspective.......2006-05-04
I have never taken a women's self-defense class, but am a committed martial artist. This book has inspired me to go to a women's self-defense class. The book is not so much about why women should take self-defense classes, but why we deserved to. It emphasizes in a powerful way that women on not lesser than men, no matter what messages we receive to the contrary.
This empowerment is missing from my martial arts training - even as I'm being encouraged by good men (and women), there is still the nagging thought in myself (and I think in my Sensei) that when push comes to shove, my lack of self-esteem will sabotage my ability to fight back. Having the skills to fight is one thing, but having the feelings that I'm worth fighting for is another.
I see it as the next step in my martial arts training to correct that flaw. This book is a good start, and taking a full impact self-defense course before seemed redundant in addition to all of my other training, now seems essential to my mental training - which is every bit as important because that is what will determine my reaction when the time comes.
I do agree with some of the other reviews - I would like to see sources cited, and I do think that sometimes the author's passion for feminism makes somes paragraphs longer than they should be. But, as the author points out, feminism isn't a bad thing in itself, it's been portrayed as "bad" by media and men in general because it's misunderstood, or because it's threatening - this is one of the ideas that helped me, because I've spent my entire life in the "boy's club" and never before had I thought of feminism as anything other than "uppity women", which is unfortunate and now that I see how I've been unfairly judging other women who have found the power and passion to fight for women's rights and freedoms, I feel more empowered myself.
There's nothing feminine about being a corpse........2005-07-29
I have to disagree with Ellen Snortland's statement that there are no rules in self defense. There's one, and she mentions it: SURVIVE! Survive physically. Survive mentally. Survive spiritually. Survive socially. In "Beauty Bites Beast," the author justifies a woman's self defense and outlines resources and techniques.
I had several heroines during the 1960's--Joan of Arc, Dale Evans, Mrs. Emma Peel, and Agent 99 were strong women who more than held their own with men. One was an actual historical figure! Ellen Snortland had no heroic female role models when she was growing up?
On page 151, the author wrote about an unconscious fear of women would subject men to the same cruelty that women have been given--with me, it's not an unconscious fear. I am very much aware that "plumbing" (the genitals) does not make one wise or "fair" -- I have already suffered injustice from women in positions of power over me. Nothing like Joan of Arc, of course, but enough to demand checks and balances on all power. "Trust me" sets off alarm bells.
You have to take charge of your own personal safety. Often, the power structure will prohibit self defense measures. In England, resisting criminal assault or running from an attacker is a crime that can result in serious jail time for "endangering the public." Mexico does not recognize the right of self defense. In practice, this means the powerless people (includes most women) are disarmed by law, but those with political power and great wealth get to do anything without fear of punishment. Until September 11, 2001, interfering with a skyjacker was a serious federal crime in the United States--a flaw exploited by Al Qaeda.
I applaud programs such as IMPACT and KIDPOWER. Training starts with baby steps (just say "no" like you mean it!) and progresses to full-power contact against a live (padded) aggressor. It is important to produce winners from these programs--criminals "interview" potential victims. "Are you helpless? Are you my next meal?" Overcoming opposition breeds confidence--this has to be earned, but trainers that "kill" their students in training only train them to die. IMPACT seems to be a full force spectrum, covering everything from bearing, to verbal exchanges and body language, to the grim knock-down and stomp-stomp-stomp of hand to hand combat. I wish I had KIDPOWER training anytime between 1963 and 1975--but boys of that era "didn't need protecting." I wasn't allowed to fight at all, and when I asked for protection against bullies or worse, I was punished for lying. As soon as I received my high school diploma, I went someplace safer--Marine Corps boot camp. There, Vietnam veterans taught me how, when, where, who, what, and why I would fight. If you think IMPACT is expensive, sign up for four years! On the other hand, I did get paid and I received first rate training...
There's nothing feminine about being a corpse. "Beauty Bites Beast" can be nit picked, but the basic message is that women have the right to protect themselves. History proves that if women don't protect themselves, nobody will.
Great attitude, terrible facts.......2005-06-22
The first rule of self-defence should always be: be smart. Arm yourself with facts, be alert and find out everything you can about the situation you're in. Sometimes standing your ground and fighting isn't as smart as simply running away. Every situation is different, and if you have your wits about you, you'll be able to seize the scene up and respond accordingly.
"Beauty Bites Beast" has all the energy an inspirational book on self-defence should contain, but it fails to provide the reader with solid facts. For instance, none of the chapters have footnotes, and so you don't know which source Ellen B. Snortland is quoting when she claims that, "As it turns out, many of the warriors whom the last century diggers assumed were men, were women." Nothing would please me more than to hear that the women of yore were tough and hard-hitting, but which digging expeditions is Snortland referring to? And what civilisations?
Another unsubstantiated charge Snortland makes is that the Black Plague was partly a result of the witch-trials. Her claim is that when they burned women they also burned cats, and with fewer cats there would be more rats to spread the disease. Say what? The Black Plague originated in the east and was brought to Europe by the trading routes. It wasn't domestic rats that caused all the excitement, but immigrant rats. And once the plague had hit shores it didn't need to rely on rats to spread from person to person. (More information: http://www.tiscali.co.uk/reference/encyclopaedia/hutchinson/m0017916.html) Another fact to consider is that the Black Plague came to Europe around 1347, whilst the witch trials didn't catch fire until 1484 when Pope Innocent VIII declared that a war be fought against witches and warlocks. (More information: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/witches1.html) So much for conspiracy theories.
There are other sections in "Beauty Bites Beast" that threw me off. In a complaint that feminists are scoffed at, Snortland mentions Susan McKinnon and the late Andrea Dworkin as being serious feminists. If serious is used as a synonym for 'without humour,' then yes, I agree; they are both serious. But even a non-humorous feminist has to see why Dworkin and McKinnon have been the recipients of much mockery. They have never been what you could call moderate, and despite their own claims have not been the voices of the everywoman (or man).
Snortland clearly has a good agenda, but her own energy sometimes runs off with her. Having read and benefited from Gavin deBecker's "The Gift of Fear," I was hoping this would be a good companion book, something to further inspire me to keep my fighting spirit intact. It didn't do that for me, instead it simply fell to the floor with a hard thump. This is a real shame.
Sloppy fact checking in the name of self-improvement simply isn't good enough. To be truly fierce, we have come prepared, and that includes knowing what we're NOT up against.
Customer Reviews:
An Excellent Companion.......1999-12-25
I lost my book while moving, and am quite disappointed that it's now out of print; it's an excellent companion to the game. What sets it apart from other 'players guides' is the fact that it had truly in-depth interviews with some of hte actors and designers of the game, and the novel-like description of the action for the walkthrough. Although the pictures are only black and white, there are still some great shots of them in production; since this was an FMV (full motion video) game, the action was entirely filmed instead of drawn or computer-generated. Definitely seek this book out if you're a fan of there series.
Average customer rating:
- Get Ready to Howl with Delight
- Reads like someone's doctoral thesis
- Excellent Reading
- This Is A Very Compelling And Factual Book
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The Beast Within/a History of the Werewolf
Adam Douglas
Manufacturer: Avon Books (Mm)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Folklore & Mythology | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
General | Mythology | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Cults & Demonism | Occult | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 038072264X |
Customer Reviews:
Get Ready to Howl with Delight.......2000-09-25
This book is essential reading for anyone who likes unconventional history like I do. Adams takes you through examples of lycanthropy in all cultures and all signifigant time periods. No stone is left unturned. He even touches on a chapter on how feral children figure into the myth of the werewolf. Citing mythology, medieval history to current medical cases, this book is a delight to read. I highly recommend this to anyone. Historian and non-historian alike will find it nothing short of fascinating.
Reads like someone's doctoral thesis.......2000-06-23
I have to say that I have found this book to be interesting with regard to the large number of historical, mythical, folkloric and legendary references that Douglas employs. He definitely did his homework and it shows in every sentence of the book.
But therein lies the fault I find with the book. With the exception of a few brief moments where Douglas manages to smirk at himself, his writing style is largely (and annoyingly) pedantic. He approaches the subject seriously, but he takes it to the point of stuffiness.
I also found that a lot (and I mean A LOT) of the information Douglas spends page after page running into the ground had little or nothing to do with the subject of werewolves. His interest seemed much more focused on displaying his copious (albeit only indirectly relevant) research and knowledge than in writing a digestible book about werewolves.
Excellent Reading.......1999-06-27
It is a shame that this title has gone out of print, whole so many terrible werewolf books remain in print. This mythological/folkloric/sociological study of the relation ship between man and werewolf is one of the most imformative books I've ever read.
I am hard pressed to find problems with this book, and I think you would be, too.
This Is A Very Compelling And Factual Book.......1998-12-10
I Have Read This Book Two Or Three Times I Learn Something New EvryTime I Suggest EvryOne Read This Book.
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