Book Description
In The China Dream, acclaimed business journalist Joe Studwell takes to task the predictions that China will become an economic juggernaut on the world stage in the twenty-first century -- and instead foresees an economic crisis. He argues that since the days of Marco Polo, Western nations have seen the vast population of the Middle Kingdom as a fantastic opportunity for expanding trade, investing time and resources again and again in the hope to develop it, only to see, century after century, its economy crash and their dreams turn to dust. Studwell traces the most recent developments in China from Deng Xiaoping's "liberalization" of its market in the 1980s through the opening of its economy to foreign investment in the 1990s. In his rigorous analysis of the Chinese economy, government, and culture, Studwell also shows the roadblocks to the continuation of the country's unprecedented expansion and why its economy will fail once more -- but this time, harder than ever before, and with potentially catastrophic results. Provocative, flawlessly researched, and endlessly engaging, The China Dream is a book that will have the business and political worlds talking about what's really going on in China -- and what we can do to prepare for the coming crisis. "The much-needed antidote to the delusions ... about the riches to be made from investing and selling in China. Brimming with ... statistics." -- The Washington Post " An entertaining, if cautionary, tale of Western business woes in China, stretching back seven hundred years." -- Peter Wonacott, The Wall Street Journal "[A] detailed account ... An excellent examination of the political and economic history of China, fascinating and mostly unknown to Westerners." -- Booklist (starred review)
Customer Reviews:
Very good Read.......2006-09-01
This book is a must for those traveling to China. Gives a detailed look at the history of the Chinese market. Is a great precursor to visiting ex-patriots
On the mark.......2005-11-19
As someone who has been in China for eight years I found Joe Studwell's book a breath of fresh air among the constant hype about this market. Some reviewers have challenged his account but I would strongly agree with his premise that while it is easy to be busy in China it is hard to make money. As Studwell points out, few foreign CEO's are able to pick up on this difference.
Some previous reviewers have claimed that Studwell has been proved wrong over the past two years since release of the book as the economy has continued to grow and one reviewer mentions GM as an example of how companies have exceeded their projected growth and revenue targets. Studwell's message was not an attack on the economy necessarily but an attack on the perception that there is easy money to be made in this boom. I would have to agree with his attack on those outside China, or with little knowledge of it, who fail to carry out basic due diligence.
Studwell's point is not based on confirming "the impending collapse of China" rather a recognition that despite the appearance of a first world economy this is still a developing market, with highly protectionist ideals, that requires business managers to apply realism and analysis to succeed. Don't leave your common sense and good business practice on the plane.
The move by Volkswagen in 2005 to cut back on investment and separate research showing that car production will be 5 times over capacity by 2015 seem to substantiate his message that yes there are winners but these are often short term!
Demystifying Joe Studwell........2004-12-11
Can it really only be two years since Mr. Studwell wrote this oft-quoted book? Only two years since he bravely confronted and slayed the "myth" of a profitable domestic Chinese market?
Two years ago, we were told about a "long period of slow growth and stagnation" for the domestic Chinese economy. This experienced China-hand, claiming 8 years of personal experience and a wealth of economic insight, assured us that there would only be a few isolated cases of economic success. He mocked GM for its economic investment, and lumped them into the group of so many other misguided CEOs that falsely believed the Chinese could afford to buy anything the West had to sell!
As a previous reviewer pointed out with great self-satisfaction... GM would have to wait until 2025 to meet their target of one million in annual sales! That prediction certainly seems comical when we realize that GM will reach 600k in annual sales this year: 2004. GM, with its over-optimistic and poorly planned investment in China, made an eye-popping profit of $875 million with its Chinese partners from China in the year 2003. That's actually *more* than what GM earned in North America ($811 million for Canada, Mexico, and the US combined). We can only hope Joe Studwell will be contributing a sequel shortly explaining the lack of a consumer market in North America, as well.
Ah, how things have changed. Mr. Studwell wrote for the Financial Times this month (December 2004), and while his melody remains the same, he has certainly changed keys. We're now told that, "while" the Chinese economy is "certainly doing well" (surprising understatement from a man that wasn't shy with rhetorical bombasity a few years ago)... it's not doing *that* well.
How so? Well, it seems, the Chinese domestic market will "only" be returning $8 billion in profits to foreign investors this year... a pathetic sum that's "only" comparable to the returns found in... South Korea and Taiwan? For a man that didn't think much of China's economic prospects 2 years ago, he sure has placed it in hallowed grounds this time around.
Two years ago, Mr. Studwell had a 50/50 shot of getting it right with this book. He found anecdotes and statistics supporting his conclusions at the time, but he conveniently ignored the comparable evidence that just as surely contradicted his point. In a world of conflicting facts when informed experts were unsure about China's future prospects, he decided to trumpet his own truth to the world.
Well, he's been caught with his pants down: he was as wrong as you can possibly be.
Bull in a China shop.......2004-07-28
China, the fastest growing economy in recent years is in deep trouble according to this book. Starting with a historical perspective, the author goes on to explain that it has never been easy to make money in a market that otherwise appears so attractive due to its sheer size in terms of its population. Multinationals have made over optimistic estimates of the potential market size for various goods and services and sunk billions of dollars either in the hope of making a quick profit or with a view to stay invested before rivals can enter. In most cases, returns have proved elusive.
China is a land shrouded in mystery and secrecy but yet continues to entice entrepreneurs from around the globe. The mad rush to grab the proverbial pots of gold turns into a frenzy in the early 1990s. China becomes the main destination for the global leaders and captains of multinational companies. Having brought in their money, these investors soon find themselves trapped in a situation of no return. Those with deep pockets manage to survive while many others are not so fortunate. The asset inflation boom - stocks and real estate- also has its fair share of victims. Another area discussed in detail is the weakness of Chinese financial institutions and the proportion of non performing assets that account for nearly half of their lending particularly to state owned enterprises. While exports is a success story appreciated across the world, here again the author is quick to point out the low value addition and low share in global trade.
Page after page, the author misses no opportunity to criticise the Chinese bureaucracy, political system the authoritarian rule of the party depicting china as a land that is on the verge of a great economic meltdown where global corporations will have no escape route to retreat.
It is important to note that global companies have gone to do business in China and it is their love for money and not charity has been the motive. It is said that greed, optimism and herd mentality are the three drivers of capitalism . Need a better example ? Large multinationals, mostly from developed countries boast of employing the best talent from leading business schools who are experts in market research and financial accounting. When things go wrong, why blame it on China?. There is no evidence in the book that suggests that China has misused money from international institutions or indulged in unfair practices to swindle FDIs. Assuming that China overstated her domestic income and growth figures, the two main parameters that have attracted the foreign capital, it cannot be an excuse for not doing enough home work to verify these figures before investing huge amounts.
The book appears to be biased and incomplete in not giving due credit to the rapid progress and achievements of the world's most populous nation.
China's roaring nineties - the best assessment in print.......2003-10-31
Joe Studwell, a British freelance journalist who lived in and reported from China from 1991 until 1999, has written one of the best-informed insiders' books about the Chinese economy in the boom years of the 1990s that is on the market. The book is excellently researched, well documented (60 pages of notes accompany 300 pages of text) and profits from a wealth of experience gathered "on the ground."
The main thesis of the book is that many big Western companies substitute a blurry, optimistic picture of a vast potential market for a balanced view based on hard data. When it comes to China, wishful thinking replaces critical distance and realistic assessment.
One thing that "The China Dream" explains very clearly is the extent to which two economies in China exist parallel to each other. One is the old socialist economy that is protected from change and the market forces. The other is a vibrant, export -oriented economy of manufacturing plants that assemble goods under the management of mostly Taiwanese and Hong Kong companies. The latter is the poster child for China, but the former continues to gobble up the people's savings to churn out the products that the planners want to see. Stripped of the success story of the export-oriented manufacturing companies, China's economy looks like a disaster waiting to happen.
Studwell is not a China-basher. He admires the stamina and determination of the small entrepreneurs in China who manage to hold their ground against a rapacious bureaucracy, the lack of credit from state-owned banks and the dumping strategies of pampered state-owned enterprises.
Earlier reviewers have criticized "The China Dream" as biased and uninformed (no CEO interviews). Having worked in China for three years, my impression is that Joe Studwell has a very solid grasp of the economic and political realities in the People's Republic of China, and that there is no point in listening to the rosy projections of CEOs and foreign luminaries who were "toured about in government limousines and fed an endless diet of spurious statistics"(255).
In a nutshell: This book is absolutely recommended reading for anyone who wishes to work in China or just wants to know what to make of all the praise lavished on a socialist developing country.
Book Description
Nexus offers an engaging and insightful journey of an odd mix of people drawn together to a spiritual retreat to overcome personal pain. This book will please readers of spiritual, new age, inspirational, self-help and visionary fiction books. It weaves insights within the narrative like The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield and The Peaceful Warrior series by Dan Millman.
Starting with a dramatic suicide scene through intimate details of the struggle of Logan Andrews with depression and despair, we are brought on a journey of inner struggle and personal transformation. The reader is transported to a spiritual retreat where the experiences of people at the retreat provide illuminating life lessons. The tone of book creates an authentic journey that is both exploratory and insightful.
The overriding theme in
Nexus is mystical in its nature, narrating experiences of deeper connection felt with one another and all of life. This is poignantly highlighted in key passages, including Logan's empathy for a dying fish in Chapter 6.
Customer Reviews:
Need for Spiritual Change.......2007-07-01
I've read many spiritual books and this one really spoke to me with a story that communicated about both the highs and lows of spiritual life through the touching journey of people at a retreat center. Each person in the story is dealing with their own sorrow from the depression-despair of Logan, Sarah's loss of direction and Muriel's desire to be comforted in her old age. Steven is fixated on his money-making schemes and in order for him to experience growth, he needs to connect to the path of love.
The story speaks of something deeper - a need for spiritual change. It isn't always stated on the surface and you have to dig deeper to recognize that as the central theme of this book. Yet you feel this impulse motivating the communication between teachers and students at the retreat center and the experiences there allude to a deeper bond - to the Nexus that connects us all through our heart where empathy and compassion can grow with experiences of our Oneness. The compassion Logan shows for a dying fish vividly captures this theme. This vision of non-duality is always there beneath the surface though our ego stands in the way of its realization.
The message in this book is beautiful and so I want others to know about it. Through spiritual books like this, we can delve into consciousness transformation and share it with others.
Really Bad. Don't Buy.......2007-06-30
I made the mistake of purchasing this book because it was referenced in a review for The Road (an amazing fiction currently on the best seller list). Now I realize I was probably led into buying it by one of the authors' friends or supporters. The 5 star reviews are bias, to say the least! The dialogue is beyond bad. It is stilted and at times downright silly. I love top quality spiritual writings like "The Power of Now" by E. Tolle or the writings of D. Chopra. It's not that I am spiritually closed, I just know very bad writing when I see it.
This "fiction" is an attempt to flesh out the spiritual teachings of the two authors through poorly crafted, one dimensional characters. I would rather drink flax oil and fast for a week to better my soul than read this kind of stuff. I anticipate receiving some unsupportive votes for this review, and these will likely come from the friends of the authors who have written the 5 star reviews. So be it. I'd rather be honest and save the potential Amazon customer some money!
Thought Provoking.......2007-05-30
NEXUS is an absorbing guide to the dazzling universe of spirituality! Written in the appealing genre of a new age novel I found NEXUS to be a remarkable psychological and spiritual adventure filled with mystery, enchantment, romance, insights, as well as being highly realistic in terms of life's joys and sorrows. I just couldn't put the book down!!!
The diverse assortment of characters were realistic, and the plot was deep, lively and fast paced throughout. NEXUS WORKED AT VERY DEEP LEVELS OF MY MIND TO PENETRATE MY SUBCONSCIOUS AND TO EXPAND AND INSPIRE MY SUPERCONSCIOUS MIND. WHAT AN EXPERIENCE!!!
By carefully reading NEXUS and reflecting on the philosophical insights inherent throughout the book I found that I could tap into my deepest inner centre of being- my inner source of strength, wisdom and compassion...what a discovery!!!
I heard about NEXUS from a friend and that is why I bought the book. I told another friend about NEXUS but she had already just finished reading it and was most impressed.
It seems that people everywhere are suddenly experiencing an intense attraction to NEXUS, one of the most valuable books I've read in a long time.
Another new age novel that I highly recommend is The Saint, the Surfer, and the CEO: A Remarkable Story About Living Your Heart's Desires
Spiritually Uplifting.......2007-05-21
Every once in a while you come across a book that resonates at a deeper soulful level. "Nexus: A Neo Novel" is one of those books that touches you through a spiritual journey of transformation of people in the book. Their transformation is an inner one at the level of their heart and psyche.
For Logan Andrews the transformation requires that he move from negative thoughts and emotions to positive ones. This task is fraught with difficulties, since even at a spiritual retreat intended to help people find the centre of their being called the Nexus, Logan is confronted with his greatest loss as he meets his ex, Sarah.
I really liked the sub-plot with Steven, an arrogant millionaire, who at first is irritating but in time he grows on you and becomes an endearing person. Steven believes that money is the answer to life's problems but has he lost his way?
Even though the writers of "Nexus" have their own unique voice, still this book reminds me of other visionary writers like James Redfield, Carlos Castaneda and Dan Millman. I highly recommend "Nexus" as a deeply moving experience of personal transformation whose message spiritual readers will most appreciate.
Powerful Insights.......2007-04-23
The appeal of "Nexus" lies in an original story that is fast-paced and chock-full of powerful insights. This book is about transformation as an organic process.
The novel is unique as a collaborative effort by two authors who have successfully integrated their writing into an inspiring narrative. This book explores the ups and downs of spiritual life through the journey of people at a spiritual retreat and we can relate their experiences to our own life.
I love this book for its piercing insights and a memorable soulful journey. "Nexus" reminds me of books like "The Celestine Prophecy," "The Life of Pi" and "The Alchemist" - some other books that I've enjoyed reading.
Customer Reviews:
A Sad, but True Tale.......2007-10-03
After watching a documentary about the Chambers' Brothers, additional reading about this family was mandatory. This family, from a small rural town in Arkansas, garnered national attention from non other than fellow Arkansan, Bill Clinton, at the 1988 National Democratic Convention. William Adler documents details that while in no way excuses the deplorable and destructive choices and behavior of the Chambers' brothers, lend plausible insight into social factors that make certain, immediate gratification and fast money, seem the only option available in the eyes of some misguided individuals. For anyone interested in one family's tale that sadly mimicks and represents the story of so many others, this book provides a well-rounded view of what can happen when an uncertain family foundation dangerously mixes with negative socio-economic issues.
Ain't Nothin' Changed..........2007-09-03
A thorough, well-written, engaging story of siblings from a large family facing oppressive racism and few economic options in rural Arkansas, who built a multi-million dollar drug empire in Detroit. Twelve years on, Alder's book is as relevant as ever. Illegal drugs and the collective harm they cause society are oddly absent from the national debate. The new boogeypeople now, of course, are immigrant workers. But drugs continue to ravage urban and rural communities, and middle-class voters become ever more disenchanted, politicians feed the the red herring of jobs lost to border jumpers to keep us all from focusing on the core issues. Those issues, of course, are money and access to it. Though few will discuss as much openly, especially in America, those born into the "lower" classes have nearly no real chance at comfort and success, and those in power have no interest in upsetting the status quo. For the vast majority stuck in the middle, the daily grind of work, school, and child care leaves little time for pushing for significant change. And this all, of course, suits the average politician just fine. Middle class voters aren't losing their jobs to immigrant workers -- but they're having trouble making ends meet in increasingly expensive suburbs. Likewise, the average drug dealer isn't ruining lives that wouldn't be ruined in some other manner (think about it: how many junkies started as truly productive members of society?). But it's much easier to send SWAT teams into crack houses than to address the motivating issues of bad schools and weak local economies.
Alder makes the reader confront these questions. He spares no one -- the Chambers brothers are not, by any stretch, sympathetic characters. They are, however, very practical characters. Throughout Alder's narrative, I was reminded of Ed Harris's quote from "Apollo 13": "let's work the problem, people." For the Chambers family, the problem was a lack of any sort of opportunity whatsoever in a South that remained as segregated and stratified as ever. For them the solution was simple and market-oriented: supply an in-demand product at a competitive price, with unsurpassed customer support. The problems facing the poor today are much the same, and the solutions are still missing.
Great Investigative Reporting.......2007-06-27
Land of Opportunity is an intriguing book that steps away from the simple glorification of drug dealing and "hood living". William Adler did a superb job of investigative reporting. This book not only chronicles the rise and fall of the Chamber Brothers, it details the socioeconomic conditions that help create them. Although their actions should never be accepted, this book adequately explains why such a horrible decision was feasible to someone in that situation. Adler investigates not only the Chambers, but the economies of the Mississippi Delta and Detroit during Reagonomics. In one of the most enlightening moments in the book, the true nature of the war on drugs is established when he discusses the sentencing of Chambers and associates, including their suppliers. This book is a must read for all who believe the war on drugs will be won with tougher sentencing and mandatory minimums.
Marianna Class of 1986.......2005-03-08
The book doesn't tell it all, but it's close. I would recommend it to all.
Marianna, at one time, carried the nickname of 'Little Detroit'.
I graduated with Otis in the Lee Senior High School class of 1986 so I lived this story firsthand.
There is no exaggeration that he received a standing ovation during the graduation ceremonies. He was considered a hero among many of my classmates (very unfortunately.)
Otis was always soft spoken (at least around me) yet I never saw anyone try to provoke him.
In Marianna you either work on a farm, work for the city or county gov't, work for the (only one) local industry or you're unemployed.
I have since departed from Marianna, but I'm not far away - I still visit family and friends there on a regular basis.
I've always thought all social services workers should be interned in small rural areas such as that of Marianna - maybe they would have a better perspective on what I call 'the REAL world'.
YOU should have a visit sometime!
Entertaining and a very realistic portrayal of the Dee........2003-02-18
I lived through this period (late teens) in Detroit and can attest to the influence of the Detroit Drug organizations. In fact, they are probably understated in this book. It was an invigorating, exciting, yet somewhat frightening time to be alive.
But enough about that, it's an excellent read, perhaps a little on the "academic" side with the sociological profile of Arkansas.
But rest assured, Billy Joe, White Boy Rick, Larry, and some of the others were definitely celebrities. As a high school student, we knew who they all were.
Book Description
Six bone-chilling tales of bizarre beauty and awesome horror lurk in the dark of the soul, waiting to be called upon by the demons of nightmares, and let loose in the frightened mind. Only H.P. Lovecraft could conjure up these testaments to evil that will live inside of you forever....
Customer Reviews:
It was a fever of the gods.......2005-10-23
H.P. Lovecraft was a gentleman and a true artist - the stories released under his name are works of his singular genius, unbending to commercial pressures. The revisions and ghost-writing he did to supplement his income were never throwaway pulp tripe, but chances seized upon by the author to test out and perfect his trademark blend of horror and wonder in the face of an infinite cosmos.
One piece stands out among his work, and that is The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath. It was done as a personal exercise and was only released posthumously - never even formally typed in the author's own lifetime. He was concerned it was so singular and out-of-the-ordinary in his field of weird fiction that it wouldn't be well-received and thus he never submitted it to a publisher. Fortunately for the world, it was lovingly transcribed by his associates and released for all to enjoy.
It is certainly the most personal of his works - his recurring character Randolph Carter is the star, and Mr. Carter is the closest thing to an alter-ego among Lovecraft's gallery of literary creations. By day he is just another man (revealed in other stories to be a writer of weird fiction as was his creator), but by night he is a master dreamer privy to realms of the collective unconscious unknown to the average traveller of Hypnos' domain. As haunting dreams of beauty trouble him, Carter sets out on a quest to find a fabled city of the gods of which Fate has cursed him with tantalizing visions. This takes him deep into the Dreamlands, a fantastic and wondrous realm where civilizations of the primitive and the classical reside in staggering landscapes of beauty and dread. He takes on the will of the blind and dangerous Outer Gods as he seeks to attain a privilege of the gods that few mortals have attempted, and in the course of his trek he finds himself adrift at sea, taken to the moon, battling alongside feline hordes, and in the clutches of darkest cosmic force.
The diction is wordy and dense, done both as a tribute to Lovecraft's beloved Lord Dunsany and as an exercise of the unparalled vocabulary that marks Lovecraft's work. This lofty prose works well to bolser the otherworldly, epic feel of the work. No apologies are made to the audience regarding the fantastic setting, and the audience is tantalized with some details and left to speculate on others concerning the background of the world Randolph Carter tranverses. It is the Dreamlands, after all - and Lovecraft provides elusive and mesmerizing revelations to inspire his audience to bring the land to life in their own dreams.
Ultimately, the book is a thrilling read equal parts breathless fantasy, unrelenting adventure, and dawning horror. Any fan of Lovecraft's other work will find this book indispensable, and fans of the epic work of Edgar Rice Burroughs, J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, or Lovecraft-inspired modern icon Neil Gaiman will thrill to this tale of dreams sought and hopes attained.
Any scholar of Lovecraft's biography will be moved at the contents of the final paragraph, where the mask of Carter slips and we see Lovecraft recalling the dreams of his own life which always remained just out of reach. To understand Lovecraft, and to experience a world of fantasy and horror unlike any other in print, one must do himself or herself the favor of taking the Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath.
The dream-key of H.P. Lovecraft.......2005-08-12
_This collection of stories are in my opinion the highest and best creation of Lovecraft's career. They are also the most personal. It is obvious that Randolph Carter is Lovecraft's alter-ego. These stories are the dream map of his life- the source of his inspiration. How many other authors have claimed that their best ideas came from "somewhere else"- often in dreams?
_I would classify these stories as more fantasy, than horror- except that I am not all that sure that they are really fantasy. Perhaps embroidered visions would be closer to the truth. Afterall, he points out that to value waking reality more than dream is a "superstition" that he has come to reject. For as you accompany the author through the fantastic landscapes and cities of this quest they come to seem more and more real, more and more familiar. As one who has repeatedly returned to the same cities in his dreams I am not going to pass judgement about their reality...
_Besides the title story "The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath", you also have "Celephais", "The Silver Key", "Through the Gates of the Silver Key", "The White Ship", and "The Strange High House in the Mist." All deal with the dream realm.
_It is the story "The Siver Key" that tells us the most about Lovecraft the man. He despised those scientific materialists that sucked the life out of the world. Yet, he had no respect for traditional churches who tried to pass myth off as literalism. This left Lovecraft in a bind (as it has many of us), until he made the breakthrough into the true mysteries- and dream....
What dreams are made of........2005-01-24
One of my favorite stories of all time. A variety of the madness of Lovecraft. I always thought Stuart Gordon should have made this one into a movie complete with soundtrack containing the music of Mr. Bungle, System of a Down, and Fear Before the March of Flames. Ghouls, Ghast, and Nightgaunt city. If you liked Call of Cthulhu check this one out. If you liked this one check my poetry book out: Poisoned Mushrooms(Here at Amazon.com and at Authorhouse.com). I'm Jason Leonard and you have my word on it. We put the fear into legal fees. Around the country and in your neighborhood.
Such stuff as dreams are made on.......2003-09-05
To sustain a fantasy tale solely on the strength of the imagery, without the support of strong character development or a narrative that is richly symbolic or allegorical, is extraordinarily difficult. To achieve it, the imagery must be sufficiently novel and compelling to hold the readerýs interest by itself. In ýDreamquestý, Lovecraft makes the task even more difficult for himself in two ways; firstly by making it clear from the beginning that this is all a dream ý thus the dreamer could safely wake up at any moment ý and secondly by making the stakes seem very modest. In most fantasy tales, the fate of nations or of the entire Universe rests on the heroýs success in retrieving a ring or slaying a dragon, or whatever. Here, the aim of the journey is to visit a city that the dreamer once saw in dreamland and yearned to enter. Hardly the stuff of dramatic tension.
Nonetheless, ýDreamquestý succeeds magnificently, purely with the strangeness and poetic beauty of its imagery. Despite the manner in which the publishers promote this book, it is not a collection of horror stories. They are fantasies. The title story is a fine prose-poem that will live with you ý and very likely encroach on your dreamland ý long after you read it.
Clearly, Lovecraft was extremely introverted and introspective. There are references in the story to those perilous places where dreamland and reality meet, and where insanity threatens. The destruction of the individual may be at stake in too ambitious a dreamquest, even if the future of mankind is not.
Although some passages have a light touch, the story lacks the humor that Tolkien, for example, brings to his work. Also, there is no erotic element -- not even a single female character. Ironically enough, considering his name, Lovecraft appears to have had little or no sexual awareness.
In short, ýDreamquestý attempts none of the usual functions of storytelling. It seeks only to take you on a journey through one expert dreamerýs psyche. When the guide is as competent as Lovecraft, that is enough.
A Lovecraft Must.......2002-09-20
H.P. Lovecraft continues to exert an enormous influence in the horror/fantasy genre. This may be surprising because Lovecraft's writings were nearly impossible to find for decades. Unlike those poor souls who, in the old days, fruitlessly searched for copies of his stories, today we can locate copies of them quite easily. And they are definitely worth seeking out, as Lovecraft writes chilling stories like no other person, alive or dead. Unfortunately for horror buffs, Lovecraft died at a young age, thus leaving his work to be carried on by others.
Lovecraft is famous for his creation of the Cthulhu mythos, an alternate universe (or series of universes) populated by strange beings of infinite evil. These are the Elder Gods, beings who enjoy tormenting the human race. Time and time again, Lovecraft takes his characters into unfortunate encounters with the Elder Gods, almost always to the detriment of these hapless souls. In "The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath," DelRey collects yet another batch of Lovecraft gems.
The main course of this collection is "The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath," a story about Randolph Carter, a mystic who has the ability to enter a fabulous world through his dreams. Carter isn't content with merely shuffling about a dream world; he wants to track down Kadath, a fortress where the gods live and play. Carter's quest takes him through endless adventures where he faces both good and evil realms. Carter goes to the moon, talks to cats, sails on the seas, and encounters weird creatures both helpful and harmful. All of this brings him steadily closer to his goal. This story is a synthesis of many of Lovecraft's other stories, such as "The Cats of Ulthar."
"Celephais" is a short story about one of Carter's friends who became a king in the dream world. It is a short story that serves to give some background on both the dream world and one of the characters Carter encounters in his quest for Kadath.
"The Silver Key," a story that again incorporates the Carter character, finds Carter discovering a key engraved with strange hieroglyphics. With the key, Carter attempts to reconnect to the dream world. His subsequent disappearance raises more questions than it answers. Fortunately, these questions are answered in the next story.
"Through the Gates of the Silver Key" picks up where the previous story left off. Carter uses the key to move through a portal into a universe beyond any human comprehension. Carter learns that through advanced mathematics he is capable of changing the very barriers of time and space. Some barriers shouldn't be messed with, as Carter quickly discovers. While his estate is being hashed out on Earth, Carter is working diligently to return to his world. Lovecraft co-wrote this story with another author, named E. Hoffman Price.
The book ends with two very short stories, "The White Ship," and "The Strange High House in the Mist." In "The White Ship," a man who watches over a lighthouse embarks on a strange journey into lands only dreamed about by mankind. When the lighthouse keeper becomes bored with the paradise he discovers, his wish to move on leads to tragedy for the white ship. In "The Strange High House in the Mist," a weird house on a cliff overlooking a fishing village serves as a meeting place for creatures of the sea both wicked and wise. When a curious clergyman explores the house, he comes back with knowledge some people in the village would rather not hear about.
All of these stories employ Lovecraft's usual trademarks: elegant prose, descriptions of horror beyond the knowledge of man, and imaginative plots that make the reader shake their head in wonder. There are Lovecraftian stories that are better than the ones in this collection, such as "At the Mountains of Madness," but this is still an excellent collection of chillers from a master who, even on his off days, produced work vastly superior to many writers in the genre. Lovecraft richly deserves the consideration he receives to this day.
Book Description
In this deeply felt, unforgettable book, Bill Reynolds journeys with a high school basketball team through the past and present of an American town. Fall River, Massachusetts, is a once-prosperous industrial center haunted by its history, the Durfee High School basketball team begins its annual drive for a state championship: a quest that inspires and sometimes consumes kids, coaches, families, teachers, and all of Fall River.Fall River Dreams is the story of one season's quest-a classic book about sports, youth, time, hope, and memory in American today.
Customer Reviews:
More than a basketball book.......2007-01-02
As a Fall Riverite, I am ashamed to have taken so long to read this book. This book is so accurate that it is scary. While the actual writing does lack some luster, it is certainly accurate weaving the city's history with key people, with the history of Durfee High School, and the politics that are still as evident in 2007 as they were in 1993. Chris Herren's basketball career at Durfee is chronicled with foresight as to what eventually did happen, evident to me that the author really did get to know the characters he wrote about because we all know what eventually happened to Chris, the dream that never really came to fruition, almost as if Fall River is cursed and has cursed its residents. Jeff Caron, the kid who was overlooked, according to the author in the book, is currently the coach of Durfee and its AD, taking the place of the everfamous Skippy Karam. Again, after reading the book, Caron's role in Fall River now seems exactly scripted the way Reynolds depicted Fall Riverites, destined to never leave, yearning always for the past. It's a good sports book, it's a good history book, it's a good story. There are some editing issues--spelling errors and misnamed places, but it's mostly annoying if you know that Columbus Park is not "Columbia Park," etc. If you are from the area, you must read! But even if you are not, if you know anything about Chris Herren, you will forever feel for him and his plight. I wish Chris would actually do an autobiography, it could be a lesson for all kids that nothing is a given.
Probably Doomed to not meet my expectations.......2005-03-31
I'm clearly not alone in having read "Fall River Dreams" after reading "Friday Night Lights." Several other reviewers have mentioned as much in their own reviews. Clearly, I had some expectations that it would be a basketball version of FNL, which it was, but it just didn't have the bite that FNL was able to dish out. Not that this was a bad book at all, but I think I was doomed from the start to always have that hanging over my head.
From a book standpoint, it was an enjoyable read, with a good amount of real life ups and downs mixed into it. I hate reading fairy tale non-fiction books, and fortunately this doesn't turn into one. Having read this over a decade after its first printing, I wish there was a new version with author commentary as there was with FNL. My interest in the players, especially Chris Herren, took me to the internet where I found quite a large amount of depressing post Fall River information. In some ways, it made the book more vivid. Reynolds might do well by refocusing on a few players with a re-release.
Overall a 3/5, mainly the 3 coming from a lot of repetitive commentary throughout. This book could have used a better editor.
fall river dreams.......2004-07-27
i thought this was a pretty good book. as a sports fan, i did get bored at times with all the descriptions of the city and it seemed repetitive after awhile. but overall, i did find myself not wanting to put the book down in order to find out what the outcome was going to be for durfee and chris herron.
Great characters, great book.......2004-07-12
This was one of the best sports books I've read in a while. I really enjoyed Friday Night Lights, and think that this book is it's equal. Thought I am slightly biased, growing up in the Fall River area, and personally watching several Durfee games. But no one can deny the honest and genuine nature of the emotionally charged characters in this story. The relationship between Skippy Karam and Chris Herren is one of a kind. Skip being the living legend trying to go out on top one last time, and Chris trying to live up to all the expectations put on him by the media, colleges, and his family, even though he cleary isn't ready to grow up. The interaction between these two is usually confrontational, but often hilarious as Chris continues to push Skippy to his limit.
Another great character that seems to almost get lost in the mix is Jeff Caron. Jeff is the second best player on the team, but would be a stand out at any other high school in the area. He seems a little jealous at times, but always remains a team player. He is a sort of an outsider among his teammates and the book does a fine job of telling his story.
grew up in fall river.......2004-05-27
This book was well written and told a good story. But i grew up in fall river and know the herrens personally - in other words there is alot more to the herren brothers and fall river than what was mentioned in the book (if you can believe it) but whatever. last I heard Christopher was married with children and doing well. big deal he screwed up. i have. chances are you have. he was a teenager. The one thing i dont get is that 75% of fall river never even heard of chris herren. The author makes a big deal about how important basketball is to the city but its a bunch of crap. good story though if youve never been to fall river. dont get me wrong the majority of the story is true but the man is trying to sell books. you know what ?christopher no longer lives in fall river and thats a dream for most fallrivians itself. basketball got him out of there - thats almost as good as a 25 milliuon dollar NBA contract. good for you chris
Customer Reviews:
Excellent.......2007-07-10
This is a fantastic book for taking a group of through a 12 session study on prayer. Dee is interesting, deep, and practical. I highly reccomend this book to anyone.
Amazon.com
On the night of February 17, 1869, the Russian scientist Dmitri Mendeleyev went to bed frustrated by a puzzle he had been playing with for years: how the atomic weights of the chemical elements could be grouped in some meaningful way--and one that, with any luck, would open a window onto the hidden structure of nature. He dreamed, as he later recalled, of "a table where all the elements fell into place as required." His intuition that when the elements were listed in order of weight, their properties repeated in regular intervals, gave rise to the Periodic Table of the Elements--which, though much revised since, underlies modern chemistry.
Mendeleyev's discovery brackets Paul Strathern's learned and literate history of chemistry. He traces the origins of that science, as it is understood in the West, to the Greek philosopher Thales of Miletus, who backed up his surmises about the nature of things with evidence and used arguments "entirely within the realm of this world." From Thales's day, Strathern takes us into the studies of Arabic-speaking scientists such as Avicenna and Al-Razi, who preserved classical science and added to it their own insights; introduces us to the medieval alchemists who in turn preserved the work of Islamic scholars while questing to discover the inner secrets of matter (and perhaps make a little gold in the bargain); and leads us into the early modern world of such greats as Lavoisier, Van Helmont, and Cavendish, who added rigorous methodology and important discoveries to that quest.
Strathern relates false steps and true breakthroughs alike, and his narrative is a pleasure to read. --Gregory McNamee
Book Description
In this elegant, erudite but entertaining book, Paul Strathern, the award-winning novelist and expositor of complex ideas, unravels the dramatic history of chemistry through the quest for the elements.Framing this history is the life-story of the nineteenth-century Russian Scientist Dmitri Mendeleyev, who fell asleep at his desk and awoke after conceiving the Periodic Table in a dream - the template upon which modern chemistry is founded, and the formulation of which marked chemistry's coming of age as a science.From ancient philosophy, through medieval alchemy to the splitting of the atom, this is the true story of the birth of chemistry and the role of one man's dream.AUTHORBIO: PAUL STRATHERN was born in London in 1940.He studied physics, chemistry, and maths at Trinity College, Dublin, before switching to philosophy.He is the author of several novels, including A Season in Abyssinia, which won a Somerset Maugham prize, and two highly successful series of short introductory books, Philosophers in 90 Minutes, and The Big Idea: Scientists who Changed the World.Paul Strathern lectures in philosophy and science at Kingston University.
Customer Reviews:
An Inexpert Review.......2005-11-17
As someone who loves popular science and history, but who is neither a scientist nor a historian (I'm an illustrator), I found this journey, culminating in Mendeleyev's insight, to be one of the most engrossing and eye-opening books I've read in quite some time.
Reading the other reviews above reinforces my belief that the more one knows about a subject the harsher (and more fussy) the criticism. Though some of the negative comments may be deserved, I nevertheless recommend this as an imminently readable history of the personalities who sought to uncover the secrets of the elements. I'm convinced that if science education were supplemented with the kind of engaging narrative backstory contained in Strathern's book, non-science-minded students would take a much greater interest in learning molar masses and balancing chemical equations.
Too elementary.......2004-08-21
If you are looking for a genuine history of chemistry centered on the development of the periodic table--as the title and subtitle imply--then look elsewhere. This book provides a spotty history of science emphasizing the personalities involved, with greatest coverage of ancient and medieval figures. Overall, it was quite disappointing.
Worth Re-Reading.......2004-03-07
This is an outstanding book if you are very interested in both history and science. Some earlier reviewer were disappointed in not finding more information about chemistry, but it's not a chemistry book, it's a history book. A better book about the elements, including each specific element and how each was discovered, is "A Guide to the Elements" by Stwertka.
This book is about the history of chemistry, culminating in Mendeleyev's realization of the periodic table - the "order" in the chemical world that people had been looking for. It's not a book about Mendeleyev, but about his dream, which was every Chemist's dream. Hence, the title Mendeleyev's DREAM.
Strathern has a great grasp of history and an unusual ability to condense complex historical events into just a few sentences. This helps the reader understand the context within with various events take place -- extremely important. The reader who already has a grasp of some basic world history will get more out of this book, however.
I particularly liked how Strathern describes the various characters with warts and all. It makes it so much more fascinating! They are complex people with ambitions, phobias, superstitions, arrogence and so on. The lives of these people are stories in and of themselves, and Strathern makes these stories both readable and believable. I often found myself shaking my head in amazement and/or amusement.
There were some complaints in earlier reviews about Strathern spending too much time on Medieval and Ancient times. I didn't think that was a problem at all. I found it all very interesting, then again, I'm interested Ancient and Medieval History. I think it's important to learn what went on prior to modern science, back in the days of alchemy and elixers. It makes modern science look pretty good.
After I was done with the book I found myself picking it up over and over again, re-reading various passages, still shaking my head in amazement.
Dream? More like a coma!.......2003-08-22
If Mendeleyev had the opportunity to read this... boy would he dream. It has to be the best cure for insomnia I've ever stumbled upon. There is far too much history and not enough Mendeleyev or periodic table - the reasons I bought the book in the first place. At two thirds of the way through, the only things keeping me going are sheer willpower to get to Meneleyev's cameo role and the fact I've cheated and flicked to the end so I know I'll get to it eventually. Definate thumbs down for anyone wanting to know more about the elements but fine for anyone wanting to know what inspired the research. Chemistry fascinates me... this book does not.
Loses a bit of credibility at the end........2003-05-14
I thought this was a quite engaging book until I neared the end, and the author's science started to get a little sketchy. His description of why warm Coke is fizzier than cold Coke seems to be wrong, and in the final chapter about Mendeleyev, there are a couple of mistakes, such as confusing bismuth with boron, and a bizarre confusion between uranium and indium, which looks like it needs explaining. All in all a decent book let down by these oversights.
Average customer rating:
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Sete-kas Dream Quest (Paths of Doom Adventure Book)
James M. Ward
Manufacturer: Margaret Weis Productions
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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The Lost Sword (Paths of Doom Adventure Book)
ASIN: 1931567700 |
Book Description
The gods of upper and lower Egypt are stern judges over those who rule their people. Young prince Sete-Ka is struck with the dream sickness. The gods transport his spirit into the dream lands on the other side of dawn. Here he will be tested for courage, honor, and the wisdom to rule the people of Egypt. If you make the right choices, the Prince wakes in the real world. If you prove greedy, fearful, or unwise, his body will fade and his spirit will walk in the accursed dream lands for all time.
In the
Paths of Doom series the reader must choose which path the story will take. Each tale presents both challenges and choices. Every path will lead to an exciting conclusion, but each story has but one happy ending. The wrong choice leads only to doom. Return to the world of choice-driven adventure fiction from this exciting new series of books for young readers!
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