Customer Reviews:
WONDERFUL!!!!!!!! I LOVE THIS.......2007-09-24
THIS IS A FUN AND AMAZINGLY WONDERFUL READ!!!! You won't be sorry that you started this series -- except maybe that you can't stop reading once you start! It is well written -- wonderful use of words -- wonderful imagination from this creative author. I couldn't be more impressed.
I saw a review here that said it was awful -- please don't believe it. You will understand and love Beethoven (and John Suchet!!) even more than you already do, when done with these books. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!!!!!!!!
A disappointment.......1999-12-04
This book, although a very good idea, and well researched, was so poorly written I could have shredded it in frustration. In the hands of a more skilled author, this book would have been great. As it is, it's dreadful.
If he had not been a famous British newsreader, I doubt if John Suchet would have managed to get this book published. Again, its a classic example of 'it's not what you know, but who you know'.
A plausible and captivating novel about Beethoven........1999-01-07
Finally an accurate and plausible novel on Beethoven. I can't wait for the next volumes. The musicological approach is captivating.
A delightful and historically accurate novel of Beethoven.......1998-08-24
I was overjoyed to find a book such as the one written by John Suchet. I commend the author for writing a book about Beethoven in a way that I don't think was accomplished before. I hope that John Suchet may provide future "historical novels" about other famous composers. I am a pianist myself, and I love reading about the lives of the great composers. I recommend this book for anyone who wants to learn about Ludwig van Beethoven from the point of view of a story.
Learn about Beethoven's life in the form of a story.......1998-07-16
Memorising facts about Beethoven is difficult enough, yet when I had finished this book I understood how he began his musical education, his family situation, his longing to meet Mozart in Vienna and his difficulty in getting there. The book gives details of his personal friendships and those who gave him patronage. You may wonder why the Pathetique was dedicated to Lichnowsky, yet the book sets out the nature of their relationship and those similar. This first volume captures the beginnings of Beethoven's hearing problems and the attempts by many doctor's to cure him. Based on accounts by friends of Beethoven and letters to him and from him, the book successfully gives the reader an insight into the life of Beethoven without being boring. The author has added the dialogue , but as he says 'always in accordance with the known facts'. (Suchet 1996: Postscript)
Book Description
In the wake of the phenomenal success of
The Da Vinci Code, interest in the Knights Templar has never been higher—and their final days is one of the great stories of the Middle Ages. This pioneering study investigates the decline and fall of the mighty Knights Templar and their last Grand Master.
Customer Reviews:
A Needed Biography of the Last Grand Master.......2007-03-18
I have given this work 4 stars, tho' 3.5 stars is more like it. I do agree with the other review that it is slow going in some parts. I think perhaps this may be due to the fact that the work was translated from the French. But the work is significant in that a lot material that I had never read before about Jacques de Molay was brought to light. If you are interested in the Knights Templar and the final chapter of the old military order, then this is an important read. Prior to this book the descriptions of the last Grand Master were cursory at best. De Molay is revealed in this work to be a more capable administrator than previously thought. In all the previous books about the Templars I have read de Molay was often referred to as gung-ho warrior type with little talents beyond the military aspects of the Order. However, Demurger shows that this was not the case.
could be better.......2005-06-30
To tell you the truth, I was rather bored reading this book. Especially the first 50-100 pages, although afterwards it does appear to develop a more logical pace...
The fact remains that about the early part of de Molay's life we know little, and the researcher is bound to jump into numerous conclusions, which could possibly to become the subject of some debate. Taking things for granted is permissible to some extent, especially if there are at least some circumstantial evidence, but such approach must be highly careful, a quality Demourger doesn't show to fully appreciate at times. Having said that, I don't consider this book a bad read. The writer's conclusions seem rational enough, and it is evident that the man approaches the subject seriously. So maybe it's just the style of Demourger's writing that made me suffer at the beginning of this book...
One constant irritation was that the author doesn't always stick to the subject, but "wonders off" at times.
Book Description
Ragnarok. Armageddon. Doomsday. Since the dawn of time, man has wondered how the world would end. In The Last Three Minutes, Paul Davies reveals the latest theories. It might end in a whimper, slowly scattering into the infinite void. Then again, it might be yanked back by its own gravity and end in a catastrophic "Big Crunch." There are other, more frightening possibilities. We may be seconds away from doom at this very moment.
Written in clear language that makes the cutting-edge science of quarks, neutrinos, wormholes, and metaverses accessible to the layman, The Last Three Minutes treats readers to a wide range of conjectures about the ultimate fate of the universe. Along the way, it takes the occasional divergent path to discuss some slightly less cataclysmic topics such as galactic colonization, what would happen if the Earth were struck by the comet Swift-Tuttle (a distinct possibility), the effects of falling in a black hole, and how to create a "baby universe." Wonderfully morbid to the core, this is one of the most original science books to come along in years.
Customer Reviews:
Escape from Yourself and Join the Stars.......2007-01-27
An elegant book on the ultimate fate of the universe - cosmological speculations based upon well known hard physics - and all very exciting stuff extremely well written, and easily grasped if one remembers any high school science at all.
All the subject matter concerns a physical scale (large and small), a time scale (long and short), and a temperature scale (hot and cold) of such stupendously extreme parameters that reading becomes a terrific brain stretching exercise that delightfully removes one from the tiny doings of one's own overly personalized and petty mind circus.
The human end and not so much the universe's .......2004-12-15
I am not a scientist, and do not understand technical scientific matters in a deep way. For better descriptions of what this book is about in scientific terms I recommend the reader of this review look at the other Amazon Reviews.
I am the kind of reader who reads the scientific material in order to use it as basis for understanding certain fundamental questions. Science provides the ' truth' and my own thought the conjecture.
However what happens when the Science itself is conjecture, and what we are dealing with is alternative theories? From what I understand the most accepted view of the Universe's ' end' in scientific terms is its continuous expansion. Thus a number of readers on Amazon have indicated that the ' contraction scenario 'or ' big crunch scenario ' for the world's end is not held today by the great majority of Astronomers.
My question and here I share Davies' concern is not with ' the end of the Universe' the ' last three minutes as it were of everything' but with the ' ultimate fate of mankind'. And I wonder if the kind of material presented here brings to a greater understanding of that.
On the one hand it is possible to suggest that Mankind is such a small part of the Universe, and has been in existence for such a small interval of time that its continued existence through the kinds of times and distances the Universe is likely to exist through seems extremely unlikely. Here it is possible to speak about various scenarios of ' colonization' and the human transformations involved in them. Speculations in other words.
But then too since Mankind is now rapidly developing ' machine - intelligences' that may in some way become ' independent others' the question of ultimate human fate is connected with our own efforts here. In other words we might not wait until the last three minutes of the universe but might through our own ' creative means' put ourselves to sleep.
All this of course raises questions which are ultimately religious or spiritual.
And that question too I think should be asked in relation to ' the final time' of the universe.
All this leads me to the thought that the real subject we should be thinking about is the subject of God at the beginning or before the beginning, and God at the end or beyond the End. And what that means for us. And what we mean for God?
And how we are to make sense of this universe, and whether or not we can at all.
This is to say that the kinds of information Davies presents do not help me so much in my own quest to ' understand the ultimate meaning of who I am, who we are, and what my and our purpose is here on this earth and in this Universe.
For all those we now living love will end long before the physical Universe does.
Is there some other meaning for all of us only God knows ? Is there another universe next door or up above, or in some other way of perception and knowing we cannot possibly grasp?
Mind Expanding... (or is it contracting?).......2004-12-09
This book overviews the current major ideas of cosmology and sets them against a logical background of ultimate fate. What happens to the universe ultimately depends upon whence we came. Davies takes several theories and then logically extrapolates the possible fates of the universe.
One of the things to keep in mind is the fact that "infinity is a long time" and this reoccuring theme is central to the ideas he develops. If the universe is expanding, what eventually happens to matter? If the universe is contracting, what will eventually happen to matter? Where does matter come from? Can matter be created or destroyed over infinite amounts of time?
Such ideas explored are the steady state theory, the expanding universe and "cold heat" death. The contracting universe and the eventual ceasing of all time, matter --- everything... The oscillating universe where matter can be created from "nothing" .
Some of the info is a little dated -- I suppose this applies if you are a graduate student in the Astrophysic department of Cambridge University. But for the average bloke with an interest in cosmology, one need not be worried about reading "old" materials. In fact the popular science, current considerations about the universes initial inflation stage -- that fraction of a secong when expansion and matter may have formed --- is well described and should serve as an intro to other reading.
The one thing that I really like about Davies is that his writing is clean and does not become a political tract: eg. Dawkins, Pinker and Dennet.
This trend towards writing "polically" based appreciations of scientific theory is based upon two things in my estimation: 1) the rise of the irrational, Voodoo Science and stark raving mad religious fundementalists --- scientific authors often rightly feel that they are fighting a rear guard action against the forces of darkness, and: 2) amazing egos that need to be assuaged (Dawkins and Dennet) so they feel that they must always address all potential attacks, however inconsequential, to defend their "good name."
Davies is clean and can present contrasting and even illogical ideas (Bede's "Darwin's Black Box") in a non-political way -- and still make the guy look irrelevant to modern science.
That is why, along with Matt Ridley, Davies is the best writer in popular science, worthy to assume the mantle of Carl Sagan.
A bit dry in the middle.. .......2004-09-03
The book starts with what I might consider a fake-out: Davies starts by recounting a situation where some asteroid has been found to be on a collision course with Earth and the final minutes in our existence considering that we know we're going to be hit by a "global killer". While this is interesting, it's a bit of fiction. We were scared for a bit that later this century we would be hit by something heading our direction, but it was found to be missing us by just a little bit later. After considering the possibilities and probabilities of these happening for some pages, he notes that even if we do die this way, it's not exactly the last three minutes of the
universe, just life on earth. Going on, he discusses the possibility of heat death, seemingly unavoidable by the second law of thermodynamics and something which depressed scientists to no end after they found it out. He also covers the possibility that the universe may stop expanding and start contracting at some point in the future.
Davies seems to work very hard to make the material not as dry as a AA member at a monastery by connecting most of the theory to what would actually happen, assuming that human life exists at that point. Unfortunately, the evaporating power of the material seems to take over, and I couldn't really get through this book all the way without forcing myself through long sections on black holes that I really didn't care much about. After the long discussion of black holes and how we could possibly get energy out of them stops, Davies got to the meat of what I was actually looking for: heat death or contracting universe. The last third of the book was actually much easier to read than the middle and much more intersting than most of the rest. Contracting and "Bouncing back" universes are discussed along with an actually interesting tangent about artifically creating universes by tricks with false vacuum. One other thing I really like about this book - Davies seems to go out of his way to make sure you know where to look up more information about the situations he talks about - even without resorting to looking at the notes in the back.
The book is actually better than many I could have read on the subject, and did increase my knowledge of the possibilities for the ultimate fate of the universe fairly extensively. It definitely gets my recommendation for geeky reading over the summer, at least if you can get through to the really interesting parts. At 176 pages, it is actually more reading than it looks like at a paltry paperbook size. If it weren't for the dry section in the middle, it wouldn't be B grade material.
Fire or ice?.......2004-01-29
It is safe to say that I grew up reading Paul Davies; my first real introduction to physical sciences such as astronomy and physic was the television series 'Cosmos'; that inspired me to purchase the companion text, which further inspired me to join the Astronomy Book Club two dozen years ago. One of the first books offered, and the first book I received from them, was Paul Davies' 'Other Worlds' -- from then on, I was hooked. I have nearly a dozen books by Paul Davies, all on topics of theoretical physics, astrophysics and cosmology -- he is consistently readable, entertaining and educating with the same style that compels the reader to want more (which he then provides).
It was not surprising to me to see his name on the Science Masters Series. The series has basic introductions to many of the key issues in science today -- evolution, origins of life, cognitive science, time, computer science, and more. Each volume is relatively short -- 'The Last Three Minutes' has a mere 150 pages of text that is not too dense, sparing technically and mathematically without losing much conceptually.
The issue of the end of the universe is one of the 'hot spots' of astrophysics and cosmology, and so there are elements of this book that are already a bit out of date, despite being less than a decade old. However, given the speculative nature of many 'discoveries' in this field, it is impossible to say if anything is truly out of date or false at the present time.
Davies explores the end of the universe by setting the stage -- drawing from current thinking about the origins of the universe, in fact one of the options for conjecture, in a closed universe system, would be that the last three minutes would resemble quite closely the first three minutes. Davies looks at the various processes -- stellar evolution and decay, gravitational issues, overall radiation depletion, energy-fuel consumption -- and draws these together for the various theories about the end of the universe.
Davies shows the ideas of the closed/collapsing universe (a view not widely held today) and of the infinitely expanding universe (the current reigning theory), giving ideas about the variables required to tip the scales in one direction or the other. Even with an infinitely expanding universe, however, all is not necessarily well with the world -- the universe runs the risk (in the future so distant there is no realistic way of expressing it in terms of time we know) of becoming a dark, deep freeze with no activity left, and all matter becoming inert and inactive in every respect.
Davies speculates on what this means for the survival of humanity and human history -- how can information be preserved? How can our species go on in the face of this? Such speculation is pure conjecture; the time distances are so far removed that nothing we devise will likely come close to resembling an actual answer to this. However, it is interesting as a mental exercise, and leads the reader hopefully to further reading.
Book Description
Freemason ... Shaman ... Prophet ... Seducer ... Swindler ... Thief ... Heretic
Who was the mysterious Count Cagliostro?
Depending on whom you ask, he was either a great healer or a dangerous charlatan. Internationally acclaimed historian Iain McCalman documents how Cagliostro crossed paths -- and often swords -- with the likes of Catherine the Great, Marie Antoinette, and Pope Pius VI. He was a muse to William Blake and the inspiration for both Mozart's Magic Flute and Goethe's Faust. Louis XVI had him thrown into the Bastille for his alleged involvement in what would come to be known as "the affair of the necklace." Yet in London, Warsaw, and St. Petersburg, he established "healing clinics" for the poorest of the poor, and his dexterity in the worlds of alchemy and spiritualism won him acclaim among the nobility across Europe.
Also the leader of an exotic brand of Freemasonry, Count Cagliostro was indisputably one of the most influential and notorious figures of the latter eighteenth century, overcoming poverty and an ignoble birth to become the darling -- and bane -- of upper-crust Europe.
Customer Reviews:
And Unreason.......2005-04-26
If this book were a historical novel--say by someone like Gary Jennings--you'd say the author had gone so far overboard in piling up incidents that he strained credulity. That makes it all the more remarkable that Mr. McCalman's is a work of non-fiction. Giuseppe Balsamo, Count Cagliostro (1743-95) led a life filled with love affairs, cons, duels, frauds, pimping, scandals, encounters with the famous and infamous, and shrouded it all in so much mystery--especially Masonic mythology--that it has invited artists from Mozart to Dumas to Goethe to William Blake to Umberto Eco draw upon it for their works. But as this fascinating narrative biography amply demonstrates the topic is nowhere near exhausted.
You can get some sense of Cagliostro's intriguing multiple personalities just from the chapter titles--Freemason; Necromancer; Shaman; Copt; Prophet; Rejuvenator; Heretic--and the Epilogue, appropriately subtitled: Immortal. As the chapters suggest, to some degree, Cagliostro represents the persistence of the supernatural and mystical at the very center of the Age of Reason. Stripped down to essentials that can't possibly begin to do the story justice: Giuseppe Balsamo was low born in Sicily, but styling himself Count Cagliostro, loaning out his beguiling wife, Seraphina, and claiming magical healing powers and both a legitimate background in Freemasonry and a bogus one in an occult Egyptian-rite Freemasonry was able to gain entree to the best social circles in Europe, though he proceeded to be chased from Russia by Catherine the Great, imprisoned in the Bastille by Louis XVI over the notorious "Affair of the Necklace," and died in the prison he'd been sent to by the Inquisition. If all of that sounds entertaining be assured that Mr. McCalman makes it very much so.
However, in the end there's a dark side to the tale too, for the author convincingly argues that Cagliostro did much to make possible the myriad conspiracy theories that did so much damage to Europe in the ensuing decades and some of which persist to this day. Mr. McCalman notes that, on the one hand, popular writers conflated him into the mythical Wandering Jew and made him "a fashionably moody and anguished rebel, tilting against oppressions of the spirit" while, on the other, his presence lurks behind many of the delusions about Masons and Illuminati secretly controlling the world and says:
"It would be unfair to blame Cagliostro for the actions of mythologizers, but Umberto Eco has shown that the idea of Masonic conspiracy has borne some terrible fruit. During the early twentieth, Jews rather than Masons became the prime target. By the time it reached a bitter young man in Vienna called Adolph Hitler, the idea had taken a new and monstrous shape. Templars, Illuminati, and Egyptian Masons had given way to the Protocols of Zion, the Twelve Tribes of Israel, and the world conspiracy of Judaism. Whatever one may think of Cagliostro, it is devastating to think that he was in some way a conduit of the Holocaust."
Even after we grant that some of that is simply an author stretching his subject a tad thin to make him seem more relevant than he might in reality be, it still tells us something, as does Cagliostro's whole career, about the disturbing credulousness that fits so comfortably with modernity's claim to have escaped the superstitions of religion for the bright new world of Reason. The interplay of this theme with Cagliostro's extraordinary life and Mr. McCalman's accessible story-telling makes for an eminently readable and often thought-provoking book.
Anti-Masonry and Masonic charlatans.......2004-05-26
This book is a delightful insight into one of the most fascinating and influential periods in the history of Western Civilization. This book will be of interest and entertainment to Masons and non-Masons (even anti-Masons) alike.
Professor McCalman is a historian who delights in literary form. In his paper "Cultural History and Cultural Studies: the Linguistic Turn Five Years On" Iain McCalman tells us "Ever since a boy I have always believed intensely in the 'storyness' of life. Our world is suffused with stories. Consciously or not we use them continually to make sense of the mass of incoherent facts and sensations that immerse us."
This shows in his book "The Last Alchemist". Indeed by the fourth page of his introduction he has wasted no time to paint for us with a vivid brush of words:
"The Ballaro market that abuts Cagliostro's birthplace looks, feels, and smells like a casbah. It reminded me of parts of Cairo or even of Zanzibar: frying peanut oil, saffron, cloves, garlic, and rotting garbage. The flagstones are streaked with dust blown from North African deserts or smeared with slops tossed from windows and balconies. You have to step carefully because the tenements cast deep shadows. The paint on most of the buildings is covered in fungal-like stains. Bits of iron hold up the door frame; washing flaps on rigging strung between the houses."
The tone set and our attention grabbed, McCalman does not disappoint and continues to draw us into a very different time when a newborn Age of Reason battled with the institutions that had dominated Humanity since its beginning. A world where a common flimflam man can rise up from the gutter, lie and steal his way to prominence, and before his death help change history itself.
Which brings us to the subject of this book, one Guiseppe Balsamo who in the process of altering the history of Europe also contributed heavily to the burden still carried by the Freemasons of our modern time. That he was able to do so, we learn from McCalman, is due to a youthful mastery of chemistry and religious symbology, an intervening period of roguery and flimflam, and the social contacts earned from a job he talked his way into with the Knights Hospitalier of Saint John. McCalman runs us quickly through this period but with the benefit of his scholarship and passionate writing style we are led to understand this formative period of the man the world would later come to know as Count Cagliostro.
How does all this relate to modern Freemasonry? In a direct sense it does not relate at all - today's Masons will not find much modern Freemasonry as they read McCalman's accounts of how different Masonic lodges in different part of Europe embraced Cagliostro while repeatedly suspending their better judgements. As with all con-men Cagliostro simply plays on their greed, lust, and other flaws. Most Masons of this time were learned and successful men, interested mainly in an education and social activity unburdened by the official and social oppression of states and churches. And of course that time was no different than ours where all organizations have fringe groups. The fringe Masons of that time wanted power, were superstitious, and yearned for spiritual satisfaction through the occult. Few of them consciously considered anything they were doing was wrong or evil; most convinced themselves they were serving God.
As we read between the lines of McCalman's wonderful storytelling we begin to get a feel for what worried the governments and churches of the time. And of course what continues to concern anti-Masons to this day. Freemasonry was in fact widely used to mask the actions of men intent on founding democracies and/or societies free of tyranny in any form. The absolute rulers of that time, from Catherine of Russia to the Louis XVI of France to Pope Pious VI, all employed legions of spies and secret police to suppress that activity. Those few Masons who appealed to the occult were committing double crimes and providing an easy noose to the enforcers. Those Masons who worked more nobly for more honorable reasons succeeded in their founding of the Great Experiment that was America and their contributions were indeed observable in the replacement of Europe's aristacracies with modern democracies - those Masons we do not encounter in Cagliostro's story and indeed it is fair to assume the Count would have done his utmost to stay away from such people.
Through all these interwoven stories Iain McCalman does a masterful job gleaning from the newspaper articles, the legal papers, even the diaries and journals of the players of the time to engage us, to show us how otherwise rational men and women were easy fodder for Guiseppe Balsamo and other rogues like him. MaCalman's narration of the Affair of the Necklace, the final straw that brought on the French Revolution, reads like a fine mystery and so is particularly gripping and educational. The professor's declared fascination with Balsamo/Cagliostro is genuine and its influence on his writing clearly obvious. The Antiquarian Mason highly recommends this book to Masons and non-Masons alike.
Count Cagliostro... a man of passion or a con artist.......2004-05-19
What a surprising book The Last Alchemist was for me. I really did not know what to expect, but I do know once I started, I was completely intrigued with the life that Count Cagliostro lived.
Was the Count a man of passion and love who gave his all to the weak and unfortunate, or was he simply a con artist who thrived on glory, fame, money and power???
Ultimately, it is for the reader to decide what kind of a man the Count really was. Maybe he had no choice and simply became what his destiny called for him to be.
Whatever he was, the man was loved and loathed all at the same time. With each "miracle and healing" performed, his status grew and grew, among the locals, to dizzying heights. With each level of status attained, his enemies, full of jealousy, plotted and patiently awaited their chance for revenge.
The Last Alchemist comes in a very easy to read format. The illustrations are quite good and gives insight to the person being talked about.
Give it a chance and learn all about the man who was the "Robin Hood" and "Prince John" combined of two centuries past.
I recommend it.
WILL THE REAL CAGLIOSTRO STAND UP!.......2004-05-19
On the back cover of historian Iain McCalman's latest book, The Last Alchemist Count Cagliostro, Master Of Magic In The Age Of Reason, it states, "depending on whom you ask, he was either a great healer or a dangerous charlatan."
This just about sums up an intriguing historical novel pertaining to one of the most charismatic and interesting characters of the late 18th century, Giuseppe Balzamo or better known as, Count Alessandro di Cagliostro.
No doubt, after reading this unbelievable biography, I would have to ask, would the real Cagliostro stand up?
This gentleman certainly seemed to have extraordinary mystical and even cabalistic powers, although at times, they may have been somewhat diabolic.
Even after his death there were many stories about him that perhaps stretched one's imagination but nevertheless were quite entertaining.
Written in narrative format, McCalman explores the many facets of Cagliostro's life and his escapades as a freemason, necromancer, shaman, Copt, prophet, rejuvenator, and finally a heretic.
In fact, such a fascinating character was he that a kind of cult of Cagliostro swept Paris, or as the author termed it, "Cagliostromania."
We learn of his belief in Egyptian Freemasonry, which we are not quite sure if it actually existed or was a figment of his imagination. Nonetheless, it did open up for him many doors to the royal courts of Europe, for it entailed science, religion and magic, all of great interest during the Age of Reason.
Traveling with Cagliostro and his wife Seraphina throughout their world travels, we can't help being captivated with his uncanny ability to meet up with such figures as Casanova, or his implication in such notorious events as the Diamond Necklace affair in France involving Marie Antoinette, Cardinal deRohan and Countess de Lamotte. Apparently, the Countess swindled 1.6 million francs for a necklace for Marie Antoinette and then accused Cagliostro for stealing it. As a result, Cagliostro was sent to the Bastille, tried for fraud, and eventually exonerated and banished from France.
We are also enamored by Cagliostro's sympathy for the poor or the "petit people," who adored him, while he spent his life among them as well as the sick, distributing remedies free of charge and paying out of his own pocket for soup.
In Italy his reputation as a healer attracted crowds, who besieged him in carriages, in chairs or stretchers,"
However, it was also here where the church imprisoned him after his wife, who was fed up with his shenanigans, denounced him to the Inquisition as a heretic, magician, conjuror and Freemason. This led to a trial, where he was found guilty and sentenced to death. However, the Pope subsequently commuted his sentence to life imprisonment in the fortress of San Leo in the Apennines, where he died.
The eloquent writing of The Last Alchemist Count Cagliostro, Master Of Magic In The Age Of Reason is a fascinating endeavor taking our curiosities to new levels, and even the most skeptical readers will want this one on their bookshelves.
Norm Goldman Editor of Bookpleasures.com
A superb biography and fun reading........2004-04-27
Wow. I wasn't sure I'd really get into this book when I first started it, but I was hooked almost immediately. What an incredible and complex individual!
The Last Alchemist: Count Cagliostro, Master of Magic in the Age of Reason by Iain McCalman is a remarkable biography of what amounted to a world class con-artist. What makes him such an enigmatic individual is the fact that he was not simply a sociopath, but exhibited a compassion for the poor that endeared him to many. From the point of view of history, as I've often said before, one often learns more from fringe figures and marginal places about periods in history than one does from those on center stage. The story of Count Cagliostro confirms once again that belief.
Although the author, and in fact many of the Count's contemporaries, credit him with "causing" the French Revolution and other disastrous events, I would say that he was more a symptom of the times than the cause of their events. This is in fact the stance of at least one of the author's sources as well.
The world of the 18th Century was one of transition (although one could plausibly argue that this is true of every age!). The highly centralized, aristocratic and tyrannical political systems of the time were gradually being confronted with issues and intellectual concepts with which they were unprepared to deal. The Catholic church, the other major political player, had been playing a losing game with science, intellectualism, and protestantism for well over two centuries, and had retreated to the old stand by of incarcerating its enemies when they presented the opportunity. The arbitrary abuse of individual rights, the desperate poverty of the bulk of the European population, the marginal existence that was reality for even the middle class in times of economic down turn, made it obvious that changes were well overdue. This was the age of the philosophers of the American and French revolutions, of Paine, Voltaire, Hume, Rousseau and others whose literary support of human rights and of elected self government created a foment of intellectual unrest that ultimately produced much of what we consider to be the "modern" way of life.
The selfish, greedy and often foolish individuals in positions of power and privilege made ready targets for someone of the Count's talent and predilections. It is no accident that this was also the period of Casanova and Jeane de Mott, and other major imposters. Concerned only with personal vanity, accumulation of wealth and power, in short with the status quo at all levels, the wealthy of Europe were easy prey for someone with promises of physical youth and increased sexual prowess, with unlimited wealth and personal power, and with immortality. If it had not been so tragic in other ways, the tales of some of these people and their encounters with the Count would have made wonderful comedy. It is no wonder that the Count and his exploits provided creative people with plots for opera and story-both Mozart's Die Zauberflote (the Magic Flute) and Goethe's Fauste were based on the Count's exploits.
Born Giuseppe Balsamo in Palermo, Sicily the self-styled Count Alessandro de Cagliostro, aka Colonel Joseph Pellegrini, was no stranger to the abject poverty of some of the poorer people he helped treat as a healer. He grew tough and morally elastic surviving a childhood in the competitive environment of Italy. His fortune was made when his mother's family attempted to educate him and prepare him for a life dedicated to the church. Obviously bright, a quick learner, artistically gifted, and probably the possessor of a photographic memory, Giuseppe turned his hand to preying on the wealthy by appealing to their greed since it provided him with a lifestyle as affluent as that of his "clients."
What I found most interesting was the man's ability to land on his feet with almost every set back. The story of his legal fight with Jeane De Mott over the Diamond Necklace affair was amazing. I also found the rapidity with which his reputation as a mountbank caught up with him surprising. One would have thought that in an age innocent of telegraphy, the telephone, radio, television, airplanes, computers and the like, that such an individual could disappear by simply changing his name or even by simply moving. It seemed that this was not the case, and even at this time, those who wanted to know more about the man could "dig up the dirt" with a little guesswork and research! Part of this was no doubt the fact that the man traveled in a rarified society, that of the very wealthy and influential. This class of people was very small and often known to one another, even occasionally related to one another, which made knowledge of the man's previous activities easier to transmit from one venue to another.
An amazing book.
For THOSE WRITING PAPERS: in history, sociology, psychology, anthropology, speech/communications, philosophy, political science, church history. Did this man play a pivotal part in the revolutions that swept through Europe during the latter part of his life? When he predicted the fall of the French throne, do you think he was politically astute, psychic, just vindictive? How did this man reflect his society? What social situations lead to the formation of many such individuals of this type? What personal characteristics did the man have that made him more successful than many others? What social situations during the period produced personalities of this type? Would the Count have been just as sociopathic even had the social environment been different? Why did so many people, like Seraphina, ultimately go along with his plans? What changes if any did the treatment of the Count during the last months of his life bring about in the Catholic church? What types of persuasion techniques did the Count use to influence his targets? Are some of these same techniques used successfully today on us? Who uses them? Why do we still fall for them?
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Zibo: The Last Great Zen Master of China
Manufacturer: AHP Paperbacks
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Binding: Paperback
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A Tune Beyond the Clouds: Zen Teachings from Old China
ASIN: 0895819163 |
Customer Reviews:
Better than the first.......1999-12-21
This book is the second of the trilogy. It is much better written than the first. It is a captivating way to learn of Beethoven's life and times, and his thoughts and reactions to the turbulent events going on in Europe around him. My only difficultly is sometimes trying to discern what is conjecture on the part of the author, and what is documented fact. Definitely recommended!
Average customer rating:
- Outstanding
- A brilliant achievement
- Sadly, a dull entry for a great person
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The Last Master Trilogy
John Suchet , and
Suchet
Manufacturer: Warner Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Contemporary
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ASIN: 0751530662 |
Book Description
A three-volume fictional biography of Ludwig van Beethoven.
Customer Reviews:
Outstanding.......2004-08-04
Absolutely amazing writing. A book that you can totally fall into as you begin to understand the feelings and complexity of Beethoven. The book reads like Beethoven's music as a complete rollercoaster ride of sorrow, pain, love, joy, depression and the magic of music. It takes you through Beethoven' life and you find yourself liking him then as the book goes on you begin to feel contempt for the man before once again understanding his thoughts.
A brilliant achievement.......2002-12-18
To write a biography without having met the person is difficult enough. To write about a genius is that much harder. First what this book will not do for you. It will not draw you in by flowery writing. It will not make you cry with laughter due to the cleverness or wit of the author. And that is just about it. Now what it will do for you. It will thrill you to live within the mind of a genius. It will teach you more about his music then any other paper - speech - university course - you name it. I started this book (or three as they were then) and finished them in a week. The next time you go see the 9th you will either cry or rise shouting Beethoven's name. You will - you will - be a richer person for having read this book. My hearty congratulations to John Suchet and my eternal gratitude.
Sadly, a dull entry for a great person.......2002-07-04
I am a big fan of Beethoven and classical music in general. One of my favorite films is "Immortal Beloved". I have come across some good biographies, too. I was thrilled when I read about a new fictionalized biography of the composer--I knew I had to check it out. There were some interesting and familiar aspects to it, but overall the writing was rather flat. It was dull and repetitive, and there was no sense that the author really tried to perk up his prose. Yes, it is based on Beethoven's life (hence the interesting aspect) but the author tends to drift into the more boring realm. Plus, he adds some unnecessarily explicit sex scenes, of the type that should certainly warrant a warning label on the cover.
Book Description
The Wellspring of Good - The last Words of the Master Peter Dunov, compiled by Bojan Boev and Boris Nikolov. The Master shares deep insights into the inner realities of life, covering a vast array of subjects, including Paneurhythmy, Communion with Nature, Music, The Law of Love, Cosmic Consciousness, The Colors, Joy, Rejuvenation, The Culture of the Angels, The New Epoch, etc. "When I speak about the new man, I have in mind the people of the Sun who live with Joy. The are exuberant, generous, and overcome their difficulties easily. They are heros, men with open hearts. They use everything wisely. They enjoy everything. In both suffering and pleasure, the new man is filled with an inner joy. He knows that both the bad and the good conditions are given in order for him to grow." (Peter Deunov)
Peter Deunov (also known as Beinsa Douno), is a teacher of Esoteric Christianity, who lived and taught in Bulgaria during the first half of the 20th century. His knowledge, character, and powers, all mark him as a rare messenger of Divine Reality. He had a very large following when he passed on, but his teaching was suppressed by the Communist regime. In recent years, this teaching, and its associated spiritual practices, have begun to bloom again, as the Bulgarians enjoy a greater degree of freedom. This teaching covers all aspects of life, with a special emphasis on music, spiritual dance (Paneurhythmy), and communion with God in Nature.
This second edition includes a rare color photograph of Peter Deunov, as well as other photographs and illustrations, covering various sacred places and spiritual practices described in the book.
Customer Reviews:
The Wellspring of Good: The Last Words of the Master Peter D.......2003-04-17
This is the best book in my collection. I read it over and over again, and it is The Wellspring of Good for every person who reads it. It brings me closer to the Master and the Truth. In reading this book, you can feel that it is indeed food for the soul.
Average customer rating:
- Wonderful adaptation of "God of the Gaps..."
- This author has no understanding of basic science.
- Scientific explanation for the origin of life
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Built to Last: Creation and Evolution : A Thoughtful Look at the Evidence That a Master Designer Created Our Planet
Dwight K. Nelson
Manufacturer: Pacific Press Publishing Association
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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Science & Religion
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ASIN: 0816316805 |
Customer Reviews:
Wonderful adaptation of "God of the Gaps...".......2006-01-06
I loved the sermon series! I was hoping that this type of book would be published so I could have those facts on hand. I teach English in Japan, and this book helped me a lot in preparing my own students for their debate final on creation and evolution.
I HIGHLY recommend this book and any other book by DKN to anyone looking for the path to life.
This author has no understanding of basic science........2001-02-14
Dwight K. Nelson deserves a star for sincerity, which influences readers who have limited education, particularly in the sciences. He gives a creationist's view of evolution with the main explanation being "Satan established a belief in evolutionary development over long ages and thus destroyed a belief in Creation and in the Creator." So beware of that nasty little dickens, Satan, or he might make you believe anything.
Scientific explanation for the origin of life.......1999-12-21
In this gripping little book, Dwight Nelson provides scientific evidence for life's origin. He covers topics ranging from the Neanderthal man, evidence for a world-wide flood, to the existence of a 7-day week which has no other basis except the account given in creation. I found this book fascinating reading, and could hardly put it down. At only 127 small pages, it reads quickly, but it well worth the time. Five stars!
Books:
- The Legend of the Monk and the Merchant: Principles for Successful Living
- The Lord of the Rings Trilogy Gift Set
- The McKinsey Mind: Understanding and Implementing the Problem-Solving Tools and Management Techniques of the World's Top Strategic Consulting Firm
- The Red Queen: Sex and the Evolution of Human Nature
- The Solitaire Mystery: a novel about family and destiny
- The Spiral Staircase: My Climb Out of Darkness
- The Stainless Steel Rat
- The Stanley Kubrick Archives
- The Sword of Shannara Trilogy
- The Winner Within
Books Index
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Last Master: Passion and Pain - Volume 2 (Last Master)
Last Master, The: Passion and Anger - Volume 1 (Last Master)
The "Classic FM" Friendly Guide to Beethoven (Classic FM)
