The Birth of Tragedy & The Genealogy of Morals

Book Description

Skillful, sophisticated translations of two of Nietzsche's essential works about the conflict between the moral and aesthetic approaches to life, the impact of Christianity on human values, the meaning of science, the contrast between the Apollonian and Dionysian spirits, and other themes central to his thinking.

Customer Reviews:

Unpopular Advocacy..........2007-03-03

I have to be the sensible voice of dissent on this one: having read the Hollingdale and Kaufmann translations of these books, and although Golffing was no authority par excellance on Nietzsche (but rather a poet--not utterly devoid of perspective), I think this particular pair of translated works has its necessary place among the more respected editions. Yes, it does lack the trademark styles and general passion characteristic of Nietzsche's writings--but only for the initiated reader; this is actually a perfect edition for the rookie, the newbie: it takes the overwhelming aspect away, it eases the fresh reader into the shock and rapidity of the stream of thought, it presents the subject matter in a way that would garner an undergrad or graduate student "props" as a brilliant writer with a universal style. Obviously, as one becomes more attuned to these vibes, they will want to reach for the more difficult readings--not merely to test their comprehension skills, but for personal aesthetics as well, like the feeling of accomplishment. The more seasoned reader knows that Nietzsche is all about personality (he is literary-style, personified) and passion, but they should as well note that our author here is not accessible to everyone the same way (let alone with ease, if at all). I still found substance here, I found a less colorful rendition of thematic scope, I found a "Nietzsche for Beginners"--but why hate on Golffing as a result?; and considering the growing popularity of the author, the latecomers will all have to step through that door in some fashion, and this book does a better than average job of allowing just that.

Good book, Bad translation, do not buy.......2005-02-26

Ill give it 2 stars instead of 1. because it is not nietzsche i have the prolem with.

I knew i was taking a chance by buying this, I like Hollingdale, and like kaufman, but this translater, takes the fun out of freddie. It hardly even sounds like nietzsche speaking. For one example a famous line is "we all speak vaugly about poerty because we are all bad poets.".. When i read that line i barely realized i read it as he write "we all speak abrtractly about our poetry because we tend to be indifferent poets." The whole book reads like that. Nietzsche Bold statements! poetic prose are replaced with boring textbook like translation. I realized we might have a problem when i read the "ABOUT THE AUTHOR" in the book and he had traslated the title of "THE GAY SCIENCE" to "THE JOYFUL KNOWING" uhm.... I'm re-buying the book today the kaufman version. dont buy this.

A Wake Up Call for Christians: How the World Views Hypocrisy.......2003-04-15

"Die, Jew!" These words and other anti-Semitist phrases echo through the reader's mind as he studies this piece. Friedrich Nietzsche's Genealogy of Morals is the powerful piece of literature with more than controversial ideals. Upon reading it, one gets the sense that this work is the product of a demented, enraged mind. In the course of this reading, Nietzsche shows his ability to captivate a reader with his reason, no matter how twisted his reason is. After reading this selection I came to the assumption that Nietzsche used his brilliant mind to make broad, generalized attacks against those whom he claims are responsible for the problems in the world.
Nietzsche sees a problem with the way morals and values are carried out in our society. The strong are seen as forbidding and the weak are viewed as righteous. He believes that this is an inversion of morals which originates from the hatred of Jews transferred through the Gospel of Christianity. He assumes that any belief in God or values based on kindness is based on personal weakness and is the fruit of the true evil in the world. Morals and values which place a restriction on the strong and favor the weak are the cause for the unjust society. Nietzsche also has a modal for the great controversy these past two thousand years. He uses the titles the dispute "Rome vs. Israel, Israel vs. Rome." Rome he sees as the epitome of strength and the ideal he holds to be noble, Israel as the system which created the weak values system. He is angry because this weak system was able to topple mighty Rome.
I had to read Nietzsche in short sections at a time because it overwhelmed me. It was hard for me to see how someone can be so enraged by the system of values to write a book such as this. As a Christian, I cherish the values of the Bible and hold to a belief in a better life beyond this world. I appreciate Christianity for giving hope to hopeless world. However, Nietzsche sees Christianity as the ultimate form of slavery and the belief in a loving God as an infection upon the human mind. It is impossible for these two ideals to see eye to eye without one side trying to strangle the other. I also see Nietzsche's vendetta against the Jews, his love for strength, and his justification of the strong preying upon the weak as the cornerstone principles needed in for the creation and development of Nazi Germany.
However, I am looking back on his writing from perspective which has seen what he ideals carried out have produced. I doubt that Nietzsche intended to create monsters like Hitler and the terrible power of Nazi Germany. It seems to me that Nietzsche is merely looking at his world from a rational, atheistic viewpoint and is not happy with how things are going. Therefore, he does what all humans do when they have a problem he complains about and uses his writing as a venue to channel out his aggression. I wonder what Nietzsche would say if he knew the consequences of his tantrums and ranting.
Though I do not agree with Nietzsche's offhand remarks against God and believers in God, I did find humor in his dialogue with Mr. Foolhardy into the shop where ideals are contrived. He uses this little anecdote to target mainstream Christian beliefs in a satirical sort of way. He even mentions the unpleasant smell of this shop in a humorous offhand way. I enjoyed that excerpt, though I did not agree with it at all.
Overall Nietzsche's writing is a revolt against the Christian dogma which has captivated the world for so long. He views the system as a manufacturer of weakness and itself a type of parasite to attach to any unwary victim. In this sense I cannot help but understand where Nietzsche is coming from. His perspective of Christianity is the result of centuries of political strife caused by unconverted Christians making hypocritical and atrocious statements in the name of Christ. This has not given the church a good reputation in the eyes of many and may be the single greatest caused for atheism. It is not rational for people to be humble and to learn to love your enemy. Human nature tells us to seek revenge and retaliation but Christ tells us to forgive. This does not make sense to someone who does not have a relationship with God and is extremely preposterous to a person looking at it from outside the Christian circle. Nietzsche is a prime example of the results of the affects of "manufacturing" morals without winning people over. Christians can avoid creating enemies such as Nietzsche if we stop trying to ram our values down other peoples' throats, take away the political influence of the church, and let Christianity be its own witness.

This is a poor translation of an excellent book.......1998-10-22

The translator of this volume does not seem to grasp what Nietzsche is trying to do. He omits passages that are important for understanding of the text simply because the importance of them is not always clear at first. He also omits the references that Nietzsche makes to his own earlier works. This makes the text flow more smoothly, but doesn't allow the reader the opportunity get a handle on what Nietzsche is up to, and doesn't give the reader a sense of what other works by this author might be of interest. Again, this is a good work, but there are better translations available!

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For All Ages and for All Time

Old Age
Helen M. Luke
Manufacturer: Morning Light Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0930407059
Release Date: 1988-03-01

Book Description

In this classic text on aging wisely, the renowned Jungian analyst Helen M. Luke reflects on the final journeys described in Homer’s Odyssey, Shakespeare’s King Lear and The Tempest, and T. S. Eliot’s Little Gidding, and also on suffering. In examining some of the great masterpieces of literature produced by writers at the ends of their lives, she elucidates the difference between growing old and disintegrating and encourages us to grow emotionally and mentally in this culminating stage of our own lives.

Customer Reviews:

For All Ages and for All Time.......2001-06-25

Like her former partner Robert A. Johnson, Helen Luke is a master of rendering the psychological meanings in great literature understandable and relevant to all people wishing to gain a deeper level of understanding about the growtn of the human soul. Having plumbed the depths of her own psycho-spiritual aging process(Such Stuff As Dreams are Made On), Ms. Luke has created a work fusing literary scholarship and personal experience into a guide for all of us to follow towards the inevitable. When the time comes for me to plant my oar (read her interpretation of The Odyssey)and turn towards the life of prayer, song and storytelling I will be eternally grateful to have had this wonderful Wise Woman as my guide. Deserving of a wide readership.

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Eye-opening look behind the scenes

The Glory of Hera
Philip Elliot Slater
Manufacturer: Princeton University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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We Goddesses: Athena, Aphrodite, Hera

ASIN: 0691002223

Book Description

The ancient Athenians were "quarrelsome as friends, treacherous as neighbors, brutal as masters, faithless as servants, shallow as lovers--all of which was in part redeemed by their intelligence and creativity." Thus writes Philip Slater in this classic work on narcissism and family relationships in fifth-century Athenian society. Exploring a rich corpus of Greek mythology and drama, he argues that the personalities and social behavior of the gods were neurotic, and that their neurotic conditions must have mirrored the family life of the people who perpetuated their myths. The author traces the issue of narcissism to mother-son relationships, focusing primarily on the literary representation of Hera and the male gods and showing how it related to devalued women raising boys in an ambitious society dominated by men. "The role of homosexuality in society, fatherless families, working mothers, women's status, and violence, male pride, and male bonding--all these find their place in Slater's analysis, so honestly and carefully addressed that we see our own societal dilemmas reflected in archaic mythic narratives all the more clearly."--Richard P. Martin, Princeton University

Customer Reviews:

Eye-opening look behind the scenes.......2000-11-14

I read this book as an undergraduate at Berkeley. The book really opened my mind and affected me deeply. A large part of our civilization is based upon Greek philosophy, and we generally idolize them as intellectual heroes. But Slater's work investigates how the Greek family structure, with its extremely repressed women, affected Greek male psychology, and how this is reflected in their mythic structure. Slater's revelations made me re-think the whole Western investment in the Greek ethos.

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with virtues and weaknesses
Revolutionary and Pursuasive
Vital in Importance, Disappointing in Quality.
The Real Foundation of Ancient Greek Culture
The Other Greeks, plus my farm in CA

Other Greeks
Hanson
Manufacturer: CALIFORNIA-PRINCETON FULLFILLMENT SERVICES
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Binding: Paperback

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The Land Was Everything: Letters from an American Farmer

ASIN: 0520209354

Book Description

For generations, scholars have focused on the rise of the Greek city-state and its brilliant cosmopolitan culture as the ultimate source of the Western tradition in literature, philosophy, and politics. This passionate book leads us outside the city walls to the countryside, where the vast majority of the Greek citizenry lived, to find the true source of the cultural wealth of Greek civilization. Victor Hanson shows that the real "Greek revolution" was not merely the rise of a free and democratic urban culture, but rather the historic innovation of the independent family farm.
The farmers, vinegrowers, and herdsmen of ancient Greece are "the other Greeks," who formed the backbone of Hellenic civilization. It was these tough-minded, practical, and fiercely independent agrarians, Hanson contends, who gave Greek culture its distinctive emphasis on private property, constitutional government, contractual agreements, infantry warfare, and individual rights. Hanson's reconstruction of ancient Greek farm life, informed by hands-on knowledge of the subject (he is a fifth-generation California vine- and fruit-grower) is fresh, comprehensive, and absorbing. His detailed chronicle of the rise and tragic fall of the Greek city-state also helps us to grasp the implications of what may be the single most significant trend in American life today--the imminent extinction of the family farm.

Customer Reviews:

with virtues and weaknesses.......2005-09-27

The author of the book claims that the city-states of southern Greece were agrarian democracies the agricultural surplus
of which together with the democratic spirit made possible the birth and growth of philosophy-science, history and art.

Victor Hanson has written a number of wonderful books I have enjoyed in the past; unfortunately this is not one of them
because:

(1) the text is not well worked; he repeats himself in many places
making the text too long for the ideas and analysis it contains;
even a book of half size could make very clearly the points of this book

(2) despite the long text, the author fails to make his case transparent;

for example he does claim that the Persian wars acted like an excitation to the Greek polis that initiated growing resonances that eventually destroyed the fabric of the city state; In his view this made the poleis (Athens in particular)
more capitalistic and urbanised destroying in this way their reliance in terms of economy and military on the agrarian population; once the latter diminished the Greek polis was virtually over;

I do find all these plausible but the author never really answers
successfully the following: when the Atheneans and Thebans
fought the Macedonians at Cheronia they fought an old style hoplite battle; their infantry proved as powerful as during the Persian wars; at the time of their defeat their agrarian population was intact and especially the Theban polis was a typical city state (while Athens admittedly not);

that is the major question of why in the all-Greek struggle for the domination of Greece the Macedonian Kingdom conquered the
Theban-Athenean polis? this question is never answered sufficiently in the text; how could it? the author tried to
do something improbable: to explain the conquest of the city-state (thebans-atheneans) by the kingdmom-state (macedonians) WITHOUT any analysis of the state of Macedon;

He fails gravely because of this: he knows about the Athenean polis much more than about the Macedonian kingdom; as a result he is never convincing in explaining why in the all greek struggle of the 4th century Macedon emerged as a winner.

(3) in order to make his case he exaggerates (non persuasively) at points:

for example his treatment of the Persian wars; reading his text it appears as a miracle that the Greeks prevailed; but miracles
do not happen in real life; especially if they repeat themselves;
Marathon could be a miracle, but Salamis too? and Platae and Mycale and Xenofon's anabasis? The truth is that the Greek phalanx was unstoppable if used efficiently; the Persians lost because wars are decided by infantry and the greek infantry was far superior in open ground;

Overall, i found the text useful but with many important things missing; let us hope that future scholarship will explain
in better terms why the city-state lost to the macedonian kingdom
and (equally important) why the macedonian kingdom (and Greece as a whole) gave in to Rome; understanding these will help us understand better why the city-state collapsed.

Revolutionary and Pursuasive.......2001-02-04

This book seems to threaten certain scholars who have difficulty crediting his thesis- that western civilization gained more from the rural than the urban. It threatens long-established anti-rural prejudices. However the scholarship is excellent and ultimately pursuasive.

Vital in Importance, Disappointing in Quality........2001-01-20

Hanson's thesis is that the hoplite class of landowning small family farmers originally created the autonomous city-state, in their own image and to serve their own interests, and thus more than anyone else shaped Greek culture from the time of Homer to that of Alexander. It is a pioneering treatment of an immensely important and hitherto scandalously neglected subject, so that this is a "must read" for any student of ancient Greece. I only wish it were a better read.

Hanson's own oft-cited membership in the family-farmer class can be an asset, since he illustrates in his own voice the characteristic mindset that he also aims to describe: opinionated, pessimistic, and contemptuous of seemingly all non-agrarian institutions, customs, persons, and ways of thinking. But these mental characteristics are also very limiting. Hanson himself admits as much, applying such terms as "narrow" and "chauvinism" to his ancient predecessors; but to see and acknowledge such limitations in them is not necessarily to transcend them himself.

There are several other problems with the book as well. Hanson's passion for his subject all too often overwhelms his organizational planning for the book, as he reiterates favorite points in any and all contexts. He is also excessively given to braving out any inconvenient gap in the available evidence with an imperious "must have" or "could only have". And finally, the dots remain unconnected between the agrarian foundations and the enduring contributions of ancient Greek civilization. At one point, Hanson admits that the artistic and intellectual achievements that we call the "Greek miracle" only arose when and because Athens turned away from the agrarian ideal in various ways. At another, he lists twelve core values that western culture inherited from these ancient agrarians; and though the attribution is plausible enough in this case, the twelve listed values are not what we most treasure in the Greek heritage--except perhaps those among us who regard the Second Amendment as the crown jewel of the Bill of Rights.

The Real Foundation of Ancient Greek Culture.......2000-06-03

Over the years I have read many books on the ancient world, but always came away dissatisfied, feeling as if I could not quite grasp what these ancient Greeks were all about. Sure, these books all covered the various battles and the struggle with Persia. They all dealt with Athenian democracy, Spartan militarism, and the various philosophical schools. We all know how the Macedonians eventually put an end to "Greek freedom." But just what was it that made these Greeks so different? How and why did they emerge with a polis culture that gave us so much of our Western heritage? Why were these Greeks so different than the orientals and the Romans? Finally, we have a book that goes a long way in explaining what it was that made the ancient Greeks so unique. At last we have a work that provides some answers as to "what these Greeks were all about."

I would agree with Donald Kagan who wrote, "The Other Greeks, is the most original and important contribution to an understanding of the ancient Greeks I have ever read." Here Victor Hanson explains how the rise of intensive agriculture and the independent farmer put an end to the Greek Dark Ages and he explains why this was an entirely new phenomenon in history. The rise of the polis, this egalitarian community of farmers now producing its own food, fighting its own wars, and making its own laws was something entirely novel in history. This Greek agrarianism became an ideology that infused Greek life with new energy and creativity.

Hanson details how the shift to private ownership and intensive cultivation by individual farmers gave birth to Western values and created the hoplite army. Relying heavily on ancient sources, as well as his personal knowledge of agriculture, he explains how and why the Greek yeoman created the hoplite army and how it functioned. During the polis period there was almost no miltary parasitism in most Greek city-states.

But Hanson does not view the polis through rose- colored lenses. He understands that the polis developed during a period when Greece was left alone by other powers around the Mediterranean world. He is aware of its innate conservatism and the fact that it was not "truly" democratic. The rise of Greek agrarianism, after all, did lead to an increase in slavery in the countryside. And lastly, Hanson deals with the decline of the polis in a world where the Greeks were forced to more and more deal with an opened society and international involvement. The Athenians made the most dramatic and remarkable attempt to adapt the polis culture to the needs of the new age, but, ultimately, the agrarian based polis culture was unfit to the requirements of the new world. The problems of new and wider citizenship and international economics found the polis system wanting. The Hellenistic Age and the conquests of Rome were based on the foundations of Greek culture, but in no way did they recreate the city-state life of ancient Greece. Power, wealth and excess were the hallmarks of the succeeding ages.

If there is any criticism of the book, and I almost hate to offer it considering the great achievement of Hanson, it is that the writing is often repetitious. The reader should be prepared for this. But, I cannot see how anyone can consider themselves well read in the history and culture of ancient Greek without reading this book and considering the points that Victor Hanson has made. A proper understanding of ancient Greece is impossible without a comprehension of what Hanson has given us. We all owe him much for these insights. This book belongs on the shelf of everyone with an interest in the ancient world and its insights will give you a yardstick by which to evaluate other times and cultures. After all, how people make their living is critical to understanding their time and culture.

The Other Greeks, plus my farm in CA.......2000-04-22

This book had its good points, many of them: lots of information on Greek farming -- everything from its history to its connection to the hoplites, an engaging enough writing style, some interesting speculation on the effect of farming on Athenian democracy and law, and more. Also, like the title says, it was talking about the "other" Greeks, the ones usually ignored. Unfortunately, because they were also ignored by the Greeks except for some minor discussion, which Hanson duly talks about, a lot of this is speculation based upon modern farming. This has its points, but isn't necessarily anthropologically sound. Still, it's an interesting piece of speculation, and there's a lot of information here. Also, large portions of this work deal with the author's own experiences as a vintner in California, as well as those of his grandfather and neighbors. While interesting and amusing, there is often a wide digression from the alleged subject of the work. Read this for some interesting ideas and some information on Greek farmers elsewhere uncollected but don't expect the entire work to concentrate on the subject. There's almost as much on the author's personal philosophy and views on modern farming policy and practice in the USA as there is on those in ancient Greece. I'm rating this as 3 stars as far as scholarly value, but I think it's probably more like 4 as far as entertainment. It kept me busy on several airplanes, anyway.

The Feasts of Memory: Stories of a Greek Family

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The Feasts of Memory: Stories of a Greek Family
Elias Kulukundis
Manufacturer: Peter E Randall Publisher
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Binding: Paperback

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Book Description

The famous Greek shipping family of Kulukundis is the source of inspiration for a clever combination of travel book, Kulukundis' autobiography, and a collection of the family's stories. These stories are imbued with the sophistication and wit of a Greek expatriate, but at the same time they delve deep into the motivating passions of the Aegean Islands.

St Gregory of Nazianzus: Poemata Arcana (Oxford Theological Monographs)

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St Gregory of Nazianzus: Poemata Arcana (Oxford Theological Monographs)
Gregory of Nazianus
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
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Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0198267320

Book Description

Known as "the Theologian", St Gregory of Nazianzus (in the eastern part of Turkey) is, with St Basil and St Gregory of Nyssa, one of the celebrated Cappadocian Fathers of the fourth-century Christian Church. Highly educated in both Christian theology and classical Greek literature, he found himself torn between a solitary, contemplative life and the reluctantly accepted, though in actuality relished, public figure of bishop, vigorous in defence of orthodoxy against the attacks of the Arians. He was even, briefly, Bishop of Constantinople and chairman of the Council in 381 which produced what we now know as the Nicene Creed. This edition of his poems brings together his theological acumen in a formative period and shows his ability to operate in the genre of didactic verse going back to the eighth century BC. The poems cover a range of topics, from the strictly theological to others dealing more broadly with the creation of the world, providence, the world of spiritual beings, and the human soul. They give a unique new insight both on the theological ideas of the period and on the uneasy emergence of Christian culture from the pagan past.

The Oldest Dead White European Males: And Other Reflections on the Classics

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Dr. Knox to the rescue
An eloquent defense of classical studies

The Oldest Dead White European Males: And Other Reflections on the Classics
Bernard Knox
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton & Company
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Binding: Hardcover

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The Norton Book of Classical Literature
Essays Ancient & Modern
This Boy's Life: A Memoir
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ASIN: 0393034925

Customer Reviews:

Dr. Knox to the rescue.......2002-11-21

Dr. Knox first presents a lively defense of the study of the ancient Greeks as an important part of a liberal arts education - there's value in the ancients if you look beyond the stereotypes. Next he defends the liberal arts education itself - again value beyond the stereotypes. Finally, he defends the modern Greeks against his fellow Classics scholars, who surprisingly have been perpetuating a stereotype about how visiting Greece is disappointing and learning modern Greek is damaging to the "ear."

All told, an entertaining read.

An eloquent defense of classical studies.......2002-05-24

Dr. Knox dares to stand up for the ancient Greeks and their pivotal influence on Western society in this rather short collection of three essays. His message is largely a response to the modern calls from multiculturalists and "radical feminists" downplaying or even condemning the importance of the humanities in today's academic world. The overspecialization that is the inevitable product of multiculturalism sees only the faults in ancient Greek society--slavery, a limited and inferior role for women, the crudities of ritual sacrifice, an undemocratic democracy, etc.. Knox acknowledges the validity of such criticism, but he argues cogently that Greek culture and its pervading influence on the West cannot be examined solely through a narrow lens. Some modern critics have even gone so far as to label ancient Greek society a reactionary force enforcing conformity. This, as Knox explains very well, is ludicrous. The study of the classics has long been the wellspring from which innovative, radical, and even subversive new ideas emerge. Certainly, ancient Greek society was flawed in certain ways, but the fact remains that this culture bequeathed us the very foundations of our politics, philosophy, drama, rhetoric, science, etc. The very playing field upon which modern critics denigrate the influence of the ancient Greeks was essentially constructed by their long-dead opponents.

I was most impressed by Knox's analysis of the recent history of the humanities in Western culture. Until the last century, education was largely an aristocratic privilege. The Industrial Revolution set in motion a recomposition of society, one that now dwells more and more on "practical" education; it is this social metamorphosis that has done much to call into question the role of the humanities in education today. Do not throw out the baby with the bath water, Knox warns. The world we have created reflects the vast influence of the ancient Greeks, but more importantly, that influence is even still working actively to challenge modern thinkers. While we have learned a great deal from the culture of the oldest dead white Europeans, we yet have much more to learn from them. Even should the humanities and classical studies be suppressed tomorrow, their value, beauty, and utility are such that they would soon return to the forefront of intellectual and academic studies despite the wishes of modern critics.

I must say that I was disturbed by the widespread disdain for the history of "dead white guys" while immersed in my own postgraduate studies. Multiculturalism and the new social history represents a noble effort to tell the stories of men and women who have been voiceless until now, but the end result threatens to pigeon-hole and fragment academia. The study of the classics provides an education in democracy and citizenship; herein lies the secret of its eternally important influence. I rejoice in reading such an outspoken defense of the importance of the humanities, and I believe all traditionalists will admire and be inspired by the essays collected here.

Austin Lunch: Greek-American Recollections
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Shared Universal Experiences

An empathetic and involving true story of family values.

Austin Lunch

Austin Lunch

The Austin Lunch

Austin Lunch: Greek-American Recollections
Constance M. Constant
Manufacturer: Cosmos Pub Co Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Shared Universal Experiences.......2007-03-31

You don't have to be Greek to appreciate Austin Lunch. My grandparents came to the U.S.from Germany in 1900 with their two little girls. My grandmother's sister had written to her from Chicago, "Valeska, you find money on the streets in America." My grandparents didn't find money on the streets, but with hard work their family ran a "Dry Goods" store on Chicago's near north side for many years. My mother, their youngest daughter, told me many stories of being immigrants in business in Chicago at the beginning of the century. What a wonderful surprise it was for me to read Austin Lunch and recognize and share the struggles of the Limberopulos family. It recalled my mother's stories of her family and their store in Chicago. The story of the United States is the story of a country of immigrants. As you read this book, the struggles of the Limberopulos family resonate with your deepest family ethos. What a wonderful literary journey and heart warming experience it is to read this book!

An empathetic and involving true story of family values........2007-02-04

The debut book of Constance M. Constant, Austin Lunch: Greek-American Recollections is the heartfelt of growing up and adapting to the shock of immigration, the hardship of the Great Depression, and seeing the determination and drive of one's parents in action. The family's simple restaurant on Chicago's historic but problematic Near West Side, Austin Lunch tells of the mother's defiance of 1931 conventions to work in the restaurant, and the diverse assortment of inner city characters who dined there. Above all, Austin Lunch is a tribute to an industrious mother and father, and the strength of a close-knit family. An empathetic and involving true story of family values.

Austin Lunch.......2006-11-11

I loved this book. As a Greek American and native of Chicago, this was a treat to read. Also purchased it for my Aunt and two Uncles.

Austin Lunch.......2005-10-22

To learn about your past is a gift. And Connie Constant teaches us in an eminently enjoyable and engaging way in her new book, Austin Lunch. Set on the West Side of Chicago in the 1930s, the Austin Lunch chronicles the lives of an immigrant Greek family as they struggle to survive through the Great Depression.

Sprinkled throughout a fascinating narrative are important historical lessons about the Depression, immigration early in this century, the discrimination and trials Greeks faced and their ultimate victory of spirit and determination.

The main characters - Papa and indomitable Mama - are people who lead heroic lives in ordinary, humble surroundings. The observers are their children Helen and Nick and the story is told from their keen, innocent perspective. The family owns a restaurant, the Austin Lunch, and lives in a simple apartment on Madison Street, a sketchy area at the time. The Depression has left a painfully large number of Chicagoans - including many Greeks - unemployed and struggling for survival. Business is abysmally slow and to help reduce costs and keep the business afloat, Mama decides to defy tradition and work outside the home.

This courageous, determined woman with very limited education overlooks criticism from fellow Greeks and goes to work at the Austin Lunch. Her smarts, love and self-confidence, bolstered by strong faith and character, enable her and her husband to successfully navigate the assorted characters - from upright people to drunks and crooks - who frequented the Austin Lunch and Madison Street. She and her husband, Paul, treat each customer with dignity and fairness and earn the loyalty and friendship of countless individuals.

What captivated me about this book is that the characters are real and honest. As you turn the pages, you experience the family's struggles, joys and sorrows. The gripping stories and anecdotes tug at your heartstrings and may remind you of stories you have heard about your own family.

Readers who migrated from Greece to America and lived through the Great Depression will relate to this book. Those born later will learn from it. The reader feels as though he/she is living in the 1930s in Chicago, and seeing the world through the eyes of a child and the lens of an adult all at the same time.

Constant reminds us of the great stories and heroism in everyday life. In reading her work, one remembers the value of listening to the stories of our families, recognizing the adventures they encapsulate, and treasuring the lessons therein.

The Austin Lunch.......2005-04-19

Austin Lunch is a delightful book about the Great Depression. It's strange to use delightful and Great Depression in the same sentence, yet Constance M. Constant integrates this family memoir of hardship, struggle, coping and hope with humor. Family stories and the weird experience of growing up in an old working class restaurant, that turns into a saloon after the repeal of Prohibition, are amusingly related from the perspective of the two inner-city kids who lived it.

As a forty year old, I had no idea of the multiple layers of misfortune that the Thirties "hard times" caused my grandparents, parents, and millions of other Americans. Constant's narrative with its fascinating details made me feel like I was THERE! Austin Lunch is a book for seniors who remember the Depression first hand and for the rest of us
who might even benefit from their experiences. Reading this wonderful memoir is a delightful way to find out about those "hard times" you hear about at family events from the "old guys" in your clan. I'm giving these books as gifts for Mother's Day and Father's Day.

Families in Classical and Hellenistic Greece: Representations and Realities

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Families in Classical and Hellenistic Greece: Representations and Realities
Sarah B. Pomeroy
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Greece | Ancient | History | Subjects | Books

General | Europe | History | Subjects | Books

Classics | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Greek | Classics | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

General | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

History | Women's Studies | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Goddesses, Whores, Wives, and Slaves: Women in Classical Antiquity
Children and Childhood in Classical Athens (Ancient Society and History)

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Braun IRT 4020 ThermoScan Ear Thermometer

ASIN: 0198152604

Book Description

With this volume Sarah Pomeroy builds on the groundwork she laid in Xenophon Oeconomicus: A Social and Historical Commentary (Oxford, 1994) and provides the first comprehensive study of the Greek family. Knowledge of the family and kin groups is fundamental to understanding the development of the political and legal framework of the polis, a community of oikoi ('families' or 'households') rather than of individual citizens. Pomeroy offers a highly original and authoritative account of the Greek family as a productive and reproductive social unit in Athens and elsewhere during the classical and Hellenistic periods, taking account of a mass of literary, inscriptional, archaeological, anthropological, and art-historical evidence. Despite the unflagging scholarly interest in the development of the polis, until recently little attention has been paid to the history and structure of its smallest constituent, the oikos. Pomeroy seeks to show that the Greek oikos had several versions: a pseudo-kin group restricted to male citizens; a mixed family group oriented toward the public, in which men predominated; and a family group of a more private nature that accommodated women to a greater extent, though without necessarily excluding men. Public legislation and private custom concurred to perpetuate the oikoi, expecting it to endure longer than the lifespan of any individual member and to bear economic and social burdens imposed by the state.

Reading Adoption: Family and Difference in Fiction and Drama

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A breath of fresh air
Reading Adoption: Just the book I was looking for!

Reading Adoption: Family and Difference in Fiction and Drama
Marianne Novy
Manufacturer: University of Michigan Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Books & Reading | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Imagining Adoption: Essays on Literature and Culture
The Girls Who Went Away: The Hidden History of Women Who Surrendered Children for Adoption in the Decades Before Roe v. Wade
Adoption Nation: How the Adoption Revolution Is Transforming America
Outsiders Within: Writing on Transracial Adoption

Accessories:

Health o Meter HDC100-01 "Grow with Me" Teddy Bear Scale for Babies and Toddlers
Braun IRT 4020 ThermoScan Ear Thermometer

ASIN: 0472115073

Book Description

Reading Adoption explores the ways in which novels and plays portray adoption, probing the cultural fictions that these literary representations have perpetuated. Through careful readings of works by Sophocles, Shakespeare, George Eliot, Charles Dickens, Barbara Kingsolver, Edward Albee and others, Marianne Novy reveals how fiction has contributed to general perceptions of adoptive parents, adoptees, and birth parents. She observes how these works address the question of what makes a parent, as she scrutinizes basic themes that repeat throughout, such as the difference between adoptive parents and children, the mirroring between adoptees and their birth parents, and the romanticization of the theme of lost family and recovered identity. Engagingly written from Novy's dual perspectives as critic and adult adoptee, the book artfully combines the techniques of literary and feminist scholarship with memoir, and in doing so it sheds new light on familiar texts.

Marianne Novy is Professor of English and Women's Studies at the University of Pittsburgh. She is author or editor of numerous books, including Imagining Adoption: Essays on Literature and Culture.

Customer Reviews:

A breath of fresh air.......2006-02-12

Marianne Novy's "Reading Adoption" is a breath of fresh air in the dismal swamp of sentimentalism and sloppy journalism that characterizes too much of adoption literature, both pro-adoption and pro-adoption reform. Ms. Novy, a professor of English Literature and an adopted person, intersperses her own story with examples of adoption and illegitimacy in literature, from such diverse sources as Shakespeare, Dickens, Charlotte Bronte, Barbara Kingsolver, and Edward Albee. Her examples range from Tom Jones to The Diary of Brigid Jones, from Oedipus to Carol Schafer's Sacred Virgin. She discusses both familiar favorites, and those new to some of us that makes us want to look into them, or to look at old favorites with a fresh viewpoint.

Unlike many adopted persons who have written their stories, when Ms. Novy found her birthmother and family, she did not find soul mates or people with whom she had a great deal in common, even though she was welcomed and values the ongoing relationship she has with them. She wrote, " There are two simple views that public discourse about adoption falls into too easily. One is the view that only adoptive relationships matter; the other view is that only birth relationships matter. Some people have articulated a third viewpoint, that both matter but probably in different ways, that it depends on the circumstances, that adoptees have a choice about how to negotiate their identity and their relationships. But this approach still is not as widespread as it should be. I hope that this book, by analyzing places in literature where simplifications are found and places where they are transcended, will show more people how their world looks with a third view."

Marianne Novy admirably succeeds in doing this, and illuminates the tension between families, birth and adoptive, that is always there, and is always much more complex than the all-nature or all-nurture camps try to make it. She makes us all question our dearly held myths and icons. By not accepting without comment either the "forever family" fairytales beloved of many adoptive parents, or the reunion fairytales beloved of many birthmothers and adoption reformers, she makes all of us think, not just feel, and she stretches our imagination to encompass the complexity and diversity of adoptees and adoption as it is lived.

This is a groundbreaking book that should be read and discussed by all who are touched by adoption.

Mary Anne Cohen
Feb.2006

Reading Adoption: Just the book I was looking for!.......2005-12-07

Who am I? Where do I come from? Where am I going? These labor intensive identity questions take a lifetime to answer. For adopted persons, sharing nature and nurture with two mothers and two fathers, responses are often more complicated. Fiction and drama involving adopted people have provided conscious and unconscious answers, advice and role models to deal with such complex family situations over the centuries.
In Reading Adoption: Family and Difference in Fiction and Drama, Marianne Novy, an adopted person who is a Professor of English and Women's Studies at the University of Pittsburgh, gives astute commentary about adoption literature from Oedipus to the novels of Barbara Kingsolver. As a sensitive memorist, Dr. Novy also reveals how adoption literature has enhanced and sometimes hindered her own search for self-definition. This author's goal is to "more of the next generation of adopttes to feel less alone" and to make adopted parents aware (through literature) of the stuggles necessary to meeting their children's needs.
If you love reading, if you are connected to the world of adoption, if you crave making connections between literature and drama and people's interior lives, this is the book you are looking for. As an English teacher and parent by adoption, I found it spoke directly to both my professional expertise and to my personal experiences. I applaud Marianne Novy for her fair, generous and interesting book, the work of a gifted scholar and mature daughter.

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