Rediscovering God in America: Reflections on the Role of Faith in Our Nation's History

Rediscovering God in America: Reflections on the Role of Faith in Our Nation's History
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America, the Christian Nation Under God

Rediscovering God in America

faith is still here...

Outstanding

Great CD!

Rediscovering God in America: Reflections on the Role of Faith in Our Nation's History
Newt Gingrich
Manufacturer: Thomas Nelson
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | United States | Americas | History | Subjects | Books
Amish | Protestantism | Christianity | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1591454824

Book Description

A simple walk through Washington, D.C. began a profound journey of personal discovery and renewal for Newt Gingrich, one of America's most influential politicians and commentators. At theÂ National Archives, the immortal words from the Declaration of Independence that we "are endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights," jumped off the page and into his heart with the simple truth that from day one in our country's history, the Author of freedom was not the state nor even the Founding Fathers. Our basic human rights and freedoms were-and are-"Creator-endowed." Gingrich sounds a clarion call for us to recognize that the life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness that we hold so dear are inseparable from a sincere and humble acknowledgement that these gifts are only the Creator's to give. As a bonus, the book includes a "walking tour" of Washington, D.C.

Customer Reviews:

America, the Christian Nation Under God .......2007-09-26

This book was another top notch, highly informative conservative-traditionalist volume that speaks the truth that America is indeed a Christian Judeo nation at heart.

It is so vitally important for American culture to return to our moral religious values, and seek the historical truth that indeed the Founders were very spiritual people who upheld very Christian ideals in springing to life the American nation.

While Thomas Jefferson was a Deist (not an Atheist but one who believed that God had sprung the universe into life with little involvement in the affairs of man), many of the founders themselves were personally brought up in the Christian tradition. I can recall the miracle on Christmas when George Washington crossed the Delaware River to storm the Hessian base camp, or his Thanksgiving Day prayer.

One can come to the logical conclusion that the inspiration of the American idea was spawned from the both the secular notions of the Enlightenment era, and the philosophies of Christianity.

Regardless of those extremists out there who try to twist history into something that it wasn't for PC reasons or their own personal contempt for American Christian ideals, there is no United States of America with out the traditions and philosophies of Jesus Christ.

God, the Ten Commandments, & the teachings of the lord Jesus Christ will always be apart of America.

This is one fantastic book worth your time and money.

Rediscovering God in America.......2007-09-10

The book is an excellent reminder of the source of strength and wisdom that all our founders looked to as they made decisions concerning the founding of America. There is a clear discussion of the separations issue and the foolish conclusion that our leaders did not want God a part of public life. It reminds us of the importance that all leaders in the first 100 years of the country place on Christian faith.

faith is still here..........2007-07-26

Millionaire in 365 Days: The Daily Plan to Get There

America is the MOST faith based country in the world....But ???

Newt is such an interesting guy...it is worth reading to get a sense of the history of how our country's founders and there on saw faith as part of America.....buy it, if you have faith in America as well...

Outstanding.......2007-07-21

I read with interest how our founding fathers consistently built buildings with the reminders that there is a Supreme being, God, who has blessed us with this country, our constitution, and our democracy. There are so many nihilists around us that would destroy all of this. Evil does lurk in this world. A well writtent book, succinct but accurate with historical facts.

Great CD!.......2007-07-16

This CD is very helpful for anyone visiting our nation's capitol. I wish we'd had it before our visit.

Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism, New Edition

Average customer rating:

Thought-provoking but unsatisfying
Imagine that...!
One of the seminal works on the evolution of national consciousness
New Edition disappointing
Update Needed, New Wars To Contemplate!!!

Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism, New Edition
Benedict Anderson
Manufacturer: Verso
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

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Orientalism
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ASIN: 1844670864

Book Description

A new edition of the definitive book on nationalism—over a quarter of a million copies sold worldwide.

Imagined Communities, Benedict Anderson's brilliant book on nationalism, forged a new field of study when it first appeared in 1983. Since then it has sold over a quarter of a million copies and is widely considered the most important book on the subject. In this greatly anticipated revised edition, Anderson updates and elaborates on the core question: what makes people live, die and kill in the name of nations? He shows how an originary nationalism born in the Americas was adopted by popular movements in Europe, by imperialist powers, and by the anti-imperialist resistances in Asia and Africa, and explores the way communities were created by the growth of the nation-state, the interaction between capitalism and printing, and the birth of vernacular languages-of-state. Anderson revisits these fundamental ideas, showing how their relevance has been tested by the events of the past two decades.

Customer Reviews:

Thought-provoking but unsatisfying.......2007-07-17

This short book/long essay offers some interesting insights on nationalism, but is limited by its Marxist-materialist perspective. Anderson obviously knows his history and his typology of three essential nationalisms (the new republics of the Americas in the late 18th-early 19th centuries, popular national revival movements in 19th-century Europe, and suffocating official nationalisms such as the British and Russian empires) is based on the history of capitalism, the development of printing, mass communication, class conflicts, and world trade. Anderson argues that these models were adapted in one form or another in the newly independent nations of Africa and Asia after World War II.
Psychology is the unmentioned elephant in the drawing room. There is no consideration of group/crowd psychology or built-in human aggressiveness and territoriality, the human need to define oneself in a group in opposition to others, or the way that nations are felt by many people to be a kind of family, with rulers as parent figures. The absence of psychology causes Anderson's argument to run out of steam toward the end, when he offers only a few pages about patriotism and racism, and here becomes shallow and unconvincing.
Some nation-states are no doubt very artificial (as Anderson's "imagined" title suggests), and borders between countries are often artificial. But cultural and linguistic differences between groups are very real. Anderson recognizes the importance of language differences. At one point he quotes a distinguished Indonesian author, leaving the quote untranslated. (Are we supposed to be impressed because Anderson reads Indonesian and we, presumably, don't?) However, Anderson does not give much consideration to cultural (including religious) differences, other than some mention of this issue in his discussion of Japan and Indonesia.
There are other curious omissions. Anderson does not note that people often have multiple and conflicting loyalties (allegiance to a nation, but also to a region, or to a religion). He never mentions the Roman Empire, says little or nothing about the Arab world, diaspora populations or stateless peoples.
Anderson is an academic writing for other academics. He wants to be quoted and to be considered clever, hence the catchy title. Readers outside academia may become irritated with his gassy, excessively precious and self-indulgent style (phrases like "discontinuity-in-connectedness"). Anderson's references to trendy authors (Foucault, Bakhtin) do not really contribute to his argument and the authors in question are no longer as trendy now as they were in the early 1980s.
This book can certainly stimulate your thinking on this important topic, but will leave many questions unanswered.

Imagine that...!.......2007-07-12

Great book! I am using it for academic research and have found it great from a theoretical perspective. That said, it is a bloody brillant read for anyone who is just simply interested in understanding what the big deal is about nations or wanting to just have a more general understanding behind the more everyday realities of what nation and national identity, like pretty much any other kind of social grouping mean.

One of the seminal works on the evolution of national consciousness.......2007-06-08

Anderson's masterful work about the development of national consciousness should be read and treasured by anyone interested in modern politics, political theory, or societal development. Bringing together an impressive array of international and polyglot sources, it is one of the few books that gives a global account of the phenomenon of nationalism and modern nation-building while disabusing readers of most of the truisms concerning nations that people today seem to take for granted. Read it, and then pass it on to your friends and family. It's worth it.

New Edition disappointing.......2007-02-20

I was disappointed in this 'new edition', because it is a missed opportunity.

When it was first published in 1983, 'Imagined Communities' deservedly became a classic in the analysis of nationalism - and an excellent antidote to those who beat nationalist drums. As the new chapter (on the 'geobiography of the book') at the end of this edition outlines, the book has now been published in 30 countries and 27 languages.

Partly inspired by Anderson, the debates on nationalism have moved on considerably in the subsequent 23 years. I was hoping that a new/revised edition would at least note these debates, and preferably comment and analyse them. Unfortunately, this edition does not. Indeed, even though the 'Preface to the second edition' (written in 1991) refers to the excellent 1990 book by Eric Hobsbawm 'Nations and Nationalism', that Hobsbawm text does not get a listing in the bibliography. There is little in the bibliography post 1983, and nothing since around 1990.

While the initial book is still well worth reading (hence the three stars), there is unfortunately little to recommend in this 'new edition'

Update Needed, New Wars To Contemplate!!!.......2007-02-05

I certainly recommend this book, for a quick and easy read. If communism or fascism is a topic of interest then this book would be a great addition.

As usual though Anderson constantly revives Islamic ideology, as a prime source of Nationalism, but luckily he tackles many other topics such as the Vietnam war, the Cold War, Imperialism, China, Europe, but most importantly "modernity."

He directly questions pluralism in humanity, in times of Antiquity in paradox with modernity. His questioning crosses all continents, where at last we realize the transcontinental routes of Nationalism.

Camera Lucida: Reflections on Photography

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shocked
Totally disappointing
You'll literally need a Ph.D. to understand this book
For the people...
Difficult to Read

Camera Lucida: Reflections on Photography
Roland Barthes
Manufacturer: Hill and Wang
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Criticism & Essays | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0374521344

Book Description

This personal, wide-ranging, and contemplative volume--and the last book Barthes published--finds the author applying his influential perceptiveness and associative insight to the subject of photography. To this end, several black-and-white photos (by the likes of Avedon, Clifford, Hine, Mapplethorpe, Nadar, Van Der Zee, and so forth) are reprinted throughout the text.

Customer Reviews:

shocked.......2007-07-16

I am somewhat stunned and dismayed by the negative reviews of this book. In fact, it has seem to elicit a sense of vitriol in some.

It is a brilliant book. How does one state simply such a complicated phenomenon. One doesn't. Those who rated this book so poorly biggest gripe was the complexity of the writing. Well - it is a complex topic. But, I think Barthes beautifully and deftly counters this complexity with his personal reflections. The book is both a critical assessment of photography and an emotional one as well, and this is what makes it so wonderful.

It is not wholly unexpected that most all the negative reviews of this book come late in the day - in the ever increasing time of sound-bites, instant pleasures and generally non-reflective immersion.

Totally disappointing.......2007-05-14

Sorry to say, although Roland Barthes is an icon to some. This short book is self-indulgent, unintelligible, and therefore useless. The author is far more interested in himself than he is interested in the subject.

You'll literally need a Ph.D. to understand this book.......2007-04-20

If you're thinking of reading this hoping for some insight on the creative process of the photographer, don't look to this ponderous, jargon-laden critique of "The Photograph". Barthes readily admits he's not a photographer and his viewpoint is only from side of the observer and the object. Barthes does offer a couple of intriguing ideas: the concepts of "studium" and "punctum," but since he seems to concentrate almost exclusively on photographs of human subjects (portraits and photojournalism), much of those ideas aren't as developed as they should be. Instead, he tries to explain why certain photographs evoke an emotional response (the punctum) in him. Of course, I may have misunderstood his point completely but not for want of trying. His esoteric use of existentialist terms makes it a tough read for those without a substantial education in philosophy. In any case, much of his critique has been overturned and made obsolete by the advent of digital photography (he explains early on that he doesn't have the patience to be a photography because he wants an instant result; there's nothing more instant than a digital photo) and digital photo manipulation (e.g. Photoshop).

For the people..........2007-04-06

After reading these last few negative reviews i had to write in about this, one of the most amazing books i have ever read. It is true that this book could be thought of as for the well read and serious academics only, but really, it is a book for anyone wishing to challenge the true nature of photography and its effect on the individual and society as a whole. No, it is not for those who simply wish to sit and idly consume 'pictures;' if this is you then do not bother even picking up this book.

This book attempts to help us navigate the way we consume images, to make it easier to understand just what it is that draws us to them so much, and which for me it did beautifully. Barthes doesn't try to give all the answers, but rather approaches his explanation in a very poetic (not long winded as another reviewer said!)and personal language which gives an intimacy that is very rare in academic texts.

If you truly want to open your eyes to the wider implications of photography then this book is a must (along with Susan Sontag's On Photography)

Difficult to Read.......2007-02-16

The style of writing is a bit long-winded and too self-indulgent for my tastes; it was sometimes a struggle to understand what point the author was trying to make (if any).

Here are a couple of excerpts from the book:

"I was overcome by an 'ontological' desire: I wanted to learn at all costs what Photography was 'in itself,' by what essential feature it was to be distinguished from the community of images. Such a desire really meant that beyond the evidence provided by technology and usage, and despite its tremendous contemporary expansion, I wasn't sure that Photography existed, that it had a 'genius' of its own."

"In the Photograph, the event is never transcended for the sake of something else: the Photograph always leads the corpus I need back to the body I see; it is the absolute Particular, the sovereign Contingency, matte and somehow stupid, the This (this photograph, and not Photography), in short what Lacan calls the Tuche, the Occassion, the Encounter, the Real, in its indefatigable expression."

For me, it was not a pleasant reading experience.

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Of Benjamin, Dwarfs and Angels
Clarity and Brilliance
Just a quick note
Brilliance
Indispensable reading

Illuminations: Essays and Reflections
Walter Benjamin
Manufacturer: Schocken
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0805202412
Release Date: 1969-01-13

Book Description

Walter Benjamin was one of the most original cultural critics of the twentieth century. Illuminations includes his views on Kafka, with whom he felt a close personal affinity; his studies on Baudelaire and Proust; and his essays on Leskov and on Brecht's Epic Theater. Also included are his penetrating study "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction," an enlightening discussion of translation as a literary mode, and Benjamin's theses on the philosophy of history.

Hannah Arendt selected the essays for this volume and introduces them with a classic essay about Benjamin's life in dark times. Also included is a new preface by Leon Wieseltier that explores Benjamin's continued relevance for our times.

Customer Reviews:

Of Benjamin, Dwarfs and Angels.......2006-08-28

The depth of Benjamin's pessimism has, I think, been underestimated.

"The story is told of an automation constructed in such a way that it could play a winning game of chess, answering each move of an opponent with a countermove. A puppet in Turkish attire and with a hookah in its mouth sat before a chessboard placed on a large table. A system of mirrors created the illusion that this table was transparent from all sides. Actually, a little hunchback who was an expert chess player sat inside and guided the puppet's hand by means of strings. One can imagine a philosophical counterpart to this device. The puppet called "historical materialism" is to win all the time. It can easily be a match for anyone if it enlists the services of theology, which today, as we know, is wizened and has to keep out of sight." Walter Benjamin, First "These on the Philosophy of History", p 253.

One can measure how far the contemporary Marxist (better said, the post or semi-Marxist) left has fallen by how many books have appeared, since the fall of the USSR, enthusing over the radically Universal and allegedly 'Progressive' nature of early Christianity. Walter Benjamin, who was first to place the wise but ugly dwarf (Theology) in the beautiful puppet (Historical Materialism) would be amazed (or perhaps not, see the letters between Benjamin and Scholem) to learn that puppet and dwarf are on the verge of switching places! That is, now the ugly dwarf (historical materialism) wants to hide in (and of course direct) the beautiful puppet of Christian theology. ...Crazy, you say? But even Habermas, the Keeper of the Flame of Critical Theory, has on occasion made somewhat similar noises. The best place, btw, to start reading about this new 'political-theology' probably remains Jacob Taubes.

But perhaps this emergent trend is really not so crazy after all. The only reason the Church became so cozy with Capitalism was its fear of Atheism. The collapse of the Soviet Union ended that fear. Now Christianity faces Capitalism alone. Or not, if the detente being proposed between the left and the Church is actually consummated. But every detente is a conspiracy of enemies to destroy an even greater enemy. The Church was with Capitalism because it had to defeat atheism. Now it is likely that the Church will join (a moderate) Socialism in trying to contain the 'soul-destroying' ravages of capitalism. This is only another move on the chessboard of History. ...But what did Benjamin think of History?

"A Klee painting named "Angelus Novus" shows an angel looking as though he is about to move away from something he is fixedly contemplating. His eyes are staring, his mouth is open, his wings are spread. This is how one pictures the angel of history. His face is turned toward the past. Where we perceive a chain of events, he sees one single catastrophe which keeps piling wreckage upon wreckage and hurls it in front of his feet. The angel would like to stay, awaken the dead, and make whole what has been smashed. But a storm is blowing from Paradise; it has got caught in his wings with such violence that the angel can no longer close them. This storm irresistibly propels him into the future to which his back is turned, while the pile of debris before him grows skyward. This storm is what we call progress." BENJAMIN, Ninth Thesis on History, p 257.

Picture this Angel, wings pinned back by the wind, shoulders forced back because of that - the Angel of History is almost in the position of the Crucified Christ; except that this crucification does not end. It is this tone of almost ontological despair that was new to the left. This Crucified Angel is the perfect image of the left-wing theoretical pessimism pioneered by not only Benjamin but also Adorno and Horkheimer that split the intellectual left into two camps: the revolutionary and the cultural. And though no one is likely to admit it, the cultural left has quietly come to think of revolution itself as but another 'progressive' force piling up bodies.

It is one of the little ironies of history that this despairing fantasy described contemporary reality exactly. The Angel of History is the image of dialectical knowledge. Rather than seeing disconnected events this Dialectical Knowledge grasps History as One (single catastrophe). Always facing the past ('the owl of Minerva takes flight at night', Hegel said; meaning that dialectical knowledge is retrospective) the 'contemplating' Angel is overwhelmed by historical action - the storm that has been blowing since the expulsion of humanity from paradise - and can never Himself achieve effective action. His knowledge grows in lockstep with the accumulating horror, but each new historical event only results (i,e., gets 'caught in the wings' of our Angel) in more contemplation. So we see how theory (our Angel) is 'irresistibly' propelled into the future. And we also see that the Knowledge dialectical theory gains is precisely equal to the debris the storm hurls at our Angel's feet. With an irony that strives to be equal to the wind blowing from Paradise Benjamin ends this meditation by calling this storm progress.

This is perhaps why Benjamin insisted over 50 years ago that the dwarf Theology must guide the puppet Historical Materialism. Theory can never be equal to action; circumstance piles upon circumstance so rapidly that theory cannot effectively act, and if it does act (presumably) it only adds to the debris. Thus theology (myth) must guide materialism's hand because theoretical knowledge is powerless to help. Benjamin quotes the following remarks of Willy Haas, with approval, in his large Kafka essay;

"'The object of the trial', he writes, 'indeed, the real hero of this incredible book is forgetting, whose main characteristic is the forgetting of itself [...] The most sacred ... act of the ... ritual is the erasing of sins from the book of memory.'
What has been forgotten - and this insight affords us yet another avenue of access to Kafka's work - is never something purely individual." (Benjamin, Franz Kafka, p 131.)

(The last sentence was Benjamin's own.) Theology is a non-individual forgetfulness. Thus myth (theology) is the only forgetfulness worthy of the name. What needs to be forgotten by all of us is the unsurpassable fact of the futility of theory...

It is difficult for most to look such despair in the face.

Clarity and Brilliance.......2006-04-17

In 1940 Walter Benjamin committed suicide at the Franco-Spanish border fearing that he would be unable to escape the grasp of Hitler's regime. He left behind perhaps one of the finest collections of literary theory of his era, complete with lucidly brilliant essays on Kafka, Proust, Baudelaire, and general Marxist theory.

In this wholly excellent collection of essays, a remarkable introduction to Benjamin's life and work is provided by the late philosopher Hannah Arendt, who overviews his political formations and literary output. It's a model form of critical essay writing.

Perhaps the most famous essay in this collection is Benjamin's `The Task of the Translator,' widely regarded as one of the most important and thoughtful contributions to the field.

"No poem is intended for the reader, no picture for the beholder, no sympathy for the listener."

He argues that translation is a mode, and that the translatability of the work is the primary concern in the process.

Also included is an analysis of the philosophy of history.

Just a quick note.......2005-07-01

I have nothing to add to the reviews below except to note for scholarly interest that the essay 'The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction' included in this collection is not Benjamin's final version. (Neither is this title a good translation of the German: 'Das Kunstwerk im Zeitalter seiner technischen Reproduzierbarkeit'. Zohn's translation in the selected writings is better: 'The Work of Art in the Age of its Technological Reproducibility'.) The text in this collection is the 1935 manuscript, as originally published in 1936; the text collected in the Selected Writings, Vol. 3 is the final 1936 version that, as far as I can tell, was not published in Benjamin's lifetime. The difference between the two texts is slight, consisting mainly of some additional sentences here and there and some changed words. At least one of these revisions is, I hypothesize, the result of Adorno's criticisms of his letter to Benjamin of 18 Mar 1936.

Otherwise, for most purposes, this is the best collection of Benjamin's essays available for an introduction to his thought. This volume collects some of the best of his essays that are otherwise spread throughout the selected writings published by the Harvard U.P.

Brilliance.......2005-05-12

I picked up this book primarily for the purpose of reading Benjamin's critically acclaimed essay "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction", as well as for his darkly poetic - and even apocalyptic - "Theses on the Philosophy of History". These essays are among Benjamin's most highly esteemed and are the last two selections in the book; regardless of whether you start with them or with the first essay, "Unpacking My Library: A Talk about Book Collecting", you are likely to be drawn into Benjamin's literary world quite quickly.

In many ways, Benjamin's writing style is quite unassuming; reading even his most profound insights is like reading a letter from an old friend. His writing comes in layers; one must make time to savor his presence. This book covers a range of subjects, from critical literary essays (the aforementioned "Unpacking My Library", as well as essays on Kafka, Baudelaire and Proust), to more hermeneutical reflections ("The Task of the Translator"), to straight up philosophy/theory ("The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction" and "Theses on the Philosophy of History").

The 51 page introduction by Hannah Arendt is absolutely fantastic. It does not simply provide an overview of Benjamin's life, but sets that life within the culture of early 20th century Germany, focusing especially on the time between the two World Wars. She notes the influences of Zionism and Communism (and Marxism) on Benjamin's thought, as well as the broader cultural influence of a quasi-secularized Judaism in a culture where non-baptized Jews were still kept out of university teaching posts. Her introduction, like Benjamin's own writing, contains deep touches of the intimately personal (she selected the various essays that make up this volume).

In many ways, Benjamin was a deeply religious thinker. A friend of Gershom Scholem's (the founder of the modern-day study of Jewish mysticism), Benjamin and Scholem corresponded for a number of years. Although this particular volume pays little attention to his religious thought, "Theses on the Philosophy of History" (the final selection in the book which, in light of Benjamin's suicide, gives Illuminations a bit of a haunting finale), witnesses to Benjamin's poetic-religious insights:

"The soothsayers who found out from time what it had in store certainly did not experience time as either homogenous or empty. Anyone who keeps this in mind will perhaps get an idea of how past times were experienced in remembrance - namely, in just the same way. We know how the Jews were prohibited from investigating the future. This stripped the future of its magic, to which all those succumb who turn to the soothsayers for enlightenment. This does not imply, however, that for the Jews the future turned into homogenous, empty time. For every second of time was the strait gate through which the Messiah might enter."

Highly recommended.

Indispensable reading.......2004-07-23

Benjamin is arguably the twentieth century's most important thinker--if there is anything left to say about our lives, it is surely in this book.

The Fashionable Mind: Reflections on Fashion, 1970-1982 (Nonpareil book)

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The Fashionable Mind: Reflections on Fashion, 1970-1982 (Nonpareil book)
Kennedy Fraser
Manufacturer: David R. Godine Publisher
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Textile & Costume | Design & Decorative Arts | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

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D.V.

ASIN: 0879235438

The Creative Process: Reflections on the Invention in the Arts and Sciences

Average customer rating:

Interesting but not insightful
By an Art Student
Top book. Buy it.
A "must" read in one's life and quest
Timeless Insights Into the Nature of Creativity

The Creative Process: Reflections on the Invention in the Arts and Sciences

Manufacturer: University of California Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | History & Criticism | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

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All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

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ASIN: 0520054539

Book Description

This unique anthology brings together material from 38 well-known writers, artists, and scientists who attempt to describe the process by which original ideas come to them. Contributors include Albert Einstein, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Amy Lowell, Rudyard Kipling, Max Ernst, Katherine Anne Porter, Henry Miller, Carl Gustav Jung, Mary Wigman, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Henri Poincaré and many others.

Customer Reviews:

Interesting but not insightful.......2006-02-25

A bit of a disappointment. Anecdotal and reflective, but not really informative about how the process of creativity works. A little bit scholarly and pedantic.

By an Art Student.......2001-10-15

I was reffered to this book by my mentor. He is aging but took on the challenge of teaching a young man the art of stone carving. I am not a big reader. Of the many books he had me read that year, this one was the most influential. The basis for any advancement can be found with in its covers. IT has helped me with everything from goal planning, to the importance of building off what others have left. Read it! Memorize it!

Top book. Buy it........1999-12-01

This book is a survey of the creative process over artists and scientists across different fields and times, including Mozart, the mathematician and philosopher of science Henri Poincare etc. The book gets to the heart of what life is all about.

This review refers to the first edition of this book: more may have been added in the reissue.

A "must" read in one's life and quest.......1999-05-30

I'm very touched to find this book again as i browsed through the net, 25 years after i first bought it in a flee market in New York. The essay by Henry Miller, literally blew my young artist mind back then. It inspired me to follow on his crazy steps. I quit my civil service job(without official leave) and went to Paris ,where I lived for ten years. I read and re-read that essay on creativity and it just kept giving me the courage to step further into the unknown, thus changing my life completely.

Timeless Insights Into the Nature of Creativity.......1998-10-29

Like a previous reviewer, I read this book when it was simply "The Creative Process". I was just a kid and bought the paperback version when they were much less expensive. I still have it and it is falling apart now. It is a book to keep. A previous reviewer mentioned his (her?) favorite parts. I can only add mine to that list: Mozart describing the "completeness" of his musical idea; Thomas Wolfe's "Story of a Novel" in which the writing of a novel is as gripping as the novel itself; R. W. Gerard, whose "Biological Basis of Imagination" breaks down the barriers between Gestalt Psychology, Biology, and esthetics; the concreteness of Stephen Spender's poetry; glimpses into the tactile imagination of Henry Moore; Max Ernst on the art of the collage. Lots of content in a small package.

Sand County Almanac (Outdoor Essays & Reflections)

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My view
A sand county Almanac: and sketches Here And there by Aldo Leopoid
First Time User
an excellent edition of an outstanding book
book revisited

Sand County Almanac (Outdoor Essays & Reflections)
Aldo Leopold
Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

Conservation | Environment | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

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A Sand County Almanac

ASIN: 0345345053
Release Date: 1986-12-12

Amazon.com

Published in 1949, shortly after the author's death, A Sand County Almanac is a classic of nature writing, widely cited as one of the most influential nature books ever published. Writing from the vantage of his summer shack along the banks of the Wisconsin River, Leopold mixes essay, polemic, and memoir in his book's pages. In one famous episode, he writes of killing a female wolf early in his career as a forest ranger, coming upon his victim just as she was dying, "in time to watch a fierce green fire dying in her eyes.... I was young then, and full of trigger-itch; I thought that because fewer wolves meant more deer, no wolves would mean hunters' paradise. But after seeing the green fire die, I sensed that neither the wolf nor the mountain agreed with such a view." Leopold's road-to-Damascus change of view would find its fruit some years later in his so-called land ethic, in which he held that nothing that disturbs the balance of nature is right. Much of Almanac elaborates on this basic premise, as well as on Leopold's view that it is something of a human duty to preserve as much wild land as possible, as a kind of bank for the biological future of all species. Beautifully written, quiet, and elegant, Leopold's book deserves continued study and discussion today. --Gregory McNamee

Book Description

"We can place this book on the shelf that holds the writings of Thoreau and John Muir." San Francisco Chronicle

These astonishing portraits of the natural world explore the breathtaking diversity of the unspoiled American landscape -- the mountains and the prairies, the deserts and the coastlines. A stunning tribute to our land and a bold challenge to protect the world we love.

Customer Reviews:

My view.......2007-10-07

Well written book. A. Leopold was an early messenger regarding people`s influence on nature and the risk of damage because of short-sighted politics/business. His description of his surroundings is vivid. One wonders how "his" landscape looks today!

A sand county Almanac: and sketches Here And there by Aldo Leopoid.......2007-02-27

was not a hard covered book recieved a paper back. I kept it only because I wanted to read it. arrived in good condition and in about 10 days

First Time User.......2007-01-16

The whole process went great. It took a few minutes extra at the beginning as it was my first time. Since then, I have bought another book and some other items. It's truly a great way to get a good deal on thing you would never think were available on line. Have plans for many other items that I have been checking out as my budget allows.

an excellent edition of an outstanding book.......2007-01-16

Book worth reading and re-reading for anyone interested in ecology, also professionally, or who has respect for the natural world. In a way it is pity that the book is as vital now as it was. Our undersanding of ecology and needs for looking after our environment increased alongside with the rate of its destruction

book revisited.......2007-01-13

except for about 3 missprinted words in this book,it is just as good a read as it was for me in high school.A true conservation and nature classic.

Reflections On A Mountain Lake: Teachings on Practical Buddhism

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A Practical Guide to Enlightment
Reflections On A Mountain Lake : Teachings on Practical Buddhism
Practical and relates Vajrayana to the West
Highly recommended
A lifetime of meditation, retreat, and learning

Reflections On A Mountain Lake: Teachings on Practical Buddhism
Ani Tenzin Palmo
Manufacturer: Snow Lion Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Tibet | Asia | History | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1559391758

Book Description

Collection of Dharma teachings addressing issues of common concern to Buddhist practitioners from all traditions.

Customer Reviews:

A Practical Guide to Enlightment.......2007-05-21

Venerable Tenzin Palmo describes in a very clear prose the benefits of meditation, its difficulties, how to overcome them, and extend this practice to our daily life. It is a book to be read more than once, and a must for those in quest of enlightment.

Reflections On A Mountain Lake : Teachings on Practical Buddhism.......2006-02-11

Reflections on a Mountain Lake is composed of Tenzin Palmo's talks to audiences of Western lay people and Buddhist nuns and monks. The talks cover a whole range of subjects on Buddhist teachings, practices and spiritual life. Reading her words of openness, warmth and fluidity, I felt as if I was with her in the audience. She begins with the story of her twelve-year retreat in a cave in the Himalayan mountains, and the words that fill the books seem to flow from that deep place of concentrated practice.

The book is lively, intelligent, practical and straightforward. Each chapter end with questions from the audience, such as: Where do thoughts arise from? Is it a good idea to take political action to right social evils? What's the process of making amends if you have acted unethically at some stage in your life? What happens if you don't keep your commitments?

One of her consistent messages is to keep it simple. She advises people not to be overcome by ambition to do more, or get more initiations and teachings. Tenzin Palmo has gained many insights and much wisdom from her practice and commitment, as if she has dug a deep, deep well from which she can bring up what is clearly needed in each different situation with people.

We all start with an undisciplined mind, and Tenzin Palmo has many excellent examples of how to approach spiritual practices and what these practices are all about. The mind has to be relaxed yet alert, and needs to be tuned like an instrument, with the knowledge of how to return to a clear place. It is then we can be of benefit to other people.

Tenzin Palmo is an example of how women are re-establishing the lineage of yogic practice for women. She is developing a Buddhist retreat for nuns and making available the teachings of Drukpa Kargyu lineage, which has a strong tradition of fully ordained female practitioners. Because of Tenzin Palmo's work, in 1995 nuns debated publicly for the first time in Tibetan history. "There is nothing that women cannot accomplish and have not accomplished in the past. It is up to us to support them...it is time to appreciate the whole picture and bring the two sides together."

I enjoyed Reflections on a Mountain Lake because Tenzin Palmo is a storyteller. Like all great teachers, she uses her personal life and traditional stories to engage us in the teachings. It seems somehow easier for the mind to catch hold of profound ideas if they are told as myth and metaphor. And because she tells many personal stories - from her home life as a child, her searching as a young woman and her times with her guru - she becomes human and accessible, as well as an example of dedication.

Practical and relates Vajrayana to the West.......2005-02-26

This is a great book for Western Buddhists, especially useful as a loaner to friends seeking to understand Tibetan Buddhism (Vajrayana). It includes extensive Q&A; 8 photos, and a great number of quotable quotes. Ani Palmo (Ani is an honorific for a Buddhist nun) is VERY down-to-earth and realistic and relates a considerable about of advice and commentary from her Lama. She points out that Tibetan mythological themes should not be taken literally-even Tibetan teachers indicate this. For example:
pp. 61-2: "Shantideva says, `Who made the red-hot iron floors? All this is a projection of the personal mind.' Even if we don't believe in the physical reality of the hell realms, we can definitely believe that a mind filled with anger, which loves harming others and takes pleasure in cruelty, could easily project a paranoid environment for itself...the content of our inner mind is projected outward and becomes our entire reality." Furthermore, she invokes valid psychological principles such as: p. 67: "Those who deny the shadow are in a very insecure and precarious position...It is hard to develop true compassion when you are continuously blanking out all suffering from your own life." Also, Sociological principles: p. 81: "Today the West is making a significant contribution to the way the Dharma is presented. Every time the Buddhadharma travels to a new country, that country gives it something of itself."

Ani Palmo, in a highly readable and understandable style, provides pithy advice to practitioners: p. 93: "We need to dissolve the boundary between the subject and the object. In other words, we need to become the meditation" & p. 102: "Worldly desires are like salty water. The more you drink, the thirstier you get...The problem is the way we cling to things" & p. 141: "Our problem is that we believe our mind and identify with it." She also provides logical explanations for many Vajrayana practices: p. 95: "intricate visualizations of mandalas...totally occupy the mind so that there is no room for distraction." She provides considerable, pragmatic material on relationships between Vajrayana and Western religions: p. 96: "All true religions seek to gain access to that level of consciousness which is not ego-bound. In Buddhism it is called the unconditional, the unborn, the deathless. You can call it anything you like. You can call it atman. You can call it anatman. You can call it God." She also provides a number of intriguing teaching stories such as p. 103: monkeys captured by refusing to let go of a sweet--: "If you want to hold water, you have to hold it with cupped hands. If you make a tight fist, it runs away" and of a king unattached to his palace with a guru attached to his gourd. She also observes that the movie "Groundhog Day" can be interpreted as a Buddhist film about reincarnation and karma.

And, best of all, Ani Palmo provides quotes which defuse misconceptions concerning Buddhist doctrines: p. 156: "The Buddha said, `I too use conceptualization, but I am no longer fooled by it."
pp. 159-160: "Difficult Points for Westerners" chapter: "The Buddha replied, `do not take anything on trust merely because it has passed down through tradition, or because your teachers say it, or because your elders have taught you, or because it's written in some famous scripture. When you have seen it and experienced it for yourself to be right and true, then you can accept it.'" However, the one criticism might be that she fails to apply this regarding: p. 238: Eastern images & p. 241: Tibetan lineages.
p. 166: "According to the Buddhadharma, the most important component of any action of body, speech, or mind is intention."
p. 168: when asked about hell, her "Lama just laughed and said, `Oh well, we talk that way in order to frighten people into being good. Actually, it is very difficult to be reborn in hell. You have to be especially evil, and particularly, very cruel.'"
p. 169: "My Lama once said, `Not everything you read in the sutras is true. You don't have to believe everything you read.' ... The Tibetans took from that huge ocean a few drops of this and a few drops of that and put it together into a mixture which was helpful for Tibetans. Much of it is relevant for the rest of us as well. The ways they present the Dharma is wonderful. But there is no doubt that certain aspects, although helpful for them, are not very helpful for us. We can leave those aside." Higher teachings often contradict lower teachings and not everything is appropriate for everybody.
p. 191: "Some Tibetans say it's almost impossible to realize the nature of the mind without a teacher. I don't think that's true. Some people do realize the nature of mind spontaneously without a teacher. But a good teacher helps."

She also provides valuable observations and techniques on Vajrayana practices: pp. 179-180: in utilizing tonglen - "black pearl-like seed of self-cherishing at our heart center...sometimes instead of a black pearl...we can visualize a crystal Vajra which represents our innate Dharmakaya mind. The dark light absorbs into this and is instantly transformed into radiance, since no darkness exists within the pristine nature of the mind." p. 235: "My Lama always said to me, `Don't undertake big commitments. Keep your practice very small and simple, but do it.' ... I have always been very clear with lamas when it comes to initiations. Sorry, I am not keeping this commitment. I say this before taking the initiation, then they can decide whether or not it's okay for me to take it. Usually, they say its okay."

Highly recommended.......2004-10-12

If I were to be stranded on a deserted island and could have but one book along, it would be Reflections on a Mountain Lake. With her lifetime in spiritual pursuit, twelve years as a woman in male dominated Tibetan Buddhist monasteries, and another twelve years alone in a cave in the Himalayas, Tenzin Palmo indeed has something to say. Our good fortune is that she is a talented orator and expresses herself with dazzling clarity and wit. Her persective on life (before, here and after) is deeply wise, casting welcome perspective on what It All is truly about. In the West we are proud of how many books we consume. In the East, the intense study of one magnificent book is revered. This is one such book.

A lifetime of meditation, retreat, and learning.......2002-09-07

Reflections On A Mountain Lake: Teachings On Practical Buddhism is a compilation of the wisdom and Dharma teachings of Ani Tenzin Palmo, who was born in London in 1943 and become one of the first Western women to be ordained as a Tibetan Buddhist nun. Her writings comprising Reflections On A Mountain Lake, gathered from a lifetime of meditation, retreat, and learning, wonderfully communicate her understanding of holistic and profound principles relevant to Buddhism and to the commonplace struggles of daily life. Reflections On A Mountain Lake is a welcome and very highly recommended addition for Buddhist Studies reference collections and reading lists.

The Genius of Euler: Reflections on his Life and Work (Spectrum) (Spectrum)

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Dunham and Euler together again!

The Genius of Euler: Reflections on his Life and Work (Spectrum) (Spectrum)

Manufacturer: The Mathematical Association of America
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0883855585
Release Date: 2007-02-28

Product Description

This book celebrates the 300th birthday of Leonhard Euler (1707 1783), one of the brightest stars in the mathematical firmament. The book stands as a testimonial to a mathematician of unsurpassed insight, industry, and ingenuity one who has been rightly called the master of us all. The collected articles, aimed at a mathematically literate audience, address aspects of Euler s life and work, from the biographical to the historical to the mathematical. The oldest of these was written in 1872, and the most recent dates to 2006. Some of the papers focus on Euler and his world, others describe a specific Eulerian achievement, and still others survey a branch of mathematics to which Euler contributed significantly. Along the way, the reader will encounter the Königsberg bridges, the 36-officers, Euler s constant, and the zeta function. There are papers on Euler s number theory, his calculus of variations, and his polyhedral formula. Of special note are the number and quality of authors represented here. Among the 34 contributors are some of the most illustrious mathematicians and mathematics historians of the past century e.g., Florian Cajori, Carl Boyer, George Pólya, Andre Weil, and Paul Erdös. And there are a few poems and a mnemonic just for fun.

Customer Reviews:

Dunham and Euler together again!.......2007-03-03

Dunham's 1999 book _Euler: The Master of Us All_ is probably the best general introduction to the mathematical work of Euler available. Therefore, it's no surprise that he has edited such a great collection of articles, put together to celebrate Euler's 300th birthday in 2007.

The chapters are collected from various journals and feature the work of more than thirty authors. They were originally published as long ago as 1872 and as recently as 2006. They were written for a general mathematical audience and are accessible to faculty and students alike. They don't assume any particular background in the history of mathematics. Among the authors are many well-known mathematicians and historians of mathematics, including Boyer, Cajori, Erdös, Morris Kline, Pólya, W. W. Rouse Ball and André Weil.

Read this book for the sheer fun of it! It's very entertaining and well-written.

The Holocaust Industry: Reflections on the Exploitation of Jewish Suffering, New Edition 2nd Edition

Average customer rating:

Brilliant!
Some unpleasant truths that make for a thought provoking read
Yes, Yes, and Yes
Finkelstein blows 'em away!
Everyone should read this unique book!

The Holocaust Industry: Reflections on the Exploitation of Jewish Suffering, New Edition 2nd Edition
Norman G. Finkelstein
Manufacturer: Verso
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | World | History | Subjects | Books

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The Case Against Israel (Counterpunch)

ASIN: 185984488X

Book Description

This iconoclastic study was one of the most widely debated books of 2000. Finkelstein indicts with both vigor and honesty those who exploit the tragedy of the Holocaust for their own personal political and financial gain. In a devastating new postscript to this best-selling book, Norman G. Finkelstein documents the Holocaust industry's scandalous cover-up of the blackmail of Swiss banks, and in a new appendix demolishes an influential apologia for the Holocaust industry.

In an iconoclastic and controversial new study, Norman G. Finkelstein moves from an interrogation of the place the Holocaust has come to occupy in American culture to a disturbing examination of recent Holocaust compensation agreements. It was not until the Arab-Israeli War of 1967, when Israel's evident strength brought it into line with US foreign policy, that memory of the Holocaust began to acquire the exceptional prominence it enjoys today. Leaders of America's Jewish community were delighted that Israel was now deemed a major strategic asset and, Finkelstein contends, exploited the Holocaust to enhance this newfound status. Their subsequent interpretations of the tragedy are often at variance with actual historical events and are employed to deflect any criticism of Israel and its supporters. Recalling Holocaust fraudsters such as Jerzy Kosinski and Binjamin Wilkomirski, as well as the demagogic constructions of writers like Daniel Goldhagen, Finkelstein contends that the main danger posed to the memory of Nazism's victims comes not from the distortions of Holocaust deniers but from prominent, self-proclaimed guardians of Holocaust memory. Drawing on a wealth of untapped sources, he exposes the double shakedown of European countries as well as legitimate Jewish claimants, and concludes that the Holocaust industry has become an outright extortion racket. Thoroughly researched and closely argued, The Holocaust Industry is all the more disturbing and powerful because the issues it deals with are so rarely discussed.

Customer Reviews:

Brilliant!.......2007-10-02

I have nothing but the greatest admiration for someone who holds truth at such high esteem that he / she is willing to pour all of their mind and soul into uncovering it, and subsequently risk everything attributable to them in our physical world, proclaiming it for the benefit of his / her fellow man. Professor Finkelstein does this in the most objective and proficient way. The Holocaust Industry is a wonderfully insightful book on this very important topic. I think the fact that its critics only dismiss without substantiation speaks volumes...

Some unpleasant truths that make for a thought provoking read .......2007-09-22

I have read many books on the Nazi Holocaust and had a growing personal discomfort about the manner in which the non-Jewish element was increasingly marginalised (I must admit that I had a similar feeling when I started learning about the numbers of Asian non-POWS who had been killed in building the Death Railway in Burma in WWII, a feature that is ignored in most books of that event). This feeling was added to when I visited the Holocaust Museum in Washington. Now in this book I have some basis for understanding my discomfort though for reasons I had not envisaged.

Finkelstein's book delivers a very hard hitting analysis of how the Holocaust has been increasingly suborned to a mixture of Jewish American political and religious personal interests and the Israeli pursuit of garnering US support post the 1967 Six Days War, covering key events up to the current day. At times he has a very personal and edgy emotional style in dealing with counter arguments but given the personal abuse and attacks he has suffered from such groups, this adds to the drama of the story he tells. His analysis of the abuses engineered under the Swiss "Nazi Gold" claims alone is worth the price of this book in my mind.

Read and you will not be unmoved even if you disagree certain points.

Yes, Yes, and Yes.......2007-08-19

The title of my review reflects what I kept saying to myself when reading this book. It is only with bravery of people like Mr. Finkelstein that we can overcome injustices in the world. We all know that Jews died in what was named the holocaust. While all the deaths of innocent people should be remembered, how come there isnt a mention of all the other people who died in that same holocaust besides the famous 6 million. Is Jewish blood more valuable then the blood of Non Jewish Russians? 2 to 3 Million Soviet POWs died during the holocaust and 57 percent of them died of starvation, mistreatment, or executions.

Another thing that was addressed is the influence of the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem Mohammad Amin Al-Husayni. His role was been blown out of proportion by Zionists in order to justify the repression of the Arabs in Palestine. No matter what role this Mufti had, is it fair to make a whole people suffer for the actions of one man. There are currently 4.9 million Palestinian refugees scattered around the Middle East who should be living comfortbaly in their homes in Palestine. Collective punishment happens everyday in the occupied territories. Houses are destroyed along with the systematic destruction of roads, bridges, power and water plants, ports, airports, and the whole civilian economy of the Palestinians. It is a tragedy that these people have been robbed of their land, but through the occupation, they have been robbed of what little dignity they have left. Any human being who goes through suffering and humiliation will reach a point where death is more favorable to life. I suggest you read Breaking Ranks: Refusing to Serve in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and hear the story from Israeli soldiers.

Finkelstein blows 'em away!.......2007-07-11

What a fascinating book. Martin Indyk would hate this book. Barbi Weinberg would hate this book. Deborah Lipstadt would hate this book! And, Dennis Ross would prefer that this book not exist. So would Stuart Eizenstat. If you haven't read it yet, do so now!

Everyone should read this unique book!.......2007-06-21

This book is great. The author had tremendous courage to write such a unique book, and he is clearly an honest and sincere fellow to examine such things so close to home (being the son of holocaust survivors). Finkelstein blows the lid off the whole Holocaust deal. Its not denying it at all, its just that 5-6 million Jews who died in concentration camps along with gypsies, communists, gays, and invalids does not justify Israel and Jewish organizations to get away with murder (literally) in the occupied lands of Israel nor to extort money from all kinds of European organizations falsely. While we all feel bad for those who perished, we might also feel bad for the 55 million people who died in WWII, or the millions who died in Cambodia, Vietnam, or Africa. The idea I came to realize from this book was that in a way it was a sin against those Jews who died, to use their memory to pander for money and deflect attention away from war crimes on a daily basis in Israel. I was surprised to learn that much of the money gotten for holocaust victims and survivors instead is diverted to Israel and Jewish groups rather than the victims and their families. And while Jews are successfully suing people for artwork or lost bank accounts from the 1930's and 1940's, no Palestinian is allowed to sue over land lost in the 1940's to the present day. So I think everyone should read this, to see the Holocaust in the proper perspective as a terrible human tragedy, but not something to be tarnished by misuse of its memory.

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