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The magnificent work of modern fiction that brings the age of the Talmud to life. The characters include the well-known historical figures: Akiba, Yohanan, Joshua, Eleazar, Beruriah, and Elisha ben Abuyah, whose struggle to live in two worlds destroyed his chance to live in either. Foreword by Chaim Potok
Book Description
"As A Driven Leaf" is a novel in which fictional and historical characters comfortably coexist. It is a gripping tale of the renegade Talmudic sage, Elisha ben Abuyah, caught in a personal struggle between his own faith and the compelling culture of Rome, circa 70 CE.
The genius of Milton Steinberg's great work is that it illuminates the political and intellectual conflicts of Rabbinic times in a way that shows their relevance to Jewish faith, nationhood and personal development in every era, including our own.
Customer Reviews:
Takes you back to the time of the rabbis.......2007-10-04
I literally could not put this book down - it effectively transported me back to Judea and Antioch in the time of the talmudic rabbis, after the destruction of the temple by the Romans. The author embellishes the story of the apostate Elisha ben Abuye in order to discuss the nature of faith, and contrast Greco-Roman culture with Judaism.
Don't Question Hashem!.......2007-08-26
Because if you do, you're entire life will be messed up and you'll die miserable and alone.
Fantastic! If you are living in the modern world, this book is for you........2007-08-07
After finishing the book, I went to check some reviews only to find so many of them to be absurd and laughable. Some people expect this book to be 100% historically accurate when Steinberg notes that the book is purposefully inaccurate in some places. Reviewers criticize Steinberg for not fully answering the "question." This is obviously a ridiculous criticism because if the book teaches us but one thing, we learn that truth, due to its ephemeral nature, must be a constant revelation renewed every day in order to hold value.
This book does a fantastic job of investigating the limits of the ideas of faith and reason. The writing in this book is fantastic. It is highly packed with emotions so real and deep. The individual personalities of the Rabbis are an incredible treasure as they come alive. My Talmud study will never be the same. The ability of the author to structure multiple characters and heartfelt relationships to fuel the plot of the story is what makes the book such a neat package of brilliance. I will read this book again. I don't really ever write reviews, but I can't help but encourage people to pick up this book and read it. Whether you hate Talmud or you love it, this is a book you should read.
Tradition and Reason.......2007-04-09
As A Driven Leaf is loosely based on tale that appears in several places in classical rabbinic literature. In the classical texts, there are four people that enter paradise, only one of which enters returns in tact.
This book is Rabbi Steinberg's version. In it, the main protagonist is confronted between by the tensions between the dogmatic claims of his religious tradition, his own rigorous logic, and his witnessing of tragedies that seem to be at odds with the just, all-powerful God of Judaism.
The setting is the ancient Near East, primarily the Land of Israel and Damascus, and while the characters and the history roughly align themselves properly, the concerns of the book are not simply ancient, but modern as well. Rabbi Steinberg uses the period and the characters to explore issues of faith, tragedy, reason, and philosophy that are relevant in the modern era.
The book does not come across as forcing explanations for there own sake. That is, the narrative does seem to exist merely to provide a setting for the impartations of facts and arguments, but rather it is an excellent literary creation in its own right. The issues raised are powerful issues because the characters seem so real, and their struggles are at least in part universal struggles of humanity.
Like Maimonides' Guide for the Perplexed, this book is aimed at those who have some background both in the religious traditions of Judaism as well as having broader philosophical tendencies.
How, then, do we choose our point of faith?.......2006-03-08
This book makes a fascinating case study for what Jean Gebser described in "The Ever-Present Origin" as the disruption of the mythic circle by directed thought. And just as Gebser emphasizes that the mental consciousness structure cannot replace the mythical, but only layer upon it, Elisha never solves the problem of embracing one and rejecting the other. The protagonist's final conclusion surprised and delighted me (tragic as the ending was) but raises one huge burning question, even bigger than the one driving this book -- and leaves it hanging. I yearned for a sequel. But maybe we each have to answer that final question for ourselves. Would love to discuss. wynalter@earthlink.net
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As a Driven Leaf
Manufacturer: BEHRMAN HOUSE
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000F8LJT8 |
Product Description
The magnificent work of modern fiction that brings the age of the Talmud to life. The characters include the well-known historical figures: Akiba, Yohanan, Joshua, Eleazar, Beruriah, and Elisha ben Abuyah, whose struggle to live in two worlds destroyed his chance to live in either.
Average customer rating:
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As A Driven Leaf
Manufacturer: Bobbs-Merrill
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000ANCESS |
Average customer rating:
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As a Driven Leaf
Manufacturer: Behrman House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000GWKYOO |
Average customer rating:
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Issue Driven System Engineering
Mack Alford
Manufacturer: CRC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Loose Leaf
 General
| Engineering
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0849378354 |
Book Description
"One of the most enduring and unusual heroes in detective fiction."
THE BALTIMORE SUN
Now that Linda "Pidge" Lewellen is grown up, she tells Travis McGee, once her girlhood idol, that either she's going crazy or Howie, her affable ex-jock of a husband is trying to kill her. McGee checks things out, and gives Pidge the all clear. But when Pidge and Howie sail away to kiss and make up, McGee has second thoughts. If only he can get to Pidge before he has time for any more thinking....
Customer Reviews:
My Favorite McGee (so far).......2007-09-27
After reading about 11 JDM McGee series books I have to say that this is one of my very favorites. The characters interesting, the musings on target with today's worries and complaints and the story very entertaining. I was at Hilton Head and read this in a couple of days on the beach. Excellent beach read. Not too dark like some of the other McGee books. Satisfying ending. Loved the dated accounts of flying, lol.
JDM should have gotten a Pulitzer just for his creativity in naming his books.
Turquoise Lament.......2007-08-11
MacDonald aka Travis had a serious intrigue in this one. Yet, somehow and remarkably, John D. worked out a decent ending.
Interest male angst.......2003-01-29
Had Travis McGee been in a science fiction novel, we would have had books like THE PHILOSOPHY OF MCGEE, similar to THE NOTEBOOKS OF LAZARUS LONG, dedicated to the wit and wisdom of this, MacDonald's best known and best loved character. Perhaps it is for the best. While not quite given to epigrams as Heinlein, MacDonald definitely had a consistent vision of who this latter day Don Quixote was. Long before Robert Parker investigated male angst in the Spenser books, MacDonald had mined the entire territory.
In The Turquoise Lament, McGee must face doubt, guilt, and faith as the grown daughter of a deceased salvage friend is afraid that her newlywed husband is attempting to kill her. Culminating in a fight scene with a cable car that today's Hollywood would go nuts for--in fact, that gets me to wondering why we have never seen McGee on film. Maybe we have, and I just don't know about it? Sure, some of the dialogue might not work on the screen, but the mystery, adventure, and spectacular fights would surely fit today's current vehicles for male stars. Today's directors would probably make a mish-mash of it, though; MacDonald probably better fits a director like Hitchcock than Paul Rudhoven or James Cameron.
Vacation in paradise, McGee style.......2002-08-05
Travis McGee once again takes on the torch of righteousness as he saves the daughter of an old friend. She thinks she's losing her mind, which is exactly what somebody wants her to think. But McGee sees through the charade, and undercovers a shady past that explains why he's willing to travel halfway around the world to provide justice. The last 50 pages are stunning in this thriller. Like all MacDonald books, you will get a heavy dose of philosophy from a sophisticated author. Enjoy this classic.
Travis McGee or Andy Rooney?.......2002-07-25
"Turquoise Lament" is a poorly told tale of missing buried treasure documents, damsel in distress and some interesting locales: Pago Pago and Hawaii.
The positives were an extremely well drawn character Howie Brindle. We have all known the type, but he is elusive as a wisp of smoke. MacDonald does a great job of nailing him down. The descriptive scenery was interesting and set forth in a very reader-friendly way.
Travis did not behave well and showed some monstrous poor judgment. Perhaps this made MacDonald grumpy. Travis's voice was lost through the incessant monologues by the author. We expect a certain amount of authorly philosophizing in a McGee novel, but this one went so far over the line as to be mere self-indulgence. Just when things are getting exciting, we get a three-page diversion about the inner-workings of a sand filter.
Travis has a few affairs too many, falls in lust with a girl called "Pidge" who has all the charm of a juvenile hysteric, and is so irresistible himself that merely his voice on the phone causes ladies' hearts to beat faster and pour out their innermost secrets to him. We really can't blame Travis for getting out of line; his author deserted him.
Product Description
First Time in Paperback, Printed in July 1974.
Product Description
Paperbacks
Product Description
Multiple books shipped as one item. Save on Shipping/Handling charges.
Product Description
Take that young woman, McGee, and file her under "Try to Forget"... But Travis McGee couldn't forget. Pidge was special. "Superbly plotted... almost unbearably suspenseful," says The New York Times.
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Estonia: A Nation Unconquered
Manufacturer: Estonian World
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Estonia
| Europe
| History
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Europe
| History
| Subjects
| Books
Eastern Europe
| Europe
| History
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Politics
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0932595006 |
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Nemiah: The Unconquered Country
Terry Glavin ,
Gary Fiegehen , and
Rick Blacklaws
Manufacturer: New Star Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Native American
| Americas
| History
| Subjects
| Books
General
| World
| History
| Subjects
| Books
Human Geography
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0921586221 |
Book Description
The beautiful and remote Nemiah Valley in the Chilcotin, home to the Nemiah Valley Indian Band, lies just 200 miles northwest of Vancouver. One hundred and thirty years ago the Nemiahs' ancestors successfully resisted incursions by Europeans in a series of bloody skirmishes that came to be known as the Chilcotin War. It was one of the few instances of open warfare between Natives and Europeans in what later became Canada, and one of only a handful of such encounters in North America clearly won by the Indians. The Nemiah country remained undisturbed until a road was built into the valley in the late 1960s.
Now the Nemiah Valley is once again being eyed hungrily by outsiders -- particularly logging companies that see the valley's uncut pine stands as a temporary solution to their log supply crisis. And once again, the Nemiahs are determined to control their own destiny.
Nemiah: The Unconquered Country is their story. It is the story of the Chilcotin War, and the story of their determination to stand up to logging companies and governments that have their own plans for the Nemiah Valley. It is a rich and moving portrayal of the Nemiah people, through photographs, their own traditional stories, and a text by Terry Glavin, author of A Death Feast in Dimlahamid.
Average customer rating:
- No 'Fan' of sci-fi.
- Ryman's better at longer lengths
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Unconquered Countries: Four Novellas
Geoff Ryman
Manufacturer: St Martins Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
British
| World Literature
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
| 18th Century
| 19th Century
| 20th Century
| Classics
| Contemporary
| General
| Historical
| Humor
| Letters & Correspondence
| Middle
| Old
| Poetry
| Renaissance
| Shakespeare
| Short Stories
Anthologies
| Fantasy
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Fantasy
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
Anthologies
| Science Fiction
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Science Fiction
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0312099290 |
Customer Reviews:
No 'Fan' of sci-fi........2005-08-20
Though wildly inventive, the elements of science fiction in this work feel grounded by humanity and spirituality. I still actively disliked almost all of the stories, though I was never disinterested in the fates of the characters. Ryman is an absorbing, daringly unconventional writer, with an anthology worth perusing just for a taste of the unique.
Why two stars, then? I think Ryman's works will find real appeal in only serious fans of the sociological and/or political science fiction genres. Unless you're just looking for novelty.
Ryman's better at longer lengths.......2002-07-22
I read this earlier in the summer, and I have to admit to having forgotten most about the stories here, but I remember being vaguely disappointed after finishing the collection. I like Ryman a lot--his novel, The Child Garden, is one of my favorite novels, and I thought that both Was and 253 were very good. Maybe I just like him at longer lengths?
* "A Fall of Angels" -- Too much science, not enough story. That was my impression, wanting more of what was going on to be explained in a non-mathematical way. This story seemed to lack that sense of wonder--almost lifeless. It has some interesting concepts, but it is too busy to congeal into a pleasing tale.
* "Fan" -- This was my favorite of the collection, a neat look at an obsessive fan of a new pop star, and what happens when you "meet" the object of your dreams. It really examines the relationship between the "star" and the "fan." It is a rich vein of inquiry, and Ryman taps the jugular here. Both surprising and illuminating, it also holds your attention throughout, even though the protagonist is not very appealing.
* "O Happy Day!" -- A "what if" story about a horrible set of circumstances existing between men and women, and a repeat of the horrors of the mid-20th century. The situation looks grim, but only if we forget to be human. A well done bit of cautionary tale. Enjoyable!
* "The Unconquered Country" -- An award-winner, but it has never done that much for me. Overly subtle?
Average customer rating:
- not all fantasies are fantasy
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Unconquered Country
G. Ryman
Manufacturer: HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
| Authors, A-Z
| Books on CD
| Books on Cassette
| Fantasy
| Gaming
| Large Print
| Media
| Science Fiction
| Writing
Contemporary
| General
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0048233579 |
Customer Reviews:
not all fantasies are fantasy.......2002-11-07
A story of liberation, struggle and destruction. Ryman has crafted a timeless mythical fable that should be read by all.
Average customer rating:
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Unconquered Country
Manufacturer: HarperCollins Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
| Authors, A-Z
| Books on CD
| Books on Cassette
| Fantasy
| Gaming
| Large Print
| Media
| Science Fiction
| Writing
Contemporary
| General
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0044407769 |
Book Description
In the bestselling tradi- tion of What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Menopause comes a comprehensive resource about HPV, the dormant disease that infects more than 80% of the sexually active population.Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) is a sexually transmitted disease that is known as the silent killer because its symptoms are so ambiguous most people dont know that they have it. A proven precursor to cervical and penile cancer, HPV can be deadly if left untreated. With 70 strains of the virus in existence, HPV is widespread andsince condoms dont protect youit infects over one million people per year in the United States alone. WHAT YOUR DOCTOR MAY NOT TELL YOU ABOUT HPV AND ABNORMAL PAP SMEARS will raise awareness about this disease, as well as irregular pap smears, and provide much needed information and support for those infected, including self-exams that can be done at home.
Customer Reviews:
Very informative... but could be more..........2003-05-29
HPV is a little known STD/virus... but yet is the #1 STD on the planet. Information on HPV needs to be more accessible to women and their partners. This book is a wonderful step forward in doing so.
This book has a lot of information on the virus itself, and how it infects the body to cause dysplasia and potentially cervical cancer. (The first chapter is more clinical than the rest.) There are some guidelines for preventing the spread, but I do have some complaints on some things the book seems to miss:
- More information on treatments and their side effects/recovery expectations.
- The book seems to concentrate on cervical cancer being the major concern... and while it is deadly, most cervical cancers are preventable by catching dysplasia early. My primary concern is with dysplasia itself, and the frustration of treating and follow-up with it.
- There's not a lot of information on what you can do to help mild dysplasia (the most common diagnosis) heal on it's own.
- The book doesn't cover a lot about multiple HPV strain infections (which I believe is important information for anyone not in a monogamous relationship.)
There's still a lot of missing information in medical science in regards to HPV...and hopefully as more is known, future editions of this and other books will incorporate what is found and be able to give us useful information on preventing and treating HPV relate conditions.
Overall, I highly encourage all sexually active people to educate themselves on HPV and other STDs. This book is an excellent choice for this, especially if you're curious as to HOW the virus infects.
Not Very Helpful!.......2002-06-28
I have read just about every book there is regarding HPV and abnormal pap smears. This book was by far the most upsetting and confusing. Information was not clear and quite contradicting. I would not recommend this book to anyone.
A book long needed for women and health.......2002-04-27
Dr Palefsky has empowered women with knowledge and advice about a virus that affects over 75% of all sexually active women AND men. HPV is the primary cause of all Cervical cancer and before Paps, Cervical cancer was the leading killer of women pre 1940. HPV and Cervical Cancer can go undetected for decades. The link to HPV was only discovered 10 years ago. Due to the nature of society's attitude toward sexuality, very few people, physicians, or organizations have addressed this issue of womens health with competancy or compassion. 80% of our population do not even know what HPV is much less how it affects our health. Most women are cluless as to the cause of abnormal paps, cervical cancer, dysplasia due to HPV. Majority of our society carry this disease yet women are not empowered to help themselves. My hats off to Dr Palefsky for lifting the dark veil off of this health issue to help save the lives of most women and men in our society who are inflicted with this virus. God Bless him. His book was easy to read and very informative with needed facts and no judgemental attitudes. His book is a must for all High school students as well as all adults.
Books:
- At The Stroke Of Madness (Mira)
- Aunt Dimity's Death (Aunt Dimity Mystery)
- Bad Men: A Thriller
- Batman: Hush Returns
- Becoming Madame Mao
- Berlin Noir (Crime, Penguin)
- Born in Shame: The Born In Trilogy #3 (Born in Trilogy)
- Boss Lady: A Novel
- Casting The First Stone
- Cold Mountain: A Novel
Books Index
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Back To The Sources: Reading the Classic Jewish Texts
Ancient Israel: From Abraham to the Roman Destruction of the Temple (2nd Edition)
The Jewish Study Bible: featuring The Jewish Publication Society TANAKH Translation
Who Wrote the Bible?
The Sabbath
