Book Description
A powerful novel of Africa's history and the men and women who determined its fate. From the East came Islam. From the West, the slave trade. The battle for Africa's soul had begun...
"A wondrous novel about a period of African history few other writers have addressed... Much of the novel's radiance comes from the lush descriptions of a traditional life that is both exotic and violent."
-THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW
"Segu is an overwhelming accomplishment. It injects into the density of history characters who are as alive as you and I. Passionate, lusty, greedy, they are in conflict with themselves as well as with God and Mammon. Maryse Conde has done us all a tremendous service by rendering history so compelling and exciting. Segu is a literary masterpiece I could not put down."
-LOUISE MERIWETHER
Customer Reviews:
Magnificent.......2004-04-11
Amazing in it's historical scope and accuracy, this book pulls one into the life of early West Africa. One of the best books I've ever read.
A great book.......2000-09-30
I read this book as a sophomore in high school, and I loved it. I was not, however, forced to read it for a class, which I know can severely distort a student's perspective. I loved the generational quality of the story and I loved reading about this period in African history from an African perspective. I've always been interested in history, and I think that historical fiction is a wonderful supplement to reading "about" history. It puts the reader in that time and place and allows them to truly understand what it must have been like to live there.
Other historical fiction I recommend: Anything by Mary Renault (The Last of the Wine, Fire from Heaven, etc.) The Great Train Robbery, by Michael Crichton
Other books about this period in Africa I recommend: Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe (which I WAS forced to read for school, and still liked)
Interesting historical fiction . . . and fact.......2000-06-08
"Segu" is a very good historical novel, one of the few that are set in Africa's historical past (circa 1800-1860). The novel's protagonists are an aristocratic family in the empire of Segu (now part of Mali) swept up in the historical currents of the time: Islam, Christianity, European imperialism, and the Atlantic Slave trade. As with "Roots", the story is told from the African perspective, which is refreshing and much needed. The novel is well written and filled with abundant historical detail. There are many deatils here that a student might research in a library, for example: the different lifestyles of the Fulani and Bambara and relations between them; the "Brazilians" in Africa, former slaves from South America that managed to return to Africa; the socio-economic status of Africans of mixed-(European and African) ancestry.
It seems a pity that many young people are forced to read this book in school; hopefully they will return to it when they have the maturity to understand and appreciate it.
Loving Segu.......2000-06-05
I fell in love with the main character. His adventures and misfortunes kept me intrigued. I learned so much about the land and the structures of the different tribes and kingdoms, that I have used the book for reference. I spoke with Ms Conde and told her I was disappointed with the fate of one character and she merely said, "It had to happen." I felt the heat of the land and the warmth of characters and the deep belief in the different faiths of the many regions she covered. This is a must read.
Lousy.......1999-12-04
I was forced to read this book for a class, and maybe if I had picked it up with the romantic notion I would learn something, I would have been slightly less disappointed.
The goal of our reading this book was to break down sterotypes. In breaking the stereotype of East Africa as an undeveloped region, it creates an array of images of a savage rape filled culture.
As far as the reviews: Africa does not have a soul nor does any inanimate object. It does not, I am afraid inject, density into history, I would argue the latter.
If you are a dreamer and enjoy histrical FICTION read this book you might enjoy it.
Customer Reviews:
Engrossing, enlightening, and occasionally disturbing.......2001-01-24
This is a collection stories from the Malian kingdom of Segou that date back in most cases a few centuries. Harold Courlander and Ousmane Sako did an extraordinary job with the translation: it reads almost like a piece of modern fiction, but retains some of the original poetry of the Bambara language from which it was adapted.
The tales themselves deal mostly with heroes: children born to noble destinies, chiefs leading their armies into battle, and adventurers out to make names for themselves. These heroes are exclusively men; while there are some notable women characters, in most cases they couldn't be considered role models. I was impressed with the Bambara traditions of ancient warfare: when one village wanted to attack another, for example, its army showed up a day ahead of time to announce its intentions. The two armies would then spend the night drinking and feasting together, and the following morning would line up for battle outside the village gates. Honor was paramount, and these stories recount time and again great leaders who sacrificed countless followers' lives for the sake of honor.
That's one of the disturbing aspects of these stories. Another is the characters' unshakeable belief in destiny. Mystics and diviners are frequently consulted to reveal the future, and if they say that a boy will become a king, or will die young, then there is no getting around it. None of these characters questions his foretold destiny, nor does anyone surpass expectations. Bambara was rigidly structured not just by caste and clan, nobility and slave status, but also by a universal faith in fortune tellers.
Anyone seeking a faithful and engaging perspective into a pre-colonial Malian society will find "Heart of the Ngoni" very helpful. It treats the same region and era as Maryse Conde's "Segu" novels, but without the potboiler plot devices, and I suspect it to be a much more accurate portrayal of life in Segou than Conde's books were. If you can leave aside any reservations about predestination and the "great man" theory of history, these tales will entice you.
A good way to get to know a culture.......2000-07-03
By reading the legends of the Bambara, one can get a good idea of what the values of the culture may be. The emphasis they place on their family and ancestors and other values is woven into these timeless stories very nicely. It also accents the similarities between cultures, as there were many legends that reminded me of Western legends. The vignettes were short and sweet, but I did not really like the way they were just thrown together, and I think they could have flowed better had they been arranged in a different way. Therefore, I wouldn't recommend reading the book front to back but to skip around instead.
Average customer rating:
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Conductas Sexuales Inadecuadas
Hector Segu
Manufacturer: Sites/Lumen Books
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Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 9507245812 |
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Hacia Una Sexologia Humanizada
Hector Segu
Manufacturer: Sites/Lumen Books
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ASIN: 9507245677 |
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Painting Flowers With Watercolors (Easy Painting & Drawing)
Manufacturer: Barrons Educational Series Inc
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Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0812092929 |
Amazon.com
Setting: Regency England
Sensuality: 8
Harold Henry Cynster--better known as Demon to family and friends--leaves London society for the all-male environment of his Newmarket stables in an attempt to escape matchmaking mamas and the spate of marriages that have decimated the ranks of his bachelor cousins. But Demon barely sets one foot on his property before he notices a too-shapely boy settling into the saddle of his favorite Irish Thoroughbred. Beautiful Felicity Parteger hasn't seen Demon Cynster since she was a young girl, when with clear-sighted practicality she'd reasoned that the handsome rake was a threat to every female's heart and had scrupulously disappeared every time he visited her guardian, General Sir Gordon Caxton. When Demon finds her masquerading as a stable lad and demands an explanation, she has no choice but to confess that she's trying to uncover information about a racing syndicate that bribes jockeys. The General's son, Dillon, has fallen in with them and is now in hiding to escape their threats on his life.
With cool efficiency Demon attempts to take over her campaign to save Dillon. Felicity, however, refuses to sit home and tend to her needlework while Demon has all the fun, and a partnership of sorts is formed. Much to Demon's delight, she also willingly cooperates in his plans for seduction; but pleasure turns to frustration when Felicity refuses his marriage proposal. Although she's head-over-heels in love with him, the independent young woman has no intention of saying "I do" to the infamous rake before he says "I love you" to her. While the two lovers risk their lives in tracking the dangerous syndicate, they engage in a courtship dance that risks both of their hearts as well.
In this, the fourth book in the Bar Cynster series, Laurens offers a hero and heroine full of honor, courage, wit, and humor; Demon Cynster--a man who has never wanted love and marriage--meets his match in Felicity, an intelligent and passionate woman who refuses to settle for anything less than his heart. The course of true love never did run smoothly, and it's no different for these two, but they're clearly two halves of a passionate whole--and passion and romance, solidly anchored in a well-crafted plot, is something Laurens does so very well. --Lois Faye Dyer
Book Description
Demon Cynster has seen love bring his brethren to their knees, and he's vowed that he will not share their fate ... until he spies Felicity Parteger sneaking about his racing stable. Demon remembers Felicity as a mere chit of a girl, but now she stands before him, all lush curves and sparkling eyes...
Felicity knows Demon was one of the town's most eligible bachelors and a rogue of the worst sort, but he was the only one capable of getting her friend out of trouble. She knows Demon will never yield her the love she desperately seeks, but could a marriage of passion alone be enough?
Download Description
Demon Cynster has seen love bring his brethren to their knees, and he's vowed that he will not share their fate -- until he spies Felicity Parteger sneaking around his country estate. Demon remembers Felicity as a mere chit of a girl, but now she stands before him -- begging for his help -- all lush curves, sparkling eyes -- and so temptingly worthy of the love he's vowed never to surrender to any woman. Felicity knew Demon was one of the ton's most eligible bachelors and a rogue of the worst sort, but he was the only one capable of getting her friend out of trouble. Her fascination with him had nothing to do with the power lurking just beneath his devil-may-care facade -- or with the desire that flares when he takes her in his arms. She knows he'll never yield her the love she desperately seeks, but could a marriage with passion alone -- even with a man like Demon -- be enough?
Customer Reviews:
One of the Best of the Cynster Novels.......2006-10-12
I enjoy Stephanie Laurens novels a great deal, and my favorites are the Cynster series. Unfortunately, not all of them really work, but this is one of the best. I adore the characters, the dialogue is highly entertaining and the love scenes are very effective. Definitely worth a read!
A ROGUE'S PROPOSAL IS HARD TO REFUSE!.......2006-09-20
1820 England
A ROGUE'S PROSPOSAL is another wonderful read in the Cynster series! The mystery, love and dynamics are great!
what happened to Demon's father??.......2006-07-12
The Cynster men are supposed to be faithful husbands, alpha males, handsome, strong, etc. Yet Demon's love interest stays in town with his parents and apparently has little interaction with her prospective father-in-law, who does not accompany his wife of 30+ years to social events, and only speaks once: at his son's wedding! There are no observations by Demon or Felicity on his parents' marriage, and Demon never seeks advice from his own father (despite the potential for danger in the horse-racing plot). As Felicity decides whether to marry Demon, she thinks of her parents' marriage and the General's marriage - but what of her in-laws' marriage, since she's staying in their home? Demon's father shows no interest in his son's life. This is what happens to a Cynster male after 30+ years of marriage??
Another great read.......2006-07-12
This book in the Cynster series was one of my favorites. I loved Felicity, who in all her innocense had been in love with Demon for a long time, but never let herself believe he could feel love for her. She had to almost be knocked over with head with it before she got it! Demon with all of his experience was completely blind sided with the fact that innocense could attract him. This book will be added to the keeper stack for sure!
A Great Addition to the Series.......2006-03-29
This is the fourth in the Cynster series (after Devil's, Vane's and Scandal's stories) and is Demon's story. So far, this is my favorite of the series. Demon retreats to his stud farm shortly after his brother Vane's wedding vowing he will never fall in love and marry. There he sees Flick (Felicity, The General's (his mentor and neighbor) ward posing as a jockey. Of course, he is the only one who recognizes her as a woman, a beautiful woman actually. She is posing as a jockey to expose a horse fixing scam that her step brother has gotten mixed up in. Demon agrees to help and things proceed from there. When a storm arrives and they have to wait it out in a small shelter, Demon, convinced she is compromised, grudgingly offers to marry Flick. When she fixes the situation so they don't have to marry, he finds to his surprise that he is disappointed. He spends the rest of the book trying to convince her to marry him. She has been in love with him since childhood but will not marry without love. The growth of the relationship and Demon's determination not to dishonor Flick is interesting enough to keep the book fresh throughout. Their chemistry is continuous and they never get boring. I really liked this story and hope the rest of the series will meet its standards.
Average customer rating:
- An important collection
- Classic Pulp Horror & Fantasy
- AN INTERESTING BOOK
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Don't Dream: The Collected Horror and Fantasy Fiction of Donald Wandrei
Donald Wandrei
Manufacturer: Fedogan & Bremer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Wandrei, Donald
| ( W )
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ASIN: 1878252275 |
Customer Reviews:
An important collection.......2001-04-07
Yes, Donald Wandrei was a member of the notorious "Lovecraft Circle", but herein you will find no Great Cthulus, slime dripping Byakhees, or worm-eaten copies of De Vermiis Mysteriis, for this collection consists largely of sci-fi stories that rely heavily upon pseudo-science, physical revulsion, and violence for their effect, hence most could be called "horror" stories. There are few tales of the genuine supernatural here, "The Chuckler", "The Lady in Gray", "Don't Dream", and the "Painted Mirror" being the only stories in this thick compendium with authentic occult overtones. Indeed, although Wandrei admired Lovecraft, he doesn't seem to have been influenced much by him in terms of style or device; Wandrei clearly owes much to writers like H.G. Wells, H. Rider Haggard, and Edgar Rice Burroughs for his sci-fi yarns, and his language is surprisingly contemporary. Nearly all of Wandrei's "fantasy fiction" consists of his dream stories and prose poems, all of which are markedly different in feel from his sci-fi efforts. They are true ravings from a fevered mind and smack of the genuine, illogical stuff of nightmare...little if any plot, but striking and atmospheric images and sensations with an ever present feeling of dread in the backdrop. Wandrei captures the feeling of a dream much better than Dunsany or Lovecraft, but his forays into the Dreamlands are brief excursions, not well-plotted epics in the tradtion of the other two authors.
Highlights of this collection include the action-adventure/murder mystery/sci-fi tale "Giant-Plasm" (the give away title being the only drawback), the genuinely creepy "Treemen of M'Bwa", the disorienting man-to-animal soul transference of "The Witch Makers", the graphic and ultraviolent yarns "The Monster From Nowhere" (a metallic alien rips peoples heads off) and "The Destroying Horde" (flesh absorbing ancestors of the "The Blob" terrorize St.Paul), the awesome little tale "The Eye and the Finger", and the gruesome, Stephen King-esque "It Will Grow on You". A few of the stories simply do not work (these include the dreadfully hokey "A Scientist Divides" and the corny "When The Fire Creatures Came"), but thankfully these duds are the exception. On a similar note, much of Wandrei's earlier "prose poetry" is too brief and undeveloped to be very enjoyable...it only tantalizes you with a taste of a fuller nightmare vision that never seems to materialize, while Wandrei attempts to see just how freaky he can get with words reminds one of Clark Ashton Smith (who DW also, not at all surprisingly, greatly admired).
All fans of 30s pulp fiction should own this book, it is a rare gem: a compilation of classic, ground-breaking sci-fi stories. Sure, there are some stinkers in the list, but the good stories predominate, for Wandrei was a writer of startling originality. But Lovecraft junkies beware...if you buy this book anticipating more uninspired Cthulhu Mythos stories (ala August Derleth), you'll be disappointed, for the only two stories that resemble anything written by Lovecraft are "The Shadow of a Nightmare" (nine pages) and "The Chuckler in the Tomb" (a cop tracks down a grave robber who turns out to be something other than human...four pages).
Classic Pulp Horror & Fantasy.......2000-08-20
Donald Wandrei thought of himself as primarily a poet and used poetic language to excellent effect. As demonstrated in this thick collection, he could also open up with blazing machine guns and giant amoebic monstrosities. DON'T DREAM collects all of his short fiction that can be considered as horror or fantasy together with a series of prose poems, a youthful essay on horror in literature, and a engrossing essay by the editior on the prolonged litigation for the control of Arkham House, Publishers after the death of Wandrei's partner August Derleth. Excellent art by Rodger Gerberding highlights the stories. Highly recommended.
AN INTERESTING BOOK.......2000-04-15
Here we have a book and an author that have positive and negative points. Donald Wandrei, of Arkham House fame was not a very good writer. His two best works, in my opinion, were "THE WEB OF EASTER ISLAND" and "THE BLINDING SHADOWS". But for the most part, he was almost a hack-writer, putting forth a production not always very exceptional. This book is quite an example of that. An anthology comprised of mostly low-grade stories. We wouldn't give it 3 stars but for the fact that Wandrei was an important figure in Lovecraftiana and in the growth of Arkham House and every Lovecraft Addict should know about him. Also, Fedogan & Bremer always do an excellent work on their products and this is definitely the case. All in all, if you have spare money, by all means, buy it!You won't be dissapointed.
Average customer rating:
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Earl Mindell's Food as Medicine: What You Can Eat to Help Prevent Everything from Colds to Heart Disease to Cancer
Earl Mindell
Manufacturer: Pocket
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Binding: Mass Market Paperback
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Earl Mindell's New Vitamin Bible: 25th Anniversary Edition
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Earl Mindell's New Herb Bible: A complete update of the bestselling guide to new and traditional herbal remedies - how they can help fight depression and anxiety, improve your sex life, prevent illness, and help you heal faster!
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Earl Mindell's Supplement Bible: A Comprehensive Guide to Hundreds of NEW Natural Products that Will Help You Live Longer, Look Better, Stay Heathier, ... and Much More! (Better Health for 2003)
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Earl Mindell's Allergy Bible
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Prescription Alternatives, Third Edition : Hundreds of Safe, Natural Prescription-Free Remedies to Restore and Maintain Your Health
Accessories:
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RESPeRATE Blood Pressure Lowering Device
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Airborne Effervescent Health Formula, Original Orange, 10 Tablets (Pack of 3)
ASIN: 0743226623 |
Book Description
There is Good Medicine in Your Kitchen!
Earl Mindell's Food as Medicine clearly shows how common fruits, vegetables, grains, and fish can help you fight, prevent, or treat everything from acne to yeast infection to cardiovascular disease to osteoporosis. Check your kitchen for:
Cherries, grapes and
strawberries, which may deactivate carcinogens
Parsley, licorice, cereal grains, and
citric fruits -- they can protect against heart fisease and stroke by preventing clots
Salmon, halibut, and
albacore tuna -- they lower cholesterol and are also useful in treatment of arthritis
Cabbage, broccoli, Brussel sprouts, and
soy products, which are defenses against breast cancer
Apples and
grapefruit -- known to protect against diabetes
From fighting aging to easing menopausal symptoms, Earl Mindell's Food as Medicine is your tutor as you learn to eat right and stay healthy.
Books:
- Some People, Some Other Place
- Speed on Skates: A Complete Technique, Training and Racing Guide for In-Line and Ice Skaters
- Stories and Early Novels: Pulp Stories / The Big Sleep / Farewell, My Lovely / The High Window (Library of America)
- Strangers on a Train
- Tatiana and Alexander
- Tending the Fire: Studies in Art, Therapy & Creativity
- That Quail, Robert
- The Anodyne Necklace
- The Arraignment
- The Beet Queen: A Novel (P.S.)
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- On and Off the Beaten Path: The Central and Southern Bahamas Guide : From South Florida to the Turks
- God in the Alley: Being and Seeing Jesus in a Broken World
- A Flag for Sunrise
- Absent Friend: Coping with the Loss of a Treasured Pet
- Crisis on Multiple Earths: The Team-Ups, Vol. 2
- From So Simple a Beginning: Darwin's Four Great Books
- Fingerprints of the Gods
- Darwin's Century: Evolution and the Men Who Discovered It
- Archduke Rudolf, Beethoven's Patron, Pupil & Friend: His Life & Music
- Nebraska Investment and Business Guide
Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali , Longman African Writers Series (Longman African Classics)
God's Bits of Wood (African Writers Series)
The Children of Segu
Return to Laughter: An Anthropological Novel
Africa in World History (2nd Edition)
