13th Gen: Abort, Retry, Ignore, Fail?

Book Description

In commentary and quotations, computer dumps and cartoons, 13TH GEN is a multimedia anthem to the American post-boomer generation,our country's thirteenth generation since the founding fathers.

Customer Reviews:

Better than most, still pretty judgemental..........2006-05-23

This book was written over 10 years ago, when Gen X bashing was a cottage industry for Fortysomething Baby Boomers, who seemed to be grumpy that they could in NO WAY be considered "Young and Hip" anymore, and had to take it out on those who WERE. While the book's authors are fairer than most, they still insist on depicting my generation in stereotypical terms. And if they're better than most of their peers, it is ONLY because they attempt to explain what motivates these stereotypes. Pity they don't ever feel compelled to question why THEIR generation feels the need to be SO critical of every other generation under the sun, be it their parents, us, and/or their precious little Gen Y brats. THERE's a book I'd pay $13.95 or whatever to read. Then again, I understand from friends who've read it, that their book on Gen Y is nothing but overly optimistic wishful thinking, so maybe they're just idiots. Here's a little free advice to any Boomers reading this reveiw: Wanna know what's up with younger generations? Quit assuming you know ANYTHING about us, put away that critical eye of yours, and talk with us, NOT at us... Then you might actually learn something. Then again, maybe not.

A good insight to a generation.......2005-07-06

I have read and recommended this book to a lot of friends over the years. It is a unique insight into the 13th Generation.

A great book.......2005-06-10

In 1992, Messrs Strauss and Howe published their groundbreaking book, Generations: The History of America's Future, 1584 to 2069, and I was immediately captivated. In 1993, the authors brought out this book, which is pointed directly at Gen X, or The Thirteenth Generation as they call it. Designed with Gen X in mind, with lots of illustrations and sidebars, the book examines their life experiences (up to that point), showing where they came from and where they are going.

Overall, as a Gen Xer, I found this to be a great book, and a worthwhile extension of my Strauss and Howe library. I was enthralled with the book when it first came out, and still find it to be a great read. I must admit that my favorite part is the myriad quotes that run down the sides of just about each page. If you are interested in Gen X, and want to read a bit of a history book on it (albeit a now somewhat out-of-date one), then you simply must get this book. I highly recommend it!

Interesting, but too topical to be a good reference........2004-10-16

I read this book when it was new -- I'm a younger 13er, and it was a gift from my brother, a much older 13er. I think it describes his classmates a lot more accurately than mine, which makes the book seem shortsighted now. Howe & Strauss have some interesting things to say about how Boomers viewed parenthood (the wave of demon-child movies they list is a surprising statistic that I still remember years later) but their examples are too specific to the time-period they wrote in. It talks a lot about the 90's recession and the Gulf War -- the book practically hums with pre-millenial tension. Many of their economic predictions for 13ers seem based on an instictive pessimism about the economy (the internet boom was years away from full power,) and they draw grand conclusions about the 13er psyche based on some sparse observations about controversial elements in pop culture. I believe it is also geared toward an older and white audience, people who were leery of gansta rap and grunge rock, and confused the quick judgements of the younger folk with thoughtlessness. (As I remember, they spend a little too much time on Nike's "Just Do It" slogan.)
The style of the book is interesting, especially when read as a companion piece to Douglas Coupland's books "Generation X" and (more relevantly,) "Microserfs." They invent a 13er gadfly who hacks into their book to post his comments (or maybe he's real, I don't know, but I doubt it) and the commentary becomes a sort of occasional parallel narrative, sometimes with arguments that undercut the points made in the main book. One can see a sort of fascination with the post-modern possibilities of the internet, which is even more dated than their references, but in a kind of cheering way. As I grow older, I agree with the "hacker" more than the authors' own voices; the 13ers are more difficult to define than they would have you believe.
This book would be a good read for anyone interested in how the 90's saw itself, or for a person born before 1961 who has *never* thought about the next-younger generation. The statistics are interesting, but their conclusions are so unsupported that I wouldn't consider this a serious reference work.

I finally understand myself!.......2004-01-05

After long being accused by writers as being "slackers" and "apathetic," finally a book comes along that explores Generation X in the historical context of being the 13th Generation - an exploration that forces the reader to reconsider their opinion of our misunderstood generation. Mr. Strauss explains that no generation can be defined in a vaccuum. Instead one must understand the preceeding generations as well as the social, political, and economic forces in place during the growth of a generation. Furthermore, generational characteristics and the social, political, and economic environment is cyclical, a theme which he explores in a later work, The 4th Turning.
As a member of the 13th Generation, I knew I was different than my parents and much different than my younger siblings (all members of the Millenium Generation). I went to an elementary school where the classrooms had no walls and students were asked how they "felt" and facts were discouraged. The free-swinging 70's found Playboy and Penthouse in parent's bedrooms, available for the neighborhood kids to sneak and explore. I have been through 2 family divorces and now have 3 half siblings and 3 step siblings - 2 of whom are named Jeff. I have always felt a little lost and very much alone. Reading this book helped me to understand more about myself, without giving me too many "outs" to excuse my life choices. Instead, Mr. Strauss provides facts (and yes, a little opinion)so that myself and other 13ers may rethink our role in society (we're not all slackers) and begin to make our mark in history.

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13th Gen: Abort, Retry, Ignore, Fail?
NEIL HOWE
Manufacturer: See notes
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000RQSGEO

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13th Gen: Abort, Retry, Ignore, Fail?
Neil; Strauss, William; Strauss, Bill Howe
Manufacturer: Vintage Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000NY2KTW

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13th Gen: Abort, Retry, Ignore, Fail?
Neil; Strauss, Bill Howe
Manufacturer: Vintage Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000KPDN6S

Book Description

She came to him as a precious gift, a naked angel rolled in a rug. Once he gazed into her green eyes, saw her tangle of honey blonde hair, he was undone with passion.

Elizabeth would never surrender. He was a hated Montgomery -- she was a Chatworth -- and the blood war between their families raged on, a wildfire of rape, murder, and betrayal.

Elizabeth vowed to fight the handsome lord, to resist the burning desire in his eyes -- no matter how great the temptation.

Download Description

"She came to him as a precious gift, a naked angel rolled in a rug. Once he gazed into her green eyes, saw her tangle of honey blonde hair, he was undone with passion. Elizabeth would never surrender. He was a hated Montgomery -- she was a Chatworth -- and the blood war between their families raged on, a wildfire of rape, murder, and betrayal. Elizabeth vowed to fight the handsome lord, to resist the burning desire in his eyes -- no matter how great the temptation. "

Customer Reviews:

Fast paced and hard to put down.......2006-07-22

Velvet Angel is a beautiful story about Miles and Elizabeth Montgomery. The Chatworth and Montgomery families are involved in a bitter blood feud. Elizabeth Chatworth is captured by an ally of the Montgomery's and presented to Miles Montgomery as a gift. Of course, one look at Elizabeth's beauty was enough for Miles to know that he desired her above all else. But, as all courageous heroines are prone to do, Elizabeth made him work for it. Elizabeth and Miles eventually fall in love but the feud between their families threaten to tear them apart by undermining the fragile trust they have for each other.

I really enjoyed reading this book. It was fast-paced and beautifully woven. Not only is it a love story, but also a story about family, trust, and forgiveness.

Just horrible.......2006-07-11

I read The Summerhouse by Jude Deveraux before and really enjoyed it so I thought I would give the Velvet series a shot and I wish I hadn't.

In all of the books the stories drag, there is always countless misunderstandings between the Montgomery men and their wives that make no sense but someone end up being resolved by the women with their husbands finally showing how much they love their wives. I wish that Jude Deveraux had written her characters with more depth. So many of the stories started off strong and somehow at the end its like she got bored and slapped on a happy ending.

Also at the end of the book Jude Deverax does a short epilogue to tell you what happened to everyone and I just couldn't believe how pat she made everything at the end.

Wonderful conclusion to the series!.......2006-03-22

It was great fun reading the Velvet series. This is the series that began all of those other wonderful novels featuring gorgeous Montgomery men. I am glad the author became attached to the characters of this series and decided to create descendants from them. Velvet Angel is a wonderful conclusion to this series. In Velvet Song, Elizabeth Chatworth was wrapped inside a carpet and was delivered to Miles Montgomery naked. Miles Montgomery is the youngest of the brothers, only twenty years old, and women are his major weakness, which is why he is the father of numerous out-of-wedlock children. When he sees the beautiful, angelic Elizabeth, he falls in lust the moment he sees her. However, in spite of her delicate features, Elizabeth is far from docile. She wants to be returned to her brother Roger immediately, but Miles has other ideas. He wants to prove to her that the Montgomerys aren't the monsters that her brother has made them out to be. He wants her to learn about all of Roger's atrocities against his family. He also wants to get her into his bed, and then make her fall in love with him, as he is falling in love with her. It is no surprise that he is challenged by the only woman who doesn't swoon the moment she sees him. Elizabeth, frightened of men due to the bullying and abuse she suffered from her now dead sadistic older brother Edmund, doesn't want to fall in love with the enemy, especially the one who is most likely to break her heart. There are various twists throughout the novel.

For a while, I thought Miles was my second least favorite of the brothers (Gavin is my least favorite). After all, throughout the series we are told what a big playboy he is and how many children he has fathered throughout his many exploits. But it is nice to see that he is not the rake that I had originally thought he was. He loves his children and would have more if he could, and he is the proverbial knight in shining armor, always rescuing damsels in distress (this latter part of his personality had already been shown in the previous installments). He is sweet and attentive to Elizabeth, always kissing and touching her in a tender way, while she pushes him away or wipes away his kisses. She got on my nerves in the first few pages with all of those escape attempts. Ugh. But her attitude is understandable after the constant brainwashing she gets from Roger. I liked the development of protagonists' feelings and how she sees that the Montgomerys are honorable, loyal, sensual men. However, I thought her first sexual encounter with Miles was kind of abrupt. This is a woman who is wary of men and cannot stand the thought of a man touching her, yet she responds to Miles in a wanton way during that first encounter. Ah, well, at least her fear of men does not disappear altogether afterwards, although her erotic dance to create a diversion during one scene is also incongruous to her character. Anyway, I also liked the development of Roger. This character's many dimensions and complexities really impressed me. One thing I've always noticed about Jude Deveraux is that her characters have a great deal of depth, that they are not cardboard cutout characters. I thought the ending was hilarious and I loved the epilogue. I came to love these characters and I'm saddened to let them go. I should have savored this series and read them in a slower pace instead of reading the four books one right after the other. I love this series. It has become one of my favorite romantic series out there. I highly recommend everyone to read this wonderful collection, starting with The Velvet Promise, followed by Highland Velvet, Velvet Song and this one. You must read them in order.

Terrific story. I want to read the rest of the series........2006-02-09

Many reviews have been written detailing this story, so I will make my review short.

I've read Jude Deveraux before, and really enjoy her writing. That prompted me to buy "Velvet Angel." I didn't realize at the time, that it was the finale to a series. The characters were humorous and the story fast- paced from the very first page.

I gave the book 4 stars, instead of five, because a few things annoyed me:

The hero is quick to judge the heroine falsely over something that obviously was not her fault. For that, he banishes her from his life for a while. Luckily, it doesn't take too much of the story to reunite them.

Second, the characters were very typical. He's a powerful warrior who has had hordes of women. She is a sharp- tongued virgin. I still enjoyed reading about them, because they both were quite funny at times.

I will be reading the rest of the series. This one was definitely worth- while.

Nice finish to the Velvet Quarter.......2005-11-07

For years, the Montgomerys and Chatworths have been mortal enemies, a feud introduced to us in VELVET PROMISE. But nobody would have thought that a sick prank would turn out to be the best gift that the youngest brother, Miles Montgomery, could have ever received.

When Elizabeth Chatsworth helped Raine Montgomery's wife escaped the clutches of a sick lord, little did she know that she would find herself taken captive and presented to her enemy Miles Montgomery. But none was more shocked than the receiver himself. Miles couldn't believe his eyes when the carpet unrolls in front of him and out came a naked angel with enough attitude to scare off an entire army.

All her life, Elizabeth has only met men who tried to take advantage of her. Thus she has learned to defend herself and now faced with the enemy, she expects the worse to happen, not the kindness and patience that Miles has shown her from day one. Astounded, she begins to doubt whether what her brother Roger has told her about the Montgomerys was true at all. And the longer she spends time as his "captive", the more she realizes that Miles is different from the kind of men she has known and slowly loses her heart to him.

VELVET ANGEL is a fun-filled story providing a great ending to the Velvet series. It was great to learn more about Miles, a man who loves women so much that he cannot stand to see any woman hurt no matter what their status in life is. I liked seeing his relationship with his children and just how good a father he is to them. Seeing how patient he is with Elizabeth, realizing the anger that she has been carrying due to her unhappy life, is one of the things that just endeared him to me. As for Elizabeth, you will admire her courage and her love for children. They truly are the perfect match for each other.

Filled with entertainment, sensuality and wit, this is a wonderful finish to the saga of the Montgomery brothers. Jude Deveraux proves to us why so many readers have grown to love the Montgomerys. And with the appearance of the couples from the first three books, I guarantee that you will like this and enjoy how the family saga ends.

The Velvet Quartet : The Velvet Promise / Highland Velvet / Velvet Song / Velvet Angel

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The Velvet Quartet : The Velvet Promise / Highland Velvet / Velvet Song / Velvet Angel
Jude Deveraux
Manufacturer: Rhapsody
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0739437666

Product Description

An Exclusive 4-in-1 Rhapsody Edition....The Velvet Promise, Highland Velvet, Velvet Song, and Velvet Angel

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Wonderful

Velvet Song/Velvet Angel
Jude Deveraux
Manufacturer: Pocket Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Romance | Subjects | Books

General | Historical | Romance | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1416517162

Customer Reviews:

Wonderful.......2007-02-15

As usual, Jude Deveraux writes a wonderful book. I like the way she covers all the family members with their own story but by reading the previous books you notice how she refers to instances in those as well.

4 Titles in Velvet Series - Velvet Angel - Velvet Promise - Highland Velvet - the Velvet Song

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4 Titles in Velvet Series - Velvet Angel - Velvet Promise - Highland Velvet - the Velvet Song
Jude Deveraux
Manufacturer: various
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000SR08GQ

Product Description

Multiple books shipped as one item for your convenience. Save on Shipping/Handling charges.

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Angel Velvet Bag
Lo Scarabeo
Manufacturer: Llewellyn Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Misc. Supplies

General | New Age | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

All 4-for-3 Deals | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
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ASIN: 0738710032

Book Description

This handsome bag from Lo Scarabeo provides an attractive way to safely store and protect your valuable decks. It's big enough to hold two standard size (2.6 x 4.7 inches) decks.

Jude Deveraux Collection II (Velvet Promise, Velvet Song, Velvet Angel)

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Jude Deveraux Collection II (Velvet Promise, Velvet Song, Velvet Angel)
Jude Deveraux
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000VQDKVE

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Velvet Angel
Jude Deveraux
Manufacturer: Brandywyne Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 0887330126

Product Description

"This is the deluxe limited edition signed by the author Jude Deveraux". It comes in a pink velvet case. This edition is published by arrangement with the author and with Pocket Books, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc. This is a novel of Historical fiction. Outside case has illustrations of characters in the novel.

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Velvet Angel
jude deveraux
Manufacturer: pocket books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000UDCLWM

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Velvet Angel

Manufacturer: Pocket Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000GRQ94I

Velvet Series: Velvet Angel, The Velvet Promise, Highland Velvet, Velvet Song (Set of 4)

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Velvet Series: Velvet Angel, The Velvet Promise, Highland Velvet, Velvet Song (Set of 4)
Jude Deveraux
Manufacturer: Pocket
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000PST2PQ

Customer Reviews:

Graphic SF Reader.......2007-09-03

Spider Jerusalem is a reporter that has bailed out of The City and is literally living On The Mountain. He is now a hairy hillbilly Grizzly Adams type recluse, and a wild not.

Unfortunately for him, an old editor calls, and tells him he still owes him a couple of books of a book deal, and Spider is forced to go back to the City and start working again.

Hunter S. Thompson in a city of distopian wonders.......2007-08-02

Spider Jerusalem is for the most part Hunter S. Thompson, the journalist who mixed drugs and his personal adventures with his writing and reporting. What made this remarkable though was Thompson had a very liberated position to not have to be impersonal. He could say what he felt, sensed, what he judged... he wasn't another empty talking head with a bleep-eating grin and phoney "aw shucks" persona distancing him from reality. Spider is equally liberated in this fashion.

What makes this story unique though, is that Spider lives in a future Earth, one that has yielded to so much stupidity from both Conservatives and Liberals equally, that he has entirely different dirt to expose. The city is an endlessly fascinating place now, full of wonders, yet all those wonders have their own problems. As Spider says, he wouldn't be able to write a thing without living there, and as his exploits unfold, we see why. Spider can crack the hard truth out of any nutty thing going on, but he needs that activity to explore first.

Anyway, great stories. Very raw, offensive language, lots of immature humor. That's part of the fun.

That's right!.......2007-05-14

i don't know about you, oh random cleint, but for years i've been looking for a good comic book. let me emphasize - not a nice one, not one with groovey pictures or a suprise little twist somewhere - but a comic i'd like to, say, read again, or something i thought was worth ANYONE's time.
and almost everything i picked up, had somethig missing. so sure, i had my akira and cowboy bebop, but i hoped something could come out of that great chunk of land the USA. and here i found it. this book is simply worth your time, whether your'e into comics, sci-fi, neo-post-feminist bull-fighting or whatever other category your'e in right now.
just read it.

The Return of Spider Jerusalem.......2007-01-31

Spider Jerusalem is a journalist in hiding. After deciding he didn't want his fame he fled to a mountain cabin. He also happens to be a very mean SOB. But now contractual obligations bring Spider back into the city. He forces himself on a publisher so that he has an income and a place to stay. But while he was away some things have changed in the city. There is a new movement known as Transients who have taken alien DNA to begin the transformation into an new species. Their leader is an old acquaintance of Spider's.

Spider claims that journalism is like a loaded gun. If it is aimed right it can blow off a kneecap. Spider is convinced he can blow the kneecap off of anything he likes because he is an expert at aiming his journalism. His first column will be to cover the plight of the Transients who are barricading themselves in the worst part of the city. When violence erupts Spider is the only journalist on the scene. He and his publisher are in control of any and all real news getting out. With this event Spider is fully back to living in the city and being a hard-biting journalist.

A very interesting story and world. The city is very dystopian and Spider is our guide. This is a harsh and violent story and world so it is not for the squeamish. Warren Ellis has turned out a fine story where the pen really is mightier than the sword. We will have to read the other volumes to see if the pen remains so mighty. Check it out.

There's too much good stuff out there for you to waste your time with this.......2006-12-13

"Transmetropolitan" is really worthy of two stars, but I only gave it one because I see it as my civic duty to bring the overall rating down some. Honestly, this is something you want to read if you find it at a friend's house and he's watching TV and you have nothing better to do. It's not purchase-worthy.

Warren Ellis has some cool ideas, but he doesn't seem to have any idea of what to do with them, beyond scattering them across a vapid skeleton of a story. And I mean, that's the trick, isn't it? Lots of us can come up with a few cool science-fictiony ideas, especially with the help of mind-altering substances, but the writer's job is to weave them into something greater than the sum of its parts.

And "Transmetropolitan," sadly, is less than its parts. Ellis's aforementioned cool ideas (an artificial intelligence that's addicted to drugs? interesting!) end up inert. His protagonist, Spider Jerusalem, is a caricature, and not in a good way--trust me, you've seen his type before. As other reviewers have mentioned, the book's antiauthoritarian themes just seem trite, instead of resonant. The transitions and conversations come off as forced, perhaps as if the book were heavily edited before it went to press, but more as if Ellis didn't take the time to make them believable--he just wanted to give Spider a chance to wave his gun around and act bad. And that's the real flaw: He doesn't take the time, and the story is so simplistic that you just can't buy it. (He also wants you to believe that Spider is an incredibly famous, award-winning writer, but when Spider finally produces some prose, it's...well-punctuated. And angry. But not Orwell or Churchill or even Keith Olbermann.)

Amazon.com

Red Pine (a.k.a. Bill Porter) offers a new perspective on the Chinese classic Taoteching. A competent translator and interpreter of Chinese religion, he renders his work with an eye for detail and a spiritualism cultivated during years of Zen monastery living. It's odd that many read translations of Chinese classics as bare-bones texts, whereas no Chinese would tackle such obscurity in the absence of a helping hand from previous pundits. Fortunately, it is no longer necessary to rely on mystical insight in order to understand the Taoteching. Instead, we can look to the 12 or so commentators that Red Pine resurrects from Chinese history. With its clarity and scholarly range, this version of the Taoteching works as both a readable text and a valuable resource of Taoist interpretation.

Book Description

Red Pine's translation of the most revered of Chinese texts corrects errors in previous interpretations, truly breathes new poetic life into the English version, and includes selected commentaries-judged by Chinese scholars to be essential to understanding the wisdom of Taoism. Pine incorporates the commentaries of emperors and prime ministers, Taoist monks and nuns, Buddhist priests, poets, scholars, and the country's most famous philosophers of the past 2,000 years. This marks the first time that non-Chinese speakers have been given access to such a range of wisdom explaining the deeper meaning of China's famous ancient classic. With its clarity and scholarly range, this version of the Taoteching works both as a readable text and a valuable resource of Taoist interpretation.

Lao-tzu, founder of Taoism, is supposed to have written the Taoteching around 600 BC in the Chungnan Mountain region, where Red Pine (Bill Porter) interviewed contemporary hermits as described in his book Road to Heaven: Encounters with Chinese Hermits. Bill Porter is also the translator of The Zen Works of Stonehouse, of Sung Po-jen's Guide to Capturing a Plum Blossom, and of The Collected Songs of Cold Mountain.

Customer Reviews:

It makes you think!.......2007-09-20

I liked this book. the commentaries are interesting and provide insight into the Tao. I would have liked more commentaries on how to apply them to daily life, but overall it's a good book. I would recommend it.

'untying our tangles. . . softening our light . . .'.......2006-05-08

The only language in which the Taoteching could have been written is Classical Chinese, a medium seemingly open enough to accomodate any translation without losing anything at all. But we should keep in mind, as the good book here says, ". . . the Tao in words is not the real Tao . . ." We could say that Classical Chinese could not really, in our day and age, be served up in literal translation, and we can be grateful to Red Pine, once again, that in this fabulous rendering, he does not begin with the words, but rather with the Tao.

Paul Reps once told me that we humans "are on the outside looking in". Like the space between the kanji strokes, as with the Chinese, thus with the Tao, and even the Truth. (Chapter 11: "Thirty spokes converge on a hub, but it's the emptiness that makes a wheel work . . ."
This translation does work. As in his other impressive translations (I especially love his moving early 1990's translation of Bodhidharma - recommended to all who wish to learn more of Ch'an or Zen) there breathes an immediacy which flows forth into the consciousness of our moment, resonant in these teachings. Relatively obscure in the West not half a century ago, they thus have been recognized for their pith, their eternal relevance, their vision.

Each Chapter in this well-bound, well-designed volume is accompanied by a series of commentaries or alternative translations from various sages in the Taoist tradition, a process which itself, once again, reveals the Tao, ever changing, always unchanged.

Chapter 19: "Get rid of wisdom and reason
and people will live a hundred times better
get rid of kindness and justice
and people once more will love and obey
get rid of cleverness and profit
and thieves will cease to exist
but these sayings are not enough
hence let this be added
wear the undyed and hold the uncarved
reduce self-interest and limit desires
get rid of learning and problems will vanish"

I've been reading this book since the early 1960's in various English renditions - this one is far and away my current favorite - a real delight!

Finally! A Tao Te Ching with the appropriate commentaries.......2005-07-25

In Asia, sacred texts like the Tao Te Ching are read with reference to the commentaries of its key historical luminaries. Only in the west is it read by itself, with no guidance. Finally, we have a TTC with key commentaries. Plus, the author has here given a translation that may come as close as possible to expressing the Chinese in English. It is concise, even pithy.
A number of other features make this volume unique and particularly valuable. Pine's extensive introduction covers an intriguing linguistic insight into the Chinese written character for Tao, Lao Tzu's historical background, the usual issues of authorship, etc., and some of the deeper understandings of the important themes of philosophical Taoism. Also, he has provided black and white photos of the famed Hanku Pass and the Loukuantai where tradition holds that Lao-tzu wrote the Tao Te Ching. The Chinese text is provided along side Pine's clear and unadorned translation. He utilizes the earlier but more recently discovered Mawangtui texts, and explains his preferences in choosing among textual variants. But most important for me, and for any student of the Tao Te Ching are his carefully selected commentaries which follow each verse. These show how the Chinese have traditionally understood the passages of the TTC in selected commentaries from the last 2000 years. Also, the book provides an extensive glossary of the Chinese terms and the commentators. Highly recommended!

Indispensible.......2004-08-21

For those interested in the Tao Te Ching, the red pine translation is indispensible. Though there's little way to check the historical or translational accuracy in the provided sources to each stanza, they remain an invaluble insight to the meaning of each, significantly helping to aid your understanding, and come to a conclusion on your own.

I recommend this book to anyone I feel may benefit from it's wisdom, and plan whole heartedly on sending a copy of it as a gift to every elected president of the united states that comes along, as the book was originally intended as a commentary itself towards the ruling class.

This is it !.......2004-01-30

This is the most helpful book on Taoism I have ever read. After years of reading different translations, overtly loose or too stiff interpretations, and inaccurate relativistic teachings by some Taoist "experts", I have never found a better translation and study book on the Tao concept. The commentaries are very insightful and very useful with several comments on each chapter to look through and compare. The whole book is very practical and nice to read. I'm fairly skeptical at heart (indeed, a skeptic), but there is plenty of wisdom here that is just plain obvious and helpful. If I could only choose one book on Taoism to have, THIS WOULD BE IT. I even bought a spare. I think that much of it.

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