Book Description
Learn how to get the most out of your practices from the master, John Winkin, who has racked up more than 900 wins by preparing his teams for optimal game performance even when practice conditions were far from ideal!
Maximizing Baseball Practice will help you field the most competitive team possible. You'll find everything you need to help you set priorities and plan practices, improve player skills, and develop teamwork. Fifty-nine illustrated drills and more than 160 photos and figures will show you how.
Customer Reviews:
Good for Specifics.......2003-07-10
This is good for many baseball practice situations, but mostly geared for high school and college. Some of the early material caters primarily to indoor practice (for colder climates and/or for high school or college that starts early). The author notes that early on and proceeds with the rest of the material shortly after. Some good general ideas.
Good book but..........1999-12-25
Thr drills are very good. A lot of them are useful for athletes to do alone. But he tends to believe that we all have field houses to workout in during the winter. Here in NY we have a very small gym and have and even smaller budget. Some of his drills just can't work in our situation. Overall, I would recommend it to all high school and college coaches, just be prepared to adapt.
Very useful.......1999-08-20
Lots of drills that enable players to get high number of repititions
This book is excellent in helping set up indoor practices!.......1999-02-17
This book is excellent in helping the coach plan pracitces indoors and also has some great drills for all aspects of the game. The 6-step warm-up routine is excellent for helping pitchers with their control and fundamentals. Coach Winkin has done a masterful job with this book. I use this book as one of main instruments in setting up my practices.
Book Description
THE HIGHWAYMAN'S LADY
Disguised as a highwayman, Jack Carstares, the wrongly disgraced Earl of Wyncham, found himself again face-to-face with the wicked Duke of Andover. This time the Black Moth was attempting to abduct dark-haired beauty Diana Beauleigh. Once more Jack's noble impulse to save the day landed him in trouble, but not before sending the villainous duke scurrying. Diana took her gallant rescuer in and nursed his wounds, and soon truer emotions grew between them. But Jack couldn't stay, for a lady and an outlaw would make a scandalous pair. Torn between his tarnished past and the hope for Diana's hand, Jack had one dangerous chance to reclaim his honor -- by defeating the Black Moth for good!
Customer Reviews:
This is where it begins........2006-08-27
Jane Aiken Hodge, in The Private World of Georgette Heyer (reissued in paperback May 2006), confirms that The Black Moth is Georgette Heyer's first book, published when she was 19, possibly written to entertain a younger brother who was often ill, and taken by her father's publisher not on account of his reputation as a scholar but for its own merit as a delightful story. In Moth the devoted Georgette Heyer fan finds the narrative elements that will become her hallmarks: deft characterization of the time period, lively dialogue, eccentric and determined characters who come alive on the page, and a superb prose style that proves highly readable (as another reviewer confirms, not for the length of words but for the graceful simplicity of her language).
Fans of the Heyer ouevre will also be amused to see their beloved author's first stabs at characters and situations she will deal so masterfully with later: the roguish hero who sets fashion but is never really within it; the gorgeous heroine with her superior taste and good sense; the villain who ends up earning reader sympathies (though through most of the book he is frankly detestable); the ladies of fashion with stunning attire and empty brains, and the gallants who woo them. There is definitely some swashbuckling, but the narrative resists, as Heyer always did, melodrama, as the last scene shows. I would hesitate to call this juvenalia; it is a character-driven, not a plot-driven work, an ambitious experiment for the romance (which was, at the time she published it, highly unfashionable, literarily speaking), and the reader can witness a writer who has already found her voice now finding her material. Heyer would revisit the devilish anti-hero many times, letting him triumph in These Old Shades (whether these are companion pieces are the reader's opinion; her letters suggest Heyer did not intend them to be) and following his progeny in Devil's Cub, just as she would revisit the same themes of courtship, marriage, the pitfalls of the idle rich, and the relentless judgments of elite society on personal situation.
As reading material, the book is highly engaging and completely satisfying; several love stories unravel at once, and the introductions of Fanny and Lavinia are sheer narrative genius; in the span of a page, Heyer lightly sketches a character who emerges whole and vibrant and entirely dedicated to her own pursuits, whatever they may be. And who cannot adore the courtship scene where Jack, painfully wounded in the rescue of Diana and recovering at her house, is first properly introduced to the lady in question by having her command him to help her sort silks and dumping a basket of colorful threads over his earlish knee? As a romance, the book may show a failure to focus at length on the developing relationship between hero and heroine (for certain the 'secondary' characters often edge them out in wit and color), but as a novel with romantic elements, telling an entertaining story of the attractions and perils of upper-class English society during the Georgian period, it succeeds; and, as a Heyer, it cannot disappoint.
Wonderful, quick read.......2005-11-04
A friend lent me this book, and at first I didn't realize it was a Harlequin Historical. It wasn't until I was a couple of chapters in that I decided to look at the author information. I was surprised to learn that the book was written in 1929!
It was a light but engaging read, and one totally sutiable for teens.
Of course it's part of a series.......2005-06-02
How good is GH?I have not read this book in years, but I remember the entire plot and several scenes in detail-when Miles insists that the highwayman take off his mask is what marriage and friendship is all about.
Heyer is one of my favorite authors, and as a book addict, I ought to know.
It's very obvious that "names have been changed to protect the innocent" but there are references to BM in TOS, most notably when Avon's neighbor (provably the heroine in BM) automaticcally assumes the Leonie is not good enough to be around her children when they meet- And that woman (whose name I don't remember) is most definately the heroine of BM. To be specific is to risk spoilers, but read them back to back and show me how I'm wrong. I double dare you.
An excellent read!.......2004-10-19
"The Black Moth" is the story of Jack Carstares, the Earl of Wyncham, who was forced to leave England because he allegedly cheated at a game of cards. Years later, Richard Carstares is held up by a masked highwayman in the night. But who should this highwayman be but Jack, his older brother?! Burdened with a secret from the past, Richard must decide which course is best for both his brother and his family. The novel also tells the story of Tracy "Devil" Belmanoir, the Duke of Andover, whose scandalous affairs with various ladies is the talk of the town. Devil has decided that his next target is the young and lovely Diana Beauleigh, but his idea of romance is a roadside abduction. Jack foils Devil's schemes and saves the beautiful Diana, a woman with whom he could easily fall in love with. Diana is now the object of both men's affections, but she knows the true identity of neither. Whom will she choose, if any? What part does Devil play in the Carstares card scandal? Will either man reveal his true identity? How can Jack reconcile his love for Diana with his spotty past? Will Diana accept him for who he is, a disgraced highwayman? What will Richard do?
This was Georgette Heyer's first book, and from what I've read, it's no wonder she became such a literary phenomenom. I was disappointed by another of Heyer's earlier books (Powder and Patch), so I wasn't expecting much from this. Needless to say, I was completely blown away by the quality of this early novel.
"The Black Moth," like "Powder and Patch" is a Georgian era book, which basically means you have men/women wearing powdered wigs and black face patches. I'm not usually a fan of Georgian books (I prefer Regencies), but the plot of the story completely overrode those prejudices. To be honest, the first 1/4 of the book is rather slow in introducing the full cast of characters; the heroine doesn't actually enter the story until nearly halfway into the book. While the pacing of the story seems a bit off, especially at the beginning, the romance totally makes up for it. It's lovely and sweet; you really get to see the love developing between the two characters.
"The Black Moth" also had an interesting array of characters. I wasn't such a big fan of the sober and staid Richard Carstares, but by the end of the book I could empathize with him. Wonderful characterization and character development! Others seem to be fond of Lavinia Belmanoir, but if you've read any of my other Heyer reviews, you'd know that she's just not my kind of chick; she's tempermental and prone to emotional outbursts. However, I was completely amused by Diana's aunt (Miss Beauleigh), Jack's bosom buddy, Miles O'Hara, and his wife Molly.
Overall, this was a wonderful read. I'd recommend it to anyone who loves a quick and fun romance. If you can get past a slow introduction and hang in there for the romance, you should definitely check out "The Black Moth."
Georgette Heyer - an unexpected treasure!.......2004-09-07
"The Black Moth" is my first Georgette Heyer. Coincidentally, it seems, from reading other reviews, that this was the first book she wrote. When I first opened it, I was actually surprised - and a little disappointed. From reading reviews on-line, I had expected paragraphs upon paragraphs of elegant prose, complex characterizations, unusual characters - what I actually saw was pages upon pages of dialogue. Disappointed, I put this at the bottom of my TBR pile. Then, by chance, I read these reviews, and discovered that Georgette Heyer had written this book at only 17. (Was it 17?) Well, seventeen! That's a different story! With that in mind, I decided to try again. And quickly amended my original assessment of a flat and boring book. For a 17 year old girl, this was a work of pure genius.
I have not read any other Heyer books, as yet. But I truly loved "The Black Moth". I loved the characters. I loved the dialogue. I even loved the plot - yes, it is so predictable, yet almost magical in the way that this is the real romance plot, no surprises, no hidden twists, and yet the reader is kept entranced by the sheer enjoyment of the reading experience.
(To be fair to the author, the plot was probably a little more original when she initially penned it.)
But, with hindsight being 20/20, I can see that a teen-ager - albeit a very gifted teen-ager - wrote this book. There is just a bit too much of the fantastic - too many coincidences, too much drama just for the sake of drama (what earthly reason does John/Jack have for acting as a highwayman? The storyline gives an explanation, but it is a lame excuse in my opinion. For an intelligent man to flirt with such extreme danger to himself - either from passengers unexpectedly armed, or the hangman's noose - not good enough. But good enough if you are 17.)
Some reviewers have mentioned that the characters are somewhat one - or two - dimensional as compared to her later books. Not having read any other books, I cannot judge, but to compare to other, more contemporary books - they are really not too bad. Maybe not very complex, but realistic they are. How I loved Lady Lavinia! A carricature of the English high-born lady, not of the time this novel was set, as a previous reviewer pointed out, but of the times in which Ms. Heyer herself lived. Besides, isn't there a little of Lady Lavinia in all of us? And the other characters - Jack, Dick, Jim - there is certainly nothing one-dimensional about them. Besides being very entertaining. For a 17 year old girl, in fact, it is sheer brilliance. And last, but not least, the Duke! Here we have someone quite complex, and to be honest, more realistic a portrayal of the true "rake" than some more modern novels have us believe a rake to be. And the friendship of the Duke with "Frank" of the opening letter I find simply astonishing. It's hard to imagine a conversation such as they had taking place in modern times - all the more reason to believe that this story took place a very, very long time ago. "The past is a different country, they do things differently there."
If perhaps her characters were not quite fully complex, and the plot a bit too fantastic, her style of writing is superb. Again, I haven't read any of her later books, but I cannot believe that in style of writing she changed too dramatically. There is something very finished about the writing in "The Black Moth".
I had been hesitant to try Georgette Heyer, pushing it off for a long time. Many previous reviewers wrote that she is a brilliant writer, with an extremely careful eye for period detail. I have nothing against "great" writers, but I have found that they are not generally light reading, so I pushed off Heyer until I would have "time". How surprised I was to find that this book is actually not "heavy" reading at all! Ms Heyer had a rare gift for words - an elegance of prose that is both terse and clear, with a story-line that flows smoothly and entertainingly - it is very easy to "get-into" her work. And the dialogue! It is worth reading a Heyer just for the dialogue alone. This simplicity of style is, in my opinion, the hallmark of a great writer. Some writers get the reputation of being "great" writers - rightly or wrongly deserved - by using many long words and putting them all together in sentence after sentence. Some of these, are indeed, good writers, (such as Mary Balogh, Mary Jo Putney), but some of them, in my opinion, are simply great wordsmiths - not necessarily great writers - there IS a difference. It is indeed a talent to be able to use many long words and put them together sentence after sentence, but it is, in my opinion, a greater talent to use simple words, simple sentence structure, and be able to express oneself beautifully and clearly. To express oneself in a way that is both easily understood, and compelling, to write your story concisely yet at length, this is how Georgette Heyer wrote. It is easy to see how she became a classic!
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The Black Moth
Manufacturer: Pan
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000GZI2YU |
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THE BLACK MOTH
Manufacturer: Bantam
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000HQPUU2 |
Product Description
Historical Regency Romance
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The Black Moth
Charles Runyon
Manufacturer: Fawcett Gold Medal
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000IY1X40 |
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The Black Moth
Manufacturer: Bantam Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000H06LTW |
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- Mr. and Mrs. Solo on Tatooine...
- Great Book!
- One of the Best Star Wars books ever
- One of the better EU novels
- The Race Across Tatooine
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Tatooine Ghost (Star Wars)
Troy Denning
Manufacturer: Del Rey
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Binding: Mass Market Paperback
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ASIN: 0345456696
Release Date: 2003-12-30 |
Book Description
SPECIAL BONUS INSIDE—the exclusive story "A Forest Apart," previously available in e-book format only!
Han and Leia struggle to keep the Empire at bay as stunning revelations from the past threaten to eclipse the future of the New Republic. . . .
The deaths of Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine by no means spelled the end of the Empire. In the aftermath, the New Republic has faced a constant struggle to survive. Now a new threat looms: a masterpiece of Alderaanian art—lost after the planet’s destruction—has resurfaced on the black market. It conceals a vital secret—the code used to communicate with New Republic agents undercover within the Empire. Discovery by Imperial forces would spell disaster. The only option is recovery—and Han, Leia, Chewbacca, and C-3PO have been dispatched to Tatooine to infiltrate the auction.
When a dispute at the auction erupts into violence, the painting vanishes in the chaos. Han and Leia are thrust into a desperate race to reclaim it. As they battle against marauding TIE fighters, encroaching stormtroopers, and Tatooine’s savage Tusken Raiders, Leia’s emotional struggle over the specter of her infamous father culminates in the discovery of an extraordinary link to the past. And as long-buried secrets at last emerge, she faces a moment of reckoning that will forever alter her destiny . . . and that of the New Republic.
Customer Reviews:
Mr. and Mrs. Solo on Tatooine..........2007-08-06
This novel, I tried to start some years ago but couldn't quite get in the mood for. Now, hearing from many how good it was, I thought I'd find out for myself.
Plot:
Han Solo and Leia Organa Solo, recently married, travel to Tatooine with Chewbacca and C-3PO to recover Killik Twilight, an Alderaanian painting that contains the Shadowcast code. This code has been used to contact undercover agents for years and if found by the Imperials will spell doom for many agents. Things turn amok when the painting is stolen at an auction by Kitster Banai, Anakin Skywalker's former friend. Now, Han and Leia must rush across Tatooine and retrieve the painting before the Imperials do.
Good:
It is difficult to replicate the intricate, multi-dimensional chemistry between Han and Leia, our favorite smuggler and princess couple. However, Troy Denning has been able to capture this and portray it in a format that is compatible with the on-screen performances of our favorite characters. Han Solo is still dashing, reckless, and madly in love with Leia; Leia is done much, much better than in most Star Wars books (I should know as I have read all but the most recent dozen or so books) as the headstrong, freedom-loving princess who isn't afraid to use a gun when necessary.
Further, Troy Denning was given the assignment of molding Leia from Courtship of Princess Leia to Heir to the Empire, which means having her come to grips with her father and her Force abilities. Her transformation was fairly convincing (more on this later), and I liked how Leia learned about how her father wasn't always bad. Plus, it is nice seeing little tid-bits from the prequels in the post-Return of the Jedi era.
Troy has done a good job with his new aliens, the Squibs (perfectly annoying) and portraying Kitster Banai and Wald later in life. Also, kudos to Troy for finally including normal families (i.e. families that have been through divorce) in a Star Wars book! His action sequences, for the most part, keep you on the edge of your seat, particularly Han's speeder bike race and the end battle (which crashes to a halt before your very eyes!).
Bad:
Number one dumb thing about this book: the plot. Han and Leia must go to Tatooine to pick up a painting that contains a code the Rebellion used to contact undercover agents. Stupid! Why would the Rebel Alliance put such a sensitive code in a rare painting like this? Did Bail want to keep this for the memories? Because, how in the heck are people supposed to access this code anyway if it is in one person's painting? It seems to me the whole idea of putting the code in the painting is a big headline that says, "Steal me!" Not to mention, how many times do we have to get drug through the "Imperials are one step from taking over the galaxy" plot?
And why are Han and Leia--famous Rebels with bounties on their heads so huge that anyone who sniffed them would probably sell them immediately to the Imperials--sent anyway? They only succeed in bollixing the whole thing anyway, from their agreement with the Squibs to their attempt at destroying the painting to their repeated failures at recapturing the painting and getting caught in a sand storm. This is such a stupid mission in the first place that almost anyone could have accomplished it better and faster than they did.
The obvious reason this book was written was not to detail a mission (especially the stupid one concocted here), but to show how Leia evolved to want kids (something Troy vehemently says time and again she doesn't want, which I was rather surprised about as she didn't seem anti-children anywhere else) and use the Force as in Heir to the Empire. Troy does a so-so job with this. In my opinion, he should have dumped the stupid "the painting has a key-code that will spell disaster if the Imperials get it" and focused solely on Leia's discovery of her past.
Number two dumb thing: Shmi's diary entries. Gag me! I swear, these, which should have been the best parts of the book, were the absolute worst parts of the book. Hearing on and on and on and on about how proud she was of Anakin, how Anakin won the Boonta Eve podrace (including a brief screenplay of The Phantom Menace), about how Shmi tried to find out how he was doing, about how everyone was so happy about Anakin's success, how Anakin's success influenced everyone else to dream big, and so forth made me want to gag! I sincerely doubt a mother would write something like this to a son! I would hope my mom would spend more time on the present--what was happening in the neighborhood, with my friends, family, etc.--and less on my one great achievement in life!
And Shmi, who has, up until now, been portrayed as our respectable, honest, sensible mother, turns into a giggly, love-struck, rattle-brained twelve year old at the first sight of Cliegg Lars. These are her words directly from the book: "He looked directly at me and my knees went weak, the way Amee says hers do whenever she sees Roc or Jerm or nearly any boy...Before I knew it, I had admitted the truth: that I had done it because I had found [Cliegg] so handsome". If that doesn't make you gag, nothing will.
Weird things about this book:
1. Why do authors feel like they have to drag their characters through a space battle at the very beginning of the book? I was so distracted and disgusted at Han and Leia's Tatooine approach, I was half-tempted to drop the book completely! All it does is let Han and Leia know that the Imperials are there. D'oh! The auction could have told them that.
2. Isn't it odd that practically every single person--from Dama at Anchorhead to Kitster Banai, who stole the painting, to the Tusken Raiders at the very end--is from or related to someone who is from the prequels? I understand this is Mos Espa, but come on! That's a little bit convenient.
3. Why the heck did Qui-Gon give Shmi the Tobal lens? I never got that part at all! It seems like an insensitive gift--or a really foresighted gift.
4. Chewbacca and C-3PO are really in the way throughout the entire book. They serve stupid menial parts, contrived to make the audience feel they were important to the plot (which they weren't--on numerous occasions, Troy leaves them elsewhere so that Leia and Han can focus their efforts elsewhere). I wish Troy would have felt comfortable enough just leaving them out completely.
Dialogue/Sexual Situations/Violence:
Restricted to h***, d*** and made-up Star Wars lingo. It is alluded that Han and Leia sleep with each other in a hotel. Other sexual allusions made (particularly to scantily dressed Twi'leks). Violence is typical Star Wars.
Overall:
Certainly not as good as I expected, but not the worst I have ever read from the galaxy far, far away. It does convincingly explain Leia's transformation, have its share of Star Wars action, and is pretty intriguing. As for the part I was most anticipating--Shmi's diary--this was hugely disappointing. A few other minor points make this book hard to enjoy thoroughly. Definitely interesting, but not paramount for continuity.
NOTE: Included in the mass market paperback version is a kinda cute short story, "A Forest Apart" about Chewbacca and his family. Although a little trite and overdone (Imperials steal a datapad from Leia's home in an attempt to usurp the New Republic), it is neat to see Chewbacca's family and how he interacts with his son and wife.
Great Book!.......2007-03-16
I enjoyed this book! I think it would make a great movie. Had to have it!
One of the Best Star Wars books ever.......2006-08-10
I had beeen waiting for this book ever since I heard it was going to be released. I had been hoping for this book since reading The Truce at Bukara when Anakin asks for Leia's forgiveness. Han and Leia have been married about six months when they go to Tatooine to recover a Alderaan painting that's going up for auction. The painting contains a secret rebel code. The reason is to set the story up for Leia to learn more about her father Anakin Skywalker and her grandmother Shmi and come to terms with her parentage. Its also because of her feelings and her fears that Leia doesn't want to have any children. It was such a joy reading along as Leia learned more and more about her father. About his childhood and how he ended up leaving to become a Jedi. Discovering her grandmother's journal. The excitement she felt over watching her father win his freedom in the podrace. Nothing was left out not even a visit to wear Anakin massacred the Tuskens. We got to learn what happen to the friends Anakin left behind. Troy Denning has the best charactorization of Leia and Han I've seen in a long time and it was fun seeing them act like newlyweds. It was fun returning to Tatooine and Chewie. I hope Troy Denning does the samething with Leia and Luke visiting Naboo and learning of their mother.
One of the better EU novels.......2006-03-28
Very cool story. Well written and evenly paced. Give this one a try.
The Race Across Tatooine.......2006-03-07
I liked it alot. And the reason I liked it was because it was set in one place for the most part. Tatooine. Most star wars novels dart back and forth between several groups of people on several planets, and it gets very tedious. This one focused on Han and Leia as they raced across Tatooine in order to secure a painting that held a secret rebel code.
The most interesting parts of the novel were definitly the tie-ins to the prequels (The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones). It was nicely done, not over the top, but just right. In fact, I was almost thinking, give me less of the plot, and more insight into the whole "who was Anakin Skywalker" storyline.
It also goes along nicely with the previous book The Courtship of Princess Leia and leads into the Thrawn Trilogy perfectly.
It's a nice, well-developed, localized adventure, perfect for a leisurly read. Highly suggested.
Customer Reviews:
Continuing down the dark path.......2007-09-25
This is the third installment in the Legacy of the Force series and, in my opinion, the best so far. The basic plot of Jacen Solo's decent into darkness may not be all that original, but it does make for some entertaining reading.
While an assortment of old friends and even older enemies make an appearance, Han and Leia are the emotional heart of this book. Having allied themselves with Corellia, a decision that strained family ties, the Solos find themselves being manipulated into a plot to assassinate the Queen Mother of Hapes and thus into direct confrontation with their son.
Denning has a knack for capturing the essence of the Solos and a real gift for penning Han's obligatory cocky comebacks. The book is full of the usual political intrigue and blasterfire. Yet at its core, it is an expoloration of conflicts between parents and their children.
Overall, this is a solid entry in the Star Wars library.
CHANGING of the guards.......2007-08-05
I do like the idea of the Star Wars galaxy advancing past the Luke/Han/Leia era. Titled Legacy of the Force, I can only hope that Lucasfilm is headed in that direction. Not that I don't love the characters. But, it IS 40 years after A New Hope. And Humans don't live forever. The younger characters are being well developed in this series. I have seen reviews that complain about the little focus on the "main" characters, when, my hope is that they do get retired or phased out. Darth Vader plays an enormous role in the Star Wars galaxy, as it's HIS Legacy, really, that is the driving 'force' behind the franchise. Denning does a great job of playing with politics in this book, and keeping to the theme of the "quite" approach Sith now have. When Han/Leia/Luke/Mara etc/etc have gone, either through, dismemberment or just plain death (boring), or go into hiding somewhere, they'll still be tremendously influential, just like the "old" characters from my "childhood". It's time for a new generation.
Tempest is very well written........2007-05-10
Tempest, the 3rd book in a 5 part series is very well written. The plot flows evenly. The biggest complaint I have is that Luke, at least in this series seems to be "Lost in Space". He appears weak and ineffective and as "Grand Master" of the Jedi he is a collossal failure, his & Mara's failure to contain Jacen and bring Ben Skywalker back is Mind boggling. Are you telling me that the power that Luke and Mara have between them can't overcome Jacen is unfathomable. It almost appears that Luke is being marginalized or on the verge of being written out of existence. After all, HE IS the main character in Star Wars along with Han and Leia. The story line is good but I'd like to read more of Luke and for God's sake lets bring Lumiya out into the open so that we can hate her properly.
OK but not for the casual SW fan........2007-05-07
This book was fine, the writing was good, but to it felt like the plot was treading water in the middle. If you aren't really into the SW universe, this book might not be for you. There are a number of characters that the causal SW fan might not have come across in the book. The writing is good enough that you can go on reading without knowing their history, but they do complicate the enjoyment of the book for someone not immersed in the SW scene.
Plus, just a personal peeve, but I couldn't figure out who the woman on the cover was supposed to be.
Tempest Review.......2007-04-12
One of the worst Star Wars books i have ever read, and i've read all the novels.
Bloodlines was just as bad. Betrayel was good, i really like Aaron Allston.
I'm getting very sick of Jacen, in particular. Enough said- ann
Book Description
For millennia, the culture and philosophy of the ancient Egyptians have fascinated artists, historians, and spiritual seekers throughout the world. Now, with this deluxe edition, the legendary 3,500-year-old Papyrus of Ani—the most beautiful of the ornately illustrated Egyptian funerary scrolls ever discovered—has been restored in its original sequences of text and artwork, using the latest advances in computer-imaging technology. Four exquisitely illustrated gatefold spreads and an acclaimed translation by two noted Egyptologists showcase the Papyrus's elaborately bordered images and convey its intended sense of motion and meaning in a way that other books on the subject cannot begin to match. For both lay readers and scholars interested in a wide range of topics—from mysticism and philosophy to anthropology and astronomy—this sumptuous and accessible new volume will be an essential acquisition.??
Also check out www.bookofdead.com and www.studio31.com/botd.html for more information about this book.
Customer Reviews:
Awesome!!.......2007-09-16
I ordered this book as a birthday present for my partner, he has always wanted a copy of the book of the dead, he was absolutly thrilled with it. He loves the fold outs of the scrolls and having the english translation as well, and i was very thrilled at how quickly it was delivered and the quaility of the book, this was the first time i have ordered anything online and i will definatly be doing it again. ( we live in New Zealand and the book was delivered in 3 days!!!!!! thats fast)
Modern Translation With Some Lacking Overstanding and Obscure Structuring.......2007-09-13
Revised review: This book is even more difficult to rate than The Tibetan Book of the Dead: First Complete Translation (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition) and The Ethiopian Book of Life (aka An Ethiopian Book of the Dead). As it isn't only the ancient book and the modern revised translation to be considered. Because the so-called Ani Papyrus is ancient, yes, yet a faulty, abridged and erratically composed pre-manufactured work. For example, it had been forgotten twice to include the name of the customer, this papyrus had been purchased for, into the blank space provided for this purpose. Even in the unabridged and correctly structured version of the "(The Chapters of) Going Forth by Day and Night... to the Place he Might Desire to Be", as the complete real title translates as, the author of the edition, James Wasserman, writes about: "Much of the book is frankly incromprehensible, even for experts. No amount of exegesis can explain many passages. Images and allusians follow one another with bewildering force and frequency, lacking thematic and logical connection." In this "Ani Papyrus" (Ani being the Western version of the name of the deceased this papyrus had been purchased for) the vignettes and/or chapter titles do not necessarily match the text beneath them.
This "Book of the Dead" isn't really the/a full theology of ancient Egypt, but PRESUPPOSING full knowledge about it. Which is simply not obtainable to the modern reader by merely enjoying this text as a supposedly funerary object. In reality it isn't, but an INITIATION ritual of the new/renewed pharao. For a mystical approaches read Shamanic Wisdom in the Pyramid Texts: The Mystical Tradition of Ancient Egypt and Egyptian Yoga Vol. 1:: The Philosophy of Enlightenment.
As for the modern publication: The facsimile of the vignettes had been published originally in 1890 under the supervision of E. A. Wallis Budge and quality enhanced for this new edition. The translation is based on the 1972 version of Raymond Faulkner, and additional corrections have been included by other translators after that. The book was published first in 1994 and was then revised in 1998. The presentation of the papyrus is well done. However, the structure of the entire modern book leaves much to be desired. As I read from cover to cover as usual, afterwards, I wished I hadn't. I would have gotten more out of the book in a different approach: Glossary (at the very end of book), foreword-preface-introduction, commentary p.137-154, then in combination the individual Ani Papyrus plates + English translation with the explanations of those individual plates in the commentary p. 154-170, with the abridged chapters of the "Theben recension" p. 99-135 in between. It should be noted that the translation directly beneath the "Ani Papyrus" isn't a 100% match to the papyrus presented above, as some sections have been included or changed according to the "Theben recension". Sounds complicated? Exactly. And the book isn't really that easy to handle, for oversize also means overweight. What is missing is vignettes and most certainly comments of the "Theben recension". Be upwised that the "Ani Papyrus" is a mere fraction of the entire "Theben recension". In other words, to read the entire so-called (Egyptian) Book of the Dead, the "Ani Papyrus" qualifies as a trailer and this edition of the modern book makes for a major obstacle reading - which you find out only, after having read this book unsuspectingly for the first time.
Also considered has to be the content of the commentaries and introductions. Honestly, I wouldn't do without, no question. However, James Wasserman and his colleagues are orthodox egyptologists. For one thing, they are still working with the traditional Imes (time) frame for ancient Egypt, which is explainable in having worked on this book in the early 1990s. Sin-ce then, the Imes fakings of an early Berlin egyptologist have been exposed, who attempted to make the ancient Egyptian civilization appear to be much younger in order for less embarrassment for Europe in relation to that. The further you go back, the more additional Imes get accumulated. By the Imes of this specific Ani Papyrus, this is a bit more than a century of difference only, earlier it is about millennia. (Read more in When We Ruled: The Ancient and Medieval History of Black Civilisations.)
Next, the Western rendered names of ancient Egyptian names are used. Though currently, it isn't EXACTLY possible to produce the real pronouncation/Western transcription of names, much better approximations are possible and indeed used in more African centered books. (The Black African nature of the ancient Egyptian culture is attempted to get veiled by orthodox [= Euro centered] egyptologist. For example, there is no mention in the otherwise meticulous commentary of the various - and changing! - skin colors of the characters depicted in the vignettes. As is still the case in religious paintings of today's West Africans, some of the ancestors of the ancient Egyptians, these colors do not always represent the real skin color, but religious meaning according to the respective function of the situation depicted.)
Last not least the book isn't only averring a purely polytheistic religion, but directly denying any mysticism and monotheism of the ancient Egyptians. Thereby, the direct ancestry of the Judo-Christian-Islamic culture is attempted to get severed from (Black) Africa. On first sight, ancient Egypt APPEARS to be polytheistic. Yet, in reality, all the gods were considered to be facets of a single one. Even more: Everything is One, not only the god(s). At the Imes, this book had been written, it may have been quite easy to sweep away any claims of monotheism (or actually pantheism) for ancient Egypt, without even taking the time to go into those claims and attempting to disprove them. Today that approach simply cannot be done anymore. Too many mystics and progressive and African-centered egyptologists have come forward. Read for example Egyptian Divinities: The All Who Are THE ONE or the books by Muata Ashby, such as The Mystical Journey from Jesus to Christ. The difficulty the author of this book experiences is that he doesn't know the mystic level of the Western religion, Christianity. By overstanding e.g. Master Eckhart of the 14th century, he would be capable of not blinding the monotheism of ancient Egypt better. Instead, James Wasserman says that it would sound hubris to us today that after death one becomes (a) god. Yet, mysticism all over the world - ancient or modern alike - knows that we already are, but have forgotten that until we "die". Accordingly, Wasserman blinds "denial of death" and vocabulary such as "passing on" instead of "dying" as euphemisms of supposedly avoided dealings with the inevitable perishing quality of the death concept. That is, because he is caught in the myth and rites level of his branch of religion. Which makes it difficult to REALLY translate and comment ancient Egyptian religious texts, especially this one. The literal words may come closer and closer, but the meaning will remain sphinxed. For example he gives the translations of the "prime" god Atum as "He Who Is Entirety" or "The Undifferentiated One", but can't see that this means that EVERYTHING is meant with that, as God is undifferentiated from anything and within. Which includes ourselves, returning to the state of this knowledge after "death", i.e. "becoming" God/Jah/the universe/etc., (Asar/Osiris in this case).
Besides all of that I find it interesting that this papyrus contains the odd gender bending in the text as well as the vignettes, but does NOT contain any amorist (homophobe) notions. Simply, because I have come across some books averring that. Referred to are the up to 42 "negative confessions" or rather "declarations of innocence" which are often compared to the Christain Ten Commandments. This may have been a result of the previous, faulty and prejudiced translation of E. A. Wallis Budge. I always wondered about that supposed Egyptian amorism, as it didn't really seem to fit either the "androgynous"/non-dualist religion and the Imes, as amorist interpretations of earlier holy texts occurred much later historically for the Egyptians really to have been able to be amorist in the first place. Instead I could find declarations of innocence of not making slaves, not making hungry, not building a dam on flowing water and not hunting animals. But also of not fornicating and at first sight strange appearing ones such as not copulating and not extinguishing fires.
New computer enhanced version of the Book of the Dead.......2007-03-24
The ancient Egyptian bible, everyone who could afford one was buried with one. This is a new version, and has English translations on each page with color images. It is a guidebook for the deceased person to follow to find his way to the afterlife to live on forever. The Egyptians were not obsessed with death but with obtaining the perfect afterlife. Sound familiar?
By the way I do agree with the excellent reviews already here. But, to make it accessable to Western eyes, I think NOT to refer to it as a sort of "Bible" is a bit confusing I think. The ancient Egyptians studied it, tried to memorize it, and took it with them in their sarcophagus if they could afford to, in order to have access to it when they awoke and needed to start their journey to the West (afterlife). It held all they needed to know to get there safely.
This version, I understand, is the best new one ever and most accurate translation. Fascinating just to go through, the art is wonderful.
Egyptian Book of the Dead.......2007-01-17
This was a gift to an Egyptologist.
Very much appreciated.
The Book of Going Forth by Day.......2007-01-11
A great reference of the original writings of the Egyptian Book of the Dead. A valuable read for anyone studying Ancient Egyptian History.
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