Book Description
Commentary on and a concise, lucid interpretation of the opera world's most complex masterwork, expanded from the author's popular intermission talks during Met Opera broadcasts. "Anyone, whether knowledgeable or not, will profit by reading it..." - Opera Quarterly
Customer Reviews:
Concise and illumuninating - more than a mere précis.......2007-07-23
In this slender volume, Fr. Lee not only provides a neat summary of Wagner's epic, but an ample and insightful look at the political and philophical underpinnings of the opera's genesis. His discussion of Schopenhauer's influence, albeit a surface treatment, never overwhelms the reader. Nor does the discussion of the leitmotives bog the reader down and detract from a lively and personal narrative. Highly recommended.
Wagner's Ring With New Eyes and Ears .......2007-01-16
I found Father Owen Lee's interpretation of Wagner's Ring concise, beautifully written and coherent. I was utterly mesmerized and could not put the book down until I had read it.
Great introduction to the Ring.......2006-08-06
Father Lee's book is essentially a fleshing out of some radio commentary given on the Ring cycle. While it is a short book and a quick read, it is insightful, deep, and well worth study and discussion.
There is no single 'correct' way to interpret Wagner's giant gesamtkunstwerk, one reason why so many books of interpretations and analysis of the pieces struggle for shelf space. This one makes a worthy addition to the pile.
Readers new to the Ring will find the synopsis and discussion of each opera informative and most valuable in getting them started to a basic understanding. Those more familiar with the Ring should find much to think about and compare with their own or other interpretations.
Supplemental to the text are suggested recordings, short reviews of additional books worth investigating, and a brief list of some of Wagner's more well-known musical motifs. There are more complete such lists and references available, but again for the novice these will all be of great help.
I found Lee's book informative, fascinating, and useful.
Superb introduction for the novice........2006-01-01
This little book is an excellent introduction for folks like myself who have tried for years to make sense of the cycle. The narration gives a plot synopsis followed by the author's view of the meaning behind the drama. I have always been fascinated by Wagner's Ring Cycle though I do not know German. I have been very intrigued by the music. Well this book gave me a tiny little bit to get me going.
Much of Father Owens' analysis may not meet with everyone's interpretation of the cycle but it does make one think.
There is a section at the end that contains written music. My knowledge of reading music is very scant so I just ignored that section. It is not germane to the narrative because one can get these examples by listening to the work. For good examples get An Introduction To Wagner's Der Ring Des Nebulungen by Deryck Cooke on CD. Mr. Cooke's CD gives audio examples that one can appreciate without knowing how to read music.
exquisitely succinct interpretation and introduction.... .......2005-04-22
to one of the most multi-layered works of art in existence.
I have wanted to see this opera series for over 20 years, ever since I saw an opera properly prepared by a Wagner fanatic. Finally, I was in a place where I could, so I turned to the various preparations that I could find.
This short book was indisputably one of the best, and it doesn't shy from bold pronouncements and interpretations. Lee is a classical scholar of great learning and brings together a huge range of sources in this 100plus-page book.
First, he gives a synopsis. Then, he interprets it, with full awareness that the reader may disgree. While the content is covered by other reviewers here, I wanted to say that this added immensely to my experience of this uniquely complex work of near-modern art. Plus, it is aimed that at erudite admirers, but to those (like me) desperate for an anchor as I approach the unique intensity of Wagner.
While it relies a bit too heavily on depth psychology, which places this interpretation at a certain time, it is never dogmatic and addresses many of the other philosophical ideas that underlie it. This is my only caveat. Truly great works of art are re-interpreted by every age, and this one will be too. In addition, it cannot be the only source one approaches - you need to listen to the music as well, so this is one supplement.
Warmly recommended.
Book Description
What was the truth about Penny?
Nurse Alexandra Dobbs met a distinguished Dutch doctor, Taro van Dresselhuys, when he asked her to help with Penny, a teenager with amnesia. Before long, Alexandra had fallen in love with Taro -- and Penny did, too.
It had to be a teenage crush. Yet Taro did little to discourage the girl, and when he began to side with Penny against her, Alexandra began to have suspicions about Penny . . .
Average customer rating:
|
Cobweb Morning
Betty Neels
Manufacturer: Harlequin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 037301970X |
Product Description
Romantic Inspirational love story
Average customer rating:
|
COBWEB MORNING
BeTTY NEELS
Manufacturer: EDGEWEAR
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000V7ATD0 |
Average customer rating:
|
COBWEB MORNING
BETTY NEELS
Manufacturer: EDGEWEAR
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000V77GZY |
Average customer rating:
|
Cobweb Morning
Betty Neels
Manufacturer: Harlequin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OOAS4A |
Product Description
Fiction, Romance, Contemporary
Average customer rating:
|
Cobweb Morning
Manufacturer: Harlequin Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000GS87YC |
Average customer rating:
- Not Free SF Reader
- A VERY good start to an intriguing series
- Awful. Plain awful. Who ARE these characters?
- Do some Jedi re-search and don't search out this trilogy
- Terrible. I couldn't even finish it. It's that bad
|
Jedi Search (Star Wars: The Jedi Academy Trilogy, Vol. 1)
Kevin Anderson
Manufacturer: Spectra
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
 Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Magic
| Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery & Horror
| Literature
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Science Fiction
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
Star Wars
| Media Series
| Series
| Science Fiction
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
Space Opera
| Science Fiction
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Fiction
| Star Wars
| Media
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
Jedi Academy
| Series
| Fiction
| Star Wars
| Media
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Magic
| Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery & Horror
| Literature
| Children's Books
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
Star Wars
| Media
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
General
| Science Fiction
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
Media Series
| Series
| Science Fiction
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
All 4-for-3 Deals
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
Similar Items:
-
Dark Apprentice (Star Wars: The Jedi Academy Trilogy, Vol. 2)
-
Champions of the Force (Star Wars: The Jedi Academy Trilogy, Vol. 3)
-
The Last Command (Star Wars: The Thrawn Trilogy, Vol. 3)
-
Dark Force Rising (Star Wars: The Thrawn Trilogy, Vol. 2)
-
I, Jedi (Star Wars)
ASIN: 0553297988
Release Date: 1994-02-01 |
Book Description
As the war between the Republic and the scattered remnants of the Empire continues, two children--the Jedi twins--will come into their powers in a universe on the brink of vast changes and challenges. In this time of turmoil and discovery, an extraordinary new Star Wars saga begins....
While Luke Skywalker takes the first step toward setting up an academy to train a new order of Jedi Knights, Han Solo and Chewbacca are taken prisoner on the planet Kessel and forced to work in the fathomless depths of a spice mine. But when Hans and Chewie break away, they flee desperately to a secret imperial research laboratory surrounded by a cluster of black holes--and go from one danger to a far greater one....
On Kessel, Luke picks up the trail of his two friends, only to come face to face with a weapon so awesome, it can wipe out an entire solar system. It is a death ship called the Sun Crusher, invented by a reclusive genius and piloted by none other than Han himself...
Customer Reviews:
Not Free SF Reader.......2007-09-03
I think this is around when Star Wars publishing started to explode, and I gave up as it was looking to be not too interesting.
The Ambiguously Evil Woman vs Luke is a bit of fun, though.
As I have found out, Anderson writes things at a furious pace, so that he makes a nice living, so this is what you have to expect.
A VERY good start to an intriguing series.......2007-08-22
I was very sceptical before picking up this book. I read a lot of reviews saying it was boring and not well written, and boy am I glad I didn't listen. Jedi Search has a couple of great story lines going on. First and fore most is Luke's quest to find force sensitive canidates for his new Jedi Academy. The second story line is about Han and Chewie on a diplomatic mission to the planet Kessel that of coarse goes terribly wrong. I highly reccomend reading the Jedi Academy series BEFORE the novel I, Jedi since parts of I, Jedi will give away a lot of the story line in the rest of the series.
Awful. Plain awful. Who ARE these characters?.......2007-06-29
The entire Jedi Academy trilogy is terrible. The story has some potential, but the lackluster prose really doesn't serve it as well.
But perhaps worse than that...Kevin Anderson doesn't seem to know ANYTHING about the characters he is writing for. One of the things that Zahn does so well (and what makes the Thrawn series so good) is that he takes characters from the film, who we all know, and expands their story - but he stays true to them the entire way.
Throughout the Jedi Academy trilogy, I found myself constantly thinking "these characters are not true to the ones already created". Even their tone and dialogue does not ring true for me.
Also, let me just point out that, as described by Anderson, the game of sabbac has NO gambling involved, and it is purely a game of chance. Lando is supposedly a brilliant gambler, yet it appears that his game of choice (as Anderson sees it) is nothing more than a simple game of random chance, with no skill or cunning involved whatsoever.
Terrible, terrible books. I feel bad for Zahn for having to acknowledge, albeit slightly, the content of these books as canon when he wrote the last two Thrawn books.
Do some Jedi re-search and don't search out this trilogy.......2007-05-22
I read this trilogy when there wasn't any other Star Wars stuff out there I hadn't read. Even without the prequel trilogy invalidating the continuity of these novels, these novels had problems. I'm surprised that I made it to the end of Vol. 3.
We now know a lot more about being a Jedi Master than Luke did in these books, and his academy was not much like the Jedi Order as portrayed by Lucas. And the impossibility of a Sith retaining his identity beyond his physical death (when love is the key to doing so) destroys the main premise of this trilogy.
But there are a lot of rediculous things in these books like a Jedi baby in action to save Luke Skywalker (yes, you read that right, a baby) and a super weapon that destroys star-systems. And this story features yet another Jedi that takes the path of the Dark Side, but will he return to the good side? Yes, but who cares? We've seen this before.
I didn't think these books were that good at the time, but they are even worse in retrospect. Don't waste your time. Instead of this series, I highly recommend the following 5-star novels:
Cloak of Deception (Star Wars)
Shadow Hunter (Star Wars: Darth Maul)
Labyrinth of Evil (Star Wars, Episode III Prequel Novel)
Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader (Star Wars)
Shadows of the Empire (Star Wars)
Terrible. I couldn't even finish it. It's that bad.......2006-12-24
Jedi Search by Kevin J. Anderson.
Luke Skywalker has decided to form a new Jedi academy and begins his search for possible candidates. Han Solo has been asked to go to Kessel in an attempt to form a relationship between the New Republic and the new government of Kessel. Leia as always is busy in her duties with the new republics government and awaiting a visit from her kids. Adventure ensues......
The Good: ????????
The Bad: This is the worst Star Wars book I have read. As mentioned I couldn't even bring myself to finish it. First off why does the New Republic want a relationship with the Drug capital of the Galaxy anyways? There is no logic behind the characters or the decisions they make. When Han is captured instead of killing him they "Want him to suffer, put him in the mines so that he can escape later." At one point in the book there is a creature in the mines killing whole groups of workers. They decide to check it out and see what going on. So instead of sending 10-15-20 armed men down to deal with the problem they send 2+/- armed guards and 4-5 unarmed slaves. Come on, this thing has been wiping out groups of people so you send 2 people you can count on and 4 other people who would just assume kill the 2 armed guards themselves? 185 pages into a 350 page book they still had not introduced the main protagonist. Over all poor this was a poorly written book. It felt like the writer had one book in him and wanted to stretch it out over a trilogy. The book is full of unnecessary filler.
Overall: Avoid this at all cost. One reviewer said this wasn't the worst book of the trilogy! How can it get any worse? If you want a good Star Wars trilogy try Zahn's Thrawn trilogy but don't buy Jedi Search.
Product Description
A Jedi Master is missing. You must find her...and save her. The adventure is yours. May the Force be with you.
Product Description
3 mass market paperbacks. Jedi Academy Trilogy - Dark Apprentice - Jedi Search - Champions of the Force
Book Description
Why Were the Teachings of the Original Christians Brutally Suppressed by the Roman Church?
• Because they portray Jesus and Mary Magdalene as mythic figures based on the Pagan Godman and Goddess
• Because they show that the gospel story is a spiritual allegory encapsulating a profound philosophy that leads to mythical enlightenment
• Because they have the power to turn the world inside out and transform life into an exploration of consciousness
Drawing on modern scholarship, the authors of the international bestseller The Jesus Mysteries decode the secret teachings of the original Christians for the first time in almost two millennia and theorize about who the original Christians really were and what they actually taught. In addition, the book explores the many myths of Jesus and the Goddess and unlocks the lost secret teachings of Christian mysticism, which promise happiness and immortality to those who attain the state of Gnosis, or enlightenment. This daring and controversial book recovers the ancient wisdom of the original Christians and demonstrates its relevance to us today.
Customer Reviews:
Enlightening.......2007-09-11
I loved this book. It clearly shows how religion has developed into its authoritarian nature from what should be a spiritual path. It for the first time in my understanding of Christianity show a truly spiritual side to what has become an unfortunately Hierchical authority driven religion. I believe it shows (indirectly) the reason why more and more westerners are becoming more interested in eastern traditions. Take fer example that it is integral to religious christians that the ressurection and the like must be actual events. Take the teachings of Taoism for instance that teach Lao Tzu was born at over the age of 80. I have never known a taoist teacher to enforce that idea as actual truth but more of a spiritual analogy. Finally! it seems the same is known of the monotheistic religions as well. Fantastic read! 6 stars!
Great intro on the subject.......2007-06-05
Freke and Gandy do a wonderful job. If you read this book and like it, then I suggest for those who want to delve even deeper, to consider 'Lost Light: An Interpretation of Ancient Scriptures' by Alvin Boyd Kuhn. However, I highly suggest reading Freke and Gandy first, as Kuhn is far from a light read. I was very impressed with this book overall.
Gnostic Good Book.......2007-01-14
The authors decode the secret teachings of the original Christians and theorize about who the original Christians really were and what they actually taught. The book explores the many myths of Jesus and the Goddess and unlocks the lost secret teachings of Christian mysticism, which promise happiness and immortality to those who attain the state of Gnosis, or enlightenment. The original Christians portrayed Jesus and Mary Magdalene as mythic figures based on the Pagan God and Goddess. The original Christians wrote the gospel story is a spiritual allegory encapsulating a profound philosophy that leads to mythical enlightenment. While I haven't read even nearly enough on the Gnostics, I enjoyed this book and leaned even more details about Jesus, Sophia, and the first Christians.
FREKE AND GANDY HAVE OUTDONE THEMSELVES!.......2006-12-12
If you read and enjoyed The Jesus Mysteries you'll find this sequel nearly as helpful and interesting. This time Freke and Gandy take us further into the actual teachings of the earliest Christians, the Gnostics. If you aren't used to reading about spirituality and religion, you'll have to chew on some of this for awhile, but it's well worth the effort. No pain no gain. This book is another open window through which the Light is shining, a Light that may one day set the earth free of fundamentalist superstitions. Two thumbs up for Jesus and the Lost Goddess.
JEHOVAH UNMASKED is the perfect companion volume, a fascinating Gnostic look at the identity of the god Jehovah. Is Jehovah the real Almighty God or just a pretender? Is God an insane murdering lunatic as the Old Testament says, or is that just a pretender god? Did the first Christians believe in God the Mother? What and where is the Kingdom of God? Who told the First Lie in the Garden of Eden, Jehovah or the Serpent? Are you SURE? Who or what was it that gave us the list of New Testament books as we have them now? The answers to these questions will shock
Gnostic Christianity,Gnostic Islam.......2006-10-30
Congratulations again Timothy and Peter and thank you for the very welcomed insite to gnostic Islam and Mohammed. This is just a small chapter in this book, yet so important.Every one should read this book who wants to know some truth about Islam the way it was. This book as well as The Jesus Mysteries show when, where, and how women began being oppressed and suppressed; what a shame. I would never have thought that women in Iraq and those areas ever had any freedom.
Though this book does amplify certain topics from the other book, I feel that it was necessary for those who have not read The Jesus Mysteries.
Both books have confirmed many of my own personal revelations I have had over the last 10 years. Love to me is the goal - and if these ancient gnostics were not filled with love or desire, they would have never known the truth as they did. This is a wonderful book. Buy it! and also The Jesus Mysteries. Read this book with an open mind. Let your inner Christ reveal to you what the authors are trying to disclose.
Books:
- War against the Idols: The Reformation of Worship from Erasmus to Calvin
- Wings of Discovery
- Your Face Tomorrow: Fever And Spear
- 13th Gen: Abort, Retry, Ignore, Fail?
- 1949: A Novel of the Irish Free State (Irish Century)
- A Breath of Fresh Air (Ballantine Reader's Circle)
- A Christmas Guest: A Novel
- A Hero in Every Heart: Champions from All Walks of Life Share Powerful Messages to Inspire the Hero in Each of Us
- Almost Doesn't Count
- And One Wore Gray
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- America Alone: The End of the World as We Know It
- The Harvard Medical School Guide to Men's Health: Lessons from the Harvard Men's Health Studies
- Pigeon Feathers and Other Stories
- New Complete Guide to Landscaping: Design, Plant, Build
- Rex Mundi Volume 2: The River Underground
- Probabilistic Methods for Algorithmic Discrete Mathematics
- Stressed or Depressed: A Practical and Inspirational Guide for Parents of Hurting Teens
- Rogue Primate: An Exploration of Human Domestication
- King Of The Wildcatters: The Life and Times of Tom Slick, 1883-1930
- 5,110 Days in Tokyo and Everything's Hunky-dory: The Marketer's Guide to Advertising in Japan
An Introduction to Der Ring des Nibelungen
Wagner - Der Ring des Nibelungen / Levine, Metropolitan Opera (Complete Ring Cycle)
Decoding Wagner: An Invitation to His World of Music Drama (includes 2 CDs)
Wagner: The Terrible Man and His Truthful Art (General Interest)
Ring of the Nibelung
