Ali and Nino: A Love Story

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A hidden gem!

Love Story?

Great story!

Lovely love story

Islamic history in a nutshell

Ali and Nino: A Love Story
Kurban Said
Manufacturer: Anchor
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The Orientalist: Solving the Mystery of a Strange and Dangerous Life

The Girl from the Golden Horn

Azerbaijan, 3rd: With Excursions to Georgia (Trailblazer)

Black Garden: Armenia and Azerbaijan through Peace and War

Caucasus: A Journey to the Land between Christianity and Islam

ASIN: 0385720408
Release Date: 2000-10-03

Amazon.com

As is true of all great literature, Kurban Said's Ali and Nino has timeless appeal. Set in the years surrounding the Russian Revolution and the rise of the Soviet Union, Said's tale of an Azerbaijani Muslim boy in love with a Georgian Christian girl is both tender and disturbingly prescient. The novel, first published in 1937, begins as Ali Khan Shirvanshir is finishing his last year of high school:

We were a very mixed lot, we forty schoolboys who were having a Geography lesson one hot afternoon in the Imperial Russian Humanistic High School of Baku, Transcaucasia: thirty Mohammedans, four Armenians, two Poles, three Sectarians, and one Russian.

The multi-ethnic Baku, it seems, stands at a crossroads between West and East, and, as the smug Russian professor informs his pupils, it is their responsibility to decide "whether our town should belong to progressive Europe or to reactionary Asia." For Ali Khan Shirvanshir there is no doubt--he belongs to the East; his beloved Nino, however, is "a Christian, who eats with knife and fork, has laughing eyes and wears filmy silk stockings."

Far away, to the West, there are rumblings of war. When the Russian Revolution begins, Ali Khan chooses not to fight; the Czar's fate is of little interest to a Muslim living in far away Transcaucasia. But the young man senses that another, greater danger is gathering on his country's borders--an "invisible hand" trying to force his world into new ways, the ways of the West. He assures his worried father that, like his ancestors, he is willing to die in battle, but at a time of his own choosing. In the meantime, he courts Nino and eventually marries her in the teeth of scandal and opposition. This union of East and West is at times a difficult one as Ali Khan finds himself lured further and further into European ways. When Soviet troops invade, however, he must choose once and for all whether to stand for Asia or Europe.

One of the many pleasures Ali and Nino offers is Kurban Said's lovingly rendered evocations of Muslim culture. Another is his compassionate portrait of the protagonists' difficult but profound relationship. Modern readers coming to this novel in the wake of the fall of Communism, outbreaks of sectarian violence, and the rise of religious fundamentalism will find disturbing parallels in its cautionary chronicle of cultures colliding and a way of life brutally destroyed. In the end, however, it is not historical accuracy, but rather the charm and passion of the title characters that lifts Said's only novel into literature's highest ranks. --Alix Wilber

Book Description

First published in Vienna in 1937, this classic story of romance and adventure has been compared to Dr. Zhivago and Romeo and Juliet. Its mysterious author was recently the subject of a feature article in the New Yorker, which has inspired a forthcoming biography. Out of print for nearly three decades until the hardcover re-release last year, Ali and Nino is Kurban Said's masterpiece. It is a captivating novel as evocative of the exotic desert landscape as it is of the passion between two people pulled apart by culture, religion, and war.

It is the eve of World War I in Baku, Azerbaijan, a city on the edge of the Caspian Sea, poised precariously between east and west. Ali Khan Shirvanshir, a Muslim schoolboy from a proud, aristocratic family, has fallen in love with the beautiful and enigmatic Nino Kipiani, a Christian girl with distinctly European sensibilities. To be together they must overcome blood feud and scandal, attempt a daring horseback rescue, and travel from the bustling street of oil-boom Baku, through starkly beautiful deserts and remote mountain villages, to the opulent palace of Ali's uncle in neighboring Persia. Ultimately the lovers are drawn back to Baku, but when war threatens their future, Ali is forced to choose between his loyalty to the beliefs of his Asian ancestors and his profound devotion to Nino. Combining the exotic fascination of a tale told by Scheherazade with the range and magnificence of an epic, Ali and Nino is a timeless classic of love in the face of war.

Customer Reviews:

A hidden gem!.......2007-08-30

An exellent book so well written it is such a shame it is still little known.

Kurban Said otherwise known as Essad Bey was an Azeri Jew who converted to Shia Islam, wrote a number of novels (and a biography of Muhammad under the name Essad Bey) lived in Russia for a time before living out the rest of his days in Central Europe. His life reflects much of the characters he wrote about and the complex world they lived in.

The novel is a love story between Ali an Azeri Shia of a noble family and Nino a Georgian christian. The story surrounds their lives growing up in the turbluant world leading up to World War 1. How their love brought them together but their cultures tore them apart.

The reason I put a brief biography of the author is that to know him is to understand how he could write with such insight into the various cultures of the Caucuses both Christian and Muslim. His insights into the Shia rituals such as Ashura, the culture of Iran and the hopeless decline of the Persian empre.

While the writer covers this so well I feel at times he does go a little overboard on the wole east Vs west and the whole emphasis on Christian Nino seeing Ali as some kind of 'romantic barbarian' is a little silly. The Georgian people are proud of their own wild rustic culture and the Persians are hardly some kind of Bedowin desert people.

Still, this book realy does capture the time so well, in a maner that other writers on that most beautiful of lands such as Tolstoy and Pushkin would be proud.

Love Story?.......2007-05-31

This was an interesting time piece, a snap-shot of a place and time that no longer exists. It gives you insight into the cultures, ethnic divisions and hatred that exists just as strongly today as it did in 1918.

Great story!.......2007-02-17

After reading "The Orientalist" I just had to follow up with Ali and Nino. I have to agree, it's a masterpiece. It's an epic love story. It's a bit of a history lesson. And it gives a lot of sympathetic insight into cultures that I have very little sympathy towards.

Ali's extreme passions are in many ways admirable, with consequences that are unpredictable in the short term but inevitable in the long term. In that respect I think you get significant understanding of the bizarrre, fatalistic outlook of Shiism from Ali's story, and a wonderfully human-scale view of Eastern and Western cultures crashing together. The terrible destruction of Baku by competing factions reads like a template of so many similar events to come in the century to follow. The scenes of Iran in the last stages of the Qajars' decay are utterly fascinating. All of the main characters seem so profoundly and honestly rooted in their respective cultures by an author who is deeply aware of and appreciative of those cultures, yet in no way blind to their respective faults.

I would recommend you read "Ali and Nino" before reading "the Orientalist," but only because I think it will be all the more fascinating to read Lev Nussimbaum's astonishing life story in light of his greatest work rather than the other way around. But if you're coming at it from having just read "The Orientalist," well, that certainly won't take anything away from the power of "Ali and Nino."

Lovely love story.......2006-11-10

This was a beautiful love story deeply rich with the cultural issues of the time and area in which the story is set. I highly recommend reading The Orientalist for a fuller appreciation of this story.

Islamic history in a nutshell.......2006-06-08

This book is a retelling of the Koranic story where Mohammed courts a Coptic african slave, marrying her eventually. Interwoven with the typical lyrical 'east versus west' we see the typical western christian women who is self hating and onyl wants to wear a burka and prostrate herself. While she would never take orders from fellow Christians or secularists, she will gladly marry into a patriarchal family and have 12 children and never leave the house.

While portrayed as a beautiful story this is really a story of hate. It is a story about a man, Ali, who sees the world in black and white, for him there are no shades of grey, there is his world of Islam and the rest of the world. When Russia comes to liberate the women of the caucuses from 1000 years of Islamic imperialism and aparthied, he must choose to fight the infidel.

But more interestingly it is about the woman, the western woman with no interest in her own historical roots, no interest in her people's 1,000 year struggle to free themselves from slavery, rape and murder at the hands of outsiders and invaders. She will betray her culture because of the racist western view of the 'exotic east'. It is Islamic history in a nutshell. While no Muslim woman may marry a non-muslim, or risk being murdered by her family(as Ali's sister), the opposite is encouraged by the west and the east. In the end they have one thing in common, the west encourages women to marry muslims and muslim culture encourages Muslim men to marry non-muslim women.

A book worth reading, truly startling and poignant.

Seth J. Frantzman

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Ali and Nino: A Love Story

Manufacturer: Overlook Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Similar Items:

Suite Francaise

ASIN: 0965251721

Product Description

Firt published in German in Vienna in 1937 and considered by many to be one of the great romantic stories, Ali and Nino is now restord to print for a new generation of readers.

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Ali And Nino - A Love Story
Kurban Said
Manufacturer: Anchor / Random House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000TGBBRG

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ALI AND NINO, A LOVE STORY.

Manufacturer: Chatoo and Windus
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0701169591

Book Description

Who Stole Lady Neeley's Bracelet?

Was it the fortune hunter, the gambler, the servant, or the rogue? All of London is abuzz with speculation, but it is clear that one of four couples is connected to the crime.

Lady Whistledown's Society Papers, May 1816

Julia Quinn enchants: A dashing fortune hunter is captivated by the Season's most desired debutante . . . and must prove he is out to steal the lady's heart, not her dowry.

Suzanne Enoch tantalizes: An innocent miss who has spent her life scrupulously avoiding scandal is suddenly—and secretly—courted by London's most notorious rogue.

Karen Hawkins seduces: A roving viscount comes home to rekindle the passionate fires of his marriage . . . only to discover that his beautiful, headstrong bride will not be so easily won.

Mia Ryan delights: A lovely, free-spirited servant is dazzled by the romantic attentions of a charming earl . . . sparking a scandalous affair that could ruin them both.

You'll hear it first from Lady Whistledown

Download Description

Who Stole Lady Neeley's Bracelet?

Was it the fortune hunter, the gambler, the servant, or the rogue? All of London is abuzz with speculation, but it is clear that one of four couples is connected to the crime.

Lady Whistledown's Society Papers, May 1816

Julia Quinn enchants: A dashing fortune hunter is captivated by the Season's most desired debutante...and must prove he is out to steal the lady's heart, not her dowry.

Suzanne Enoch tantalizes: An innocent miss who has spent her life scrupulously avoiding scandal is suddenly -- and secretly -- courted by London's most notorious rogue.

Karen Hawkins seduces: A roving viscount comes home to rekindle the passionate fires of his marriage...only to discover that his beautiful, headstrong bride will not be so easily won.

Mia Ryan delights: A lovely, free-spirited servant is dazzled by the romantic attentions of a charming earl...sparking a scandalous affair that could ruin them both.

You'll hear it first from Lady Whistledown

Customer Reviews:

Great short stories!.......2006-04-15

I absolutely loved this book and its sister! Lately I've had a short attention span and the quick happy endings of the short stories are just what I've been in the mood for. (I think I'm addicted to the happy emotional buzz at the end of each story!) A great read, I highly recommend it to lovers of historical romances!

Mixed bag of stories, mystery element disappointing.......2006-01-10

I am busy reading my way through the later Bridgerton books and the anthologies. The stories in this anthology center around a mystery (of sorts), which I thought would be interesting. Unfortunately, the mystery did not pan out well.

Of the stories, I liked Julia Quinn's story about Tilly (Lady Mathilda) and her impecunious suitor the best, although the story from Mia Ryan about the party-organizing companion and her suitor was charming in its own way. However, the two later stories - from Suzanne Enoch about, and Karen Hawkins about the estranged couple were less satisfactory, for different reasons.

Quinn's story was a rehash of an old idea (wealthy debutante falling for deceased brother's comrade-in-arms), but was decent. Although I did not feel emotionally involved with either character (and in fact was far more interested in the heroine's parents), it was an acceptable read if entirely forgettable within hours. Grade B-

Mia Ryan's story was rather different. The heroine Isabella Martin reminded me of Loretta Chase's first heroine Isabella, down to the delicious laugh and the position of dependence. I rather liked her unusual abilities, but had to wonder about her social position (was her father really a cobbler? I must have misunderstood this). The interesting heroine and the idea of a Regency-era party planner merit a B. Almost as forgettable as Quinn's story, but rather more original.

Suzanne Enoch's story is both a variation on an old theme (lovers kept apart by relatives) and an unusual idea (the parents are scandal-wary, and want a "safe" i.e. boring match). Since I like unusual plotlines, the idea of parents who oppose an otherwise eligible match was an interesting one. I wanted to read more about the hero and heroine. A full book-length treatment or a longer novella might have allowed the author to explain why these scandal-averse parents allowed the elder daughter (supposedly betrothed since early childhood) to have come out in society before she was married off; the start and the end of the story give very different impressions. I felt as if I was left hanging at several other points. Enoch story - Grade C+

Hawkin's story was the most disappointing. I had to nitpick on historical details. For example, an annulment would hardly have been possible for the couple, unless they were closely related or had been married by force. Thus, talk of an annulment made little sense. Furthermore, the whole story reminded me of Heyer's The Black Moth without the scene-stealing villain. The reasons for concealing the real cheat's identity were not given (apart from family pride, I suppose). And, prior to major changes in the late Victorian era, a husband had considerable rights over his wife's person and fortune (limited only by fear of "what people might say"). This story barely hung together thanks to obsessive lusting. Hawkins story - Grade D-.

The real problem with this anthology was in the overall premise of the story, that the hostess's bracelet had been stolen or mislaid at a dinner party. What was unbelievable to me were the subsequent developments. A society hostess accusing her guests of stealing jewelry was not likely to find herself popular. If she went around saying that a specific guest may have stolen the item in question, she was laying herself open to a charge of slander - if the character had cared enough. (In fact, more than one character points this out). Finally, the resolution of the mystery made very little sense to me, even though I had correctly identified the thief. I had hoped that the resolution would have played a bigger role in the plots of all four stories.

In short, this anthology was based on an interesting idea, but it was not carried through. I haven't read enough of Quinn's short stories to be able to judge her skills in that department, and I certainly have not read enough of the other authors. This anthology may satisfy many readers, but as someone who reads mysteries as well as romances, I found it sadly wanting. A pity, really.

Overall grade - C (downgraded by unlikely premise in last story, as well as weak mystery).
Written 9 Jan 2006 by "bookjunkiereviews"

Very entertaining!.......2004-10-14

Someone gave me this foo foo book. I never read Regency stories but needed a change after a really serious read. I found it delightful. 4 different authors; 4 stories intertwined and nicely done. My very favorite was the last, where Sophia's husband returns after 12 years. A bit of a stretch, but it could happen. It was a light and delightful read! Everyone lived happily ever after!!!!!! Mission accomplished. :D

Very entertaining! .......2004-09-12

While I am not usually an anthology reader, I confess that I am addicted to Lady Whistledown, and thus had to read this book. And I was not disappointed, though it seems other reviewers were.

Each story in the anthology centers around a couple that were present at Lady Neely's dinner, at which her ruby bracelet went missing. Each couple is different, as our their love stories circumstances, but all are the sort you want to know more about. What I found most enjoyable was how the different authors wove their stories together. The same scenes are in different stories, from different characters' viewpoints. I found this to make the whole book work as a whole, as it truly became one novel-length story, but about several different couples.

For me, I especially enjoyed the stories by Julia Quinn and Mia Ryan, though I had fun reading all of them. Those two just stuck out a bit to me.

If you are a Regency fan, and enjoy peeks into the world of the era's ton, you should enjoy this rollicking romance anthology!

Regency love stories.......2004-08-25

This is a competent collection of 4 novellas with the romantic historical setting, innocent heroines and the rogues that captivate them and win their hearts. I prefer my love scenes on the more spicy and sizzling side, but this should still please many readers of this genre.

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Lady Whistledown Strikes Back

Manufacturer: Avon Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0739442627

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Lady Whistledown Strikes Back
Julia; Enoch, Suzanne; Hawkins, Karen; Ryan, Mia Quinn
Manufacturer: Avon
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OEMOBU

Average customer rating:

Lady Whistledown Strikes Back
Julia; Enoch, Suzanne; Hawkins, Karen; Ryan Quinn
Manufacturer: Avon Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000O5TX2W

Julia Quinn: Splendid, on the Way to the Wedding, Romancing Mr. Bridgerton, It's in His Kiss, to Catch an Heiress, to Sir Philip with Love, When He Was Wicked, Further Observations of Ladiy Whistledown, Lady Whistledown Strikes Back, Scottish Brides

Average customer rating:

Julia Quinn: Splendid, on the Way to the Wedding, Romancing Mr. Bridgerton, It's in His Kiss, to Catch an Heiress, to Sir Philip with Love, When He Was Wicked, Further Observations of Ladiy Whistledown, Lady Whistledown Strikes Back, Scottish Brides
Julia Quinn
Manufacturer: Avon Historical Romance
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000TKE3T0

Average customer rating:

Julia Quinn: Splendid, on the Way to the Wedding, Romancing Mr. Bridgerton, It's in His Kiss, to Catch an Heiress, to Sir Philip with Love, When He Was Wicked, Further Observations of Lady Whistledown, Lady Whistledown Strikes Back, Scottish Brides
Julia Quinn
Manufacturer: Avon Historical Romance
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000TKBWIA

Product Description

Splendid, on the Way to the Wedding, Romancing Mr. Bridgerton, It's in His Kiss, to Catch an Heiress, to Sir Philip with Love, When He Was Wicked, Further Observations of Lady Whistledown, Lady Whistledown Strikes Back, Scottish Brides.The last 3 are anthologies. 2 with writers Suzanne Enoch, Karen Hawkins & Mia Ryan. 1 with Christina Dodd, Stephanie Laurens, Karen Ranney.

Book Description

Harry Turtledove’s remarkable alternative history novels brilliantly remind us of how fragile the thread of time can be, and offer us a world of “what if.” Drawing on a magnificent cast of characters that includes soldiers, generals, lovers, spies, and demagogues, Turtledove returns to an epic tale that only he could tell–the story of a North American continent, separated into two bitterly opposed nations, that stands on the verge of exploding once again.

In 1914 they called it The Great War, and few could imagine anything worse. For nearly three decades a peace forged in blood and fatigue has held sway in North America. Now, Japan dominates the Pacific, the Russian Tsar rules Alaska, and England, under Winston Churchill, chafes for a return to its former glory. But behind the façade of world order, America is a bomb waiting to go off. Jake Featherston, the megalomaniacal leader of the Confederate States of America, is just the man to light the fuse.

In the White House in Philadelphia, Socialist President Al Smith is a living symbol of hope for a nation that has been through the fires of war and the flood tides of depression. In the South, Featherston and his ruling Freedom Party have put down a Negro rebellion with a bloody fist and have interned them in concentration camps. Now they are determined to crush their Northern neighbor at any cost.

Featherston’s planes attack Philadelphia without warning. The U.S.A. lashes back blindly at Charleston. And a terrible second coming is at hand. When the CSA blitzkrieg is launched, the U.S.A. is caught flat-footed. Before long, the gray Army reaches Lake Erie. But in its wake the war machine is spinning a vortex of destruction, betrayal, and fury that no one, not even Jake Featherston himself, can control.

Now, President Smith faces a Herculean task, while an obscure assistant secretary of war named Roosevelt rises in his ranks. For the U.S.A., the darkest days still lay ahead. Across the globe, a new era of war has just begun. And in the hands of the incomparable Harry Turtledove, readers are treated to a masterful vision of what might have been. An enduring portrait of history, nations, and human nature in its many manifestations, Return Engagement is a monumental journey into the second half of the twentieth century.

From the Hardcover edition.

Customer Reviews:

Return Engagements Settling Accounts.......2007-08-23

Harry Turtledove does an awesome job in recreating an alternate history. A must for the Science fiction fan who can read a story under "What if this really happened?"

This is a great read !!!.......2007-07-21

It's about time Turtledove sent the Confederacy into the U.S.A. to exact some much needed retribution for the unlikely defeat they put on them in the Great War books that he wrote. Now lets see how far the Southerners will take their punnishment to the U.S.

Featherston's Vengeance.......2006-11-02

It's June 22, 1941 -- the day Jake Featherston had waited almost 25 years for. His hatred and loathing for the United States of America ran so strong, he didn't bother to issue a declaration of war, but instead let his bombers and artillery do the announcing for him. His armored forces and air force push north toward the Great Lakes as if they had the hosts of hell behind them, shooting or blowing up every U.S. soldier and barrel in their path. The Confederate States of America will put the Yankees in their place, so help them God -- or so Featherston declares. And even while General Patton leads the Confederates through Ohio, dark events occur in the swamps of the Deep South. For Jake Featherston is carrying out a different sort of revenge on a different foe -- an entire race of people. When a concentration camp commandant comes up with a radical idea, Featherston is obscenely delighted over this final solution to the Confederacy's problem with its black population...

A great beginning to Turtledove's alternate Second World War tetralogy. The War begins on page one (well, the very last page of the preceding volume, to be precise) and gets worse and worse with each passing page. When chemical weapon attacks and mass murders are already happening in book one, who can guess what will be happening in the final book. And Turtledove brings it off convincingly in an American setting.

The only problem I had was that the war seemed to slow down quite a bit during the middle third of the book -- between Al Smith's radio reply to Featherston's speech and MacArthur's Virginia offensive. But that was a minor annoyance, and not enough to greatly disturb my attitude toward this book. A definite set-up to a different World War II, for sure.

"Flabbling" Waste of Time.......2006-07-15

Being a fan of another alt-hist writer I thought I'd give Harry Turtledove a try. Maybe I should have started with an earlier novel, but I went for a more recent work assuming the author would have developed his writing skill.

Unfortunately, I was disappointed. I thought "Settling Accounts" was a humorless bore with stilted plot development and empty characterizations. Even the cliffhanger ending sputtered out with a yawn. The in-your-face constant use of the "n" word,especially in combination with Turtledove's idiotic, parallel universe bending concept of "population reduction," is a straight up insult to every American, black or white, who lives in the South. Perhaps the author hoped those sentiments would stimulate thought and provoke discussion of the subject of racial inequality in the United States, but I found the novel far too juvenile to consider this within the realm of literary exploration. It was simply ugly.

Darn, I was hoping to have a new author to follow.

Paid by the word?.......2006-07-01

I really enjoy the story Turtledove is telling in this series, but it seems a little bit as though he is getting paid by the word. No, it seems more than a little bit like he is getting paid by the word. In fact, it seems a lot like he is getting paid by the word.(getting the picture?) And how many times does he need to go on (and on and on) about a character who sunburns easily smearing zinc oxide on his nose, or what each character was doing two novels ago every time he brings them back into the story. Turtledove does a geat job with the alternate history part and the "if this happened this way then this would be like this", I just think it could be a much faster(and better) read if it wasn't weighted down with so much repitition and unnecessary dialogue.

Return Engagement (Settling Accounts Trilogy, Book 1)

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Return Engagement (Settling Accounts Trilogy, Book 1)
Harry Turtledove
Manufacturer: Del Rey
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Historical | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

War | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Alternate History | Science Fiction | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books

General | Science Fiction | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0345457234
Release Date: 2004-08-03

Book Description

Download Description

Harry Turtledove's remarkable alternative history novels brilliantly remind us of how fragile the thread of time can be, and offer us a world of "what if." Drawing on a magnificent cast of characters that includes soldiers, generals, lovers, spies, and demagogues, Turtledove returns to an epic tale that only he could tell-the story of a North American continent, separated into two bitterly opposed nations, that stands on the verge of exploding once again.

In 1914 they called it The Great War, and few could imagine anything worse. For nearly three decades a peace forged in blood and fatigue has held sway in North America. Now, Japan dominates the Pacific, the Russian Tsar rules Alaska, and England, under Winston Churchill, chafes for a return to its former glory. But behind the cover of world order, America is a bomb waiting to go off. Jake Featherston, the megalomaniacal leader of the Confederate States of America, is just the man to light the fuse.

In the White House in Philadelphia, Socialist President Al Smith is a living symbol of hope for a nation that has been through the fires of war and the flood tides of depression. In the South, Featherston and his ruling Freedom Party have put down a Negro rebellion with a bloody fist and have interned them in concentration camps. Now they are determined to crush their Northern neighbor at any cost.

Featherston's planes attack Philadelphia without warning. The U.S.A. lashes back blindly at Charleston. And a terrible second coming is at hand. When the CSA blitzkrieg is launched, the U.S.A. is caught flat-footed. Before long, the gray Army reaches Lake Erie. But in its wake the war machine is spinning a vortex of destruction, betrayal, and fury that no one, not even Jake Featherston himself, can control.

Now, President Smith faces a Herculean task, while an obscure assistant secretary of war named Roosevelt rises in his ranks. For the U.S.A., the darkest days still lay ahead. Across the globe, a new era of war has just begun. And in the hands of the incomparable Harry Turtledove, readers are treated to a masterful vision of what might have been. An enduring portrait of history, nations, and human nature in its many manifestations, Return Engagement is a monumental journey into the second half of the twentieth century.

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Settling Accounts - Return Engagement
Harry Turtledove
Manufacturer: Del Rey/Ballantine
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000O5ZZBU

2 Titles By Harry Turtledove Settling Accounts Series (1-2) : 1. Return Engagement 2. Drive to the East

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2 Titles By Harry Turtledove Settling Accounts Series (1-2) : 1. Return Engagement 2. Drive to the East
Harry Turtledove
Manufacturer: Del Rey
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000WCUSLW

Product Description

multiple books ship as one item. save on shipping/handling charges.

Amazon.com

Tibetan Buddhism has one of the most complex iconographies of any religion. Robert Beer, the artist who brought to life the saints of Tibetan Buddhism in Buddhist Masters of Enchantment, has now brought the myriad symbols of Tibetan Buddhist art to life. Not exactly arranged like an encyclopedia, this book is more like a tour of the categories of Tibetan Buddhist symbols, beginning with Landscape Elements (rocks, clouds, rainbows, etc.); moving on to such areas as Flowers and Trees, Cosmology, and Mudras (hand gestures); and ending with Geometric Borders. Exquisitely detailed line drawings (using fine-pointed traditional brushes) are grouped on full-size plates, each of which the author tells us took between 50 and 200 hours to draw. The eight years that went into this book are revealed not only in the drawings but also in the text that is equally detailed in its descriptions of the religious significance of the symbols as well as their sources and development in Tibetan art. Beer's encyclopedic knowledge has not come from book learning, but from 30 years of doing Tibetan art and learning firsthand from Tibetan masters. After glimpsing just of few of these plates, you'll be calling Beer a master too. --Brian Bruya

Book Description

For artists, designers, and all with an interest in Buddhist and Tibetan art, this is the first exhaustive reference to the seemingly infinite variety of symbols found throughout Tibetan art in line drawings, paintings, and ritual objects. Hundreds of the author's line drawings depict all the major Tibetan symbols and motifs—landscapes, deities, animals, plants, gurus, mudras (ritual hand gestures), dragons, and other mythic creatures—ranging from complex mythological scenes to small, simple ornaments.

Customer Reviews:

The Encyclopedia of Tibetan Symbols and Motifs.......2007-07-09

Recieved the book promptly and in the condition promised. The book is an excellent source book. It does suffer from being without an index, for which the author apologizes. A source book without index is less than it should be. Still the images are excellent, and I assume the text is accurate. The author has spent a good portion of his working life in preparation: studying with Tibetan artists and craftspeople; and, becoming accomplished at rendering the brush drawings in an authentic manner. A good compaion book, especially as this does not have a index, is the "Handbook" by the same author

read Dagyab Rinpoche's Buddhist Symbols in Tibetan Culture.......2006-06-04

It's a more interesting and authoritative reference for this subject matter. This is due to Rinpoche being a qualified (I emphasise the word 'qualified') Lama and Tibetan scholar. Also at no point does Rinpoche compromise Tibetan Buddhism by giving away restricted information.

The 'Wonderful' Encyclopedia of Tibetan Symbols and Motifs!!!.......2006-02-23

I love this book. Having found it a few years back at a tattoo shop in Santa Cruz, California, I was only able to look at it for a short time but I was able to gain so much knowledge as to the wealth of designs and deep meaning found in Tibetan art. This book stayed in my mind thereafter. Here it is a few years and a couple tattoos later and the book resurfaced on Amazon. Great price, great condition and prompt service. This book is great for one who has interest in Tibetan art and it's symbolic nature. The concepts are well articulated and with each 'type' placed into a different chapter it makes refrencing quite simple. If you are interested, get this book!

Great book.......2005-10-23

Great book, with lots of details. If you are interested in tibetan handicrafts, here you can get any tibetan design you can imagine.

The most useful and insightful art book on the shelves.......2004-05-30

If you are looking for beautiful, black and white line drawings of Tibetan (and Chinese) art then this book is for you. The book has 169 plates (some plates have over 40 pieces/objects) accompanied by a detailed explanation of its origins, meanings, and uses. The plates/objects are crisp and clear, which make is easy to...umm..."study" (all text and illustrations are protected by copyright law, of course.)

Included in this book are:
Landscape elements
Flowers and trees
Animals (with the beautifully intense snow-lion)
Narrative subjects (Four Friends)
Cosmology (with a beautiful full-page astrological diagram)
Mudras (postures of hands and feet)
The Chakravartin and his Seven Precious Possessions
Auspicious symbols (endless knots, golden fishes, et. al.)
Various peaceful offerings (covers 55 different Gzi stones)
The Wheel of Sharp Weapons
Wrathful offering, tormas, and Ritual Fire Hearths
Geometric borders, patterns, designs, and motifs (more plates than any other chapter!)

Robert Beer does a phenomenal job of researching, collecting, and illustrating Tibetan sacred art. The book is printed on the highest quality paper giving you the best images possible.

If you are simply studying or researching Tibetan art, or as I am, designing a Tibetan tattoo, this book is for you. It is easy to use, fully explained, and a great all-around reference. I HIGHLY recommend this book.

Average customer rating:
Encyclopedia of Tibetan Symbols and Motifs.
Robert Beer
Manufacturer: 0
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000MU4H7A

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