Book Description
"Brilliant, haunting, dark, joyous, remarkably compelling...immensely difficult to put down...a master storyteller."
THE VILLAGE VOICE
A childhood memory re-experienced, a funeral that brings about a family reunion, and the excavation of a swimming pool on the site of an old well, uncover family secrets and air the dirty linen in this behind-the-scenes look at life and family, memory and forgetfulness, anger and forgiveness in a small Southern town.
"Falls in line with the best of classical Southern fiction...but Ms. Smith's vision is her own and places her among the best of contemporary Southern writers."
THE ATLANTA CONSTITUTION
From the Paperback edition.
Customer Reviews:
LEE SMITH IS SOLID GOLD.......2007-02-06
This book revolves around a Southern family that has their share of secrets. This book is not only a WHO-DUN-IT? but also very, very funny. The characters are all related somehow and are all very comical. The writing flows and you will immediately be caught up in the great story and plot.
We first meet Sybill, one of the family, who finally seeks help from a hypnotist for her dreadful recurring headaches. The hypnotist puts her under and BAM! Sybill flashes back to her childhood and remembers witnessing a horrible, awful, dreadful murder that involves her sweet, kind, proper, mother, Miss Elizabeth.
Sybill returns at once to her hometown of Booker Creek for answers. Unfotunatley, Miss Elizabeth is unconscious in the hospital and cannot answer any of her questions. But the story does not end there!!!!
Now we meet all of Sybill's family -- her sister Myrtle who has it all -- money, THE house, a doctor hubby, looks great, is the perfect hostess, has the perfect life or does she? Myrtle's husband, Dr. Don, who runs the entire show and loves his wife's family, perhaps a little too much -- and a cast of other brothers/sisters/nieces/nephews/cousins -- they are all unique and wonderful and FUN.
This is a book that I highly recommend. Lee Smith has the absolute best writing ability to weave, weave, weave, the story, the characters, the plot, and all the FUN into a great big satisfying book that is full of insights into life, laughs, and surprises.
Read this book. You won't be disappointed. Ms. Smith is one of THE BEST AUTHORS around these days! You can't go wrong!!!!!
Thanks -- Pam
Desensitized.......2006-09-16
The very first of Smith's books that I encountered was Fair & Tender Ladies. I became instantly and permanently attached to that novel. I later read Devil's Dream; great as well, but not to the calibur of the previous.
The third novel I read of hers was the one in question: Family Linen.
It is always interesting and depressing and englightening all at the same time to read a favored author's earliest works. It is amazing to see where she began and how she has changed in her calibur and designs. That is why I think Family Linen is recommendable. Beyond that, the book seemed no different than reading a top 10 bestseller that would fall out of history within weeks. I had to keep flipping the book over to make sure I was still reading a book by my favored author. BUT. She came out of this wonderfully and has written some incredible fiction since--in fact, I believe that if she had not written such wonderful things later in life, that Family Linen would have indeed failed to make the annals of noted literature. As it is, I can't wait for her next novel/work to go to press!
This Is The Greatest Book.......................2005-11-08
you will not want to end. When it does, it will stay with you for days. Lee Smith is one of my favorites!
Rich "Southern" Surprise.......2004-09-26
Enjoyable treat! My first Lee Smith read, I was very surprised at how rich and satisfying it was, surprised mainly because of the well-meaning but missed-the-point critic blurbs on the cover which prepared me for breezy back-porch southern blarney, an enjoyable genre but not at all accurate for "Family Linen". This is tangled Barbara Vine territory, dark family secrets and a mystery that become inscrutable no more, only told in the direct and empathetic voice of an Anne Tyler. With family disfunction that could easily have been rendered as southern-gothic, Smith's story is told with clear-eyed respect for character and for plot development.
It all comes out in the wash.......2002-10-23
Nobody is better than Lee Smith when it comes to creating marvelous characters and Family Linen is filled with them. No cardboard creatures these, but full bodied human beings most of whom are somewhere in our own lives. My only quarrel with Smith is that she sometimes gets so deeply involved with these characters, she forgets to tell us where they are going. Family Linen does have more of a plot and a mystery that will keep the reader turning the pages until it is solved. And even when we know, the characters are still the strongest force in the book.Read it and see which one of your neighbors or relatives are right there to be discovered.
Average customer rating:
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Family Linen
Lee Smith
Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000LXZ1DC |
Average customer rating:
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Family Linen
Lee Smith
Manufacturer: Putnam
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000NQLOYM |
Average customer rating:
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Family Linen
Lee Smith
Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000O9GO8O |
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Linen Houses of the Lagan Valley: The Story of Their Families
Kathleen Rankin
Manufacturer: Ulster Historical Foundation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 Irish
| Ethnic & National
| Biographies & Memoirs
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| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
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| Adults
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| Children
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ASIN: 1903688205 |
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Linen, Family and Community in Tullyish, County Down, 1690-1914
Marilyn Cohen
Manufacturer: Four Courts Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 1851823123 |
Book Description
Are you a do-it-yourselfer, or do you want to be? Are you looking to easily improve the decor of your home? If you're searching for inspiration, look no further!
Material World takes you into the creative minds of
20 DESIGNERS from around the world to bring you unique home decor projects. Each fun project has a common thread --
THEY ALL USE FABRIC as a main ingredient!
This beautifully illustrated book will take you on a journey from inspiration to materialization, with step-by-step instructions for projects to decorate and personalize every room in your habitat. It provides simple solutions for design dilemmas -- upholstering furniture, sewing slipcovers, window treatments, bed trimmings, light fixtures, floor coverings, pillows, room partitions -- even a bed for your dog! Perfect for a DIY novice or a seasoned professional,
Material World covers a variety of exceptional
SEW AND NO-SEW PROJECTS for terrific results.
New York City architect, interior designer and co-host of DIY Network's "Material Girls", Cat Wei, curates a recipe book of project ideas (including many of her own designs) to beautify your home for better living.
Average customer rating:
- Excellent, well illustrated
- History that is Informative and Relevant
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The East India Company: Trade and Conquest from 1600
Antony Wild
Manufacturer: The Lyons Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
India | Asia | History | Subjects | Books | Ancient
General | World | History | Subjects | Books
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General | India | Asia | Travel | Subjects | Books
General | Adventure | Specialty Travel | Travel | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1585740594 |
Book Description
Here is a historical chronicle of the most powerful corporation in world history, beautifully illustrated with full-color paintings, photographs, and maps. Established by Royal Charter in 1600, the East India Company was, and remains to this day, the largest and most powerful multinational business the world has ever seen. It controlled over half the world's trade and a quarter of its population. It singlehandedly ruled India, raised its own army and navy, minted its own currency, and traded with every corner of the globe. It also trafficked in opium, greed, and brutal oppression, sowing the seeds that would lead to its downfall-and absorption by the British Crown.
The East India Company describes how "the Honourable Company" created its extraordinary trading empire by introducing an exotic cache of tea, silks, porcelain, cashmere, and spices to a luxury-starved England. It also explains how the company conducted its day-to-day business at home and in the East, through colorful figures such as Captain James Skinner and John Nicholson; how the opulent daily life of East India Company rulers amongst the ruled led to "the Mutiny"; and why India's first war of independence spelled an end not only to the company itself, but, eventually, to an entire empire.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent, well illustrated.......2005-05-26
This lavishly illustrated volume gives an excellent view of the East India Company - the experiences of the British in India, the spices and goods of interest to the West, and the history of the company over the centuries.
History that is Informative and Relevant.......2000-08-09
This book is deserving than more than just 5 stars.
As a historian myself, the biggest problem in expressing yourself is making "old" topics informative and interesting to modern generations. Antony Wild has succeeded beyond any scale of recognition in his book The East India Company: Trade and Conquest from 1600.
This book, which details the English East India Company's history will appeal to anyone with an interest in British, Indian, Asian, American, military, nautical, or commerical history-- it is that wide-ranging. This book is also a must-read for anyone interested or concerned over the so-called modern phenomenon of "globalization." After reading Wild's account, one can see that globalization has been around for nearly four hundred years, if not longer.
The English East India Company, acting under a royal charter from Queen Elizabeth I, sought entry into the Spice Trade in Asia. Soon, however, it found itself involved with Indian piece trade and trade from the Middle East and Arabia. Its trade interests in India eventually led to de facto conquest and colonization on that subcontinent-- all with the tacit support of the crown. The company reached into China and even North America-- it was East India Company tea that got dumped into Boston Harbor during the Tea Party.
The company exported and imported goods, laid the foundations for three important Indian cities, fought land wars and naval battles with other European merchant powers or local natives, and brought a host of new products and new words into the consciousness of the English-speaking world.
India proved to be the company's lasting legacy, and not always a positive one. However Wild provides a well-balanced account that does not paint the company as either completely ethical traders or imperialistic devils. No matter one's opinion, India proved to the company's (and Britain's) largest asset and also the cause for the company's eventual dissolution.
The book is well-illustrated and is an easy but very informative read. I would rank this amongst the top 10 books I have read in the last 5 years.
Customer Reviews:
I like it, I love it.......2003-02-01
This book is great. The story is great, and the characters are awesome. Pleasance is a loyal, unselfish woman who rejects a proud, stubborn Tearlach so that her selfish younger sister gets him as a catch. As a result, Tearlack even though is attracted to her is angered and his distrust of women gets stronger. Her sister ask her to steal letters and a gift from Tearlach's room yet gets caught. She then, gets sentenced to be an indentured servant to Tearlach. Through the year, she learns she is capable of being a strong woman who doesnt' have to back down like she did with her unloyal family. Tearlach learns that she isn't who he thought she was, a snobbish selfish woman. They found strong passion with each other as well as a love that was well developed.
A worthy buy. Another great book written by Hannah Howell
A Story Worth Returning To.......2002-08-14
I believe I bought this book about 4 or so years ago. Unfortunately I can't remember where but I'm glad I did. I've read it and reread it many times. It's a great little story. Alternately cute, sensual, and poignant. The main characters; Tearlach O'Duine a young and handsome self-made Scotsman, Pleasance Dunstan his unlikely well-bred Colonial indentured servant turn lover, and Moira, Tearlach's insightful prepubescent sister are believable and very likable. The story grabs you and moves you to read on. Despite the number of times I've read it I refuse to give the book away. It's a story worth returning to.
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Wild Conquest (Heartfire Romance)
Rene J. Garrod
Manufacturer: Zebra
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General | Romance | Subjects | Books
General | Historical | Romance | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0821721321 |
Book Description
The Complete set. An Archival Record of the old Irish and of new families that settled in Ireland.......
The Conquest of Ireland, 'An Historical and Genealogical Account of The Plantation in Ulster' with names of Catholics and Protestants Affected. * Irish , Scots Irish, & English settlers from 1609 +. To Understand Ireland today - Every Man or Woman o Irish Descent Needs to have this work.'
A limited four volume archival set, hardbound and gold stamped, with decorated endsheets in each book. This is the rare record of the great change in land ownership and power in Ireland. It is the story of the old Irish families, and the new settlers. A one-of-a-kind genealogical record. The specific names and locations of the landowners are given. It is a primary source of information for those fortunate enough to refer to copies of the surviving volume by Rev. G. Hill.
Vol. 1, shows Ireland as the plan was being hatched. Volumes II, III & IV give even more specific details, right down to Pynnars record of each plot of land after the upheaval. Priceless as a record of the transfer of land to new owners in Ireland. The 19th century historical footnotes and the new IGF surname index in each volume is invaluable to researchers.
Volume 1 - The Fall of Irish Chiefs and Clans. (268 pages)
This outstanding book documents the families and conditions before and during the settlement of Ireland in the 17th century. Specific individuals and sources are given here, of great interest to family researchers and historians. Among items of interest to family researchers are list of jurors, rent rolls, list of those applying to undertake the settlement (undertakers), and list of soldiers. The actions taken here are still evident in Ireland today, and it would do every interested person to understand how it all began.
This volume is laid out in the following order:
Ulster Before the Fall.
The Orders to Begin the transfer of land
The Project of settling new landholders
Doubts, Delays, and problems
How The Authorities Worked
Specific Results, Names and Arrangements
(New IGF surname index).
The largest and most important volume in the series, it lays the ground work for understanding who and what was involved in this settlement of Ireland.This book documents the families and conditions before and during the settlement of Ireland in the 17th century. Specific individuals and sources are given here, of great interest to family researchers and historians. Among items of interest to family researchers are lists of jurors, rent rolls, list of those applying to undertake the settlement (undertakers), and list of soldiers. The actions taken here are still evident in Ireland today, and it would do every interested person to understand how it all began.
Volume 2 - Names in the Land Grants. (107 pages) Footnoted. Itemized land grants to English, Scots, and Irish. Identity of the specific persons, location of lands, with historical commentary.
The Land Grants in this work have been taken from the Patent Rolls of the reign of James I and from the printed Ulster Inquisitions. The book is most importantly arranged with the following sections:
Land Grants for English (Undertakers)
Land Grants for Scottish (Undertakers)
Land Grants for Servitors.
Land Grants to the Native Irish.
While the names and locations in the land grants will be of particular interest to family researchers, there is a wealth of information in the footnotes bringing history to life for all interested persons. The land grants are of differing lengths, and one short example in Co. Tyrone follows:
"Grant to Neale O'Quin, gent., Ballineloughy, one balliboe, containing 60 acres. Rent, 13 s."
Volume 3 - Londonderry Lands and Families.
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Wild Conquest
P Abrahams
Manufacturer: Faber
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000UK4LUU |
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Wild Conquest
Peter Abrahams
Manufacturer: Anchor Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books | Classics | Comic | Contemporary | Literary
ASIN: B000U8V86W |
Product Description
A novel of Boer aggression and African resistance in South Africa.
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Wild Conquest
Manufacturer: Faber and Faber
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000GL1BU6 |
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Mortal Engines (The Hungry City Chronicles)
Philip Reeve
Manufacturer: Eos
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Binding: Paperback
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Similar Items:
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Infernal Devices (The Hungry City Chronicles)
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A Darkling Plain (The Hungry City Chronicles)
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Larklight: A Rousing Tale of Dauntless Pluck in the Farthest Reaches of Space
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Airborn
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Skybreaker
ASIN: 0060082097
Release Date: 2004-09-14 |
Book Description
London is hunting
The great Traction City lumbers after a small town, eager to strip its prey of all assets and move on. Resources on the Great Hunting Ground that once was Europe are so limited that mobile cities must consume one another to survive, a practice known as Municipal Darwinism.
Tom, an apprentice in the Guild of Historians, saves his hero, Head Historian Thaddeus Valentine, from a murder attempt by the mysterious Hester Shaw -- only to find himself thrown from the city and stranded with Hester in the Out Country. As they struggle to follow the tracks of the city, the sinister plans of London's leaders begin to unfold ...
Customer Reviews:
Fitting ending to a great series of books.......2007-07-18
A Darkling Plain is the fourth, and final, book in the wonderful "Hungry City Chronicles." Beginning with Mortal Engines, the world that Mr. Reeve has created is one of the best in the young adult science fiction that I have read. Period. The story takes place hundreds, perhaps thousands, of years after the 60 Minute War where humans unleashed every known weapon on themselves (biological, nuclear, space based energy rays). The books revolve around Hester Shaw and Tom Natsworthy and their adventures on mobile cities that try to "eat" each other. Hester, in my view, is one of the great characters in young adult literature: strong, ruthless, vulnerable, and determined to get her way. Tom, in contrast, believes in the basic goodness of people and it is, ironically, this belief that proves to save the day in this story. I won't reveal details other than to say that all four books are highly recommended. If you want action, although with a high body count, then these are for you. In fact, I have rarely had the emotional impact of a series of books stay with me as these have. The ending is absolutely draining, but perfect. Finally, I must disagree a bit with some of the other reviewers about the third book, Infernal Devices, where they wish that Hester and Tom had not gone from their teens in "Predators Gold" to their mid-thirties. One of the themes of A Darkling Plain is that life moves on: people grow up, fall in love, have children, and pass the world on to them. Thus, Tom and Hester have a child, Wren, and it is central to the book's ending that she is old enough to be out on her own and have her own life. I certainly hope that Mr. Reeve has other stories set in this marvelous world, but there is very little that I would change with Hester and Tom's.
A Full Circle.......2006-12-31
Finally I managed to finish the thickest book of this series! It was such a moving ending that it broke my heart but gave me satisfaction. A roller coaster ride from the first book, Mortal Engines, and it came in full circle in A Darkling Plain. It is far from the happy fairy tale but gave us hope nontheless but also reminded us what life is.
A bit odd about Mr Shrike though but that doesn't matter much. Perhaps I just have to re-read the first one. A full 20 stars for this series!
A darkling inspiration........2006-07-31
Have you ever noticed that it is only once in a while that an artist with incredible ingenuity, creativity, articulation, and vivid imagination will somehow cross your path and enrich the precious moments of your leisure time? I love it when this happens, whether it be fine art, music, film, or in this case, literature. Philip Reeve has yet again brought me with him in this latest, and last, book in the Hungry City Chronicles quadrilogy: aptly hailed A Darkling Plain. I will not bore you with an overview, as it would be grossly wrong of me to spoil any of the treasures this work has waiting for you, the expectant reader.
Living in Alberta, Canada, British author Philip Reeve is not as well known, and so it was quite by accident that I discovered the first 2 books in the series: Mortal Engines and Predator's Gold. These 2 volumes, which very much remind me of the quality and craftsmanship of creating Star Wars and then The Empire Strikes Back, harken back the ideas of fantastic new worlds, innocence and discovery, high adventure, romance, tragedy and character resolution which unfailingly culminates in this last Darkling volume.
If you are familiar with this brilliant series, I wonder if I am alone when I honestly say that I was heartbroken with the direction Mr. Reeve took in the third volume, Infernal Devices. I did not want Tom and Hester to instantly jump into my own mid-thirties age bracket and thus becoming secondary characters to the supposedly young readers these books are aimed at. Although we grow to fondly care about their daughter and her friends, I felt a huge stab of pain (not unlike Tom) and loss at the sense that our original heroes were relegated to the back of the bus. I also share your grief and dissappointment that our dear friends Freya and Caul were allowed such an early retirement--Shame on you, Mr. Reeve.
Despite the third and leading-up-to volume, I will say that our intrepid storyteller redeems himself and restores our faith in his genious by his deliverance of this beautifully crafted and intricately laid fouth "chapter" of our long journey. I can't tell you how sorry I am that it is over for me, having just ordered and read this last novel directly from Scholastc U.K. Believe me, friend, you're in luck. Treat yourself to this book and the whole series, because like one of those rare vacations where you actually relax and enjoy yourself, and you are just a little sad to return home, this endeavor will simulate just that.
As a sidenote, I should mention that I was shocked to originally learn that these books were targeted towards 9 to 14 year-olds. Although there is no profanity or overt sexual descriptions, the brutality, gore, and death count has occassionally brought to mind certain other writers such as Stephen King and Robert McCammon--if these were derrived films, they would not get away with "PG-13" in North America. Also, if anyone else cares to write a review and knows, could you please explain why our everlasting father stalker "Grike" in N.A. is written as "Shrike" in the U.K.?
Read and enjoy, I think you shall also be inspired.
Average customer rating:
- Fairy tales for a modern age
- Pretty good, but not the best Lem.
- 5 stars are not enough!
- A Great Book from One of the Greatest Writers of Our Time!!!
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Mortal Engines
Stanislaw Lem
Manufacturer: Harvest Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Eastern European
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Similar Items:
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The Cyberiad
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One Human Minute
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Fiasco
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Tales of Pirx the Pilot
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Memoirs Found in a Bathtub
ASIN: 0156621614 |
Book Description
These fourteen science fiction stories reveal Lem’s fascination with artificial intelligence and demonstrate just how surprisingly human sentient machines can be. “Astonishing is not too strong a word for these tales” (Wall Street Journal). Translated and with an Introduction by Michael Kandel.
Customer Reviews:
Fairy tales for a modern age.......2007-02-01
The first dozen stories in this book are brief, amusing, and very clever. Most of them start in the traditions of fairy tales, with bold knights, beautiful princesses, powerful kings, and deadly dragons. As in traditional fairy tales, some describe great quests, while others narrate hubris and downfall. The difference is that every story is peopled (if you'll pardon the term) by robots. It creates a grand setting for Lem's adventures and warmly humorous inversion of all the old storytelling.
The final two stories, though, are the real gems of this collection. They are longer, they feature humans as well as robots, and are serious, even somber in tone. One is told by a human, part of the party that has to hunt down a dangerous robot across the stark surface of the moon. The teller finds the rogue in the end and fells it, but something in that last moment turns it from victory into completion of a much more ambiguous kind. The final story, "The Mask," is a sensitive look into a man-made mind. It conveys real complexity in the robot's sense of its own life. One of the story's many readings is a warning that, even if the feelings are carried in metal cases, they're as real to the minds feeling them as ours are to us. Creating a mind that can feel such feelings imposes a responsibility on the creator - a responsibility not met in this chilling story.
This is Lem at his best, and his best is very good. The happy satire of the first stories is some of Lem's most amusing. The conjecture in the last story is some of his darkest. The set as a whole shows Lem's range as a writer, even within the constraints that unify this wonderful collection.
//wiredweird
Pretty good, but not the best Lem........2002-05-31
Stanislaw Lem is one of my favorite writers and this book is a lot of fun to read, but it isn't the best Lem book (not all of his books can be 5 star masterpieces). Read Cyberiad first (if you like short, interesting and funny tales) since this book seems a little like left-overs in comparison.
5 stars are not enough!.......2001-06-06
This is surely one of the greatest collections of 'linked short-stories' ever written -- it matches Calvino's COSMICOMICS and Borges' LABYRINTHS. Lem is a total genius. A writer of playful little fables that are also philosophically profound (and logically consistent). This book is a brilliant companion to Lem's THE CYBERIAD, with which it shares many themes and ideas. Lem has a beautiful style: he can make engineering terms sound poetic. His rigorously modern metaphors are as original as those of J.G. Ballard, but more varied and lyrical. For Lem, the Periodic Table is an unwritten poem. This book is the final and true ode, and each line is a fantastic, fabulous, incredible story. I give this book 200,000,000 stars. And that's only because I'm not feeling so generous today. It probably deserves A GOOGOLPLEX (1 to the power of 100 raised to the power of 1 to the power of 100) of stars. At least.
A Great Book from One of the Greatest Writers of Our Time!!!.......1997-12-10
Buy this book! And any book of Stanislaw Lem's you can get your hands on as well. He speaks of the human condition in his own unique way. His landscapes are vast, and his characters are more human than we know. Beautiful!!!!!!
Customer Reviews:
How can I review a book that hasn't ever arrived?.......2007-01-10
Despite multiple emails saying this book is on the way, it hasn't arrived.
The Story Continues.......2006-12-29
Peace and quiet at last in Anchorage-in-Vineland. Tom and Hester were able to bring up their only daughter, Wren, in relatively safe homeland.
But that only went till Wren's 16th year because, inheriting her parents' blood, she longed for adventure and at that moment, an old friend of Caul came to break the peace...
Meet again with older Tom and Hester, the threatening Stalker Fang, the undead Mr. Shrike, Lost Boys and the famous-charlatan-writer Nimrod B. Pennyroyal, and also new interesting characters like Wren, Theo and Dr. Zero.
Packed with action, tension, twist, love and drama (not like soap opera mind you). Great story!
As Good As The First Two........2006-09-09
I thought this book was just as good as the other two in the series. I love the little bits of humor the author puts here and there, especially in the big war scenes, things like one of the airships being named "Visible Panty Line". It's well written and exciting enough that I was immediately looking to see if the sequel was available yet. (It is!)
"Dead Man's Chest" strikes again.......2006-08-25
The third in the series of the Hungry Cities Chronicles evoked the same feelings as the latest Pirates of the Caribbean movie. You were left with the anxiety of knowing you spent your money solely to have to spend it all over again on the next in the series.
While the book was pretty decent, there was a bit of a let down in the quality of the storyline because this is a filler to get you to the final book in the series.
Just like I wanted to throw something at the screen at the end of Dead Man's Chest, I threw the book across the room at the end of this story, knowing that I will have to wait another year to find out how the story ends.
Book Description
In this reprint of a classic originally published in 1992, John Hoberman dissects the modern sports establishments of Europe and America and shows how a community of mutually dependent interest groups combine to promote continued scientific experiments despite futile efforts by Olympic authorities to enforce their sanctions on those who violate the ban on illicit drugs. Hoberman also reflects on the future of sport as we enter a new era of unprecedented developments in genetic engineering and hormonal manipulation, with important implications for the science of human performance. Great sport begins where good health ends. Bertolt Brecht. "John Hoberman has written another magisterial study of sport... [a] brilliantly crafted narrative." "... I heartily recommend Hoberman's book to serious students and enthusiasts of sport alike. It is a highly readable book that treats some of the most salient and delicate problems that have plagued high-performance sport since its inception. It is, to put it quite simply, one of the most intelligent and perceptive analyses of elite sport that I have had the pleasure of reading." -- William J. Morgan, Journal of the Philosophy of Sport 19 (1992): 101, 106 "Two previous books by John Hoberman, Sport and Political Ideology (1984) and The Olympic Crisis (1986), demonstrated his mastery of the European -- and, to a lesser degree, the American -- literature relevant to the history of modern sports. This mastery has enabled him to probe deeply and insightfully into the instrumentalization of the human body in the service of sports performance." "Hoberman's splendidly researched and unusually thoughtful book should be an important contribution to the public debate of this issue. Will it be read by those who have the power to influence events?" -- Allen Guttmann, International Journal of the History of Sport 11 (1994): 516, 517 "Mortal Engines is a horror story. For almost 300 pages John Hoberman presents the reader with evidence that our view of sports and athletes and the attitude athletes have about themselves have become hopelessly and dangerously warped. The lure of money and the determination to establish national prestige have led trainers, scientists and doctors to endanger athletes. Sometimes the athletes have known what was going on, and sometimes they have simply swallowed what they were told was good for them and then kept their mouths shut.... "But the remarkable achievement of Mortal Engines is the extent to which it demonstrates that doped competitors are not so much freaks, cheats or unfortunate victims as they are the logical consequence of a dangerous and destructive set of assumptions which most of us make about our athletes." -- Bill Littlefield on Morning Edition, National Public Radio (NPR), July 27, 1992 "John Hoberman has written a continually fascinating, ingenious and well-narrated book about sport, athletes and the use of science in modern sport from its origins at the end of the nineteenth century. It is a book that should be read by anyone who is interested in sports and physiology or, as one might put it, physiopolitics." -- Mats Gellerfelt, Svenska Dagbladet [Stockholm], February 12, 1994
Book Description
This digital document is an article from The Horn Book Magazine, published by Horn Book, Inc. on November 1, 2003. The length of the article is 334 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: Philip Reeve Mortal Engines.(Young Adult Review)(Book Review)(Brief Article)
Author: Anita L. Burkam
Publication:
The Horn Book Magazine (Magazine/Journal)
Date: November 1, 2003
Publisher: Horn Book, Inc.
Volume: 79
Issue: 6
Page: 755(1)
Article Type: Book Review, Young Adult Review, Brief Article
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Average customer rating:
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Mortal Engines
Stanislaw Lem
Manufacturer: Harvest Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OJR104 |
Average customer rating:
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Mortal Engines
Manufacturer: ZZCSCHOLASTIC CHILDR
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000GPELYK |
Book Description
Krishnamurti's last journal, spoken into a tape recorder at his home, Pine Cottage, in the Ojai Valley, brings the reader close to this renowned spiritual teacher. Dictated in the mornings, from his bed, undisturbed, Krishnamurti's observations are captured here in all their immediacy and candor, from personal reflections to poetic musings on nature and a serene meditation on death.
Reflecting the culmination of a life of spiritual exploration, these remarkable final teachings engage and enlighten.
Customer Reviews:
A more accessible Krishnamurti.......2004-03-16
Krishnamurti's last journal was spoken into a tape recorder at his home, the Pine Cottage, in the Ojai Valley. In the last two years of his long life, here the spiritual teacher is most intimate, and so gentle yet with complete candor.
The chapters are brief and I found I was reading one just before turning the light off each nigfht. Each chapter begins with reflections on the day, usually began with a pre-dawn walk in the mountains, encounters with wildlife, meditation. The reflections are on nature, death, the possibility of total transformation of the mind, of time and the self.
Krishnamurti is a favorite author-teacher, and I have collected and read most everything by him readily available. Krishnamurti can be slow reading, ponderous and even sometimes a bit impenetrable. But here he is clear and the most profound truths are found to be the most simple. Reading a chapter each night is both powerfully transformative and a pleasure, This is my favorite of the Krishnamurti books, one which I have used to introduce friends to this extraordinary man.
A must read for anyone who is interested in "what is -- is".......1999-04-23
Krishnamurti provides probing questions to unravel the self-imposed prejudices of mankind. Disdaining all attempts to draft him as guru or teacher -- rather powerfully pointing to the fact the each is responsible for themselves. No one can show us how to "know". Instead he challenges the reader/listener to determine reality by facing fear to see it for what it is. Freedom is the goal. Not for anyone not willing to stare into the recesses of mind to see.
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Krishnamurti to Himself: His Last Journal
J. Krishnamurti
Manufacturer: Harper & Row
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
General
| Religion & Spirituality
| Subjects
| Books
Krishnamurti
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| Authors, A-Z
| Religion & Spirituality
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Ancient
| Philosophy
| Nonfiction
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ASIN: 0575040602 |
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