Book Description
AN ANCHOR PAPERBACK ORIGINAL
From the Nobel Prize laureate and author of the acclaimed Cairo Trilogy, a beguiling and artfully compact novel set in Sadat's Egypt.
"[Mahfouz] is not only a Hugo and a Dickens, but also a Galsworthy, Zola and a Jules Romain."--Edward Said
The time is 1981, Anwar al-Sadat is president, and Egypt is lurching into the modern world. Set against this backdrop,
The Day the Leader Was Killed relates the tale of a middle-class Cairene family. Rich with irony and infused with political undertones, the story is narrated alternately by the pious and mischievous family patriarch Muhtashimi Zayed, his hapless grandson Elwan, and Elwan's headstrong and beautiful fiancee Randa. The novel reaches its climax with the assassination of Sadat on October 6, 1981, an event around which the fictional plot is skillfully woven.
The Day the Leader Was Killed brings us the essence of Mahfouz's genius and is further proof that he has, in the words of the Nobel citation, "formed an Arabic narrative art that applies to all mankind."
Customer Reviews:
Good, but not great.......2007-01-10
I love Mahfouz, and this novel is really good. but I have two problems with this story (I will try to avoid discussing the whole story because I don't want to ruin it for people who didn't read it):
1. I still don't understand why there was so much emphasis on the old man in the story, but not other characters. The only guess I can make is that there is always a patriarch in Middle Eastern cultures, and it happens to be this guy.
2. The Infitah policy in mentioned numerously, but without explaining what is or what it did to the Egyptians. For someone who has no knowledge of Egyptian society during that time, it will be really boring and confusing.
3. I like the ending, but it was surprising. I did not expect that or let's say that there was no indication that Elwan would do something like that.
Anyway, overall, the story was good and easy to read.
A significant testimony of modern Egyptian history.......2003-06-12
The Day the Leader Was Killed is a succinct but significant work in contemporary Egypt. Naguib Mahfouz, through his sober and lyrical prose, has skillfully woven one of the darkest political backdrops in Egyptian history into his novel. Sealing off the seventies and reaching the threshold of a new decade, President Anwar al-Sadat implemented the Infitah, an open-door economic policy that would expedite the country forward to modernization. Like many of Mahfouz's works, this story is told in alternating first-person narratives by three characters--Muhtashimi Zayed, a pious, retired family patriarch; his grandson Elwan Fawwaz Muhtashimi; and Elwan's strong-willed, beautiful fiancée Randa Sulayman Mubarak. The story builds upon around this middle-class family and through the family's perspective zooms a picture of the social, economic, religious, gender and interpersonal aspects of the larger society in Egypt. For the patriarch, who devoted his whole life to prayers and religious rituals, his life was nothing but loneliness. He was especially despondent that the younger generation drifted from the Koran to whose life made a substantial influence. The old man could not forget "the woes of the world" (25) when he thought of his beloved grandson. Randa, like all her female contemporaries, faced gender challenges and the clash between traditional values and modern ideals.
The novelette evokes the assassination of Egyptian president Anwar Sadat on October 6, 1981. Sadat was saluting troops at the annual military parade when a team of assassins began firing weapons and throwing grenades into the reviewing stand. Sadat, along with 20 others was instantly killed in the deadly attack. The underlying cause of the fatal massacre traced back to the Camp David Accords between Israel and Egypt in 1978, which led to a negotiated peace between the two countries in the following year. The historic agreement brought peace to Egypt but no prosperity. The economy still slumped with no trace of a turn-around. Poverty-stricken Muslims and Copts in Egypt rubbed in friction and exploded into some gruesome round of violence in the Cairo slum. This is the very socioeconomic backdrop on which Mahfouz adroitly set his novel. Like the Cairo Trilogy and many of his works, Mahfouz captures and chronicles the most crucial of his own times. 4.0 stars.
Three generations in modern Egypt.......2002-12-09
"The Day the Leader Was Killed," by Naguib Mahfouz, has been translated into English by Malak Mashem. The short author bio on the book's opening page notes that Mahfouz was born in Cairo, has received the Nobel Prize in literature, and "is the most prominent author of Arabic fiction published in English today."
This novel takes place during the "Infitah," an "open-door" economic policy in place under Egyptian President Sadat. The story is told in alternating first-person chapters by three characters: Muhtashimi Zayed, a retired old man; his grandson Elwan; and Elwan's fiancee, Randa. Both Elwan's and Randa's families face economic troubles, and the young couple faces uncertainty regarding their own future.
This novel is a fascinating look at modern Egyptian family life. I found it interesting that while the book deals with three generations of Egyptians, it is only characters from the youngest and oldest generations that actually "speak" directly to the reader. Mahfouz looks at the issues of gender, economics, religious faith, and family ties in the lives of these two families and the larger community. I was particularly moved by Mahfouz's portrayal of the old man's spiritual life; Muhtashimi Zayed is a Muslim in whose life the Quran is an important element. I was also intrigued by Mahfouz's exploration of the challenges faced by the modern young Arab woman, caught between contemporary ideals and traditionalism. Overall, a compelling multigenerational portrait.
Life In Egypt.......2001-02-08
Najib Mahfouz in his compact dry story details the hardships faced by the people of Egypt from the economic liberation. Intifah, Anwar Sadat's open-door economic policy has increased disparities between the rich and poor, creating havoc in lives of its citizens. In this economic meltdown is Fawad and his fiance Randa whose commitment for each other is tested by realities of times.
In a subtle undertone, this novel has reflections to the struggle faced by masses presently in the middle east. Interesting aspect of this novel are the personal battles faced between self righteousness vs corruption, advancements vs traditions.
Exercise your imagination.......2000-06-14
Once again, Mahfouz in THE DAY THE LEADER WAS KILLED gives us a great story reflecting contemporary life in Egypt. He captures the reader's mind and leads the reader to empathize with the sentiment and emotion of the characters who encounter life during the time of INFITAH.
Customer Reviews:
Great Pirate Read!.......2005-06-03
I love Pirate and sea going historicals. But even I know they all pretty much run along the same theme. So I was pleasantly surprise to read Cheryl Howe's The Pirate and The Puritan! The title jumps out of you and it doesn't stop there. The book itself is one of those you do not wish to put down till it is done. Felicity and Drew take us on one great voyage. Both characters are strong and endearing at the same time. This author is some one to watch!
Loved It!.......2005-04-07
A very enjoyable read.
I liked all of the characters and thought that the story line was good.
Drew was a sexy and kind leading man and Felicity was strong, yet compassionate to him.
I highly recommend this book.
Hot!!.......2003-12-10
Cheryl Howe writes a really great story with hot, steamy, belivable sex scenes. I read a lot and this is a really great read.
fine early eighteenth century high seas adventure romance.......2003-09-18
In 1721 Felicity Kendell lives a pious prim life overcoming a youthful indiscretion. She dresses in black and always turns to the Lord for guidance as any good Puritan should. However, her sense of adventure remains strong so she sails to Barbados to visit her father Benjamin, whom she had not seen in a few years.
Instead of a warm reunion, her father defiles the Lord asking why Felicity is not in Boston. Soon she meets his partners who have no Yankee ethics with the worst being the exasperating but gorgeous Lord Christian Andrews representing all the passion she has given up. She sneaks on Drew's ship to prove he is cruel, but instead finds a kind hearted individual bringing out the passion she buried.
Fans of early eighteenth high seas adventure romances will want to join the vast crew for the ride. The story line is fast-paced going at knots that usually means lack of characterizations, but Cheryl Howe also insures readers understand the motives of her lead protagonists. The myriad of secondary cast members is a solid supporting group though the extremes make some of the villains into abusive cartoon figures. Still fans will enjoy THE PIRATE AND THE PURITAN, just wear your life preserver and seat belt as this novel is moving.
Harriet Klausner
Book Description
In the 16th and 17th centuries, more and more Europeans came to America. Some sought freedom, but everbody wanted real estate: the French and Spanish, who fought over Florida; the English who landed in Jamestown, Virginia; the Pilgrims and Puritans who settled New England; the Dutch who thrived in New Amsterdam (New York). These colonists were here to stay--and the Native Americans, who were already living here, did everything they could to survive.
Average customer rating:
- Much better than people say
- A science-fictional Trojan horse
- a marvelous Dickian portrait of a man loosing touch
- Disappointing for a PKD work
- Doesn't quite come together
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We Can Build You
Philip K. Dick
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Galactic Pot-Healer
ASIN: 067975296X
Release Date: 1994-05-31 |
Book Description
Louis Rosen and his partners sell people--ingeniously designed, historically authentic simulacra of personages such as Edwin M. Stanton and Abraham Lincoln. The problem is that the only prospective buyer is a rapacious billionaire whose plans for the simulacra could land Louis in jail. Then there's the added complication that someone--or something--like Abraham Lincoln may not want to be sold.
Is an electronic Lincoln any less alive than his creators? Is a machine that cares and suffers inferior to the woman Louis loves--a borderline psychopath who does neither? With irresistible momentum, intelligence, and wit, Philip K. Dick creates an arresting techno-thriller that suggests a marriage of Bladerunner and Barbarians at the Gate.
Customer Reviews:
Much better than people say.......2004-11-08
I know it's not highly regarded among Dick readers, but this book is very unique and different than the others. The dark and quite humorous dialogue between characters (especially Pris' character) coupled with the wisdom of the Lincoln and intensity of Stanton make for an interesting read. Some might complain that the story doesn't go anywhere, but I would argue that it's not that different from the tradition of putting ordinary characters in insane, yet objectively amusing situations. The interactions, the dialogue, the whole setup, is strangely hilairious and dark but done in a fresh style that doesn't render it the least bit recycled. A good read.
A science-fictional Trojan horse.......2004-08-23
This is a transitional work between Dick's mainstream novels of the 1950s and the science fiction of the 1960s, as the science-fictional element is de-emphasized in favor of psychological themes. Written in 1962, its first book publication was not until 1972. Critics usually unfairly regard We Can Build You as an artistic failure because what seems to be the main plot of the book - the story of a company that produces simulacra, or lifelike androids of historical Civil War figures - bit by bit dissolves into exclusive focus on the narrator Louis Rosen's obsessive love for his partner's eighteen-year-old daughter, Pris Frauenzimmer. Certainly Dick will confound those expecting conventional narrative unity, for this is an experimental novel masquerading as straight science fiction. It's really kind of a Trojan horse, an sf cover on a book about desire, obsession, and madness. As Louis descends into schizophrenia, the center of interest shifts from the projection of human life on the inanimate through building simulacra, to the search for authentic human feeling within oneself.
a marvelous Dickian portrait of a man loosing touch.......2004-04-21
Lots of people seem not to care for this book, which (along with Flow My Tears... Dr. Bloodmoney and Deus Irae) is one of my favorites, hands down.
First of all- In this man's honest opinion, Phillip K. Dick is the ONE bona fide (as in Oh Brother- 'he's bona fide!') GENIUS of American letters, post-WWII. No one can match his breadth of vision, his uncanny ability to make his perceptions and dreams work while undermining one's sense of reality and existence as objective. He makes the lit-theory sci-fi jargonmeisters (Pynchon and Delillo, for example) look like the drivel-laden frauds they so clearly are; they write solely to ensure that lit-theory academics can continue their pointless little lives in their ivory towers and not have to work for a living- a relationship that works quite well for all involved, save those few elect that cherish honest literature... I see that damn blurb on many reviews of Dick's works- "The poor man's Pynchon,' what absolute tripe. In fact, Pynchon is the dickless man's Dick.
At any rate, ranting aside, this little novel, published around the time of the first centennial passing of our Civil War, concerns a man (Louis Rosen) who is drawn into a relationship with his business partner's daughter (Pris Frauenzimmer): a cold, spiteful, driven, vicious woman (Dick's prototypical 'dark-haired girl,' a theme that reoccurs throughout his fiction) who creates simulacra of historical personages. These people she creates- one Abe Lincoln, and one Edwyn M. Stanton (Lincoln's Secretary of War) represent two potential poles of human experience- Stanton quickly adapts to the new world and becomes a shrewd advisor to Rosen's company while Lincoln can't really adapt to the world or the fact that he's a robot version of himself. Lincoln eventually becomes an idiot savant/mentor to Louis, who gradually succumbs to insanity and loss...
It's an odd novel, not of the typical sci-fi adventure mode, and not your standard Dickian, hard-working everyman tries to figure out the nature of reality-type scenario. Still, it's an inimitably poignant little novel, one that ends abruptly and without much resolution. I really dig it. It also anticipates that buffoon Baudrilliard by about a quarter century.
Here, I love this quote; "It was as if Pris, to me, were both life itself - and anti-life, the dead, the cruel, the cutting and rending and yet also the spirit of existence itself. Movement: she was motion itself. Life in its growing, planning, calculating, harsh, thoughtless actuality. I could not stand having her around me; I could not stand being without her. Without Pris I dwindled away until I became nothing and eventually died like a bug in the back yard, unnoticed and unimportant; around her I was slashed, goaded, cut to pieces, stepped on - yet somehow I lived; in that, I was real. Did I enjoy suffering? No. It was that it seemed as if suffering was part of life, part of being with Pris. Without Pris there was no suffering, nothing erratic, unfair, unbalanced. But also, there was nothing alive, only small-time schlock schemes, a dusty little office with two or three men scrabbling in the sand..."
It's a novel about a man loosing himself and clinging to the one real thing he knows- being tormented by a beautiful enigma. I can relate if you can't...
Disappointing for a PKD work.......2003-04-19
I picked this book up in the hopes of reading another great story from Phillip K. Dick, but it was really disappointing. My previous favorites from him have been "The Man in the High Castle" and "Through a Scanner Darkly". This book has plot elements, but it's really not well put together or entertaining. The main characters aren't very interesting, and the love & rejection the protagonist gets from Pris is so strange, it's almost like Dick is forcing something that had happened to him into the story. Really, would not recommend this book to anyone.
Doesn't quite come together.......2002-09-08
As others have noted, WE CAN BUILD YOU has two main storylines which never really mesh. Two thirds into the book, the simulacra plotline is simply dropped & the remainder focuses on Louis Rosen's mental health & his 'relationship' with Pris. While Pris is the most coherently drawn character in the book, Rosen's infatuation is rather clumsily drawn & never quite believable. In addition, Rosen makes a somewhat bland protagonist--I found myself more sympathetic to Pris, even if she is a borderline sociopath.
A shame the simulacra (manufactured replicas of humans) plotline is abandoned, as it had real potential. In particular, the Edwin M. Stanton simulacrum was a fascinating character (more so than the Lincoln, as it doesn't come with our own preconceptions)--Dick could have taken that character & run with it. I might also note that Dick treats Pris rather harshly, considering this is a mentally ill 18-year-old girl. Hence my sympathy leaning toward her.
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We Can Build You
Philip K. Dick
Manufacturer: Daw
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ASIN: B000CQ5962 |
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Author is Hugo Award Winner. Cover art by John Schoenherr. "Give us the name and specifications -- and our man factory can do the rest."
Book Description
As we turn to a new millennium, futuristic thinking from the 20th Century is starting to look extremely dated. The commonplace assumptions of science fiction, newsweekly journalism, and professional futurists themselves have hardly been borne out. A very different beast has emerged since then--a new future at once more rapaciously cold in its capitalism, more dominated by moral or religious issues, and less certain of further technological progress. Where do we go from here? The role of science in our future has changed enormously. Politicians of all kinds used to think that natural science would magically solve problems like the economics of energy, the burgeoning numbers of elderly, and the conquest of outer space. Science sat on a pedestal. No more. Jeremiads like The Limits to Growth shocked many in the mid-1970s. Few realized that such dysphoric fashions would soon become dominant. Whole political movements like the Greens have emerged, heady blends of bad science and Marxist nostalgia. The Future has changed from technocratic playground to theatre of conflict. Science has had its gleaming white coat splattered with the blood and feces of various angry groups. We assert the right, and the responsibility, of scientists to offer well-considered opinions about the major issues of the new century. We cannot stand aside, comfortable in our labs and seminars. We offer a clear vision of science in our future, as opposed to the hysterical distractions that the media now spews. We bring a tough-minded attitude to the ongoing squabbles. We debunk the irrational, the sanctimonious, and the posturing. We will focus on three major theaters of conflict and give them a solid going over, thinking about the huge prospects before us: 1) The use of our solar system for human welfare, including Planet Earth. 2) The 21st Century revolution in biotechnology of medical value. 3) The relationship between science and contemporary culture.
Customer Reviews:
Once Upon a Time all roads led to Rome. When stem cells sail `round the horn of plenty, a yellow brick road will lead us home........2006-12-28
In WE CAN BUILD YOU, varying angles of biological issues (and tissues) were brought forth with an artistic finesse which was part horrifying, part glamorous. That finesse was worked through two interjections:
1. References to Mary Shelly's Frankenstein (which made me want to reread the original novel).
2. A brief history of body-buffing biology alternated with italicized snippets of a hypothetical guy whose life was extended by body parts replaced or repaired over a period of years, until the ultimate "fix" was forthcoming.
Questions about where to draw lines brought me to ask, "If I could, would I partake of "out there" medical procedures?" Of course, lack of means would be the first moot point.
What I've appreciated most about articles in this series (those which I've reviewed, GODS & SCIENCE, MOTES IN GOD'S EYE, HIGH FRONTIER) is that they've provided information allowing my mind to rise above the weight, drudgery, and dread in presently solidified societies. The lift was enough to seed hope for a future which could realistically arrive through labors of the scientific community.
The style of these pieces created a tangible perspective blended with palpable anticipation, resulting in reading material which was approachable, intriguing, and ultimately refreshing.
I came away from WE CAN BUILD YOU concluding that I would not want to have a liver transplant under today's deals; yet I came away with hope that a simple, possibly affordable procedure in the future might be worth the non-monitory costs. Currently for me (and possibly for physicians themselves), many medical options using surgical or chemical intrusions seem too complex, too brutally uncivilized, too far from anything which feels natural, to be able to take physical or spiritual comfort in use of them. However, this article gave a welcome sense of a positive direction which might return healing arts and sciences to an alignment with a universal flow of natural process, which would honor body/soul connections rather than cause a ragged splitting.
I'm speaking of something less structured than formalized religion versions of soul/body links, though I believe that even some of the more severe within those viewpoints might be pleasantly surprised to be able to align without spiritual loss, with some of the possibilities to come in these fields. I'm not sure how I got that feeling from reading WE CAN BUILD YOU, because this article did not paint a hyped or pretty picture of the history of, nor of the present offerings in any body rebuild "deals."
Yet, as noted, I did feel a lifting hope somewhere amidst this history of broken bones, spilled blood, and spewed carnage.
What I want to avoid losing is the right (and the means) to choose to leave my physical life, to rise on wings of soul to a different, lighter, kinder way of being, to rejoin spirits of my loved ones (and to go with my soul mate). I'm not sure if I'd want to stay here forever, even in a body able to continue functioning with ease and grace, by whatever means. I'm not sure I want to take the "long way home" ... to evolve (walk?), with feet-on-the-ground, from "here" directly into what might be seen as a heaven (from whence we came?).
Here's a far fetched fantasy for you:
Maybe we'll one day have various options of "heavens" and various means of getting there, from a continuum of physical evolution, manipulation, transplantation, and transformation; to a type of immediate, personal, individual "ascension" (or astral projection). I mean, metaphysics exists, too.
I've been concluding my reviews of this series with references to Hegel, the largely misunderstood German philosopher. Here, I'll speculate that one day a healing SYNTHESIS might occur in human (re)construction (with options to retain that which is beyond the body, yet belongs with it). At the moment, we appear to be embroiled in an ANTITHESIS of almost everything. Maybe science is part of an ever-evolving THESIS, or maybe it's aligned with the continual ANTITHESIS.
According to Hegel's DIALECTICAL MATERIALISM, life is in an evolution of growth and consciousness, through a sequential trilogy of motion: THESIS, ANTITHESIS, SYNTHESIS. Looking from a certain angle, Hegel might be seen as an ultimate optimist; he may even have worn Rose Tints! However, the stages of ANTITHESIS have been too often brutally UGLY, with suffering and carnage. I keep hoping it's "Time for an Easy Spree." (See Ravenova's Review on my novel, THE ROSE AND THE PYRAMID).
Various Versions of Oz, can you hear me now?
Linda G. Shelnutt
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Music Trades, published by Music Trades Corp. on January 1, 2004. The length of the article is 2252 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: With the ability to produce any and every type of guitar imaginable, ESP guitar management isn't kidding when they say: "if you can dream it, we can build it!" Now the renowned custom builder is setting its sights on the rest of the market.(Company Profile)
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Music Trades (Magazine/Journal)
Date: January 1, 2004
Publisher: Music Trades Corp.
Volume: 151
Issue: 12
Page: 128(6)
Distributed by Thomson Gale
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Paperbacks
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We Can Build You
Philip K. DICK
Manufacturer: Panther Granada Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000KP0N34 |
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We Can Build You
Philip K. Dick
Manufacturer: Severn House Publishers Ltd.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000MVRISO |
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We Can Build You
Manufacturer: D A W Books, Incorporated
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000GS5NTE |
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We Can Build You
Philip K. DICK
Manufacturer: Daw Books, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
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ASIN: B000KRR8NA |
Average customer rating:
- There's scholarship and there's scholarship
- Interesting idea, but is it trustworthy scholarship?
- Made a big impression on me!
- Well Written
- pleasure at leisure
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Socrates, Buddha, Confucius, Jesus: From The Great Philosophers, Volume I
Karl Jaspers
Manufacturer: Harvest/HBJ Book
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ASIN: 0156835800 |
Amazon.com
Arguably the four most influential individuals in human history, Socrates, the Buddha, Confucius and Jesus have cast shadows on history that are nearly inescapable even today. Who were they, what were their doctrines, and what was their influence? These are some of the questions that the 20th-century philosopher Karl Jaspers explores in this short excerpt from his larger volume, Great Philosophers.
Book Description
A part of JaspersÂ's planned universal history of philosophy, focusing on the four paradigmatic individuals who have exerted a historical influence of incomparable scope and depth. Edited by Hannah Arendt; Index. Translated by Ralph Manheim.
Customer Reviews:
There's scholarship and there's scholarship.......2003-08-22
The previous reviewer, in reminding us of recent scholarship on Jesus and the Gospel tradition, raises several pertinent considerations. Jaspers' book generally reflects the more modern scholarship that has focused increasingly on certain parallel sayings in Matthew and Luke as "Q Gospel" remnants and on the earliest Vaticanus and Sinaiticus manuscripts of the earliest extant Gospel, Mark. Yet recent similarly focused studies on the other three paradigmatic figures covered here don't seem reflected in Jaspers' book to the same extent. Personally, I am not as disturbed as the previous reviewer may be by applying modern scholarship to the Gospels. Rather, what I miss is the same strictness applied to the other three written traditions. Confucius, for example, is eventually described as having held high office only when we get to relatively late texts in the Confucian tradition. Yet Jaspers accepts this description of him without question. In fact, if, as Jaspers does by inference in his Jesus chapter, we are to set some of what we read in the Gospel of John aside, then oughtn't we set aside similar texts describing Confucius as having had conspicuous political success? If the "Q Gospel" passages in Matthew/Luke and the earliest manuscript tradition for Mark are to be highlighted as delineations of the "historical Jesus", then only Chapters 3 through 9 of the Analects of Confucius, generally regarded as the earliest stratum of Confucian text, should be the primary basis for the kind of modern philosophical scrutiny Jaspers purports to offer. Jaspers' Confucius chapter does not confine itself to the kind of wandering, almost homeless, figure found in these seven earliest chapters. To be consistent, shouldn't it? While it's useful for Jaspers, at the outset of his Buddha chapter, to single out the Digha-Nikaya collection as the earliest stratum of Buddha sermons, the rest of the Buddha chapter goes well beyond the Digha-Nikaya collection, even flirting occasionally with Buddha traditions lying outside the Pali tradition, let alone the Digha-Nikaya collection! There's nothing inherently wrong with this, but it becomes inconsistent in the light of Jaspers' tacit adoption of certain tenets of modern historical criticism in his Jesus chapter. (To do Jaspers justice, he never explicitly offers quite the detailed textual background on the Gospel tradition that I attempt here.) What, IMO, might prove a more creditable effort -- since I would agree that these four figures indeed emerge as the most strongly verified human beings in history to live an essentially blameless life oriented toward an entirely self-made, and therefore inherently courageous, ethic -- would be a survey based exclusively on those fifteen or so sermons in the Digha-Nikaya regarded by modern scholars as the earliest for Buddha, on Chapters 3 through 9 of the Analects for Confucius, on the earliest, least "spun", Plato dialogues, such as the Charmides, the Hippias Minor, the Euthyphro, the Apology and the Crito, for Socrates, and on the Vaticanus/Sinaiticus Mark tradition plus the "Q" passages in Matthew/Luke for Jesus. It is unfortunate that Jaspers' book, with all its modern trappings (not in itself a bad thing, IMO), fails to do this rigorously. Hence, my three-star rating. Jaspers should be given credit, though, for a worthwhile start at the important task of evaluating perhaps the four finest human beings ever to walk this earth.
Interesting idea, but is it trustworthy scholarship?.......2002-11-14
Karl Jaspers has undertaken an interesting study in the little book. He looks at the teachings of four men who have had the most far-reaching impact on our world. He claims that the greatness of their influence is measured in centuries as well as globally. The four great men he chose for this book are, as the title suggests, Socrates, Buddha, Confucius and Jesus. He entertained the thought of including Mohammed but chose not to. He explains that Mohammed "might be comparable in historical importance but not in individual depth (p. 87)." One other interesting insight comes from Jaspers on the same page. We have no writings from any of the four themselves - what we do have comes from their disciples after they died.
So much for the interesting, now for the question of trustworthiness.
Jaspers examined the biblical accounts of Jesus through the lens of higher criticism. In other words, Jaspers did not deal with the biblical text itself when he studied Jesus, he dealt with the text after sifting through what others thought was truly the teaching of Jesus. The reason this poses a problem is important to all readers, not merely to Christians. If he did not take the teachings of Jesus (as recorded by his disciples) at face value, did he take the teachings of Socrates, Buddha and Confucius (as recorded by their disciples) at face value? Is the reader really getting Socrates, Buddha, Confucius and Jesus, or is the reader getting Karl Jaspers? Knowing the aspects of Jesus' teachings that have been ignored in this study, and their importance to understanding Jesus' view of himself and the world around him, makes me wonder what we may have lost, in this study, from the other three great men included here.
This book is a very interesting idea. But, is it trustworthy scholarship? Not in my humble opinion. However, those who do not wish to sift through the original writings will inevitably want to read Jasper's abridgement of those writings. This may be to the readers' benefit, or to their detriment.
Made a big impression on me!.......2002-01-09
Aside from being an intelligently written book, I gave this book 5 stars because it made a big impression on me. Jaspers explanation of Confucius made the strength of Confucious's teaching clear. Now I'm very interested in Confucious and am reading more books about him. In that respect, this slim volume changed my life: It brought Confucious to life. What's more, by explaining Confucius's feelings about Taoism, this slim book did more to explain classic Taoism than the 2 books on the Tao I've already read.
Be aware that this book is due to the editing of Hannah Arendt. This means that Jaspers did not put this book out and say "Ta Da, the 4 Greatest!" No, Jaspers wrote a 2 volume book on the great philosophers due to his post War interest in increasing tolerance among men (per the Encyclopedia Britanica). This book does not appear to have any noticable Existentialist influence.
Finally, if you are a fundamentalist Christian, be warned that it is clear from his writing that Jaspers does not believe that Jesus is the Son of God, nor does he believe the Bible is free of error. He is not disrespectful of Jesus nor of Christianity, but do not think that because Jesus is in this book that the book is strongly pro-Jesus.
Well Written.......2000-10-14
This book is a joy to read. Jaspers has a real talent for breaking down complex thoughts into detailed, easy to read format. Jaspers presents a broad overview that should be attractive to newcomers. More advanced readers will appreciate his style and his refreshing perspective.
pleasure at leisure.......2000-07-26
This is a short reflection of different philosophers which can give you a glimpse of their thoughts living and effect of them on social set ups at that time. Book is written in a very simple language but mostly the names of cities are confusing and it would have been helpful if with every city there would have been a hint of geographical location . Some places it is there and mostly the place is left just with a distorted name. Overall readable book in free time but I doubt if it is worth of serious thought.
Books:
- The Friendly Snowflake
- The Funeral Party: A Novel
- The Gates of Sleep (Elemental Masters, Book 2)
- The Groves of Academe
- The Hiding Place: A Novel
- The Hinterlands: A Mountain Tale in Three Parts
- The Iceweaver: A Novel
- The Irwin Allen Scrapbook Volume 2: Lost in Space, Land of the Giants
- The Lost Legends of New Jersey
- The Man Who Planted Trees, 20th Anniversary
Books Index
Books Home
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Adrift on the Nile
Children of the Alley: A Novel
The Cairo Trilogy: Palace Walk, Palace of Desire, Sugar Street (Everyman's Library)
Voices from the Other World: Ancient Egyptian Tales
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