The Fourth Treasure

Average customer rating:

An enjoyable read, but ...

An unusual book

A beautiful and disturbing look into the mind.

Simply Wonderful!

Beautifully written and illustrated!

The Fourth Treasure
Todd Shimoda
Manufacturer: Vintage
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0099445077

Book Description

Illustrated throughout with beautiful calligraphy, The Fourth Treasure is an original, surprising novel that weaves a suspenseful love story across and through two very different countries, cultures, and generations.

Tina Suzuki has just begun her first year of graduate study at the UC Berkeley Institute for Brain and Behavior Studies. Born and raised in San Francisco by her Japanese immigrant mother, Tina knows nothing about the rest of her family, and very little about her cultural heritage. But when her boyfriend’s Japanese calligraphy teacher suffers a stroke and loses his ability to communicate but continues to create magnificent calligraphic art, Tina knows she has stumbled across an ideal research subject.

However, getting the sensei to participate in her study poses a series of uncomfortable obstacles for Tina: the jealous opposition of her boyfriend, the political and (romantic) minefield of dealing with her professors and fellow students, and the willful reticence of her ailing mother. It seems that the blank personal history her mother had always presented is in fact a tightly wound scroll full of scandalous secrets. In ways she could have never expected, Tina’s studies will inevitably lead to revelations about her own family.

Juxtaposed with Tina’s story is that of the stricken sensei as a younger man, in Kyoto, and the history of the ancient inkstone he carries with him. The inkstone’s history, and the sensei’s art, reach back hundreds of years into a Japanese culture that no longer exists but that continues to reverberate on both sides of the Pacific.

As the dual narratives unfold, they are enhanced by intriguing marginalia that illuminate both the sensei’s Japanese calligraphy and Tina’s studies of the brain.

The result is a unique, unusually satisfying literary experience.

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Tina Suzuki has just begun her first year of graduate study at the UCBerkeley Institute for Brain and Behavior Studies. Born and raised inSan Francisco by her Japanese immigrant mother, Tina knows nothing aboutthe rest of her family, and very little about her cultural heritage. Butwhen her boyfriend's Japanese calligraphy teacher suffers a stroke andloses his ability to communicate but continues to create magnificentcalligraphic art, Tina knows she has stumbled across an ideal researchsubject.

However, getting the sensei to participate in her study poses a seriesof uncomfortable obstacles for Tina: the jealous opposition of herboyfriend, the political and (romantic) minefield of dealing with herprofessors and fellow students, and the willful reticence of her ailingmother. It seems that the blank personal history her mother had alwayspresented is in fact a tightly wound scroll full of scandalous secrets.In ways she could have never expected, Tina's studies will inevitablylead to revelations about her own family.

Juxtaposed with Tina's story is that of the stricken sensei as a youngerman, in Kyoto, and the history of the ancient inkstone he carries withhim. The inkstone's history, and the sensei's art, reach back hundredsof years into a Japanese culture that no longer exists but thatcontinues to reverberate on both sides of the Pacific.

As the dual narratives unfold, they are enhanced by intriguingmarginalia that illuminate both the sensei's Japanese calligraphy andTina's studies of the brain.

The result is a unique, unusually satisfying literary experience.

Customer Reviews:

An enjoyable read, but ..........2005-03-22

I really enjoyed the novel plot line and characters. I also loved the organization of the novel - starting in the present with flash backs from time to time. And I loved the calligraphy. However, all the characters are very wooden and remind me of the stereotypical Japanese character, where you never know what they are thinking or why they do something. While I could understand some of the reasons certain characters did certain things from the aspect of Japanese societal rules - such as why Hanako feared retribution by her husband - I think this really needs to be made clearer and explored further in order to be understood and appreciated by an international readership. Otherwise the reader is just left wondering - "Why on earth would they do that?!".

An unusual book.......2004-06-22

The Fourth Treasure is a novel with strong elements of Japanese writing and neuroscience. If you are interested in either, or both, you should read it. However, unfortunately, while the storyline is interesting, the book has serious flaws in characterization. Most of the characters don't really come alive - they are flat.

A beautiful and disturbing look into the mind........2003-03-14

Todd Shimoda does it again in his second novel. Like his first book, 365 View of Mt. Fuji, this novel easily segues between the 17th and the 21st centuries. 4th Treasure is so interesting because it is a mystery and a love story, a treatise of the workings of the brain and a step into the unknown mysteries of the mind, a study of both living in the past and denying ones roots. The characters are vivid and believable. Many of the characters lead tragic lives, but this tragedy is intermixed with some really funny plot twists. Without spoiling the story, I loved the way Shimoda tied things up at the end without making a very pretty package. Finally, the beautiful calligraphy created by, L J C Shimoda is stunning. It is especially notable since much of it represents the twisted and confused thoughts of the Sensei after his stroke and so is not traditional calligraphy at that point. The book is beautiful to look at and a compelling read.

Simply Wonderful!.......2002-05-09

This elegantly illustrated and beautifully written book is one I would highly recommend to anyone who loves to be lost in a good story, strong characters and an unforgettable read. Although the book was just released, I cannot wait to read another by this author! You'll love it.

Beautifully written and illustrated!.......2002-05-01

Todd Shimoda's "The Fourth Treasure" is simply the most beautiful book to come across my desk in years. The story is innovative and inventive, and the illustrations add depth and insight to the narrative of old cultures, new science and human striving. The Shimodas (L.J.C. Shimoda, Todd's wife, illustrated the book with her beautiful calligraphy and abstract work) have created a work of art that you'll be proud to put on your shelf with the rest of your classics. Nan A. Talese and Doubleday should be commended for the classy presentation of this wonderful work.

Donald B. Tresidder, Stanford's overlooked treasure: A biography of the University's fourth president

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Donald B. Tresidder, Stanford's overlooked treasure: A biography of the University's fourth president
Edwin Kiester
Manufacturer: Stanford Historical Society
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0006OV202

The Fourth Floor Girls: Buried Treasure (Fourth Floor Girls)

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The Fourth Floor Girls: Buried Treasure (Fourth Floor Girls)
Leah Klein
Manufacturer: Targum Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Monks and Merchants: Silk Road Treasures from Northwest China Gansu and Ningxia Provinces, Fourth-Seventh Century

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A big book: art, history, and geography

Monks and Merchants: Silk Road Treasures from Northwest China Gansu and Ningxia Provinces, Fourth-Seventh Century
Annette L. Juliano , Judith A. Lerner , and Michael Alram
Manufacturer: HNA Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The Silk Road: Two Thousand Years in the Heart of Asia

ASIN: 0878480897

Amazon.com

Monks and Merchants: Silk Road Treasures from Northwest China is a saga of cultural exchange on a grand scale during the lawless period between the Han and Sui dynasties. Accompanying a traveling exhibition organized by the Asia Society in New York, this book reproduces more than 200 objects in clay, metal, and glass from the fourth through seventh centuries. They document new concepts of Chinese identity, including Buddhism (imported by Indian monks), horseback riding (from nomadic tribesmen, patrons of the Buddhists), and non-native stylistic motifs and materials (introduced by Sogdian merchants, émigrés from present-day Iran). The big payoff came in the Tang dynasty, famed for its artistic use of foreign imagery and techniques. But a number of noteworthy pieces date from this period of disunity, including a clay statue of Kasyapa, Buddha's oldest disciple, who sports a hawklike "foreigner's" nose. Scholarly yet gracefully written, this groundbreaking volume is itself a treasure. --Cathy Curtis

Book Description

Stunning works in precious metals, glass, and stone--many recently excavated and virtually unknown outside China--shed new light on a pivotal epoch in Chinese history. From the 4th through 7th century, monks and merchants freely traveled along the fabled Silk Road, linking China with the west, propagating Buddhism, and purveying exotic goods and artifacts that fundamentally transformed Chinese culture and society.

This sumptuous volume, the first to explore the magnificent treasures and sites of China's northwest section of the Silk Road, accompanies an exhibition at the Asia Society in New York. The text by an international team of scholars illuminates the importance of the region in this period of fertile cross-cultural exchanges between Eastern and Western Asia.

375 pictures, 232 in color.

Customer Reviews:

A big book: art, history, and geography.......2003-11-27

Most of the items in this book were found in a single province of China a thousand miles long and fifty miles wide, next to the border with Inner Mongolia, extending to the northwest end of the great wall of China near Dunhuang. Map 2 on page 24 shows locations where objects in an exhibit that was shown in New York at the Asian Society Museum in 2001 and in Palm Beach, Florida in 2002 were originally found. There was not much jade in the collection, but the reclining ram shown on page 75, about six inches long, has some interesting color variations. A jade hairpin, less than an inch wide and about three inches long, is shown on page 115. A smaller jade hairpin is shown on page 262.

This book documents many unique features of this area of China, including a picture of the face of a massive seventy-five foot Tang Buddha in Dunhuang's Cave 130 (photo on p. 35 by Annette L. Juliano).

The most interesting natural feature in the book is Maijishan Mountain, near the city of Tianshui at the southeastern end of Gansu, shown in a picture on page 118 and described as Cornrick Mountain on page 119, with a line drawing showing the features on the outer face of the lower part of the mountain on page 135. The photo on page 134 shows the bottom side of steps, platforms, and railings built into the smooth wall of the mountain, with no supports coming down to the ground below. In fact, the picture on page 118 shows the ground so far below the connected platforms that a zoom lens must have been used for the picture on page 134 even if the picture was taken from the top of a tree. The description in the book is apt:

"Fig. 14. Maijishan is a stunning haystack-shaped mountain that rises 142 meters and is honey-combed with caves filled with sculptures, stelae, and paintings, of which 194 survive. (photo: Annette L. Juliano)."

There are at least two sculptures in this book of Buddhist disciple Kasyapa, a sandstone statue with a large round head, shown on page 200, and one from Cave 87, Maijishan stone grottoes (object number 62), an old man with drooping eyebrows and deep creases in his forehead, shown on pages 14, 137 and 180, "marked here as a foreigner by the beaklike nose." (p. 137). The bronze figure in a dervish dress on the back cover, shown and discussed on pages 254-255, also has a nose that a parrot might identify with.

The bronze horses shown on pages 38 and 39 are both showing their teeth and looking sprightly. The clay figures shown on pages 65, 88-93, 102, and 106-110, look a bit lumpy and don't show much spirit, but the conglomeration is a great preparation for the clay hens and chicken coop found in a tomb in the western suburbs of Guyuan, Ningxia, of a man and wife who died in 569 and 547, shown on page 111. The same tomb had a glass bowl that had been made in a mold in Sasanian Persia, shown on page 97, found with a silver ewer that is discussed on pages 98-100.

Chapters 6 and 7, The Merchant Empire of the Sogdians, and The Sogdians in Their Homeland, covers an area east of the Aral Sea including Samarkand and Tashkent, far west of China. Chapter 8, Sogdians in Northwest China, has a photo of a tumulus and some information about tombs, then "A rare depiction of the Zoroastrian funerary rite, the sagdid, from a marble funerary couch, second half of the sixth--early seventh century, Northern dynasties, Sui dynasty." (p. 244, Fig. 6).

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The Treasure Chest of Literature for Fourth Year, Complete
Charles G; Kehoe, Edward J.; Hornstein, Ig Eichel
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000L3CC9I

Average customer rating:
The Treasure Chest of Literature: Fourth Year, First Half
Edward J. Kehoe and Ignus O. Hornstein Charles G. Eichel
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000MS06EA

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The Treasures and Pleasures of Thailand

Highly reccomended

The Treasures and Pleasures of Thailand (Fourth Edition) (Impact Guides)
Ron Krannich
Manufacturer: Impact Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Shopping & Commerce | Reference | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
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Nancy Chandler's Map of Chiang Mai

ASIN: 1570230765

Book Description

Exploring major regions and exotic countries of the world, the authoritative Impact Guides take today's discerning travelers into the fascinating worlds of artisans, craftspeople, shopkeepers, and fine hotels, restaurants, and sightseeing. These unique guides show travelers how to have a wonderful time discovering quality products, outstanding buys, and talented, interesting, and friendly people. Jam-packed with travel tips, bargaining strategies, and recommended shops, hotels, and restaurants, the Impact Guides represent some of the most exciting travel writing today. These books especially appeal to discriminating travelers who seek quality travel experience that go beyond the standard descriptive guidebooks.

Customer Reviews:

The Treasures and Pleasures of Thailand.......2006-03-01

This book was very well written and helpfull. However we found some of the information out of date. Thailand, especially Bangkok has an economy flourishing right now. The price of the 5 star hotels the book recommends may be a deal by New York or San Francisco standards they seemed very expensive to me. One should carefully consider the recommendations made by the book. The book does a good job of identifing quality, but does not differentiate value for the dollar. We thought our best shopping was through our own efforts. But perhaps thats was the best part of the experience.

Highly reccomended.......2001-07-04

I enjoyed reading this book -it was informative, descriptive and very useful during my travels to Thailand. I would reccomend it for anyone traveling to Thailand, as well as anyone interested in learning more about the Thai culture and kingdom.

The Treasures of Simple Living and Radical Simplicity and the Fourth Step

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The Treasures of Simple Living and Radical Simplicity and the Fourth Step
Tyra Arraj , and James Arraj
Manufacturer: Inner Growth Books and Videos, LLC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 0914073141

Book Description

Introduction to The Treasures of Simple Living

Introduction

Our future was set out for us: full-time jobs, mortgage payments for the next 20 years, and retirement at 65. Our children would go to school and we would see them as much as our busy schedules allowed. But such a future held no attraction for us. So we packed up, left it all behind and drove into the unknown. Our journey took us beyond the electric lines, telephone, paved roads and television. We built our own house, grew salads year-round in a solar greenhouse, and taught our children at home, all in the midst of a forest where the nearest neighbors are wild animals, and the snow gets four feet deep.

The inconveniences were soon forgotten in the joys of living under our own roof, watching our children blossom, and discovering abilities we never knew we had. The simplicity took away economic pressures and gave us time to search for life's deeper meanings.

PART I explains why we left the city, how we solved the problem of earning a living and what we went through once we bought a piece of land in the middle of a forest.

PART II tells about the treasures we found in our simple life, and why our experiment paid us back a thousand-fold.

PART III describes common obstacles to creating a new lifestyle closer to nature, and some important skills that helped us along the way.

We published The Treasures of Simple Living in 1987, and have left it here much as it first appeared. Radical Simplicity and the Fourth Step updates that story, but more importantly, tries to describe and distill how living in the forest changed the way we saw the world we had grown up in, and convinced us a better way of living was possible. Jim and Tyra, the forest, Summer 2004

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Fast-paced thriller

Outstanding

AWESOME beach read!

Treasures of the Fourth Reich
Patrick Parker
Manufacturer: Bamboo Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0972261044

Book Description

It was one of the greatest crimes of the century... Grand museums and families lost countless valuables and works of art to Nazi lootings in what has been called "the rape of Europa." Parker's story begins just outside the Bavarian salt mines as the American and Russian armies are closing in. Amid the chaos, SS officers scramble to hide ill-gotten treasures that will finance the "Fourth Reich." Only a precious journal detailing an inventory of treasure caches around the Tirol holds a clue. Fifty years later, the hunt for Europe's lost art falls to a husband and wife team who become entangled in this web of stolen treasures. Dix and Maria Connor face down a secret and deadly network trafficking in Titians, Bruegels and remnants of Peter the Great's magnificent Amber Room. From northeast Italy to Brussels, these amateur detectives risk everything to right the wrongs of history. Criss-cross Europe's past and present in this thinking man's action novel.

Customer Reviews:

Fast-paced thriller.......2005-10-04

A very entertaining and fast-paced suspense novel that interweaves real persons and events with a fictional plotline that is quite plausible. The book is built upon a genuine historical question: what happened to various works of art pilfered (or rumored to have been) by the Nazis during World War II? When present-day (fictional) people stumble upon part of the answer, the action begins. As someone who reads non-fiction almost exclusively, I did not expect to become as engrossed in this work as I did.

Outstanding.......2005-08-21

A interesting book and very creatively written, filled with intrigue and excitement. Good use of Art History and military intrigue.
Highly recommend this author!!

AWESOME beach read!.......2005-08-21

I could not put it down!! Full of twists & turns; action packed. Definitely a recommended read.

Treasures of the Louvre. From the Fourth Millennium B.C. to the Dawn of the Renaissance -and- From the Renaissance to Impressionism. 2 volumes

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Treasures of the Louvre. From the Fourth Millennium B.C. to the Dawn of the Renaissance -and- From the Renaissance to Impressionism. 2 volumes
Jean, pref. Charbonneaux
Manufacturer: Putnam's Sons
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000ITP4KY

Book Description

A great working of Wild Magic and High Magic strikes at the heart of the Demon Queen’s plots, but the human city, the Golden City of the Bells, falls farther under her sway with each day that passes. And without the City’s High Magicians, the Wild Magicians, the Elven Army, and all their allies will surely fall before the onslaught of the Demon Queen’s malignant warriors.

But all hope is not lost. The Light’s young mages, tempered by war, grow ever more powerful. High Mage Cilarnen learns an ancient secret that can make him, for a brief, white-hot time, the greatest mage in the world—unless it kills him.

Jermayan, the first Elf-Mage in centuries, has linked with the dragon Ancaladar and rediscovered the swift-as-thought powers of Elven magic, which can reshape mountains and summon lightning from clear skies.

Knight-Mage Kellen has molded his troops and the Unicorn Knights into a deadly fighting force. Soon the Elven King and his Commanders put Kellen’s magical gifts to their greatest test, in the final battle between the Elves, the humans, and the Demons.

Customer Reviews:

Deadly dull.......2007-10-11

I enjoyed the first two books and have been a Lackey fan for quite some time, having read a number of her books ranging from the Bard books to Valdemar to Elemental Masters to Diana Tregarde to stand-alone novels. This novel and the latest of the fairy godmother books (Fortune's Fool) are among the weakest and most boring stories she's written. I was terribly disappointed in this one and could not even bring myself to finish more than half of it!

Amazing and unexped conclusion.......2007-07-09

WOW! Hard to put down! The characters and plots were well developed throughout this trillogy. This was an amazing conclusion that wraped up the continuing stories nicely. While additional volumes could be written about several of the characters, each story was wrapped-up in a way that does not require additional explalation, you may want more, but you don't need it to feel things are closed. A new chapter for this world is ready to begin, but it would be the begining of a new era, not a continuation of this one.

When Darkness Falls (The Obsidian Trilogy, Book 3).......2007-06-12

I ordered it for my boyfriend.......he gives it 5 stars!

Strong trilogy ending.......2007-06-10

Although the ending employed a kind of deus ex machina to end things, which rushed the ending (uh-oh, down to the last 40 pages, better wrap this up!!), this book was overall a nice solid ending to a very good sword and sorcery trilogy. When faced with the impending fall of Armethaliah to the Demons, Kellen must convince the Elven king - who is deathly ill with the plague - to move the army to the City of Bells in order for him to have a chance to attempt to convince the High Mages to side with the Allies over the Endarkened, despite the propaganda being constantly poured into the Arch-Mage's (and the people's) ears by Anigrel - the pawn of the Demon Queen. A climactic battle scene is followed by a typical soul-searching by the surviving warrior hero and the ending brought a couple of pleasant surprises.

Overall, I was pleased with the ending to the trilogy. A strong recommend from me for the whole series.

Because I cannot resist a good nit-pick when I find one: in the hardcover edition published by Tor, copyright 2006 (I'm fairly certain it is the first hardcover edition, though it is not specifically stated) on page 274, Kellen tells Shalkan that Jermayan has told him that Andoreniel is sick - despite that fact that the reverse was true. Kellen was the one who first became aware of Andoreniel's illness and told one of his knights, who went to tell the Army's General - Jermayan did not know until Kellen told him. After this one instance, the telling reverts back to the original form.

Good stuff...and some problems fixed too!.......2007-06-08

When Darkness Falls is the wonderfully entertaining conclusion to Lackey's and Mallory's Obsidian Trilogy, the story of a world largely dominated by three independent schools of magic and their respective practitioners. It continues and concludes the story of good versus evil set forth in the first two volumes and even manages to do away with a number of stylistic and editing problems present in those first two books.

While not the kind of deep, emotionally engaging stuff as George R. R. Martin's ASOIAF series, you will still find in this series a wonderfully entertaining story that will keep you engaged and interested. The reading is fun and light, with all the familiar fantasy elements that stretch your imagination and draw you into a world a little outside of the ordinary.

As a stand-alone, this book is in my opinion, the best of the trilogy, having eliminated-as mentioned before- many of the stylistic and editing problems that plagued the first two while managing to maintain the story and action level precedent that had been set.

Only two real negatives here: First of all, you will find very little to surprise you in this book as the author tends to "tip her hand" prior to an event taking place, essentially "telling you what she's going to tell you just before she tells you." For example, it is difficult to be in suspense over the fate of a character when just before the pivotal scene you are told "But what bob didn't know, was that he wouldn't live to see tomorrow." This, of course, is an example as there are no characters named "bob", but you get the idea. Secondly, the main conflict of the book was resolved rather hastily in my opinion. The buildup to the climax had me prepared for quite an event, and while there was some material there to satisfy my expectation, it felt rather protracted and brief.

For pure entertainment value, you will not be disappointed. The light and fun feel is refreshing as well. All in all, I highly recommend the entire series.

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Under the Yoke

Captivating, but still fiction.

The most terrifying dystopia since 1984.

A better than average alternate history thriller

Engrossing,horrifying,and thought provoking.

Under the Yoke
Stirling , and S. M. Stirling
Manufacturer: baen
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Stirling, S.M. | ( S ) | Authors, A-Z | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
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Customer Reviews:

Under the Yoke.......2007-01-10

Very good series. I bought this one to replace the one I gave away after purchasing the 3-in-1 version. That version left out a lot of the subhistory that is in the individual novels.

Captivating, but still fiction........2003-06-06

Under The Yoke is pretty much a spy novel, but it deepens into the culture of the Draka. This is where Americans might think of them as evil.

However, there are some cultural/historial discrepancies. Although some things may have changed, like years how long the WW 2 was (Eurasian War for the Draka), and the description of Hitler. But I don't think things would have been remotely similar. For one, Americans, Australians, and other British-born colony/nations have evolved independently but are more alike than not. If there was a Domination of the Draka, I would believe they'd have been like us, not as bad as the series turned them out to be. I have a hard time thinking of an England that would have let their colony become so twisted as they did, slaughtering locals and enslaving them, calling them 'serfs'. I also have a hard time believing anyone would have the idiotic sense to ally with the Draka as they were. Those nations the Draka didn't/couldn't conquer, would alienate them or even invade the Draka in time. Most of all, when did the USA get on this territory expansionism and then STOP with N. America alone?

The story is quite intense, but I didn't care for the frequent unorthodox sexual encounters that the 'mistis' was so fond of. Romance and love is one thing; subtle rape is another.

The most terrifying dystopia since 1984........1999-01-26

I first heard about the Draka series when I was hanging out on one of the alternative history newsgroups. There was much discussion about the Draka series, with many saying it was the most plausible alternative history series ever, and others called it unbelievable. Since the series seemed to stir such strong emotions, I decided to buy the series. Since Marching Through Georgia was out of print, I bought under the yoke instead. After finishing it, I realized that this wasn't really alternative history - instead, it was the best dystopian novel since 1984.

The Draka series does have an interesting, if implausible, alternative history. During the American Revolution, the Netherlands declares war against Britain two years early. Britain seizes South Africa, and after the Revolution is over, Britain sends all of the Tories, most of whom are slaveholders, to South Africa. This colony, named after Sir Francis Drake, florishes, and soon conquers all of Africa. The Domination of the Draka is made up of a master Race, and millions of serfs (slaves) who are utterly dominated by their masters. During World War I, the Draka seize most of the Middle East and parts of Asia. During World War II (known in this timeline as the Eurasian War), the Draka manage to conquer the rest of Europe and most of Asia. Under the Yoke is set in the aftermath of the war, when the Draka are still consolidating their hold over Europe.

Ostensibly Under the Yoke is a spy story, about an American agent who tries to smuggle out a nuclear scientist. But this story takes a back seat to Stirling's exploration of Draka society. What makes it so utterly terrifying is that Stirling makes us believe that a society where 90% of the populace are slaves could not only work, but actually thrive. In addition, the Draka themselves are fascinating. They are kind to their children, they are environmentalists, and they do not torture or kill without cause (usually). But they simply do not accept what we take to be "self-evident" - that all men are created equal. And in the end, the Draka are more terrifying and evil because they are also so human. (This is a weakness of the other Draka books, where often Stirling portrays the Draka as supermen without also showing their evil). Thus, the comparison to 1984 - you want to deny that a society could exist without freedom, but Stirling makes you doubt it. There are some problems with the book. Stirling seems to love to add gratuitous sex and violence, and seems particularly obsessed with the Draka's (...) promiscuity. Stirling also seems to be taken with the supposed realism of his timeline, when frankly it is wildly implausible - the Draka are unbelievably lucky way to many times in their history. But, if you have a strong stomach, Under the Yoke is an excellent, frightening novel of a world that none of us would ever want to visit.

A better than average alternate history thriller.......1998-08-27

Stirling's Draka books are among the more disturbing science fiction works I have ever read, which is one measure of how good they are. If the purpose (a la Asimov) of good sci-fi is to provoke thoughts about the real future and our real society, UTY succeeds splendidly. The alternate history postulates, as said in the first book of the series, Marching through Georgia, an "anti-America." That is, a post-colonial nation with all the energies and ambition of the USA, but with an absolutely inverted philosophy of citizenship and the state. Racism, elitism, and totalitarianism are not only tolerated but actively encouraged, to preserve the eternal supremacy of the Draka, white overlords of a thoroughly industrialized Africa. Slavery is seen as a positive good, democracy is held in contempt, and history and culture are treated as plastic constructs, to be manipulated by the state as needed. (As examples, all religion is ruthlessly suppressed except for the official state-sponsored, slaves-only cults, with suitably doctored scriptures; furthermore, "widespread literacy" among slaves is targeted for elimination). The fans of deconstructionism would cringe; the Draka think nothing of rewriting history, literature, and art, if it serves their purpose of mass propaganda. The novel is set in a post WW2 Europe, where the Draka have subjugated all of continental Europe through mass purges, and America (us good guys) is trying to keep the flame of liberty alive. The most horrifying parts of the book deal with the utter degradation of the conquered peoples; one suspects that Hitler must have had fantasies like this. Stirling makes it all work, partly because the ruthless Draka are complex, believable characters, with their own code of ethics and honor. I would rate the book higher except for a few errors in execution, mostly having to do with language and technology, and for making the Draka seem just a little too much like Aryan supermen (they all seem to be black belts, Olympic quality marksmen, etc.) However, as a chilling picture of "what could be", this is hard to beat.

Engrossing,horrifying,and thought provoking........1998-05-31

I have been a fan of Stirling's Draka series since I picked up a copy of MTG ten years ago. Having spent several years in the military and being a history buff Stirling's grasp of these topics is very impressive, but Under The Yoke is the keystone to his whole series. In the Draka Stirling has kept the best (and worst) traits of the Romans,Spartans and yes the Athenians. These are not a sweet lovable people, they conquer and they don't believe in the oneness of Humanity. They have taken Darwin and warped him. In this second installment we are treated to the spectacle of a conquered and enslaved Europe. I for one found this to be very disturbing but I also appreciated the irony. For in this novel the Europeans are getting back what they have given to others over the centuries only this race of conquers is in many respects superior. They don't mindlessly exploit the land and it's resources for they to live there. Most of the Draka treat their Serfs (or slaves) with a modicum of humanity and they are not cruel for the sake of cruelty(well most aren't). But the Draka are descended from history's losers and this time they are determined not to end up at the bottom. For those who find this series to be depressing try looking upon it as cautionary tale. This is what the Human race could have ended up like. In reality we are sloppy,self-indulgent,silly,and even lovable,but we are free and we have no Draka. Stirling knows this,but he also knows that we must always be vigilant. Incidentally he is also a fantastic action writer.

Empress Elisabeth of Austria 1837-1898 (The Fate of a Woman Under the Yoke of the Imperial Court, Austria Imperial Edition (Portrait of a Life))

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Empress Elisabeth of Austria 1837-1898 (The Fate of a Woman Under the Yoke of the Imperial Court, Austria Imperial Edition (Portrait of a Life))

Manufacturer: Glattau & Schaar
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 3950082816

THE INTERRUPTED WEDDING OR UNDER THE YOKE

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THE INTERRUPTED WEDDING OR UNDER THE YOKE
Mrs. J. Mcnair Wright
Manufacturer: Convention Book Store
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000IQC996

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THE INTERRUPTED WEDDING OR UNDER THE YOKE
J. Mcnair Wright
Manufacturer: Convention Book Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000IQGEII

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Under the yoke
Ivan Minchov, and Aleksieva, Margarita, and Atanasova, Teodora Vazov
Manufacturer: Sofia Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000LZ1PBC

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amazing
opinion from another Bulgarian
Opinion from a Bulgarian

Under the yoke
Ivan Minchov Vazov
Manufacturer: Twayne Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Eastern European | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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Intensive Bulgarian, Vol. 1: A Textbook & Reference Grammar

ASIN: B0006C0MU0

Product Description

Under the Yoke is Bulgarias most celebrated historical novel, written by the countrys most beloved author. It is a tale of the bloody uprising of 1876, when Bulgarian patriots fought to free Bulgaria from 500 years of Ottoman rule. The book is filled with action, as well as romance, tragedy and humor and may well remind the reader of Vazovs contemporary, Mark Twain, especially with respect to the humor and the authors observations about the human condition. In this newly edited English version, supplemental historical and background material has been added to the best from past editions to produce a book that will be read for both pleasure and study.

Customer Reviews:

amazing.......2006-06-09

Having grown up in Africa i learned to read in bulgarian when i moved bacl home in garde 6.This is the first time we studdy the book in school.I had barely learned now to read and i found it honestly boreing.The second time we studdied the book was at the end of hightschool and I absolutely fell in love with the book.Its an amazing peace of literature.Its a source for pride for my coutry.I bought it for my bf(who is canadian) and he was really impressed by it..

opinion from another Bulgarian.......2005-11-02

I like so much what the other Bugarian said about "Under the Yoke". It is most probabaly a 7-grade student(13 year-old) because this is the first time when we read the novel in Bulgaria.
I have read the book twice and the first time I read it was when I was 13 and I didn't really understand it...it was just a story about suffering and revival,a story about a determination to overcome opression that i could not really grasp. However, i read it again in highschool and only then could i see how deep and real this novel is, how sincere and important it is. Vazov is the Patriarch of Bulgarian literature and his words are a precious heritage that we all carry in our hearts and souls.
I will buy this book now as a present for my English teacher in the US and I would advise everybody who is Bulgarian to do the same. This book is worth reading and I hope that more people will have access to the the depth of the Bulgarian soul and the endless source of hope and life that has been sustaining our nation throughout the 13 centuries of its existence.
Yanina Palkova
Thanks to Amazon for providing it on-ilne :)

Opinion from a Bulgarian.......2005-10-28

This is the first Bulgarian novel and also the best.It represents our 500-year bondage in an extremely realistic and detailed point of view.Well it's a bit difficult for me to understand it,but I'm sure I'll interprete it better when I grow up.Read about the greatest part of the Bulgarian history.

Under The Yoke Of The State: Selected Anarchist Responses To Prisons And Crime - Vol.1, 1886-1929 (Anarchist Sources)

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Under The Yoke Of The State: Selected Anarchist Responses To Prisons And Crime - Vol.1, 1886-1929 (Anarchist Sources)

Manufacturer: Kate Sharpley Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Pamphlet

Disaster Relief | Current Events | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Book Description

This pamphlet offers personal reflections from anarchists about time spent behind bars and critiques of the prison system from the Haymarket frame-up to the Sacco-Vanzetti trial. It gives direct testimony on the treatment of prisoners in numerous penitentiaries, World War One internment camps,and Bolshevik jails. It also presents many viewpoints on how capitalism's exploitation is society's greatest crime, and how anti-social acts would be treated in a truly free and just world. This collection includes complete essays by Peter Kropotkin, Emma Goldman, and Alexander Berkman, plus material from anarchist fighters Ricardo Flores Magon, Errico Malatesta, Louise Michel, Albert Parsons, Rudolf Rocker, Mollie Steimer, and others.

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Under the yoke: A book with a purpose
F. Dalton O'Sullivan
Manufacturer: Lansing, Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B00089UGDY

Venice Under the Yoke of France & Volume 2

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Venice Under the Yoke of France & Volume 2
Catherine Hyde
Manufacturer: G & W B WHITTAKER
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000Q00RJ8

Venice Under the Yoke of France and of Austria: with Memoirs of the Courts, Governments, and People of Italy... Volume 2

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Venice Under the Yoke of France and of Austria: with Memoirs of the Courts, Governments, and People of Italy... Volume 2
Catherine Hyde
Manufacturer: G & W B WHITTAKER
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000TLYBGE

Book Description

Amid gripping pain, can God be trusted? This story of a father's loss of his son encourages readers to depend upon the Lord in their greatest suffering.

Customer Reviews:

Growing through your grief -.......2003-05-22

This is a book that reaches out and holds your hand while you are suffering through the loss of a child. My wife and I have experienced this pain, when our seven-year-old daughter died in May 2000. No other book related so closely to what we were experiencing as grieving parents. Jehu Burton's book was truly revelant to us during our grieving process. Jehu showed us that we were not alone and the feelings that we had through grieving were normal. In his book, he forces you to answer some very difficult questions that only another grieving parent could ask. Answering these difficult questions forced us to grow and accept what we couldn't comprehend. We highly recommend this book for parents facing the ultimate tragedy, the loss of a child.

The End and Object of Grief.......2003-05-19

I read this book shortly after losing my son -- my only child -- at the age of thirteen. The book was IMMEDIATELY helpful, and I reread it several times. In fact, had I been limited to just one book besides the Bible, this book would have been my choice. It deals honestly and realistically with the pain of grief without being overindulgent. Solidly biblical, it points to Christ as the only source of true and lasting comfort. For there is an end to grief: an object, a direction. And grief will have had its greatest end when it ends in Christ. Therefore, I gratefully acknowledge the author for having helped me to survive the most difficult challenge of my life by pointing me to the only source of true and lasting comfort, Jesus Christ.

A great insight into grief.......2003-05-17

Jehu Burton's book Trusting God Through Tears is an open and honest portrayal of grief from a man's point of view. I have observed that those who have a strong faith may often struggle severely because the death of a child seems contrary to placing our trust in a "loving" God. Jehu addresses our doubts very openly and provides answers he has obtained after great struggles. I believe most bereaved parents will find empathy and understanding in this book. I did, and I am a three-times bereaved parent. Marilyn Heavilin, author of Roses in December.

Spiritually healing.......2002-01-14

Jehu Thomas Burton offers countless "pearls" in this scripturally based study. His reflections are honest and sincere. Most importantly, Burton clearly illustrates that only God is God! This book is a definite must have for anyone who has experienced a death of a loved one.

A Blessing.......2000-07-15

Mr. Burton has opened his heart and mind and shared his most painful and reflective moments with the readers. It is comfort and empathy for those who have lost a family member, as well as a search for answers to difficult questions of faith.

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