Book Description
First published by Random House in 1968, Russell H. Greenan’s It Happened in Boston? is the story of a brilliantly talented, unbalanced artist who strives to meet God face-to-face in order to destroy Him. It is “a magic spell of a book—phantasmagoric, lushly written, full of unforgettable characters and brilliant twists of plot,” writes Jonathan Lethem in his Introduction. With a vivid depiction of the art world and a breathtaking narrative that incorporates forgery, time travel, and murder, Greenan’s hilarious and disturbing debut novel—now an underground cult classic—is ripe for rediscovery.
Customer Reviews:
Recognized.......2006-11-20
Make no mistake, this quirky, sparkling page-turner is a joy to read----with one major flaw. On almost every page, this particular reader, in any event, cannot help but be reminded of another, greater novel, The Recognitions by William Gaddis. The thematic and plot similarities are simply too great to be coincidental. The Recognitions was out of print as well until a few years ago after it was listed in The Greatest 100 Novels of the Twentieth Century. I am not knocking Greenan's book. But The Recognitions is by far the more magnificent and profound novel dealing with an artist who is conned into painting forgeries and many, many other things beside. On the other hand, not too many people, I've found, are willing to take on this 1,000 page, closely-printed, spellbinder of a book. Perhaps it is best to regard Greenan's book then as a condensed version of the Gaddis book---Not a al Reader's Digest! It's far too well-written for that!-In Greenan's Afterword, he avers, "What authors put down on paper springs from....all the books they have read." There can be no doubt in the mind of anybody that has read it that The Recognitions was one of these key influences.
So, for those deeply intrigued by the themes and artistry of this book: Close the Greenan, open thy Gaddis.
Now You Get It ..........2005-05-23
In spite of its literary brilliance and its narrative genius, there will be people who won't like Boston?. I don't say this as a lofty proclamation or to cast aspersions on those folks. Consider a five-star restaurant's most expensive and well-touted fresh salmon entree. It may, in fact, be a meal of the highest quality and finest ingredients, but, hey, some people just don't like fish.
This book is populated by intriguing characters (our artistically brilliant and unnamed protagonist's goal is to assassinate God, if that tells you anything) with curious and delicate lives that flirt with the fringes of madness before plunging in headlong. It is really pointless to try to explain the basic plot, since it holds no more prominence than the philosophical inquiries and didactic ponderings that motivate it. These underlying ideas never drag the story down, as one might suspect, although they are probably at fault when it comes to why some might like this meal and some might flat out reject.
In kind, the ending does leave something to be desired, since it is a resolution of the ambiguous kind. Greenan doesn't kowtow to fortune cookie solutions, and he leaves the point of the book (as well as the answer to those inquiries and ponderings) in the hands of the reader, who may either be delighted to answer, or disgusted with the presumption. Again, it's a matter of taste.
I, for one, was licking my fingers when I was done.
It Happened in Boston?.......2003-10-31
I just finished reading the new Modern Library edition of "It Happened in Boston?", which I had first read 35 years ago. It still seems as startling as it was then; all these strange characters, and the mad protagonist. What a feat of imagination! I had actually expected it to feel somewhat dated but it didn't - quite the contrary, it seemed completely of the moment. I think this edition should find a new audience, among readers who did not exist when it was first published.
WHAT PLANET ARE THESE PEOPLE ON????.......2003-09-05
I decided to read this book reading all the 5star reviews on this site, well i have gone through the book cover to cover, there really isn't much that's interesting here, besides maybe how his girlfriend snatched the paintings from him, you'd probably be better off reading CRIME AND PUNISHMENT OR THE ALIENIST.
I thought this book was my little secret.......2003-05-15
Imagine my surprise to see that at least 11 other people have even read "It Happened in Boston?", let alone reacted to it as strongly and positively as I did. I read it as a teenager when it first came out - my father had ordered it from his book club - and I was completely hooked. It had never dawned on me that the hero of a novel could in fact be the villain as well (I later read "Crime and Punishment" and found that it was a fairly well-established literary convention). I remember filming this book in my mind over the next few years, always with different leading men and women, depending on who was most popular at the time, and frequently changing the plot to make it more "cinematic" - and I haven't read the book in about thirty years, although I still have it, so I'm interested to see how my mental movie compares with the incomparable original. It also compelled me to read all of Greenan's subsequent books, all of which are only slightly more conventional thrillers, and some of which (particularly "Heart of Gold" and "The Secret Life of Algernon Pendleton") are quite unique. Most of them are set in Boston, which is where I've been living since reading "It Happened in Boston?" (not entirely a matter of cause and effect), and his feel for the atmosphere of the city - at least as it was in the seventies - is flawless. Greenan's books all deserve to be reprinted.
Book Description
Boston Firsts is about everything (well, almost!) that happened first in Boston and changed life elsewhere: from the first lighthouse and public library to the first madam and ready-made suit. Boston-based journalist and essayist Lynda Morgenroth has written forty original essays on the city's long history of innovation, from the colonial era to the recent past. These lively takes on Boston's innovative history range from the first use of ether in publicly performed painless surgery to the first school desegregation court case to the one-and only-automatic bargain basement. Consider this: Ice cut from Boston ponds and shipped to hot climates became a worldwide industry. A controversial kidney transplant between twin brothers marked the start of organ transplantation. Attempts to breed a belligerent fighting dog created the sweet-natured Boston terrier, the first dog breed developed in the U.S. The glorious Massachusetts 54th Regiment, led by a Boston Brahmin, was the first black army regiment in U.S history. First newspaper, novel, subway, telephone, gay marriage- the beat goes on. Ranging from advances in science and engineering-like the smallpox inoculation and the Boston Harbor cleanup-to innovations in culture and society- Fannie Farmer's cookbook, the YMCA, and Boston cream pie-the collection investigates, celebrates, and integrates America's workshop of ideas.
Book Description
Step off the Freedom Trail to explore lesser-known landscapes in Boston's history. A city of statesmen and scoundrels, freedom fighters and reactionaries, innovators and iconoclasts, "The Hub" comes alive in twenty-seven colorful stories
from the Indian plague that preceded the first Puritan settlement to the leaky last stages of the Big Dig.
Product Description
Novel.
Average customer rating:
- The Battle Rages
- It continues.
- Bilingual Review -Worried Fan
- A must read for any fan of manga
- GUTS - nuff said.
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Berserk, Vol. 2
Kentaro Miura
Manufacturer: Dark Horse/Digital Manga (Dark Horse)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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Berserk, Vol. 1
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Berserk, Volume 6
ASIN: 1593070217 |
Book Description
The evil Count uses his dark powers to transform a defeated guard captain into an inhuman horror to combat Guts, the Black Swordsman. Puck, Guts' pint-sized fairy sidekick, is captured when he attempts to stop an old doctor's execution, and he is given as a gift to the count's daughter, a sweet girl in a gilded cage, imprisoned by her father in her own room. Guts, determined to make mincemeat of the Count, assaults the castle and carves a swath of blood-soaked destruction through the Count's minions. Face-to-face with the Black Swordsman at last, the Count reveals his true form, and even Guts' super-sized sword may not be big enough to contend with this demonic monstrosity!
Customer Reviews:
The Battle Rages.......2006-02-02
The only problem I've yet to have with Berserk is how fast they are as a read. I finished volume two in less than a hour. Though I will admit that the manga had me hooked, it wasn't just that that made this manga seem so short despite being over two-hundred pages. A lot of what happens in this manga is presented in imagery, and not in character dialogue. In fact, contrary to today's manga, where everything is over-explained, the Berserk manga under-explains. It lets its action speak for itself. I don't consider this a bad thing, though; it just sucks closing the book for the last time.
In this volume, the battle with the Count continues from the first volume. Helping Guts is a strange man named Vargas, who wants nothing more than to see the count dead, yet is incapable of doing anything himself, as well as Puck, the little elf that constantly annoys/helps Guts throughout the manga. This volume also teaches us a little bit more about the brand on Guts's neck, as well as showing Guts rare, emotional side. And of course, it has heaps of violence, blood, and gore, along with a smidgen of comedy interlaced during some lighter moments.
Though I felt the volume short, it still gets a five from me, and easily so. Berserk continues to get better, especially since I started my little trip through the world of Guts and his many demon enemies through the anime series. It's great getting to know his deeper history, as well as seeing Guts at his worst moments. If you've already started collecting the series, then you obviously shouldn't miss this. And if you've only seen the anime series, then buy this along with volume one and start collecting the series. Just note that the gore in this manga is graphic, and has a few scenes of nudity, which is often followed by some pretty disturbing imagery. I'd recommend following the book's instructions; if you consider yourself a mature reader, then get this.
It continues........2005-04-06
I adore Berserk. It's the most depressing comic I've read, while being action packed and full of memorable characters. I'm grateful Dark Horse picked it up not too long ago, as spending x3 as much on import volumes was becoming a chore. Plus they've been doing a great job on the translation. There were only a few minor errors I noticed, but it's not something the casual reader is going to see. I'm not going to give a summary of the story in each review, as I already did that in my review for the first volume. So just resort to that if you need a backstory. But in Volume 2 here, we continue following Guts, or as he's now known- The Black Swordsman.
In the last volume of the Berserk comics, Guts was looking for the Count of the kingdom he's currently in. No doubt, looking for news of a certain someone he's looking for revenge on. But this time, he runs into someone else who's looking for revenge. A deformed old man who demands vengance, even if it comes at the cost of his life. Guts and Puck don't quite know what to make of him at first, but the old man soon coughs up a lot of details about what's going on in the kingdom, and how everything became the way it is now. Soon, Puck begins to feel sorry for him, and becomes his friend. But at the same time, a man Guts beat the crap out of in the last volume has been revived through the Count's power. It turns out, the Count has a Behelit. This isn't good news, as the monster proceeds to really take it to Guts. If you've seen the animated series, then you know how easily Guts took down almost any opponent that stood in his way. Here, he's almost helpless in a few situations, as the guy (monster actually) he's facing can regenerate. Can Guts stop him? Obviously, he does, thanks to a huge hint from the monster itself. Unfortunately, after the fight's over, the old man is captured, and is soon to be executed. Puck tries to save him because Guts just stands there against a wall, watching the whole thing, but Puck's heart of gold doesn't do much, as he's captured too. What becomes of the old man? You'll just have to read to find out.
In the second half, Guts continues to look for the Count, and finds him after another fight with the monster he thought he killed. The Count is an even bigger challenge, and Guts is basically screwed. I'm not trying to ruin this volume for you, but it ends without either one of them winning, and the fight will continue in the next part. Meanwhile, Puck has been given to the Count's daughter as a present. She has been locked in her room for years, and knows what it's like to be Puck (he's in a bird cage when given to her). She wants to know what it's like to be free, and befriends Puck, and lets him out after telling him more info about the family and what happened to her mom/how her dad snapped. It's all about heretics, which as some of you may know, was a huge deal back in those days. Puck flies off to try and help Guts. We'll see how it all goes in the next volume.
This book is noticably longer than the first one. It has even more violence, and Guts shows off the automatic crossbow yet again, plus his ingenius way of blocking arrows without getting hit. There's not much more I can say about it. If you liked the first one, or the animated series at all, continue reading these books. Especially at the price you can get them for on here.
Bilingual Review -Worried Fan.......2004-10-01
It pains me to see one of my favorite manga titles get turned into half-assed translated English third rate comic. I have read the Chinese and some of the original Japanese versions of the manga and it seems to have something the english version lacks.
Maybe it's the atmosphere, or the asian pop culture, all I know is that something is missing from the English verison compared to the Japanese and Chinese versions. If any of you have read the manga, you would know that Puck "the fairy" companion of Gutz is suppose to take on the role of comic relief but when I read what Puck had to say I was confused on how they translated it into english.
Even though Berserk takes place in medieval european setting, it is suppose to emanate an aura of bushido-ism. In the Japanese and Chinese versions this can be felt, but it seems missing in the English translation.
Be wary if you are to purchase the english version if you are a person who doesn't like to wait for a hard copy (unless you just read it off the fan site translations). Even the Chinese version of volume 27 as of now (October 1, 2004) is already out and has already been imported to many of the chinese book stores in California. While the english volumes haven't seem to be progressing at all.
Also in this comic, there are scenes that contain (within the 27 volumes so far): the killing of women and children, pedophelia, depictions of gratuitous gore and violence, rape, animal cruelty, cannabalism, orgies, occult related activities, and almost all the taboos I can think of.
But again, I love the content because berserk is about war turned into a personal vendetta so all those things listed above I feel gives it a sense of realism. What I don't like is the translations of Berserk into English. Because I feel the english language is too limited in it's pool of descriptive vocabulary.
A must read for any fan of manga.......2004-03-15
If you have seen the Berserk anime released by Media Blasters then you have only scratched the surface of this story. The anime only covers about a third of the manga (which is currently 27 volumes and growing). I do not recomend this manga for those faint of heart, or those that felt the anime was too violent. The manga is much, much more graphic than its anime counterpart.
Aside from a few very minor editing/spelling mistakes (In the first volume there is a minor spelling mistake in reference to a castle) I have no problem with Dark Horse's translation of Kentaro Miriua's Berserk.
Highly Recommended
GUTS - nuff said........2004-02-03
Wow. I LOVE this series. As we delve deeper into Guts' journey, the characterization is superb: Guts the Master Swordsman who's raw fury and power comes at the cost of his humanity(?). Plus, Puck the Elf is hilarious and never fails to get a laugh. He is a great balance to Guts' demeanor. Kenturo Miura's artwork is so effective in creating this chaotic world that you'd almost swear something moved in the background :) This continues to be a dark tale and I don't expect it to lighten up anytime soon - which is a good thing! The only bad thing was the cliffhanger ending....I want more BERSERK!!! PLUS, we haven't even gotten into where the anime took place.
If you've seen this anime, get the manga...you won't regret it. For those who haven't, read if you dare...the Behelit awaits....
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Isaac Asimov Himself Reads 5 Complete Stories: Unabridged
Manufacturer: The Audio Partners
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Cassette
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ASIN: 0945353898 |
Book Description
Rich with his enthusiasm and the accent of his adopted Brooklyn, Isaac Asimov's narration of five of his most popular stories--"The Last Question," "The Immortal Bard," "Someday," "The Jokester," and "The Ugly Little Boy"--illustrates how he earned an international reputation as a master of science fiction. Artificial intelligence, physical and moral entropy, resurrection, and time travel are a few of the topics explored in this collection. Complete and unabridged. 2 cassettes.
Customer Reviews:
Great fun.......2000-04-03
It's just plain fun and intriguing to listen to Isaac Asimov himself read his stories. There's no better way to get them. Listening to these allows me to go read his other works and have a little bit of insight into how he might have read those -- what things he would emphasize, what inflections he'd have, what sort of emotion he brings to his work... You get a little feeling this way for what the stories meant to him. And, of course, they're great stories. Did he write any bad ones ever? I don't think so. Maybe some would say you have to be a science fiction fan to enjoy Asimov's stories. I think you only need to be a fan of stories.
Book Description
Internationally renowned priest-scientist Dr. John Polkinghorne examines whether a personal, interacting God is a credible concept in today's scientific age. Encouraging the belief that there is a compatibility between the insights of science and the insights of religion, this book focuses on the viewpoint that the world is one in which both human beings and God have the freedom to act
A modern understanding of the physical world is applied to questions of prayer and providence, such as: Do miracles happen? Can prayer change anything? Why does evil exist? Why does God allow suffering? Why does God need us to ask him?
God's involvement in time is considered, from both a temporal and an eternal perspective. The roles of incarnation and sacrament are discussed in terms of whether or not they have a credible place in today's worldview. And the Final Anthropic Principle (FAP)is presented, with its attempt at a physical eschatology, showing it to be an inadequate basis for hope. Real hope can reside only with God, Polkinghorne concludes.
Customer Reviews:
Rationalizing a preexisting belief, rather than justifying it.......2007-08-30
The author, a noted scientist, is a devout Christian and correspondingly accepts no other explanation of reality than the Christian one. This, of course, is a severe handicap in any investigation of reality, not expected in particular of a scientist. Scientists, however, can be dogmatic in other ways, and the author may perhaps be excused on that ground. The issue accordingly is how sound is the author's argumentation.
The usual arguments for the existence of God engage in what is known as natural theology, the seeking of answers to the questions through the study of nature. The author rejects this approach early in the book. He says (p.8), "natural theology...is only capable of affording limited insight...The new physics may encourage belief in some sort of deity, but will he prove to be just a deistic Absentee Landlord?" and, quoting another author (The God of Jesus Christ), "The God who no longer plays an active role in the world is in the final analysis a dead God."
But this is not the only outcome allowed in natural theology. Among its traditional classifications are teleological arguments, ones concerned with purpose in nature as evidence of an active God. The author repeatedly speaks (e.g. pp.33-4) of God's "purposive will", or of God's "purposive action" in the world, as the requirement. But he doesn't find evidence of such purpose in the world other than our own action in our bodies, and proposes an analogy between that action and God's action in the world (p.19). To this end he adduces the recent findings in science of unpredictability, in quantum theory and at other levels, saying, "God's purposive will may be...hidden within the unpredictability" (p.41).
It isn't necessary, however, to invoke these scientific findings, in order to then fit the purposefulness of the Christian God into these gaps of uncertainty (although the author denies depending on a God of "gaps", familiar regarding evolution). One can indeed have recourse to natural theology in finding the looked-for purposefulness amidst the most familiar phenomena. I have been trying unheeded to point this out in other reviews, and have dealt with the broader issues, including other subjects, in depth in my book On Proof for Existence of God, and Other Reflective Inquiries. This try then has to be another. The evidence of purpose other than that of humans, or animals, is right in front of us, in every living organism. Similarly to our own, or the animal's, purposes aimed at our well-being or survival, every organism likewise functions toward its self-preservation and preservation of the species, as is a commonplace but somehow totally overlooked in the search for purpose in nature.
The author, like so many others (many cited in his book), accordingly needlessly searches for purpose in every scientific, or non-scientific, nook and cranny, not cognizant of the purpose writ large in the very activities of life.
A New and interesting approach.......2007-07-28
Polkinghorne fans will love this book. It is challenging for the reader without a science background, but intelligible nonetheless. Polkinghorne continues to write on the interface of science and religion. There are very few who match him.
Recommended for academicians, scientists, clergy, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in science and religion.......2006-03-14
Science And Province: God's Interaction With The World, written by internationally renowned Anglican priest and former professor of mathematical physics at Cambridge University. John C. Polkinghorne, examines whether a personal, interacting God is a credible concept in today's secular, scientific age. Father Polkinghorne also considers some of the perplexities and complications regarding such issues as Miracles, Evil, and Prayer. Science And Providence is most especially recommended reading for academicians, scientists, clergy, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in science and religion.
Scientist view of Religion.......2001-04-17
Polkinghorn in this short essay studies the Religion as a scientist. He discusses the embodiment of God, Miracle, Good and Evil. It is short but extensive study.It discusses the idea of determinism and somewhat quantum physics.
Books:
- Japanese Celebrations: Cherry Blossoms, Lanterns And Stars!
- Johnny Mad Dog: A Novel
- Kalki (Penguin Twentieth-Century Classics)
- Koolaids: The Art of War
- Logan's Storm: A Novel
- Lydia Bailey
- Making Waves #4: Thrill
- Mala Onda/bad Vibes (Punto de Lectura)
- Modern Korean Fiction: An Anthology
- Nellcott Is My Darling
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