Customer Reviews:
The hobo philosopher.......2007-08-22
If you check out some of my other reviews, you will see that this is not a typical book for me to read - but I did. Yes this book creates an historically realistic portrait of Elvis but the story is really about a sensitive emerging young woman. I enjoyed the book. I gave it to my wife who is an Elvis fan. She loved it. She mailed it to her sister another Elvis fan. She loved it and sent it to her cousin. The cousin emailed us to tell us how much she liked it. I don't know where the book is now. But I would guess that it is still being mailed around the country by all my cheap relatives.
Excellent!.......2006-03-03
Alone in her room, 14-year-old Achsa McEachern twists her radio dial. By chance she lands on a hillbilly station playing a new song called "That's All Right, Mama." She fires off her first-ever fan letter to an unknown Elvis Presley, telling him he's destined for stardom--but only if he gets off that hillbilly station.
Presley promptly replies. By the end of February 1955, they are corresponding regularly. While especially entranced with her knowledge of music, he's delighted that someone as smart as she is would dare have the time of day for him. Also convinced that he can make it to the top, Presley asks his new fan to help him with his grammar. And so begins the lessons that teach Elvis how to "talk good."
What follows is a vivid account of that momentous year, 1955, and two young lives in chaos. The Year the Music Changed is a stunning portrayal of a girl whose life is unraveling as fast as she can write--and a naive country bumpkin who yearns for bigger things. As Achsa's despondency over her harelip and the spiraling descent of her parents' marriage escalates, her letters become longer and longer, describing in great detail her feelings to her one and only friend.
But no matter the horror that has befallen her, Achsa never, ever forgets her promise: a grammar lesson in each return envelope. The first lesson involves double negatives and, as their correspondence nears its end in mid-1956, Achsa asks him to "Please promise that you will never forget to always remain on the lookout for double negatives. It is so very important."
We already know Elvis' voice, yet Thomas re-creates his style with such an acute accuracy that I could hear the insecurities, the passion, the search for grounding. Achsa's voice is so strong and powerful that by the end of the novel, I had thought she was real and went on an Internet search for her. Needless to say I came up empty handed.
Armchair Interviews says: As intimately as both personalities are portrayed, it is hard to remember this excellent book is fiction after all.
A Fast Intensely Satisfying Read.......2006-02-14
It is not often that I come across a book so engrossing that I read it cover to cover in one sitting, but I did this one.
Diane Thomas offers us a glimpse into the South of the mid 1950s. The letters Achsa McEachern writes to the then rising music star, Elvis Presley, start out as fan letters, but quickly become heart-touching and often heart-wrenching descriptions of her private inner life and that of her family's. The letters Elvis writes back to Achsa help to anchor the book in place and time, while providing us with an interesting new perspective on what it might have been like to be that rising star in the days before he became trapped in the prison of his own Superstardom.
I was a teen of the 70s but in Achsa, I could see myself. I wrote long, long letters to far away friends pouring out all the changes that were happening in my life; changes that I didn't always understand and that I felt helpless to control. I think many young women will find a piece of themselves in Achsa.
And for anyone whose mother came of age during the fifties, as mine did, this book would make a wonderful birthday or Mother's Day gift.
It is a fast, intensely satisfying read and I highly recommend it.
Appeals to All Ages.......2005-10-12
My 97-year-old mother (who was certainly not an Elvis fan) loved the book, said she couldn't put it down. My 15-year-old granddaughter (who is a Nirvana fan and thought Elvis was "old-fashioned") loved the book, my 64-year-old sister (who was a big Elvis fan in 1956) loved the book, and I (who was Elvis' contemporary and NOT a fan) loved the book. We loved it because of its truth. The heart of the story belongs not to Elvis but to a 14-year-old girl and her struggle to cope with her disfigured lip, a mother who is movie-star beautiful, a father whose religion borders on the fanatical. Ultimately she understands - and embraces - her own place in the world. Beautifully written, highly recommended.
Goodbye to The Ballads of Yesteryear........2005-10-12
This is really quite juvenile about a young teenager with a crush on a new singer, who is definitely different from the sedate crooners (Perry Como) and belters (Eddie Fisher) of that era. The music changed in the Fifties from the movie music of the Thirties and Forties. It has changed many times since and will continue to change as people's tasts in music changes.
The only thing to stay static is classical. Jazz can be improvised, but classical stays the same. Ballads were the country folk music before country was even country. Most of the hillbilly about affairs and broken-hearted women came right out of the ballads. Listen to "The Long Black Veil."
Now, these fictitious letters from a fan to a rising star are pretty silly. I know because I was a young teen back then, and I did not like Elvis Presley at all. He was vulgar. Frank Sinatra was the star of movies and music then, as was pure Pat Boone from Tennessee. Tennessee Ernie Ford sang the hymns and something silly called 'Sixteen Tons.' Dinah Shore had her own fashion/music show (she was the Loretta Young of country) with her old-home grace -- that was before Minnie Pearl came into being.
I had a cheap phonograph which looked like that featured on the cover. As I recall, the turntables in radio stations were a lot different. She relates how she took a record to one of the stations and it was being played out over the airways, but she could not hear anything in the studio. All the deejay had to do was flip a switch and boom! the music was louder than the bass the young (and not-so-young) play in their cars to get notice. I spent many wonderful afternoons visiting local stations to get Eddie Fisher on, as I was the president of "The Fisher Notes." We had a call-in "Relay" hosted by Bill Ross, a UT student from who-knows-where (I think he was a Cherokee Indian.), and as soon as you requested a certain song, it was on the air. I would usually request "Sunshine Girl." Sounds good, but it was sad, about a girl who was left at the altar in the lurch. Since I had no pretensions of ever being at the altar, it didn't bother me that she was deserted before anything ever began.
Life in the Fifties was good and innocent. The older college kids had private parties around town where liquor was available. I went to only one, and it was no fun. In 1955, Patti Page was the rage (I pantomimed some of her songs on a t.v. local talent show; I remember doing "Allegheny Moon."). Pat Boone with his white suede shoes was squeeky clean, as was Alan Ladd with his white cowboy boots in the movies.
Elvis came along and tossed his head, twisted his torso, and nothing was ever the same again. Certainly not for this young, impressionable girl who claimed to have written letters to him. I had a penpal in Sabadell, Spain, about that time who was amoured with Frank Sinatra recordings. My photo was in YOUR HIT PARADE magazine, and his brother had written to me at first, then Carlos and I became long-distance friends. He was a few years older than I and expected me to be more sophisticated than I was. After all, how can a young girl in Knoxville, Tennessee, ever be sophisticated? That's almost an impossibility even today. They may dress adult, but their thinking is backward and uneducated.
Diane Thomas used this device for her first novel. I tried to review A WOMAN OF INDEPENDENT MEANS to a literary club when I was a young matron, at the college, and it bored them to tears. I had thought that the letters made the characters "human" when actually it was just the opposite. Like these purportedly written by a young Elvis, who had no friends of his own and reached out to a disabled girl for solace. He lived his stardom too fast, and it burned out.
Ms. Thomas and Dr. Aaron J. Gelber are big Elvis fans. Thousands flock to Graceland every year in August, you'd think they'd go in January (his birthday), but I was told by a local woman that a t-shirt there costs $15.00. For a devoted fan, it's okay to throw away money on junk; personally, I'd save and spend it on music. There is an Elvis Museum in Pigeon Forge, and the Love Chapel in Gatlingburg, Tennessee. Music is the name of the game, and the spirit from within. We all have it; it just comes in different flavors.
Average customer rating:
- extremely complex not an easy read Victorian mystery
- Well-done, yet unfortunately, it wears a bit thin
- One of my favorite reads
- Brilliant, but not for all tastes
- A bloody waste of time.
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Freedom and Necessity
Steven Brust , and
Emma Bull
Manufacturer: Tor Fantasy
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
 Brust, Steven | ( B ) | Authors, A-Z | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
Bull, Emma | ( B ) | Authors, A-Z | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
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Historical | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
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Territory
ASIN: 0812562615 |
Amazon.com
The early 19th century was a heady time of repeated challenges to the assumption that the social order as it stood was supernaturally (divinely) ordained. A particularly sticky web of politics and romance traps Susan Voight and James Cobham in a dense, thrillingly suspenseful plot connecting a reforming democratic labor movement, Chartism, to a secret society, the Trotters Club, whose corrupt members intend to exploit a magical ritual for their personal, complicated purposes of vengeance and power. Layers of truths and falsehoods mislead and confound the protagonists in their dealings with each other and the conspiracies; they come to understand that only honesty can save them. Although the perversion of the natural power of sorcery fails because it is unnatural, the social order, unnatural or not, is more resistant to justice. The swift pace, surprising developments, and appealing characters make it nearly impossible to put this book down. Though the women's rights movement is glancingly acknowledged, the conventionally romantic fulfillment is a little disappointing. Is there no other end for intelligent, financially independent women than maternity and love-partnership (as binding, or more, as legal marriage) with a man?
Book Description
It is 1849. Across Europe, the high tide of revolution has crested, leaving recrimination and betrayal in its wake. From the high councils of Prussia to the corridors of Parliament, the powers-that-be breathe sighs of relief. But the powers-that-be are hardly unified among themselves. Far from it....On the south coast of England, London man-about-town James Cobham comes to himself in a country inn, with no idea how he got there. Corresponding with his cousin, he discovers himself to have been presumed drowned in a boating accident. Together they decide that he should stay put for the moment, while they investigate what may have transpired. For James Cobham is a wanted man--wanted by conspiring factions of the government and the Chartists alike, and also the target of a magical conspiracy inside his own family.And so the adventure begins....leading the reader through every corner of mid-nineteenth-century Britain, from the parlors of the elite to the dens of the underclass. Not since Wilkie Collins or Conan Doyle has there been such a profusion of guns, swordfights, family intrigues, women disguised as men, occult societies, philosophical discussions, and, of course, passionate romance.Nor could any writing team but Steven Brust and Emma Bull make it quite so much fun....
Customer Reviews:
extremely complex not an easy read Victorian mystery .......2007-04-21
In 1849 his family assumes that Chartism revolutionary James Cobham died in a boating accident. Two months after his alleged death, James finds himself at a Portsmouth, England inn with no idea how he got there or where he has been for the last few weeks. His body is wracked with relatively fresh scars and he still has some injuries that have not completely healed.
He writes to his cousin Richard informing him that he lives, but not sure what happened. His affluent feisty cousin Susan Voight decides to investigate. Her premise is that James was not in an accident, but instead someone wanted him dead most likely for his political and social reforms. Even more mysterious is why hold him prisoner and eventually release him with the possibility he will recall all that happened. She begins to unravel a convoluted plot to destroy James and his fervent revolutionaries through the arcane and the mundane.
The extremely complex plot is not an easy read as the story line is told through an exchange of letters and journal entries. Adding to the difficulty is that the tale has a distinct Victorian feel to it as the Dickensian style of using a zillion players to provide a social period piece is employed. Still this is a fascinating historical thriller that brings to life Europe reacting to the previous year's major revolutionary activity. Susan steals the show from the bewildered James and others with her amateur sleuthing. Though there are some fantasy elements with the occult involved, FREEDOM & NECESSITY is a Victorian mystery thriller that will need plenty of time to complete.
Harriet Klausner
Well-done, yet unfortunately, it wears a bit thin.......2006-05-05
I picked this book up after reading a piece in which China Mieville recommended it, and I really wanted to like it more than I did. The authors certainly faithfully reproduce the sound and feel of the mid-Victorian English lower aristocracy quite well, and in general, their historical re-imaginings were acceptably within the realm of the possible. The atmosphere of High Philosophy lent an edge of gravitas to the political hijinks going on (Hegel's Science of Logic is a recurring motif, although that is not his most influential work; The Phenomenology of Spirit is), and Friedrich Engels makes a cameo appearance that is fun too. The problem for me was that the epistolary style is just so incredibly dense, even rather foreign, that it took me forever to wade through the book. Usually I don't care for the complaint that a book is too long, but in this instance, I find it apt. I was enjoying it through about page 300 or so, but thereafter I was quite ready for them to start wrapping things up, yet there were still 200 increasingly tedious pages to go. This one's a tough call, then: I'd recommend it if you're a patient reader and inclined toward Victorian literature like Dickens or Thackeray or Eliot. But if you just want a ripping good yarn and don't want to have to work overly hard for a payoff (and, in my opinion, it wasn't too great an ending), and/or if you're expecting science fiction or fantasy, well, this probably isn't going to be your cup of tea. Myself, I probably could have used a half-cup instead, and with perhaps a little more sweetener....
One of my favorite reads.......2005-03-17
I LOVE this book, but I will admit it's not for everyone. I read a lot of sf/fantasy, but the best comparison I can come up with is A.S. Byatt's "Posession". If you enjoyed "Posession" I think you will enjoy this book. The story can be a bit hard to follow, but I enjoy flipping back to reread pages that are later referred to. Great mystery, intrique, murder and attempted murder, and, to quote the back cover "of course, passionate romance". Wonderful fun!
Brilliant, but not for all tastes.......2004-03-26
I note that most of the reviewers who gave this low ratings begin with "Epistolary novels are boring" or "I don't like Victorian settings". So look: this is a story told through letters and journal entries and it is set in the mid-1800s. Got that? If you can't stand either of those, this may not be the book for you. It also delves into philosophy (hence the title) and the politics of the time, and by the way it contains the best love letter *ever* and the best romance story since Dorothy Sayers' Gaudy Night. There are a few loose ends that could have been better tied up, and I really wish Bull and Brust had done a better job with the alternate universe subplot; as another reviewer has pointed out, the Golden Bough-type myths are hinted at but it is never clear whether there's anything to them in the world of the story, or whether Kitty's experiments are anything more than hallucinations. The story is not weakened if the magic some characters believe in is mythical, but a bit more exposition would be nice. Otherwise, just brilliant.
A bloody waste of time........2003-02-28
Since I purchased this book (sometime in the late 90s)I have given it a go on three separate occasions. Each attempt was a failure. The authors do appear to have successfully captured the essence of the 19th Century British writing style. That's the problem. Having said that, there are some who might find this book interesting. If you're an Anglophile(or a bit fey), have at it!
Book Description
Aurelius Augustinus (354-430), bishop of Hippo Regius (the modern Annaba in Algeria), is considered one of the outstanding thinkers in Western Christian civilization, Catholic and Protestant alike. Particularly influential has been his pessimistic doctrine of divine predestination, which holds that only a small proportion of humanity has been selected by God for salvation, while the overwhelming majority, including all unbaptized persons, are damned. Yet, paradoxically, AugustineÂ's exposition of the Eucharistic unity of the elect in the Body of Christ, his Christology, and his emphasis on love as the principal mark of the Godhead have provided a pattern for Christian devotion and spirituality down through the ages.
This book seeks to explain this paradox in AugustineÂ's theology by tracing how these different emphases arose in his thought, and speculating as to why he endorsed, in the end, his theology of predestination. The book is intended not only for students of theology and church history, but even more for readers attracted to Christian doctrine. Written in straightforward language, it supplies adequate references to original sources for those wishing to further pursue the subject.
The author, a historian turned theologian, has studied Augustine for more than sixty years and seeks neither to extenuate nor to condemn him, but to depict his thought. His book will prove fruitful for all who engage it.
Average customer rating:
- For students of law and communications to those interested in military topics.
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In the Name of Necessity: Military Tribunals and the Loss of American Civil Liberties (Albma Rhetoric Cult & Soc Crit)
Marouf A. Hasian
Manufacturer: University Alabama Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Civil Rights & Liberties | Current Events | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
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Legal History | Perspectives on Law | Law | Subjects | Books
Military | Specialties | Law | Subjects | Books
Legal History | Perspectives on Law | Law | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books
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All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
ASIN: 081731475X |
Book Description
Analyses the ways American leaders have justified the use of military tribunals, the suspension of due process, and the elimination of habeas corpus.
Though the war on terrorism is said to have generated unprecedented military situations, arguments for the Patriot Act and military tribunals following 9/11 resemble many historical claims for restricting civil liberties, more often than not in the name of necessity.
Marouf Hasian Jr. examines the major legal cases that show how various generations have represented the need for military tribunals, and how officials historically have applied the term “necessity.” George Washington cited the necessity of martial discipline in executing the British operative Major André. Tribunals tried and convicted more than 200 Sioux warriors during the Dakota Wars. President Lincoln suspended habeas corpus for many civilian and military prisoners during the Civil War. Twentieth Century military and civilian leaders selectively drafted their own codes, leading to the execution of German saboteurs during World War II. Further, General MacArthur’s tribunal to investigate the wartime activities of Japanese General Yamashita raised the specter of “victor’s justice,” anticipating the outcry that attended the Nuremberg trials.
In those cases as in current debates about the prosecution of terrorists, Hasian argues that the past is often cited selectively, neglecting historical contexts and the controversies these cases engendered.
Marouf Hasian Jr. is Professor of Communications at the University of Utah and author of Legal Memories and Amnesias in America’s Rhetorical Culture and Colonial Legacies in Postcolonial Contexts: A Critical Rhetorical Examination of Legal Histories.
Customer Reviews:
For students of law and communications to those interested in military topics........2006-04-28
It's customary in times of war for civil liberties to be overlooked; but what is more surprising is that the need and actions of military tribunals are not questioned more closely during either war OR peacetime. Here to ask these questions is IN THE NAME OF NECESSITY: MILITARY TRIBUNALS AND THE LOSS OF AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES. Marouf Hasian Jr. is a professor of communications: his analysis demonstrates that 'necessity' has often been evoked as justification for injustices, and case studies support his contention as he considers military tribunals from the Revolutionary War to modern times. His will appeal to a wide college-level audience, from students of law and communications to those interested in military topics.
Book Description
Educational research and poetics are often not included in the same conversation. Educational Poetics: Inquiry, Freedom and Innovative Necessity is one of the only texts to explore the possibilities of linking these domains to develop an emergent form of inquiry. Such an inquiry utilizes our human potential to go beyond the seductive force of everyday commonsense to consider and put into place alternative perspectives that are often hidden from view. These alternative perspectives, in turn, help create the ability to free ourselves from mental slavery as we change, in inventive ways, a form of innovative necessity.
Customer Reviews:
Thought provoking and empowering.......2005-03-21
Initially, I read this book because of a friendship. Once I got into the book, I realized the information was applicable to relationships in my life, including employer-employee, parent-child, and personal. In particular, I found new perspectives on fostering synergy in relationships. I could see that when relationships incorporate an environment of synergy, a sense of empowerment emerges that leads to limitlesss and ever-evolving possibilities. This book is a must read for those interesting in challenging the status quo and developing relations of freedom.
Average customer rating:
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ABORTION: BETWEEN FREEDOM AND NECESSITY
JANET HADLEY
Manufacturer: VIRAGO PRESS LTD
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Social Services & Welfare | Poverty | Current Events | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
General | Women's Studies | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1860492703 |
Average customer rating:
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Abortion: Between Freedom and Necessity
Janet Hadley
Manufacturer: Temple University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
General | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
General | Sociology | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
Feminist Theory | Women's Studies | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
General | Women's Studies | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
Abortion & Birth Control | Women's Studies | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1566395917 |
Book Description
A quarter of the world's population lives in countries where abortions are completely or almost completely prohibited. And as many as 500 women lose their lives every day as a result of unsafe abortions.
Only recently has this most intimate and private decision been so publicly debated. The principle and practice of abortion has become increasingly controversial, bringing thousands of people on to the streets, dividing nations, and convulsing the politics of many countries.
Janet Hadley, in this fascinating and meticulously argued book, considers abortion politics with an international perspective and explores some of the new issues affecting the abortion controversy, such as the abortion pill and prenatal testing for birth defects. She challenges many of the arguments offered by the pro-life and pro-choice advocates, arguing for a renewed feminist commitment to abortion as a fundamental element of sexual freedom.
Customer Reviews:
jacket summary.......2006-01-15
from the back cover of the August 1993 Bantam Spectra paperback edition
cover art by Paul Youll
They had government permission to hunt down and assassinate her. What the religious Huhsz cult wanted was simple - the most deadly and enigmatic weapon constructed, the Lazy Gun, lost among the planets of the Thrial star system. Whoever controls the Gun controls all the worlds of humankind. And Lady Sharrow, former antiquities thief and soldier, is the key. On the run, betrayed at every turn, Sharrow sets out to accomplish the impossible and exact revenge - even as she delves into the evil at the very heart of humanity.
Long live the Useless Kings.......2006-01-04
Definitely great vintage Banks SF, which is not set in the Culture universe.
Golter, the planet where the action takes place, is old and extremely isolated and has suffered many rises and collapses of civilizations, some so advanced that their technology now looks like magic. The overall impression is a cross between Vance's Dying Earth and the Mote in God's Eye, liberally sprinled with cyberpunkish dystopia and Banks' tongue-in-cheek anti-capitalism.
The heroine, Sharrow, chases after the Lazy Gun, a long-lost military artifact of tremendous power, while being chased by a religious cult dedicated to killing her. She rounds up her old war buddies for one last hurrah and they are off to the races, punctuated with flashbacks about the war and Geis and Breyguhn, her cousin and half-sister, respectively.
Through the flashbacks it gradually becomes clear that guilt largely motivates Sharrow. Guilt about the previous time she found a Lazy Gun, and caused thousands to die, seems to be what separated her from Miz, her former lover. Sharrow is said to be a star cyberhacker, yet never does any hacking. Turns out that she killed her android butler as a teenager, doing a hacking prank. Yet all that guilt is only implied, never in the forefront.
The rest of Sharrow's team is pretty sketchily characterized, but that's OK as Sharrow, her family, and Golter are the only characters who really matter.
The plot rambles around somewhat and takes us on a tour of Golter's bizarre social/political/technological landscape, thus allowing Banks to pull out some truly bizarre societies to serve as a background to the main storyline.
It isn't too hard to guess how it will end, especially if you have read Banks before: it will end _BADLY_. But it is definitely a fun ride getting there.
An exemplary tragic space-opera. Highly recommended.......2005-09-07
______________________________________________
It would be hard to over-praise AADB, my favorite of Banks' novels. Instead, here is a fair sample [no spoilers]:
Zefla Franck, once described as nearly two meters of utter
voluptuousness with a brain, strolled along the lane, ...her long
golden hair undone and straggling to the waist of her slinky dress,
her shoes off and held over one shoulder.... The night was warm.
The faint breeze rising from the orchards in the valley below
smelled sweet.
She whistled and watched the sparkling sky, where Maidservant --
Golter's second moon -- shone blue-gray and bounteous near the
horizon -- a great stone-and-silver ship escorted and surrounded by
a school of flickering, glittering lights: habitats and factories,
satellites and mirrors.... It was, Zefla thought, really quite beautiful...
Moonlight and junklight. Junklight. Such a callous, mean-spirited
name for something so beautiful....
She watched a winking satellite move with a perfect, steady
stateliness across the vault.... She [put] her head down to make sure
she wouldn't trip.
She hiccuped suddenly. "Sh*t!" she said.
Maybe it was looking downward that did it. She looked back up at
the sky and hiccuped again. "Sh*t sh*t sh*t!"
... She was nearly home, and she hated going into the house with
the hiccups; Dloan always made fun of her.
Another hiccup. She growled and fixed all her attention on the
satellite. Her shin hit something hard. "Aow, f*ck!"
Zefla hopped around on one foot, clutching her shin. "Ow ow ow!"
she said. She glared at what she'd bumped into: ... a huge pale car,
almost filling the lane outside the house. Zefla glared at the insect-
spattered snout of the auto and muttered.
The shoes she'd beeen carrying dropped from her fingers to the
cobblestones; she hopped on top of the shoes, lost her footing, and
fell with a yelp into the luminous bushes.
She lay in the shrubbery, cradled on her back by the creaking
branches and surrounded by gently glowing leaves. Disturbed
insects buzzed around her head and tickled her bare legs and
forearms.
"Oh, sodomy," Zefla sighed as the door opened...
"Zef?" said a female voice.
"Hell's caries," Zefla groaned. "I might have known. I suppose this
is your car? ....I thought they had collision-avoidance radar."
"It's switched off, " Sharrow said, stooping to retrieve Zefla's shoes
from the cobbles.
Zefla sighed. "Mine, too."
[copyright 1993 Iain M. Banks. Sorry for the silly elisions, required by Amaz*n's Mrs Grundy]]
Making (or renewing) the lush and lovely Zefla's
acquaintance should be incentive enough to motivate you to
bookstore or shelf....
Banks' space operas repay rereading; for me, the second reading is
usually better than the first. I wasn't bowled over by my first go at
Against a Dark Background, but the second time really clicked.
Except for his almost-obligatory Tragic Ending, wherein Zefla -- and
other characters I'd grown fond of (and some I hadn't) -- come to
grief. Oh, weel -- lad's read his Shakespeare tragedies. Not to
mention his European history.
Happy reading--
Pete Tillman
Another Banks' spin on the meaning of life........2005-05-14
Vicious stuff; the kind of thing you expect from Banks.
The man is just amazing, an imagination more fecund than anything else I've ever encountered. Like _Use of Weapons_ we have the destructive sibling rivalry, like _Consider Phlebas_ we have a grand tour meeting strange and marvellous things along the way.
But most important, in the background we have the *large* theme. In the end, like the culture novels, this is a book about the point of life. The setting is a planetary system millions of light years from any other star and thus incapable of expanding beyond a very finite space. Given this limitation, civilizations have risen and fallen countless times.
The current system is an extreme version of the 20th century west mixed with medieval times --- wealthy corporations as more powerful than states, excessive bureaucracy and legalism --- but the specific details are not that important. The important issue is the question of should it be changed? And if so, too what? If it should be changed, how much suffering is justified in doing so? And what's the point of change, anyway; the new system will be just one more regime like countless regimes that have gone before.
What makes Banks so interesting (and so unpalatable to many readers) is, of course, that he has no answers to these questions, and that he doesn't have much faith in the stock answers society provides. The bulk of his books, including this one, is essentially, IMHO, arguments by example against the happy pat ways in which society answers these questions when they arise.
What makes this book so upsetting is perhaps that he doesn't even provide up the hedonistic comfort of the culture books, the idea that man is optimized for pleasure and might as well concentrate on that. All we get is a very Buddhist endless cycle of suffering with no escape.
Amazing.......2004-10-28
I read this a few years ago, but it still impresses me. The story is very dark with interesting twists and development. Like many you may find the story pointless at times but Banks is a very clever writer and manages to bring meaning and conclusion in a intelligent way. I found the character of Sharrow facinating and well the story left me feeling kind of disturbed, but nethertheless the book is very deep and powerful, and will take some thought to appreciate and digest. A fantastic read with a story that leaps out at you with real pathos.
Book Description
A Masterful blend of archaeology, anthropology, astronomy, and lively personal reportage, Maya Comos tells a constellation of stories, from the historical to the mythological, and envokes the awesome power of one of the richest civilizations ever to grace the earth.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent read for amateur and scholar!.......2007-02-18
I found this book to be very informative and interesting. Speaking strictly as an amateur Mayanist, with no college level education, the book captured my interest, and opened my eyes, to many things most people do not know about the Maya. This is a great read for anyone who has interest in the Maya of yesterday and today.
The First Book to Tell the Real Story About Maya Shamanism.......2000-06-14
As a person who has traveled in places where the modern Maya live--Honduras, Guatemala, and Mexico--and who has taken the trouble to get to know what the history and culture of these admirable people is really like, I have always been appalled at the number of books that claim to be about "Maya shamanism," but are really just New Age claptrap. While it is true that MAYA COSMOS does not read like a mass-market paperback, it is one of the most heartfelt, well-researched, and stunning books on the Maya that I have ever read. If you want the REAL story on who the Maya are and how their spiritual and cultural beliefs have evolved over the last 5,000 years, this is the book for you. Yes, there is some scientific data and research here, but I would rather a thousand times read that than the silly cultural misinformation written by dozens of New Age authors who project their own interpretations onto the art and the cities without even being able to read the very texts they are claiming to understand. The late Linda Schele was one of the five major figures who was responsible for cracking the code of the Maya language. As an art historian, she was well versed in the complex and fascinating symbolism of Maya culture. David Freidel has been a brilliant Maya archaeologist for over 25 years, and first became involved with the culture because of his interest in shamanism. Joy Parker, who, by the way, was the ghost-co-author of A FOREST OF KINGS (check out the Acknowledgements and the Forward where her work is credited) has spent over a dozen years working with the modern Maya (most recently, as an editor of Maya shaman Martin Prechtel's SECRETS OF THE TALKING JAGUAR and LONG LIFE, HONEY IN THE HEART) and with other indigenous cultures such as the North Native Americans (check out her book WOMAN WHO GLOWS IN THE DARK) and African cultures, so she brings a special personal interest and flair to this project. The first-person stories told in this book are priceless. I spent as many pleasurable hours reading it as I did the authors' first effort A FOREST OF KINGS. If you truly want to learn about the history of the Maya, the tragedy of the Spanish conquest, and how the modern Maya find the strength to endure, this is the book for you.
Not for the Beginner.......2000-05-11
I have to admit I didn't get more than halfway through this one - no way is this written for inquiring minds who aren't already versed in Mayan lore.
The book seems to describe the authors' discovery and fleshing-out of a new theory about how the Maya interpreted the stars. Apparently their creation story was all written up in the sky and, as the stars and planets moved, episodes in the creation were cyclically reinacted. This is not described very straight-forwardly, though, and I'm still not sure if I've got it right.
There is an attempt to make the whole thing read like a mystery novel, sort of a la "Celestine Prophesy": the book starts out describing the eager young scientists mixing with the wise tribals in an ancient ceremony. Later, for several chapters, one of the authors is quoted at length about how she discovered some commonality amongst various artifacts and codices which backed up some hypothesis, and which I entirely lost sight of by the end. She kept calling up friends and friends kept calling her up until I thought I was watching a Gidget movie. All the authors come off a little too New-Age loopy for me, adding lots of little asides praising the aboriginal and putting down the modern, and talking about how their life has been changed by their discoveries. But then, my confusion with all that Jaguar-3-Peccary-Holy-Twins-Tree-of-Life stuff may have made me just a bit grouchy.
At any rate, my point is, all the reviews on this page (except the very good Kirkus one) make the book sound like an easy read, which it isn't. It's a delineation of a hypothesis with some adventure stuff thrown in for better surface marketability. The result is, to me, confusing. Granted, it's not an easy subject, but that makes clear writing all the more important, especially if you're writing for mass consumption. Better to start out with one of Michael Coe's books and go from there.
Archeoastronomy of the Maya.......1999-07-21
The authors present Mayan archeoastronomy in a very readable and absorbable form. Compare the astronomy/astrology/ myths and stories of the Maya to other cultures of which you are aware, and you will see that this book presents a valuable contribution to world archeoastonomy.
Maya Cosmos is essential to archeo-astronomy.......1998-03-22
The foundation of Maya Cosmos is the re-discovery of the Mayan creation myth in hieroglyphs, art, and modern Mayan daily ceremonial ritual. The creation myth centers around First Father, the Maize god and father of the Twins, famous in the Popul Vuh creation story. First Father is identified with Orion where he is resurrected from the dead from the cleft carapace of a turtle, which are the three stars in Orion's belt. Recent studies in Egyptian archeo-astronomy has identified the constellation Orion with Osiris, the god of resurrection. The lower left star in Orion's belt, Alnitak, has been identified with the Great Pyramid of Giza. First Father emerges out of a cleft mountain and a cleft turtle carapace, the mountain here possibly related to the idea of the pyramid. Maya Cosmos has gathered a creation story that can be placed now in the archeo-astronomical tradition of the world. In like manner, ancient India has the god Vishnu sitting upon Mt. Meru. A serpent is entwined around this mountain and under the mountain is a great turtle. This identifies Vishnu and Osiris with First Father; Mt. Meru and the great pyramid with the Cleft Mountain; the Vishnu turtle with the Mayan constellation of the turtle, the belt of Orion; and the serpent entwined around Mt. Meru with the Mayan double-headed serpent of the Ecliptic. Maya Cosmos is the first book I have read that has looked at the archeo-astronomy of the Maya and the Olmec and has given archeo-astronomers a valuable resource.
Product Description
three thousand years on the shaman's path
Customer Reviews:
Praise Creation!.......2007-04-21
Mayan Cosmos Mirrors Your Creation
I dream of an older woman. She is holding a ball of clay in her hands, pressing and molding it with her fingers. She reveals that working clay helps her prepare for creativity.
Preparing for creativity arouses thoughts of the Creator. The Creator's gift was not a one-time blessing of that initial molding called Genesis, but is an ongoing, abundant outflowing at this and every moment. My personal awareness is one window through which the Creator experiences the world. My own actions, although molded by this force, are a local agent of this creation. When I pause to acknowledge the presence and companionship of the Creator, I feel grateful. The Creator's blessing perfectly balances the burden of individual responsibility I carry in that relationship. A shared burden can be carried lightly, with joy. Praise creation!
This meditation upon creativity and companionship with the Creator is but one of the blossoms sprouting on my sacred tree as I contemplate the book, Mayan Cosmos: Three Thousand Years on the Shaman's Path (William Morrow). The authors, David Freidel and Linda Schele, are respected Mayan archaeologists at competing univesities in Texas. Their previously acclaimed book A Forest of Kings: The Untold Story of the Ancient Maya presented the many secrets of Mayan history that were revealed with the recent breakthroughs in deciphering the enigmatic glyphs. Mayan Cosmos continues the revelations, presenting the Mayan spiritual philosophy and lifestyle.
There are so many congruences between Mayan mythology and the Christian faith that these two spiritually inspired civilizations were destined to meet. The Mayan recognizes in the Christian cross, for example, the secret of death and rebirth. That cross is the Mayan world tree, uniting heaven and earth, and providing passage between them. The common image of Jesus' exposed heart simultaneously dripping with blood while blossoming in a bouquet of flowers mirrors the Mayan perception of the sacrifice mutually required and offered between God and humanity.
I dream that I have decaptitated myself. I am looking in the mirror, marveling at how I can see with no head.
Mayan iconography of headless heroes portrays the necessary sacrifice of the personality so that the larger Self may enter into consciousness. The Creator needs reflection in the consciousness of the creature. To provide that reflection, the creature must relenquish pride of self-ownership and become a more transparent mirror of a greater reality. The mirror is also an important symbol, reflecting the universal truth, "As above, so below."
Among the many ways in which the Mayan finds the divine realm mirrored in the earthly sphere is in the ongoing fact of creation. The Mayans regularly celebrate creation by ritual enactments. They believe, in fact, that the Mayan's continued existence is totally dependent upon their remembering the Creator's presence. By properly reenacting the creation process, the Mayans provide God a conscious place in the world, a place that God needs and uses. By making themselves useful to God, the Mayans create for themselves a place in the cosmos that gives their lives meaning.
God created the Mayan race from corn. Their ritual acts of communion with this sacred food, much like the Christian rite of the last supper, not only provide their bodies spiritual nourishment, but gives God material, human embodiment and a window of experience through the Mayan awareness. Corn is the one grain that requires human assistance to seed itself. Corn is thus an archaeo-botanical riddle. It also reflects the Mayan's spiritual responsibility to the ongoing creation process.
What creation story do you use to guide your life? When was the last time you thought about that story, or participated in a ritual that re-enacted your creation? If you are uncertain of your creation story, you are not alone. Experts proclaim we are between creation myths and are wandering lost, reacting with anger to our frustrated need for meaning.
We devolve into a creature of habit when we lose the Creator awareness. When we forget our companionship with the Creator, our very existence is threatened.
Having a moment of silence before a meal, eating more slowly and mindfully are simple acts that can serve as reminders of our participation in the ongoing creation. In a home-study project with A.R.E. members, participants discovered, in fact, that such ritualized eating added priceless seasoning to the meal and extra nourishment for the soul.
Remembering, upon encountering a frustration, that God is molding the moment to inspire a leap of creativity, can help us make an opportunity out of the circumstance. In seeking a material expression through human actions and an individualized experience through human awareness, the Creator sometimes pinches the clay. We all have hearts through which the Creator shares love, and hands through which the Creator seeks to shape the world into a better home for that love.
I dream that a woman is teaching me how to dance among the sprouting corn plants. I am learning to step lightly. Praise creation! henryreed.com/publications/bookreviews
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- This Side of Eternity
- Three Novels: The Deep, Engine Summer, and Beasts
- Train to Durango: Border Empire 2 (Border Empire)
- Trouble in July
- Ulysses: A Reproduction of the 1922 First Edition
- Unlikely Angels: Cupid's Chase/Fool Me Twice/Birds of a Feather/A Season for Love (Palisades Pure Romance Valentine Anthology)
- Vecindarios excéntricos
- War with the Newts (European Classics)
- What It Takes to Get to Vegas
- Zane Grey's Laramie Nelson: Other Side of the Canyon (Gunsmoke Westerns)
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