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).
Book Description
Over the past three centuries, London has established itself as one of the world's most inventive fashion capitals. City life and fashion have always been intertwined, but nowhere has this relationship been more excitingly expressed than on the streets of London. Fashioning London looks at the manner in which particular styles of dress became associated with this leading international city, ultimately challenging the dominance of Paris, Milan and New York. From the pleasure gardens and coffee houses of the eighteenth century, through Victorian extremes of poverty and conspicuous pleasure-driven consumption, to the explosions of subcultural taste that define the capital today, Londoners have constantly offered an idiosyncratic reading of fashionability that has profoundly influenced the nature of style elsewhere. Drawing on a range of sources, including paintings, street photography, maps, tourist guides, literature, stage, and press representations, Fashioning London paints a vivid and definitive portrait of London's iconoclastic style.
Book Description
Their names are legend: Snake Eyes. Kamakura. The Silent Ninja Master and his Apprentice, both valued members of the G.I. Joe team. But it wasn't always that way... Only a few years ago, the G.I. Joe team had been disbanded, leaving Snake-Eyes with a chance to find peace with his fiancee, Scarlett. Sean Collins was a bright young career soldier, chosen to serve in an elite unit called Hammer Team. But a bitter twist of fate would bring them together. In one terrible night, both men see all they hold dear shattered at the hands of the terrorist known as Firefly. Neither sees any hope for the future - until Sean seeks the discipline of Ninja teachings. Bound by fate, the two men embark on a quest for justice as Master & Apprentice.
Customer Reviews:
THE MASTER TAKES AN APPRENTICE...TWICE!.......2005-06-10
This trade paperback takes place in the time that the G.I. Joe team had been disbanded and Snake Eyes was living a quiet life with Scarlett and the two are soon to be wed. Snake Eyes has taken on an apprentice, who will be the last pupil to be trained in the Arashikage clan. Ophelia is a young woman and quite capable and after going through her training with T'jbang and Nunchuck, she is ready to undergo her final trial with Snake Eyes.
Meanwhile, Sean Collins, the Son of Wade Collins, a former...and reformed...member of Cobra's Crimson Guard has joined an elite special-ops unit called the Hammer Team. They are given the assignment of capturing the former Cobra Terrorist and mercenary code named Firefly, who is recruiting operatives for a mysterious third party. The Hammer Team sets the trap for Firefly and are joined by Snake Eyes and Ophelia. But the operation is botched badly and Firelfy kills Ophelia and escapes.
Both Collins and Snake Eyes are guilt-ridden, blaming themselves for the tragedy. Snake Eyes calls off his wedding to Scarlett and escapes to his retreat in the wilderness. Collins soon shows up and offers to become Snake Eyes' newest apprentice. Collins takes on the name of Kamakura and learns the way of the Arashikage Ninja. Eventually Firefly is tracked to Tokyo as Snake Eyes, Kamakura, and Other Joe members again go after the Merc only this time another surprise awaits Snake Eyes...a foe from his past!
One of the great things that Devil's Due has done since taking over the G.I. Joe comic license is to personalize the various characters and give them some depth that they never had under Marvel's guidance. Previously they were one-dimensional characters distinguished mainly by their code names but writer Brandon Jerwa has fleshed out these characters, and made them real by giving them a human side. The silent Snake Eyes can speak volumes with his eyes and expressions and there is true heartbreak when he cancels his wedding to Scarlett. The Sean Collins character is an interesting one as he is seeking double redemption for the death of Ophelia as well as for his father's past with Cobra. He literally gives himself to Snake Eyes in a move of ultimate honor.
"Master and Apprentice" is well paced and balances action and drama as well as any Joe tale I've ever read. The art by Sunder Raj and Stefano Castelli is darker and grittier than many other Joe tales and complements the story perfectly. The book also features bio pages on the major players in this story which serve to give it even more depth. This is one of Devil's Due's best G.I. Joe stories yet.
Reviewed by Tim Janson
Book Description
Do you know what a snollygoster is? Would you eat something called a muktuk? Do you know anyone who engages in onolatry? Impress your friends and pepper your dinner party conversations with such nuggets as gobemouche, mumpsimus, and cachinnate. You can learn about all of these bizarre and beautiful words and many more in Totally Weird and Wonderful Words. Both witty and entertaining, this new paperback brings together two best-selling compendiums to all words unique and strange, Weird and Wonderful Words and More Weird and Wonderful Words. Offering a potpourri of colorful and fascinating words compiled by noted lexicographer Erin McKean, it contains hundreds of definitions, and has been updated to include two new essays, with over 150 words new to this edition. Written in a clear and conversational style, the book contains full-page cartoon illustrations by Roz Chast and Danny Shanahan. Featuring hundreds of words guaranteed to amuse and astonish, this is a book that will appeal to logophiles everywhere. It also features a bibliography of Oxford dictionaries and a guide to creating your own unusual words correctly from Greek and Latin roots. Smart and funny and with just a touch of whimsy, Totally Weird and Wonderful Words is the perfect book for reading in your sitooterie with a bumbo in your hand while mavises sing in your ear.
Customer Reviews:
In fact, this is a combination of the previous two books plus more than 150 new words.......2007-04-20
The previous reviewer stated that this title was the same as the first book in the series, Weird and Wonderful Words. In fact, this book is a compilation of BOTH books (Weird and Wonderful Words and MORE Weird and Wonderful Words) with the addition of more than 150 new words not found in either previous title, as well as two new essays.
Hope this clears up any confusion!
different title, not quite the same book.......2007-03-18
Buyer beware: this is exactly the same book (except for title) as "Weird and Wonderful Words", which is listed here as being by Simon Winchester but in fact is also by Erin McKean. It's an enjoyable book, but you wouldn't want to buy it twice thinking you were getting a sequel.
=========================================
CORRECTION:
My apologies to the beleaguered author - a more careful re-examination of the introduction does indeed disclose that this is a combination of the two previous books, and I'm sure it does include the additional new words. When I first opened it up, all the entries I looked at were repeats, so I jumped to a hasty conclusion.
I do think, though, that online buyers need an advisory on this, as some others might otherwise make the same mistake I did, of thinking that this one is a third book "totally" different from the first two.
Book Description
Weird and Wonderful Words is a pot-pourri, a gallimaufry, a salmagundi, a treasure trove of colourful, quirky, and unusual words. Containing hundreds of definitions written in a clear and conversational style and full-page illustrations which offer a whimsical and hilarious view of our glorious language. Amuse yourself and entertain your friends with your knowledge of who a snollygoster or a Funambulist may be, what a humdudgeon or a nubbingcheat was, or why you might want to engage in catopromancy. Appendices include a bibliography of Oxford dictionaries and a guide to creating your own unusual words correctly from Greek and Latin roots. The perfect stocking filler and gift book, Weird and Wonderful Words is sure to be a favourite of logophiles (word lovers) everywhere.
Customer Reviews:
Rather disappointing........2007-03-01
The words were certainly weird enough, (except for "scofflaw", which I'd thought was a pretty standard and normal one) and I suppose "wonderfulness" is in the eye of the beholder; I just didn't find this book to be as interesting as I'd expected it to be; perhaps I'm not quite the logophile that I'd always thought of myself as. The concept seems interesting to me, but the execution was just a bit too bland for my taste.
Meet the colorful and strange side of English........2004-06-19
This informative, entertaining and amusing reference explains the meaning of hundreds of the most bizarre, astonishing and interesting words that, although technically a part of the English lexicon, have been laid aside from our everyday conversations and are now forgotten and waiting to be found.
Organized alphabetically in a dictionary format, each entry, written in a conversational style, provides a clear definition of a specific word. It often includes the word's origin, and sometimes it's accompanied by a humorous drawing that serves to illustrate both the word's meaning and its usage.
The book also contains a few particular and very funny sections that deal with groups of related words: anatomical terms, names of illnesses, words that begin with the letter "x," and words that end in "logy," among others.
Another hilarious section is "How to Create Your Own Weird and Wonderful Words," intended as a practical guide to help you coin your own unusual vocabulary by using Greek and Latin roots and loose linguistic rules to insure the most legitimate sounding spellings and pronunciation.
As a bonus, especially for those of us interested in doing some further reading, the author also supplies a list of web sites that feature the history and curiosities of the English language, and a list of Oxford dictionaries and reference books.
The only thing missing from this volume is a pronunciation guide, otherwise it is the perfect way to discover, by either direct consultation or casual browsing, the unusual words like ascesis, passiuncle and illywhacker, that decorate our language.
This book is a must-buy for word enthusiasts or trivia lovers alike.
--Reviewed by Maritza Volmar
Weird and Wonderful.......2004-06-07
While this book has entertainment value, it should not be used to increase your vocabulary or help with test scores. It is only a book to skim over on a lazy day, sleepover or boring weekend. The words are defintely not ones you would use everyday.
Fun.......2004-03-26
I leave this one in the Bath room people get a kick out of the diffrant words.Very interesting.(ammusing)
A Foray into Logodaedaly.......2003-03-06
Word lovers should find this book highly entertaining. The selected words include some of my personal favorites, and a great many words completely new to me, some of which are new favorites. The illustrations are ho-hum and may lead many readers to wish the space had been used for more words. Luckily, the compiler plans a collection of weirder and wonderfuller words, which will be given some prosaic title by the publisher.
One caveat: there are some racy entries, not enough to spur sales, but enough to give the book an X rating in some households and a PG-13 in many. Too bad, as the book would otherwise be an excellent inspiration for many a young wordsmith. Perhaps the compiler can be persuaded to gather a similar collection of words, like "googol", of interest to children and adults alike. If only this collection had been just a shade more verecund!
I'll let you buy the book if you want to know the precise meanings of logodaedaly and verecund.
Book Description
Wouldn't you like to use proctomorph in your everyday conversation--or at least feel as if you could? How about singerie? Or rememble? Following the smash hit Weird and Wonderful Words, editor Erin McKean has dug deeper into forgotten corners of the dictionary gathering both the most spectacular old and the most impressive new words. The result is more than four hundred prime specimens (with pronunciations!), defined in a conversational style and perfect for adding to your own collection of favorites. Guaranteed to amuse and astonish, accompanied by full-page illustrations by New Yorker cartoonist Danny Shanahan, these words will appeal to logophiles everywhere. In addition to its wonderful offerings, the book also features a guide to finding new words, a guide to the best word websites, and an annotated bibliography of essential Oxford dictionaries. More Weird and Wonderful Words: anopisthograph: something that has writing on only one side (usually paper, although you could pedantically use this for things like t-shirts or billboards). Anopisthography is the practice of writing on only one side of something, a policy disdained by those who know how to make that 1-to-2 button on the copy machine work. (Opisthography is the practice of writing on both sides.) (from Greek words that mean "written on the back or cover.") mesonoxian: of or related to midnight. "What are your mesonoxian plans?" sounds so much better on Dec. 31 than "Hey, whatcha doin' tonight?" ichoglan: a page waiting in the palace of the Sultan. (from Turkish words that mean "interior" and "young man."). In this definition, 'waiting' obviously means 'serving,' but it's so much more poetic to understand it as 'to stay in expectation of.' What is he waiting FOR? Alas, the Sultan has fled, and we will never know.
Customer Reviews:
Even More of What I Liked Before.......2003-10-28
This book has even more of the kind of words that made "Weird and Wonderful Words" great. Not just 50-cent words for their own sake, but words that have interesting meanings as well. The essays are just as clever as in the first book and the illustrations show a slightly darker sense of humor.
My only quibble from the first book has been dealt with -- this book includes pronunciations for all of the entries.
If you liked the first book, you will find this one to be even more of what you enjoyed. If you didn't read the first one, you have two pleasures waiting for you.
Now all we need is the page-a-day calendar.
Average customer rating:
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The Fun Facts Dictionary: A World of Weird and Wonderful Words (Three of Three Series)
Bernadette McCarver Snyder
Manufacturer: Liguori Publications
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Customer Reviews:
Disappointing!.......2000-06-04
I ordered this book to find material for my "Word of the Day" I use in class. While the book does have interesting information about words, it also proselytizes for Christianity about every third or fourth entry. Examples: After telling about an elephant (as if most kids don't know!), "Aren't you glad YOU can jump? Do some jumping today! Go outside and jump...and tell God thanks for YOUR special spring mechanism!" About 'far-flung,' "...you could say that you have one far-flung friend who is always near - your friend God!" A great book for hard-core Christians, perhaps, but not recommended for anyone with a different view.
Customer Reviews:
The Dictionary for the Rest of Us..........2002-07-09
Merriam Webster's may be the authority on the words we should use. This book offers the first and last word on those that we do use (and want to use). In a variety of chapters grouped by theme ("Curses," "British Words," "Acronyms" and so on), the author presents us with a special and funny collection of terms that are exotic, funny, quirky and ribald. Who knew that "Trigamy" involved having one more spouse than a bigamist? Who knew that there existed a person who cleans feathers for reuse in pillows? Or that his job title is "Feather Renovator"? Or that there were at least 2,231 words and phrases available to describe drunkenness? I am 20 years into a career of journalism and law and have had this book on my desk the entire time. It has proven invaluable many, many times -- on some occasions only for a pleasant diversion. On others to find just the right phrase for an argument or an article. It is a true treasure.
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- Pictures and Tears : A History of People Who Have Cried in Front of Paintings
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