Average customer rating:
- Maybe I missed something...
- Combat Photography- Today's Hotspot Journalist/Photography
- A gripping, totally accurate, tale of WWII
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Shooting the Pacific War: Marine Corps Combat Photography in Wwii
Thayer Soule
Manufacturer: University Press of Kentucky
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 081312137X |
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Fortune favored Thayer Soule. He witnessed the slaughter at Iwo Jima and spent four months under fire on Guadalcanal, yet never received a scratch. When he joined the Marines in 1941, before he had even begun basic training, he was given command of an entirely new organization, the photographic office of the Marine Corps's First Division. Starting from nothing, with great ingenuity, he created a unit that made training films and photographed action against the enemy. He embraced new technology; when he discovered that the military's maps of the Solomon Islands dated from 1910 and were full of errors, he created new maps from aerial photographs. Though obviously very talented, he recounts his story in an unassuming way and with good humor. His unique position gave him extraordinary access to senior officers fascinated by new uses of the technology, access that he exploited to the full. His anecdotes of the men he met, from generals and admirals to sergeants and privates, show acute psychological insight. He tells of the terror of war and the bitter loss of close friends, but leavens his tale with the comradeship that seems to be the strongest memory of old soldiers. Shooting the Pacific War is a lively and unusual account of a gifted photographer's experiences in World War II. --John Stevenson
Book Description
Thayer Soule trained the Marine Corps' first photographic field unit and led it into combat.
With no previous military experience or formal instruction, Soule felt his way through the Corps. Assigned to create a unit from scratch, he established first policies for combat photography. He saw the suspicion and distrust of senior officers disappear as his unit's work in map production, intelligence photography, and photos released to the general public won their understanding and respect.
Shooting the Pacific War is based on Soule's detailed wartime journals. He provides intriguing closeups of generals, admirals, sergeants, and privates—everyone he met and worked with along the way. His story includes the heat of battle as well as the intense training before and rebuilding after each campaign.
Soule saw New Zealand in the desperate days of 1942. His Division was rebuilt in Australia following Guadalcanal. After a stint back in Quantico training more combat photographers, he went to Guam, which provided a quiet interlude before the conflagration at Iwo Jima. At war's end he was Photographic Officer, Fleet Marine Force Pacific, at Pearl Harbor.
Customer Reviews:
Maybe I missed something..........2000-12-28
but for some reason I expected this to be a book with Marine Corps combat photography in it. There are very few pictures- it's mostly text. Maybe I didn't read the review well enough, but it wasn't what I expected. It might be a good read, but I'll be returning it to get something with combat photos in it.
Combat Photography- Today's Hotspot Journalist/Photography.......2000-03-28
Soule's book is a must read. It not only demonstrates great heroism of Marines and Marine photographers busy documenting the Pacific War, it also conveys a series of valuable anacdotes derived from his personal diary of the time. These are valuable to readers who might be engaged in dangerous endeavors such as reporting or documenting events in hotspots around the world today. Truly an exciting, pleasant and informative book well worth your time.
A gripping, totally accurate, tale of WWII.......2000-02-29
This book gives the reader, in hair-raising detail and gentle humor, the story of a green-horn photographer turned battle scarred fighter for freedom, in the days before and after Guadalcanal. The "can do, will do" spirit of the American troops in spite of all odds, is beautifully depicted. Thayer Soule was there and his word pictures are as good as his photography, which won many awards. Well worth reading.
Average customer rating:
- Fascinating!
- Quest for the Phoenix
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Quest for the Phoenix: Spiritual Alchemy and Rosicrucianism in the Work of Count Michael Maier (1569-1622) (Arbeiten Zur Kirchengeschichte)
Hereward Tilton
Manufacturer: Walter de Gruyter
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 3110176378 |
Customer Reviews:
Fascinating!.......2004-02-20
What a wonderful book! Recommended not only for scholars, but also for the layperson interested in alchemy and the Western esoteric tradition. The reader learns not only about the adventurous life and fascinating writings of the famous German alchemist Michael Maier, but also gets insight into the facts and myths concerning the origins of Rosicrucianism. Tilton has opened a fascinating world to the reader in this book.
Quest for the Phoenix.......2003-10-16
Table of Contents
Foreword
I Introduction: Jung and Early Modern Alchemy
1 The alchemical chimera 1
2 The reception of Jung amongst historians of alchemy 2
3 The arguments of Principe and Newman 9
4 The origins of Jung's alchemy and the work of Richard Noll 18
5 'Secret threads': the seventeenth century 'Carl Jung of Mainz' and Count Michael Maier 22
6 Spiritual alchemy, Rosicrucianism and the work of Count Michael Maier 30
II Maier's Formative Years
1 The context of Maier's life and thought 35
2 Auguries of fortune: Maier's childhood and parentage 38
3 The influence of Governor Heinrich Rantzau 45
4 Galenism and Maier's studies at Frankfurt an der Oder 48
5 'First love and grief': Maier's peregrinatio academica 54
6 The theses on epilepsy 59
7 Contact with the arcana 61
8 Maier's first alchemical experiment 65
III Bohemia and England
1 Maier at the court of Emperor Rudolf II 69
2 The Hymnosophia 71
3 The reversal of fortune 77
4 The most secret of secrets 80
5 A 'Rosicrucian mission' to England? 87
6 The seventeenth rung of the alchemical ladder and the art of gold-making 91
7 A journey to England 99
8 Francis Anthony and the 'drinkable gold' 102
9 The Golden Tripod: "Truth is concealed under the cover of shadows" 107
IV The Rosicrucian 'Imposture'
1 Illness and a chance encounter 113
2 The origins of Rosicrucianism and the Leipzig Manuscript of Michael Maier 116
3 Johann Valentin Andreae and the nature of the Order 127
4 The serious jest 131
5 An invitation to Rosicrucians, wherever they may lie hidden 139
6 Uncovering the true Brethren 150
7 Defining Rosicrucianism: Silentium post Clamores and the Themis Aurea 160
8 Regni Christi frater: Maier's 'entrance into the Order' 173
V The Completion of the Work
1 The squaring of the natural circle 181
2 Maier and the Calvinist court of Moritz of Hessen-Kassel 189
3 Millennialism, nationalism and the descent into war 192
4 The Civitas Corporis Humani - procuring a medicine of piety 202
5 Ulysses and the death of Maier 208
6 The phoenix and the return of the long-absent traveller 215
VI Conclusion: Maier and the Historiography of Alchemy
1 Piety and the coniunctio oppositorum 233
2 Chymia and alchemia 235
3 The 'Tradition' and the fate of Maier's thought 237
4 Alchemy and the re-emergence of Rosicrucianism 249
5 The historiography of alchemy 253
Bibliography 257
Index 278
Illustrations 289
Book Description
Doctor of Philosophy and of Medicine, Alchemist, Rosicrucian, and Mystic, Life and Writings. Contents: Life of Maier; References to Maier and His Works; A compendium of his works.
Customer Reviews:
Offering a biography of this alchemical pioneer.......2004-03-04
First published in 1914, the photo-mechanically reproduced edition of Count Michael Maier: Life And Writings by J. B. Craven analyzes all of the works about alchemy created by Count Michael Maier (1568-1622). Offering a biography of this alchemical pioneer, his pursuit for the formula that would transmute lead into gold, his views of alchemy as both science and a metaphor for spiritual attainment, and so much more, Count Michael Maier: Life And Writings is an amazing compilation that sublimely captivates a creative passion that transcends its century of origin. Count Michael Maier: Life And Writings is an invaluable addition to contemporary Alchemy Studies reading lists and reference collections.
Book Description
THIS 13 PAGE ARTICLE WAS EXTRACTED FROM THE BOOK: Count Michael Maier, by Count Michael Maier. To purchase the entire book, please order ISBN 0922802920.
Average customer rating:
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Count Michael Maier: Rosicrucian, Alchemist And Mystic
J. B. Craven
Manufacturer: Kessinger Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 1417984082 |
Book Description
THIS 11 PAGE ARTICLE WAS EXTRACTED FROM THE BOOK: Count Michael Maier, by Count Michael Maier. To purchase the entire book, please order ISBN 0922802920.
Book Description
THIS 12 PAGE ARTICLE WAS EXTRACTED FROM THE BOOK: Count Michael Maier, by Count Michael Maier. To purchase the entire book, please order ISBN 0922802920.
Amazon.com
For all the devastation and suffering AIDS has caused worldwide, we have devoted surprisingly little attention to its beginnings. Former UN official and BBC correspondent Edward Hooper hopes to find the source of AIDS in The River, a stunningly comprehensive yet deeply engaging scientific history of the disease. Through more than 10 years of research comprising over 600 interviews and untold hours of library work, Hooper has uncovered a complex, interlocking set of stories--of scientific research, of medical assistance to the Third World, of political and economic exigencies that drive the courses of our lives--and brought them together in over 1,000 pages of text, footnotes, references, and illustrations.
His thesis, that HIV made the jump from simians to humans via the administration of oral polio vaccine in Africa in the 1950s, is still controversial, but his arguments are powerful, broad, and undeniable--all that is lacking is conclusive proof. Like a good scientist (and, sad to say, unlike any HIV researcher to date), he offers several easy tests of his hypothesis. His tales of brilliant epidemiological deductions, biochemical comparisons, and physiological insights ought to convince the medical establishment that the answer can and should be found, both to help us deal with the current crisis and to keep us from creating new ones of its ilk. In a litigation-weary world, though, it seems that it will take the kind of tireless, impartial research found in The River to show us--and our leaders--that blame should take a back seat to truth when extreme circumstances demand it. --Rob Lightner
Book Description
While science has devoted much of its efforts to finding a cure for AIDS, the sources of this deadly epidemic remain largely unexamined. Distinguished science journalist Edward Hooper presents the meticulously researched, and highly readable, history of HIV and its possible origins. Pursuing leads across the U.S., the Caribbean, Europe, and Africa, Hooper pieces together the tantalizing clues offered by long-archived blood samples, early AIDS-like cases, and the medical interventions in Africa and elsewhere that may have played a role in SIVs crossover into humans. Hooper examines over two dozen theories of origin, and eventually discards most of them.
Customer Reviews:
Could it lead to a cure if true?.......2007-07-19
We should be looking more at what organizations are doing to people in Africa, and why so many Africans are suspicious of supposed humanitarians. All we see in television documentaries is a condescending attitude that "they" just don't understand science but rarely do they show the results of several known incidents of tainted vaccines, let alone those that are only suspected but with no proof.
More than just pointing fingers, if the hypothesis is true, it could lead to a cure if only the mainstream would look into it. How much information could researchers glean if this was the source, and they could backtrack the steps?
I bet it would help a lot!
The book should be put back into print.
amazing look at the origin of AIDS..........2007-02-26
Edward Hooper has written an amazingly researched hypothesis on the origin of the AIDS virus. He takes us back to the 50's around the region of the Congo River where clinical trials are being conducted on polio vaccines. The race is on whereas the scientist who can come up with the most accepted from of a polio vaccine will have ensured their place in medical history. In the race for fame and prize could scientists have unknowingly released a virus that will kill millions? The facts presented by Hooper are scary and convincing, it all makes sense as the dots are connected in this meticulously research book but the final piece will probaly never be found or admitted to and while this book leaves a strong impression, it remains what it is, a theory that might not be able to be proven. Too bad.
Forever Inspiring! Opening the Eyes of Science!.......2005-10-26
As a Biology and Pre-med student in 1999, I purchased this book fresh off the shelf, when it was first being sold. Dedicated to the world of science and research, I was eager to learn more about health, science, diseases, and the epidemic called AIDS.
As other reviewers have stated, this book is an excellent body of investigative research. It is also speculative in some instances to bridge the gaps between science and reality. I believe Hooper stayed as neutral as possible. He did interview many people, but guards against letting contaminate his own views in recording the evidence. The results are very clear and concise. The answers are all supported very thoroughly.
This book was inspiring to me because it opened the eyes of a dedicated young scientist (myself) to the dangers of science. There is corruption in every system, even one founded on saving people's lives! For the love of humanity, I do not understand how competition and greed has been so interlaced with our medical system from researchers to personal doctors, but it has. People should know the truth. This book takes one huge step towards revealing it! Aids is not the only epidemic or disease created by our own hands.
Thank you Mr. Hooper!
~SS
How so much could go wrong.......2005-09-09
The title of this book refers to the Congo River of Africa. This great river became famous in Western minds in the 1800s with the journeys of Dr. Livingstone. Later, it would be the setting of The Heart of Darkness. Doctors and scientists in the heart of darkness indeed as The River explains in its long, well-documented, exhaustive tale of secretive, unregulated medical research. This book's author interviews hundreds of individuals involved in this process, goes over countless documents, and from it, pieces together the following story.
After WWII there was a race to find a vaccine for polio that could be administered orally. Numerous groups of scientists from around the world took part in this race; the prize being fame, fortune, and patents galore. In public, these teams agreed to perform all their research in Western countries, document everything, and only conduct tests on adults who had signed written consent forms. In reality, many of these teams flocked to the Africa Congo to perform large-scale tests on unwitting and unknowing human populations, often without oversight by the press or medical institutions. These groups would inject various African primates with polio, extract serum from the infected primates, and using this serum to make experimental vaccines which would then be given to the local human populations.
This book contends that by this process, HIV was accidentally transmitted from certain monkeys into humans. The author provides numerous pieces of evidence in proof of this theory. First, the very same villages in the Congo where HIV was first discovered also happened to be the very same villages in which the polio tests were performed. Second, HIV was diagnosed in these villages 10 - 20 years after the polio tests were performed. Third, none of the other currently existing theories can explain how a primate virus passed into the human population, and spread so quickly, over a period of 4 decades, given that the two populations of monkeys and humans had coexisted in the same habitat since the dawn of man without any such transmission. Fourth, during public hearings in the 1950s, the various teams presented their oral vaccines to the world scientific community. One team found an unknown immunodeficiency virus in one of the samples provided by another team. Hmmm, an unknown immunodeficiency virus... sounds like HIV to me... Fifth, the scientists that conducted these trials in the Congo are unwilling to release their samples and scientific data for public scrutiny, even though all the patents and honors have already been distributed...
Overall, this is a very good book. Even if you do not believe the author's theory, I still highly recommend it for the author covers a lot of aspects of the medical field that one might not necessarily learn in school or in the newspapers. These include making and testing vaccines, animal testing, human testing, obtaining funding for medical research, scientific protocol, relationships between the medical community and governments, medical reporting, competition in the medical community, statistical sampling, and epidimiology.
Indictment of Koprowski and "Big Science".......2005-04-17
Ah, if only AIDS would have remained "GRID," a gay disease that only infected and affected gays! Nobody would care!!
Stinging statement, isn't it? From the perspective of Koprowski and other involved scientists and governments, that sentence probably rings quite true.
It is important to note that this book is essentially a hypothesis which brings so much circumstantial evidence to its defense, that it is impossible to ignore. Thankfully, growing numbers of scientists are bucking the trend and receiving the OPV/AIDS theory as highly plausible.
I am not going to go into all of the details, but I would like to say that unfortunately for so many "scientists," who are more loyal to their own "theories" than to available facts/evidence, this book and Ed Hooper's work is now MONUMENTAL. It is people like Hooper, with an eye for objectivity and the heart of a lion, that can change the course of history. Indeed, the pen is mightier than the sword.
Koprowski's career will be forever stained, not because of the information provided in this book, but because of his refusal to face the OPV/AIDS theory head-on like a true scientist.
I highly suggest reading "And the Band Played On" immediately after completing The River.
Average customer rating:
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The River: A Journey to the Source of HIV and AIDS
Manufacturer: Allen Lane . The Penguin Press.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0713993359 |
Amazon.com
Tomato clafoutis, herb-cured filet of beef Carpaccio, garlic family soup, Catalan tuna daube: these and 171 other recipes pour off the pages of this sumptuous coffee-table cookbook by the author of Bistro Cooking and Simply French. Wells concentrates on coaxing the utmost flavor out of simple, fresh food, and her French recipes are not all swimming in cream, oils, and fats: the filet, for example, profits not from a heavy sauce but from being wrapped for two days in tarragon, parsley, basil, thyme, and salt. In a couple of places Wells even commits the heresy, for a French-style chef, of switching a red wine used to simmer meat to a white wine.
Book Description
For the past fifteen years, Patricia Wells has been carrying on a love affair with a region of France, a centuries-old farmhouse, and a cuisine. Provence is uniquely blessed with natural beauty as well as some of the world's most appealing foods and liveliest wines Wells's culinary skills have transformed the signature ingredients of this quintessential French countryside into recipes so satisfying and so exciting that they will instantly become part of your daily repertoire.
Here are over 175 recipes from Wells's farmhouse kitchen, including whole chapters on salads, vegetables, pasta, and bread There are simple but imaginative "palate openers," such as Tuna Tapenade and Curried Zucchini Blossoms, and soul-satisfying soups, with such delights as Monkfish Bouillabaisse with Aroli, Wells's own brilliant interpretation of a Provencal classic. When it comes to meat and poultry, Wells offers earthy daubes, the slow-simmered stews so beloved by the French, and such melt-in-your-mouth delicacies as Butter-Roasted Herbed Chicken You will savor Wells's fish and shellfish creations with recipes like Seared Pancetta-Wrapped Cod. And no meal would be complete without a delight from the treasure trove of desserts here, including Cherry-Almond Tart and Winemaker's Grape Cake.
Illustrated with famed photographer Robert Fréson's captivating pictures, Patricia Wells at Home in Provence is a book you'll want to revisit time and again.
Customer Reviews:
Patricia Wells At Home In Provence.......2007-02-17
This is a WONDERFUL cookbook containing some of the best recipes I have ever prepared. But more than that, it's an invitation to enjoy the landscape and history of Provence. Excellent work, Patricia!
Warm regards, Linda Quest :)
A treasure found again.......2006-01-05
I bought this book in 1997, made many of the truly excellent recipes, but somehow forgot about it -- the result, I suspect, of my hobby of (addiction to?) purchasing cookbooks. But, while searching for something different to fix for 2005's Christmas dinner, I remembered Patricia's recipe for "City Steak" and, voila, we enjoyed a marvelous meal of City Steak, Fake Frites and Cheesemaker's Salad -- so easy, so delicious!
Thumbing through my copy and the contemporaneous notes I always write for each recipe tried, I was reminded of how we happily devoured the Amazing Sorrel Soup, Turnip and Cumin Puree, Monsieur Henny's Eggplant Gratin, Checchino Dal 1887's Spaghetti alla Carbonara, Steamed Salmon with Warm Lemon Vinaigrette and the Beef and White Wine Daube from Arles, to name a few. I suspect this book will now be a somewhat permanent fixture in my kitchen since there are dozens of recipes I can't wait to try -- even the breads and desserts that usually don't interest me. Yes, it truly is a treasure.
It's Patricia Wells' world..........2005-04-26
...we all just want to be living in it. Perhaps what makes her cookbooks so popular is the impression she gives that we can. Good food, grown yourself or obtained fresh, simply prepared, and appreciated with friends--these things do not require a farmhouse in Provence to enjoy. Nevertheless, owning such a farmhouse would be a joy, and Wells, along with photographer Robert Freson, charmingly captures the experience of farming, cooking, and entertaining in Provence. As for the recipes, they are, like those in all of Wells' books, fairly simple to execute, fresh, appealing, and very tasty. By baking an olive oil brioche, roasting a chicken, or mixing up a simple tapanade, we too can experience the pleasure that comes from making food with our own hands and sharing with family and friends.
Appealing to all of the senses.......2004-08-13
In luscious pictures (by Robert Freson), recipes and anecdotes, "Patricia Wells At Home In Provence" contributes enthusiastically to America's love affair with the place. Seasonal freshness is paramount and Wells prefers her meats and fish whole and unboned. Organized by course, Recipes include tips for storage, techniques, accompaniments and wines.
Many recipes are simple - a "caviar" made with black olives and butter, Goat Cheese Gratin ("pizza without the crust"), raw Grated Beet Salad, Quick Chicken Lemon Soup, Potatoes Roasted in Sea Salt, Lemon-Thyme Lamb Chops.
Others require a bit more time - Beef and White Wine Daube From Arles with Anchovies and Capers, Chanteduc Rabbit with Garlic and Preserved Lemons, Sea Bass in Parchment with Warm Pistou.
One of the nicest aspects of Wells style is her penchant for describing techniques and the reasoning behind them - from the action of citrus in a seviche to filleting a fish to blanching olives or cutting up a rabbit.
A delightful treat for sensuous cooks.
Rich, Rewarding Source of French / Mediteranean Recipes.......2004-03-13
When I saw that Patricia Wells was having a new book published in Spring, I began, after several months of procrastinating, to review a series of her books, especially since the new book seems to overlap the book I am about to review in this MS.
Wells is high in the pantheon of distaff culinary journalist / teachers, on a par with Ann Willen and somewhat less well known than the great Julia Child and Elizabeth David. This book on `home cooking' in the Provence region of France falls, it seems, at the end of a series headed by the book `Simply French' which expounds on the cuisine of Joel Robuchon. This volume covers the high-end `haute cuisine' end of the spectrum. A recent book, `The Paris Cookbook' covers the less Olympian subject of cooking by Paris bistros, restaurants, and purveyors. This is closer to Child's classic subject, `la cuisine Bourgeoisie'. The subject of this review reflects cooking done by Wells herself in Provence, based on the influence of local sources and her own invention. It is a combination of Curnonsky's `la cuisine Regionale', and `la cuisine Improvisee'.
Since many, if not most of the insights into cooking in this book can be traced to the earlier book on Robuchon, it was harder to identify the value of this book in its own right. But, I think I can safely say that this volume stands on it's own two feet by combining the simplicity of home cooking with the healthy ingredients of the Mediterranean ingredients and the cachet of Provence, being an intersection of some of the best of both France and Italy.
My strongest visceral reaction to these recipes is the wealth of things to do with common, inexpensive ingredients such as potatoes, celery, carrots, and tomatoes. My next delight was the variety of bread recipes. The star of this act was a version of brioche that is based on olive oil rather than butter. The reputation of butter has undergone something of a revival since this book was published in 1996, but if you have gotten into the habit of looking for ways to have olive oil to replace butter, this is a recipe for you.
Like all of her other books, this volume's organization follows that most classic of orders, with chapters on:
Appetizers, Salads, Soups, Vegetables, Pasta, Bread, Fish and Shellfish, Poultry and Game, Meat, Desserts, and Pantry.
As the Wells homestead is a fair distance from the Mediterranean, the coverage of fish and shellfish is a bit light, but this shortfall is more than made up by other chapters, especially the chapters on vegetables and pasta, which broadens ones range defined by classic southern Italian cuisine. The most interesting seafood discovery is Wells' combining mint and crabmeat. My Baltimorean friends are rolling their eyes already.
The star of the chapter on meats is the daube of either beef or lamb. This is a fascinating technique with a French name which, however, seems to be characteristic of northern Europe. German dishes like sauerbraten use the daube technique, but, to my knowledge, there is no daube style dish in any Italian cuisine. A daube is basically applied to a dish that has marinated for a long time, a day or more, in a sauer medium, either wine or vinegar. Browning and braising follows the marinade. The recipe may even call for a further day's resting to mix together the flavors.
As with her other books, this volume includes recommendations for wine to serve with each savory dish. Unlike the very specific suggestions in `Simply French', these are fairly generic, simple enough for the least enlightened of liqueur store clerks to interpret. For those who live and die by the very best choices of wine, specifics are included with the general suggestions.
As books on French provincial cooking go, this book is at the opposite end of the spectrum defined by Elizabeth David's classic in that all instructions and descriptions of ingredients are detailed and crystal clear. Virtually everything in all the dishes should be available at a good urban supermarket.
My only complaint, which I bring up only because Ms. Wells is a culinary teacher as well as a journalist, is the inaccuracy of conversion between pounds and kilograms. A kilogram is 2.2 pounds, but Ms. Wells consistently treats the conversion as two (2) pounds to the kilogram. Fortunately, such approximations do not appear in the baking recipes, where she is extra contentious about the accuracy of her metric to English conversions of weights and volumes.
I strongly recommend this book to anyone who loves French or Mediterranean cuisine and who needs a new source of recipes from these sources. I strongly recommend it to anyone who loves to read about food. I recommend it to anyone who cooks. There will be several simple recipes here for inexpensive ingredients that I know you will enjoy.
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