LETTERS OF A PORTUGUESE NUN: UNCOVERING THE MYSTERY BEHIND A 17TH CENTURY FORBIDDEN LOVE

Book Description

In 1669, a Parisian bookseller published a slim volume called Portuguese Letters, which unveiled a love affair between a young Portuguese nun and a French officer that had occurred a few years earlier during a war-torn period in Portugal. The book contained passionate love letters from the nun when the officer was forced to return to France.The letters took Paris by storm. They spoke of love in a manner so direct, so precise, and so raw, they sent shivers of recognition through the sophisticated stratums of polite society. Equally remarkable was the mystery that surrounds the letters: the author was unknown, and most people assumed they were the fictional product of a French aristocrat. Now, Myriam Cyr persuasively makes the case that the nun, Mariana Alcoforado, did indeed write the letters, and her story is one of the most moving in the history of forbidden love.

Customer Reviews:

Almost forgotten letters of forbidden passion.......2006-12-08

Mariana Alcoforado was a Portuguese nun at the end of the 17th century who wrote a series of love letters after her lover, a visiting aristocratic solider, returns to France. The five letters she wrote, full of passion, reproach and sadness at the loss of her love were later published in Paris where they turned into an instant best seller.

The strange thing, in modern eyes, is that at the time nobody could believe a woman had actually written the letters because they were so full of life and so well expressed - and this view continued right into the 20th century.

Myriam Cyr has put the letters back in the context of the times that they were written and in doing so has taken us into the little known world of 17th century Portuguese convents and politics. She has managed to bring alive a world of war, love and letters. This is a genuine mystery that has been clarified in this book. Having said this, the letters themselves don't seem quite as remarkable today but then we have the benefit of a couple of centuries of literature to draw on that the Mariana did not. This book is a quick and easy read that may make you look at the 17th century world in a way that you'll probably never see in another book on the period.

An Inescapable Pleasure.......2006-06-27

Let it be known that Simon Schama (The Embarrassment of Riches; A History of Britain) has very recently chosen Myriam Cyr's LETTERS OF A PORTUGUESE NUN as one of his "top reads" for the 2006 London's GUARDIAN Summer Reading List. This surely says it -- this book tops many well-researched literary offerings in a very long time. It is no wonder that the Kirkus Review dubbed it "Pulp romance for the Masterpiece Theater set." Scholarship and imagination have indeed prevailed -- all in a perfect piece of beautifully written non-fiction.

In addition to her detailed and carefully attended and written literary history, and to the subtle nuances of a love relationship still quivering in its newness, Myriam Cyr tends to the unfolding darker corners of this mysteriously entangled love story as she interprets the searingly passionate LETTERS: Cyr draws the reader closer and closer to the beating pulse of what makes love real for each of us -- then she sweeps us away, and we are breathless.

Four years of critical work by the author -- scouring with painstaking care the books, letters and papers in the old libraries of Europe and beyond, checking data and facts -- have blossomed into this lovingly researched first novel. As well, Ms. Cyr has an irresistible speaking voice for listening audiences: In her Boston speaking tours she reads the Portuguese Nun's LETTERS with a surge of such poetic passion, beauty and emotion that it is as if she wrote these letters herself.

LETTERS echoes in the feeling heart of the contemporary reader --and lingers. The tender power of this haunting 17th century love story reaches to our essence and activates an empathic compassion for the longing and desire for what is fundamentally vital to our souls in our search for love.

Disappointing.......2006-06-27

I am surprised to see such favorable reviews of this book. I was struck by how poorly written, poorly organized, and poorly argued it was. The only thing worthwhile was the expository section setting the scene in Portugal, describing convent life, and the actual letters themselves. I found myself wondering who had edited this and how it got published.

A Romantic Mystery.......2006-04-14

They were an international bestseller when they were published, five love letters from a devastated woman who had been left by her lover as he went on to military duties. It does not matter that this was more than three hundred years ago; the theme is one that is immediate. The letters were so piercing that immediately a controversy arose over their authorship; no woman could have written them, it was said, because women generally didn't write, never wrote well, and never felt love as deeply as men. The controversy has persisted, and will persist, because there is no proof on either side, but in Letters of a Portuguese Nun: Uncovering the Mystery Behind a 17th Century Forbidden Love (Miramax Books), Miriam Cyr argues the case for authorship by the nun herself. This is Cyr's first book; she has had a successful career as an actress, and first heard of the letters when they were performed as a play. She determined to translate them herself (unaware that they were hugely famous and had been translated many times), and performed them on stage herself. She could not answer questions from those who heard her readings about the authenticity of the letters, but sympathized with a woman who told her the letters expressed her feelings during a painful breakup and was outraged that anyone thought they were fictional. Cyr, probably motivated by the same sort of feeling, did three years of research, and even though her conclusions are not watertight, her advocacy of the nun's authorship is convincing. More importantly, she has brought the heartbreaking letters to a new audience and supplied them with sufficient context to understand their themes.

Mariana Alcoforado was born in 1640 in the picturesque town of Beja, Portugal, and was put in a convent at the age of ten. The Marquis of Chamilly was a Frenchman, a born soldier who was helping the Portuguese fight incursions from Spain. He was garrisoned in Beja in 1666, and the nuns looking out on the fields around them were entertained by the sight of officers exercising their horses. Mariana was captivated by Chamilly's dash in such capers, and inevitably the officers were invited into the convent. As she often has to do, Cyr invites us to imagine details, such as their meeting and growing acquaintance; even in the letters there are few details about any courting. We also have to imagine how the pair eluded detection, or how Chamilly might have been able to sneak into Mariana's quarters before she was locked inside for the night, and how he sneaked out again. Cyr summarizes, "Unsuspected and unseen, Chamilly and Mariana entered a world more intimate than a prayer and more ethereal than air." There was no dramatic discovery of the affair by authorities, but it ended when Chamilly was called back into the official service of his king, Louis XIV. He simply chose duty over love. In her letters to him, Mariana wrote, "It may be you will find greater beauty, but never will you find such love, and all the rest is nothing."

That sort of sentiment is unsurprising now, but when the letters were published in France, they were a sensation, at least partially because they addressed romantic injustice; women were supposed to keep quiet about men's behavior toward them, however painful or unfair. How the letters came to be so widely known is full of mysteries. The dashing and victorious Chamilly may well have been invited to the evening salons of the marquise de Sabl?, and may have circulated the letters himself, which would not have been seen at the time as a violation of privacy. The marquise had a fear of germs, and perhaps her doctor copied the writing out for her (as he did do for other documents) so she would not be contaminated by holding the originals. Perhaps the doctor sought out the worldly and beloved Guilleragues, a witty and well-educated man, to help translate Mariana's colloquialisms. Indeed, many scholars attribute the authorship of the letters to him. With the publication of the letters, any love letter became known as "a Portuguese." Counterfeit versions came out, and whether the letters were real or imaginary was a question that was argued then as now. It was all settled in the mind of Rousseau, who sniffed that "women in general do not like art... they cannot describe or feel love...I would bet everything in the world that the Portuguese letters were written by a man." It is this sort of sentiment that has entered even into scholarly debate over the centuries. Cyr can't prove her case for Marian's authorship, but she still makes a good argument, reminding us that the simplest explanation is most likely the correct one. The resolution is only part of the book, which invites us to read the letters for ourselves, and to contemplate the dance of love performed in an exotic and distant locale.

A new look at an old history.......2006-04-07

History is a messy place.
A lot gets lost, and a lot is saved that would perhaps be better off lost. When looking back on the scrambled fog of the past, people often see only what they want to, and only what they can believe to be true. Unfortunately this means that a lot of what actually happened becomes distorted by the biases of the day. And in the shuffle, it's often the stories of the individuals that are lost, invalidated or claimed to be something they are not.

Luckily, there are those such as actress Myriam Cyr who are willing to work to give a voice to those individual stories that are distorted by the warped mirror of time. In her first book, Letters of a Portuguese Nun, she explores the story of Mariana Alcoforado, a seventeenth century nun who fell in love with a French officer. Gracefully intertwining their individual stories and the cultural events of the time, Cyr takes us on a journey back over three hundred years ago into the heart of a forbidden passion. Against the claims that the 1669 publication of a volume of love letters entitled Portuguese Letters was the fabrication of a (male) French aristocrat, Cyr asserts that the 27 year old nun Mariana was the real author and the letters did, in fact, come from the heart of longing and of loss.

In spite of all the passion and drama of the story, what struck me most in reading the book was the passion of its author. Through the work, the reader can feel the author's irresistible drive to tell the truth as she sees it. A quote from the introduction lingers with me, she writes: "...I thought of the times when, as women, we are not heard, and how after 300 years Mariana, whose words have changed so many lives, is not allowed the most basic of rights, the right to claim her own voice."

Myriam Cyr gives her that right, and in turn validates the whole contested history of female authorship from Sappho to Dorothy Wordsworth, giving the privileges of ownership back to a millennia of women who could not claim them for themselves.
For that I am cannot help but feel both inspired and grateful for her work.

Amazon.com

Set in New York in the closing months of 1999, E. Lynn Harris's tightly plotted Not a Day Goes By bears all the outward markers of a romance by Danielle Steel or Jackie Collins--wealth, glamour, sex, and intrigue--except that the two main characters are more like the wily villains of a Dynasty remake. John "Basil" Henderson, a former football player who has started a successful sports agency with a friend, is a gorgeous, arrogant, bitter, woman-hating, homophobic, African American bisexual who is used to people staring at him. "Especially when I was naked," Basil confides, "My ass was perfect and my jimmie was both long and thick." Basil has fallen in love with an equally alluring figure, Yancey Braxton, a bronze-skinned Broadway singer whose beauty and dedication are matched by ferocious self-absorption and cunning. (Instead of attending her 10-year high school reunion, Yancey sent signed photos of herself and press packets.) Basil feels that his love has rescued him from the shallow life of a player, and he allows himself to believe that she is a good person, and that when they marry, she'll settle down a little and provide him with children. Yancey cares for Basil, too, but her career comes first. After that, sex and money. Babies aren't even on the list.

Harris's most sympathetic characters are Yancey's roommate, Windsor, a plump schoolteacher who spends her spare evenings holding abandoned babies at Hale House, and Zurich Robinson, a gay Christian ex-athlete who briefly considers joining Basil's agency, eliciting a string of ugly clichés from Basil's partner. Meanwhile, Basil, that pillar of integrity, listens in silence. The deal is scotched when Zurich announces that he has been interviewed for an article on gay men in professional athletics. When Basil asks him why he is coming out, Zurich tells him about another young quarterback who tried to run from his sexuality by getting married. The day of the wedding, he shot himself. "As Zurich told the story," Basil recounts,

I could picture the young man and for a brief moment felt the pain he was struggling with. I had been there. But it had never gotten to the point where I wanted to kill myself. If I could have talked to Milo I would have told him, "Roll with it young brother.... There is a way to have your cake and ice cream, too."

Suffice it to say that after a series of delicious plot twists and acts of increasing wickedness, it becomes clear that Basil and Yancey are too damaged to save each other. Although the characters in his sixth novel are somewhat two dimensional and his prose a little flat, E. Lynn Harris can manipulate a story line with the skill of an Eagle Scout earning his badge in knotmaking. Don't start this page-turner if you don't have six or seven free hours in which to read it straight through. --Regina Marler

Book Description

Welcome to the irresistible world of E. Lynn Harris...

He is a devilish and handsome ex-football player, now a rising sports agent at one of the hottest firms in the country. Irrepressible and dangerously alluring, John "Basil" Henderson has a history with women (and a few men). Basil is the consummate guy's guy: a commitment-phobe gadfly known for a double-edged magnetism that has the ability to thrill--and wound.

She is the uncompromising Yancey Harrington Braxton, an up-and-coming Broadway star who oozes charm and bleeds ambition. Young, beautiful, and dangerously crafty, Yancey is prepared to do whatever she must to get what she wants. A femme fatale who has left more than a few brokenhearted men in her wake, Yancey is intrigued and besotted by Basil.

Both believe that in each other they've finally met their match.

A lavish wedding is planned, and the ultimate power couple plans to spend their lives in holy matrimony. But just before the nuptials, fate and a little comeuppance from the past threaten the happy couple's future.

Masterful storyteller E. Lynn Harris takes the reader on a delicious ride into the mischievous lives of two very unforgettable characters.

Customer Reviews:

GREAT!!!!!!.......2007-02-15

Must read!!!!!!!!!!! It was a good book. But you should get them in order. Start with INVISIBLE LIFE. :)

Nice.......2006-05-12

This is my first time reading an E. Lynn Harris book, and I was impressed by his style. With "Not A Day Goes By", he kept his chatpers short, he did not drag the story along, and he began his book with the ending of the story, something that is becoming increasingly popular with novelists of today.

Basil and Yancey are engaged to be married. In the beginning, they are very much in love with each other. Basil is clearly more in love. Yancey is so selfish, that she couldn't have loved Basil the way he loved her anyway. He is a former football player who started his own sports agency and she is an actress. As the story progress, we come to find that Basil is bisexual and struggling with his sexuality. In this book, we meet Yancey's mother, and upon reading about her mother, we see where she gets her selfishness and conceit from. When Yancey and her mother find out that Basil is bisexual, they do some awfully conniving things to him. Read this book to see if Yancey and Basil finally work things out.

I didn't give this book 5 stars because the ending seemed a bit rushed and corny. The sole reason I read a book is to see how it ends, so that was really a disappointment. Other than that, it was enjoyable.

A Keeper!.......2006-01-18

This is a really good read. i was interested the hole way through. i was also inlighted about a world of the "down low" men in the world, that i wasnt to familar with.

Absolutly Good.......2005-12-10

This book will keep you going. you won't be able to put it down once you pick it up!!

Great Read!.......2005-08-13

This is the first book that I've read by E. Lynn Harris, and I didn't know what to expect. It was very entertained it, and I actually learned from the book. I would recommend this book to anybody.

Average customer rating:

Not a Day Goes By : A Novel
E. Lynn Harris
Manufacturer: Doubleday
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000O67C6A

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Not a Day Goes by Reading Group Guide
E. Lynn Harris
Manufacturer: Anchor Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Book Description

Fresh from Dawn of War (the Black Library's novelisation of the best-selling THQ computer game) the Blood Ravens race to defend their homeworld against marauding aliens. It looks as if the eldar are to blame, but appearances can be deceiving, and Alaric has to race to get to the bottom of the mystery before the galaxy is plunged into war.

Customer Reviews:

Good Action - Shaky Plot.......2006-06-07

This novel, the second of - apparently - a trilogy given the upcoming Dawn of War: Tempest, continues the story of Captain Gabriel Angelos and his Third Company of the Blood Ravens Space Marines. He is accompanied by many of the same supporting cast from the first work, such as the Eldar Farseer Macha and the Terminator Sergeant Tanthius, as well as a host of new faces, such as several sisters of the Order of the Lost Rosetta and the Order of the Golden Light, and a number of other Eldar characters.

This book makes M. Goto something of a verteran of the Black Library stable, as he has written over four books set in Games Workshop's Warhammer 40,000 (40K) universe. While he's certainly adept at writing characters and action sequences, I found that the plot left me saying "Huh?" more than once.

M. Goto writes interesting and engaging characters, but this strength almost becomes a failing when there are too many points of view juggled within a chapter, and/or the plot doesn't support their development. Sadly, some of the most interesting ones perish without any of the really interesting aspects of their history and personality explored or resolved. Likewise, his action sequences, which would otherwise be very engaging, fail to impress when they're not motivated by rational turns in the story.

The plot is not one of the strengths of this work. There are several points where M. Goto forces scenes just because they're "cool," though there's very little basis to support them otherwise. One duel in particular springs to mind, but I won't go into detail for fear of spoiling the book for potential readers. The sometimes-allied protagonists are so focused on their heroic roles that they forget their troops continue to kill one another while they're away. The Eldar are logical and wise when convenient, but are completely ruled by their passions when needed to advance the plot. Ckrius' transformation into a Space Marine Scout is certainly interesting, but it doesn't connect well with the rest of the work, and the battle scene M. Goto appends to it has no real reason to be there other than to show off some of the more senior Blood Raven librarians. Also, while it's always difficult to apply "realism" to a work of science fiction, there are a few spots where events are just a trifle too convenient for suspension of disbelief.

Taking all of these factors together, the novel is "OK," but no better. 40K die-hards and those that don't care much about a coherent plot will be entertained. It has interesting scenes and concepts, but they're just not well linked by the story.

Not that great.......2006-03-24

I have to disagree with most of the other reviewers. Space Marines should be fairly one dimensional characters by virtue of the role in the Warhammer universe, trying to make them deep does the lore a disservice. Ascension is a muddled mess when it comes to making the marines "real" characters. At times they the Blood Ravens are presented as some sort of pain cult, other times a society of navel gazers, with little or no history to explain why either (or both) behaviors are part of the chapter's lore.
Few Black Library authors have gone after the Eldar, so Goto could set the standard and it's a bit disappointing that the Eldar are not very distinctive. Aside from the usage of Psi powers, one could replace all references to Eldar with IG regiments and it wouldn't much change the flavor of the story...
The mechanics of Goto's of writing and descriptions of the battles are on par with the better authors in the 40k universe. Overall, not a bad book, but not great.

A raw boost of pure excitement from start to finish.......2005-12-10

The eagerly anticipated sequel to Dawn of War, Dawn of War: Ascension continues the lightning paced, action-packed adaptation of the best-selling, real-time strategy computer game by THQ, and the long-enjoyed dark science fiction war game Warhammer 40,000. Following the Blood Ravens Space Marines in their struggle to protect their worlds from horrific aliens, Dawn of War: Ascension reveals a shocking twist in the bloody galactic conflict - the true menace is not necessarily the mysterious and ancient Eldar, but rather a horror far more lethal! Violent, gritty, gripping, Dawn of War: Ascension is a raw boost of pure excitement from start to finish.

death, glory and intrigue.......2005-12-02

I came to this after reading the fantastic 'Salvation' and I have to confess that I was doubtful that Goto could work his magic on the space marines of WH40k; there is usually far less scope for characterisation with space marines (and Goto's Salvation is so superbly humanised and characterised, albeit set on Necromunda where there are no marines!). But I was delighted and surprised by this book. Goto has genuinely created 'real' space marines, with character and humanity. Not only that, but this is a storming read too -- great battles, loads of aliens, lots of death, glory and intrigue. For the fans of WH40K, this is probably even better than Salvation (because there is so much more action, combat and blood). I hope this is a sign of things to come from the Black Library.

Fantastic sci-fi!.......2005-12-01

Ascension is probably the best Black Library book. It builds magnificently on Dawn of War (although it also stands on its own), and it looks as though CS Goto has been cut loose from the confines of the game. The Blood Ravens space marines turn out to be fascinating and multidimensional. The eldar background is detailed and thrilling. There are mysteries and revelations in bags! Personally, I also really enjoyed the scenes showing Ckrius (Goto's guardsman from Dawn of War) being transformed into a marine ... slowly and painfully. It's awesome, and I've never seen anything like it from BL.
Ascension is the start of something wonderful, buy it.

Average customer rating:
Among Friends: You Can Help Make Your Church a Warmer Place
James Hinkle , and Timothy Woodroof
Manufacturer: NAVPRESS
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0891095578

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The Everything Low Cholesterol Book: Reduce Your Risks And Ensure A Longer, Healthier Life (Everything: Health and Fitness)
Shirley Archer
Manufacturer: Adams Media Corporation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
Low Cholesterol | Special Diet | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
General | Special Conditions | Diets & Weight Loss | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
Low Cholesterol | Special Conditions | Diets & Weight Loss | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
Heart Disease | Disorders & Diseases | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
General | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
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Low-Cholesterol Cookbook for Dummies

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Accessories:

Tanita BC533 Glass Innerscan Body Composition Monitor

ASIN: 1593371462

Book Description

Each year in America, more than one million people suffer from heart attacks caused by high cholesterol-and half a million die from related heart disease. Don't become a statistic-take control of your health now!

The Everything Low Cholesterol Book provides everything from information on how to create a sensible diet and fitness plan to practical tips for improving your overall well-being. This comprehensive, authoritative guide edited by Sandra K. Nissenberg, M.S., R.D., provides you with all the information you need to lower your cholesterol and reduce your risk of a heart attack.

Features timely, reliable information on:

The differences between "good" and "bad" cholesterol

The effects of high cholesterol and artery blockage

Suggestions to improve your overall health

Nutrition and exercise tips to keep you fit and well

Up-to-date government cholesterol guidelines

Also including more than seventy-five heart-healthy recipes for the whole family, The Everything Low Cholesterol Book provides you with all the up-to-the-minute information to keep you informed and healthy.

Average customer rating:

Left me wanting more

Slightly misleading title, but excellent book

Beautiful book on a beautiful topic

Bejeweled: Great Designers, Celebrity Style
Penny Proddow , and Marion Fasel
Manufacturer: Harry N. Abrams
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Jewelry | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Jewelry | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
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The Master Jewelers

Christie's Twentieth-Century Jewelry

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Jewelry: From Antiquity to the Present (World of Art)

Van Cleef and Arpels

ASIN: 0810906163

Book Description

A book that has all the voluptuous glitz and glamour of its subject, Bejeweled: Great Designers, Celebrity Style celebrates the top jewelry designers of the 20th century, their fabulous creations, and the rare sense of style that has made each of them unique. All the big names of 20th-century jewelry design are here--Cartier, Tiffany, Harry Winston, Van Cleef & Arpels--along with the mavericks, minimalists, and signature stylists, from Robert Lee Morris to Paloma Picasso.

Whether it is a fashion shot of Cher decked out in Bulgari, or Rebecca Harkness sporting a jeweled starfish by Dalí on her breast, the gorgeous jewels--including many unusual and rarely seen pieces--and the hot film and music stars wearing them have a seductive appeal for all ages and lifestyles.

Customer Reviews:

Left me wanting more.......2003-04-14

I picked this book up on a whim, intriged, I must confess, by the gorgeous cover.

Inside I found more beautiful photos and interesting text. The celebrity names and jewels did not really interest me nearly as much as the stories about the jewelry designers who were featured.

As another reviewer said, the book had some fascinating pieces of information about jewelry design and designers. I especially liked reading about the Art Deco "artists", as that is a style I have always admired, whether it be furnishings, art, or jewelry.

As lovely as this book is, it left me yearning for more detailed information, which I shall try to find elsewhere.....But it sure was pretty to look at!

Slightly misleading title, but excellent book.......2003-01-27

Penny Proddow and Marion Fasel have again produced a superb and detailed overview of jewelry--this time concentrating on jewelry designers themselves. "Bejeweled" is chock-full of gorgeous photographs and fascinating nuggets of information about specific jewelry designers. I was astonished to read that many of them couldn't even draw a straight line--they considered themselves first and foremost, for the most part, idea people and left it to underlings to actually draw the jewelry.

It's fascinating to see how these ideas evolved. Salvador Dali, interested in making hard materials seem soft and vice versa, produced some splendid jewelry which examined these paradoxes. Harry Winston produced his first "holly wreath" diamond necklace after noticing that a Christmas wreath on a door combined beautifully circular, marquise, and pear shapes. Art Deco designers like Fouquet and Sandoz were determined to incorporate materials not typically used in jewelry, and in their pursuit created astonishing pieces which used frosted crystal, wood, rubber and other unusual materials with cool assurance.

The only problem is that the promise of the subtitle ("Great Designers, Celebrity Style") really doesn't deliver--aside from a handful of photos of Marlene Dietrich, Elizabeth Taylor, and Gwyneth Paltrow, we see practically nothing of the jewelry worn by celebrities. Still, if your interest lies mainly in the designers, this is the book you want.

Beautiful book on a beautiful topic.......2001-11-10

If you like jewelry and history and appreciate lovely photographs, you'll love this book. It's filled with beautiful pictures of jewelry by famous designers -- often worn by celebrities. Clearly a lot of research went into the book, and many of the stories surrounding the designers are fascinating.

Book Description

Superb royalty-free plates from rare original edition of famed sourcebook depicts suits of armor from the Middle Ages, floor-length capes and striped tights of the Renaissance, the high-waisted Empire look of the Napoleonic era and much more. Includes military, civil, and religious garb from France, Spain, Italy, Holland, Germany, Scotland, Russia, and Poland.

Customer Reviews:

A rich visual history.......2002-10-24

"Racinet's Full-Color Pictorial History of Western Costume," by Auguste Racinet, is a marvelous collection of illustrations that record trends in European clothing. The cover and title page boast that the book contains 92 plates showing over 950 costumes from the Middle Ages to 1800. The copyright page notes that this book is a selection of plates from the 6-colume "Le Costume Historique" published in 1888.

Depicted are costumes from France, Spain, Italy, Russia, and other nations. Many different types of people are depicted: soldiers, clergymen, nuns, noblewomen, peasants, etc. The plates of military dress are particularly interesting; in addition to showing knights' armor and other clothing, the illustrations also show many different weapons. Horses in regalia are shown in addition to human figures. Also depicted are musical instruments.

The pictures include both individual figures and scenes depicting costumed figures in social interaction. Some famous people, like Elizabeth I of England, are depicted. There are some really colorful and ornate items, like elaborate ladies' headdresses. I really liked the illustrations of kilted Scotsmen. Along the way are some curious sights, such as a bizarrely dressed and masked Venetian penitent. Overall, this book is a marvelous and educational visual feast.

Book Description

• Exciting new approach to choosing color for the home

• Book is organized from baby blue to midnight blue—with azure, teal, robin's egg, cobalt, lapis, Ming, and Wedgwood in between

• Packed with stunning full—color photographs

Think of decorating with blue and most people think of blue and white, or maybe a touch of sunflower yellow. It's time to stop thinking small and start thinking big—big like the sky, big like the ocean. This imaginative guide shows readers exactly how to use blue, in all its many shades and tones, to create distinctive, personal palettes for the home without the stress of experimenting. Success is guaranteed every time, whether the interior is traditional, modern, country, or eclectic. Choosing Blue is packed with practical design advice on matching and choosing colors as well as ways to select accents to use with blues for wall coverings, textiles, and accessories. Choosing Blue offers an eye-opening new way to look at color in the home.

Customer Reviews:

Plenty of lovely decoration ideas for incorporating blue into an overall home scheme.......2006-04-04

Choosing Blue: Color You Can Live With discusses how to decorate with blue and complimentary combinations to create distinct home styles without experimenting. Success is guaranteed with an approach which pairs design tips with overall insights on mixing and matching complimentary colors. Organized by shades of blue, Choosing Blue provides color photos throughout and plenty of lovely decoration ideas for incorporating blue into an overall home scheme.

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Blue Is Hot, Red Is Cool: Choosing the Right Color for Your Logo

Manufacturer: How Design Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0060936568
Release Date: 2005-04-26

Book Description

Designers make color choices that affect both the meaning and impact of their logo designs every day. They have to ask themselves: Is orange too forceful? Does red give the wrong impression? Will purple convey the right message? Questions like these can be put to rest with this ingenious, tell-all-about-color book. While many books address logo design in general, this is the only one that examines the psychology and use of color in terms of how it affects a design, and how that design affects a viewer. By exposing the underlying meaning of each hue, this book ensures that designers never again second-guess their color choices.

My Blue Blanket: Choosing to Put It Away

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Totally Awesome
Very moving and realistic
Powerful and inspriational-I keep it by my nightstand.

My Blue Blanket: Choosing to Put It Away
Joyce Landorf Heatherley
Manufacturer: Thomas Nelson Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Self-Help | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Motivational | Self-Help | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Women | Spirituality | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0840775997

Book Description

This book is about choosing to set aside those blue blankets of "security" that numb us from genuine and lasting recovery from painful experiences.

Customer Reviews:

Totally Awesome.......2000-09-25

I have read this book several times, and everytime I do, it never ceases to amaze me. The truths that are revealed in the book, are truely inspirational!! Why....you may be asking??? Because, only one who has truely been broken, can explain what brokeness means...and only then can you help another in such pain. You will find in this book, what it means to be a "Wounded Healer" Joyce opens her heart so beautifully, giving us a glimps into her unworld pain...and then showing us the true path of healing. Will you choose to find the root causes to your pain...and, will you choose to put away the security of your Blue Blanket...???

Very moving and realistic.......1999-07-11

Joyce is my favorite author. She is realistic in her writings, and you know she is human just like the rest of us. In this book she shares how she finally came to grips with her relationship with her earthly father and also shares some of the responsibility for why the relationship was not ideal.

Powerful and inspriational-I keep it by my nightstand........1998-01-26

A powerful personal testimony of suffering, deep healing and recovery. As usual, Mrs. Heatherley is able to verbalize all the fears, pain and soaring hope that is within today's woman. I keep it by my nightstand and refer to the book often. Truly a comfort and source of hope.

Blue Chip Flies; A Practical Guide to Choosing and fishing the Most Productive Trout Patterns

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Blue Chip Flies; A Practical Guide to Choosing and fishing the Most Productive Trout Patterns
William C. Black
Manufacturer: Centennial Pubn
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Book Description

This 96-page, 6 x 9" paperback book contains everything you need to know about selecting the most productive trout patterns from the mind-boggling range available; and when and how to fish them. The author believes the sport of fly fishing need not be a high-tech preoccupation reserved for those with advanced degrees. Rather he presents fly fishing as a people-friendly pastime, whether enjoyed in solitude or shared with family and friends. His other books include Flyfishing the Rockies, Hooked on Flies, and Creekcraft. Thoroughly enjoyable reading.

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Choosing Good Health Blue Book

Manufacturer: Steck-Vaughn Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 0811411214

Top performers choosing Audix mics: Blue Oyster Cult, Jimmy Eat World, and Lucinda Williams new Audix microphone users. (Industry Forefront).: An article from: Music Trades

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Top performers choosing Audix mics: Blue Oyster Cult, Jimmy Eat World, and Lucinda Williams new Audix microphone users. (Industry Forefront).: An article from: Music Trades

Manufacturer: Music Trades Corp.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B0008DP68U
Release Date: 2005-06-01

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Music Trades, published by Music Trades Corp. on June 1, 2003. The length of the article is 343 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Top performers choosing Audix mics: Blue Oyster Cult, Jimmy Eat World, and Lucinda Williams new Audix microphone users. (Industry Forefront).
Publication: Music Trades (Magazine/Journal)
Date: June 1, 2003
Publisher: Music Trades Corp.
Volume: 151 Issue: 5 Page: 46(1)

Distributed by Thomson Gale

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BLUE IS HOT RED IS COLD: CHOOSING THE RIGHT COLOR FOR YOUR LOGO

Manufacturer: Harper Collins New York
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000I9W0ZQ

Book Description

Chiura Obata was one of more than 100,000 Japanese Americans forcefully relocated in 1942 from their homes and communities to the stark barracks of desert internment camps. As an artist faithfully recording the world around him, Obatas work from this period gives us a view into the camps that is at once honest in the details of austerity and hardship, and strikingly lyrical in its portrayal of hope and beauty even in incarceration.

Topaz Moon presents more than 100 of Obatas sketches, sumi paintings, and watercolors from the internment period. Lovingly collected and edited by his granddaughter, Obatas work gives testament to his artistic genius and a spirit undefeated by adversity.

Customer Reviews:

"Topaz Moon": The Great Nature of Chiura Obata.......2005-03-16

"Topaz Moon" is a slim little book that is filled with a selection of the interment imagery of Chiura Obata. The imagery is both in his writings and in his art. And both make lasting impressions.

The images range from simple line drawing to watercolors executed while a victim of Executive Order 9066 in which all West Coast Japanese Americans were rounded up and placed in interment camps. It is amazing what he was able to accomplish in the face of circumstances beyond his control. Obata's work is excellent.

"Topaz Moon", "Obata's Yosemite" and "Nature Art With Chiura Obata" are the only three books currently in print about the remarkable artist and human being that was Chiura Obata. The three books present different facets of his life and all are worth reading and seeing. Highly recommended.

Great art and great social history.......2000-06-07

This is a wonderful book. I bought it for the artwork which is fresh, inventive, and very skillful but the social history is equally engrossing. The text is clearly written and generous with quotes.

At 8.25" square it's smaller than your average coffee table book, but the pages are rich with intelligence, beauty and invention.

Great for educating children about Executive Order 9066........2000-04-04

Most of the artwork are done in black ink on white paper. It makes for a stark and bleak testament to the difficulties faced and endured by the internees. The book is a great teaching tool for children and adults, not only to learn about the internment, but to study the artwork.

A compelling and fascinating work.......2000-03-22

Topaz Moon is a testament to the power of art, not simply as a mechanism for creating beauty, but also as a method of documenting history. Faced with the social disruption and indignity of relocation and internment in WWII, Professor Chiura Obata of the University of California at Berkeley chose to use his considerable artistic gifts to create what amounts to a visual diary of his internment experience. Seemingly hundreds of drawings, pen and ink paintings and watercolors (too many to count) document Professor Obata and his families experiences from the start of the war, through relocation to Tanforan, internment at Topaz, and beyond, in stark terms, quiet dignity and haunting beauty.

Unlike photography which can only memorialize the actual events of a moment, painting and sketching allows the artist to document his or her own emotional reaction to those events. Dorothea Lange, herself an admirer of Professor Obata, took photographs of the Tanforan relocation center, including Professor Obata's art classes, some of which are reproduced in Topaz Moon. However, compared to Professor Obata's own first hand sketches of the internment process, Lange's photos appear emotionless. This is because Professor Obata infuses his documentary sketches, which are remeniscent of Van Gogh's figural drawings, with the powerful emotional reactions he felt in witnessing scenes in which he too was a victim.

But Topaz Moon is a text which is more about creating community than casting blame. Kimi Kodani Hill, Professor Obata's granddaughter, has framed her grandfather's art with an insightful, succinct and compelling history of Professor Obata's life and the events of the time. The anectdotes relayed by Ms. Hill emphasize the support, assistance and sympathy given to the Obata's by their many freinds outside of the camps. I was struck by the fact the President of U.C. Berkeley, Robert Gordon Sproul, who himself was vocally opposed to the internment, personally rescued Professor Obata's life's work of art and stored that art in his official U.C. residence for the duration of the war.

While Topaz Moon is more than an art book, the art itself is more than merely documentary. Professor Obata's finished paintings and sumi-e works represent some of the best American artwork of the 20th Century. Works such as Moonlight Over Topaz (commissioned by Eleanor Roosevelt while Professor Obata was still interred), Hospital Topaz, and Silent Moonlight at Tanforan Relocation Center would stand out in any museum. In their own way, these images are every bit as beautiful as his earlier Yosemite woodblock prints.

I highly recommend this book.

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