Book Description
A haunting, beautifully written novel set in early-nineteenth-century Louisiana: the tale of a slave girl’s journey—emotional and physical—from captivity to freedom.
Susan Straight has been called “a writer of exceptional gifts and grace” (Joyce Carol Oates). In A Million Nightingales she brings those gifts to bear on the story of Moinette, daughter of an African mother and a white father she never knew. While her mother cares for the plantation linens, Moinette tends to the master’s daughter, which allows her to eavesdrop on lessons. She also learns that she is property, and at fourteen she is sold, separated from her mother without a chance to say goodbye. Heartbroken and terrified, and with a full understanding of what she will risk, Moinette begins almost immediately to prepare herself for the moment when she will escape.
It is Moinette’s own voice that we hear—bright, rhythmic, observant, and altogether captivating–as she describes her journey through a world of brutality, sexual violence, and loss. Quick to see the patterns of French, American, and African life play out around her, Moinette makes her way from sugarcane fields through mysterious bayous to the streets of Opelousas, where the true meaning of freedom emerges from the bonds of love.
An uncommonly rich novel, brimming with event and character, A Million Nightingales is a powerful confirmation of the remarkable novelist we have in Susan Straight.
Customer Reviews:
POWERFUL!.......2007-08-02
Set in Louisiana, in the 1800s, this is a heart-wrenching and gut-churning tale of the inhumanity of slavery. Centered around the life experiences of a mulatresse (half white, half black) girl, Moinette, until she reaches her early fifties.
Moinette is the only child of Marie-Therese, an African slave who had been "bred" with a white man that Moinette never met or knew as her father. "Bred" because the blacks were considered animals whose only value was to produce more slaves for their masters to work in the fields or in the house. But this story is told in first person, with such intelligence and tenderness that the reader can't help but become fascinated and drawn into the story. Moinette is raised in her mother's sparse cabin, but is content to just be with her mother.
As a teenager, Moinette is the servant to the Bordelon's daughter, Cephaline. While Cephaline was being tutored, Moinette was always nearby absorbing the information and even learning (illegal for slaves). When Cephaline dies young, her father sells Moinette because he could not stand that his beautiful daughter was gone, yet this unworthy slave girl was the picture of health.
At first, Moinette hates and distrusts her new single owner, and feels certain he will force himself on her unexpectedly and repeatedly. When this doesn't happen, and he leaves her to run his boardinghouse, a delicate bond is formed. When his male business partner moves in, Moinette sees their affection and respects their privacy. Using her as cover for their relationship, they eventually give her the boardinghouse and her freedom.
Raped more than once, Moinette produces a son. So much hard work and sorrow have filled her life, yet she keeps trying to better herself. At age 30 she is an old woman, used hard but not used up.
A Million Nightingales is told with such tenderness and candor, and resonates long after the book is finished. The author's delicate storytelling skills wrap the reader in the cocoon that is Moinette's life. The violence will rock the emotions, and the few glimpses of happiness will tug the heartstrings. This story educates as well as entertains.
Armchair Interviews says: A very moving and yet disturbing piece.
Sort of depressing, but a good read.......2007-06-11
I was hooked into the story in the first few pages and kept on reading. This isn't a fairy tale so not really any neatly tied up strings - kept me guessing until the end. The author gives some references for her inspiration and I plan on checking them out.
Elegantly Written With Gripping Story!! .......2007-06-06
Should really rate 5 stars. This was a wonderful book which not only held my interest, made me cheer on the heroine [much like Celie], but also made me ashamed of our past. I immediately purchased Susan Straight's "Highwire Moon." [Haven't yet read this...I look forward to readng this.] I immediately passed this along to a friend & am recommending it to co-workers, etc. A terrific read -- enjoy!
A million annoyances..........2006-12-08
I just couldn't get into this book. The plot dragged on and on with little action, unless you count the description of Cephaline's "boutons" and Moinette picking and chewing on her hands/fingers and fiddling with coffee beans and clothespins. I didn't care what happened to her at all, and decided not to finish the book. If a book doesn't draw me in by the first 100 pages, it's getting returned to the library.
To say it is powerful is an understatement.......2006-09-03
I have not read a book this profoundly moving in a long, long time. I read books all the time--good books, bad books, mediocre books, books my friends have written--and with each book I read, my heart yearns for something that is as exquisitely written as A Million Nightingales. Every book Susan Straight has written has been thoughtfully, creatively rendered. I have read and loved all of them. But this one, by far, will be placed on my list of favorite books of all time. The words of the text sing like a lyrical psalm of outcry to god for the grief of children, for the grief of mothers, for the grief of souls separated by cruelty and greed. This book will touch the heart of anyone who believes that we must be reminded of true things, even if they are painful, so that we can move forward instead of repeating the past. A Million Nightingales is not a chronicle of hate, but rather an anthem of love.
Average customer rating:
- Very hot, but.....
- Decent, but too much war
- This isn't one of Putney's best efforts
- A MUST READ!
- Excellent historical fantasy romance
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A Kiss of Fate: A Novel
Mary Jo Putney
Manufacturer: Ivy Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
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ASIN: 0345449177
Release Date: 2005-08-30 |
Book Description
Her captivating stories and vibrant characters have earned New York Times bestselling author Mary Jo Putney enthusiastic praise from reviewers and readers alike. Now, from the majestic mansions of eighteenth-century London to the mist-shrouded wilds of the Scottish Highlands, she brings you her most breathtaking romantic adventure yet.
Laird of an ancient, powerful Scottish clan, Duncan Macrae is committed to ending the ceaseless strife between Scotland and England. But he also has other, secret powers—those of a Guardian, humans with mystical abilities to control nature’s forces and see into the hearts of others. And from the moment he encounters the young and independent English widow Gwyneth Owens, his fiery spirit is irrevocably drawn to claim her as his own—a passion that will not only set his loyalty to his land against his sworn Guardian vows, but will also threaten everything he cherishes most.
Though Gwynne’s father was a Guardian, she believes that she has inherited only her mother’s beauty, not her father’s power. Then one kiss from the dangerously alluring Laird of the Macraes ignites a hunger that shakes her to her soul—and reveals visions of a looming catastrophe that threatens England and Scotland both. Only by becoming Duncan’s wife, and ultimately betraying the man she loves, can she avert disaster.
As destiny and two mighty nations clash, Gwynne and Duncan must push their powers and passions beyond the most forbidden limits if they are to save their love—and secure the future.
With Mary Jo Putney’s consummate skill and dazzling historical detail, A Kiss of Fate brings an unforgettable period to life—and will forever enthrall your senses with memorable characters and sweeping emotions.
From the Hardcover edition.
Download Description
A New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Publishers Weekly bestselling author,
Mary Jo Putney is a graduate of Syracuse University with degrees in eighteenth-century literature and industrial design. A nine-time finalist in the Romance Writers of America RITA contests, she has won two RITAS, four consecutive Golden Leaf Awards for Best Historical Romance, the Romantic Times Career Achievement Award for Historical Romance, and has four times had books listed by the American Library Association as among the top five romances of the year. Her books have also received frequent awards from online reader sites such as The Romance Reader, All About Romance, Romance Readers Anonymous, and Under the Covers Awards. The author of more than two dozen novels, Ms. Putney lives near Baltimore, Maryland.
From the Hardcover edition.
Customer Reviews:
Very hot, but............2007-02-22
Concentrated so much on the war aspect of the novel that it took away from the volatile love story and amazing characterization between Gwyn and Duncan.
If Putney delved more into the love story and concentrated on the characters' conflicts among their feelings, and significantly gave us less information about the politics, I would have rated this novel 5 stars.
The main A+ in this novel for me was the hot, steaming, intense, OH MY GOD, loves scenes-which were numerous and truly unbelievable.
First of all this is a supernatural romance where the heroine strives to obtain some type of power of her own but settles for being a scholar of magic instead, due to her lack of talents. She marries very young and becomes a widower within the first chapter. Duncan-the Scotsman hero who possesses great power of weather shifting-instantly falls for Gwyn when he sees her at a gathering in London and tries to win her hand in marriage.
The main conflict of the novel is the Jacobite uprising in Scotland. Duncan of course sympathizes with his clansmen yet has some reservations due to his sworn oath among the council to never directly influence the natural course of history. All the members of the magic family, which are called the Guardians, can aid human conflict to whomever they choose to side with but are forbidden to directly change it, hence the constant fear among the council that Duncan may become a more active role in the Jacobite rebellion against the English throne. Gwyn sides with the members of the council and underhandedly tries to influence Duncan's viewpoints, hence the constant tension that comes between them.
Like I said before this was a very good read and I would recommend it just for you to experience the incredible connection between Gwyn and Duncan. Unfortuntely, the barrage of historical facts that became more and more detailed as the story went on, truly put a damper on the romance and the novel as a whole.
Otherwise, this was one of those rare intense love stories I absolutley adore to read.
Decent, but too much war.......2006-08-05
I liked the premise of this series, but hope the rest of the books are more upbeat (especially since I already bought them). This one dwelled so strongly on the Jacobite uprising, and how it tore apart families and friends that I was depressed by it. Then, to my surprise, the author's note talked about how she tried to keep the war out of the story, because it was a romance. Believe me, there is a lot of "war" here. Call me shallow, but I don't want every other page of a romance novel to be filled with the conflicting "causes" of the characters, and the attendant misery. Ugh. But if you factor that out, the magic elements were, well... magic!
This isn't one of Putney's best efforts.......2006-06-16
I have enjoyed Mary Jo Putney books in the past but I just couldn't get into this book. I read part of it and put it aside while I read 3 or 4 other books. Then I came back to it and read a little bit more and it hit me that I was just trying to finish it so I could start reading something else that I could enjoy. At that point, I knew this was a book I would end up taking to Goodwill.
Early in the book we are told that Gwynne will betray Duncan and throughout the book we are constantly reminded of that fact. I started thinking, "Enough with the betrayal already! If she's gonna do it, just go ahead and do it!!!!" By the time the "betrayal" finally comes it is terribly anticlimactic and you find yourself asking, "Is that it? That's all there is to it?" I was just very disappointed!
Oh, and by the way, I have read all the other reviews and it seems everyone either LOVES this book or HATES it. Makes me wonder...did we all read the same book?
A MUST READ!.......2006-06-14
This book is incredible! You can't help but become enchanted with the characters and the incredible descriptions of the land. The characters are so charismatic and grow and mature within the story. Mary Jo Putney keeps you enthralled from the first page to the last. It is a fantastic story and highly recommended.
Excellent historical fantasy romance.......2006-05-06
Set in England and Scotland, this is another story in the Guardian series. Guardians are mages who do what's best, without unnecessary interference, for the largest number of people. Different Guardians have different powers.
Gwyneth Owens' father was a Guardian but her mother was a mundane. Gwynne was raised as a Guardian even though she had no powers. It's 1745 when she meets Duncan Macrae, Scottish laird and the Guardian called Lord of Storms. She is terrified by his strength and power. He knows she's the woman for him but she refuses him.
Then the Guardian Council asks her to marry Duncan and keep an eye on him and possibly influence him when the time comes. The Council doesn't support the Jacobite cause and they know Duncan, being a loyal Scot, could use his powers to affect the outcome of the rising, causing the Council to declare him a renegade.
Gwynne isn't certain she can influence Duncan at all but marries him and, after losing her virginity on her wedding night, comes into her own power - she's an Enchantress.
Wonderful, fast-moving love story. The magic made sense and the choices had consequences.
Product Description
multiple books ship as one item. save on shipping/handling charges.
Book Description
It is hard to overestimate the importance of the contribution made by Dame Frances Yates to the serious study of esotericism and the occult sciences. To her work can be attributed the contemporary understanding of the occult origins of much of western scientific thinking, indeed of western civilization itself. The Occult Philosophy of the Elizabethan Age was her last book, and in it she condensed many aspects of her wide learning to present a clear, penetrating, and, above all, accessible survey of the occult movements of the Renaissance, highlighting the work of John Dee, Giordano Bruno, and other key esoteric figures. The book is invaluable in illuminating the relationship between occultism and Renaissance thought, which in turn had a profound impact on the rise of science in the seventeenth century. Stunningly written and highly engaging, Yates' masterpiece is a must-read for anyone interested in the occult tradition.
Customer Reviews:
Remarkable Insights; Insanity Abounds.......2005-12-02
Although she probably did not intend the work to serve such a purpose, Dame Frances Yates' book is certainly key to understanding the history of sixteenth and early seventeenth century Western Civilization. For between these covers, we find the essential truth that Elizabethan England represented the joining of forces of Hermetic Western occult traditions with Jewish cabalistic mysticism. These streams of thought resulted in a messianic view of Elizabethan England as a kind of British Israel mystique, to use the author's phrase. With this, we see England shorn of the traditional Faith of her people now allied with the international bankers and tradesmen of the Low Countries and Asia Minor, in defiant opposition to Christian Spain and the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. These insights are remarkable and essential to the understanding of this crucial epic of history. For these insights, we are forever grateful.
However, much of the corpus of this text is filled with complete and utter insanity. For instance, we have Pfefferkorn, who inveighed strongly against the teaching of Reuchlin, identified by the author as an "anti-semite". The problem with this identification is, of course, that Pfefferkorn was a Jewish convert. One wonders in seeing a formulation such as this how a Jewish scholar could be an "anti-semite". But it gets better. Throughout the text, the phrase, "Christian cabala" recurs. The "cabala" here referred to is the black magic canon of Jewish lore, that is the primary basis for much of modern Western occultism. The notion of "Christian cabala" is then pretty much equivalent with the idea of a promiscuous virgin. But then, in a way, it is consistent with an author who could identify a Jewish scholar as an "anti-Semite".
Despite the foregoing, the text is eminently readable and important. As previously mentioned, the insights contained are essential for the student of Renaissance and Reformation Western Civilization.
Compelling and Insightful Work on the Esoteric Tradition.......2005-04-11
Frances Yates was a scholar of world renown most famous for her text, The Art of Memory, and the biographical study, Giordano Bruno and the Hermetic Tradition. In this work, The Occult Philosophy in the Elizabethan Age, what has been known as `occult philosophy' in the Renaissance, revived by Marsilio Ficino and Pico della Mirandola, she explores the "Christianized" version of the Jewish Cabala, and its manifestation and influential affects on religious and philosophical ideas, including the arts, during the Elizabethan Age.
Yates begins with her proposed theses that, in past analyses of occult philosophy, it has focused primarily on the Hermetic tradition. She claims that this occult tradition should be called the "Hermetic-Cabalist", as the ideas are not solely Hermetic in nature, but have a strong Jewish Cabalistic influence, albeit in a Christianized form, as formulated by Marsilio Ficino.
This text is a rich analysis on the history of ideas. Yates adeptly sketches the influences of the hermetic-cabala in the Renaissance, moving forward to one of the more influential texts that affected this tradition more than any other treatise, Henry Cornelius Agrippa's, Three Books of Occult Philosophy. She also focuses her study on three other influential personages, the Cabalist Friar, Francesco Giorgi, and his work, "De harmonia mundi", and the works of Johannes Reuchlin. Yates also looks at the mysterious Elizabethan magus, Dr. John Dee, known as the "Queen's Conjurer" citing the doctor's primary sources of his own work directly to Agrippa. Her claim is that John Dee, was in fact, along with Agrippa, Giorgi and Reuchlin, Christian Cabalists.
The theme of this work is that there was a philosophy of the occult from the Italian Renaissance that operated and was renewed in the Elizabethan Renaissance. To back this thesis, she cites examples from great works of Elizabethan literature that have strikingly blatant examples of this occult philosophy, such as Spenser's The Faerie Queene; Christopher Marlowe's famous play, Doctor Faustus; and Shakespeare's A Mid Summer Night's Dream, Hamlet, King Lear and, of course, The Tempest. What these works of literature have in common are expressed tenets of the Christian Cabalist occult tradition, alluding to the works and lives of Agrippa and John Dee. Yates' arguments are compelling and deserve, as she herself notes, further study by scholars.
This was Yates' last work. She has become one of the most read and respected scholars on the history of the esoteric tradition. This work brings to light an intellectual movement that has been suppressed or dismissed by "serious' scholars as superstitious or irrelevant at best. It is because of her research that these once suppressed intellectual movements have regained legitimacy in the history of ideas and their relevance to the development of Western thought.
The text's style is not only written for the scholar or academic, but fortunately can also be read by the laymen interested in the history of the Western occult tradition.
Tip of the iceberg.......2003-06-23
Frances Yates was first recommended to me more than a decade ago and I'm sorry that I waited so long to read her. THE OCCULT PHILOSOPHY IN THE ELIZABETHAN AGE challenged many things I thought I knew about the Renaissance and Reformation, and it more than whetted my appetite for Yates's biography of Giordano Bruno.
Beginning with the strange figure of Raymond Lull, a 13th-century Spanish mystical philosopher who could read both Arabic and Hebrew (an unusual accomplishment for a Christian of his or any other time), Yates traces the influence of the "occult philosophy" on Western Christendom through the Italian and continental Renaissance to Elizabethan England. "Occult philosophy" seems to me be the wrong terminology for the Hermetic/Cabalistic spiritual science that inspired some of the greatest minds of the age, if for no other reason than that it rather discredits the whole enterprise from the outset. Part of Yates's design, after all, is to remind us that there was a time when science and religion were not at loggerheads with one another, a time before "the connections of the psyche with the cosmos" were cut off at their roots.
In the first part of the book, Yates sets the stage with brief discussions of the thought of Lull, Pico della Mirandola, Johannes Reuchlin, Francesco Giorgi, and Henry Cornelius Agrippa, and she offers a new interpretation of an engraving by Albrecht Durer. At the heart of what Yates calls Christian Cabala were two central ideas: that the name of Jesus is the Tetragrammaton, the "ineffable name" of God; and that there is a unity of truth behind the appearance of things accessible to those afflicted (or blessed) by "inspired melancholy".
In the second part of the book, Yates examines the influence of Christian Cabala on English philosphers and poets, including John Dee, Edmund Spenser, Shakespeare and Milton. The backlash against the occult philosophy -- signalling the end of the Renaissance -- is also examined.
You will walk away from this book with a profound sense of the largely unrecognized contribution made by Jewish culture to the development of modern Western philosophy and science. The expulsion of the Jews (and the Moors) from Spain after 1492 (not to mention the unintended consequences of forced conversions) takes on new meaning in the light of Yates's researches.
One weakness of this book, however, is its failure to consider the possible Islamic influence on the development of the occult philosophy in Western Europe. Lull, after all, studied not only Cabala but also the great Muslim philosopher Ibn Rushd (Averroes). While one cannot discount the enormous influence of the exiled Sephardic Jews, one should also remember that medieval Spain was home to a most fruitful cross-fertilization of Jewish and Islamic thought. Yates admits that she's no Hebrew scholar, but a knowledge of Arabic might also have been of benefit here.
Another weakness is Yates's rather prosaic and unengaged approach to her subject matter. This is understandable perhaps in a scholar, but her reluctance to let slip her passion is our loss.
Important synthesis of Renaissance history.......2002-05-26
As the title states this book sets out to find the philosophical roots of Elizabethan culture of the late XVI and early XVII century. The question posited by Dame Frances Yates is : What was the underlying Philosophy of the Elizabethan age and she points unmistakably to the occult philosophy i.e. Hermeticism tempered by Christian Neoplatonism and Qabbalah. Origins of the Elizabethan culture are traced straight to the Medici court, Marsilio Ficino and Pico della Mirandola. Yates being no believer of the operative work of magic, still provides enough food for thought for the student of Renaissance humanism, history of ideas or budding hermeticist. Although this book grew out from a series of lectures on "Inspired Melancholy" it still manages to tie in such diverse subjects as historical background of Ben Johnson's The Alchemist and Christopher Marlowe's Doctor Faustus (Henry Cornelius Agrippa seen as the inspiration for the character), philosophico/magical/religious meaning of Elizabethan poetry (Spencer, Raleigh), the dramas of Shakespear (specially the Tempest and King Lear) and content of Durer's famous print Melencolia. The strengths of Frances Yates writing is precisely the ability to show the unifying idea behind these seemingly diverse works of art and philosophy. An important part of this book is connected to the destiny of the exiled Spanish Sephardim jews who spread the medical writings of Avicenna and rich literature of Iberian Qabbalism.
Yates history provides an alternative view of English history at the time of Tudor and Stewart dynasties most importantly in their relation to Ecclesiastical powers and politics of continental Europe.
This is a wonderful book that will stimulate a fundamental rethinking of the view of European Political and intellectual history.
Writer of this review is the translator of the book into Serbian .
Good, but not Yates at her best.......2001-11-26
Dame Frances Yates had an incredible impact on the study of early modern magic and occultism. Although she wrote on other subjects, her primary legacy is in this field, particularly her books _Giordano Bruno and the Hermetic Tradition_ and _The Art of Memory_. For anyone interested in the occult Renaissance, these books are both absolutely required reading.
As a scholar, Yates had some bad habits, and these are most obvious in _The Rosicrucian Enlightenment_ and, to a lesser extent, _The Occult Philosophy in the Elizabethan Age_. In these books, we see her habit of beginning with a "What if?" proposition, then repeating it in stronger and stronger formulations until it has become an accepted fact.
_The Occult Philosophy_ has this problem to some degree, but the primary problem is that Yates tries to deal with a subject on which she is not qualified to pronounce: Kabbalah. As she asmits, she is not a Hebraist, and her only access to Kabbalah comes from reading some of Gershom Scholem's work. Of course, she cannot be faulted for writing on the subject before Kabbalah became a large and accepted field of study within Jewish Studies, but Yates here displays her usual tendency to overstate her case.
A related problem is that she can be rather offhanded in her treatment of figures peripheral to her obsessions (i.e. anyone not John Dee or Giordano Bruno), and this can lead her to distort matters by repeating others' second-hand analyses.
Having said all this, bear in mind that it's Frances Yates we're talking about here. Stacked up against her best books, _The Occult Philosophy_ looks pretty sad; stacked up against almost anything else in the field, it's drop-dead brilliant: it's very well written, charming, stimulating, and extremely accessible. If you like Yates, read this book now, just take it with a little grain or so of salt; if you haven't experienced Yates yet, DON'T buy this --- read _Giordano Bruno_ NOW!
Yates had her faults, certainly, but she almost singlehandedly invented a field of study. This is an important part of the Yates corpus, but by no means its core.
Book Description
In this beautiful seasonal cookbook, over 100 recipes from the award-winning Wente Vineyards restaurant are complemented by full-color photographs of the food, people, and natural beauty of the Wente family vineyards.
Customer Reviews:
A superbly accomplished addition to any cookbook collection.......2001-02-18
Carolyn Wente (a winery president) and Kimball Jones (an executive chef) successfully collaborate in Sharing The Vineyard Table: A Celebration Of Wine And Food From The Wente Vineyards Restaurant to share stories and secrets of vineyard living -- and showcase more than one hundred delicious recipes, enhanced with color photography, wine notes, and sidebar commentaries. From Mascarpone Cheesecake with Biscotti Crust and Balsamic Strawberries; Smoked Trout on Potato Chips with Lemon, Fennel, and Dill; and Watercress Soup; to Wild Mushroom Flatbread with Prosciutto, Arugula, and Truffle Oil; Calzone with Artichokes, Westphalian Ham, Ricotta, and Parmesan; and Corn and Smoked Chicken Chowder with Jalapeno-Cilantro Butter, Sharing The Vineyard Table offers dishes in harmony with the seasons. Each recipes, from appetizers to desserts, is accompanied by simple and concise wine notes suggesting the type of wine that will best complement the dish (and why!). A superbly accomplished addition to any cookbook collection Sharing The Vineyard Table is enriched for the family chef or casual gourmet browser with are sidebars of Wente and Jones' personal refections on the farming life of the vineyard, cooking tips, a detailed index, entries for 36 wine varietals followed by a list of all the recipes suggested for pairing, and a list of mail-order resources.
A Divine Partnership. . ........2000-09-20
Carolyn Wente and Kimball Jones have created a masterful book for people who truly love to cook for family and friends. This cookbook sets the new standard for those of us who have cooked for many years, have collected (and divested themselves of) hundreds of cookbooks and who want a sophisticated, yet easy to prepare, palette of seasonal menus. The wine and food pairings are exceptional, the balance of flavors heaven-sent, the cooking instructions are intelligent and conversational -- they really understand the home kitchen. My "audience" has raved and I have a new enthusiasm for cooking that I thought I'd lost. This book is a necessity, not a luxury. A comfort just to read. Thank you, Wente Vineyards.
A perfect marriage of wine and food.......1999-12-06
The perfect book for those who love good food and wine. This book is a wonderful blend of exquisite recipes and wine pairings. It is a joint effort of Carolyn Wente of Wente Winery in Livermore, Ca, and Executive chef extraordinare, Kimball Jones. Each contributes thoughts about the pairings of wine and food and there are recipes from both authors. The recipes are reasonable and anyone with even moderate skill should be able to produce wonderful meals. The real joy of this book is that the recipes are arranged by season to take advantage of the best available produce in the area(added bonus, usually found in abundance and at reasonable prices!),in the finest French tradition. This is a sensual cookbook, both visually and in the wealth of food and wine knowledge that allow even the casual cook to prepare and serve gourmet quality food. An absolute must for anyone who loves good food!
Average customer rating:
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Modern Style: Jugendstil/Art Nouveau 1899-1905
Julius Hoffman
Manufacturer: Arnoldsche Verlagsanstalt Gmbh
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Art
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ASIN: 389790229X |
Book Description
Features over 2500 objects such as metal, ceramics , glass, furniture and jewelry from the Art Nouvea movement that were included in leading internation al specialist journals. All of these journals have been combined in to this one volume with illustrations and information on designers and makers, making this an indispensable reference
Book Description
Learn how to select the perfect border to beautifully frame a quilt and avoid the common pitfalls of border construction with Borders by Design. With an understanding of these basic, easy-to-follow design principles, you will be stitching unique borders in no time!
• Instructions for more than 30 borders are included as a starting point to designing many more
• Learn to apply the three principles of border design: Divide the Side, Use the Unit, and Connect the Corner
• No complicated math involved--plus, learn to quickly adjust the size of any quilt by adding an attractive border or two
Book Description
Women with savoir faire and verve, women who inform and inspire, women who know how to get what they want out of a room—-Designing Women takes a fresh look at sixteen contemporary trendsetters. The exclusive group includes Muriel Brandolini, Mariette Hines Gomez, Tricia Guild, Victoria Hagan, Holly Hunt, Charlotte Moss, and Catherine Memmi—-innovators whose highly individual styles have strongly influenced the direction of design. In this inspirational book, these icons of interior decoration lead by example: Striking portraits of their personal surroundings reveal how they bring their professional philosophies home. Showcasing the designers' own homes, author Margaret Russell outlines a variety of design approaches to particular rooms, taking into account such elements as scale, fabrics and furnishings, and color and texture. A resource list provides contact information for the designers' favorite sources.
Customer Reviews:
Show me the inspiration!.......2002-12-10
Lovely to look at, lovely to hold.... but that is about it! Whereas the photographs are masterful, there is little beyond the pictures, not even a rudimentary, cursory, or trifling insight or inspiration. One does expect something after all from a living room tome. It is truly the book that doesn't even begin to give. I am glad I purchased this book used as I would have felt used and abused to have paid full price for this creativity bypass and abyss.
No WOW factor, but still nice to look at.......2002-04-27
The designers showcased have marvelous taste, but there is nothing here that was impressive. The book is beautifully photographed, but that's about it. My suggestion-Wait until it's on clearance or borrow it from the library. C+
Ho-Hum- Another coffee table book.......2002-02-22
As someone who was looking for exciting new design and especially from a woman's perspective, I was not wowed by this book. Instead I got good pictures but little depth. I can pick up any magazine today and see the same thing. Not very interesting or inspiring.
A fabulous book - and useful to boot!.......2001-08-28
i love design books, but truthfully, some are way too far out there for my tastes - and then some are ho-hum and uninformative. this is a really, really great book - not only are the designers extremely interesting individuals - but their personal tastes are actually out there for the taking. i might not have loved each of their homes - but i loved the fact that THEY loved them! also great about this book - and maybe my favorite part (aside from the TERRIFIC photos - wow) are the super great hints each designer gives at the end of her segment - they are actual USEABLE and DOABLE!
Designing Women.......2001-08-06
As an architect dealing with spectacular spaces and inspirational forms & materials designing my own home, the 5 stars on this lead me to say, "OK, let's get to interior design". I have to add my evaluation to prevent others from thinking this is fabulous. I found it so ordinary and uninspiring I was flabergated by the reviews I had read. I am glad there are women out there designing, and each to her own taste, but I found little here. It is the first book I have ever returned to Amazon.
Average customer rating:
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George Grosz: Berlin-New York
Manufacturer: Nationalgalerie Berlin / Ars Nicolai
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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Grosz, George
| ( G-I )
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ASIN: 3894790547 |
Book Description
Eurhythmics, a dynamic, active approach to teaching and learning music, was developed by Swiss musician Emile Jaques-Dalcroze. These complete, sequenced lessons give clear examples of the method in practice. Ideal for preschool and early elementary music classes, the lessons include detailed procedures, stories for creative movement, songs with piano accompaniments, examples for piano improvisation, exercises in rhythmic movement, and supplementary worksheets.
Customer Reviews:
Learning through music.......2001-12-31
If you are a music teacher who is having trouble engaging your students, I highly encourage you to use Monica Dale's latest volume, Eurhythmics for Young Children - Six Lessons for Winter.
Even if you have no background in Dalcroze, you will find this well organized, easy to use volume invaluable.
Dale organizes each chapter lesson plan as a foundation for all that follow. In addition, skills addressed are ones that complement classroom work (literacy, math skills ) making this and Dale previous volume (Six Lessons for Fall ) a integrated teaching experience.
Average customer rating:
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Revenge: Eurythmics
Eurythmics
Manufacturer: Red Network Music/Careers Music
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 0898985013 |
Book Description
Eurhythmics, a dynamic, active approach to teaching and learning music, was developed by Swiss musician Emile Jaques-Dalcroze. These complete, sequenced lessons give clear examples of the method in practice. Ideal for preschool and early elementary music classes, the lessons include detailed procedures, stories for creative movement, songs with piano accompaniments, examples for piano improvisation, exercises in rhythmic movement, and supplementary worksheets.
Book Description
Of the three elements of music -- rhythm, melody, and harmony -- rhythm has received the least attention from the theorists, yet it is indisputably the basic element without which there is no musical art. Such is the first sentence of this book on use of the body to express musical rhythm. Elsa Findlay is eminently qualified to write on this subject, having been a student of Emile-Jaques Dalcroze, the master himself, also from her own experience in a variety of teaching situations. These included schools of dance and theater, colleges and universities, and The Cleveland Institute of Music, one of the first to offer a BMus with a major in eurhythmics. Each chapter concentrates on a different phase of rhythm: tempo, dynamics, duration, metrical patterns, speech and rhythm patterns, phrase and form, pitch and melody, and creative expression. Activities for each phase are outlined in detail and illustrated by charming drawings and photos. Appendices furnish further suggestions for exerc
Customer Reviews:
A great book.......2004-09-27
All activities in this books are excellent.It is very hard to prepare your students being awaken toward musical elements.But this book contains magical activities to make your students musical. Thank you Elsa Findlay.
Book Description
Comprised of singing and body movement activities which incorporate the principles of music educator Jaques Dalcroze and using the repertoire of the Suzuki Method, MOVEMENT THAT FITS was written by Dalcroze educator Joy Yelin who is also knowledgeable about the Suzuki Method. There is an introduction by the editor, Ken Guilmartin, director of the Center for Music and Young Children and himself a certified Dalcroze instructor. MOVEMENT THAT FITS consists of sequentially structured singing and movement activities presented in easy-to-read outline form. Lifelike drawings and other visual aids accompany each activity along with information about the Dalcroze approach to rhythm, movement and music reading. Suzuki Method favorites such as 'Twinkle' and 'Go Tell Aunt Rhody' serve as the basis for the various activities.
Customer Reviews:
lots of good ideas.......2007-01-26
The book consists of numerous ideas in which gross motor activity is incorporated either with the the Twinkle variations, with other songs in the first Suzuki book, or with short pieces written by the author herself.
The book is easy to read because it contains numerous illustrations and musical examples.
I give it only a 4 because I like discussion of educational philosophy better than I like lesson plans. If you are a teacher who prefers lesson plans, you might give it a 5.
Average customer rating:
- Need help Music Educators? Here it is.
|
Foundations in Elementary Education Music
Elizabeth B. Carlton , and
Phyllis S. Weikart
Manufacturer: High/Scope Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Spiral-bound
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Foundations in Elementary Education: Movement
ASIN: 0929816609 |
Customer Reviews:
Need help Music Educators? Here it is........2001-07-08
As an elementary music educator in the 21st Century it becomes ever more important that we be considered viable. This book will help you to focus your music curriculum for your town, district, or County. Elements of the National Standards are included with many ideas how to implement them. A must have for all music educators in the Public Schools.
Product Description
VF1233 piano/vocal/chords songbook that matches the Eurythmics album "Be Yourself Tonight"
Average customer rating:
- The King & Queen of pop video
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Eurythmics - Greatest Hits
Eurythmics
Manufacturer: Hal Leonard Corporation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Songbooks
| Music
| Entertainment
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General
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Rock
| Musical Genres
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ASIN: 0634014773 |
Product Description
Features 16 great '80s favorites from the album by this acclaimed London duo, including: Here Comes the Rain Again Love Is a Stranger Missionary Man Sex Crime (1984) Sister's Are Doin' It for Themselves Sweet Dreams There Must Be an Angel (Playing with My Heart) Who's That Girl? Would I Lie to You? You Have Placed a Chill in My Heart and more.
Customer Reviews:
The King & Queen of pop video.......2007-04-18
From "Sweet Dreams" thru "Thorn in My Side" to ""Don't Ask Me Why," Dave & Annie were definitely the king & queen of pop video.
Product Description
CD sized Booklet about Annie Lennox. Collector Series
Average customer rating:
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Best of Eurythmics/Vf 1300
Manufacturer: Warner Bros Pubns
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
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Rock
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ASIN: 9992855371 |
Books:
- A Tale of the Dispossessed/La Multitud Errante: A Novel
- A Very Easy Death (Pantheon Modern Writers Series)
- A Window Across the River
- Affairs at Thrush Green (Miss Read)
- All My Friends Are Going to Be Strangers : A Novel
- American Blue Blood: The Challenge of Coming of Age in Upper-Class America
- Angel Scene / Teeth and Tongue Landscape (Eraserhead Double #2)
- Animal Triste
- Arrancame La Vida/ Tear Up My Life
- Aurelia & Other Writings
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