Average customer rating:
- Establishing an Authentic Self:Three Italian-American Women
- Self Identity Formation: Three Italian-American Women
- Umbertina exposes the heart of Italian American women
- Not worth the time-too much like a romance novel
- Three generations of women in one family, the first an Itali
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Umbertina: A Novel
Helen Barolini
Manufacturer: Feminist Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 155861205X |
Book Description
One of the first novels to explore Italian American women's experience and an acknowledged contemporary classic of Italian American literature, Umbertina tells the richly detailed story of four generations of women. The novel follows Umbertina and her descendants from her roots in a Calabrian village through a period of American assimilation, to Umbertina's great-granddaughters' efforts to resolve the dilemma of their Italian American identity. When first published in 1979, the Philadelphia Inquirer called it "an important novel for these times. . . . Through a dazzling interplay of American and Italian characters in both countries, Helen Barolini delineates the major concerns of all thinking American ethnics." This is no less true today, as this republication restores Umbertina to a reading public newly attuned to the complexities of cultural inheritance and identity.
"An ambitious saga which spans the history and probes some of the tensions of the Italian American . . . . panoramic, descriptive, and solidly crafted."-Publisher's Weekly
For course use in: ethnic literature, ethnic studies, gender studies, Italian American literature, literature of immigration, 20th-century U.S. literature
Helen Barolini's other works include the novel Love in the Middle Ages and Chiaroscuro: Essays of Identity. She conceived and edited the volume The Dream Book: An Anthology of Writings by Italian-American Women, winner of an American Book Award and a Susan Koppelman Award of the American Culture Association.
Customer Reviews:
Establishing an Authentic Self:Three Italian-American Women.......2000-01-26
Helen Barolini (nee Mollica) has established a deservedly solid reputation as a writer who has focused on the lives of women connected to the Italy-to-The-USA avventura. The book, Umbertina centers around the life courses of three women: Umbertina, Marguerite (her granddaughter), and Tina (Marguerite's eldest child, named for her great grandmother, Umbertina). Barolini's description of the life of Umbertina chronicles a classic contadina-to-capitalist tale. Umbertina started her life in Castagna - a typical mountain town in the "instep" of the Italian boot. Barolini aptly describes the misery of life in that town during the years of the mass emigration. She paints a convincing word picture of the serf-like existence of the landless peasants. whose conditions had changed little following the unification of the peninsula under a constitutional monarchy. A series of events leads to Umbertina's marriage to Serafino Longobardi. Barolini credibly recounts the story of their journey from small landholders struggling to pay off their land in the village of Castagna to their occupation of a grand mansion, maintained by the income from a hugely successful produce and importing business established in Cato (pseudonym for Utica), New York. For those who have not read similar stories, Barolini's account can serve as a valid prototype for accounts of the ways in which thousands of participants in the Italy-to-The-USA avventura established their families' affluence. Such stories represent the foundation of the oft-repeated claim, "They came with nothing, there were illiterate, they didn't even speak English, they worked incessantly, and they made it without help from outside sources." Barolini's account of Umbertina's story should easily serve as the myth that suitably chronicles the role of women in the avventura. I have had no hesitation about recommending that part of Barolini's book to my daughters. Umbertina and women like my grandmother, Angelina, deserve to be commemorated. Anyone who has known a grandmother comparable to these two women must extend gratitude to Barolini for her having so ably written that commemoration. After having presented the tale of Umbertina, Barolini spins out the narratives of Marguerite (Umbertina's granddaughter) and Tina (Marguerite's daughter), whose connections to the Italy-to-The-USA avventura played a crucial part in their efforts to develop an authentic self-identity These narratives can be read as tales that dramatically highlight the problems of persons who struggle to gain a self identity that would be authorized by surrounding significant persons. Marguerite needed to develop a self-identity that she could use as she encountered the cross-currents of evaluations conducted by her family, by the nuns at the high school which she attended, by the old line families in the town in which she grew up, by her college classmates, by those of her relatives who had retained their "Italianness," by the elitist Italians who surrounded her and Alberto (the noted literary figure she had married during a trip to Italy), and on and on. Tina needed to develop a self identity that would be authorized by her parents, her Italian-American relatives, her peers in the various academic institutions that she attended, and so on. Their positions as female scions of Italy-to-The-USA immigrants certainly increased the intensity of their efforts at self authorization. And, Barolini effectively portrays that intensity. The problems I had as I tried to impose a unifying perspective on to Barolini's text arose, I believe, from my inability to decide whether her description of the struggles of these two women should or should not be treated as irony. Should a reader regard the descriptions as ironic, or should one simply treat them as straightforward narrative? If a reader would treat the text as a text replete with ironies, then the narratives would best be perceived as a cautionary tale. I would want the narratives to be treated as a cautionary tale - a tale whose teller had infused the story with one after another irony. As I read the text, I construed the author as describing Marguerite and Tina engaging in one after another confusion-based activity (especially sexual activity) that would have the aim of gaining external authorization of enactments of their self identity. The conclusions to which Barolini brings the episodes, however, demonstrate that those repeated efforts consistently led to disastrous outcomes. How will readers respond to the book's ending, following a pattern set in many true romance novels - Tina becomes the promised bride of a member of a 2000 percent, old Cape Cod family. Will readers of Barolini's book detect the ironies embedded in the text, then close the volume and cogitate on the commitment; the sacrifice; the struggle; the distress of adapting a primary, culturally-transmitted self identity to meet the demands of unwelcoming power-holders; and the familial love that carried her forebears and her through Castagna, New York's Little Italy, Utica, Gloversville, Rome (Italy), and Cape Cod. Will readers cogitate on the ways that her forebears provided Tina with the opportunities to build a foundation from which she could be positioned to take the opportunities connected to admittance to a social circle within which her self identity would rarely fail to gain authorization - opportunities provided to millions of Italy-to-The-USA immigrants by the commitment and fortitude of their forebears?
Self Identity Formation: Three Italian-American Women.......2000-01-02
Helen Barolini (nee Mollica) has established a deservedly solid reputation as a writer who has focused on the lives of women connected to the Italy-to-The-USA avventura. The book, Umbertina centers around the life courses of three women: Umbertina, Marguerite (her granddaughter), and Tina (Marguerite's eldest child, named for her great grandmother, Umbertina). Barolini's description of the life of Umbertina chronicles a classic contadina-to-capitalist tale. Umbertina started her life in Castagna - a typical mountain town in the "instep" of the Italian boot. Barolini aptly describes the misery of life in that town during the years of the mass emigration. She paints a convincing word picture of the serf-like existence of the landless peasants. whose conditions had changed little following the unification of the peninsula under a constitutional monarchy. A series of events leads to Umbertina's marriage to Serafino Longobardi. Barolini credibly recounts the story of their journey from small landholders struggling to pay off their land in the village of Castagna to their occupation of a grand mansion, maintained by the income from a hugely successful produce and importing business established in Cato (pseudonym for Utica), New York. For those who have not read similar stories, Barolini's account can serve as a valid prototype for accounts of the ways in which thousands of participants in the Italy-to-The-USA avventura established their families' affluence. Such stories represent the foundation of the oft-repeated claim, "They came with nothing, there were illiterate, they didn't even speak English, they worked incessantly, and they made it without help from outside sources." Barolini's account of Umbertina's story should easily serve as the myth that suitably chronicles the role of women in the avventura. I have had no hesitation about recommending that part of Barolini's book to my daughters. Umbertina and women like my grandmother, Angelina, deserve to be commemorated. Anyone who has known a grandmother comparable to these two women must extend gratitude to Barolini for her having so ably written that commemoration. After having presented the tale of Umbertina, Barolini spins out the narratives of Marguerite (Umbertina's granddaughter) and Tina (Marguerite's daughter), whose connections to the Italy-to-The-USA avventura played a crucial part in their efforts to develop an authentic self-identity These narratives can be read as tales that dramatically highlight the problems of persons who struggle to gain a self identity that would be authorized by surrounding significant persons. Marguerite needed to develop a self-identity that she could use as she encountered the cross-currents of evaluations conducted by her family, by the nuns at the high school which she attended, by the old line families in the town in which she grew up, by her college classmates, by those of her relatives who had retained their "Italianness," by the elitist Italians who surrounded her and Alberto (the noted literary figure she had married during a trip to Italy), and on and on. Tina needed to develop a self identity that would be authorized by her parents, her Italian-American relatives, her peers in the various academic institutions that she attended, and so on. Their positions as female scions of Italy-to-The-USA immigrants certainly increased the intensity of their efforts at self authorization. And, Barolini effectively portrays that intensity. The problems I had as I tried to impose a unifying perspective on to Barolini's text arose, I believe, from my inability to decide whether her description of the struggles of these two women should or should not be treated as irony. Should a reader regard the descriptions as ironic, or should one simply treat them as straightforward narrative? If a reader would treat the text as a text replete with ironies, then the narratives would best be perceived as a cautionary tale. I would want the narratives to be treated as a cautionary tale - a tale whose teller had infused the story with one after another irony. As I read the text, I construed the author as describing Marguerite and Tina engaging in one after another confusion-based activity (especially sexual activity) that would have the aim of gaining external authorization of enactments of their self identity. The conclusions to which Barolini brings the episodes, however, demonstrate that those repeated efforts consistently led to disastrous outcomes. For example, instead of preparing herself for her efforts to develop insights into her heritage in Calabria, Tina impulsively goes off on a wild escapade with a sociologist who leads her to less demanding diversions ("to walk on the beach . . . , swim, eat, nap, make love" [p. 378]). And so, ironically, the well-schooled young woman who would be shamed by the possibility of being categorized as an ignorant, unsophisticated, Italian-American, goes to the town of her grandmother's origin, ignorant of the possible answers to the questions that she raises when she arrives in that town - "And what was the use of her pursuing Umbertina?" "What had she in common with the impoverished hovels of this place . . . With the isolation and the backwardness" (p. 384). Ironically, Tina could only conclude that, "She was now a product of education. There was no return" (p. 384). How will readers respond to the book's ending, which follows a pattern set in many true romance novels - Tina becomes the promised bride of a member of a 2000 percent, old Cape Cod family. Will readers of Barolini's book detect the ironies embedded in the text, then close the volume and cogitate on the commitment; the sacrifice; the struggle; the distress of adapting a primary, culturally-transmitted self identity to meet the demands of unwelcoming power-holders; and the familial love that carried her forebears and her through Castagna, New York's Little Italy, Utica, Gloversville, Rome (Italy), and Cape Cod. Will readers cogitate on the ways that Tina's forebears provided her with the opportunities to build a foundation from which she could be positioned to take the opportunities connected to admittance to a social circle within which her self identity would rarely fail to gain authorization - opportunities provided to millions of Italy-to-The-USA immigrants by the commitment and fortitude of their forebears?
Umbertina exposes the heart of Italian American women.......1999-07-11
I found the book to be an accurate and stirring portrayal of what it is like to be an Italian -American woman. In the second generation I still recognize the attitudes, feelings and traditions of my ancestors in this book as well as the struggle to affirm our talents as women. I highly recommend it.
Not worth the time-too much like a romance novel.......1999-07-03
While the first chapter was very interesting as it took the woman for whom the book was named from her birthplace in Italy to her new home in America, the second and third chapters became essentially a romance novel. I am a third generation Italian-American and I did not feel moved by that aspect of the story like some of the other reviewers. The first chapter did not make the book. Not worth the time and effort.
Three generations of women in one family, the first an Itali.......1999-02-24
Rendered in a convincing realism, Helen Barolini 's novel depicts a search for definition as woman and American through three generations, starting with the eponymous Umbertina. One may justifiably assume that the author has lived her subject--so sensitively does she enter and depict it. I would emphatically recommend this book to any American of Italian descent who wishes to understand the experience of his or her forebears and the need of successive generations to come to terms with the past. But that is not to limit its audience. At base, this is an American book, well worth the attention of those willing to feel the struggle, victory, and loss involved in the acquisition of an AMerican identity.
Customer Reviews:
Bashful or brazen? Passion in the desert........2005-11-07
The Sheik's Arranged Marriage is the second book in the Desert Rogue series by Susan Mallery and is Prince Jamal's and Heidi McKinley's story. Heidi is a long time friend of the family as her grandfather and King Givon were friends. Now the King and his mother feel that Prince Jamal needs to marry and of course, they have chosen Heidi, the virginal and studious plain Jane to be his bride.
Prince Jamal is the middle son, has a love of history, and his country and is extremely handsome, is a prince in more ways than one and known to be a ladies man like his brother Kahlil. He had a former disastrous marriage to Yasmine who was no longer alive and he did not believe in love. However, he is honor bound to his father and country to marry and produce heirs. So he agrees to marry Heidi.
After they wed, Heidi announces that she cannot be a wife in the true sense and that she is a virgin. However, as their relationship progresses Heidi decides she has deeper feelings for Jamal and so with the help of his family she becomes "Honey" and disguises her looks and becomes a "hot" sexual kitten. Jamal sees through her act but decides to go along with her plan and is intrigued by his new wife. When Heidi learns that Jamal has been wise to her little game, she is heart broken and ashamed. However, Heidi finally learns that she could have won her husband by just being herself and that he already loved her not his deceased ex-wife.
This is just another great story by Susan Mallery. The scenes where Heidi becomes Honey are fun and endearing. This is a wonderful addition to the Desert Rogue series.
Book Summary:
Man-shy American Heidi McKinley winces when the king himself insists she marry - and make heirs with - his sinfully sexy royal son! For Prince Jamal was a legendary lover, an expert on erotic intrigue. Whatever would he see in serious-minded Heidi?
Plenty! Up to his crown in gold-digging bubbleheads, Jamal is secretly enchanted with the sweet and studious virgin. So why was homespun Heidi donning silken disguises and posing as siren "Honey Martin" to seduce him? And how could Jamal hope to choose between a bold, brazen "mistress" and a bashful, blushing bride?
The Sheiks Arranged Marriage.......2000-05-10
I enjoyed this book, but I thought her first book of the series "The Sheiks Kidnapped Bride" was much better. I thought the premise of the arranged marriage and the heroine disgusing herself a little weak. However, I do love this family and the exotic setting. I laughed outloud at the family's antics.
Customer Reviews:
A romance to keep you up at night!.......2001-10-17
This is the second book in the Texas Sheikhs series and my favorite after reading all four books. If you haven't read the other books yet and need a background on the Coleman family here's the details.
When King Ibrahim of Balahar was assassinated his wife Rose escaped from the country with her three young sons; Alim, Makin & Kader. She gave her sons to her brother Randy Coleman in London England so he could take them to the United States where they would be safe. Rose went back to find out who killed her husband but trusted the wrong person,Layla her sister-in-law who is the person that arranged the assassination so her husband King Azzam could rule the country. Layla had Rose locked up in a sanitarium then told everyone she was dead. Randy, fearing for the lives of his sister's children fakes the boys death in a boating accident in Boston & moves them to Texas under new names.
This story begins when the Colemans learn Rose is alive and arrange to have her brought back to Texas. Rose, determined for at least one of her sons to keep his royal Balahar heritage alive arranges with King Zak of Sorajhee (a neighboring kingdom to Balahar) for Mac (Prince Makin) to marry Princess Serena. Of course shy & quiet Mac isn't interested in marrying Princess Serena and living in the spotlight. He relys on his twin brother Cade (Prince Kader) to get him out of it.
Cade being extremely worldly & good with women thinks he can pretend to be Mac and sweet talk his way out of the arranged marriage so he flys to Sorajhee. Unfamiliar with royal marriage customs he finds himself unknowingly being married under his brother's name due to a misunderstanding. As soon as Cade and Serena are alone on their wedding night he tells Serena the truth. To avoid an international incident Cade takes Princess Serena to Texas to talk to his family and find a way out of the situation. Cade and Serena go through a lot of turmoil while try to fix the situation and fall in love in the process.
This is a truly romantic story with fun twists and characters that seem real. You will be so involved in the story you won't want to put this book down so be prepared for a marathon reading session! Price Kadar & Princess Serena will keep you on the edge wondering how it will work out until the end. This book is very well written! I hope you'll enjoy this story as much as I have and will add it to your collection of favorite books! I highly recommend this book! :)
WOW another winner !!!.......2001-05-23
This book is just wonderful !! If you have never read any of Tina Leonard's books -- you sure don't know what your missing ! She's one of the best !! :0) Her books are the type that you never want to put down ! They are that wonderful and you feel.. that your in the storyline with the characters !! Thanks Kristi
4 STARS ROMANTIC TIMES!~~.......2001-05-18
Charming tale of romance bursts with humor that will certainly delight readers!~ROMANTIC TIMES MAGAZINE
Book Description
In the LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES ARCHIVES VOL. 7, the mighty teensuper-heroes of the 30th century continue to defend the universe from amultitude of menaces and destructive terrors. Containing stunninglyreprinted tales from the late 1960s, this astonishing book features theFatal Five's disastrous return and conquest of Talok VII, a rebellion bythe Legion of Super-Pets, the destruction of the Legion's clubhouse, MantisMorlo's devastating attacks on the Legionnaire's home worlds, and theaddition of Rond Valor and Shadow Lass to the group of super-heroes.
Customer Reviews:
Some of my favorite Legion stories.......2007-01-01
I'll admit, I've got a personal bias towards this volume of the "Legion of Super-Heroes" archives -- this book happens to contain the stories that form my first-ever exposure to the Legion. When I was a kid, an uncle of mine gave me a DC Blue Ribbon Digest collecting the stories in which the Legion faced the Fatal Five, recruited Shadow Lass, built their new Headquarters and battled the Dark Circle. Jim Shooter and Curt Swan are responsible for most of the stories in this volume, and did some of their best work here. This book is full of classic, old-fashioned superhero excitement, and while I've been getting the Legion archives since Volume 1, the nostalgia factor alone makes this one my favorite.
Book Description
This important new volume brings together Jürgen Habermas's key writings on religion and religious belief. In these essays, Habermas explores the relations between Christian and Jewish thought, on one hand, and the Western philosophical tradition on the other. He often approaches these issues through critical encounters with the work of others, including Walter Benjamin, Martin Heidegger, Johann Baptist Metz, and Gershom Scholem.
In an introduction written especially for this volume, Eduardo Mendieta places Habermas's engagement with religion in the context of his work as a whole. Mendieta also discusses Habermas's writings in relation to Jewish Messianism and the Frankfurt School, showing how these essays reflect an important yet often neglected dimension of critical theory. The volume concludes with an original extended interview that examines Habermas's current views on religion and modern society.
Customer Reviews:
Habermas is interesting, but selection of essays is questionable.......2006-12-10
This collection of Habermas's essays dealing with religion is a very mixed bag. A number of them are so specific in topic (and so historically-minded) that it's hard to draw any real inferences about Habermas's own opinions. The introductory essay by Eduardo Mendieta is nearly worthless for those who don't already know Habermas's other work quite well, so it fails to open up the volume to theologians and clergy who want to engage with his thought.
Nevertheless, some of the essays are very illuminating, including "Transcendence from Within, Transcendence in this World," "Israel or Athens: Where does Anamnestic Reason Belong?" "Tracing the Other of History in History," and the final interview. Given some of Habermas's commitments to reason and methodological atheism, I expected him to travel down roads similar to the ones Dewey explores in Common Faith, which folks like Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris are exploring in the present day, but I never found him actually rejecting the way religious people now enter the public sphere. It definitely gives cause for hope and entices the reader to explore Habermas's philosophical work.
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Theological Studies, published by Theological Studies, Inc. on December 1, 2004. The length of the article is 1520 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: Religion and Rationality: Essays on Reason, God, and Modernity.(Book Review)
Author: William Rehg
Publication:
Theological Studies (Refereed)
Date: December 1, 2004
Publisher: Theological Studies, Inc.
Volume: 65
Issue: 4
Page: 907(2)
Article Type: Book Review
Distributed by Thomson Gale
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|
Illustrated Atlas of the World 5th Ed
READER'S DIGEST
Manufacturer: Readers Digest
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
World
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ASIN: 0762105100 |
Book Description
Newly revised, and completely up-to-date, this fifth edition of the Illustrated Atlas of the World remains an invaluable reference source. Bartholomew, world-class cartographers, designed this value-priced atlas especially for Reader's Digest with 80 scrupulously revised reference maps, organized by continent—featuring an all-new insert of satellite images from around the world. Using state-of-the-art cartographic technology, the easy-to-use reference maps provide coverage of the entire world and illuminate every vital detail. A comprehensive index of over 30,000 place names makes every location instantly accessible.
Book Description
In this edition
Arizona - Arkansas - California - Colorado - Idaho - Illinois - Iowa - Kansas - Louisiana - Minnesota - Missouri - Montana - Nebraska - Nevada - New Mexico - North Dakota - Oklahoma - Oregon - South Dakota - Texas - Utah - Washington - Wisconsin - Wyoming
The most complete guide to antiquing in the United States, updated every year
Over 7,500 listings of antiques stores, malls, shows, auctions, and flea markets with full addresses and phone numbers
Where to stay and eat, no matter where you travel
Reviews and locations for the most-loved bed and breakfasts, hotels, and country inns throughout America
Recommendations for local dining spots
Thorough, practical, complete
Personal anecdotes from shop owners, with details about their specialties and inventory
Dates and reviews of shows and auctions and events
Special section listing America's largest antique malls
Maps for each state covered, travel suggestions (some off the beaten path), and more
Excellent "How to Get There" directions
Easy-to-read maps for each state highlighting each town with a source of antiques and collectibles
Colorful editorials describing cities and towns to give the unique flavor of each area and to provide suggestions for enjoyable side trips
Book Description
Hundreds of stylish illustrations and clear, concise instructions are used to illustrate this flexible system of pattern cutting, offering both students and designers the means to achieve original, well-cut designs. The children's clothing market has changed remarkably during the last decade, and this standard work has been totally revised and rewritten to reflect new developments, including the increasing importance of knitted fabrics and the fashion consciousness of today's mothers.
Customer Reviews:
Fantastic, the one and only!!!.......2001-12-29
Babywear & children's clothing will no longer have any secrets after you have used Winifreds' book. It explains how to make all styles for all ages and then some. It's easy to use and written in plain english! The best I've ever come across and I would highly recommend it for both beginners and advanced patterns makers.
Average customer rating:
|
Children's wear design
Hilde Jaffe
Manufacturer: Fairchild Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
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ASIN: 0870050990 |
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Grading for the Fashion Industry: With Children's Wear and Men's Wear
Martin M. Shoben
Manufacturer: Trans-Atlantic Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Fashion Design
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ASIN: 074870423X |
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Metric Pattern Cutting for Children's Wear: From 2-14 Years
Winifred Aldrich
Manufacturer: Sheridan House Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0632030577 |
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The Paper Jeweler: Imaginative Designs to Cut Out, Make and Wear
Lexi Strauss
Manufacturer: Tarquin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Crafts & Hobbies
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ASIN: 1899618015 |
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Things to Wear (Design and Create)
Margot Richardson
Manufacturer: Raintree Steck-Vaughn Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Library Binding
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ASIN: 0817248889 |
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Townsville's Super Trio: Tatoos to Wear and Share (Powerpuff Girls (Golden))
Manufacturer: Golden books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Popular Culture
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ASIN: 0307104958 |
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- Sound introduction to Islamic mysticism
|
Islamic Mysticism: A Short History (Themes in Islamic Studies)
Alexander Knysh
Manufacturer: Brill Academic Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
General
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All Titles
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ASIN: 9004107177 |
Customer Reviews:
Sound introduction to Islamic mysticism.......2000-07-27
The book provides a general survey of the history of Islamic mysticism (Sufism) since its inception up to modern times. It combines chronological and personality-based approaches to the subject with a thematic discussion of principal Sufi notions and institutions. As a general introduction the volume obviously serves a need. Sufism is examined from a variety of different perspectives: as a vibrant social institution, a specific form of artistic expression (mainly poetic), an ascetic and contemplative practice, and a distinctive intellectual tradition that derived its vitality from a dialogue with other strands of Islamic thought.
The book emphasizes the wide variety of Sufism's interactions with the society and its institutions from an ascetic withdrawal from the world to an active involvement in its affairs by individual, masters and organizations. ISLAMIC MYSTICISM by Knysh is a comprehensive survey of the interesting and fascinating world of Islamic mysticism written for scholars and students interested in Islamic Mysticism, Islamic Studies, Religious Studies and the History of Religions. The work will have to most appeal to students attempting to get a general scholarly grasp on this field as an academic field of inquiry.
Average customer rating:
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A Short Introduction to Islamic Philosophy, Theology and Mysticism (Short Introduction)
Majid Fakhry
Manufacturer: Oneworld Pubns Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 1851681345 |
Book Description
In today's high-tech age of electronic mail, fax machines, and the Internet, it is imperative that direct-response marketing design ideas stay fresh. Pop-up campaign advertisements, a Website home page design, or message in a bottle are all vehicles for creating a successful direct-response campaign. This new volume from Rockport Publishers presents a magnificent collection of the best, new, direct-response advertisements and promotions created by top designers today.
--Presents more than 250 innovative and creative direct-response designs from top international designers
--Features five categories: product promotion, service promotion, event promotion, corporate promotion, and self-promotion
--Includes mailed and electronic promotions
Each design is highlighted with a brief caption describing the creation process, software, materials used, special design tricks and techniques, and the designer's process for meeting the client's needs and expectation
Customer Reviews:
Great.......2000-06-20
This book is full of great examples about direct marketing design. Is very usefull to develope new ideas based on the succesfull ones.
Book Description
Direct mail or E-mail, creative graphic design is essential to getting a response. The graphic designers featured in this book have created direct-marketing designs that work for their clients and themselves. This new collection features the work of over seventy-five graphic designers and illustrates a wide range of direct-marketing projects, including mailed and electronic promotions for corporate, event, product, self-promotion, and service promotions.
Features more than 130 direct-response designs from top international designers.
Clients range from large corporations to small retail shops to self-promotions.
Captions include information about designers and their clients as well as design, printing, and mailing details like special materials, quanitity printed, and objectives.
Average customer rating:
- More than passes the test of any book of musical criticism
- Vade mecum, goes all the way from blues to visionary stars..
- Absolutely incredible
- Worth every cent. Hardback or softback - Indispensible.
- Astounding and Extraordinary
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Song and Dance Man III: The Art of Bob Dylan (Literature & the Arts)
Michael Gray
Manufacturer: Continuum International Publishing Group
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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Dylan, Bob
| ( D )
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Similar Items:
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The Bob Dylan Encyclopedia
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Bob Dylan - Don't Look Back (1965 Tour Deluxe Edition)
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Studio A: The Bob Dylan Reader
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Dylan: Visions, Portraits, & Back Pages
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Alias Bob Dylan: Revisited (Non Fiction)
ASIN: 0826451500 |
Book Description
This classic work is the definitive study of Bob Dylan's 40-year body of songs and recordings. This latest edition offers copious fresh material, including major studies of Dylan's remarkable use of the blues, nursery rhyme, films and the Bible. Unique in its scope and its integration of literature and music, criticism and biography, this highly entertaining and authoritative book has earned exceptional reviews.
Customer Reviews:
More than passes the test of any book of musical criticism.......2006-03-30
The only valid test of any book of musical criticism is whether it sends you back to the music with new ears to hear what you missed before. This book passes the test admirably. No matter how much you think you know about Dylan's work, you will learn something new here. You will not only gain added enjoyment from Dylan's acknowledged masterpieces, but may find something of value in songs - indeed, whole albums - that were regarded as inferior by many Dylan fans when they were released.
Vade mecum, goes all the way from blues to visionary stars.........2004-03-14
If asked at the pearly gates, who was the best poet you ever encountered in your days on earth, I would not hesitate to say with great gladness, Bob Dylan, him of the sacred heart. And if Saint Peter pressed me for the best book of cultural criticism I had encountered in relation to poetry and religious vision, I would say Michael Gray's Song & Dance Man 3: the Art of Bob Dylan, and just sit there in mute prayer and lyric praise. This book gives back to the Dylan visionary blues project much of the joy and politics that went into its lifelong creation, see the chapter on Willy Mctell as "Willy Mctell," santa cleopatra there is nothing more to say on these ghostly trails of poesy, love, and theft. I will just give praise and 10 stars if I could.
Absolutely incredible.......2001-12-07
As an avid fan of rock scholarship (oxymoronical as some still consider the term), I've read many a bio and interpretive book through the years, and I have to say that this one, hands down, is the absolute most amazing one I've ever come across. Only Dylan - with his 40+ albums, 4-decade career, half a thousand songs, countless gigs, and sheer depth of material - could be subject to such a gargantuan examination as this, and Gray milks it for all it's worth. At over 900 pages, this book examines every aspect of Dylan's recorded work. The level of scholarship is almost insane. The footnotes alone are massive (some taking up the majority of a page); one chapter alone contains over 220 of them. This is not a book that attempts to "explain" the songs (Gray knows better than that.) What it does, instead, is give detailed background information on them: shedding light, at long last, on their genesis - showing us what songs, poems, books, movies or what have you may have influenced them. One gets a sense in reading this of Dylan's own vast knowledge of music. We learn here how deeply and thorougly he has mined such treasure troves of art as pre-war blues, folk songs, the Bible (though Gray borders on overkill on this particular subject), poetry of all sorts, and, surprisingly, nursery rhyme, fairy tales, and Hollywood movie dialogue. Some might claim that knowing such things takes the fun or novelty out of simply listening to a song, or of self-interpretation, but surely, it gives an extra layer or two of depth to Dylan's work, allowing you to appreciate them that much more. Some passages are surely revelatory. While some of the chapters are admittedly not as interesting as others, many are enlightening and downright ground-breaking. The chapter on his use of pre-war blues lyrics poetry is a cornucopia of exhaustive reasearch (the footnotes alone in this chapter could almost comprise a book.) Undoubtedly revelatory to many are the chapters on Dylan's use of nursery rhyme and movie dialogue in his lyrics (the use of the latter shines an entirely new light on the Empire Burlesque album.) Another element of the book worth noting is that it doesn't skimp over his too-often-unnecessarily-derided 80's and 90's work (a period where it actually became cool to despise Dylan.) Gray offers excellent analyses of such 80's masterpieces as Blind Willie McTell, Caribbean Wind (three versions!), Foot of Pride, Jokerman, Brownsville Girl, and the entire Oh Mercy album. All of these songs (and more) are thoroughly examined, and lend needed credence to truly excellent Dylan compositions that often do not get the credit they deserve. His 90's albums - Under The Red Sky, Good As I Been To You, World Gone Wrong, and Time Out of Mind - all have thorough chapters dedicated to them as well. The latter chapter I particularly enjoyed. I should also take time out to ackwnoledge not only Gray's parlaying of information, but his sheer excellence of writing. His prose is very, very good and he can be devastatingly funny at times, as well as scholastically serious. He also manages to avoid the two main traps of writing a book like this: hero worship, and promoting your own work through the medium you are trying to interpret. He's not overly idoltary towards Dylan: certainly he gives him much praise (all deserved, of course), but he also issues forth monumental drubbings at times - perhaps even too much at times. For example, Gray is extremely, extremely critical of such things as the Empire Burlesque and Unplugged albums, which is bound to upset some fans. But surely such critical honesty of opinion is preferable to the "Dylan is God and never makes a mistake; bow down and worship his incomparable art" vibe that is prevalent in so many other books of this type. Also, as I said, he manages to avoid the horrible pitfall of pushing his own works through the guise of interpreting Dylan; he wisely barely mentions himself here. Now, all this is not to say that the book is perfect. There are certain drawbacks; personally, I think Gray rides the Bible-influence hobby horse a bit too much, and I disagree with some of his opinions (only natural, and he doesn't overburden us with them), and certain parts of the book do seem a bit long-winded. Also, if you are looking for an in-depth study of what Dylan's lyrics "mean", or for a study of his live performances, then this is not specifically the book for you. However, any, and I mean ANY Dylanophile will want it regardless, as it casts such a deep, illuminating light on so many aspects of his career. There are a lot of books on Bob Dylan available, but this is one of the few truly indispensable ones. Comes absolutely reccommended.
Worth every cent. Hardback or softback - Indispensible........2001-07-13
An important and groundbreaking work, treating Dylan's oeuvre for what it is - a performance-based series of songs created by a sometimes-visionary intent on exploring the human condition through his own idiosyncratic blend of musical and literary influences. Other reviewers that have already noted the difference between earlier and later chapters in this massive book - that the earlier chapters are holdovers from previous editions, while the later chapters are newly written. There is a considerable difference in tone between these earlier (now-revised) chapters and the newly written ones. The later chapters on Dylan's blues inclinations, especially as manifest on his two underrated early 90's albums of folk and blues covers, and his 1983 masterpiece "Blind Willie McTell," are a revelation to anyone who would seek to understand the complicated relationship between Dylan's performances and past musics. Taking this argument up to the recent past, Gray's peerless appraisal of Dylan's most recent album, Time Out of Mind, is exciting and in many cases revelatory. His analysis of the song "Highlands" alone is worth the price of the book. Gray's extensive footnotes (which at times occupy the majority of the page they are appended to) function as good footnotes should. They work with the text, as a support for his arguments, and they expand on his statements by referencing the relevant recordings and texts. The nether-trails of recorded music are included here: one could spend an entire lifetime seeking out and listening to the albums listed in the footnotes.
Also, Gray's focus on Dylan in the 80's and 90's is refreshing. With this time-period in clear focus, Gray's work is a nice companion to Clinton Heylin's newly-revised Behind The Shades. These two books represent what is hopefully a new trend in Dylan writing. Instead of miring the man and his influence in the 1960's, Gray takes on Dylan's later periods with great enthusiasm and insight. Gray's most interesting work relates to Dylan's songs from the 80's - his analyses of such songs as "Jokerman," "Angelina," and "Carribean Wind" are essential reading for any Dylan fan who thinks that there are no Dylan songs after either 1966 or 1974 that can match the detailed intensity embodied in mid-60's masterpieces such as "Visions of Johanna," "It's Alright Ma," or "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues."
Gray's writing is refreshing in that he keeps a critical eye on Dylan, citing examples of Dylan's songwriting and performing laziness when such criticisms are called for. Also, unlike so many `Dylanologists,' Gray does not use Dylan as a cipher onto which he projects his own agenda (religious, political, other). Instead, he makes an admirable effort to locate the essence of the works themselves, their meanings and roots, and to outline their development as much as his research will allow. His prose is eminently readable, and he can be funny as well as very serious, depending on what the material calls for.
Sure, at 900+ pages, the book can be intimidating. But it is not a novel, not something meant to be taken in all in one sitting. Perhaps it's not best to even read it from the beginning. Rather, dip into the comprehensive index, and find a term that interests you. I guarantee that you'll be led on several tangents and learn many things about Dylan and his music before you even realize that you're now reading about something entirely different from what you first looked up. Which is to say that the scope of this book is massive, and that anyone with a real interest in music would do well to read it. From Keats to Son House, from Woody Guthrie to Bumps Blackwell, and back to William Blake, this is an incredible feat of scholarship, the product of many years' devotion to understanding the rich and important body of work that Dylan has given us thus far.
Astounding and Extraordinary.......2001-05-15
An amazing, landmark effort. The footnotes alone will inform any reader of the depth and wealth to be found in Dylan's work. This is essential to understand not only Bob Dylan but American music in general. Roots Galore...a deep, profound piece of research and literature.
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