Book Description
In the great disorder of wartime Berlin, Lucia Muller-Rossi was an unofficial star: mistress to an Ambassador, the whole world to her young son, and guardian of all the lovely things her Jewish friends were forced to leave behind as they took the trains tothe death camps. Sixty years later, one of those fine pieces sits for sale in the window of Lucia's antiques shop-- and its true owner happens to pass by. In that moment, a whole lifetime of silence cracks open and Lucia's family face the wrenching duty of examining a past almost too horrifying to remember.
Customer Reviews:
I COULDN'T FINISH IT!!!.......2004-06-09
I came to the local library for a good read and found "The Pieces From Berlin". It looked and sounded interesting, the WWII setting sounded gripping, and the plot even more so. But the book moved so slow that by the time I got half way through I was bored to tears that I could hardly keep my eyes open reading it and I decided to put the book down and find something else. A beautiful and moving story set in WWII to the present about friends and family searching for answers to their unanswered time-old questions was completely drained by Michael Pye's long, redundant, almost unecassary text. A good idea gone wrong, by the time you're ready to finish you're not even close to done. But if you're a patient, fast, thoughtful reader, then this would be a good read.
A fair accomplishment.......2004-05-24
Berlin during World War II. A Swiss lady, Lucia Muller-Rossi, struggles along to make a living as a mistress to an ambassador and raise her son Nicholas. But soon Lucia discovers a new source of income: she becomes the guardian of all the lovely things - furniture, china, jewellery - that the Jews were forced to dispose of before being led to the death camps. Being Swiss, Lucia has no trouble at all leaving Germany and returning to Zurich, thus making the antiques her own property. Sixty years later, the owner of a small table happens to pass by the window of Lucia's shop ...
"The Pieces from Berlin" can be read like a suspense story in which the reader glimpses the truth here and there as Mr Pye's characters struggle to answer the questions that thread through their lives: what are their obligations to their family members and to what lengths are they allowed to go to protect them? Like memories, the plot in this novel is a jigsaw puzzle which will eventually be completed in the denouement as the pieces neatly fall into place.
A lot to think about........2004-04-16
Michael Pye's book had the surprising ability to make me think about the Holocaust in some new ways. I say surprising because this moral ground has been well traveled in literature, theater and film. In the service of remembrance, we have all read or seen a vast litany of Nazi atrocities, with the unintended and unfortunate effect of making us numb to the horror.
But Pye does a remarkable job of showing us that there is still a lot to talk about.
The character Lucia morphs from textbook villain, to misunderstood mother, to even greater villain without ever becoming a cartoon. Her actions can make the reader alternately sympathize with and abhor her.
Even more interesting are the questions of national and religious identity. Just when you think you've figured out the books moral point of view, a revelation about one of the main characters gets you thinking all over again.
Get to the Point.......2003-12-27
Michael Pye has managed to take a very interesting subject and a very charged part of world history (WWII, Nazi Germany, stolen art) and make it thoroughly boring and disinteresting. The pace of the novel is so slow that by the time he reveals pertinent aspects of the plot the reader doesn't care anymore (at least that's how I felt). This novel is inundated with sub-plots that are never developed (ie: Helen's relationship with her husband, her child, even her father Nicolas; one of the main characters) and the language eventually becomes tiresome and self-important. By the time the novel is finished you feel like you've pressed fast-forward through most of the book and don't have much to take away except fleeting images of clarity that are superceded by a mess of a plot with almost zero forward moving action. This book is at best: unsatisfactory.
A missed chance on a very interesting theme.......2003-10-18
Lucia Müller-Rossi is a 90 year old antiques dealer in Zürich, Switzerland. She has a son, Nicholas, and a granddaughter, Helen, with whom she has a rather formal contact. This is due to the fact that the family has a secret: the antiques that Lucia is selling were not obtained honestly, but were given to her for storage by Berlin Jews. When one day one of her victims, Sarah Freeman, recognizes one of the tables in the antiques shop as her own, the family finally has to face the truth, which leads to a big domestic drama.
The facts on which this novel is built are of course fascinating: the trade in Jewish goods which "changed owner" illegally during the Nazi regime. Unfortunately, the story remains unclear for a long time and there are a number of story lines that have not been exploited properly: what is the role of Peter Clarke, why did Helen never before confront her grandmother with the truth and what happens in the end with the table that started it all? A missed chance, a pity.
Book Description
The return of Conan is at hand. By the mid 1970s, Robert E Howard's seminal Sword and Sorcery hero had cut a path through the comic-book world, restored to vivid life by prolific writer Roy Thomas and his host of talented artists.Of those artists, none contributed more to Conan's legacy than the legendary John Buscema. Taking the lush and detailed realism that had already been established in the comic-book series, Buscema pushed the look of Howard's creation in an entirely new direction, illustrating what would become the definitive version of Conan for an entire generation of readers.
Customer Reviews:
way cool.......2006-03-04
It took me a while to get used to the new digital coloring. It's not bad, just different. As for the artwork....You cannot go wrong with John Buscema(whom I personally prefer over Barry Windsor Smith). Buscema's Conan will always be how I see Conan in my mind's eye. It's how I envision him when I read the original Robert E. Howard stories as well. The stories are always good when Roy Thomas is at the helm, so we're covered there. You should buy all these editions reissued from Dark Horse, they're superb and I bought them all.
Recolored for your disappointment.......2005-04-16
I can't stand the computer recoloring of the entire Conan series by Dark Horse. While anything past volume 4 is dubious to be reprinted at best, the slick gloss paper piles the ink up on the page making the art just seem garish, destroying any reason I have to read past Barry Windsor-Smith's run.
Seek the now out of print Essential Conan.
Thomas and Buscema begin reinventing Conan the Barbarian.......2004-12-05
With Dark Horse securing the rights to turn Robert E. Howard's seminal sword & sorcery hero into a comic book for a new generation of fans, they began reprinting Marvel's original comic books written by Roy Thomas and drawn (mostly) by Barry Windsor-Smith (and Gil Kane). Since my original comic books are all sitting in sealed plastic and backing boards it was great to have these available without touching those classics with my bare hands. I was also impressed with the computerized coloring they came up with, and when Windsor-Smith's run ended with the stories collection in "The Chronicles of Conan, Volume 4" so did my interest in the reprints. But now there is reason to reconsider.
"The Chronicles of Conan, Volume 5: The Shadow in the Tomb and Other Stories" reprints issues #27-34 of Marvel's "Conan the Barbarian" comic book. Thomas is still at the helm, as he would be for the book's entire run, and John Buscema has taken over the penciling duties, with Ernie Chua as the primary inker. With Thomas continuing to adapt Howard's original stories, such as "The Blood of Belshazzar," it was Buscema's vision of a more muscular Conan that became the standard image of the barbarian, especially when Arnold Schwarzenegger played the role in a couple of movies.
What we have here to begin with are a series of one-issue stories. "The Blood of Bel-Hissar" finds Conan making his way across the desert and getting caught up in an effort to get an infamous blood jewel. "Moon of Zembabwei" has Conan fighting an ape-god in the jungle, while "Two Against Turan" takes place in the capital city of Aghrapur where Conan becomes involved in the intrigues of an ambitious wizard named Ormraxes before being "persuaded" to join the Turanian army. But most of "The Hand of Negral" is Conan dealing with palace intrigue in Yaralet rather than fighting with the troops. "The Shadow in the Tomb" has Conan's detachment trapped by hill men and before facing their champion in a duel to decide their fate, Conan recalls fighting his shadow as a lad (giving Buscema a chance to draw Conan with the horned helmet and three medallions of his youth that Windsor-Smith finally made a point of getting rid of).
The cover design here comes from the splash page of "Flame Winds of Lost Khitai," which is actually adapted from a Norvell Page novel. This is good because it finally means a multi-part story. Conan is given a mission to sneak into Khitai and deal with the Wizards of Wan Tengri. "Death and 7 Wizards" contains a nice two-page spread where Buscema gets to take Conan down memory lane again in terms of the Windsor-Smith years, as our hero ends up in the arena fighting for his life again. The story concludes in "The Temptress in the Tower of Flame," where Conan ends up getting out of Khitai alive having once again learned a lesson about why you never trust wizards when it comes to anything.
This (free) adaptation is the best story in the book but it is nothing special. But we know that Thomas and Buscema do not really hit their stride until they get to their epic "Queen of the Black Coast" storyline where they stretch out Howard's original story and flesh it out in detail. At this point they are figuring things out and Thomas is apparently too tightly wedded to adapting everything Robert E. Howard ever wrote in his entire life.
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The Midas Touch (Coronet Books)
Anthony Sampson
Manufacturer: Teach Yourself Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 General
| Popular Economics
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
Entrepreneurship
| Small Business & Entrepreneurship
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
World
| History
| Subjects
| Books
| 17th Century
| 18th Century
| 19th Century
| 20th Century
| 21st Century
| Byzantine
| Expeditions & Discoveries
| General
| Islamic
| Jewish
| Medieval
| Renaissance
| Revolution
| Slavery & Emancipation
| Transportation
| Women in History
ASIN: 0340530324 |
Customer Reviews:
Superficial........2002-11-16
The world of money and the money makers around 1990.
The author correctly states that money has become a new religion: Today it is the bank manager rather than the priests who are the guardians of people's secrets and confessionals, who see the world (as they say) 'with their trousers down'.
But the investigation is too superficial.
The only point the author really scores is his observation that we have seen the end of Veblen's leisure class: 'Work, which has so long been associated with drudgery, is now essential to importance and status ... the orders of time have been reversed: the rich will rise at dawn, the poor sleep late'.
A waste of time.
Customer Reviews:
Very Hard to Find but A Few Good Stories Especially The Invisible Man Murder Case.......2007-09-29
The 7 Deadly Sins of Science Fiction is a various author anthology published in 1980. The stories inside are older still with the most recent first published in 1974 with most in the mid 1950s. Stories are set in the real world, space, future and present time (well 1950s anyway). They cover topics such as space travel cadets who have a lazy captain adult supervisor and have to make it to Mars and back when someone is sabotaging their ship and it seems likely to be the captain. A serial killer who is an invisible man, a soldier with a destroyed leg in Southeast Asia learning supernatural skills from an old man in a small village down the road from his MASH hospital bed and a robot on trial in a court of law. This isn't the first time any of these stories were published but since they are so old they are probably not going to be any easier to obtain elsewhere.
There are nine stories in total falling under the 7 deadly sins categories. The 7th sin apparently is often disputed to be either Avarice or Covetousness with either appearing as the seventh sin depending on the historic source, so both sins are included in this collection. They are -
SLOTH: Sail 25 (1962) by Jack Vance
LUST: Peeping Tom (1954) by Judith Merril
ENVY: The Invisible Man Murder Case (1958) by Henry Slesar
PRIDE: Galley Slave (1957) by Issac Asimov
ANGER: Divine Madness (1966) by Roger Zelazny
Gluttony: The Midas Plague by (1954) Federik Pohl
The Man Who Ate the World (1956) by Federik Pohl
Avarice: Margin or Profit (1956) by Puol Anderson
Covetousness: The Hook, the Eye and the Whip (1974) by Michael G. Coney
The stories inside do vary in quality from very, very average to very, very good. The pick of the stories inside is Henry Slesar's The Invisible Man Murder Case. Jeff Oswald a successful writer is invited to give a speech at the Mystery Authors Association banquet even though he doesn't believe his books fall under the mystery category. There he meets his childhood idol author Kirk Evander who he quickly learns hates his guts. Evander blames authors like Oswald for the decline of the classic detective story. In the days following, three murders occur where the victim are found in a room locked from the inside (obviously they didn't have self locking doors in the 1950s), the last victim is Evander. Oswald's publisher sends out media releases that Oswald is going to track down the killer of his friend so to put the lie in motion Oswald agrees to meet Evander's brother Dr Borg Evander. In the scientist's lab although the scientist knows very little about his brother, Oswald meets Borg's cat which is completely invisible. Borg has invented a substance he calls Sulfaborgonium which when painted on anything turns it invisible. Dr Borg Evander can see no use for this accidentally invented product but being a writer Oswald can, and he thinks he knows how the murders were committed and that it's pretty obvious that his former idol has given this paste to the killer. As the body count rises it becomes obvious to Oswald that he'll have to catch this invisible man killer or become the next victim!
Product Description
A reading and english textbook for children ages 6-9
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Midas Mouse
David Ellwand , and
Ruth Ellwand
Manufacturer: HarperCollins Children's Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Fiction
| Mice, Hamsters, Guinea Pigs & Squirrels
| Animals
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Fairy Tales, Folk Tales & Myths
| Literature
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
Fiction
| Nature
| Science, Nature & How It Works
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Baby-3
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Children's Books
| Mythology
| World Literature
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0688167454 |
Book Description
Midas Mouse has an unfortunate power. Everything he touches turns to gold--even cheese! This wonderful twist on a classic tale is a perfect gift book, beautifully produced with black-and-white photographs that include stunning silver and gold accents. Midas Mouse is a story that every child will treasure.
Customer Reviews:
A beautiful story.......2003-08-18
This is the best childrens book I've ever seen. The illustration is beautiful and enhances the story. The description of colour is a great introduction for children into artistic expression and the moral of the story to find beauty whatever you're looking upon is a very nice as well.
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Midas Touch
Walter Winward
Manufacturer: Jove
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Contemporary
| General
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0515071358 |
Average customer rating:
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Midas World
Manufacturer: St. Martin's
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
| Authors, A-Z
| Books on CD
| Books on Cassette
| Fantasy
| Gaming
| Large Print
| Media
| Science Fiction
| Writing
General
| British
| World Literature
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0575033746 |
Customer Reviews:
Midas World.......2003-10-11
Too Much Of Anything Is Too Much!
When Amadeus Amalfi invented the Fusion Power Device, the earth blossomed, for when power is cheap so is everything else. Soon robots did all the work, and people had all the "fun! fun! fun!" But every pipeline has two ends, and despite the stunning triumph of technology, humanity's success with social engineering was no greater than it had been. Soon the robot factories began to bury mankind in luxury, and the New Poor were forced to spend their lives in frantic consumption so that their masters could live the Simple Life.
And in the process the robots were burning out our world.
Thought provoking.......2000-04-01
I thought the overall theme of this book was conceptually very interisting. Basically, as you may be able to guess from its title, it has to do with more not always being better. Once the human race has developed a virtually limitless source of energy, they had everything they could ever need... and more.
In this new world, robotic factories produce vast amounts of luxuries, and in order to consume them all, every person is given a ration of things they must consume, and only the rich are able to afford to live the simple life, with a nice five room cottage, while the poor have no choice but to live in 26 room mansions, constantly go to operas, have dinner at the club, wear fancy clothes etcetera.
Granted the economics of this whole idea are kind of screwy, but this book isn't really trying to be realistic, but it is trying to make a point about the almost axiomatic belief people seem to have that more is better.
Although it is nowhere near realistic, it is a very good read and quite thought provoking. I would recommend it to any science fiction fan.
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Midas world
Frederik Pohl
Manufacturer: New York TDR 1984.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000LTMV5C |
Average customer rating:
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Daily Light on the Daily Path Gft, KJV
Manufacturer: Zondervan Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
General
| Religion & Spirituality
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0310230608 |
Average customer rating:
- Now You're Cooking!!!
- Wonderful book! Scrumptious recipes!
- great food and easy to follow directions
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Black Tie & Blue Jeans: Cooking on the Llano Estacado
Jeanne Kennedy
Manufacturer: Eakin Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
General
| Cooking, Food & Wine
| Subjects
| Books
South
| U.S. Regional
| Regional & International
| Cooking, Food & Wine
| Subjects
| Books
West
| U.S. Regional
| Regional & International
| Cooking, Food & Wine
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 1571684263 |
Customer Reviews:
Now You're Cooking!!!.......2002-01-25
This isn't just a cookbook, it's a visual feast. Just reading the recipes makes you want to run to the kitchen and rattle the pots and pans. It is a MUST HAVE for anyone who loves to cook or even someone who doesn't, because it tempts you into trying each and every dish. Easy steps, well explained and palate pleasing. You won't be sorry and you will be the envy at every dinner party. GET IT NOW!!!
Wonderful book! Scrumptious recipes!.......2001-03-07
This is a great cookbook. I've had time to experiment with several of the recipes and am very pleased with the results I've obtained. I can't wait to entertain again - this stuff is great! Thanks!
great food and easy to follow directions.......2000-12-28
This book has delightful and tasty receipes. It is for the discriminating cook as well as those of us that are more "common" with our talents. The variety will carry you through the year and still have a good surprise for New Years dinner the next year. Check out the photos and you will see how down home cooking can be presented elegantly!
Average customer rating:
- this book is great for your kids!
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I CAN DRAW HORSES (I Can Draw)
Tony Tallarico
Manufacturer: Little Simon
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Nonfiction
| Horses
| Animals
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
Drawing
| Art
| Arts & Music
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Ages 9-12
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
I Can Draw
| Nonfiction
| Series
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Antiques & Collectibles
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0671464477 |
Customer Reviews:
this book is great for your kids!.......2000-08-26
I have this book for my daughter and she gets some really great help with this book. You dont even really need to be able to read to get the help this book offers. Just look at the pictures and copy what is all ready there. My daughter is already improving! If you have kids that like to draw and love horses this is the book for them!
Book Description
Over 1,000 designs: roses, tulips, irises, lilies, more. Classical, Victorian, Art Nouveau, other styles.
Customer Reviews:
It is what it is!.......2007-01-15
If you're looking for 1001 floral motifs then the book delivers. Lots of nice ones... Some not so nice. If I need a piece of floral clip art this is the place I turn.
Useless to me........2001-12-02
Useless for newsletters. Also sorry I bought it.
Not of use to me........1998-11-23
The book probably does have 1OO1 motifs but many were Victorian and so ornate they would be all but impossible to transfer to a greeting card. I would return it but the cost to return would take a large bite out of the cost of the book. Sorry I bought it. May be of use to graphic illustrators with more equipment than I possess.
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Law in Afghanistan: A Study of the Constitutions, Matrimonial Law and the Judiciary (Social, Economic and Political Studies of the Middle East and Asia , No 36)
Mohammad Hashim Kamali
Manufacturer: Brill Academic Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
General
| Architecture
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Interior Design
| Architecture
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Interior Design
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Law
| Subjects
| Books
Non-US Legal Systems
| Perspectives on Law
| Law
| Subjects
| Books
Sociology
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
| AIDS
| Abuse
| Adults
| Aging
| Children
| Class
| Communities
| Culture
| Death
| General
| History
| Leisure
| Marriage & Family
| Medicine
| Men
| Occupational
| Race Relations
| Religion
| Research & Measurement
| Rural
| Social Groups
| Social Situations
| Social Theory
| Suburban
| Urban
| Women
General
| Religion & Spirituality
| Subjects
| Books
Law
| Islam
| Religion & Spirituality
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 9004071288 |
Average customer rating:
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Adobe GoLive 4 - Con 1 CD-ROM
Eugenio Tuya Feijoo
Manufacturer: Anaya Multimedia
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Graphic Arts
| Graphic Design
| Design & Decorative Arts
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
Spanish
| Foreign Language Nonfiction
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Arte
| Arte, arquitectura y fotografía
| Libros en español
| Formats
| Books
Artes Gráficos
| Diseño Gráfico
| Arte, arquitectura y fotografía
| Libros en español
| Formats
| Books
No-Ficción
| Libros en español
| Formats
| Books
| Automotriz
| Ciencias Sociales
| Crimen y Criminales
| Educación
| Estudios de la Mujer
| Feriados
| Filosofía
| Gobierno
| Hechos Verídicos
| Planeamiento Urbano y Desarrollo
| Política
| Sucesos de Actualidad
| Transportación
ASIN: 8441509964 |
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What Does the Wind Say?
Wendi J. Silvano
Manufacturer: Northword Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
General
| Nursery Rhymes
| Baby-3
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Baby-3
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Poetry
| Literature
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 1559719540 |
Average customer rating:
- Great Read for Astrologers and Political History Buffs
- Too many unsubstantiated claims
- Fascinating insight into the Reagan presidency
- Rather Dull and too much Focus on Astrology
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What Does Joan Say?: My Seven Years As White House Astrologer to Nancy and Ronald Reagan
Joan Quigley
Manufacturer: Birch Lane Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
New Age
| Arts & Literature
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
Reagan, Ronald
| ( R )
| People, A-Z
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
General
| 20th Century
| United States
| Americas
| History
| Subjects
| Books
General
| United States
| Americas
| History
| Subjects
| Books
General
| New Age
| Religion & Spirituality
| Subjects
| Books
Federal Government
| Government
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 1559720328 |
Customer Reviews:
Great Read for Astrologers and Political History Buffs.......2006-03-01
This is a great read! It could be partly because I understand her lingo (being an astrologer). Joan is phenomenal and I do believe what she has recorded in this book. I am just sorry that the Reagans never felt compelled to admit how helpful Joan's astrological as well as simple "common sense" advice had been for them all those years.
Reagan wanted no part of sitting down to talks with those 'barbarous Ruskies' until Joan put in a good word about how Ronnie and Gorby would hit it off and together end the cold war. I believe her. Afterall, Ronnie had just left a "black-listing" Hollywood where people that spoke with a Communist might end up never working again.
Thank goodness for Joan. From her writing, I feel that she is extremely intelligent and very well versed in world history and world political issues. This contributed greatly to her being able to put in a good word for working with the Russians whose system was on the verge of collapse for those with a good antenna. No, not our CIA. They had no idea that the end of the cold war was near and Gorby was ready for a hand up into a different way of politics at home, but Joan knew. Reads like a good mystery.
Where is Joan now when we really need her?
Too many unsubstantiated claims.......2006-01-17
After reading this book I'm firmly convinced that Joan Quigley truly believes in astrology. I'm also convinced that, despite her self-professed belief that astrology is a "science," she is an intelligent, well educated, well informed and insightful woman who in all probability gave some useful advice to Nancy Reagan during Ronald Reagan's tenure as president of the United States. Her book, however, left me cold.
Unfortunately, I find most of Quigley's claims rather hard to swallow. For example; that working backwards using Reagan's personal appearance, health problems and psychological characteristics, she was able to "scientifically" determine astrologically not just the hour of his birth, or the minute, but the very second (pgs 122-123). To those who are not in tune with astrology, then, and particularly skeptics and non believers, this book will be a difficult read seemingly filled with incomprehensible mumbo-jumbo and unsubstantiated (and unsubstantiatable) claims.
Although the author cites many instances in which she presumably used her astrological wizardry to save the country, the world, or Reagan and his missions from disaster, I couldn't help but wonder what might have happened in the absence of her tinkering. How many times would Reagan have been killed in an airplane crash? Would we have had World War III? Would Reagan even have become president? Would he have been assassinated or impeached? Who knows? But I suspect that Ronald Reagan had a lot more to do with his achievements and successes than did the sun or moon rising, or some planet passing through a particular sign in the zodiac at a particular point in time.
In any event, however, it can't be denied that Joan Quigley did counsel Nancy Reagan, based upon her astrological forecasts, that Nancy took her seriously, and that Quigley's advice was used in many cases to plan the president's schedule. Whether or not this had a salutary effect, a negative effect, or any effect at all on the events associated with these schedules will never be known. There can be little doubt, however, that Quigley's book will be of more than passing interest to a certain class of future historians as they seek to better understand Ronald Reagan and his presidency. For that reason alone, it may be worth reading.
Fascinating insight into the Reagan presidency.......2004-06-13
This book should be a lot better known. Not only does it provide a fascinating insight into the Reagan presidency, but it also does a good job of explaining exactly what a professional astrologer does and how he works. As Quigley explains it, astrology is not fortune telling, but a useful tool for making the most of opportunities and minimizing setbacks. Could it have been astrology that was Reagan's "teflon"? As the Reagans' personal astrologer, Quigley chose the timing of Air Force One's departures, congressional arm-twisting meetings, press conferences, the timing and locations of summit conferences; gave advice on how to handle Mikhail Gorbachev and what demands to make in negotiations. She was also responsible for the remaking of Nancy Reagan's public image. Those who know something about astrology will nod in recognition at a lot of Quigley's insights; those who scoff at astrology will be drop-jawed. Ms. Quigley writes well, although I detect the hand of an editor in several places, especially on those occasions when Quigley attributes remarks to Mrs. Reagan disparaging the elder Bush. These sentences are inconsistent with the tone of the rest of the book and appear to have been inserted to give the book some "dirt." I found this a fascinating book and would recommend it to anyone interested in astrology or in the Reagan presidency. There's a lot to ponder here.
Rather Dull and too much Focus on Astrology.......2004-02-17
This book is interesting for one reason, and one reason alone: Joan Quigley, as Mrs. Reagan's personal astrologist, was able to influence world events. At least, that's what appears to be the case if one believes Ms. Quigley's account. However, considering how exciting this book could have been, it is actually rather dull. There is a lot of talk about astrological signs and symbols that the average reader has no chance of understanding.
I do not believe in astrology. The most interesting part about Ms. Quigley's contention that astrology is a respectable field--just like any scientific endeavor. If that is true, why is Ms. Quigley free to publish her private accounts with Mrs. Reagan? If astrology is a respectable field, shouldn't there be limits to how much information you can reveal about private information with another person?
Books:
- The Place of the Swan
- The Size of Thoughts: Essays and Other Lumber
- The Strangeness of Beauty: A Novel
- The Two-Pound Tram
- The Wadsworth Casebook Series for Reading, Research and Writing: A Worn Path (Harcourt Brace Casebook Series in Literature)
- The WaveDancer Benefit
- The Whistling Shadow: A Mystery
- Timoleon Vieta Come Home: A Sentimental Journey
- Tropical Animal: A Novel
- Vedette: or Conversations with the Flamenco Shadows
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Arabic Geometrical Pattern and Design
- Why Are So Many Black Men in Prison
- The Enlightened Joseph Priestley: A Study of His Life and Work from 1773 to 1804.
- The Smoke Jumper
- The Invention of Hugo Cabret
- Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time
- Trouble Don't Last Always: When a child becomes a 4-year old parent
- Painting Lake George: 1774 - 1900
- The Gibson Girl and Her America: The Best Drawings of Charles Dana Gibson
- Topics in Bioelectrochemistry and Bioenergetics. Volume 1.
Diana Mosley : Mitford Beauty, British Fascist, Hitler's Angel
The Drowning Room
A Hole in the Heart of the World: Being Jewish in Eastern Europe
The Madonnas of Leningrad: A Novel (P.S.)
Suite Francaise
