The Plato Papers: A Novel

Average customer rating:

a light and enjoyable book, but food for thought as well

Future Imperfect

Imagine this

A one sitting read

Let me see, which world is this?

The Plato Papers: A Novel
Peter Ackroyd
Manufacturer: Anchor
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Literary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0385497695
Release Date: 2001-03-20

Amazon.com

In A.D. 3700, London's greatest orator, Plato, regularly delivers bravura public lectures on the long and tumultuous history of what is now a peaceful, tranquil city, secure in the certainty of its own relationship to the past. Particularly fascinated with the dark and confused epoch known as the Age of Mouldwarp, stretching from A.D. 1500 to A.D. 2300, Plato discourses on its extraordinary figures and customs from what evidence remains. These include orations on the clown Sigmund Freud and his comic masterpiece, Jokes and their Relation to the Unconscious; the African singer George Eliot, apparently author of The Waste Land; and Charles Dickens's greatest novel, The Origin of Species. And then there's E.A. Poe--or rather, Poet:

The eminence and status of the author are not in doubt. The name, for example, was not difficult to interpret. Poe is an abbreviation of Poet, and by common consent the rest was deciphered: E. A. Poe = Eminent American Poet. It seems clear enough that the writers of America enjoyed a blessed anonymity, even in the Age of Mouldwarp. The word 'poet' is known to all of us, but as there are no chants or hymns in 'Tales and Histories' we believe the term was applied indiscriminately to all writers of that civilisation.

Plato also elaborates on the era's strange rites and rituals, including "the cult of webs and nets" that apparently covered and enslaved the population. But then in the midst of these brilliant, precise public performances, he begins a dialogue with his soul. Doubt begins to creep in (Is the past really past? And are the rituals of the present so superior?), leading him on a fateful journey.

The Plato Papers is an extraordinary novel. As with the best of Peter Ackroyd's fiction, it treads a thin line between fantasy and biography, the genre he so elegantly mastered in his now classic studies Dickens, T.S. Eliot, and The Life of Thomas More. Wise and salutary, it is a wonderfully observed satire of misprision and the arrogance of philosophical certainty. --Jerry Brotton

Book Description

From the imagination of one of the most brilliant writers of our time and bestselling author of The Life of Thomas More, a novel that playfully imagines how the "modern" era might appear to a thinker seventeen centuries hence.

At the turn of the 38th century, London's greatest orator, Plato, is known for his lectures on the long, tumultuous history of his now tranquil city. Plato focuses on the obscure and confusing era that began in A.D. 1500, the Age of Mouldwarp. His subjects include Sigmund Freud's comic masterpiece "Jokes and Their Relation to the Subconscious," and Charles D.'s greatest novel, "The Origin of Species." He explores the rituals of Mouldwarp, and the later cult of webs and nets that enslaved the population. By the end of his lecture series, however, Plato has been drawn closer to the subject of his fascination than he could ever have anticipated. At once funny and erudite, The Plato Papers is a smart and entertaining look at how the future is imagined, the present absorbed, and the past misrepresented.

Customer Reviews:

a light and enjoyable book, but food for thought as well.......2007-04-13

I will start by saying that for me The Plato Papers" were an enjoyment and I really read the book in one go, sometimes laughing, sometimes stopping to think about it.

At first, I was confused by the beginning, with all the fictional quotations which make sense only later (but they do!). Indeed, this book is not a novel, but a mingle of Plato's orations and dialogues between his contemporaries.

Plato is one of the spirits inhabiting the other plane of what is London in the year AD 3700. He is the society's most talented orator and philosopher, attracting crowds to his speeches. He talks a lot about history (the past ages, including Mouldwarp, easily recognizables as the world we live in nowadays), archeological discoveries and their interpretations (which are hilarious and pathetic at the same time, leaving the reader wondering about our own, human efforts to reconstruct the past). In between his speeches, we are given the comments on them in form of dialogues (as, maybe, we ourselves are commenting on what we hear or read) and Plato's discussions with his soul. The real laugh is the sampling of Plato's encyclopedia of terms from the past.

Plato is the real philosopher - he contantly asks difficult questions and searches for answer within himself and in the outer world, which leads him to the amazing discovery of a parallel, human world in a cave (Plato's cave...) and, subsequently, to the complete change in his thinking, which brings to him a disaster.

I liked " The Plato Papers", for infinite number of cultural and literary allusions (and the whole starting point - the book is based on Plato's belief that there is a world of perfect, unflawed forms, spirits, which we cannot in any way enter and can see only as shadows on the wall of our cave...) and satyrical attitude, as well as for its uninterrupted flow and form.

Future Imperfect.......2007-04-03

In a far-away future, the orator Plato lectures about the distant past of London, but will he eventually realise that the fragments of evidence left about the past do not support his interpretation of how life really was in the city?

This is a very short, curious novel. There is a continuity with Ackroyd's other novels in that the theme is still time and the links between the present and the past. This gives Ackroyd the chance to have fun with how the past can be misinterpreted; we even get Plato defining common twentieth-century terms (or re-defining them) in supposedly comical ways - albeit unintentionally. I suppose that there is a message here about how uncertain an art history is - our suppositions about the past might be very wide of the mark.

But this novel didn't really work for me. Perhaps in part that might be because I've read Houellebecq's "La possibilite d'une ile" and Will Self's "The Book of Dave", but I think that it was because I felt Ackroyd was not comfortable with the kind of book he was producing. It never really convinces - the homour misses more often than it hits - and it's brought to a quick, and I felt somewhat relieved, end.

G Rodgers

Imagine this.......2007-03-04

Imagine this: In 1956 you fall into a coma, but you miraculously come out of it in 1999 (the year The Plato Papers was published). What will you make of late 20th century vernacular? Words and phrases like trekkie, techie, hacker, hard drive, wordperfect, Nasdeq composite index, and the world wide web?

Peter Ackroyd, the British novelist who wrote Hawksmoor and Milton in America and who is also a biographer (Ezra Pound, T. S. Eliot, Dickens, Blake, and Thomas More) sets out to hazard a guess, not by parachuting a character--via a miraculous recovery--from a prior era into our own era, but by giving a character from the future access to certain puzzling words and artifacts from our own time.

Peter Ackroyd's Plato, like his Athenian predecessor, also makes a journey to an underworld where he is given a vision of the "real", and his orations on the subject lead to his being charged with corrupting the youth of Witspellian London. This Orphic expedition reveals a future London that is, relatively speaking, much closer to our own time, a city whose inhabitants have "no use for the present except as an avenue to the future" even though, as Plato notes, they experience a great horror of death.

This is certainly the truth as we know it, but the book is mainly dominated by an Alice-in-Wonderland absurdity, with Plato, by a series of loony deductions, arriving not at the truth, but at the very opposite of the truth.

Part parlour game, part caveat, part inventive glossary that gives a new meaning to 20th century words and phrases, The Plato Papers supplies the reader with new definitions for "sexist", "wisdom teeth", and "zero tolerance". Clearly these are meant to be hilarious, but the danger is that some (and perhaps many) readers will come up with funnier ones on their own. (Although this could also be, for some, one of the book's pleasures.) Two examples of Ackroyd definitions follow, the first one too predictable, the second one too obvious and tedious and therefore also too predictable.

dead end: a place where corpses were taken

literature: a word of unknown provenance, generally attributed to litter or waste

The Plato Papers is a pastiche of theories, then. Theories, jokes, and writing styles. Sometimes I found it entertaining, other times (and these times were more frequent) I found it irritating. But perhaps its real imperative is to act as a warning, since it tells us what, as citizens of our toxic and polluted world, we can't be told often enough: We are not now living--and have not lived--the right life.

A one sitting read.......2006-05-29

Why is this a one sitting read? Because if you set the book down you're apt to not pick it up again. Translation: it took me more than one start to finish the book. That is not to say that the book is all bad. Rather, some of the humor is delightful, even if read multiple times. For example, the attempt to reconstruct Mouldwarpian language has a glossary: "dead end: a place where corpses were taken" or "fibre optic: a coarse material woven out of eyes, worn by the high priests of the mechanical age in order to instil terror among the populace."

Unfortunately, the life of the orator Plato, which plays off the Greek Plato's cave image, is not sufficiently interesting to cause this reader to care in the slightest what happens to him. Which is not to say that much does.

Shall we said the conceit of this well-in-the-future allegory on our times could sustain a short story or perhaps even a short novella. But it doesn't sustain a novel.

Let me see, which world is this?.......2006-04-26

This not a story of something happening, or of people (or Spirits) doing something, but of characters standing around postulating. (Very British, I guess.) When you hear the terms the ages of Mouldwrap and Witspell you think Harry Potter Universe. But you're wrong. When you get to the part where Plato is listing his definitions, you think this will get better, it's a set up, like Douglas Adams in the Hitchhiker Books, preparing to hit you with strings of belly laughs. Wrong, some people might think Ackroyd is funny or a wit. No, he's not. Plato's world seems to be built of elements scoured from Asimov's Nightfall and Brin's The Practice Effect. If this is British satire, well then, back to Monty Python.

Average customer rating:

The Plato Papers A Novel

Manufacturer: Anchor Rand Hse
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000HZ89OM

Customer Reviews:

ARRANGED BATTLES.......2006-06-19

After 3 volumes of manga, the Getbackers are STILL trying to find the "IL", which they've discovered is actually an "implosion lens", an essential part of making an atomic bomb. After wasting their time trying to reach the top of the Inifinity Fortress, they have to turn around when they figure out that Makubex, the master of the Fortress, and the person with the IL, is BENEATH them, not above. The Getbackers are split into two person teams, but Makubex is manipulating them into falling into a perfectly calculated battles they are destined to lose as he has his own cronies with superpowers waiting to fight them one by one.

Getbackers 8 was bad. I guess I'm just sick of this storyline. They have been trying to get the IL for 4 volumes now, which means over 400 pages of senseless and goofy battles with characters screaming out their attacks like "Mera no Shiora Viper Embrace!", "Maya Flood Engulf!", "Water Cannon!" and "Poison Moth!" It's all become a tad too stupid for me so I'm going to stop reading this manga. The characters have not evolved over 8 volumes. If anything, they've gotten shallower. Ginji is especially annoying. We're supposed to believe that he used to be some heartless killer and gangleader, but now he's a dangerously effeminate and lapdog weirdo who hangs all over Ban. The art is just as great as it's always been, but so many panels are squeezed onto a small page that you really have to strain your eyes sometimes to see the asides in small print. Some of the edges have been cropped, making some of the lettering come close to being cut off. The writing of this title really destroyed any interest I had in it. Oh, for the good old days when Ban and Ginji were homeless and would take a job like finding a lost videogame! I think Aoki wanted to emulate American superhero comic books and unfortunately succeeded. In my mind, the book has been on a downward spiral since the 4th volume, just about the time this storyline started up. It should have taken one volume to tell it.

SHOULD WE BE GOING DOWN INSTEAD?.......2006-04-21

The battle to reach the top of the Infinity Fortress, and from there to find the mysteriuos "IL" the Getbackers have been hired to find continues in this volume. Our heroes, or heroes and PSYCHO, if you count the heartless killer Dr. Jackal, have become seperated into reluctant teams of two due to the constant attacks of Makubex, the leader of the forces arrayed against them. He has yet to unleash his ultimate power, the ability to create "wire dolls", a method by which he can computer control human beings to do his bidding. Some new super-powered villains are added to the mix, including the deadly fighter Fudou, whose ability, "Insight" allows him to predict his opponent's moves before they make them in realtime. And then there's the "Bloody Joker", who is the master of the Rouran dancing whip. Besides these new powerful enemies, the Getbackers are beginning to realize that maybe Makubex isn't above them, but BELOW in the lower levels. Adding to the urgency is the fact that Hevn and Lady Poison have been taken prisoner.

GetBackers Volume 7 is another installment in what has become a pure fighting manga with relatively miniscule character development, if even that. Or maybe it's just this Infinity Fortress storyline that has shaped it thus. Being a battle manga isn't all that bad though. The characters are JUST interesting enough for us to care about their plights, but this might get old after a while. There is SOME plot occurring, but it's more of the Homeresque type of epic heroes battling with superhuman abilities. We also get a glimpse of what made Ginji the gangleader of the Volts in the old days before the Getbackers when he was respected and feared by everyone he had contact with. Good manga if you're more into superheroes than Japanese manga.

FIGHTING FOR WHO KNOWS WHAT?.......2006-03-06

In this, the sixth volume of Getbackers, our heroes have entered Underground Shinjuku, the lawless slum, ruled over by Makubex, a former friend of Ginji, in order to retrieve the mysterious "I.L" and find themselves in a heap of trouble. After escaping from poison gas, the Getbackers and their allies find themselves split into groups of two, with some pretty tenuous partnerships. Ginji is stuck with the murderous and sadistic Dr. Jackal while Ban is teamed with Shido the Beast Master, who share a mutual hate for each other. The best team seems to be Kazuki and Himiko but theirs might be the most dangerous. It would probably save everyone a lot of trouble and pain if they knew exactly what it was they were looking for, since Makubex is not going to make it easy for them, sending super-powered assassins to dog their every step!

Getbackers is about the closest thing to an American style comic book that Japanese manga-ka are going to get. A key difference that makes Getbackers different is its grit and violence coupled with humor. The art is exquisite and the story keeps you turning pages. Even though it is suffused with action pieces, unlike American comics, you always have a sense of danger with the characters. You have the sense that besides Ban and Ginji, any character is capable of being killed, and not to be resurrected X-Men style. This is a great series to start out with if you're trying to get into manga from comic books.

VAN GOGH'S 13TH SUNFLOWER.......2005-12-30

GetBackers Volume 5 is divided into two Acts. In the first, Gin and Ban are hired by a department store museum to get back a stolen Van Gogh sunflower painting from a mysterious thief named Clayman. Clayman is also getting help from Lady Poison, Ban's enemy and ex-lover. What makes the painting so valuable is that it is the 13th sunflower painting that was done by Van Gogh. Up until this time, there were only twelve in existence. Whether it's a fake or not, the owners are paying big yen for its return.
In the second Act, almost all the major heroes and villains introduced in the series so far are brought together for Hevn-san's next assignment. The team has been hired to retrieve "I.L". The masked group that employs them doesn't give them a clue as to what I.L. is but they do give them its location. Within the Infinity Fortress. A building in the middle of the crime ridden slums of Underground Shinjuku, from which a vicious gang rules the turf. A gang, by the way, that Gin used to lead.

GetBackers is the nearest manga I've seen that comes close to a Western style super-hero comic in the tradition of the Fantastic Four or the Avengers. The difference is that no Western comic would put two idiots like Ban and Gin as the main characters and also rely on humor equally with action to power the comic. The art by Yuya Aoki is magnificent and ultra-realistic. It is never cluttered and the action is always clear. The story could use a little work as it too often falls into battle after battle with no character development in between. But you almost forgive this fault for now, because the manga is so exciting. Hopefully, the writer will come to a slower movement in the future, because we've come a long way since the first volume when Ban and Gin were homeless, carless, and clueless.

Average customer rating:

Beware of the used books

The BEST Technical Readout!

Great Early Era Resource

Battletech: Technical Readout 3026, Vehicles and Personal Equipment

Manufacturer: FASA Corp.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Strategy | Gaming | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
General | Science Fiction | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
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Battletech: Technical Readout : 2750

Technical Readout 3050/Battletech: The Return of Kerensky

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Classic Battletech: Technical Readout: 3050 (FAS8614)

Classic Battletech: Technical Readout 3057 (FPR35007)

ASIN: 0931787327

Customer Reviews:

Beware of the used books.......2004-03-18

The content is great for anyone playing Battletech and or Mechwarrior.
But be careful about paying over list for this book as a friend of mine found a new 2nd printing, from 1996, at a local hobby shop for list price. And it was not the revised editon.

The BEST Technical Readout!.......1999-11-05

What can I say - maybe I'm suicidal, but I think vehicles are fun to use in Battletech - even against the big guys. I also prefer the older stuff, before the weapons charts started filling whole pages due to their excessive length.

Someone once said to me that no 'Mech can stand up to its own weight in hovercraft - try taking savanah masters up against anything (using one for every five tons of enemy), and I think you'll see that he's right!

Great Early Era Resource.......1998-04-23

Plenty of information available for both the Battletech game and the Mechwarrior RPG. Color pictures are also a bonus!

Average customer rating:

Great reference book

Excellent Reference

Great for beginners

A very good book

Regurgitation of old material

The Homebrewer's Companion
Charles Papazian
Manufacturer: Collins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Beer | Drinks & Beverages | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
General | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
Biotechnology | Bioengineering | Engineering | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

The Complete Joy of Homebrewing Third Edition (Harperresource Book)

Clone Brews: Homebrew Recipes for 150 Commercial Beers

Designing Great Beers: The Ultimate Guide to Brewing Classic Beer Styles

Brew Ware: How to Find, Adapt & Build Homebrewing Equipment

How to Brew: Everything You Need To Know To Brew Beer Right The First Time

ASIN: 0060584734
Release Date: 2003-09-23

Book Description

More great advice from Charlie Papazian, homebrew master and author of the bestselling The Complete Joy of Homebrewing.

"Many ask me, 'What's different about The Homebrewer's Companion?' It's a book that I might have titled The Complete Joy of Homebrewing, Volume 2. The information is 98 percent new information, including improved procedures for beginning and malt-extract brewers as well as advanced and veteran brewers. There are loads of new recipes and useful charts and data that I continually refer to in my own homebrew recipe formulation (I still homebrew about 20 batches a year). My theme throughout is 'Keep it practical. Keep it useful.' I wanted to answer 10 years' worth of questions in this one volume. I did ... and I had fun doing it."

-- Charlie Papazian

Get the Most from Your Malt!

Easy-to-follow techniques and trouble-shooting tips
Answers to the most-often asked questions
A guide to world beer styles
Useful facts on fermenting, yeast culturing and stove-top boiling
Charts, tables, support information and much, much more
Over 60 exotic recipes to try -- from "You'll See" Coriander Amber Ale to Waialeale Chablis Mead

Make sure to check out the third edition of The Complete Joy of Homebrewing.

Customer Reviews:

Great reference book.......2007-06-13

Papazian knows his stuff. Great reference book.

Excellent Reference.......2007-04-02

I bought this along with The Complete Joy of Homebrewing, also by Papazian. I think both books are a must-have for any homebrewer. _Companion_ is more of a reference text, while _Joy_ is more introductory. Both books have indispensable information about the basic ingredients and processes of brewing.

When formulating a recipe, I refer back and forth to both books. Each has a variety of recipes in myriad styles that provide a good jumping-off point. For customizing the recipes, I refer to the table in _Companion_ that summarizes the various malts and their contribution to specific gravity, then I go to the table in _Joy_ that catalogs the different varieties of hops and their contribution to bitterness and flavor.

Great for beginners.......2007-03-08

As a new brewer, this book has more advanced information in it than I need at the moment. It will be a good reference as I progress through brewing and gain more experience. If you only have one book on brewing to purchase, get Charles Papazian's first book on home brewing.

A very good book.......2006-11-13

I'm very happy reading this book. It's really serious and complete.
It helps me to brew good beers beacause all items in brewing are explained with enough deep.

Regurgitation of old material.......1997-12-30

After publishing the best introduction to home brewing Papazian released this unenlightening tome. His snappy style, so essential in his first book, sounds dull and contrived. One third of the book is complete filler as he lists 60 pages of various beer styles along with their specific gravities, etc. This information could have been presented in a two page spread. Additionally, he offers little in the way of advanced brewing technique. The one saving grace of this book is the recipe section, with interesting ideas like a lambic barley wine and a raspberry imperial stout. If you are looking for a book that offers a firm overview of all-grain brewing then I can recommend 'Dave Miller's Homebrewing Guide' or Noonan's 'Brewing Lager Beer.' Papazian's book will most likely be a complete disappointment.

Average customer rating:

A Great Guidebook

Intriguing

Good Learning Tool

The Language of Animals: 7 steps to Communicating with Anima

a little too "touchy feely"

The Language of Animals: 7 Steps to Communicating with Animals
Carol Gurney
Manufacturer: Dell
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Animal Care & Pets | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Communication | Words & Language | Reference | Subjects | Books
ESP | Occult | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
General | Animals | Biological Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books
Reference | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books
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Learning Their Language: Intuitive Communication with Animals and Nature

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Animal Talk: Interspecies Telepathic Communication

ASIN: 0440509122
Release Date: 2001-08-07

Book Description

A Step-by-Step Program for Communicating With Your Animals

The human/animal spiritual connection is a powerful one. In this astounding guide, renowned animal communicator Carol Gurney draws upon fifteen years of successful communication with animals to offer animal lovers what they’ve always longed for: a simple, effective method for “listening to” and communicating with their animals.

Based on her successful 7-step HeartTalk ProgramSM, which has already helped thousands of people understand their basic telepathic connection with animals, Gurney outlines the principles of “heart-to-heart” communication, showing you how to open your heart to a more meaningful connection with the animals you love. Learn how to:

* Understand your animal’s needs, feelings, and innermost thoughts so you can discover who he or she really is

* Develop long-distance communication skills to locate lost or stolen animals

* Understand animals’ physical feelings so you can help comfort them when they are sick or injured

* Emotionally prepare yourself for the death of your beloved animal

* Discover how animals can be your best teachers in helping you to love yourself

* Actually communicate telepathically with the loving beings that share your world!

Animals are not only our loyal companions; they are our guides, our healers, our link to the simple wisdom of the natural world. Filled with amazing real-life stories of human/animal communication, The Language of Animals is a must for every animal enthusiast–and a loving gift to the engaging, expressive animals who have so much to share.

Customer Reviews:

A Great Guidebook.......2007-05-13

This book is a great handbook for anyone who wants to learn how to communicate with animals. Carol is the founder of HeartTalk and blends story with techiques to help you learn animal communication. I've read many different communication books--Carol is one of the leaders in the world of animal communicators and I can recommend this book without hesitation. If you get a chance and are seriously interested in developing your skills don't miss her workshops.

Intriguing.......2007-03-09

What a fascinating subject... This book reminds me of another favorite, "Adam's Task: Calling Animals by Name," by Vicki Hearne, which also focuses on communicating with animals. It combines animal training with philosophy, linguistics, and literary criticism. The Atlantic Monthly called it "A fascinating and often surprising discussion of animal-human encounters." If you are an animal trainer-- or even just an animal lover-- it's definitely worth checking out.

Good Learning Tool.......2005-10-26

Carol Gurney's book is an excellent place to start if your goal is to actually gain an ability to communicate with animals. She does a great job of explaining her methods and of giving "for instances" and exercises to build the reader's confidence. Follow this book with Learning Their Language by Marta Williams.

Shon Wylie, Paris, Kentucky

The Language of Animals: 7 steps to Communicating with Anima.......2003-09-07

Very informational. Her techniques really do help communicate with our companions.

a little too "touchy feely".......2003-04-28

What I liked about the book was that it gave me validations on some "communications" I've received from my dogs. Their communication came to me the way she said they could. Their thought or opinion just flashed into my brain from their brain. They don't have to be looking at you; thoughts from them just come, like she says in her book. She says to be "open" to your animal, to let them "say" whatever they want. I did this, and one of my adopted strays brought up things like "I've had a hard life" and "I had to run from cars a lot". When I asked my other dog about her previous life (also a rescue dog) she said "I was bad", meaning she fought w/the other household dogs.
Now, my husband would say that I picked up these things because of prior information I may have already known about them, or was obvious. But after reading her book, I don't think so...
I also liked how she taught us how to communicate with our minds to our animals, explaining things clearly to them. The dogs act like they aren't paying attention, but they are-- just like she says in her book.
I don't have the time or patience to "meditate" for long periods, as she recommends, in order to reach your "center" where you can communicate w/animals. That part seemed a little too touchy feely.
I am glad I read this book, and glad that I have it on my bookshelf. It had some helpful "tidbits" and the examples of what SHE did were interesting to read but don't think it is practical enough to recommend. I certainly don't feel like I can go out and understand the thoughts of animals because I read this book, but maybe it's because I'm not willing to put in all the "touchy feely" time that may be needed to do it. However, it did give me a few tips for communicating w/my own dogs.

The Language of Animals: 7 Steps to Communicating with Animals

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The Language of Animals: 7 Steps to Communicating with Animals
Carol Gurney
Manufacturer: NY
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000MU2S8A

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Collecting Southwestern Indian Arts & Crafts
Ray Manley
Manufacturer: Ray Manley Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000JL5YEW

Average customer rating:
Ray Manley's Collecting southwestern Indian arts & crafts
Ray Manley
Manufacturer: Ray Manley Photography
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

General | Native American | Americas | History | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B0006X5SWG

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Ray Manley's Collecting Southwestern Indian Arts and Crafts
Clara Lee Tanner
Manufacturer: Ray Manley Photography
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000NW97WC

Average customer rating:
Ray Manley's Collecting Southwestern Indian Arts and Crafts
Ray Manley
Manufacturer: Ray Manley Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Jewelry | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Pottery & Ceramics | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Reference | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
General | Reference | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0931418038

Amazon.com

The sense of smell is strongly linked to memory; the whiff of a familiar but forgotten fragrance can unleash a flood of recollections. Yet fragrance is often overlooked in gift giving, except for the obvious gift of perfume. To celebrate the importance of olfactory delights, Scented Gifts offers more than 70 lovely projects to craft for family and friends. From the garden come potpourri, pomanders, and various dried arrangements, plus advice on planting a fragrant garden and a guide to common fragrant plants and spices. The kitchen yields herbal oils and vinegars, jellies, teas, cakes, and cookies. Those who enjoy sewing can try the scented cushions, sachets, spice-filled hot pad, or stress-relieving eye pillow. Pamper someone with fragrant gifts for the bath: oils, salts, soaps, and powders. Or try a scented journal or picture frame. Each project is fully explained and shown in color, and there are nice ideas for pretty presentations to make your handmade creations look even more special. --Amy Handy

Book Description

Olivia's newest paintings and drawings (from the period of 1997 through 2003) are lovingly presented in this hardcover night table book which contains all-new art created since her last bestselling collection, 1997's Second Slice. This book features models Dila Von Teese, Masuimi Max, and many more favorites, including Bettie Page, newly drawn in Olivia's ever-changing styles, and ever-evolving techniques.

Customer Reviews:

superb.......2007-01-04

i was introduced to Olivia's work some years ago. this was the first book i purchased and i must say that it shows a broad range of styles. i actually prefer the closeups as they really shed light on the beauty of how she works. the larger, full pieces are fantastic, but it's in the details that you recognize the technicalities in her craftsmanship. it's these little things that i appreciate as an artist. the double cover is interesting, it was the reclining Max that hooked me. such a powerful image and interesting interpretation of the American Geisha. Olivia transcends the ordinary pinups and delves into classical compositions without all the frills. it's a great balance between eroticism and the ethereal.

beautiful but a little disappointing..........2005-01-01

I just recently became a fan of Olivia's work and without a doubt it is all very beautiful and captivating. My only concern with this latest book is that her collection isn't as broad as the past two books. Some of the artwork is shown on one page, and the facing has a couple up close versions of the same, unlike her first books which have a new wonderful piece on each page. I also agree with the other review in saying that the models seem to be a little more masculine... the first books are just as powerful but also more feminine. I would definitely recommend buying this, but also including her other books as well...

Olivia's done it again!.......2003-12-20

I've been an Olivia fan since I first saw her piece "Second Skin Memories" in 1996. As a Bettie Page fan (the model for that particular picture), I was attracted to it at once and I almost could have sworn it was a photograph if not for my familiarity with Bettie's pictures. Since then, I have been captivated by the realism of Olivia's work. American Geisha is BY FAR Olivia's best work yet! These paintings are not only more realistic but more imaginative (see the adorable Sorceress and the Alien women that would put Barbarella to shame). It's also exciting to see that Olivia has been experimenting with textures and mediums. I'm captivated and I'm sure you will be, too!

Another slice of Heaven.......2003-10-31

This book like her previous two hardcovers and Cheescake Chronicles vol 1 just goes to further demonstrate Olivia's total dominance over this type of art. Her art continues to grow and amaze with every piece. If you're a fan of Olivias this book is a must buy!

a slight disappointment.......2003-10-15

I was expecting much better from Olivia. Many of her models seem masculine, especially the cover model. Any long time fan of her's will miss Bella, Rhonda, & (and even Pam) her other more feminine models. Check out her other books "Let them eat Cheesecake" & "Second Slice". They're sure to not disappoint.

Average customer rating:

American Geisha: The Art of Olivia
Olivia De Berardinis
Manufacturer: Ozone Productions, Limited
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000MHNM5G

Book Description

A wry account of the road from Harvard scholarship student to ordination as northern Thailand's first black Buddhist nun.

Reluctantly leaving behind Pop Tarts and pop culture to battle flying rats, hissing cobras, forest fires, and decomposing corpses, Faith Adiele shows readers in this personal narrative, with accompanying journal entries, that the path to faith is full of conflicts for even the most devout. Residing in a forest temple, she endured nineteen-hour daily meditations, living on a single daily meal, and days without speaking. Internally Adiele battled against loneliness, fear, hunger, sexual desire, resistance to the Buddhist worldview, and her own rebellious Western ego.

Adiele demystifies Eastern philosophy and demonstrates the value of developing any practice—Buddhist or not. This "unlikely, bedraggled nun" moves grudgingly into faith, learning to meditate for seventy-two hours at a stretch. Her witty, defiant twist on the standard coming-of-age tale suggests that we each hold the key to overcoming anger, fear, and addiction; accepting family; redefining success; and re-creating community and quality of life in today's world. 10 illustrations.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent.......2007-08-19

I found the title of this book on a fluke, but checked it out of the library. OMG. After three renewals at the library I had to purchase a copy through Amazon. The author's experience in finding hereself in a free, spiritual way with no set rules is overwhelming. It has very good information on how anyone can look at life and find their way to peace of mind and acceptance of life.

Some outstanding sections, but an average book.......2006-03-10

Having read Adiele's essay in The Best Women's Travel Writing of 2005, I was disappointed in the structure of her book. The side page commentaries were distracting and sometimes didn't match the page they were on. The book contained a lot of factual journal entries but very little depth of insight or application to her life for the future. I found some flashback memories to 'prior to ordination' not attached to the context of that chapter. Some good writing, some good story telling. The book didn't live up to the section chosen for the book mentioned above. Kay Klinkenborg, Springfield, IL

Expanding Horizons.......2005-12-30

Although Buddhism is one of the major world religions, many of us in the Western world are woefully ignorant of even the basic tenants of this faith. Faith Adiele leads us on an insightful journey into Buddhism, sharing both her personal journey and her understanding of Buddhist discipline. This is a well-written, well organized book that should be of interest to those interested in expanding their religious horizons.

A real gift..........2005-08-29

I recently purchased Faith Adiele's book as a gift for a colleague. The write-up sounded like something that would appeal to him. When it arrived, I thought I would just glance through it to be sure it was appropriate, and found myself immediately hooked. Not only have I become immersed in the writing, but the book arrived at a time of major transition in my life, and Faith's journey has in significant ways come to inform my own. There is also the sense that with the journal notes written in the margins of every page, I have shrewdly gotten two books for the price of one! Highly recommended.

Teachers and Counselors Take Note.......2004-11-14

Faith Adiele's wonderful book is the kind I wish was on the reading lists in high schools and colleges. It goes to the heart of searching--and what young person isn't a searcher? It addresses the pain and wonder of growing up as part of two races and being initiated spiritually into a third. Ms. Adiele has also written a compelling story of traveling in one of Asia's most fascinating cultures. Bravo!

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