Average customer rating:
- Asks more questions than it answers
- A thrilling read but will we ever know?
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Hess: The Fuhrer's Disciple
Peter Padfield
Manufacturer: Papermac
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Double Standards: The Rudolf Hess Cover-Up
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Inside the Third Reich
ASIN: 0333646843 |
Book Description
The flight of Rudolf Hess, the deputy leader of the Nazi Party, to Scotland in May 1941 remains one of the great unresolved mysteries of the Second World War. Did he come on Hitler's commission--or, as he always maintained, without the Führer's knowledge? Was the man who parachuted out of the Messerschmitt Bf 100 really Hess...or a double? What was his purpose, why was he incarcerated for life in Berlin's Spandau Prison, and was he (as his son alleged) murdered to prevent his revealing an explosive secret? The biographer of Himmler and Dönitz navigates these still swirling controversies with confidence, profiling the man, the milieu, and the uppermost echelons of the Nazi hierarchy. The conclusion: Hess was indeed sacrificed...but he was a most willing victim.
Customer Reviews:
Asks more questions than it answers.......2003-08-02
The standard and obligatory questions about Rudolf Hess are: did he fly to Scotland with Hitler's knowledge? Was he crazy during the Nuremberg trials and afterwards as well, and was he murdered? If you're insane or hopelessly ill-informed, you might also throw in the question whether he ever had a double. Unfortunately, Padfield asks these questions but is too ill-equipped historically to answer them. He is totally out of his depth here and it shows. He relies on Wolf Hess' testimony on many things when he needs to examine the historical record instead. The overwhelming abundance of evidence shows that Hess flew to Scotland in 1941 without the Fuehrer's knowledge, that he was perfectly sane throughout his life (though eccentric) and that the notion of him having a "double" is ludicrous.
This book is not especially well-written and contains almost nothing new. The autopsy photos of Hess are revealing but hardly show "conclusively" that he was murdered. There is very little material on Hess' long confinement at Spandau, nor about his early life. His relationship with Hitler is not explored adequately with the possible exception of their time in Landsberg prison. In short, a disappointment.
A thrilling read but will we ever know?.......1998-06-14
The first casualty in war - truth. Without it there will always be plenty of scope for the Violets, Roses, Gilberts, Manchesters, Irvings et al. A well focused study, difficult to put down once under way. Of course, no satisfactory conclusion, leaving me wondering whether I'll be around in 2017, and will the world then know the whole truth and nothing but the truth. I very much doubt it.
Book Description
'A whole man, made of all men, worth all of them, and any one of them worth him. ' This was how Jean-Paul Sartre characterized himself at the end of his autobiographical study, Words. And Bernard-Henri L évy shows how Sartre cannot be understood without taking into account his relations with the intellectual forebears and contemporaries, the lovers and friends, with whom he conducted a lifelong debate. His thinking was essentially a tumultuous dialogue with his whole age and himself. He learned from Gide the art of freedom, and how to experiment with inherited fictional forms. He was a fellow-traveller of communism, and yet his relations with the Party were deeply ambiguous. He was fascinated by Freud but trenchantly critical of psychoanalysis. Beneath Sartre 's complex and ever-mutating political commitments, L évy detects a polarity between anarchic individualism on the one hand, and a longing for absolute community that brought him close to totalitarianism on the other. L évy depicts Sartre as a man who could succumb to the twentieth century 's catastrophic attraction to violence and the false messianism of its total political solutions, while also being one of the fiercest critics of its illusions and shortcomings.
Customer Reviews:
A Mess.......2006-02-16
Levy needs help. This book is incoherent and poorly constructed. Except when Levy takes a detour to unload on Heidegger, which he does wonderfully and with real passion, he meanders all over the place. The book is full of non sequitors and bizarre assertions. It is not clear at all what his point is. Must be in here somewhere.
Editing: Zero Stars. Someone needed to have a quiet word with Bernard-Henri. Sentances running 39 lines are a bit much. Where is the verb?
Copy Editing: Five Stars. Very Clean.
The 'philosoph' of the twentieth century? An excess of 'amour propre'.......2006-02-13
For the French Bernard Henri Levy the philosopher of the century is the French Jean Paul- Sartre.
My guess is however that for the professional philosophers of the twentieth - and now twenty- first century the 'philosopher of the twentieth century ' was Wittgenstein.
As for Sartre he in some way seems to me less a philosopher than a 'philosoph' a kind of French Enlightentment man- of - letters capable of pouring out an endless stream of words on any contemporary subject. Not truly a scholar, but also not a philosopher in the deepest and most profound sense- not one who presents us with a metaphysic which somehow aims to explain the world. But then two of Sartre's intellectual forebearers( The great philosopher of anti- philosophy, of non- systematic thinking, Kierkegaard- and the 'philosopher for whom it was no longer enough to understand the world but rather necessary to change it- Marx) broke the old mold of philosopher as 'understander of all' that I have just presented.
Moreover( against what I have just claimed) it might be pointed out that Sartre wrote two major 'philosophical works' his early 'Being and Nothingness ' and his later 'Critique of Dialectical Reason ' which have the kind of verbiage that the great philosophical systems do.
Only here I would maintain that by the time that they were written this way of philosophizing was already irrelevant. As I understand it, and its possible of course to understand it otherwise 'philosophy' had taken flight to a different direction, a different form of discourse.
In any case Sartre, to my mind was a person who at least in his early years had a 'real idea' of what he was doing. In his early development of 'atheistic existensialism' he presented a way of seeing things which many today would readily concur with. We are thrown into the world , and we have no essence. And our life is the making of those decisions those acts of freedom by which we turn existence into essence. Radical contingency and accident rule the world, and mankind in its ' projects' and with its freedom tries to shape a meaning of its own in an essentially meaningless universe.
Bernard Henri Levy celebrates Sartre for this first- stage of his philosophy. He is more critical about what it is very easy to be more critical about , the latter stage, the stage in which Sartre was the ready political dupe of Communism. This was too the stage in which Sartre justified all kinds of violence .It was the stage in which the world came to see the ugly side of Sartre. The 'intellectual' who had never been in the line of fire, who as Malraux said was getting his plays put on with the approval of the Nazi censor during the Second World War. The intellectual Sartre who sung the praises of the Soviet Union and Castro's Cuba. This is the Sartre who is not the ' philosopher of the twentieth century' but one of its political dupes and fools.
There is another ugly side to Sartre which BHL does not really see that way. The relationship to Beauvoir was one in which both exploited those weaker than themselves , for their own sexual and voyeuristic enjoyment. This 'user' Sartre connects of course with that other side of Sartre's philosophy , his "hell is other people' side. Sartre could not really keep friends , or be a very considerate helper to anyone. Words, words, words on the page and from the mouth. Ironically BHL talks about Sartre coming to at the last stages of his life an acquaintance with the work of the French Jewish philosopher Levinas whose star has been on the rise for some time now. For Levinas it all begins with 'the other' and the ethical is the basis of the philosophical. A different conception from the Sartrean one entirely.
All this is not to dismiss Sartre but rather to suggest that Levy perhaps overvalues him a bit, as he might too slightly overvalue himself.
An excess of 'amour propre' on the side of the subject and perhaps also the author of this work.
Satire as person, provides context.......2004-08-26
Sartre: The Philosopher of the Twentieth Century by Bernard Henri Levy (Polity Press) 'A whole man, mode of all men, worth all of them, and .any one of them worth him' This was how .Jean-Paul Sartre characterized himself at the end of his autobiographical study, Words. And Bernard-Henri Lévy shows how Sartre cannot be understood without taking into account his relations with the intellectual forebears and contemporaries, the lovers and friends, with whom he conducted o lifelong debate. His thinking was essentially a tumultuous dialogue with his whole age and himself. He learned from Gide the art of freedom, and how to experiment with inherited fictional forms. He was a fellow-traveller of communism, and yet his relations with the Party were deeply ambiguous. He was fascinated by Freud but trenchantly critical of psychoanalysis. Beneath Sartre's complex and ever-mutating political commitments, Lévy detects a polarity between anarchic individualism on the one hand, and a longing for absolute community that brought him close to totalitarianism on the other. Lévy depicts Sartre as a man who could succumb to the twentieth century's catastrophic attraction to violence and the false messianism of its total political solutions, while also being one of the fiercest critics of its illusions and shortcomings.
Insightful, essential reading for students of Sartre's life.......2003-09-14
Sartre: The Philosopher Of The Twentieth Century is an impressively researched biography by French provocateur Bernard-Henri Levy of Sarte, the famous French novelist whose existential works held up a mirror to reflect the confusion of the twentieth century. Presenting the events of Sartre's life that worked to shape his intellectual and political views; Sartre's fascinat-ion with Freud and psychoanalysis; and the enduring qualities of literature, Sartre: The Philosopher Of The Twentieth Century is a very highly recommended addition to 20th Century Philosophy Studies in general, and insightful, essential reading for students of Sartre's life, thoughts, and works in particular.
Average customer rating:
- Parallel lives
- Fullbrooks' False Claims
- Seven Years After
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Simone De Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre: The Remaking of a Twentieth-Century Legend
Kate Fullbrook , and
Edward Fullbrook
Manufacturer: Basic Books
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Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0465078273 |
Customer Reviews:
Parallel lives.......2003-09-11
The surprise of this book is the extensive myth-making engaged in by Simone de Beauvoir in regard to the founding of French existentialist theory. It would seem that as school examiners noted, she was the better philosopher of the two, and it was she who devised existentialism in her novel SHE CAME TO STAY.
The cat was out of the bag, so to speak, when the war journals of Sartre were published just after his death. Simone de Beauvoir did some fast jockeying of dates which was not totally convincing to her biographer, these authors write. It would seem that she had gotten so used to the falsities presented to the world she could not bear to have the truth revealed, even when the truth was complimentary to her.
It is necessary to understand how revolutionary she was when she began writing in the 1930's and took the position that for the sake of freedom she must refuse the offer of marriage given to her by Sartre. It turns out that he was a very good at articulating the philosophy the couple devised. False stories did more than cover up de Beauvoir's evident orginality, they also covered up her sexual adventures which could have been misconstrued by the public in general.
The book is a delight. The writers give full praise to previous biographers. It is comforting to learn some truths since the myth-making did strike this reader as far-fetched. Nonetheless, one is left with a nagging sense that surely if philosophers fail to tell the truth, should not this mean that their works be taken less seriously.
Fullbrooks' False Claims.......2001-03-23
"Political correctness" has made it difficult to challenge even that part of the thesis of the Fullbrooks' book, Simone De Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre: The Remaking of a Twentieth-Century Legend, which relates strictly to the history of philosophy. Nevertheless, challenged it must be, and has been, contrary to the claims of Sharon Wright in her online review. What she calls their "impressive scholarship" has come under serious and precise attack from a number of quarters. What follows is simply the lead-in to an article that I myself published as early as 1995 ("Sartre and Beauvoir: Refining rather than 'Remaking' the Legend", Simone de Beauvoir Studies, vol. 12, 1995, pp. 91-99); the rest of that article goes on to justify my claims in detail.
"The crux of their argument is the assertion that Sartre's reading of the draft of L'Invitée during his leave in Paris between 4 and 16 February 1940 was what provided him with all or most of the crucial ideas that were to form the substance of L'Etre et le Néant. [...] Now, there are least four MAJOR flaws in this line of argument: (i) we do not know with certainty exactly what was in the parts of L'Invitée that Sartre read in February 1940; (ii) the argument ignores completely Beauvoir's acquaintance with drafts of Sartre's L'Age de raison, and also seriously underplays the philosophical content of those of Sartre's Carnets de la drôle de guerre that Beauvoir had read before February 1940; (iii) we DO know that Sartre had been working since the mid-1930s on the ideas that were to be central to L'Etre et le Néant; (iv) the momentous philosophical system that the Fullbrooks ascribe to Beauvoir is simply not to be found in even the final version of L'Invitée."
Since, as Sharon Wright points out, the Fullbrooks were far from the first to argue for the philosophical originality of Beauvoir, those of their claims that are demonstrably false have done nothing to promote this case. Rather, they have tended to obscure, and direct attention away from, many of the complex and fascinating questions concerning the relationship between the thought of Beauvoir and that of Sartre. What is more, some of the sensationalist, journalistic features of the style of the book have served to inflame sensitive issues that require particularly cool, rational treatment.
Seven Years After.......2000-07-15
No book on Beauvoir or Sartre has led to so much discussion, provoked such consternation or so changed the way we see these cultural icons as has Kate and Edward Fullbrook's "Simone de Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre: The Remaking of a Twentieth-Century Legend". The basis of this recently republished book (which I had the pleasure of rereading last week) is disarmingly simple. The Fullbrooks checked out Beauvoir's and Sartre's newly-available letters and diaries and found that the traditional story that says the Beauvoir constructed her first novel "She Cme to Stay" on the basis of philosophical ideas she took from Sartre's essay "Being and Nothingness" is the exact opposite of the truth. Sartre only began, the Fullbrooks carefully document, to compile notes hor his philosophical treatise after studying the second draft of Beauvoir's novel. The Fullbrooks also, and again drawing on the letters, make the case that it was Beauvoir's sexual promiscuity, rather than Sartre's that initially dictated the famous open terms of their 50-year relationship. All this radical post-patriarchal revisionism, which the Fullbrooks refused to play down, was too much for many critcs when this book appeared in 1994. Some reviewers were apoplectic, others deeply sceptical, and the "New Yorl Times" twice ran long reviews warning their readers against this "feminist claptrap". But in fact the Fullbrooks, in claiming philosophical originality for Beauvoir, were themselves not so original as perhaps they and certainly their critics imagined. Margaret Simons, Linda Singer and Sonia Kruks had previously argued the case for Beauvoir as an innovative philosopher and the source of some of Sartre's later ideas. The Fullbrooks' discoveries gave new significance to this prior scholarship and inspired Simons to go off in search of Beauvoir's student diaries. (See Simons 1999) Simons's subsequent discoveries and the slow but continuing cultural shift away from presuming that women are never the source of original ideas has taken away some of the shock value of the Fullbrooks' first book. Indeed, seven years on and their impressive scholarship has never been seriously challanged. By now scores of Sartre scholars much have checked out the letters and diaries and found, to their dismay, that the Fullbrooks did not make any of it up. But although "Simone de Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre: The Remaking of a Twentieth-Century Legend" through its success no longer enjoys the controversy it once did, it remains, with its compelling narrative and writerly qualities, one of the best books evr written about either Beauvoir or Sartre. Even the "New York Times" had to admit that it was good read. For capturing the spirit of these twentieth-century giants and their extraordinary relationship, this book is yet to be beaten.
Book Description
From a skeleton, a skull, a mere fragment of burnt thighbone, Dr. William Maples can deduce the age, gender, and ethnicity of a murder victim, the manner in which the person was dispatched, and, ultimately, the identity of the killer. In Dead Men Do Tell Tales, Dr. Maples revisits his strangest, most interesting, and most horrific investigations, from the baffling cases of conquistador Francisco Pizarro and Vietnam MIAs to the mysterious deaths of President Zachary Taylor and the family of Czar Nicholas II.
Customer Reviews:
Purchased for my college student.......2007-06-18
My oldest son is going into his senior year in college. He will be working on Forensic classes and I purchased a few fun reads for the summer. He loves the book.
The trials of being a forensic anthropologist.......2007-06-12
I recieved this book as a gift when I was in high school. I loved it then. Since I've recently finished a Masters in forensic anthropology myself, I decided to pull it off my shelf and give it another run through.
This is hands down the most honest and truthful illustration of what it's like to work in this field in a market flooded with a glut of products dedicated to the likes of Patricia Cornwell and Kathy Reichs. Every Bones/CSI fan needs to read this book and learn about the un-glamorous parts of these careers. I went into my career as a forensic anthropologist with a realistic understanding of the job because of Dr. Maples' great prose. While the CSI wannabes whine about the maggots and the smell, I do my job.
This is a great book for anyone who is interested in forensic science and should be a required read in introductory courses.
Thoughtful and Fascinating.......2007-03-22
Considering the gruesome nature of Dr. Maples' work, this is a remarkably delicate and poetic book. While the scientific descriptions are detailed, they at no point talk down to the reader. The photographs are tasteful and relevant, and I appreciate that Dr. Maples treats his subjects with respect due to the other human beings who are so often objectified into "human remains" or "evidence". Fascinating work, and great writing - I devoured it!
The only textbook I kept from college..........2006-12-28
Oh, if only I could rank this as 6 stars ******.
I took a forensics class at UNC Wilmington (little did I know that they would offer a forensics major there years after I graduated with a business degree). I was required to have this book and the day I picked it up from the student bookstore, I read it cover to cover. I still pick it up and read it from time to time. When I lent it to a friend, they lost it and so I came online here and found it as a hardback version!
On a side note: the student in the story that mistook a breast implant for a jellyfish? Yeah, that was my forensics professor when she was a student!
Gripping!.......2006-12-03
Fascinating case studies from a forensic anthropologist, including a detailed examination of his most famous cases - Pizarro, Zachary Taylor, Czar Nicholas II, and Joseph Merrick ("The Elephant Man"). A gripping read.
Book Description
Americans love the taste of Chinese food but worry about its high fat and calorie content. Thanks to Weight Watchers Stir-Fry to Szechuan, youll be able to enjoy the tempting flavors of Chinese dishes without the guilt! Stir-Fry to Szechuan takes a fresh look at classic Chinese cuisine. The result is a satisfying and healthy collection of flavorful dishes from Grilled Garlic Shrimp and Kung Pao Chicken to Curried Fried Rice and Red Cooked Pork with Pineapple.Youll find complete up-to-date Weight Watchers nutrition information with every recipe, along with at-a-glance icons that help you identify microwavable, one-pot or make-ahead dishes. Its all packaged in a fresh, contemporary cookbook design including full-color photographs of featured dishes. And best of all, with the Weight Watchers name, you can be assured that every delicious recipe our high
Customer Reviews:
Weight Watchers Stir-fry to Szechuan.......2001-09-21
A wonderful cookbook, full of recipes that anyone can make. A taste for everyone...ever wonder how to make a low calorie Kung Pao Chicken?...well it's in there. It's an excellent way to get vegetables into your meals too. Real Chinese food has Chicken and Beef as accompliments...veggie and rice/noodles are primary. This book has both ways to calculate your weight watchers needs, points and exchanges. I highly recommend this book. Nothing dull here!
Great so far!.......1999-12-12
My husband and I have tried 4 recipes out of this book so far, and all 4 were a big hit. One in particular -- curried shrimp with noodles -- was really good and we have made it 5 times already. You really wouldn't know it was "diet food" unless you saw the book title. I'm only giving it four stars just because I haven't tried most of the recipes yet. But so far, very good, and the format of the book is great too!
Single best cookbook I own.......1999-07-03
I usually consider a cookbook a success if I find a handful of recipes which I will continue to use. I have already tried 11 recipes from this (comparatively) small book and plan to or have already reused most of them. This is a real find for Chinese food lovers watching their diets, but it's also recommended for anyone who enjoys cooking Chinese food.
It won over this skeptic.......1998-11-29
This is a fabulous Chinese cookbook, not only for Weight Watchers members but also for those interested in the taste of Chinese cooking without all the extra fat and calories. Being a Weight Watchers member, I was a bit skeptical that the lower-point recipes would be flavorful and satisfying, but I am now a believer. The egg drop soup is so much more delicious than anything I've ever eaten from a take out restaurant. It is a light soup with some unexpected flavors, such as black mushrooms. The Kung Pao Chicken recipe was much better than many 'regular' recipes I've tried. I love to cook Chinese dishes at home but I've never succeeded in getting them to look or taste like something from a restaurant, until now.
I would recommend this title to anyone looking for a good basic Chinese cookbook and would encourage any Weight Watchers members interested in moderate point, yet delicious recipes to buy this book!
Average customer rating:
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Care of Uncommon Pets
William J. Weber
Manufacturer: Henry Holt & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Ages 9-12
| Children's Books
| Subjects
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General
| Agricultural Sciences
| Science
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General
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ASIN: 0805003207 |
Average customer rating:
- Information on "Care Of Uncommon Pets" by William J. Weber
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Care of Uncommon Pets: Rabbits, Guinea Pigs, Hamsters, Mice, Rats, Gerbils, Chickens, Ducks, Frogs, Toads and Salamanders, Turtles and Tortoises, Sn
William J. Weber
Manufacturer: Henry Holth & Co (J)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Rabbits
| Animal Care & Pets
| Home & Garden
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ASIN: 0805002944 |
Customer Reviews:
Information on "Care Of Uncommon Pets" by William J. Weber.......1997-10-11
This book contains 222 pages of information on caring for Hamsters, Guinea Pigs, Chickens, Snakes, Lizards, Gerbils, Mice, Rats, Turtles, Frogs, Toads, Ducks, Budgerigars and Tortoises. All of the information is accurate. There is a bibliography at the end of each section, as well as a glossary and a section with step-by-step instructions on making a cage. Highly recommended.
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Internal Medicine News, published by Thomson Gale on February 15, 2006. The length of the article is 1058 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: Household pets can harbor and transmit MRSA: interspecies transmission has been documented, but MRSA colonization in pets remains uncommon.(methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus)
Author: Kerri Wachter
Publication:
Internal Medicine News (Magazine/Journal)
Date: February 15, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 39
Issue: 4
Page: 56(1)
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Amazon.com
Michael Dresdner begins this updated edition of a previous classic in the field with these words: "I know. You hate finishing. You'd really rather be cutting wood. But you want the stuff you make to last, so it needs a finish on it." These are words from a man who knows woodworking and woodworkers.
The final finishing of carpentry projects and cabinet making is critical to the good results of any woodworking project, and yet, if done improperly, it can also be the kiss of death for an otherwise well-made piece of furniture, a refinished wood floor, or handmade wooden artwork.
Wood finishing is often a confusing and intimidating process, especially for beginners. With this revised classic by one of the noted experts in the field of wood finishing, that needn't be the case anymore. Dredsner offers easy-to-use techniques for professional results, concise answers to the most commonly asked questions, information on spray finishing and new waterborne finishes, and demystifies the art and science of finishing. Chapters cover tools of the trade, stripping techniques, preparing wood, coloring wood, rubbed-on finishing methods, repairing damage to already-finished wood, and much more, along with a resource list for tools and materials, a glossary of finishing terms, and a useful index for quick reference. The original edition of this book was considered the definitive classic: this one's better. --Mark A. Hetts
Book Description
Anyone who finishes wood will want to own the updated and completely revised version of the highly acclaimed Wood Finishing Book. With new, full-color photos and design, expanded information, and updates on technological advances in finishing, it's a must-have reference. The focus is on finishes that amateur woodworkers and finishers use -- not fussy, unattainable finishes. The author demystifies the art and science of finishing with clear and up-to-date information, including coverage of spray finishing and the new generation of water-based finishes. Insightful Q&As provide answers to the most common finishing questions. Amusing "Finishing Tales" show the lighter side of finishing challenges. The original book is considered the definitive resource on finishing, and this new edition is even better.
Average customer rating:
- Especially recommended as a giftbook for gardening enthusiasts.
- The Passionate Gardener: about himself
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The Passionate Gardener: Adventures of an Ardent Green Thumb
Des Kennedy
Manufacturer: Greystone Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Essays
| Gardening & Horticulture
| Home & Garden
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General
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ASIN: 1553651987 |
Book Description
In this rollicking read, Des Kennedy demonstrates his unerring skill with a satirical pitchfork. The 13 short pieces here roam widely and wildly, examining, among other things, common idiosyncrasies and the collective chaos of garden clubs. The book hilariously ponders the host of psychopathologies that afflict “plants people,” from weather phobias and general anxiety disorders to obsessive-compulsive behavior such as the chronic moving of plants. Whether discussing dysfunctional garden sprayers or malodorous urine collection schemes, Kennedy finds both the magic and the madness in one of life's most popular passions.
Customer Reviews:
Especially recommended as a giftbook for gardening enthusiasts........2007-04-07
Written by active speaker, gardener, and environmentalist Des Kennedy, The Passionate Gardener: Adventures of an Ardent Green Thumb is a true-life memoir written about the love of gardening, for fellow gardeners and would-be gardeners. With a witty flair, chapters recount the little quirks bordering on insanity common to "plant people", from weather phobias to obsessive-compulsive behavior. The Passionate Gardener perfectly captures the agony and the ecstasy that comes with pursuing a beloved hobby to the best of one's ability, and is especially recommended as a giftbook for gardening enthusiasts.
The Passionate Gardener: about himself.......2007-01-10
The gardener of the title should perhaps have kept this as a personal diary; it becomes a tediously self-centered celebration of his own life, of diminishing interest to any reader who is not his mother. Disappointing, if any reader was expecting to gain gardening insights or was hoping for a delightful book along the lines of Beverly Nichols' books.
Book Description
For those who love the garden, it is not just about planting and growing, but about collecting garden-themed china, painting orchids and violets, visiting botanical gardens, reading and repairing rare horticultural books, competing in shows, and dreaming about the garden all winter long. In a book that celebrates the particular passion—perhaps “obsession” is a more accurate term—of the gardener’s life, Laurence Sheehan (with Carol Sama Sheehan,Kathryn George Precourt, and photographer William Stites) presents a diverse array of treasures that will delight every garden lover. In this select society, everyone understands why a collection of colorful seed packets could grow to fill many rooms, why one species of plant could preoccupy a lifetime, and why those with concrete patios as well as acres of ranch land could share a vision.
In the first section, “Inspired Plantsmen,” The Gardener’s Life introduces a group of people whose passion focuses on the plants themselves—growers of herbs and roses from Connecticut to California who have spent lifetimes devoted to their favorite plants. “Passionate Collectors” presents aficionados of garden books, garden watercolors, garden ornaments, and even well-worn, much-used, and lovingly restored antique lawn mowers. Finally, whether they possess a desire to throw the perfect flowerpot or to create a miniature yard on a city terrace, the free spirits in “Singular Visions” offer new ways of looking at, and loving, the garden—demonstrating that each garden and each gardener who tends it is unique. Mixed among the stories of these individuals are photographic “excursions”—visits to flower shows and wildflower gardens that illustrate how vast and varied the gardener’s world truly is.
More than a how-to gardening book, The Gardener’s Life works its way to the heart of why gardeners have unlimited fascination with their pastime, and why the garden is a place where art and nature, technique and toil—not to mention joie de vivre—meet to create paradise.
Customer Reviews:
pretty and thin.......2007-01-26
pretty pictures and pleasant anecdotes but not much else. if you are looking for something of substance you can do a lot better. a nice coffee table book but somewhat overpriced.
A New York Times Gift Book of the Year Selection.......2004-12-12
"The Gardener's Life is more frankly decorative, but it, too, offers variety and charm. Without the overkill of a shelter magazine, this book integrates its floral pinups with nice old lawn-mower and picket-fence pictures, the better to dream up a well-rounded rustic fantasy."
-- Janet Maslin, The New York Times, Dec. 10, 2004
Average customer rating:
- Fun and Sassy
- Feisty and Funny
- Hilarious!
- Best gardening book I've read!
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Beds I Have Known: Confessions of a Passionate Amateur Gardener
Martha Smith
Manufacturer: Atheneum
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Satire, General
| Humor
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General
| Gardening & Horticulture
| Home & Garden
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ASIN: 0689120826 |
Amazon.com
Publishers Weekly calls Martha Smith "a sort of Erma Bombeck of the floral plot." Beds I Have Known reveals the hilarious side of gardening, including what it's like to be mistaken for Martha Stewart and what agricultural one-upsmanship is all about. The best chapters, though, are her funny, rather touching stories about gardening oddballs such as Antoinetta Goodwin, who planted marigolds in city traffic circles, and Martha's neighbor, John the Dahlia King. There's something self-revelatory about gardening, and Martha lets it all hang gloriously out.
Customer Reviews:
Fun and Sassy.......2001-06-20
Martha Smith is entertaining and light. A great read to lighten your heart and load after working outside in the heat all day.
Feisty and Funny.......2000-08-11
I found this gardening memoir to be both feisty and funny. I love the way Martha Smith describes her "Mae West Memorial Garden". I could almost smell the lilacs and dahlias as I was reading. For anyone who loves gardening essays with a humorous slant this book is a must read!!
Hilarious!.......1999-11-02
My husband and I are both avid gardeners and on a recent road trip, I read this book aloud to him as he drove and he almost wrecked from laughing so hard. This is a very funny book and the author knows too well the joys as well as the back-breaking hard work that gardening can be. My favorite chapter - "Canna lily kill you?" - a must read for gardeners who enjoy a spike of humor.
Best gardening book I've read!.......1998-12-22
This is a must read for anyone who loves the joy of gardening and knows it's Nature's Prozac. Smith is a funny, witty, spirited writer and my only woe was that it was too short. Yes, 300 plus pages was simply not enough of her wonderful outlook on life and gardening and people and giving. As a writer and writing teacher, I'm sensitive to good writing and Martha Smith's work exceeded my expectations.
Please take my advice and read this collection. Then go out and get your hands dirty. You'll be in good company. I'd say more, but my garden and my dog are waiting!
Average customer rating:
- Beautiful, even spiritual guide to gardening.
- A gorgeous book sharing gardening delights and new ideas
- Brimming with fabulous ideas inspired by the garden.
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The Passionate Gardener
Georgia Raimondi
Manufacturer: Readers Digest
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Gardening & Horticulture
| Home & Garden
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ASIN: 0762100745 |
Book Description
An informative and inspirational garden sourcebook celebrates all 12 months of the gardener's year. Practical advice on gardening and innovative uses for your garden's bounty. There are 35 planning and planting guides, 30 decorating projects, 30 recipes and 15 aromatherapy preparations.
Customer Reviews:
Beautiful, even spiritual guide to gardening........1999-04-26
The month-by-month guide to gardening is a joy to look at and read, even for those of us with a brown thumb. A wonderful hostess gift (lasts longer than a bottle of wine). The recipes are simple and attractive, the book is about lifestyle.
A gorgeous book sharing gardening delights and new ideas.......1999-04-20
I always look for gardening books as gifts for my husband, an seasoned avid gardener. I knew this one would give him hours of pleasure, but I was surprised to learn that I can also benefit from all the treasurers in this beautiful book. Reading the book is a peaceful pleasure that has awakened in me a strong desire to find in my own life what this author and my husband already know: that gardening is satisfying spiritual work connecting souls to nature and beauty. I can now think of five of six friends that would love the book as well.
Brimming with fabulous ideas inspired by the garden........1999-04-08
From amateur to expert, anyone interested in gardening and the fruits of the earth will be drawn into this delightful book. For each month, the reader is given detailed instructions for simple yet elegant recipes, decorating projects, and herbal concoctions. Everyone I tried has worked perfectly. (And they make great gifts!) This book is a must have for anyone who enjoys beauty and nature both outside and inside the home.
Book Description
Among books about flowers and gardening, The Passionate Gardener is a rare and exemplary hybrid. Part essay, part handbook, part treatise, part quest, it is presented with the practiced eye of a naturalist, the disciplined understanding of a philosopher, and the inspiration of a poet. Rudolf Borchardt was, in fact, all of these, and a novelist, dramatist, and renowned translator as well. In the first six chapters he rediscovers the centrality of the garden as image, symbol, concept and metaphor in the development of human consciousness. And through a careful consideration of the flower, he describes the historical, literary, botanical, psychological, sociological and environmental perspectives of the eighteenth- and nineteenth-century reinvention of landscape gardening. Borchardt's intention is nothing less than to articulate the complex continuities and discontinuities through which Nature and the human being relate to one another. He perceives the flower, the ! human being, and the garden in which they meet to be works in progress, each an expression of the inherent possibilities of the others. The Passionate Gardener is also the story of the intrepid explorers who searched the world for new, unknown flowers; of the botanists who studied them; of the horticulturists who then refined their forms and colors; and finally of the collaboration and fusion of Roman, Persian, Oriental, Italian, French, Austrian, English, African, and American garden traditions in the service of a common, humanistic ideal. In addition, Borchardt shares his first-hand practical experience of scores of "new, lost, rare, misunderstood and singular" plants, and offers valuable guidance about soils and planting: his book is a marvelously erudite work of literature, while equally, and quite self-consciously, down to earth.
Customer Reviews:
A challenging but rewarding book.......2007-05-23
Densely philosophical and bristling with literary and historical references, The Passionate Gardener is a gardening book like no other. Borchardt traces the development of Western gardening from its classical beginnings, and along the way provides fascinating (if rather broad) characterizations of the world's chief floristic regions. Borchardt pays gardening the compliment of treating it as a subject worthy of scholarly devotion--indeed, for him, it is one of the humanities. Although not for the casual reader, The Passionate Gardener will richly reward those who can muster the persistence and patience it demands.
An Object of Beauty.......2006-11-03
This is by far the best "gardening" book I have ever read. It has stood the test of time and will continue to do so. A true classic. And in this edition, a wonder to behold.
A broad-based survey of the psychological sociological and botanical roots of landscape gardening.......2006-08-17
Plenty of books on the market survey flowers and gardening, but THE PASSIONATE GARDENER offers something different, being a handbook and memoir from a naturalist, philosopher, and poet who is as interested in the garden as a symbol as in gardening as a talent. His discourse on flowers, botanical history, and the act of planting blends literature and science with history and offers college-level readers a broad-based survey of the psychological sociological and botanical roots of landscape gardening.
Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch
Book Description
This is a delightful book on gardening for the recent convert. Highlighting both the idiosyncrasies and foibles of the passionate gardener, the author dispenses invaluable hints and tips with refreshing humour and an awareness that not everyone has time or money to spend every waking moment in the garden.
Average customer rating:
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Passionate Gardener
Manufacturer: Trafalgar Square Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Landscape
| Architecture
| Professional & Technical
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General
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| Home & Garden
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ASIN: 0943955246 |
Book Description
A top-seller in Avery's Coping with a Chronic Illness series (more than 78,000 sold) is now thoroughly revised and updated.
More than sixteen thousand Americans develop lupus each year, according to the Lupus Foundation of America. Once considered a fatal disease of the autoimmune system, current methods of therapy have made deaths from lupus much more uncommon. Many patients now live longer lives while coping with the debilitating symptoms of the disease. This completely revised edition provides informed, compassionate advice about how to choose the right medications and manage the difficult emotions brought on by living with chronic illness. Index.
Customer Reviews:
A lifesaver!!.......2006-02-17
I have been diagnosed with Lupus for almost 40 years, but I was undiagnosed for 10 years. Finally an Internist put together my collection of ailments and diagnosed me as having Lupus. This was such a relief but also a frightening time as 40 years ago Lupus was still a fairly unknown. The blood tests, etc. had not yet been fully developed and what information was out there was pretty negative and scary.
This book was not on the market at the time and I didn't know how to cope with an illness that had changed my life and how to tell my family and friends what was wrong with me.
By the time I discovered this book I had learned to live with Lupus but this book was so marvelous in describing this crazy illness, that I gave copies to family members that wanted to know more.
I also have given numerous copies to individuals who had been diagnosed with life-changing illnesses such as diabetes, etc. The author's insight on how to deal with Lupus for yourself and your family is truly applicable to anyone facing a disease that will be around for the rest of your life.
I especially recommend as required reading the chapter that is directed to family members and how they can be helpful to the Lupus patient.
At this time I am ordering this book to be sent to my daughter who is experiencing some of the ailments that are typical of Lupus. I hope that she will get the help she needs in diagnosing what is wrong with her. In the meantime maybe this book will give her some help.
Coping With Lupus: Apractical Guide to Alleviating the Chall.......2003-05-30
I have found this book to be a helpful well rounded guide to Lupus. From the symptoms before diagnosis to after diagnosis, and how to deal with every day challenges and side effects of the disease and treatments. I beleive it is a great jumping off point for the newly diagnosed. It dispells myths, and give a newly diagnosed patient comfort at a time that they may be feeling overwhelmed and desperate by the diagnosis of Lupus. It is a very easy read, as the doctor speaks in layman language rather than complicating things with lot's of medical termonolgy and anatomy terms. For a person who is looking for beginning over view of the disease it is very helpful. But, if you are looking for more datailed information on specific tests, treatments, or the physiology of the disease one would need to look further.
Average customer rating:
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Secret Springs: An Autobiography
Claude Bragdon
Manufacturer: Kessinger Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Artists, Architects & Photographers
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General
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Memoirs
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ASIN: 076613038X |
Book Description
1917. A definitive autobiography of Claude Bragdon, containing sections dealing with his personal life, architectural life, theatrical life, literary life and occult life. Also included are appendices with The Immortal Beloved and The Fourth Dimension.
Average customer rating:
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Whips' Nightmare
Christopher Gill
Manufacturer: Memoir Club
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Irish
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20th Century
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ASIN: 184104086X |
Books:
- Hitler's Last Courier
- Hitler's Personal Pilot: Life and Times of Hans Baur
- Hitler: The Policies of Seduction
- How I Earned the Ruptured Duck: Behind the Lines in Wwii (Texas a & M University Military History Series, 92.)
- In Those Days: A Diplomat Remembers (Adst-Dacor Diplomats and Diplomacy Series)
- Into the Mirror: The Life of Master Spy Robert P. Hanssen
- Isabel Allende Vida Y Espiritus
- Jungle Dragoon - The Memoir of an Armored Cav Platoon Leader in Vietnam
- Lawless in Vietnam
- Letters from a Distant War: Vietnam from a Soldier's Perspective
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