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Tennessee's Battered Brigadier: The Life Of General Joseph B. Palmer Csa (Tennessee Heritage Library)
Robert O. Neff
Manufacturer: Hillsboro Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 Military & Spies
| Professionals & Academics
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
United States Civil War
| Military
| Leaders & Notable People
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Military
| Leaders & Notable People
| Biographies & Memoirs
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General
| United States
| Historical
| Biographies & Memoirs
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General
| Civil War
| United States
| Historical
| Biographies & Memoirs
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General
| United States
| Americas
| History
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General
| Civil War
| United States
| Americas
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South
| State & Local
| United States
| Americas
| History
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ASIN: 1577361989 |
Book Description
Retaining the highest respect of his units, General Joseph B. Palmer, CSA, was an admirable man whose distinctiveness lay in his calm judgement, bravery, and sympathy. Other generals may have received higher rank and wider acclaim, but these qualities in Palmer have made him a biographer's dream.
“General Palmer's life is to the biographer what a sunken treasure is to the deep sea diver,” author Robert O. Neff said. “He was greatly loved by all his troops, and he commanded about 90 percent of all the Tennessee units which ever served the South.”
Tennessee's Battered Brigadier tells the life story of Palmer, one of 36 Confederate generals from Tennessee. Recently published by Hillsboro Press, the book was previously released in limited numbers by Historic Travellers' Rest.
Though Palmer has been praised by many contemporary writers and was applauded by writers of his time, his full story had not been told until Neff heard about his courageous life. The general did not keep a diary and, because he was a widower, did not write letters home during the war; therefore, Neff's information is mostly gathered from newspapers, contemporary writers, and Palmer's peers.
One contemporary testimony reads, “Brave as a soldier, he is yet as gentle as a woman in disposition . . . for a man so gentle, so amiable, and so peaceful in private life, it amazed all his soldiers to see how utterly careless of himself he was in battle.” Tennessee's Battered Brigadier tells the story of General Palmer before, during, and in the aftermath of the Civil War.
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The Life And Letters Of Thomas Henry Huxley
Leonard Huxley
Manufacturer: Kessinger Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
Scientists
| Professionals & Academics
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 1419169386 |
Book Description
6. I have the materials for a monograph upon the Acalephae and Hydrostatic Acalephae. I have examined very carefully more than forty genera of these animals--many of them very rare, and some quite new. But I paid comparatively little attention to the collection of new species, caring rather to come to some clear and definite idea as to the structure of those which had indeed been long known, but very little understood. Unfortunately for science, but fortunately for me, this method appears to have been somewhat novel with observers of these animals, and consequently everywhere new and remarkable facts were to be had for the picking up.
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6. I have the materials for a monograph upon the Acalephae and Hydrostatic Acalephae. I have examined very carefully more than forty genera of these animals--many of them very rare, and some quite new. But I paid comparatively little attention to the collection of new species, caring rather to come to some clear and definite idea as to the structure of those which had indeed been long known, but very little understood. Unfortunately for science, but fortunately for me, this method appears to have been somewhat novel with observers of these animals, and consequently everywhere new and remarkable facts were to be had for the picking up.
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The Life And Letters Of Thomas Henry Huxley
Leonard Huxley
Manufacturer: Kessinger Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
Scientists
| Professionals & Academics
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 1419169394 |
Book Description
"Aged Botanist?" marry come up! [Sir J. Hooker jestingly congratulated him on taking up botany in his old age.] I should like to know of a younger spark. The first time I heard myself called "the old gentleman" was years ago when we were in South Devon. A half-drunken Devonian had made himself very offensive, in the compartment in which my wife and I were travelling, and got some "simple Saxon" from me, accompanied, I doubt not, by an awful scowl "Ain't the old gentleman in a rage," says he.
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Aged Botanist? marry come up! [Sir J. Hooker jestingly congratulated him on taking up botany in his old age.] I should like to know of a younger spark. The first time I heard myself called "the old gentleman" was years ago when we were in South Devon. A half-drunken Devonian had made himself very offensive, in the compartment in which my wife and I were travelling, and got some "simple Saxon" from me, accompanied, I doubt not, by an awful scowl "Ain't the old gentleman in a rage," says he.
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- Inside the Mind of a Gifted Nineteenth Century Intellect
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Life and Letters of Thomas Henry Huxley
Leonard Huxley , and
Thomas Henry Huxley
Manufacturer: Ams Pr Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
General
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Biology
| Biological Sciences
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
Natural History
| Nature & Ecology
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0404149804 |
Customer Reviews:
Inside the Mind of a Gifted Nineteenth Century Intellect.......2000-05-02
T.H. Huxley's Collected Essays speaks to the what, where, when and how of one of the nineteenth centuries brightest minds. Life and Letters of Thomas Henry Huxley speaks to the why. In so doing, this collected work introduces the reader to the motivations, the successes and failures in Huxley's personal and professional life. From the philosophical insights gleaned from the death of his son, to his motivation for coining agnosticism and his journey as Darwin's Bulldog and most imminent defender, this work is a must have for the scientist, philosopher or historian interested in learning and appreciating the trials and tribulations of one of the nineteenth centuries most intellectually honest and gifted intellects.
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The Life And Letters of Thomas Henry Huxley
Leonard Huxley
Manufacturer: IndyPublish.com
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
Scientists
| Professionals & Academics
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 1421976889 |
Average customer rating:
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The Life And Letters of Thomas Henry Huxley
Leonard Huxley
Manufacturer: IndyPublish.com
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
General
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
Scientists
| Professionals & Academics
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 1421900661 |
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The Life and Letters of Thomas Henry Huxley Volume 3
Leonard Huxley
Manufacturer: Echo Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
Scientists
| Professionals & Academics
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
Memoirs
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
General
| History & Philosophy
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
History of Technology
| Technology
| Science
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ASIN: 140683646X |
Book Description
With The Measure of Our Days, Dr. Jerome Groopman established himself as an eloquent new voice in the literature of medicine. In these eight moving portraits, he offers us a compelling look at what is to be learned when life itself can no longer be taken for granted.
These stories are diverse--from Kirk, an aggressive venture capitalist determined to play the odds with controversial chemotherapy treatments; to Elizabeth, an imperious dowager humbled by a rare blood disease; to Elliott, who triumphs over leukemia and creates for himself a definition of success--but each, in the words of Maggie Scarf, "transmute the misery of terrible suffering into a marvelous celebration of the sweetness of human life." Far from medical case studies, these are spiritual journeys of questioning and self-awareness, embarked on by the physician as well as the patient.
Customer Reviews:
Touching and thought-provoking.......2007-07-07
As a nurse who has worked in Oncology, I have found this book very interesting and thought-provoking. It brought back many memories of patients and similar situations. Could anyone ask for a physician any more compassionate than Dr. Groopman? Something for all in the medical field to strive for.
The most touching book on relationships between a good doctor and his patients..........2007-04-14
I don't remember why or where I bought this book. I think it came highly recommended to me, as I have worked in HIV research and bioethics for the disabled for years, not as a job, but because it is what I care about. I think I accidently put this book up to sell, thinking it was another book on these same issues I had read years ago. When I got it out to send to another reader, I realized I hadn't read it. I can read quite fast when necessary and after the first few pages in this book, I realized I did not want to send it until I had read the whole thing. So I read it in one evening, and I am so glad I did.
After just undergoing a horrendous couple of years with my own personal physician who threw medication at me in hopes something would help (and he just made things worse), I needed to be reminded there are outstanding and wonderful physicians out there still who see their work not as a way to make money but a way to make a living and provide for their families while still doing the most they can for humanity. I'd read Groopman's work before. He is a very prolific writer, as well as a physician and researcher into HIV and cancer. I don't know how he does it. The man must not sleep ever, and that also earns my admiration. His patients are not easy ones. They are the more difficult ones, and he see his job as being to give them the most time he can possibly squeeze out of their conditions. And that time he gives them, he makes them as comfortable as possible and as able to continue their life's work...this is what is meant by providing people with chronic illness and even illness whose end result is death with a quality of life equal to that, or better than that, than the life they had lived before. Why? Because they know their time is limited, and they seek to fill their remaining time with the most they can stuff into it. EAch of these individuals have different ideas of what constitutes a meaningful life, and each of them learn something from Groopman during their time under his care, and their stories not only taught Groopman something, but in this book they teach the reader something.
I'd always been one of those people who didn't want to undergo chemotherapy for a cancer that would end in death anyhow. But now I understand from Groopman why you would prolong your time here, as long as it could be done in such a way as to achieve my goals and those for my family and friends, and give something back to others as I have always wanted to do (but often had to put to the side while I raised my family).
This is one of the most compassionate books I have ever read. I hate to send it away but at the same time, I want others to read it. It teaches us to put into practice our religious beliefs rather than just spout them. It isn't enough to say 'this is what I believe.' Groopman teaches us that we can put our religious beliefs into daily practice and do the most good by doing that. I would definitely recommend this book as required reading for all students in all medical fields, even research...as we too often lose sight of the very human faces that we are researching for. By putting a human face on these usually unseen people it forces us to work harder and with more focus on moral behavior, whether as researchers, or as medical personnel in daily contact with those who are suffering. Our job is not to judge, but rather to alleviate suffering... Groopman is an outstanding example to all of us, and I hope to incorporate his teachings in my own life and my own work...
Karen L. Sadler
Departing into darkness.......2006-06-27
If Sherwin Nuland hadn't already written "The Way We Die," Jerome Groopman could easily have used the title for this book. Dr. Groopman specializes in cancer, blood-disease, and AIDs patients, so he is very familiar with the way we die. His emphasis in this book is more on the spiritual aspect of dying, although there is also plenty of physical agony and degradation in "The Measure of Our Days."
If I had to sum up the book's theme, it would be: patients who love and are loved struggle hardest to live, sometimes way beyond the point where physicians have given up on them. When they finally do die, their deaths are more fulfilling (easier? better?) than those who die with full wallets and empty hearts.
That sounds kind of hokey, like "Love Story" as written by a doctor, but Dr. Groopman handles the theme very effectively. He's even slightly more optimistic than in his book "Second Opinions," although no one in "The Measure of Our Days" dies as romantically as Ali McGraw. Just the opposite. Most of Dr. Groopman's patients in this book die after extensive chemotherapy, surgery, and physical therapy--the whole painful and nauseous armamentarium of modern medicine (If it hasn't yet struck you how closely physicians resemble the monks of the Spanish Inquisition, you've probably never undergone chemotherapy. Both wield their instruments for our own good).
"The Measure of Our Days" speaks like a modern day Koheleth (Ecclesiastes):
"A man may have a hundred children and live a long life; but however many his days may be, if he does not get satisfaction from the good things of life..., then I maintain that the still-born child is in better case than he. Its coming is an empty thing, it departs into darkness, and in darkness its name is hidden..."
Change 'get satisfaction from the good things of life' to 'love' and I believe you will understand Dr. Groopman's measure of our days.
inspiring tales of truth and human dignity.......2006-05-10
An excellent book of choice for anyone looking to find meaning in the field of health care, who feels swept away by torrents of robotic practices of academic medicine and scientific prejudices.
The Measure of our Compassion through the measure of our days.......2005-12-05
It takes a special person to care for others. Compassion for people comes in different ways and Groopman finds an excellent way to blend both: medicine the way we know it and kind and considerate way to offer care and hope.
This book is a great reading for anyone.
Highly recommended!
Book Description
Seventy child-friendly recipes and cooking activities from around the world will draw the entire family into the spirit and fun of preparing Jewish holiday celebrations. Covering the ten major holidays, each of the activities has a different focus--such as Eastern Europe, biblical Israel, contemporary America--and together they present a vast array of foods, flavors, and ideas.
The recipes are old and new, traditional and novel--everything from hamantashen to pretzel bagels, chicken soup with matzah balls to matzah pizza, fruit kugel to Persian pomegranate punch.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent compilation of recipes for the holidays! .......2005-11-21
When Bon Appetit and other prestigous publications give this one rave reviews, that's a hint that you might have a "find"...and they are right. From Sabbath to Passover, there are recipes that are delicious, generally very easy to prepare and clearly explained. Although designed for children, I think this one would be excellent for anyone who wants to become an excellent Jewish cook. It is like having a crash course in both the essentials and some special variations.
The book is extremely attractive and there are additions which make it special, such as suggested prayers, historical info about each holiday, great illustrations, etc.
Although the vast majority of the recipes are very simple, when one is a bit more complex, there are often step-by-step illustrations. An example would be Children's Cholent, where every single part of the process is pictured, right up to putting the dish in the oven.
I was pleasantly surprised to find that many of the recipes were unique or new to me.
ANOTHER PLUS: The author suggests which parts of the recipe might be appropriate and easy for a child to handle and which should be done with supervision.
An excellent resource I use again and again........2003-11-12
I couldn't disagree more with the first review. With two small children, I rely heavily on this book as Jewish holidays come and go and have enjoyed many cooking experiences with my kids as a result. Furthermore, the recipes are consistently delicious! My kids and I have prepared Yemenite High Holiday Stew and Bread for Yom Kippur, Apple-Honey cupcakes, Hamantaschen, Aunt Lisl's Butter Cookies, and the ice-cream cupcake menorah featured on the cover, as well as a tender and delicious challah. There are many suggestions throughout for ways children can take part in the cooking, and often the menu suggestions accompanying each holiday have given me ideas of foods my children will actually eat. As a cook and an authority on Jewish cooking, Joan Nathan is no slouch; her contributions to the New York Times cooking section are significant and her adult-oriented cookbook "The Jewish Holiday Kitchen" is an exhaustive resource of Jewish dishes that is equally wonderful. In fact, I was reluctant to try this book because I doubted she could switch gears and write a children's cookbook that was really useable, but I contend she has done it! I can't imagine my cookbook library without this book.
A remedial recipe book- very limited CRAFTY ideas.......2003-09-25
I would not even give this book one star. I was VERY disappointed with this book. I was expecting a CRAFTY kitchen book for childen based on the pictures on the front cover. This book primarily consists of traditional recipes for the holidays but gives instructions such as child mixes this.. adult stirs that. Example of receipes include: grape juice, hallah, chicken soup, matzah balls, pot roast, peeling a pamagranet, etc. There is nothing unique or special about these recipes. If you are buying it for your children- don't. and if you are buying it for the recipes- don't. There are many other better Jewish holiday cookbooks out there to choose from.
Average customer rating:
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Howell Beginner's Guide to Snakes (Howell Beginner's Guides to Pets)
John Coborn , and
Dennis Kelsey-Wood
Manufacturer: Howell Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
General
| Animal Care & Pets
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
| Books
Reptiles & Amphibians
| Animal Care & Pets
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Veterinary Medicine
| Medicine
| Subjects
| Books
Hunting & Fishing
| Outdoors & Nature
| Subjects
| Books
| Fishing
| General & Anthologies
| Hunting
| Shooting
ASIN: 0876059469 |
Book Description
8 1/2 x 11 412 color and 168 black-and-white illustrations US Distribution only crafts Nancy Johnson-Srebro blazes new trails in block design using the two easiest shapes in quilting! With super-simple rotary cutting and piecing techniques, Block Magic provides over 50 easy-to-complete block patterns from clever to cute. These patterns are in four different sizes and include such topics as people and pets, holidays, toys, home, garden, and more. Hands-on tips and step-by-step instructions make sewing these blocks a breeze. Plus, Quilt Maps(tm) offer infinite ideas for mixing, matching, and embellishing blocks to create gorgeous, No-Fail(tm) quilt designs!
Customer Reviews:
A great book with lots of ideas.......2006-09-11
Oh how I wish I had known about this book in 2001 when it was first published!!! I have struggled to make those pieces that come together in points (on the diagonal) and not been happy with my results. This book, BLOCK MAGIC, solves that problem for me.
The book contains 70 patterns to make using only rectangles and squares. The patterns range from animals, to flowers to people to houses. There are themes such as Christmas, Easter and Back to School. In the introduction, there is a "how-to" so you can read the charts provided with each block and the blocks range in size from 6" to 15" depending on which one you choose to create.
The colors chosen for each block shown and the tips that are also included provide a wealth of creativity for a quilter. Most quilters have a scrap bag that they just cannot part with. BLCOK MAGIC gives many squares that will use up those precious scraps. If this were not enough in one book, there are 20 quilt maps. These are suggestions on which squares would go together to make a quilt or wall hanging.
As a quilting teacher, BLOCK MAGIC will be one book I incorporate in my classes. A beginner or a seasoned quilter will find that the instructions are easy to follow will inspire the students to come up with their own fabric and color ideas and combinations.
Buy a copy of this book and you will be creating you own quilts/wall hangings for many days to come.
Cute book, lots of ideas.......2005-08-10
As already stated there are over 50 fun and easy blocks, 70 to be exact. There is an extra 28 pages with ideas of quilts to make combining the blocks. As for the blocks, 10 of them are animals, the remainder range from flowers, houses, Holloween, Christmas and more. I found the blocks to be very cute and can't wait to make some.
This book came in very handy.......2003-12-29
I was sorry to see some of the low ratings on this book. It came in handy for me when I needed ideas for blocks in a quilting swap on the internet. Several of us swapped 12" Halloween Blocks and Christmas blocks this year and both themes made wonderful quilts. I am a beginner quilter and the book shows clearly how to construct blocks. The larger size blocks are easy to work with and for more of a challenge you can try smaller sizes. I guess all quilt books cannot be all things for all quilters, but this book is a good addition to any quilting library. JMHO
Superb technique, poor use of colour.......2003-08-10
The idea behind this book is superb. Ms Johnson-Srebro is a gifted technician but unfortunately some of the designs lose in the colour inspiration category & I think that detracts from her original and very inspired ideas.
The premise of the book is simple. Use rectangles and squares to make a block which can then be used for pillows, oven mitts, tree ornaments, wall hangings or part of a large quilt. To this end Ms J-S gives different sizes for the finished quilt (6-15 inches are typical) so you don't have to worry about making the alterations.
At the end are Quilt Maps where Ms J-S shows you how to use the blocks as part of a larger quilt. Here, outside of the teacup and pot quilt the book is rather plebian and typical. There really isn't much variation of using the different blocks into a full pictograph. That's the pity but for a willing worker it could be done.
Also, some of the blocks, like the cat and teapot, have blocks too large & ungainly. They could easily broken up to get more colour shading and variation in though this too would be easy to modify because of her technique by simply using strips instead of a large block.
All in all the execution does not live up to the idea but it could be a great springboard for further development. A superb intro to piecework for all ages and allot of easy fun.
Disappointment.......2003-07-29
Unfortunately, I purchased both "Block Magic" and "Block Magic, Too" over the internet. Had I seen the books ahead of time, I would not have purchased them at all.
First off, most of these blocks are more suited to foundation (or paper) piecing, particulary for the small 6" blocks. Many of the blocks require very small pieces of fabric, and if you are like me, these are not easy to work with and get accurate.
Secondly, there are duplicates between the books. For example, the "Pinwheel Flowers" (book I, page 21) and the Fancy Petunias (book II, page 34) are the same flower, with the stems/leaves adjusted so that in one version, the flowers are on the same level and in the 2nd version, they are on different levels.
Third, there isn't enough variety. I grouped all the blocks by how I would most likely use them, and found, to my dismay, most of them were Christmas/Winter oriented:
(note some elements are suitable for more than one category)
Angels (2)
Noah's Ark (1) and 5 animals/birds which might be used, though not the usual animals expected
Birds/houses (5)
Birthday (2)
Car/Truck (2)
Christmas (20)
City/Town (6)
Easter (2)
Fall/Autumn/Halloween (7)
Farm (13)
Flowers/Baskets/Watering Can (9)
Aviation (3)
Fruit (5)
Hearts (3)
Insects/Bugs (3)
Kitchen (8)
Ocean/Sea (9)
Patriotic (6)
Pets (6): Cats (4), Dogs (2)
School (10)
Stars (2)
Toys (9)
Train (1) engine only
Woods (5)
Fortunately for me, I find I'm able to convert them to foundation blocks using EQ5 -- but it's going to take me a long time.
Book Description
Five years after the first edition of Landscape Restoration Handbook was published, its natural landscaping and ecological restoration techniques have become standard-and successful-practice throughout the nation. Now, the Landscape Restoration Handbook: Second Edition substantially widens the scope of the original work. Approximately 250 pages larger than the first edition, new and expanded chapters offer guidance on: o Development of natural landscaping and ecological restoration programs o Education, regional planning, and increased biological diversity o Ecological communities species listings o Scientific and common plant names associated with ecological communities o Nurseries that propagate and sell native plants throughout the United States Naturalization has proven to be a "win-win" situation all around. Monetary costs that landowners are saving on maintenance and chemicals also translates to environmental benefits for the greater community. Landscape and golf course architects, urban planners, horticulturists, golf course superintendents and consultants have already put the Landscape Restoration Handbook to the test. Let the Second Edition bring you up-to-date on the numerous benefits of naturalization.
Product Description
Gives answers to just about every question a child can ask a parent. Great resource book for Mom, Dad or even a teacher.
Book Description
Kids ask the darnedest things. If you've ever tried to fend for yourself in this alien world, you know that a book like this is long overdue. The Handy Answer Book for Kids addresses nearly 800 queries that only a kid can think up. It's easy to understand and organized by simple topical chapters, permitting kids (and parents) to help themselves. Born in a moment of quiet desperation, it easily handles the occasional solitary stumper lobbed like a live grenade, like How many stars are there? It's more than a bunch. What did people use before toothbrushes were invented? With Handy Kids, love means never having to say I don't know. Chapters include Earth, Sky, and Beyond; Me, Myself, and I; My Family and Friends; Being Green (about the plant world); How Things Work; Home Life and School Days; World Tour; Animal Neighbors; and others.
Average customer rating:
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Lina Bryans: Rare Modern 1909-2000
Gillian Forwood
Manufacturer: Melbourne University Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
General
| Architecture
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Instructional & How-To
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Painting
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Artists, A-Z
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
Artists, Architects & Photographers
| Arts & Literature
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
Australia
| Australia & Oceania
| History
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0522850375 |
Book Description
The life and work of portrait and landscape painter Lina Bryans is revealed in this biography. The book situates Bryans in the context of the Modernist movement of the 1920s, which introduced Paul Cézanne and Post-Impressionism to the conservative Melbourne art establishment. Bryans is revealed as an individualist who refused to be allied with either the George Bell school or the Reeds' Heide group and who developed her own intuitive and expressive style. A critical assessment of Bryans's style and discussion of the range and social significance of her works are included.
Book Description
"I became an American by refusing to assimilate, writes Arthur Hertzberg in this long-awaited memoir. Throughout his life this world-renowned rabbi, activist, author, historian, public servant, and confidante to the powerful has advocated that a true Jew is not an ethnic Jew who makes central his support for Israel or his fight against anti-Semitism, but rather a person deeply tied to the religion and its principles. Hertzberg traces his own self-discovery, confronting the choices he has made and offering a history of American Jews and their struggle for identity.
Undaunted by controversy, Hertzberg has been the moral conscience of American Jews, taking a stand on all the great issues of our time, from the creation of Israel through the Civil Rights movement to the Vietnam War and the highly fractious world of Jews today both here and abroad. Hertzberg is not willing to cede the great tradition either to religious fundamentalists or to the completely secularized. His life is a window onto the forces that have buffeted and strengthened Jews in our times, and his compelling story is an important portrait of the history and culture of the twentieth century, including his dealings with such luminaries as Golda Meir, Martin Luther King Jr., and Henry Kissinger.
This book reflects the richness of the extraordinarily active life of a man of deep knowledge and integrity. Learned in many areas, genuinely interested in other religions, Hertzberg expresses his own faith with a passion and honesty that give his story a singular strength. Written in a clear, engaging style, A Jew in America is a triumph of the human spirit.
Customer Reviews:
Arthur Hertzberg.......2004-03-06
A Jew In America:
My Life and a People's Struggle for Identity
By Arthur Hertzberg
San Francisco: Harper (October, 2002)
Review by Elliot Fein
The late Howard Cosell, the great radio and television broadcaster at ABC Sports, used to pride himself on "telling it like it is," on saying in public on the air the absolute truth about individuals and events in the world of sports. For over six decades, Arthur Hertzberg has been "telling it like it is" about people and events in the world of contemporary Jewish life in North America, in Israel, and throughout the world.
Without the distinct Brooklyn nasal tone accent that made Cosell famous, but in a distinct voice all his own, Hertzberg has been saying and writing the absolute truth in his long and distinguished career as a rabbi, as a university professor and scholar, and as a CEO leader of various national and international Jewish communal organizations.
His book, A Jew in America: My Life and a People's Struggle for Identity, an autobiography on the famous people that he has met (usually on a first name basis) and the events that he has experienced (often as a first hand participant) is a good read because history has often proved his predictions right.
Soon after the 1967 Six Day War, Hertzberg was one of the first voices (perhaps the first American Jewish voice) that warned of the danger Israel would face if it did not return immediately most of the territories it obtained to its Arab neighbors. Hertzberg prophesized that it would rip the moral, democratic, and Jewish soul of the country if Israel attempted to keep the West Bank and Gaza and subsequently put itself in the position of occupying a growing and hostile Palestinian Arab refugee population.
Hertzberg was one of the first to fulminate against the theology that has developed among many Orthodox Jews since 1967 that the outcome of the Six Day War sets the stage for the onslaught of the world's messianic redemption. For a small country that is struggling to live among, not against, the nations of the world, Hertzberg saw from its inception how this nationalistic and fundamentalist interpretation of contemporary events could (still) easily alienate Israel among the nations of the world and lead the contemporary state on a future suicidal path.
In the early 1970's, Hertzberg was part of a contingent of American Jewish leaders who met in Israel with the then Prime Minister, Golda Meir. Golda, from a recent visit with President Nixon in the United States, wanted to talk with members of this contingent about race relations in America. She wanted to express her concern about militant African American leaders publicly articulating separatist, nationalistic, and anti-Semitic attitudes after the assassination of Martin Luther King and the decline of the Civil Rights Movement.
Hertzberg responded in this public discussion to her concern by expressing his own about Israel. He warned the Prime Minister that a `Black Panther' problem of their own was developing in Israel, that a growing number of non-Ashkenazi Jewish citizens, recent immigrants from North African and Asian countries, were feeling estranged from mainstream Israeli life.
Hertzberg predicted that the present Labor led government coalition would pay a heavy price in future elections if it did not start to listen and formally address some of the complaints and concerns of these Edot Ha Mizrachi Jews who perceived their citizenship status as second class.
Golda and her Labor party did not seem to heed the advice. In 1977, Menachem Begin and his Likud Party, with the overwhelming support of this ethnic constituency, dethroned the Labor establishment for the first time in Israel's history and formed its own coalition to lead the Knesset, Israel's parliament.
Being able to read the present and make educated predictions about the future is a gift that Hertzberg possess. It is a gift, though, that does not always translate into effective leadership. It is questionable, when reading the book, whether Hertzberg, as a pulpit rabbi or as the head of a Jewish communal organization, looks beyond the realm of symbolism in the various leadership roles he has assumed throughout his career.
Hertzberg demonstrates an uncanny ability to look at the big picture, to see the forest through trees. He is able to articulate goals and a direction that the institution or organization that he leads ought to travel. He never seems to follow through on the dreams and direction that he envisions and proposes.
Perhaps he does not feel it worthy in his latest book to write about the day-to-day work he did with other professional staff members and volunteer lay leaders trying to put his dreams into practice. Or, during his long leadership career, he perhaps felt it was beneath his dignity to engage in the mundane work after he articulates the grand vision.
Many rabbis of Hertzberg's generation have been known to take a patriarchal attitude towards their career and calling, where they look at themselves as separate from and not simultaneously as a part of the people that they lead. Hertzberg, in this regard, does not hesitate to assert without conflict his independence.
Since this patriarchal attitude usually does not succeed in the often corporate and collaborative world of contemporary Jewish life today, it is not surprising that Hertzberg has chosen in his later years to abandon the pulpit and the Jewish communal world for a university professor position where he can focus his individual energies exclusively on teaching, research, and writing.
I worked for fifteen years as a Jewish Educator in a synagogue. I had a hard time getting excited reading about the study and outside activities that Hertzberg engaged in throughout his distinguished career. It took effort for me to stop asking the question of who was tending to the store of his synagogue or Jewish communal agency while he was involved in so many endeavors that went beyond the realm of his leadership position.
I am glad I did make the effort. From reading A Jew In America, I gained a more profound understanding of where we as Jews have come from in America and a strong sense (as Hertzberg would confidently argue) where we as Jews ought to travel.
Elliot Fein teaches Jewish Studies at the Tarbut V'Torah High School in Irvine.
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