Surry Of Eagle's Nest

Book Description

1869. The memoirs of a staff officer serving in Virginia. Cooke, a well-known American novelist and poet, often referred to as the Sir Walter Scott of the Southern border, his writings relate almost entirely to Virginia, and describe the life, manners, and history of the people of that state. His war-books are records of personal observation and opinion. Surry of Eagle's Nest, is a picture of military incidents in the Confederate cavalry, in autobiographical form, purporting to be from the manuscript of Colonel Surry. See other titles by this author available from Kessinger Publishing.

Mohun: Or, The last days of Lee and his paladins : final memoirs of a staff officer serving in Virginia, from the mss. of Colonel Surry, of Eagle's Nest

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Mohun: Or, The last days of Lee and his paladins : final memoirs of a staff officer serving in Virginia, from the mss. of Colonel Surry, of Eagle's Nest
John Esten Cooke
Manufacturer: F.J. Huntington
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B00086NGX4

Book Description

1869. Final memoirs of a staff officer serving in Virginia. A well-known American novelist, often referred to as the Sir Walter Scott of the Southern border, a poet, his writings relate almost entirely to Virginia, and describe the life, manners, and history of the people of that state. His war-books are records of personal observation and opinion. Mohun is a sequel to Surry of Eagle's Nest, a picture of military incidents in the Confederate cavalry, in autobiographical form, purporting to be from the manuscript of Col. Surry. See other titles by this author available from Kessinger Publishing.

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Surry of Eagle's-Nest
John Esten Cooke
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 1432822705
Release Date: 1969-12-31

Product Description

Surry of Eagle's-Nest or The memoirs of a staff-officer serving in Virginia Gale Archival Editions: On Demand are digital copies of rare and out-of-print historical content. Delivered where and when you need them, Gale Archival Editions arrive complete with original fonts, marks, notations, punctuation and spelling, giving you the feeling of owning the original work. These images of original worksfrom the world's leading librariesinclude everything from books to pamphlets, many with original illustrations, indexes, maps and other annotations. Sourced from Joseph Sabin's Bibliotheca Americana: A Dictionary of Books Relating to America from its Discovery to the Present Time (1868-1936), the Sabin American Civil War Collection includes thousands of titles on all topics related to the Civil War experience.

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THIS BOOK SHOULD HAVE BEEN MADE INTO A MOVIE YEARS AGP

Surry of eagle's nest, or, the memoirs of a staff-officer serving in Virginia,
John Esten Cooke
Manufacturer: M.A. Donohue and Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0008AE0UI

Customer Reviews:

THIS BOOK SHOULD HAVE BEEN MADE INTO A MOVIE YEARS AGP.......1999-03-23

JOHN ESTEN COOK DOES A MASTERFUL JOB OF UNITING HISTORY AND FICTION. ALL HISTORICAL FACTS ARE INDICATED AND THE FICTION PART FITS IN VERY WELL WITH THE ACTUAL EVENTS OF THAT TIME. I HAVE READ MOST OF JOHN ESTEN COOKS BOOKS AND I BELIEVE THIS TO BE THE BEST.

Surry of Eagle's-Nest : The Memoirs of a Staff-Officer Serving in Virginia

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Surry of Eagle's-Nest : The Memoirs of a Staff-Officer Serving in Virginia

Manufacturer: G. W. Dillingham Co.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000GL3IAM

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SURRY OF EAGLE'S-NEST, OR THE MEMOIRS OF A STAFF-OFFICER SERVING IN VIRGINIA
John Esten Cooke
Manufacturer: G. W. Dillingham
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000SJN5Y6

HILT TO HILT : From the MSS of Colonel Surry of Eagle's Nest

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HILT TO HILT : From the MSS of Colonel Surry of Eagle's Nest

Manufacturer: G.W. Dillingham Co.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000ID50I6

Hilt to hilt, or, Days and nights on the banks of the Shenandoah in the autumn of 1864: From the mss. of Colonel Surry of Eagle's Nest

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Hilt to hilt, or, Days and nights on the banks of the Shenandoah in the autumn of 1864: From the mss. of Colonel Surry of Eagle's Nest
John Esten Cooke
Manufacturer: Carleton
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

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Mohun;: Or, The last days of Lee and his paladins. Final memoirs of a staff officer serving in Virginia. From the mss. of Colonel Surry, of Eagle's Nest
John Esten Cooke
Manufacturer: Historical publishing co., inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0006ANF9C

Surry of Eagle's Nest or, the Memoirs of a Staff Officer Serving in Virgina, from the Manuscripts of Colonel Surry

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Surry of Eagle's Nest or, the Memoirs of a Staff Officer Serving in Virgina, from the Manuscripts of Colonel Surry
John Esten Cooke
Manufacturer: W. W. Huntington
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000X6Y4UI

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Ten Stars

Asian Health Secrets

Asian Health Secrets

Helpful...to a degree

We use this book at work

Asian Health Secrets: The Complete Guide to Asian Herbal Medicine
Letha Hadady
Manufacturer: Three Rivers Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Alternative Medicine | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
Herbal Remedies | Alternative Medicine | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
Chinese Medicine | Alternative Medicine | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
General | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
General | Alternative & Holistic | Medicine | Subjects | Books
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Accessories:

RESPeRATE Blood Pressure Lowering Device

Airborne Effervescent Health Formula, Original Orange, 10 Tablets (Pack of 3)

ASIN: 0609801058
Release Date: 1998-01-27

Book Description

Asian Way of Wellness is the first interactive guide to herbal medicine, presenting breakthrough guidelines for self-diagnoses that help readers understand how to evaluate their personal health needs and use readily available herbs to treat common maladies, boost the immune system, prevent illness, maintain wellness, and ensure longevity. The author is a herbalist and accupuncturist.

From the Hardcover edition.

Customer Reviews:

Ten Stars.......2007-06-14

What can you say about a classic? This book was given to me by an MD friend who likes herbs. Now I even travel with it. It is heavy - over 500 pages, but I always make room for it in my luggage.

It has chapters on ginsengs and other herbal tonics that are a life saver for active, athletic people. Also lots of chapters on preventing and treating everything from colds and flu to depression. It's like a visit to your naturopath or herbalist, but better because Hadady gives you the tools you need to observe your own health improvements.

I always felt that herb choice and dosage ought to be individualized. The book gives you the traditional tools (like tongue diagnosis) to decide which food/herbs to use, when to use them, and when to stop their use.

I used Yunnan Paiyao (an entire chapter in the book is devoted to this super powerful herbal capsule) and it saved my face. I was robbed and battered. After I took this herbal pill, (also used by the Chinese army for gunshot wounds) my healing was fast and scars minimal.
Everybody should own this book.

Asian Health Secrets.......2007-06-13

I haven't gone through the entire book yet, but I'm willing to try some of the herbs mentioned. It's laid out very well, and I wish all doctors had this book so that they could look at this before they prescribed their deadly medicine that they are paid to prescribe from the pharmaceuticals.

Asian Health Secrets.......2007-01-05

I am very interested in Eastern remedies and found this to be very imformative; easy for the lay person to understand and go to Asian stores and find the needed ingrediants for most of the recipes.
I have recommended to this to clients as I am a MT and many people that I encounter are interested in Holistic practices.
WJ, MT

Helpful...to a degree.......2007-01-01

Honestly, to start, I was torn with how to rate this book. I'll begin with the positives: there is a LOT of helpful information here. The facts, picked out, are solid and very informative, and as a whole the book is a great guide to Asian medicine.

The main negative, as I see it, is that the beneficial information is scattered throughout the book in such a way as to frustrate the first-time reader. If you aren't familiar with many of the basic concepts of Chinese medicine, such as warming/cooling herbs, you don't really gain an understanding of these things until about halfway through the book. There is no time spent in early chapters to acquaint the novice with the things that the author takes for granted.

On the whole, it's a great book with a lot of good info, if you've got the patience to read it a few times - which, really, with a good reference book, you want to do anyway. Personally I do say it's worth it, but I wouldn't treat this book as a simple reference to have on the shelves - it's for someone who either has deeper knowledge or is looking for it.

We use this book at work.......2006-05-01

I am stationed in Iraq currently home on R&R leave. This book is like a Bible for us guys who need quick answers. We have our folks send the herbs and homeopathic remedies to us. I am bringing back a s--- load of herbal pills from Walmart back with me in my pack. That is the best way to take personal stuff to Iraq.Waiting for packages can take months.

Homeopathic belladonna was given to me by my medic and it brought down my fever. OVer there 100 degrees is a cool day. That is great news to have something that works well, fast and has no side-effects.

Asian Health Secrets should be on everybody's shelf. Yunnan Paiyao, a medicine made in China available anywhere chinese people live can save lives. It stops excess bleeding from wounds, bug bites--we have some incredible spiders in Iraq--and Yunnan Paiyao heals anything fast. It reduces pain and stops hemmorage. That information alone is worth the book. It is a great book. Buy it.

Asian Health Secrets: The Complete Guide to Asian Herbal Medicine

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Asian Health Secrets: The Complete Guide to Asian Herbal Medicine
Letha; Hadady, Letha Hadadi
Manufacturer: Crown Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000MNJMM2

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Asian Health Secrets: The Complete Guide to Asian Herbal Medicine

Manufacturer: Three Rivers Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000HCBS0W

Customer Reviews:

For super soups & stews everytime!.......2007-02-17

This is, hands down, my absolute favorite cookbook for soups and stews. Every recipe (each one triple-tested) is a gem, and I have enjoyed working my way through the selections. I was surprised to find that I could not purchase this book on the Cooking Light or Oxmoor House publishers websites -so I am particularly happy to find it here (at a discount!)as I want to give this book as a cherished gift to special deserving friends. If you love soups and stews, you would be hard tested to find a cookbook offering such delicious and easy recipes -and as a bonus -in lighter, healthier versions, than this one.

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Delightful lessons!

Simon knows!

Learning from Simon

Touching, Funny, Thought Provoking

Simon Says: Views from a Higher Perspective
Vally Sharpe
Manufacturer: St. Barthelemey Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Motivational | Self-Help | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
General | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1887617159

Book Description

Philosophical musings on life and its lessons from a higher perspective of Simon, a Siamese Cat.

Customer Reviews:

Delightful lessons!.......2005-08-24

This book is just a delight to read. Simon's humor is so real to cat lovers the reader just smiles all the way through. Life's lessons learned from a cat are...frankly, easier to relate to! Give this book as a gift!

Simon knows!.......2002-12-26

Bet you can't buy just one. This is the kind of book of which you buy several copies to give to your friends. Cat lovers will nod in agreement while reading--"Yes, that IS how they think." Simon's observations are wise--kids and teens will Get It--so parents and grandparents will love this book too. A quick read, and the drawings are wonderful.

Learning from Simon.......2002-12-05

Simon is an unusual cat. He acts like a cat, but he thinks like a human. Each one of the short episodes includes a true story about Sharpe's Siamese cat, Simon, plus a "moral to the story." I found the book enchanting and educatonal, and I have used some of the stories to help teach my high school students about things that really matter in this world.

Touching, Funny, Thought Provoking.......2002-09-26

Simon's adventures are great fun to read, but also make you think about how we live our everyday lives. Each story seems to have multiple meanings. I think Simon is trying to teach us to be better people. Great fun - I didn't want it to end!

Book Description

Super-clear instructions for all kinds of beaded jewelry projects, complete with hand-made Bohemian glass beads and professional-quality hardware.

Customer Reviews:

Excellant instructions and great/fun projects!!!!.......2005-08-20

Purchased this for my daughter's 11th birthday. She has spent numerous hours making many different creations. The book was easy to follow, great instructions and photos to support them. I would highly recommend purchasing this, infact may purchase a couple more for her friends and cousins for Christmas.

Perfect for beginners and experts alike.......1997-08-06

I'm new to jewelry making, so I've been looking for a good basics book to learn simple techinques for creating attractive jewelry. Although this is meant for kids, as a 23 year old I found the designs to be sophisticated enough for adults! None of the designs were too "cutesy" or too young for me to wear. This book really got my creativity flowing, and with the added materials included, I could begin right away

Beads: A Book of Ideas & Instructions (Beads and Book Included)

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Beads: A Book of Ideas & Instructions (Beads and Book Included)
Laura Torres
Manufacturer: Klutz Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Spiral-bound
ASIN: B000NLATO8

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The Biology and Cultivation of Edible Mushrooms
S. Chang , and W. Hayes
Manufacturer: Academic Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
General | Science | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0121680509

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The Biology and Cultivation of Edible Mushrooms
S.; Hayes, W. Chang
Manufacturer: Academic Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OHQXZK

Book Description

Ease your child to sleep without tantrums, whining, or endless requests. Night-Night presents a fun assortment of creative solutions for getting kids to settle down at night. Storytime activities, quiet games, and playful songs and rhymes will soothe your child into sleepiness, encouraging them to think calm and happy thoughts. Doing activities together fosters a closer bond between you and your child, encourages creativity, and allows you to spend some time together in a unique way. Most importantly, it makes bedtime special and pleasant so you can all get to sleep.

Book Description

In this new biography of Richard Wagner, Joachim Köhler draws on social and political analysis, documentary interpretation, and psychological insights to paint a rounded picture of Wagner as both a controversial historical phenomenon and a complex human being.
Köhler’s reading of the letters, diaries, and other documents of the main protagonists, some of them unfamiliar even to seasoned Wagnerians, results in some breathtaking but convincing reappraisals. He examines Wagner’s love affairs with Jessie Laussot, Mathilde Wesendonck, and Judith Gautier and assesses their lasting emotional effect. He re-evaluates Wagner’s relationships with his mother, step-father, sister, and—most revealingly—his wife, Cosima, a relationship seen as based on fear rather than love. Köhler explores the philosophical roots of Wagner’s work, which the composer himself deliberately obfuscated. And he analyzes Wagner’s relationship with King Ludwig, whom Wagner is revealed to have blackmailed, and with Nietzsche, whom he tried to destroy.
The traumas of his youth haunted Wagner throughout his life, as his emotional development underlay his notorious anti-semitism. Köhler’s interpretation of Wagner’s dreams, as recorded in Cosima’s diaries, offers astonishing insights into the paranoia and insecurity of a man who was one of the leading composers of his age.

Customer Reviews:

Richard Wagner The Last of the Titans.......2006-11-10

The most thorough, most complete treatise concerning this master of German Opera I have ever encountered.

Not as bad as I thought it would be, but...........2006-05-20

Joachim Kohler has made a career out of writing intellectually dishonest, crass books on both Richard Wagner and Friedrich Nietzsche, and while I expected more of the same here, this weighty tome actually possesses some merit.

As far as reliable biography goes, Kohler's book is more responsible than Gutman's Richard Wagner: The Man, His Mind, and His Music (but, again, that's not saying all that much), and Kohler does present some interesting analysis regarding Wagner's phobias, dreams and obsessions. The problem that arises here, though, is one that plagues all such psycho-biographies; that is Kohler's conclusions are purely subjective & cannot be conclusively proven.

Some of the reviewers here have made the remark that this is more of a philosophy book than a biography, and this is entirely correct. If one has little desire to wade through the theorizing of Feuerbach, Schopenhauer, Schelling, Hegel and Kant, then that person would be much better served in reading either Watson's or Millington's bios on Wagner. But if you are interested in seeing the philosophical backbone of Wagner's work, Kohler's book can be stimulating. I think Kohler is correct in discerning Schelling's influence in Wagner's thought, as well as his emphasis on Hegel's ideas on Wagner. Kohler is incorrect, in my opinion, in stating that Schopenhauer's thought had virtually no impact on Wagner. While it's true that Wagner's most "Schopenhauerian" work, Tristan und Isolde, is just as much in debt to Feuerbach, Schopenhauer's negation of the individual consciousness and the primacy of the Will are indeed pervasive presences in the opera. Wagner's Meistersinger & Parsifal are even more patently Schopenhauerian.

Kohler's views on Der Ring are also interesting, but again, those views are entirely subjective, and one can easily argue against them.

Having discussed the book's merits, there are also some major flaws. Nietzsche & King Ludwig are both portrayed as hapless victims of Wagner's megalomania, and Liszt is portrayed as an artist whom Wagner shamelessly [...] and blatantly copied. There is no doubt that Nietzsche & Ludwig were both psychologically wounded by Wagner (the man was quite a pill, after all), but neither men were utter victims, and both profited from their association with Wagner, and said as much. In regards to Liszt, Wagner was definitely influenced by him, but by the time of Die Walkure, Wagner had far surpassed his mentor.

Kohler addresses Wagner's notorious anti-Semitism, and it must be said, Kohler's murky analysis of Wagner's worst vice is almost as murky as Wagner's anti-Semitism. There are much more responsible (and clearer) examinations of Wagner's ugly hatred in the books The Darker Side of Genius, The Tristan Chord, and Ring of Myths. I recommend reading these first, and then coming back to this book.

Finally, we have Cosima. I never liked her, and it's easy to agree with Kohler's assessment of her as a self-righteous, manipulative woman. But I think it's also fair to say that she adored her husband (a quick glance through her diaries will prove that), and Kohler is off the beam in stating that their relationship was based primarily on fear.

Anyway, if you have the time and patience, this is a worthy read, but if you aren't inclined to wade through 700 pages of subjective psycho-biography and philosophical meanderings, then I would stick with a more manageable volume. In any event, I'm off to listen to Act II of Tristan.

A philosophy book, not a biography.......2005-05-11

Let's begin by saying that this is a very difficult book, dense in style and at times obscure in its arguments. Stewart Spencer deserves high praise for his lucid translation.

What this book most emphatically is NOT is a biography. Rather, it is a set of semi-philosophical musings on the themes of Wagner's music dramas. There is NO narrative, and readers ignorant of the track of Wagner's career will be lost. Koehler is hung-up on Wagner's relation with his step-father and his sisters. Moreover, in this account Cosima is an ogre fresh from the pages of the Brothers Grimm at their nastiest. Koehler's Wagner is glad to die at age 69 just to get away from her. This Wagner is also a Freudian's wet dream, with speculations that range from the interesting to the absurd.

It is NOT a good first--or even second--book on Wagner. For biography try Ronald Taylor; for philosophy read Bryan Magee's exceptionally fine "Wagner and Philosophy" (American title: "The Tristan Chord").

What this book IS is that it's much better than some of the crap Koehler has previously published. (For a book-length pathology of "post hoc ergo propter hoc" give his "Wagner's Hitler" a perusal. His logical fallacies will have you rolling with laughter out of your chair.) I am glad I read this book, difficult as it was. I learned a lot--or at least was exposed to some thought-provoking ideas.

In sum, I'd recommend this book only to die-hard Wagnerians fairly well steeped in the literature already.

The good, the bad and the ugly.......2005-03-06

I found the German idealistic readings of the Ring insufferably pompous. They left me with a feeling of utter disgust both with Wagner's mistake at having gotten involved with the whole thing in the first place and with Kohler, for taking it's philosophical pretensions so seriously, with nary a single intelligent comment re the MUSIC. HOWEVER, the devastating critique of the oft-mentioned (not least by W) Wagner/Schopenhauer connection, and the much-deserved and well-documented trashing of Cosima make the book very worthwhile in spite of the aforementioned.

Could've been so much better than it is.......2005-01-26

Joachim Koehler, at his best, writes well. So well, that it's a pity his book is marred by a NATIONAL ENQUIRER type of prurience, by wild unconvincing generalizations, and by an almost complete absence of interest in Wagner's actual music - which is, after all, the reason why Wagner matters today.

Having discussed the present volume's virtues and failings at 2,000-word length in the February 14, 2005 AMERICAN CONSERVATIVE, I shall simply say here: this should've been the one-volume Wagner biography that all Wagnerians were longing for, but it isn't. Best to stick with the Wagnerological surveys of Bryan Magee, Rudolph Sabor, Deryck Cooke, and (more recently) Milton Bremer for greater insight than Koehler offers. The really hard-core Wagnerian will also want, within handy reach, Ernest Newman's four-volume account.

Richard Wagner: The Last of the Titans.(Opera and Modern Culture: Wagner and Strauss)(Nietzsche and Music)(Book review): An article from: Canadian Journal of History

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Richard Wagner: The Last of the Titans.(Opera and Modern Culture: Wagner and Strauss)(Nietzsche and Music)(Book review): An article from: Canadian Journal of History
Ruth A. Starkman
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Canadian Journal of History, published by Thomson Gale on March 22, 2006. The length of the article is 5150 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: Richard Wagner: The Last of the Titans.(Opera and Modern Culture: Wagner and Strauss)(Nietzsche and Music)(Book review)
Author: Ruth A. Starkman
Publication: Canadian Journal of History (Magazine/Journal)
Date: March 22, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 41 Issue: 1 Page: 85(10)

Article Type: Book review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Wagner: moralist or monster?(Books)(Book Review): An article from: New Criterion

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Wagner: moralist or monster?(Books)(Book Review): An article from: New Criterion
Roger Scruton
Manufacturer: Foundation for Cultural Review
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Book Description

This digital document is an article from New Criterion, published by Foundation for Cultural Review on February 1, 2005. The length of the article is 3027 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: Wagner: moralist or monster?(Books)(Book Review)
Author: Roger Scruton
Publication: New Criterion (Magazine/Journal)
Date: February 1, 2005
Publisher: Foundation for Cultural Review
Volume: 23 Issue: 6 Page: 57(5)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

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Richard Wagner: The Last of the Titans
Joachim Kohler
Manufacturer: Yale University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OS51JS

Book Description

American by birth, Israeli by association, and homeless by conscience, Joel Schalit is uniquely qualified to blast all stereotypes of Jewish identity. Moving effortlessly from philosophical complexity to outrageous humor, Schalit's writing, and his ability to critically interrogate everything from the religious right to punk rock to Middle Eastern politics provides a singular perspective on life in a post-everything age. This book signals the emergence of a new breed of public intellectual.

Joel Schalit is a political scientist living in San Francisco, where he works as an editor of Chicago's Punk Planet magazine and UC Berkeley's online politics and culture journal, Bad Subjects. He is a regular contributor to the San Francisco Bay Guardian. Schalit co-edited and contributed to Bad Subjects: Political Education for Everyday Life (NYU Press, 1998).

Customer Reviews:

Provocative Observations on America and Israel.......2002-04-22

I picked up "Jerusalem Calling" after seeing an interesting review of the book at Salon.com. It is a collection of four essays, together with a preface and prologue, by Joel Schalit. Joel is a somewhat disaffected Israeli-born, now America-residing, thirtyish contrarian. The book is subtitled "A Homeless Conscience in a Post-Everything World," and the subtitle is a good indication of Schalit's disaffection from both the United States and Israel.

The first of the essays, "America the Enchanted," is a refreshing anodyne to the glut of unthinking patriotism, President-worship, and creeping, Bush-led Fundamentalism that has permeated the United States since the events of September 11th. It is not clear whether Schalit's antennae are quivering in this essay because he grew up in the irrational religious stewpot of the Middle East or whether he is a kind of canary in the mineshaft of Dubya's America. Whichever is the case, Schalit provides ample fodder for the thoughtful American who questions the way that religious superstition and atavism insinuates itself into American life. As Schalit notes, "[i]f there is one central message that I want to get across, it's that religion and, more specifically, radical Protestant theology, plays a far bigger role in the contemporary United States than most commentators are willing to admit."

The last of the essays, "My Own Private Israel," is a narrative of Schalit's return to Israel and his ambivalent feelings about his birthplace and religious antecedents. It is a particularly timely essay in light of recent events in Israel and Palestine and a heartfelt, feeling demonstration of the way that the pull of the past continues to trouble even those who privilege the rational over the irrational. Never mincing words, Schalit is compellingly clear in his indictment of the way that Orthodox Jewish fundamentalism simultaneously pushes the State of Israel into the irrationality of policies based on delusion while, at the same time, denying the legitimacy of the secular state:

"Ultra-Orthodox Jews conceal their racist ideology of an ethnically pure Jewish polity in their spirituality, while simultaneously attacking the legitimacy of the secular Zionist state. There will be no justifiable Jewish existence, they reason, until the coming of the 'Moshiach,' the messiah. These 'holy' people let non-religious Jews do the dirty work of keeping the Arabs down, sacrificing their children to the army, while they await the 'real' Israel."

In between these two provocative and interesting essays, Schalit incorporates an essay on his intellectual alliance with Marxism and the Left ("Seeing Red") and a perceptive essay on modern music and culture ("Down and Out With Rock and Roll").

While breezy in style and far from great literature, all of these essays are thoughtul and provocative pieces that engage the reader and call attention to the often unquestioned contradictions of American and Israeli culture. Schalit's essays pose a particularly interesting challenge to those Americans and Israelis who are willing to scrutinize the conventional wisdom and pieties that have proliferated in the past year, when free thinking has become beholden to the consensus of the unthinking.

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Jerusalem Calling
Pierre Van Paasen
Manufacturer: Dial Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000GWKJLM

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Jerusalem Calling

ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000I028PM

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Jerusalem Calling
Pierre *SIGNED by author* Van Paassen
Manufacturer: Dial
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0000EEQ5W

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