With the Gordon Highlanders to the Boer War and Beyond

Book Description

A compilation of letters written by the author as a young officer in the Gordon Highlanders, With the Gordon Highlanders to the Boer War and Beyond is an excellent and authoritative commentary on the course of the Boer War. These witty and poignant letters give a vivid blow-by-blow account of the fighting and hardships that Gordon-Duff and his fellow soldiers endured on a daily basis. The letters, illustrated with many contemporary photographs, paint a remarkable picture of the endurance and determination of these Highlanders of whom Winston Churchill said, "undoubtedly they are the finest regiment in the world." These men were forced to march up to twenty miles with little sleep or food, and with extraordinary stoicism, faced veldt sores, insects, snakes and wild animals. This often witty and amusing book is enlivened by pencil sketches, caustic comments about the general staff, and letters written by Gordon-Duff's family at home in Scotland and London.

Book Description

Unlike other histories of economics, Mark Skousen's book provides a running plot with a singular heroic figure, Adam Smith, at the center of the discipline. Skousen unites the great thinkers by ranking them for or against Adam Smith and his "system of natural liberty." He shows how Karl Marx, Thorstein Veblen, John Maynard Keynes, and even laissez-faire disciples Robert Malthus and David Ricardo detracted from Smith's classical model of democratic capitalism during periods of economic failure and upheaval, while Alfred Marshall, Irving Fisher, Ludwig von Mises, and Milton Friedman, among others, remodeled and improved upon Smithian economics as the world economy recovered and prospered.

Customer Reviews:

A Writing Style that will Endear you to this Book.......2007-10-12

This author managed to write an interesting economics book. The book contains the history of economic thought, and details about the quirky lives of famous economists. The author believes in the "no wasted sentences" style of writing.
He writes in a Will Durant type style where every page is a mixture of fact, opinions and wit. After every chapter, a reader can feel that He really learned something. Purists would say it is better to read the original text by the economist, Then use this book to find out what economist to pursue. I really enjoyed this book, that provides a lot of bang for the buck, Knowledge nuggets ripe for the picking.

Worth buying for the interesting and funny anecdotes about economists.......2007-06-19

Skousen has written an interesting but badly flawed history of economic thought from a libertarian pespective .There are many anecdotes about the peculiarities and foibles of many of the economists he covers that are worth the purchase price of the book alone.All major economists of the last 300 years are covered in a greater or lesser fashion.

The first serious intellectual problem with this book is that Skousen has read only bits and pieces of Adam Smith[Wealth of Nations(WN),1776] and John Maynard Keynes(General Theory,1936).Contrary to Skousen,Adam Smith is not a libertarian.Smith is a conservative, in the sense of Hamilton,Washington,Franklin,Madison,and the Adams brothers.This group is called the Federalists in American history.This group supported a strong federal government ,independent central bank,revenue and retaliatory tariffs,etc..Smith would be an opponent of the Anti -Federalists(Mason,Randolph,Jefferson,Paine,Henry,etc.,supported a weak cental government,no central bank,and no tariffs for any reason)Skousen is an Anti-Federalist.The anti federalists are,of course,libertarians.Skousen essentially covers the first 100-150 pages of the WN.He skips about 800 pages.The following facts will be discovered by readers who actually read WN in its entirety.First,Smith favored the establishment of an all powerful,independent,central bank so that it could set a low,fixed rate of interest, permanently in the long run,at what would today be the prime rate of interest.No rate greater than the prime rate could be charged.Second,Smith combined this policy with the condition that projectors(Keynes's speculators of chapters 12,17,and 22 of the GT),prodigals,and unwise risk takers be prevented from obtaining credit/bank loans so that the savings savers had put in the banks, to loan out for future investment, were loaned out for productive,physical investment that would add to the wealth of nations and not the speculative finance of Wall Street brokers,bankers,and stock market analysts whose activities ,according to Smith,waste and destroy the savings by the creation of bubbles which,when they crash,cause severe negative,undepletable externalities and spillover effects that destroy the wealth of nations.Second,Smith was always a proponent of both retaliatory tariffs, as long as there was any probability greater than 0 of getting the offending country-industry to repeal the tariff,and revenue fariffs.Third,Smith was a proponent of progressive taxation.Fourth,Smith understood the severe problems of free market failure,insufficient public goods provision by the private market sector,and insufficient expenditures on education,which would be provided free of charge by Smith to all who could not afford it.Finally,Smith's system of moral sentiments condemned the libertarian philosophy advocated by Skousen.It is not surprising that a reader of Skousen's book will find NONE of this to read in the book.Skousen has very stong a priori beliefs that were possibly passed down to him by his libertarian father,Cleon Skousen.These beliefs are not testable.Skousen's views are ultimately anti scientific because he refuses to consider as empirical evidence the work actually done in economics by Keynes and Smith.Skousen has his own private interpretation.

The chapter on Keynes is as bad intellectually as the chapter on Smith. For example,Keynes never supported any kind of deficit financing/increase in the national debt at all at any time in his life .Economists who believe this are similar to the flat earth believers still around today.Keynes's major policies,explicitly discussed in chapters 22,23,and 24 of the GT ,are directly founded on the wisdom of Adam Smith-Fix the interest rate on loans at a low permanent level.Period.Keynes was an opponent of expansionary fiscal and monetary policies because they would increase the uncertainty in which firms and entreprenuers operated.Finally,it is the uncertainty of the future that creates the sub optimal outcomes that can be observed to occur periodically in the amount of investment and the capital stock.True Keynesian policies seek to create institutions which reduce this uncertainty as much as possible.Only Daniel Ellsberg,with his 2001 exposition in "Risk,Ambiguity,and Decision",has advanced technically and intellectually upon the systematic exposition of uncertainty presented by Keynes in chapters 6 and 26 of the A Treatise on Probability.This exposition serves as the foundation for Keynes's macroeconomics in chapters 5, 12,17,and 22 of the GT,as well as Keynes 's summary of his GT in a 1937 article published in the Quarterly Journal Of Economics.

A very valuable work.......2006-10-11

It has its problems and there is some annoying stuff but it is immensely valuable just by spelling it all out and naming so many names.

Dynamite Book for History of Econ Classes.......2006-05-07

I'm using this book in my courses on History of Economic Thought. My students love it. They are first attracted to the unique, off-beat style of the book that starts each chapter with music selections to put you in the mood that is suitable for each character, each philosophy, and each period of history. The students love the quirky twists in the lives of each of these personalities, making them all very real and human. This is important because too many books of this genre extol historical figures as superhuman or supertrash. Instead, all of these figures come alive as real folk, ones with whom any student could feel comfortable engaging in discussion. I recommend the book highly for class or for just being entertained while delving into the grand issues and debates that are the foundation of current public policy. It is a fun fair for the intellectual.

A Splendid History.......2006-03-14

We have been told for the past four decades to read Henry Hazlitt's Economics In One Lesson to get a grasp of economics from a free-market point of view. Well, move over Mr. Hazlitt. There's a new genius in town to challenge the fallacies of collectivism. Mark Skousen has given us a book for the ages that will still be read a hundred years from now long after Paul Samuelson and J.M. Keynes have faded from the scene.

Skousen gives us here a scintillating history of the economic thought that has been handed down from Adam Smith to the modern era. I know of no one out there today who writes better on the subject, or more vibrantly. He makes the dismal science come springing to life. Not content to just analyze the dry principles of economics themselves, Skousen also creates an exciting story that tells us about all the intriguing personalities behind the principles that have been fought over since Adam Smith. And he exposes where their ideas have led us for good and evil.

There was much evil spawned in the 20th century, and a great deal of it resulted from economists like Karl Marx and John Maynard Keynes. Unfortunately their thought is still with us in control of our universities, but its ideological base shows glaring cracks in the structure. Their paradigm of government centralization and inflationary monetary theory is beginning to crumble. Skousen's historical tale shows us how and why this nefarious model was constructed; and he beautifully demonstrates the principles needed to be revived in order to overcome it.

Economics is so vitally important in understanding the essentials of wealth, poverty, freedom, tyranny, and human survival. Everyone needs to understand its truths. This book gives a virtuoso account of them to the reader. I have read and reread it with much enjoyment. It is the perfect book for those looking to get into the real meat of the subject, yet bypass all the obscure jargon that so many economic sages inundate us with.

The collectivist academic crowd will attempt to denigrate The Making of Modern Economics with smear terms such as "polemic," "biased," and "ultra-conservative." But they will be describing vibrancy, truth and adherence to principle with the only arrows they have left in their quiver -- ad hominem and sophistry. Theirs is a worldview headed for extinction, and Mark Skousen has uncovered the reasons why. Those who understand the power of ideas in the unfolding of history will take to this book like traders of Venice to the Renaissance. I predict that it will do for the 21st century what Robert Heilbroner's Worldly Philosophers did for the 20th century -- only in the opposite direction thankfully.

Book Description

Change Your DNA, Change Your Life is a journey to better health, self-healing, and emotional freedom. It will take you to the edge of your imagination, unlock doors of limitation, and propel your creativity to dimensions of which you once only dreamed.

Totally rewritten to reflect feedback from our readers, this new edition (formerly known as DNA Healing Techniques) has been written with YOU mind. It empowers the individual to perform this gift from Source.

Over 10,000 people around the globe have ad their DNA Activated, a genetic acceleration to health, joy, and peace. They have reported consistent results and life changes that humanity has long sought to acheive.

Now, let the power of your intent reach its highest potential - Self-Empowerment Healings through DNA Activation.

Contained within this book are step-by-step instructions that can change your life forever. With thes results-oriented techniques you too can experience: Lifes purpose & destiny, emotional stability, Life without fear, improved nutrition, clarity of thought, detachment from "hot-buttons", peace and fulfillment, improved relationships, and spontaneous healings.

Customer Reviews:

DNA Activations.......2007-01-05

Since completing DNA Acitivation courses, I am constantly on the lookout for new information on the subject. I found this book to be very similar to what I've already been taught. However, it's a great reference manual for anyone wishing to commence DNA activation work without actually attending a workshop. Although I would recommend that you do this work with another like-minded individual, so that you can talk each other through the processes accurately. This book walks you through several DNA Acitivation exercises and also provides you many ideas on what types of personal healing work can be achieved by using the process outlined in the book. It also provides you with a good reference guide for what to expect once your DNA has been activated. It's written in an easy to read manner and is a great "how to" guide.

A little Frustrating.......2005-12-30

Ok, the first half of this book does nothing more than talk about purchasing some DNA activation kit and joining the authors home base of practitioners. Similar to the "cures they do not want you to know about" scam. I will say that there is some good information in this book, but would not understand that had I not known about other holistic healing modalities that describe the same things. This book appears to be a trademark promotion based on several other holistic philosophies. More power to you if you can do it... but the author is going to have to come up with some original material. This book didn't offer me anything I haven't read about or experienced before.

A Poor Choice.......2005-10-21

Having become interested in metaphysical advancement, I stumbled across the interesting concept of DNA Activation. Thus I began my search for resources that could help me do this, and my search led me to this book.

I was quite disapointed with this book, for one main reason: it's a selling point for a larger 'kit'. The book describes how to do 1st and 2nd DNA Activation, but in order to do the recommended 3rd and 4th Strand Activation, you have to spend a hundred bucks to get the information. [...]

Place this on top of the many spelling and punctuation errors, and it adds up to a book not really worth the paper it's printed on. I recommend avoiding this book.

Vianna Stibal Missing?.......2004-12-05

after reading the book I've just got to ask, how come the Medical Intuitive, Vianna, who started this healing technique not mentioned at all? but I did give it a 3 in case I missed that somewhere in the book.

let me say positive things about it though, at least Dr. Gerard is spreading the teachings of DNA activations. I've used this technique and it works very well, easily and quickly. With that, I would recommend the books by Vianna Stibal, Go Up and Seek God and Go Up and Work with God. These are the unadulterated version of the 12-Strand DNA Technique directly channeled from Source.
Dr. Gerard (Vianna's former student) and his book is a good introduction to the real thing.

Self- Activation of DNA.......2002-04-12

.
Although more money has been spent on the Human Genome Project than it cost to send a man to the moon, it may still be many years before gene therapy in humans will be effective.

However, we can effect positive change in ourselves right now. Through conscious intent and a connection with spirit our DNA can be enhanced by bringing more energy to our existing strands, changing our lives for the better.

The Activations can be performed at home by following instructions of the script in Robert Gerard's book. The first one seems to have more of an effect on the physical body, while the second works on mental and emotional areas.

The experiences of clients receiving a DNA Activation are consistently positive, although the Activations vary in intensity depending on the individual.

excerpted from Chris Hanna - ...- DNA Activation
.

Average customer rating:

Immensely comforting and enlightening

Change Your Encodements, Your Dna, Your Life!
Cathy Chapman
Manufacturer: Light Technology Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | New Age | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
General | Occult | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 189182452X

Customer Reviews:

Immensely comforting and enlightening.......2007-02-04

Cathy Chapman shares with us the wisdom of Amma, the divine mother of the divine mothers. We learn how to breathe from our heart center and see through the eyes of love.

The first part is all about love, the most powerful energy in the Universe. We are made of this energy, and she helps us learn to harness this energy to do whatever we wish to do with our lives.

The second part shows us powerful techniques for working with our DNA encodements. We actually learn how to change our encodements and activate new ones.

The third part contains predictions, which are given so that we may make changes to affect the outcomes for a more positive result.

There are meditations to help us tap into the energy of the messages and learn how to implement them to improve our lives. We learn techniques that help us focus our own energy to improve our lives and get what we want out of life.

I found this book immensely comforting and enlightening. I read parts of it again and again. Wherever this information comes from, it is wonderful guidance. I use her suggestions every day to enrich my life.

I give this book five stars. I would give six if I could.

Cambie De And, Cambie Su Vida/ Change Your DNA, Change Your Life!

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Cambie De And, Cambie Su Vida/ Change Your DNA, Change Your Life!
Robert V. Gerard
Manufacturer: Obelisco
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Alternative Medicine | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Interpersonal Relations | Relationships | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

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Average customer rating:

Ruhlman Does It Again

Engaging, thoughtful and tasty prose

Just can't beat "Soul of a Chef"

Mature writing on an ever-evolving subject

The Brand of a Chef: Is a Food Network Show More Important than Learning to Cook?

The Reach of a Chef: Beyond the Kitchen
Michael Ruhlman
Manufacturer: Viking Adult
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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Heat: An Amateur's Adventures as Kitchen Slave, Line Cook, Pasta-Maker, and Apprentice to a Dante-Quoting Butcher in Tuscany (Vintage)

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The Making of a Chef: Mastering Heat at the Culinary Institute

The Perfectionist: Life and Death in Haute Cuisine

ASIN: B000NA6U2E

Book Description

The acclaimed author of The Soul of a Chef explores the allure of the celebrity chef in modern America

Michael Ruhlman has enjoyed a long love affair with cooking and food. His explorations of kitchens and the professionals who call them home led Anthony Bourdain to call him "the greatest living writer on the subject of chefs—and on the business of preparing food." But even his vast experience couldn't have prepared him for the profound shift that has occurred in the chef's place in society.

Beginning at Per Se, the newest and most expensive of Manhattan's four-star restaurants, Ruhlman takes readers into some of America's most illustrious—and most innovative—kitchens. Throughout his travels, he seeks new trends and phenomena, like Las Vegas's recent elevation to the country's food Gomorrah with the addition of Picasso and Aureole to the Strip's already formidable selection, and returns to legendary haunts like The French Laundry, Le Bernardin, and Café Gray to see what's changed. A dispatch from a new world where chefs are celebrities and culinary school classes are burgeoning, The Reach of a Chef looks at the state of professional cooking in the post-Child, Food Network era. In the end, an audience who loves to talk about, read about, and dine in the finest restaurants in America gets an in-the-trenches look at the professionals whose very life's work is to feed us.

Customer Reviews:

Ruhlman Does It Again.......2007-10-11

I've read everything Ruhlman has authored about Chefs, Kitchens, etc. and this book is definitely "up there"... a good read. I liked The Making Of A Chef as my first choice. Then, The Reach Of A Chef. I know this book was a followup to The Soul Of A Chef, and having read them in order I admit you can't fully appreciate THE REACH OF A CHEF unless you do so... but as an enjoyable read this one is definitely my number two choice. I hope more are to come from this author. Who is this author? Watch the TV show, The Next Iron Chef!

Engaging, thoughtful and tasty prose.......2007-07-30

Ruhlman does it again! His smart, sensible and timely book deserves readers and a paperback edition. I admire his finesse and his honesty. He writes the way the best chefs cook, with passion, restraint and precision. And he's witty, too. I'll never see Rachael Ray quite the same way again -- he's fair, but he makes the point, which is why I grit my teeth when I see her bouncing around and shouting. At least Martha is calm.
More, please, Mike! His blog is great, BTW.

Just can't beat "Soul of a Chef".......2007-03-07

I've become quite a fan of Ruhlman's writing, having first read his "Soul of a Chef" three years ago -- I couldn't put it down, and I continue to read it once a year. Hungry for more, I found "The Making of a Chef" at my local library, which I enjoyed, but the book (his first on the subject) definitely felt like he was still finding his culinary-literary feet. When I learned of "The Reach of a Chef," I was positively giddy and snatched up a copy. It was fun being reintroduced to the world of Keller, learning about the author's experiences with Bourdain and Ripert, and discovering seasonal Maine cooking at Primo, but ultimately I was disappointed: "Reach" doesn't capture the same refined emotion and passion as "Soul" by any means.

But perhaps it's just an accurate reflection of the subject -- how far does a chef's reach extend in America? The vast majority of our cooks aren't fascinating stars like Keller, Symon, Polcyn. They are instead the mediocre, spotlight-seeking Cat Coras and Rachael Rays who slither into our living rooms.

Like the over-commercialized culinary world, "Reach of a Chef" is crowded and a bit confused. Choose Ruhlman's superb earlier works for a more satisfying read.

Mature writing on an ever-evolving subject.......2007-01-17

Michael Ruhlman has been our companion and guide as we've been the guides for our son, a recent graduate of the CIA's Culinary Program. Back when we were reading "The Making of a Chef," our son was working lowly jobs in local restaurants. By the time we were reading "The Soul of a Chef", he was working for his first CIA grad, Paul Trujillo, who just happens to have been in Ruhlman's first class and is mentioned in this book. Ruhlman opened the door to this fascinating school, Trujillo told us that our son had the talent and drive to succeed in this demanding school, and a truly outstanding CIA grad, Chef Eric Erway, became our son's mentor at Job Corps. They all paved the way for a crazy kid to find out what he was really made of.

This book is so rewarding on so many levels. Other reviewers have written eloquently about the chefs we meet in this book. For me, though, it's the return to the CIA that is most personally significant. Through this book, we get to see the school through an older man's eyes, one who knows how to ask even better questions. We can see how the CIA has evolved along with the profession. Most of all, though, we get to enjoy what I believe to be the evolution of Ruhlman's writing itself. The maturity he brings to this book is most evident toward the end - don't miss it!

All I can say is "thank you, Michael Ruhlman" for continuing to shed light on this fascinating and confusing profession as our son wends his way through the journey of becoming a chef. He just started the Baking and Pastry program. Can't wait to see what comes next!

The Brand of a Chef: Is a Food Network Show More Important than Learning to Cook?.......2007-01-12

That question is perhaps the major leit motif of Ruhlman's latest work. "Reach" spends significant time revisiting the CIA instructors and classes that Ruhlman wrote about in "Soul of a Chef", noting the "wussification" (my word) of current students vs. those from just a few years ago.

Ruhlman makes the point that the CIA is no longer simply about cooking, but also about the restaurant business. And the restaurant business is no longer simply about food. It's now about celebrity and riches.

Despite this premise being threaded through the vignettes Ruhlman presents at restaurants such as Primo, Per Se and Alinea, as well as insider's views of Emeril and Rachael Ray, when Ruhlman gets to discussing the incredible Masa, the superficiality of any student designing a path toward celebrity seems an empty pursuit.

The yin-yang of presenting Keller's Per Se story right before Masa's is genius on Ruhlman's part - and that the two restaurants are next-door neighbors in NYC is all the more amazing.

At the end, we're left perhaps with a little more respect for Ray, a bit of sadness for Keller, a desire to drop $430 at Masa and a curiosity as to where Grant Aschatz is headed next - perhaps right past Ferran Adria as the most compelling working chef today.

It's a great read. I'm in the business, but I think even those who aren't but just like food will love this book.

Book Description

These designs for a wide variety of bags from the beading world’s top designers will amaze beginners as well as advanced beadworkers. These 30 projects include clutches, drawstring purses, wrist bags, amulet bags, and even a market bag. Featured are a variety of techniques leading to bags that are not only beautiful, but can often be completed in an evening or weekend, providing instant gratification. Included are tips to help start each project and clear demonstrations of each stitch used in the book. Each project includes information about the designer, giving a feel for the people in and the bead buzz surrounding this interesting and accessible community.

Customer Reviews:

Exquisite and artistic bags.......2004-12-13

I agree with other reviewers that this shape of book is not the easiest to read, but I flattened my copy and put a weight on it to hold it open while working... no big deal. It's what's inside that counts!

The 30 exquisite purse and bag designs in the book, shown in full color photographs, are contributed by different artists, and each is extremely unique in its design and method. Several of the purses are knitted, and some are crocheted. Some have strands of beads couched onto fabric. Some are created with peyote stitch or on a bead loom, then sewn together. One is sewn onto a metal purse frame. One I partricularly like has strands of beads glued (using special sticky tape) onto a purchased tote in a gorgeous design. Some are large and shopping-baggish, and others are small amulet bags or clutches. Every one of them is gorgeous, and you will not find anything like them in any store, unless it is an expensive boutique. They look like collectors' items.

There are no quick and easy projects here. They require time, commitment to read through the instructions and follow them step by step, and skill with the hands. The written instructions are fairly easy to understand, but experienced crafters will follow them more easily. There are illustrations, but a few more would be helpful.

The last section of the book shows how to do all the different stitches and techniques used in the projects, but for knitted bags, you will already need to know how to knit. Hand and machine sewing skills are required for some of the projects.

great stuff, bad format.......2004-06-25

I have to first say that the photos and projects in this book, as well as the others in the Beadwork series, are gorgeous. They are not your typical jewelry items: they show unique colors and mixtures and ideas. Love that part. What I hate about the book is the format...it is long and skinny with a tough spine. In other words, extremely difficult to hold, much less do a project from. It's so narrow that the inside page closest to the spine often cuts off certain words. I tried going to office max to have one drilled to be loose leaf, with the spine cut off, but it still makes for awkward work. Why they couldn't make this a full size book with a lay flat spine is beyond me.

Designed to appeal to all levels of beadworkers.......2004-03-05

Jean Campbell edits Beaded Bags, a survey of 30 bag projects designed to appeal to all levels of beadworkers. These aren't just the usual rectangular bags; they are especially notable projects in presenting a diversity of bag styles and designs, from clutches and drawstring purses to wrist bags and market bags. Techniques range from embroidery and loom weaving to bead crochet, with plenty of colorful photos and step-by-step clear instructons.

Beadwork Creates Beaded Bags: 30 Designs (Beadwork Creates series)

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Beadwork Creates Beaded Bags: 30 Designs (Beadwork Creates series)
Editor-Jean Campbell
Manufacturer: Interweave Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000MC4GO2

Book Description

"Practical strategies and useful advice delivered with clarity and empathy by a respected expert in the field of learning disabilities." —Nancy Samalin, author of Loving Each One Best and Loving Your Child Is Not Enough.

"A wonderful glance into the world of learning disabilities and ADHD. Highly informative, addressing social and behavioral issues with sensitivity and compassion." —Anne Ford, Chairman of the Board, National Center for Learning Disabilities.

In this reassuring book, noted psychologist Betty B. Osman offers expert guidance and insight to help you help your child. Her unique approach addresses not only school issues, but also focuses on social interactions with peers and family. A completely revised and expanded edition of the classic Learning Disabilities: A Family Affair, this guide provides vital information on:

Early signs and symptoms of learning disabilities and Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
The latest advances in educational, medical, and psychological treatments—including drug and behavior therapies
How learning problems affect the whole family.
Helping your child prosper—both in and out of school.

Book Description

Astor Piazzolla was a musical genius, a man who used the national dance of Argentina as raw material for a whole new musical genre. In Le Grand Tango, Maria Susana Azzi and Simon Collier vividly capture the life of this extraordinary musician--a visionary who won worldwide acclaim, but sparked bitter controversy in his native land. Azzi and Collier trace Piazzolla's early life from his birth in Argentina in 1921 to his childhood years on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, where he first developed a talent for the bandoneon, the accordion-like instrument central to the tango. They describe his return to Argentina at age 16 and his rapid rise in the intoxicating world of tango, where he quickly earned a place with the leading dance band, and then formed his own group. But at the height of his success, Piazzolla decided to take tango music to a new level and studied composition with the legendary Nadia Boulanger in Paris. Combining deft musical analysis and intriguing personal insight, Azzi and Collier show how he created a dramatically new style of tango music influenced by jazz and classical pieces--a tango music meant for listening, not dancing. But they also show that, in the birthplace of the tango, he met fierce resistance. He eventually left Argentina for Europe, where he emerged as an international celebrity. Since Piazzolla's death in 1992, his influence has only grown. Jazz giants such as Gary Burton and Al Di Meola--and classical stars Yo-Yo Ma, Emanuel Ax, and Daniel Barenboim--have all recorded albums of his works. Now Azzi and Collier have given us the first biography of this astonishingly gifted musician.

Customer Reviews:

Piazzolla fans should buy this book!.......2002-02-07

This is the best and most complete document about the life and work of Astor Piazzolla. The authors inter-link Piazzolla's work with the major events of his life and the artistic and political context of the time. If you are really interested in learning about Piazzolla, you should go ahead and buy this book.

An Engaging Hagiography.......2001-02-22

Nearly ten years after Astor Piazzolla's death, the debate still rages about whether or not his music is "tango". Well, some of it is, and some of it isn't. But the roots of all his music lie deep in the tango tradition and whether or not a particular piece is or isn't tango is of no real importance. The fact is that Astor Piazzolla composed some of the finest music in any genre and all Argentines can take pride in that. I have been a fan of Astor Piazzolla for nearly 30 years but only knew the music. After having read Le Grand Tango, I now feel as though I know the man. Having "met" him, my understanding and admiration of both the music and the man has increased exponentially. Azzi and Collier have authored an easy to follow, entertaining and informative book about El Maestro. One learns not only about his music but about his forceful personality and the forces which shaped Piazzolla and drove him to be the most dazzling musician of the 20th century. His life, his loves, his triumphs and his failures all spring to life here. Though most readers will likely be hardcore fans of Piazzolla, its flowing style makes it an engaging hagiographical read for anyone who has even a mild interest in music history or in the forces and personalities which have shaped and regenerated tango throughout second half of the 20th century.

Azzi and Collier have written a masterpiece........2001-01-23

Piazzola means tango for many people. The first tango music I ever purchased was Piazzola's music. His music dominated Sally Porter's movie, "Tango Lesson." This is a man that you must know about if you like tango, the dance and the music. Even if your interest is 20th century music, you will be fascinated. The story of Piazzola's life is a story of how cultures, music, and people are interrelated. As a person who was born in Argentina, his music was tango; as a kid named "Lefty" who grew up in Manhattan, he felt the influence of jazz. As a musician known as "El Gato," he built on the tango traditions of Troilo, Sarli, and Pugliese.

He began his musical career as a musician who could not read music. Anibal Troilo hired Piazzola because he had memorized the band's repertoire. He studied music and composition while playing in tango groups, and went on for more formal training in Paris. Piazzola loved everything from the classical music of Rubenstein to the jazz of Gershwin. Although we think of Piazzola in terms of tango, many of his contemporary tango aficionados hated his music because it was nontraditional, evolutionary, and avant gard.

This book was of value to me because it increased my understanding not just of Piazzola, but also of the major twentieth century tango musicians and composers. It may not make me a better dancer, but the increase of knowledge added to my appreciation of the music not just of Piazzola, but also of Pablo Ziegler, Romulo Larrea, and Felix Leclerc. It was a fitting complement to "Tango!" a collaborative book by Simon Collier, Artemis Cooper, Maria Susana Azzi, and Richard Martin. You don't have to be a serious student of music to enjoy either book. It will add to your appreciation of tango.

Azzi and Collier have written a masterpiece........2001-01-23

Le Grand Tango.......2000-08-27

Astor Piazzolla's music is nothing if not controversial. Among the Argentines themselves, there seems to be two opinions. One was voiced to me some years ago by an Argentine tanguera whose artistic views I always listen to, when she said that "Tango is tango, and Piazzolla is not!" The other is stated just as militantly in favor of Piazzolla's efforts. Wildly so.

Piazzolla died in 1992. But the debate still rages, and there's little middle ground. The reason for it is that Piazzolla remade the Argentine tango in ways that had never been imagined possible before him. He's one of those composers who takes a regional musical impulse and refashions it into a new statement of world-wide interest. Controversial he is, to be sure. But with the possible exception of the legendary singer Carlos Gardel, no one has expanded the consciousness of the world more with regard to the tango than Astor Piazzolla.

Le Grand Tango is the first complete biography of Piazzolla. Born in Buenos Aires in 1921, he spent eleven years of his childhood in New York City, in the East Village. Radio interviews with him reveal that he spoke fluent English with a Lower East Side accent. Even as a child, Astor's talent on the bandoneón, the large concertina-like instrument that is considered by most to be the soul of the tango, was noted. But he was not playing the tango at that time. The boy preferred classical music and jazz, Bach and Gershwin. His father Vicente, a barber and woodworker, pushed Astor to make himself into a true tango musician. But it was only when, at the age of thirteen, Astor met and was befriended by Carlos Gardel himself, that he began his serious studies in the tango.

Returning to Argentina at the age of sixteen, Astor threw himself into those studies and, almost immediately, was offered a job by another great innovator on the bandoneón, Aníbal Troilo. He joined Troilo's band and became one of its principal arrangers. It was at this time that his difficulties began, as some of the tango musicians found Astor's arrangements too complicated and too difficult to play.

That was because he was putting things into the arrangements that were largely unknown to tangueros. Counterpoint. Fugue. Polyrhythmic intensities that turned the more traditional, and simple, tango rhythms on their heads. Bartok. Stravinsky. Ravel. But Piazzolla was also a consummate tango musician, as anyone knows who has heard him play his own slow, lovely tangos. Despite his experimentalism, his abilities as a composer, musician and arranger simply could not be denied.

Azzi and Collier do a fine job describing Astor's artistic fire, and the debate which always followed in his wake. The book is also often quite funny, because Astor was a genuinely humorous man himself. And it sheds light on the difficulty of being so important an artist who must struggle so to be heard. At least when he was heard, he received the praise that he deserved. As one British critic put it, upon seeing Piazzolla play for the first time, "It was like going to inspect an interesting hillock and uncovering an erupting volcano."

The book contains a very useful discography of Piazzolla's work, excellent notes, a fine list of sources and a complete index.

In the end, Le Grand Tango may be of more interest to aficionados of Argentina and the tango than to the general public. But Piazzolla became so well-known that he was sought out by every kind of accomplished musician, from such disparate realms as jazz, classical music, opera and rock and roll, and they are all here in this book. As a chronicle of this very important composer's presence in the totality of world music, and his battles to make his own music heard and appreciated, it is invaluable. _________________________________

(Novelist Terence Clarke [The Day Nothing Happened, My Father in the Night, The King of Rumah Nadai] has just completed a screenplay that tells of the friendship between the thirteen year-old Astor Piazzolla and Carlos Gardel in New York in 1934. teryclarke@hotmail.com)

Book Description

The Triumph of Wounded Souls vividly recounts the stories of seven Holocaust survivors who overcame many obstacles to earn advanced degrees and become college and university professors. As Jews trapped in Nazi-occupied Europe from 1939 to 1945, these remarkable individuals witnessed and endured terror and torture. After the war they pursued academic subjects that increased their understanding of the world and gave them a sense of purpose. Their inspirational accounts demonstrate that despite the worst of circumstances it is possible to heal with time.

While each survivor's postwar journey is complex and unique, these seven scholars reveal that the contemplative life can serve as a salve for wounded souls. They are extraordinary examples of how those who act justly and purposefully can help to bring reconciliation and meaning to an unjust world. In sharing their personal stories, they illuminate the realm of human possibility.

Customer Reviews:

A literary triumph.......2006-02-24

This book presents an inspiring look at the success of seven holocaust survivors, against overwhelming odds. Although many holocaust books have been written, this book presents a different, timely and necessary slant. Well researched, annotated and written. A book definitely worth reading!

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