Books

Average customer rating:

Good for Killing Alot of Space
very very Important
Awesome pictorial of Warhol
awsome purchase
Ultimate Warhol

Andy Warhol: Giant Size
Editors of Phaidon Press , and Dave Hickey
Manufacturer: Phaidon Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 071484540X

Book Description

ANDY WARHOL "GIANT" SIZE is a spectacular visual biography of the life and career of Andy Warhol. Weighing in at 15 pounds, this enormous book is packed with 2,000 images and documents, many rare or previously unpublished.

Taking its inspiration from Warhol's over-the-top nature, ANDY WARHOL "GIANT" SIZE depicts the major events, people, works and moments in the artist's life told in chronological order by subject. As Warhol almost never threw anything away (from restaurant receipts to postcards), the featured material in the book has been painstakingly compiled. As the publisher of The Andy Warhol Catalogue Raisonné, Phaidon was granted unprecedented access to an array of public and private image and memorabilia archives and collections, including the Andy Warhol Foundation in New York and the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh as well as the holdings of many Warhol collaborators, friends, and photographers of the period.

The large-format of ANDY WARHOL "GIANT" SIZE enables the reader to explore in detail hundreds of fascinating photographs, letters, personal correspondence, art works, film stills, tickets, receipts, celebrity head shots, notes, press clippings and ephemera all featured in this one of a kind publication. The book also features illuminating texts by insiders Bruno Bischofberger, Ronnie Cutrone, David Dalton, Kenneth Goldsmith, Ivan Karp and Peggy Phelan.

What is unique about ANDY WARHOL "GIANT" SIZE is that it provides fascinating insight into the public and private life of Warhol and in many cases also reveals the stories behind his art works. The book provides amazing comparisons between his work and his life that have never been demonstrated visually in such a way before. For example, it not only features Warhol's famous "Mao" series, but also includes ephemera from a 1982 trip to China (his passport, boarding pass, a souvenir from his hotel, etc.) alongside a photo of Warhol standing in front of the Forbidden City in Beijing with an official Mao portrait in the background.

This important new publication includes a staggering quantity and array of colorful material including: Warhol's birth certificate, citing Andrew `Warhola' was born on 8/6/28 in Pittsburgh; childhood photographs of his family; the magazine tear sheet showing the first article he illustrated for Glamour when he arrived in New York in 1949; numerous photos of Warhol with his mother; artworks for gold shoes he created in the 1950s; a letter from the MOMA dated 1959 in which the Director of the Museum's Collections rejects a work of art Warhol offered them as a gift; photographs of Warhol posing with Edie Sedgwick in a New York fashion shoot; personal letters from Mick Jagger and Liz Taylor; pictures of Warhol in the office working on Interview; pictures of Warhol private views; a series of shots of Warhol in drag; the program from his Memorial Mass on 4/1/87 and his gravestone.

ANDY WARHOL "GIANT" SIZE is the only publication available that features Warhol's entire life, work and words in one book. The visual biography offers a behind-the-scenes look at the New York art scene of the 1950s to the 1980s, and provides a new perspective on an artist who continues to be endlessly fascinating to those inside and outside of the art world.

Customer Reviews:

Good for Killing Alot of Space.......2007-06-26

The main attraction of "Giant Size" is just that it is physically giant sized. I have the book set on one of my display cases and is just way to cumbersome to read. It's chronological layout of Warhol's life and work seem very accurate even though I have not been able to read this book rather a good skimming. Interesting documents of his life are displayed throughout including photos of his childhood.

I recommend this book for anyone who needs an enormous coffee table book, or is a fan of Modern Art or just loves Andrew Warhola.

very very Important.......2007-03-09

Wahol.......
This book is the whole of him

Awesome pictorial of Warhol.......2007-03-06

In a word Awesome.
Its a huge, heavy and visually spectacular overview of Andy Warhols career. The perfect Coffee Table book. First rate photographs and reproductions of Andy's work. One of the best available.

awsome purchase.......2007-02-23

This book is worth every penny, the photography is incredible, It's perfect!!!!!!!!!!

Ultimate Warhol.......2007-02-17

Its so big that its hard to read (definitely can't read it in bed) but what a fantastic book on Andy Warhol's life and art. The size lends itself to the great reproductions of his art work. I was also really excited about the numerous photographs of Warhol and his world. There is a full page black and white photo of Warhol behind the movie camera that I thought was particularly good. Very highly recommended.

Eat This Book: A Conversation in the Art of Spiritual Reading

Average customer rating:

Eating books?
Just... plain... boring...
uplifting and feeing
A meaty little book
please do

Eat This Book: A Conversation in the Art of Spiritual Reading
Eugene H. Peterson
Manufacturer: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Eat This Book: Study Guide
Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense

ASIN: 0802829481

Book Description

Eugene Peterson is convinced that the way we read the Bible is as important as that we read it. Do we read the Bible for information about God and salvation, for principles and "truths" that we can use to live better? Or do we read it in order to listen to God and respond in prayer and obedience?

The second part of Peterson's momentous five-volume work on spiritual theology, Eat This Book challenges us to read the Scriptures on their own terms, as God's revelation, and to live them as we read them. With warmth and wisdom Peterson offers greatly needed, down-to-earth counsel on spiritual reading. In these pages he draws readers into a fascinating conversation on the nature of language, the ancient practice of lectio divina, and the role of Scripture translations; included here is the "inside story" behind Peterson's own popular Bible translation, The Message.

Countering the widespread practice of using the Bible for self-serving purposes, Peterson here serves readers with a nourishing entrée into the formative, life-changing art of spiritual reading.

Study Guide available.

Customer Reviews:

Eating books?.......2007-06-06

Eating books? The image is as old as the Bible itself, in which heavenly beings tell Ezekiel and later John the evangelist to "eat" scrolls. Tasting, chewing, swallowing, digesting, and being nourished by the Word of God --- it's an apt foundational metaphor for the "spiritual reading" Eugene Peterson espouses.

Although EAT THIS BOOK is the second of Peterson's five works on spiritual theology, it stands alone, independent of the first (CHRIST PLAYS IN TEN THOUSAND PLACES). Unlike CHRIST PLAYS, which I would hand to a serious but uninformed seeker, EAT THIS BOOK is more suitable for Christians with some familiarity with Scripture and Christian basics. This is not a book that explains, for example, where to start initial Bible reading (with Genesis? with Mark or John?) or that really commends one particular version, unless it is Peterson's own "contemporary language" version, titled THE MESSAGE.

Peterson devotees will be particularly interested in the last section of the book, which in the larger context of textual translation tells the story of how and why Peterson started retranslating the Bible from the original Greek and then Hebrew into the popular MESSAGE version.

But that's not the central message or purpose of the book. Peterson wants us to see the Bible, rather than personal experience, as the authority for living. Noting a contemporary interest in spirituality, he says, "An interest in souls divorced from an interest in Scripture leaves us without a text that shapes these souls." But this isn't an academic interest in Scripture. "An interest in Scripture divorced from an interest in souls leaves us without any material for the text to work on." He also wants us to read the text, not primarily for knowledge, for theological study, for proof-texting, or even for inspiration --- for our own purposes --- but rather to incorporate it into our lives. "Spiritual reading," he says, means "participatory reading." It involves really digesting the story --- the sentences and the words --- of the Lord and living them out in obedience.

A center section of the book --- 30 pages --- discusses lectio divina, a 12th-century pattern of biblical reading that is better known in Catholic than in Protestant circles: reading the text, mediating on it, praying it, and living it out. The four aspects aren't necessarily done in a "stair-step fashion" but "more like a looping spiral," Peterson notes.

Even these chapters on lectio divina aren't written in a how-to voice but rather as a conversation or an essay explaining the dynamics, purposes and benefits of participatory reading.

Peterson includes an interesting though probably obvious discussion about the nature of words and language itself --- that it is first a spoken, then a written, form, both in history and in personal experience, from infancy to more advanced learning. He has sparked in me a greater interest in listening to the Scriptures as well as reading them.

--- Reviewed by Evelyn Bence

Just... plain... boring..........2007-05-26

The author seems to be very verbose about making a point, and doesn't give much (if ANY) scriptural references to things, what I'm sitting here doing for hours and hours is listening to a guy cheapen things, generalize, overstate and come to no conclusions. Over and over again. I really wanted to like it, though! I mean I figured a cd series with a title like "Eat This Book" would be mind-boggling. Most of the time he's just splitting hairs and rephrasing things by transposing words... for what seems to be merely the sake of doing it to sound wise. This doesn't fall in line with how "I" measure wisdom, which is to express hard concepts or new ideas for the intellectual AS WELL AS the layman. I'm all for vocabulary words but if they don't make your point, its just fluff. This, is all just my opinion. If it helps you, that is great, not trying to say don't be helped. I have a VERY amazing read that if you ever had time, I think could be just as helpful if not more than "Eat This Book". Its called "The Christ of the Mount" by E. Charles Stanley. This guy expresses more in one sentence than an entire cd I listened to did! Truly a gem.

uplifting and feeing.......2007-05-15

In a world of many opinions and many books it's often hard to feel like you are reading something that is really teaching you wisdom (rather than just more opinion). Peterson does us a great service in this book by freeing us to read the Bible with less opinion and more relational reverence. Highly recommended and great for an Adult Sunday School class.

A meaty little book.......2007-03-09

I read this book aloud. The expressiveness of the language really shone. I found it a timely inspirational book that has inspired me to continue reading the Bible particularly The Message. The wisdom , integrity, scholarship and passion of the writer impressed me. An easy must read for people who want to grow in faith in a vital relevant way by ingesting the message of the Bible.

please do.......2007-01-18

This is a great book by the author of "The Message" which is a wonderful, modern translation of the Bible. It is well worth the time and will definitely benefit one with an open heart.

Average customer rating:

The best book on Twombly
Fifty plus years of an extraordinary artist's output
About the only major Twombly book in print

Cy Twombly: A Monograph
Richard Leeman
Manufacturer: Flammarion
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 2080304836
Release Date: 2005-06-28

Book Description

The pictorial creations by American artist Cy Twombly have represented, for more than 50 years, a sort of enigma that reinforces the mythic status of the artist. This book, takes into consideration Twombly’s immense and complex body of work from the 1950s up through his current works, offers a thematic and chronological interpretation of his paintings, drawings, sculptures, and collages. Richard Leeman’s study elucidates the symbols found in Twombly’s paintings―pictograms, numbers, words, colors―that, at first glance, constitute diverse and unique entities, but then assemble to form a veritable language, where their often primitive forms mix on the canvas with allusive fragments of a vast culture. From scribbles and drawings to words, Twombly’s work profoundly articulates a language and memory of desire where painting, drawing, and writing meld into a single art form.
This exquisitely produced volume, complete with six gatefolds, is an important addition to the existing bibliography of works on one of America’s preeminent contemporary artists.
Exhibition Schedule
“Cy Twombly: Fifty Years of Works on Paper”
Whitney Museum of Art: January 27—May 8, 2005
Menil Collection, Houston, TX: May 27—September 4, 2005

Customer Reviews:

The best book on Twombly.......2007-04-04

Cy Twombly is the typical "my-kid-could-do-that" artist...and yet being face to face with one of his best paintings is always a mysterious, entrancing, exhilarating experience. This book, through its many high-quality reproductions (close-ups even succeed in rendering the thick brushstrokes, a trademark of the artist), manages to convey some of this experience to the reader. It is a very well written work which deciphers Twombly's art better than any other publication on the artist as far as I know.
I highly recommend it to anyone interested in the work of this great artist.

Fifty plus years of an extraordinary artist's output.......2005-12-31

Cy Twombly is an artist who remains on the playing field, creating much the same type work over the years, yet still inspiring artists and audience alike. There is something gloriously spontaneous and innocent about his seemingly random 'scribblings' on canvas or paper. Perhaps he connects with the nascent artist in each of us: 'if this man can do this, I could, too!'

Perusing this well constructed monograph quickly suspends delusions of being able to recreate Twombly's art. In generous foldout pages and richly reproduced examples of works from 1950 to the present we find hints of symbols, fragments of words that hold as much mystery as cave paintings or hieroglyphics, just variations on themes that serve to nurture excitement for the idiosyncratic work of this fine artist.

The visuals are what make this book. The essay contributions by Richard Leeman who wrote his doctoral dissertation on Twombly are a bit on the dry side but as secure information as one is likely to find on this fascinating artist. Highly Recommended for all who have fallen under the spell of Twombly. Grady Harp, December 05

About the only major Twombly book in print.......2005-11-13

Basically, works on Twombly seem to come and go out of print, and become rather pricey collectors items quickly. This book contains an excellent selection of reproductions, including foldouts, of all phases of his career. The only thing that prevents this from being a five star book is the rather pedestrian (although well researched) text, in the usual obfuscating artspeak that passes for deep insight today. The out of print Varnadoe book from the major restropective of the 90's has a far more lucid outline of the works in question...but, really, you're probably buying the book for the reproductions anyway, and there are plenty of them, including some nice full page close up details of the often massive works. Not an inexpensive book, but well worth it for anyone interested in this "painter's painter" works.

Average customer rating:

The BEST EKG book I have
A Truly GREAT ECG book
Best ECG Book out there
A good resourse
Highly recommended

12-Lead Ecg: The Art of Interpretation
Thomas B. Garcia , and Neil Holtz
Manufacturer: Jones & Bartlett Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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An Osteopathic Approach to Diagnosis and Treatment

ASIN: 0763712841

Book Description

Designed to bring you from your current level of knowledge to a fully advanced ECG interpreter, this book features 200+ full-size, real- life ECGs accompanied by thorough explanations and analyses. Presented in a clear and casual writing style, the book's leveled approach takes a complex subject and makes it simple. Whether you are an EMT, nurse, medical student, or physician wanting to learn or brush up on your knowledge of electrocardiography, this text will meet your needs. Containing more than 200 ECG strips, 12-Lead ECG is designed to be accessed by three different levels of readers--beginner, intermediate, and advanced--and is designed to grow with you as your knowledge of electrocardiography progresses. The text has been created to be continuously useful during your development and is intended to be read and reread as you advance in your knowledge and comfort level with the material. By rereading the material at increasingly advanced levels, you will get more out of the material and retain it with greater use.

Customer Reviews:

The BEST EKG book I have .......2007-06-26

I'm an emergency nurse going through an emergency nurse practitioner and clinical nurse specialist program. I have MANY EKG books - Dubin, Hampton (x2), Green & Chiaramida, and A. L. Goldberger. I asked one of the ER residents I worked with for a recommendation on a good book - he highly recommended Garcia - so I bought it. Now(almost 1.5 years later), I'm getting ready to teach my first 12 Lead EKG interpretation class to assist a hospital in meeting criteria for a chest pain center. My main references are this book and Goldberger. I have looked at Dubin, but I'm not a fan of that layout, but it works and is VERY simple (I don't like wading through pages to find what I want) and my classmates swear by it. It just depends on what you like. I like the way Garcia's is formatted, the simple manner in which they bring you through concepts that are rather hard for newbies to get their head around (axis is a very confusing concept for nurses new to EKG interpretation)and tons of examples and pointers. Again, it's how they teach it that is so great. The authors also have an intro book - but I would skip that one as the intro is the first part of this book. There is also an instructor's toolkit CD to go along with the book (not included). As a staff nurse in the ER Garcia's was fabulous, but now as a NP and CNS student, it is even more valuable! And don't fret! I'm finding out that there are a LOT of people out there that don't know how to interpret a 12 Lead EKG - but they don't tell you that, unfortunately. This book is also an excellent review and is leveled so at different levels you can see different things in the same EKG. If you are on the fence about purchasing this book, ask an ER resident what they use.

A Truly GREAT ECG book.......2007-02-19

there isa need to have more ECG books like this one.
Ive been practising medicine for 33 years
he is the best author on ECGs & ECG books from 1971 when i started clinical medicine i.e. for 36 years
( I really hope the author is informed of this opinion )

Best ECG Book out there.......2007-02-09

I'm currently a medical student in my second year and just completed an intense course on ECGs on which we were tested. Before it started I couldn't decide on which book to go with but I ended up choosing this one. This book was EXCELLENT. It provides the material in a straight-forward manner and by reading with the various "levels" you learn it a lot more quickly. There are also PLENTY of ECGs to help you practice. Many of the students had various other books but many ended up taking a look at mine and suggested that this seemed better than what they had purchased. I highly recommend it!

A good resourse.......2007-01-03

This book was a required text for a 12 lead EKG class I took. It is very easy to use. A really great feature of this book is that as you transition from novice to expert, this book will still be relevant.
The quality of this text is outstanding.

Highly recommended.......2006-02-21

This book provides a very easy to read, well-illustrated, and thorough approach to EKG's. I have tried to use other EKG books in the past and found them too superficial & piecemeal or too boring & dense/text-oriented. First of all the book is filled with hundreds of full-page "real EKG's" that are used as the examples for the teaching points. There are also many color digrams. I like how this book gives a nice step-by-step approach, very easy to read. I aslo like how it has different "levels" so that if I want to dive in deeper and learn more subtle/advanced interpretations, it's all right there, with the basic level info next to it for quick review. I like how even this book's "basic/intro" level covered much more practical material than other books...when I first went through it, even after only getting through half of the intro level, I finally understood what is J point, and what atrial enlargement looks like.

Beyond Belief: The Secret Gospel of Thomas

Average customer rating:

An Argument for Gnosticism
Orthodoxy vs. Gnosticism
The Gospel of St John is more accurate
interesting ideas
A Let Down

Beyond Belief: The Secret Gospel of Thomas
Elaine Pagels
Manufacturer: Random House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Christianity | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

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The Gnostic Gospels
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ASIN: 0375501568
Release Date: 2003-05-06

Amazon.com

Shortly after Elaine Pagels' two-and-half-year-old son was diagnosed with a rare lung disease, the religion professor found herself drawn to a Christian church again for the first time in many years. In Beyond Belief: The Secret Gospel of Thomas Pagels, best know for her National Book Award-winning The Gnostic Gospels, wrestles with her own faith as she struggles to understand when--and why--Christianity became associated almost exclusively with the ideas codified in the fourth-century Nicene Creed and in the canonical texts of the New Testament. In her exploration, she uncovers the richness and diversity of Christian philosophy that has only become available since the discovery of the Nag Hammadi texts.

At the center of Beyond Belief is what Pagels identifies as a textual battle between The Gospel of Thomas (rediscovered in Egypt in 1945) and The Gospel of John. While these gospels have many superficial similarities, Pagels demonstrates that John, unlike Thomas, declares that Jesus is equivalent to "God the Father" as identified in the Old Testament. Thomas, in contrast, shares with other supposed secret teachings a belief that Jesus is not God but, rather, is a teacher who seeks to uncover the divine light in all human beings. Pagels then shows how the Gospel of John was used by Bishop Irenaeus of Lyon and others to define orthodoxy during the second and third centuries. The secret teachings were literally driven underground, disappearing until the Twentieth Century. As Pagels argues this process "not only impoverished the churches that remained but also impoverished those [Irenaeus] expelled."

Beyond Belief offers a profound framework with which to examine Christian history and contemporary Christian faith, and Pagels renders her scholarship in a highly readable narrative. The one deficiency in Pagels' examination of Thomas, if there is one, is that she never fully returns in the end to her own struggles with religion that so poignantly open the book. How has the mysticism of the Gnostic Gospels affected her? While she hints that she and others have found new pathways to faith through Thomas, the impact of Pagels' work on contemporary Christianity may not be understood for years to come. --Patrick O'Kelley

Book Description

Special edition including the complete text of the Gospel of Thomas

Elaine Pagels, one of the world’s most important writers and thinkers on religion and history, and winner of the National Book Award for her groundbreaking work The Gnostic Gospels, now reflects on what matters most about spiritual and religious exploration in the twenty-first century. This bold new book explores how Christianity began by tracing its earliest texts, including the secret Gospel of Thomas, rediscovered in Egypt in 1945.

When her infant son was diagnosed with fatal pulmonary hypertension, Elaine Pagels’s spiritual and intellectual quest took on a new urgency, leading her to explore historical and archeological sources and to investigate what Jesus and his teachings meant to his followers before the invention of doctrine–and before the invention of Christianity as we know it.

The astonishing discovery of the Gospel of Thomas, along with more than fifty other early Christian texts unknown since antiquity, offers startling clues. Pagels compares such sources as Thomas’s gospel (which claims to give Jesus’ secret teaching, and finds its closest affinities with kabbalah) with the canonic texts to show how Christian leaders chose to include some gospels and exclude others from the collection we have come to know as the New Testament. To stabilize the emerging Christian church in times of devastating persecution, the church fathers constructed the canon, creed, and hierarchy–and, in the process, suppressed many of its spiritual resources.

Drawing on new scholarship–her own, and that of an international group of scholars–that has come to light since the publication in 1979 of The Gnostic Gospels, Pagels shows that what matters about Christianity involves much more than any one set of beliefs. Traditions embodied in Judaism and Christianity can powerfully affect us in heart, mind, and spirit, inspire visions of a new society based on practicing justice and love, even heal and transform us.

Provocative, beautifully written, and moving, Beyond Belief, the most personal of Pagels’s books to date, shows how “the impulse to seek God overflows the narrow banks of a single tradition.” Pagels writes, “What I have come to love in the wealth and diversity of our religious traditions–and the communities that sustain them–is that they offer the testimony of innumerable people to spiritual discovery, encouraging us, in Jesus’ words, to ‘seek, and you shall find.’”

Customer Reviews:

An Argument for Gnosticism.......2007-04-27

Raised within the confines of fundamentalist religion, we found that asking Biblical questions could be extremely hazardous to our religious existence. After being excommunicated for numerous such affronts to the sanctity of the written word, we are especially appreciative of Ms. Pagels and her untiring efforts to shed light on so many of the lesser known aspects of early Christianity. Some readers have expressed their disappointment, feeling the book devotes too much attention to the formation of orthodoxy, the evolution of the Gospel of John and the suppression of many books labeled Gnostic. But, as pointed out by Pagels, these events still play a role in our cultural history and untangling these, ". . .complex strands have practical consequences as well as intellectual ones." We may not be aware of the cultural wallpaper we have assimilated until it is pointed out that it is indeed wallpaper, and it may be in need of refurbishing. As noted in the book, "orthodoxy tends to distrust our capacity to make such discriminations and insists on making them for us." It would be difficult to fully appreciate the radical differences contained in the Gospel of Thomas if we did not examine the thought processes involved in suppressing it.

As Pagels develops her arguments, she demonstrates how orthodoxy created an ever widening chasm that placed God, His only-begotten son and the church fathers on one side, and the congregation of sinners on the other. The increased value bestowed on Jesus by the church, equaled the speedy demotion of a flock whose only hope lay in their unquestioning belief in him. The writer of the Gospel of Thomas had the effrontery to suggest that Jesus' real message lay in his knowledge that all men, including him, were one with God. And, "Thomas' Jesus directs each disciple to discover the light within" through gnosis, an experiential knowing gained through a connection with higher consciousness. Shockingly, this message took church fathers out of the loop by suggesting that each person had an equal opportunity to save themselves. It is not surprising then that heresy was originally defined as "the act of choice!"

Orthodoxy attempted to control the people through selective information and the lack of choice. We, on the other hand, can easily miss the gifts offered by the Gospel of Thomas because we are inundated with information and choke on the multitude of choices offered to us on a daily basis. If we dismiss the Gospel of Thomas as another curiosity, we will miss the invitation Thomas' Jesus extends," If you bring forth what is within you, what you bring forth will save you." Books such as Pagels' "Beyond Belief" and Ehrman's "Misquoting Jesus" offer proof that there is little reason to take a literalist view of the Bible. This does not mean that Jesus' teachings are inaccessible. It does mean that we must each choose whether we will be one who accepts what is found outside us, or one who searches for the answers within. Pagels' book offers a great platform for exploration.

Lee & Steven Hager are the authors of Quantum Prodigal Son: Revisiting Jesus' Parable of the Prodigal Son from the Perspective of Quantum Mechanics

Orthodoxy vs. Gnosticism.......2007-03-19

My primary interest in reading this book was to better understand and appreciate the evolution of Christian thought and belief in the early church. On this score, Elaine Pagels definitely does not disappoint.

I found her choice of beginning this work with an intensely personal description of the spiritual journey she faced during her young son's fatal illness to be surprising at first, but through her book I came to understand why she introduced this work in such a way: all spiritual journeys are intensely personal. The authors of the "Secret Gospel of Thomas", the Gospel of John, and the later Church Fathers who built upon these writings, all faced challenging times. In seeking answers to the challenges they faced, they engaged in their own personal spiritual journeys, which resulted in their recording what they learned and believed in the texts that have been passed down to us.

Elaine Pagels engages us in the challenges and spiritual journeys of these early Christian writers, both known (mostly proponents of what became the roots of Christianity as we know it today); and unknown (mostly the authors of the Gnostic books found in the Nag Hammadi library, such as the Gospel of Thomas; and other works).

The Gnostic authors and their adherents found themselves marginalized if not actively persecuted as the well-organized and controlled universal Church took hold in the ancient world. Gnosticism is an intensely personal form of faith, where one seeks to find Spiritual truth for oneself instead of unquestioningly adopting an external authority's view.

Dr. Pagels referees for us the centuries-long debate between early Christian Fathers and their Gnostic counterparts - helping us see how the debate between control of doctrine vs. freedom of exploration changed and grew over time. She seeks to help us understand the complexities of the central question for us: What is truth, and what is lies? In making our spiritual journeys, how can we tell them apart? How do we find that truth for ourselves without falling into error?

The roots of that debate reach far back into Jewish history: centuries before Jesus started teaching. Therefore, Dr. Pagels knows she cannot answer the question. Instead, she seeks to help us understand the issues and the context within which we, as Christians, make our own journeys in search of spiritual truth.

The great authors of Orthodoxy - Tertullian, Athanaeus and Irenaeus, among others, all saw that allowing too much freedom of exploration often led to spiritual error and excess. On the other hand, they appreciated the importance of needing to explore one's own faith for oneself, and did not want to create a rigid and inflexible Christian faith that could not tolerate such journeys of faith. They understood that a balance between the two extremes must be found.

Ultimately, and as Dr. Pagels says in her book, it is not right, or wise, to accept spiritual authority without question, or to seek to eliminate the rich spiritual diversity found throughout the Christian world. Diversity brings strength and vitality, but too much diversity brings conflict and destruction. There is no simple answer to the question: we must each find an answer for ourselves.

Dr. Pagels' work is easy to read, well researched, well footnoted, and thought provoking. While I highly recommend this book, I would have to agree with what others here have said: that the title is misleading. This book focuses more on the evolution of orthodox Christianity than it does on the Gnostic tradition, or on the Gospel of Thomas itself. I give it a four star recommendation.

The Gospel of St John is more accurate.......2007-02-09

If you want a review of the gospel of Thomas look to the references cited in this book. The end notes are an excellent source of research in early Christian texts. This book is about the gospel of St John, how the politics of the time shaped what was written and how the work of Origen and the Emperor Constantine decided what gospels would constitute the New Testament. The writing is uneven or perhaps it needed tighter editing to have the work flow in a more even pace.

This mis-naming and awkward, read as uneven, pace seems to be characteristic of Pagels, her origin of Satan had similar problems. What she clearly possesses is the desire to ferret out the details and offer a plausible explanation.

interesting ideas.......2007-02-06

The book seems to be more focused on the early history of the Christian churches while contrasting the Gospel of JOhn with the newly found "Gospel" of Thomas. Through this contrast of ideas and perspectives of these two seemingly different view points (according to the text we have of the gospels) she presents a case for early Christian church history.

WHile it was certainly informative, i think it could have been written and connected in places. I would go as far to say it was a good read and i finished it in just about one sitting.

The three stars are presented becouse, while she offers some great historical possiblities, they are presetned at times as overly factual as if perhaps we have a better historical account and record of the politics and leaders of that time then we do of the apostles. (while i do think this is possible - i just think it is worth a point of caution). Her research often points to works of other researchers as evidence. So much of the book, it would seem, is derived from third, fourrth, or even farther removed research soruces.

Overall... i would receomend the book.

One should not profess confidently their faith in Chirst if one is afraid to investigate possibilities of history that may challenge it.

A Let Down.......2007-01-19

I bought this book because I wanted to read the Gospel Of Thomas. What I got was Elaine Pagels recollections of the Catholic Church and a short history. All of which would have been fine if I was not looking to read the Gospel of Thomas. Other wise it is not a horrible book, just not what I was in the market for.

History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)

Average customer rating:

Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed.
Very Interesting
History as Science Fiction
Provocative, appealing and controversial
pharaohs lived in the 3rd century AD

History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
Anatoly Fomenko
Manufacturer: Mithec
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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History: Fiction or Science? Chronology 2 (Chronology)
Discovering the Mysteries of Ancient America: Lost History And Legends, Unearthed And Explored
Before the Pharaohs: Egypt's Mysterious Prehistory
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They Cast No Shadows: A Collection of Essays on the Illuminati, Revisionist History, and Suppressed Technologies

ASIN: 2913621058

Book Description

Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.

Customer Reviews:

Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09

There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.

For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.

Very Interesting.......2007-03-07

It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.

History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10

Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.

I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.

Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.

Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.

I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.

This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.

Provocative, appealing and controversial.......2006-08-02

Fomenko has succeeded to convincingly demonstrate the misconception about what "history" factually is... It is fiction and -like we can read and judge for ourselves- no science. It indeed is "make belief" only. I "discovered" Fomenko while studying the "old" history of Al Andaluz, Spain. Having found too many contradictions in available data, having seen too many forgeries as to pretend the importance of christianity for its decline, I ventured out to find Fomenko, who convinced me that we know little if anything for sure of the epoch before the XI-century. However, the integration of the Arabic-Islamic cultural history into the heavily distorted Western fails... There are some attempts to fit "the budding new religion" (Islam) into Fomenko's scheme, but they are too weak to be taken seriously and too often focussing on Turkey as the region where things started to influence the West, which is untrue at all.
Islam certainly was no "new religion" in the X-century. That the highly cultivated Al Andaluz ruler Mohammed-I could have been "mirrored" down in time into some myth about the "illiterate" founder of Islam itself is highly speculative. Nevertheless, Fomenko convinces me about the processes that were involved in forging a christian history. Intriguing and controversial as his books are, I recommend them as to rethink our current position in time and space and simply verify what was claimed. It is a "good" book, but not for bedtime reading... Mundus vult decipi, the world wants to be cheated. Fomenko's readers will understand why.

pharaohs lived in the 3rd century AD.......2006-02-16

Traces of white wine were found in Tutankhamen's tomb however there were no record of white wine in Egypt until the 3rd century AD, 1600 years after the young pharaoh died according to the traditional chronology. http://www.newscientist.com/channel/being-human/mg18925395.400
It can be interpreted as a contribution towards New Chronology theory that pharaohs lived in the 3rd century AD.

Art Of Dramatic Writing: Its Basis in the Creative Interpretation of Human Motives

Average customer rating:

The master piece that competes with Howard Lawsons' work
The "Rosetta Stone" of creative writing.
Eminently Clear and Immediately Memorable
This Should Be Required Reading For All Playwrights
An excellent guide for any writer

Art Of Dramatic Writing: Its Basis in the Creative Interpretation of Human Motives
Lajos Egri
Manufacturer: Touchstone
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Story: Substance, Structure, Style and The Principles of Screenwriting
Creating Unforgettable Characters
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ASIN: 0671213326

Amazon.com

For many years, Lajos Egri's highly opinionated but very enjoyable The Art of Dramatic Writing has been a well-guarded secret of playwrights, scriptwriters, and writers for television. Unlike many other books on playwrighting (several of which Egri criticizes during the course of this one), the author's systematic breakdown of the essentials for creating successful realistic plays and screenplays effectively demystifies the process of creative writing. Egri, who formulated his thoughts about "a well-made play" during its heyday (the 1940s and '50s), places a premium on an exhaustive analysis of characters and discussion of their psychological motivations. The writer is exhorted to find a premise to explore and to discover which characters will most effectively demonstrate this thesis, then is shown how most effectively to place them into conflict with each other. Conflict itself is also discussed, particularly how to create scenarios in which the crisis develops at a pace that feels unforced and natural. While Egri's view of the well-made play has little space for either the spare musings of Beckett and Pinter or the conscious excesses of non-narrative and other experimental writing, it nonetheless remains an essential text for writers drawn to realistic drama, and to any writer interested in the fundamental motivations of human behavior. --John Longenbaugh

Book Description

Learn the basic techniques every successful playwright knows

Among the many "how-to" playwriting books that have appeared over the years, there have been few that attempt to analyze the mysteries of play construction. Lajos Egri's classic, The Art of Dramatic Writing, does just that, with instruction that can be applied equally well to a short story, novel, or screenplay.

Examining a play from the inside out, Egri starts with the heart of any drama: its characters. All good dramatic writing hinges on people and their relationships, which serve to move the story forward and give it life, as well as an understanding of human motives -- why people act the way that they do. Using examples from everything from William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet to Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House, Egri shows how it is essential for the author to have a basic premise -- a thesis, demonstrated in terms of human behavior -- and to develop the dramatic conflict on the basis of that behavior.

Using Egri's ABCs of premise, character, and conflict, The Art of Dramatic Writing is a direct, jargon-free approach to the problem of achieving

truth in writing.

Customer Reviews:

The master piece that competes with Howard Lawsons' work.......2007-05-18

This book is a classic.

One of the things that makes this book a classic is its simplicity. The book start exploring how you as a dramatic writer can use Premise as the guiding sign through out the whole process of writing a story.

Once you have a premise you can work on creating your characters (using the premise to do that). To do this you'll have to know your character's physiology, sociology, pshychology, etc.

Once you have your characters you can work on creating the story using the principle of contradiction, thesis, antithesis and synthesis. You'll have to use clashing forces... (again, you use the premise as explained at the beginning of the book).

Then the author covers some of the most important elements in writing dramatic material of quality.

In my case I found the chapter of "Jumping" quite enlightening. Once you read this chapter you'll understand why many, many stories just don't work. The characters jump and then... they fall to their death... and to the apaty of the audience.

What is it that I like about this book? Well, I read it... time passes... come back to it again... time passes... and I come back again to read it!

Where as most books make you feel like writing is extremely difficult, this one always makes me feel like I'm in command and that great story telling is within my grasp.

The "Rosetta Stone" of creative writing........2007-05-07

I've read several books about screenwriting to aid me in my capacity as a story consultant, and this book far surpasses them all. You'll hear the age-old question of what's more important to story: action or character? What I got from this book is that the question is - in the end - moot. You need both - well drawn characters to the sell the action, and compelling action to reveal character. The process is tricky, but Egri lays it out with such precision and wit, you'll wonder how you ever got along without his insights. Even though this book was written over half a century ago, it applies now more than ever - especially for the cinema where writers are increasingly relying more on formula and less on the construction of truly memorable, believable characters. Originality must begin with a thorough understanding of who your characters are, how and why they come together, and what ultimate premise their interactions serve to reveal. Egri explains this process with depth and panache. If you want to improve your narrative and give the world fresh new characters that tell "your story" this is THE place to start!

Eminently Clear and Immediately Memorable.......2006-12-12

I've easily read more than 100 books on creating fiction (my focus is primarily short stories and novels), and I've done so because I'm always interested in learning what others have to say about the craft that I might find ways to improve my own.

I disagree with the reviewer who pishaws Egri's recommendation to create character biographies, saying that the "audience will never see them". The fact is, every short story, novel, play, movie is like an iceberg: what the audience reads/sees is only 10% of the whole. The rest is hidden. If a writer hasn't done her homework on a story's setting, background or, more importantly, on her characters' backgrounds, it will show, and in the worst way possible. Even if a writer is of the sort who develops her characters as she creates the story, there is still much about those characters which doesn't make it into the tale. It's rather like when you tell a cousin about a friend of yours. You don't give your cousin all the details, only those details which are relevant to giving your cousin an accurate, yet true, representation of your friend, but you can only accomplish this if you know your friend very well. The same is -- HAS TO BE! -- true of your story characters: you MUST know them very well (more than what you reveal) if you are to represent them to your audience accurately and truthfully (but not exhaustively), and that's precisely Egri's point.

Regarding Egri and his agreements/disagreements with Aristotle, his disagreement with regard to a story's beginning has more to do with modern readers' interpretations of what constitutes a beginning. Every story must have a beginning, even if it doesn't appear on the page, on the screen, or on the stage. All the consituent parts of a story, even if they aren't put plainly before the audience, must be implied in what is. (Algis Budrys' WRITING TO THE POINT demonstrates this quite well.) Egri's disagreement with regard to Aristotle's views on plot/character, however, are, I believe, on the mark. In this case, however, the disagreement has more to do with historical/cultural/religious context. Aristotle's putting plot primary is due largely to the prevalent beliefs of his time, just as our putting character primary is due to the prevalent beliefs of ours. This, too, is a point which Egri recognizes.

After reading Egri's book, my writing will never be the same again, I'll never read another novel or short story the same way again, and I'll never see a movie or play in the same way again, either. I dare say that I'll appreciate a good novel/short story/movie/play even more with the tools that Egri provides in this book, and will now be able to elucidate far more clearly than before why I didn't like a particular novel/short story/movie/play. In like manner, I now believe that I'm better equipped, after reading Egri's book, to recognize what is wrong with any story that I've written and will, therefore, be better able to fix the problem.

After reading all the books I've read on story/character creation, I'd have to say that Egri's book is easily the best book I've ever read on the subject. While other authors of such books may have said much the same thing, Egri presents the same material in a way that makes it eminently clear and immediately memorable.

POSTSCRIPT: In defense of novels (since that is my preferred medium), unlike what was stated in one review on Egri's book, pacing is just as important in a novel as it is in a stage play. If you have one high-paced scene after another in a novel, your reader will be breathless before she's half-done with the book. Conversely, if your pacing is constantly slow, you're very likely to lose reader interest. There are all sorts of tricks to controlling pacing in a novel, from word, sentence, and paragraph length, and even down to specific word choice. There are other ways to control pacing, as well, but I shan't get into that here. It's a shame that very few books have covered this aspect of novel creation.

This Should Be Required Reading For All Playwrights.......2006-11-10

This is a no-nonsense book which emphasizes how important it is for a playwright to focus on what he wants to say.
If his theme can't be articulated in one sentence, then it most likely will not be a well thought out, clearly conceived story.

An excellent guide for any writer.......2006-01-15

The book is beautifully written in a style that makes you feel that the author wants you to succeed. Many books on writing seem more concerned with why the author himself/herself believes he/she is a great writer. This book is an actual guide for writing. Lajos Egri has a love for building memorable characters and through the use of examples and Q/A sessions, he teaches the craft. If you want to write, this book is a must.

Average customer rating:

Beautiful and scholarly

Hieronymus Bosch
Hieronymus Bosch
Manufacturer: Abbeville Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Prayers and Portraits: Unfolding the Netherlandish Diptych (National Gallery Of Art, Washington)
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Pieter Bruegel
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John Currin

ASIN: 0789209012

Book Description

Four hundred little people frolic au naturel with overgrown songbirds and raspberries; a pudgy blue demon serenades a fashionable young couple with a tune piped through his own elongated nose; a knife-wielding set of disembodied ears stalks the damned through hell. The phantasmagoric imagery of Hieronymus Bosch (d. 1516) has been the source of widespread interest ever since the painter's lifetime, and is still so enigmatic that scholars have theorized that it contains hidden astrological, alchemical, or even heretical meanings. Yet none of these theories has ever seemed to provide an adequate understanding of Bosch's work. Moreover, the considerable professional success that the artist enjoyed in his native s'Hertogenbosch, not to mention his membership in a traditional religious organization, suggests that he pursued not a sinister secret agenda but simply his personal artistic vision.

This intriguing new monograph by noted art historian Larry Silver interprets that artistic vision with admirable lucidity: it explains how Bosch's understanding of human sin, morality, and punishment, which was conceived in an era of powerful apocalyptic expectation, shaped his dramatic visualizations of hell and of the temptations of even the most steadfast saints. Silver's account of Bosch's artistic development is one of the first to benefit from recent technical investigations of the paintings, as well as from the reexamination of the artist's drawings in relation to his paintings. Hieronymus Bosch is also unique in how securely it places its subject's work in the broader history of painting in the Low Countries: Silver identifies sources of Bosch's iconography in a wide range of fifteenth-century panel paintings, manuscript illuminations, and prints, and describes how, despite their own religiousness, Bosch's pictures helped inspire the secular landscape and genre scenes of later Netherlandish painters. Augmented by 310 illustrations, most in color, including many dramatic close-ups of Bosch's intricately imagined nightmare scenes, this is the definitive book on a perennially fascinating artist.

Customer Reviews:

Beautiful and scholarly.......2007-02-06

This is a beautiful art book. If you are a fan of Bosch you will relish the gorgeous color plates and the insightful window into this artist's life. Very well done!

500 Necklaces: Contemporary Interpretations of a Timeless Form (Lark Jewelry Book)

Average customer rating:

Not traditional
Not the best in the series
amazing necklaces
Absolutely Brilliant
500 Necklaces

500 Necklaces: Contemporary Interpretations of a Timeless Form (Lark Jewelry Book)
Lark Books
Manufacturer: Lark Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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500 Earrings: New Directions in Contemporary Jewelry (Lark Jewellery)
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ASIN: 1579907016

Book Description

More artists make necklaces than any other form of jewelry—and these pieces are among the most exquisite ever created. Selected from over 5,000 entries, they range from unique chokers to artful collars. Some showcase precious metals and gems, while others use more unusual materials, including plastic, wood, paper, and glass. They’re forged, cast, and woven, and have surface embellishments that run the gamut from inlay to enameling. And the variety is simply astonishing: Classic bejeweled chains appear next to avant-garde felted wool constructions. Some of the eye-catching, full-color images feature enlightening quotes from the creators themselves. Jewelers, students, collectors, and anyone who loves beautiful objects will treasure this extensive collection—the largest of its kind.

Customer Reviews:

Not traditional .......2007-01-15

This was a gift for my daughter - a jewelry major. This is NOT for those who are making "beaded jewelry". The pieces shown are pieces of art - some wearable and others simple art. Some are elegant, some very unique. Do not buy this book if you are looking for traditional necklaces. It is a great book for those who appreciate jewelry as an art form.

Not the best in the series .......2007-01-07

As an avid collector of jewellery books, jewellery designer, maufacturer and teacher, I was waiting with baited breath for this to arrive. I am unfortunately disappointed with it. ( Having loved brooches, rings and Polymer ). This book heavily focused on Sterling Silver, ( where was Precious Metal Clay - not one example - appalling!, I hope this was not bias by the esteemed juror??). Not enough examples of mixed media and many of the photos contained in other publications. Some were truly beautiful and inspirational, whilst others were an insult, they should be in a 500 garments, they were shawls!(Carol Fishers Canvas), or Christoph Freier's wonderful granite bolders with two gold bolders, placed as a necklace on lawn were fabulous but they were sculpture. Taking the title "Interpretation" to the extreme you see 20kg rocks on grass, yes they are a representation of a necklace but it does not belong in this book, I am looking for jewellery. In fact, I was sorely disappointed as at least 50% of the items were so over the top or shaped so that they could not ever be worn. Perhaps they should have made this book two - 500 Wearable and 500 Non Wearable! I wait for 500 Earrings with concern now. I just hope Lark can bring back the original high standard of this series, together with a wider diversity of media and certainly not leaving out important media such as Precious Metal Clay. Paper, wood and glass-lampwork, felt, were either non existent or poorly represented. Borrow from the Library, save your pennies and purchase the spectacular Art Jewelry Today by Dona Meilach.

amazing necklaces.......2006-12-20

The work in this book, as with the others in the series of books from Lark, is truly amazing. Forget your preconceptions of the necklace. This is art, some of which is wearable and some isn't. The pieces are beautiful and a testament to the creativity of jewelry artists around the world. I am in awe of the other artists.

Absolutely Brilliant.......2006-11-23

Absolutely brilliant. There's nothing more to say. The above comment is ridiculous and probably was written by someone who was planning on using the 'ideas' in the book to copy in a beaded fashion. Sorry, some of us actually appreciate art in different forms and through different medium. Not all 'necklaces' are made of plastic beads and nylon string.

500 Necklaces.......2006-11-15

This book was ridiculous!!!! Most of the necklaces in this book no one would ever wear. If I could give this 0 stars I would. I was really looking forward to this and when I got it yesterday I was so disappointed. It will make a good coaster.

Average customer rating:

A core addition
The Story of the Artists Life and Work
A book worthy of the artist!

The Rembrandt Book
Gary Schwartz
Manufacturer: "Harry N. Abrams, Inc."
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0810943174

Book Description

With international attention focused on the 400th anniversary of Rembrandt von Rijn's birth, the world's leading Rembrandt expert weighs in with a penetrating—and accessible—examination of the Dutch master's life and art from both the biographical and the art historical perspective.

Rembrandt was an esteemed artist in his own time as well as in the present, yet there is much debate over how many paintings and drawings can really be attributed to him, and popular scholastic opinion varies widely. In his lively text, accompanied by 700 full-color illustrations, Gary Schwartz addresses the central controversies, providing art historians, students, and art lovers with essential new insights to help clarify the mysteries surrounding the great painter.

Customer Reviews:

A core addition .......2007-04-10

Compiled and written by one of the world's leading experts on the life and work of Rembrandt von Rijn as part of the 400th anniversary of his birth, "The Rembrandt Book" is a 384-page compendium of biography and history of the Dutch master's life and art. Beautifully and visually enhanced with 700 full-color illustrations, "The Rembrandt Book" also provides interested readers with an introduction and analysis of all the various controversies and debates over Rembrandt in terms of just how many paintings and drawings can be accurately and definitively attributed to him. A core addition to personal, community, art school, and academic library Art History reference collections, "The Rembrandt Book" is most especially recommended to the attention of art historians, art students, art enthusiasts, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the colorful life and personal mysteries involving one of Europe's most famous and influential painters.

The Story of the Artists Life and Work.......2007-04-06

Rembrandt is probably the most famous artist of all time. And this book, celebrating the 400 years since his birth is at once a tribute to the man and his life, and his work.

A great deal of information is available about Rembrandt. There are some five hundred documents covering various aspects of his life. But there are still many conflicts. We are not sure just when he was born, docoments say 1605, 1606 and 1607. We are not sure how many paintings he produced - of the 400 or so usually attributed to him, at least 150 are in doubt. Likewise the number of etchings - about 285 -- and drawings maybe half of the 1575 suspected.

In this book the author presents the story of his life, as can be best determined intermixed with the story of his art. The author is considered to be one of the leading Rembrandt experts and the views presented here are well reasoned and as close to being definite as possible.

A book worthy of the artist!.......2006-12-14

This is a very beutifully produced book. There are a profusion of images through out with a very broad representation of paintings, etchings and drawings. The text is excellent as Schwartz has a lot of information but never loses the flow. This is not the best book in regards to image size as many of the paintings are reproduced smaller that I would have wanted but really that is o.k. as that is not really the scope of this book and there are plenty of other books that focus on the images alone. I would have paid twice the price as this is well worth it.

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