Average customer rating:
- Read the Referenced Literature to get Maugham's Meaning
- Ed Norton improved Somerset Maugham's ending
- I Liked the Movie Better...
- BOOK VS DVD
- great book
|
The Painted Veil
W. Somerset Maugham
Manufacturer: Vintage
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 Movie Tie-Ins
| Genre Fiction
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Historical
| Genre Fiction
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Classics
| General
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Contemporary
| General
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| British
| World Literature
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Look Inside Fiction Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
Similar Items:
-
The Razor's Edge
-
Of Human Bondage (Bantam Classics)
-
The Painted Veil
-
Up at the Villa
-
Suite Francaise
ASIN: 0307277771
Release Date: 2006-11-14 |
Book Description
Set in England and Hong Kong in the 1920s,
The Painted Veil is the story of the beautiful but love-starved Kitty Fane. When her husband discovers her adulterous affair, he forces her to accompany him to the heart of a cholera epidemic. Stripped of the British society of her youth and the small but effective society she fought so hard to attain in Hong Kong, she is compelled by her awakening conscience to reassess her life and learn how to love.
The Painted Veil is a beautifully written affirmation of the human capacity to grow, to change, and to forgive.
Customer Reviews:
Read the Referenced Literature to get Maugham's Meaning.......2007-10-06
To better understand Somerset Maugham's "The Painted Veil," it's helpful to know some of the referenced literature that inspired the author. In the preface of "The Painted Veil" Maugham makes note of an interesting Italian legend of adultery and murder that first inspired the novel. Also, the title of the novel is taken from a sonnet by P. B. Shelley that begins "Lift not the painted veil which those who live call Life", which chastises people who choose to live in fear and illusion rather than embrace hope and face the reality of their imperfect relationships. The primary relationship in "The Painted Veil" is that between Kitty and Walter Fane. Kitty, a superficial socialite groomed by her ambitious mother to make a successful match, in desperation marries shy Walter. She escapes society's scorn with him in Hong Kong, where Walter has a government post as a research microbiologist. Bored with Walter's worshipful version of love, Kitty falls for the personable and politically powerful Charlie Townsend, who is married. The balance of power shifts, however, when Walter discovers Kitty's infidelity and forces her to "lift the veil" and also face some hard truths. In an act of revenge, Walter accepts a post to the dangerous city of Mei-tan-fu, beseiged by a severe cholera epidemic. Kitty can do nothing else but accompany him to what she thinks will be her death. Yet in this city of death, Kitty and Walter are changed by the people they meet: Deputy Commisioner Waddignton and his mysterious, devoted Manchu Lady, and noble Mother Superior, who left a privieged life in France to devote her life to Chinese orphans. What will be Kitty and Walter's fate and the fate of their marriage? And if one survives living in the shadow of death, is it possible to easily resume former relationships? Walter's cryptic line "The dog it was that died" holds the answer. Read the English rhyme "An Elegy on the Death of a Mad Dog" to find out what Walter means.
Ed Norton improved Somerset Maugham's ending.......2007-09-25
The novel is eloquent, especially in its description of the feelings of Kitty, Walter's wife. Her need for affection and recognition is palpable, but Walter is so highly-strung, even for a Brit, that he can hardly hold a conversation. The plague in the remote region of China, which Walter (and later Kitty) try to alleviate, makes Kitty grow. This part is deep and moving. But Walter does not change at all; he is the same intolerable, reticent, unforgiving husband. He dies without forgiving Kitty. And that's where Ed Norton made a smart revision. His Walter does change and does forgive Kitty, and the process is real and unsentimental. The second mistake of Maugham is that when Kitty returns Beijin, she returns to the arms of her lustful, trashy lover. That right there destroys the immense growth that had taken place in her soul upon seeing the suffering of the plague's victims. Now, at the end of the novel, she hates herself. And rightly so. Ed Norton deserves a lot of credit for revising Maugham's disappointing and confusing ending.
I Liked the Movie Better..........2007-09-22
This is one of those books that is probably rated better if you haven't seen the movie with Edward Norton Jr. and Naomi Watts. The writing is effective but the problem was that I preferred the storyline of the movie over the book. Still, it's worth a read even if you have seen the movie because it fills the characters out nicely. The book portrays Kitty Fane's character more fully than others and seems to be written partly from her viewpoint.
That being said, I adore the movie! The Painted Veil
BOOK VS DVD.......2007-08-28
RECALLING READING THIS GREAT NOVEL MANY YEARS AGO, I ORDEREED THE DVD RATHER RELUCTANTLY FULLY AWARE THAT I WOULD BE DISAPPOINTED.
VIEWING THE DVD I IMMEDIATELY FOUND FAULT AND REALIZED THAT I MADE A GRAVE ERROR. THE PROFOUND PASSSAGES IN THE BOOK WERE SADLY LACKING.
I WOULD RECOMMEND THIS BOOK VERY HIGHLY, ESPECIALLY TO THOSE WHO HAD NOT SEEN THE DVD. THE BOOK WINS HANDS DOWN VS THE DVD.
I WAS SAD TO REACH THE LAST PAGE OF THE BOOK. SO MANY TOUGHT PROVOKING PASSAGES THAT WERE UNFORGETTABLE IN THE PAST AND WILL ENDURE IN THE FUTURE.
ROBERT LYONS
RENO, NEVADA
great book.......2007-08-24
I highly recomend the book. It is one of those books that you just can`t put away.
Average customer rating:
- The Hobo Philosopher
- Fantastic read
- Never Question Your Sanity ,,, It's not You
- .......not a secret anymore......
- A BRILLIANT BIOGRAPHY - WELL DONE!
|
The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill, Visions of Glory
William Manchester
Manufacturer: Little, Brown and Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Irish
| Ethnic & National
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
Political
| Leaders & Notable People
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
Churchill, Winston
| U.K. Prime Ministers
| Leaders & Notable People
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
Churchill, Winston
| ( C )
| People, A-Z
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
General
| England
| Europe
| History
| Subjects
| Books
19th Century
| England
| Europe
| History
| Subjects
| Books
20th Century
| England
| Europe
| History
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Ireland
| Europe
| History
| Subjects
| Books
Similar Items:
-
The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill, Alone 1932-1940
-
American Caesar: Douglas MacArthur 1880 - 1964
-
The Wit & Wisdom of Winston Churchill
-
Never Give In!: The Best of Winston Churchill's Speeches
-
The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill: Alone, 1932-1940
ASIN: 0316545031 |
Customer Reviews:
The Hobo Philosopher.......2007-09-21
This is William Manchester at his best. This is fascinating reading and fascinating writing. Of course Winston Churchill was quite a character but to be honest I didn't know that fact until I read this book and its companion volume.
After reading this book I put it to my mind that I would read everything that Manchester wrote. I've got a couple more to go. You can't miss with this purchase. A great story, great writing, and good history. What more could you ask for?
Fantastic read.......2007-06-18
I am a little half way through the book, but it already is one of the best books I have ever read. The book deserves all the accolade. Manchester's approach to biography is a little different from many others in that he did not shy away from coloring the narrative with events that were yet to occur. He always hinted the historical significance of events in light of what happened later. I find this extremely helpful. For example: Churchill's fascination with early airplanes, his conception of tanks when dealing with a domestic riot are just two examples. These illuminated Churchill was indeed ahead of his peers in recognizing important trends.
The buildup to WWI is masterful. The book weaves Churchill's struggle with the Irish Home rule question together with the naval arms race with Germany in 1913. Since we know WWI started in 1914, the realization that Churchill and the British government were struggling with a domestic problem (which surely was exploited by the German Kaiser) enhances our understanding of the immediate pre-war times.
I knew the old US of A was not a world player before WWI. This book adds to that impression. Until the outbreak of the war, the US is just not on Churhill's radar: it does not show up much in his writing, travel, and speech. Yes, he did a book tour in the US, but that was before he started his political career.
Can't wait to read the second half of the book.
Never Question Your Sanity ,,, It's not You.......2006-12-22
This book should be read (before, after or with) The End of the World as We Know It. The scenarios are almost interchangable.
.......not a secret anymore.............2006-12-11
Actually it is very sad to mention this blunder against humanity:
When the Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers in October and November 1914, Britain's communications with India and the East via the Suez canal was immediately placed in jeopardy.
There was a secret agreement with Germany signed in August 1914 by the Young Turks that was troubling the Russians and taken as warning of the forthcoming trouble to The Tsar. The Russians regarded their Caucasian terrirories were also placed in jeopardy.
Consequently, the British and French, in order to protect their future `colonies' and bisect the `sick man of Europe', had to act forcefully. They opened another front in the South with the Gallipoli (1915) and Mesopotamian campaigns.
Anxious to score his first military encounter with `the enemy', Winston Churchill, in his capacity as Lord of Navy, prematurely urged a combined French and British naval incursion into Gallipoli. But the Turks were successful in repelling the British, French, and Australia and New Zealand Army Corps. and pushed their eventual withdrawal and evacuation.
((By contrast, in Mesopotamia - Iraq- after the disastrous Siege of Kut (1915-16), British Empire forces - mainly of Indian troops - reorganized and captured Baghdad (March 1917). Further to the west in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign, initial British failures were overcome when Jerusalem was captured in December 1917, and the Egyptian Expeditionary Force under Field Marshal Edmund Allenby, broke the Ottoman forces at the Battle of Megiddo in September 1918))
Russia, the protector of the Greek Orthothox Armenian population, sent her best troops in the Caucasus. The Turkish, Vice-Generalissimo Enver Pasha, supreme commander of the ex Ottoman Empire armed forces, was a very ambitious man. His aim and everpresent dream was to conquer central Asia. Enver Pasha, like Winston Churchill, was not a practical soldier. He launched an offensive with 100,000 soldiers against the Russians in the Caucasus in December of 1914.
His main enemy was the severe Weather conditions.
Insisting on a frontal attack against Russian positions in the mountains , Enver lost over 80% of his troops at the Battle of Sarikamis, in the heart of the tough winter season.
In 1917, Russian Grand Duke Nicholas assumed senior control over the Caucasus front. Nicholas tried to have a railway built from Russia (Georgia) to the conquered territories with a view to bringing up more supplies for a new offensive. But, in March of 1917 (February in the pre-revolutionary Russian calendar), the Czar was overthrown in the February Revolution and the Russian army began to slowly fall apart.
Hence, the protector of the Armenians was gone.
Winston Churchill blunder in Gallipoli, opened patched over wounds and re-ignited animosities between the Turks and their Armenian neighbors. In 1915, the Armenians were the victims of his cowardice. The Turks committed a HOLOCAUST against the Armenians that immediately started after WC debacle in Gallipolis.
The mass murder of the Armenians was indeed the first Holocaust of the twentieth century.
A BRILLIANT BIOGRAPHY - WELL DONE!.......2006-07-27
This is a brilliantly written biography of one of the most fascinating characters in history. Like most of Mnchester's work (I must admit to being a big fan), this is a very readable biography, well researched and holds the reader's interest from page to page. We see so much of Churchhill in his role as a WWII leader that we tend to forget there was a young man, living, learning and growing before the back and white films we see today. It is good to be reminded of this from time to time. It is also, for those interested, to learn how a world leader of Churchill's calibre came into being, how he developed and why he was the way he was. This work gives us great insight to those questions. Cannot recommend this work highly enough.
Book Description
He was not much of a player and not much more of a manager, but by the time Branch Rickey (1881–1965) finished with baseball, he had revolutionized the sport—not just once but three times. In this definitive biography of Rickey—the man sportswriters dubbed “The Brain,” “The Mahatma,” and, on occasion, “El Cheapo”—Lee Lowenfish tells the full and colorful story of a life that forever changed the face of America’s game.
As the mastermind behind the Saint Louis Cardinals from 1917 to 1942, Rickey created the farm system, which allowed small-market clubs to compete with the rich and powerful. Under his direction in the 1940s, the Brooklyn Dodgers became truly the first “America’s team.” By signing Jackie Robinson and other black players, he single-handedly thrust baseball into the forefront of the civil rights movement. Lowenfish evokes the peculiarly American complex of God, family, and baseball that informed Rickey’s actions and his accomplishments. His book offers an intriguing, richly detailed portrait of a man whose life is itself a crucial chapter in the history of American business, sport, and society.
Customer Reviews:
Decent content, but bland to grating writing style.......2007-09-11
Let me touch on that last first.
Branch Rickey may have used the term "ferocious gentlemen" about various people he appreciated. It certainly was NOT used regularly of others about him, definitely not to the point where it became a moniker.
But, Lowenfish tags Rickey with it, and uses it of him about every 10-15 pages. It's grating, it's off-putting, and does nothing to move the story line forward. Nor does it do anything for me in a good sense of establishing Lowenfish as a special author.
There's a few small errors of fact in the book. Most notably, the 1948 Chicago Tribune headline was "Dewey DEFEATS Truman" and not "Dewey BEATS Truman."
Other than that, while not leaden, the style of the book is not crisp, either.
As far as content, the book could either have been written a bit tighter and be 50 pages shorter, or else have been longer and more jam-packed. Rickey's Brooklyn years and especially his relationship with Walter O'Malley come immediately to mind. What first set them off against one another? Did Rickey have any quotable comments about O'Malley? Ditto for O'Malley about Rickey.
In other words, this book isn't bad as a Rickey bio -- if you can get past Lowenfish's writing tics. But, there's surely a more compelling -- and better written -- book available.
That rarest of creatures: a heroic general manager.......2007-04-20
While every major league team is required to retire Jackie Robinson's #42, the Lords of Baseball might also consider having every team display a pair of rimless glasses, an unlit cigar and a bow tie in memory of Branch Rickey. Until that happens, Lee Lowenfish's book stands as an excellent and precise memorial.
Robinson's contribution to baseball and American history is undeniable, but he was acting, to some extent, in his best self-interest. Rickey's self-interest, as normally defined, however, would have been to continue to bar the door to African American participation in the big leagues, while denying the door was even shut. This was the path of his fellow baseball decision-makers, for decades.
Rickey defined his self-interest in broader, even spiritual terms. He was several kinds of paradox: a muscular Christian, a country gentleman who lived and worked in the biggest cities, a tee-totaler who constantly supported and even loved rascals like Leo Durocher, Dizzy Dean and Pepper Martin.
Mr. Lowenfish, in addition to being a fine baseball maven and historian, is also a professorial-grade expert on American History. He combines these areas of expertise smoothly, giving depth and meaning to the various events and decisions in Rickey's life. He weaves details from inside baseball and culture into a deeply textured whole.
He also does not see the world in terms of cardboard heroes and villains, a particularly rare and useful point of view when it comes to this story, which has so much genuine and well documented heroism. Lowenfish reports on Happy Chandler, Lee Mac Phail, Ben Chapman, even that original baseball Satan, Walter O'Malley, by treating them as real people with complex motives, instead of mere evil-doers put in the world specifically for Robinson and Rickey to overcome.
Give Robinson, who walked through the door, all the credit in the world. But also credit he who opened the door. Lee Lowenfish does so in the way that Rickey himself would have most admired: by showing the human beings behind the myths.
Book Description
In this compelling memoir, Brooke Shields talks candidly about her experience with postpartum depression after the birth of her daughter, and provides millions of women with an inspiring example of recovery hen Brooke Shields welcomed her newborn daughter, Rowan Francis, into the world, something unexpected followed-a crippling depression. Now, for the first time ever, in Down Came the Rain, Brooke talks about the trials, tribulations, and finally the triumphs that occurred before, during, and after the birth of her daughter.
Customer Reviews:
I'd rather smell diapers..........2007-10-16
than read the rest of this book. Despite her Princeton degree (which I think calls into question the caliber of the school), Brooke Shields has all the writing skill of the average 6 year-old. She is out of touch with the real world; she is a privileged, pampered, sniveling wench. Her complaints of powdery CLEAN diaper smell, having to take a crap, and having to be cleaned by a nurse because she was too damn lazy to take care of herself, all smacks of ego and elitism. I wish she had jumped out of the window, or swallowed the bottle of pills than taken taken pen to paper. I want my money back as I couldn't stomach one more chapter of this drivel.
I will however keep it on my bookshelf, because whenever I do feel depressed, this book with indeed be the antidote. For THAT, I thank Brooke Shields. What a hilarious, mad-cap adventure it is!
depicts PPD perfectly.......2007-09-30
I, too, had severe PPD. I, too, have written a book about it. This is 50 times better than Marie Osmond's book. If you are gettting it because it's written by a celebrity..well I suppose that's appealing to some people...but this was not like Marie's book in that regard. Brooke comes across as a regular person. PPD is not picky about who it afflicts. Brooke is real and open and brutally honest. She helped me identify some feelings I'd not been able to express. Thank you, Brooke, for doing such a great job! I have no idea what you could've done better. In my opinion, this was dead on and flawless. If you don't buy my book, buy Brooke's!
Just OK - not really that much on PPD.......2007-09-10
It felt like the PPD was discussed very briefly and most of the book was her telling her story of how she grew up, how she wanted a baby, how hard it was to get there, how she missed her old life, how she then loved her baby, how cute her baby is, how she balanced her career and motherhood, her relationship with her mother, yada yada yada. I certainly wouldn't read this book to learn about PPD. It is just an easy read book if you are interested in looking into the lives of celebrities.
Changed my life!!.......2007-09-04
I'm so glad i bought this book. I was suffering from postpartum depression, and I was ashamed of the thoughts that i was thinking and why i didnt feel a bond with my daughter... I read the book and it made me realize I needed to do something about it. GREAT BOOK!!
Honestly Written.......2007-08-15
Honestly written, so truthful,I am sure it was as painful to write as it was to experience. This had to be. For Tom (Jack*ff) Cruise to go spurting off his ideas and opinions(opinions obviously not solicited from Brook or her husband) was not only in poor taste, but dangerous. What is wrong with him? Not that I think America at large listens to Tom, I for one will not buy any paper,book,see any movie or show that endorses him. As for his poor wife katie Holmes she looks miserable and should run....not walk away from this marriage. He is as lousy as a bedside doctor as he is an actor. Matt Lauer should have b*tched slapped him when he got in his face. While I myself had uneventful pregnancies and no problems after(NO blues, thank God)It is thoughtful and honest and gives other women hope. God Bless Brook and her children.
Book Description
The Making of a Surgeon in the 21st Century is a highly personalized description of one individual's experiences during a five-year residency in general surgery at a major university hospital. It describes the personal challenges and rewards, the drama of triumph and tragedy, the agony of indecision and the thrill of success. Residency is the most profoundly life-altering sequence of events in a surgeon's life.
What does it take to make a surgeon?
It takes a college degree and a medical school education, followed by a residency. And it takes a willingness to subordinate one's personal life to acquiring the skills and knowledge which a surgeon must possess. This sacrifice takes its toll - on families, on mental health, on life-style. A surgical trainee may not get out on his own until well in his thirties - living, in the meantime, a meager existence at best.
Post-graduate training in surgery is longer than that of any other medical specialty, five years at least. Tortuous on-call schedules often demand exceedingly long work hours - 100-hour work weeks being the norm. Compounding the problem are very high stress levels, the burdens shouldered by the resident's family in his frequent absence and often an enormous educational debt.
Nevertheless, every year hundreds of fresh medical school graduates compete for the few available positions. They are consistently the very best of their classes.
Why would otherwise intelligent, highly motivated individuals actively seek such a miserable existence?
Surgeons have, of course, been glorified in the mass media as the swaggering, brilliant, fiercely independent cowboys of the medical profession. Their compensation has also been great. But beyond this is a personal quality best defined as decisiveness. They want to make the difference, in no uncertain terms. In surgery, when the patient enters the operating room he is suffering from disease. Thanks to the surgeon, he may be wheeled out cured. It doesn't happen every time, of course, but the possibility is there (in other disciplines of medicine "cure" is, unfortunately, an unusual event). Who wouldn't want to be such a healer, making a palpable, tangible difference?
Customer Reviews:
Honest although not very entertaining.......2007-08-04
The Making of a Surgeon in the 21st Century is an honest account of the challenges and satisfaction that many surgeons-in-training could relate to. He explains what surgeons go through in easy to understand language and probably it would be a worthwhile read for the families of surgeons-in-training to give them insight and understanding of the process. Dr Miller is not a particularly entertaining writer - certainly not in the same league as Atul Gawande - but that is possibly one of the things that make the experiences seem more genuine.
A Colorful and Interesting Account.......2006-06-24
Medical memoirs have become a popular genre. Most are quite revealing as to the virtual hell a four to five year resident must experience to become a qualified practitioner. The resident surgeon's experience has to be the most hellish in terms of the amount of hours worked, (100 hour weeks) the pressure brought to bear from the attending staff, sometimes extremely sadistic, abrasive and demeaning, not to mention the continuos mental strain from lack of sleep and the stress on the residents family, some families, unfortunately, disintegrate at some point along the way. Craig Miller's book clearly expresses all these things, however it is the spirit in which he communicates these experiences that makes his memoir worthwhile reading.
A better word would be a colourful account of his experiences as a resident. He not only explains the program in easy to comprehend prose, it is his anecdotes, describing the many characters that make-up this world that is entertaining as well as intriguing. About halfway through the text, I wondered if he had changed the names of the attending staff, nurses, and fellow surgeons that he profiles, because his characterizations are really, for the most part, quite scathing. In some cases the descriptions bordered on the libellous, smelling a legal suit some time in the future. However I'm sure his editors took this into consideration before publication. I certainly hope so.
The most revealing and educational part of the book was Miller's explanation of the standard step-by-step procedure (the Advanced Trauma Life Support protocols) when working in the ER, the initial steps of trauma management. Interestingly it is broken down simply so that the attending staff do not have to "think", but sequentially run through this procedure of "A is for Airway, B is for Breathing, C is for circulation, D is for Disability and E is for exposure." (P. 207) Miller is extremely annoyed how TV dramas as well as `reality' documentaries give the wrong impression to add to the pathos. In fact the ATLS protocols, following the A, B, C, D, E standard procedure avoids the chaos, ensuring the best for the trauma victim. This section of the text was extremely informative.
By the end of Miller's Chief Residency, he had the confidence and the confidence of his teachers to forge on alone, and realized he had truly become a surgeon. Having read the book in an afternoon, his writing was such that I felt his relief and sense of accomplishment by the end of his five-year residency. This has to be one of the most difficult and gruelling training out of all the professions, physically, intellectually and emotionally. In the Epilogue, Miller expresses his ambivalence about the current residency system in terms of its viciousness and amazing effectiveness in producing top-notch surgeons. The system hasn't changed since the 19th century. The process certainly takes its toll but for a price and is the price worth it?
A recommended read for anyone interested in the education of a surgeon.
More like, "The Whining of a Resident".......2006-05-08
William Nolen's original "The Making of a Surgeon" was a near epic inspirational recounting of one's surgical training. It celebrated the training process that molded eager, talented young doctors into, what else, surgeons. He portrayed a system that was necessarily grueling in order to insure that the products were worthy and capable of having people's very lives placed into their hands. Miller's tale, on the other hand, is more the revisionist whining of a worker who believes his boss never appreciated his talents or efforts. The entire book reads much like the faculty roast he recounts near the end: a steady spiteful payback; a re-vengeful, cathartic diatribe in which the targets are the very faculty and institution that tolerated him as a green, imperfect but promising young recruit and trained him to be a surgeon. If your preference is inspiration, stick with the original. If you enjoy wallowing in self-pity and pointing the fingers at others to explain your own shortcomings, you'll enjoy Miller's version.
The Making of a Surgeon in the 21st Century.......2006-04-23
I agree........this book was very factual and intertaining at the same time. I liked his style of writing and felt like he was right beside me, speaking about his experiences. I cheered in the end. The brutal years that he went through in his training came to a perfect end with the roast! He finally got "his day"!
A natural follow up to Dr. Nolen's book.......2005-10-16
The world of surgical training has changed tremendously over the past few years. As little as 5 years ago, the rule in surgical residency training was 110-120 hour-work weeks and even some rotations demanded 24 hour in-house coverage for several weeks at a time. This "old school" period is brilliantly narrated by William A. Nolen in "The Making of a Surgeon", but today's reality, significantly different, was captured splendidly by Dr. Miller.
Dr. Miller comes through with what feels like a natural follow-up of Dr. Nolen's work. There are interesting comparisons of several features of our current training as opposed to that of Dr. Nolen's era.
This book was very entertaining, critical and even funny. Suitable for both the non-health system related reader, as well as medical students and residents as a way of comparing our own training. Dr. Miller managed to explain technical terms in a very simple and short fashion that doesn't interrupt his rhythm even for the expert surgical readers.
I highly recommend this book particularly to medical students contemplating a surgical career. If you don't find yourself laughing at Miller's humor, then surgery might not be your most suitable future!
Book Description
Larry Darrell is a young American in search of the absolute. The progress of his spiritual odyssey involves him with some of Maugham's most brilliant characters - his fiancée Isabel whose choice between love and wealth have lifelong repercussions, and Elliott Templeton, her uncle, a classic expatriate American snob. Maugham himself wanders in and out of the story, to observe his characters struggling with their fates.
Customer Reviews:
Nature Boy.......2007-10-19
What's it all about? It's a question that many have asked but few have done so as effectively as Maugham. In this novel, peopled by attractive, fun-loving, educated, multi-lingual, upper-class Americans living in Europe between the world wars, Maugham gives two extremes. On the one hand you have the personification of Cindy Lauper's girls just want to have fun in the form of the beautiful Isabella. She loves Larry--crazy about him--- but won't marry him because Larry wants to live on a shoestring while traveling the world seeking the meaning of life; instead, she marries Larry's steady-Eddie friend Gray. Then, there's Larry, a very strange enchanted boy, much like the one that Nat King Cole made famous in Nature Boy: he wandered very far, very far, over land and sea, a little shy and sad of eye but very wise was he. Indeed, Larry goes to India where he lives and learns from holy men. He practices meditation, abstinence, mortification, and healing. Much to Isabella's chagrin, Larry, becomes so totally unselfish that he feels obligated to marry Sophia a suicidal old schoolmate turned prostitute drug abuser. With an assist from Isabella, Sophia skips out on Larry in favor of a fix and some rough sex. In the end, Sophia is murdered; Larry gives away all his possessions; Gray and Isabella get to live fat and happy on an inheritance from Uncle Elliott. So, what's the message? Perhaps Mick Jagger said it best: you can't always get what you want, but you can always get what you need.
Overrated, but Chapter Six Recommended.......2007-09-06
I came to this novel looking forward to reading about the spiritual journeying of its main character, Larry Darrell. Although Larry does occupy a central role, that role is far from being the starring one. Various other characters populate the pages, each taking nearly as much space as Larry. Perhaps Maugham intended the others to act as a foil for Larry--to contrast their materialistic pursuits against Larry's spiritual ones. But I never cared for the others (most of whom Maugham portrays as being quite shallow), and for me they became distractions. In many scenes, the highlight would be some words from Larry. But then Larry would sit quietly in the corner and listen to the inane chatter of the others. I diligently kept reading only because Maugham would throw out a crumb or two about Larry.
But the story of Larry's spiritual quest comes front and center in Chapter Six, the penultimate. Here we are treated to a long, revealing account of Larry's experience in India. This is the heart of the book and by far the most interesting. Strangely, in opening the chapter, Maugham warns the reader that he "very well skip this chapter without losing the thread of such story as I have to tell." But my own warning is this: read Chapter Six and nothing else! And this chapter can be read without any knowledge of the earlier chapters.
Earlier, I read a commentary comparing Razor's Edge with Hermann Hesse's Siddhartha, and there are similarities. Foremost is both authors' writing about Indian spiritualism far ahead of its becoming popular in the West. But, in my estimation, while Siddhartha grapples with some of the core issues of such spiritualism, Razor's Edge treats it as an interesting spotlight to contrast with Western society. Moreover, Hesse approaches the spiritualism whole-heartedly, as if his salvation depended on understanding it. But Maugham seems to treat the spiritualism as mere fodder for one of his many books, as if he might forget the material as soon as he started his next book.
Still, Maugham is an excellent writer, and at times his prose succinctly captures salient aspects of Indian spiritualism (at least to the extent that I understand it). At one point, claiming some modesty, Maugham writes: "I am not attempting here to give anything in the nature of a description of the philosophical system of the Vedanta." That may be true, but some of Maugham's crisp sentences convey significant insight:
"But that poor little drop of water, when it has once more become one with the sea, has surely lost its individuality." Larry's response: "What is individuality but the expression of our egoism? Until the soul has shed the last trace of that it cannot become one with the Absolute."
"I have always felt that there was something pathetic in the founders of religion who made it a condition of salvation that you should believe in them. It's as though they needed your faith to have faith in themselves."
New themes, fantastic character development.......2007-08-23
I approached Maugham reluctantly, as I do many British authors. But, the Razor's Edge was clear, descriptive, yet not mired in page-long sentences. Maugham does not try to present a "theme" to the reader, although he does set up situations in which the reader can try to grasp lessons from the plot.
But that is all the reader can do--grasp. Maugham is Dickensian in his character development. Each character is ethereal, and readers can project themselves on them--especially Larry. Maugham seems to understand that we cannot simplify characters to simple symbols or thoughts, and he uses this to his advantage.
Brilliant book, lucid enough for reading on vacations...stirring
Amazing.......2007-08-20
Like the sharp blade of a razor this book cut right through me giving me a new perspective on a great many things
The book is written like an authors recollection of events that happened after WW1. The story line is not a crazy action packed adventure but insted a slow one. This book is not to be read by a little kid as in order to fully grasp it requires much concentration one must interpret every word. The adjectives in this book are amazing They make it as if you're watching a painter paint the scene delicicatly in front of your very eyes concentrating on evey intracate detail. Suddenly you are looking at a rock formation and you see the great blue ocean in the background and you watch as the waves crash upon the shore.
I reccomend this book to anyone with a fuctioning brain and a decent attention span. Five stars out of five a must read
A look into another world in another time.......2007-06-26
Yet the writing is so full that we can feel part of this other world.
I came to this story by the back door. My first introduction to Somerset Maugham was through the movie "The Razor's Edge" (1946) staring Tyrone Power as Larry Darrell. I have no idea as to how much it was adapted from the book. Then in 1984 we watched Bill Murray as Larry Darrell. This film lost what magic the 1946 film had. So it was time to read the book. Yes I know very few films can do more than present the essence of a book. Turns out that even the older film wrote Summerset out of some of the scenes.
Larry is back from the war (WWI). As with many of us he is left with nagging questions about why one person lives and another must die. This problem leads Larry to search for the answers. He turns down opportunities and takes up a lifestyle to help him find answers. This story is told or narrated by Somerset Maugham himself. In the book Somerset takes more of an active part in the story. Larry came as close as any of us to the answer he seeks and we leave him much the same way one enters and leaves your life.
Customer Reviews:
Brilliantly Written European History - 1932 to 1940.......2007-09-16
The Last Lion, Alone covers the history of Europe from the time Hitler first came to power in Germany to the time that Hitler invaded the Low Countries and World War II began. During this period Churchill, who continually fought against the appeasement policies of Chamberlain, rose from Back Bench irrelevance to become Brittan's Prime Minister.
The history of this period is a gripping saga of one man's malicious attempt to dominate Europe and another man's noble efforts to stop him - a classical case of good vs evil - told as an almost unbelievable story in the words of a master story teller.
Grab a bottle of Scotch and have at this book!.......2007-07-03
William Manchester informs and entertains in this excellent historical account of the critical years leading up to WWII, juxtaposing the appeasement practices of predecessors Baldwin and Chamberlain with the unwavering belief in the principles of freedom held by Churchill. The book (along with Manchester's first volume) gives terrific insight into the transition from the glory days of the British Empire to the Post WWI apathy that beset the British public. As well, the work provides delightful commentary on the characters surrounding Churhill's life including his colorful mother Jennie, his wife Clementine and his nemesis Adolf Hitler.
Churchill was begging...........2006-10-06
After the fall of France in June 1940, Winston Churchill was begging USA President Roosevelt for military aid (in fact, all sorts of support was then needed) as no one knew what would the 'fate' of the French fleet was going to be.
Churchill kept reminding the American president that Britain would not surrender even if left alone.
Churchill was defiant despite the fact that the two 'key' American ambassadors, in France and Great Britain, were pro Hitler (or at least they were not anti-Nazi).
Joseph Kennedy (USA Ambassador to GB) openly cautioned his fellow Americans against entering the war because the 'allies' would soon be beaten.
However, I would have liked to see more comments about the position and reaction of the king - king George VI.
Was he indifferent?
We should remember that Hitler had been addressing the King as the man whom the British Government circles have loathed, and as the only 'hope' for a reconciliation between the Third Reich and GB.
In this context it is true that Churchill was indeed ALONE
absolutely a delight to read.......2006-01-26
I was adrift when I finished this volume.
grasping at pathetic things to read for a while - nothing satisfied - Manchester can set the stage, his historical background is so rich that you'll find yourself spouting about it to your friends.
You'll learn more from this book than a two semester course in 20th century history.
Churchill himself is the lead player in a panapoly of exciting elements. But manchester never lets the reader forget the place in history - the man was a masterful writer.
solitary courage.......2005-12-29
No better profile of Churchill 1932-40 exists. Whetted with acrimony and disdain, Churchill is ultimately proved right (and his real task commences).
This is a work of the first order. `The Last Lion' (1874-1932) is also worthy.
Gilbert (worth reading) pales in comparison.
Book Description
Jasper Johns (b. 1930) is one of the most significant figures in the history of postwar art. His work from 1955 to 1965 was pivotal, exercising an enormous impact on the subsequent development of pop, minimalism, and conceptual art in the United States and Europe. This is the first publication to approach Johns’s work of this ten-year period through a thematic framework. It examines the artist's interest in the condition of painting as a medium, a practice, and an instrument of encoded meaning through several interrelated motifs: the target, the “device,” the naming of colors, and the imprint of the body.
In this handsome book, leading scholars, a conservator, and a contemporary artist consider Johns’s activity in this critical decade and discuss many of his iconic paintings, such as
Target with Four Faces (1955),
Diver (1962),
Periscope (
Hart Crane) (1963), and
Arrive-Depart (1963). Their new critical and historical perspectives are grounded in an unusually close visual and material analysis of Johns's work.
Customer Reviews:
Top-quality illustrations.......2007-04-08
Published to accompany an exhibition held at the National Gallery in Washington (and later at the Kunstmuseum Basel, Switzerland) and concentrating on the pivotal decade 1955-1965 when Johns produced his most famous works, this catalogue is worth it mainly because of the quality of the illustrations. So much has been written on Johns's art that it is sometimes refreshing to be able to pause in front of his works and just enjoy them for their pure pictorial quality (color, texture...). This book enables you to do just that. Then if you want to read the text, you will find it well written, clever (especially at the end of the book, where paintings are analysed and interpreted one by one and in detail), sometimes a bit far-fetched, but just like everything else I know which has dealt with Johns's art (see Chrichton, Varnedoe,etc...).
An equisite, full-color, thoughtful read . . . but.......2007-04-03
This book is gorgeous in its color, close-ups, and perspectives on Mr. Johns, but perhaps "Mr. Johns's temper" would flair when he realizes throughout the book he'd find "Mr. Johns' temper." Perhaps a global spell-check changed everything reflecting Mr. Johns's last name, but gee-wiz what a horrible annoyance. I was stunned this would happen through the auspices of the National Gallery in Washington. Perhaps President Bush had a night job editing this text while reading his 60 books a year?
Targets, Flags, and More.......2007-03-18
An excellent and broad-spectrum catalog of an exhibit based on a seminal decade, 1955-1965, in Jasper Johns' career. Writers analyze diverse aspects of these early years of Johns' career that established him as one of the great figures in modern art and stimulated much in art created by others. I especially enjoyed the essays by artist and critic Robert Morris and conservation expert Carol Mancusi-Ungaro. Excellent reproductions of the works shown in the exhibit.
Book Description
Drawing on a wealth of new evidence from all sides, Triumph Forsaken overturns most of the historical orthodoxy on the Vietnam War. Through the analysis of international perceptions and power, it shows that South Vietnam was a vital interest of the United States. The book provides many new insights into the overthrow of Ngo Dinh Diem in 1963 and demonstrates that the coup negated the South Vietnamese government's tremendous, and hitherto unappreciated, military and political gains between 1954 and 1963. After Diem's assassination, President Lyndon Johnson had at his disposal several aggressive policy options that could have enabled South Vietnam to continue the war without a massive US troop infusion, but he ruled out these options because of faulty assumptions and inadequate intelligence, making such an infusion the only means of saving the country.
Customer Reviews:
Triumph.......2007-09-13
TRIUMPH is the first objective detailed history I have read concerning our involvement in Vietnam. I worked next to the highest levels of military intelligence in Vietnam and, I can assure you, Mark Moyar leaves no stone unturned in assessing our buildup and eventual troop introduction into that country--with all the blunders and mis-steps along the way--but ultimately reflects the justification of our strategic goals in Southeast Asia. All Vietnam veterans and their families will read this book with pride. This book and its sequel will someday be mandatory reading for all history courses covering this time period.
preposterous revisionist trash.......2007-08-13
This book is nothing but preposterous revisionist trash. The only thing Moyar's good at is cherry picking archival factoids to substantiate his laughable arguments. To assert that the '63 Buddhist uprising was solely the product of communist agitation is ludicrous. From the very begining of his regime Diem did nothing but aggravate the fisssures between the Buddhist majority and his Catholic constituency. He reaped what he sowed. Also to argue that that Britain supported America's Vietnam War because of a verbal statement of support by a Prime Minister is absurd. Not one shilling nor one British soldier went to the aid of America's noble venture in Southeast Asia.The Brits knew a quagmire when the they saw one. Unlike their erswhile ally they knew better than to step in it.
The litany of absurdities goes on and on.The only thing this book does is provide solace for the "stab-in-the-back" whiners who cannot accept the fact that we got our butts kicked by a third rate country.
Great read, sad tale.......2007-08-09
This book is really well written and researched. It is a tale of how the United States grasped defeat out of the jaws of victory. I was glad to be immersed in the reasons we went to war and am satisfied that I understand why now. I also see that when a president shows weakness or indecision that the world pays attention and takes advantage. Also not all countries are ready for a US style democracy, to believe so is to not understand historical lessons. We may be making the same mistake in Iraq, time will tell.
Self-declared revisionist history is much needed.......2007-07-10
Mark Moyar has written what he himself terms a revisionist history of the Vietnam conflict. Traditional left-wing academia, media and politicians would prefer that you don't read it.
Unfortunately the history is densely written: it is not an easy read and only the dedicated will make it all the way to the last line, which sums up Moyar's central thesis. Vietnam was not the fiasco the left-wing paints it to be. Ho Chi Minh was a dedicated Communist, not merely some flag-waving patriot. David Halberstam, of the New York Times, and a few fellow reporters did terrible things. Robert McNamara was a buffoon (that's my opinion; Moyar is somewhat more charitable).
As the title implies, there was a point where the United States and South Vietnam could have triumphed over the Communists. But the opportunity was lost through the unwise actions of Lyndon Johnson, Robert McNamara and others in and out of the cabinet.
Moyar's attention to detail is admirable, if tiring. There was so much that the media either got wrong or deliberately falsified that Moyar's expose is like a breath of fresh air.
After reading this history, you have to push back and ask yourself how Johnson, McNamara and their team could have been so stubbornly wrong-headed in their perspective and decision-making.
Moyar's contribution to bringing accuracy back to the writing of history is laudable. It is regrettable that a book this dense probably will not attract a mass audience. Not enough people will learn the truth of how egocentrics like Johnson and McNamara and Halberstam caused great harm to the United States and even greater harm to the millions of South Vietnamese, Cambodians, Laotians and other Asians who suffered for their poor judgment.
Jerry
The importance of pragmatism, patience and judgment.......2007-07-06
A thorough thesis which exploits the wealth of source data, and well written. As someone just too young to be involved in Vietnam it was very valuable to hear another opinion.
But what struck me most was the narrative around the importance of recognizing and supporting potentially flawed but locally adept leaders early in conflicts, how the judgment and will required to do that is rare, and how there is often a single moment that counts ("there is a tide in the affairs of men"). It is not a coincidence that Eisenhower (a military man) got it while State did not.
War is a rough instrument but war decisions can require a sensitivity yet decisiveness that is difficult to cultivate in a democracy. Open societies and their allies are always at a disadvantage against indirect threats and seldom connect the dots, so it is crucial to apply influence and force judiciously and precisely. Our current conflict leaves even more such lessons.
Average customer rating:
- 4 1/2* Psychedelic Music and Culture in 1960's S.F.
- Quite Disappointed
- Yawn and great disapointment!
- It's beautiful, man!
- beautiful addition for all libraries
|
Beneath the Diamond Sky: Haight Ashbury 1965 1970
Barney Hoskyns
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
General
| Music
| Entertainment
| Subjects
| Books
History & Criticism
| Music
| Entertainment
| Subjects
| Books
Rock
| Musical Genres
| Music
| Entertainment
| Subjects
| Books
Popular Culture
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
1960s
| 20th Century
| United States
| Americas
| History
| Subjects
| Books
General
| State & Local
| United States
| Americas
| History
| Subjects
| Books
California
| State & Local
| United States
| Americas
| History
| Subjects
| Books
Pacific Northwest
| State & Local
| United States
| Americas
| History
| Subjects
| Books
Look Inside Nonfiction Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
Similar Items:
-
The Haight-Ashbury: A History
-
Summer of Love: Ths Inside Story of LSD, Rock & Roll, Free Love and High Time in the Wild West
-
Hotel California: The True-Life Adventures of Crosby, Stills, Nash, Young, Mitchell, Taylor, Browne, Ronstadt, Geffen, the Eagles, and Their Many Friends
-
Waiting for the Sun: Strange Days, Weird Scenes and the Sound of Los Angeles
-
Magic of the Sixties
ASIN: 0684841800 |
Customer Reviews:
4 1/2* Psychedelic Music and Culture in 1960's S.F........2004-10-25
This nicely illustrated musical history explains how the "psychedelic" sound of mid- to late- 60's San Francisco bands (e.g., the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Janis Joplin, Country Joe and the Fish, Moby Grape, and others) were an extension of folk music with roots in 1950's beat culture. Thus, Kesey, Kerouac, Ginsberg, and Burrows figure prominently in the book, giving the music its foundation, it's apolitical ethos, and (as Hoskyns repeatedly emphasize) its acid and other drugs. The author's most fascinating and best writing occurs when he explores the roots and evolution of the San Francisco sound, and its love/hate relationship with the subcultures in which it was embedded.. For example, his analysis of the tension between the Berkeley radicals and the hippies is surprisingly astute and well documented (especially since there is inadequate analysis in much of the book).
The end of the psychedelic scene is a familiar and shallow account that includes legions of teen runaways, rampant drugs and violence, and, (must we hear this again?) the conveniently symbolic disaster at Altamount. More instructive is his description of how the music industry co-opted the scene (with help from musicians who actually wanted to make money!), the organizational talent of promoter Bill Graham who competed with the established but looser "Family Dog" outfit, the overdoses, and the dissolution of the beat-inspired ethos. Hoskyns writes that some of this was dissolution was inevitable, as the once young hippie musicians became the establishment, and a new generation rebelled against it. However, while San Francisco was a major part of the 60's scene, it was not the only part, and Hoskyns doesn't place it within the national context of the Nixon presidency, the increasing military/police complex, and the growing politicalization and militancy of women and other disenfranchised groups.
More importantly, for a music history Hoskyns' musical analysis is fairly weak, you don't get an idea of what the music was like, nor is there much discussion of how the groups differed. But that would have required a more serious, even scholarly book. "Beneath the Diamond Sky" is meant to appear a bit trippy, with different fonts and font SIZES and various tie-dye colors thrown in to replicate the feeling of the period. This mostly doesn't work; it's too much artifice, but at least you get some feeling for the creative impulse of the time. Finally, the book would have been better with a epilogue tracing what more of what happened to the S.F. musical and cultural leaders after the 60's ended, and what their influence has been on others.
However, that's not really what this book is about (despite its excellent early cultural analysis). The book is best for its great photographs of these seminal musicians and cultural icons in their prime, including pictures of street scenes, posters, and free concerts at Golden Gate park Still, the book can be annoying because of typos and other mistakes, and seemingly contradictory statements. It appears there was no single Haight Ashbury scene, and that's why this book may offend some who were actually there. However, I can strongly recommend this for its photos, and as an introduction to the subject (especially if you can find it used or discounted}. A short bibliography--but no discography!--may encourage further research into "Hashbury" history. Note: The book title is taken from Bob Dylan's "Mr. Tangerine Man."
Quite Disappointed.......2001-08-30
I am quite pleased I ordered a used copy of this book, and would have been quite disappointed if I had paid the [money on the] price tag.. Nice photos and much ado about music. In short, I lived in the Haight-Ashbury during those wonderful years. And this book reflects nothing of what life was really like. At all, to us that were not directly tied to a band. I partied at ...Ashbury and other places. I had hopes this would address what street life was truly like back then. It does not.
Yawn and great disapointment!.......2001-08-30
...Great photos and much ado about music. In short, I lived in the Haight-Ashbury during those wonderful years. And this book reflects nothing of what life was really like. At all, to us that were not directly tied to a band. I partied at 710 Ashbury and other places. I had hopes this would address what street life was truly like back then. It does not.
It's beautiful, man!.......1999-07-10
If you are like me, the subject matter of Beneath the Diamond Sky will be quite familiar turf: Haight-Ashbury in the sixties. In this case familiarity does not breed contempt. It breeds Love (as in "Summer of"). This bygone pop culture big bang has never been more concisely or attractively typified as in this book.
I fell in love with this book at first sight. I held it in my hands and yea, it was beautiful. I paged through it's rainbow-hued, lavishly illustrated pages and was filled with Satisfaction. I read the text and it was Righteous, dude. I admired the posters and buttons, rare photos and it was all very far out. This is a very reassuring book, a chronicle of the time when the universe swirled psychodynamically around Haight-Ashbury. It betokens all things Hippie and San Francisco without being sugar-coated.
Previous books addressing this topic have not found the right mix of form and content. "Summer of Love" by Joel Selvin, for instance was a pop history document which lacked the design and illustrative qualities of this book. Also, Selvin tended to rewrite things to the chagrin of the psychedelic cognoscenti enough to bring doubt upon the enterprise. "Diamond Sky" tends to neglect revisionism in favor of what is actually known.
Hoskyns does an admirable job of running all of the characters across the page for our scrutiny. The quotes, the deeds, the legends are all covered. I can't quibble with any of it, it's there and its familiar and as I stated before, it is beautifully presented. Hello to Jerry, Janis, Skip, Grace, Chet et. al.
Barney Hoskyns is a very adept pop music writer whose work appears quite often in 'serious pop music' magazines like Mojo. What I like about him here is that he doesn't seem to intrude upon the luminous subject matter at all. He lets the Haight speak for itself, which it continues to do quite well.
beautiful addition for all libraries.......1999-07-03
This book is small in size only! Author Barney Hoskyns' historical narrative of San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury 1965-1970 reads like a fascinating novel. I read this book in one siting and when I reluctantly turned the last page I suddenly realized that I had just received an intense lession in California history and the world of music. What a joy! I went out and bought three more copies for some close friends. Buy it!
Books:
- The Politically Incorrect Guide to Global Warming (and Environmentalism)
- The President, the Pope, and the Prime Minister: Three Who Changed the World
- The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money and Power
- The Silver Spoon
- The Story of the World Volume 2: History for the Classical Child (Story of the World: History for the Classical Child (Audio))
- The Struggle for Soviet Jewish Emigration, 19481967 (Cambridge Russian, Soviet and Post-Soviet Studies)
- The Virgin's Lover
- The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl
- Their Eyes Were Watching God
- This Is War!: A Photo Narrative of the Korean War
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Stranded
- Hattie Big Sky
- The Epilepsies: Etiologies and Prevention
- Two-Dimensional Separated Flows
- Adobe Photoshop CS3 for Photographers: A Professional Image Editor's Guide to the Creative use of Ph
- Criminalistics: An Introduction to Forensic Science
- Biology and Conservation of Ridley Sea Turtles
- The Segesser Hide Paintings: Masterpieces Depicting Spanish Colonial New Mexico
- The Papered Wall: The History, Patterns and Techniques of Wallpaper, Second Edition
- Idaho's Noxious Weeds
