An interesting short account of the life of this eminent, world-renowned psychiatrist, entomologist, anatomist, social reformer and peace-reformer, Auguste Forel, born in 1848 on the shores of Lake Geneva in Switzerland.

This account of Forel's life was first written on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Forel's passing (1981).

Throughout his life Forel tried to understand religion, free from dogma and superstition, for he considered that true religion should be for the social good of all mankind. He deplored the fact that there was so much superstition in organized religion. All his life he had believed in the things that Baha'u'llah, founder of the Baha'i Faith, had taught, without realising the source. It was in the last 10 years of his life that he first came across the Baha'i Faith and from then on he wholeheartedly supported it for he recognized it as being the "church of tomorrow". He considered the Baha'i Faith to be the true religion of human social good without dogmas or priests, uniting all men on this small terrestrial globe. In a codicil to his will in 1921 he wrote: "I have become a Baha'i. May this religion live and prosper for the good of mankind; this is my most ardent wish."

On first hearing of the Baha'i Faith Forel corresponded with Abdu'l-Baha, the son of Baha'u'llah, and in reply 'Abdu'l-Baha wrote to him one of the most weighty letters ever written on the subject of philosophy. If ever there was any doubt in academic circles that Auguste Forel was a Baha'i, this study confirms the fact.

If you have the slightest interest in portraiture and/or classical art, this inexpensive book , along with others in the Dover art Library series, is a must for your collection. Ingres is arguably one of the greatest portraitist ever and the reproductions in this book are a testament to that. Unlike the works of many of his contemporaries , "Romanticists", Ingres was a Classicist in the strictest sense of the word, as evident in these drawings and especially in his paintings. Although i am more an admirer of the style of such painters as Sargent, whose looser approach is the anthisesis of Ingres' careful, detailed, deliberate, yet graceful style, i still enjoyed studying these masterpieces in this book of drawings.

The last "ouvrage" of that greatest archaeologist, the fore-father of scientific French Egyptology, Auguste Mariette, has been out of print since a long time ago, and this is a real pity. The "editio princeps" goes back to 1888 and was the result of gathering together the field-notes taken by him during his study-tours around the great cemeteries of Memphis, especially at Saqqara. The records taken from many tombs, since then damaged, deteriorated or lost and never refound again, make of this work an indespensable source of information for anyone interested in the archeology and history of one of the most glorious periods of Pharaonic Egypt,i.e., the Old Kingdom. Edited as manuscript notes and sketches, it also stands as an example of how the earliest researches undertook their job, not always in the better recording conditions. It is only strongly desired that one printer would undertake the (hardly looking as a quite profitable) task of reprinting this title, even if only for the sake of keeping alive a memorial for the illustrious French archaeologist. But I'm sure it would also be a good bussiness in the end: such a "classical" book surely will atract the attention of many buyers: I include myself.

As far as cook books go this is a fantastic book to opt for. It ranges from delicate sauces to the most complex of deserts. This book has only two flaws which in a sense are not real flaws. The first is that this book is definately designed for the experienced cook. Though it offers an explantion of many of the complicated tasks in its recipes, there is a lot of knowledge it takes for granted. So while this book is definately not for the rank amateur, with a combination of other books this could be a fantastic referece book to own. As for the second flaw, the ingredients required are not always the easiest to find. Some of the things neccessary for the recipes can not be found in your everyday super-market. But if you have access to some specialized markets you will be cooking like a professional in no time at all.

One of the pleasures of reading this book is watching the protagonist work as a detective. He sees detection as being very similar to cooking. The ingredients come from several different quarters but in the end they usually fit together.

This is a beautiful book, but that's what you expect with an art inspired coffee table book. The writing is done so that the casual observer of impressionist art can come away with a better understanding of the subject matter. Every time I look through this book I come away pleases but that is more a function of the artwork documented then the authors work.

I saw this book at the CMA and thought I'd write a review since no one has done so yet. This book is very nice for a paperback. Most of the writing, which I didn't really look at, was in the beginning of the book with the rest focusing primarily on reproductions of his sculpture. There were some photos of Rodin and the customary biographical information and a huge amount of reproductions of his work, most of which are good, but some are from angles that are not the best and some of the details are a bit confusing. With work like Rodin's that showcases a balance between the primitive and refined, it is important to get a clear shot in order to understand what it is that you are looking at. Some of the reproductions, while beautiful, are a bit confusing from that standpoint. Otherwise, a good book. I'll probably buy it myself someday, when I'm no longer a starving artist.

I'm a Chef, and have borrowed copies of Escoffier's Le Guide Culinaire from friends whenever I need it. On a lark, I ran a search on Escoffier here at Amazon.com. I was stunned to find this book for the low cost of $12 or so, knowing that every other copy I had seen cost $60 or $70. So I ordered it and paged through it. Well, it only prints 2300 or so of over 5000 recipes in Escoffier's treatise. Admittedly, probably more than the home cook actually *needs*, but nowhere does the book say that it has been abridged.

But, like many Amazon.com customers, I found myself in the position of thinking "but it'll cost me half the price of the book to send it back." So I wound up giving it to a friend who likes to cook, but doesn't need the "real thing."

Suffice it to say that if you want the real Esoffier, you're still going to have to drop the $60+ for the Van Nostrand Reinhold edition. Sorry, culinary students, you didn't luck up on a deal.

ToqueBlanc

Things that I cannot finds in this book (for whatever reasons) which I hoped would be included: 1.recipe for coq au vin 2. recipe for onion soup 3. recipe for lobster thermidor. Things that are in here that I can live without : 1. how to lard a joint of meat which a. I don't understand in terms of doing this b.under no circumstances do I need this in terms of the fat 2. a recipe for boeuf bourguignone which is so old ( it could also be traditional) that it uses a piece of rump roast or top round roast that is not cut into pieces ( it was originally for a tough piece of meat--so said Julia and Jacques the other day on PBS--and his boeuf bourguignon also was a "pot roast" --and I am prejudiced against pot roasts and will never make it that way). However, therre is another reviewer who is absolutely right, there is an excellent presentation and overview of the sauces. Also of cooking methods. I just got it--and it's not the only one--I do expect to be at least referring to it, and probably using it.

I am a chef an you can not buy any other books untill you have read this one. All of cullenry mastery is in there .

This book is valuable in it's position as a 19th Century-written book on the history of fashion. For this reason, it would be invaluable to anybody researching the attitudes of the 19th Century.

However, for anybody wanting to research fashion it is of use only as a pretty oddity.

It is fun to look through - the coloured plates are beautiful. Some of them are quite detailed and can give a very good idea of the fashion, but it is necessary for you to do more research before accepting this as gospel.

High on colorful graphics and low on content, "Historical Encyclopedia of Costumes" has neither a glossary to explain the obscure terms nor any sections explaining the guiding forces of the costumes' evolution. The right-hand pages contain the beautiful, albeit inaccurate plates, while those on the left hand contain the written captions for the illustrations. Sadly, most captions are simplistic and not very informative (how am I to know who a flagellant is and why he must whip himself?). The individual figures and costumes are rarely numbered (although the captions frequently refer to numbers that just aren't there); some of the figures don't have any captions at all, leaving the reader in the dark.

Nevertheless, the sheer variety of illustrations is to be applauded. Most of the world's regions and time periods are exhaustively covered, from Roman armor to the tribal costumes from the New Hebrides to the customary vestments of nuns of the Crusade era (unfortunately, and quite logically, there is no section on modern dress).

However flawed this work is, it does create interest in the subject and can serve as an excellent reference for authors of various forms of fiction.

For any admirer or Racinet's work, this book is a "must own". It is comprehensive, detailed and offers a great deal of information on Racinet's extraordinary lithographs. It is chock full of interesting facts pertaining to history and costume. The book stands on its own but is a wonderful complement for any owner of Racinet's prints. Wonderfully illustrated.

A valuable addition to a series of monographs from this publisher. Karla Britton's account of the great French architect-engineer, a master of concrete construction like Breuer, but one who straddled two eras, combining boldly expressed structures with rich surface ornament. The Theatre des Champs Elysees was completed before the first world war, and its "nudity" shocked Parisians as much as the barbaric rhythms of Stravinsky's Rite of Spring, which provoked a riot when it was premiered here. Now, Perret's masterwork can be seen as a perfect balance of grace and daring--the greatest theater in the city. A couple of apartment blocks were even more ahead of their time, but Perret, like Breuer, stayed around too long and the later work, particularly the rebuilding of Le Havre, diminished his standing. Books of this quality and importance deserve much better production values. The series is overpriced and poorly designed; the bindings are fragile, the illustrations drab, and there is not even a proper title page.