Rilke's "Duino Elegies" form one of the most perfect collections of lyric poetry you can ever hope to get your hands on. Unfortunately for the David Young translation, however, there is much less Rilke than there ought to be; a series of strange decisions on Young's part casts a shadow over even the brighter moments of his rendering of this masterpiece.

For example, Rilke was a genius at enjambment; that is, he was a master at placing his most important words at the very end or very beginning of a line, in order to highlight them. Think of the first line, which ends with "Engel," splitting it from the first word of the next line, "Ordnungen." (Young merely gives these words together, as "angelic orders," at the end of the third line.) By divorcing the angels from their orders in the poem's very first line, Rilke sets the tone that not all is right in the heavens.

And Rilke's line breaks are even more important than those of other poets, because they are few and far between, since his lines are nice and fat, often more than 13 syllables. Young's lines, on the other hand, are broken up into tiny 2- to 8-syllable, bite-sized chunks. This changes not only the rhythm of Rilke's verse--which obviously would have changed anyway, in translation--but its compositional emphases, as the structure of the most important lines is simply whisked away. And that is a tragedy.

Young's excuse for this unfortunate decision? He happened, while he was working on the translation, "to re-read some of William Carlos Williams' late poetry," and he liked Williams' stubbier, tri-partite lines. Rilke, however, is not William Carlos Williams, and Young's rendering of Rilke as Williams suffers because of this incongruity. (Oddly enough, though, Williams is another poet for whom every line break bears an awful lot of weight; too bad Young didn't carry that respect for enjambment into his work on the "Duino Elegies.")

Those interested in Rilke should do themselves a favor and pick up Mitchell's translation. I simply can't recommend this edition. It gets three stars because, despite the muddle, there are SOME beautifully rendered lines, and some of the power of Rilke manages to squeeze through. And that's always a wonderful thing.

For me, at least, Rainer Maria Rilke's Duino Elegies are the very epitome of poetry. I know others who, even though they admire Rilke above all other poets, prefer other "Rilke" poems, such as "Evening." For me, however, it has always been, and always will be, the Elegies. Certainly they are the most extravagant and elusive of Rilke's poems, even for those who count others among their favorites.

Rilke, who longed for a place of solitude in the country, arrived at the fortress-like Castle Duino, high above the Adriatic, near Trieste, in December 1911. His hostess was Princess Marie von Thurn und Taxis-Hohenlohe, who had invited Rilke to translate Dante's Vita Nuova with her. Princess Marie, however, soon left for more sociable climes and Rilke was left alone on the stormy, wind-swept cliffs of Duino. Rilke, at this time of his life, was known to commit himself to a strict regimen of work. Nevertheless, his poems, he has written, always seemed to burst upon him suddenly, like a thunderstorm on a hot summer's afternoon. And, one afternoon at Duino, the opening line of the first elegy burst upon Rilke like a flash of lightening.

There is no problem with the Duino Elegies...if one reads and comprehends German. If one doesn't, however, the problems of translation can be enormous. Translation, always a fragile task, becomes even more so when it involves poetry, and reaches its zenith with a work as sublime as Rilke's Duino Elegies. So many versions of these gorgeous poems exist (at least twenty), that the Elegies are certainly suffering from a case of "translation overkill."

In the original German, the Duino Elegies are the most sublime expressions of awe, of terror, of love, of splendor, of Life, that have ever been set down by the hand of man. In hands other than Rilke's, however, they can seem clumsy and more than a bit melodramatic. Rilke wrote delicately-calibrated poetry, without excess words and, the dread of all translators, the hyphenated word. But, all that aside, reading the Elegies in translation, any translation, is better than not reading them at all.

No matter how "angelic" these poems may seem, never doubt that they are expression of life in the here and now. As Rilke, himself, tells us, "the world exists nowhere but within us." These gorgeous poems are about the difficulties of living in this world, of not being heard by the angels, and of the tragedy that can so easily befall us. They are about Rilke's desire for solitude and his desire to escape it, i.e., the need and the utter impossibility of understanding and being understood completely in this life.

Although many of the translations are flawed, as translation by its very nature must be, the Duino Elegies remain the epitome of poetry. They are a cry of terror, of awe, of joy, of splendor at the lonely and solitary condition of man.

"For beauty is nothing but the beginning of terror we can just barely endure, and we admire it so because it calmly disdains to destroy us. Every angel is terrible." - Rainer Maria Rilke, First Elegy

The Duino Elegies are quite possibly the greatest work of Rainer Maria Rilke, himself one of the greatest poets, German language or otherwise, of all time. The elegies, writen in the cold vast chambers of Duino Castle, deal with all the greatest issues of human existence: love, death, tragedy, God, and life's very meaning. Their language reflects their origin: like the Castle's empty stone hallways, the words are perfectly formed; they are fragile and beautiful; weightless and profound. Rilke's first elegy begins with a reflection on the awesome, terrifying power of beauty. He longs to experience it, but knows that it would destroy him. As he writes on, the reader grows to understand and feel not only Rilke's longing, but his fear. The terrible beauty, looming behind all the elegies, is present in the text. The poems inspire wonder, raise profound quetions with ineffable answers, and fills us with awe as it calmly disdains to destroy us.

The German text is perfect, but MacIntyre's translation is splendid and best conveys the work's haunting and desolate undertones. While it seems to me that everyone should own and cherish the Duino Elegies, it is an absolute requirement for anyone seeking to construct a serious collection of great poetry.

The best part of this book is its easygoing style. Written seemingly entirely from memory, you'll understand and remember every word. The author skips the commonly available info and writes about the crucial nuts-and-bolts problems of building a house: what do you do if you've drilled a hundred foot well and come up dry? (Keep drilling.) His advice on some details, vapor barriers for example, is OK but you'll want to check the latest thinking on the topic too. Some harmless misinformation is passed along, like that Palladio, eponym for those short-tall-short windows, "invented" them. (He may have invented residential architecture, but those windows date to antiquity. In his day they were known as serliana, after the architect Sebastian Serliano.) The scientific explanations fall a bit short, and the chapter where he disparages Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's engineering does not show him in a good light. However he does caution you that drywallers, more than any other trade, will try to rip you off with a high materials estimate. Stuff like that you can't get anywhere else.

This is a wonderful and very comprehensive book covering every aspect of building a house in all climates. It contains information that I have not seen anywhere else. i.e. The chapter on looking at and evaluating a building site is very informative and insightful. Every step of the construction process is explained in detail. There are diagrams showing construction details, grading techniques and even showing how to survey and lay out a foundation yourself. There are special chapters on understanding electricity and it's role in your home, Radon and most importantly in this time of rising energy costs, how to insulate for maximum effect for both heating and cooling in hot and cold climates. I especially enjoyed the anecdotes and real life examples taken from the authors vast experience. Mr. Jaeger has the knack of explaining complicated things in a clear and easy to understand way. I am most impressed with his offer to answer all reader questions by E-mail and I can verify he keeps his word on that. I've never before heard of an author offering free consultation but he does. He answers all questions about the book and/or your own project. I read the prior "review" by "greeba" and I wonder how much of the book she actually read because she missed all the important lessons. She admits she got her knowledge from watching "The Brady Bunch" so how much can you expect? The paper is standard paper used for high speed electronic printing and I only noticed a few minor typos. The line drawings are technical diagrams, not illustrations. If you want pictures I suggest you watch the television programs that show all aspects of actual building in progress. Check out, "Hometime", Bob Villa's "Home Again" and "This Old House". Actually, I thought the picture of the Taj Mahal (the ultimate dream house) on the cover was a neat touch. What Mr. Jaeger provides from his 45 years experience as a pro builder, that pictures cannot supply, are the techniques and strategies of planning, managing and coordinating a construction job and a vast wealth of information you wouldn't ever think of. The most important lesson is Mr. Jaeger's instruction on how to get sub-contractors to do what you want willingly and how to keep them showing up. He also tells you how to avoid the pit falls and rip offs common in the construction game. This book is my home building Bible. The value of a book is not in the paper or a few typos or some pretty pictures as "Greeba" thinks. The real value is the information it contains. This book will help you save many thousands of dollars and contains all the information you will need. Any questions? Ask the author. For a proper perspective on this book check out all the reviews especially the one by George Ehrenhaft, an experienced builder. HE knows what he is talking about.

I found this book very helpful. The author tells goes into extreme details for his home preferances. Since he does not like basements he does not go into great detail about pouring foundations for full basements. There are a couple of things like that. All in all I think he does an excellent job at stearing you around the big bumps. Luckily my concrete guy is my cousin so we had no problem at all. This book will however give you a ton of great ideas, and help you to plan everything well but if you know squat about the building process I would but more technical books in addition to this one. I worked for a general contractor through college so I am pretty handy. My advise is if you are planning on building your own home, congratulations and good luck. Most people that I have talked to say that it is too stressful, and they'll never do it again. If you are like me you will welcome the challenge. It is one of the most rewarding things you can do. I worked my full time job and did this and it not only gave me more energy than I have had in a while but it helped me get in shape from sitting behind this desk full time. You can always blow off the gym but you have to go to the site everyday.

This is the best book I have ever seen for electronics/mircroelec. It provides you a full coverage and in depth explanation, buy this book if you want really learn this stuffs.

If you really want to learn the structure and principles of function of the different types of electronic components, this is the perfect book for you.
The theory is too easy to understand and it has a lot of exercises and problems with different dificulty levels.
You can use this textbook in different courses, like: Analog Circuits, Electronic Circuit Design,and electronic physics.

These reviews certainly demonstrate that everyone has a different point of view. I thought Jaeger's organization was excellent. Jaeger leads you through the material in a user friendly, step by step manner. He provides what I think is the best explanation of pn junction physics. Jaeger takes the space needed to explain fully. Compared to Jaeger,Sedra and Smith race through the material providing few intermediate examples. I think Jaeger TEACHES and Sedra and Smith seem to be summarizing for the benefit of someone who has learned elsewhere.

An excellent introduction to the field of palmistry. This book first got me interested in the subject. Since then I have eagerly sought out other books of comparable quality on the subject. But there seems to be a dearth of well-written, thorough and no-nonsense books on palmistry, which is really a shame because, while this is a great book, there are definite failings. I believe the reader would benefit from more illustrations, and some of the diagrams were mis-referenced (the copy I have is the first edition, so there may have been corrections by now). Excellent and highly recommended, but probably not the only book you'll ever need. Refreshingly straightforward, respectful of audience, and inclusive (I have yet to read a comparable discussion of the more neglected aspects of palmistry, such as skin patterns, fingerprints, and nails): you won't regret reading it.

This book by Beverly Jaegers is an excelent book for anyone slightly interested in palmistry. It contains what lines and even fingerprints mean on the hand. This is the first book I've read that actually explained what fingerprints mean. This is a unique book.

This large and attractive book is a 199-page (not including table of contents, etc.) history of everything that covers the desk: from pens and inkwells to paperclips, paperweights and bookends. The highpoint of the book is definitely chapter 9, which gives tips on the repair and restoration of such items for the collector. Along the way, the reader is treated to numerous black-and-white pictures, and even 32 pages of color pictures!

This book is an excellent gift for someone who is interested in taking up the hobby of collecting desk accessories. However, as it is only intended as an introduction, it does not have any real depth. If you are hoping to use this book to help you understand the items you already have, then you will be disappointed (as I was). But, if you want this book for the introduction that it is, you will enjoy it.

This brand new (2000) 208 page softbound volume contains more than 200 full color and 300 black and white very large, sharp photos of every type of writing tool and desk accessory. In addition to the great photos, there is plenty of detailed information about the various collectibles. Topics range from: history of ink and ink containers; stone to shell-inkwell materials; inkwell designs and motifs; history of pens; to collecting pens; advertisintg item;, and restoration and repair tips. Plenty of valuable data for the collector. There are pen ads, and year 2000 values. Pen collectors will be interested in the history provided, which takes you from quill pens to the ballpoint, and back to the old nib-style pens. There is an interesting chapter on the major fountain pen makers. Well worth adding to your collectibles library.

A specialist book with good taxonomy and excellent line drawings. Still the reference text after 50 years.

This book is completely readable - I just gobbled it up. Although he may not be a scientific expert on the physiology or behavior of desert wildlife, his intimate contact with the desert animals over many years provides wonderful anecdotes and observations of their habits. It's certainly not a field guide or a comprehensive list of facts, but it's a real person's experience of these fascinating creatures. I especially appreciated the section on the quirky habits of roadrunners. This book makes up in a small way for the fact that I can't immerse myself completely in the desert, but only get glimpses it of on weekends.

Compiled writings from three different women who have all shared the journey of loss of a loved one through death or divorce is a surprising and refreshing read in your home section of "comfort" books. Each entry is approximately 1 to 3 pages in length.... a perfect little pick-me-up for those moments when perhaps your own heart is feeling solitary. In particular I recommend Denise Tillman's contributions which are so human and so inspiring, and ultimately so healing.

The "how to" pages will help the reader pass oneself off in NOLA as a local; the recipes are obviously authentic, easy to follow, and bring back fond memories of my college days at Tulane and "Crayola" in the early seventies. I learned how to cook in New Orleans. I studied the menus of the local restaurants, (Etienne's on Maple St) and this book is a god-send. Jaeger far surpasses some upstart transplant from New Jersey. Ten Speed Press should be complimented for bring such unknown, but important insights into our country's local cuisines.

Excuse the pun, but the pearls of wisdom afforded by this tome were of princely sum to this seafood professional.