I've only read the first ten pages... as delicious as Montaigne.. now I am off to xerox as a Christmas present for the friends I walk and talk with. Hope it will come down in price! Then it would be a favorite gift, like X Libris has been. .. a favorite, even if just for the first few pages.

We'll see how the rest goes.

This is a wonderful mountain bikers guide to the San Gabriel Mountains, north of Los Angeles. Visible from the entire LA basin,A 45 minute drive from virtually anywhere in L.A. County will get you to this range. Some of the trails are for beginners, but most are advanced, and very strenuous. Very good directions and maps guide you along with tips for conquering these trails. A very good source of info for newbies and vets alike.

Andrea Gabriel has created a wonderful story with lively illustrations that capture the attention of my little readers. It's simple for them to understand, and they love looking at the variety of bears throught the book. A great addition to any collection!

If you buy this book...you will not be sorry. Dr. Randall's writings and reflections on Marcel are some of the best critiques of a lost art of existentialist philosophy. Having him as an instructor for may years now... for someone to read his reflections on hope in Marcel, one can really sit back and relax in life and the future.

After seeing this title in the bibliography for several other works on Norse mythology I found and read it. It was everything I had hoped it would be. An excellent study on the religion of the vikings. The facts are well defined and the reasoning behind the conclusions are explained in good detail. This was written as a doctoral thesis and is not a light read. That is not to say it is boring or drawn out. The tails are vivid and moving. Much of our current christian holiday keeping is explained. It is a shame that it is such a hard book to find. This is a must read for anyone with an interest in norse mythology.

As an artist/designer, I found it absolutely indispensable! You will never get tired of looking at the beautiful photography!

Stedman, an English officer in a mercenary force hired to end the depredations of escaped slaves, is an examplar of the 18th century naturalist, complete with botanically or zoologically accurate descriptions and paintings which grace this handsome volume. He was more unusual in his social perspectives, and maintained close friendships with people at literally every level of Surinam society. He had considerable sympathy for those at the bottom, including those he'd been hired to eliminate. This sympathy appears in some grisly images of slave punishment which his contemporary and friend, the poet and artist William Blake, engraved for the Narrative's original publication.

Stedman's graceful writing style, his obvious humanity, his wealth of scientific information, his artistic achievements, his jungle or social adventures, and his modern angst, all contribute to a lengthy and fascinating experience for the reader. Richard Price's introduction ably sets the scene.

'Native Heart' for me offered great depth of insight into Native Amercian spirituality, and the difficulties faced in modern US society preserving that culture. It also highlighted the bigotry Native peoples face here, and the misguided sterotypes other Americans may often work from when dealing with Native Americans.

Read after Gabriel Horn's second book - 'Contemplations of a Primal Mind (****), this was the perfect reading sequence for me, as one led directly into the other.

I would strongly recommend this book to ALL Americans (and non-Americans), as a way to dispel the 'John Wayne' type sterotypes created about Native Americans, and to really understand them as a people, their culture and enlightening spirituality.

Genuine romance and passion is missing from most books, either fiction or nonfiction, and I don't think I've ever come across both in such quantity as there is in "La Vita Nuova" (translation: The New Life), the unsung masterpiece of poet Dante Alighieri (who wrote the classic Divina Comedia).

It is a series of poems centering around the life-changing love of Dante for a young woman named Beatrice. The two first met when they were young children, of about eight. Dante instantly fell in love with her, but didn't really interact with her for several years. Over the years, Dante's almost supernatural love only increased in intensity, and he poured out his feelings (grief, adoration, fear) into several poems and sonnets. During an illness, he has a vision about mortality, himself, and his beloved Beatrice ("One day, inevitably, even your most gracious Beatrice must die"). Beatrice died at the age of twenty-four, and Dante committed himself to the memory of his muse.

I have never in my life read a book overflowing with such incredible love and passion as "La Vita Nuova"; it's probably the most romantic book I have ever seen. It's only a little over a hundred pages long, but it's a truly unique love story. Dante and Beatrice were never romantically involved. In fact, both of them married other people.

But Dante's love for Beatrice shows itself to be more than infatuation or crush, because it never wanes -- in fact, it grows even stronger, including Love manifested as a nobleman in one of Dante's dreams. There is no element of physicality to the passion in "La Vita Nuova"; Dante talks about how beautiful Beatrice is, but that's only a sidenote. (We don't hear of any real details about her) And Dante's grief-stricken state when Beatrice dies (of what, we're never told) leads him to deep changes in his soul, and eventually peace. (And though Beatrice died, because of Dante's love for her and her placement in the "Comedia," she has achieved a kind of immortality)

One of the noticeable things about this book is that whenever something significant happens to Dante (good, bad, or neither), he immediately writes a poem about it. Some readers may be tempted to skip over the carefully constructed poems, but they shouldn't. Even if these intrude on the story, they show what Dante was feeling more clearly than his prose.

It's impossible to read this book and come out of it jaded about love or true passion. Not the sort of stuff in pulp romance novels, but love and passion that come straight from the heart and soul, in a unique and unusual love story. Every true romantic should read this book.

Of course pianists should have this wonderful book, just don't assume it's complete. Fauré actually wrote a thirteenth Nocturne (in B minor) and a thirteenth Barcarolle (in C major), neither of which is included here. Both of these are characteristic late Fauré, but the Nocturne #13 is particularly not to be missed. I was just playing it over tonight and was amazed by the dark drama of the music. It's as Fauré's biographer Jessica Duchen said, that it seems to stare death in the face.

Both the Nocturne #13 and the suave, tranquil Barcarolle #13 are available individually from Masters Music Publications, and I would suggest that pianists supplement this book with both of those works to make a complete set of Fauré's nocturnes and barcarolles.