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But On Antarctica is not concerning history. The author endures the very best and the very worst imaginable during four long years. It is a frank, sometimes agonizing account of his interaction with the continent and comrades. "The landscape slowly took on its winter coat as sea and land became one. . . .", and "He loomed up at me like a Rottweiler. The others backed away. He put his face close to mine. . . ." Each of his three winters living on remote research stations is very different. Fear, excitement, debauchery, camaraderie, the joy of isolation, and above all the wonder of the place are all well covered in this fascinating story, which is well served by the excellent illustrations of artist John Elliot.
Sir Ranulph Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes Bt OBE
Len Airey
But On Antarctica is not concerning history. The author endures the very best and the very worst imaginable during four long years. It is a frank, sometimes agonizing account of his interaction with the continent and comrades. "The landscape slowly took on its winter coat as sea and land became one. . . .", and "He loomed up at me like a Rottweiler. The others backed away. He put his face close to mine. . . ." Each of his three winters living on remote research stations is very different. Fear, excitement, debauchery, camaraderie, the joy of isolation, and above all the wonder of the place are all well covered in this fascinating story, which is well served by the excellent illustrations of artist John Elliot.
Sir Ranulph Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes Bt OBE
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The voice Prof. Jackson uses is that of a friend. Someone who has taken up philosophy as a profession, and who reflects on the fruitfulness of the endeavor.
Dewey scholars will find much new and interesting to contemplate. And I came away with a fresh sense of compassion for John Dewey, the human person struggling to understand.
More than this, however, is Prof. Jackson's personal and personable thoughts about his own experience with this work. What happens here is, in effect, a glimpse into the mind of a philosopher who struggles to get a glimpse into the mind of a philosopher. With both efforts directed towards an understanding of the profession of philosophy.
And where we end up is with a good insight into the very human and very well-intended process of DOING philosophy humanely.
Thank-you, Prof. Jackson.
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This premise serves as the central metaphor in A Palace for a King. Elliott, a historian, and Brown, an art historian, examine both the literal and political architecture of the reign, charting the complicated, often surprising interrelation between art and politics. The palace of the title is the Buen Retiro - an intended recreational center built for Philip IV with astonishing speed during the years 1630-33, left largely in neglect after the 1640's, and finally decimated by French and English troops during the Napoleonic wars. In reconstructing the circumstances surrounding its construction and initial occupation, Brown and Elliott attempt to furnish the reader with a "total" history of the Spanish Habsburg court during its penultimate representative's first twenty years of rule.
The scope of the book is immense. In a prose that is precise and elegant, if at times monotonous, it describes the political and economic issues of the day as well as the relationship between the continuously vacillating king and his powerful minister, the Count-Duke of Olivares, who until 1643 held the true control over Spanish government. It then goes on to analyze the palace of the Buen Retiro itself, exploring the process of palace-building and the symbolism of the palace as a repository of the values of the ruling class. Simultaneously, it looks at Spanish baroque painting, theater, and architecture and their inextricable connection to the court at Madrid, which, itself, was in so many ways like a giant theater. Elliott's inquiry and interpretation of the troubles besetting the institution that was then called the monarquía española and of the role played by Olivares makes for particularly rewarding reading.
The book appears to be extremely well-researched and provides an abundance of evidence from primary sources as varied as confidential memoranda, secret expense accounts and drawings of architectural plans; the endnotes alone constitute twenty of its almost three hundred pages. However, it is its very wealth of references and information that also lies at the core of its greatest weakness. Too often, the text becomes bogged down in statistics, where apparently meaningless figures about who paid whom and whose plot of land was where replace any real insights. The authors seem to become trapped in unneeded details, losing track of the larger picture that they originally intended to convey. As a result, in certain chapters, more attention than necessary is devoted to the actual logistics of building the palace and, consequently, not enough to the palace's political, social, and economic implications.
Still, aside from these slightly irritating flaws, Brown and Elliott's work remains a highly absorptive and very informative look at subject that has thus far remained sadly underrepresented amongst the scientific community. The sheer extent of the information to be found makes this book a valuable resource for anyone interested in the period, while the distressing lack of similar studies makes it absolutely essential for those at all curious about Spain's architectural history. It is, in my mind, a fascinating complement and worthy companion to R.A. Stradling's landmark Philip IV and the Government of Spain.
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Ultimately, despite the apocalyptic premise, Kingdom Come is a very hopeful and optimistic tale, with good prevailing over evil, and Waid and Ross get their point across quite well: Do we REALLY want heroes to act less-than-heroic? Would you rather entrust your life to Superman or Wolverine?
Ross' art is lovely, and Waid does a fine job on the script, maybe his best ever. The only problem was, unlike other "Iconic" graphic Novels, like Batman: The Dark Knight Returns and Watchmen, I think a strong knowledge of the DC Universe and it's denizens is a must for understanding the story. Thinking back, I don't think there were any expository captions in the book at all, and the cross-generational connections can be very overwhelming, even to a comic-geek like me.
Overall, I think fans will be in heaven, and newcomers will at least get taken on a great thrill ride.
Alex Ross has outdone himself with Kingdom Come. Not only does he bring your favorite people to life with startling detail, he does it in a way that is so realistic you feel that you've actually run into them on the street before. "There's something familiar about Superman's face", or "Who does Bruce Wayne reminde me of?" were just a few of the thoughts that crossed my mind while not reading, but experiencing this masterpiece.
Superman has to come out of a long retirement. Putting aside his own worries, Superman returns to the public eye with a vengance. There's work to be done. There's a new breed of superhero in town, and Big Blue doesn't like what he sees. Superheroes have vanquished nearly all crime, so instead of fighting baddies, they resort to fighting others and innocents.
Superman, teams up with a host of your favorite good guys(and gals)including Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, Flash, the Batman, and several other old and new faces.
The heroes of old give the heroes of today an ultimatum. Either join ranks with Superman, follow their ways, and straighten up and fly right voluntarily, or be forced to.
The choice is simple for some. Not even attempting to argue with the Man of Steel, they succumb. Others are hard headed, and are put in a "prison" of sorts for help.
However when the walls of the fortress can no longer hold back it's captives, a breakout ensues and chaos begins to spread. The only choice...civil war among the "gods".
The only man who can stop it? Captain Marvel. Half man, half "god", he alone knows what it's like to live both lives, and he alone knows wheather or not it is safe for the superheroes to continue living among society. Death of gods, or death of humanity...his choice alone.
In a final epic battle that is unequaled in scale, the world as we know it comes crashing down around us, and the fate of countless numbers is decided.
Never have I read a better comic book, and never have I felt so strongly about one in my entire life. If you read one comic book in your life, make it Kingdom Come.
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The first section describes the views and motivations of several of these superhumans. The stories are varied enough that they never become repetitive and make great inspirational reading for those players planning on coming up with character backgrounds. It was fun reading how the sample characters dealt with their sudden transformation to demi-god status and how it affected their views of the world.
The second section details what the sample Exalted think the other factions and powers in the Exalted World and vice versa: Normal mortals, other Exalted, and the Fair Folk. It is interesting to read how some folk view these superhuman warriors as demi-gods and form cults around them. From a Storyteller's perspective I can see a lot of potential for challenging situations for Dawn PCs in these notes.
In the last section are many new charms (the great majority are combat-related of course) for the Dawn player and new artifacts (hearthstones and weapons) for the warriors to dream of.
Like many books in the Exalted series, the typos are present. They are irritating but do not take any fun out of reading.
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At first, we thought that the story was a bit slow, but near the end, the finale is magnificently narrated, showing the characters more humane than in any other part of the novel. We would recommend this story because you might feel connected to any of the main characters. Finally, don't forget to take a look at the title's symbolism; this can be a key factor in determining the true meaning of the novel (Tahiti-Gaugin-The Patimikin's fridge filled with exotic fruit-Christopher Columbus?-New World?-Neil's New World?).
The novella _Goodbye, Columbus_ is a love story and a quiet meditation on a different type of "class struggle," and a better example of Roth's style -- not to mention a better story -- than his next two books, _Letting Go_ and _When She Was Good_. The first of the five stories, "The Conversion of the Jews," is a bit sick, but entertaining for that very reason. The middle three stories are a bit lackluster, but the book ends in high style, with "Eli, the Fanatic," a story that manages to be both a moving story about conflicting loyalties (the goyim or the Jews) and a hilarious portrait of a nervous breakdown.
I would not recommend this book to those just starting to read Philip Roth (try the Zuckerman Bound trilogy instead), but for anyone wondering where Roth's career started, it's an excellent book.
Goodbye, Columbus is one of the best books I have read. It was so realistic and easy to relate to. I think that I have had a relationship similar to every one related in the novel. There are so many great insights to be found here. The novella isn't a difficult read, but one should definitely be aware of a lot of the symbols (such as the title, the fruit, the lions, and the uncle at the wedding) to glean the most from it. I will also say a word about the short stories. All of them, particularly "The Conversion of the Jews," were wonderful. They alone would make the book worth five stars; they just seem to get forgotten because of the masterpiece the opening novella is.
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I have been involved in securities litigation consulting for almost a decade now. As my consulting practice has grown, I have hired many individuals, most of whom are not well-versed in securities/financial jargon. In significantly all cases, these new employees feel ill-at-ease initially when reviewing case files and documentation due to the learning ramp and educational abyss. I have found if I offer them a copy of the DICTIONARY OF FINANCE AND INVESTMENT TERMS (DFIT) on their first day, the learning curve is flattened and becomes much shorter in duration. As a matter of fact, several of my employees have taken the initiative to take their DFIT home to look for particular words/phrases common to their daily routines. By derivation, this makes the employee feel much less out of place and instills some level of motivation relative to their work (this has been a definite intangible benefit to my practice).
I keep one in my office and although I don't crack it very often, there are times when I'm not as familiar with a word/phrase and then, I rely on DFIT. This is similar to the situation of reading a book, seeing a word you can pronounce and know but aren't quite certain of its EXACT meaning. Let's face it, with over 5,000 entries in DFIT, most professionals, even those entrenched in the field, will find themselves fuzzy on certain words and phrases.
While DFIT is not a panacea, it certainly fills the void. I would recommend this book for anyone new to the finance/investment fields and most professionals who deal on the fringes of these industries. ... I don't really see how one can go wrong here (particularly given that many reference offerings go for hundreds of dollars).
If your looking for an enthralling read, the Finance Dictionary is not that. If you're looking for an inexpensive, professional little reference book, full of pertinent terms and explanations, this one will definitely earn its keep.