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Thanks,
Thanks You;
TM
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The recurrent theme in this latest crop is aging and death and I'm unclear on whether Epstein has decided to go gently. In one, he mourns the bodily changes that accompany maturity, in another the discomfort, physical and otherwise, associated with a heart bypass operation. We see him scan the obituary pages and sadly note the passing of friends. Perhaps if I were closer to Epstein's age, I would find these reflections less morbid. As things are, I doubt I can reach his degree of understanding in such matters, or do them justice, without having walked in his well-worn shoes.
There's a brief look at Epstein's friendship with Albert Goldman, who achieved a small bit of fame for his biographies of Elvis and John Lennon. Goldman emerges as a sad type, a hippie liberal still trying to be hip at an age when that word has no meaning. By contrast, Edward Shils, in a moving tribute, is shown to be a man devoted to the fundamental.
In his chatty way, Epstein treats us to more essays about lengthy books, name dropping, name-pronouncing, and napping. I'm especially fond of the last one, "The Art of the Nap." Albert Jay Nock wrote an essay called "The Art of Snoring," which suggested that the world's problems were usually caused by busy people who could not mind their own busy-ness. His prescription: more naps.
Is Epstein still at the top of his game? I'd say so.
This is not a stuffy, strict, demanding book. It does not condemn you for your mistakes or faults. It is a peaceful and loving approach to faith that shows you God loves us all how we are. We are none of us perfect and the author emphasizes the fact that we are loved no matter what and if we open our hearts all will be well. He talks of how people in our age have been put off by religion. He tells us how religion and spirituality are not the same thing, and if we follow Jesus's life and example rather than do as is dictated by religion's leaders then we will be on the road we should be. God has a plan for all of us and our lives. He loves us even if we do not love him. He will wait for us to come to him and then he will open his arms. The author explains all of these things and tells of a God that loves so much rather than condemns.
I found this book to be touching and rather simple in what it had to say. Simple in a good way. Anyone can understand what the author is trying to say, and I found it all to be wonderfully inspiring and thoughtful. I love inspirational books and sadly most that I find are very boring, stiff, untouching. This is a great exception. I recommend it to anyone who wants to meditate on God and their own spirituality.
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For many Americans bull fighting is the one of the most misunderstood phenomena. The title of this fine book by Allen Josephs best explains bullfighting to the uninitiated Bull fighting, or toreo as Josephs correctly prefers to call it, is a ceremony of ritual and sacrifice.
The relation between man and the bull is lost deep in the fog of prehistory. Some say it was the bull not agriculture that domesticated man. The corrida is one aspect of that relationship, a sign of respect and honor to a noble enemy and friend.
The book is much more than a story of bullfighting. It is a classic saga of courage and perseverance as Cesar Rincon, a Colombian, against all odds succeeds in a foreign sometimes hostile land. From the plains of southern France, across the mountains of central Spain to the difficult rings of Andalusia, Allen takes us on a whirlwind adventure that criss-cross the breath and depth of Spain as he follows Rincon in his quest for the perfect corrida.
Josephs writes in a lyrical style more in the mode of Garcia Lorca than Hemingway.
Josephs, author of the White Wall of Spain, has an innate understanding of Spain and the Spanish which he imparts to the reader.
Read Hemingway, yes, but Ritual and Sacrifice in the Corrida is a must read for anyone even vaguely interested in that most Spanish of Spanish phenomena.
This is the story of César Rincón the torero (not a biography; we learn little here about César Rincón the man -- quite possibly the only aspect of the book that leaves the reader wishing for more, though we learn plenty about César's view of toreo, his personal take on its hows and whys, the nature and price of the vocation and its demands) who, in 1991, burst onto the taurine scene from nowhere (or, seemingly so -- he was so little known on the day of his first triumph in Madrid that the program listed him as Venezuelan), managing performances that saw him carried out through the Puerta Grande in Las Ventas on four consecutive appearances, a feat unequaled by anyone, before or since.
Just how good was César Rincón? The inescapable impression given by this book is that he was a taurine epiphany:
Josephs is without doubt a full-blooded Rincóncista, but Ritual and Sacrifice in the Corrida is no tendentiously edited hagiography. The judgments it contains are not just his -- they're from the pens of some of the most important taurine critics of Rincón's day (Andrés de Miguel, Vicente Zabala, Norberto Carrasco, Joaquín Vidal, Michael Wigram and José Carlos Arévalo), writing with Rincon's performances still vivid from the previous days' events. Josephs gives us his eye-witness accounts whenever possible, but generously supplements them with the opinions of other commentators.
This is a stunningly successful book, unlike any taurine work published in English in decades. Without question, Josephs has given us a work that will, for years, sit comfortably alongside the best of Hemingway, the best of Conrad, the best of Fulton and Tynan -- destined to be one of the more re-read works in any taurine bibliophile's library.
Rincón was essentially unknown to Josephs in 1991, and the germ of this book took root slowly as Rincón began to stun the Spanish afición (and Josephs) with his performances during that year's Iberian temporada. The idea for the book chrystalized in the spring of 1992, in Plaza Santa Ana -- a Madrid neighborhood dripping with taurine history and activity -- during a chat with Michael Wigram. Josephs set out to follow Rincón, documenting his career trajectory, from Spain back to the Americas, back to Spain, to the Americas, over and over until the end of the 1995 season when Rincón, suffering from a resurgence of hepatitis "C," announced his retirement, intending to swap the role of torero for that of ganadero.
Written with the aid of unusual access to a torero's inner circle, this is not simply an insider's view of the taurine circuit (as might be, for example, a detailed diary kept by a torero). Josephs didn't travel as part of Rincon's entourage. But it is likely as intimate a view as anyone will soon provide. Josephs shadowed Ricón, his manager and cuadrilla for four years -- benefitting greatly from their assistance, attending every corrida he could manage, describing in great detail what he saw (how the public reacted, and how the authority and critics judged). He had access that only a personal relationship with a torero can provide -- to hotel suites before and after successful and disastrous corridas, to sorteos, to the callejon, to tientas, to family gatherings on ganaderias and in Rincon's home, to hospital/infirmary rooms, to post-corrida de-briefings with critics and ganaderos, and more.
Faenas are described in near photographic detail, both the good, the bad, and the all-too-commonly mundane. Although the degree of taurine detail may prove more-than-a-little daunting for anyone outside or new to the mundo taurino, Josephs has seized on a clever way of avoiding bad translation of taurine terms while simultaneously keeping the narrative clear of repeated explanatory asides. All terms that would not be done justice by clumsy translation into English are left in their Spanish forms, accompanied by explanatory asides only the first time they appear in the text. Supsequent appearances remain in Spanish and an index of defined appearances is provided for readers who didn't absorb the meaning of a term the first time around.
Althouh this is Rincón's saga, Josephs' eyes aren't focused on Rincón alone. Had they been, no proper assessment of Rincón would have been possible. Though bullfighting isn't a contest between matador and bull, one can't really judge a matador's mettle without seeing him alongside his peers, each trying to tease the best out of the unpredictable complexity of the animals drawn each afternoon. Fortunately, Josephs doesn't slight Rincón's rivals (most noteworthy among them, Enrique Ponce and Joselito), giving everyone their due. We're provided a very balanced view of years of performances, the good and the bad, solidly retained in the natural context. To back every judgment we're given dates and locations (no need to take Josephs' word alone for the quality of performances observered; we're everywhere pointed to sources that can confirm the observations made) and detail that could only be noticed by one steeped -- as Josephs is -- in Spanish history and geography, taurine lore and fact.
All this is done without any of the dry, ponderous, academic heaviness that made Josephs' last major work (White Wall of Spain (c) 1983) so nearly impenetrable. Here the writing often seems to dance along with the improvisational pas de deux between Rincón and his partners of the afternoon.
I can't recommend this book too highly.
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world. Any youngster reading this is bound to be inspired and I can attest to this as a retired teacher.
I understand Mr. Carrieri has written another book entitled, "The Promise." It focuses on Joe Dimaggio. How perfect. The inspiration of Joltin Joe is legendary. Hopefully, Amazon will include "The Promise" in your catalogue and by doing so will help to inspire readers, young and old. Any chance of this happening soon?
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This book covers not only sports writing, copy editing, investigative reporting, college media relations, and freelance opportunities to name a few, but also touches on the cutting edge of multimedia work opportunities.
I wish they covered more on salary ranges within the fields they describe, but what they have done is expand the options for the reader/student/career seeker enamored of the field of sports journalism.
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Martin campaigned almost continuously from the beginning of the War through Yorktown (with the exception of the first winter after his initial three month service). He lived much of what have become the hallowed tales of our epic struggle for nationhood. He was at the Battles of Brooklyn, Harlem Heights and White Plains, endured Valley Forge (though for most of that winter stationed away from the camp as a forager), Monmouth, the other terrible winter encampments and Yorktown to name a few. Through it all, Martin marched, froze, starved and suffered for his service. It is remarkable that he kept at it for most of the war. (One reads of the constant lack of food (often for two or days) and is amazed that more soldiers didn't simply just quit.) It is more remarkable that he kept at it in fairly good humor - though he did parade with the Connecticut troops who conducted a minor mutiny over the lack of provisions. (An incident that Washington reported to Congress as more worrisome to the cause than the British force occupying New York.)
Martin is a good storyteller and raconteur. The reader will not find detailed accounts of battle here. In fact, battle is mentioned rather matter-of-factly. What is delightful to find is an account of the day in and day out hardships of life in Washington's army. Stories abound of camp life, foraging, marching, guard duty, scrapes with Torries, the hunt for clothing and the other ever-present challenges that soldiers had to endure and perform to simply survive between battles.
This is a wonderful book that I highly recommend.
Too many of the great events of history were either unreported, or told only by leaders bent on demonstrating their own greatness. "I came. I saw. I conquered!" We all know Caesar did it by himself without the Roman legions. Luckily, sometimes someone else who had no particular reason to flatter or even like the leader wrote about what happened. The Spanish conquest of Mexico is best seen through the blind eyes and extraordinary recollections of Bernal Dias de Castillo, who despised Cortez. The court of Louis XIV lives in the jaundiced memories of the Duc de Saint Simon. Martin, Dias and Saint Simon, despite differences in time, place and language, speak with similar literate, irreverant, funny, cynical, and bitter voices.
One reads Martin with wonder. They suffered so much! The Revolution becomes real. What were the soldiers like? Now we know. There is heroism at the Battle of Long Island, for example, but it is the hunger, cold and discomfort readers are likely to remember best, along with Martin's own personality. It is no coincidence that all three of the television series on the Revolution have quoted and used Martin so much.
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