This book speaks at many different levels. It could be called "adventures in synchronicity" or it could be a Jungian categorical excursion into the same type of regimentation-as-freedom found in, say, a monastery or a totalitarian paradise. The crystal, milky-white earth-beings found under the earth, as explained here by Read, find their final rest in the form of individual obliteration, as they lay down in neat rows, to become fused as mineralized pieces of a complex crystalline underground society, accompanied in the background by the racket of numerous initiates, tapping out certain patterns of sounds on various-sized hunks of crystal as a preliminary qualification to their own eventual obliteration.

Aha! Now we understand the ice cave scene in "Superman" a little better, as well as the scene in that Planet of the Apes movie where they manipulate crystal inserts in a control panel to cause something like nuclear reactions. There must be an analogous Star Trek episode as well.

The Plato's cave comment picks up on this. Just as Plato's Republic veers into totalitarianism, so does the Green Child. Unlike Plato, however, it is not clear that Read is trying to be prescriptive. It may be optional, as was the Heaven's Gate cult, where they all wore the same shoes, ordered the same food at the same restaurant, laid down on the same size beds, and took the same overdose, waiting for the same spaceship, to unify them with the great beyond up there somewhere. Read here describes an inversion, going down to the labyrinthe, rather than out into the abyss. Now he has become the brave explorer of the inner extreme. He thus gains a foothold in medieval thought, with Plato in the rear view mirror.

Hermann Hesse may have tried the same thing, with his "Journey to the East" but Hesse trapped himself in an obscure labyrinthine dead end. By the end of the book, you don't even care what he meant. Here, with the Green Child, you wonder....is this a vision of heaven? A fusion of the is and the ought? What you want equals what you get? For some people, I think it might be. In this book resides a vision they find beautiful and personally compelling.

It also operates as a cool story on its own. We'll see how "Lord of the Rings" does later this year. It would take unusual talent to make this book cognizable as a movie. For the record, this book makes a good companion to John Updike's essay "Augustine's Concubine," and if law completely falls apart, I may do a PhD dissertation on Augustine's rejection of regimentation as a starting point for freedom and responsibility. The opposite of crystal fusion.

I always assign my philosophy students The Green Child as an immediate follow-up to Plato's Republic. It is a beautiful novel in every respect, and a wonderful companion to Plato's Allegory of the Cave. I have been thanked by my students and friends for thirty years. Many have said that Read's The Green Child is the most beautiful piece of prose they have ever read.

This is one of the only, if not the only, pieces of fiction written by Sir Herbert Read (1893-1968), a British poet, critic and philosopher. He was a champion of modern art and a founder of the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London. Sir Herbert Read's writings are used as textbooks in Art Appreciation classes and he is considered to be one of the foremost Art Critics of the twentieth century. His prose has the sensibility of a visual artist, the lines written almost as if painted with a brush. The beauty of the book is akin to a fine painting of an English Landscape. Since I was first introduced to this book, over 30 years ago, I have bought at least 30 copies to give as gifts to friends who I knew would enjoy really fine prose for the sake of the prose itself. The story is a wonderfull philosophical tale of adventure and the discovery of another race that live beneath the English countryside metamorphosing into crystalline beings. A definite MUST READ for fans of FINE prose.

I love the "World of Art" series. It is definitely published with the artist and art student in mind. You get a lot of art at an affordable price. Most art books in this price range are thin volumes of washed-out color and dismal black and white, with a sprinkling of superficial text. Their subject is usually limited to the handful of artists that are wildly popular with the public, such as the impressionists. Not this series!

"A Concise History of Modern Painting" is especially well-packed, with 500 illustrations, 118 of them in excellent color. Pages are semi-slick so the art reproduces well. The plates are very well planned. Thumbing through the book, you get the feeling of color, color, color! Black-and-white plates are reserved for drawings (graphite, ink, charcoal), prints, and a few sculptures. All of these are well-suited to reproduction in black and white (although there is also a 43-page appendix, "a pictorial survey of modern painting", featuring 6-8 black-and-white illustrations per page). "A Concise History of Modern Painting" discusses artists who work within styles the author describes as specifically modern (as distinguished from earlier periods). It focuses on ideas, works and movements. All illustrations are chosen within that context. (Realistic artists are not represented.)

The book includes text references, a bibliography, a list of works reproduced, and an index. It's a 6"x8" paperback edition, about an inch thick--a good size for packing. The binding is glued, not sewn, but it seems durable, and I think it will last. I carry mine on trips, though I haven't had it long enough to see how well it wears. I discovered the "World of Art" series while travelling and bought several titles. They're the best art books at this price I've ever found.

Modern Sculpture takes us through the thoughts and ideas that finnished a stagnated era and gave birth to true creativity. It is written in a clear, very understandable way... without loosing its depth of insight. Beautifully presented and with a magnificent choice of sculptures.... fantastic reading!!!!

This book is in print as I write this, as part of the Fantasy Masterworks edition of _Time and the Gods_; it is a collection of 18 short stories.

"A Tale of London" - in a reversal of the usual pattern, a sultan has asked his seer to relate to him a vision of the fabulous city of London.

"Thirteen at Table" - The ghosts of twelve women wronged by old Sir Richard Arlen have had dinner with him every night for the last thirty years.

"The City on Mallington Moor" - A rumor is spreading of a strange city of white marble appearing out of the mist.

"Why the Milkman Shudders When He Perceives the Dawn" - this is a tale told in the Hall of the Ancient Company of Milkmen when all the craft are assembled.

"The Bad Old Woman in Black" - What to do in the face of an omen of evil?

"The Bird of the Difficult Eye" - a tale of the only thief employed by West End jewellers since the distressing tale of Thangobrind (see _The Book of Wonder_).

"The Long Porter's Tale" - Gerald Jones, suffering from melancholy, went to a magician in London and was diagnosed with flux of time, and was recommended to take a day at the Edge of the World as treatment.

"The Loot of Loma" - The raiders didn't know that a priest's written curse had been slipped into their loot.

"The Secret of the Sea" - What do ships worship, and what temple do they go to?

"How Ali Came to the Black Country" - Many people may say that technology and pollution are modern devils, but how many people are serious enough to take the traditional steps to imprison devils?

"The Bureau D'Echanges De Maux" - Mysterious shop offering strange goods.

"A Story of Land and Sea" - continuation of "The Loot of Bombasharna" from _The Book of Wonder_.

"A Narrow Escape" - A magician in a dank cavern below Belgrave Square and his preparations to destroy London.

"The Watch-Tower" - When a tower is built to guard forever against the Saracens, forever may be longer than you think.

"How Plash-Goo Came to the Land of None's Desire"

"The Three Sailors' Gambit" - Sometimes even the Devil can't win at the game of selling souls. A chess story.

"The Exiles' Club" - How are the mighty fallen; and even the fallen have to go somewhere.

"The Three Infernal Jokes" - Not so much selling a soul, as trading away an option.

International and up-to-date, this extensively illustrated and copiously cross-referenced dictionary covers over 2500 artists, paintings, sculptures, drawings, prints, schools and movements, including essential information on contemporary art and artists, not available elsewhere, and on techniques, materials, terms, and writers who have influenced artists. This indispensable source book has now been extensively revised, supplemented and updated with over 200 new entries.

Edward Waters worked for years researching the life of Victor Herbert(1859-1924)and wrote a thorough and beautifully written biography of one of America's greatest composers (and one who needs to be better remembered today). This work covers Victor Herbert's life as a child in Ireland and a young musician in Germany, his marriage to Therese Forester (a young singer at the Vienna Opera), their move to the United States in 1886, his early years as a cello solist and leader of Gilmore's Band, and his six years as the conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and composer of classical and march music. Most of the book concentrates on the many years he worked as a composer of music for the 41 operettas and Broadway shows and the two operas for which he is best remembered. This biography is the best record of Herbert's life and should be read by anyone with an interest in Victor Herbert or Broadway shows and comic opera during the 1894-1924 period.

Herbert Werner with Mr. Beach's help has written one of the most detailed, engrossing naratives of combat that I have ever read. Werner served on U-boats as an officer throughout most of the war, becoming a U-boat commander in '44. Though highly detailed the book reads almost like a novel it is that interesting. His descriptions of depth charge attacks will have you breaking out in a cold sweat. By mid '43 U-boats faced a huge challenge just getting out to open sea. Werner describes his time spent in ports in great detail as well. Overall the book provides the reader with a picture of what WW2 sub warfare is all about and what life as an officer in Hitler's Germany was like.

I first read this book over 20 years ago and it is one of those books I can just re-read periodically My initial impression of it's overall excellence still remains. Highly recomended.

Herbert Werner's book has been printed many times, a testament to its writing and story. Werner joined the German Navy at the outset of World War II, and was able to rise through the ranks fo this extremely dangerous calling to command his own U-Boats by the end of the war. Werner writes his account from a chronological perpsective, from the early, easy successes to the end of the war and the bleak outlook Germany had ahead of them. Key events like the "Happy Time," the sinking of the Bismarck, the Battle of Britain and operation Sea Lion figure in, as do the attacks on Pearl Harbor, D-Day, and the waning days of the war.
Iron Coffins also exudes humanity, finding fault with the Nazi high command and the naval leadership that caused too many losses, weakened morale, and doomed Germany's effort. The title itself refers to Werner's view of the U-boats as floating deathtraps for most of their crews (perentage-wise, German U-boat crews had one of the top positions in any list of potential losses).

Werner was lucky to survive, given his job, and we are luckier still to have his account of U-boat work in World War II.

I am an ex-submariner in the U.S Navy with eight strategic deterrent submarine patrols in the North Atlantic and I can only imagine the absolute courage and patriotism shown by the men described in this book! Captain Werner describes what is truly a life of adventure bordering on madness as he and his crew dodge British and US aircraft and destroyers in the most dramatic cat and mouse game of all time.

The book follows Werner's career as a U-Boat officer that starts at the beginning of WWII. He talks about the initial glory and successes of the German U-Boat campaign against the British and he follows the war as the tide changes against Germany. Werner describes reports of boat after boat being sunk and most of his fellow commanders being killed at sea and he shares his thoughts as he continues to bring his boat to sea in spite of almost a guarantee of being killed.

I can't recommend this book strongly enough. It is the BEST submarine saga that I have read to date and it is also a tribute to men who have gone to sea in defense of their country.

This book is an insightful examination of the very human tendency to look at our lives through the stories we tell and the rituals we share. Using the two perspectives of story telling in the form of myth and parable Anderson and Foley explore how our stories motivate the rituals we perform both liturgically and in our day to day lives. In doing so we find how our humaness can weave with the divine. Understanding this is what can lead effective pastoral care. They review corporate rituals of baptism, marraige and funeral, but also discuss the need for ritual in the context of divorce, miscarraige and chronic illness. They also discuss reconciliation as an honest process of listening to the stories of others. This book is highly recommended for pastors and Christian lay persons.

My husband, a part-time youth minister introduced me (a priest) to this book. We both *loved* it. It says a lot of stuff that makes sense in ways we might not every have realized before. It will change the way I do both baptisms and marriage preparation--and I'm not even finished with it yet.

Anderson and Foley have really produced a master piece in the area of pastoral care. They have been able to bring to light the stories and the importance thereof in our postmodern culture.

Their dealing with events on which which our church tradition is silent is also most helpful.

It gives one the tools for exploring effective pastoral care.

when will come new publish of this book ?

There are many excellent textbooks about Internal Medicine on the market, and I own a lot of them. But the Kelley's book is the one I look up more often. It stands out, since it gives you the broadest and deepest clinical coverage of the internal medicine you can find in a two-volumes textbook. The forthcoming 4th edition, which is scheduled for 8/2000 and will be edited by Humes, will expand furter the coverage, reaching an unprecedented range, at least as can be judged by the anticipated index. For the sake of clarity and completeness, each subspecialty (cardiology, endocrinology and metabolism, and so forth) is divided in three parts: the first group of chapters is devoted to the pathophysiologic foundations, the second to diseases and the third to the diagnosis and treatment. This format is clever, because allow you to study each section separately without being overwhelmed by the astonishing amount of information it contains. A lot of chapters are devoted to the approach to the patient with different symptoms, to the interpretation of instrumental data and to the treatment: they are another distictive feature of the book, making it invaluable. If you are a physician or a serious student searching for an authoritative, encyclopedic textbook with broad pathophysiologic coverage and wide sections about the management of the patient, the Kelley's textbook will not disappoint you. For many of us, it is a must buy. For all, it is a bargain. This textbook is the gold standard as Internal Medicine textbook: it got 5-stars from Doody, and as far as I know, it was the only one awarded with such a high acknowledgement. I agree: five stars.

most comprehensive work ever.an edge over Harrison &Cecil.must buy.

In his spare time, with collaborative assistance, former New York City mayor Edward I. Koch writes mystery stories. Curiously, his protagonist is a character named Edward Koch who is...the Mayor of the City of New York.

Basically, the books in his series are cute, nothing more, nothing less. Yet since these stories are told in the Mayor's own highly distinctive voice, and filled with detail about the back office workings of City Hall, the mysteries nonetheless make for interesting reading. Though the plots here are thin, a reader still will come away with new insights about the Koch administration and the governing of the City of New York.

In the end, Mayor Koch is not much competition for Rex Stout or Agatha Christie, but reading his New York City murder mystery series was fun. As a New Yorker born and bred--and a full-time resident there during his entire term--I enjoyed all of these mysteries.

I'm not sure exactly how much contribution Ed Koch makes to these mystery novels, but they definitely capture his "style"... I could almost hear his voice. I thought this one (Murder on 34th St.) was the best of the batch of (so far) 4 books. Nicely written and plays fair with the reader (I even managed to figure out who the murderer was from the clues!)

I love Christmas, like Ed Koch, New York, and mysteries, this is a wonderful blend. Read it, I wish he would make more.