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When my friend recommended this book to me he said these words, "This guy (Duncan) writes with so much passion. there are characters in here that say everything you ever wish you could have said." He's right. This book is perfect and I dare anyone to find flaws with it.
If you've ever wanted to know exactly what to say and when to say it, you should read this book. Not only will it increase your desire, but it will satiate it. READ THIS BOOK!!! it's so good
As historically detailed as GREEN DARKNESS, I was amazed to find I loved this book even better. Set in the mid 14th C. Katherine de Roet is a convent-raised young woman who, with her sister, comes under the care of Queen Philippa (wife of Edward III), and despite being without dowry marries the rather difficult Sir Hugh Swynford. Eventually she becomes the mistress of Philippa and Edward III's son John of Gaunt, and after bearing him four children, becoming his wife. The children's births are eventually legitimized and John and Katherine eventually are the forebears of both the Tudor and Stuart dynasties.
But this story is of the relationship between Katherine and John and the many twists and turns it takes before these lovers can be together. When Katherine turns 15 the Queen summons her from the convent to Windsor and she soon gathers much attention for her beauty. When Sir Hugh Swynford attempts to ravish her, the King's third son, John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster comes to her rescue. Hugh gets out of the situation by saying he wishes to marry the fair young maiden. Sir Hugh is a rather disagreeable and homely man, but it is seen as a step up for young Katherine, without dowry, to marry him. She does but very reluctantly. Meanwhile she is befriended by the Duke's wife, Blanche, and returns her friendship for which young Katherine is eventually richly rewarded.
Katherine and Hugh go to live at his mismanaged estate, Kettlethorpe, near Lincoln which is not too far from the Duke and Duchess of Lancaster's favorite home of Bolingbroke Castle. Katherine is not exactly happy but accepts her life. But when she befriends Blanche again and then sits with her as she lays dying from the black death, her whole life changes.
To give more details than this is to rob the first-time reader of the discoveries they will read. It is a story to particularly savor as when the Duke tells Katherine "She is my heart's blood. My life. I want nothing but her." Talk about a Cinderella story! Those better versed in English history of the mid to late 14th C than I am will realize just what is happening in some of the dramatic historical scenes than I did.
But even after Katherine and the Duke are finally together, all does not go well. Seton details the history of this time beautifully and, sometimes, painfully.
Seton includes quotes from Chaucer (who was married to Katherine's sister Philippa). It is also surmised Chaucer may have had Katherine in mind for some of his passages, particularly in "Troilus and Criseyde."
This book made slow reading for me as every few pages I was either picking up a historical reference to read more or searching on the internet. I do have to warn readers though, keep the hankies handy. I could have used an entire box and even woke my husband up with my sobbing. Most of these tears were tears of joy though.
And I have to add a "shame on you" to the eejit who gave this book only two stars and said it reads "much like any other "romance" novel put out by the thousands on a daily basis," which not only is a disservice to this book but to the historical romances as a whole which, it is obvious this person has very little experience with. First of all this is a romantic historical and does not fit the definitiion of a romance novel at all. Secondly, to say romance novels are "put out by thousands on a daily basis" is not only inaccurate but ignorant. This book has both huge differences and many similarities to romances, but isn't a romance novel by any stretch of the imagination. That said, readers who enjoy their books both historically accurate and very romantic are sure to enjoy this beautiful story.
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Anyways, James Cameron's Titanic is a good source for intriguing look at the process in the making of the biggest and most ambitious epic in decades. While sheet-wide "making of" pictures are a little overblown, it gets a dose of fascination to witness how Titanic was filmed under extreme circumstances. Most of the texts are well-written with the quotes from the man himself, James Cameron. However, these are not common in a couple hundreds of pages, which may or may not be satisfying. For more complete insights and details about filming the footages of the Titanic and on the set and with the filmmaker discussing the complications of completing the exhausting process, just go buy "Titanic and the Making of James Cameron". It's a better read than Ed March book itself, although not recommended for those who are too illiterate or just plain lazy to read the literally complex book in one sitting. Other than that, James Cameron's Titanic is a great book to start with, especially for pre-teen fans.
THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS documents the correspondence between Screwtape, a senior devil, and his nephew Wormwood, a novice tempter. Wormwood's mission is to win a soul for the underworld, and Screwtape offers him the accumulated iwdom of Hell on how to accomplish it. The result is a well-laid out map to the pitfalls to which we humans are all-too prey. Lewis' had great insight into human weakness, especially the uncanny way ou pride pops into almost every thought we might have. He is also alert to the ways our unquestioned assumtions can lead us astray. As Socrates said, the first step towards wisdom is to "know thyself" - and the tempters in this book do all they can to prevent that from happening.
Lewis, of course, is a Christian, but THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS are useful to any person who is seriously engaged on the spiritual quest. I read this book about once a year, and am always chagrined to find that Screwtape is still one step ahead of me! (And he is unfailingly eloquent to boot.)
This volume includes "Screwtape proposes a toast" which employs the same technique to discuss modern education. I find this a weaker part of the volume. It seems Lewis could have done more with the concept, but his arguments about the failings of modern education are much sharper in his book, THE ABOLITION OF MAN.
Still, this is an invaluable volume. It is the book that I most often give away to people - it is laugh-out-loud funny, and sadly all-too true.
Lewis was given a fair amount of criticism when these letters first were published in the "Guardian" in the 1940's. Most of this criticism was from somewhat dense people who didn't realize Lewis was joking. They actually thought Lewis was trying to get people over to the Devil's side. Lewis' intent was just the opposite.
I enjoyed the book, but found it somewhat scary. I am also a government bureaucrat and some of Screwtape's verbiage is very familiar to me!
The best insight I gleaned from the book was one passage where Wormwood is complaining his "patient" is not committing any large, grandiose sins. Screwtape advises his nephew that it doesn't really matter how bad the sin is, only that it is a sin. It helps Screwtape and his fellow minions if their "patients" don't realize the "gentle path, soft underfoot" on which they are traveling is really going downhill.
Makes you think.
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"Flags of Our Fathers" is a book which appeals not only to the die-hard WWII buff but to any person, male or female, with an interest in a teeth clenching, powerful and poignant story. It describes a horrible battle, the incredible selfless sacrifices of young men and the angst of their families.
James Bradley & Ron Powers have brought to vivid life the real people behind the famous flag-raising mythos, the surreal war in which they so valiantly fought and the survivors' eventual reentry into civilian life. This is an adventure story of true horrific experiences. On the surface it is a "good guy-bad guy" saga in which our good guys finally triumph. The good guys lucky enough to come home are quiet, self effacing and seemingly forever linked to the ghosts of those who did not survive. In an age before psychologists had discovered and mined "survivor's guilt" and Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome, the luckiest of these largely teenaged boys trained, fought, were wounded, came back and resumed living to the best of their ability. I defy any woman not to bleed for the mothers and fathers who waited and any man not to cry for the "uncommon valor" of these very young sons. Bradley's personal experiences with his own hero father, his intimate interviews with families of these sons and his own quiet faith are melded with the poetic prose of Ron Powers into a seamless whole.
This is a meticulously researched, lovingly crafted and stunning battle book, written by exceptional men about exceptional men. It is sure to become a classic.
By the end of the book you will long remember and appreciate the sacrifice and significance of the U.S. Marines' WWII Battle of Iwo Jima and the lives and deaths of the six flag raisers (Harlon Block, John Bradley, Rene Gagnon, Ira Hayes, Franklin Sousley, and Mike Strank) forever immortalized in Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal's prize-winning photo atop Mount Suribachi on February 23, 1945, and in the world's largest bronze statue, the United States Marine Corps War Memorial.
Shortly after the tragic events of September 11, 2001, an e-mail I will never forget arrived at my work computer. Attached to the e-mail was an image, actually two images side-by-side. No words were needed. On one side was the Rosenthal Iwo Jima flag-raising picture, and next to it was the New York City firemen flag-raising at "Ground Zero" picture. Reading this book helped me to fully understand the old adage, "A picture is worth a thousand words."
Written by the son of one flag-raising Marine, this amazing story should be read by everyone. It tells a tale of heroism, horrible circumstances, and the lasting consequences of an unexpected event in a compelling, unforgettable way. This book rivals All Quiet on the Western Front for its revealing insights into the nature of war, comradeship, and courage.
To set the stage, Iwo Jima was the first Japanese soil the Marines invaded. The Emperor had issued orders that the ground was to be defended to the last man. Iwo Jima was filled with tunnels that harbored over 20,000 Japanese troops who could shoot from relative safety while Americans were out in the open. The tunnel system was so extensive that Marines would literally be kidnapped while standing next to their buddies, and no one would know where they had gone. Rocks would suddenly open up to reveal mortars.
Tough fighting went on for days. The Marines lost 7,000 dead and had another 15,000 or more wounded out of 70,000 men. Ironically, the worst of the fighting came after the flag photograph, and three of the six Marines in the photograph died in this later action.
As tough as Iwo Jima was, living with the aftermath of the photograph was even harder in many ways. Two of the three survivors had their lives deeply affected in negative ways. The story of all three riveted me more than anything I have read in years.
I read fairly few books about war, but I cannot recommend this book enough to you. As Americans we owe it to those who fought in this battle to remember what actually happened and what the repercussions are. You will be moved at a deeper level than you can possibly imagine by this outstanding book.
Remember Iwo Jima!
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The premise of the book is that each of us has a natural way of both expressing and understanding love, and that those natural ways fall into five different styles, or 'languages.' In most cases we are married to a spouse whose natural language is different from our own. So when we try to express love to our spouse in our own language, it falls on deaf ears, so to speak. (In my own case I express in 'acts of service', and my wife understands 'words of affirmation'.) The theory is that this miscommunication starves the marriage relationship. But if we were to learn which language our spouse understands, and then use it consistently, we would improve our marriages tremendously.
Yes, I read this book at the request of my wife; thus lending credence to those who claim that a man won't read a marriage book on his own. But regardless of motivation and initiative, I'm glad I read it. While perhaps walking close to the line of being too simplistic, Chapman offers an easy to understand model. And the book also strives to be easy to apply by offering plenty of suggestions to help the reader get started in doing it. Expressing love consistently and over the long haul in marriage is by no means an easy proposition, but I think this book offers great help.
The chief character, Milo, has a serious case of ennui at a young age. He sees little point in doing or experiencing anything. One day, a mysterious tollbooth materializes before him, and through it Milo is transported into Dictionopolis, a world so weird that it makes Oz seem truly as normal as Kansas. There are characters such as the bickering Humbug, the aptly-named Spelling Bee (who reflexively spells out commonly-used words), and the marvelously tongue-twisting Weatherman, whose splendid spoonerisms would put Gilbert and Sullivan to shame. Things in Dictionopolis happen for no particular reason, its denizens act with no point in mind, and in general things make absolutely no sense. Even the poor king is constantly embroiled in conflicts with himself, over, of course, nothing at all. All this has come to pass because the princesses, Rhyme and Reason, have gone missing. It is thus that Milo sets off on his search-and-rescue mission. To say much more would be to spoil the book's ineffable magic, so whether you're getting this book for your ten-year-old or for yourself (and there is no shame in the latter!), it's a must-have for your bookshelf.
The wordplay in this book approaches Carollian proportions in parts. The descriptions of the demons near the end (including such monstrosities as the Horrible Hopping Hindsight, a "most unpleasant fellow whose eyes were in the rear and whose rear was out in front... he invariably leapt before he looked and never cared where he was going as long as he knew why he shouldn't have gone to where he'd been") are wonderfully clever and illustrate the worse sides of human nature very well. Other characters - Alec Bings (he sees through things); the fat/thin/tiny/giant man, Dr. Dischord and the Awful DYNNE; Chroma the color conductor; the Spelling Bee; and the .58 of a boy (he's one of the 2.58 children the average family has) are all so well done that one finds oneself reading their parts over and over again with a grin on one's face.
Though the allegory becomes too simple as one grows older, it should be returned to over and over again just to see if you missed anything the last time around. It was only recently that I noticed the wonderful line "Is everybody who lives in Ignorance as bad as you?"
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I got through half the book and slowly my interest in these people waned; I didn't care what happened to most of these characters. They resembled stereotypes within a plot that was so cliche.
The plot was too predictable. I was looking for a fresh approach to the age-old topic of cheating (show me a storyline I haven't seen on a zillion TV shows and movies). This story has been told and retold time and time again: A promiscuous person haunted by his/her sins, the "oppressed" spouse who meets a "free spirited" woman/man and finds it a little too easy to stray from his/her commitment (the grass is greener on the other side -- sure), and there are a few other predictable subplots and endings which I won't give away (trust me, they'll give themselves away within the first quarter of the book)
Needless to say, I was disappointed because there was no good feeling to hold onto in the end; no happiness for the characters (whether they ended up happy or not); just another story about cheating to add to the pile. I still love Mr. Dickey and I will continue to read his books (cause I know there will be better ones). I love his accurate descriptions of the Los Angeles area (my home), its laidback settings, and characters. "Friends and Lovers" was his best, and I hope he'll take us back to those well-plotted stories with characters (good and bad) that are mature, complicated, and not so predictable.
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The characters come alive completely and the plot is absolutely gripping. Be warned that you probably won't be able to put this one down - Somehow I read this 1000+ page book in only five days, ignoring all my schoolwork. I can't say enough good things about this book - it never lets up, always keeps you thinking, and can be quite moving emotionally too. The other thing that's cool about this book is how amazingly accurate it is historically, considering it's fiction. One of my only complaints about this book is that Clavell changed all the names even though almost all his characters were real people - even the main character, Blackthorne, was based on a real guy. It would have been cool to get the real names.
Shogun is Clavell's masterwork - if any author writes a book this good even only once in a lifetime he or she has suceeded. Everyone should read it, not because it will incredibly enrich your life (its only fiction after all), but simply because this book is so damn good it would be a shame for anyone to miss out on it.
You don't need to be a fan to enjoy this. The book is approached with the same love that is crafted into every Troma film (I have since caught up on the films I was missing). The writers care about what's contained on the pages, but treat it with loving irreverence. The insights into the industry are dead on (especially the Ratings Board). And the tips for sex with small rodents were eye opening (ok... the last part is not in the book, but if you found that funny this book is definitely for you).
There is a lot to be learned from Lloyd's ramblings. Whether your a filmmaker, a fan or someone who enjoys a good(bad) b-movie every now and then, give it a try!