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From routine to feel to rhythm to confidence, Rotella provides in this good read the mental expertise he has demonstrated in his work with golfing greats. Now, it's here for all golfers.
I find to listen to the tape on the way to the course helps prepare me for a great day of putting.
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The English language is certainly a sea of words and constructs which has been fed into by almost every major language and ethnic tradition in the world. English began as a hodge-podge of languages, never pretending to the 'purity' of more continental or extra-European languages (which, by the by, were never quite as pure as they like to assume).
The book 'The Story of English', as a companion piece to accompany the PBS-produced series of the same name, hosted by Robert MacNeil, late of the MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour, is an articulate, engaging, wide-ranging and fair exposition of an ordinarily difficult and dry subject.
The study of English is difficult on several levels. 'Until the invention of the gramophone and the tape-recorder there was no reliable way of examining everyday speech.' What did English sound like 200 years ago, or 400 years ago? 'English is--and has always been--in a state of ungovernable change, and the limits of scholarship are demonstrated by phrases like the famous 'Great Vowel Shift', hardly more informative than the 'unknown land' of early cartography.'
Of course, written language has until modern times been the limited and limiting commodity of a very small minority of people. The balance between the written and spoken language has a variable history, which can still be seen today (compare the writing of the New York Times against the speech patterns and vocabulary choices of any dozen persons you will find on the street in New York City, and this divergence will be readily apparent).
English has many varieties, and this book explores many of them, explaining that the writings and speech-patterns we see and hear as being foreign are actually English variants with a pedigree as strong as any Oxford University Press book would carry. From the Scots language which migrated to the Appalachian mountains to the Aussie languages adapted to Pacific Islands, to the ever-changing barrow speech of inner London, English speakers have a wide variety of possibilities that no one is truly master of all the language.
'If our approach seems more journalistic than scholastic, we felt this was appropriate for a subject that, unlike many academic studies, is both popular and newsworthy. Hardly a week goes by without a news story, often on the front page, devoted to some aspect of English: the 'decline' of standards; the perils and hilarities of Franglais or Japlish; the adoption of English as a 'national' language by another Third World county.'
English is, for international trade and commerce, for travel, for science and most areas of major scholarship, and many other groupings, the language not only of preference, but of required discourse.
In trying to find the length and breadth of English infusion into the world, past and present, MacNeil and primary authors Robert McCrum and William Cran have produced an engaging history, literary survey, sociology, and etymological joyride. By no means, however, are the major streams of English overlooked in favour of the minor tributaries--Shakespeare warrants most of his own chapter, as is perhaps fitting for the most linguistically-influential of all English speakers in history.
Of course, about this same time, the Authorised Version of the Holy Bible (better known as the King James Version) was also produced, with its own particular genius of language. 'It's an interesting reflection on the state of the language that the poetry of the Authorised Version came not from a single writer but a committee.'
There is a substantial difference in aspect of these two works -- whereas Shakespeare had a huge vocabulary, with no fear of coining new words and terms to suit his need, the King James Bible uses a mere 8000 words, making it generally acceptable to the everyman of the day. 'From that day to this, the Shakespearian cornucopia and the biblical iron rations represent, as it were, the North and South Poles of the language, reference points for writers and speakers throughout the world, from the Shakespearian splendour of a Joyce or Dickens to the biblical rigour of a Bunyan, or a Hemingway.'
From Scots to Anglesey, from the Bayou to the Barrier Reef, English is destined to be a, if not the, dominant linguistic force in the world for some time to come, particularly as the internet, the vast global communication network, is top-heavy with English, albeit an ever changing variety.
Revel in the glories of the English language, and seek out this fun book. Everyone will find something new.
Just about everything you ever wanted to know about the English Language is in this book. There are newer and older references but none so complete and at the same time readable. This book covers history, usage, almost usage and possible futures of the language.
One of my favorite antidotes was the one about how the Advisory Committee on Spoken English (ACSE) discussed the word "canine":
"Shaw brought up the word 'canine', and he wanted the recommendation to be 'cay-nine'... And somebody said 'Mr. Shaw, Mr. Chairman, I don't know why you bring this up, of course it's 'ca-nine'. Shaw said, 'I always pronounce things the way they are pronounced by people who use the word professionally every day.' And he said, 'My dentist always says (cay-nine)'. And somebody said, 'Well, in that case, Mr. Chairman, you must have an American dentist.' And he said, 'Of course, why do you think at 76 I have all my teeth!'"
After reading about how English came about, the next book to read would be "Divided by a Common Language" by Christopher Davies, Jason Murphy
It is free of the linguistic jargon most general readers would find pedantic, and although it is aimed at the general reader it is never condescending. The first half of the book explains the historical development of English while the second half focues on modern English.
Most refreshing though, is that it is free of the triumphalism found in many books of this kind. Reflecting the demographic reality of English today, it gives even-handed attention to the many contemporary varieties of English spoken around the world in places such as North America, Singapore, India, the Anglophone West Indies, and so on.
'The Story of English' is best suited to those who are curious about the origins as well as the future of English, and who want an easy-to-understand introduction to the subject.
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Erin
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Suzy Schaak
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Scheim dissects mafia involvement in Dealy Plaza,Texas,22.11.63. Not as much suggestive as masterfully investigated,there is stuff here that will blow you away; such as Lee Harvey Oswald's vastly covered-up significant ties to the Mafia~(Oswald's mob connected uncle "Charles Murret"). There's also a fantastic chapter dealing with Mafia associations to R.Nixon's Administration & to R.Reagan's Administration. And check out the "Appendix#2 Sources-on-the-Mafia" section; Seems that the Cosa Nostra has been networking an evil business empire ranging from Wall Street connections to an interest in child pornography.
An intriguing,powerful paperback. Check it out.
It is a thorough investigation: David E. Scheim went as far as analyzing all telephone calls by Ruby before the assassination.
The author gives us a most credible explanation of how the Mafia could benefit and did after the murder. More, he draws a disturbing portrait of how the Mafia penetrated the highest power ranks in the U.S. and how it could influence the life of every U.S. citizen.
He castigates the Warren Report as a shameful misjudgment.
This book is a must read. It describes how a secret organization could wield enormous power and influence to its own adavantage a whole democratic nation and its citizens.
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Recomiendo este libro a quien nunca haya usado director antes, y para aquellos que habiendo usado, solo han aprendido por su cuenta sin referencias técnicas.
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This charming tale is of seven-year-old Laura who looks back over her life when she was a baby and her interest in the 'puter. Every evening Laura and her Daddy would log on and he would read his mail.
But it was those three little words, "You've got mail" that fascinated the tyke. She longed and wished to get e-mail of her own. But Laura must first make a promise to her Daddy before she gets an account of her own. (A lesson for Moms and Dads that supervision is a must.)
My five-year-old nephew, Joseph, loved Laura's tale, but now he wants his own e-mail account! Needless to say, my brother is not very happy with me.
John Salerno's illustrations are colorful, fun, and childlike without being condescending.
I've Got Mail! is a fun, happy book, sure to give those little ones happy thoughts before they go to sleep!
In the blink of an eye, or so it seems to Laura's Dad, she is ready & eager to learn how the computer works. Together they set up her own book, where her favorite pictures are kept.
Laura feels, somehow, that something is still missing. One day when her Dad opens up his email program & that chirpy voice tells him he's got mail, six-year old Laura knows that that's what's missing! She wants her own email, her Dad sets about helping her, & she writes a note to her best friend.
John Salerno's illustrations vividly portray the excitement & charm of this poetic adventure that just about every modern family is now enjoying.
I'VE GOT MAIL! will make a really fine Fathers' Day Gift - hint, hint!