This book is simply a masterpiece. It is an exceptionally well written and brilliantly told story of two people whose destinies become intertwined through a simple twist of fate. It is the story of what happens to them and to those who love them, when their respective worlds collide in a climactic and tragic ending.

It is the story of Colonel Behrani, a formerly wealthy Iranian, who had thrived under the regime of the Shah, only to lose everything during his country's revolution. Now, he and his family find themselves undergoing the immigrant experience in America, working to maintain appearances among their fellow exiles, and finding the going hard. Working long hours at menial jobs, Colonel Behrani longs to be a master of the universe again.

It is also the story of Kathy Nicolo, a woman with some serious issues. She is a sad and pathetic bottom feeder, who has lost nearly everything in life, including the one thing that has kept her somewhat anchored: the house she inherited from her father. She is a loser and innocuous bumbler who has totally squandered her life. When she loses that which she holds most dear, her house, and is summarily evicted from it, she meets Sheriff Lester Burden, a married man with children, who is smitten by her. His obsession with her would lead him down a path from which there would be no return.

When Colonel Behrani's quest for the American Dream finds him with an opportunity to buy a house at a bargain basement price at a county auction, he plunks down the remainder of his family's life savings. At the time, he knows nothing of the circumstances of the county's possession of that house, Kathy's house. He and his family move in. Colonel Behrani's head is filled with dreams of selling the house at a large profit, becoming a real estate speculator, and leading his family back to its former glory and place in society. He truly believes that America is the land of opportunity. He still believes in the American Dream.

Kathy, on the other hand, has done nothing with the opportunities afforded her. She has simply squandered them by marrying the wrong men, boozing, and drugging herself into oblivion. Living a marginal existence by cleaning houses and proving herself to be an untrustworthy and totally amoral person with little regard for others, her life is the antithesis of the American Dream. Still, she has this house, and when she loses it due to a bureaucratic error, the bottom totally falls out of her life. For now, she truly has nothing. Like a dog with a bone, she refuses to let the issue go and will stop at nothing to get her house back from the Behranis, whom she views as greedy usurpers. Her view of the situation is supported by Sheriff Lester Burdon, who becomes embroiled in Kathy's struggle and takes it to a level that not even Kathy could have anticipated.

As the author takes the reader to the book's climactic ending, the reader will not be able to put down this beautifully crafted, literary tour de force. The author evokes a distinct mood in his narrative of the Behrani family through a clever use of language and sentence structure that seems to match the syncopation of their first language, giving it a rich, three dimensional flavor. The language of Colonel Behrani has a rich infusion of the cultural milieu out of which he arose. It is a wonderful literary contrivance used to great effect by a very talented and gifted writer.

When the author writes about Kathy, the language and sentence structure of the narrative is simpler, looser, baser, and reflective of the individual around whom the author is trying to create a mood. Again he succeeds, as Kathy is a very primal character, unlike Colonel Behrani, who is more introspective. She is someone who ruins almost everything that she touches without meaning to do so. She is a person totally lacking in self-control. When she meets Sheriff Lester Burden, a tightly wound, conflicted man, very much in control of himself, his passion for her causes him to begin to lose his self-control. He begins a downward spiral that ends in a personal meltdown. The character of Kathy is somewhat pitiable, as she is the catalyst around whom the tragic events unfold. They unfold, however, in a way that she never intended.

This modern day Greek tragedy, with its layers of moral and cultural complexities, is a spellbinding and suspenseful page turner, crafted by an enormously talented author who is able to construct a rich and powerful novel of the first order. It is simply a great book. Bravo!

For those familiar with Green's previous works, I would highly recommend this book. Unlike his journal articles, Chains of Eros can be read without having to be studied. The book's chapters develop a thesis arguing for the importance of using and understanding sexuality in psychoanalytic work. There is nothing musty or fossilized here. This book is concerned with contemporary practice in a modern world of shifting ideas about sexuality. Green's ability to link classical Freudian ideas with modern psychoanalytic thinking remains impressive. He offers support here for Joyce McDougall's formulations regarding neo-sexualities.

The translation is very good. However, many of the references are not available in English.

For those unfamiliar with Green, this book is an accessible starting point to explore French psychoanalytic ideas-or at least the post-Lacanian thinking with which Green identifies. One should be warned: there is very little concern with American psychoanalysis, as Green subsumes nearly all Americans under the genre of ego psychology. [Is the Atlantic split widening? I remember mentioning a work on psychoanalytic technique by Etchegoyen to Stephen Mitchell last year, and his only comment was that relational psychoanalysis was not even mentioned in the book. To which I return: And how many articles on relational psychoanalysis have you submitted to the International Journal of Psychoanalysis?]

Those familiar with Winnicott and Bion will more easily follow Green's orientation. Green's opinions are strongly stated and some of his ideas are provocative. This work should be intriguing to those who are willing to re-think Freudian ideas. In my experience, Green's understanding of Freud is unparalleled. I always leave Green feeling nurtured, challenged and provoked to think deeply about important things.

What impressed me most about this work was the masterly and elegant prose style. The cosmology of Berger-Kiss is served so well by his wonderful story-telling abilities, the flow of language building to hurricane velocity in a climax worthy of the greatest writers of our time. This should be required reading in all introductory history of ideas courses. My congratulations to the author!

When I read this book 10 years ago I was stunned. Only in the last couple of years it seems have even the BBC started to discuss issues such as East Timor, the World Bank etc in a realistic manner.

If you you feel that your world is the 'civilised', 'good', 'honorable', 'tolerant', 'fair' world... then read this; especially 'The Escalating Arms Race' chapter. It will shock and probably disgust you. You will read about genocide aided and abetted by the 'good and civilised' world and it's charitable organisations and barefaced hypocricy that knows no bounds.

Best of all - this is all discussed by a man who knows. 30 years of experience: "speaking from the experience of over twenty years as a principal administrator with the OECD in Paris, the FAO in Rome, the United Nations Development Programme in Africa and working on consultant missions elsewhere with UNESCO and the World Bank".

Read it! And vote wisely. John I White

This book is an excellent, comprehensive review of the authors and their major, (classic) works of the 19th century. It is written entirely in French. The authors who are covered include (but are not limited to) Mme. De Stael, Chateaubriand, LaMartine, De Vigny, Hugo, De Musset, Sand, Balzac, Stendahal, Merimee, Sainte Beuve, De Lisle, Baudelaire, Flaubert, Verlaine, Rimbaud, Mallarmae, et Anatole France. It provides a great deal of historical information about the period: the prevalent philosophies of the era, and the various literary schools: romanticisme, realism, and naturalism. The book also details characteristics of period theater, poetry, and criticism. Extremely helpful are the numerous footnotes regarding intertextual references and ancienne usages of words, figures of speech. It provides a series of critical questions to assist the reader in assessing the content, philosophy and devices used by the author. It is a constantly valuable reference, not only for the literature itself, but also with regard to the study of literature, history, and philosophy in general, as characteristics that are in common with, or differ from literature of other languages and periods. All the literature books of this series by LaGard/Michard hold to this high standard.

Kraak presents a superb analysis of the development of three different discourses in South African education, starting with the "People's Education" discourse of the 1980s, as developed by the National Education Crisis Committee and educationalists such as Harold Wolpe. Kraak then discusses the development of a systemic discourse in the early 1990s, as expressed in ANC policy (1994) and the National Commission on Higher Education (1996). He then shows that these discourses are increasingly giving way to a technicist discourse of outcomes-based education and training (OBET). Kraak then presents a critique of OBET - and then criticises his own critique and offers a possible way forward in adapting OBET.

Marc-Andre Hamelin is universally acknowledged to be 'primus inter pares' among pianists living today, and Robert Rimm has written a first-rate book which explains why this is so, placing Hamelin into the context and rich legacy of the composer-pianists.

The core of Rimm's evaluation consists of four chapters which compare, contrast and illuminate the lives, careers and aethetics of The Eight: Alkan and Sorabji; Busoni and Godowsky; Feinberg and Scriabin; Medtner and Rachmaninov. The major "find" here is Samuel Feinberg, about whom much less is known by many of us than any of the other Eight. Rimm leaves us wishing to hear much more of this composer's music and of his recorded performances.

In these chapters, Rimm manages to deconstruct several myths and misunderstandings about each of these provocative musicians, while calibrating, aligning and amplifying the essence of each. His observation of the correspondences, contrasts, parallels and congruent aesthetics of each of the eight is insightful, and leads to his core thesis: That pianistic virtuosity, as shared and practiced by them (and upon which their public fame largely exists, to the dismay of each), exists to serve the music, through their consumate musicianship, and is not an end to itself. Indeed, their virtuosity must be seen as the necessary precursor to their art; none was satisfied to stop at the "merely virtuosic", but instead recognized that virtuosity was the mandatory platform for the creation and recreation of great music.

These four core chapters lead to a fifth: "From Alkan to Hamelin", which examines Marc's career to date and his place in this distinguished lineage of composers and performers. [NB: I feel comfortable using Mr. Hamelin's first name, with respect, in writing about him, for I was fortunate last year to have met and briefly talked with him after a pair of recitals he gave at the Portland (OR) State University Piano Recital Series. These recitals included the music of Bach, Schubert, Brahms, Schumann and, yes, Alkan's Concerto!... plus encores from his then-just released "Kaleidoscope" CD (Hyperion CDA67275), a direct successor to "The Composer-Pianists" CD (CDA67050) which is in turn the companion recording to this very book. Marc is a most cordial and approachable individual, totally without pretense, and unfazed by those who insist on referring to him as "a super-virtuoso". Our conversations were brief, following his generous performances and after he tolerated lines of autograph-seeking well-wishers -- I'm sure he'd not recognize me in a crowd, yet I left feeling like I'd met a new friend.]

Rimm's chapter on Hamelin (who is indeed his friend and collaborator in this book) examines Marc's own views of The Eight (and others), his championship of their art and music, and his own recognition of virtuosity as an element of musicianship itself. This chapter is perhaps the gem of the book: it is constructively analytical, not hyperventilating with hero-worship (difficult to do when faced with Marc's executant talents), and comfortably conversational. Marc offers his own insights, including a clear-eyed personal view of his own performance skills and technique, on concertizing and composing, and the push-pull demands of a varied and creative career.

The chapters on the pitfalls of criticism, the liabilities of virtuosity and the art of transcription are also strong, interweaving a fine counterpoint of notions and ideas again at the foundations of The Eight's (plus one's) aesthetics and lives. The weakest chapter is "The Erotic Muse" -- I suppose that, especially in light of Scriabin's world view of mysticism and sexuality, this is somewhat of an obligatory chapter. I'm no prude (nor is there anything the least bit titillating herein), but I found that this chapter could be ripped without loss from the book. Fortunately, after examining certain views of how (some) music(s) and sex are (somehow) linked or of "the same" human impulse, Rimm ultimately comes to the obvious conclusion that sex and music are really two different things altogether. I'll need to re-read this chapter in a few months to see what, if anything, I missed.

Along the way, we encounter other musicians, composers and pianists of note, including Liszt (of course), Prokofiev, Ives, Horowitz, Kapustin, Schoenberg, Stravinsky, Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, Earl Wild, Alistair Hinton, Radu Lupu, Zoltan Kocsis and Stephen Hough, who provides an enticing foreword plus complementary remarks in various chapters. Hough is, of course, a peer, compatriot and colleague of Hamelin's -- boy, a duo-recital &/or recording by these two would be almost too much of a good thing! Hyperion, are you paying attention?

Bonus points for the appendices: Complete Solo Piano Works for each of The Eight and for Hamelin (an emerging composer of note), plus a Discography for each who has left a recorded legacy (Alkan's the exception; he died just before Edison put cactus-needle to wax) ...and of course, Hamelin's own discography is fortunately a catalog-in-progress.

This is mandatory reading for all pianists and other musicians, professional and serious amatuers (like me!), and anyone else who wants to understand the fascinating hold that virtuoso musicians have over us all. Bravo, and thank you, Mr. Rimm!

In this volume of the correspondence, we witness how the two pioneers of psychoanalysis toured their way through the war years. In their intimate and mutually sustaining letters, we saw how Freud shared his utmost worry about the plight of his sons enlisted, as Ferenczi apparently became his surrogate son. We also read Ferenczi's self-torture in imprisoning himself between the two women: Gizella and Elma [who were mother and daughter] and Freud's fatherly role in this episode. These were also the days when Ferenczi had his long-desired but truncated analyses with Freud; and also the time of Ferenczi gradually hatching from his dependency on Freud, paving the way for the bitter conflict in the years to come [recorded in Volume 3 of this series]. As Freud shared his budding ideas with Ferenczi who provided honest and insightful feedback, we come to believe that psychoanalysis is the creation of not just Freud, but Freud and Ferenczi. This volume is a must for all those who are interested in the early history of psychoanalysis, the dissolution of certain long-held myth [as created by Ernest Jones' official biography] as well as the inner worlds of the two great men behind.

This book is good resource guide for faux painting with water base paints and products. Each process is well instructed though pictures of the finished technique, related color samples, tools needed and product recipes. Faux techniques covered are from your basic sponging to granite to marble to wood effects. A great book for beginner faux painters, but also terrific resource for decorative ideas. If anyone is looking for a comprehensive guide to faux painting, you not go wrong with this book.

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