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Book reviews for "Robert,_Paul" sorted by average review score:

Upgrading and Repairing Networks
Published in Paperback by Que (1996)
Authors: Craig Zacker, Paul Doyle, Christa Anderson, Darren Mar-Elia, Alexia Prendergast, Robert Thompson, Kevin Makela, Michele Petrovsky, Paul Robichaux, and Que Corporation
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Must not be the only book about networking you have
This book brings uncountable information not only about network operating systems, but also about network hardware. It is very easy to be read. But if you really want to learn about networks, this must not be the only book to buy, of course. Since it is written in an easy language, it can be read not only by the ones who already works with networking, but also by the ones who are willing to enter this field.

An excellent book, but not for everybody
This book provides an excellent treatment of network fundementals from the perspective of a person designing or repairing networks. It is a good book for a person with little or no network experience.

However, there are limitations to the book that are not apparent from the description. First, the book is primarily about Novell networks. If you are looking for an in-depth treatment of other networks, this is not the book for you. Second, the specific hardware and software recommendations are few and far between for a book of this type.

I recommend this book for people wanting to learn about installing and repairing networks, particularily Novell networks. Just be aware of its limitations.

Worth the extra effort to obtain
This book has left a bizarre legacy. Que's "Upgrading and Repairing Networks, Second Edition" is written by a different author (Terry Ogletree, though it bears Scott Mueller's name in significantly larger type), and its true sequel ("Upgrading and Troubleshooting Networks" by Craig Zacker) is published by Osborne. One can only imagine the intrigue that gave birth to these two rival heirs, and one can only wish that such events had not taken place, as this book is far better than either of its descendents.

Though a few years past its prime, Craig Zacker and Paul Doyle's "Upgrading and Repairing Networks" remains one of the best, broadest, most authoritative and most comprehensive guides to local area networking in print. Published prior to the certification frenzy, this book was designed to teach the journeyman technician both the theory and practice needed to perform effectively in a crisis situation. Subjects covered range from "the stuff in every book" (like the OSI model, hardware, and a plus/minus analysis of operating systems) to arcane but incredibly useful information for those new to the care and feeding of LANs (such as a chapter each on UPSes and tape drives).

I strongly urge beginners to the networking field to put in the extra effort necessary to get this book; its scope all but guarantees that you'll learn new and valuable information, and its tone and style make this knowledge fairly painless to obtain. Seasoned networking professionals might also consider picking this one up (especially at marketplace prices)... that is, if the copy they've relied on since 1996 has worn out.


The Kingdom of Matthias
Published in Hardcover by Oxford University Press (1994)
Authors: Paul E. Johnson and Sean Wilentz
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Wondering About Christianity
I did too. I read this book with an amazement on how basic Bible priniples can me misused to the detriment of oneself and others around them. Please read this book to understand the confusion that enslaves so many Christians. If you truly seeking God, you that they way they tried to find it in this book is not the way to find him.

A Fascinating Microcosm of the Burned-Over District
In this work, Paul Johnson has taken a relatively small and unknown event and used it to illustrate not only an interesting event but also an interesting perspective on the Burned-Over District as a whole. It touches on everything from sexual corruption to radical doctrinal innovations. The Burned-Over district saw the beginning of numerous religious movements such as Mormonism, Adventism, Christian Scientists, numerous smaller religions that did not survive, and even significant political movements such as Antimasonry.

This book is the story of one of those movements. The prologue introduces Matthias as he went to Kirtland to visit with the Mormon Prophet, Joseph Smith. While this event occurred near the end of Matthias’ activity, it is obvious that he stole many of his ideas from Joseph Smith. Matthias initiated the practice of the washing of feet which was common to both the followers of Joseph Smith and Ellen White. He also believed that the truth of the Gospel had fallen from the earth shortly after the time of Christ another Mormon belief. In addition, he had a sword which he claimed was ancient similar to Smith’s sword of Laban, as well as naming the Priesthood after the order of Melchezidek. Likewise, his early mentor Mordecai Noah taught that the Indians were actually a branch of the Israelites which is a central idea found in the Book of Mormon. All of these ideas came out before 1830 when Matthias began his activity.

The most humorous part of this history is the anecdotes that relate to Matthias’ enemies trying to shave off his beard. Johnson has done an excellent job condensing all the most relevant information in this short work. The Kingdom of Matthias is an enjoyable read and a must for anyone interested in this interesting period in American religious history.

Brilliant!
This is one of the exquisite books that I have read about this time. And to the writer "Orrin Judd", how dare you be such a anti-intellectual dunce? Just by holding on to the case of the Lewinsky/Clinton trial (which by the way Wilentz and Berman wrote before this happened) and other inane right-winged republican comments, if they are even worty of any name other than trash. They remark on this book as something it is far from being, a peice of garbage that can merely be thrown away as litter. As for the book itself, this is a masterpeice with pen and ink, wonderfully capturing the era. It goes behind the mind of this engrossing man and period, and includes people, such as Soujourner Truth, that were known later on, after the period the book was written. It just so awefully captures all the details and facts behind this, but still making it enjoyable. I reccomend this book highly, and give it 5 out of 5 stars. And to any creep, such as Orrin Judd, who thinks otherwise, then just consider this book one more time, the brilliance of it and the fabulous authors (Paul Berman and Sean Wilentz) who made the making of this book possible.


Airline Management, Strategies for the 21st Century
Published in Hardcover by Coast Aire Publications, L.L.C. (1997)
Authors: Paul S. Dempsey, Laurence E. Gesell, and Robert L. Crandall
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Strategies for the 21st century?
In this book you will find NO answers to questions like "How the airline business and the aviation markets of this century will look like". Instead of future aspects and ideas you can read all about the very basics in airline economics. But that's not enough. Most of the facts and figures are from the mid 90's. Poor! Bottom line: The title doesn't match with the content at all!

A commendable introduction to the airline industry
This is the first academic book on the airline industry that I read and I still consider it the most readable one. However, as other reviewers have correctly pointed out, the book's title is blatantly misleading: This is by no means a manual delineating airline strategies for the 21st century but rather a thorough introduction to the airline industry and to the U.S. airline industry in particular. Apart from the odd subtitle, though, the book does live up to the expectations by brilliantly explaining the basics of airline management, and some chapters - especially the ones on airline economics, planning and price - are written so well and are so easy to understand that I would like to recommend Mr Dempsey and Mr Gesell's work to any student aiming to make himself familiar with the peculiarities of the airline industry.

Still, there are two minor omissions in this book that deserve to be noted. Firstly, the book having been published in 1997 only scarce mention is being made of the internet's role as a competitive tool used to enhance direct distribution within the industry; considering that nowadays more and more airlines are relying on internet technology in order to contain their operating costs, this is a point that truly needs to be updated. Secondly - and as has already been pointed out - the book's industry analysis focusses on the situation in the U.S., thus for the most part leaving aside the European and Asian markets where the airline industry tends to be heavily regulated and where the challenges airline managers are up against can be very different from the ones in the U.S.

All in all, however, this book offers a detailed and surprisingly readable introduction to the airline industry, and anybody who as yet has not read anything on the subject will not be disappointed in choosing the work by Mr Dempsey and Mr Gesell.

A Must For Any Aviation Professional!
This book went into great detail regarding the economics, finance, and other managerial perspectives of the airline industry. Included were several helpful tables, graphs and statistics. This book complemented an airline operations course I recently completed at college, within an aviation management program. This book serves as a great reference and will not collect dust on my shelf! Dempsey exhibits remarkable expertise throughout the chapters in this book. Anyone planning on going into any kind of aviation career should read this to remain knowledgeable of current situations within the airline industry. Overall, this has been the best aviation textbook I've read throughout my undergraduate training.


The New Color Line: How Quotas and Privilege Destroy Democracy
Published in Paperback by Regnery Publishing, Inc. (1997)
Authors: Paul Craig Roberts and Lawrence M. Stratton
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Good Book - Wrong Title
The majority of the book was actually on the passage of desegratation. Very interesting though. It was a wake up call of how our judges create law rather than interpret it. There were many other instances of government social engineering interlaced among the main story.

If you think you like the Brown decision, think again.
In *The New Color Line: How Quotas and Privilege Destroy Democracy*, Paul Craig Roberts and Lawrence M. Stratton argue compellingly that Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, the landmark Supeme Court decision that struck down the "separate but equal" doctrine established by Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896, was a product not of sound, impartial legal reasoning but of extra-constitutional judicial activism based on sociological theories and good intentions, with disastrous long-term consequences for America.

The progression of legal precedents that the authors trace from the Brown decision through the 1990s proves the long-term danger of reading law non-literally or "in the light of changing times." The1964 Civil Rights Act, the authors show, was especially harmful. Its vices aside, it had this virtue: it was clearly intended, as evidenced by the Congressional record and the plain language of the Act itself, to prohibit racial quotas. Yet to no avail. In the judicial atmosphere of the time, encouraged by the Brown decision, the Act meant anything a judge declared it to mean. Determined to ensure disadvantaged groups not just equal rights but rights to equal results, increasingly activist judges gave to minorities and women, in flagrant judicial usurpation of powers that properly belong to the legislature, a host of new privileges at the expense of the legitimate rights of white males--or of anyone who wishes to succeed in life on his own merit, for that matter.

I have two significant criticisms of the book. First, while the authors include a voluminous bibliography of articles, books, court records and government documents, there are few actual citations. This aggravating lack of footnotes makes it difficult to do research to check the book for distortions, thereby diminishing, in my eyes, the authors' credibility. Stratton, an Adjunct Professor of Law at Georgetown University Law Center, should know better given the vitriol that such a book as this one is likely to elicit from critics.

Second, the authors' political philosophy is rooted in conventional conservatism, with all its flaws. As their book's subtitle implies, their chief end is the preservation of "democracy"--meaning majority rule, minority oppression, whatever kind of benevolent spin they attempt to put on it. They thus cede ground to the collectivists and open themselves to attack on multiple fronts--such as that, whatever their assertions to the contrary, the Supreme Court is a fundamentally *un*democratic institution. Their belief in a strict constructionist interpretation of the Constitution is laudable but needs a firm grounding in individual rights to be effective.

For good political philosophy, I recommend Dr. Tara Smith's groundbreaking *Moral Rights and Political Freedom*. It is Roberts and Stratton's account of the Brown decision and its consequences that makes their book worth reading.

You have to be open-minded.....
I think it telling that the ANONYMOUS reviewer on Feb. 2nd below seemed to have little to say about the book, but instead bloviated about the vast-right wing conspiracy. I doubt he/she read it - probably just some Democrat intern with little else to do.

This book offered an actual in-depth inspection of the danger of allowing the courts to rule - something the Founding Fathers warned about but continues to go on with barely a mention. I think the Founding Fathers would have been disappointed in our apathy. They fought a revolution for less.


Coruscant and the Core Worlds (Star Wars Roleplaying Game)
Published in Hardcover by Wizards of the Coast (2003)
Authors: Craig Robert Carey, Paul Sudlow, Jason Fry, and Daniel Wallace
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Excellent stuff, but a little lean.
First of all, what this book contains will not disappoint if you spent time on the core worlds. Most parties will eventually go there, and this book will help you as the GM make them come to life like you wouldn't believe.

Each planet is divided up into a player's and GM's section. The players section lists history, locations, and things of that ilk. The GM's section includes plot hooks and major NPCs. I think that more WotC books should implement this sort of organization, where a player can read through the book and not worry about accidentally spoiling something for him- or herself. The plots are interesting, and tend to involve whatever makes that planet unique (the shipyards of Corellia, for example). They are also divided along era lines, which is a worthwhile practice that should be continued in future WotC projects.

That said, the book does have a few flaws. First, the art, while good, is sparse. Each planet (Coruscant has the biggest section and is therefore an exception) has only one or two pieces, and they don't really give a suffient feel for the planet, leaving it up to the descriptions and the GM's knowledge. Second, the section on planetary histories is a little short for most worlds, usually constituting little more than a page. For some of the minor worlds (like Anaxes) this is permissable, but even Corellia and Coruscant are lacking in that regard.

In short, this book is worth getting (almost essential, in fact) if you plan on spending time in the Core, but not really if its a casual thing that you "might do someday." Its limited nature makes it less useful than, say, WotC's upcoming Ultimate Alien Anthology.

The Bright Center of Your Campaign
One of the most memorable things about Star Wars is in just how unique the worlds are, and that is definitely the case here. The worlds in this book have one thing in common: they are Core planets. Other than that, they are as different from each other as Hoth is from Tatooine.

This wonderfully illustrated hardcover book details no less than 29 Core worlds. Coruscant gets the most space at nearly 30 pages, and most of the other worlds, including Alderaan and Corellia, get three to five pages each. In general, each world has brief sections on its description, history, people, and important locations. Changes from the time of the Old Republic up to the New Jedi Order are also discussed.

At the end of each planet's profile there is a "GM-only" section for each world with adventure hooks and a selection of important NPCs. There are also several new species, six new feats, about a dozen items of new equipment, over a dozen new vehicles and starships, four new droids, and more new creatures than you can shake a stick at (my favorite was the fearsome Coromon Headhunter). Sadly, there is only one new Prestige Class, the five-level Seyugi Dervish.

While I really would have preferred to see a greater selection of PrCs, the book's other qualities largely make up for this deficiency. I should emphasize that while each planet receives a generous amount of information, it is by no means a complete description. The focus of the book seems to be on providing GM's and players with ideas for their own campaigns and characters, rather than on being an exhaustive resource.

As a GM I found the plot hooks and NPC sections to be the most useful. And boy, there are a lot of NPCs, over a hundred of them in fact. Even better is the fact that the plot hooks and NPCs are often connected to each other, which makes for easy adventure creation.

My main complaint regarding this otherwise excellent book is that some of the maps are a bit lacking. Specifically, many of them don't have a scale, which makes it difficult to tell if the map of this or that location covers hundreds of meters or dozens of kilometers. The maps are also far too small for tabletop use, but a trip to the copy shop should solve that problem.

As others have pointed out, a GM would probably get the most use out of this book, especially in a Core-based campaign. Of course, a player could still find this book to be a valuable tool for fleshing out the background of a favorite character. Even so, there is so much variety, information, and so many ideas in this book that I'd recommend it to anyone. Overall I'm giving Coruscant and the Core Worlds a very strong 4 out of 5.

And besides, what campaign could possibly be complete without the main characters visiting Coruscant at least once?

Compatible with the Dungeons and Dragons game's d20 system
The collaborative effort of Craig R. Carey, Chris Doyle, Jason Fry, Paul Sudlow, John Terra, and Daniel Wallace, and specifically crafted to be compatible with the Dungeons and Dragons game's d20 system, Star Wars Roleplaying Game: Coruscant And The Core Worlds is an information-packed reference filled from cover to cover with memorable characters, exotic locations, vehicles, alien creatures, story ideas, and much, much more. Configured and organized so that even the most novice Game Master can create a memorable Star Wars-themed role gaming adventure, Coruscant And The Core Worlds is an excellent and faithful guide, and a very welcome addition to the growing library of Star Wars related role-play adventure resources and references.


Manhattan in Maps: 1527-1995
Published in Hardcover by Rizzoli (1997)
Authors: Paul E. Cohen and Robert T. Augustyn
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Tiny, illegible maps. Useless.
The maps are miniscule, reproduced to fit into a single spread, where they are squeezed between commentary. The type on them is so small and blurry that it was impossible to read, even with serious magnification. This book was a complete and total disappointment. Instead of an informative, legible reference, Manhattan in Maps is nothing more than a "coffee table" book, and not a very good one at that. If you're looking for maps you could actually refer to and learn from, this is not the book for you. Hopefully, someone will get the hint and put out a quality folio of these valuable maps.

Great book, screaming for a larger edition
I know I'm jumping on the bandwagon here, but the maps are disappointing because they're too small to be scrutinized. The text, however, compensates greatly for this flaw. The chapters are concise but not a word is wasted. I found the section on the British invasion of Brooklyn as well-written and gripping as any thriller. I can only hope that they are planning to come out with a larger edition for the illustrations.

Small Maps, but wonderful commentary
While I agree with one reviewer that the maps depicted in the book are small and difficult to read (more due to the apparent custom of making 17th and 18th century maps totally illegible in any case rather than the editors' layout of them), the commentary accompanying the maps is very illuminating and interesting. The authors also chose to use maps highlighting, for example, '70s-era police practice, '20s-era political classifications and a map of the subway along with the more conventional surveyor's maps; truly a very interesting collection. A good companion to any history of pre-20th century NYC, such as Gotham.


In the Deep Midwinter
Published in Hardcover by Picador (1997)
Author: Robert Clark
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Timeless Issues in a Period Piece
In the Deep Midwinter certainly evokes the 50s -- the drinks before dinner, the roast beef and creamed corn, the wife waiting at home for the husband, the moral and legal prohibitions. But the issues it addresses are timeless: is silence the better part of love? is it wisdom or hypocrisy to look the other way? The prose is stunning and poetic. The characters are well-drawn. Charles' pointless evening snowed in at home and afraid of his own shadow while Anna is across town growing sicker could not have been more disturbing and revealing. I immediately picked up Mr. White's Confession by the same author and found it an entirely different book but equally as moving. Highly recommend them both.

A finely nuanced and well crafted novel set in the 1950s.
This is a beautifully written book. I marveled over the wonderful language, subtle and full of wisdom. The author merges themes of love, betrayal and moral standpoints in the crisis of an illegal abortion. It does not remain in the 50s morality but transcends to universal themes with which we debate today.

For people who love Cheever and E. Connell's Mr./Mrs. Bridge
I read about this author's new book Mr. White's Confession in Esquire, where Greil Marcus raved about it and about In the Deep Midwinter. So I went back and found this one in paperback. If you like John Cheever's books, or especially the novels about Mr. and Mrs. Bridge by Evan Connell (does anyone remember those?), this book is for you. It's set in the 1940s, but it doesn't feel stuffy or old--I disagree with a couple of the previous reviewers on that score. Clark uses the past to frame a story that has contemporary meaning. Two big things in this book--an abortion that one of the characters decides to have, and the crisis of religious faith in another--are treated dramatically and deeply. Because the book is set 50 years ago, those events have an enormity that today's novels might treat with irony, and so dismiss. I highly recommend this novel for patient readers.


Artistic Anatomy
Published in Paperback by Watson-Guptill Pubns (1986)
Authors: Dr. Paul Richer and Robert Beverly Hale
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A great resource
Although it's rather time consuming to read the text, but they go well with the corresponding illustrations. The illustrations are unbeatable, as they cover all bones and muscles that are of importance to the artiest. Many of the body structures are shown from more than one perspective.

why I bought this book
I actually didn't read the book, I know enough anatomy not to. So I can't say anything about what is written in it. I bought it for the figure drawings, particularly the ones depicting the figure stretched and relaxed. These weren't "dynamic" poses, where the body is contourted into obscene shapes, but simple flexes/stretches by idividual body part (in relation to the others at rest) which follow the range of movement of a muscle. What I liked about these images, were that they were more focus than others I've seen...the images alone are why I bought the book...I deducted a star for only depicting male models, though many art books have a bias toward males.....

a MUST HAVE book
This is a MUST HAVE book for anatomy, and I have taken 2 anatomy classes in art college where this is the only required reading. Yes, the previous reviewer is correct in that labels are incorrect(though only a few) and that it is bewildering why the text and drawings are separated into two parts.

However, this book is nothing less than a classic, and any modern art anatomy book references Richer in one way or other -- just look at the bibliography of any anatomy book. The drawings at the end of the book are especially invaluable. Where else can you find 16 side by side drawings of the rotations of the arm? This alone is priceless in understanding how muscles ACTUALLY WORK rather than simply displaying front and profile pictures.

I would also recommend "Human Antomy for Artists" by Eliot Goldfinger. It is obviously largely based on Richer's work, but deeply expanded in that it covers every single muscle in detail along with photographs of models. However, you need both books, since Goldfinger does not have the case studies that Richer does (Goldfinger shows the muscles clinically and not in actual application) and is not the master illustrator that Richer was.


Intermediate Accounting (Robert N. Anthony/Willard J. Graham Series in Accounting)
Published in Hardcover by Richard d Irwin (1985)
Authors: Paul B.W. Miller, D. Gerald Searfoss, and Kenneth A. Smith
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Use This On al Queda ?
Good grief, this sort of thing sounds like TORTURE. People become accountants because they failed at something else. And they actually read stuff like this?

Fulltime Accountant /student
This book is very practical and covers all the pertinent information needed for a good foundation in Accounting. The book is easy to understand and gives practical examples and useful exercises.

Response to a reader from Houston
I am an accounting Professor. I am also an accountant. I am so surprised that you thought people became accountants because they failed from something else. It is totally wrong. I am so pround of it. I am 27 year old. I have a good car, have a good house (no debt at all; I just repaid all my mortgage recently.) I do not think that people who are in the field from which you mentioned they failed can make money and have good reputation like I do. Do you know that an auditor money as much as a lawyer (I am a good auditor; please do not talk about other case)

For this book, I found it is very good. I used Prof Skousen's textbook in first accounting class as well as intermediate. My students like them so much. However, they give a little bit too much detail. A professor should adapt it when using in class. This book is a excellent alternative to another book published by Wiley.


Marat/Sade, the Investigation, and the Shadow of the Body of the Coachman (German Library (Paper), Vol 92)
Published in Paperback by Continuum (1998)
Authors: Peter Weiss and Robert Cohen
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my opinion
The Marat Sade is truly misery made beautiful, where else can the hero be made to suffer as much as Marat does. Through the course of the reading one can not help but desire to emulate the characteristics of Marat, this and the conflict between Marat and Sade are the elements of the story that keeps interests and stimulates thoughts. Weiss argues both the points of view of Marat and Sade well and ultimately delivers an interesting message.

The Marat Sade does have a captivating message, but much of the beauty in the delivery of the message may have been lost in the translation. Translations are difficult to accomplish, especially when many words do not translate from one language to another, and when verse or meter is concerned, especially verse or meter that rhyme it is nearly improbable. However, the story did have its moments of intrigue especially some of the monologues. To be truly understood The Marat Sade needs to be seen. This realization is probably what inspired someone to make the play into a film.

The film about was not stimulating aside from a few moments of irony in the simplest form made out to be humorous. The story is meant to be seen on the stage. The time period that the film was made in was not equipped well enough with special effects ,not that there was need for this in the Marat Sade but it could have made some kind of impact. The Low budget appearance of the film added to the melancholy of the film that appeared worse than the disorder of the mental patient playing Charlotte Corday and defiantly makes the viewer experience moments of sudden and involuntary sleep. If done today and well budgeted as well as directed the play could be portrayed through cameras in a most pleasing manner. Still, the play is meant to be seen on stage, this is the true way for the audience to feel the experience that Weiss wanted otherwise he would have written a film script.

I do not claim to be an expert on Marat Sade or some official critic or well read for that matter but neither is the general public and that is who an artiest should want to reach considering they are the majority, even though they fall to rule. This play is a product of the past. I feel that most American people would not be able to relate to it and they would fall to be lured into the story. The martyr roll has been over used - after all many people were force fed a similar story since birth.

A play where surrealism and disenchantment clash
When the character of Marquis de Sade shouts out at Marat, "Can't you see this patriotism is lunacy/Long ago I left heroics to the heroes/I turn my back on this nation/I turn my back on all the nations. . ." the reader can truly sense what the play of Marat/Sade is all about. As the reader gets lost in the production of a play within a play, the idea of surrealism presents itself almost at once. The reenactment of the killing of Jean-Paul Marat by Charlotte Corday seems to be a secondary plot alongside of the chanting and screaming of idealism concerning the revolution and liberty. A division of strategies regarding revolution develops between Marat and Sade. Marat advocates fast action, while Sade preaches that it is hopeless or fruitless to even bother to act. Of course, the cries of the asylum patients tend to distract, but it all adds to the surreal, bizarre nature of the play. I felt that one of the aspects the play touches on is how the revolution affects those living within it. The ideas of liberty, freedom, and revolution all make for interesting debate, but I felt one of the themes that struck me was the reality of revolution as it affects those who live around it day in and day out. One of the more striking scenes of the play, for me, came when Charlotte is in the middle of a monologue, describing children playing with toy-like guillotines. The very idea of children treating such a deathly object as a toy is disturbing, but also brings to life the desensitization that revolution brings about. The play reminds the reader that the death of masses makes the value of life and the impact of an individual death meaningless. That alone is a very somber and surreal thought. There are literary techniques throughout the play that seem to remind the reader that the dramatization depicts things which took place in the past, but threaten to become a part of our future. Marat/Sade attempts to mock the aristocratic classes that seem to catalyze such mass movements of revolution in the first place. The play seems to slap the hand of those in power through the action that takes place throughout. Every time that the characters in the play (the asylum patients) seem to become too excited or outspoken, when the truth behind their madness seems to get out of control, the "Herald" of the play speaks out to placate Coulmier, the director of the asylum. I believe that Weiss tries to make the play more socially acceptable by presenting it in a way that mocks and brings out the weakness of the debacle of government that followed, in this case, the French Revolution, but actually cuts across so many more layers than just one isolated revolution.

Our society will always have people who have large amounts of material wealth, and those who do not. That is an injustice that we must rise above, and change ourselves. Whether our means of change is reached through violence and upheaval or through escape within oneself, this is the core dialectic that the play tackles. Although at times this play is a little hard to follow or even outlandish, the play offers a look at how society deals with its corruption and injustice once it escalates to what may seem to be a point of no return. The element that seems to be the most surreal in my mind is that the ranting of the characters within the play, although they are asylum patients, reveal more truth and brutal honesty than the audience would like to admit. I think Weiss is clever to choose some very clear and controversial themes and present them in a way that is socially appropriate. He does this by blatantly speaking out against established forms of government and rule, but discrediting the characters speaking by placing them in an insane asylum. It is true to say that there are many elements of the play that never seem to completely gel in the end, or come together nicely as in most plays. But to be honest, if the story had come together neatly in the end, the essence of the play would have been lost. I think the point of the play is to show that although people may have conflicting ideals of how to handle a revolution, whether of government or ideology, things do not always work out as we had hoped. People may preach liberty and justice, but when the reality is murder and riots, there are two conflicting messages being handled at once. I believe that is what this play shows rather well. In a very surreal and bizarre way, Weiss enables the reader to see that society hardly ever practices what they preach, and although our goal might be change, in the end, upheaval and disarray may be the only things truly achieved.

Marat/Sade
Marat/Sade, by Peter Weiss, is a play centering on the murder of Jean Paul Marat. Weiss sets the play in the Asylum of Charenton, where both Marat and the Marquis de Sade are inmates. Before reading this play, I did not have much knowledge of Marquis de Sade or Jean Paul Marat. The French Revolution was a topic that I had studied, however not these members specifically. For the reading of this work, not much understanding of these ideas is needed. Some knowledge of Modernism would be helpful for insight into the motivation and reasoning of the play, however that is not needed either. The plot of the play is very thin and does not do much for the reader. There does not seem to be much action involved in the play. The characters mainly discuss and wax philosophical about the French Revolution and whether or not it was successful. It is the characters themselves and the dialogue that are most intriguing. Characters that are patients in the asylum are the driving force of the work. Many off the wall topics and rants are shouted by any number of patients. Clever use of the director of the asylum gives the reader a better sense of how a play produced in an asylum might work out. The format of the work is what seems to be an extended poem. The rhyme scheme, which is at points non-existent, can be carried from one character to the next. This is at times confusing, however it does give the work a somewhat psychotic feel. The work is a relatively easy read, however it does at times get to be a bit confusing. Because the plot is so thin, the reader is bombarded with confusing dialogue, rather than constant flowing action. The work leaves something to desired, as the reader waits for some twist of fate or action that may create some interest. Personally, I was not impressed with the work as a whole from an entertainment aspect. However as a writer I could see the work is definitely that of a talented author. There is a political aspect to the work that focuses around Sade. The many conversations between Marat and Sade focus on the Revolution and its positives and negatives. Commentary is given on the state of affairs during this time, as well as the idea that revolutions do not work on a general basis. Other such ideals are discussed throughout the work, however Sade seems to be more of a reactionary and Marat seems to be more of an idealist. On a whole this work does accomplish its goals in discussing sadism and other such ideas. Modernistic works such as this, often do not have much entertainment value, however they are quite intellectual and original; the two best points of this work.


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