The Gothic Image captures through art and architecture the spirit and elan of the medieval renaissance in ways histories and biographies cannot. Unlike today, where contemporary art and architecture either may or may not mimic our age, the Gothic Image is an imprint of its time and place. Male leaves few artifacts unturned, and explores in so many different facets of the polysemy of its age. A must for every medievalist, and gem for artists, theologians, architects, and "builders" of meaning. This highly critical reviewer gives it full accolades, and recommends all interested parties to grab this reprint before it too fades from view!

I can think of no better introduction, as well as comprehensive review, of the medieval renaissance than this wonderful synthesis of medieval art and medieval sacramentalism, wherein the whole universe, from stellar constellations, to the gargoyle atop cathedral buttresses, comes alive in all its many dimensions. This book, long out of print, was the gem of my undergraduate work in medieval history, philosophy, art, and architecture. The price is a bit steep, but this one book can remain a perpetual resource for insight, understanding, and knowledge of a different time and place -- so foreign and alien to today's historicity, but that captures the imagination and never lets go.

This book is a must for any collector or fan of French art deco/art moderne style. The photography is superb, and the text is wonderfully informative.

This book is a must for designers. The best book i have seen on the Deco Style. A fantastic artists shows his best work. Sketches and photos are perfect.

Saeed, the narrator of the story, belongs to the large family of Pessoptimists. He can feel like a pessimist, or like an optimist, but can never tell the two apart. Saeed is an Arab. When Israel conquered part of Palestine, he did not flee but stayed behind to become an Israeli citizen. That did not help him much - Arab remains Arab.

The book is a humorous allegory, wrapped around everyday Arab life, with a bitter nucleus of Israeli oppression. Like Voltaire?s Candide, Saeed believes that this is the best of all worlds. To him it seems quite natural that the occupying forces arrest people in the middle of the night for no reason, that they deport them, that they blow up houses, and that they devastate whole villages. After all, they won the war, and everything - and everybody - now belongs to them. There are those Arabs who want to retaliate immediately. But they are told that the tree is not loved for its flowers, but for its fruit. After all, it took them close to two hundred years to throw out the crusaders. Saeed is the simple soul who sees what goes on around him, but cannot understand why it is so. The bitterness comes with the explanation.

Mr. Habiby wrote a devastating satire. His own life paralleled that of Saeed: he was an Arab in Israel, even a member of the Israeli parliament. He wrote this book almost 30 years ago. It is still valid.

Saeed the Pessoptimist now ranks in my pantheon of comic heroes up there with Swejk, Yossarian, Candide, Don Quixote and Joe from "Milagro Beanfield War."
This is a book to be read over and over again.
For Americans like me persuaded to believe Israelis occupied an empty land (Palestine) after the horrors of WWII, Edward Said's works are helpful. For the feeling and experience of a Palestinian in Israel, however, Habibi gave us a distilled, comic masterpiece. "The Pessoptimist" is not just one more protest novel. Habibi ranks in the history of the comic novel for his amazing treatment of Time. Time itself -- history -- become original comic characters in this novel, their companions being Saeed's "friends from outer space." The author said Swejk and Candide inspired him. "Pessoptimist" is picaresque but the chapters (events, whatever) are written in a style of wonderful, unique, surreal journalism that span many years rather than occurring within the context of a single journey. So, quite aside from Habibi's achievement in making Palestinians real (a neat trick at present and one that won't make your life any easier when you watch the news) I think his style adds something to the development of the comic novel. It opens new possibilities for treating time and history. So it is a real contribution to the understanding we gain from literature.

No question this is the best physiology text going. Thorough, detailed, but has plenty of summary sections to keep everything organized. Very biophysical in sections, which I suspect many med students won't like, but everything's here you'll need. The sole (minor) problem is that the jpeg files on the CDRom are rather low resolution which makes them look fuzzy in a Powerpoint presentation. Otherwise, superb.

Anyone who takes even one cursory look at this new textbook by Boron and Boulpaep will be stupified by its comprehensiveness and its beauty. The figures are the best that I have seen in a single volume, and the explanations (the text, that is) will take the new graduate or medical student on a fantastic initial tour of the body and how it works. For the more advanced student and even for those of us with PhDs in physiology, the text has information that will enhance your knowledge on a daily basis.

I have been teaching from Ganong and Guyton, while supplementing my material from excellent books by Levick (Cardiovascular Physiology), but this book is a gift because it has it all. No more complaining about Guyton, and no more listening to students' complaints about Ganong. This is THE book to have for your course. I would recommend, however, that if you are teaching basic sciences for USMLE step I, a "simplified" book like Costanzo's Physiology (her textbook, NOT the BRS) is a nice addition to the course.

The biophysical aspects of physiology, of course, are too much for the medical student. But as a teaching tool, the background biophysics are a must. Regarding the images, yes, the jpgs on the CD (not included with the book) are low resolution but this is easily solved by opening the pdfs on the CD (in other words, there are pdfs and jpgs) in Photoshop and saving them as jpgs (Save file for Web...), which renders these images most useful for PowerPoint presentations.

Bottom line: this book is great. Let your students reap the benefits.

The short title "Art of Emile Galle" is much over passed by the contents of the book.
What may be sought as a boring art lecture is in fact an excellent presentation of Emile Galle's life and work at the end of 19th and the beginning of 20th century.
This is one of the few books that present not only the Glass, but also the Furniture and related works of art created by the master.
The exhaustive image content of the book is very good, and in close relation with the writing.
A book for the connaisseurs, but likely to be appreciated by all art lovers.

Zola is my favorite author and this is a wonderful selection of his short stories. Recently translated by Douglas Parmee, these stories were originally published between 1864 and 1899, spanning most of Zola's writing career. Arranged chronologically. you can see the author's style develop as you move from one story to the next. A great introduction to Zola's writings! The stories: The Girl Who Loves Me - A great description of a carnival sideshow's effects on a lonely young man. Rentafoil - An amusing satire on society's attempts to package and sell beauty. Story of a Madman - A woman and her lover plot to put her husband in an asylum. Big Michu - Boarding school students organize a hunger strike and a simple peasant's son takes the blame. The Attack on the Mill - The German Army occupies a French village and a young woman is forced to decide between the lives of her father and her lover - a wonderful love story. Captain Burle - A French officer embezzles funds to support his mistresses. The Way People Die - A series of brief tales showing death in different social settings. Coqueville on a Spree - Two feuding families in a small town resolve their differences in a most unusual way. A Flash in the Pan - Love between the classes is thwarted when a peasant girl falls in love with the son of a well-to-do lawyer, but her jealous father gets in the way. Dead Men Tell No Tales - A dead man tells his tale. Shellfish for Monsieur Chabre - A young woman has an affair while her aging husband gobbles shellfish to increase his virility. Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder - An exiled revolutionary given up for dead returns to France searching for his wife and daughter. Priests and Sinners - Like The Way People Die, this is a series of short sketches; this time dealing with the relationship between priests and people who are thought of as sinners. Fair Exchange - An excellent portrayal of the evolving power relationships in the long-term intimate relationship between a husband and wife. The Haunted House - A haunting story about how rumor can color our perception of reality for the worse. Seven pages of Explanatory Notes by the Translator, are very helpful in bringing these tales to the modern English reader.

An often moving account of the lives of a group of young mountaineers at Mount Cook in the 60s and 70s. This autobiographical book can be enjoyed on two levels: at one level, the reader can read about the lives of those who struggled so hard to make a living out of doing what they loved - climbing - and at another level, the author's reflections on what mountaineering means to those who are involved. Anyone who climbs, who knows someone who climbs, or struggles to understand the rationale behind this activity in the light of the recent disasters on Everest, will find this book deeply rewarding.

This is a good book because it shows how it felt to be a Jew during World War 2 "the Holocaust". It is a very sad story about the truth and how wicked people can be. It shows how some people can make the long journey and others get captured. This book takes place in Denmark, which was one of the safest places to be for some time. Maya the main character is the youngest of eight kids. Their family is Jewish. Two years into the Holocaust Denmark's Jews were still not wear a Jewish star on their shirts. One day the Germans decided to invade Denmark. Maya's family did not find out in time to see if they escape or they get captured read the book.

People may wonder nowadays whatever led to the temperance movement and the prohibition experiment. Look no further than this book. It catapulted Zola to stardom and so impressed the public that, after moving pictures were invented in 1895, three film versions of the story were made before the First World War, and even Hollywood borrowed the basic plot for "The Lost Weekend" in 1945. Don't think it just describes French society. Next time you drop into your favourite bar, look around you and imagine where your fellow customers will be in twenty years time. Then go out and buy some liquor stocks, because people never learn, so why not get your hands on some of those booze profits. If you only read one French novel in your life, read this one. You'll never be the same again.

This story is good, somewhat slow in some portions, however shows how humans would indeed handle life from other planets. It shows our somewhat darker side.