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Nearly always, I have been successful in finding expressions I have looked up in these pages. But, if you are like me, a lover of lists, you will enjoy browsing when you are not hunting for the meaning of a word.
In my edition, the definitions are not separated into language groups, which means you don't have to know which language the expression comes from. But I would guess that most users of the book would have some idea of the likely section to hunt in. Could be confusing with Italian and Spanish, though!
Recommended for all lovers of language.
It clarifies numerous words and phrases from Greek, Latin, French, German, Italian, Russian, Spanish, and Yiddish that are used, and just as often, misused, by English speakers and writers.
A few examples:
Under French we find "maison de societe" which literally translates to society house. I had always thought that this must refer to the manor in which some rich or powerful personage resided. No way! It really means a brothel. That's a good one not to misuse.
Here's another from the French language: How many of us know that "bel air" means poise, grace, or good deportment?
Any of us who have ever followed a court case have probably heard the Latin expression "in camera." That literally translates to "in a room," but really means "proceedings conducted in secret."
Now for one from the Italian. We have often heard that someone is a dilettante and most of us probably have some vague sense of what the word means, but how many of us could accurately define dilettante if asked? I'd hazard a guess that the honest answer would be "very few." A dilettante is an amateur, particularly an amateur lover of the arts, but there is a subtler nuance to the word. It also means that this amateur is one who approaches the subject with little or no serious study, and may well pretend to have more knowledge than he actually has.
This is just the surface. LE MOT JUSTE defines and discusses such disparate words and phrases as "Kung Fu," "Pandora's Box," "Nabob." "Kismet, Kimono, and Kibitzer," to name but a few. It also emphasises the nuances that often give the words and phrases their fuller meaning.
It's a good book for any literate person's book shelf.
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The primary goal of the 25 theses laid out in the book were to clarify the two distinctive teachings of the Bible: the Law and the Gospel. The Law, as summarized in the 10 Commandments shows our sinfulness and the punishment we deserve for violating the law. The Gospel, however, is the joyous proclamation of Christ resurrected, and His conquering of sin and death. In this we find our comfort as Christians, knowing that although the wages of sin is death, the gift of God is eternal life in Christ our Lord (Romans 6:23). The significance of what Walther discusses in these theses, is that when we confuse Law and Gospel, try to separate one from the other, or only teach one of these doctrines, we invariably distort the true teaching of Scripture and lead people astray despite our intentions. When applied to our daily study of the Scriptures, church teaching, and other aspects of the Christian life, the distinction of Law and Gospel provides profound insight into the Bible. Many confusing parts of the Bible, especially parts that may seem contradictory are clarified when we see the distinction of Law and Gospel.
Overall, I strongly recommend this book to anyone interested in a clearer understanding the teachings of the Bible. Although the book may seem intimidating (its ~415 pages long), it is broken up into 39 lectures as I mentioned before, and each is about an hour's worth of reading. The lectures were also given in an informal style, so it's not overly difficult reading (occasionally the English is a slightly different from today's usage since the translation isn't very recent, but it isn't archaiac by any means). And finally, what really makes this an excellent book is that it is Christ-centered.
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Blitzkrieg is defined as 'a swift, sudden military offensive, usually by combined air and land forces'. Deighton adds - 'and as evolved by Heinz Guderian and used by his forces', giving credit to the man who perfected the concept. Indeed, the German breakthrough at Sedan in May 1940 (see Part 4 'The Battle of The Meuse') and the subsequent routing of the French army is a spectacular example of the use of Blitzkrieg. Offcourse any discussion about battles in France in 1940 must conclude with the Germans surrounding and trapping over 250,000 men of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) on the French coast near Dunkerque.
It is to do with Dunkerque that the most startling supposition emerges from the book. The introduction was written by Gen. Walther Nehring, who in 1940 was Guderians' Chief of Staff and was with him at Sedan. Nehring writes with conviction, and Deighton's arguments seem to support the view, that if not for a precipitous Halt Order by Hitler, the German forces could have captured the entire BEF. It is argued that the prospect of a 'Disaster at Dunkerque', rather than the miracle that we have come to know of, would have been too much for the British to stomach. The opportunity for sueing for peace and of obtaining an end to the war by May 1940, would have been a real possibility in such circumstances.
Dieghton points out that in May 1940 the only real difference between the German and allied armies was their leadership and tatics. Deighton gives a clear and easy to understand analysis tank warfare, as well as giving very good backgroung into the sorounding political and social situations that many WWII history books lack.
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In the discussion of the Gothic era, for example, the author (Robert Suckale) claims that the art of this period was to be contrasted with that of the Middle Ages, which exclusively produced works that protrayed life in the hereafter. A sharp boundary would be difficult to draw between the Gothic and Middle Ages though, so it should be concluded that his statement is one that could be characterized as dealing with "averages" over the works produced. Certainly some exceptions or deviations could be found in the works of the Gothic era as well as the Middle Ages. It might be perhaps more precise to classify time periods in art relative to the techniques used rather than the content, especially when comparing two points in history that are separated by a relatively short time scale. Therefore it is easier to accept that art at the end of the Gothic period was very different in content than the beginning of the Middle Ages, but as one shrinks the time scale separating these endpoints, the distinction becomes more difficult.
in addition, Suckale emphasizes the role of the artist as architect in the Gothic period, with geometrical considerations viewed as "natural" and therefore subject to the dynamism displayed by nature. This lead to complex mathematical configurations coupled with intricate non-geometric components. The "fresco" technique had its origin in this time period, and Suckale takes the reader through the process of how this was done, it requiring the artist to work very quickly. The ramifications of the Black Death on commerce at the time influenced art dramatically, Suckale argues, and resulted, interestingly, with an explosion of both religious and secular works of art. The survivors of the Black Death were those of the repentant and those who felt life was short and must be enjoyed to the fullest. Suckale also explains the switching by artists from the pattern book to the sketch book, resulting in more originality by the artists.
Manfred Wundram follows in the next article with a discussion of the early Renaissance period, which can be characterized he says by emphasis on portraiture and landscape painting. He claims that fine art is a means of expression of humankinds general cultural and intellectual history, and that religious and political conditions play a major role in shaping the art forms of a particular era. Art intepretation, he says, cannot happen without visual evidence. Any attempt to do so is mere speculation. These comments are to some extent convincing, but the interpretation of all art, regardless of the time period in which it was produced, should be left to the mind of the observer, in whatever framework such an observer chooses, be it a modern viewpoint or one that is actually attempting to relate the artwork to the time period in which it was produced. Pure speculation in the appreciation of art is thus permissible and is to be encouraged.
Wundrum continues his analysis in the next article on the Renaissance and Mannerism, in which he argues, painting reached an absolute zenith. Readers preferences may prohibit an agreement with this characterization of the Renaissance however. In the artworks displayed in this article, a good example being the Virgin and Child with St Anne and St John the Baptist, one can see what Wundrum describes as color modulation, as the gradual dissolving of outlines. Wundrum also discusses in detail the origins of the term Mannerism and its problematic use in describing some of the art in this time period, and as being a transition between Renaissance and Baroque. And interestingly from a modern perspective is the exaggeration and deformation of the ideal human figure which took place under the category of Mannerism, supposedly according to the author to make more of an expressive impact.
In the next article, Andreas Prater takes the reader through the Baroque period, the art in this period reflecting the ostentation and exuberance of the times. He argues that the art of this period is very difficult to define and characterize, and he summarizes the attempts to do so in detail. Illusionism and distortion of reality he says, are characteristics of the Baroque period. This is not readily apparent in the artworks displayed in this section however, unless one view angels, unicorns, etc as a distortion of reality, and not merely a flight of fancy on the part of the artist. In fact a certain degree of optimisim is present, a good example being "Seaport at Sunrise' by Claude Lorrain.
Hermann Bauer continues with the Baroque period but from the standpoint of the Netherlands in the next article. The paintings seem more naturalistic in this case, the landscapes more serene, with an overabundance of earth tones. The "Honeysuckle Bower" of Peter Paul Rubens has to rank as one of the most impressive studies in detail ever put on canvas. Rembrandt's "Slaughtered Ox" is characteristically post-Modern.
Eva-Gresine Baur ends the book with an article on Rococo and Neoclassicism. The use of pastels characterizes this period, argues Baur, and she describes these methods in detail. She characterizes the art of this period as a repression of fear, and without agreeing with this statement, the artworks listed do seem to exemplify a certain degree of escapism.
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What was most interesting was how the various women used being women to their advantage as well as how their enemies also used their femaleness against them. Antonia Fraser weaves all these women together but clearly presents their differences. They are all linked by being women but it is shown how that very similarity can be so differently used and percieved by all these various warriors. The inidivduals that come out of this story are unique and interesting. It is these vivid brief portraits that carry this book along. Well done.
Each chapter is catagorized by specific green, describing in detail proper storage, cleaning and preparation instructions.
There are simple everday recipes as well as great dishes you would serve guests. It has a broad array of recipes for side dishes, soups, main courses and salads.
I got this book out of the library to sample it and just fell in love. I thought I'd make copies of the few recipes of interest. When I was done there were over 30 recipes of I wanted to make. I put it on my holiday list but have decided to buy it for myself now. I am buying about 5 more to give as gifts to my friends.
Enjoy!