The eminent modern story of a man who suffers injustice, and takes the law in his own hands to do himself justice, for the man who did him wrong, has friends in high places.
He seeks revenge by establishing a private army, gets the support of the population and becomes a threat for the whole establishment. The outcome is brutal.

The story develops as an unstoppable stream of first, verbal, then, violent clashes.
Kleist cleverly heightens the tension by using sophisticated legal advisers (Luther) and coincidences.

A compelling read about the theme 'justice/injustice'.

Hello!

I'm the author of this book. I would like to tell everybody that if you've been following world events, you'll find that what I've written in Michael's Call is basically what's unfolding, or where we're headed. I wrote about the pivotal role the United Nations is going to play in mediating ongoing wars, and about the unholiness of the events taking place in the once Holy Land, and its repercussions for us and generations to come. I wish people would buy my book to discover a new way of looking at things in the light of the deep divisions created among peoples in the name of religion and ideology. And I would certainly welcome a review before it's too late-- before our case as humans becomes irreversible and nothing can stop our fall into final chaos.

The problem is really simple, but we make it so complicated with our stubbornness and pride. Instead of being flexible and forgiving, we are stoic and unmoving. We won't give up an inch of land in exchange for peace and harmony. We think we own the world, but in fact we are just tiny specks in the universe, and there is not one nation more important or less significant in this planet. We all deserve each other's goodwill and company. What we do to others comes back to us, and if we've been greedy, we'll surely earn a place in the nether world, the deepest part of darkness where there is no human dignity at all. Being spiritual or religious does not ensure our own salvation, for if you've broken natural law, that which is against the grain of logic and compassion, then you've also broken spritual law, the highest good by which we are all measured.

Felicia von Jeetze

There were Nazis with far more blood on their hands the the bumbling foreign minister Joachim Ribbentrop (he "purchased" the noble title "von" in an act that caused him much scorn and derision). But few were more mediocre or more completely dedicated to Hitler. Ribbentrop's stunning ineptness was quite apparent long before he assumed the foreign ministry portfolio. He was so heavilly mocked by the British when he served as Ambassador to London before the war (once even giving the "Hitler salute" to the the King) that he developed a fierce hatred for the country whose language he spoke fluently. Bloch scarcely conceals his utter contempt for the man who may be the most fascinating Nazi other than Hitler. That such a buffoon could rise to such heights and literally stumble his way into becoming a major war criminal would be humorous if it were not in fact so terrifying.

Solid translations and, like all the volumes in Princeton's 12-volume Goethe series, the book is attractive with great typography. Much easier on the eyes than the Penguin editions.

This volume is a very accessible way to read Goethe for the first time, as well as revealing a new layer of depth for those who are more familiar with his essays and scientific studies.

I really wanted to love this book. I enjoyed reading Goethe's Italian Journey and I've read so many flattering things about Young Werther that I've looked forward for some time to the experience of finally reading it. Unfortunately, it just didn't grab me.

The positives include Goethe's poetic descriptions of nature and the powerful imagery they evoke and the frequently beautiful language with which Werther depicted his obsession with Lotte.

The primary problems I had with the work were the repetitiveness of Werther's self-pitying missives and a certain incredulity I could not shake relative to the foundations of his compulsion. In the final analysis, a persistent feeling that Werther was silly and unjustified in his fixation and self-indulgent in wallowing in his misery dulled the impact of his fate on my senses substantially.

I am hoping for better things from Faust...

There is no doubt about the literary poignancy of this book, or for that matter the masterful mind of its author. But it must be said that the undeniably strong sorrows of young Werther came from an all-consuming love of himself-not from love of another. Or rather he seemed in love with the idea of having someone to consume his idle days and, what he imagined, his large and thoughtful mind. His precipice, from which he condescended to view his every move, thought and encounter, was lofty indeed.

The pastoral atmosphere of the book is what captivated this reader. It's a pity Werther couldn't heed Albert and Lotte's sound advice about retuning his strong emotions...or at least spend more time under Linden trees with his Homer (this would have been my suggestion to him). Perhaps it was the poetry of the equally love-torn Ossian, which came to replace his classic text, that helped spur on his emotional demise. Whatever the case, it was painful to read of his self-indulgent romance with his ideas of love and devotion. He was kidding himself in the grandest and noblest fashion imaginable.

Please don't think me a heartless soul, or someone who couldn't possible understand such an intense love; I just didn't see it that way. However much frustration I felt at Werther's extreme pathos, I remained in awe of the beauty of Goethe's emotive and descriptive writing. Am I contradicting myself here...with talk of emotion? You be the judge.

OK, young fool falls in love with married girl. Becomes friend of the couple. Husband starts to get annoyed. Hero declares his love and then commits suicide. You can read that in the paper once in a while. So, why is this a great novel and a landmark of Romantic literature? Because it has a lot to make us think. A famous fact related to this book is that, short after it was published, a series of suicides took place in Europe, mostly by young guys in the same situation as Werther. That should set clear the influence and strenght of the novel. It is extremely well written; the scenery is gorgeous -rural, upper class Germany in the Eighteenth century. The book is written as a secret diary addressed to a trusted friend, and to any readers, young or old, it will strike a chord in their hearts. Tell me, who is there that never experienced dreams of punishing that insensible beloved from school by committing suicide and then have her cry and repent at the funeral? But most of us are still here, with her or, most likely, with someone else or alone. We survived love's infatuation; Werther did not, and he is now a prototype of unlimited love (or lack of maturity, depending on your point of view). I prefer to see it as a great story written, at an early stage, by one of the greatest geniuses of all time. "Werther"

Karl von Clausewitz's (1780-1831) masterpiece On War, has deservedly been translated into most major languages. The Everyman's Library Edition of On War introduced by Peter Paret is the perhaps most widely acclaimed English edition.

Long recognized as the classic the strategic principles of armed conflict, the book continue to influence military thinking. On War is an attempt to reach an understanding of the nature of war itself. The Prussian general defines war as violence intended to compel the opponent to fulfill the will of the proponent. Violence is the means; submission of the enemy is the object.

The ultimate goal of war is political - armed combat is the means to a political end, without which war becomes «pointless and devoid of sense». Another key thought is that the total defeat of the adversary is the essence of war. A critique often heard against this strain of thought is that Clausewitz's focus on decisive battle and over strategic maneuver invites bloodbath.

The book is experiencing a renaissance in the post-Cold War era -reading it may well help to explain the phenomenon of war also in the years to com

I have the Regnery edition- "War, Politics, and Power," but this edition surmising Clausewitz's writings seems more widely available. So I offer my review on his writings and recommend this book. This book was widely disseminated in Red China, Nazi Germany, and the Soviet Union.

Essentially, this book contains the best writings of the German military theorist. Clauswitz, the Prussian Sun Tzu, effectively brought the concept of total war into acceptability. Gone our the days Antonie Henri Jomini's chilvarious code of conduct and honor- Civilians will not only be subject to attack - they'll bear the brunt of the battle in an age of total war. Several points are made- which are crucial to surmising Clausewitzian theory- 1) "War is the continuation of state policy by other means;" 2) "All war is based on the art of deception;" 3) "No one starts war... without first being clear in his mind what he intends to achieve by the war and how he intends to conduct it;" 4) War is "an act of force to compel our enemy to do our will." 5) "If the enemy is thrown off balance, he must not be given time to recover. Blow after blow must be struck in the same direction: the victor, in other words, must strike with all his strength... by daring to win all, will one really defeat the enemy."

To me this work is valuable in its historical context- and as an ardent student of military history.

Karl von Clausewitz's (1780-1831) masterpiece On War has deservedly been translated into most major languages. The Everyman's Library Edition of the work - introduced by Peter Paret - is the perhaps most widely acclaimed English edition.

Long recognized as the classic the strategic principles of armed conflict, the book continue to influence military thinking. On War is an attempt to reach an understanding of the nature of war itself. The Prussian general defines war as violence intended to compel the opponent to fulfill the will of the proponent. Violence is the means; submission of the enemy is the object.

The ultimate goal of war is political - armed combat is the means to a political end, without which war becomes «pointless and devoid of sense». Another key thought is that the total defeat of the adversary is the essence of war. A critique often heard against this strain of thought is that Clausewitz's focus on decisive battle and over strategic maneuver invites bloodbath. This can also serve to illustrate why the book has carried relevance over the centuries. -It focuses on the -how's of war rather than considerations that are bound to be influenced by Zeitgeist.

The book is experiencing a renaissance in the post-Cold War era -reading it may well help to explain the phenomenon of war also in the years to come.

If you only know (as most people do) Michael Moorcock through his Elric series, this will be quite a different take on the Eternal Champion. gone are the massive oddities of most of his volumes, gone are the gods and slimey monsters on every page. Instead this is as close as Moorcock comes to writing Historical fiction, which he does to mixed effect. It is not until the third section that we find Moorcock consciously tying the series into his Eternal Champion run.

Moorcock is a passable, but far from stellar, writer. His Elric series has some intriguing ideas, but he wastes a lot of space on pointless battles. This book has fewer battles, but still you feel as if there is a lot of empty space to it. While it is definitely a cut above most fantasy, it is far from Tolkein, Kay, LeGuin or any of the other talents of the genre. Hidden within this volume are many fascinating nuggets, but it still feels like a roleplaying game written down with a bit of filler.

The three full-length novels contained within this volume are each so different, one from the other, that the reader cannot help but be amazed that the same author wrote all three!

In "The Warhound and the World's Pain," Moorcock's usual themes of "chaos" vs. "law" are put in more the familiar terms (at least for us earthlings) of the Devil vs. God. Like his more popular Elric character, Moorcock has his "hero" Ulrich von Bek allied with chaos--the devil. The reader is treated to watching a master of fantasy play with common themes (the hero descends into Hell, and comes out with a quest that he must fulfill in order to save all humanity) that he rearranges in order to ask some penetrating questions about the nature of God, the Devil, faith, and religion in our lives.

The second novel, "The City in the Autumn Stars," is written in a completely different style from the first. Set in Germany (mostly) in the late 1700's, the book makes many references to actual historical happenings, in particular the French and American revolutions and the Industrial Revolution. The motivating factors behind these and other events are examined in extensive dialogs between characters as well as through internal monologues of the protagonist, Manfred von Bek. Someone a little better versed in English literature than I am could place the exact style Moorcock takes up with this novel, but it reminds me of Jules Verne. The chapter headings are long ("Chapter Sixteen: In which house rules are broken. An infestation and a visitation. Vermin destroyed. The Red O'Dowd's fish. Some useful attributes of a magic sword.") And the author manages quite capably to maintain this tone throughout the entire novel. Until the end, that is, when the multiverses start to conjoin, devil worshippers take center stage, and the feeling that one is reading a conventional historical novel rapidly disappears. The ending was not quite satisfactory, but nevertheless a tour de force by Moorcock.

The third novel, "The Dragon in the Sword," is one of my favorites, and I have reviewed it separately on the Amazon site.

The volume is capped off with a very short story, "The Pleasure Garden of Felipe Saggitarius." Although the main character is nominally a von Bek, and Hitler the Holy Grail, and some other toss-away references to familiar Moorcock characters are mentioned, there is no clear reason why this story was ever written, or indeed, why it was included in this volume.

Easily the largest of the volumes in the series thus far, Von Bek can scare off readers when compared to the much slimmer Eternal Champion that preceded it. But this hefty volume is a must for Moorcock fans or even fantasy fans in general, for it embellishes the themes and ideas that Moorcock made famous in the first book. Here are my thoughts story by story:
The War Hound and the World's Pain: Like the title. This is the story that all the other Von Bek books refer back to, so it's a welcome addition. Moorcock provides a lot of twists in this one, beginning with Lucifer wanting the Holy Grail to save the world. Hopefully most people are open minded enough to see past this potentially offensive premise and read the exhilerating tale contained within.

The City in the Autumn Stars: More philosophy than the first one and another appearance by the Prince of Darkness. This is easily the longest story in the volume and every word counts. Granted though, it does get weird in the end.

The Dragon in the Sword: I found this one interesting, only because I had assumed that the Von Beks were just further incarnations of the Eternal Champion. Apparently they aren't, as John Daker appears again to complain and eventually take charge. This one is set during World War Two, but because of the fantastic settings, you'd never realize that. Still, it's a good one and a major turning point in the life of John Daker.

The Pleasure Garden of Felipe Sagittarius: Another good title, long for a short story though. This was a nice, if very odd, way to close out the volume. Hitler makes another appearance (I don't know how), and Moorcock packs a lot of strange stuff into the thirteen or so pages of the story. It is a great way to end, though, as we say goodbye to the Von Bek family, for now at least

This book wasn't for me but it may be appropriate for other readers. If you like rather fussy (some would say cluttered) English style interiors, full of chintz, heavy fabrics and a strong sense of history and tradition, you may like this book. However, I was looking for suggestions and ideas for decorating with pictures in a variety of rooms, from traditional to modern to eclectic, and this book didn't meet my needs. Much of the book is devoted to pages of fine art examples and only a portion of the book shows actual rooms and ways to display artwork. You won't find ANY examples of contemporary or modern rooms or ways of displaying pictures in those rooms. However, if you'd like to see some of the finest examples of various subjects for pictures, such as dogd, architectural pictures, portraits, etc..and if you're fond of English decorating styles and traditions, you may want to take a look at this one.

I highly recommend "Decorating with Pictures" by Stephanie Hoppen! Firstly, the book is a source of tremendous visual delight and stimulation. Secondly, her writing style, her passion and knowledge of art and it's presentation is extremely inspiring and educational. Her book will be of particular interest to interior decorators, framers, and individuals who would like to participate in the joy of "collecting" art. I am writing a book on "How To Collect Art" and giving local lectures on the topic. I bring Stephanie's Book to each lecture and recommend it to my audience as a starting point for ideas on displaying their art collections. Everyone who sees this book loves it. An art gallery with which I am associated now displays the book in the gallery as per my recommendation. It is the kind of book that inspires the love of art in everyone! I recommend it everyone. Thank you Stephanie! Enjoy!

This book is strong with data and valuable information collected from various journals and reports. Taking this into consideration a reader can find easy to understand information on the political, social, economic, legal, and structural aspects of the European electricity market (in the first part of the book). The second part of the book presents studies of markets in countries including France, the UK, Nordic countries, and Hungary (I think the publisher forgot about hungary..but it's in there). The only weakness I have noticed in this book is the presentation. Having numerous authors may have made it difficult to avoid repetitive analysis and redundancies. Some sections treat similar issues in similar manners while some other sections treat them in very different ways making it hard to find continuity through the whole book (actually through any part at all). Although the reader will want to start with part-one before attacking part-two, he will be able to read chapters in each part in any order. Overall, the topic of this book is so broad and complex that a reader can only expect a good bigger-picture understanding of the subject. The appendix section containing definitions makes this book a challenging but feasible venture for a beginner in the field.

This book is strong with data and valuable information collected from various journals and reports. Taking this into consideration a reader can find easy to understand information on the political, social, economic, legal, and structural aspects of the European electricity market (in the first part of the book). The second part of the book presents studies of markets in countries including France, the UK, Nordic countries, and Hungary (I think the publisher forgot about hungary..but it's in there). The only weakness I have noticed in this book is the presentation. Having numerous authors may have made it difficult to avoid repetitive analysis and frequent redundancies. Some sections treat similar issues in similar manners while some other sections treat them in very different ways making it hard to find continuity through the whole book (actually through any single part at all). Although the reader will want to start with part-one before attacking part-two, he will be able to read chapters in each part in any order. Overall, the topic of this book is so broad and complex that a reader can only expect a good bigger-picture understanding of the subject. The appendix section containing definitions makes this book a challenging but feasible venture for a beginner in the field while the references and links provided in this book offer resources for further studying.

Although I found the book insightful and rather stimulating, there was a large lack of precise detail regarding the mindset of the Emperor himself and just why he would attempt such a foolhardy invasion. Along with the maps and depictions, it was totally enjoyable, one of the few books I have not been able to put down.