1990 Books

My huband and I were privileged to attend the Passion Play in Oberammergau last month. I saw this book at the shop across from the theater before the performance, but I did not purchase it because I thought it would be too heavy to carry in my suitcase on the rest of our European tour. After seeing the live Passion Play, I went back to the shop to purchase this book because it really captured both the history and performance of the "2000 Passionspiele." The only thing I regret is that they did not include a CD of the music that accompanied this incredible drama.

If you do not have a chance to go to Germany this summer and see the passion play, this book is your one chance at a glimpse of a great tradition. This wonderful work, put on every ten years for the past 400, is the product of a small village in Germany where the locals play the parts of Christ's passion. The phtography captures as best as is possible the beauty and craftmanship of the production. "Passion" easily refers here to both the trails of Christ's earthly journey as well as the effort and style of the performers' work. The book is a very well done look at a play which is simply inspiring as good art really is.

Forget the Internet, get World Band!

This is fun! and a great way to spend a few hours away from the computer or television!

If I could recommend only one book to have in front of you while tuning the shortwave radio bands, this would be it. It contains listing by time, country, frequency, along with complete schedules of operation. It is written for a novice user, but with valuable info for veterans as well

After researching and skimming through other books written about the Oklahoma City bombing and Timothy McVeigh, this book by far takes the cake. I started reading the first chapter and before I knew it I was half way into the book! Author does a great job laying out the timeline, facts, and events that lead up to the Oklahoma City bombing- even after the event! Anoter recommendation would be "American Terrorist" by Lou Michel and Dan Herbeck.

In the rush to keep America safe, this book reminds us that the country inadvertently nurtures terrorism amongst 'all-American' types.

Both McVeigh and Nichols never would have fit the profile of a 'suspected terrorist'. This is because they were military veterans without prior arrest records who lived in middle America.

But Middle America feels alienated from its government. Come to think of it, they ultimately don't trust the government at all. Coming back after a military service, they were drawn into a gun show underground where restrictions on weapons are conveniently unenforced.

The going mantra at such events appears to be "If you want it, there is somebody who is just as willing to sell it to you". And coupled with the presence of equally chilling materials, this ultimately spelled out a recipe for disaster.

Serving as a consultant to Timothy McVeigh's defense team, Stuart Wright did not actually come across as somebody championing his client. Rather, I came away with an objective account of the tragedy.

I also compared his thoughtful examination against our ongoing public paranoia against 'outsiders' particularly those with certain-sounding names. The former seems like it offers the more reasonable strategy for effectively addressing and then winning the war against terrorism--international AND domestic.

Kells' mini hardcovers:
The variety of exquisite little hardcover reproduction volumes are reproductions of parts of the original illuminated manuscripts. They are magnificent, with gold-leaf detailing and sumptuous full-color illustrations, making them a perfect gift for all who cherish the rich legacy of Christian art. The original illuminated manuscript, is permanently on display, since the 19th, in the Library of Trinity College Dublin.
It is one of the most beautiful of the world's most famous manuscript. It contains 680 pages (or 340 folios). Just two of the pages are without ornament, while about thirty folios, including some major decorated pages, have been lost. Two volumes can normally be seen, one opened to display a major decorated page, and one to show two pages of script.A CD-ROM version of all 340 folios from the Book of Kells is available for purchase.


Origin of Book of Kells:
The Book of Kells, was most probably copied by hand and illuminated by monks around the year 800 A.D. Its name is derived from the Abbey of Kells, in the Irish Midlands, where it was kept from at least the 9th century to 1541, it was probably begun on the island of Iona. It is uncertainly presumed, that portions of the book were made at Kells, after Viking raids on Iona forced the monastery to retreat to the isolated location. It contains the four gospels, preceded by prefaces, summaries, and canon tables or concordances of gospel passages. It is written on vellum and contains a Latin text of the Gospels in insular majuscule script accompanied by magnificent and intricate whole pages of decoration with smaller painted decorations appearing throughout the text. The manuscript was given to Trinity College in the 17th century and since 1953 has been bound in four volumes.

Book of Columba:
This same Irish manuscript containing the Four Gospels, is known also as the "Book of Columba", probably because it was written in the monastery of Iona to honour the saint. Some small portions at the beginning and end of the manuscript have been lost, but otherwise it is in a very good state of preservation. It was apparently left unfinished, since some of the ornaments remain only in outline. It is written in part black, red, purple or yellow ink, and it has been thought that the hands of two scribes, neither of whom is known by name, are discernible in the writing and illumination of the manuscript.

Book's Beauty:
This is the most copiously illuminated manuscript of the four Gospels in existence. No words can describe the beauty and splendour of the richly coloured initial letters, which are more profuse in the "Book of Kells" than in any other manuscript. The artist possessed a wonderful knowledge of the proportion of colour and the distribution of his material -sienna, purple, lilac, red, pink, green, yellow, most often used, and the shade tinting of the letters was managed with fine taste and skill. A series of illuminated miniatures, including pictorial representations of the Evangelists and their symbols, the Blessed Virgin and the Divine Child, are worthy of notice. It is no wonder that it was believed that the "Book of Kells" could have been written only by angels (very artistic indeed!).

Composition and Loss:
The date of the composition of the book can hardly be placed earlier than the end of the seventh or beginning of the eighth century, It is likely that it is to this book that the entry in the "Annals of Ulster" under the year 1006 refers, recording that in that year the "Gospel of Columba" was stolen. According to tradition, the book is a relic from the time of St. Columba (d. 597) and even the work of his hands, but, on palaeographic grounds and judging by the character of the ornamentation, this tradition cannot be sustained. This must be the book reported at Kildare in the last quarter of the twelfth century, described in glowing terms. Later, it was located at the cathedral of Kells (Irish Cenannus) in Meath, a foundation of Columba's, where it remained for a long time, until the year 1541. Archbishop Ussher presented it to Trinity College, Dublin, In the 17th century where it is the most precious manuscript in its library and by far the choicest relic of Irish art that has been preserved.

Manuscript Ornaments& Designs: The most characteristic ornaments of the Book of Kells, as of other illuminated Irish manuscripts of the period, are the coloured representations of fanciful beings, or of men, animals, birds, horses, dogs, and grotesque, gargoyle-like human figures, twisted and hooked together in intricate detail, a system of geometrical weaving of ribbons plaited and knotted together.
The versatility and inventive genius of the illustrator surpasses all belief. Lines diverge and converge in endless succession, and the most intricate figures, in lavish abundance and with astounding variety of ornament, are combined and woven into one harmonious design. In spite of the extent of the work and its thousands of exquisite initials and terminals, there is not a single pattern or combination that can be said to be a copy of another. The artist shows a wonderful technique in designing and combining various emblems, the cross, vine, dragon, fish, and serpent. The drawing is perfection itself. It has been examined under a powerful magnifying glass for hours at a time and found to be, even in the most minute and complicated figures, without a single false or irregular line.

*Most of this review material are from Trinity web & New Advent

Fabulous illuminations;
I became fascinated with and got attached to those stunningly beautiful initials, the most amazing calligraphy I ever examined in my life. I have been also amazed by and curious about the four Symbols of the Gospel writers, since I first encountered in the Chapel of the Episcopalian Bishop of NC in Raleigh, and was informed that they were influenced by the preaching Coptic Monks to the Celts and Scots.
Only people of developed artistic orientation, could appreciate how beautiful these genuinely original decorations reach out to the overwhelmed reader. Alas that parts of the Gospel according to St. Luke are missing from the original Codex.

Religous Celtic Art:
Long before the coming of St. Augustine of Canterbury in 597, Christianity has been introduced among the Brittons, by Coptic missionaries who reached as far as the British Isles. "We do not yet know how much we in the British Isles owe to these remote Coptic hermits...Everyone knows that the handicraft of the Irish monks in the ninth and tenth centuries far excelled anything that could be found elsewhere in Europe. Their unrivaled illuminations, can be traced to the influence of Egyptian missionaries, we have more to thank the Copts for than has been imagined." Eminent historian: Stanley Lane-Poole.

High school basketball is a near religion in Kentucky, and despite an impressive roster of talented teams, the Northern Kentucky area had never won a title before the Simon Kenton Pioneers brought one home following the 1980-81 season. The fact that it happened is all the more impressive when one considers that for a good portion of the school year, Simon Kenton didn't even have a school following an explosion on October 9, 1980, that claimed the life of one student, and only by providence didn't claim others. As local history goes, this one is an enjoyable read, although he would have benefitted greatly from an editor who might have cut some fat from the story to make it flow better. (Lose the hair style stuff and pay less attention to the cheerleaders.) If the movie ever gets made (like Joe B. Hall says it must,) I can't wait to see who plays Danny Mullins.

Deters does a nice job in his book describing an event that is known and sort of unknown, in that Kentucky basketball fans (high school at least) knew Simon Kenton won the state tournament that year, but knew nothing of the struggle to get there, notably, the explosion that killed a student.

As with all great stories, this is a people story and Deters weaves the individual stories into the framework of the larger event, winning the state basketball tournament.

A real triumph and worth reading even if you don't care about basketball.

Timothy Ash was sent to Poland in August 1980 to cover a strike by workers in a Gdansk shipyard. He ended up covering a 16 month struggle for national independence which ended when the Polish Army declared a State of War and crushed the Solidarity movement in December 1981. His account is compelling, human and covers not only events in Warsaw, but other Solidarity centres and strikes around Poland. This book is a wonderfully rich introduction to contemporary Poland and the events and attitudes that have shaped Polish thinking since the war. If you are interested in reading about the Polish struggle for independence this is the book for you.

This book, as far as I can tell, remains to this day one of the best written and most comprehensive reports on what was happening during the 18 or so months from the creation of Solidarity movement in Poland in August 1980 to the imposition of martial law on December 13, 1981. And the library of books on this subject, as far as English language is concerned, isn't big anyway.

First reason - the author was right where the action was, literally. And, unlike many other foreign correspondents, he did not limit himself to shallow, superficial observations calculated for fast print; he went further. He managed to get in touch with many Solidarity activists, on various levels, and through participation (as an observer) in meetings as well as conversations and interviews succeeded in getting more in depth description of what exactly was happening and explanation why and for what purpose.

Reporting of events, as important as it is in itself, was not the only feature of this book. Timothy Garton Ash also offers quite in depth, even if at times controversial, analysis of events and critical portraits of some key players in the political events - on both sides of the political 'barricade'. The characteristic of Wojciech Jaruzelski, the head of Polish government at the time (both Prime Minister and First Secretary of "PZPR" the Communist Party), particularly stands out as original and convincing.

I myself was actively involved in the Solidarity movement at that time and I can testify to the general accuracy of the statements contained in this book. No particular story, account of an event or critical analysis strikes me as improbable or outright false. Last but not least what also helps the book considerably is its lively, captivating narrative. It is, simply, a good read.

If the aim of the author was to bring Poland, its contemporary history and predicament closer to an English speaking reader, he graciously succeeded. I deem this book an essential reading for anyone who wants to get closer understanding of contemporary Poland and also some understanding of how it was like to live under the Communist rule in those years. Very highly recommended.

This is one of the very few university textbooks that I have kept after graduating, it is a real treasure of information.

This book is ideal for anyone interested in Asia, whether you are an economist, business person or Asian language student - everyone interested in the region would benefit from reading this book.

The presentation is very clear without going overboard on academic jargon. The coverage has both breadth and depth: it includes country-specific historical analysis as well as regional connections.

POLITICAL Business in East Asia attempts to draw a link between
businessmen and politicians in power.
The various authors - most of whom are university academicians, provide clear country-studies on how governments facilitate the rise of major conglomerates and how they provide support for industrial growth.
Yet, state influence may extend beyond providing the necessary
facilities. This book uncovers the fundamental issue of the nature of
politics and business. A total of 10 chapters - two on regional outlookand eight on individual countries, highlight the development of capital and the evolution of the business-political links.
Stating that political change would have not come naturally, the bookargues that the Asian Financial Crisis became a watershed for the region.
The authors highlight how the crisis made it imperative for both governments and businessmen to review their relations.
Within this context, Political Business in East Asia, edited by University Malaya associate professor Dr Edmund Terence Gomez, offers a comprehensive introduction to the region's political economy. An interesting read for businessmen and government officials alike.

A really interesting book filled with great photographs and worthwhile information. The author put some time into making this a worthwhile look at Iraq and the American Soldier's presence. Well worth the purchase price.

Tom

Excellent book. Shows us all how it really is. Certainly too bad that since these pictures were taken some will not come back.

good read!

This is a compliment as Volume 1. You must thoroughly practise the exam questions before you go for the exam. Prior task for going to the exam is to practise the questions..!

Using this book along with Volume I of the same series, will greatly improve you scores on the CPA Exam. These were the only tools I used and I passed on my 2nd time. This is a wonderful resource. Good luck to all striving CPA's.

I was four years old when Gerry Conlon,Paul Hill,Paddy Armstrong and Carole Richardson where released from prison after Fifteen years of wrongful Imprisonment. I remember my mother calling us to watch it on the television. I recently read Gerry Conlon's Proved Innocent. It touched my heart. It is his story of his youth and his innocence being stolen. It is a story that is cruel and heartbreaking and would bring a tear to many an eye. It is also a story of true courage and hope. This is a story i will never forget because it gives the reader the strength to carry on. After reading this book, you will see why it gives one the strength and hope and courage to carry on.

Proved Innocent is the autobiography of Gerry Conlon. Gerry Conlon was one of the "Guildford Four", who were arrested in the Early 1970s to having bombed a pub in England for the IRA. None of them was connected to the IRA in any kind - they were convicted innocent. Only in 1989 they were released after fifteen years in prison.

"If there is a hell, it's being in prison and knowing you're innocent." (Gerry Conlon)
Reading this book you get an impression of the torture he went through, of this hell. At some states I surprised myself shaking my head while reading.

Already in the beginning, when he talks about his childhood in Northern-Ireland I was shocked and fascinated at the same time: "I remember calling for a mate of mine one day and his mother coming to the door. When I asked if he was coming out, his ma said, `No Gerry - his brother Jim's wearing his clothes today'...." (Gerry Conlon)

As you see from the above example, there is also a lot of background mentioned, which let me imagine what it must have meant to grow up in Belfast around 1970 and made me understand the complicated political and social situation in and around the Northern Ireland conflict.

Further it is interesting to mention, that the whole book was written in Irish-accent. This makes it very authentic but it is something you need to get used to.

Based on Gerry Conlon's autobiography a film was released in 1994 called "In the name of the father" by Jim Sheridan starring Daniel Day-Lewis as Gerry. Unfortunately I have not seen it yet but I if it's only half as captivating as the book it is worth watching it!