european

This tale by Grimm is beautiful. In my opinion it is translated well as the words are rich and descriptive and there is a satisfying pace to the story throughout. The introduction itself is nearly as moving as the tale that follows. Sendak's illustrations magically combine reality with imagination and the double page spreads grow out from the page and allow you to fall into them.
The setting and scene changes are enough to tug your emotions. This story's scene sequence is as follows: a quiet country village, a village in panic at the threat of invasion, a child wandering alone in the woods, a child in the comforting care of St. Joseph, back to the village which has now changed.

The subject matter is not light in this tale about love and two hearts coming together. A tale like this could not be as well told if one were to attempt to tell it lightly.

This story is sad, but told beautifully. It is also inspiring and comforting.

A little girl is sent into the woods alone by her fearful mother when war comes to the village. She manages to find peace and loving care in the home of St. Joseph. When it is time for her to return to the village so much has changed.

Dear Mili was a surprise in many ways. While Maurice Sendak has never failed to amaze, this tender rendering a newly discovered fairy tale set as a metaphor of children hidden in the holocaust is one of the most beautiful experiences a reader can have. This is my favorite children's book of all time: the artwork is I believe the peak of Sendak's career. A small girl living alone with her mother is sent for safety in the forest when a terrible foreboding threatens. In the forest she meets St. Joseph, and another small one, who keep her safe. Returning after a pleasant journey, she finds her mother aged and alone.
Their is joy and reunion: this is a poignant story on many levels. Looking deeply at the artwork one will see shoah themes:
Sendak in premiere Jewish sensitivity has done a remarkable thing: taken ancient Grimm Catholic legend and woven it into a metaphor for all of us, for all time. If this book does not tender the heart of the older who read to the younger, they have no heart. Absolutely 5-stars: Should be a classic and not out of print.

I'm not about to start making comparisons to other artists of similar subject matter (like H.R. Giger, whose work was one of my first inspirations), but since seeing my first Bekinski painting literally yesterday, I have been enthralled by his unparalleled mastery of the dark. You get a few glimpses of world War II in his works - just enough to perhaps guess as to what served as his inspiration - but his work goes much, much further than simply portraying the horrors of war. From trees of desiccated limbs, covered in age-old spiderwebs, to similarly skeletal monolithic constructions, foreboding in their mysterious ultra-human purpose, there is a merging of dead life and non-living objects, so that often one hardly knows if one is looking at a rock that has been given the shape of a bone or a dried tree limb, or rather a bone that has degenerated to such an extent that it has come to resemble a piece of wind-blown slate.

The artist himself has often reiterated that his paintings are not references, and that reading meaning into them is a waste of time; indeed, all of his works bear a single name - "Untitled." But to me, this means simply that there are all but infinite layers of meaning in Bekinski's crazed paintings - ones that invite the onlookers to define the art for themselves, and by doing so, lose themselves in the twilight of the infinite corridors of Zdzislaw Bekinski's imagination.

I'm not about to start making comparisons to other artists of similar subject matter (like H.R. Giger, whose work was one of my first inspirations), but since seeing my first Bekinski painting literally yesterday, I have been enthralled by his unparalleled mastery of the dark. You get a few glimpses of world War II in his works - just enough to perhaps guess as to what served as his inspiration - but his work goes much, much further than simply portraying the horrors of war. From trees of desiccated limbs, covered in age-old spiderwebs, to similarly skeletal monolithic constructions, foreboding in their mysterious ultra-human purpose, there is a merging of dead life and non-living objects, so that often one hardly knows if one is looking at a rock that has been given the shape of a bone or a dried tree limb, or rather a bone that has degenerated to such an extent that it has come to resemble a piece of wind-blown slate.

The artist himself has often reiterated that his paintings are not references, and that reading meaning into them is a waste of time; indeed, all of his works bear a single name - "Untitled." But to me, this means simply that there are all but infinite layers of meaning in Bekinski's crazed paintings - ones that invite the onlookers to define the art for themselves, and by doing so, lose themselves in the twilight of the infinite corridors of Zdzislaw Bekinski's imagination.

Pour les âmes perdues qui naviguent dans cette vie, voici un phare bien lugubre à la beauté pourtant si macabre.La mort sous les yeux de Beksinsky est un paradi pour les miens. La fragilité que je retrouve à l'intérieur de ces toiles est pourtant remplie de dureté physique.
For all the lost souls, this is a dark lighout. Death in the eyes of Beksinsky is a paradi for my eyes. The fragility i find in hes painting is filled of so much physical pain.

At first I thought the book, Friedl Dicker-Brandeis by Elena Makarova and Regina Seidman Miller, was just a beautiful exhihibition catalogue.There are hundreds of color plates of paintings so rich in imagination and expressive beauty, and there are designs for theater and costumes as well as plans for houses and rooms. She brought her unique inspirational creativity to every aspect of her life--creating order out of chaos. This was wonderful in itself,but as I read it I realized it was an inspirational biography, the life story of a creative, artistic spirit who despite the most impossible circumstances, which grew more and more intolerable, continued to work creatively and what's more, to teach others--children whose lives had been devastated. For those who managed to survive-- their memories of her are recorded here too. They were forever changed by having been influenced by her and the invaluable medicine she provided. The book offers insight into the influences on her own art education and the development of her approach to inspiring the creativity of children, a wonderful guide for anyone working in an artistic capacity with children. There are so many revealing letters and photographs of hers, and her friends, and from the children she taught which capture so much about this mysterious, irrepressible woman. The book is a treasure, a reassurance. I feel I must hold it close to remind myself that despite the evil in the world there are human beings have wonderful spirit and creative talent, and it will endure despite everything.

It is hard to believe that this woman, artist, inventor, and heroine is not better known in the eyes and hearts of the world. As an educator and member of the Jewish community, I am shocked that I wasn't even aware of the remarkable contributions made by Friedl Dicker-Brandeis. The works portrayed in this book, the heartfelt letters she wrote, and the historical expose of Friedl's life were enriching. She has brought inspiration to many and should continue to be revered as a talented saint. Thank you Regina Seidman Miller and Elena Makarova for opening our eyes to such a remarkable woman of our past.

This is a book I intended to glance over just to look at the art, but ended up reading it cover to cover until 3 in the morning. It is a in depth look at this amazing woman's life, as well as the beautiful art she created. This is a must read for anyone wanting to learn about history, and how people cope with major events in their lives.

In this case of medieval date rape and the grim consequences which follow hard upon it, Sigrid Undset created a wonderfully literate experience using the saga "voice". Although I detected slippages in tone, here and there, and felt the ending too contrived and overwrought to be pure saga, I was still swept along by this book, finishing it in a single sitting. It is short, yes, but also a very compelling narrative as it details the tribulations of two would-be lovers who are yet too proud and self-willed for their own good or for the society in which they find themselves. As with the typical viking hero, Viga-Ljot is overly confident of his own charms and impatient of results. And Vigdis, the maid he has set his heart on, is no less aloof and overbearing in her own way than that historical figure, Sigrid the Haughty, who so angered King Olaf Tryggvesson that he slapped her in the midst of their courtship and thereby sealed his doom. Viga-Ljot does much worse in this tale and his fate is thus forever bound up with a woman who cannot forget or forgive him. Like Gudrun Osvif's daughter in Laxdaela Saga, Vigdis bides her time and nurses her pain but, in the end, that pain is not assuaged by the actions she takes, for it is ultimately destructive to everyone it touches.

A good example of the saga form in modern literature indeed, and yet, despite the finely tuned prose of this novel, capturing the nuances and understatement of the saga voice with masterly strokes, there is an underlying stridency here, an almost emotional overreaching which is not, itself, true to the saga form. In some ways this book is too modern and its author's sensibility, at this juncture in her career, almost too young and unseasoned. Undset seems to be reaching for the tragic denouement of the Greek classics to end her tautly told tale rather than content herself with the flatly understated and finely nuanced wrap-up more appropriate to the saga form. But this Greek-like ending left me much colder than the drily tossed-off afterthought of a true saga might have done. And yet, for all that, Undset has here given us one of the best modern novels done in saga form. My hat is off to her.

Undset, Lagerlof, Bjornson, Hamsun, Gustafsson; five stars aren't enough to reflect the masterpieces that they all wrote, and, in the case of Gustafsson, are still writing. Read all their books and grow a lifetime in a couple of years.

I suppose that anything that sells books makes it to the top of the page, although I appreciate that the first review I read about this book was straightforward, unbiased and sans agenda. I have been reading the great writers of the world since I learned to read. I began to explore the works of Undset, Lagerlof, Bjornson, Hamsun, Gustafsson, etc., thirty years ago and it irks me no end that the works of a Scandinavian writer like Undset, who lived in a time when women had all the rights in the world, should be referenced by your commentator from Brattleboro, VT as womens fiction. If she has read "The Master of Hestviken" or "Kristen Lavransdatter", then she must have missed all the suffering endured by the men and women. Great works of creativity do not address personal agendas. They are wrought from the soul. Lagerlofs' "Saga of Gosta Berling", another masterpiece, explores the same moral questions with a male protagonist. I say to you, dear lady from Vermont, that feminism is dead; we are all feminine and masculine regardless of our plumbing, and the last GREAT female poet, Sylvia Plath, lived the pain of that polarity until it killed her. Shame on you Amazon.com for using divisiveness and the promulgation of hatred, fear, and misunderstanding to make a buck. Publish this!!

Sigrid Undset's Gunnar's Daughter weaves Scandinavian folklore, mythology and violence to ensnare the reader into the period of the Saga Age. In this book, we meet Vigdis Gunnarsdatter -- a survivor in many different levels who is raped and delivers an illegitimate child. As it is said that time heals old wounds, that is not the case with Vigdis. Even with her eventual redemption, peace of mind still eludes her until she takes her very last breath. The scope of history and folklore in Gunnar's Daughter makes this an interesting and quick read. However, it is highly recommended that the reader marks the introduction and notes by Sherrill Harbison -- as they provide much information that makes the book more insightful and pleasurable to read.

...I got the two books Holy Terror's and American Gargolyes... it was a great deal. The book is loaded with pictures of gargoyles from across america and desrcibes what type of gargoyle and where it is located in america. The photographs are beautiful and descriptive through out the book. If you gargoyles get the two books for the price of one. Highly Recommended!!!!

This book is one of the best books I got from [amazon.com]. I got the two books Holy Terror's and American Gargolyes... it was a great deal. The book is loaded with pictures of gargoyles from across america and desrcibes what type of gargoyle and where it is located in america. The photographs are beautiful and descriptive through out the book. If you gargoyles get the two books for the price of one. Highly Recommended!!!!

It's got everything... the history, the pictures, the lore, the awe-inspiring Notre Dame Cathedral! An excellent comprehensive work by Janetta Benton. If you only ever buy one book on the subject, this is the one.

As a student of Rollins College, I took the course "Great Russian Writers". Victor Brook's collection of short stories has been my favorite, definately the most entertaining and thought provoking Russian literature I have read so far. Can you imagine? I even wrote a paper on the recurring theme of happiness in many of Victor Brook's works. Will his characters find happiness or will they simply pursue it in vain? Thank you, Victor Brook, for the great stories.

It is refreshing to read genuine literature in an age of popular fiction. Victor Brook's writing combines imagination with interpretative meaning in each of his short stories. These stories appeal to the inner soul and are adventures in life at its best, at its worst, and in the extraordinary. "A Ceiling with Lizards," for instance, is captivating and evokes thought about why the protagonist ever went to India. The mystery behind each story leads you further into the mind of Victor Brook and encourages you to read more. Victor Brook is an artist with words, and his stories are straightforward and characteristic of literature, which belongs to a generation of uniquely gifted authors.

These are stories for study, for re-reading, for analysis, for plumbing the depths of both human experience and the art of writing. Especially, these are stories for sharing with other lovers of REAL literature, those who are able to undertake an analysis of the nature of reality. Challenge yourself!

When I first discovered that a past class required a brand new hardcover "Inferno" when there were a thousand 50 cent paperbacks of other translations out there already, I was not so happy to buy this book. My opinion quickly changed when I opened it - this is not a usual rendition of Dante. Studying from this text, I felt like I was reading Inferno for the first time. Palma captures the imagery, the poetry, and the emotional dynamics of the Italian. This is certainly the most beautiful translation of Dante I have ever encountered, and if you cannot read the original, this is the requisite edition to make up for the loss.

if lights did outshine the sun. If the grand lion purchased her cub. if i lived long will I back be beyond our sun?
I have enjoyed this translation above all, as a journey into the deepest fears of a heart. Wording so finely crafted, this version soars even higher than the tre tim poet laurete's.
I did believe in an idea that the almighty bestows certain individuals with a spark. Sometimes that spark is a beauty that is in the looks. At others, in the heart of writing. This soul must have been touched by that omnipotent. whilome in Albion there dwelt a youth, child Harold was he hight.

how many people have heard about Byron? Lord Gordon Noel? The theme that plays his harp on his own strange imagine.

As that man once had his time of eternity here on the mother, so have we as others, as well as others so have they well. \

Well lived?

Well died?

I no not of that, but here we live and then we live, forward his is the isabella of a fountain,-- dreams and dreams fallen into dreams.

I wonder a thousand years, we fall asleep, does it end up feeling no more?

Read him! This translation in all makeup is beautiful, elegant. Let go and float down a lineup linnen limes, and the others? Other translations? None of this Magnitude of elegance. None even of this nobel voice of Diction. I'll admit i have no ticket in this line of poetry. I'm speaking of the hard Rime. This one had many of a hard rime. Though speed does do well in its tempo. I have no understanding to say this is the best translation. It did move me deeper than the rest, though. If dimes tangle loose by A wild of pink lemonade lowering, will the crem shine upwards even in the plains of hard woodless tundra. As it soaks my sleeps, slivers become numb. cards remind me of railings of bronzen warmth.

I had always wanted to read Dante's La Divinia Comedia, but literature from the fourteenth century often requires the constant use of a dictionary while reading. I was pleasantly surprised to find Palma's translation both modern and entertaining. It makes Dante seem more like a contemporary writer, and one often forgets the work is over 700 years old.
Be assured, you'll have trouble putting this book down, it makes you feel like you were right there with Dante and Virgil as they tour the Inferno. Another nice feature is this version also contains the original Latin on the facing pages. Invest in the hardcover copy, because you'll want to keep this one around for many years!

At times the stories collected in The Last Eyewitnesses just get to you -- the insanity and cruelty of it all. This book should be required reading for everyone. Those interested in Jewish history, Polish history and Holocaust accounts will find this book indispensible. Beyond that, however, this collection appeals to anyone interested in the human condition and the absolute will to survive. An amazing, amazing book.

In The Last Eyewitnesses, the editor, Wiktoria Sliwowska, has presented her own testimony of the destruction of Polish Jewry as well as those of her contemporaries.These have been assembled by the Association of the Children of the Holocaust in Poland. The special character of this anthology lies in the fact that these Jews, mostly in their sixties and seventies now, have come together to relate their childhood memories of the Holocaust, when childhood was denied to them. The reader becomes a witness to a unique cathartic experience. The translation of Julian and Fay Bussgang has given the English reader the opportunity to encounter these testimonies, full of the stark details which contradict everything expected from childhood. It is chilling to hear of the young who, besides being faced with constant want and privation and witness to violence and brutalization, also have to deal with an immediate and mature realization that their own lives are tenuous and threatened day by day. One individual describes his fear and panic, as he and his sister fled from their pursuers into the woods, as well as the subsequent pain and guilt for having separated from her during their attempted escape. His path led to life, while hers led to death. It is painful to read of children who are clearly aware that in their circumstances, it is dangerous to be a Jew. A new word has entered their Jewish vocabulary, "Action", a raid by Germans and their cohorts to seize Jews for death, either to be killed on the spot or taken to the death camps. One can scarcely imagine living with the ever-present fear of being discovered - afraid of one's dark Jewish appearance, living in cellars or closets, forbidden to approach a window, hiding in the woods. The sad fate of Polish Jewry is revealed in the statement of one teenage girl upon returning home after liberation: "...In my one and only little dress, without a cent to my name, I traveled to where Mama, Dorota, and the rest of the family were sent to the ghetto. Here, after arriving at my destination, I lived through the worst moment of my life. I did not anybody, not a single blessed soul." Not only did they not find many of their loved-ones or any vibrant Jewish community after the War, but they found anti-Semitism still alive, though their families were dead. These children spent at least six years trying to divest themselves of their Jewish identity. They had to change their names, sometimes several times, change their language, in many cases, and learn Catholic prayers and rituals. Many survivors have never returned to their original, Jewish names. As one sees by the names listed in the table of contents, many have never really recovered their identities as Jews. One individual expresses his confusion about whether he is a Jewish-Pole or a Polish-Jew. The histories presented here cover the entire gamut from total alienation from Jewish contacts to strenuous effort to learn about their background and Israel. As one reads the various depositions, one is amazed that any children could have lived through such inimical circumstances. One is amazed at the efforts of courage and sacrifice, love and desperation on the part of these parents to give up their children to strangers in the hope that they might live through the horrible German regime. One is also amazed at the stories of great courage on the part of many Poles in the rescue efforts described. "Antek" Cukierman, hero of the Warsaw Ghetto, has commented that one Pole could betray a hundred hiding Jews, but it took a hundred Poles to save a single Jew. These accounts verify that reality, as does Yad Vashem's recognition of many of them to be included in the ranks of the Righteous Among the Nations. The people who have come forth in the aftermath of the Holocaust to give these accounts of their personal lives and tragedies, as they struggle to define their identities, have gone on to demonstrate that there can be life after the Holocaust, but there can never be an elimination of its legacy.And this legacy will extend beyond the lives of even these and other last witnesses. Abraham Rzepkowicz, Reviewer

In The Last Eyewitnesses, the editor, Wiktoria Sliwowska, has presented her own testimony of the destruction of Polish Jewry as well as those of her contemporaries. These have been assembled by the Association of the Children of the Holocaust in Poland. The special character of this anthology lies in the fact that these Jews, mostly in their sixties and seventies now, have come together to relate their childhood memories of the Holocaust, when childhood was denied to them. The reader becomes a witness to a unique cathartic experience. The translation of Julian and Fay Bussgang has given the English reader the opportunity to encounter these testimonies, full of the stark details which contradict everything expected from childhood. Primarily, these survivors learned that in their circumstances, it was dangerous to be a Jew. These children spent at least six years of their lives trying to divest themselves of their Jewish identity. They had to change their names, sometimes several times, change their language, in many cases, and learn Catholic prayers and rituals. As one sees by the names listed in the table of contents, many have never really recovered their identities as Jews. The histories provided demonstrate that there can be life after the Holocaust, but there can never be an elimination of its legacy. And this legacy will extend beyond the lives of even these and other last witnesses.

Overall this book is just fine for someone interested in cooking with a DO. The mix of recipes is fine, but they just seemed to be missing something. They were all more or less of the "huck a good sized hen into the pot and cook for a while until done" variety. All of the recipes look tasty, though I would have liked to have seen a few more meat dishes, especially some more creative ones. Let's be honest, when you pay for a book you'd like to see more than "...put a 5 lb beef roast into a preheated Dutch oven, salt and pepper to taste, cook until done." Give me a little something to work with here! Inspire me! I can already cook a roast like this in the oven. Having said all of that, I would still reccommend this book. The vegetable dishes and desserts look fantastic and I can't wait to try some of them. As an aside, this is the only Dutch oven book I've seen with heart-healthy recipes as well as more traditional fare. Given that the average DO book requires the use of a metric ton of lard, this will probably appeal to a wider range of cooks.

I just ordered this book and found it to be perfect for just starting out with the dutch oven. The recipes and instructions are simple. Although I like more gourmet meals in the kitchen, I'm still learning at the dutch oven. This book filled with tons of recipes that offer room for experimenting and encourage the cook to be creative. I'm glad I purchased this book for learning how to start dutch oven cooking.

The third edition of this guide is packed with quick recipes for busy cooks, showing how to make meals without a lot of fuss at either campsite or back yard. All that's needed is a Dutch oven: Woodruff provides beginners with the rest of the basics, from the oven's care and storage to using it to cook meals and wild game.

I wouldn't dream of dissuading anyone with an interest in IE lingustics from buying a copy of this fascinating tome, but at the same time would point out that it has some glaring errors, mainly due to its age:

I see another reader complaining about underrepresentation of non-European IE languages. He's not bad on Sanskrit, but point taken on Iranian (which he seems to regard as a minor dialect of Sanskrit). Hittite and Tocharian, Albanian and Armenian are underrepresented too. At the same time, some Western languages are underrepresented, such as Portuguese and Catalan. Maybe not a problem where forms are cognate with Spanish/French/Italian, but it is when they aren't.

My main problem with Buck, however, is that he by and large ignores connections with other language families, assuming that everything can be explained within IE. This sometimes pushes him into absurd assertions - he can't find an Old Irish word for dancing, so he claims that there was no dancing in Ancient Ireland.

Granted, this work was written at the end of the 1940s, before the work on long-distance comparisons of Brunner, Ilyich-Svitych, Greenberg, Bomhard et al. Not a defect in itself, but his etymologies can no longer be taken at face value.

I have been able to have only a cursory glance, so far, but the remarkable contents of this book have enabled me to confirm a theory on which I am working, relating to the palaeopyschology of links between natural phenomena and the emergence of belief in divinities. I look forward to having a much more detailed browse. The size of the font in this reduced facsimile is indeed small. I have poor eyesight, with thick multifocal lenses in my spectacles, but have little trouble reading the book.

Since writing the above, I've used the book often in searches for IE cognates, particularly Sanksrit, and have found it very useful.

Brian Barratt...

I was initially disappointed by this book, since I have a particular interest in Persian (Farsi or Iranian). Alas, Persian is almost completely unrepresented, although Irish seems to be everywhere. Basically, this book is very weak on any Indo-European language east of Suez.

Still, it's a splendid reference and a great achievement.