european

When Maigret meets a serial killer, it's a dramatic face to face and, as usually, Maigret can understand why the killer acts in such an horrible way. Maigret don't excuse the killer but can understand. Like said Simenon : "Understand but not judge".

This is one of my very favorite Simenon novels; superbly paced and brilliant characterizations.

Catholic University Press of America is coming out with the Works of Christopher Dawson. To my mind, this is one of the most important publishing events in recent memory. In addition, these works are reset and contain solid introductions by experts in the field. This is third in the series (following Progress and Religion; and Medieval Essays).

The Making of Europe: An Introduction to the History of European Unity is an important book, which came out in 1932. Dawson highlights the central factors and contributions in the formation of European unity - the Roman Empire, Classical Culture, Christianity, the Barbarians, the Byzantines and Islam. Although Dawson was a Catholic, the book is balanced and can be enjoyed by just about anyone. I liked in particular the fair overview of Islam. It's fashionable to say that history books of the past ignored the contributions of other culture and only contemporary (and leftist) historians rescued us from the evils of "eurocentrism" and "ethnocentrism." This is silly, as anyone who has read history books from the past knows. (In addition, take for example the success of books in the nineteenth century such as Salambo by Flaubert, or the exaggerated claims of Masons of the contributions of Egyptians, which rival the "Black Athena" crowd).

In particular, I enjoyed Alexander Murray's introductory essay, which updates some of Dawson's arguments in light of current scholarship and also places this work within his oeuvre.

So just what did happen in Europe between the fall of the Roman Empire and the Crusades? This famous overview is just as readable today as when it was first written. Dawson's prose flow effortlessly and will keep you engaged. He covers everything from Baghdad to Iceland.

He has the decidedly un-Marxist view that ideas and individuals do count in history. His pan-European sympathies probably sounded unrealistic in the '30's, but are back in vogue as we approach the introduction of the Euro coins.

The big players in the laboratory supplies and instruments markets have been successfully marketing to Europe for years and years, but small biotech companies looking to expand overseas will probably find this book to be very helpful--as I did. The chapter on contracts is especially illuminating and serves as a useful reminder that, once abroad, Americans have to play by the home court's rules. Well written and clearly presented.

This book has proven very useful in helping our biotech company reach new markets. A well-written, well-reasoned work showing the authors' depth of experience.

This is what I look for in an art book, many large good quality reproductions of the work with a minimum of pretentious text. Let me look at the images first and decide what I think about them, then I can go read what the artist or some critic/historian thinks, not the other way around, as far too many books do.

I like the fact that Dumas does what she feels at the time she does it, so there is a lot of variety in this book, it is not the same piece over and over again. She is not like a lot of artist, simply becoming clichés of themselves at the 1st signs of success, she continues to experiment and try different things, which she is criticized for, however, I think that criticism is short sited. There is something fresh, loose and free about her work that I admire. Granted I don't like her work as much as when I first viewed it a few years ago (reflecting my own development as an artist) but it is still one of my favorite books and I would recommend it to anyone interested in contemporary art.

My only critic comes from my own bias, in that I find some of her content overly simplified clichés of women's issues and feminist theory. .........And I'm annoyed by the fact that If I, as a male artist, created some of the images she's created, I'd be lynched by NOW(or some other WWB-Whiny Women's Brigade as I've coined them) as being a misogynist pig.

I had seen a self-portrait done by Marlene Dumas in an art book and it blew me away. I did not know who she was or her main specialty. I knew I had to see more of her body of work... I quickly found this Phaedon publication, crossed my fingers and ordered it. When it finally arrived...I poured over it. It is now a few months later and I am still pouring over it. I particularly like the interviews and personal input Helene has had into the publication – this is her book and her philosophies – she puts herself out there for you to see her and to "get inside her head". The layout is very contemporary which adds to the presentation of her imagery. The reproductions of her work are plentiful and I am impressed with the range of her work through her different "periods". The text is concise and confronting in its subject matter, ranging from her life in apartheid Africa to the freedom of Amsterdam. This book is a must for art students and art lovers alike. It holds the key to an modern artist and, as an art student, has inspired me. I am looking forward to seeing more publications about her current work. I definitely give this book 5 stars – plus 5 stars for a major contemporary artist.

What a beautifully written book! I especially enjoyed the dedication page. mom

This is by far the best critical treatment of Stendhal I have ever read! Ms. Algazi's book will not doubt become the definitive text for Stendhalian scholars.

This nimble and witty book by one of the most important scholars of modern art is not merely the sum of two monographs on these giants of the 20th century. To the now-standard operating procedure of relativism and contextualization, Bois adds a twist. He proposes the relationship between the artists as a fitful but sustaining dialogue, rejecting as inadequate to the critical task the idea that Matisse and Picasso simply influenced one another. Drawing on diverse theoretical models in the writing of Mikhail Bakhtin, Hubert Damisch, Rene Girard and Harold Bloom, the author argues instead that for a period of over 25 years, from the late 1920s until after Matisse's death in 1954, each artist deliberately addressed his work in specific ways to the other. The theory is necessary because actual contact between the two was sporadic. This is what makes Bois's thesis about their need for one another so intriguing. What prompted this dialogue--what made the need possible, Bois asserts--was their common cause against abstraction. Prodding, teasing, paying homage, supplicating, even misunderstanding--in these and other ways Matisse and Picasso challenged each other in their mutual effort to push the envelope of representation without letting the tangibility of the world's things slip from their grasp. When they strayed into the other's long-established artistic territories (Picasso painting odalisques; Matisse working in a Cubist idiom) they were sending signals to each other above the artistic fray, in a kind of Olympian fraternal sympathy. This sealing off of Matisse's and Picasso's artistic communication from the rest of the world is the most controversial aspect of the book, as it was of the beautiful exhibition it accompanied at the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas. Bois frankly calls his effort an "experiment" in which it is necessary to isolate variables, studying them carefully in relation to one another, with the relationship itself as the constant factor. This scientific conceit of "let's see what happens" is undermined by the humanistic drive to demonstrate a thesis. And we should be thankful for that. Like the best publications arising from exhibitions, this book will have independent, lasting value, but it will also be more provocative than most.

Some might say that another exhibition of Matisse and Picasso is hardly what the art world needs. Havent't we seen enough of these two artists recently? Why continue to do blockbuster exhibitions which just show us well-known works? If you read this book, you might change your mind about the relevance of the show. First, although some of the paintings shown here are quite familiar from other exhibitions, many have never been exhibited or published before. Second, this exhibition offers a rare look at a virtually unique case of two major artists who visibly responded to each other's styles during 25 years of peak productivity. The book focusses on the 1930's, '40's and early 1950's (the section on the war years is particularly well-written), and allows the reader to experience, virtually month by month, the artistic interaction between the two artists. It is fascinating to see the commonality in their themes, beliefs and motifs, despite the great difference in their visual styles. Finally, this is a well-designed book - the plates are of the highest color quality and are beautifully arranged. Although English is not Bois' first language, the text has been translated in an elegant and efficient manner. If you can't go see this exhibition, definitely read this book.

Whether you are a dedicated medieval scholar or merely have a layman's interest in the area, there is much insight to be gleaned from this highly expository and very readable treatise.
Ever wonder what all that symbolism meant in thousand year old Christian art? Or how it related to those who created and heard the oral histories of the time? This fascinating book ties together explorations of language, medieval history, religious mythology and physical as well as spiritual pilgrimage, and their impact on modern understanding of this turbulent period.

Tom Spaccarelli was one of my professors at the University of the South (Sewanee TN). He was a major influence as a teacher -- fanning the flames of my passion for Medieval and Renaissance literature -- and has remained a major influence as a friend. I hear his voice on every page of this book. But for those who don't know him, I'll let him introduce the work himself (from Chapter I, INTRODUCTORY REMARKS). "The codex traditionally known as Ms. h.I.13 of El Escorial, which I have named the *Libro de los huespedes,* has generally been edited by medievalists as nine separate works ... "This now traditional fragmentation of the codex has resulted in our failure to perceive that the book was compiled and comprehended in its own time as a unified work. Modern editions of the separate chapters, produced in the tradition of scholarly concepts such as source texts, regularization of language, literary genres, the primacy of the relationship author/work, etc., have diminished our ability to comprehend the unique and unified nature of the LH, thereby distorting our knowledge and appreciation of the canon of medieval Spanish literature. I intend to show in this study that the LH is a text intimately related to the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela and to various religious, literary, and artistic traditions associated with it. To restore the integrity of this text, I believe, is also to provide a more historically accurate view of medieval Spanish culture and of the concerns and issues that fired the enthusiasm of medieval people."

Meditations on Quixote is the first major work Jose Ortega y Gasset published in Spain; as such, the reader will stumble across several infant notions that were later subjected to major philosophical treatments by Ortega. Naturally, therefore, this book is often passed over and dismissed. However, I believe it holds within its pages a very mature, coherent argument. It should be noted that Don Quixote is not actually the central focus of these meditations. Rather, Ortega only delves into Cervantes's great novel during the second half of the book (the "first" meditation), using that knight of rueful countenance to clarify his analysis. I will not attempt to explain the philosophy presented in this book, as I feel there is a reason it takes hundreds of pages to express these concepts. It is such with all philosophy; think of it as a food - I can compress all the contents of a five-star dinner into a dense pill and give that to you, but it would not serve justice to the original pieces. Having said that, I can certainly relay (as another reviewer has) the famous expression "I am myself and my circumstance." Ortega puts significance into what this "circumstance" is composed of, mentally dividing the material things in life and their deeper meaning, explaining that this deeper meaning is just as real as the material surface. He then leads into the concept of man as a hero via his own will ("the will to be oneself is heroism"), focusing on Don Quixote, and modern literature in general (as opposed the ideal epics of old), as examples. Julián Marías makes interesting notes throughout. Recommended!

The great Spanish philosopher Ortega y Gasset left many followers, some of them also important thinkers, like Julian Marias. But most are common people who became much more educated and civilized persons by reading his wonderful books. Ortega was one of the rare species of philosophers who expresse his ideas in a very clear prose. Others in this line are Plato and Augustine, or Bertrand Russell, an Ortega contemporary. Meditations on Quixote is a small book where the master strives to give a synthesis of his thought. A synthesis of this synthesis could be given by two of his phrases: "Yo soy yo y mi circunstancia" (I am myself and my circumstance) and " I only offer a way of considering things" (modus res considerandi). A great philosopher and a great writer. His was my main intellectual influence.

My children did not want to go to bed, to wait for the next reading of the book.

This book is fun to read for children as well as adults. It has all the elements of a classical fairy tale - with fascinating characters and an imaginative setting. It is beautifully written and the front cover is a piece of art in itself! I loved it!

I'm a huge fan of Roald Dahl's books for children. Have read most of them over and over again for my own kids. It was a joy though to find a book about Roald Dahl and his family and life, seen through his kitchen. And the many parties he always gave.

Roald Dahl loved food, and in his middle class home in England he loved to gather family and friends around the huge dining room table. On the table there is always delicious food from around the world, also from Norway - the home country of Dahl's mother, the home country of myself.

The book is a perfect mixture of anecdotes from Roald Dahl's life and recipes from his kitchen, and all through it is filled with pictures and photos, both to illustrate the cooking and to illustrate the house and the kitchen. The book also has illustrations by Quentin Blake, the illustrator who has worked with Dahl on so many of his books. For me his drawings are perfectly "Dahlish".

The recipes are all simple though quite chick :-) And following them you will have ideas for an uncountable numbers of parties ahead of you.

Britt Arnhild Lindland

Beautifully illustrated and full of interesting stories, recipies and photographs, this book is perfect for reading on a cold or rainy day. Set in Gipsy House, the Dahl family home in England, the book lets you glimpse upper middle class life in that country. It's honesty makes it all the more enjoyable. The recipies are simple, yet interesting. They tempt you to experiment as they are very straight forward. This well written book is ideal for reading time and time again. It is full of SUNSHINE.