history

mi amiga !
Lo mejor de la cocina mexicana...
Cada platillo hace DE TU COMIDA UN BANQUETE

del Archivo de la Nación, y las recetas son autenticas, excepto por algunos ingredientes que el Chef Ayala cambio muy atinadamente porque ya no existen.
Su investigacion es digna de un gran reconocimiento.

DE LA BUENA MESA SIN IMPORTAR DE DONDE SEA LA COCINA: Francesa, oriental, alemana y en el caso de este recetario de cocina mexicana, ES DE LO MEJOR QUE PUEDES LLEVAR A TU MESA Y A TU BOCA !

Tony Mendoza's journey through Cuba takes you into the world of the average Cuban. He does an excellent job of reflecting on his childhood memories of Cuba while combining present day Cuba. This book contains true actual feelings and impressions of Cuba instead of the naive happy-go lucky attitude expressed in most touristic journals typical of many other photographers.

This is a wonderful book--a visual and literary treat for all readers. The author returned to his native Cuba after a 30+ year absence, and the result is this fascinating book which perfectly balances photography, memoir, and political/social observation. I was previously familiar with Mendoza's acclaimed photography, which is stunning here, and happily discovered he's also a terrific writer. The text comprises a significant part of the book, and it could certainly stand on its own. Mendoza's voice is enormously engaging and appealing--he's astutely observant of small, telling details, and his stories are often hilarious, lusty, and always insightful. The country's complicated political situation is presented with remarkable restraint--he allows Castro to speak for himself, literally, with segments of his speeches interspersed throughout the narrative; fascinating even to readers with a passing knowledge of/interest in world politics. All in all the book triumphs the great spirit of the Cuban people--the author's included.

An excellent behind the scenes look at Cuba today. No better example of a failed yet still forced socialist state. This is not some itellectual dissection of the situation but a "person on the street" documentary. Must read for those who take democracy and free enterprise for granted and for those who even think Cuba is better now than in pre-revolution time.
As a Cuban born US citizen I applaude this book.

Although this book was written to introduce students of medieval literature to the subject, it is far more than a book about books. Lewis makes it clear that, to understand men of another time, we must first understand their view of the world, the influences that bore upon them, and how they dealt with them. Most interesting is his use of a 'model' to describe the medieval authors' universe (for only the learned would endeavour to describe a universe), for in our day, thirty-five years after The Discarded Image was written, we place great credence in computer models. Well worth your time, if only to show that there are more ways than one to look at - shall we call it creation? - and there may be truth in more than one of them. We must not lose track, in this hypercritical age, of these different models and modes of thought; it is well, indeed, to remember that a man of 1400 is not to be judged by the standards of 1999. Nor is a modern man to be judged by the standards of half a millennium ago.

This book is an utter, unqualified delight.

That C.S.Lewis was a fine writer is not open to dispute. It is also no secret that he was a master of discursive, analytical, sympathetic literary criticism. (The collection of articles published posthumously as "On Literature" by Walter Hooper contains some fine examples.)

We are also only too well acquainted with Lewis the bully, abusing his prodigious gifts as a debater and marshaller of arguments in the service of his religion. "Mere Christianity" is an overwhelming argument for God - but it leaves the bitter aftertaste of intellectual coercion.

In "The Discarded Image", he does not wish to convince us of anything. He only wishes to explain. We are invited along on a tour of the beliefs and opinions about the world held in the Middle Ages. (The travel-guide metaphor is Lewis's own, from the Introduction.) The effect is of an immensely well-informed and articulate man discursing on his favourite subject.

Mere knowledge and enthusiasm on the part of the author would not be enough to make this unusual book interesting. It is Lewis's combination of strengths as writer that bring Medieval cosmology, religion and science to life. But such is his skill that we almost don't notice what has gone into the presentation. Only when we reflect on what must have been required to organise facts, determine what is essential, leave out what isn't, use analogies, draw distinctions, make comparisons and follow lines of thought does the achievement really sink in.

For example, his description of Arisotlean astronomy and its legacy to the Middle Ages is a masterpiece of brevity. It tells us everything we need to know for what follows, and nothing more; yet simutaneously we experience a sense of the vastness of the subject-matter. Our curiosity is awakened, our immediate needs satisfied and our imagination stimulated. THIS is writing!

The section on Mother Nature shows Lewis the philologist to great effect. He first has to disengage our minds from the modern conception of Nature, which he does by investigating what we actually do mean by the word nowadays and how that has evolved over three hundred years. At that point, we are ready to understand the entirely different relationship to the world that was conveyed by the same word in the Middle Ages.

Throughout, there is not a wasted word or an unnecessary turn of phrase.

Enjoy!

"The Discarded Image" first appeared in print in 1964, the year following Lewis' death. It first appeared in paperback in 1967, and my copy of that edition is heavily marked up and falling to pieces after years of use, in High School and as an undergraduate and graduate student. It is safe to conclude that I am an admirer of the book. (Also of Lewis' fiction, and his other works of criticism; with a few exceptions, the books on Christianity which made him widely known are of little interest to me.)

It contains the substance (and presumably the final wording) of Lewis' lectures introducing medieval and Renaissance literature to students at Cambridge (and, presumably, earlier in his career at Oxford). It is admirably concise, remarkably clear, and, for anyone who does not remember that it is only an introduction, at times frustratingly limited. In a very few pages he encapsulates some of the main features of thought between, roughly, the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the publication of "Paradise Lost". It represents the essence of a lifetime of actually reading the literature, and he is able to illustrate his points with convincing, and sometimes rather obscure, examples.

On the basis of my own experience, "The Discarded Image" is helpful not only in understanding the literature of the Christian West during the Middle Ages, but also a lot of Jewish and (to a somewhat lesser extent) Islamic literature from the same period. Ptolemy and Aristotle, at least, seem to have been everywhere.

In this context, it is perhaps fair to warn potential readers coming to the book directly from Lewis-the-Christian that he displays throughout a remarkable sympathy for a variety of views (pagan, Neo-Platonic, medieval Catholic, and so forth) which they may find disturbing. Education, not edification, is his primary focus. (Of course, there are those who refuse to consider Lewis a real Christian at all, but an agent of the Devil, and possibly even the Pope -- but they probably wouldn't dream of opening this book, anyway.)

To use a catch-phrase introduced to scholarship in 1962 by Thomas Kuhn's "Structure of Scientific Revolutions," Lewis is presenting an "Old Paradigm" of the Universe, the very presuppositions of which have been replaced by a series of "New Paradigms" during the last four centuries. It describes a vast but finite world of natural hierarchies, in which much that we find commonplace was rare (and vice versa). It is an effort to equip the student to think and perhaps even feel in medieval, not modern, terms. I can think of no one who has so successfully evoked the sensation of living in a Ptolemaic or Aristotelian cosmos.

By the time this book appeared, Lewis' well-earned reputation as a Christian apologist had largely overtaken his status as a prominent critic of medieval and renaissance literature (established by "The Allegory of Love" in the 1930s). Although "The Discarded Image" has generally been in print, it never seems to have attained the prominence some (myself included) think it deserves. Even Norman Cantor's praise for the book in "Inventing the Middle Ages" is moderated by complaints about what it doesn't contain, and the dispatch-like brevity imposed by its origin. It is nice to think that the present "Canto" edition represents a determination to keep the book available.

With reference to an observation by another reviewer: I can sympathize with anyone found quoting "The Discarded Image" without attribution. After numerous readings, I have sometimes found it hard to remember just where an idea or turn of phrase came from, only to recognize it there while looking for something else.

If you're a fan of Disneyland and it's history, then this book is a must! I was astounded by the scope of this work, and the attention to detail. It covers Disneyland from it's beginnings in the early 50's to the present day with individual "stories" about the different aspects of the park. Accompaning these "stories" are hundreds of rare photos and artwork along with the postcards the book is named after. This is a definite must have book for fans of the California park.

The "Nickel Tour" is an excellent pictorial review of Disneyland's history. Using postcards from pre-opening to the present the book explains how Disneyland came to be, and how it evolved into the cultural icon it is today. If a postcard does not exist to illustrate the topic or time period discussed the authors have found numerous rare photos and drawings to give visual heft to what they are explaining. This brings up what I most enjoyed about the book. Both authors are Imagineers (Disney's word for the engineers who design their theme parks) and they give detailed explanations concerning every postcard (or picture) in the book. They also spend a great deal of time explaining how certain attractions came to be, and the history of each area of the park. This includes many Disneyland attractions that we all remember, but which no longer exist. It was great to see my favorite childhood ride, "Adventures Thru Inner Space", again. If you are a fan of Disneyland, and want to really understand the Park's history there is no better source than this book. I highly recommend it despite its rather high price. You won't be disappointed.

What memories this brings back! Not only are the postcards wonderful, but the narrative is very entertaining - much more than I had hoped for - and the postcards are supplemented with some wonderful photos to fill in some of the gaps. A great way for us (we?) older Disney fans to share our memories of Disneyland with our children (and later grandchildren), too. I know I will get many hours of enjoyment from this book over the years to come. I am so glad I decided it might be worth the price - it's worth many times over!

... No psycho-drama authorship trying to turn historical facts into "entertaining history". This book takes the documented history of the Vietnam air war, thoughtfully analyzes the data, and presents rational conclusions that can be used as lessons for the future. This is "intelligent history" at its best. Well-done!

This book is an excellent account of the "corporate" deficiencies of the USAF in the late 60's and early 70's. The deficiencies of the air-to-air missiles in the Vietnam war are strikingly similar to the deficiencies of the torpedos in the USN in the first two years of WWII. Equally striking was the smug attitude of the service about the superiority of US aircraft ("The F-86 had a 13:1 kill ratio over the MiG-15. Who cares that they slaughtered the F-84s?") and the poor pilot training that occurred for both USAF and USN F-4 drivers. The MiG-21 was indeed a nasty surprise. With a higher thrust-to-weight ratio and a lower wing loading, it could both out-accelerate and out-turn F-105s and F-4s. The only American advantage was a higher clean top speed, and external ordinance stores and fuel tanks often abrogated this. The MiG-21 had poor visibility, and a short range, but was an excellent point defense interceptor that transitioned well from bomber defense to dog fighting. (As an aside to the book, with modern electronics, the MiG-21/Lancer and MiG-21/2000 are excellent low-cost fighters today, but each air-air missile will cost you as much as the airframe!) The book details both the combat adaptations that worked (jamming pods, IFF interrogators) and the effective efforts of the USN and criminal negligence of the USAF (and I write as an ex-USAF officer) to improve dog fighting capabilities between the end of Rolling Thunder in 1968 and Linebacker I/II in 1972. The Navy instituted the Top Gun school and made effective modifications to the AIM-9 Sidewinder - the Air Force made a couple of ineffective changes to the AIM-9 and some moderately good ones to the AIM-7, though much of the better performance of the latter during Linebacker was due to higher engagement altitudes resulting from the use of laser guided bombs for the strike packages. He does make the point in the end that the USAF attitude improved after Vietnam when the junior officers of that war increased in seniority and that the introduction of AWACS and trading top speed for maneuverability and visibility in the new generation of fighters cured many of the deficiencies seen in the Vietnam war. A minor objection is that the book does not refer to officers below general rank by name.

This is simply the best book on the air war over thenorth. Here you found both technichal datas, doctrinal debate and combat history. Michel style is dry, he ocnentrates on fact rayther than personal memoir or oral history, but reading this book you will have the best picture of the actal missions over the North Vietnam. Tha autohrs follow the history of the air war both from US and DRV perspective comparing airacraft, weapons and doctrines. The book is full of detial form the advantages and disavanteges of the various aricrafts to the dreaded flight four USAF formation. He actually dispel some myths (especially adressoing the real effectiveness of the SAM defense). If you are interested in air war this book is a must.

This is the best book to twin the Anthology Book.
You can get your PhD in Beatle Arts, studying this bible.
However, I rated it just 4 stars because the cover portrait says "The Complete Beatles Chronicle" and the picture below makes you think they were a duet (John & Paul). This is a huge and annoying mistake.

Why is this the "First Beatles Book One Should Read?" Simply put, Marc Lewisohn (an EMI records reseracher) volume is a true labor of love, but not a "tell-all" or a "I was John Lennon's mailman" rip off.

This is a true, scholarly effort. It is a day-by-day account of The Beatle's professional, not personal, affairs. More than just what they did where on an particular day, it shows how hectic their early days were, how incredibly frantic was the Beatlemania in Britian and the USA and their best work (from Revolver on) evolved in the studio.

The book is intelligently written and produced. Each year is a separate chapter, starting first with an introduction which puts that year in perspective to the Beatle's career. What follows is a day by day retelling of every concert, recording sesson, Radio/TV appearance, etc. It's a great companion to Anthology (CDS and video) as you get an idea as to how certain events played how, how certain songs were recorded and again, how crazy the early 60's were for the Beatles.

If anyone wants to know the who, what, where and why (especially why the Beatles broke up as professional musicians) this book, which first appaeared in 1992 and is finally reprinted, is the one book to have. I've read it once and plan to go back again and again.

this is the 3rd book on the beatles by mark lewisohn that i have gotten, & it is sort of a combination of the 1st 2, "the beatles live", & "the beatles recording sessions"(the 2nd book paul mccartney wrote the intro to because he admired the 1st book so much).i swear, i have been reading books on the beatles since they have been being written from 1964 on, & these books by mark lewisohn are really all you need - maybe include hunter davies "the beatles",1968. "the beatles live" was my favorite, it describes so well the early days of the group in liverpool & hamburg.
if you know a lot about the beatles but you havnt read any of lewisohns books yet, you will find SO much info you didnt know. he researched these books for years, was given access to everything at abbey road, every show they ever did from 1957 on that is possible to know anything about is chronicled. Lennon would have LOVED the "live" book, it brings to life so well those early days in hamburg that he loved to remember.I dont know what else to say, i cant recommend them enough. these books are the next best thing to having a new beatle album, which we know can never happen.

I agree with the reviewers that this is one of the best books ever written. I read this book as part of a book club and probably never would have read it on my own--having read many of the books of Hugo and Dickens and other writers of that approximate era. I love both of these writers but find them both at times cumbersome and stilted and really wasn't in the mood for another. However, I could not put the Count of Monte Cristo down. This book seems freshly modern in writing style compared to these superb writers. From the beginning it is a page turner--almost Harry Potter like in its ability to have action, adventure and drama on almost every page. If you read the unabridged version you will find some allusions to morality and the wrongness of revenge which I enjoyed. But what makes the book great is the grandeur of the writing, the tightness of a wonderful plot, filled with subplots, the development of the characters, and the constant magic of combining romance and adventure. It is the ultimate romance book. If you watched the most recent version of the movie, you might be disappointed at the lack of sword fights, but there is never a lack of adventure and suspense. It might be 1400 pages long, but it never disappoints.

Ok, so the first time I read this book was when I was a senior in high school. Being the fact that I am a sucker for those love stories where the guy gets the girl in the end, it was only natural that I would enjoy this book. But the best part about it is the twist in the plot and how eventually The Count of Monte Cristo reveals himself to those who knew him before the self-appointed title.

Its a classic by Alexandre Dumas and I do believe that this is one of those books (like "Catcher in the Rye") that you just have to read in this lifetime!

Warning: Do NOT pick this book up and start it if you have something that you need to do in the next day or three. You won't be able to put the book down, or if you do, you'll move zombielike through your everyday tasks while your mind stays with the adventures of Edmund Dantes.

The Count of Monte Cristo is a delicious book, full of intrigue, great fight scenes, love, passion, and witty social satire. Dumas has a wonderful grasp of human nature and a talent for rendering all the follies of man in delightful, snappy prose. I immediately recognized people that I know (yes, even myself) in his vivid characters, which made the book all the more engaging to me.

Some people might be put off by the size of the book -- it's a pretty hefty volume -- an tempted to buy the abridged version. Don't! I've heard from people who've read both versions that the abridged version is a pathetic, washed out shadow of the full novel. At any rate, as thick and impossibly long as The Count of Monte Cristo may seem when you open it for the first time, you'll feel as though it's far too short by the time you get to the last page.

When I came across this book in my church's library a week ago, I wasn't too thrilled with it. Somehow, I ended up checking it out, but my expectations were not high. I expected either a boring, dry chronicle of Russia's history or a sappy, overdone love story. Well...a week later I can assure you that that is definitely not the case. "The Crown and the Crucible", set in the 1870's, is essentially the story of two families who represent the two basic types of people that were in Russia. There is Anna Burenin, a 17-year-old whose family has always been peasants, and there is 15-year-old Katrina Fedorcenko, whose life has been that of a high-ranking Russian aristocrat. Anna and Katrina's lives become intertwined when Anna goes to the Fedorcenko household to be a kitchen servant, and by a remarkable sequence of events, becomes Katrina's personal maid. But other things are happening as well in this novel. We see how unstable life was in Russia, and read how even Viktor Fedorcenko (Katrina's father) had to guard what he said around the tsar, whom he had known since childhood. Segei Fedorcenko, Katrina's brother, also has problem. It seems that he and Anna are beginning to fall in love...and how could ever be easy since he is an aristocrat and she is a maid? And the brutal war in Turkey over Russian territory only intensify his not-so-loyal thoughts toward the government. "The Crown and the Crucible" is a magnificently written story that expertly blends history with the lives of people. The characters themselves are wonderful, and I loved seeing the changes and growth in all of them...most notably Anna's Christian influence on Katrina. There is no character who you do not like and begin to know "personally" and nothing fake about the characterization. There are few books that are so well-written, historically accurate, and filled with characters you can't forget. I'm certainly glad I came across this book! And, of course, I desperately need the sequel now...

Once you finish reading this story of a set of young adults coming of age, you will immediately want to start on book two. You see, this is what happened to me, except I didn't know about books three through seven until I was well into book #2! I finally finished the series earlier this year and consider it to be a major accomplishment (and a very fulfilling one). I must say that after book seven I was disappointed that I will no longer be hearing of Anna Buerenin and the illustrious characters that touched her life.

This series is typically categorized by bookstores as "religious fiction". I will say that there is an underlying message about God (after all religion plays a huge part of Russian history) but it was simply woven into the story subtly and relevantly. I have read other Pella books and found this to be the case with them as well.

This book was the start of my infatuation with historical fiction and I am thankful for it. I do recommend all seven in the series - read them, although it may take a while!

The first of the seven books enticed me, as did the 2, 3, and 4. But as the origanal characters began to die off, so did my interest in the series.

The Cleveland Orchestra has long deserved a comprehensive history, and Donald Rosenberg has filled that need admirably. The great achievement of the book is to make one understand how challenging it is to *manage* a symphony orchestra, and Rosenberg's careful attention to the nuts-and-bolts business of creating, running, and improving the Cleveland Orchestra makes one aware of just how remarkable an achievement it is that Cleveland is one of the finest orchestras in the world. For example, at the time George Szell was raising the Cleveland to a position at the very top of the hierarchy of American orchestras, the CO ranked 11th in terms of pay among American orchestras.

My one disappointment with the book was that I would have liked to have seen more sustained reflection on the musical and artistic qualities that have distinguished the orchestra over its history. Much of the book is written in relatively short sections, and I began to yearn for a more continuous narrative that could cut deeper.

But make no mistake, this book is essential reading for any fan of the Cleveland Orchestra, and anyone interested in how a great cultural institution can be created.

Donald Rosenberg's loving but detailed history of the Cleveland Orchestra reads like a novel, but it is well researched. I was completely engrossed. This is not a romanticized account. The personalities involved are people full of light and shadows. Szell, for example, comes off as the brilliant artist so fixated on the musical dimension that he depreciates or is blind to other valuable dimensions of life like the beauty of human relationships. The conflicts and the joys of the orchestra are made evident. The selections of concert reviews are balanced with the good and the bad.

Those who enjoy classical music will profit from reading this wonderful account of the Cleveland Orchestra who are indeed "second to none."

Rosenberg's new volume has been joyously received and devoured by this reader. Even though the length (some 700 pages) is formidable, I was not able to leave it for long since receiving it this week. I find R's account thoroughly accurate, engaging, and stimulating. The book's account of Szell's life and Cleveland tenure finally fills the void for any such account (save a scattered few articles and Robert Marsh's volume on the Cleveland Orchestra published in 1967). For this alone, Rosenberg deserves high praise, but goes so much farther in presenting and illuminating all the significant on-stage and behind-the-scenes personalities in the life of this estimable musical institution. This is essential reading for anyone who, as I, grew up in the golden era of the Cleveland Orchestra. Bravo and thank you Don Rosenberg! ...

Barry Goldwater could have saved this country many of its fiscal problems had he been elected President. He lost though, and the government adopted huge programs that are still costing America to this day. Goldwater's brand of libertarian/conservative politics were responsible, compassionate, and not a burden on the American public. The large welfare state, wasteful education programs, inefficient social security programs, and other government controlled entities would not have been created had Goldwater's policies been accepted. He clearly explains why the federal government should stay out of the lives of the people and business, not only because it is for the good of the society, but the Constitution calls for it as well. Goldwater believed in expanding states' rights and letting liberty and freedom with responsibility be the norm in society, not a far-reaching goal. Had his ideas and precepts taken effect with his desired presidency, America would have been a far different, and better, place to live.

Published in 1960 and reproduced in the millions in 1964, when Goldwater ran for President, it is still read widely today. Some people suggest that, since the draft of the book was written by the late Brent Bozell (whose son, Brent Bozell III, is the head of the media-watchdog organization, the Media Research Center), credit for the book belongs more to Bozell than Goldwater.

        Bozell studied Goldwater's writings and listened carefully to his speeches. He wrote this book in close coordination with Goldwater Conscience of a Conservative is pure Barry Goldwater, circa 1960. Those who haven't read it should do so, not only for its masterly distillation of the principles of limited government, but also to gain an insight into Goldwater's great impact on politics in America. This book didn't win the 1964 election for Sen. Goldwater, but it launched the political education of many grassroots activists who eventually nominated and elected Ronald Reagan.

No self-respecting conservative should be without this book. Goldwater lays out the seminal argument for American conservatism. This book became the underground college book of the early sixties, and no doubt is one of the most influential political works of the 20th Century. If you're a conservative today, you have Goldwater to thank for it.