Customer Reviews:
Let's Propose a Toast to Donald J. Meyer..........2005-02-15
...for this fund of invaluable information. I highly recommend this book along with Meyer's other stellar gem, "Views From Our Shoes," which addresses the needs siblings of people with special needs have.
This book lends the voice of hope, confidence and clarity to the experiences many people whose siblings with special needs have. It not only sheds light on many questions that often crop up, it also provides a safe forum to explore any and all sibling related issues.
I like the way Meyer respects his readers' intelligence. It is so critical, in fact paramount for people to be informed about the special needs their siblings have. That is a good way to foster honest relationships and inclusion within the family. That also promotes acceptance of the members who have special needs.
Meyer's book serves as a medical, legal and educational advocate. It provides much needed information about services in these areas. I especially liked the part where people are strongly encouraged and rightfully so to make provisions for their children with special needs and to keep the other children without special needs informed of these decisions. People with special needs are vital members of their respective families and each person impacts upon the lives of others. That is still another reason why it is so crucial to have frank, open discussions with all the family members so as to keep the lines of communication open and to prevent secrets and fear. The fear of the unknown and the lack of communication causes problems and helps no one.
I wish this book had existed a generation ago! I can't recommend it highly enough and it is a book for everybody, parents; all children; educators; medical professionals and the world at large. I love this book!
Siblings need peer support and information!.......2000-01-04
I am a Japanese and I am a "sibling."
I encountered this book and Don Meyer's Sibling Support Project in October of 1997. At that time, I was struggling to persuade the staff of a (sibling) group that support for siblings was as important as support for people with special needs. In my view this book gave me confidence and shed light on my road to start a new sibling support group.
Some uncommon feelings, opportunities and concerns that siblings might have are described in Chapter 1. Medical knowledge of various disabilities are written about in Chapters 2-6. Since siblings are not often informed about their siblings' disabilities by anyone, it could cause more concern; this book's objective is very important. You can also get basic knowledge of laws, programs, and services for persons with disabilities and their families in the U.S., in Chapter 7. In Chapter 8, an uncommon concern is discussed: where will my sister (brother) live when she (he) grows up. The authors continues by stressing the fact that parents should tell their plans for their disabled children to their "normal" children, and offers suggestions for doing this.
Since this book is intended for young siblings, it is easy for me to read it as a foreigner. Reading Chapter 1, tears welled up in my eyes. I could relate to many things: friends, unselfishness, accepting differences, guilt, overinvolvement, understanding, embarrassment, loss, maturity, worry and loneliness. I wish I could have read it in Japanese when I was a child ! I strongly recommend young and adult siblings, parents and service providers to read this book all over the world, because siblings need peer support and information in a straightforward manner.
Book Description
When the UN called for the end of the British mandate and the partition of Palestine into two independent states, the RAF found itself under attack from both sides. Tracing the development of hostilities in the Middle East, this book covers the period from the establishment of the first proper Israeli Air Force in 1948 to the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982. Israel's War of Independence against its Arab neighbours, the inevitable 'round two', the Suez Crisis of 1956, the Six Day War of 1967, the Yom Kippur wars of 1973 and the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982 are all detailed in this fascinating chronicle of war in the Middle East.
Customer Reviews:
Arab-Israeli Air Wars.......2007-01-12
An excellent review of the actual air-war. It is a pity that it wasn't printed in larger type. The additional charge would have been well worth it. I don't believe there is another book with as good information.
Robert X. Leeds
Review on Arab-Israeli Air Wars 1947-1982 (Osprey Combat Aircraft 23).......2006-11-06
This covers exactly what it's title describes. The author takes an indepth look at the conflicts surrounding Israel's creation and up to the early 1980's. A must have for any IAF/IDF or military aviation enthusiast.
One-sided and mis-titled.......2004-11-28
As other reviewers have pointed out, this book presents the Israeli side only. There are only two pictures of Arab aircraft and in both cases they are shown being shot down. I felt duped by buying this book (it was shrink wrapped in the store), so I wrote to Osprey about how bad it was. They were sympathetic to my dislike of the book.
the maps are absolutely fake!.......2003-10-20
though the book is interesting, it's obvius that is biased far beyond the truth. there are certain things that must be respected if someone wants to talk about history. sadly, the author didn't do that, and presents maps of the partition of Palestine wich are not only inaccurate, but fake and aimed to change the past. that way, he crossed the line that makes the diference betwen history and propaganda.
one sided but good.......2002-07-28
I admit my experience with Osprey aviation titles is slim. This volume is entitled " Arab-Israeli "; in reality it deals with the Israeli side. That being said, it is a worthwhile book. The anecdotal quotes are illuminating. Lush sideviews are included for most of the aircraft mentioned. If, however, you are looking for coverage of the Arab air forces, I would highly recommend the Squadron title " Arab Air Forces " by Charles Stafrace. This title covers the development of Arab air power from their earliest appearences and also has great artwork. Put these two titles together and you will get a much more balanced picture of Middle Eastern air campaigns.
Book Description
Barbary Coast pirates—the Saraceni—are capturing slaves and terrorizing fishing villages along the coast of Sicily. Ramage and his crew are sent to track them down before they can devastate another town.
Customer Reviews:
Unbelievable Series!!!.......2002-12-06
I wish Dudley pope were still alive and publishing more tales of lord Ramage. I'm on book 17 of 18 and they've all been sleep-stoppers for me. These books follow the career of a bright young lieutenant as he rises in ranks of the English navy between the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. He's very hard on the french and Spanish navies. If you are French or Spanish, you might be offended. I'm not sure women will enjoy these books as much as men, since there are a few cliche seens involving the hero and beautiful women that make the novels seem somewhat chauvinistic. However, the writing is superb, the ideas are original, and the real joy is in trying to figure out how Ramage will accomplish unbelievable missions and then seeing how your ideas, never quite measure up to his performance. I can't do these books justice. Just see for yourself.
Book Description
During the crusades, Ethiopians, Jews, Muslims, and Mongols were branded enemies of the Christian majority. Illustrated with strikingly imaginative and still disturbing images, this book reveals the outrageously pejorative ways these rejected social groups were represented--often as monsters, demons, or freaks of nature. Such monstrous images of non-Christians were not rare displays but a routine aspect of medieval public and private life. These images, which reached a broad and socially varied audience across western Europe, appeared in virtually all artistic media, including illuminated manuscripts, stained glass, sculpture, metalwork, and tapestry.
Debra Higgs Strickland introduces and decodes images of the "monstrous races," from demonlike Jews and man-eating Tartars to Saracens with dog heads or animal bodies. Strickland traces the origins of the negative pictorial code used to portray monsters, demons, and non-Christian peoples to pseudoscientific theories of astrology, climate, and physiognomy, some dating back to classical times. She also considers the code in light of contemporary Christian eschatological beliefs and concepts of monstrosity and rejection.
This is the first study to situate representations of the enemies of medieval Christendom within the broader cultural context of literature, theology, and politics. It is also the first to explore the elements of that imagery as a code and to elucidate the artistic means by which boundaries were effectively blurred between imaginary monsters and rejected social groups.
Book Description
In the first century of Islam, most of the former Christian Roman Empire, from Syria to Spain, was brought under Muslim control in a conquest of unprecedented proportions. Confronted by the world of Islam, countless medieval Christians experienced a profound ambivalence, awed by its opulence, they were also troubled by its rival claims to the spiritual inheritance of Abraham and Jesus and humiliated by its social subjugation of non-Muslim minorities. Some converted. Others took up arms. Still others, the subjects of John Tolan's study of anti-Muslim polemics in medieval Europe, undertook to attack Islam and its most vivid avatar, the saracen, with words.
In an effort to make sense of God's apparent abandonment of Christendom in favor of a dynamic and expanding Muslim civilization, European writers distorted the teachings of Islam and caricatured its believers in a variety of ways. What ideological purposes did these portrayals serve? And how, in turn, did Muslims view Christianity? Feelings of rivalry, contempt, and superiority existed on both sides, tinged or tempered at times with feelings of doubt, inferiority, curiosity, or admiration. Tolan shows how Christian responses to Islam changed from the seventh to thirteenth centuries, through fast-charging crusades and spirit-crushing defeats, crystallizing into polemical images later drawn upon by Western authors in the fourteenth to twentieth centuries. Saracens explores the social and ideological uses of contempt, explaining how the denigration of the other can be used to defend one's own intellectual construction of the world.
Customer Reviews:
hi dad.......2002-12-20
My dad wrote this book that is why it is so great
Impeccable Research, But At Times Slanted.......2002-07-09
The role of the Saracen(Arab) in literature has been a perennial theme of medieval studies and culture, and particularly in the means by which alterity(or Otherness) is constructed and perceived. In Tolan's book, Tolan reveals a range of medieval attitudes towards the Saracen as the "Other", whether a demonized Other in the eyes of the Latin West, an honourable Other who possesses immense valour and integrity of character in the eyes of Eastern Monophysites at quarrel with the Roman Catholic Church, or a stubborn and illogical Other which would not convert to Christianity given the polemical and apologetical tools harnessed against the Islam faith. It is in this range of medieval attitudes towards the Saracen as "Other" that modern issues like the status of dispossession faced by Arabs in the modern Western world and the heightened Christian-Muslim debates after September 11 in USA find their ideological and historical roots.
Tolan's research is impeccable in its consideration of various sources ranging from texts as obscure as the Apocalypse of Pseudo-Methodius to the writings of John of Damascus, from Isidore of Seville's anti-Jewish and Christian-eschatological discourses to Ramon Llul's "A Debate between Three Wise Men", from Aquinas' Dominican discourses to Spanish-Castilian historical sources and hagiographies and Hrotswitha of Gandersheim. One point that might be noticeable in his writing is however a notable contempt for Christendom in the Middle Ages which he actually associates with modern twentieth century Christianity after the 17th century Reformation(catalyzed through Luther, Calvin and Zwingli and the Anabaptist Revolt against church-state structures). This is probably a wrong-headed move in that not only does it appear to be highly ecumenical in its thrust, but that it appears to ignore the historical differences between modern Christianity and medieval Christendom. At times, when using the Dominicans and Franciscans or such to prove how medieval Christians use the Bible as a case for proving first and foremost the nature of Islam as a "heresy" in medieval Christian terms, he is conveying another impression of dislike of modern day Christianity that appears to be more subjective than objectively balanced and weighed out.
I would recommend this book for those who are seriously interested in knowing how the configuration of the Saracen as the "Other" in literature of the Christian West and also the East evolved over the centuries from the earlier part of the Middle Ages right through to the High Middle Ages and then 14th century Europe. It does seem however at times, due to the highly emotive content that has a chance to appear every once in a while in some of the chapters, readers should take extra caution and weigh what Tolan says with a grain of salt and some serious reason.
Customer Reviews:
Not What I Expected.......2007-10-05
START OF BACK COVER TEXT - Ancient curses, modern day villains, and a most intriguing woman who keeps appearing when least expected and then...disappearing.
Archeologist Valerie Foret has spent a year searching for a tomb in the Egyptian desert--a labor broken only by high risk trysts with a powerful man's wife. When she finally makes the discovery of a lifetime, she is set upon by jealous rivals and religious fanatics. Worse, she is drawn into the depths of the desert by forces that offer knowledge of vast mysteries and at the same time threaten to destroy everything she knows. For what she's found is a glimpse into the hereafter, and it's nothing like it's supposed to be.
Brilliant scientist that she is, she has loved most unwisely and learned what she does not want to know. Follow her adventures through modern and ancient Egypt, through this world and the next, with Book One of the Ibis Prophecy. - END OF BACK COVER TEXT
I was really looking forward to reading `100th Generation,' mostly because it is set in Egypt and is published by Bold Strokes Books. The book description was intriguing and I was anxious to read this first novel by author Justine Saracen. However, the book was nothing like I expected.
Being published by BSB, I was expecting a lesbian romance, but this book is nothing of the sort. Don't get me wrong, the main character is a lesbian. She also has an illicit affair with an Egyptian dignitary's wife, but this is hardly a romance and the affair is merely an afterthought. Once I got past that fact, I enjoyed the book. Saracen has a great imagination and tells a really good story. The strong leading character - Valerie Foret - along with an interesting supporting cast, colorful `ghosts' and a mystical setting make this an enjoyable read.
I'm not sure I'll read the sequel, `Vulture's Kiss,' but am glad I took the time to read this one. If you're into archaeology, science, and ghosts, take a chance.
Eros and Science.......2007-04-12
The novel takes us on an adventurous journey through Egypt and is a quest into it's pantheon. We follow the protagonist Valerie as she wanders through the desert of human love and strive. She is an archeologist and in her Eros and Science entwine to unravel the ancient prophecy.
Like Prometheus she pays the price, and it is death that gives her the insight which frees her - and our mind - from religious prejudice and illusion. The book argues for tolerance and against militant monotheism.
It is also a story of true love, with a modern version of the Orpheus myth, except, in this case, not only does Orpheus prefer men in the end, but also Euridice finds her love supreme in the arms and ageless eyes of Nekhbet the Vulture-goddess...
It would be easy to make a movie à la Indiana Jones out of this novel, but the content is so rich that I hope somebody turns it into an opera.
It could be the perfect libretto...
Interesting yarn and not what I expected.......2007-03-17
For some reason I thought this was going to be an Indiana Jones type story with women as both heroes and lots of passionate romance in exotic locations.
Instead I was treated to the story of thirty-something archeologist Valerie Foret during a time in her life when every facet is in flux and all tumultuous. There is so much going on in the story and I hesitate to give any of the plot away so I appended the summary from the publisher's website.
I have always loved books set in Egypt from Victoria Holt and Phyllis Whitney to Dorothy Eden and Joyce Verrette. I found this exceptional modern day novel a nice read chock full of information and interesting characters.
I especially liked how Valerie used her intellect to circumvent the bad guys to ensure the integrity of the artifacts and the dig itself. I enjoyed how the author was able to ground the speculative aspects of the story in the real world and not make it an over the top story more Sci-Fi than fiction.
Our book club chose this title as our book of the week and all were enthusiastic in their comments with many very impressed as to the similar aspects of ancient and modern religions.
We are looking forward to The Ibis Prophecy: Book Two Vulture's Kiss (August 2007)
From the publisher's website - Ancient curses, modern day villains, and a most intriguing woman who keeps appearing when least expected and then...disappearing.
Archeologist Valerie Foret has spent a year searching for a tomb in the Egyptian desert--a labor broken only by high risk trysts with a powerful man's wife. When she finally makes the discovery of a lifetime, she is set upon by jealous rivals and religious fanatics. Worse, she is drawn into the depths of the desert by forces that offer knowledge of vast mysteries and at the same time threaten to destroy everything she knows. For what she's found is a glimpse into the hereafter, and it's nothing like it's supposed to be.
Brilliant scientist that she is, she has loved most unwisely and learned what she does not want to know. Follow her adventures through modern and ancient Egypt, through this world and the next, with Book One of the Ibis Prophecy.
Justine Saracen is something of an "old hand," having traveled to the dense streets and markets of much of the Arab world, in Egypt, Morocco, and the West Bank. After two trips to the Ptolemaic temples along the Nile, however, she lost her heart to the desert and its ancient cultures. Together with her Egyptologist partner, she became immersed in the colorful theology that "lives" in the temples and tombs of Egypt. Speculation on how much fun it would be to throw together the Egyptian gods and the modern world, and to put a lesbian at the center of it all, led to the Ibis Prophecy books. The first novel of the series, The 100th Generation, was a finalist in the Queerlit Competition
Hokie, but still enjoyable.......2006-09-07
Valerie Foret is this novel's star. She's an archeologist and doesn't always follow the rules.
She and her crew have found an unknown tomb and have razed the mummy. Along comes Valerie's power hungry boss to spoil everything. He's going to steal her show and it appears some of the items they've been uncovering have found their way into personal collections rather than remaining with artifacts or going to the museum.
The mummy has two spirits a Ka and Ra. It's strange for everyone to be talking to the two spirits and a predetermined event to be reenacted during this century.
Totally sci-fi and enjoyable.
First well written, clever and learned adventure story in a long time! .......2006-08-09
For all of you out there who have enjoyed Indiana Jones, Lara Croft or even the Da Vinci Code... this is a pure treasure and MUCH better written! The archaeology and Egyptology facts are all well researched, and at the same time, it does not feel like a text book. This is a real page turner, in which the character happens to be a lesbian. The main theme, thankfully, is not the character's sexual life (like TOO many novels of the genre), but the exciting discovery of great mysteries spanning millennia, from ancient Egypt to modern days.
I personally liked this because it is well-written, with real literary style, exciting and the well developped main character is an intelligent woman, who sets her far apart from Lara Croft.
Imagine this novel as an actually well-written Da Vinci Code (for the mystery part - not the same theme, though!), where the female character is not a clueless follower of the male lead.
Average customer rating:
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The Knights of Dark Renown
Manufacturer: Ballantine
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 0345021045 |
Product Description
Mass market paperback by Ballantine, 1971. Cover art by Gino D'Achille. He was Reynald of Chatillion. He had killed more than 70 Moslems, men, women,and children. Known to his friends as Prince Reynald, he was known to the Saracens as the Red Wolf of the Desert, the most dangerous man in Palestine. Historical ficion set in the time of the Crusades. 305 pp
Book Description
Salah al Din Yusif ibn Ayyub, known to his Muslim contemporaries as al Nasi, 'The Victorious', and to an admiring Europe as Saladin, is the most famous single figure in the history of the Crusades, being even better known outside the English-speaking world than his Christian foe Richard the Lionheart. Traditionally portrayed as a quiet, deeply religious and even humble man, Saladin was a typical product of his day and his culture. This title shows how the societies and military systems that he and his successors led from defeat to eventual triumph were far more sophisticated than is generally realised, and brings vividly to life the history, organisation, arms and armour of Saladin and the Saracens.
Customer Reviews:
Detailed source.......2007-06-22
A very detailed source on the Islamic armies of the Second and Third Crusades, focusing on the Ayyubids of Salah al-Din but also examining the Fatimids, the Seljuks, and other Turkish factions. Helps dispel some myths and stereotypes about medieval Eastern warfare and shows how, in many respects it was connected to that of Europe.
Well written but biased.......2003-11-28
Saladin and the Saracens is a solid enough effort. Written by Osprey's in-house muslim apologist, David Nicolle, it gives a decent enough portrayal of Saladin and the armies he led during the Crusading era. It concentrates primarily on the Fatimid and Ayyubids and Abbasid dynasties of the moslem middle east. A thumbnail sketch of the Mamelukes is also thrown in for good measure.
As with most Osprey titles it is only meant to be used as a starting point, a general overview from which more serious study can then be undertaken.
The prints are certainly of high quality, much, much better than some of Osprey's other crusader era titles.
Again, as a jumping off point this book is a decent enough effort.
Nice Work.......2002-12-02
Part of the Osprey's series covering various troops and soldiers from important historical periods, this book takes a (very) brief look at the armies in the Middle East during the time of the Crusades. Over all, its a short, somewhat general read. The emphasis is, of course, on Middle Eastern soldiers, so much of it is devoted to Saladin and the Arab and Kurdish armies, but there is also some stuff on the tribal Turks and the Armenians and Cilicians, which I found interesting. Information is given on all the troops, how they fought, what sort of arms and armor they used, where they came from and so forth. Some things were skipped over, or left out entirely, but considering the limited scope of this book, that can be forgivven. Personally, I was amazed by how much they did manage to fit in at any rate! Of particular interest are the wonderful color plates, which go into magnificent details on specific troops and their equipment.
Its a pretty decent book. Not too detailed, perhaps, but it has some excellent visuals and can easily put the Crusades into context and sum things up. If this time period interests you, then by all means look into this book.
The Army of Shalahuddin was not presented enough.......2000-05-03
The Saracens were not the whole picture of Shalahuddin's army. I only wished that western 'scholars' would start using Arabic grammar for their names in islamic history for the sake of respect of others.
I found that his 'fire-brigade' that harrassed King Guy in the famous Battle of Hattin was not even presented. even his legendary 'light-cavalry' was not there either. Although, the uses of darts, short arrows, were there excellently enough.
I was a little bit disappointed with this work, that's something unusual from david Nicolle. Fortunately I found several new accounts from the Saracens which did not all campaigned with Shalahuddin.
Book Description
1868. This work is comprised of the lives of Mohammed and his successors, to the death of Abdalmelik, the Eleventh Caliph, with an account of their more remarkable battles, sieges, revolts, etc. collected from authentic sources, especially Arabic manuscripts. Contents: Life of Mohammed; Abubeker; Omar I; Othman; Ali; Hasan; Dynasty of the Ommiades; Moawiyah I; Yezid I; Moawiyah II; Merwan I; Abdalmelik.
Product Description
This Elibron Classics book is a facsimile reprint of a 1899 edition by Macmillan and Co., Ltd., London.
Average customer rating:
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Border Country: Photographs from the Quentico-Superior Wilderness
Manufacturer: Blacklock Nature Photography
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