Book Description
Plutarch's Lives, written at the beginning of the second century A.D., is a brilliant social history of the ancient world by one of the greatest biographers and moralists of all time. In what is by far his most famous and influential work, Plutarch reveals the character and personality of his subjects and how they led ultimately to tragedy or victory. Richly anecdotal and full of detail, Volume I contains profiles and comparisons of Romulus and Theseus, Numa and Lycurgus, Fabius and Pericles, and many more powerful figures of ancient Greece and Rome.
The present translation, originally published in 1683 in conjunction with a life of Plutarch by John Dryden, was revised in 1864 by the poet and scholar Arthur Hugh Clough, whose notes and preface are also included in this edition.
Customer Reviews:
A Timeless Classic By One Of The Best Biographers In History.......2005-08-10
Plutarch in his "Lives Of The Noble Grecians And Romans" written around 100 C.E., sheds new light on Greek and Roman history from their Bronze Age beginnings, shrouded in myth, down through Alexander and late Republican Rome. Plutarch is the lens that we use today to view the Greco-Roman past; his work has shaped our perceptions of that world for 2,000 years. Plutarch writes of the rise of Roman Empire while Gibbon uses his scholarship to advance the story to write about its decline. He was a proud Greek that was equally effected by Roman culture, a Delphic priest, a leading Platonist, a moralist, educator and philosopher with a deep commitment as a first rate writer. Being a Roman citizen, Plutarch was afforded the opportunity to become an intimate friend to prominent Roman citizens and a member of the literary elite in the court of Emperor Trajan.
Plutarch's influence and enormous popularity during and after the Renaissance is legendary among classicist. Plutarch's "Lives", served as the sourcebook for Shakespeare's Roman Plays "Julius Caesar", "Antony and Cleopatra" and "Coriolanus". By the way Plutarch is even the only contemporary source of all the biographical information on Cleopatra, whom he writes about in his biographies of Julius Caesar, Mark Antony and Octavian. Thomas Jefferson wrote to his nephew that there were three books every gentleman had to have familiarity with; Plutarch's "Lives", Livy's "History of Rome" and Virgil's Aeneid. In fact all the founding fathers of note had read Plutarch and learned much from his fifty biographies of noble men of Greece and Rome. When Hamilton, Jay and Madison write "The Federalist Papers" they use many examples of good and bad leadership traits that they read in Plutarch's work. His biographies are a great study in human character and what motivates leaders to decide and act the way they do, this masterpiece has proven to be still prescient today.
If you are truly interested in a classical education, put this book on the top of your list! I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in political philosophy, and history.
An Overlooked Classic.......2005-03-10
This is one of the most incredible pieces of literature in human history, yet is one of the most often overlooked.
Plutarch is not as much a historian as he is a moralist, and it is his examination of the lives of some of the most important historical figures of the ancient world for their moral roots that is so incredibly engaging.
Oddly enough, I was first introduced to the works of Plutarch through the fictional novels of Louis L'Amour, who often has one charcter encouraging another to read various classical authors.
For a interesting peek at the lives and morals of some of history's most intriguing figures, Plutarch is a great place to begin.
A book every man should read.......2003-11-13
Plutarchs historic portrayals of the lives of the gretest men in BCE western history, is truly inspiring. From the passionate warrior kings Alexander the Great and Julius Ceasar to the Athenean states men Dion and Draco, the list goes on, each text providing an insight to lives that were lived to the fullest potential.
Invaluable source and historical document........2003-05-06
After having read McCullogh's splendid series on Rome, I turned to this fat, dense book with great expectations. I was not disappointed: the stories are endlessly fascinating, from their basic details on ancient history to the bizarre asides that reveal the pre-Christianised mind-set of the author.
Like all great books, this one can be read on innumerable levels. First, there is the moralising philosophy that is perhaps the principal purpose of the author to advance - each life holds lessons on proper conduct of great and notorious leaders alike. You get Caesar, Perikles, and Alcibiades, and scores of others who are compared and contrasted. Second, there is the content. Plutarch is an invaluable source of data for historians and the curious. Third, there is the reflection of religious and other beliefs of the 1C AD: oracles and omens are respected as are the classical gods. For example, while in Greece, Sulla is reported as having found a satyr, which he attempted unsuccesfully to question for its auguring abilities during his miltary campaign in Greece! It is a wonderful window into the mystery of life and human belief systems. That being said, Plutarch is skeptical of these occurances and both questions their relevance and shows how some shrewd leaders, like Sertorious with his white fawn in Spain, used them to great advantage.
Finally, this is a document that was used for nearly 2000 years in schools as a vital part of classical education - the well-bred person knew all these personalities and stories, which intimately informed their vocabulary and literary references until the beginning of the 20C. That in itself is a wonderful view into what was on people's minds and how they conceived things over the ages. As is well known, Plutarch is the principal source of many of Shakespeare's plays, such as Coriolanus and Julius Caesar. But it was also the source of the now obscure fascination with the rivalry of Marius and Sulla, as depicted in paintings and poetry that we still easily encounter if we are at all interested in art. Thus, this is essential reading for aspiring pedants (like me).
Of course, there are plenty of flaws in the work. It assumes an understanding of much historical detail, and the cases in which I lacked it hugely lessened my enjoyment. At over 320 years old, the translation is also dated and the prose somewhat stilted, and so it took me 300 pages to get used to it. Moreover, strictly speaking, there are many inaccuracies, of which the reader must beware.
Warmly recommended as a great and frequently entertaining historical document.
Get this edition........2002-09-29
Plutarch's history isn't always the most accurate -- he clashes with Arrian and Quintus Curtius on Alexander, for example -- but it sure is a lot of fun...Plutarch weaves in lots of interesting little anecdotes and his narrative arcs are always complete without being too long. It's also great for leisurely reading; there are so many Lives, you can pick one up on any rainy afternoon, long car drive, or what have you, and don't even need to know a whole lot of context to get the gist of what's going on. For fans of history and biography, or just stories in general, this is as good as it gets.
I recommend the Modern Library edition because it's complete (with the two volumes, that is) and because the Dryden translation is very colorful even though it's old-school -- you're bound to pick up a lot of cool vocabulary. Also, don't quite know how to put it, but his translation just seems more...classic. It fits, get it.
Book Description
In the first months of 1943, the SS-Panzer-Grenadier-Division "Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler" was involved in all phases of the series of operations in the complex Kharkov campaign. During the initial defensive fighting, the division held its sector for two weeks against the full weight of the Soviet 3rd Tank Army, a remarkable feat in itself. After the city fell, "Leibstandarte" withdrew to a new defensive position and protected the important supply rail center at Krasnograd while the "Das Reich" and "Totenkopf" divisions executed the first phase of the counterattack. When the 3rd Tank Army began its move south to block the advance of these two SS divisions "Leibstandarte" carried out raids and interdictory strikes that disrupted the Soviet realignment and weakened the army¹s fighting power.
Once having rejoined the SS-Panzerkorps, after taking part in the destruction of the Kegitschevka pocket, "Leibstandarte" led the way back to the city of Kharkov. Dynamic young officers such as Kurt Meyer, Max Wunsche and Jochen Peiper personally led attack columns that struck deep into the city, eventually forcing the Russian troops to abandon Kharkov.
When "Leibstandarte's" role in each phase of Manstein¹s Kharkov counterattack is taken into consideration it is clear why its men, after enduring the losses necessary to retake the city¹s blood stained streets and ruined buildings, renamed the enormous Red Square as "Platz der Leibstandarte." Beautifully reproduced wartime photos, and compelling captions by author George Nipe illustrate in incredible detail the men, equipment, weapons, and vehicles used in this decisive Eastern Front battle.
Customer Reviews:
No regrets here, must have history for students of the Waffen SS........2007-06-20
This is an outstanding volume and the quality of the book is top drawer. This is a photo history of the Kharkov battle, not a text-filled boring analysis. All of the photos used come from SS war correspondents, so some of them have been seen before in other books, but as someone already stated, here they are laid out in sequence, in the order in which the photographers took them - something I've not seen before.
The photos and the events they portray are well captioned, and each aspect of the battle, start to finish, is laid out quite well through these invaluable photos.
There are also very good short biographies of the commanders of the LSSAH, and while I didn't really care for the artwork of these commanders (a bit too "modern" looking for me), overall, it is a superb book.
If you are a student of the tactics or personalities of the Waffen SS, this is a must-have book. Well worth the price.
An amazing photographic archive .......2007-01-10
This book was one of my favorites - an incredible photographic archive of the 1st SS "Liebstandarte" division in action during the pivotal Kharkov battles in 1943. Many of the photos have not been previously published and are of a very high quality. I strongly recommend this book for anyone interested in the Eastern Front!
couldn`t be better.......2006-11-04
superb pix of AFV`s & frontschwine, good maps which show the battles rolling back & forth, the captions are paragraph length with useful info. If you know nothing about this battle , you`ll get a lot from the book. If you`re East-Front-Avid, you may have seen some[10%] of the pix elsewhere, but you`ll still get a lot of detail from the captions.
Outstanding Photo History.......2006-01-07
Rare is the book that provides pictures that are actually related to the text provided. Even rarer still are pictures that capture in sequence the entire event. Such is the case with this volume. From start to finish the reader is presented with a sequence of photographs that literally document aspects of the complete campaign for Kharkov in the winter of 1943.
The pictures are also notable for depictions of many well-known and other lesser known figures of the Leibstandarte, Das Reich, and Totenkopf divisions. Of particular interest are those photos showing a young Jochen Peiper in action. This photographic volume also has a remarkable series of photos showing the fate of a Soviet horse drawn column as it is overtaken by Peiper's Kampfgruppe. Not a happy ending to be certain, but a very real glimpse into the realities of combat on the Eastern Front. In fact, one must wonder how similar the context of the events that would occur at Malmedy over a year later, when an American column would be overtaken by another of Peiper's Kampfgruppes. Certainly, the pictures in this book show a no quarter given attitude for the advancing German kampfgruppe.
For the generalist, this volume will be an interesting look at German formations in action. However, for the serious historian, the pictures clearly show the players, weather, terrain, and operational activities of the Waffen SS all at a given place and point in time.
This book is a must for any serious library on German arms or the Waffen SS in particular.
Great Photo Book.......2003-02-20
Fabulous photos for students of the Eastern Front, Waffen-SS and modelers. What I found most interesting were the amounts of obsolete equipment (ie: Mk III tanks) used by this elite division. This certainly puts into question the accepted theory that the Waffen-SS received the latest equipment in quanity at the expense of the Heer (army). If this is the case, then it supports the notion that the men of the Waffen-SS were indeed superior soldiers.
Book Description
From the "taming of the West" to the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, the portrayal of the past has become a battleground at the heart of American politics. What kind of history Americans should read, see, or fund is no longer merely a matter of professional interest to teachers, historians, and museum curators. Everywhere now, history is increasingly being held hostage, but to what end and why? In History Wars, eight prominent historians consider the angry swirl of emotions that now surrounds public memory. Included are trenchant essays by Paul Boyer, John W. Dower, Tom Engelhardt, Richard H. Kohn, Edward Linenthal, Micahel S. Sherry, Marilyn B. Young, and Mike Wallace.
Customer Reviews:
History is less about the past but more about the present........2004-02-22
History Wars: The Enola gay and other Battles for the American Past is an extremely thought provoking book. Contained herein are eight essays that explore various issues concerning the fiasco that surrounded the attempt by the Smithsonian to reflect on the dropping of the bomb. History Wars brings up concerns not just about how World War II ended but more importantly how we as liberal and democratic societies confront issues with political implications.
Here are the facts of the matter: The National Air and Space Museum (NASM), in the early nineties, decided to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the conclusion of World War II by working the exhibit around the Enola Gay, the now infamous B-29 used to drop the bomb on Hiroshima. The NASM (which is really part of the Smithsonian Institutions) suddenly finds itself in the middle of a firestorm of controversy. Reading the essays in History Wars one gets the impression that the real battle was one fought by historians and concerned citizens who feared that nothing less than the American past was at stake. With an exhibit title like: The Crossroads: The end of World War II, the Atomic Bomb, and the Origins of the Cold War, the exhibit was ripe for controversy. Asking some rather pointed questions about the bomb and whether or not it really did save lives and if it was the only solution to ending the war (as in Did the Truman Administration have any other options, etc.?) is starting to come a little bit too close to home. One really needs to ask, was the exhibit a commemoration or a celebration? A commemoration is really something or somewhat reflective and includes others. Conversely, a celebration is a process of self-aggrandizement, which really means "I."
Air Force Association (AFA) together with the House of Representatives effectively called for a suspension of what was seen as 'revisionism." No doubt that World War II was "the greatest military victory in U.S. history" (2-3). However, what is key to point out is that information comes to light after years of being in the dark and it is our responsibility as good citizens to bring the truth to the surface. In effect, we are all "revisionists." Linenthal writes: "For Representative Sam Johnson, a Republican from Texas and air force veteran who was appointed to the Smithsonian board of Regents by new Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, the outpouring of anger at the Smithsonian indicated that "people" were taking history from elites (as code word for the Intelligentsia - addition mine). "We've got to get patriotism back into the Smithsonian," he declared. "We want the Smithsonian to reflect real America and not something that a historian dreamed up"" (59). It needs to be made clear that being self reflective and holding the U.S. accountable for actions in the war does not detract from the bravery of the soldiers that fought the war. However, in an effort to prevent wars in the future, to seek different alternatives, we need to be self-reflective of the past - which is what I think Linenthal and Engelhardt are trying to do in this book. We really need to be reflective of the narratives that inform our actions, our nationalism. In History Wars, Linenthal, et al. do nothing short of re-examining our master narratives.
In History Wars we read that criticism was direct towards the NASM focused on them making the exhibit too sympathetic to the Japanese victims of the bomb. Doing so problematizes the narrative that World War II was a "good war." The exhibit as well as the script that went along with it was making the U.S. look like the aggressors and Japan and the Japanese the victims. The War, as 'common-sense' understanding has it, point to America entering the war to protect itself against Japanese aggression. In an interchange of narratives, both governments (mind you all Nationalistic governments do this) posture themselves as victim and the "Other" as villain. Historians, quite fittingly argue, that what they observed was a successful movement by powerful sections of American society to stifle problematizing of "cherished national narratives" (5). As Michael Kammen, president of the Organization of American Historians and member of the Smithsonian Council posits: "...Historians become controversial when they do not perpetuate myths, when they do not transmit the received and conventional wisdom, when they challenge the comforting presence of a stabilized past" (60). The reality of what went on in the air and on the ground is the same - no argument there. Moreover, as good or bad as any war can be the truth on the ground is revealed in pictures and the archive that has spawned around Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The argument about perception is proof positive that "history" is less about the past but more about the present and the future. In the end, all eight writers saw the "mini" version of the exhibit was lost opportunity to be self-reflective of a passing of one age and the dawning of another.
Miguel Llora
An excellent example of Politically Correct gibberish........2001-11-27
This book is an excellent example of Politically Correct elitist nonsense. From the PC arrogance such as not just displaying the Enola Gay because the "public did not have an adequate understanding with which to view it" to the ludicrous "connection" of American "homophobia" due the word "Gay" in Enola Gay (!!) to the tie-in with "Rambo" movies and our Vietnam experinces, this book trots out every morally bankrupt Leftist cliche that ever existed, and then some. However, it is an EXCELLENT book as typical of the arrogant PC/leftist mind set and ability to ignore reality.
Excellent analysis of the Atomic bomb and modern society.......1999-04-20
A revealing analysis of the political and historical conflicts revolving around the 1995 Smithsonian Air and Space exhibit on the Enola Gay and Post-War America. Through insightful disection of both sides of the Enola Gay exhibit and of post-war America, Linenthal and Engelhardt make an interesting modern dilemma into a more interesting read. Recommended to anyone who has an interest in the Cold War and of the effects of the atomic bombings of Nagasaki and Hiroshima on American and Japanese civilizations.
Customer Reviews:
A beautiful picture book of the solar system........1998-10-20
Easy to read and even easier to look at, this little book is a giant. The photos are beautiful and their full-bleed format makes them look like little windows to the universe. If it's photos of the solar system you want, this book is the perfect place to start.
Book Description
Kaboom! About 4.6 billion years ago, a swirling gas cloud comprised of carbon dust, hydrogen, helium, water and ice collapsed under its own gravity, creating an enormous explosion the — a big bang, so to speak. As it contracted, the solar system we know today began to take shape. In The Solar System, readers journey back billions of years, to witness the birth of the planets, stars, and more. This insightful book features the following.
• The celestial bodies that make up our fascinating solar system are explored with a team of scientists and experts .
• This book offers provocative research of the nine major planets, their largest moons, famous comets and asteroids, and illuminates the amazing details of their creation, development and discovery.
• Unique spreads contain detailed descriptions, important data tables, intriguing graphics and lavish artworks of the planets, moons and other key celestial bodies.
• Interesting speculation is discussed about the possibility one day — perhaps in the year 2515 — of people inhabiting the moon.
• Fascinating information and more than 500 spectacular color illustrations and photographs add to this insightful book.
Average customer rating:
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The Outer Planets and their Moons: Comparative Studies of the Outer Planets prior to the Exploration of the Saturn System by Cassini-Huygens (Space Sciences Series of ISSI)
Manufacturer: Springer
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ASIN: 1402033621 |
Book Description
This volume gives an integrated summary of the science related to the four giant planets in our solar system. It is the result of an ISSI workshop on "A comparative study of the outer planets before the exploration of Saturn by Cassini-Huygens" which was held at ISSI in Bern on January 12-16, 2004. Representatives of several scientific communities, such as planetary scientists, astronomers, space physicists, chemists and astrobiologists have met with the aim to review the knowledge on four major themes: (1) the study of the formation and evolution processes of the outer planets and their satellites, beginning with the formation of compounds and planetesimals in the solar nebula, and the subsequent evolution of the interiors of the outer planets, (2) a comparative study of the atmospheres of the outer planets and Titan, (3) the study of the planetary magnetospheres and their interactions with the solar wind, and (4) the formation and properties of satellites and rings, including their interiors, surfaces, and their interaction with the solar wind and the magnetospheres of the outer planets. Beyond these topics, the implications for the prebiotic chemical evolution on Europa and Titan are reviewed.
The volume is intended to provide active researchers in the fields of planetary and solar system science, space plasma physics, and astrobiology with an up-to-date status report on the topic, and also to serve graduate students with introductory material into the field. At the time of publication of this book, the study of the outer planets is particularly motivated by the fact that the Saturn system is being investigated by the Cassini-Huygens mission.
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Planets And Their Moons (Farndon, John. Awesome Space.)
John Farndon
Manufacturer: Copper Beech
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ASIN: 0761322507 |
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AFCRL
Clyde William Tombaugh
Manufacturer: New Mexico State University, Research Center
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0007GVP6A |
Books:
- Plutarch's Lives, Volume 2 (Modern Library Classics)
- Princess Sultana's Daughters
- Princesses: The Six Daughters of George III
- Realities of Foreign Service Life
- Red Legs and Black Sox: Edd Roush and the Untold Story of the 1919 World Series
- Rembrandt's Eyes
- Running to the Mountain: A Midlife Adventure
- Saucerful of Secrets: The Pink Floyd Odyssey
- Scribbling the Cat : Travels with an African Soldier
- Secrets Of A Gay Marine Porn Star
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