Amazon.com's Best of 2001
In an excellent literary biography that matches the standard set by his earlier book, The Father: A Life of Henry James, Sr., Alfred Habegger brings a modern perspective to bear on the life and art of the great American poet Emily Dickinson (1830-86) while respecting and lucidly conveying her own distinctively 19th-century views. Like the groundbreaking 1970s feminist reassessments of Dickinson, this text avoids portraying her as a quaint, ladylike homebody (the stereotypical "Belle of Amherst"), and instead stresses her powerful personality and the strategies she employed to transcend the limits placed on her by Victorian society and a domineering father. Even though as an unmarried woman she was expected to stay close to home, Dickinson opted for a life of seclusion, thereby avoiding the social responsibilities foisted upon middle-class women of her day. Habegger does not minimize the fact that Dickinson was a very peculiar woman, particularly as he chronicles the middle years during which her unconventional attitudes hardened into the mannerisms of a local "character." But his primary focus is always on the genius that transformed her personal dilemmas into art. His sensitive, acute handling of her writings, with frequent quotations and careful analysis, fulfills one of the key functions of a literary biography: it makes you want to run out and reread Emily Dickinson's poetry right away. --Wendy Smith
Book Description
Emily Dickinson, probably the most loved and certainly the greatest of American poets, continues to be seen as the most elusive. One reason she has become a timeless icon of mystery for many readers is that her developmental phases have not been clarified. In this exhaustively researched biography, Alfred Habegger presents the first thorough account of Dickinson’s growth–a richly contextualized story of genius in the process of formation and then in the act of overwhelming production.
Building on the work of former and contemporary scholars,
My Wars Are Laid Away in Books brings to light a wide range of new material from legal archives, congregational records, contemporary women's writing, and previously unpublished fragments of Dickinson’s own letters. Habegger discovers the best available answers to the pressing questions about the poet: Was she lesbian? Who was the person she evidently loved? Why did she refuse to publish and why was this refusal so integral an aspect of her work? Habegger also illuminates many of the essential connection sin Dickinson’s story: between the decay of doctrinal Protestantism and the emergence of her riddling lyric vision; between her father’s political isolation after the Whig Party’s collapse and her private poetic vocation; between her frustrated quest for human intimacy and the tuning of her uniquely seductive voice.
The definitive treatment of Dickinson’s life and times, and of her poetic development,
My Wars Are Laid Away in Books shows how she could be both a woman of her era and a timeless creator. Although many aspects of her life and work will always elude scrutiny, her living, changing profile at least comes into focus in this meticulous and magisterial biography.
From the Hardcover edition.
Customer Reviews:
Mostly for the Dickinson Scholar.......2007-04-20
Habegger's painstaking biography was greeted with awards and high praise, but for the casual reader who simply wants to learn a bit more about the reclusive Emily Dickinson, it's heavy going indeed.
Most of the first half of the 629 pages of text (and I'm not counting the bibliography, references, or genealogical charts!) deals not with Dickinson, but with the social standing and financial affairs of her grandparents and parents, with the political climate of the day, and with other background material that could have well been mentioned only in passing.
Granted, Habegger's task was enormous. Dickinson published only 10 poems in her lifetime, most appearing anonymously and some even against her express desires. She left instructions with her surviving sister to destroy all her writings, both correspondence and poems, and it is by the narrowest chance that the instructions were not followed completely. The biographer is left with the faintest of trails, and points out that some earlier works on the poet's life have been tainted by poor scholarship or lack of impartiality.
Still, the casual reader can only wish Habegger had edited himself more severely, and included more of Dickinson's works. His references to her poems often include just one or two lines, which tasks the reader to chase down the complete works in order to fully understand what is being implied.
The subject of Dickinson's sexuality cannot help but intrude. Habegger handles this with great delicacy and as much honesty as the extant material allows. Dickinson's supposed lesbianism is roundly smacked down, yet in the same breath, he quotes notes Dickinson wrote to her sister-in-law or other women friends using language that the modern reader has no choice but to interpret as erotic. It is difficult for the modern reader to accept that the endearments and references to kisses and embraces don't have a sexual undertone.
The entirety of the work is invaluable to the literary historian, but it's certainly not beach reading.
A good and well-written biography.......2007-04-14
I found Habegger's writing excellent, succinct and, many times, amusing. Having taught a course on Dickson's for many years (described in the Forward), he has an uncanny grasp of the minor characters no one remembers, and it is brought home that these characters are only being examined because they had some link to a strange and increasingly withdrawn poet. The author was able to show the point of view that is missing, Dicken's, which radiated from her obsessive way of relating to others. Her family history is especially interesting, showing an authoritarian and anti-feminist father, the type woman (a drone) her mother was, and the resulting progency, the three children. Enough is included to draw one's own conclusions about the poetess, who may have been caged, but accepted the bars in that cage because put there by her father. In some ways, Emily (to my mind) failed to deliver herself.
Academically Valid Without Being Dull.......2005-05-25
I began this book with trepidation, for I find myself slightly suspicious of literary biographies finding them to be either too sensationalized or reductive or too academic to be interesting to the average reader. This is a well-researched volume that does not read like a doctoral thesis. But Alfred Habegger manages to discover a delightful balance between scholarly research and public readability.
I adore Dickinson and was impressed with the manner in which Habegger handled his subject. He presents her with the complexity and intellectual approach toward she deserves. Emily Dickinson appears as neither the bizarre recluse nor a misunderstood sexual being of some of her previous biographies. If, as some readers have found, the poet appears a bit unresolved and incomplete, it is only because Mr. Habegger wisely chose NOT to sensationalize his book with unsubstantiated presumptions as to her personal life. I enjoyed the author's scholarly, non-sensationalist approach to Ms. Dickinson and found that it did not prevent me from "knowing her" as a person or subject.
One of Alfred Hebeggar's greatest strengths is his realization that no artist exists in a vacuum. He presents to his readers the complex outer world that inspired the poets rich inner world allowing us to draw many of our own conclusions. Meticulously researched and gently paced, the book is a journey not merely a chronicle of a single life. Instead, it is an insightful look at the entire Dickinsonian world of family, academics, and petty town politics. Habegger introduces the reader to the poet's entire extended family and the emotional movement within it. He allows the reader to truly see the social and political environment in which the poet lived. And that is fascinating in its own right.
Overall, I enjoyed the book very much and appreciate Alfred Hebeggar's unique ability to strike a balance scholarship and authorship. He is never condescending, yet he explains thoroughly. He treats the reader as an intelligent person with a mind eager for historical details and biographical accuracy and he treats his subject with respect and intellectual dignity. His book is academically valid without sacrificing the art of solid writing.
Exhausting and tedious.......2005-01-29
I had read a lot of Emily Dickinson's poetry and some brief article biographies of her life before reading this book. So I was looking forward to a book-length biography. I was disappointed. I feel the book could have been edited down to one third or one fourth of it's tedious length. Who really cares about a relative's business dealings? I skipped over those boring pages, trying to find facts on ED's life. I didn't find much.
I feel I can know more about Emily through simply reading her poetry, some of which I still find hard to understand. I admire her for not seeking fame or money through her gift of writing. She was a true artist with words.
Go to this site to read her poetry online: http://www.bartleby.com/113/.
Read this to know something, but be warned not much is new.......2002-08-17
While Habegger does provide some original insight into Edward Dickinson, the majority of this book does not present new evidence or new interpretation. The documentation of sources is done terribly (it barely exists), which is not excusable in someone who is a scholar. I realize this book is not written for a scholarly audience, but with the recent problems Stephen Ambrose and Doris Kearns Goodwin have had, Habegger should have been much more careful. For the reader new to ED and wanting to know about her, this book will provide all the usual information. What is troubling is that there is a fair amount of speculative commentary provided that isn't well backed up, especially when it comes to ED's relationships with her sister-in-law and her parents. Quite a few assertions are stated as fact but don't have the evidence to back them up. This is the problem with a lot of Dickinson biographies--biographers (most of them scholars) don't seem to feel that it's necessary to explain that a lot of what they say is speculation and not fact; most casual readers won't know this and take everything that's said as not only fact, but fact provided by someone who really knows what they're talking about. Habegger knows more than many, but his material is not presented in a way that is acceptable scholarship because it's mostly his opinion with some quotations taken out of context.
There are also several factual errors, but I'm told these are being corrected for the paperback edition which is due out next month.
Customer Reviews:
A must for tank development study!.......1998-08-10
von Senger und Etterlin accomplish what many writers set out to do when they take on the task of examining German armour, but this book is one of the VERY few that succeeds in accurately depicting the devopment of the German armoured technology. From the armoured cars and prototypes of 1926 to the super-heavies of 1945 and the futuristic follies, this book says it all. If you`re looking for accuracy, detail, and loads of photos, diagrams, blueprints, etc., then this is your answer.
Book Description
Over the years, and today more than ever, the United Nations has failed to address the most dangerous threats facing the civilized world, refused to condemn terrorist acts, encouraged AmericaÂ's enemies, and supported some of the worldÂ's most oppressive governments, all while wasting billions of dollars. As Fox News Channel reporter Eric Shawn points out, the U.N. is now where our so-called allies scheme against us, while Americans pay a whopping 22 percent of the U.N.Â's bloated budget. His book offers a rare insiderÂ's tour of the United Nations, focusing on many disturbing aspects that have been ignored by the mainstream media.
Customer Reviews:
Fine Report on the Truth of the UN's Shortcommings.......2007-08-17
The UN is really messing things up in the extreme since the 1990's. Kofi Annan was a total failure and very corrupted, as were many of their endeavors in Africa and Europe.
1. The UN just decided out of the blue (Not blue helmets!) that they were against mercenary groups who have done allot of incredible things for Africa, especially since many are former South African or Rhodesian (Zimbabwe) Soldiers who hunted down ruthless Terrorists and criminal gangs who brutalized places like Sierra Leon, and Rwanda. Then the UN came in and disbanded them, sent in thousands of their guys who failed miserably to do a job that 100 South African Mercs could do, and chaos came back.
2. The UN has been very cushy with many ruthless third world dictators and internationally mocking the USA out of wants for power, jealousy, and control.
3. The UN has placed Cuba and Iran on human rights review counsels, which is an out rage and a joke in the 21s century.
4. The UN has not done their part in the War against Al-Qaeda, and has failed miserably in Iraq making America to do it all alone with only the UK's help.
5. The UN has tried numerous times to break American sovereignty and incite itself as a global super power controlling the world when that was NOT the original goal of the UN.
The UN does have an important role in the world, but today they are really messing things up and need to clean up their act. The UN's role must be rethought out, and reorganized.
Not exactly the most insightful book in the world.......2007-07-07
A friend avidly against the United Nations recommended Mr. Shawn's work to me, so putting aside my personal affections toward the UN I obliged him and read the book. As implied from the title, it manages to set quite a stage for the UN being the mastermind behind all American mishaps. While the facts were one-sided as expected, they were very sensational and some of the chapters were a bit overly dramatic for my taste. The UN is obviously not the most perfect organization in the world, however, the half truthes and twisted facts are not a fair description of the UN or its place in the world. If you're dead set on reading anti-UN sentiments, I'm sure there are other more reputable works to pursue that provide more insightful arguments towards its cause rather than this sensationalized rubbish.
Great read.......2007-06-02
The previous reviews summarize the book nicely, to be honest I'm just commenting on the "Little Errors = Big Distortion?". I believe that he was saying the 29 year old wasn't killed, he was apart of the victims/survivors that night. And the 18-21 year olds were the actual deaths from the bombing.
This is an excellent book, but my only comment I will say in addition to what's already been said is that Shawn's minor comments like "of course" or "obviously wrong" at the end of his points are a bit annoying and condescending. Other than that, awesome book!
An Expose of Impotence, Incompetence and Corruption.......2007-06-01
The United Nations was formed to promote world peace and cooperation between countries. In bygone days, it stood for goodness and compassion for others. (Remember the childhood days of collecting money for UNICEF?)
Times have certainly changed to our detriment as the examples and illustrations of "The U.N. Exposed" detail. It goes a long way in explaining why the U.N. seem to be incapable of promoting world peace and have no real clout in the mediations or remediations needed. For instance: France, being one of the main abusive players in the Oil For Food program has a foreign policy that has little to do with peace-keeping, but is instead, motivated by money and its own self-interest, adept at diplomatic covering their financial goals. Also jumping at the chance to participate in Saddam's crimes against humanity and against the international community in a place where votes are commonly for sale are Russia and China.
The U.N. officials do not have to be accountable to any popular constituency or electorate as a state legislator or member of Congress must be. Hiring at the U.N. has nothing to do with merit or in what one knows but strictly on who one knows, how well-connected to the government and how much pressure can be put on the U.N. to hire. Once in, one stays, to live in a culture of unrealistic entitlement, living far removed from those they are charged with helping.
During a time of great humanitarian need, many of the 191 nations represented at the U.N. have multimillion dollar prime Manhattan townhomes and demand royalty-type treatment. Privileges and immunities include tax exemptions on anything and everything. (Imagine if taxes were to finally be collected on the Secretary-General's Manhattan mansion - valued at $19,200,000.00 - for the needy of the state of N.Y or those in need within other countries.) Most feel they are above the law and rack up millions of dollars in unpaid parking tickets alone.
The sense of feeling above the law with no accountability is evidentially what promotes the ongoing atrocious and brutal abuses of the very people entrusted to the U.N.'s peace keeping branch to protect.
The incestuous relationship of the U.N. Press is just as shady. How fair and balanced can be their reporting and statements be when receiving money from the very people they cover?
American taxpayers currently fund 22% of the U.N.'s billion dollar annual budget, an additional 27% for peace-keeping operations and billions more for miscellaneous agencies of the U.N. (all rife with fraud and gross mismanagement of monies even as we are continually asked to contribute more money to the epitome of poor stewardship). Yet we have no clout in exchange for our money-encrusted ties, much less credit due for our generous humanitarian contributions intended for the recipient countries (the little bit that actually trickles to the people from the hand of the corrupt dictators, that is).
American lives have been lost because of the U.N. corruption, leaving many to wonder how we can entrust the U.N. for our basic security when they seem to work against us at every step. The U.N.'s Oil For Food resources have been used by insurgents to kill American troops and innocent Iraqis. The supposedly powerful U.N. demands and resolutions are generally ignored. Their mandates are dismissed, and their rulings are violated. While Americans must meet the standards, there are exceptions for the rest of the members. Diplomatic immunity is granted to the U.N. representatives who cannot police themselves. The world needs look no further than the failed resolutions regarding Saddam's refusal to comply with weapons inspectors' requests or the failed resolution for the Taliban in Afghanistan to turn over Osama bin Laden for prosecution, to see the impotence of the U.N. to act or to set aside the member nations' interests, some of whom endorse terrorism. With no penalty sought or paid, the U.N. permits itself to be used as a platform by terrorists and terrorist-supporting states.
America takes the lead in pushing for reform but seems to bang its head against the wall of resistance preserving the status quo of the current U.N. World which furthers the increasingly common subtle and insidious American bashing and anti-America sentiment permeating the 89 member democracy representatives and the 101 members classified as tyrannies, dictatorships and oligarchies making up the leadership of the "United" Nations. Meanwhile, glaring headlines such as "Africa's Suffering Is Bush's Shame" make it seem as if the scapegoat U.S. is the only member.
Hopefully the information in this book may be shocking to the many who complain about our governmental system while overlooking that of the biggest and most corrupt bureaucracy in the world - that of the U.N - whose environment echoes an off-the-record statement of one representative regarding foreign aid: Take money from poor people in the rich country (America) and give it to the rich people in the poor country. Sadly this is the U.N.'s scandalous truth today.
With several pages of pictures, a few exhibits, lots of documentations and quotes, "The U.N. Exposed" is a very informative book which also exposes the truth that leaders of an organization can't change anything unless they are willing to first change themselves.
In the name of Iran.......2007-03-21
This book is base on evidence which is presented to reader and proves that the UN is a mouthpiece of terrorist state.
It is worth buying this book, and will know why someone appears in the UN and is able to use vulgar comments to other nations without reprisal.
Book Description
Below the surface of public attention, internationalists have been working for decades to build the United Nations into an all-powerful world government. In this carefully documented study, William F. Jasper shows that, with the United Nations, the American people are being offered what amounts to poison disguised as candy.
Customer Reviews:
Well-Researched & Relevant.......2007-01-31
This is a very important read for anyone unacquainted with the UN's true agenda. Watching the TV news or reading entertainment masquerading as journalism (Time, Newsweek, U.S. News) will not do this subject justice. In addition, the writing style is engaging and friendly to the general reader. Anyone who reads this book with an open mind will walk away stunned. Jasper has long researched the UN and has been in attendance at many of their functions. His footnotes and documentation are exemplary. I use this book, along with a few others, as a cornerstone source for the Foreign Policy unit lecture notes I give students in my Senior U.S. Government class.
In case you're interested, the others are:
"The Shadows of Power" by James Perloff
"The Costs of War" & "Reassessing the Presidency" by John V. Denson, ED.
"A Republic, Not An Empire" by Patrick J. Buchanan
Given the two unfair reviews below it is incumbent upon me to also point out that one should actually read the book one is reviewing in order to make a positive contribution to the Amazon.com review system. Embarrassing yourself with worthless comments may be thrilling as an excuse to see your name on the internet, but many of us prefer intelligent discourse instead. As the two "reviewers" below pointed out, this book is published by the John Birch Society. Unlike those two "reviewers", however I will not proceed at this point to engage in an ignorant, uninformed attack on that organization. The discredited smears against the John Birch Society are based on intemperate, usually out of context, anti-Eisenhower remarks made by their founder in the 1950s, out of his frustration with the decline of freedom in this once great nation. Are you going to smear the ACLU because their founder specifically declared communism to be their chief goal? Are you going to smear Planned Parenthood because their founders' intentions were to prevent non-whites from overbreeding? The John Birch Society is and always has been comprised of kind, God-fearing, well-intentioned Americans who are genuinely concerned about liberty. Their opposition to the "Civil Rights" racket as well as their clear-eyed view of Nelson Mandela (both alluded to in the two "reviews" below) are evidence of thoughtful, independent analysis, as opposed to politically correct capitulation. To begin your review with, "i(sic) have not read this book...", pretty much says it all.
know where your information is coming from..........2006-05-25
i have not read this book, i stumbled across the listing on amazon and looked at it, so i can't actually comment as to the comments. but i want people to realize that the publisher is listed as the john birch society, a very right-wing fringe group that among other things in its history, was against the civil rights movement. look them up on wikipedia or something if you want more information, i just wanted to let people who are not familiar with the jbs know who was responsible for publishing this.
murderous thug.......2005-05-18
I used to live in Appleton, the hometown of the Bircher's. I picked this book up at a used bookstore, and later resold it about a year ago. What really stood out for me was when Jasper TWICE--without any explanation--called Nelson Mandela a "murderous thug." Take that for what it's worth. read the book for all I care.
junk.......2004-07-15
Who is this guy?
I spent 20 years covering the UN and never saw this guy....
What needs to be exposed is this phoney and his phoney book....
This guy couldn't tell Kofi Annan from Mr. Coffee....
The UN may be a rip off but so is this book....
Save your money and give it to UNICEF...not this crook.
Beware of the UN.......2004-04-27
This book, by William F. Jasper, proves beyond a shadow of a doubt the fact that the UN is more than a harmless "debate society." It shows how, since it's founding in 1945, the UN is in fact the foundation of a one world goverment intent to destroy our sovereignty.
In this book Mr. Jasper goes into great detail about how our borders are being erased as our nation is slowly, quietly merged with Mexico and Canada; How our military is being used in an unconstitutional manner to enforce the dictates of the UN; why Supreme Court Justices like Sandra day O'Conner quote from international court decisions rather than base her arguments on the US constitution; how the UN, rather than stop genocide in places like Rawanda and the Congo actually contributed to it and encouraged it!
Whether or not you are conservative, every American should read this book and educate themselves about the UN and what it is doing.
Product Description
This volume is produced from digital images from the Cornell University Library Samuel J. May Anti-Slavery Collection
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The New World Government Exposed!
David Montgomery
Manufacturer: Montgomery
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ASIN: 0970212305 |
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This book outlines the expansion of the legal, police and military powers of the United Nations. These new powers will allow it to operate as a world government.
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United Nations exposed
Edward FredrickÌ Webber
Manufacturer: order from Southwest Radio Church of the Air, Oklahoma City
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ASIN: B0007EMK7K |
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- Environmental Degradation Rates
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Handbook Of Environmental Degradation Rates
PHILIP H. HOWARD
Manufacturer: CRC
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Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0873713583 |
Book Description
In order to assess the environmental exposure from chemicals in various media, you must know the rate at which a chemical will degrade. Handbook of Environmental Degradation Rates saves you the time and money collecting and evaluating this important information. The Handbook provides rate constant and half-life ranges for various processes and combines them into ranges for different media (air, groundwater, surface water, soils), which can be directly entered into various models. Some of the processes the Handbook includes are aerobic and anaerobic biodegradation, direct photolysis, hydrolysis, and reaction with various oxidants or free radicals (e.g., hydroxyl radical and ozone in the atmosphere). Experimental data are used and cited when available, and validated estimation methods are used when no experimental data are available. Researched and organized by leading experts, Handbook of Environmental Degradation Rates is easy-to-use and is well indexed by chemical name and CAS Number.
Customer Reviews:
Environmental Degradation Rates.......2001-11-07
This text provides valuble information pertaining to half-lives in different media such as soil, air, and groundwater, aqueous biodegradation, photolysis, photooxidation, reduction and hydrolysis. I have used this information in the past on many occasions when discussing degradation of contaminants. I've foudn this to be a very useful book and am aware of numerous other consultant who have utilized this material.
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