Universal Father: A Life Of Pope John Paul II

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If God is in the details, He's surely present here. Layer by rich layer, author and prolific English biographer Garry O'Connor chronologically tells the story of the extraordinary life of the late Pope John Paul II. O'Connor shows that to understand the man is first to understand Poland and its history. He introduces us to young Karol Wojtyla's family members and their numerous tragedies, and shows how his friendships and education shaped Wojtyla for his future role.

We come to know the colorful, multi-faceted future pope through his correspondence, his plays, and his poetry. By turns, Pope John Paul II is shown to be actor, philosopher, athlete, musician, comic book hero, mystic. Wojtyla's call to the priesthood is compelling, when juxtaposed against the horrors of war and deprivation. As Wojtyla sweats in a quarry or shovels out old prison latrines, it lends context for his future knack of identifying with the common laborer. After Wojtyla assumes the papacy, O'Connor provides a window into the Holy Father's daily life, his travels, his admirers and his detractors. He also examines the Pope's controversial battles against women's ordination, contraception, abortion, and materialism. The chronology concludes right before John Paul II's death in 2005.

If the loss of one of the greatest leaders in religion of the twentieth century inspires readers to take a deeper look at Pope John Paul II's life, this book will offer a satisfying, comprehensive tour of the outer events and inner life of a complex and beloved man.--Cindy Crosby

Book Description

Pope John Paul II will go down in history not only as the third longest serving pope, but possibly the most politically influential of all 305 popes and antipopes since St. Peter.

Born in Poland in 1920, Karol Wojtyla’s early life was filled with intense love and intense loss: he was eight when his mother died, twelve when his older brother died of scarlet fever, and twenty when his severe but loving father died during the Nazi occupation. An avid soccer player and skier, a gifted poet, playwright and actor, by 1944, after a near fatal accident, Wojtyla was studying for the priesthood in secret.

Garry O’Connor, an accomplished biographer of the likes of Sir Alec Guinness, Ralph Richardson and William Shakespeare has spent the last five years writing and researching this book. Unlike the competition, this book details not only Wojtyla’s life before he became pope, his friendships with men and with women, his nationalism, his early years as a priest in rural Poland and his travels to Rome, but it also explores the pope’s own poems, plays, and philosophical works to find clues to what makes him tick.

Customer Reviews:

We're missing your equanimity........2006-09-27

If you asked me "why are you writing this in the context of `Book Review" about the late Pope, I wouldn't be able to answer you, because I don't know. I simply felt here is an extraordinary account of blessed faith on the one hand and plagued by questions over political acrimonies blended together to clone a `man's world of power', on the other.

Perhaps the latest comments made by his successor about `Islam' prompted me to write this review.

Such comments could have far reaching consequences if not handled with equanimity and self-restraint.

Pope John Paul II: we are missing your equanimity and self-restraint.

Unfortunately our planet is already full of mental and emotional instabilities from groups living in different and dissimilar countries that many will not accept, by their own interpretations, the statements recently made by Pope Benedict XVI after a speech about the concept of holy war.
For instance, how will the `large' Muslim communities in France, England, Germany and Holland (even in Italy) react to the Pope's statements? Notably by those too many who, after the second or third generations, could not mix.
Nor could they have any sense of connection (speaking the language is not enough) with the local common tradition and usage so long established and became the force of practices followed by the `real-ethnic-group' French, English, Germans, Dutch and Italians.

In fact, on face value, I cannot see much of a rationale in the Pope's remarks.
Why should it have come from the Holy See at all?

By reasons intrinsic in their faith-and-glory filled history, coupled with feelings of disparity and local inequities, many Muslims in Europe and America are much given to ritual customs.

On the basis of personal experience and perception, and for its very natural importance, this episode tends to be one of those moments in history for which no record, written journals or even first-person reportage should reasonably be able to describe the actual events that would soon be unfolding.
The word `soon' in history does not necessarily mean `promptly or quickly'.
`Without hesitation' is, perhaps, more appropriate.

This book about the late John Paul II may be the end of an era. No book has so far been written about the beginning of another.

best bio.......2005-06-20

This particular book was well researched. The author spent a great deal of time speaking to colleagues and family acquaintainces. The historical and personal accounts made this book a fast and very enjoyable read. I would recommend this book to everyone. This book is spiritually uplifting and provides the reader an insight to Poland.

Universal Father: A Life of John Paul II

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Universal Father: A Life of John Paul II
Garry O'Connor
Manufacturer: Bloomsbury USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Carnage and Culture: Landmark Battles in the Rise to Western Power
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How the non-west fights

ball teara of a book

Thorough

Carnage and Culture Delivers

Interesting, but not as good as his commentaries

Carnage and Culture: Landmark Battles in the Rise to Western Power
Victor Hanson
Manufacturer: Anchor
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0385720386
Release Date: 2002-08-27

Amazon.com's Best of 2001

Many theories have been offered regarding why Western culture has spread so successfully across the world, with arguments ranging from genetics to superior technology to the creation of enlightened economic, moral, and political systems. In Carnage and Culture, military historian Victor Hanson takes all of these factors into account in making a bold, and sure to be controversial, argument: Westerners are more effective killers. Focusing specifically on military power rather than the nature of Western civilization in general, Hanson views war as the ultimate reflection of a society's character: "There is…a cultural crystallization in battle, in which the insidious and more subtle institutions that heretofore are murky and undefined became stark and unforgiving in the finality of organized killing."

Though technological advances and superior weapons have certainly played a role in Western military dominance, Hanson posits that cultural distinctions are the most significant factors. By bringing personal freedom, discipline, and organization to the battlefield, powerful "marching democracies" were more apt to defeat non-Western nations hampered by unstable governments, limited funding, and intolerance of open discussion. These crucial differences often ensured victory even against long odds. Greek armies, for instance, who elected their own generals and freely debated strategy were able to win wars even when far outnumbered and deep within enemy territory. Hanson further argues that granting warriors control of their own destinies results in the kind of glorification of horrific hand-to-hand combat necessary for true domination.

The nine battles Hanson examines include the Greek naval victory against the Persians at Salamis in 480 B.C., Cortes's march on Mexico City in 1521, the battle of Midway in 1942, and the 1968 Tet Offensive in Vietnam. In the book's fascinating final chapter, he then looks forward and ponders the consequences of a complete cultural victory, challenging the widespread belief that democratic nations do not wage war against one another: "We may well be all Westerners in the millennium to come, and that could be a very dangerous thing indeed," he writes. It seems the West will always seek an enemy, even if it must come from within. --Shawn Carkonen

Book Description

Examining nine landmark battles from ancient to modern times--from Salamis, where outnumbered Greeks devastated the slave army of Xerxes, to Cortes’s conquest of Mexico to the Tet offensive--Victor Davis Hanson explains why the armies of the West have been the most lethal and effective of any fighting forces in the world.

Looking beyond popular explanations such as geography or superior technology, Hanson argues that it is in fact Western culture and values–the tradition of dissent, the value placed on inventiveness and adaptation, the concept of citizenship–which have consistently produced superior arms and soldiers. Offering riveting battle narratives and a balanced perspective that avoids simple triumphalism, Carnage and Culture demonstrates how armies cannot be separated from the cultures that produce them and explains why an army produced by a free culture will always have the advantage.

Customer Reviews:

How the non-west fights.......2007-09-10

I thought I knew a little thing about history, until I got into this book. I had never even heard of Lepanto.

If you want to see what western civ is all about, look at how it fights its wars and you'll see what aspects of its culture are firmly rooted in survival since Salamis. I actually learned more about how other cultures fight than I did about the west:

- why the Persians never reconsidered their battle plans as the day unfolded at Salamis (the same reasons they lost so many at Thermopylae, most likely!)
- why Cannae didn't destroy the Roman republic,
- why the muslim army at Poitiers didn't learn from it's loss and fight better the next time,
- why the Aztecs never figured out a way to defeat Cortes, even when they had him cornered. This was way before smallpox did them all in a few years later.

Comparing non western militaries to western ones reads like a pee wee football team taking on the NFL. I have a much greater appreciation for my Dad's constant reminders to 'think critically' when making important decisions as I was growing up!

ball teara of a book.......2007-09-05

Still working my way through this great book. Learnt a lot from it. Lovely prose style that makes it easy to read with out patronising me. I would not have guesed he's a neocon (according to his Wikpaedia entry. Had not heard of this book before reading about it on AMAZON, so was ignorent of the impact it had after 9/11. Recomended to any history buffs.

Thorough.......2007-08-22

This book is filled with imagery and thorough in its descriptions of the people, places, and circumstances -- particularly the cultures -- of the battles. In reading this one book I gained a greater comprehension of lost civilizations and the advance of history than was ever taught in school, save Rome. You'll [re]discover Greece, Macedon, Persia, Byzantines, Carthage, Romans, Franks, Saracens, Mexicas, Aztecs, Ottomans etc...

It is far more gratifying than one might think to finally get a good understanding of what took place in past wars. One realizes just how momentous the occasions were -- you can almost feel the Earth move under your feet as the gears of history shift overnight, altering the course of human events forever. Hansen's tone is grave, battle-weary, but fueled by the strength of his argument: that Western culture and values give advantage to the peoples who live by them. It is certainly one of the most powerful reads you'll come across.

Carnage and Culture Delivers.......2007-05-30

Hanson's writing takes you an a journey; both informative and evocative. His arguments are well established; deserves to be listed among such seminal books as Hungtington's Clash of Civilizations. It's a must read for anyone interested in geopolitics or military events. Hanson also takes on and in my opinion, successfully debunks other theories and scholars, such as pulitzer prize winner Jared Diamond. An interdisciplinary delight that you won't want to put down.

Interesting, but not as good as his commentaries.......2007-04-08

The basic premise of his story is that Western civilization has prevailed in numerous battles over the past 2500 years. Hanson emphasizes that the cornerstones of this success are based on the inherent Western values of individualism and liberty.

I'm a big fan of Hanson's commentaries on current methods of warfare, and it was that basis that drove me to purchase and read this book. I'm not certain what motivated Hanson to write this tome, other than the fact that he's a military historian and this subject would appear to be the core of his research.

Hanson uses examples from history to provide a fact-base for Western success. These example battles range from the Battle of Salamis (Greeks and Persians), to the more recent Battle of Midway (United States and Japan) and the Tet Offensive (United States and Viet Nam).

After reading this book, I'm still not certain of the ideal audience. For example, the warfare enthusiasts can find plenty of alternatives that get into much greater detail about the tactics and weapons used. Meanwhile, the political science reader would probably find the deep discussions about battles a little mind-numbing.

[...]

Carnage and Culture Landmark Battles In the Rise of Western Power

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Carnage and Culture Landmark Battles In the Rise of Western Power
Hanson Victor Davis
Manufacturer: Doubleday
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000TOCOYW

Carnage and Culture: Landmark Battles in the Rise of Western Power.(Book Review) : An article from: Joint Force Quarterly

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Carnage and Culture: Landmark Battles in the Rise of Western Power.(Book Review) : An article from: Joint Force Quarterly
John Hillen
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

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Book Description

This digital document is an article from Joint Force Quarterly, published by Thomson Gale on October 1, 2005. The length of the article is 1666 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Carnage and Culture: Landmark Battles in the Rise of Western Power.(Book Review)
Author: John Hillen
Publication: Joint Force Quarterly (Magazine/Journal)
Date: October 1, 2005
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Issue: 39 Page: 116(3)

Article Type: Book Review

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The Western Way Of War. (Books).(Carnage and Culture: Landmark Battles in the Rise of Western Power) (book review): An article from: Policy Review

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The Western Way Of War. (Books).(Carnage and Culture: Landmark Battles in the Rise of Western Power) (book review): An article from: Policy Review
Woody West
Manufacturer: Hoover Institution Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

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Book Description

This digital document is an article from Policy Review, published by Hoover Institution Press on December 1, 2001. The length of the article is 2269 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: The Western Way Of War. (Books).(Carnage and Culture: Landmark Battles in the Rise of Western Power) (book review)
Author: Woody West
Publication: Policy Review (Refereed)
Date: December 1, 2001
Publisher: Hoover Institution Press
Page: 73(6)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Book Description

Based on the authors' courses and lectures, this 2-volume advanced-level text is now available in a single volume. Topics include metric and normed spaces, continuous curves in metric spaces, measure theory, Lebesque interval, Hilbert Space and more. Each section contains exercises. Lists of symbols, definitions and theorems. 1957 edition.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent book, good price.......2007-03-29

A concise, well-readable book for as much money as every textbook should cost. There's only one problem I found, but I wouldn't take a star for it, because the book is really very good: since the book is quite old, the nomenclature is very different from the current one. (Eg. the empty set is called ``void set'', Cauchy sequences is called ``fundamental sequences'', etc.) One should always look up the ``up-to-date'' name of every important concept that is introduced in the book.

Better than his fabulous Real Analysis book.......2007-03-08

This book is better than his fabulous Real Analysis book. It is one of the best, if not THE best, functional analysis book out there and the price is low. Quality to price ratio is approaching infinity here (as Dover reduces the price more)!!!

Kolmogorov knows how to arrange topics and introduce them at the proper spots throughout the book. Everything is broken down into bite sized pieces and you are given enough examples to digest what's going on. Reading the book is like reading Kolmogorov's mind, as he has tried to teach HOW TO THINK about the material, not just DO IT. It's also very addictive, even though it's rigorous.

Name a better functional analysis book? Not sure if that's possible.

It's a classic.......2004-10-10

I own the book in Spanish language. Some content in the book is not easy stuff, if you study by others books, but Kolmogorov has the gift to make easy things that aren't quite so easy. Perhaps some theory is "old", because all the new books use some diferent approach to the subject, like the chapter dedicated to the Lebesgue integral, the book give the definition of a simple function in a different manner that we use today. The book is a must to have in your library, when you need to work with Functional Analysis.

Four stars for the content, five stars for the price........2001-05-18

This book is not quite up-to-date, but still very good as a starting point in (functional) analysis. The virtue of Kolmogorov and Fomin is their user-friendly writing style. I am delighted to find their book being available for less than ten dollars.

My math master.......2001-02-13

I am electrical eng who study math all of my life. I had the Arabic version of it which cover more than the English one.I start reading it after Krewsiq book of advance functional analysis. I really like Krewsiq because it is so easy so I cover it within 1 year but I need 2.5 year to finish off this one which is fantastic, I really can't compare it with other books, it is a school of functional analysis and master book that you can't really understand functional analysis without it.

Average customer rating:

A Classic with outdated language
A Gem!

Elements of the Theory of Functions
Konrad Knopp
Manufacturer: Dover Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Mathematics | Science | Subjects | Books

Theory of Functions, Parts I and II (Dover Books on Mathematics)
Problem Book in the Theory of Functions, Volume II (Problems in the Advanced Theory of Functions)
Infinite Sequences and Series
Theory and Application of Infinite Series
Counterexamples in Analysis (Dover Books on Mathematics)

ASIN: 0486601544

Book Description

General background: complex numbers, linear functions, sets and sequences, conformal mapping. Detailed proofs.

Customer Reviews:

A Classic with outdated language.......2001-08-05

This book goes with the series of books written by this author:" Theory of Functions". Together with the other parts it gives a good introduction to the theory of complex functional analysis. Although the language is in places outdated, the mathematics covered is solid and necessary. It is a starting point in study for subjects like chaos and fractals as well. One of the best points is that is a cheap Dover book!

A Gem!.......1999-05-06

This book would be worth the price of it were 10 times as expensive! One of the best presentations of the real and complex analysis I have seen.

Elements of the Theory of Functions & Functional Analysis

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Elements of the Theory of Functions & Functional Analysis
A. & Fomin, S. Kolmogorov
Manufacturer: Graylock Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 9998063752

Elements of the Theory of Functions and Functional Analysis

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Elements of the Theory of Functions and Functional Analysis
A.N. and S.V. Fomin Kolmogorov
Manufacturer: Graylock Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000NZRIBG

Elements of The Theory of Functions and Functional Analysis Vol 1 Metric and Normed Spaces

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Elements of The Theory of Functions and Functional Analysis Vol 1 Metric and Normed Spaces

Manufacturer: Graylock Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000BPL0WG

ELEMENTS OF THE THEORY OF FUNCTIONS AND FUNCTIONAL ANALYSIS VOLUME 2 MEASURE. THE LEBESGUE INTEGRAL HILBERT SPACE

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ELEMENTS OF THE THEORY OF FUNCTIONS AND FUNCTIONAL ANALYSIS VOLUME 2 MEASURE. THE LEBESGUE INTEGRAL HILBERT SPACE

Manufacturer: Gray Lock
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000GQN122

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Elements of the Theory of Functions and Functional Analysis Volume 2: Measure. The Lebesgue Integral. Hilbert Space
A. N. Kolmogorov and S. V. Fomin
Manufacturer: GRAYLOCK PRESS
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000U25918

Elements of the Theory of Functions and Functional Analysis, Vol 2: Measure, the Lebesgue Integral, Hilbert Space

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Elements of the Theory of Functions and Functional Analysis, Vol 2: Measure, the Lebesgue Integral, Hilbert Space
A. N.; Fomin, S. V. Kolmogorov
Manufacturer: Graylock Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000K1PXDI

Elements of the Theory of Functions and Functional Analysis, Vol. I: Metric and Normed Spaces

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Elements of the Theory of Functions and Functional Analysis, Vol. I: Metric and Normed Spaces
A. N. Kolmogorov , and S. V. Fomin
Manufacturer: Dover Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0486697592

Book Description

Concise, rigorous presentation of most of the elements of the theory of metric spaces and normed linear spaces. Discussions of set theory, measure and the Lebesgue integral, theory of functions of a real variable, linear operator equations, more. Translated from the first (1954) Russian edition. Bibliography.

Elements of the Theory of Functions and Functional Analysis, Volume 1: Metric and Normed Spaces

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Elements of the Theory of Functions and Functional Analysis, Volume 1: Metric and Normed Spaces
A.N. and Fomin, S.V. Kolmogorov
Manufacturer: Graylock Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B0000EGKT5

Book Description

This new synthesis summarizes the international research effort in the Global Change and Terrestrial Ecosystems (GCTE) Core Project of the International Geosphere Biosphere Programme in five major thematic areas: ecosystem physiology, ecosystem structure and composition, terrestrial production systems, global biogeochemistry, and ecological complexity (biodiversity). The editors present a summary of the integrated and interactive effects of global change on the terrestrial biosphere for four key regions of the world, as well as a projection of future trends in the terrestrial component of the global carbon cycle. The book also includes a section on tools developed or modified for global change research.

Terrestrial Biosphere and Global Change: Implications for Natural and Managed Ecosystems

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Terrestrial Biosphere and Global Change: Implications for Natural and Managed Ecosystems
Brian H. Walker
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000MHHB58

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