Book Description
A dazzling novel in the most untraditional fashion, this is the remarkable story of Henry DeTamble, a dashing, adventuresome librarian who travels involuntarily through time, and Clare Abshire, an artist whose life takes a natural sequential course. Henry and Clare's passionate love affair endures across a sea of time and captures the two lovers in an impossibly romantic trap, and it is Audrey Niffenegger's cinematic storytelling that makes the novel's unconventional chronology so vibrantly triumphant.
An enchanting debut and a spellbinding tale of fate and belief in the bonds of love, The Time Traveler's Wife is destined to captivate readers for years to come.
Customer Reviews:
The 1513th Review~!.......2007-10-18
Since this is the 1513th review of this book no one will probably ever read this but this is one of those "Desert Island Books" for me, one of the few I would bring with me if I only could grab a handful. I found this book mesmerizing in every way and I can't wait for the movie.
Perfection.......2007-10-16
There is no review I could write that would do this book justice. I read this book Christmas Eve and thought of nothing else save the characters. This book is the most moving work of fiction I have ever come across. The book takes the reader on a journey of love that is unparalleled in it's devotion and in many ways realism. This is my favorite book and have given it as a gift to everyone I love without a single complaint.
The writing is exquisite and draws you in but it is the raw emotion that will linger long after you have set the book aside. For anyone concerned by the idea that it will be too "sci-fi" for him I can assure you it is well grounded and while may incorporate elements that make it more fantastic those events are only necessary to explain the truth of the characters who have made the decision to begin a life together while accepting that their time together will not be shared. The husband, without control, changes to different period of time. The book is about how they cope and how they love despite this unusual problem.
If you are not crying by the end you do not have a soul. This book will change your life. It is a work of fine literature for the ideas, for the writing but mostly for the hope and the imagination that it will spark in the reader. It is more than a novel about love it is a novel about our dreams.
sci fi but not sci fi.......2007-10-16
Odd mixture in many ways, combining sort of science fiction (time traveling) with an unusual love story which starts when the female character is 6. Don't be put off thinking it's too sci-fi or some slush fest as it never veers too far in either direction. The books is beautifully written, really drawing you into the story and making you feel for the characters. I did find the dual narrative style a little difficult to follow at times (it's told from the perspective of both the main characters) and the last third of the book was a little drawn out once you can kind of guess where it's going but overall it's a very moving book and well worth a read.
Frustratingly Inconsistent.......2007-10-15
I wish I could rewrite this book.
The first half was exceptional. I was so often drawn in to the characters' lives. I eagerly awaited the point where it would become obvious that Clare and Henry were meant to be together. As I reconsider the novel and the expectations I held while reading this half, I can't help but realize how deeply I was disappointed by the second half. I often felt that Niffenegger lost touch with her characters as the novel progressed. Rather than feeling as though the love between Clare and Henry deepened as their lives became more complicated, their characters started to unravel. Story lines were picked up, only to be dropped abruptly without explanation. Side characters were pigeonholed to an almost insulting degree. And the time traveling, which provided such substance and meaning to my understanding of Clare and Henry early on, added very little value my experience of the second half of the book, except to infuse everything with dread. Ultimately I was waiting for the novel to amaze me, which, unfortunately, it did not.
There were many things I loved about the book, not the least of which is how heavily detailed it was. I only wish that the potential it held for me could have been reached.
Clever Idea, But Over-rated and Unsatisfying.......2007-10-13
Henry DeTamble is a handsome young librarian who lives in Chicago and time travels uncontrollably into the past as well as the future. Many of his travels take him back to see his future wife Clare Abshire as she grows up.
I thought the premise of the book was very interesting and kept me thinking and flipping back and forth to see when events happened in time.
I really enjoyed the first half of the book and I thought Niffenegger did a very good job of making the characters of Henry and Clare come to life. But the second half of the book, after Henry and Clare are married seems to be written in a completely different style. I'm not sure what happened but the story just seems to fall apart and go nowhere. There are many pages devoted to Henry's time travel but few sentences devoted to developing realistic relationships between the characters she created.
I think this could have been a really great book but I honestly didn't feel the love in the love story. And the more I dissected the novel the less satisfying it seems to me.
Okay so that's what I'm going to say without mentioning specifics. If you keep reading you will find...
***SPOILERS AHEAD*** I guess the one thing that seems to be starkly absent from this story is the reason that Henry continues to visit Clare as she grows up. Why does he do that? It seemed to me that he was grooming her to be a better wife in the future but we never see what sends him back to her.
Some other things that seem missing are the realistic details of daily life, like when Gomez and Charisse have their children, their births are not mentioned. When Clare's brother and his wife have kids their births aren't mentioned and their names are never given, they are just referred to as their kids. I think Clare and Henry's heartache over not being able to have children could have been illustrated using the births of the many children in their life.
I thought the story line of Gomez being in love with Clare was left completely unexplored.
I thought the fact that Clare's father and brother never say anything about what happened in the field in 1984 was unlikely. Wouldn't she have talked with them about those events, at least after Henry died?
And what did they tell Alba about her abilities? I think the author addressing that would have given a richer and more realistic feeling to the book. It almost seemed like she was overly focused on the time travel and failed to pay attention to the underlying story she created.
Book Description
A feat of historical detection--the most significant, andcertainly the most enthralling, book on American prehistory to appear indecades.The greatest "unsolved mystery" of the American Southwest relates to theAnasazi, the native peoples who by the 11th century converged on ChacoCanyon (now New Mexico) and built a flourishing cultural center thatattracted pilgrims from far and wide, a vital crossroads of the prehistoricworld. The Anasazis' accomplishments--in agriculture, in art, in commerce,in architecture and engineering--were astounding, rivaling those of theMayans in distant Central America. By the 13th century, however, the Anasazi were gone from Chaco. Vanished.What was it--drought? pestilence? war? forced migration? mass murder orsuicide? Craig Childs draws on scholarly research and a lifetime ofadventure and exploration in the American Southwest to pursue the mysteryof their disappearance. Considering many possibilities, he points the wayto a new understanding of how a vibrant civilization collapsed.
Customer Reviews:
Childs has done it with this book..........2007-09-11
It's been a long time since I was thoroughly captivated by a book but House Of Rain has managed to do just that. Craig Childs is arguably one of the finest non-fiction writers today. For those of us who live and breathe the Great Southwest, Child's descriptions will bring back vivid memories of Sleeping Ute mountain in the distance and standing where the Ancients stood at Mesa Verde, Hovenweep, and Chaco. For those reviewers who felt like they needed maps and an answer, you can get maps at the visitor centers all bound up in glossy little books with equally glossy descriptions of people and places. This is not one of those books - it's so much deeper. This book is not a souvenier, it's a vehicle that takes you to places that a relative few will ever see and even less will understand. Sometimes, there is no final answer - there's just the lingering questions. That's part of what makes it so interesting.
Excellent Read With Interesting Personal Point of Views.......2007-09-06
This is the first book by Craig Childs that I've read. I will say it is an excellent book on the Anasazi. Craig has spent his whole life in the desert Southwest and appears to be quite knowledgeable about his subject. If you are the least bit interested in knowing a bit more about the Anasazi but don't want to read a "dry" scientific book about the subject, this is "the book" for you. Craig has travelled, worked and talked with many southwest Archaeologists who study the Anasazi. His discussions on the Anasazi are not boring and dry and his writing style is superb. I have a passing interest in the subject matter and this is one of the newest books on the subject and based on reviews of his other books, bought this one. I'm glad I did. Craig covers some controversial areas in regards to the Anasazi and where they went. They didn't disappear, their ancestors are still here, spread out over the southwest. He hits on a few quite creditabal possibilities and presents material to support them. I not being an expert on the subject but none the less interested and with some of my own ideas, I think Craig is on to something in regards to some of the reasons for the abandonment of the ancient sites across the entire southwest not just the Four Corners area commonly attributed to the Anasazi. Craig's descriptions of his backcountry travels are excellent and gives the sense that you are there with him which makes it even more enjoyable to read. This one is a keeper which I know I will read over and over again.
House of Rain, A Great Read.......2007-08-16
If you'd like to take a journey into the SW United States looking for the "missing" Anasazi, you should crack open this book, and delve into Craig Child's riveting journey. Child's style of writing puts you there with him, and he's very skilled at creating images that draw you into the adventure.
House of Rain .......2007-07-07
Craig Childs and "House of Rain" took me to places I've been and most importantly, to places I've been unable to experience. As I was reading this descriptive narrative of the Southwest that I love so much, I felt I was walking right beside him...excellent!
Exception read for the non-archeologist interested in the Anasazi.......2007-07-06
I already own several of Craig Childs books which I enjoy reading so that I can vicariously explore the canyons with him. This book is Exceptional. I bought it just last week at the Anasazi Heritage Center near Mesa Verde and Canyons of the Ancients while vacationing there with my wife and granddaughter. Living in Utah, we make yearly trips to the Moab area and southeastern canyons of Utah always hopeing to find a ruin to explore and photograph. This book is great for the non-scientist but those interested in the cultures of the Southwest like me!
Amazon.com
Who hasn't dreamed, on a mundane Monday or frowzy Friday, of chucking it all in and packing off to the south of France? Provençal cookbooks and guidebooks entice with provocatively fresh salads and azure skies, but is it really all Côtes-du-Rhône and fleur-de-lis? Author Peter Mayle answers that question with wit, warmth, and wicked candor in A Year in Provence, the chronicle of his own foray into Provençal domesticity.
Beginning, appropriately enough, on New Year's Day with a divine luncheon in a quaint restaurant, Mayle sets the scene and pits his British sensibilities against it. "We had talked about it during the long gray winters and the damp green summers," he writes, "looked with an addict's longing at photographs of village markets and vineyards, dreamed of being woken up by the sun slanting through the bedroom window." He describes in loving detail the charming, 200-year-old farmhouse at the base of the Lubéron Mountains, its thick stone walls and well-tended vines, its wine cave and wells, its shade trees and swimming pool--its lack of central heating. Indeed, not 10 pages into the book, reality comes crashing into conflict with the idyll when the Mistral, that frigid wind that ravages the Rhône valley in winter, cracks the pipes, rips tiles from the roof, and tears a window from its hinges. And that's just January.
In prose that skips along lightly, Mayle records the highlights of each month, from the aberration of snow in February and the algae-filled swimming pool of March through the tourist invasions and unpredictable renovations of the summer months to a quiet Christmas alone. Throughout the book, he paints colorful portraits of his neighbors, the Provençaux grocers and butchers and farmers who amuse, confuse, and befuddle him at every turn. A Year in Provence is part memoir, part homeowner's manual, part travelogue, and all charming fun. --L.A. Smith
Book Description
In this witty and warm-hearted account, Peter Mayle tells what it is like to realize a long-cherished dream and actually move into a 200-year-old stone farmhouse in the remote country of the Lubéron with his wife and two large dogs. He endures January's frosty mistral as it comes howling down the Rhône Valley, discovers the secrets of goat racing through the middle of town, and delights in the glorious regional cuisine. A Year in Provence transports us into all the earthy pleasures of Provençal life and lets us live vicariously at a tempo governed by seasons, not by days.
Customer Reviews:
A Year in Provence - a delight.......2007-10-01
Over a decade has passed since A Year in Provence was published but time has not dulled the images, humor or humanity of Peter Mayle's wonderful story of an English couple's misadventures as they seek the good life in Rural France. The people, the food, and the land all come alive as the Mayle family struggles to rebuild an old farmhouse and blend in with the locals. This is the book that re-ignited interest in one one of France's most beautiful and gracious regions.
GOING TO THE DOGS IN THE LAND OF THE FROGS.......2007-09-03
Peter Mayle's delightful expose of his first year as "foreigners" in Provence proves highly entertaining reading--for serious or armchair travelers. This month-by-month account proves a painfully honest narrative: how a perfectly respectable English couple "goes native" in just twelve months in Southern France. Clearly a cautionary tale this book catalogues the clandestine allures faced by naive Anglo-Saxons who have clearly absorbed too much semi-tropical heat to retain their Northern European rationality.
Read and be warned of the psychological horrors of gradulaly
slipping from productive, English sobriety and a lifestyle of moderation, into the fathomless pit of culinary worship with its acolytes: bread, wine, garlic, truffles, olive oil, cheese and game birds.
So this charming, apparently normal couple emigrates to southern France, where they are baffled by Provencal accents, attitudes and the
natives' flexible view of Time. The Mayles are thrown in without adequate warning to deal with sly peasants, avid promoters, local civic pride, excitable construction workers, rude drop-in guests and the seasonal invasion of European tourists: German campers and snobby Parisians who consider the entire globe beneath their notice.
The Mayles' first year concludes with the renovation (well, almost completed) of an old stone house, during which time they have earned the grudging respect of their colorful neighbors. Unfortunately, the standards of the once safe and sane British Empire have definitely disintegrated into shameless dedication/degradation to the gods of food and drink. The plotline can be briefly summed up: Going to the dogs--as some might say, (despite the fact that the couple actually brought their own dogs from home) in the land of the Frogs. If you read this book you'll never need to visit Provence in person, and yourfunny bone will be well fed, but your tummy/waist line will surely miss out.
Held Me From The First Page ~ A Classic!.......2007-08-30
Love this book! It truly is a classic! From the first page it's fun, well-written, very entertaining, and made me feel I was there. All huge plusses with any book. I don't want to give too much away in hopes you'll buy it yourself and enjoy it slowly like a deliciously seductive meal in France. Very giftable, too! I'm thinking stocking stuffers? A little "just because" gift for a friend who needs a pick-me-up package in the mail? Or a housewarming gift with a bottle of French wine?
A Year in Provence.......2007-08-23
I read this book several years ago, and loved it so much I wanted to move to Provence.
I bought to give as a gift.
British liege lord, French slaves.......2007-08-22
The long-running international success of this book is amazing. Almost enough to promote head-scratching. Doubt. Confusion. Fear of the Apocalypse. Because, if you really look at it, the book ain't all that great.
A YEAR IN PROVENCE tells the true story of a snobbish, know-it-all Englishman (a certain Peter Mayle) who retires after a successful career in the publishing industry in England and then buys an ancient farmhouse in Provence. He and his wife move in, eat fancy meals, re-do the house with all manner of expensive and modern luxuries, and cruise around the area looking for cute country restaurants, stores, and open-air markets, and even cuter anecdotes. That's the whole story: part culinary celebration by an English foodie, part travelogue of a newly retired control freak, part tourism poster for the French national administrative district of Provence/Cote d'Azure, A YEAR IN PROVENCE is the story of one wealthy, non-working Brit's gaze on a bunch of French people who do have jobs. Call it a giant chocolate box of witty, self-affirming anecdotes, some nutty, some sweet, most all scrumptious if ultimately empty.
In a move of sophistication that reminds me of Albert Einstein's most intellectually fertile period, Mr. Mayle names each chapter after a month. For example, Chapter 1 is actually called "January." Then Chapter 2 is called "February." It's "a year in Provence"!
But seriously, folks: Mr. Mayle gets a big shout-out for his descriptions of the cuisine served in Provence. It really is a foodie's delight to hear him tell of meal after succulent meal, wine after sweet wine. Also, kudos to the big Mr. M for his loving portraiture of the Provençal countryside. Here, too, the author excels. I, too, have lived in Provence, and his panoramas of the villages and countryscapes are spot-on.
But then we have to touch on the overall "me lord, you slave" nature of the text. As mentioned above, Mr. Mayle is retired. And he spends the whole book condesending to and commenting upon the hard-working residents who live in Provence and are just trying to get by. They exist, A YEAR IN PROVENCE tells us, so that a wealthy, superior, judgmental Brit can hover around them and fawn over them the way a slave owner must have grinned out appreciatively from the plantation's steps onto the poor folk working his fields.
So--in short--if you like your Provence filled with two-dimensional, grinning, child-like adults who shimmy and charm like Bojangles to make a smug, well-fed foreigner feel happy and superior, then Peter Mayle has written a book for you.
Average customer rating:
- A beautifully crafted novel
- A sedate samurai
- Beautiful
- Read this book when feeling calm
- Gorgeous Prose
|
The Samurai's Garden: A Novel
Gail Tsukiyama
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Griffin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 United States
| World Literature
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
| 18th Century
| 19th Century
| 20th Century
| African American
| Asian American
| Classics
| Collections & Readers
| Drama
| General
| Hispanic
| History & Criticism
| Humor
| Jewish American
| Letters & Correspondence
| Native American
| Poetry
| Short Stories
| Women Writers
Contemporary
| General
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Historical
| Genre Fiction
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Popular Fiction
| Literature & Fiction
| Book Clubs
| Specialty Stores
| Books
Look Inside Fiction Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
Similar Items:
-
Women of the Silk: A Novel
-
The Language of Threads: A Novel
-
Night of Many Dreams: A Novel
-
Dreaming Water
-
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan: A Novel
ASIN: 0312144075 |
Book Description
The daughter of a Chinese mother and a Japanese father, Tsukiyama uses the Japanese invasion of China during the late 1930s as a somber backdrop for her unusual story about a 20-year-old Chinese painter named Stephen who is sent to his family's summer home in a Japanese coastal village to recover from a bout with tuberculosis. Here he is cared for by Matsu, a reticent housekeeper and a master gardener. Over the course of a remarkable year, Stephen learns Matsu's secret and gains not only physical strength, but also profound spiritual insight. Matsu is a samurai of the soul, a man devoted to doing good and finding beauty in a cruel and arbitrary world, and Stephen is a noble student, learning to appreciate Matsu's generous and nurturing way of life and to love Matsu's soulmate, gentle Sachi, a woman afflicted with leprosy.
Customer Reviews:
A beautifully crafted novel.......2007-08-26
This story was simplistic and wonderful. I read it in two days and was mesmerized by the rich culture. The best book I've read in a long time
A sedate samurai.......2007-08-20
The plot of this book makes a terrific outline: A young Chinese man recuperating in Japan from tuberculosis while Japanese troops are slaughtering his Chinese contemporaries in the pre-World War Two invasion; a quiet but strong and wise caretaker who lives to rescue victims of leprosy, including a woman spurned by his best friend; a marriage crisis for the Chinese man's parents; a Romeo/Juliet type love story between the Chinese man and a young Japanese woman. Should be socko.
Instead, it's sedating. Whether it's the passive nature of Stephen, the young Chinese man, or the very pedestrian writing style of the author, I found this book consistently tepid. She shows off her new knowledge about Japanese culture, giving detailed descriptions of every meal and every kimono.
She tells the story through Stephen when the caretaker, Matsu, is the central character. Because Matsu is strong and silent, we don't get inside his character development.
Nevertheless, it's an interesting look at Japan before WWII: religion, relationship and customs.
Beautiful.......2007-08-15
A delightful story of a chinese teen, sent to japan on the eve of WW2 to recuperate after getting tuberculosis. He meets his father's servant who he gets to know and the locals, finding them friendly and welcoming even with the war. He finds the simple way of life, instead of being boring, fills his days and he is bereft when the war forces him to leave.
A wonderful piece of prose, this haunting story of the simple people and their tragic lives is a page turner.
Read this book when feeling calm.......2007-05-21
Reviews of the Samurai's Garden seem to fall into two camps. The "Oh my God, I loved it-best book evers" and the "Are you kidding me? This book stunk category!"
My problem with those in the latter category is that (with a few exceptions) readers who did not like this book tend to mount some moral literary high horse. They relish insulting other reviewers, as in "Anyone with any discerning taste and one scintilla of brain cells would NEVER like this book, ergo if you do you, I hate to break this to you, but you are a stupid, simple, idiot." Listen to yourselves! I wonder what it must feel like to these people to know everything?
Anyway. I did not particularly love this book, but I really can see how many did. The case can definitely be made that there were many layers of beautiful, intertwining lessons in this seemingly simple, yet really more-complex-than-it-looks book. In that sense, it kind of reminds me of the polarizing effect of the Ladies' Detective Agency series by Alexander McCall Smith.
My biggest problem with this book was that I don't think I was in the mood for it. I read it at a time when I had a lot going on, and couldn't sufficiently savor it. This is a book to be savored in peace. For most of my read of it, I wasn't in a peaceful frame of mind as a reader. My personal restlessness wanted more action, less bean cake eating. A few times, however, despite myself, I was caught flat-footed with awe by something in the story. The one thing I took away was to never forget that everyone has a story that helps define them. You just have to be still and listen.
Gorgeous Prose.......2007-02-12
Languish for a while in the Tsukiyama's Japanese garden and you may never want to leave. The serenity created in Matsu's little haven is contradicted by the military domination of the Japanese over the Chinese and the reclusive leper colony struggling for a peaceful existence in a realm beyond that of war. It is to this environment that a young Chinese boy enters into in search of healthier air and soothing salt of the sea . As his body begins healing, his emotions are delicately fractured by all that he learns of war, leprosy, first love, his family secrets, and the servant Matsu - who is truly a master of wisdom, honor, and faith. I wanted to walk through this garden again and again.
Amazon.com
"Provence, again?" one may think, seeing Peter Mayle's latest effort. "Has the man nothing better to do than promote a region that's already overhyped and overpriced? Can't he turn his eye to a place that needs a touristic boost, like Bulgaria?"
However, there are reasons to plunge into the third Provençal book by Englishman Mayle, formerly a Madison Avenue copywriter whose bestselling A Year in Provence made the area a must-see for tourists and helped to quadruple real estate prices there. After four years in Long Island, Mayle has returned to France with continuing adoration.
Mayle discloses a world missed by tourists, be it the questions dry cleaners ask about wine stains or the mysterious murder of a small-town butcher given to making housewives happy with more than his displayed meat. He also incorporates guide-like tips--listing markets, cheese makers, and the essential how-tos of perfume sniffing and olive-oil tasting. What's more, this book gives a peek into the life of a bestselling writer. The role is not always an enviable one.
Mayle no longer fits into life in America--the vocabulary alone is enough to throw him off--yet in Provence, he is regarded as little more than a moneyed foreigner. Speared by the British press, he laments, "One of my crimes is to have encouraged people to visit the region ... far too many people ... and people of the wrong sort," an accusation that he denies.
And Mayle comes off as positively defensive in his attack of former New York Times food critic Ruth Reichl, who wrote that she was disappointed in the region. The title alone of chapter 3 hints at the sarcastic stabbings to follow: "New York Times Restaurant Critic Makes Astonishing Discovery: Provence Never Existed." Page after page, he roasts Reichl on the spit, creating a hissing Ruth Rotisserie that's most unbecoming from someone of his stature.
What most causes him to sputter is Reichl's admission that she "had been dreaming of a Provence that never existed."
"Where had I been living all these years?" writes the man who's helped to perpetrate the illusion of a land that is nothing but lavender fields, sunflowers swaying in the breeze, and fascinating characters every millimeter. "The Provence that Daudet, Giono, Ford Madox Ford, Lawrence Durrell and M.F.K. Fisher knew and wrote about--the Provence that I know--doesn't exist.... It's a sunny figment of our imagination, a romanticized fantasy."
Maybe. Having recently visited Provence, I agree with Reichl's critical assessment. Therein lies Mayle's ultimate charm. Crack open a bottle of Chateauneuf du Pape, delve into Encore Provence, and voilà: it may be better than actually being there. --Melissa Rossi
Book Description
In his most delightful foray into the wonders of Provençal life, Peter Mayle returns to France and puts behind him cholesterol worries, shopping by phone, California wines, and other concerns that plagued him after too much time away.
In
Encore Provence, Mayle gives us a glimpse into the secrets of the truffle trade, a parfumerie lesson on the delicacies of scent, an exploration of the genetic effects of 2,000 years of foie gras, and a small-town murder mystery that reads like the best fiction. Here, too, are Mayle's latest tips on where to find the best honey, cheese, or chambre d'hìte the region has to offer. Lyric, insightful, sparkling with detail,
Encore Provence brings us a land where the smell of thyme in the fields or the glory of a leisurely lunch is no less than inspiring.
Customer Reviews:
Paperback???.......2007-03-09
The book was everything I expected...but y'all sent it in paperback. I never buy a book that I do not want to keep....and I never buy and keep paperback books.
Life in the South of France.......2007-03-04
Food, the air, water, the land and the people in the South of France. The book beautifully took me thru life in this person move to this area.
PROVENCE, ONCE AGAIN.......2006-11-05
Peter Mayle effectivately takes us once again to beautiful Provence through his second book. His writing is witty yet very unassuming and laid back. He gives the reader vivid and often funny accounts of the land and its people. He has an uncanny ability to observe the smallest details in the Provencal locals that he meets and to express it in a very entertaining way through his books.
An Entertaining Book.......2006-06-25
"Encore Provence" is entertaining, but not quite as hilarious as "A Year in Provence".
fun, witty .......2006-02-04
As always, Mayle is terrible entertaining. His breezy style is fantastic. He has the ability to make his readers feel like you are sitting in a cafe with a glass of local wine, just listening to his endless line of colorful stories. At the last page of his books, I feel that I have finished my visit with him in Provence all too soon.
Amazon.com
Into Thin Air is a riveting first-hand account of a catastrophic expedition up Mount Everest. In March 1996, Outside magazine sent veteran journalist and seasoned climber Jon Krakauer on an expedition led by celebrated Everest guide Rob Hall. Despite the expertise of Hall and the other leaders, by the end of summit day eight people were dead. Krakauer's book is at once the story of the ill-fated adventure and an analysis of the factors leading up to its tragic end. Written within months of the events it chronicles, Into Thin Air clearly evokes the majestic Everest landscape. As the journey up the mountain progresses, Krakauer puts it in context by recalling the triumphs and perils of other Everest trips throughout history. The author's own anguish over what happened on the mountain is palpable as he leads readers to ponder timeless questions.
Book Description
When Jon Krakauer reached the summit of Mt. Everest in the early afternoon of May 10, 1996, he hadn't slept in fifty-seven hours and was reeling from the brain-altering effects of oxygen depletion. As he turned to begin his long, dangerous descent from 29,028 feet, twenty other climbers were still pushing doggedly toward the top. No one had noticed that the sky had begun to fill with clouds. Six hours later and 3,000 feet lower, in 70-knot winds and blinding snow, Krakauer collapsed in his tent, freezing, hallucinating from exhaustion and hypoxia, but safe. The following morning, he learned that six of his fellow climbers hadn't made it back to their camp and were desperately struggling for their lives. When the storm finally passed, five of them would be dead, and the sixth so horribly frostbitten that his right hand would have to be amputated.
Into Thin Air is the definitive account of the deadliest season in the history of Everest by the acclaimed journalist and author of the bestseller
Into the Wild. On assignment for
Outside Magazine to report on the growing commercialization of the mountain, Krakauer, an accomplished climber, went to the Himalayas as a client of Rob Hall, the most respected high-altitude guide in the world. A rangy, thirty-five-year-old New Zealander, Hall had summited Everest four times between 1990 and 1995 and had led thirty-nine climbers to the top. Ascending the mountain in close proximity to Hall's team was a guided expedition led by Scott Fischer, a forty-year-old American with legendary strength and drive who had climbed the peak without supplemental oxygen in 1994. But neither Hall nor Fischer survived the rogue storm that struck in May 1996.
Krakauer examines what it is about Everest that has compelled so many people -- including himself -- to throw caution to the wind, ignore the concerns of loved ones, and willingly subject themselves to such risk, hardship, and expense. Written with emotional clarity and supported by his unimpeachable reporting, Krakauer's eyewitness account of what happened on the roof of the world is a singular achievement.
Into the Wild is available on audio, read by actor Campbell Scott.
Download Description
When Jon Krakauer reached the summit of Mount Everest in the early afternoon of May 10, 1996, he hadn't slept in fifty-seven hours and was reeling from the brain-altering effects of oxygen depletion. As he turned to begin the perilous descent from 29,028 feet (roughly the cruising altitude of an Airbus jetliner), twenty other climbers were still pushing doggedly to the top, unaware that the sky had begun to roil with clouds.
Into Thin Air is the definitive account of the deadliest season in the history of Everest by the acclaimed Outside journalist and author of the bestselling Into the Wild. Taking the reader step-by-step from Katmandu to the mountain's deadly pinnacle, Krakauer has us shaking on the edge of our seat. Beyond the terrors of this account, however, he also peers deeply into the myth of the world's tallest mountain. What is it about Everest that has compelled so many people -- including himself -- to throw caution to the wind, ignore the concerns of loved ones, and willingly subject themselves to such risk, hardship, and expense?
Written with emotional clarity and supported by unimpeachable reporting, Krakauer's eyewitness account of what happened on the roof of the world is a singular achievement.
Customer Reviews:
Strange, sad and wonderful.......2007-10-16
Wow. What a book. Into Thin Air is the story of the ill-fated 1996 Mount Everest climbing season, as told by Krakauer, a journalist for Outside magazine, and a seasoned, albeit non-Himalayan, climber. Krakauer lived to summit Everest and return; nine of his fellow climbers did not return. Why did disaster strike with such ferocity? There are a number of perspectives to take. The wisdom of professional climbers taking paying customers up a mountain they otherwise would never come near has to be questioned. One client was literally dragged up the mountain (short-roped) on summit day by a sherpa who was supposed to be setting ropes further up the mountain. Many other smaller non-fatal errors accumulated to create huge problems later in the day. The best decisions on summit day seemed to be made by the non-professional climbers, which made me wonder about the cumulative effects of oxygen deprivation. Over 25,000 feet, the 'death zone', humans lose thousands of brain cells each minute due to lack of oxygen. Maybe the professional guides had been up to the summit one or two times too many. The biggest factor however, appears to have been the mountain itself, and the killer weather which is associated with it. In the end, reading this book teaches you that even with all of the high tech equipment and training, nobody climbs Everest unless the mountain decides to allow it.
Krakauer writes in a clear, entertaining, and comprehensive style. The book never dragged. The author includes enough history -of the mountain, of climbing, and of the personalities on the mountain in 1996- to put 1996's events in a meaningful context. He made me care about these eccentric, some would say self-destructive, people. There is so much in this book. There are heroes, villains, saints, a tiny bit of sex, heartbreak (one client decided to turn around short of the summit and head back to safety only to be talked back into trying for the summit by his team leader, resulting in both of their deaths), horror (good people are shown suffering unbearably, only to die in the end), suspense - and all of it really happened. Some of the events documented are so strange, bizarre and unlikely, that a fiction writer would probably choose to tone them down to make them more believable.
Krakauer is quite deliberate about qualifying his account of the 1996 disaster. As humans we are limited in how much we can take in and process of large, complex events. We forget too quickly, we are selective in what we see and hear - we only experience a fraction of what really is. And yet our minds seem hard-wired to make sense of events which probably do not make sense. Into Thin Air is only a guess as to what really happened on that strange mountain in 1996, even though it was written by a professional journalist who was in the thick of the action. If Krakauer could re-live it all 100 times, each time profiting from previous experience and each time looking at a different angle, perhaps it would all become more understandable. Krakauer of course wouldn't do this. He never wants to go back to Mount Everest.
Reading this book is like having someone dump a handful of cold powdery snow down the back of your shirt. It's a wake-up call of sorts, illustrating what a strange, wonderful, mysterious and terrifying place we live in, and how tentative and fragile is mankind's place and hold over this planet. This is a great book.
Chilling account of an incredible and sad story.......2007-10-15
A friend of mine suggested this book and I am so glad she did, it was so mind-blogging and inspiring and a fantastic pleasure to read. Even if you're not into hiking and have not even the slightest desire to climb the world's tallest mountains, I think you will enjoy reading this true story about persistence and tragedy within the most unbelievable circumstances.
Into Thin Air is about a group of thrill-seekers who hire a guide to hike Mt. Everest in 1996. From page one to the last page, the reader is welcomed along the journey as the author describes every moment of his journey. With vivid detail and heartbreaking truth, the reader feels like he is right there experiencing all that climbing Mt. Everest has to offer, the good and the bad. He describes the people in his group and reports the moment to moment occurrences that lead up to the horrible loss of life. The reader is brought up and down Mt. Everest with a sense of respect and admiration for all who attempted this incredible undertaking. For those that survived and made it home safely, a deep sense of both sorrow and esteem.
It was only after I read this book did I learn about the controversy about this author and I have to say, I think he wrote an incredibly honest and detailed account of what happened from his point of view. I really enjoyed reading this book and I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading biographical stories. This was well written from start to finish.
Don't plan anything else.......2007-10-15
You probably won't be able to put down this book until you have finished it, so it's best not to start unless you know you have the time. In typical Krakauer fashion, the author takes you on a wild, emotional, heart-pounding true adventure. For anyone who loves mountains, the outdoors, climbing, or adventure. If you can't climb mountains yourself, this is the next best thing.
Good Writing, Excellent Read.......2007-10-04
The story must be familiar even to those not into mountaineering. This is probably the most well-written account of the events which led up to the catastrophe on Mt Everest on May 1996. Clients from 2 commercial groups were trapped in a storm after making the summit. Jon Krakauer gives a detailed, fast-paced account of the dramatic events that followed. It is definitely in the area of narration skills where Krakauer's book stands above all the other books written by other people on the mountain.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and won't hesitate to give it 5 stars, but I do have a serious problem with the author's attitude. With the benefit of hindsight, he could, of course point out every single mistake that the others made which cost them theirs and other people's lives.
He also can't seem to be able to stop boasting about everything that he did right. I think one of the reasons why he's alive is because he only took care of himself. He would have us think that he was more prudent that Rob Hall and Scott Fischer.
Like one reviewer said, I too would never go climbing with this guy. If I ever got into trouble, he's not only going to abandon me but would actually tell the world about what I did wrong.
The Crystal Horizon: Everest-The First Solo Ascent
Above All Else - The Everest Dream
Surviving the Extremes: A Doctor's Journey to the Limits of Human Endurance
All Fourteen 8,000ers
No Shortcuts to the Top: Climbing the World's 14 Highest Peaks
The Trekking Peaks of Nepal
Glacier Travel & Crevasse Rescue: Reading Glaciers, Team Travel, Crevasse Rescue Techniques, Routefinding, Expedition Skills 2nd Edition
Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills
Tenzing Norgay and the Sherpas of Everest
Medicine: For Mountaineering & Other Wilderness Activities 5th Edition
Exercise Physiology: Energy, Nutrition, and Human Performance (Exercise Physiology ( MC Ardle))
A Great Writer -- Just Don't Ever Go Climbing with Him.......2007-09-21
Krakauer is a superb writer, as evidenced by this compelling read. As a climber, my take-home lesson from this book is that I would never set foot on a mountain with a person as smarmy, self-serving, selfish and self-absorbed as Mr. Krakauer. In my opinion, major portions of this book are nothing more than an after-the-fact and rather flimsy justification for Krakauer's abject moral failure on Everest as a person and as a mountaineer. Krakauer made sure he looked after No. 1 -- himself. He could have helped others who later died and chose not to. He should not have compounded his moral failure on the mountain with the sin of proferring a self-serving account of why he is not such a bad fellow after all. When in the mountains, Krakauer and his ilk are the type to stay away from, and certainly never the type to trust with your life.
Average customer rating:
- Ethiopia: Peoples of the Omo Valley
- Superb!
|
Ethiopia: Peoples of the Omo Valley
Hans Silvester
Manufacturer: Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
General
| Photography
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
Africa
| Travel
| Photography
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Travel
| Photography
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
General
| How-to
| Photography
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Africa
| History
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Anthropology
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
Ethiopia & Djibouti
| Africa
| Travel
| Subjects
| Books
Look Inside Nonfiction Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
Look Inside Science Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
Look Inside Travel Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
All Deals
| Blowout Books
| Stores
| Books
Arts & Photography
| Blowout Books
| Stores
| Books
Nonfiction
| Blowout Books
| Stores
| Books
Travel
| Blowout Books
| Stores
| Books
Similar Items:
-
Africa
-
Don McCullin in Africa
-
Ethiopia (Enchantment of the World. Second Series)
-
Hector Acebes: Portraits in Africa, 19481953
-
Vanishing Africa: A Photographer's Journey
ASIN: 0810993260 |
Book Description
In this ambitious work, Hans Silvester turns his photographic eye toward ancient Africa, the birthplace of humanity. Silvester was essentially adopted by his subjects during his travels, and his stunning color photographs present a rare, intimate view of their world.
The first volume of this deluxe two-volume set presents the everyday lives of the Omo people, their rituals, parades, childrenÂ's games, and even their battles. In the second volume, each photograph becomes a masterpiece of abstract art, revealing close-ups of the tribesÂ' traditional body paintings. SilvesterÂ's accompanying text traces his journey to the Horn of Africa, revealing the fascinating beauty of a world now in danger of extinction.
Customer Reviews:
Ethiopia: Peoples of the Omo Valley.......2007-09-09
This is a best vision of the people of the Omo Valley.
Ethiopia is a anknow contry with marvellous people.
Superb!.......2007-04-09
I hated to shell out the big bucks, but I've hit rock bottom and I admit I'm a junkie for books on places where I've been in tribal Africa. So I had to do it--and I'm glad I did.
It's hard to imagine having any books at all on tribal life anywhere in the world and not have this two-volume set. The photography and its richness of color as printed on the page just can't be topped. Is it just me, or are more people "discovering" the Omo Valley these days? It's in southern Ethiopia, where people still live much as they have for centuries--they still compete against nature for sustenance, tribes still fight each other for grazing land, women still wear goat skins and the men of some tribes still consider the most minimal of clothing optional. It is one of the few places in the world where tribal attire and body painting is the real, every-day thing--not something put on for tourists. Silvester represents it well in this set. And unlike so many coffee table books, in which any kind of meaningful narrative is catch as catch can, Silvester's narrative is informative and engaging--more anecdotal than a scholarly treatise.
Good news: no thumbnails in the back, where you have to go for captions. Captions are with the pictures, but I wish more of the pictures were captioned.
I was apprehensive about the second volume. The editorial review can be interpreted as meaning photos of the body paintings have been turned into abstract art. I didn't really want to pay for something like that. But again, I wasn't disappointed. The second volume is just photos, not photos reworked into abstract art. The art on their bodies already is abstract art. I swear, I have seen far less impressive paintings hanging in art galleries, commanding many thousands of dollars! Page after page, you will say aloud, "This is amazing!"
Some will hate Silvester's work. As we've seen in other reviews of books covering tribal Africa, there will always be some who seem embarrassed by all the nudity. They will angrily denounce such books as somehow "false," claiming such Africa no longer exists. Weird wishful thinking, I suppose, probably having something to do with internalized racism. This 2-volume set, then, is not for them. This photographer does not select for publication only those shots where an elbow or a leaf just happens to shield the viewer from prudish sensitivities. And that gives you a sense of honesty about the work. You don't feel manipulated as you might if you felt the photographer had an agenda or was trying to be gentle with you. You don't have a vague sense of wondering what else he doesn't want you to know.
The lives and culture of the Omo Valley peoples are so different from ours in the West that we can find them shocking at first take. Sylvester addresses this. "When you see how these people live, you can't help asking: 'What is a savage?' What do we understand by the term 'primitive'?" I wouldn't have used the word "savage," not even in the context of the question, because it might imply the people really are more or less savage unless granted some kind of special, sympathetic interpretation of the depiction. I would not want to remotely suggest they could be seen as "savage." (Perhaps the translation from Silvester's German wasn't the best in this instance.) In any case, once you spend time with these people--in his case, I think it was 9 trips over 3 years--the mystery and the oddities quickly become not so odd or mysterious. Should the photographer, then, produce a work that carefully considers Western unfamiliarity and shock, or a work that caters more to authenticity? He goes for the authentic.
Check out Giansanti's work, and Beckwith & Fisher. Those are great too. But don't come up short without this one, either. It will take you on a wonderful, close-up journey into the harsh but beautiful land, and the hard but beautiful lives of the people of the Omo Valley.
Average customer rating:
- Italian get-away
- Lovely !
- "The mindblowingly boring guide to breathtaking Tuscany"
- Pleasant reading, but not a great book
- Mayes' Breakthrough Masterpiece, Forever a Classic...
|
Under the Tuscan Sun
Frances Mayes
Manufacturer: Broadway
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
Travel
| Writing
| Reference
| Subjects
| Books
Essays & Travelogues
| Reference & Tips
| Travel
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Italy
| Europe
| Travel
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Travel
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Italy
| Europe
| History
| Subjects
| Books
Biographies & Memoirs
| Book Clubs
| Specialty Stores
| Books
Look Inside Reference Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
Look Inside Travel Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
Similar Items:
-
Bella Tuscany: The Sweet Life in Italy
-
A Year in Provence
-
A Year in the World: Journeys of A Passionate Traveller
-
In Tuscany
-
Under the Tuscan Sun (Widescreen Edition)
ASIN: 0767900383
Release Date: 1997-09-01 |
Amazon.com
In this memoir of her buying, renovating, and living in an abandoned villa in Tuscany, Frances Mayes reveals the sensual pleasure she found living in rural Italy, and the generous spirit she brought with her. She revels in the sunlight and the color, the long view of her valley, the warm homey architecture, the languor of the slow paced days, the vigor of working her garden, and the intimacy of her dealings with the locals. Cooking, gardening, tiling and painting are never chores, but skills to be learned, arts to be practiced, and above all to be enjoyed. At the same time Mayes brings a literary and intellectual mind to bear on the experience, adding depth to this account of her enticing rural idyll.
Book Description
Now in paperback, the #1 San Francisco Chronicle bestseller that is an enchanting and lyrical look at the life, the traditions, and the cuisine of Tuscany, in the spirit of Peter Mayle's A Year in Provence.
Frances Mayes entered a wondrous new world when she began restoring an abandoned villa in the spectacular Tuscan countryside. There were unexpected treasures at every turn: faded frescos beneath the whitewash in her dining room, a vineyard under wildly overgrown brambles in the garden, and, in the nearby hill towns, vibrant markets and delightful people. In Under the Tuscan Sun, she brings the lyrical voice of a poet, the eye of a seasoned traveler, and the discerning palate of a cook and food writer to invite readers to explore the pleasures of Italian life and to feast at her table.
Download Description
Now a major motion picture froom Touchstone Pictures starring Diane Lane.
Frances Mayes entered a wondrous new world when she began restoring an abandoned villa in the spectacular Tuscan countryside. There were unexpected treasures at every turn: faded frescos beneath the whitewash in her dining room, a vineyard under wildly overgrown brambles in the garden, and, in the nearby hill towns, vibrant markets and delightful people. In Under the Tuscan Sun, she brings the lyrical voice of a poet, the eye of a seasoned traveler, and the discerning palate of a cook and food writer to invite readers to explore the pleasures of Italian life and to feast at her table.
"This beautifully written memoir about taking chances, living in Italy, loving a house and, always, the pleasures of food, would make a perfect gift for a loved one. But it's so delicious, read it first yourself."
USA TODAY
"Irresistible... a sensuous book for a sensuous countryside."
MINNEAPOLIS STAR-TRIBUNE
"An intense celebration of what [Mayes] calls 'the voluptuousness of Italian life'."
THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW
"Armchair travel at its most enticing."
BOOKLIST
"Mayes [has] perfect vision."
LOS ANGELES TIMES
Customer Reviews:
Italian get-away.......2007-07-23
The reading starts out fairly interesting and attention getting with all the desciptives of the Italian countryside, but starts to dddrraaagggg as you get towards to middle of the book. It does pick up the pace again towards the end. It's not one of those books that you just couldn't put down and had to finish reading in one day. I think I actually put it down ten or twelve times before I finished it. It's one of those books you can take with you when you're going to lay out in the sun on your day off. You can read it over a period of several sessions of sunbathing like I did.
Lovely !.......2007-07-01
I bought this book because I had loved the movie that was based on it.
That movie arrived at a very special moment in my life, and inspired me to follow some "terrible ideas" and change my life. When I left my own home country I had no idea of what was going to happen to me, I just felt that I could not go back and that something good had to come out of taking a leap and following my heart. It did.
9 months after that, I got married in Florence and, while on honeymoon in Tuscany, I bought the book, and immediately loved it. Mayes sounds happy and in love with Italy, and so was I when I was reading it. Both the book and the movie made me want to cook, travel, plant basil and rosemary in pots and have a glass of wine on a breezy summer evening. They reminded me, in the most wonderful way, that life still has beautiful surprises for all of us around the corner.
I have given several copies to my friends since I bought it, and I highly recommend it to all those who would like to travel at least with their imagination to bella Toscana!
"The mindblowingly boring guide to breathtaking Tuscany".......2007-05-08
There is a reason why there exists a certain breed of writers, before whose titles they are credible enough to affix the word "travel". Frances Mayes is not a travel writer. In fact, I am currently debating whether she is a writer at all. I was profoundly disappointed in this book. It seems inconceivable to me that any book on Italy - that passionate and breathtakingly beautiful place - can be as dull and unexciting as this! The content was deeply insightful when relating to the topic of Italy, the culture, food or anything to do with it however a two-page in-depth walk-through the process of installing concrete beams and walls is just utter torture. (And there is a fair share of that). That said, even the good parts are slow and lacking in excitement.
The book can get very technical in parts and is almost written in a nonchalant monotone that gives rise to a sense of sarcasm and smugness. The author does little to emotionally transport the reader to Tuscany or to create context around her narration. I have just completed the book and still find it difficult to envisage Bramasole and its surroundings. Were it not for the graphic on the cover of the book, I would have constructed an entirely different image in my mind. "Under the Tuscan Sun" felt like an articulation of facts rather than the telling of a tale. Italy lends itself to a whimsical spontaneous magic, which Mayes failed to capture in her writing. I am generally a very fast reader but I literally had to force myself to finish this book...the pages agonizingly dragged on and there seemed no end in sight.
If you are a fan of Italy, don't kill the magic with this book. Conde Nast or Travel & Leisure will make for a more engaging and enthusiastic read and can create a far better experience that will make you yearn for more... Ciò è un libro molto deludente!
Pleasant reading, but not a great book.......2007-04-12
I bought this book when my husband and I were planning a driving tour of Tuscany. I have lived in Italy for two years (in Sicily) and I wanted to see how Mayes' view of living in Italy varied from my own. I loved the flowery language and descriptive phrases used. I could almost smell the sun warmed grass and taste the peaches that she described in such detail. It was her vivid descriptions that kept me from tossing the book aside when the flow of the story seemed to falter. At times I was so bored with what she was describing that I had to force myself to keep reading and it was for this reason that I gave the book 3 stars instead of 4 or 5.
Another reason that I gave it 3 stars was the author's insistance in calling the period of afternoon rest that many people in Italy observe a "siesta". For someone who claims to love Italian people and culture you would think that Ms. Mayes would be ashamed to use the Spanish translation of this practice. In Italian it is called "risposo" and is a very important part of Italian culture. Having traveled north of Rome many times I have found that it isn't as common these days, but in Sicily it is still an intergral part of their culture and you will not find a public office or family business open between the hours of 1 and 4 in the afternoon. My only explanation for Ms. Mayes continuous use of "siesta" in place of the correct "risposo" is that she knows that most Americans are familiar with the Spanish term and would require less of an explanation. This doesn't explain why she couldn't explain early on in the book that the Italian "riposo" was similar to the Spanish "siesta" and then continue to use the correct term from then on. Was she afraid her readers would be unable to comprehend a new vocabulary word? As you can see, this is a sore point for me and was a source of annoyance throughout the book.
Having written the above, I would like it clear that I did like the book and I found her description of living in Italy amusing and right on target. The recipes included were pretty authentic and when they varied from the traditional she pointed this out. If you can get through the boring bits and get over the "siesta" thing, this is a good book for light reading.
Mayes' Breakthrough Masterpiece, Forever a Classic..........2007-04-11
The first triumphant success in her series of Tuscany themed masterpieces, the stupendously composed "Under The Tuscan Sun" is what Frances Mayes will indefinitely be remembered for. Mayes, once incarcerated in a prison of hope, follows her dream of owning a getaway home in the colorful, romantic land of Tuscany. She recounts the hardships, disasters, frustration, and ultimate satisfaction of purchasing and restoring an abandoned Villa in a culturally rich foreign country. Making new friends, discovering new places, and indulging in luscious dishes compounded with asperity and uphill battles makes her story truly sui generis.
The notion of owning a foreign property in an exotic location across the Ocean is one many Americans can easily adore; especially in such a convivial land such as Tuscany. Anyone with the slightest fantasy of immersing oneself in a whole new culture with such history and tradition will be attracted to Mayes' true story that was the inspiration for the movie of the same title. Reciting her experience of a stimulating but discouraging foreign real estate adventure, Mayes reaffirms Murphy's Law but eventually captures the essence of satisfaction in an accomplishing long held dream. We read all the surprises in her journey as she uncovers buried Frescos, vineyards concealed in shrub, and discovering secluded nearby ancient hill towns rich with local treasures. In the end, over all the angst of financial blunders, exhausted searches, buyer's remorse, and logistical incubus, somewhere shines through is the author's complacency and newly acquired cross-cultural understanding in achieving what was once no more than a whimsical daydream. She doesn't simply desire or strive to become an Italian like a disenchanted expatriate, she admires the seductive Italian culture while cautiously preserving her own individuality as an American and accomplished writer. We follow her along her journey as she grows stronger personally and spirituality, seeking some measure of harmonious peace that many readers will easily subscribe to.
Mayes demonstrates that such an aspiration is indeed possible even for the average citizen stuck in an monotonous routine of work in big city America. Even the most eccentric Hollywood screenplay stories can be achieved with a tenacious attitude and without losing sight of a our endearing dreams.
Book Description
“In many ways, I was an independent woman,” writes Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Alice Steinbach. “For years I’d made my own choices, paid my own bills, shoveled my own snow.” But somehow she had become dependent in quite another way. “I had fallen into the habit . . . of defining myself in terms of who I was to other people and what they expected of me.” But who was she away from the people and things that defined her? In this exquisite book, Steinbach searches for the answer to this question in some of the most beautiful and exciting places in the world: Paris, where she finds a soul mate; Oxford, where she takes a course on the English village; Milan, where she befriends a young woman about to be married. Beautifully illustrated with postcards from her journeys, this revealing and witty book transports you into a fascinating inner and outer journey, an unforgettable voyage of discovery.
Customer Reviews:
A Remarkable Memoir.......2007-07-05
An absolute, unequivocal 10.
What a remarkable memoir - what a remarkable woman !! One of my favorite observations is that "being alone" is different from "being on my own".
Oh how I wish I had the adventurous spirit and spontaneity of Alice Steinbach. I wish I could morph into an independent woman, perfectly at ease travelling around Europe and Great Britain on my own. I so admire this woman: everything from her talent for falling easily into friendships and conversations with the strangers she met on her travels, to her poetic and thoughtful observations of the world around her.
This is wonderful: "...beauty and history that hangs like a bridal veil over the city of Paris" ; and this poignant statement, "...people and places and cats that were lost to me. I had been thinking a lot about that lately--the inevitability of separation, in one form or another, from all those we love and, in a different way, from ourselves as we were in the past." I love Steinbach's ability to rediscover and to celebrate who she is now rather than mourning who she was at 25.
This quote from Frey's writing (my ignorance of this writer is sending me to the Web for a search), seemed to be the grand finale to all of Steinbach's remarks about learning not to let life beat her down, to continue to move forward: "The unexpectedness of life, waiting around every corner, catches even wise women unawares.... to avoid corners altogether is, after all, to refuse to live life". I wish I had read this book about 30 years ago.
An inspirational read!.......2007-03-25
I was impressed with the courage of the writer and her willingness to share her journey into the unknown and into her own heart. A great one!
empty.......2006-08-17
Although the project that founds the book is very seducive (the reason why you might be convinced by friend's reviews and impressed by Pulitzer and other readers's ratings), this book is very disappointing. The lady is simply describing how she is pleased to see that cities can be beautiful; she makes friends by discussing paintings in a way that would send you to bed (to sleep), and simply describes the succession of her ordinary discoveries, whithout what was a awaited from such an endeavour: a specific vision of the world, be it simple, but at least original; a way to look at human beings. For example, a Parisian would tell you that her approach to Paris is that of any 1960's tourist guide, suprisingly obsolete; that may be nice... but does not deserve a book. Nicolas Bouvier, the Swiss writer, is immensely worthier.
everyone's dream.......2005-12-24
This book was wonderful, i read it as slow as possible, savoring every word. I liked how down to earth Ms. Steinbach appeared, she never talked down to the reader. there were many times when the author made fun of herself and the situations she put herself in, just like any normal person would do. i have traveled to europe five times but have never gone with the intention to learn a new skill, take a class etc. This book was so inspiring to me to travel in a new way, to go with my mom or a friend instead of the whole family. I really loved this book and read the sequel too. I hope Ms. Steinbach continues to write about future adventures. The chapters flow from one adventure to the next and my only complaint were that I wanted even more details of everything, just couldn't get enough!
Carpe Diem.......2005-11-26
Who doesn't dream of quitting her job and traveling the world? Alice Steinbach wangles a leave of absence from her job and goes to Europe -- the dream with training wheels. Even though she has the security of knowing her home and job are waiting for her and she goes to countries that are comfortably strange, it is still a big leap for her. She makes the most of it and tells a great story.
Steinbach seems to make friends everywhere she goes. She travels with the attitude of a college student backpacking through Europe, hooking up with temporary friends at each stop. She treats her affair with Naohiro like a summer romance, intense, but sure to be temporary. Sometimes you forget that she is a middle-aged woman with two grown sons and a responsible career back home.
And that is the point. She wants to see who she is when the responsibilities of adulthood are stripped away. Is the young woman who wasn't afraid to take chances still there somewhere? Who is Alice Steinbach when she is not defined as "mother" and "reporter"? In nine months of travels through Paris, Britain, and Italy, she gradually sheds her inhibitions and fears, and gets reacquainted with living for the day.
Without Reservations is an upbeat, sometimes bittersweet, narrative of what feels like a prelude to a bigger leap.
Average customer rating:
- Giving 'Quality' a new depth.
- Read under the author's name. . .
- How..... Zen.
- Quality without six sigma
- Like it
|
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values
Robert M. Pirsig
Manufacturer: William Morrow
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
| Arts & Literature
| Audiobooks
| Ethnic & National
| Family & Childhood
| General
| Historical
| Large Print
| Leaders & Notable People
| Memoirs
| People, A-Z
| Professionals & Academics
| Reference & Collections
| Regional Canada
| Regional U.S.
| Specific Groups
| Sports & Outdoors
| Travel
Self-Esteem
| Self-Help
| Health, Mind & Body
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Psychology & Counseling
| Health, Mind & Body
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Philosophy
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
Zen Philosophy
| Buddhism
| Religion & Spirituality
| Subjects
| Books
Pirsig, Robert
| ( P )
| Authors, A-Z
| Religion & Spirituality
| Subjects
| Books
Essays & Travelogues
| Reference & Tips
| Travel
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Regions
| United States
| Travel
| Subjects
| Books
North America
| Travel
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Travel
| Subjects
| Books
Biographies & Memoirs
| Book Clubs
| Specialty Stores
| Books
Similar Items:
-
Lila: An Inquiry Into Morals
-
Guidebook to Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
-
The Tao of Pooh
-
Proficient Motorcycling: The Ultimate Guide to Riding Well
-
The Tao of the Ride: Motorcycles and the Mechanics of the Soul
ASIN: 0688002307
Release Date: 1974-05-01 |
Amazon.com
Arguably one of the most profoundly important essays ever written on the nature and significance of "quality" and definitely a necessary anodyne to the consequences of a modern world pathologically obsessed with quantity. Although set as a story of a cross-country trip on a motorcycle by a father and son, it is more nearly a journey through 2,000 years of Western philosophy. For some people, this has been a truly life-changing book.
Book Description
Acclaimed as one of the most exciting books in the history of American letters, this modern epic became an instant bestseller upon publication in 1974, transforming a generation and continuing to inspire millions. This 25th Anniversary Quill Edition features a new introduction by the author; important typographical changes; and a Reader's Guide that includes discussion topics, an interview with the author, and letters and documents detailing how this extraordinary book came to be. A narration of a summer motorcycle trip undertaken by a father and his son, the book becomes a personal and philosophical odyssey into fundamental questions of how to live. The narrator's relationship with his son leads to a powerful self-reckoning; the craft of motorcycle maintenance leads to an austerely beautiful process for reconciling science, religion, and humanism. Resonant with the confusions of existence, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance is a touching and transcendent book of life.
Customer Reviews:
Giving 'Quality' a new depth........2007-10-15
I read this book first when I was interested in the Quality movement in the early 1990's, and then again much later when I was more interested in philosophy. And that gave my feelings about quality a depth that I reckon has influenced greatly my approach to performance measurement today.
Plus I like motorcycles, even if only the off-road kind, and have spent many hours grazing my knuckles and bruising my shins as I've maintained them too (this will make more sense when you've read the part in the book that introduces Gumption Traps)!
Read under the author's name. . . .......2007-09-24
I had heard of "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" by Robert Pirsig long before I read it. But when someone compared some of my emails on Postfix mail servers to this book, I had to read it. I am glad I did.
The one mistake people make with this book is thinking it has to deal with zen and motorcycle maintenance. It has little to do with either, but under the author's name, in the sub title, the truth is exposed.
Pirsig's work is not some giant philosophical leap forward. In fact, there are many earlier works that cover the same material as Pirsig's with far more detail and accuracy! But where they fail to make things digestible to a layman, Pirsig succeeds.
That is perhaps the one bad thing in "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance." He has made some mistaken quotes by simple mis-remembering, and hands them out as accurate information. But even this is not terrible when you look at the overall goal of the book, to inspire people to examine quality in their lives.
I think that this book should be required reading in every high school. There is a lot in there that people coming of age need to learn, and so rarely do. The allegorical examination of quality through the tools of Zen and Motorcycles is very wonderfully written. And with a teacher to correct the few misquotes, even the down side can be eliminated.
Now while I feel that Pirsig's viewpoint is somewhat polarized, I do not find that hinders the learning process or enjoyment involved in reading this book.
So please, read this book, even if you are interested in philosophy, zen, motorcycles, or quality. You may be surprised about the other parts of your life that it touches on.
How..... Zen........2007-09-01
This is one of those books I always thought I should read and when I finally got around to it I was blown away. I am reminded of catcher in the rye and one... cuckoos nest. This book was not what I expected. It is not about motorcycles or philosophy, it is about people. The story is skillfully woven between these elements. This is not a book you read once. This is not a book though, to escape from thinking. If that's what you need try Matthew Riley.
Quality without six sigma.......2007-08-24
I have probably purchased over 25 copies if Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance for friends, family and customers. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (ZAMM) is about finding quality through "being the job" instead of 25 pages of process documentation for a 55 second operation.
Implied in this is identifying yourself with the job and finding satisfaction in a job well done. Being the job.
Like it.......2007-07-28
I love it that I can find used books at a great price, fair shipping price, plus they show up in a timely manner in wonderful shape! Thanks!
Books:
- The Wonders of the Amalfi Coast: Capri, Naples, Pompeii, Sorrento (Italian Regions)
- Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time
- Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time
- Too Close to the Sun: The Audacious Life and Times of Denys Finch Hatton
- Top 10 Seattle (Eyewitness Travel Guides)
- Top 10 Virgin Islands, US and British (Eyewitness Travel Guides)
- Tops & Bottoms (Caldecott Honor Book)
- Train Wreck: The Life and Death of Anna Nicole Smith
- Turkish Grammar
- Turnaround: Crisis, Leadership, and the Olympic Games
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Effective Phrases for Performance Appraisals: A Guide to Successful Evaluations
- Catherine the Great: Love, Sex, and Power
- Wiley Gaap 2002 for Windows: Interpretation and Application of Generally Accepted Accounting Princip
- Abstract morphemes and lexical representation: the CV-Skeleton in Arabic
- Asset Allocation: Balancing Financial Risk
- Cloud-hidden, Whereabouts Unknown: A Mountain Journal
- Cesar's Way: The Natural, Everyday Guide to Understanding and Correcting Common Dog Problems
- How to Detect and Prevent Financial Statement Fraud
- Adam Smith: Selected Philosophical Writings
- Affairs at Thrush Green
The Kite Runner
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Life of Pi
The Memory Keeper's Daughter
