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The Nag Hammadi Library was discovered in 1945 buried in a large stone jar in the desert outside the modern Egyptian city of Nag Hammadi. It is a collection of religious and philosophic texts gathered and translated into Coptic by fourth-century Gnostic Christians and translated into English by dozens of highly reputable experts. First published in 1978, this is the revised 1988 edition supported by illuminating introductions to each document. The library itself is a diverse collection of texts that the Gnostics considered to be related to their heretical philosophy in some way. There are 45 separate titles, including a Coptic translation from the Greek of two well-known works: the Gospel of Thomas, attributed to Jesus' brother Judas, and Plato's Republic. The word gnosis is defined as "the immediate knowledge of spiritual truth." This doomed radical sect believed in being here now--withdrawing from the contamination of society and materiality--and that heaven is an internal state, not some place above the clouds. That this collection has resurfaced at this historical juncture is more than likely no coincidence. --P. Randall Cohan
Book Description
This revised, expanded, and updated edition of The Nag Hammadi Library is the only complete, one-volume, modern language version of the renowned library of fourth-century manuscripts discovered in Egypt in 1945.
First published in 1978, The Nag Hammadi Library launched modern Gnostic studies and exposed a movement whose teachings are in many ways as relevant today as they were sixteen centuries ago.
James M. Robinson's updated introduction reflects ten years of additional research and editorial and critical work. An afterword by Richard Smith discusses the modern relevance of Gnosticism and its influence on such writers as Voltaire, Blake, Melville, Yeats, Kerouac, and Philip K. Dick.
Acclaimed by scholars and general readers alike, The Nag Hammadi Library is a work of major importance to everyone interested in the evolution of Christianity, the Bible, archaeology, and the story of Western civilization.
Customer Reviews:
Fascinating theology, but don't expect much historical Jesus.......2007-10-02
The Gnostic writings of Nag Hammadi are fascinating but badly misunderstood, thanks largely to sensationalist media reports and books like the Da Vinci Code.
On the whole, these writings aimed not to preserve history, but to reinterpret Jewish and Christian theology, often from the foundation up. So, for example, many Gnostics believed that this world was a horrible mistake created by a demigod who was too stupid to realize that he wasn't the real God.
The stories here of Jesus and the disciples (including Mary Magdalene) are fictional accounts used as vehicles for these theological views. To call them "fiction" is not a value judgment (many fictional elements are likely present in the Gospel of John as well), but simply an observation of how these thinkers (writing primarily in the second through fourth centuries) shared their ideas.
As a result, they don't, unfortuntately, tell us much about the historical Jesus. The Gospel of Thomas (included in this volume) may include some genuine sayings of Jesus, but this is hotly debated. And anyway, on the whole, Matthew, Mark, and Luke remain the best historical evidence that we have.
To be clear: those seeking to find historical dirt on the apostles, or accounts of Jesus marrying Mary Magdalene, will be disappointed. But if you don't mind wading through cryptic texts, buy this volume (or the newer volume of these texts called "The Nag Hammadi Scriptures"), and begin with the Apocryphon of John or the Hypostasis of the Archons. After several reads, a fascinating theological world emerges.
religion.......2007-09-17
A reference book on religious history. For those who are enlightened
and educated on Judaism and Christianity, because this is to deep for
the average lay person.
Great book.......2007-03-08
This book is difficult to read, but seems to be very well written and researched. Like many ancient texts, it may take years to read and begin to understand.
The Nag Hammadi Library.......2007-02-22
I find this book to be very interesting. You can see why much of it was left out of the Bible. It gives you a different view of what might of gone on in the past.
2 or 3 interesting and inspiring tractates.......2007-02-19
i have not read all of the tractates (gnostic books/papyri) in this book carefully, though have skimmed most of it and find a pretty high degree of consistency in what the different tractates are saying.
from a gnostic angle there would seem to be the first thought or voice, which gave rise to father, mother and son, but the first thought can be reffered to as the Father with a capital F... however this father is 'she' who is the original force in this universe. there is talk of the womb. this form of 'christianity' would perhaps be more acceptable to a woman scared off from conventional patriarchal christianity. however certain aspects of the gnostic literature as just as patriarchal as those found in the bible. for example, in the Gospel of Thomas, a woman is encouraged to become a man, that she may be saved. no scripture in my opinion is ever going to be perfect, but all point us towards 'God', or the reality of that which is beyond, if one is averse to useing the word God.
some very interesting little snippets that caught my eye...
"how could virgin have conceived through holy spirit, when the holy spirit is female?"(paraphr.)
"Joseph was the carpenter that made the cross upon which his son was crucified".(paraphr.)
not that one should get caught up in these details, though im sure some people will.
i love the gospel of Thomas, though much of this material is probably parallel to and almost identical with the theoretical Q manuscript from which the four gospels drew source of jesus wisdom sayings, and many, or even most of the wise sayings in the gospel of thomas are found in the new testament, there are two or three significant sayings that arnt in the new testament.
there is a non-dualistic emphasis on making the high as the low and the inside as the outside (in gist, not literally). the passage which blew my mind comes near the beginning of this gospel, was...
"if you are told that the kingdom of heaven is in the sky, birds will be seen, but if you are told that the kingdom of heaven is in the sea, fish will be seen" this impeccable logic can be applied to jesus statement: "seek and ye shall find", he then goes on to say that there is an objective truth, saying something like "the kingdom of heaven is neither in sky nor sea, but within you."(paraphr.)
for me the Thomas Tractate was a highlight, we are lucky to have this copy of the gospel found in an egyptian rubbish tip in nag hamadi in the 1940s, as far as i am aware only one other copy of it existed prior to this find.
i enjoyed the trimorphic protennoia which is more overtly gnostic than Thomas, it is beautifully composed and speaks in female metaphores almost as much as maleness metaphores in relation to the divine, talk of jesus comes out in this tractate, though it would seem he is the 'first thought' given to the 'yaltaboth' in the image of his own son, whilst infact being the arch principle (thought/Father) in disguise.
i can see that there is probably much room for debate over terms and roles of persons in gnosticism, this is because there are simply so many complex and beautiful names and persons mentioned, total consistency with such complexity is nigh on impossible.
'thunder the perfect mind' is rather beautiful too, and expect that anyone calling himself a gnostic would love this piece of writing. it talks of the divine as both cruel and kind, lover and hater, mother and husband. some beautiful complexity and paradox in this tractate.
i cant remember what its called... i think something like exhortations of Jesus, but this though damaged is also very wise and its inspiring to think that here i might be reading the words of jesus and some of his teaching that never entered the bible. his exhortation to find the root of all things, is like that in the Tao to always seek out the ultimate in whatever one does (though one stopp just short of attaing it lest the blade become blunt.) "he who sees reveals"!
the "tripartite tractate" is long, though worth a more careful read, in order to gain some understanding of gnosticism.
there are various apocalypses and other books detailing how jesus has spoken (post resurection), but i was more interested in digging out the actual words of jesus prior to his death.
i have wondered where gnosticism came from whilst reading this, it is not the same as hermetic material in the corpus hermeticum and is pretty consistent with the teaching of a once major or popular belief. some of the material in the nag hamadi library refers to the valentinian sophia's (she who is the personification of wisdom) daughter Achamoth, valentinianism is one of the heracys that ireneus wrote against in his work 'heracys'(or it might have been 'against heracys'). funnily enough, had ireneus never written that work, we would possibly not know much about valentinianism today. among the guanche tribe of the canary islands, some still worship the mother 'achamoth', for some who have converted she has been replaced by veneration for mary, jesus' mother.
all in all, not light reading, but some interesting and lovely material in this ancient library if you wish to read it and have an interest in things of the distant past.
it would do many christians good to realize that the bible does not contain all the words of jesus, which were so many that even the whole world could not contain them!
love, flakey xxx
Book Description
California has always been our Shangri-la–the promised land of countless pilgrims in search of the American Dream. Now the Golden State’s premier historian, Kevin Starr, distills the entire sweep of California’s history into one splendid volume. From the age of exploration to the age of Arnold, this is the story of a place at once quintessentially American and utterly unique.
Arguing that America’s most populous state has always been blessed with both spectacular natural beauty and astonishing human diversity, Starr unfolds a rapid-fire epic of discovery, innovation, catastrophe, and triumph.
For generations, California’s native peoples basked in the abundance of a climate and topography eminently suited to human habitation. By the time the Spanish arrived in the early sixteenth century, there were scores of autonomous tribes were thriving in the region. Though conquest was rapid, nearly two centuries passed before Spain exerted control over upper California through the chain of missions that stand to this day.
The discovery of gold in January 1848 changed everything. With population increasing exponentially as get-rich-quick dreamers converged from all over the world, California reinvented itself overnight. Starr deftly traces the successive waves of innovation and calamity that have broken over the state since then–the incredible wealth of the Big Four railroad tycoons and the devastating San Francisco earthquake of 1906; the emergence of Hollywood as the world’s entertainment capital and of Silicon Valley as the center of high-tech research and development; the heroic irrigation and transportation projects that have altered the face of the region; the role of labor, both organized and migrant, in key industries from agriculture to aerospace.
Kevin Starr has devoted his career to the history of his beloved state, but he has never lost his sense of wonder over California’s sheer abundance and peerless variety. This one-volume distillation of a lifetime’s work gathers together everything that is most important, most fascinating, and most revealing about our greatest state.
From the Hardcover edition.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent California history Resource.......2007-10-02
This book was absolutely wonderful for me, as a teaching student in California. I used it for a California History class that is a requirement for my teaching credential. I used this book not only for the class but for research papers as well. It is nicely detailed and the way the book was written is very beneficial to anyone education of the state.
A model of regional history, an enthusiastic recommendation.......2007-07-09
"California: A History" by the award winning historian Kevin Starr (Professor of History, University of Southern California - Los Angeles) is a comprehensive and thoroughly 'reader friendly' history of the state of California beginning with the Spanish Conquest in the early sixteenth century, through the achievement of statehood, to the impact of the gold rush of 1848, to the advent of the railroads, to the San Francisco earthquake of 1906, to the emergence of Hollywood as the entertainment capital of the world, to the rise of Silicon Valley in the age of the computer. Professor Starr covers the role of labor (both unionized and migrant), key industries including agriculture and aerospace, California's contributions to the politics, economics, and culture of the nation. Superbly researched, written, and organized, "California: A History" is a model of regional history, an enthusiastic recommendation for school and community libraries, and could well serve as a template for other state and regional histories.
World's Fastest California Tour.......2007-07-05
I loved this fast train ride through history, enjoyed the ride from start to finish! Page after page, Starr's CALIFORNIA: A HISTORY is a continuous stream of stats, historical facts, human interest stories and anecdotes. I don't think he missed a thing, and he certainly included a lot of trivia and behind-the-scenes information that helped make sense of the events and situations that followed. All in all, Starr's fast-track style and wealth of information makes this a highly enjoyable read.
A quick .. too quick .. a read.......2007-06-27
This book just blazes along. It's a quick .. too quick .. a read. While the task of covering 250 years (or so) of California in 344 (small) pages is an impossible task, the result is a text that is superficial and that would be appropriate for a summary tourist guide.
I think Professor Starr knocked this one out in his sleep. His other works are much more valuable.
I would pass right by this volume and proceed directly to "California; An Interpretive History" by Rawls/Bean (now in its 8th Edition). For good reason, Rawls/Bean is the standard introductory survey to California history.
Sharry's California .......2007-05-14
I am a 5th generation Californian and I enjoyed this history very much. Thanks to the author.
Average customer rating:
- Calculations are only as good as your numbers
- Pants on fire?
- Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed.
- Very Interesting
- History as Science Fiction
|
History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
Anatoly Fomenko
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ASIN: 2913621058 |
Book Description
Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.
Customer Reviews:
Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03
Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.
Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19
Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.
Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09
There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.
For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.
Very Interesting.......2007-03-07
It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.
History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10
Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.
I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.
Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.
Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.
I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.
This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.
Book Description
All of the libraries in the world-whether small or large, public or private-serve the same purpose: to preserve, cherish, or show off the riches of human knowledge. Now, for the first time, an internationally renowned photographer takes the reader on a journey to more than 20 of the most historic of these magical places, all architectural treasures. From the dramatic, baroque Library of the Institut de France in Paris, to the splendid Vatican Library in Rome; from the majestic Royal Library in El Escorial, Spain, to the famed New York Public Library, a Beaux-Arts masterpiece-here are some of the most exquisite libraries of the Western world.
Included are national, scholarly, and religious libraries from 12 countries, which have in common a distinguished heritage and an architectural setting that emphasizes art and culture. The accompanying text traces the history of libraries to the present day, and describes how they came to serve famous personalities and men of letters. Libraries must be counted among civilization's crowning achievements; this elegant book is a fitting tribute to that accomplishment.
Customer Reviews:
Read it first, bought it later.......2007-05-29
I had read the book as part of a reading list assignment. Liked it so much, I decided to buy it as a gift for an old friend who is now enjoying it also.
the title says it all.......2007-04-14
The great libraries of history have endured such vicissitudes of fortune through the centuries - destruction by revolution, war and fire, dispersal through pilfering, confiscation, monastic decline, loss of patronage - & perhaps the unkindest cut of all, at one point the sale of its books by Oxford University to pay the librarian's wages. It is truly astonishing that so much has survived. This book is a celebration of 23 of these unique and beautiful cathedrals of knowledge in America and Europe.
At a time when most of his subjects were illiterate, the Austrian Habsburg Charles VI created the Hofbibliothek in Vienna. He decreed that its doors be open to (almost) everyone; they could enter free of charge and as often as they wished, but there were a few exceptions: the library was off limits to "ignoramuses, servants, idlers, talkers and gawkers." Alas, the Hofbibliothek is no longer free and, like many libraries included in this book, it is now accessible only to a favoured few.
Indeed, the closest most of us will ever get to the Hofbibliothek or the 22 other great libraries enshrined in its pages is through this book, and for this reason alone, it belongs in the book-lover's collection. There is a brief history of each library, but the real attraction is the spectacular colour photography, including several "gatefold" pages which open to provide wonderful panoramic views nearly 3 feet wide.
Next to the awe-inspiring magnificence of Hofbibliothek, the white and gold Baroque splendour of the Benedictine Abbey Library of Admont in Austria rivals the gold and marble Rococco opulence of the Monastic Library of Wiblingen near Ulm Germany, although after secularisation the latter lost most of its vast book collection.
Another Baroque wonder is The National Library of the Czech Republic in Prague, with its twisted wood columns and trompe-l'oeil frescoed ceiling which draws the eye upward "to confound the true already impressive scale of the hall". When I had the good fortune to visit nearly three decades ago, ironically, it was as a "gawker", on a bus tour of Eastern Bloc capitals. Whisked in and out, we were prohibited from taking photos; no postcards or souvenir booklets were available; memory faded. I am especially pleased to find this unique library included here.
The Vatican Library might be mistaken for a grand reception hall; gold leaf papal insignia, and biblical-themed frescoes framed by ornate moldings cover its panelled walls and vaulted ceilings - and not a book in sight. All of its books are hidden behind securely locked doors. The Vatican Library is, however, open to authorized researchers and its catalogue of 1.6 million printed works is fully computerized.
The somewhat austere National Palace Library in Mafra, Portugal was modeled after the Hofbibliothek in Vienna, but the money ran out before completion and the Franciscans who took it over in 1792, in keeping with their vow of poverty, declined to gild the woodwork, whitewashing it instead. This has faded to a peaceful but elegant cream, against which the coloured titles of the leather book bindings stand out.
A relative new-comer at barely a century old is the John Ryland Library in Manchester, England, commissioned by the widow of a rich industrialist to commemorate her husband's memory. It was designed to resemble the interior of a Gothic cathedral complete with soaring arches, carved oak panelling and stained glass windows but also was equipped with electricity, air conditioning and millions of dollars worth of rare books.
Less ostentatious, perhaps, but still beautiful and certainly more democratic are University Libraries at Oxford, Cambridge and Dublin and truly public libraries in New York City and Washington, D.C.
If your appetite has been whetted by "The Most Beautiful Libraries in the World" you may want to look for more in-depth treatments. For the Library of Congress in Washington, DC, just such a book exists, the lavishly illustrated "Treasures of the Library of Congress" by Charles Goodrum, Abrams, 1980, 318 pages. It contains views of the interiors and chapters on the building of the Library of Congress and its book collection, but the emphasis is on many other artefacts housed there - its vast collection of music scores, sound recordings, films, Orientalia, prints and historic photographs. "Treasures..." is long out of print, but used copies can be found.
An invaluable book.......2007-02-19
This is a marvelous book to whoever loves books.
It presents many important historic libraries in the world; each library is presented in informative and sober texts and with accompanying photos. These photos try to capture the overall look of the library (even if this is rather difficult) and several interesting details, sometimes including secondary rooms. The texts focus on the history of the library in question, but also give some information about contents.
There is only a minor quibble, and it cannot be taken too seriously: the authors had to chose and that led them to ignore many marvelous libraries. If there is one I particularly lack, it would be the Real Biblioteca da Universidade de Coimbra (Royal Library of Coimbra University, one of the oldest European Universities). It has been stated to be 'the most beautiful library in the world', and I cannot but agree.
But this is probably a question of personal taste. As it is, the book is wonderful and useful.
Beautiful Libraries.......2007-01-12
Great pictures and text depict some of the most beautiful libraries in the world! Gives me encouragement and inspiration for my humble library at home!
Gret serice.......2006-08-28
Book camme immediately - and was brand new, and in beautiful condition. Thank you so much
Customer Reviews:
"We would not let ourselves be burned to death for our opinions: we are not sure enough of them for that.".......2007-10-14
Nietzsche has been interpreted to represent the last word in a line of thought which begins with Socrates, generally referred to as the era of Western classical philosophy. Like enormous bookends, Nietzsche and the object of so much of his thought, Socrates, sit, at the crucial intersections of the flow and development of ideas, and adjudicate, with all that came between and after somehow in the radius of their influence. Nietzsche, father of existentialism, intellectual father of the 20th century.
The battle will always rage (Nietzsche, true to the fire of his Herakleitian habit, would have liked that): which is better, the Penguin Hollingdale anthology, A Nietzsche Reader, or Kaufmann's anthology, the venerable Viking Portable Nietzsche? I'll cop on that one. But, for the prospective buyer, I'll attempt a brief, opinionated comparison.
1) Translation: I was nurtured on the Kaufmann, which I used to carry around with me in my high school days, 40 years ago. Thus, for me, the Kaufmann translation rings truer to my tinny ear and limited knowledge of German. Besides, Kaufman was German. But, as Nietzsche gets down on the Germans at least as much as the English (a fact to which his Nazi misinterpreters liked to turn a blind eye), and, as Hollingdale's translations are accepted in the academic world to be at least as accurate as the revered Kaufman, pas differance there, or one merely of taste.
2) Organization: The Hollingdale is far better organized for quick reference or for the first time reader who wants an easily accessed guide to Nietzsche "from the horse's mouth" (with Nietzsche - this way is best, for so much of Nietzsche's power is in his enormous literary gifts). The creme de la creme of much of Nietzsche's most powerful work is arranged under the key rubrics: Philosophy and Philosophers; Logic, Epistemology, Metaphysics; Morality; Art and Aesthetics; Psychological Observations; Religion; Nihilism; Anti-Nihilism; Will to Power; Superman; Eternal Recurrence. The book ends with a truly neat 20 page collection of many of Nietzsche's best aphorisms and summary statements.
The Kaufmann, on the other hand, sprawls, and weaves a tapestry of the man's conceptions, which coalesce finally into a remarkably comprehensive summation of Nietzsche's basic positions. One could say that if the Hollingdale is the digital approach, the Kaufmann is the analog. The Kaufmann, however, has one insurmountable advantage: included are the complete texts of Twilight of the Idols, The Antichrist, Neitzsche Contra Wagner, and Thus Spoke Zarathustra. The Kaufmann translation of the latter is widely regarded as the best ever, and the book is an awesome masterpiece, at once hilarious and deep, a classic among classics, which says almost all that Nietzsche wishes you to hear in one loud shot.
3) Construction: Both have useful introductory sections, the Kaufmann is a bit better, including a helpful chronology. Neither has a particularly huge Bibliography, but the Kaufmann has been updated fairly recently by Viking. The Hollingdale is svelte, 285 pages, in the time tested Penguin format, tightly bound, light in the pack. The Kaufmann is chunky, 700 pages, a number of which are falling out of my 1968 edition bought for a pittance at a good, old fashioned, independent used bookstore.
My advice: Take the Hollingdale to school, but take the Kaufmann to that proverbial desert island.
Aphoristic truths.......2007-08-13
When Wagner became a cult, Nietzsche left him. Nietzsche resigned from the university in 1879. He went to Italy and Switzerland and had his breakdown in 1889.
Nietzsche tried to be empirical, to deepen the enlightenment. He felt that Spinoza had been a precursor. Aphorisms spring from the dialectic method of Nietzsche's thinking. The editor advises that ZATHUSTRA is the work of an utterly lonely man. Nietzsche heard about Kierkegaard too late to become acquainted with his work. He felt that Dostoevski was a great boon.
Write in blood, learn by heart, do not be tender--such notions are brought out in ZARATHUSTRA. Men want danger and play. They should fear women when they love. Out of victory and freedom one should long for a child. Man needs to be delivered from revenge. Nietzsche believed his greatest danger was pity. Dante and Spinoza accepted solitude. Writing to his sister, he states he adamantly opposes anti-Semitism.
Wagner has reflected on redemption, Nietzsche contends. Everything about Socrates is exaggeration, buffo. Use of the dialectic arouses mistrust. Morality and religion fall under the heading of imaginary causes. Educators are required because one must be able to see, to speak, to write. This is the goal of a noble culture.
Nietzsche holds that Sainte Beuve knows how to mix praise with poison. In idealizing the main features are brought out. Thomas Carlyle had a craving for a strong faith. Emerson possessed natural and gracious cheerfulness. Schopenhauer, like Goethe, Hegel, and Heine, represents a European event, not just a local one. The fight against purpose in art is always a fight against a moralizing tendency. Complaining comes from weakness. Read Thucydides between the lines.
This philosopher is a lifetime project. Thank goodness for the editorial and translating activities of Walter Kaufmann.
It's Nietzsche...only portable!!!.......2007-08-05
If you're anything like me, and if you're intelligent then you are, you can't get enough of Nietzsche. The only bad part is, I'll be walking around and I'll see some wimp in a christian T-shirt and I'll think of all those great lines from the books, but I can never remember them! I walk up to the kid and be like, "Hey Xtian(that's the cool thing to call christians) did you know that..." and I'll just trail off because I've forgotten. That happens to me all the time. That is, that USED to happen to me. Not anymore thanks to "The Portable Nietzsche." It's some of Nietzsche's greatest works in a condensed power-book! It also included the complete Zarathustra" which I admit is over my head. I like the simple meat and potatoes christian bashing that Nietzsche excels in. I like "The Anti-christ" the best because every page is just him making fun of christians. Well, actually that's how all his books are, that's why he was such a brilliant man. I just think it was so cool how he dedicated his life to attacking christians and I would like to be a person like that too.
PS: I've been trying to practice that menacing look he has on the cover of this book. I call this the Anti-christian gaze and I do it to every Christian I see. I'm getting better.
amazing.......2006-09-18
i cant say anythinng others havent said, if you like nietzsche then this is a must have. contains nietzsches best!
This is it.......2006-09-08
This is where you have to start if you're going to start reading Nietzsche. And you have to read the whole of Walter Kaufmann's introduction, front to back. It's an indispensible gateway into the work of this big, profound, tortured, hilarious, flawed, sensitive and misunderstood genius, and something you must read if you're going to say you really read Nietzsche.
Don't be like the myriad fascist creeps and pompous egomaniacs who latch onto a few of his provocative catch-phrases and controversial declarations to bolster their own sloppy philosophies. Read Nietzsche with a clear head and an open heart and take advantage of the excellent historical and personal contextualization Kaufmann provides. You'll find a lifetime's worth to think about in Nietzsche's work and be glad someone as intelligent and compassionate as Walter Kaufmann made it so easy to access.
Average customer rating:
- Life in Biblical Israel
- too superficial
- A personal perspective
- Pushes the edge of our knowledge of the Bible and Israel
- Review of Life in Biblical Israel
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Life in Biblical Israel (Library of Ancient Israel)
Philip J. King , and
Lawrence E. Stager
Manufacturer: Westminster John Knox Press
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ASIN: 0664221483 |
Customer Reviews:
Life in Biblical Israel.......2006-10-23
Abstract
Life in Biblical Israel (King & Stager, 2001) is an attempt recreate the daily lives of the common people of Iron Age Israel during the pre-exilic period of 1200 to 586 B.C. The authors draw from a vast array of archeological sources, using the text of the Hebrew Scriptures as the main framework of reference for their presentation of life in Iron Age Israel.
The authors are exceptionally well qualified as they are subject matter experts in archeology, ancient Israelite culture and Biblical literature. Philip J. King is Professor Emeritus of Biblical Studies at Boston College, and he is currently Director of the Shelby White-Leon Levy Program for Archaeological Publications. Lawrence E. Stager is Dorot Professor of the Archaeology of Israel, Harvard University. Professor Stager directs the Leon Levy Expedition to Ashkelon in Israel.
Aspects Of Excellence
The text is not written to the layman per se, but presumes a level of academic skill on the part of the reader. That having been said, the section A Day in Micah's Household (King & Stager, 2001, p. 12-19) is a delightful read for the layman and scholar alike. This section is an "...imaginative account of life in Micah's household based on Judges 17-18." (King & Stager, p. 12).
The author's describe the aspects of daily life in meticulous detail. Little of what a common person would do in this exotic and bygone land seems to have been left out. Subjects from weddings to warfare, from baking bread to smelting bronze, are presented in concise synopsis; and always the authors relate the information to the Hebrew Scriptures.
The new insights, into daily life of the biblical Israelite, describe a culture and technology that is much more sophisticated than has often been depicted by non-canonical Church narratives and the secular media. Israel was at the crossroads of the main land route from Mesopotamia to Egypt. Thus Israel was an important segment of the main land bridge linking Europe, Asia and Africa. Judah, however, was a bit off the beaten path of the major international roadways; the Way of the Sea (Via Maris) and the King's Highway (King & Stager, 2001, p. 176). This geographical reality made Israel a strategic military holding, which helps to explain the constant warfare in the region. The roads brought not only conquering armies, but commerce, knowledge and exposure to outside cultures.
The technologies of the Israelites included sophisticated underground water systems of springs, pools, wells, cisterns, and underground tunnels carved in solid rock to supply their cities and agriculture. One of the most famous of these systems is the Gihon Spring which feeds Hezekiah's tunnel and the pools in Jerusalem (2Ki 20:20). International trade often used standardized shipping jars, these so called "Canaanite Jar's" were about thirty liters and were constructed to within a 10% tolerance (King & Stager, 2001, p. 146). The book includes many similar examples of a technology and culture well advanced from the simple nomadic/agricultural Israelite society that is often presented in our modern world.
A Predilection For Denial Of Scriptural Integrity
The authors do not hold to the inerrancy of scripture. They openly subscribe to the JEPD (Jaweh, Elohiym, Priestly and Deuteronomistic) authorship of the Hebrew scripture (King & Stager, 2001, p. 2-3). The authors do make a pretense of attempting to be scientifically objective. Their bias, however, comes out in various comments and presentations, and the book suffers fatally from this prejudice.
When reading an archelogical text that deals with biblical Israel, there is always an expectation of data that appears to discredit Scripture. Such data is seldom problematic to the Christian and Jewish faithful, as scientific "proofs" that repudiate scripture are themselves eventually repudiated as knowledge of the subject advances. The authors give several examples of such "proofs" being repudiated era." ; "... we find a number of correlations of biblical lore, contemporary extra biblical inscriptions, and archaeology that cumulatively lead us to reject the current notions of those critics who consider "biblical Israel" to be a late fiction created in the fourth-second centuries B.C.E. as an expression of the Jewish experience of that era.(King & Stager, 2001, p. 3).
"...in light of the foregoing, this can now be explained as an injunction for those who have accepted the Egyptian circumcision to "improve" on the ritual by undergoing a thorough removal of the foreskin." (King & Stager, 2001, p. 45).
Disparaging comments like "The preposterous patriarchal ages are the ideal not the reality." (King & Stager, 2001, p. 58) and "...in an example of fictive kinship, Perez is later identified as an ancestor of David..." can be accepted as an anticipated incubus when reading scientific texts. Unfortunately, the author's comments impugning the veracity of the Hebrew texts add nothing of value to the presentation of the subject matter. Indeed, these often tangential trajectories from the objective to the subjective bring the specter of lurking parochial underpinnings to the conclusions made by the authors.
The authors' stated intent was to elucidate the Biblical texts using contemporary extra biblical text and archaeology (King & Stager, 2001, p. xix). It is impossible to accept that the authors could keep their personal bias out of their postulations if they were unable to keep their personal bias out of their text. This bias is extremely unfortunate, for if the authors had been able to present their data objectively, such information could have been of incalculable value to the Church in understanding and truth testing.
Conclusion
A parochially nuanced presentation of objective data always becomes problematic in the acceptance of any of the postulates of any author.
Most of the work is scholarly and the pictures are informative, but read at your own risk.
too superficial.......2006-06-03
I purchased this book hoping to learn more of the daily life of ancient palestine. It is true that the book makes an extensive coverage of this subject ( food and its preparation, cereals, grains... how people dressed, jewelry, family order, houses and villages, etc. ) and with plenty of photographic material (in this the book excels many others ) but nevertheless it doesn't seem sufficient, on almost each of the chapters I was left with the feeling that the book lacked of something, maybe I expected it to be more centered on how life was organized, read the temple and the palace, economy is not really covered either. The style of the writters maybe considered very easy to follow, like if you were reading a tale, this may not necessarily be bad, on the contrary, but you may end wanting it to be more like other scholar works, more "dry". Read carefully the index and some excerpts and decide wether it is what you are looking for or not. Hope this review may help you.
A personal perspective.......2006-02-20
Very informative material for the Bible student or even anyone interested in the ancient past of the Holy Land. Good use of Scripture within to highlight archaeological relevance. The only drawback is the authors' subscription to the JEDP theory of Biblical authorship.
Pushes the edge of our knowledge of the Bible and Israel.......2003-03-06
There are many gems in this book that will explain otherwise difficult biblical texts. The authors are interested in using the latest archaeological data to shed light on the Scriptures (see, for example, King's earlier commentary on Jeremiah). It will take time for all of the information in this book to make it into popular biblical commentaries (it is cutting edge information, as the authors themselves are active archaeologists). This book is a concentrated collection of journal quality insights written at a popular level.
Before I bought this book, I heard one of the co-authors (Dr. Stager of Harvard) lecture on his contribution to the book. He is a master investigator of the ancient near eastern ideas of temple and garden. Stager brilliantly communicates how Israel's Temple and Garden Story relate to (and are informed by) their original contexts. Adjective fail me, I can only say that his work is staggering.
I would be remiss if I did not make this plug: the pictures alone are worth the price of the book. The book is printed completely on photo quality paper with full color images throughout.
This book is a must have for any student of archaeology, the Bible or Israel.
Review of Life in Biblical Israel.......2002-08-29
Though written for the layperson, this book is still an excellent resource for the scholar in Bible, ancient Near Eastern studies, or any study of culture. Life in Biblical Israel describes the setting of the Hebrew Bible, but not in terms of wars, leaders, and elite society. Professors King and Stager recognize, like Fernand Braudel and Annales historians, that a large part of society is often neglected by its own histories. Thus, they seek to describe how that silent majority lived their everyday lives. The authors of Life in Biblical Israel attempt to describe all of the aspects of the lifeways of the Israelites - how they produced their food, built their houses, procured water, defended their cities, organized their society, kept themselves healthy, expressed themselves through clothing, art, and music, and how they interacted with the divine.
For those skeptical of the Bible's credibility, the book may seem to be a simple attempt to draw archaeological correlations, that is artifactual evidence, for Biblical terminology. Certainly, the book does this, but not out of any theological or apologetic attempt to prove the Bible as accurate. Accepting that the archaeological record and the Bible provide two types of descriptions of the same society, King and Stager gather all of the information they can from both sources. The many photographs and drawings in the book show many examples from the archaeological source. A quick glance at the Scriptural Index at the back of the book shows how thoroughly the authors combed the Biblical text. At the same time, the authors use each source to supplement the defficiencies of the other. For example, artifacts can often be identified as to their uses, but they have no names in their native languages, and how they are used is often not known. King and Stager do an excellent job with the details of exactly how the ancient people accomplished what they did.
There have been very few other attempts to so document ancient Israel as a cultural and social entity. Previous works using both the textual and archaeological evidence in concert mostly have focused on one aspect of the culture, usually something relevant to the upper classes or the political or military establishment. Others have subsumed their archaeological and biblical discussion beneath other arguments, in which case they have reduced the amount of evidence and increased the number of conclusions to be drawn. King and Stager, on the other hand, have written a book which deals primarily with the culture of all of Israel as expressed through its material and literary remains; they have no other axe to grind, and they present more data and fewer conclusions. Instead they are working first and foremost to describe as best they can how people lived in the Iron Age in Israel.
This book will serve as an excellent textbook both in archaeology and Bible courses. It can also serve as a reference work both for the layperson and the scholar interested in either subject. Perhaps the best reason to use this book, however, is that it succeeds in its aim of portraying the details of ancient Israelite life. The many illustrations truly enable readers to visualize each aspect of the culture.
Customer Reviews:
The recipient loved it.......2004-10-22
I bought this as a gift for a friend who helped a great deal with my wedding, advising me of dress styles, hair styles, fashion from this era, dances, music, food, and everything in between, as well as arranging all the flowers for the wedding! She was a godsend! When I gave her the book, her jaw dropped and she was so excited to get it... she said she had been wanting it forever. As I consider her quite knowledgeable about the subject matter of this book, and as it came highly recommended by her, I would say that it's a great book to have if this is something you are interested in as a serious hobby or more.
The best place to start for Elizabethan Costuming.......2003-04-10
This is one of the best books ever written on the subject of Elizabethan Costuming. It mainly contains all of the details of Queen Elizabeth I wardrobe but it has unique points in the society that surrounded the dresses. This book helps to explain the Gloriana image that became so popular and it helps us to understand all the little details that went into the dress of the period. Detailing costumes using portraits and explaining how the fashion progressed makes this book a must for anyone interested in Renaissance Faires and the nobility. The only drawback is that very very few of the portraits and pictures are in color. I think a total of about 7 are in color the rest is in black and white. The only way to make this book more appealing and usable would be to put all of the portraits and pictures in color, but that would make the book even more expensive. After this must have book the 2nd on the shelf should be a J. Hunniset book (the lady who did all the costuming for Elizabeth R and The Six Wives of Henry the VIII produced by BBC). Next, any Janet Arnold book. Last, would be the Norris book: Tudor Costuming and Fashion (although most of this book is very outdated it is nice to look at). All of these are must haves and will make a well rounded library. Dispite the high price of the book it is worth posessing. Enjoy.
Such An Amazing Resource!.......2002-02-12
For the historical costumer focused on 16th century clothing, this is the "bible" hands down. Big, expensive, and filled with the usual detail that is the hallmark of Janet Arnold, this is one very worthwhile investment for the serious costumer. This book has one tiny drawback, in that it focuses entirely on women's fashion in the 16th century as viewed through the wardrobe accounts of Queen Elizabeth I and some of her contemporaries. Therefore, it has nothing to say on the topic of men's clothing, which is an unfortunately neglected aspect of 16th century research.
Much of Janet Arnold's most important contributions to the costuming community are addressed in this book, making it extremely valuable. She presents each section with satisfying detail, raising very few questions that remain unanswered. The photographs accompanying the text are also invaluable, as many of them are not available in other books or to the general public for viewing. If only there were more color images...
If you can afford the book, you won't regret buying it.
Really great book but....there are a few issues.......2001-08-06
For years I heard how this was _the_ book to buy if you were into Elizabethan costuming and wanted authentic items that could be documented. The book is good for that, and I enjoyed the style that Ms.Arnold wrote it in.
But I have two major gripes with the book-both regarding the quality of graphics and images in it.
First off-in the whole book there are only about 5 pages in color. The rest of it-including hundreds of portraits, examples of extant clothing pieces and pieces of embroidery were all in black and white. I complain about that because, with so many of the portraits quoted as examples it would help if they could be seen clearly. (Many of them are too dark to have reproduced well, and a few are quite horrible.) And the photographs....
If they could reprint this book and possibly include more color plates it would be a much much more valuable resource. As it stands now, it is a good source, but not all that I could have hoped for. Instead I have begun a search for color reproductions of the portraits cited in the book. A long tedious job but one that I think over all will make it a much more solid resource for my needs.
The Best source for the Wardrobe of Elizabeth 1st.......2000-05-13
This book is amazing. Huge, and packed full of information. An essential refernce work if you are seriously considering doing anything with elizabethan fashion. The author has poured years of scholarship into this work and it shows. It's not really a coffee table picture book. Instead it is full of carefully culled facts for the serious student or anybody curious about 'real' English Tudor costume.
Amazon.com
British parliamentarian and soldier Edward Gibbon (1737-1794) conceived of his plan for Decline and Fall while "musing amid the ruins of the Capitol" on a visit to Rome. For the next 10 years he worked away at his great history, which traces the decadence of the late empire from the time of the Antonines and the rise of Western Christianity. "The confusion of the times, and the scarcity of authentic memorials, pose equal difficulties to the historian, who attempts to preserve a clear and unbroken thread of narration," he writes. Despite these obstacles, Decline and Fall remains a model of historical exposition, and required reading for students of European history.
Book Description
Gibbon’s masterpiece, which narrates the history of the Roman Empire from the second century a.d. to its collapse in the west in the fifth century and in the east in the fifteenth century, is widely considered the greatest work of history ever written. This abridgment retains the full scope of the original, but in a compass equivalent to a long novel. Casual readers now have access to the full sweep of Gibbon’s narrative, while instructors and students have a volume that can be read in a single term. This unique edition emphasizes elements ignored in all other abridgments—in particular the role of religion in the empire and the rise of Islam.
Download Description
"It was Rome, on the 15th of October 1764, as I sat musing amid the ruins of the Capitol, while the barefooted friars were singing vespers in the temple of Jupiter, that the idea of writing the decline and fall of the city first started to my mind," recorded Edward Gibbon with characteristic exactitude. Over a period of some twenty years, the luminous eighteenth-century historian--a precise, dapper, idiosyncratic little gentleman famous for rapping his snuff-box--devoted his considerable genius to writing an epic chronicle of the entire Roman Empire's decline. His single flash of inspiration produced what is arguably the greatest historical work in any language--and surely the most magnificent narrative history ever written in English. "Gibbon is one of those few who hold as high a place in the history of literature as in the roll of great historians," noted Professor J.B. Bury, his most celebrated editor.
Customer Reviews:
the decline and fall of the roman empire.......2007-08-26
very good detail on the history , most Caesars were killed and the army rulled.
Lots of Info.......2007-07-09
Tremendous amount of information and lots of historical data. Problem is the guy who wrote the book can speak the real english language and I often thought I was listning to a foreign language tape. I learned a lot and woud recomend this to anyone who wonders how something as great as the empire was, fell apart. Great learning experience.
Gibbon's Magnum Opus.......2007-05-12
It's a literary work of art. Gibbon's style of narration is breathtaking. On every page he comes out as the true scholar that he really is. His choice of words and his style of sentence construction is consummate on every level.
Other than that, the whole account is Gibbon's perspective of the Roman Empire on a strict level. While most will concur with him on the insanity of the likes of say, Caligula, Nero; or the politically cunning inclinations of Augustus, his treatment of Christianity is open to debate. Gibbon places Christianity at the top in his list of the factors that could possibly have accelerated the empire towards decadence and its ultimate disintegration. Though this can be true on some accounts, he offers no clear explanation on how the Eastern empire could have carried on for more centuries with the religion at its very centre. It's an unwritten edict that the Byzantines were more passionate about Jesus than Western christendom.
Also, in some pages, Gibbon argues that the Roman emperors, say Marcus Aurelius for example, never really would have had an inclination towards persecuting christians on grounds of political gains. For Gibbon argues that the political elite of Rome were well aware of the fact that some kind of religion maintained social order. But his arguments are at considerable, if not complete, loggerheads with the several accounts from other historians that Rome continued to persecute Christianity until Constantine.
Persecution of Christianity might necessarily not have completely been primary disdain for the christian concept which totally conflicts with the Roman edicts of deifying dead emperors. Christianity came in handy for rogue emperors to have this sect of minorities scapegoated for their own excesses (remember Nero's fire?) or to appease the minds of a disgruntled majority which preferred to suspect them.
Finally, his stand that the "whole" empire prospered and preferred Roman rule in the age of the five good emperors is open to debate. Pax Romana might have worked for the Italian mainland at best, but not necessarily in provinces even as close as, say, Gaul.
Gibbons Decline and fall of Rome.......2007-03-11
This is the definitive History of the Empire from the first emperor (Agustus or Octavian, if you wish). However given the time and hence style of English, it was written in it is not for the faint hearted. Stick with it though and it is a very rewarding reference book which you will have for life.
One thing I fail to understand is what Amazon sells Vols 1-3 and 4-6 as seperate items. By the lot in one go otherwise it's a bit like owning the old testement bible and not having set eyes on the New Testement.!!
Dramatic and Informative audio book version.......2007-03-09
Philip Madoc convincingly relates Gibbon's great insights into the history and significance of the final centuries of the Roman Empire in this 6 CD set. Abridged by neccesity, nevertheless Neville Jason comments between Gibbon's passage recited by Philip Madoc, and fills the gaps with a coherent narration. The whole production flows smoothly and dramatically, quite easy to follow. This is one of the most worthwhile audio book puchases I've ever made.
Amazon.com
A better title for this book might be The Indispensable Writings of Nietzsche. Indeed, the six selections contained in Walter Kaufmann's volume are not only critical elements of Nietzsche's oeuvre, they are must-reads for any aspiring student of philosophy. Those coming to Nietzsche for the first time will be pleased to find three of his best-known works--The Birth of Tragedy, Beyond Good and Evil, and On the Genealogy of Morals--as well as a collection of 75 aphorisms drawn from Nietzsche's celebrated aphoristic work. In addition, there are two lesser known, but important, pieces in The Case of Wagner and Ecce Homo. Kaufmann's lucid and accurate translations have been the gold standard of Nietzsche scholarship since the 1950s, and this volume does not disappoint.
Anyone who has slogged their way through the swamps of German philosophical writing---in Kant or Hegel or Heidegger--will find Nietzsche a refreshing and exhilarating change. The selections are well chosen, and a cover-to-cover read will aptly depict Nietzsche's philosophy. In this volume the reader will find many of Nietzsche's polemical (and frequently misunderstood) ratiocinations on Christianity, Socrates, Germany, and art. Here, too, are his seminal and unforgettable critiques of Western morality ("That lambs dislike great birds of prey does not seem strange: only it gives no ground for reproaching these birds of prey for bearing off little lambs"). For philosophical fireworks, Nietzsche can hardly be matched. His brazen defiance of intellectualism's conventions still rings in contemporary thought because he practiced philosophy with a hammer. --Eric de Place
Book Description
One hundred years after his death, Friedrich Nietzsche remains the most influential philosopher of the modern era. Basic Writings of Nietzsche gathers the complete texts of five of Nietzsche's most important works, from his first book to his last: The Birth of Tragedy; Beyond Good and Evil; On the Genealogy of Morals; The Case of Wagner; and Ecce Homo. Edited and translated by the great Nietzsche scholar Walter Kaufmann, this volume provides a definitive guide to the full range of Nietzsche's thought.
Included also are seventy-five aphorisms, selections from Nietzsche's correspondence, and variants from drafts for Ecce Homo.
Customer Reviews:
Not for the faint of heart, but good reference material.......2007-08-14
I think you have to be highly intelligent or very bored to read Nietzsche, and understand him. It seems you have to live with his books for a long time to really get it. While I love to read, I have taken a few stabs at this one, and I find I don't have the dedication to finish just yet, and will reserve full judgment until I do. In the meantime, I see Nietzsche being quoted in almost everything else I read, so maybe over time I'll pick up enough in passing that I will be spared having to read him first hand. From what I've gathered so far he is tedious, depressing and often insightful. When Nietzsche says "I am not a man, I am dynamite" he means to explode all preconceptions of morals, or the concept of good and evil. He questions everything, while enjoying nothing. I think he was one miserable wretch, but that is his loss and our gain. It could take years to crack his code...don't know how necessary that is, so I choose to keep him around as reference material instead. He is easier to digest that way, on your own terms, in small chunks rather than as an elephant, although you are likely to get indigestion either way.
This is what you've been waiting for. .......2006-12-28
Nietzsche IS the greatest philosopher of modern times, and this anthology is the perfect place to start if you're a student or new to Nietzsche. It's also a great bargain and collects several works together that one would be spending extra money on to get separately. I strongly reccomend this, as the works in here ( especially the Geneology of Morals, and Beyond Good and Evil) are key. I have been highly satisfied with this purchase and I recommen buying this along with Viking's Portable Nietzsche.
Flashes of Genius.......2006-10-22
I picked up this book to get a feel for Nietzsche and have reviewed several commentaries on the other works available on or translated from Nietzsche. For those of you who are not intimately familiar with his work, let me summarize what I've learned:
From a modern point of view, Nietzsche is racist, sexist, anti-religious (including Jews, Christians/Catholics, etc.), and sometimes even anti-German. Given this concise but inflammatory list, you can imagine why very few people get over their critical anger and stop to figure out if there's anything worthwhile left in his work. If you can come to terms with the fact that much of this attitude is a relic of his times (pre WWII Germany) and skim by this material without getting hostile to his body of work as a whole, there is a lot of valuable insight in his works.
To this book specifically, Kaufmann is well regarded as one of the best translators of Nietzsche's work, derived particularly from his fluency in both German and English. As a native German speaker, he understands all the subtle aspects of Nietzsche's artistic writing style. When Kaufmann translates this into English, he remains extremely fluent but is willing to translate the subtexts plainly, to the benefit of readers who might not otherwise understand those subtexts.
To be fair Kaufmann is also criticized (by some) as a mediocre philosopher who showed unrestrained favor to Nietzsche, going so far as to attack Nietzsche's critics both with his reviews and his power in the philosophical community. While this opinion of Kaufmann may or may not be true, this book relies primarily on Kaufmann's translation and not his commentary, making the concern largely moot.
With a fair mind, Nietzsche's writings make a few major philosophical contributions:
-The greatest is certainly his master-slave framework of morality including the philosophical term/concept ressentiment. See wikipedia for an overview.
-Nietzsche offers an interesting commentary on art and decadence which I believe is enlightening though poorly communicated.
-He also makes some characterizations of "the masses," their desires, and their leaders (embodied in priests of the church). Especially when generalized/taken out of its anti-Christian framework, this discussion is an interesting perspective on what "the masses" really want and how their leaders operate. When we replace "the priest" with any modern populist, I found the comments especially relevant even today.
-No doubt there are others, but these have struck me particularly.
In summary, Nietzsche's work contains a number of very powerful ideas, often lost in the soup of controversial and inaccurate comments. If you try to analyze Nietzsche's concepts as complete units, they will come out as dated and consequently of little modern value. If you are willing **and able** to read Nietzsche for his flashes of genius, many of the elements of his work are timeless and should be integrated into your understanding of philosophy and "truth" -- and if you read Nietzsche, you'll realize that this is put in quotes for a very specific reason.
Oh How I Love this Book!!!!.......2006-06-16
The Basic Writings of Nietzsche, ah one of my dear, dear friends, this book contains, in their entirety, The Birth of Tragedy (1872, 1886), Beyond Good and Evil (1886), Genealogy of Morals (1887), The Case of Wagner, and my personal favorite, Ecce Homo, (both 1888). It also contains selected aphorisms from Nietzsche's transitional period (1878-1882), that is aphorisms from the book Human, All-Too Human (1878), its two sequels - Mixed Opinions and Maxims (1879) and The Wanderer and his Shadow (1880), The Dawn, or Daybreak (1881) and, of course, The Gay Science (1882), the book in which Nietzsche first coined his "God is Dead" fraise for which he is so famous (and infamous).
Also, there is priceless commentary by not only the editor of the book, the great Professor Walter Arnold Kaufmann, but modern philosophers such as Martin Heideggar, Albert Camus (probably my favorite philosopher besides Dostoevsky), and Gilles Deleuze.
I would advise the newcomer to Nietzsche not to start with this volume though. The best and most compact edition with selections from all of those books and others (including Thus Spoke Zarathustra) in their entirety is Kaufmann's The Portable Nietzsche. The latter volume also contains Nietzsche's priceless letters he wrote to his friends after he went insane in 1889.
A Near-Flawless Compendium of Nietzsche's Work.......2006-05-23
Nietzsche is really more than a philosopher. His writings blend concise poetry, historical exploration, powerful philosophy and skeptical analysis. All these elements are linked together into vigorous rants, just focused enough to be academic while free-flowing enough to be enjoyable. In a mere 100 pages, he can change the way you think about the history of man, while squeezing in wit along the way. Nietzsche wasn't a perfect writer; he was sometimes too grandiose, with recurrent tones of mysogyny. But I'd nonetheless recommend Nietzsche to almost anyone, and I'd recommend this book as a starting point.
Of the included works, Beyond Good and Evil and it's companion, On the Genealogy of Morals, are the centerpiece. They contain his basic world view. Ecce Homo is another good inclusion; though it's rather cryptic, it represents his parting words. Decoding some of the symbolism may be difficult (and prone to interpretation), but you'll be rewarded with a cemented viewpoint from all angles on who Nietzsche was- and more importantly, what he wasn't.
The Birth of Tragedy and The Case of Wagner are somewhat peripheral to the philosophy Nietzsche is known for. But since Nietzsche's writings are varied, inclusion of some of his "side-interest" writing helps new readers form a complete picture. This edition of the book is well translated, and the marginal notes throughout make it relatively accessable to those unfamiliar with German philosophy. Also, Peter Gay immediately takes on the inevitable accusations of racism, shedding light on why average people should allow themselves to enjoy Nietzsche books.
All this book is missing, as an essential primer, is "Thus Spake Zarathustra". Zarathustra has some conceptual crossover with Beyond Good and Evil, but it's simply the perfect starting point for his work- certainly far superior to "The Birth of Tragedy" in that respect. Between this book and Zarathustra, you'd have enough Nietzsche to keep you thinking for a very, very long time.
Book Description
Born and raised in Greenville, Mississippi, within the shelter of old traditions, aristocratic in the best sense, William Alexander Percy in his lifetime (1885-1942) was brought face to face with the convulsions of a changing world. Lanterns on the Levee is his memorial to the South of his youth and young manhood. In describing life in the Mississippi Delta, Percy bridges the interval between the semifeudal South of the 1800s and the anxious South of the early 1940s. The rare qualities of this classic memoir lie not in what Will Percy did in his life—although his life was exciting and varied—but rather in the intimate, honest, and soul-probing record of how he brought himself to contemplate unflinchingly a new and unstable era. The 1973 introduction by Walker Percy—Will's nephew and adopted son—recalls the strong character and easy grace of "the most extraordinary man I have ever known." AUTHOR BIO: William Alexander Percy was the author of four books of poetry, and he practiced law in Greenville until his death, one year after the publication of his autobiography. Awarded the Croix de Guerre with gold star for his service in World War I, he also was one of the leaders in the succesful 1922 fight against the Ku Klux Klan in Greenville and headed the local Red Cross unit during the disastrous Mississippi River flooding of 1927.
Customer Reviews:
Over hyped.......2007-06-30
I've heard great things about this book, but it simply doesn't live up to the reviews. It isn't vivid, isn't absorbing, isn't all that interesting. It is a decent piece of period biography, and if you're interested in the Percy family or the region or time period, it might be worthwhile. Otherwise, give this one a pass.
Not Impressed.......2006-02-06
This is my first book about planters and plantation life. It was my expectation that the author would give more specific information about plantation finances and management. This subject is hardly touched upon. He does briefly give his opinions about slavery, but there is nothing unique about it. Basically, this is a nice, slow look back at a bygone time, but it left me wondering how the heck did these people come about, and maintain or eventually lose their wealth.
Elusive find: an autobiography of literary quality.......2005-10-09
Percy's approach to life can be summed up by a quote from the book: "It is a very nice world-that is, if you remember that while morals are all-important between the Lord and His creatures, what counts between one creature and another is good manners." Percy's book is a rare member of that most elusive category of books - the autobiography of true literary quality. Percy's touch is honest without being journalistic; poetic without appearing over-embroidered; and in his own eccentric person he provides the subject matter which is required to make such a work interesting. He steps out of the late 19th/early 20th century Mississippi delta as a character that could not have existed anywhere else. Affected, genteel, kind, elitist, romantic and with a view of race more in keeping with British Imperial "white man's burden" line of thought than anything American in origin - Percy the character remains fascinating even as the modern reader disagrees with his positions. A clearly and well told tale of an extinct breed (the gentrified southern aristocrat), a lost land (the Mississippi delta of the turn of the 20th century), and a buried epoch (the pre desegregation era). An excellent book - well worth reading not only to better understand a particular aspect of American history but for the pleasure of reading a well written book, regardless of the subject matter.
Perceptions of a Southern Artistocrat.......2004-01-23
It is true that this book attempts to explain the South, in both its physical and social aspects, from the point of view of the "landed gentry." However, a more accurate description of "Lanterns on the Levee" is that of an autobiography of William A. Percy, in which he reflects upon his life and the interesting times in which he lived. I found this book very inciteful into the mind of a southerner, and believe that Mr. Percy did a fine job of bringing his broad experiences with different cultures and social climates into this book, and using these to produce a cogent analysis of his homeland. Though not completely objective (and often bigoted by today's standards), I think that Mr. Percy did his best to "tell it as he saw it," and often admits his biases as a precursor to his analysis. The book is very poetic and philosophical in places, and includes both the subjective and emotional sentiments that one must understand in order to come to terms with "a southerner's love for the south." Additionally, I feel that Mr. Percy (especially in his last few chapters) provides the reader with thought-provoking and highly articulate observations about life, time, and human-nature. I think this book is excellent, and believe it to be a "must read" for anybody with an open-minded interest in the Missisippi Delta region, or the South in general.
A Lost Voice Of A Lost Cause.......2002-12-14
This is one of those books that is almost impossible to objectively review. The writing is elegant and evocative of an era in the South that died almost in tandem with Mr. Percy and yet I find some parts of it so arrogant and condescending that I feel myself grinding my teeth. You see, I am descended from those Mississippi hill people Percy so despised and, even after all this time, I can almost see the languid gaze and soft, drawling voice. My people came to the Yazoo-Mississippi Delta after the Flood of '27 and we build and earned what we got without the benefit of the massive slave labor that built Mr. Percy's fortune.
But this is a book review and I'll put aside old feelings to say that this is a literary gem that brings to life a way of life on which so many stereotypes of the South are built. And Will Percy is amazingly honest in his descriptions of his society. However, a society this simple and yet this complex takes more than just one book to grasp.
Thus, I also recommend "Rising Tide" by John Barry and "The Most Southern Place on Earth: The Mississippi Delta and the Roots of Regional Identity" by James Cobb to balance your view of this time and place in history.
Bottom line: This is a wonderful, beautifully written story that is refreshingly candid with none of the defensiveness and politically correct breast beating of many of the works of southern writers of recent years.
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