Ariel Reviews

Read all of the Product Details. I saw this book and went "WOW" only [amount]for a Coffe Table Book. When It arrived in the mail I was sorely disappointed. Note the Dimensions of the Book: "Dimensions (in inches): 0.38 x 3.83 x 3.26" Don't make the same Mistake I did.

Various pictures and illustrations makes the book one to have in your collection. I am glad that you have the available, as I have found out not many do.

In it's 80 pages, this tiny little book (three inches tall) gives a great introduction to the work of the celebrity we know as Tom Cruise. This is terrific for trivia buffs! There are great photos, a summary of his career so far, and a few quotesby Tom and those close to him. It's a nice treasure for the Hollywood junkie.

I read the book and thought that it was very well done, it had a very captivating plot, and it went into great description about one of hollywoods best actors, Tom Crusie, how is roll playing Lestat De Lioncourt, affected his life, to his greatest, most horrifying moments in his life, truly unique, with a profound endearment, that with-holds the human heart in an iron cage. I loved it, and thought it over, and said, it was one of the most interesting reads, I had ever read, and now, Tom Cruise is one of my favorite actors, with his characters, and his motives, and his thoughts, about his children, and his wife. In this book, not only will you find, Tom, but all of us, locked together in hatred, with a sadness, of hope, and pain, with this pain, we can see, not only the truth, but the harsh fiction with-in our lives. Tom Crusie is a very deep person, spiritualy, with his thoughts, and his great chararcter, you will fall in love with his movies, and his whole look upon life, death, and truth, to the great subjects of fiction, in this world. The plot, already holds a keene fasination to most people, and with its stories about Tom, makes it more captivating, I really loved, and I thought it was sad too. How his life affected alot of people, not only mine, but others as well, I loved the book, as much I do Tom Cruise.

Well, the first thing I have to say is that my girlfriend is from Greece and I am from the Dominican Republic. We live in the United States and we'd like to go to Greece next year and I'm trying very hard to learn Greek. When my girlfriend saw the book, she said: "This is the one that I need for you." After that I have improved my reading, of course, because of the structure of this book. yeeahsou.

Greek for Reading covers the basic grammar of Classical Greek in a fairly unusual way. Most texts have lengthy discussions of grammar and syntax and few reading exercises, and fewer with translations to guide you. This text, however, has you reading basic sentences as soon as possible, most of them drawn from classical sources like Plato or Menander. The quotes are often quite clever and, therefore, easier to remember than the dull drills one encounters in many other books. If you want a thorough grammar with everything you could want to know, try Hansen and Quinn's intensive course.

The other reviewer here (April 2000) implies that this book is a course in modern Greek, which it is not. Classical and modern Greek are not mutually intelligible (a common mistake).

'The Tale Of Tom Kitten' sees Beatrix Potter at her most fey. Three young kittens muck about in the garden, tormenting their neighbouring creatures, and generally being boisterous-but-nice kids. Their class-conscious mother (very few fathers in Potter's world) is having relatives around for tea, and gives her children unwelcome baths and brushings down, before making them wear the most appallingly naff Sundaywear. Unfortunately, Tom's been eating one too many pork pies, and bursts out of his pale blue two-piece, looking rather seedy.

The charm of this story lies in the infectious playfulness of the children, their universally-understandable indifference to their elders' desire for 'respectability', and the quaint evocation of an Edwardian farmstead.

The Tale of Tom Kitten is Beatrix Potter at her best. It is certainly one of our family favorites. This is the story of three kittens all dressed in their best clothes and set out to play. They struggle to keep their clothes on only to lose them. They meet three ducks along the way who waddle off with the poorly fitted clothes. When the kittens return home their mother sends them upstairs while she hosts a tea party. Of course they cause a ruckus disturbing the "dignity and repose" of the party. The book ends with the ducks still searching for the clothes at the bottom of a pond. What makes Beatrix Potter so wonderful is her delightful vocablary that stretches a childs intellect. There is a mutual respect between Potter and the reader. Having drawn and painted animals and plant life since a child she is a master of anthropomorphisim, the giving of human qualities to animals or objects. Her delicate watercolors are perfectly suited to the playfullness of the story. This is a classic that should be a part of every child's library.

This book provides a few funny moments, but is not so much a humorous take on parenting as an essay on feminist, ultra-liberal viewpoints.
Three cheers to the author for acknowledging that there are many different kinds of families. And that motherhood can be so much different than acknowledged by mainstream parenting books and magazines.
However, Ms. Gore allows her own politics to color the book much too frequently for my taste. I found her statement that only liberals can practice attachment parenting, and that political conservatives are insensitive parents that just let their babies cry, ridiculous if not insulting. It is great that she is a successful single mother; however she has a subtle anti-male, anti-nuclear family slant to her writing.
Many may enjoy this book; I personally prefer the "Girlfriend" series by Vicki Iovine--much funnier and minus the male-bashing.

After years of books telling us that the only way to have a baby is with a million dollars and a husband, Ariel Gore's book shows women that it's possible to be both hip and a mom.

Gore gives practical advice to women both approaching motherhood and those already knee deep. Her conversational style of writing makes the book easy and enjoyable reading... something that can't be said for most motherhood manuals.

With chapters covering health, childbirth, coparenting and the like Gore gives practical advice for hip women everywhere, taking the fear out of childbearing.

With so much pressure today telling us that we can't be young moms and hip femminists at the same time, I found Gore's book empowering for our generation, and those to come.

Sadly, this was the 14th pregnancy book I bought and not the first... yet it was the one I was looking for all along. Entertaining and Informative... "Hip Mama" contains info that no other pregnancy book contains... such as "Can you breastfeed with pierced nipples" and "Are vibrators OK during pregnancy?" You may not be that alternative, but still the book is a good one...filled with good advice....and will help free you from the Bonds of "I Must Do Everything Perfectly (Including Have a Traditional Family Structure and a Gazillion Dollars) or Else My Baby Will Be A Freak" mentality. Five stars...absolutely.

In all honesty i had high hopes for this book,i was mildly disapointerd at the lack of real vision.Though true to its calling (NEW TRANSLATION)it doesnt go beyond updating the song into the language of the day.I did however like the fact that they used hebrew lettering on the opposite page of the english trans, verse by verse.I would recomend this book to one who wants to speculate,disect,and tinker with the greatest love poem ever.Could have had more pictures/illustrations for readers to visualize this visualy intensive poem.

The Blochs' translation is concise, elegant, and strikes the right balance between contemporary explicitness and classical reserve. Some of the textual choices are debatable, and the translation often departs from literalness, sometimes omitting entire lines -- but the overall result is fresh and exciting; this nuanced rendition really brings the Song to life.

One thing to be aware of is that, other than the poem itself, a brief introduction, and some brief remarks by Robert Alter, the text consists mostly of very detailed translators' notes analyzing the verses line by line, even word by word. This material will be of interest to scholars of ancient Hebrew but perhaps not to the general reader. I read the book (sans notes) in about forty minutes -- and I have to wonder if I should have paid [amt] for the privelege. Nothing against the Blochs or their fine work, but I would have preferred more supporting material of more general interest.

This book of the Old Testament is first of all a beautiful poem. The subject is love, love for a woman and love for a man. It is the love song of two lovers.

It is never erotic or pornographic, but always poetic. That is probably why it was used over and over again by composers in vespers dedicated to the Holy Virgin, particularly the first poem : « I am black but lovely, daughters of Jerusalem » with the famous songs « Nigra sum » and « Pulchra es ».

This book has always been considered by the Catholics as an emanation of King Solomon and as prophecy about the coming of Jesus, about the Holy Virgin.

It is of course possible to see a metaphor in that lovesong, the Bride being Israel, the people of God, who have neglected their vineyard and were punished for it, who have sinned and are now repenting after the fair punishment. Then the Bridegroom is God himself.

But what remains - above and after all - is the marvellous poetic language to describe love and the loved ones. It is probably the Book that demonstrates best the fact that the Bible is speaking of real men and women and not of unreal, virtual ones. They believe in God, which gives them a higher vision and deeper meaning, but they remain human with their attachment to love, justice and peace, the three main virtues Jesus will bring us in the New Testament.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU

I highly recommend "Working on Yourself Doesn't Work" by Ariel and Shya Kane to anyone who wants to live each day with self-expression, satisfaction and love. Many books have pointed the way for me, but this one went right to the heart of the matter - that trying to fix yourself keeps you stuck in the places you'd like to be free of, but getting into the moment will set you free. Just in reading and re-reading the book, I've found myself falling into the space of living in the moment and my life has become easier.

The Kanes lay out simple principles along with anecdotes, examples, and hand drawn illustrations, all designed to open the door to living in the moment. The message is simple and crisp -you can live a miraculous life by staying in the moment. Others have said this before, but the Kanes come through as real people who have discovered the keys to enlightenment on a day-to-day, in the marketplace basis.

One of the reviews of "Working on Yourself Doesn't Work" pointed me to an audio tape by the Kanes called "Magical Relationships." What a treat! After meeting the authors through their book, I got to actually hear them talking with people in a seminar. They are brilliant with people, really listening to each question and comment that arises from the audience and giving everything they've got with their responses. Listening to the tape was like spending time with two compassionate friends (and their guests!) who have discovered magic in their lives. I felt very close to one of the participants who talked about how embarrassing it can be to feel her partners love for her. It's a great section, but I won't give any more away. You don't have to dream about having an awesome life. Get the book, get the tape, and celebrate - the Kanes are a gift!

After reading "WORKING ON YOURSELF DOESN'T WORK" by Ariel and Shya Kane, I re-read the chapter on WORMs, the computer acronym for "Write Once Read Many." The Kanes compare WORMs to decisions and repetitive thoughts or emotions that re-play mechanically throughout our lives. They even list a page of common WORMs that seems to have been pulled from my own list of "greatest hits." These mechanical thoughts and behaviors that SEEM new to us are just oldies putting a limit on our realities.

The real gem in this chapter is the Kanes' pointing out that these WORMs may never go away, but that simple awareness of them will free us from the restrictions they create in our lives. I don't know how awareness, or simply
noticing what's happening in my life sets me free, but I've found that it does. One of my WORMs is "there has to be an explanation for why awareness works," but when I apply the Kanes' principles of transformation, that WORM magically fades to the background and life is, quite simply, great. Having gone the route of hard work to fix myself, I can heartily recommend this book to anyone who's tired of trying to fix themselves, but who still senses that a magnificent life is possible. My deepest thanks to the Kanes.

I did enjoy the Kanes book. I found it helpful and quite insightful anlthough a bit too brief. My personal favorite book on the subject of learning to live more fully in the present moment is Present Moment Awareness by Shannon Duncan. It was incredibly powerful for me as it allowed me to immediately apply what I was learning and immediately see a difference in how my life could be.

I recommend both of these books. They work well together.

Or so the point is made with Will Durant. One reads of so called historical facts and events which contradict other things I have read and researched. Use this for mere reference only. If the reader does not find a history book that agrees with his understanding of events I am quite sure there are history authors who do. For my part, I find Will Durant as biased and bigoted, and against the Catholic Church.

While this is not the most precise book on the Reformation, it is the most unique, thorough, and probably the largest. It is an epitome of the entire age in general, rather than a mere focus on particulars. One third of the book lapses before a singal mention of Martin Luther is made, but this is certainly not a flaw, Durant just shows how calls to reform happened centuries before him. Most histories simply focus on Luther, Calvin, and Henry the 8th, and fail to cover the whole age of the Reformation. This is not the case here. Durant begins with the condition of the Roman Catholic Church during the Papal Schism, moves to Wycliffe, shifts to Huss, and merges them with Zwingli, Luther,etc. Some forgivable digressions are made, but they end up serving their purpose well. Will Durant, a Catholic, judges the full scope of the Reformation with impartialty, revealing the pro's and con's of both institutions with sagacity. All in all this work is industrious and inspiring.

This is one of the largest volumes in the Story of Civilization series... Durant offers an interesting history of the times surrounding the post-Renaissance, Reformation era.

If you are looking for a short, comprehensive, encyclopedic catalogue of Aesop's Fables then this book is a steal. There are 83 fables in all, including the more famous ones such as the Boy Who Cried Wolf, The Lion and the Mouse and the Goose That Laid the Golden Egg. Each fable comes with a half page or so re-telling of its story plus a one sentence synopsis of the stories' "moral" at the end.

My problem with this is that the stories are so short, there is no magic in them. They are stripped of all but the bones. I can't imagine a child being interested in the stories told this way. I would have preferred them cutting the number of stories and instead fleshing them out by a few pages. I recommend paying a few bucks more for *The Aesop for Children* (ISBN:0590479776) by M. Winter which does just that.

Culturally we are now at the point when "Slow but steady wins the race," "Look before you leap," and "Necessity is the mother of invention" are considered wise sayings passed down from generation to generation. But even if you know these proverbs you might have forgotten, or probably never knew in the first place, that they were first said by an ex-slave named Aesop two thousand years ago and each was the moral to one of his fables. This particular collection of Aesop's fables is based on the 19th-century research and translation of George Fyler Townsend, for whom the stories were moral lessons intended for an ADULT audience rather than simply children's stories about anthropomophic animals. Because he used animals with human strengths and weaknesses, Aesop's tales have been directed over the years more towards children; I heard of lot of them for the first time on a record by the Smothers Brothers. But Townsend restores the style and sophistication that are not commonly found in the juvenile editions of Aesop. In addition to the familiar fables like "The Fox and the Grapes" and "The Hare and the Tortoise" there are dozens of lesser known fables uncovered by Townsend and included in the over 300 fables included in this edition, which makes this collection one of the more comprehensive of its kind.

Read carefully, and realize that the Publisher's Weekly review and several of the comments do not refer to this edition!

The body of Jacob Lawrence's artwork is a national treasure. These drawings may be black and white...they are also exceptional artwork by one of America's finest artists. In choosing this edition, you share not only Aesop's Fables with a child, but also truly great art.

William Durant is just a pedant who cannot appreciate a hero's greatness. Don't buy or read his books unless you are a useless pedantic fool like him with no hot blood in your vein.

Generally, the series of books written by Will and Ariel Durant is an enormous project, which the authors produced in a workman-like manner. Yes, they are pedants, and the works have a kind of lets-hurry-along flavor; a lets-get-it-all-in aura.

The Durants are Anglophiles, and it shows here. Too much Wellington, and too many British viewpoints, which were in the 19th Century and are to this day stacked against Napoleon, in particular, and the French, in general.

Reading this book, one gets the feeling, that the authors can hardly wait to get to the part about the Battle of Waterloo.

Anyone interested in Napoleon -- the man, and his works -- can find more comprehensive studies by other authors.

The Durant's writing style can sometimes be confusing to the uninitiated. They tend to string long sentences together with semicolins; using pronouns to the point of confusion for the reader.

There is a lot of information here, but this is not a great book. It is a very broad, shallow history giving only a mild flavor, not a real taste of the "Frenchness" of the Age of Napoleon. Francophiles and fans of the Emperor should look elsewhere.

Yes, this book presents an Anglo perspective of Napoleon and his time in Europe. Still, the work of the Durans is fantastic as it captures historical elements from sources as diverse as visual arts, philosophy, literature as well as the customs of the time. The work is also rich in research and references, presenting numerous scripts from Napoleon himself and his subordinates.

After reading this book, I was encouraged to buy the whole collection the Durans produced and I am very happy to have done so.