Durant Reviews

Durant and his wife--who co-wrote all of the volumes although she didn't get credit until Volume 7, "The Age of Reason Begins") are simply the greatest writers of history since Gibbon.

The prose is engrossing, engaging, spectacular, pithy, witty, warm, inviting--in short, I am exhausting the vocabulary of praise for them. I read these volumes, especially this one, over and over again for the sheer joy of the prose.

Durant covers the period from the year 300 until 1300, usually considered the Middle Ages in the West. He covers so much material it is simply astounding and impossible to aborb in ten readings. This book is one for a lifetime of reading.

The strengths are in the cultural area--particular the coverage of writers. Durant was an academic specializing in philosophy so his coverage of subject as overwhelmingly dull as the Scholastic Philosophers makes it come alive. He gives summaries of dozens of writers and the major literary movements in Europe, the Middle East and Islam.

The coverage Islam is extensive but contains the word "Mohammadan" to describe muslims. This is understandably offensive to muslims because it implies whorship of Mohammad. However, Durant is no bigot, the word was simply the fashion when the book was written, much as the word "negro" was in fashion at the same period of time (1950). Muslim readers should not be put off by this. His treatment of your faith and civilization is honest, fair and free of prejudice.

The primary weaknesses of the book (and the entire series) is in the military area. Durant admits his relative lack of interest in this area and relies on secondary sources. He is too credulous of ancient historians--often printing fantastic figures for soldiers and casualties; e.g. he states that the militia for the city of Bruges was 189,000 when the entire town could not have had more than 50,000 inhabitants! He has little grasp of military science and falls back on the conclusion of others with little of the critical examination most every other subject receives at his hands. This is a minor quibble and will probably only be noticeable by those who are avid scholars of military history.

There are, of course, many mistakes--impossible to avoid in a book over 1000 pages of text covering 1000 years, three continents, and three religions.

All minor quibbles compared to the thrill of one of America's greatest writers. Sadly, the Durants are given short shrift by critics and scholars.

As I said, read this book for a lifetime. I have been doing so for fifteen years and I continually learn new things.

In his eleven volumes Mr. and Mrs. Durant come up with a wonderful history of Western Civilization that is simply stunning in its achievement and unflagging level accomplishment for a work that began in 1930 and wasn't completed until 1975.

Will Durant wrote like a force of nature, and this book is a fine expression of his power. The body of his life's work seems to have been an effort, albeit incomplete, to cover the entire history of mankind, and each individual volume covers it's time frame by sweeping through every aspect of civilization: politics, military affairs, economics, science, art, philosophy, religion, literature, architecture, and social customs. The Age of Faith opens with the death of the Roman Emperor Constantine in 337 and carries up through around the 14th century, the dawn of what has come to be known as the Renaissance. As implied by the title of this volume, it was the flowering of the three great Western religions - Christianity, Islam and Judaism - which dominates the story, and Durant devotes significant attention to all three, even though the birth of "Christendom" ultimately emerges as the defining event of the era. The charm of Durant's writing is the passionate love affair he seems to have had with humankind through all times and in all of it's manifestations. While he doesn't minimize the unspeakable brutalities that recur, he writes with an exuberant reverence for the spiritual and intellectual industry that he finds in every facet of human development. Like any competent historian, he also dispels historical stereotypes, and there is no real sense of a "Dark Age" at any point during this period despite Durant's occasional use of the term. However, what does become clear is that until late in the period, it was Islam, rather than Christianity, that achieved the most advanced civilization of medieval times. For readers, such as myself, who are largely ignorant of Islam, the lengthy chapters devoted to Muslim culture may be the most informative and interesting in the book. The Jews, who were scattered and lacked political or military power, are portrayed as bringing a degree of cohesion to European and Eur-Asian development, maintaining a cultural identity of their own, while making remarkable contributions, intellectually and economically, to the dominant cultures within which they found themselves. Inevitably the structure of a book like this is a bit chaotic. There's little chronology to it, and the author jumps from one geographic region and one topic to another in no particular pattern. The book closes with an entire chapter devoted to Dante, in whose writing and life Durant sees both the quintessence of the mediaeval spirit a bridge to the Renaissance. The book's limitations are probably inherent in the author's very purpose, since by covering everything, he's forced by the constraints of space to gloss over much. Even so, The Age of Faith extends over a thousand pages. For readers, again such as myself, who are primarily interested in the political history of the period, the lavish attention paid to cultural topics - e.g., page-long excerpts from obscure Islamic poems, or breathless and detailed descriptions of a particular Byzantine mosaic or a gargoyle on the wall of a French cathedral - are distracting and at times annoying in light of the cursory focus given to weightier matters. Allowing for all this, however, this is a fine book from an extraordinarily gifted writer, and I highly recommend it.

Covering the fantastic weight of medieval history (325-1300 A.D.) from Julian the Apostate to Dante, Will Durant with excessive force and candor handles the decline of a classical age growing into the gloom of the dark ages only to sprout again into a post-adolescent Europe characterized by the emergence of gothic architecture, philosophy and letters, poetry and science, all shrouded by the spiritual jurisprudence of a Christendom at its climax. However, the voluminous expanse of this work not only necessitates the primary features of European civilization, both sacred and profane, but adds to the breadth and timeless lore of it the nature and origin of Islamic and medieval Jewish culture...ultimately constituting the "Age of Faith."

The scope of this work is treated in five books: The Byzantine Zenith (325-565 A.D.), which handles the downfall of paganism, the triumph of the barbarians, the progress of christianity, Europe (western) in its nascent form, the reign of Justinian - his successes and failures, Byzantine civilization - its extent and wealth, science and philosophy, literature and art, closing with an elaborate sketch of Persian royalty and society with the advent of the Arab conquest; book two, Islamic Civilization (569-1258 A.D.), beginning with Mohammed describing his moral character and military prowess which ultimately culminated into the conquest of a vast domain, the Koran - its influence, form, creed, and ethics, the successors (caliphs and emirs) to the "Sword of Islam", the nature of Islamic government, economy, and people, the thought and art of Islam, finishing with its granduer and decline; book three, Judaic Civilization (135-1300 A.D.) - the exiles and makers of the Talmud, and the character of the medieval Jew; Book four, the Dark Ages (566-1095 A.D.), covers the rise of Byzantine, the birth of Russia, the decline of the west, the rise of the north, christianity in a state of confilct, and the origins and rise of fuedalism and chivalry; book five, the Climax of Christianity (1095-1300 A.D.) handles the victories and defeats of the Crusades, the economic recovery of Europe, the Roman Catholic Church, the inquisition, the rise of monasticism, the morals and manners of Christian Europe, and finaly to its flowering...the resurrection of philosophy and the arts.

To undertake such a vast task with so many factors and outcomes throughout such a long period of time - which customarily was characterized by a plethora of follies and misfortunes with the occasional rise and fall of greatness and prosperity - is without a doubt challenging if not wholly impossible to acheive without making some generalizations...but if anyone has ever penetrated and colored the principle aspects of the "Age of Faith" with a common intellect and driving sincerity it is unmistakebly Will Durant.

I have read Death in Slow Motion, and found it a provocative insight not only into Alzheimer's but more so into its effects on the lives of the people bound by love and duty to their loved one. Ms. Cooney has every reason to dwell on who her mother was, it is after all the central tragedy of the illness. Alzheimer's does not just kill someone, it disintegrates, it degenerates the very essence of the persona you know and love. We do not grieve for the loss of a body, we grieve over the loss of a person and with Alzheimer's we lose the person long before the body they inhabit dies. It is not only Death in Slow Motion, it is also Grief in Slow Motion. I recommend this book to anyone who may be facing a loved one's descent into Alzheimer's or to anyone who thought they were alone with the experience Ms. Cooney so unsparingly reveals. I recommend a visit to the book's website for a more personal insight into the lives involved with this loss.

Eleanor Cooney takes her readers on the journey most dreaded by both young and adult children, that of losing one's mother. However, in this case, the mother is physically alive but mentally lost in the mire of Alzheimer's disease. Eleanor Cooney captures the pain involved in losing her best friend, protector, mentor-mother and reveals the embarrassment of seeing her witty, glamorous novelist mother deteriorate into a tedious, unkempt person whose conversations consist of these repeated phrases: "Where's my basket (purse)?", "I want to go home" and "Why did Mike (her husband) have to die?" Ms. Cooney writes a poignant and emotionally honest book about the transition from being her mother's child to parenting her mother. This process first begins with the phone calls of her mother's worried neighbors and continues through the agonizing medical and psychological testing and into the frustrations of navigating through the maze of residential placement. The raw emotions awakened by this disease - - the feelings of betrayal, followed by relief tainted with guilt - - reveal a paradoxical vision familiar to many caregivers, a vision portraying Dante's Hell and The Comedy Works. Woven into this black comedic story of loss is the gain of becoming acquainted with the vivacious personality of Eleanor Cooney's mother, Mary Durant. According to Mary, one of the world's greatest sins is being tedious. This book is anything but tedious and is superbly crafted and written. If E. Cooney were to consult her mother's image and ask her if she approved of the book, her response would be "Bravo."

Realistic, harrowing, and profoundly honest account of caring for someone heading down the steep slide of Alzheimer's. Author Cooney's grief when she realizes there's nothing she can do to prevent or slow down her mother's galloping dementia is stressful to read; I can't imagine what it must have been like to live it, especially as Cooney's mother was always elegant, talented, gracious, and witty. To watch her withering dependence and confusion is horrific, and things only get worse when Mom moves into their house.
This is a very harrowing memoir, not only of the disease's gradual destruction of an individual, but also what it can do to the caregivers.

Of the Ross Thomas books containing the Wu & Durant characters, this one is arguably the best. A great story with twists and turns that keep the pages turning with very little effort.
The characters are so well developed only a photograph would offer any more insight. If a picture is worth a thousand words, Thomas has the ability to modify that statement to paint a picture using very little wordage. If your a Thomas fan this book shoud definitley be high on your list of "next" reads.

I happened upon Ross Thomas by chance and not design. As my local library had only Out on the Rim and The Fourth Durango on its shelves, I read them first. I was hooked. Through the library's inter- library loan program I have now read from Cold War Swap through Chinaman's Chance. I'm only 50 and admittedly have a lot of reading ahead of me but I can not remember enjoying reading someone's work as much as I do reading Ross Thomas. I cannot imagine that he will ever be out of my top 10 favorites.

Lifelong pals since they hooked up in a San Francisco orphanage, Artie Woo and Quincy Durant are two of the best characters you'll come across in any thriller. Nobody plumbs the depths of corruption and works a great con like this dynamic duo of the Pacific Rim. Throw in the likes of grifter Otherguy Overby, CIA master Whittaker Lowell James, and a former folk trio named Ivory, Lace, and Silk, and you've got the makings for one helluva adventure.

"Chinaman's Chance" is a delight to read. The juicy, twisted tale of opportunists on the make was tailor-made for Ross Thomas' fast-paced, witty style. He had a remarkable ability of making cynical characters likable and complex plots believable. His novels are "page-turners," but they're also insightful and poignant sketches of the human condition. He was truly an uncommon talent.

I had been looking forward to this book for some time but it didn't live up to my expectations. If you're looking for a book about Mike's life as an SF pilot then this does the job quite well. If, like myself, you're expecting a balanced account of book of Mike's experience in Somalia, you may be let down.

About half the book is taken up with anecdotes and memories that have nothing to do with Somalia. That's no big deal as it is still an interesting read, but the description on the back cover doesn't provide any indication of the true nature of the book so I felt a bit had. Books aren't cheap after all. The back cover synopsis does use the word torture, which undoubtedly increased sales significantly. Although Mike was badly injured and wasn't given five star treatment, and I don't envy his position one little bit, he didn't have electrodes connected to his genitals either. Again, misleading and typical sensationalism. It's a pity to let the facts get in the way of a good story I guess.

Another thing that annoyed me was the over-use of totally crap similes. Hartov, who wrote this with, or for, Mike lets the side down badly with this. Perhaps he was story-telling for the lowest common denominator and maximum sales. It is a shame Hartov's audience wasn't treated to a more impressive display of descriptive talent.

Further, in the introduction, Hartov makes an issue out of the thorough research performed and how Mike's story was checked with others involved even to the extent of going to Somalia and talking to his captors. This book would have benefited significantly if the 'memory lane' stuff had been reduced (although some is useful to set the scene) and the perspective of others directly involved had been included. After all, US forces underestimated the enemy and got badly bitten. Mike was shot down, captured and released. Several people were killed trying to get him out, unsuccessfully. I am not so sure that this is something Americans should be beating chests and waving flags about. It seems to me that including a Somalian perspective would have added real balance and given a more accurate depiction of the realities of the incident. A small effort along these lines was made with the inclusion of the letter from the wife of a Delta operator, and to me that was one of the most valuable parts of the story.

All things considered it was a pretty good read and I salute Mike's bravery and resolve. Fortunately and correctly, Mike doesn't put himself forward as a hero; rather he, as indicated in the title, gives full credit to his fellow soldiers. But I strongly suspect another author [not Hartov] could have done a far better job and presented a more insightful account. An opportunity missed I think.

Micheal Durant's 1993 story of being held captive by a faction of well armed Somalis in Mogadishu is one of the most harrowing, detailed and violent stories of modern warfare. Even though it is only about his own experience as a POW, it is very interesting and is a genuine page turner. Durant recounts almost everything that he experienced, from which day a certain food was brought to him, to what dreams he had on certain muggy Somali nights. What also makes this book one to read, is that although most of it is about his experiences during Operation Gothic Serpent in Mogadishu, he also recounts just as perilous tales of his time serving in Korea, Panama and Iraq as a helicopter pilot.

I am glad I read "Black Hawk Down" before "In the Company of Heroes." "Black Hawk Down" gives an overview of the entire battle, whereas once Durant is captured, the rest of "Company" is only about him in captivity.

This book is about one man's absolutely unbelievable courage in a situation most of us cannot even fathom. He is truly an American patriot, and deserves to have the world hear his story. "In the Company of Heroes" should be read by everyone.

As soon as I heard CW4 Durant was writing a book I knew I had to buy it. I bought it the first day it was available to the public (the first book I've ever done that for). It was a quick read that kept me interested to the very end.
The book (which is the most fitting title for any book I've ever read) documents CW4 Durant's crash, capture, and detainment, but also details some of Durant's past missions as well as his training. I felt like I got to know many of CW4 Durant's friends and it put a very personal feel to the Semolina incident.
Thank you CW4 Durant for documenting your story. I am in the process of applying for Flight School (with the Army) and your story has continued to inspire me. I'm thankful that I finally got to hear it from you.

"The Art of Chesley Bonestell" is an extremely high quality Science Fiction art collection that comes around once in a decade or two. The last Chesley Bonestell collection of this calibere, "Worlds Beyond: The Art of Chesley Bonestell", was published in 1983. Chesley Bonestell's art goes back to the golden age of Science Fiction of the late 1940's, 1950's and 1960's. His work was displayed on the covers of SF periodical magazines, SF paperback books, and Space Science books of that era. His style is realistic and his work is breathtaking! His concepts of other-worldly-visions are naturally realistic and have a Zen-like feeling of mystery to them. The color plates in this book are of awesome quality. I guarantee this book will increase in price, as the 1983 collection has. The 1983, "Worlds Beyond: The Art of Chesley Bonestell", sells for around $100 or more. Buy this 2001 book, "The Art of Chesley Bonestell" now, because it will only cost MUCH more after it goes out of print.

I bought this book for the space art but found out there are many other excellent paintings to go along with them. Bonestell's art makes you want to be at the places he's painted except for places like New York under nuclear attack and ancient Egypt being bombarded by comets. The space art is incredible. I only wish I could get large prints of some of the pictures to frame them. I'm even considering buying another book and cutting out some of the pictures that are barely large enough to frame.

I am among the hundreds of thousands -- perhaps millions -- of people who owe their lifelong interest in matters of astronomy and space science to a childhood discovery of the art of Chesley Bonestell. I remember vividly pawing through the pages of The Conquest of Space at the age of about ten, my mouth open as I saw the marvels of the universe displayed.

It was thus actually rather nerve-racking when I opened this new book for the first time. Could the reality of his art possibly match my childhood memories? Could all of that vividness and excitement have been magnified in my mind's eye over the succeeding decades? Was I in for a disappointment?

I most certainly was not. If anything, the fabulous art inspired and excited me even more than it had way back then.

And there's a lot of that art here -- a real feast of it, superbly reproduced. And I discovered as I kept turning the pages, hands quite literally trembling as I discovered treasure after treasure. Even more excitingly, I found that Bonestell had worked in areas of art I'd never suspected before: fabulous landscapes, stunning sketches ... I have perused many, many art books, but I've never before reacted quite as strongly as to this one.

And it gets better. There's a long, beautifully written and utterly fascinating illustrated biography of Bonestell written by Ron Miller. It's almost as if one's getting two books in one.

An earlier reviewer (who cannot spell "Chesley") talked of this as if it were an expanded version of The Conquest of Space. He was talking through his hat. This is a completely new book covering the entirety of Bonestell's career both visually and textually; it contains a big selection of illustrations from The Conquest of Space (all the best ones), but they form only a small part of the huge and sumptuous collection on display here.

This is a gorgeous book, and an extremely valuable piece of work -- the authors/compilers deserve the highest praise for having brought this treasure to us.

I rarely take the time to write a review, but this book deserved my taking a little time out of my day.

I have MANY scrapbooking books, but I have to say that this is one of my favorites, as it incorporates many of the best tips and techniques I've seen in other books all in one place.

The layouts, although not as profuse as in other books, are inspiring and different. I would definitely recommend this book.

This book had some very nice ideas. They range in complexity. I love this book!

I've read a great number of books about scrapbooking, but this book is absolutely the best one I've seen.

The first part of the book is dedicated to basic scrapbooking technique and tips, and the rest deals with techniques and themes. Beautiful layouts are consistent throughout the whole book, and you'll be inspired by every page. The book features many unique techniques such as kaleidoscoping (I've never seen that anywhere else), as well as many others that are more common, but still done to perfection here (embossing, pin-holing, layering, and many more).

Overall, this book is very good in terms of inspiration, instruction, and ideas. An ideal gift for an aspiring scrapbooker, or a veteran who could use a few new tricks.

This book is so little and cute and darling, it will happily go with you wherever you go with your beading projects, tucked in a bag if you take your beads to the beach or the park for an afternoon picnic or if you're traveling and want to work on a project enroute or even if all you plan to do is sit on the couch and do beading while you watch TV. It is aimed at both novice and experienced beaders and, for the most part, includes precise, detailed instructions and clear drawings for easy stitches that new beaders will find easy to follow as well as complex weavings that will definitely challenge those with more experience.

The book begins with descriptions of the various kinds of beads, threads, cords, bead wax and needles that are currently available. Especially helpful are the sections on "Matching Thread to Bead," "Choosing the Right Needle" as well as the information on seed bead sizes and types. Two chapters on bead weaving come next -- the first covers off-loom beading and includes various peyote stiches (even and odd flat stitches, circular and tubular stitches and the Native American or "gourd" stitch); the square, ladder, brick and netting stitches; several variations on the right-angle weave stitch; the herringbone and the daisy chain. The next chapter covers loom beading with lessons on how to set up a loom (including instructions on how to make your own loom) and how to do basic weaving, adding weft thread, increasing and decreasing beads, etc.

The next section is called "Stringing Beads" and begins with a brief description of how to make a simple beaded necklace; the instructions that follow on how to make a knotted bead necklace (with knots between the beads like a pearl necklace) are much more thorough.

The next four chapters deal with embroidering, knitting, crocheting and doing macrame with beads. The embroidery section shows how to incorporate beads into basic crewel embroidery stitches (back, buttonhole, chain, feather and herringbone) followed with instructions for the tent stitch used in embroidery work on canvas (ie, needlepoint and cross-stitch). Also included are instructions on how to use a tambour (a hook similar to that used for crocheting that is used to pull chain stitches and beads through cloth). Next are sections on knitting with beads, crocheting with beads and using beads in macrame.

The next chapter is on findings (clasps, crimp beads, knot cups, connectors, earwires, jump and split rings, end cones and coils, pinbacks, head and eye pins), which, while thorough insofar that it covers most findings, does not have the same excellent, detailed instructions and drawings that characterize the rest of the book. Using head pins to make earrings or attaching a crimp bead might seem obvious but someone who has never done these things may need more than just a brief written description on how they are accomplished. This section would have been so much better had the authors provided clearer explanations as well as illustrations. Also helpful would have been instructions on how to make secure bead loops using head/eye pins.

This chapter is followed by a section on wirework that has information about types of wire as well as tools (pliers, jigs, mandrells, mallets, hammers, etc) and basic techniques for making coils, figure eights, spirals and loops. The final chapters deal with making simple beaded cords and ropes, how to add fringe (including adding Victorian chain edging) and making netted fringe.

One of the best things about this book are the instructions on what to do if you make mistakes. I also liked the various "hints" that are scattered through out it as well.

Should you buy it? Well, if what you are looking for is a book that will teach you how to do basic bead stringing for a necklace or a bracelet or if you need instructions on how to make earrings, then you would be better off skipping this and getting a book like "Exotic Beads" instead. But if you're looking for the basics in bead weaving, etc, then this is definitely a good sourcebook for you. Be warned, however, it does not contain patterns or instructions for projects.

If you're just getting started in beading, and have been browsing stores, feeling overwhelmed not knowing what you need to get started, or how to get started, you definitely can use this book! The Companion covers an introduction to EVERYTHING from types of beads and the differences between their finishes, sizing, threads and other equipment, both looming and off loom stitching, stringing, even working with embroidery, wire....and some blank graphs to plan projects drawn according to the stitch (Peyote, brick, square, etc). The book teaches the basic stitches close up and step by step, and each one I have tried has worked out! It comes in a cute size also, and spiral bound so it won't slam shut on you when you're stitching. Keep in mind it does not have any patterns for any projects, but gets you the skills to be able to work with project books, and to go to the bead store and know what to ask for.

This book is great for the beginner or advanced beader. The illustrations and instructions are easy to follow. Worth the price and more.

If you are a student of history, than you will like this book. The late Will Durant is a prolific writer and historian. This title is one of my favorites in the Story of Civilization series. Durant's style is fascinating and unique, because he probes a lot deeper into history -he offers more than a mere political history of the times. It's no wonder so many historians of his day were so critical - a classic case of genius-envy. Durant's vivid prose and kind insight as a historian compelled me to get the whole Story of Civilization set.

FYI the title cover published by Fine Communications looks a whole lot better than the old one Amazon listed- hopefully they will update it.

This is the best historical work I have yet seen. Mr. Durant's blends oustanding historical analysis and perspective with literary story-telling skill as well as any other historian I have read. He covers the rise of Rome superbly, but his analysis on Christ and the rise of Christianity is a masterpiece. He approaches the controversial topic of Jesus' historicity carefully and scientifically, with insight that will leave both the discriminating scientist and the pious believer satisfied. This work is several decades old, but it far surpasses the sensationalist, "revisionist" works of today. This is the greatest volume of Durant's excellent series on the history of civilization.

Only 40 years ago, Will Durant (whose wife, Ariel, was co-author of the later books) was among the most celebrated popular historians for the multi-volume Story of Civilization. Today, he is all but obscure. (I "Googled" his name and found only a single web site where he is mentioned -- and that's the foundation that his estate administers).

Wherefore has his reputation dimmed so suddenly? I imagine that even when he was alive and publishing, academic historians dismissed him with their favorite put-down, that he was a mere "synthesizer." As if that wasn't bad enough, he was widely read by non-historians!

In today's academic Dark Ages, he is no doubt beneath contempt, since he doesn't see history as defined by economic, class and gender issues (although in fact he has plenty to say about all those -- he just doesn't focus on them as though they are the beginning and end of what makes the past important). Moreover, Durant assumes the currently unthinkable on our politically correct campuses: that western civilization and Dead White Males actually have given us a great deal that has timeless value.

But, if you have shaken off (or not been subjected to) the ideology of the PC drones of academia, Durant is just the writer to make history what it was meant to be: colorful, literate, mind-stretching. This is no sugar-coated account; he discusses the ugly, cruel and unjust aspects of the Roman Republic and Empire; but they are placed in a balanced context.

I have read completely only this volume on the Roman world (I'm currently reading the previous volume on Greece), but have no hesitation in saying that Caesar and Christ is the best piece of historical writing I have ever encountered and I suspect that the whole series has many of the same virtues. Although he may be a "synthesist," Durant has obviously read deeply in the ancient writers, and has seen and pondered the art and artifacts of the Roman era.

The result is prose that sings, an eye for both the "big picture" and for fascinating, out-of-the-way detail. Durant gives you a survey of the personalities, the politics, the social world, the ideas, the literature and the arts of this period that shaped the western world. The elegance and wisdom of the writing are something to marvel at.

If you are interested in the Roman era, you will find Caesar and Christ to be enormously rewarding.

This book was purchased for me as a gift. My favorites to knit have always been small items. That is, until I received this book. The pictures are beautiful, and the patterns are clear and easy to follow. Most of them come in both chart and written instructions. I have read the descriptions of the myths and legends surrounding these works of art over and over again. Also, there is a wide variety of shawls, from small triangles to very large squares! I have to mention that there is a few errors, and if you look online you can find the corrections. I would suggest that anyone who knits order this book....and be prepared to start knitting yourself a shawl!

This has been quite a year for great knitting books. And Cheryl Oberle's book on shawls is not to be missed.

The photography is really outstanding. Cheryl models her shawls in such a way to show the beauty of the shawl and at the same time make an artistic statement.

The shawls represented are quite varied; most are done, however, in sport weight yarn. This is convenient for those who don't want to attempt a project in cobweb-fine laceweight yarn. However, directions are given if you do want to change the yarn weight to suit your tastes.

The schematics include a layout of the shawl shape (oblong, diamond, triangle, etc) and the lace patterns are charted in many cases. There is a nice section on techniques.

All together, a really fine volume in the folk series from Interweave Press.

This is an excellent book with beautiful patterns. I love it. It has a brief history of traditions for each region and 25 gorgeous shawl patterns.

Over the past year I have read extensively about the 17th century. "The Age of Louis XIV" is the best book which I have found on the period. Volume VII of Will and Ariel Durant's multi-volume "Story of Civilization", this book documents more detail of the era than any others which I have read.

The book begins with sections on France and England. The next section is "The Periphery" dealing with Russia, Poland, Scandinavia, Germany, Italy, and Iberia. After the geographically oriented sections, the reader is treated to sections organized along intellectual topics, such as science, philosophy, and faith and reason, which contain chapters dealing with specific philosophers or scientists. The conclusion wraps it all up with the denouement of Louis XIV.

This book makes the 17th century understandable. The premier character of the era was Louis XIV, the Sun King of France. During his reign, the policies of he and his ministers established France's day in the sun. Absolute ruler of the most populous and powerful kingdom in Western Europe, Louis made France the center of Western Civilization. On these pages we learn about the Fronde, the revolt by the nobility at the rising of his Sun, from which Louis acquired his life long aversion to Paris, Louis' aggressive support of Catholicism, while at the same time maintaining illicit personal relationships, and his generous support for the arts. This era, rich in French literature and theatre, as represented in Moliere, is revealed.

The forces threatening to rend the Catholic Church further asunder, as well as the relationship between King and Pope, are dealt with in detail. I was surprised to learn that Louis exercised a power over the Church in France similar to that which Henry VIII had previously established over the Church in England.

England, meanwhile, endured Cromwell, The Stuart Restoration, and the Glorious Revolution, while spawning Milton, Dryden, Swift and other literary giants.

Interesting contrasts are illustrated. Whereas in France the monarchy was strengthened into absolutism, England was making hesitating steps toward democracy. Whereas Louis excluded much of the nobility from government and military service, essentially forcing them into the role of idle rich, the English nobility gradually gained power and responsibility for the governance of their country. We can see how these trends may have encouraged the resentment of the aristocrats on the part of the French peasantry, which may have contributed to the intensity of feeling during The Terror of the French Revolution. By contrast, the empowerment of the English nobility may have helped solidify the tradition of peaceful political maturation.

On the Periphery, Charles XII brought Sweden to the zenith of its international power, while Peter the great modernized Russia. Germany survived the onslaught of the Turks, while Italy and Iberia, the "Old Europe" of the day, slid through an era of decline.

Intellectually the era was one of giants. Many of the names with which we are familiar come alive as we read of Isaac Newton, Thomas Hobbes, John Lock, Spinoza, Leibniz and others.

The conclusion of the era was the sunset of the Sun King. Having exhausted his country with dynastic war, bled it with unequal taxation and incurred the enmity of the world, Louis negotiated a peace which left his kingdom a shattered hulk of its former greatness.

For anyone desiring an introduction to the history of the 17th century, this is a great place to start. It has me ready for other books in the Durants' "Story of Civilization".

Though the central figure of this book is Louix XIV, this book is not about French history, but about European history as a whole.

The focus of this book is not on political and military history but on the history of religion, art, literature, science and philosophy. Or I can say politics is deeply involved in religion, art, literature and philosophy. I have never studied European philosophy before, and I thought it would be exttremely difficult to understand philosophy. But while I was reading this book, I found that phlosophy could be much easier when it was explained in a political context of the times.

And in this book English history was emphasized as much as French history. It is quite natural because Louis himself was deeply involved in and greatly responsible for the 17th century English history, and Thomas Hobbes and John Locke were Englishmen.

I believe that this book is the best book I've ever read. I'd like to read all 12 volumes of Will & Ariel Durant's "The History of Civilization" series.

By the way, I found 2 trivial mistakes in this book.
According to p 505, Halley identified another comet, seen in 1680, with one observed in the year of Christ's death; he traced its recurrence every 575 years, and from the periodicity he computed its orbit and speed around the sun. According to my own calculation, however, 575 x 2 + 33 = 1183, while 575 x 3 + 33 = 1758.
According to p 513, Mariotte amused his friends by showing that "cold" could burn: with a concave slab of ice he focused sunlight upon gunpowder, causing it to explode. To focus sunlight, however, we need a convex lens, not a concave lens.

The Durants succeed again in encapsulating the 17th century in Europe. They label it as the landmark century intellectually and scientifically and there is much truth to their assessment: the 18th Century, the "Enlightenment" and "Aufklarung" usually takes pride of place given the American and French Revolutions that dominated them and the general retreat of superstition and obscurantism that marred both Catholicism and Protestantism in the previous centuries. The Durants clearly show that all the 18th century did was develop themes initially sounded and expounded by 17th century thinkers such as Hobbes, Locke, Newton, Leibniz, Spinoza and the English Deists. These writers, and others, laid the bedrock for the various revolutions that shook Europe in the 1700 and 1800s and which have culminated in our own day: The Industrial, Political and Scientific.

Thematically, the book is erected upon the scaffolding of the Le Roi Soleil's life. They present his wars, mistresses, patronage of art, political autocracy as well as murderous bigotry. In my opinion, in their conclusion they let Louis off far too lightly. He was a man who countenanced, nay, actually encouraged and gloried not only in wars to dominate Europe--a common enough failing amongst the crowned--but in the Persecution of the Huguenots he left a blot on his record that, in light of the deadly century we just left and the religious fanaticism of 11 September, should sink his record in the humanitarian sense.

His vanity and thirst for "la glorie" (which he admitted himself to have been his worst failing) bankrupted France and left the Peasants in a savage and degrading poverty they hadn't experienced since the calamities of the 14th century. His refusal to use his power to actually reform government and tax the nobility mark his reign as regressive and disastrous in many ways. Still his impeccable taste in the visual and plastic arts-as opposed to his love of second-rate playwrights and third-rate opera--make him the supreme art patron in history. And the prestige and admiration that accumulated acted as a sort of bank that his incompetent, worthless successor cruised upon. Only under sixteenth Louis did the credit of the Sun King's name finally run out...

Still, the Durants must credited for making this error sparkle and shimmer with life and the lovely prose still entrances and pleases regardless of how dull or recondite the subject might be. Again, they are two of the greatest of all American writers. Someday, I hope, they will be acknowledged as such.