Source The Books

Well-written book that shows how early Arab immigrants integrated into the American society. We Americans need to know all the facts about Arabs before we judge them and stereotype them. Read Arab Voices Speak to American Hearts. It will help you better understand the Arab mind.

This labor of love documents the experience of Arabs who emigrated to Worcester, Massachusetts between 1880 and 1915. The author, a third-generation Worcester Arab-American, has interviewed immigrants from Lebanon, Syria and Palestine; she dis-cusses their lives and their connections with fellow Arab immigrants in the United States and South America, particularly Brazil. She also highlights the political and eco-nomic factors that brought Arabs to America and led many of them to stay, even after they had met their goal of earning enough to prosper in their homelands. Interviewees, most in their 80's and 90's, are succinctly quoted about subjects including their neighborhoods, work, traditions and education. The author offers evidence aplenty of how hard work and creativity enabled Arabs to put down roots in America, to the bene-fit of the community and the country. APC

Lane's Lexicon is by far the biggest and most comprehensive dictionary of Arabic terms translated into the English Language. Arabic, the richest language on earth is the Language by which God revealed his Qur'an in order to teach mankind that which we did not know. Only because God has preserved His Qur'an through it's memorisation and committed study at the hands of Muslim scholars and their students the Arabic Language has too been preserved. Modern Arabic still depends on this Classical Qur'anic Arabic for it's basis and point of reference.For this reason Lane's Lexicon is indispensable in the study and translation of Arabic texts.

Just wanted to let folks know that as of 12/2006 Lane's Lexicon can be downloaded FREE as a PDF (legally). The HUGE PDF file is somewhat cumbersome, but considering that you are saving $450 I think it's worth it. Just do a Google search and you are sure to find it.

"Paganism" has usually been portrayed and perceived as some primitive hodge-podge of superstitions. The picture changes when one realizes that these beliefs were parts of a widespread, formally organized, religion.
This book points to that fact, while revealing "secrets" compiled from Classical and historical sources.
Good stuff.

Arcana Mundi: Magic And The Occult In The Greek And Roman Worlds: A Collection Of Ancient Texts appears in a new edition, translating a hundred thirty ancient texts dating from the 8th century through the 4th century. It's been revised to offer several new elements, from a general introduction to an epilogue on ancient magic's appearance in early Christian and Byzantine eras. Add notes on mind-altering substances in occult practices an a detailed glossary of Greek and Latin magical terms and you have quite a different, enhanced version of the original, deserving of ongoing recommendation.

This is one of the finest popular histories I have ever read. Whether it is a book about 5th and 6th century British history using Arthur as a organizing principle, or a book about the "real" Arthur using 5th and 6th century history as a backdrop, this book is wholly convincing concerning the reality of Arthur and the historical context in which he lived. The book may actually be too good. The most convincing evidence it cites -- the so-called British Easter Annals -- appear to have been called into question by subsequent scholarship; and the link between Arthur and Mount Badon is not quite as convicing as it seeme to be when Alcock wrote the book. In short, this masterpiece needs updating. But a masterpiece it is. No one who reads this book with any care can fail to come away from it without a vastly improved understanding not only of the British dark ages, but of the nature of historical evidence, scholarship, and truth. This is a great book.

I have researched and researched all over the Internet about
King Arthur, Camelot, and his knights. I found many misleading websites that only talked about the fantasies of Camelot and King Arthur. Now, I found this book that tells the "REAL" side of who was King Arthur, Camelot, Merlin, and many others.
It is a "must" for those who want to know the truth, and nothing but the truth. Leslie Alcock has done an excellent job in this book. I highly recommend it.

Gildas is probably most important today because of his connection to Arthurian legend. The Ruin of Britain (De Excidio Britanniae) contains the first mention of the Battle of Badon Hill, where traditionally Arthur met his death. But--Arthur is usually placed in the late 400s (Malory puts the Grail Quest in the year 454, others later). This means that when Gildas was writing, ca. 540, the late 400s were still within living memory. And Gildas makes no mention of Arthur. The great hero of the Ruin is Ambrosius Aurelianus. This is really all the proof anyone needs that Arthur never existed. To forget a great leader so soon would be like a modern person not knowing FDR or Churchill. King Arthur is an amalgam of several people, including Aurelius. Yet Gildas' work is the basis for many later legends, and is thus an essential text for anyone interested in Arthur.

This edition has the complete text of the Ruin, fragments of letters from Gildas, and his penitential. All of these are presented in English in the first half of the book, with the original Latin in the second half. The text is numbered by paragraph and line, so it's easy to cite from.

There are other editions of Gildas, but none are complete, and none that I know of contain the Latin. If you want to read Gildas, this is the edition to have.

The Ruin of Britain, written in 540 AD, is not what we would consider history yet is the only surviving narrative 'history' of the 5th century Britain. Gildas mentions only a few names (from his time) in the entire text however, he states his purpose for writing was not to write a history but rather to fiercely denunciate the rulers and churchmen of the day. Thankfully, historians known enough of the period from other references/sources to understand Gildas' comments.

Historical Background:
In 410 the Emperor, since the Roman Empire was on verge of collapse, instructed England to provide their own defense and government. Initially, the rulers were successful in fending off attacks from neighbors but fatefully, Vortigen invited in Saxons who in 441 rebel and capture Britain. An British counter rebellion begins and supposedly after 30 years (under Ambrosius and 'Arthur') they defeat the Saxons (English) at Baldon hill. However, this victory had destroyed most remnants of Roman institutions (Villas destroyed, farmland pillaged, etc). Soon after Gildas' death, the Saxons rebel again and establish control - that lasted until Harold's defeat in 1066.

Gildas' Purpose:
The victorious British, after defeating the Saxons, ruled well for a generation but in Gildas' time power had passed to war lords who exploited the church and overrode law. It is this anarchy that Gildas' denunciates. He supports his argument about the decrepitudes of society (especially the clergy) with Biblical quotes and offers 'patters for better priest.' What is perhaps the most important aspect of this source is its ramifications. Instead of reforming society, mass numbers opted out (i.e. founded monasteries) completely reinvigorating the monastic movement that was mainly defunct in Gildas' time.

Pros and Cons of Volume:
The introduction is brief and concise however, it could be supported by more examples to illustrate important conclusions. The most obvious being the monastic movement supposedly spawned by this text. The section on Gildas' Latin is very welcome as well as the inclusion of the actual Latin text. An index of biblical quotations is very helpful as well as a list of names (since Gildas' only names one individual this list clarifies Gildas' references to others). Gildas, although he does not refer to Authur, was used as a source for later Arthurian legend since many concluded that Ambrosius was Arthur. A fascinating source which is fun to read ('as the Romans went back home, there eagerly emerged from the coracles that had carried them across the sea-valleys the foul hordes of Scots and Picts, like dark throngs of worms who wriggle out of narrow fissures in the rock when the sun is high and the weather grows warm). Thankfully, the text is supported and explained by a good introduction.

Shelton, Jo Ann. As the Romans Did: A Source Book in Roman Social History, 1st ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 1988. Pp. xix; 492. ISBN 0195041771.

Shelton has amassed a wealth of information from primary sources into a single volume. She touches upon every conceivable aspect of the Roman world: the structure of Roman Society, families, education, occupation, slaves, freedmen, government & politics, the army, women in society, leisure & entertainment, religion & philosophy, and others. With excerpts from the writings of real-life people in the days of ancient Rome, we capture the notion that these were real, down-to-earth individuals with cares and concerns, some of which are universal and timeless.

Students of ancient history, biblical studies, and classics will find this volume fascinating at the very least, if not quite useful for their respective purposes. It is appropriate for the high school or undergraduate level. This review is of the first edition, and there is a second edition to it. Since I have not read it, however, I cannot comment.

Definitive Work On Rome,

I read this book for a graduate course in Roman history. Jo-Ann Shelton's book is the definitive anthology pertaining to Roman social history!

Shelton opens each chapter with a brief synopsis of the subject and then she has a plethora of primary source documents, which are about the subject. I find this to be the genius of the book. The books appendix of primary sources and bibliography make this book an indispensable resource for anyone who studies Rome.

Following is an example of some of the subjects covered. According to Roman folklore, the first public day of entertainment soon after the founding of Rome by Romulus was a day of chariot racing. Thus, its importance culturally to Rome was paramount considering it became the oldest and longest lasting public sport in Rome--lasting over one thousand years. These chariot races first took place in the seventh century BCE in an area between the Palatine and Aventine hills. The racetrack was built in the "Circus Maximus" and was expanded over the years in order to seat 250,000 spectators. Originally, there were 17 game days or ludi a year in which 12 races a day would be run. Romans throughout the social strata were attracted to the blood and danger of this spectacle, as most races had at least one chariot crashing in a race. In general, the political importance of the races and games were not lost on ambitious men wanting to make a name for themselves. Admission was free to the races since it was the aedile or praetor's responsibility to organize public entertainment while they held office. Politicians seeking to ingratiate themselves with the people and wanting to further their political careers would spend their own money to supplement the public funds available so that they could increase the lavishness of the games. For example, Julius Caesar almost went bankrupt in 65 BCE during his aedileship. He put on some of the most lavish games that Romans had ever witnessed, which made him extremely popular with the people. Though this political ploy was expensive it paid off handsomely because his popularity rose among the plebeians.

When one thinks about public entertainment in Rome, it is hard to ignore the Roman penchant for gladiatorial combat and what it culturally meant to the Romans. During the republican period, it was common practice for gladiatorial matches to be financed by wealthy private individuals. Usually sponsored in honor of a dead relative these matches were not ludi but referred to as munera meaning "duties." As was the case for the ludi, wealthy politicians used the munera for the purpose of winning over the hearts and minds of the plebeians by staging lavish spectacles for their entertainment. The advantage for an ambitious politician was that these events could be staged at any time during the year. However, during the imperial period, gladiatorial combat became a part of the publicly financed entertainment for Romans. This was done because Rome's emperors did not want potential political rivals currying favor from the plebeians. The Romans seemed to have a blood lust in their entertainment. This may be due to using gladiatorial combat as a way of showing its citizens an ennobling contempt for death. It was also certainly used to serve as a reminder to citizens the authority that the state held over them. Like the chariot drivers, gladiators were slaves that were trained in their sport under rigorous conditions. Since it was expensive to train men, not every loser of a match was automatically killed. To feed the Roman blood lust, those condemned by the state to death and many war captives were sent to the arena to fight to the death--sometimes pitted against ferocious wild animals. "In the 100 days of spectacles, which accompanied the opening of the Colosseum in 80 CE, 9000 animals were killed. At Trajan's games of 108 CE, 10,000 gladiators fought and 11,000 animals were killed."

Private leisure activities, such as dinner parties, also fulfilled important Roman cultural needs. Once again, the wealthy Roman politician frequently hosted extravagant banquets with exotic foods and expensive entertainment to curry favor from his dinner guests. Sometimes a banquet would feature food grown on the estate farms of the host. This custom was an old and respected time honored Roman tradition. Many times the dinner parties were more austere in nature and conducted as part of the Roman patron-client relationship, or just out of friendship. It is interesting to note that when one reads about the Roman customs surrounding dinner parties, one quickly realizes that they have many similarities to modern customs. As an example, in Shelton's book there are ancient accounts showing how a man fishing for a dinner invitation ingratiated himself by drying off the back of a fellow bather at the public baths, or how people would use flattery to gain a dinner invitation. There are accounts of uncouth behavior that dinner guest display that hosts, both ancient and modern, always dread. These include the guest that perpetually shows up at your door early for a dinner requiring the host to drop everything they were doing to attend to them. Roman dinner guests often came with their own cloth napkins and would use them as doggy bags to bring food home. Of course, there are accounts of the rude dinner host as well. Some hosts would serve different quality and types of food to their guests based on their social standing. Shelton's book has an account of the "persistent poet" that bores their guests with poetry recitals that drone on and are quite boring. It reminds one of being invited to a friend's house for dinner and then having to suffer through a long slide show of their host's summer vacation. What Shelton proves with her section on dinner parties is that some customs never change.

Bathing was not just used for hygiene in the Roman Empire but was also a recreational pastime in its own right. Romans throughout the social strata and of both sexes partook of this activity. Except for the very wealthy who had bathing facilities at home, most Romans went to public bathhouses. Many of Rome's emperors had bathhouses built as part of their master building plan for the city, and once again to curry favor with the citizenry. Emperors Augustus, Nero, Trajan, and Commodus to name a few, had bathhouses built throughout Rome. The popularity of bathing was such that by the fourth century CE, Rome had over 1,000 public bathhouses that were operated by the state or as private businesses. Bathhouses had either separate sex facilities or different operating hours for the opposite sex. Shelton wrote that bathing was so popular throughout the Roman Empire that, "almost every town and every village had at least one public bath building." For example, one can still visit the Roman baths in the city of Bath in England where the Romans became enamored with the restorative powers they perceived the local water contained. Starting in the late republic period, bathhouses offered many different recreational activities similar to our present day fitness centers. Thus, bathhouses served many cultural needs of its citizens; one of which was a place were Romans could congregate to gossip and talk about issues of the day. Another need they served was that they were a place where Romans could engage in all types of physical exercises--such as, ball games, swimming, and jogging. Massages were a large part of the bathing ritual as well. The plan of the Stabian Baths at Pompeii, built in the second century BCE, show the enormity of bathhouse structures. The Stabian baths had separate bathing for the opposite sex, dressing and massage rooms, a swimming pool, an exercise yard, offices for meetings, as well as other amenities. In addition, shops and food vendors surrounded many of the bathhouses; thus, many Romans of the upper classes could spend long portions of the day at the baths.

Recommended reading for those interested in Roman history.

Baccio Bandinelli and Art at the Medici Court: A Corpus of Early Modern Sources by Louis Alexander Waldman (American Philosophical Society) More than five centuries after his birth, the contradictions embodied by the Florentine sculptor Baccio Bandinelli (1493-1560) remain as mysterious as ever. Revered by contemporaries as one of the most important sculptors of his time, he was reviled by his enemies as a truculent, foul-mouthed, avaricious, sycophantic, craven humbug-the farcical image immortalized as the character of Fieramosca in Berlioz's 1838 opera Benvenuto Cellini. But the originality and power of Bandinelli's work, and the long shad-ow it cast over the arts in sixteenth-century Florence and Rome, are as unmistakably clear today as they were to the artist's Medici patrons, who recognized his art as a potent tool for constructing an image of dynastic legitimacy.
Based on a decade of research in archives all over Italy, Baccio Bandinelli and Art at the Medici Court: A Corpus of Early Modem Sources brings this great but often neglected Renaissance artist into sharper focus for modern scholarship. It comprises a comprehensive collection of the documentation on Bandinelli's life and work. The great majority of the texts included in this volume were discovered by the author and are published for the first time, and many come from the private archive of the Bandinelli family.
This book presents a rich, balanced, and at times surprising picture of an artist whose career has all too often been viewed through the jaundiced eyes of his enemies-especially Giorgio Vasari and Benvenuto Cellini-whose far from impartial accounts have long exerted an unduly preponderant influence on Bandinelli's place in art history. All of Bandinelli's major artistic commissions are fully documented, as is his establishment of one of the earliest artistic academies. The sources presented here make it possible to know Baccio with a degree of intimacy that has few parallels in the historiography of Renaissance art. In this rich mosaic of contemporary sources, one can watch Bandinelli wringing commissions and rewards from his patrons, and one can hear his pithy views on art, artists, and the Medici family. But there are also many glimpses of Baccio the man-his amorous exploits, his brawls at fisticuffs, and his persistent struggles to elevate himself to the status of the Florentine patriciate through a trumped-up claim of nobility.
All the documents are furnished with historical commentary and textual apparatus discussing their broader historical con-text, problems of chronology and interpretation, and later interpolations-including hundreds of forged passages inserted by the artist's grandson, the genealogist Baccio Bandinelli the Younger (1578-1636), whose role as forger of the Bandinelli legacy is exposed here for the first time.

Baccio Bandinelli And Art At The Medici Court: A Corpus Of Early Modern Sources by Louis A. Waldman (Assistant Professor of Italian Renaissance and Baroque Art, University of Texas - Austin) is a collection of source information concerning Florentine sculptor Baccio Bandinelli (1493-1560). Accused by his enemies of beign foul-mouthed, greedy, and sycophantic, to the extent that he inspired the two-dimensional character Fieramosca in Berlioz's 1838 opera "Benvenuto Cellini", Baccio Bandinelli affected art history in more ways than the his detractors would have one believe - his originality was remarkable enough to become part of the image of dynastic legitimacy for his Medici patrons, and his works perpetuated his influence long after his name became memory. Baccio Bandinelli And Art At The Medici Court presents its wealth of documents, many from the private archive of the Bandinelli family, entirely in their original Italian with some English annotations; however, the many documents themselves are not translated. An excellent primary art history source for those familiar with Italian.

Newman's command of the primary source materials and his rank as an unsurpassed keyboard virtuoso make this book absolutely indispensible for every serious keyboard player. Each page engages the reader with his infectuous enthusiasm, answering essential questions concerning tempo, metre and note groupings with a comfortable and direct writing style which is never dull or pedantic. Newman addresses performance issues on all keyboard instruments, including the piano. Without doubt, the most useful of all books to date on the subject of keyboard performance of Bach's music!

Amazing! Brilliant! Such insights! Newman has once again outdone himself. As if his virtuoso recordings were not enough for the Bach enthusiast here comes the definitive tome on the master himself... from the master himself.

This book is fantastic. It is concise and accurate in rating the top 30 prospects in each Major League organization.

Baseball America has estbalished itself as the best place to find coverage of baseball prospects, and this book should further solidify that reputation.

There are 900 prospects covered, as the top 30 are chosen from each team. For each player, there is a fairly comprehensive writeup (as much as can be expected when having to cover so many players), including their performance to this point, what can be expected, and their chances of developing into contributing major league players. The teams are also ranked in regard to player development, and their drafts are discussed and critiqued.

As a fan during baseball season, it's difficult to follow the prospects just from your own team, and impossible to know what's going on with the other 29 clubs. It's great to have a book like this that can be used as a reference source throughout the season, especially when some of the kids start getting called up to the majors.

There's really not a lot out there about prospects. The annual Scouting Notebook offers some coverage, but their focus is on guys who will contribute in the current year. If you're interested in the future, this is an important purchase. Along with John Sickels' Baseball Prospect Book (available only on his website), the BA prospect book should prove both handy and interesting during the season.

This book on the Battle of Camden was well written with plenty of documentation. Very interesting to see both sides views on the Battle. Obviously a lot of time and effort went in to writing this account of the Battle. A great book for the History buff.

The book is very intriguing and presents the reader with a priceless way of studying history. A book of this type and caliber allows the reader to develop their own understanding of a historical event, especially when the documents that are presented are well rounded and well chosen. Piecuch's prefaces to each of the documents give the book it's fluidity and structure, along with his insight that explain some of the documents' exaggerations and misconceptions when necessary. Overall, the book is very informative and is invaluable to anyone interested in the American Revolution. This would make a great book to assign to students of American History. Great book for research as well. The book includes detailed historical maps of the battle from the British side, re-enactment photos, key player portraits and more. His work and immense amount of time and attention given to this book is apparent and should be acknowledged as such. Awesome book. Recommended to everyone.