Middle Ages Books

i loved this book. it was almost as good as the first book. if you haven't read any tamora pierce books then i sugget you do so

This book is so cool. Tamora Pierce really knows how to write. I stayed up really late trying to finish it! After I did, I kept reading it over & over again, it was that good! I think I'm on my fifth time now. If you love fantasy, you HAVE to read this book!

i must say that this is one of my Fav books!! Alana is a Knight, and on Travels!! the book is sooooooooooo good! There is sex in it, but, for thoose who complain, it's no more than an implied sentance!! So, anyway, [don't] deprive your chiled of a good book ... !

I just started this book, and it appears to be a genuine scholarly tour-de-force. This is not a layperson's book, but it may just be the most complete book on the subject of the Unknowable God in the Christian tradition. The footnotes thick and frequent. Just in the introduction, I already leaned quite a bit about the origins of this concept in Greek and early Christian thought. I'm looking forward to the rest of the book.

I am somewhat bothered that there appears to be no mention of Maimonides, (at least his name is omitted from the Index). I realize that this book is written by a Christian clergyman about the Christian conception of God, but is it really possible to completely avoid even a comparison with the negative theology of Maimonides, who worked just a generation prior to Aquinas? This perplexes me, since the author did devote some (minimal) space to Philo. I hope it's not the usual case of neglecting the "primitive theology" of the Jews, because, frankly, I don't think Maimonides or Gersonides are any more primitive than Aquinas. Hopefully this is not the reason.

A recurring problem in the Philosophy of Religion is how do we talk about God or Transcendant Reality? If God/Transcendant Reality are ineffable, incomprehensible and unknowable as they are in their own essence, how is it possible to talk about God at all? After all, don't holy scriptures often liken God to a human being with a body and emotions and a mind that changes? Doesn't this make religious belief (as atheists such as Richard Dawkins or Bertrand Russell have argued) nonsensical and meaningless?

Aquinas considered these sorts of questions in great depth and subtlety. Rocca, a Dominican with a Doctorate in Philosophy, outlines how Aquinas believed it was possible to talk about God in a way that made sense, without compromising God's mystery and inscrutability. The most interesting sections of the book deal with Aquinas's apophatic theology (which traditionally has been neglected by philosophers examining the God question) and also how we can apply concepts and language in discussing God and his attributes and our relations to us.

This book is a must read for any theologian or philosopher of religion interested in how humans can talk meaningfully and clearly about God in an age when members of religions are often faced with biting criticisms from skeptics and atheists, who often have very brilliant arguments and minds.

The question addressed in this magisterial volume is: "How can we speak of God, who transcends all human thought and speech?" In this remarkably well-written book, Rocca, a Dominican philosopher at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, gives us a comprehensive retrieval of Aquinas' answer to this question. No comparable work demonstrates such a complete mastery of Aquinas' writings and of the secondary literature on the subject. Although Aquinas's theological epistemology has often been read in ways that detach it from its properly theological moorings, Rocca avoids this pitfall. Through careful exegesis, he shows how Aquinas tempers the agnosticism of his negative theology, respectful of God's incomprehensibility, with his positive theology of analogical judgments about God, grounded in the theological truth of God's infinite perfection as self-subsistent Creator. Responding to those, such as Karl Barth and Wolfhart Pannenberg, who reject Aquinas' theory of analogy on the ground that it allegedly assumes a tacit univocity of conceptual meaning (a view stemming from Scotus and Cajetan), Rocca argues that analogy is more a matter of judgment and truth than concept and meaning, and that Aquinas bases his theological analogy more on the insights of faith than those of reason alone. If you want a masterful review of Aquinas' theological epistemology, get this book.

My boys and I listen to this in the car; they beg me to leave the car turned on "just a little longer" once we arrive at our destination so that we can finish a chapter. Jim Weise is our favorite narrarator, and we are learning all kinds of history. MUST have for all children.

I am so glad I bought this! My 7 year old daughter had a hard time paying attention to the subject matter....she prefers more pictures. She enjoys the audiobook and follows along with her book. I am free to do housework and can still enjoy the story of the world...you moms know about multitasking! I would highly recommend this. The storyteller keeps it interesting.

We really enjoy using the CDs with the books. Keep in mind, however, that the CDs don't include the illustrations that are in the books. These make a great supplement, but I wouldn't use them to REPLACE the books.

I absolutely loved the story line in this book! A Princess is given 3 Princes to choose from to marry. She has a difficult time deciding and in the end chooses the best one. A very fun find for children, and a valuable lesson is learned as well. Definitely an enjoyable book. Great for Multicultural classrooms or integrating Arab culture into the room!

The plot will be familiar to anyone who has seen the old silent movie "Thief of Bagdad." This is a Middle Eastern tale of three princes who search the world for rare treasures in order to win the hand of a princess. Will true love triumph? Wonderful telling of a classic story.

As an ESL teacher, I'm always looking for books to share as a read aloud to honor my students' native cultures. Not only is this a noteworthy book, but the illustrations are magnificent. My students from the Middle East always enjoy the sharing of this story with their new friends. I applaud the princess in this tale for her choice of a prince. Her wisdom is extraordinary; she provides a worthwhile lesson for all students.

Hurricanes, by Lorraine Hopping, Is the third book I have bought for my grandchildren in the Wild Weather series. They have looked forward to each new title and reread the ones they now have. The book helped them to understand what was going to happen with hurricane Floyd.

My daughter started with the Tornado book in this series (Wild Weather), which she really liked, and so we got this one on Hurricanes. It's even better. The opening chapters about the hurricane pilot had her riveted, and this is the first chapter book she has gotten through completely in one sitting. My only beef was that the scientists are men in both books, but then I found the Flood and Lightning books, which both feature women scientists. We plan to get Blizzards next, since we live in blizzard country.

My four year old has had me read Hurricanes to him again and again . Ms. Hopping presents scientific facts in such an engaging format that he really enjoys the story. I recommend this and her other Wild Weather stories.

What had been intended as an account of the traveling scholar-clerics of medieval times outgrew its original purpose to become a history of the preservation of the poetic impulse, from the decay of antiquity up to the eve of the Renaissance. "The Wandering Scholars" is not only a significant contribution to scholarly knowledge, but is itself a work of pure poetry, made all the more poignant in our own day by knowledge of the tragic fate that awaited the author. The buyer should be warned, however: although the book created a publishing sensation when it appeared in 1927, finding enthusiastic admirers ranging from the ranks of the University to the inmates of His Majesty's prisons, the steady decline of educational standards may render the book difficult for the general reader of today, and even the best-prepared could spend a lifetime exploring the many levels of meaning and allusion in Miss Waddell's pioneering work of genius.

When I bought this book, I had some misgivings, because it was dated 1927, and I am always nervous about reading old books in unfamiliar areas - there might be some important discovery that completely changes the picture, and of which they are unaware. But I felt I needed it, because it covered a grievous gap in my own knowledge of one of my subjects - the state of culture, and its social organization, in the middle ages. And by the time I was turning the first page, I knew I'd struck gold. Gold? Diamonds! This is the sort of book that never grows old, because it is built on a most extraordinary knowledge of the relevant material - again and again, she quotes unpublished manuscripts and material in obscure German and Italian publications - joined with immense sympathy for people. a broad vision that sweeps over several centuries, an eye for the significant detail, and a delicious and humane sense of humour; it is a classic like Gibbon. I wonder whether GK Chesterton ever read it? He would have loved it. It is a wonderfully insightful picture of the intellectual life of the West over seven centuries (400-1200 AD), drawn entirely from contemporary documents. Therefore the view it presents may be modified by further discoveries, but cannot be disproved or contradicted, because it grows from the soil of real people's experience. I can't praise it enough.

Wandering Scholars of the Middle Ages is the acclaimed study of a noted scholar which records the makers and singers of medieval Latin poetry and their traditions. Waddell's classic appears in a fine affordable edition which will appeal to holders of collections strong in Medieval studies.

I thoroughly enjoyed Watercolor Bedroom:Creating a Soulful Midlife. Each chapter is like a soothing cup of tea in the afternoon, even if you don't have any tea. The book gently inspires confidence, courage, and faith in one's own intuition. I emailed Daphne Stevens a year ago at her website (daphnestevens.com)and immediately received a warm and helpful response. She is a compassionately creative woman whose book deserves wide readership.

Watercolor Bedroom is a book that speaks to the souls of women ready for the adventure of midlife. This is a terrific book for any woman entering the age of 'Autumn,' as Dr. Daphne Stevens calls it. Instead of pining over lost youth, Watercolor Bedroom calls readers to embrace the wisdom and renewal that midlife brings. I highly recommend it!

In a wise and heart-centered way Daphne Stevens gently charts a new map for midlife women in her book "Watercolor Bedroom."
Each of her fifty-two essays is followed by questions for insight and reflection.
Daphne's heart-warming personal stories show how we tend the "soul of the world" when "we honor our bodies and feed our souls and spark our imaginations and listen to our dreams."
She says it is a blessing that midlife women find it harder to hide behind roles, rules and relationships and challenges us to "fully occupy the space where we stand."
Some of her gentle guideposts include resisting the illusion that we can earn our space on the planet by sacrificing ourselves and to tell the truth when truth serves the emergence of our higher selves. Also how the greatest gift we can give or be given is the willingness to witness pain without fixing and advising.
Her book has a womb-like quality that makes it safe for us to explore and shift our physical and emotional frequency and to acknowledging our power...in the service of discovering who we are underneath our assigned roles.

Although a children book; parents, teachers and adults will be captivated by this book. The customs of the Arabian Gulf region during the fasting month of ramadan is beautifully narrated and illustrated. Cultures across the globe will connect to the story telling. So timely and essential.

Though not a Moslem, I think it is important that we understand other cultures. I especially liked the illustrations for this book-in my opinion (biased as it may be), they "made" the book. I appreciated the colors and lighting effects, as well as the images themselves. I hope this artist does more books in the future!

This unique book is a must have for all families of Muslim faith and is an excellent and positive insight into Muslim culture for all children.

There aren't enough books about Johnny Appleseed for the grade 2-4 ages. This one is very informative and is nicely illustrated. Recommended for classroom and library use as are most of the others in the Who Was series. Accessible for young readers. I learned a lot from it, too. Well done!

The Who Was series is a great one in general, and this particular book is one of my favorites. I'd always thought Johnny Appleseed went around aimlessly tossing appleseeds. Not so. He was an entrepeneur, with a great idea: keep moving west and planting apple seeds just ahead of settlers who would need fruit and so would buy his seedlings. There were also laws about land ownership that required the planting of fruit trees. Johnny was also a good, kind man. And a bit of an oddball, which is why so many legends sprang up around him.

I love this artist's illustrations! DiVito is great with historical fiction and biography. (See her Annie Oakley Saves the Day chapter book.)

This book is a very concise, clear, and simple way to know about the life and work of Johnny Appleseed. It might be intended for children (I bought it for my grandkids) but I have learned a lot from it too.

This book is the first in Marston's Domesday series. It is set in England 20 years after William the Conqueror became king (1086). Two of William's men (Gervaise Bret and Ralph Delchard) have been sent to Bedwyn to do a land assessment. While they are there there are gruesome murders occuring and they appear to have been committed by a renegade wolf. Bret and Delchard are trying to figure out what is going on while they are also pursuing some shady land deals. This series looks very promising. It is very well written with a tight plot, and has colourful settings with great period detail. It is deliciously medieval, and Bret and Delchard make a great crime-fighting duo. Can't wait for more.

Edward Marston is the pseudonym of Keith Miles, a fairly prolific and extremely good writer of mainly Elizabethan and medieval mysteries. He has also written mysteries under his own name with both sporting and golf backgrounds. However it is primarily the books that take place earlier in history that I am interested in. He read modern history at Oxford and has had many jobs, including university lecturer, but fortunately for all his readers, he turned to the writing profession.

This is the first book I ever read by Edward Marston. It is about a period of history that I love and once I had read it, I eagerly sought out all other books by the author and I have never been disappointed. His Elizabethan theatre series of books were wonderful and he has continued them through from 1988 to 2006. The Domesday series is also a great series and this is the first book in the series.

When a wealthy miller is murdered it prompts the attention of William I, better known as William the Conqueror. He immediately despatches two of his most able men to the town of Bedwyn to uncover the murderer and bring them to justice. It takes all of their knowledge and determination to uncover a two-legged killer, much more cunning and far more savage than any animal.

If historical mystery is part of your reading diet, then you cannot go wrong with Mr. Marston. If you read one, you will want to read all. The books show much referance done and well told stories...