Bell Books

This book is a must for anyone who is interested in the career paths of women in the corporate world. That would include spouses of, grown children of, and parents of women. It is based upon Harvard research including in-depth case studies of both white and black women from childhood to the present day, career journeys one will find fascinating. When the reader returns to his/her workplace after completing this book, diversity will take on a more significant meaning. This book is also a useful tool in college career development classes. Rather than a dull read, it keeps the reader coming back for more.

If you are wondering why the Black woman in your section of your company doesn't seem to want to socialize with you or seems guarded around her White co-workers or why the White women in your organization get all riled up about sexism but are silent when it comes to racism this is the book for you. I recommend this book along with Divided Sisters for those who really want Black and White women to unite in the workplace. These two tomes will give you more than a clue. They'll give you guidelines as how to build a truly "diverse" workplace where everyone is welcomed AS THEY ARE and not as stereotypes others want them to play out. If you are a Black woman, you'll understand why you see your work status merely as a "job" and not as a career and why you feel so much like an outsider looking in at your organization.

The only reason I didn't give this book 5 stars is that I wanted more in-depth analysis of how the White female managers confronted the idea of Black women as equals (and not just on the job), something I've experienced that White women have a difficult time doing in the workplace.

GOOD BOOK. BUT I HAVE NEVER HAD AN INTERRACIAL FRIENDSHIP WITH A WHITE AMERICAN WOMAN. MY FRIENDS WERE EITHER EUROPEAN, ASIAN, AFRICAN, CARIBBEAN, SOUTH AMERICAN, OR BLACK. IM NOT EVEN INTERESTED IN CLOSING THE GAP WE'VE HAD BETWEEN EACH OTHER SINCE SLAVERY. AND EVEN IF WHITE WOMEN AND BLACK WOMEN ARE FRIENDS IN CORPORATE AMERICA, BLACK WOMEN STILL GET PAID LESS. ITS UNFAIR AND I DONT WANT ANYTHING TO DO WITH SOMEONE WHO THINKS THE WORD WOMAN, FEMININE, OR LADY MEANS WHITE.

If you are wondering why the Black woman in your section of your company doesn't seem to want to socialize with you or seems guarded around her White co-workers or why the White women in your organization get all riled up about sexism but are silent when it comes to racism this is the book for you. I recommend this book along with Divided Sisters for those who really want Black and White women to unite in the workplace. These two tomes will give you more than a clue. They'll give you guidelines as how to build a truly "diverse" workplace where everyone is welcomed AS THEY ARE and not as stereotypes others want them to play out. If you are a Black woman, you'll understand why you see your work status merely as a "job" and not as a career and why you feel so much like an outsider looking in at your organization.

The only reason I didn't give this book 5 stars is that I wanted more in-depth analysis of how the White female managers confronted the idea of Black women as equals (and not just on the job), something I've experienced that White women have a difficult time doing in the workplace.

Bell and Nkomo dive straight to the heart of the matter. They base their findings on comprehensive personal interviews of African-American and white women working as managers or executives. Ultimately, the authors hit the reader over the head with the obvious: People from strikingly different backgrounds bring profound personal differences to the workplace. Too often, organizations stupidly attempt homogenizing everyone into minor variations on the existing (typically---older, white, and male) leadership theme. Unusually (Bell and Nkomo cited no such cases), organizations may wisely embrace the differences so that the organization and its people benefit from a more perceptive and inclusive world view.

Folks who need not spend their working hours "fitting in" contribute (A) more (B) less to the organization. Leaders who accept their people for who and what they are get (A) more (B) less from their subordinates. Guess where the authors suggest the readers take their outfits.

Brilliant! This book answers the questions I have been searching for answers to, for such a longtime. I can now feel at peace with the issues instiled into me by my strict religious upbringing. Thank you Elias Bell for bringing the truth to my head and my heart. I am now far better able to see the truth in religion and also as to why people often act as they do. Elias provides a revolution in understanding, and in such a cool way!!

Revolutionary, radical and totally astounding! If you want a totally different take on the "meaning of life" then you won't do better than this. Packed with gems, of all different sorts, I couldn't put this book down...our modern day interpretations and understandings of "spirituality", of our religions and the nature of mankind will never be the same again...this work provides hope and plenty of inspiration...

To me, the Spiritual Genesis of Humankind was first and foremost a book about God, about the essence of compassionate love and about the failings of human beings to see past the nature of self-interest and our own deep-rooted prejudices and deceptions.

The author makes it clear from the beginning that this is a spiritual text, his inspiration coming from God and he delivers his message with very great effect. The central theme of compassionate love runs very strongly throughout the whole work and there is certainly a plethora of incredible revelations concerning spiritual, psychological and religious matters! This book is extremely clever as it takes the reader on a journey into an oasis of ideas and quite simply a radical new understanding of what it is to be human. It constantly builds upon central themes, until one finally reaches a crescendo, when it suddenly dawns upon the reader that what has been explained is a totally new understanding of life, of our world, of our universe, of what it is to be human! And that it all fits together.

God and spirituality are central to this new philosophy as is compassionate love, but both are explained and expressed in ways i have never read about or quite understood before. It has changed my understanding of God, religion and the nature of myself. This book is superb, Elias is totally convincing in what he says, as he fluently expresses himself in his writings and he provides such depth and "real" understanding. I would definately recommend this book to anybody who is seeking to know more about spirituality, religion, the nature of their own spirit or who might just need to hear some words of wisdom.

This book deals with many of major issues which we currently face in our modern world, from the micro to the macro and across various disciplines. It is very impressive the way in which it ties our modern problems back to very basic issues which we of yet have failed to resolve as societies and as nations.

The thing that struck me most about this book, well two things really, was firstly how it could reveal to us that possibly, in our modern world we have missed something crucially important in our understanding of what it is to be human. Perhaps we really have missed the point, and maybe it will take a radical shake-up of our understanding of what it is to be spiritual people in order to allow us to change our societies and nationstates for the better...This book goes into great depth about such issues, it takes a particular viewpoint and it sticks to it throughout, constantly adding more and more depth and detail in a way that made me begin to believe that God has outwitted us afterall and that is he there watching us, that we really do not know all as we might think we do, and that we in the race for prosperity, we have sometimes forgotten a few important lessons....

And secondly i found the reinterpretation and explaination of 'consciousness', what it is to be conscious and where it comes from, explaining it from the view point of how it effects our daily lives quite astounding...it goes into great detail examining and proposing why we as individuals are as we are, and goes into detail explaining the very nature of our souls, how we continue to live after we physically die, and where we go to.

It is an extremely impressive work, it redefines who we are as people, as the human race and really gives us many good reasons to allow us to more readily question some of the beliefs that we hold true in our current day societies. Indeed it shows us a different path if are brave enough we walk upon it.

There has been a real growth in the spiritual movement in the last thirty years and they are going to love this book...it redefines spirituality, religion, ethics and even to God himself...I have not made my mind up yet as to whether i believe the author when he says that the inspirations and guidance for this book have come from God himself, but i definately haven't ruled it out...and i must admit that having read this book i am now a lot closer to understanding who God is, if you like, and feeling that maybe he is out there afterall. As Elias makes perfectly clear, God takes a spiritual view of us, and he knows that we continue to exist beyond this world, hence he takes a completely different judgement upon us and our world. Fascinating stuff, and it goes into great depth about this particular issue as well...

And another thing, the way it ties all the world religions together and gives us a totally new interpretation of the origins, our actual genesis is sweet, very clever, and so neatly tied in with the rest of the book....there are some humm-dinger lines in this book and some real revelations to be behold....but i don't want to spoil it for you....let's just say that this book packs a real punch and hasn't got me thinking as much about society and the nature of man since reading George Orwell's 1984 and Animal Farm, a good many years ago. Elias Bell, you are either a genius of perception, or you really have been inspired by God...This book fills me with wonder and awe...

This book has been written from the heart, with clarity and understanding - to learn the meaning of life - their can be nothing more important, to at last know the truth about life after death is both a joy and a relief. Beautifully and sensitively written, it alays the fears and intrepedation that I had previously had - being of more mature years and having lost my husband, concerning loneliness, death and the nature of afterlife.

The knowledge and perception of Elias is quite remarkable. He brings the sciences, philosophy and religions together, and makes sense of it all. I feel that he has experienced much of the anguish and despair that goes hand in hand with life and he seems to understand the trials and pains that I have personally gone through in recent years. This book is exceptional and I think that anybody who is suffering, for what ever reason will find a friend in Elias. The author understands spirituality and religion like no other author I have ever read before. The last books I enjoyed reading this much were the M Scott Peck series. Elias seems to take our modern day understanding of 'the meaning of life' one giant step forward.

This oversized book is about the art and life of Steve Ditko. There is not much to be said about his personal life, because he never had much of a social life, having never married or even had a sweetheart as far as we know. His life seems to have been devoted to his art, which is well documented here. The author gives intelligent analysis about the strengths and weaknesses of his artwork, with reproductions of hundreds of examples of his art. Ditko is best known as the co-creator of Spider-Man and Dr. Strange, but he also created or co-created other heroes like Capt. Atom, the Question, the Creeper and the Hawk & the Dove. He also worked on just about every other type of comic book; including horror, science fiction, romance, western, humor and others. His work changed noticeably when he discovered the writings of Ayn Rand and became a proponent of her philosophy of Objectivism. Objectivism became the major influence not only on his life, but also on his art. His beliefs kept him from experiencing the financial success that he deserved, and they continue to do so today. An excellent book about one of the most important artists in the history of comic books.

Strange and Stranger: The World of Steve Ditko
A fascinating, thoroughly researched and insightful look into the enigmatic artistic genius that is Steve Ditko. Covers his early life + whole career in comics up to this present day. I cannot help but feel incredible joy for the epic work Ditko provided us and also great sadness for the philosophical choices he has made which rigidly limits his work and distances him from his many admiring fans. A great book which any fan of Ditko will enjoy and learn from.

I can't claim I was ever a big fan of Steve Ditko, I grew up reading comic books, and of course, I read reprints of his work on Spiderman, but I liked the more realistic work of John Romita (and perhaps, the unrealistically beatiful women he drew). Now I can look at it and see how revolutionary it was in the early 60s, and it was a really unique way to draw a superhero book, I'm sure that was no small part of why Spiderman caught the popular imagination of the day.

My main exposure to Ditko's art was his work on Rom: Spaceknight, and I hated it, my views have softened some since then, but I still don't care for it. But after reading this book, I have an understanding of why his later work wasn't as good as his earlier work, all the characters were so stiff, and almost unfinished, they all kind of blended together into one look. Ditko was an avid believer in objectivism, I don't claim to know a lot about it, it was covered briefly in a college philosphy class I was in years ago, but apparently part of the dogma is that you do the minimum in your unfulfilling job, so that you can focus all your creative energy on what you truly care about(it's just my understanding from what I read in the book, I'm sure the philosphy is more complicated than that).

I wasn't a Ditko fan, but you don't have to be to enjoy this book, it serves as sort of a history of the comic book industry from the point of view of one of its silver age pioneers. I really enjoyed the inside stories behind Ditko's interactions with Stan Lee and others in the comic industry.

On one hand, I really admire Ditko's unwavering artistic integrity, and on the other, I wish that he would at least be willing to relent a little, and make some money from his creations, he has original artwork that would sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars, but chooses to instead live a meager existence. Of coarse, that's his choice, and on one level, I do admire it.

What I can't get behind is turning in inferior work, and justifying it to himself that it's all part of a grand philosophy. Rom was one of my favorite characters at the time, and his weak artistery (intentionally weak, it appears) was part of what led to that books demise. The way I see it, Marvel was paying him, and I was plunking down my allowance to read about one of my favorite characters, he wasn't making widgets, he should have given it his full artistic attention.

But in the scheme of things, that is a small part of his story, Steve Ditko is a pioneer of the comic book industry, co-creating Spiderman, and deserves all accolades that he gets. It's an interesting story, and Ditko is an endlessly interesting man, I highly reccomend this book.

This is a really great book. Steve Ditko remains, after my first exposure to his work more than 44 years ago, my all-time favorite comic book creator. Those of you who know me also know that I credit him completely with the creation of both The Amazing Spider-Man and Dr. Strange--books which he produced for Marvel Comics, and characters whose names are now attached to a man who had almost nothing to do with their creation.

This book has so far been something of a treasure for me. For instance, I had wondered for many years why Ditko's art seemed to blossom when he worked very briefly for Warren Publications when he illustrated stories for the horror magazines CREEPY and EERIE. Steve Ditko created art for those two magazines that were far and away from the material his fans had seen before that, and were not equaled in the long years after. The author, Blake Bell, explains quite simply why Ditko tried so many new and different methods of illustration with the tales he illustrated for Warren. I won't explain those reasons here--for you need to buy this book to discover why.

I also had many other questions answered. For instance, the input of Stan Lee into the characters Ditko created at Marvel had been a mystery to me since I first began to suspect that Lee, indeed, had not created any of the characters whose ownership he has claimed for so many decades. Blake explains, to a certain extent, Lee's pitiable contribution to the labors of both Steve Ditko and Jack Kirby. For this he reaped tens of millions of dollars? The mind is boggled.

Some people have asked me why I would champion a fellow whose political ideals are so diametrically opposed to my own. Ditko is a proponent of Ayn Rand's Objectivism. And I find that philosophy abhorrent and have nothing but disdain for Laissez-faire capitalism, which lies at the poisoned base of Objectivism. It's partly a mystery even to me. It could be that I'm not entirely opposed to Ditko's own lessons of personal responsibility so readily apparent in the stories he wrote. Or it could be that Ditko's art, and even his tales, are so well wrought that I am able to look beyond the obvious propaganda inherent in them and see them as the works of fine illustration and sequential art that they are. Frankly...I'm not sure.

Ditko remains a strange man to me. He's a mystery. Much as JD Salinger is a mystery. Much as Jack Kerouac is a mystery. I don't compare him equitably to people like Salinger and Kerouac, but there is that strain of not quite knowing where the creator is coming from, nor at what he's aiming. If you're a fan of Steve Ditko, there is no more perfect book for you than Blake Bell's STRANGE AND STRANGER: THE WORLDS OF STEVE DITKO. I could have done without the fawning book dedication to a certain fascistic monster, but I'm willing to overlook that minor irritant. Pick up this wonderful hardback. I can't really recommend it enough.

This is an incredibly entertaining book. Looking at the cover, one can tell they are not looking at just another comic book artist. Opening the book one sees the first glimpse of Ditko, a five page black and white story called "Stretching Things". The story is a look at a man grown bitter by his handicap, so much so that a possible cure to his condition does'nt bring a happy ending, but a descent into evil. This is'nt your average "comic book artist". The book is a entertaining yet somber look at the career and art of Steve Ditko. The author touches lightly on his pre comic book days, perhaps too lightly in that the interesting tidbits of his life that the author gives us wets the appatite of the reader but leaves us wanting. The book quickly jumps into his career as a comic illustrator, Eisner, Foster and Jerry Robinson being his early inspirations.
The book has a nice balance between text and what most Ditko fans really want to see, his art. There are nice full page splashes of art opposite the beginning of each chapter. The chapters covering his time at marvel and charlton are laced nicely with art of Spiderman, Dr.Strange, Captain Atom, as well as his later Charlton work with pictures of Blue Beetle and The Question. There is a very interesting chapter on his time working at Warren, the publisher that put out the "Eerie" and "Creepy" magazines of the late 60s. This is interesting in that it shows some of Ditkos "wash" technique, a water/ink brushwork style of art of which Ditko was a master. The book covers his time at Marvel and the historic clashes with Stan Lee that drove him to work at other companies such as DC where he created characters such as "The Creeper" and Hawk&Dove and Charlton where he had more creative reign if less pay.
The book goes into Ditko and his objectivist philosophy which he would incorporate into his work often. Such work as "The Question" and his "Mr. A" are examined at length, and holds the reader captive and left wanting more. The efforts of Ditko to keep his work uncompromising are as epic as any Ayn Rand novel. There are a lot of treats for those looking for rare and often unseen Ditko art. The last thirty pages of the book are dedicated to nothing but Ditko art and sketches. A chapter on Ditkos relationship with comic fandom has plenty of examples of his "fanzine" work.
Stories of comic book artists who didnt recieve proper credit or compensation for their work are frequent when talking about gold and silver age artists. The book is, if anything, as much an indictment of the industry as it is a look at the artist. The battle over who owns art(and in some cases who "stole" art), over who created what and who didnt are exposed with jaw dropping effect. With Ditko however, the stain on the industry looks even greater by comparison than it does when held up to giants like Kirby or Superman creators Seigal and Shuster. Ditko doesnt come off as being "handled" or "paid off" or "swept under the rug" like so many companies did with artists who were vocal about creative rights. He comes off as an artist who kept his integrity intact, a rare character trait in any era. Ditko was about the "work" not about the money. One cant help reading this book and walk away looking at Marvel, DC, or Stan Lee in the same light.
The end result is both a sad and heroic tale. But Ditko is not easily defined, and when the author tries to do just that in the last chapter, he misses the mark. The author seems conflicted in the end, longing for the Ditko of old, bemoaning the increasing amount of "telling" text in his art rather than "storytelling". He wants to both exhault and scold Ditko for his uncompromising attitude at the same time. The author talks about how Ditko found Marvel/DC just churning out the same old bland retreads of characters come and gone, unwilling to be innovative. He complains about how Ditko spent too much of his story on the villians juxtaposed with Ditkos objectivist vision of "Hero" as opposed to the flavor of the day, the conflicted, or "anti-hero" that had gained popularity. Yet the author makes statements about how Ditko had "become chained by the trappings of the superhero genre". It's not hard to see that Ditkos work was a scathing commentary on the "anti-hero" and on what superhero comics had become in general. He comments on the decline of Ditkos storytelling abilities. Clearly, Mr. Bell seems somewhat conflicted about exactly what he wants to say regarding Mr. Ditkos legacy. This is a thankfully short bit of editorializing on the authors part to be sure. Yet the author, by trying to define what Ditko is, or had become fails to allow for the possibility that Ditko might have been evolving into something that has no definition. An artist, a master at visual storytelling, an essayist, a commentator on society, one might even say a political illustrator. Combining all of those, one comes up with something that has'nt been seen before or since. Something that eludes even the author. Something new, creative, sometimes polarizing, but definately original and always undefinable. I couldnt begin to put a name to it, all I can say is that it's pure Ditko. This book tells and shows an incredible story. I wish it was a hundred pages longer. A must have for any comic collector.

This review pertains to the 2004 hardcover "Phoenix Edition" reprint. I must also confess that at this moment I have only made my way through half of volume 1. I feel it necessary to give potential buyers a "heads up" about this set: it is, as described, a massive work of mid-1800s scholarship. It was assumed at that time that anyone who would be reading such a work would be able to read Latin as well as Old High German, Old Norse, Anglo-Saxon, and a smattering of other medeival languages.
The author spends most of his time NOT telling mythical stories as the curious dabbler might expect, but instead chasing down obscure linguistic clues imbedded in medeival texts, place names, and quaint figures of speech in an attempt to reconstruct some sort of Germanic mythology (for which documentation is lacking) from its hypothetical parallels in Norse mythology (for which documentation is abundant) and the mythologies / religious beliefs / superstitions of surrounding races such as the Saxons, the Gauls, even the Greeks and Romans. This process is dull, dry, tedious, and to someone not fluent in Classical and Germanic languages, incomprehensible. If you love philology you will love these books, but if you want to be thrilled by tales of the Old Gods, stay away!! Herr Grimm does not tell many stories; all the cool stuff is quoted from his sources, and whatever of that isn't in Old High German is in Latin. _Untranslated_ Latin. BEWARE!!
Don't get me wrong; I do not regret owning this set, and I have every intention of finishing it - I'm just saying it's going to be unexpectedly difficult for me, and I can only recommend it for those with a Serious Interest in the subject. The information Grimm presents here is dense and staggeringly thorough - and it is, in a way, a very enjoyable read: the book has its own soporific charm which provides an almost physical pleasure from reading it. An entire mysterious world of unknown language and dimly-comprehended episodes from Latin chroniclers yawns before me. Should be a fun trip.
Nevertheless, my review must bear a mere 3 stars as a warning to those who only want to be thrilled by the mighty adventures of Thor: look elsewhere. This is not the right book for you to start.

This is thoroughful and extremely good edition of the phenomenal book. Naturally, several scolars later made some corrections on some subjects. Nevertheless Jacob Grimm's work inspired H.Heine, R.Wagner and many other men of genius. One cannot overestimate the 'Teutonic Mythology' even now. In a way it's a monument of human imagination, of both oral and written creations made during the centuries by the individuals as well as by the folks. And it still be and will be an inexhaustible source for our both knowledge and imagination as well.
Only one thing I would dare to suggest. Many fragments J.Grimm quotes in Latin, Greek etc... For the future editions I would translate all of them even it could take much space - up to an additional small volume. So, this unique book would be understood by much wider circle of the readers.

Yes, a few years ago I plunked down the over a $100 cost for this recently put back in print four volume set. I don't regret spending the money. Criticisms I have you have to wade through a lot of linguistics/philology stuff and for whatever reason, even though this is supposed to be the English translation, there is still a fair amount of material in German and Latin. But there is all kinds of great stuff in this. Not for the beginner or someone with just a casual interest in the subject matter but this is a must have for any serious student of northern European culture, folklore or Odinsim. What is it about so many books written in the 1800's being superior to 99% of whats been published in the past 50 years?

This is required reading for the true student! Can be a difficult read at times, but the knowledge and world view contained therein make it a treasure!

So Dover Publications has now (2004) reprinted "Teutonic Mythology" under the "Phoenix" imprint, apparently in two formats (bindings). I look at my copies of the previous (1966) Dover paperback edition of James Stallybrass's 1883-1888 translation of Jakob Grimm's "Deutsche Mythologie," with the four volumes bound in different colors, and I feel terribly old.

They were purchased at less than a tenth of the publisher's current asking price (well, one volume was a gift, but I'm looking at the cover prices), and I feel grateful that I bought (three of) them in the early 1970s. At the time, that still seemed a lot of money for paperbacks, even trade paperbacks, but I have had decades of use out of the set, which is still holding up well. (Dover then still used signature-stitched bindings and high-quality paper; their claim that their paperback books would last as well as hardcover editions was well founded. If Dover does reissue them in paperback, they will probably be less durable and, inevitably, more expensive.)

Read with care, and with frequent reference to modern text editions, translations, and studies, the "Teutonic Mythology" is still a mine of information on the religious ideas, customs, and common metaphors and figures of speech (supposed to be fossilized beliefs) of the ancient and early medieval Germanic peoples (the continental Germans, the Dutch and Flemings, the Scandinavians, and the Anglo-Saxons), and much else in medieval literature. Everyone knows the Grimms from the fairy-tale collection, but individually and together they wrote and edited much more. (For some reason, Jakob Grimm [1785-1863] almost always appears in English as Jacob, but his brother Wilhelm [1786-1859] never seems to become William.)

The "Mythology" in particular is constantly cited in the older secondary literature, so it is nice to be able to find such references. On many occasion it has clarified for me an obscure argument carried out by long-dead scholars with page-references to Grimm's then-definitive treatment of the issue (although sometimes I have had to work out the relation of the pagination of an unseen German edition to the English text -- not fun).

More important, for my purposes, it was a handy reference for what would have been readily available knowledge in the latter part of the nineteenth century, and the early twentieth. They are very useful indeed, if you are interested in Richard Wagner's versions of Germanic myth and legend, or those of William Morris. Or, particularly since this is a translation, if you want to see what was available to the young E.R. Eddison, C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, among many others.

(For that specific purpose, the only thing really comparable in scope they might have read was Benjamin Thorpe's three-volume "Northern Mythology" of 1851, which was briefly available in a one-volume omnibus paperback from Wordsworth a few years ago. In terms of information available to its learned author, Thorpe's book, which I have reviewed, was largely a less systematic English Grimm, with more extensive summaries of Norse sources, and some excellent additional evidence from folktales. It is not quite so dated, but mainly because it was not so ambitious; whole topics aren't even mentioned, so Thorpe couldn't have made any mistakes about them. For the intellectual and cultural background, Andew Wawn's recent (2000) "The Vikings and the Victorians: Inventing the Old North in 19th-Century Britain" may become the standard reference.)

Thomas Shippey in particular has pointed out several places where Tolkien invented Middle-earth "solutions" to passages where Grimm expressed confusion over contradictory data. Tolkien would eventually have gone directly to the German text; Lewis mentions reading Grimm in German, but seems to mean the Fairy Tales ("Kinder- und Hausmaerchen").

In addition, Grimm's appendices (in the fourth volume of the translation) assemble an extraordinary number of important non-literary medieval (and later) texts in one place; genealogies, spells, penitential guides, lists of superstitions, dialect terms. Although as editions they are antiquated, having them in one place proved convenient on a great many occasions. (For example, Valerie Flint's 1991 "The Rise of Magic in Early Medieval Europe" cites later editions of several of them, none readily accessible to me.)

Given the present price, although I'm delighted that Dover has brought the whole set back into print simultaneously for the first time in years, I'm not urging everyone interested in Germanic myth and folklore to rush to buy it. (Even with the current -- November 2004 -- Amazon discount.)

And not just because of the price. This is a monument of scholarship from the first half of the nineteenth century (1835; second edition 1844); almost everything in it has to be viewed with at least a little suspicion. Grimm already recognized that there were problems. A good part of volume four consists of additions and corrections to the text, which he had hoped to incorporate in a third, and fully revised, edition. (His publisher instead reprinted the three-volume second edition text in 1854, and called it the "Third Edition." A posthumous editor arranged the notes in order, to be printed as a supplement in a "Fourth Ediiton," and Stallybrass followed this practice, instead of tampering with the original.)

Throw in the expense, and there is reason for suggesting other places to start. I mention this age factor because the amount of antique misinformation I have seen gleaned from it, and presented as current, sometimes explicitly dated 1966, is a little frightening. And I expect to see more examples, with the 2004 date of the Dover Phoenix edition in the citation.

Stallybrass called his translation "Teutonic Mythology" to reflect that Grimm was using "Deutsche" in the widest possible sense, instead of a nationalistic one; the more recent term would be "Germanic." But for almost a century, beginning not long after after Jacob Grimm completed his work treating *all* the Germanic-speaking peoples as a continuum, the best surveys and handbooks, and almost all serious scholarship, carefully distinguished Northern (Scandinavian) from Southern (continental German) evidence. Surveys in particular were generally restricted to one or the other; usually "Norse Mythology," with a few citations from the continent. While some of Grimm's comparisons -- or the conclusions drawn from them -- were of dubious legitimacy, denying the validity of such comparisons *in advance* pre-determined the nature of the argument. Apparent exceptions generally quickly reveal themselves as second-hand Grimm. Those scholars who did survey the whole field were often concerned to prove that the medieval Scandinavian texts were late and unreliable compared to nineteenth-century German folklore. (If it looks "primitive" [crude], it must *be* primitive [early].)

The closest thing to a scholarly modern successor, the two-volume "Altgermanische Religionsgeschichte" by Jan de Vries, was severely criticized when it appeared in the mid-twentieth-century for returning to Grimm's comprehensive approach. (The author was under the influence of Dumezil's then-recent work on the original unity of Indo-European mythic and religious concepts, and the controversy has moderated with time and familiarity.) Unhappily, de Vries's "History of Old-Germanic Religion" is still not available in English. But there are substitutes in English which, taken together, are almost as comprehensive, as well as much more reliable than Grimm alone.

For the serious-minded beginner, John Lindow's "Norse Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs" or Andy Orchard's "Cassell's Dictionary of Norse Myth & Legend" (and variant titles) are far better and more reliable guides to the Scandinavian evidence, with Rudolf Simek's "Dictionary of Northern Mythology" filling in some of the continental material, along with copious linguistic information reflecting an additional century and a half of research. I would strongly urge anyone new to the field to have at least one or two of these at hand whenever Grimm is being consulted; definitely Simek on matters linguistic, if possible (the book is currently out of print, although a reprinting of the paperback is scheduled for Spring 2006). All three (which I have reviewed separately; I call attention to some of Simek's shortcomings, but his book is mostly first-rate) have extensive bibliographies. Some of Lindow's extended articles come closest to Grimm's chapter-length treatises.

However, when all is said and done, there is something to be said for these four antiquated volumes. Like Aristotle, Jakob Grimm produced a "premature synthesis" of knowledge, and, as with Aristotle, even the errors of a first-class mind are worth pondering. And a lot of it *is* dead on right.

At some point "Teutonic Mythology" should be consulted by anyone interested in Germanic studies, or medieval literature, or folklore studies, or comparative mythology -- if only as an act of piety. Having hardcover and library-bound editions available may make this effort more likely than it has been in recent years. And maybe it will, sooner or later, be back in paperback form.

Venice for Pleasure is an off the beaten path sort of guide, filled with anecdotes, character sketches, and historic photos. Links takes his readers beyond the famous facades and brings the "theme park" to life. Fun to use then to keep and reread for reminiscence afterwards.

Terrific read for those intent on seeing the Venice that lies beyond Piazza San Marco and the Rialto Bridge. Whether you follow the author's routes on his strolls thru the sestieres, or just use his walks as a source of inspiration (as we did), this book is an indispensable addition to the library of anyone planning a trip to Venice. Thanks in large measure to encouragement offered by this book, we ventured into some of the nooks and crannys of this amazing city... we'll see St Mark's Basilica next time we go.

What a strange and wonderful little book!

Venice for Pleasure is essentially four walking tours told in a charmingly conversational style by an author who is clearly in love with Venice. Stopping in a Venetian cafe to read a passage is like having a friend leaning over your shoulder to recall the local history and gossip, point out fascinating details that you probably wouldn't have noticed, and make you smile with his dry wit.

We did all four walking tours and thoroughly enjoyed Links' companionship along the way; I can't recommend it highly enough if exploring Venice on foot is your aim. We also found the directions infallible.

Please note that this isn't a conventional guidebook, so you shouldn't expect logistical information.

If there is no such thing for you as having too much information, then think about buying this book. This book has walking itineraries including places to stop for rest and refreshment, and wonderful details on things to look at while you are walking and even while you are sitting down. This book is not useful for restaurants or hotels or hours that sites are open. Includes history, and comments on Venice from famous writers of the past like John Ruskin. It is to be savored.

Fantastic Book!!! I bought this for my wife as a memento of our 25th Anniversary trip to Venice. It was perfect. I highly recommend it to any armchair traveler who wants to "visit" the world's most romantic city. David

This book is exceptional for the beginning backyard astronomer. I found 25 objects in one weekend alone using this book. I'm up to 95 objects total with no doubt in my mind that the book will allow me to find the remaining 15 objects. In dark skies, the Telrad finder charts work extremely well. Over a dozen times I have literally been able to line up the Telrad finder per the book's illustrations and look into the eyepiece and see the desired target. In light polluted areas, where I do most of my observing and where the Telrad is not quite as useful, the star charts in the book provide just the right detail to find the target by either star hopping with a conventional finder or moving along lines of constant declination or ascension relative to a known star. Well worth the low $20 price tag.

Using this book for over two years, I've found all the Messiers and learnt a whole lot from this book. The book starts off with briefly introducing the pre-requisites to stargazing, and the geometric estimation method for locating the deep-sky using a Telrad. The book also tells the story of Charles Messier, and the origins of the Messier Marathon. He then takes the reader on a tour of all the Messier objects. Since this book has its focus on the Messier Marathon, the sequence of the objects is based on his observing sequence during the Marathon. However, as Harvard points out, this book does not necessarily have to be used during a Marathon and can be used any time to locate any of the Messier objects. The finder charts proved to be extremely useful, and I found this book becoming the book I refer to the most. The advantage is, I don't have to flip through other star maps looking for the Messier objects I'd like to observe. Its all included in this book. Therefore, I used this book more than my star atlas while observing the Messier objects. There is a little bit of inaccuracy with some of the charts. For example, in the chart for finding M75, I found I had to extend a little further than the distance from the mouth of the teapot to the lower corner of its handle away from tau Sag. to get to M75. Perhaps it was my problem of not using a powered finder (only the Telrad), but I had to try 5 times before I was compelled to move my scope little further east and north when the dim glow of M75 slid into view. This situation is actually clearly demonstrated in any star atlas, M75 is definitely a little further than the estimate.(I did very careful measurements on a printout of a few star chart program and Harvard's estimation method got to 0.6 to 1 degree from M75 depending on the angle deviation from the gamma Sag. - tau Sag. line, so I'm guessing some people may have troubles) Nevertheless, this is a VERY minor complaint for Harvard's method is based on estimation. Getting as near to the object as possible with the simplest method is what matters. My suggestion to any similar situation is to use a star atlas beside this book too to help with objects that don't seem to show up on first or second attempt. Furthermore, if the object is not in view, do scan around a little (which Harvard did mention). In a real Messier Marathon, don't panic (as I did =) and keep in mind that the less detailed charts are mainly for estimation. Overall, an exceptional book, beautifully written and educating. A book that deserves to be on the bookshelves of all amateur astronomers!

this book is written with one purpose in mind-to get the reader(observer)through the Messier objects utilizing various, and well explained, star hopping techniques combined with in-scale drawings of the objects within their given constellations. It also has some very useful techniques for ligning up a telrad type instrument, calibrating the finder and eyepiece, as well as providing an observer's log for the objects and the Messier catalog. Great book and more than worth the money. Being an "advanced beginner" I have found its techniques easy to follow leading to some incredibly successful observations of these beautiful objects. I only wish it included the Caldwell Catalog, but that may have diluted its very narrow and detailed focus on the Messier objects. Highly recommended!

After trying run my first Messier marathon with charts that I had prepared myself, I wish I had had this book with me that night. I would have seen alot more. Using this book, I have able to locate many objects that I had not been able to find before with certainty.

This book is excellent resource that I now take along with my telescope to every star party. The charts and object sketches are well oriented to the practicing amateur astronomer. Also covered are telescope calibration, observing techniques, and site selection. The only drawback to this book that I have found so far has been that it is not printed on waterproof paper. So, I had to order another copy to cut up and laminate.

This is an extremely helpful book. I rate it among the very best for helping in your Messier Object search: At the April 2000 Messier marathon, I found 75 objects, and was on schedule to find 105, but I grew too tired to continue. On a recent star party in September, 2000, I found 45 objects before midnight, thanks largely to this book. Buy it while you still can!

This book is easy for anyone to use. It is clear on what the exercises are for, how to do them and more importantly what can go wrong when you are trying to do them. It is a well thought out book and very user friendly for training at home.

There are several books on the market with schooling exercises, arena patterns and the like, but this book I found to be more useful than the rest. The things I liked about this book were numerous . There are exercises contributed by top trainers/riders such as Richard Davison, Sylvia Loch, John Lasseter and Jennie Loriston-Clarke, to name a few. All the exercises themselves take up a whole page which are very clearly done and in this large format book (11 x 8 1/2 inch) which gives plenty of room to clarify the exercise. In order to help the rider the exercises are further clarified by accompanying text such as "How do I ride this exercise?" "What should happen" "How do I ride (travers)?" "Moving On" "What can go wrong?" and "If it's not working"
The section on Rider's Problem Solver further outlines a unique way to use the book. An example being "My horse is stiff on one side" - so the required exercises for this problem are given. There are further chapters on Why School Your Horse?, Structuring Your Schooling, The Horse's Way of Going, The Rider's Position, Making Things Work and Setting up Your Arena. This book is not to be missed and will be invaluable to the rider who has to work alone and the less experienced to see how an exercise should be performed.

This book as a fantastic aide while training yourself and your horse. The exercises are very well described and illustrated. There are also hints for what to watch out for, and what to do if something goes wrong. The progression of exercises is well thought-out and great for slowly building up the skills of your horse. There is also a section which suggests which exercises may be good for which problems (such as collection, flexion, or gait transitions). This is a wonderful manual to have around when you need some great ideas for what to work on. Highly recommend for any rider serious about their equitation.

I recomend this book because is very easy to pratice with my hore with fast and good results!

This book is equal in theory and practicality. It teaches you how to ride your horse to practice a specific principle. It gives you inspiration and fun what to do with your horse. The diagrams are fantastic.
The riding-level chart is funky: and no explanation of what they mean.

This is a really great series judging from the first two books. I love the setting of Los Angeles in the early 1900's, and Kit Shannon is a wonderful character. She is inspiring and strong, but not in a false way (which is how I feel about too many of the women characters in novels today).

All in all, this is a terrific saga and I hope it continues (I know there is at least one more book to come, and I hope it's soon!)

Bell and Peterson have done it again. If the first book in the Shannon Saga didn't make you a fan for life, this one could. Kit's amazing in the courtroom and has a tough life outside of the courtroom. Will Kit stand by and let racism and sexism rule LA, not likely. Ah, but the hows. How can one likable woman get half the city of Los Angeles raving mad at her? How can Kit crack uncooperative witnesses and hostile policemen?

(The plot twists and turns and genuine good old fashioned storytelling make the pages fly by.)

I hope these two get together again in the future on another project. This book was incredible. The twists and turns leaves you with no choice but to keep reading. The characters are well developed. What I found amazing, was that the same racial tension that does exist today, existed back then. Kit does an admirable job while keeping to her faith and sense of Christian duty. I look forward to Angel of Mercy, which I know won't let me down. I strongly urge that you buy all three of this incredible series.

This is a really great series judging from the first two books. I love the setting of Los Angeles in the early 1900's, and Kit Shannon is a wonderful character. She is inspiring and strong, but not in a false way (which is how I feel about too many of the women characters in novels today).

All in all, this is a terrific saga and I hope it continues (I know there is at least one more book to come, and I hope it's soon!)

...

Peterson and Bell have crafted another highly suspenseful novel. It will definitely keep you asking, "What really happened" and the courtroom scenes are some of the best in the book. Kit is, as always, an inspiring female character with admirable convictions and enviable smarts. Although the "love" side of this book definitely took a back seat to the "courtroom" aspects of it, I thought that that was understandable and realistic. It is hardly like Kit is going to be searching for Mr. Right and evidence for her case at the same time, and it is made clear throughout the series that Kit feels God leading her to practice law at this time in her life... Read this book-and have the third book in this series ready for after you turn the last page of "Angels Flight".

The Kingdom of the Ganges, ruled by the good King, Rajah Watzit, is in crisis.
Not one drop of rain has fallen during the monsoon season.
The evil Guru, Hoodunnit that if no rain falls before the end of the Monsoon season, then the Rajah's daughter, the sweet and lovely Princess Orinjade, must be sacrificed to appease the wrath of the gods.

The only hope lies in the plan by the wise Fakir Watziznehm, who has heard that in far-off Gaul, there is a bard who's singing causes rain. So Watziznehm, flies on his magic carpet to Gaul where he enlists the help of Cacofonix, Asterix and Obelix (and who wouldn't want to rescue the gorgeous Princess Orinjade)

So our friends for the first time travel by air, and after an exciting journey, in which, among other things, they engage in an aerial attack on the Scythian pirates.
When they land in India, they have to deal with various snags, before they can save the Princess.

Asterix and Obelix really get to travel and explore exotic locations. And while the India, the authors of Asterix write about in no way of course, resembles the real Ancient India, neither the other Asterix albums resemble the locations our friends visit. It is all tongue in cheek, and pokes fun at everyone, but in a gentle way.
Asterix and the Magic Carpet is great fun.

A wonderful story set in an India that never existed except in the minds of western authors. It was lots of fun seeing cacofonix turn out to be the hero.

In this enthralling tale the lovable Gaulish duo hitch a ride on a magic carpet with the village bard, Cacofonix to the mystical land of India. And yet in this far away country, the natives have heard of the "village of madmen where a voice makes it rain" - a man that the Indians could use to end the long spell of drought that they have fallen under. Finally! An audience that appreciates the (incredibly annoying) vocal talents of Cacofnix! But as luck may have it, the great bard loses his voice...

With the life of a princess at stake, a race against the clock to get the bard's voice back and dodging evil fakirs at every corner, this is an adventure to remember - an episode in which the oft-neglected bard comes in to his own.

Although the book was well laid out with a funny, interesting plot, some of the laughter comes at the expense of an ethnic stereotype. As long as it is understood beforehand that life in India doesn't follow such a pattern, this book would be a whole bunch of constructive fun. For that reason alone I felt the need to drop a star from my rating.

Most Asterix titles are aimed at a teen/adult audience and they cleverly integrate many historical events in to their plots. There is also a deeper satirical presence throughout these books, and for that reason I feel that children under the age of 12 or so would not quite appreciate the humor. The violence is more along the lines of black eyes, dented armor and missing teeth, and hence should not worry a parent too much. This is another good Asterix comic - I recommend it!

At last Cacofonix is the real hero! They come to India! Like all books in the series, a real fun to read!

Despite the fact that this comic is written by Mr. Uderzo, as well as illustrated by him, it is quite as good as any of the classics, like Asterix and Cleopatra or Asterix and the Goths. The art is up to the old standards, the pacing and flavor remain the same, and the same excruciating-yet-oddly-satisfying puns are sprinkled throughout the text. It's a rollicking, good-natured adventure from first to last.

A couple of notes here. In the first place, it IS interesting to see an Asterix comic focused on Cacophonix, rather than just sticking the bard in an introductory cameo and showing him tied up at the feast at the end. In the second place, it's good to see Dogmatix, Obelix's pet pooch, play an active and sometimes important role in the story .... okay, so I'm a dog lover, but it is good to see another character being used, rather than just being an afterthought like he was in Asterix and the Belgians (my only quibble with that excellent comic).

The only other thing that strikes me is that certain other reviewers have remarked on the "ethnic stereotypes of Indian life" that appear in this comic. I'll admit that I'm hard-pressed to see this. I suppose that to the hypersensitive, merely mentioning India or Indians makes the book some kind of ethnic horror-show of lies and stereotypical fabrications. Lighten up, guys! Other than showing the Hindus bathing in the Ganges (which you can see in any National Geographic with an article on India) and wearing Hindu clothing (which is hardly a 'stereotype,' any more than showing a businessman wearing a suit) it doesn't show much of the "Indian way of life" at all. All this talk of stereotypes boggles me, since only the most convoluted, tortured logic could squeeze any type of ethnic slur out of the story.

All in all, a fine addition to a fun and light-hearted series! :)

There were a few poems that didn't seem to fully blossom but the vast majority are exciting, some shockingly good. Some of the absolute best poetry I've read in years.

Georg Trakl is the greatest German poet most english readers have never heard of. Most of his best poetry dates from the period just before and during his service in the Austrian Army during the First World War and this makes him a brief contemporary of Rilke. However, while Rilke's verses are each a world of incandescent beauty and spiritual profundity, Trakl's are intimations of death, decay and expressions of a world trapped in a cycle of hell. His poems are intensely expressionistic, dark and powerful. Simko's translation is excellent; though he makes a few word choices from the German that might be open to debate, he does an excellent job of preserving the poems' structure while transmitting their power in English. My only quibble is that I would have liked it if the selection of poems was broader.

Fans of German Expressionism owe a debt of gratitude to Simko for this book. Trying to find a book from this era can be extremely difficult. Other famous authors of the period (Gottfried Benn, Georg Heym) are almost impossible to find.

The book presents both the original German text, and a very good English translation. Trakl's poetry is bittersweet, the meter almost hynoptic. The reader confronts a collage of colors and emotions in a Trakl poem.

Trakl died young, a victim of WWI. No bullet killed him, but rather he killed himself while working at a military hospital. Although his poems reveal his grief, and his despair, the reader finds himself somehow empowered by them. Out of his suffering came some of the most beautiful poems in the German language.

Trakl strolls through the dream of a child decaying under blood-red leaves. Silver waters shimmer and recieve the sky's terrible unction. In the elderbush, a wolf devours an Angel, or an Angel expires like the sigh of a golden flame falling into a mythic well whose pit is the open mouth of the man gasping as his murderer confronts him. In the knife is reflected the compassionate face of your melancholy sister, or is it a vengeful God's purple laughter? Your face goes cold as the child speaks your name.

This is a very fine book of translations. To read Georg Trakl in German, of course, is far better. His German is extroadinarily beautiful. Trakl was a magnificent poet; I would say one of my absolutely favorite poets. His techniques are marvelous. He comes from, and surpasses, the lineage of such master technicians as Edgar Allen Poe, and Charles Baudelaire. He wrote poetry as if he were composing music, modulating colors and emotional content rather than tones and harmonies. One has the sense that he was divinely inspired. His work is miraculous.