Bernard Books

We were given this book as a gift when my daughter, at 3 1/2 yrs old, was diagnosed with Leukemia. It instantly became her favorite, and she had us read it to her over and over. It sent a positive message in such a well-written way that even a child her age could understand. She still treasures that book and last year read it to her 2nd grade class. It will always be one of our favorites!

I first read this book in the local pharmacy while waiting for a prescription to be filled. Written by a local author who meant nothing to me, I found it upbeat and reassuring but soon put it out of my mind. Several years later, when my youngest daughter was diagnosed with bone cancer, a friend gave us a copy of the book and suggested I contact the author. The story was an inspiration to my daughter, the first hope that a child with cancer could survive to have a story told about her. When she later met the subject of the book, a friendship formed. No other book about cancer is so directed towards children (with the exception of Goes' "My Book about Cansur" actually written by a 6-year-old with cancer) without talking down to them and putting an ugly disease into undeserved "pretty" terms of courage and bravery. This book should be given to every child upon diagnosis.

This book is the absolutely best book that I have ever read. Kathy's Hats is a book that is good for all age groups. Any person that has had to deal with cancer in their life will greatly appriciate this book!!

After a decade together their ardor had cooled. It was then, in 1900, that Bernhard Berenson (he later dropped the "h" in his first name) and Mary Costelloe married, placing imprimatur on a symbiotic partnering that lasted until her death in 1945. The civil ceremony in Florence's Palazzo Vecchio united an unusual pair. He was a polylingual bon vivant; she spoke grade school Italian, which remained virtually unimproved throughout her 50+ years in Tuscany.

Art historian, critic, and, as he preferred, connoisseur, Berenson was a Lithuanian Jew who established an impressive reputation as an authority on Italian Renaissance painting. "The Drawings of the Florentine Painters" and "The Venetian Painters of the Renaissance" are among his better known works.

A widow with two children and also a writer, Mary was a Philadelphia Quaker who addressed her husband archaically. Reporting to him on their home's refurbishment, she wrote, "So thee sees the main things (except the electricity) are done." When construction went awry: "Thee wd. rage at the way the red fire-place is put up."

For Berenson, she was sometimes a catalyst, often a goad who collaborated with him on his written work, and patiently assisted in endlessly revising his lists of Italian paintings. They shared a penchant for extravagance, acquisition, and a tendency to overlook each other's infidelities.

In A Legacy Of Excellence William Weaver has rendered a graceful drawing of privileged turn-of-the-century life. His perspective is the Villa I Tatti in the vineyard strewn hills between Florence and Fiesole. Once the Berenson's home, it is now the Harvard Center for Italian Renaissance Studies. Recent color pictures as well as archival photographs enhance this well documented history, while exquisite reproductions of Berenson's art collection add to its luster. When first leased by the Berensons, I Tatti was modest compared to its imposing villa neighbors. Previous tenants eschewed modern conveniences; there was only one bath, no electricity or telephone. Mary engaged 40 workmen to begin rudimentary improvements, hoping to provide Bernard with a salubrious atmosphere in which to study and collect. Apparently she succeeded. He amassed photographs and books - his Fototeca eventually held 300,000 items, his library 50,000 volumes. Works by Giotto, Sasseta, and Lorenzo Lotto were included in his art collection.

With an income derived largely from commissions on art sales, Berenson was employed by the English art dealer Lord Duveen to give his seal of approval to the Renaissance paintings Duveen sold to monied Americans, notably Frick, Kress, and Mellon.

Weaver, a thorough author as evidenced in Marino Marini, overlooks a significant aspect of Berenson's connoisseurship: the substantial sums he earned in the picture trade later brought Berenson's impartiality into question, resulting in the downgrading of many of his attributions.

Nonetheless, when the villa's 20th century owner, a wealthy English eccentric, died childless, the cash strapped Berensons obtained a loan to purchase the estate only through the intervention of an American friend.

Once they owned the villa, Mary engaged architects to plan further refurbishing, as well as the building of magnificent formal gardens. In years to come I Tatti would be visited by Edith Wharton, Walter Lippman, Yehudi Menuhin, Adlai Stevenson, Gertrude Stein, who, as Mary put it, swam in a nearby artificial lake "clothed only in her own fat," plus a host of that era's literati and glitterati.

Often separated during World War I, Mary stayed at the villa while Bernard worked and romanced in Paris, where he had become friends with Matisse, Gide and Proust.

Postwar unrest in Italy presaged the rise of fascism, which Bernard vehemently and vocally opposed. His stance caused him to be considered untrustworthy by many Italian intellectuals and some influential Americans. Expulsion from Italy seemed probable, but it did not occur.

In late summer of 1944 war again reached Florence. Bernard wrote in his diary, "Our hillside happens to lie between the principal line of German retreat along the Via Bolognese and a side road...We are at the heart of the German rearguard action, and seriously exposed." Miraculously the villa was unharmed by its German occupants.

While Mary wanted the villa and its 75 acres left to her children, Bernard was adamant that their beneficiary be his alma mater, Harvard University. Although Mary persistently derided his dream of "a lay monastery of leisurely culture" as "a wayside inn for loafing scholars," he bequeathed the villa and grounds, his library, and works of art to Harvard.

Initially, the University was somewhat daunted by his demanding bequest. Native Florentines viewed their new neighbors unenthusiastically, dismissing them as more "anglo-beceri" (becero literally meaning boor), as earlier Tuscan based English and American cliques were known. That was to change with the disastrous flooding of 1966.

Members of the national and international art communities selflessly responded when an irreplaceable portion of the world's art history was jeopardized. I Tatti became a focal point of that aid. Art experts performed herculean salvaging tasks - delicate glass negatives from the Uffizi's Gabinetto Fotografico had to be rescued from the muck. It took over a week for the 30,000 slides to be bathed then laid out to dry.

An air-lift of enormous drying-machines organized by Harvard's Renaissance art historian saved countless books and documents from the Biblioteca Nazionale. I Tatti housed as many art experts as possible; others were guests only long enough for a hot bath.

The Center's dedication to minimizing the flood's devastation altered its image in the minds of many Florentines who had previously viewed it with a shrug. Strangers became colleagues and friends. Today, fifteen students are nominated annually to study at I Tatti, while according to a stipulation in Bernard's will, the library is open free of charge "for all students of Italy and other countries." Scholars from dissimilar backgrounds walk together along impeccably raked gravel paths, where they "speak the same language; the language of the Italian Renaissance." Bernard Berenson's dream came true.

As the author of the recently published Geoffrey Scott and the Berenson Circle, I can tell you that this history of the Villa I Tatti is an exceptionally beautiful book about a most fascinating place. William Weaver, the most important of today's translators of Italian fiction and a great stylist, has written an exciting history of a most exciting place. It would make an ideal gift for any Italophile.

The newly married art historians Bernard and Mary Berenson made their home at the Villa I Tatti near Florence in 1900. In the following years Mary, supervised the rebuilding of the villa and the creation of its elegant gardens. The Berensons pursued their work at I Tatti over a period of nearly six decades, and here they entertained a remarkable circle of friends :art historians ( Kenneth Clark, John Walker, John Pope-Hennessy), writers (Edith Wharton, Alberto Moravia), political thinkers (Walter Lippman, Gaetano Salvermini), musicians (Yehudi Menuhin) and countless other visitors from every part of the world. At I Tatti Bernard Berenson assmbled a choice collection of Renaissance art, including works by Giotto, Sassetta, Domenico Veneziano, and Lorenzo Lotto. He also formed a prodigious art historical research library and photograph collection. When he died in 1959, he bequeathed the house, its contents, and the gardens to Harvard University as a Center for Renaissance Studies. This book documents the colorful life the Berensons led at I Tatti, the rich intellectual atmosphere they fostered there, and the spirit that continues and is nurtured by the Harvard Center. Berenson was associated with the famous art dealer, Baron Joseph DUVEEN (1869-1939) who noticed, early in life, that Europe had plenty of art and America had plenty of money, and his entire astonishing career was the product of that simple observation (S.N. Behrman, Duveen). The American plenty has been well invested in I Tatti, as the superb photographs by David Finn show. William Weaver has lived for many years in Italy, reporting on the Italian cultural world for American and British publications. This book has also a detailed alphabetical index, showing the quality of the research made by the author. Jan A. MORTELMANS.

I just finished reading your book and was impressed by your literary talents in conjunction with the combined awareness that you have as a psychiatrist. "One can never tell how far deep rooted resentment and jealousy will take a man stricken with an inferiority complex." I saw in your words an awareness of the true evil which lurks within the breast of man. You have captured the essence of what drives men who want Power and not GLORY. You displayed an empathic understanding that transcended the reality of the situation. What you referred to as the Haitian People's plight was their desire not for what they needed, but what they wanted,"a modicum of justice."Your book stirred alot of feelings and provoked a lot of thought. Thanks for giving of yourself.

Dr. Antoine has the rare ability of showing us a chaotic struggle through the lens of hope. From the beginning, I was pulled into an epic struggle of state and individual, and the description of the powerful forces associated with social momentum is excellent. This story of man's courage strikes a chord within us all.

I found this novel very compelling and well written. It provides a rare portrait of the struggle of the Haitian people. The central character's endeavor is set against the backdrop of the political and human chaos of Dictatorship rule in Haiti. The story is enthralling and gives the reader a glimpse of realities often hidden from World consciousness.

Anyone who enjoys the stories of Bernard Malamud will love this extraordinary collection of essays.Written by people closest to him-- his son, his friends, his colleagues-- we become acquainted with Malamud on a personal level. Anecdotes and reminiscenses bring out what matters most to Malamud. And knowing what an artist values most is key to understanding his life's work.

Beyond becoming acquainted and enamored of this man's values, I learned from scholars about recurring themes, archetypes, and personality traits found in all his stories. All of this, of course, helps one understand and enjoy the stories even more.

In the words of Cynthia Ozick Bernard Malamud was a "Master" of American Jewish literature. I agree. I also think this book is a wonderful tribute to his memory.

Editor Evelyn Avery is one of our most important Malamud scholars whose work on the author extends back to her early (1979). The new book has a comprehensive introduction and an excellent collection of essays on Malamud's fiction by top literary scholars including Avery herself, Daniel Walden, Sanford Pinsker, and Lillian Kremer. The subjects range from Zen Buddhism and Yiddish Archetypes to Universal Menschen in the fiction. The book also has Paul Malamud's memoir on his father, Cynthia Ozick's "Remembrances," and Joel Salzberg's discussion of Malamud's correspondences. Annotated bibliography is very helpful. It's a terrific read!

Professor Avery has performed a great service by revealing the extraordinary contributions of Professor Malamud. I must confess that I had read very little of the author's work. If I had been awakened at 3:00 A.M. and asked about him, I would have said that he was a celebrated American Jewish writer. Dr. Avery reveals him to be much more than that. He should be classed with masters of world literature, involved with but not dependent on ethnicity or religion.
Evelyn Avery takes us on an excursion exploring all aspects of Malamud's work. She begins with her personal friendship with the man extending from 1971 until his death. She then offers analyses of the author and his work by his son Paul and by five other colleagues who knew the author on a personal and social level. She goes on to present essays by five scholars who knew Malamud on a professional level. She then offers six analyses of the themes in Malamud's fiction. One of these by Evelyn Avery compares Malamud's work to that of Cynthia Ozick. The book concluded with a select bibliography, a contributor's list and an index.
When you are through with those Magic Worlds you ought to know Bernard Malamud on a very intimate level. Certainly Professor Avery has enriched American literature by familiarizing her readers with a writer who transcends the limited role of "Jewish authorship."

as it claims a good cook book for the procedures it describes, invaluable if you don`t deal with elbow problems in your everyday practise

This volume has the characteristic quality of the other masters series. Detailed descriptions of techniques, with excellent coloor photos. Covers all the most common elbow procedures. An valuable resource for anyone with an interest in surgical treatment of elbow pathology.

This text is an outstanding, comprehensive atlas that contains detailed operative techniques supported by professional illustrations and high-quality, intra-operative photographs. It covers nearly all operative procedures involving the elbow. This book is a must for any orthopaedic upper extremity surgeon.

Dr. Lewis has written yet another informative compilation about the Middle East. I only wish that he could have included more about Sultan Bayezid II and his acceptance of the Spanish Jews expelled by Ferdinand and Isabel; the Afghan Jewish community in Herat; or the travels of Joseph Wolf, 1795-1862.

I love this book. You read main primary sources from the last 2000 years, reflecting on West Europe-Islamic Asia/Africa relations and perceptions. The book can be read eclectically. It shed lights on how things were, and how they led us to where we are today!

I would like to start out by saying that I am a huge fan of Bernard Lewis. All of his books I have gotten my hands on thus far have been superb and this is no exception. In this case, Lewis opted to collect various writings and excerpts showing the interplay between the Middle East and the "west". After starting out with misconceptions and prejudices (on both sides), he goes on to show differing views on travel, government, society, arts, science and even food and drink. Interestingly enough, relatively little focused on the early period, despite the immense glory of Egypt, Persia, Mesopotamia and other Middle Eastern nations. There is a great deal of historical material though, including the early Islamic era, the Byzantine Empire and even the Roman Empire. Much of the material focused on the last few centuries though, which I suppose is natural given the increased contact between Europe and the Middle East. The sources come from a truely vast array. There are excerpts from the Qu'ran and the Bible, as well as sayings attributed to the Prophet Mohammad. These stand beside the works of Shakespeare, commentary by T.E. Lawerence ("Lawerence of Arabia") and Sir Richard Francis Burton, and messages delivered by Imam Khomeini. However, not all historical figures would be so well known to western ears. Excerpts from the great traveller ibn Battuta and the historian/philosopher ibn Khaldun also appear here. The vast amount of events and places is astounding. It records the Ottoman Empire at its height (indeed, many of the excerpts do deal with the Ottoman Turks), Napolean's entering north Africa, the Crimean War and the Crusades. Indeed, theres a small selection of passages dealing with the Assassin sect, of which Lewis has written an entire book. In addition, theres even a few pages which give some examples of words of Arabic, Turkish and Persian origin which have made their way into the English language.
The sheer volume of material contained within this book is simply amazing. Although they don't give as much information as one might like, the passages, excerpts and quotes included in this book provide windows into Middle Eastern life and history. Ultimately, I must strongly recommend that any student of Middle Eastern or Islamic history at least give this book a look. You won't regret it.

YEARS ago I discovered Bernard Wiseman's wonderful Morris and Boris books on the shelf of a rural elementary school library while searching for good read-alouds for story time. During my years working as an elementary school librarian I spent hundreds of hours doing story time--and these books were ALWAYS a favorite. The two chief characters--Morris the Moose and Boris the Bear--are friends--but Morris is goofy and Boris is grouchy and Morris gets on Boris's nerves pretty regularly. The dialogue is sharp--the jokes genuinely funny. Word play is clever. Kids would ROAR when I read it. We read ALL the Morris and Boris books we could find. Fast forward 10 years. I'm transferred to the high school. Some of the kids I had read to as K-5 graders are IN high school. They STILL talk about their favorite books from story time on occasion, and the Morris and Boris book titles will invariably be mentioned. Fast forward another 5 years. I am asked to start a regular story time with our high school Pre-school Lab class of four year olds. I begin gathering my arsenal of good read alouds and find that not all of the Morris and Boris books are still in print. This is catastrophe! I gather whatever I can find from new and used book venders. The children LOVE arriving for story time and seeing a "NEW" Morris book. Wiseman wrote a number of Morris books. His earlier ones did not include Boris the bear, and we always like the ones that also have Boris the best. My favorites are Morris has a Cold, Halloween with Morris and Boris and Christmas with Morris and Boris. Children like being able to predict the plot and can laugh when Morris doesn't understand very common things about being sick or the holidays. Boris always explains to him--with Morris interrupting to create more funny misunderstandings along the way. I have a goofy "Morris" voice and a gruff "Boris" voice that I have developed over the years just for the books in this series. Back in the day the kids would invariably interrupt me just as I would begin to read to say--"Will you make the noises this week?" "Don't I always make the noises?" I would reply. The children like books with "noises" or voices. These books work VERY well in that respect. A good time will be had by all.

I grew up reading this book. Definitely one of the best children's books of all time. It has hilarious pictures and a cute story.

We found this book in a thrift shop and it has become a favorite of my children. I wish it had been a series. We would love to have heard of further adventures of Morris.

I DON'T have a copy of this book: I borrowed from a friend. Anyway, the book is very funny and insightful. There are a whole lot of Welt-like people in the world, and it's great they have such an eloquent spokesperson.

In the end, "Mythomania" allows one to exist for a brief period in the exotic presence of someone who can talk smartly about erstwhile banal things. The Disney essay is amazing, a major bonus!

My uncle Bernard has always intimidated me with his incredible intelligence. What I didn't realize until I got older - he is also incredibly funny. I absolutely adored this book. I hope he continues to put his thoughts on paper.

I picked up this book at a great little bookstore in Philly across from the headquarters of Public Radio's World Cafe. I was hooked by the first paragraph. Welt writes so well and clearly, and has such outrageous and fascinating things to say about American mass culture, that I found myself laughing out loud and reading bits to anyone who came within earshot. I love this book... it's a great gift for any friend or family member who can think. -DA

Section 312 of this book is called "my dog" (on a combination of being faithful, obtrusive and shameless, "just as entertaining, just as clever as every other dog" (p. 177), but it is about Nietzsche's relationship to his pain. There is another book by Nietzsche, THE WANDERER AND HIS SHADOW, in which section 38 mentions "The bite of conscience" as a stupidity, like the bite of a dog into a stone. (Portable Nietzsche, p. 68). There is also a section in THE GAY SCIENCE about beggars using a stone to knock where there is no bell. This translation has an entry in the index for "beggars, and courtesy." The Walter Kaufmann translation listed section titles on pages ix-xviii, but Kaufmann didn't have an entry in the index for beggars or for bell, and though I may have rung Walter Kaufmann's bell a number of times, before and since I started writing reviews, my mental efforts to knock the war against the United Stoners of America has reached such a modern point of indifference in its approach to everything that what Walter Kaufmann thought about anything is of hardly any concern to those who would like an understanding of what is going on. I expect this book, which allows a comparison of minor differences on major matters, to be quite useful to me. I find it extremely comical when this translation makes something funny that in Walter Kaufmann's translation was only puzzling, but even the index of this book skips from women to words with no entry for wooden iron. There is no entry for iron between interruption, intuition, Islam, and Italian opera. But in the text itself, just before section 357 "On the old problem: `What is German?' " the end of section 356 raises the primary question any modern philosopher can face:

Free society? Well, well! But surely you know, gentlemen, what one needs to build that? Wooden iron! The famous wooden iron! And it need not even be wooden. (p. 217)

Nietzsche's announcement of God's death first appeared here, in The Gay Science. Also, this is the first book in which he mentions the Eternal Reccurence (see the second to the last aphorism of the fourth "book"). Zarathustra's prologue is also here (that's the last aphorism of the fourth book). Book 5 of the Gay Science was added in 1885, and covers Nietzsche's mature philosophy (post-Zarathustra period). Overall a good read.

"The best way to read Nietzsche is slowly," my professor said when we began studying this book. And I could not agree more. This book contains some of Nietzsche's central ideas, including the death of God, origin of morality, perspectivism, as well as the difference between the noble and common type. I love this translation because the translator seems to focus on what Nietzsche was trying to say in German, rather than some of the other translations where they only provide a basic and rough translation.

I would recommend this book if you're trying to understand the basics of Nietzsche's theories, since THE GAY SCIENCE was written during the height of his career (1882). However, do keep in mind that it will be difficult if this will be your first exposure to Nietzsche. You might also look at BEYOND GOOD AND EVIL, Hollingdale translation, since that one contains much of the same ideas, but the language is more understandable.

This little gem of a book has poems that make immediate sense and engage the reader emotionally and intellectually. This is not modern poetry because it is easy to remember. The explanations by the poet of the meaning of the poems add depth to the readers happy experience. This is one of the few poetry books I have ever enjoyed reading and the only one I have ever recommended to my friends.

Over the past few years I have been exposed to a great deal of output from the mind and talent of Dr. Bernie Patten. Dr. Patten is a man of many talents, first of all a noted neurologist (now retired from practice), an author of novels, an artist, and now, his first love, a poet. Currently Dr. Patten is exhibiting paintings at Houston Community College and Rice University, while at the same time teaching a very popular seminar on The Human Brain at Rice University. It is said that sex originates in the brain, and since Dr. Patten is a noted neurologist, particularly versed in knowledge of the human brain, it stands to reason that his novels, his art and his poetry all reflect the same theme, and probably his own preoccupation with it. Dare I mention the subject he seems to know so much about? Why, of course it is SEX. I, personally, have not been a great reader of poetry, but I have nothing against it, just as I have nothing against SEX. I, personally, like it. So I have found this collection of poetry sometimes pornographic (like the cover, and like a lot of Dr. Paten's paintings and novels), but also amusing and never dull. I can therefore recommend this poetry collection for those of you out there who think you do not like poetry. I know you will like this poetry.

Dynamic reading! Patten's prolific poetry evokes powerful images as if he provides a window to peer into creation no longer allowing one to avoid its significance and forcing us to have a greater appreciation of life's complexities by showing us its simplicities.