Bernard Books

I have had the pleasure of studying under Bernard Muir, and his dedication to Old English was more than apparent in class; he really made the texts come alive, and his enthusiasm was infectious.

This two-volume set is the first complete edition of the Exeter Book (a tenth-century manuscript containing some of the best poetry in Old English) since the 1930s, and is a much-needed revision based upon the intervening decades of scholarship. The dust jacket boasts more than 400 previously unnoticed alterations and corections, and there are certainly plenty footnoted.

The commentary is also comprehensive, with pretty much everything you might ask for (except translation - this book is very definitely for those who can speak or at least read the language).

The CD-Rom edition will be published soon, and I seem to recall that it was intended to have the pages as images as well as in text format (I could be wrong). Still, for those who like books, and who are interested in the very earliest of English literature, this is a definitive work.

I have had the pleasure of studying under Bernard Muir, and his dedication to Old English was more than apparent in class; he really made the texts come alive, and his enthusiasm was infectious.

This two-volume set is the first complete edition of the Exeter Book (a tenth-century manuscript containing some of the best poetry in Old English) since the 1930s, and is a much-needed revision based upon the intervening decades of scholarship. The dust jacket boasts more than 400 previously unnoticed alterations and corections, and there are certainly plenty footnoted.

The commentary is also comprehensive, with pretty much everything you might ask for (except translation - this book is very definitely for those who can speak or at least read the language).

The CD-Rom edition will be published soon, and I seem to recall that it was intended to have the pages as images as well as in text format (I could be wrong). Still, for those who like books, and who are interested in the very earliest of English literature, this is a definitive work.

Bamberger, Bernard J. "Fallen Angels: Soldiers of Satan's Realm", Jewish Publication Society, 1952.

Evil in the World

Amos Lassen

One of the book groups that I belong to is taking a trip to the dark side with Bernard Bamberger's "Fallen Angels", a study of the origins and evolution of the concept of fallen angels in Jewish and Christian world views. I really did not think that this book would interest me very much--it is not new, having been published in 1952 but I was definitely wrong and as I began to read I found myself in a whole other world.
Fantastic myths exist about angels who were lured into sin--especially about the brave angel who rebelled against G-d and was cast to the underworld and to take his place as Satan. Evil has always challenged mankind and Bamberger attempts to show us why there is evil in the universe as well as explain why pain and suffering comes to those who really do not deserve it.
Bamberger looks at the history of fallen angels in the three major religions of the world--Judaism, Christianity and Islam and presents quite a variety of tales and superstitions of which some are quite horrible while others are simple and humorous. He also shows the divergence of Christians and Jews on their attitudes toward the devil. He looks at Satan's fall, the creation of Lilith as well as other myths and then explores their development not only in religion but in art
and philosophy.
Bamberger, after giving background from the Old Testament, looks at what he calls the "outside books"--those that are not in the canonical tradition---the books of Enoch, the Adam books as well as various others and the apocalyptic texts. He further shows how separate traditions developed in both Judaism and Christianity from various periods. He examines the Jewish view of Satan as an agent of a G-d who is opposed and cannot be opposed. What is missing, however,
is what is written in the Dead Sea Scrolls as they were, at the time of his writing, inaccessible to him. Yet the book is a good way to prepare for reading the Scrolls and as the information is released Bamberger's work will be all that more valuable.
What is interesting is that both Judaism and Christianity have differing concepts of Satan and this dispels the notion of those that look at the Judeo-Christian idea of the lord of the underworld--if there indeed is such a thing.
The book opens the eyes of the reader to many new ideas and has remained now for over fifty years as the definitive study.
Regardless of personal beliefs the book is accessible to those who are interested in learning about the concept of evil and from where it comes. The book is written in language that can be understood by all and no background on the subject is really necessary to follow Bamberger's ideas.

Fallen Angels: Soldiers of Satan's Realm
by Bernard J. Bamberger

An enjoyable account of the origins and evolution of the concept of fallen angels in Jewish and Christian world views for a general audience. Bamberger starts with a brief introductory discussion of those few passages from the Tanakh (Old Testament) which are often referenced in later writings on Satan or fallen angels. But the book really gets started with those writings that Bamberger calls the "outside books." That is the books outside the canonical tradition-the Enoch writings, the Adam books, and various testaments and apocalypses. Bamberger then discusses the separate and distinct traditions that developed in Judaism and Christianity from the periods of the Talmud and the New Testament through the middle ages to contemporary theology. Contemporary, that is to the late 1940s when this book was written. Throughout the book, Bamberger is especially interested in contrasting the dualistic views of some of the outside books, the Zohar, and Christian theology which saw the Cosmos divided between warring camps of good and evil with the traditional Jewish view that sees Satan as an agent of an unopposed and unopposable God. It's unfortunate that Bamberger did not have access to the Dead Sea Scrolls. The extreme dualism of the Dead Sea Sect would have been an interesting addition to this study. I did find this book to be good preparation for approaching the duelist teachings of the Dead Sea Sect. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of this book is the contrast between Jewish and Christian approaches to similar concepts. I have often heard people speak of the Judeo-Christian concept of Satan. This book makes clear that there is no such thing. If you're interested in the dark side of Jewish and Christian mythology, this is a book you will want to read.

My kids and I both love the whimsical nature of both Farmer Brown books by Teri Sloat. The wording and pictures go perfectly together and are good for a laugh and putting us all in a fun and silly mood. I hope there are more Farmer Brown adventures to come!

Teri Sloat is the author of several books including: The Thing That Bothered Farmer Brown, and she lives near a farm. Nadine Bernard Westcott is also no stranger to farms and animal sounds.

All the animals are just comical. The cat is also quite cute. At the beginning, all the animals are making their normal animally sounds. The pigs are oinking, the cows moo.

But then he heard a rumbling sound That made his smile turn upside down. ...."Look out!" he cried. "A twister's coming!"

The following pages will bring giggles as all the animals get caught up in the clothes line and the expressions on the sheep's faces.....you just have to see it!

When the twister drops them all, the sheep are clucking and the cows are oinking. More silliness continues as the sheep take over the roost and the muddy, oinking cows get slopped.

The rooster takes over the farmer's job and tells everyone what to do. Fortunately another twister hits and sets things right again.

"Except on days when strong winds blew...."

A purely silly delight!

~The Rebecca Review

This book gives a very good outline of Einstein's life, accomplishments, philosophy and theory with anecdotes to keep readers' interest. It has the simplest mathematical derivation of Einstein's theory compared to what is available on the market. His most famous equation E=mc2 is derived in four simple steps using high school arithmetic. Einstein's grandson Bernard wrote a Forward that adds a personal touch to his biography. I recommend the book strongly.

Einstein's theory, believe or not, high school algebra is suffice in this book. It also has interesting anecdotes on his life and philosophy. Einstein's grandson wrote a foreword for this book which is great. I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in Einstein's life, philosophy and theory.

I found the 1976 edition of this book in a flea market and I am dying to get my hands on additional copies to give as gifts.

This is an AWESOME book! Blew me away. The wonderful stories of Shakespeare, summarized in kid-friendly (but NEVER condescending) text, with colorful, fantastical illustrations that really do invite you to linger over them.

As a former English major, I am surprised and, even, kinda thrilled to read these stories in a new way. Plays are meant to be performed, not read, but who has time seek out Shakespeare on a regular basis? I'd forgotten a lot of the details of these stories over time, and it was way cool to return to them in narrative form.

If I were a kid, I'd be all over this book. There's romance, intrigue, sword fights, mistaken identies, ghosts, witches... good stuff, the author really picked good plays. Even as a 37 year old crone, I thoroughly enjoyed the book and was sorry there wasn't more.

If you find this book, BUY IT!! I hope maybe it'll come into print again, so more people can enjoy it.

My 27 year old son just picked up this book from my desk and said, "Wow, this is the book that got me interested in Shakespeare when I was six! It was my favorite book for years."
This is Shakespeare for children and for parents who may not even like Shakespeare. We wore out one copy and I had to buy another. The illustrations are wonderful and contribute to discussion about the plays. All three of my children credit reading this book with their comfort with Shakespeare in high school. One become an English major. I am very sad to see that
it is out of print. I have grandchildren coming up!

This book is undoubtedly one of the best exposures to Shakespeare for children. My eight year old daughter loved it so much she brought it to school and shared it with the class. Her teacher found a copy and made it part of his curriculum. Parents were delighted and tried to find their own copies. I must say this was back in 1978! I have recommended this book over the years to numerous young parents who cannot find this wonderful book. Very sad. To not have this book would be like missing "Pat The Bunny" or "Good Night Moon".

This book and its amazing illustrations will expose your children (and yourself) to the wonderful world of Shakespeare. Several of Shakespeares best known plays are retold as stories, without the complicated language. Bernard Miles is able to weave these tales so well that you get completely drawn into the characters and the time. Reading these as a kid (the stories are long, probably best for 12 and up) gave me an interest in Shakespeare and help me to understand them when I read or saw them as plays. Don't miss an opportunity to get a copy of this book!

For a pathologist, he is an excellent writer. It is story and history combined and melds well with the subsequent century that Michael Jecks writes about regarding "Crowners and bailiffs." I regard both as good writers, which is an understatement.

Bernard Knight's books are always a good read and well researched and authentic without overpowering the reader with information he either does not need to know or is not interested in anyway.

This case for Crowner John revolves around the tournament scene. These events took place regularly, but not always with the blessing of the King (Richard the Lionheart) and other later Kings, who quite rightly thought that a large gathering of heavily armed men was not always conducive the their own health and their grip on the throne.

Crowner John is called from the inauguration of the new sheriff and preparations for the tournament that is about to take place to an unidentified body. The death is not accidental, but a brutal murder and Sir John has to start tracking down who the man is before he can set about finding his killer or killers.

His inquiries lead him towards a well known family in the County the Peverals. Hugo who has already disgraced himself in the tournament is now head of the family after his father William was killed in somewhat strange circumstances at a tournament held earlier in the year.

Hugo has an older brother, who has been overlooked as Lord of the Manor because of the falling sickness, and Hugo has greedily taken the title. He also has two younger brothers, one of them Ralph is also well known on the tournament circuit.

The family do everything they can to block Sir John's inquiries and the relationship becomes so bad between them that it could have serious consequences for the Crowner . . .

It's taken till the new millenium for someone to do a "how to" book about acting that plainly and simply zeroes in on just what it takes to be a great performer in front of a camera. Whether you're young or old, male or female, rookie or pro - if you are, or ever intend to act in film or television - you owe it to yourself (AND your future audience) to read this book. GREG MORRISON, Adjunct Professor, LOS ANGELES FILM SCHOOL

FILM AND TELEVISION ACTING by Ian Bernard

Reviewed by Academy Award and "Emmy" honored actor/writer/producer/director, Don Murray.

FILM AND TELEVISION ACTING belongs on the bookshelf of anyone who aspires to a career in motion pictures or is inquisitive about how the process of motion picture acting takes place. Author Ian Bernard, who has distinguished himself as an actor, writer, musical composer and director, adds to his well deserved laurels with this book that leads the actor through the technical steps and creative nuances of acting for both big screen and small.

Most actors begin their careers in amateur stage theatrics. No matter how competent their stage training may be, the transition to the screen can be disconcerting. Some aspects of screen acting make the transition easier: Voice projection, vital on the stage, doesn't come into play in screen acting. The "three quarters front" body position on stage is replaced by direct alignment, but exact positions become more vital in front of the camera, in order to remain in focus and within the lights. Much is made of "retakes" in film; if you don't get it right in take one there is take two, and twelve, and twenty if need be. But those extra takes are more often given to correct technical errors than to improve performance (especially in television where time restraints make compromise in the realm of performance common place).

Perhaps the most difficult aspect of switching from stage to screen performance is the lack of continuity in shooting a movie. One often performs the love scene before the scene where boy meets girl and since there is no build up of emotion that carries from one scene to another as on stage, the screen actor usually has to stimulate his emotions by his own solitary devices.

Mr. Bernard's book is a blueprint for building a bridge between stage and screen acting by providing theory and technique for making the transition.

For both aspiring screen actors and those of the motion picture audience who are interested in enhancing their enjoyment through a deeper understanding of the acting process, Ian Bernards's FILM AND TELEVISION ACTING belongs on the b ookshelf right next to Constantin Stanislavski's AN ACTOR PREPARES.

Torchy is a firefly who is different from all the others and doesn't like it one bit, so, after talking to the owl, he flies off to find himself, and learns to love being who he is.

The story itself isn't too unique, but it's cute enough, and holds the attention of my children. However, the illustration is great, with totally black pages and spashes of color. The city view is very well done and artistic. I don't think I've ever seen a childrens book illustrated quite like it. You should definitely see this book.

This is probably my favorite childrens' book of all time. The illustrations are so mint, you'll hardly be able to believe it. The best part is when Torchy flies to the city and gets blown away by the crazy mix of lights. I promise you'll love this book.

Flying with God helps new Christians learn ways to have a closer relationship with God through Jesus Christ. The principals in the book can also be used by any Christian who is struggling in their walk with God.

Flying with God helps new Christians learn ways to have a closer relationship with God through Jesus Christ. The principals in the book can also be used by any Christian who is struggling in their walk with God.