Breton Books

wow! this is a superb collection of poetry and prose by the leader of the surrealist movement,everyones favorite Parisian(aside from Apollinaire)Andre Breton.this collection displays some simplly beautiful and hallucinatory writing.i think my favorite(which is hard to decide)is "choose life",a wonderful piece that cant help but inpire subjectivity and adveture.the intro is quite long but very well writen and extremely useful if you dont know that much about Breton and the surrealists.get it today! it kicks ass!

This well researched book covers the work of Allan the Ridge
MacDonald and the background that inspired him. Much of the
first part deals with the man, his ancestors, and their stories.
The last part contains his songs both in Gaelic and English.
I enjoyed this book very much.

In "Atlas of the Languages and Ethnic Communities of South Asia," Roland J.L. Breton has created an unusual, very helpful reference source. By "South Asia," the author (and, evidently, scholarly consensus) refers to the region including Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Nepan, Bhutan, and the borders of Tibet and Nepal. (Considering that it is the autumn of 2001, I am probably not remiss in pointing out that chapter 6 includes some useful material on the region's hotspots, and "hot" languages and ethnicities, including the Pushtun, Kashmiri, and Urdu-speaking peoples.)

The Atlas is divided into two main sections, followed by a series of tables, charts, and bibliographies. The first section is a generalized presentation of the languages and ethnic communities of south Asia. This section has no maps or tables, but seeks to prepare the reader for what follows with a series of essays. The essays concern, for example, the subcontinent's linguistic potpourri as being a fascinating sociological laboratory for viewing the collision, and collusion, of a multiplicity of tongues and folkways. Other essays include a survey of the historical and pre-historical background behind this hodgepodge of tongues, and a series of linked essays connecting language to race, tribe, caste, and religion.

The second section includes the actual maps, which are not in color. There are sixty of them. This section opens with two brief chapters of further introoductory material, and then the maps begin with chapter 6. From chapter 6 through chapter 10, the region is divided into 5 geographical sub-regions, each of which is tackled in turn with a combination of maps and explicatory essays. To take chapter 6 as a representative example -- this chapter opens with a map dealing with a region we are only too familiar with today, the Pakistani-Afghan border. The accompanying texxt to this map helps us to understand the local tongues as being either Indo-European, in the case of Baluchi and Pushto (AKA Pashto, or Pushtun), or as being the more ancient, indigenous Dravidian tongue Brahui. Brahui, in an interesting sidenote, is mentioned as one of the stronger candidates for being the descendant language of the language spoken by the Indus Valley civilization, of pre-historic times. The speakers are discussed in terms of their ethnic, religious, and geographic background... Next, also in chapter 6, there are 3 more maps of regions in and around Pakistan and Kashmir, with accompanying text that performs a similar function to the text with the first map.

After the various regions of the subcontinent have been gone into in great detail, we are presented with 4 more chapters which deal with, respectively, non-regional languages such as English or other lingua franca; the impact of the media and of modern cities; ethno-linguistic political issues germane to the subcontinent; and finally a chapter drawing upon a 1990s census to make sense of much of the data presented. The book closes with a selection of helpful tables and charts, and an outstanding bibliography.

This atlas is an unusual idea, and it is executed in a comprehensive way. Linguistic terminology, in general, is kept to a minimum. Chances are, if you can operate a computer ably enough to get to this review, you could take away something of value from "Atlas of the Languages and Ethnic Communities of South Asia." Two thumbs up.

In terms of finding a wild, uninhibited introduction to the radical and mindspinning worlds of Breton and friends I can assure you that this is a challenging but rewarding read. However, take note that those who feel prose must have structure and communicate linear thought, please leave your textbook at the door. This is work that burrows deep into the subconcious and festers like a tick.

very interesting and beautiful little book with lovely pen drawings. One I will share with others

The French province of Brittany was called Armorica by the Celts and this meant roughly the "land near the waters and the area offered alot of harbors for trade and commerce from prehistoric days to the present.this book has a great section about the hundred years war between France and England.I had previously saw this struggle only in regard to the 2 powers but after this read i see how all the little dukedoms on the continent played England and France against each other.The reason for it was to maintain their provincial independence.A large part of the book is devoted to the Montfort family and their squeeze on Brittany"s sovereignty.The Breton Monforts were finally nuetralized by the rising power of the French and their much deeper pockets.The first part of the book is devoted to the neolithic and it progresses to the periond of Ages(Bronze and Iron)showing this Celtic area of today's coastal France as a warrior/farmer type culture in this period.The big change comes with the advent of the Roman Empire.The Roman Empire according to my read,takes over so much of Europe that alot of these unique Celtic cultures are pretty much gobbled up.The Romans use politics,economics,and civilzed convenience so well that alot of these tribes don't even care for or remember their former existence.But there is another reason for the Roman takeover of these areas often overlooked but given space in this book. That is the Celtic religious and ascetic view of the world,closely parralleled the Roman,likewise the Romans and the Celts absorbed the new "Christian movement" and made it theirs and not necessarily the other way around.The Bretons are also shown as a somewhat litiguous people,only too willing to defend even the slightest offenses so Roman law would have been a useful tool to be used and (abused)?So the question arises ,Whom takes over whom? No answer ever for that one although the technologically superior usually wins. According to this book,Roman military might although important is only used as a last resort in subjecting the Celtic tribes. Apparently the Bretons had a thriving economy based on the manufacture of "fishpaste" during a period of this era.the author points out also the commerce and immigration and emigration between this current area of France and England,the Bretons were not "stay at home" agriculturalists but made the big bids for wealth and power sometimes winning,sometimes losing,but always and still right there on the stage.This book has alot of info on Medieval Britanny,including Black Death statistics and this type middle age goodies.

Barry Shears has compiled a marvelous book of pipe tunes that are basically unknown and rarely heard today. They come to us from a time before the advent of competition pipe bands, when the emphasis of the music was placed on rhythm, and people gathering for an evenings entertainment would dance to the powerful tones of the pipes.
Some of the familar tunes in the book exhibit alternative settings which make for an interesting contrast to the standardized offerings we're used to hearing today.
Mr. Shears has also compiled two additional books of tunes equally as engrossing as the first. The "Gathering of the Clans Collection" vol. 1 & 2 is a must for those pipers interested in adding new life to their usual humdrum repertoires. To compliment the collection he has produced a CD titled "A Cape Breton Piper" which incorporates numerous tunes from all three books.
In addition, each book contains numerous photos and historical bacgrounds on various old time pipers and their music. Makes for fascinating reading. I highly recommend the entire collection.

Clayton Eshleman is a national treasure solely for the fact that he translates poets who are busy about excavating the soul and writing work as if their very lives depended on it. And, of course they do and ours does as well. If you are reading this review and are really seeking work that steps into the psyche of 20th Century humanity, then you need to crawl into this book. The poetry is difficult as all good poetry that pushes us towards self-examination should be. Read Holan's "A Night with Hamlet" and you'll see what I mean.

A lot of parents find the GF/CF diet helps in the early stages of recovery, as it reduces behaviors. Long term we find that after you heal the gut it is no longer necessary. There is a book that describes healing the gut with herbs that I liked very much it's He's Not Autistic But...: How We Pulled Our Son From the Mouth of the Abyss by Tenna Merchent. Although he wasn't GF/CF, because he wasn't allergic to wheat, she did have him on a very restrictive diet during his illness because he was allergic to milk, corn, soy, oats and several other things. With energy medicine and herbs she was able to completely recover her son.

A kaleidoscope of the marvelous sixties as seen through the rear view mirror......enlightening, energizing, and above all entertaining. This is an enjoyable book for a warm summer afternoon.