Burton Books

I simply loved "Around the World in 52 Words." The vignettes that comprise this volume are inspiring, thought-provoking and starkly honest.... and they read like butter. They represent a beautiful synthesis of Burton's creativity and discipline. His testaments are accessible, poignant, artistic, timely, and, above all, useful, for they offer direction to ordinary people who might otherwise have cause to despair and be cynical in these delicate, volatile times. The author is obviously affected by the world around him, and he is equally affected by the difference contained in that world. Readers of a variety of perspectives will be able to relate to Burton, for his stories tell the human story. Burton appreciates with uncommon sensitivity just what it is that is special about being a human being, and he conveys his insights with the clarity and vision of an inspired prophet.

Burton Raffel, the author of the book The Art of Translating Poetry, is an experienced translator, critic, and poet. Such a combination of different talents allows Raffel to comprise many aspects of translation and to include both theoretical and practical parts in his volume. Although the author agrees with those scholars who deny the possibility of full rendering, he strongly believes that "it is certainly possible to satisfactory translate - that is, to translate most things and to translate them well" (Raffel 11). Therefore, Raffel's main purpose is helping a translator to achieve that satisfactory level of translation in poetry.
The first part of the book is wholly devoted to elucidating the linguistic aspects of poetic translation. Comparing different languages, Raffel shows the basic impossibility that a translator face. According to Raffel, there are five difficulties that may prevent one from the producing an ideal translation:
1) impossibility to reconstruct the phonological peculiarities of a source language into target language;
2) impossibility to reconstruct syntax of the original;
3) impossibility to fully reconstruct lexical units;
4) impossibility to reproduce certain literary forms and genres;
5) impossibility to reconstruct prosodic elements.
The author dwells on each of these problems in details and demonstrates how they were solved by different translators in the course of history. By juxtaposing various renditions, Raffel analyzes their advantages and disadvantages. The quantity of languages he works with is quite impressive (Latin, Chinese, Japanese, German, French, Old English, Indonesian, Russian, and several others).
In the second part of his book, Raffel examines practical aspects of poetical translation. Depending on their addressee, Raffel distinguishes four types of translations, namely: formal, interpretative, expansive, and imitative. Each of these types aims at different audience. Thus, formal translation is characterized with a tendency towards excessive fidelity and exactness and it may be interesting only for scholars. Raffel illustrates formal approach with works by Alan R. Press, the editor and translator of Anthology of Troubadour Lyric Poetry, and by Frederic Goldin, a translator of Lyrics of the Troubadours and Trouveres. The second type of translation, the interpretative one, directed mainly to general audience. In contrast to the previous type, this translation aims at correct transferring cultural rather than linguistic peculiarities of the original. Several poems translated by Ezra Pound, "the father of modern poetic translation," can be taken as examples of this type. Like the interpretative translation, expansive (or free) translation is oriented for general audience. The translator, however, can include his/her comments (or passages) into the translation. However, as Raffel points out, this type is not very popular and translators resort to it only sporadically. The imitative translation is basically adaptation of the original, i.e. when original only inspires an author for creating something similar. Raffel considers the poetry of Robert Lowell as an instance of this type of translation.
Generally, the book is written in clear and easy to read style, contains many valuable observations and good examples from different sources. While choosing the materials for his analysis, Raffel shows himself as a scrupulous and gifted scholar. His vivid comments about peculiarities of different types of translating poetry bring a new vision of translator's possibilities and tasks. After having read the book, I have an impression that it can be interesting not only for specialists but also for general audience

You don't have to accept the pain and disability of arthritis as an inevitable part of life. Alternative medicine offers proven "solutions for identifying and treating the underlying causes and can bring lasting relief to arthritis sufferers." That's the message offered by Eugene R. Zampieron, N.D., A.H.G., and Ellen Kamhi, Ph.D., R.N., H.N.C. in their new book, Arthritis: An Alternative Medicine Definitive Guide.
Dr. Zampieron specializes in non-toxic treatment of arthritis and other rheumatological and autoimmune disorders. Dr. Kamhi is known as an authority on natural healing. Both doctors appear on radio and television shows, teach, and lead workshops.
Although more than 100 types of arthritis are known, the doctors focus on the three most common kinds: osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and ankylosing spondylitis. They also discuss gout, psoriatic arthritis, and infectious arthritis. More than 20 million Americans suffer from one or more of these diseases.
Conventional medicine offers numerous drugs to relieve arthritis. Generally those drugs simply relieve pain, without providing permanent help. Many of the drugs cause unpleasant side effects as well. Zampieron and Kamhi say that "Alternative medicine, on the other hand, offers a wide range of treatment options for eliminating the often hidden causes of arthritis." They add that "the primary keys are proper diet and nutrition, detoxification, and stress reduction."
The two doctors explain how to accomplish each of these in detail, including case histories of patients they have helped. They provide information on their "arthritis diet," complete with sample recipes. They also describe all the testing procedures for finding the causes of arthritis, and how to remove those causes. Detoxification plays a big role, and they explain how to do that. Stress reduction is covered in the mind-body section. They also include information on supplements, exercises, and physical therapy.
"Quick Definitions" are scattered throughout the book, so that readers can learn the meaning of any unknown words. Complete information is also given on contacting labs, healers, and providers of recommended services/supplies in the text.
While the emphasis is on reversing or alleviating arthritis after it's developed, the solutions suggested by Zampieron and Kamhi are equally effective in preventing the onset of arthritis. Arthritis provides essential information for every American who wishes to live a life free from the suffering of this preventable and correctable disease.

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Bear's Heart is the story of Bear's Heart, a Cheyenne warrior who was taken prisoner by the U.S. Army in 1875, and, along with many of his fellow warriors, and warriors from other nations, was sent to a military prison in Florida. There, like many of the other captives, he spent some of his time documenting his life and experiences through drawings. These drawings were sometimes collected into booklets and either sold or, as in the case of the pictures used for this book, given away as gifts. In this case, the booklet had been given to General William Tecumseh Sherman when he visited the prison in which Bear's Heart was being held in November of 1876. Although intended for children, this book is actually suitable for everyone as Bear's Heart's pictures are a fascinating first-hand account of one Cheyenne's changing world.

This is one of my favorite translations of Beowulf. I've taught Beowulf for 15 years, and though there are some aspects here and there of the Kennedy translation that I like, Raffel seems to have the overall best translation for my tastes.

Beowulf easily makes my list of top three favorite literary works--aside from being the defining epic poem of the English language and the most important work of the Old English canon, it is also a thought-provoking tale about the conflict between good and evil, and the role that fate plays in our lives. Simply put, Beowulf is a "must-read."

Why, though, should anyone read the Gummere translation? The Gummere was the third translation of the poem I came across--I read the Burton Raffel translation in high school, and picked up the Seamus Heaney translation as an undergraduate. I love both of those translations, particularly the Heaney--if you are looking for a translation which is a beautiful work of poetry in and of itself, I recommend Heaney's rendering. However, the Gummere translation excels it at capturing the feel of the Old English, and particularly the alliterations which pervade the original Anglo-Saxon text. Gummere also manages to preserve the mid-line pause (lines in Old English poetry are split by caesuras) of the original. The literary calisthenics necessary to pull this off make the Gummere translation a bit more demanding to read than other translations, and this particular version presents the text in giant paragraphs (even though it is a verse translation), but the rewards far outweight the extra investment it requires.

I recently came across a newly-published compilation of medieval epic poetry in a bookstore which included this translation (in line-by-line form). Much as I love the other versions of Beowulf mentioned in this review, I was excited to see that Gummere is circulating. I hope that many more people will read it and enjoy it as much as I do.

Serious poetry from a deeply sensitive poet, talking about issues of life's tragedies and joys.

I would recomend this book to students on their first approach to Biochemistry. This is a confusing subject, with so many difficult names and processes, and this books makes all these understandable. It uses experimental facts to explain the characteristics and processes involved. You will find full-color illustrations and diagrams, that help making clear processes such as replication and transcription. Another outstanding feature in this book is that it includes clinical applications and laboratory techniques. At the end of the book you will find an Internet address book...really useful. It also has a glossary, in which you will find concise definitions of every important biochemical term. A fine book.

I was lucky enough to be a student of John Logan's at Notre Dame in 1956-58. He was hands down the best teacher I have ever had. My experience included a personal tutoring one full semester on Erwin Schrodinger's "What is Life," a time he volunteered out of his busy schedule to help a floundering junior.

His course on tragedy (taught within the General Program) captivated a bunch of cynical know-it-alls like no other. On top of that, Mr. Logan was a very fine poet, whose work covered the gamut from the underground railroad to a student's crucified Christ to Mother Cabrini to God knows what.

What I remember most is the man's generosity--of time and spirit. My thanks to Mr. Cuthbertson and Amazon for making this brief memoir available.