Burton Books

I bought this item from amazon and it arrived pretty fast. It is a new book, so it is definitely in good shape and i can easily put it in a binder. Great!

My lab book came promptly (with 3 days of ordering) and in awesome shape! They said it was brand new and unused and it appears that way! Got it at a good price too. No sweat!

Great quality paper for a loose page book,it does not come with a binder. Therefore, plan on getting a large one. The contents are clear and also provides good pictures to each assignment.

got a new book in very reasonable price. I always buy my books from amazon, never been disappointed. Hope to have this service forever.

Great manual with colored photographs. The only problem is that after flipping through it several times the pages begin to tear from the rings, so invest in some reinforcement labels. Didn't receive the product as quick as I thought but at least I paid less than buying from the on-campus bookstore.

This is one great book. I'd read it twice and I never do that. A must have for all Richard Burton fans. Talks about his life with Elizabeth Taylor, among other things. LOVE IT, LOVE IT, LOVE IT!

Let's be honest about this, Ok? Biography is history. Plain and simple. It may be handled subjectively or objectively, but at its roots it remains history.

Richard Burton: A Life covers the life and career of a staggeringly talented boozer, actor, womanizer, romantic genius who was one of the truly household names of his time. His liasion and ultimate marriages to and divorces from Elizabeth Taylor are inevitably a part of that life.

In this volume the co-conspiracy of E.T. (as she is frequently abbreviated) often becomes almost overwhelming -- and yet that may not be so inappropriate, for it was her influence and her obsessive love for him that motivate a great deal of his creative life. We have extensive extracts from his own (previously unpublished) notebooks, and those of his father and mentor Philip Burton who adopted him as a teenager.

But as many histories do, the book is so replete with detail that it has a tendency to plod. It is not a page turner. Rather it is a volume that one feels duty bound to finish mostly so that one may move on to one's next reading.

I have been in theatre myself for almost 60 years, so I have an affinity for things theatrical, yet this is not a theatrical volume. It is more of a literary National Enquirer with the feeling that the normal N.E. made up parts have been expunged.

Make no mistake about it, the book is well written in the sense that the prose is of good quality. However, unless you are a total unrequited flaming Richard fan for whom any written word is pure gospel, be forwarned -- you may find this a bit of work to read!

Melvyn Bragg's biography of Richard Burton (nee Richard Walter Jenkins) was absolutely top drawer, thanks not only to Mr. Bragg's wonderful, in depth writing style, but to the generosity of Burton's widow, Sally Hay, who gave the author unprecedented access to Mr. Burton's hitherto unpublished notebooks.

Burton was continually being discovered and mentored throughout his early days. Bragg deals with Burton's good fortune in being "adopted" by schoolteacher Philip Burton when he was a mere lad, and access to Philip's diaries show how Richard's native intelligence, passion and enthusiasm were harnessed and directed by Philip. The next mentor was the brilliant writer ("The Corn is Green"), director and actor, Emlyn Williams who first put the boy on the boards and got him to the BBC. Later Gielgud, Olivier, and Anthony Quayle would play a part in Burton's success.

If a man can be judged primarily based on the affect he had on other people, than Richard Burton was in that alone an absolute success. His well-documented generosity is evident from his earliest days as a reader of poetry and literature on BBC Radio, when he was lucky to garner 10 quid a reading and sent a portion of that back to the family (12 brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews). In his final days, when performing in a less than stellar mini-series with his magnificently talented daughter, Kate Burton, he passed on his civility and generosity to fellow actors, by teaching her to remain behind the camera during another actor's close-up so he/she would have a person to react to and with. He is beloved in his native Wales, whose tongue was his first language, whose sports teams he followed wherever he was in the world and in whose verdant green hillsides he built that voice that would echo across the stages of London, New York and on movie screens worldwide.

Richard Burton was no saint (unlike Becket, whom he played to perfection opposite Peter O'Toole). His appetite for wine, women and song remained with him throughout his life. In a strange and ironic quirk, Burton, who so revered family and womanhood/motherhood (idealized for him in his mother-sister, Cis) was flagrant in his infidelity to his first wife, Sybill Williams. Sybil Williams Burton in the best of British tradition had a stiff upper lip about he whole business, and maintained a solid homebase which Burton would inevitably return. And indeed for more than a decade this was the case; until he ventured to Rome for the filming of Cleopatra.

Bragg is even-handed in his portrayal of Elizabeth Taylor. She is neither villain or angel; but a woman of profound passions, a streetwise business sense and emotional life that may have brought on or at the very least greatly exasperated her numerous accidents and health issues. Their love was by all accounts like an earthquake. While Burton was mad for Taylor, he never expected this affair to end his marriage. Taylor, however was not just any conquest. Having lived through the machinations of a notorious stage mother, the heavy-handedness of Louis B. Mayer at MGM, the death of her other great love, Mike Todd and the public condemnation of he role in the Debbie-Eddie-Liz scandal and her notorious tough as nails negotiation of the first million dollar contract for Cleopatra, Elizabeth was a force to be reckoned with. Although she was known for the screaming and sometimes physically battering battles with Todd, Fisher and later with Burton, it was through her absolute acceptance in her role as Burton's Mistress, that she won her man. In fact, Taylor would play this role 2 years while Burton would traverse the Swiss Alps between his home in Celigny with Sybil and daughter, Kate and Taylor's home in Gstaad. Truthful, clever, a talented actress, a challenging partner, an endlessly exciting and loving lover, and in her salad days the most beautiful woman in the world; one can understand Burton's fascination with her. Sadly, their love story that was to begin like a meteor, would struggle to a sad and sloppy end. Taylor's utlimate tragedy, if we are to believe Bragg's account and that of other writers, is that she wouldn't or couldn't give up the ghost. Until his death, she was like Scarlett O'Hara thinking of new and different ways to get back her man.

Suzy Hunt the amazon, blond, model would be Burton's 3rd wife. He was unstinting in his praise of her, as she selflessly aided him as he was by the mid to late 1970's crippled with arthritis from years of hard living (rugby, drinking & a 5-pack a day cigarette habit). It can be noted that Suzy came along at just when he needed her, but being young (some 20 years his junior) would weary of her role as nursemaid and would leave Burton by the early 1980's. Like Sybil Burton, who has remained completely silent about her life with Richard, Suzy Hunt had done the same. She came and went, and other than an appearance at one of his memorial services, was not to enter his life again.

Perhaps Sally Hay Burton fairs best in this biography due to her generosity and openess to the author, but in my opinion, she has at last been granted her due, as Burton's last love. Burton's own notebooks speak glowingly of this incredibly competent, hardworking and independent woman, who unlike Taylor and Hunt never expected herself to be in a relationship with a world-famous actor of Mr. Burton's stature. I was struck at how much sadder his untimely death was in regards to Sally, since by his own account and hers, they were quite happy and Burton had a last found a modicum of peace in this relationship. The press was unfair to Sally during the time of Burton's death. She was blamed for his Welsh family not being in attendance at his funeral in Switzerland (it was Burton's choice to be interred in the Swiss village he lived had in for some 25 years) which was due to a misunderstanding caused by Burton's brother Graham Jenkins, who showed up in Switzerland with BBC reporter in tow. Sally herself now sees it was a mistake to exclude Taylor from the ceremony, but quite rightly she knew that the dignity of the service would be destroyed by the onslaught of press jockying to get pictures of Taylor's last goodbye to Burton. In fact, there were numerous memorials in Wales, New York & London at which the various wives and family would have a chance to pay their respects. Taylor in fact would sit squarely in the middle of the Welsh at the Memorial in London.

Scholarship was what Richard Burton most revered above all things. He was notorious for never watching movies and for never being without a book in hand. Althought he enjoyed the odd thriller, he was quite the intellectual in his tastes; he was a man of the classics; Poetry and Shakespearean verse could be recited forwards and literally backwards. He was a renowned conqueror of languages and was fluent in French, Italian, Spanish. and had a go at some of the non-romance languages as well (Serbo-Croat). It is quite conceivable that Burton would have made an excellent Oxford don, and even had a memorable 6 month go of it in the mid-seventies as a visiting instructor. He would never go on location without first stocking up on volumes of reading materials and one of his great gifts (from Suzy Hunt) was to have his books put into specially built library shelves at his Celigny home.

A lad's lad, a natural aristocrat, a spirited athlete on the pitch, a natural student, world renowned lover, one of the greatest actor's of the 20th century. A man who insisted on living life on his own terms and doing it in great style. Truly a rich life.

I enjoyed this biography immensely, especially being as there
are generous quotes and insights from Burton's personal
journal and writings over a period of two decades and more.
Richard Burton was one of the most famous and remarkable
actors, celebrities, and 'genius's' of the past century.
He lived his life adventurously, ... even wrecklessly at
times. But he was never boring (as a man or as an actor)!
He was a 'one of a kind' person. Few people would disagree
with that accessment.
I highly recommend this book/biography. It is filled with
fascinating facts and insights on a man who remains on of
the most enigmatic and charismatic personality of our era.

Richard Burton makes today's tabloid celebrities out to be rank amateurs. Burton smoked a hundred cigarettes, and drank up to four bottles of vodka, a day. A rugby enthusiast and public brawler, injuries crippled him, necessitating prescription pain killers. There were five marriages, countless hookups, and at least three lovers attempting suicide. If there is any justice, the CDC will christen a newly-discovered social disease in Burton's honor.

But Burton was so much more than a tabloid spectacle. Riveting green eyes, chthonic intensity, a one-of-a-kind voice that could roar a beast's growl or sing an angel's hymn, and his innate instinct for language ensured his dominance over the Shakespearean stage as well as more popular fare like the DeMille-style epic "The Robe" and the Broadway musical, "Camelot." Women fell in love with him. Men fell in love with him. Servants, drinking buddies, costars, and even critics fell in love with him. Kenneth Tynan wrote that Burton "brought his own cathedral with him." Director Tony Palmer said, "It never occurred to you to ask whether or not you liked this man because you just knew. . . that you were in the presence of greatness."

Pockmarks rutted his skin. He made no attempt to resist his lifestyle's devastation of his looks; "I abhor mere prettiness" (483). Other actors exhibited superior physical form; toward the end, Burton could barely move his arms, his injuries were causing him so much pain. And, yet, theatergoers who saw him in a minor role in one of his first plays, "The Lady's Not for Burning," report that when the skinny, young, unknown was onstage, you could not take your eyes off him. Long after it was assumed that, through humiliatingly bad choices, Burton had terminally ruined his once promising career, he made a comeback in "Equus." Walter Kerr and Clive Barnes praised Burton afresh: "Equus" exhibited Burton's best work; he was the best English-speaking actor his age in the world, they reported (529). Burton followed that triumph to receive standing ovations in a revival of "Camelot."

He had so much going for him . . . and yet, popular wisdom goes, Burton threw it all away. He divorced his supportive, Welsh wife, Sybil, and married superstar Elizabeth Taylor, as famous for her scandalous multiple marriages, melodramatic brushes with death, and cleavage as for her art. Burton and Taylor lived large: expensive jewelry, public fights; a couple of good movies; too many stinkers.

In 1988, Tony Palmer, who had directed Burton in "Wagner," made a BBC documentary, "In from the Cold," that depicted Burton as a deeply tragic, sensitive, small-town Welsh artiste kidnapped by squalid Hollywood-Babylon fame and debauchery. Palmer told the New York Times, "I believe that the source of his tragedy is that he was given away, effectively sold, by his father when he was 14...[this] left Richard with a deep emotional scar which he spent most of his life trying to heal."

Through sheer accumulation of detail, Melvyn Bragg's biography of Burton offers some insight, but doesn't rise above the style or substance of a People magazine article. With a figure as complex as Burton, one wants more depth than is provided by observations like "Richard was a terrible boyo but he always came home" (185) or Bragg's insertion of himself into a text that should be all about Burton: "It is that last sentence, I think, which counts for most" (197) or Bragg's attempt to sound breezy by writing in sentence fragments: "Then took on Cleopatra and Rome" (185).

What makes this book indispensable for anyone interested in plumbing the Burton mystery is Bragg's access to, and extensive quotes from, Richard Burton's own diaries. Burton's widow Sally deserves gratitude for allowing their publication.

These diaries are not valuable because they are full of juicy, scandalous tidbits. Burton was born with the kind of ear for language, eye for detail, commitment to truth and the craving to get it all down in lovely, idiosyncratic prose that makes for a great writer. One mourns the novels Burton planned, but never wrote.

The diaries reveal that Burton very much loved Taylor, and was genuinely happy with her for many years. Sadly, they also reveal both their deep dysfunctions, largely fueled by alcohol and self-indulgence, and Burton's losing interest, and turning to a young, statuesque blonde, as Taylor, a short, curvy, brunette, aged. As often as Bragg emphasizes Burton's open-handed generosity and deep love for his many extended family members, I can't like this Burton; he often treated women shabbily, and I never got a sense that he ever figured out what love really is, beyond the passion of a moment.

I thought that reading this book would elucidate the Burton mystery for me, that I'd come away knowing how and why, in his best movies, he is so gripping and moving. I don't have that answer. Lots of us are born to alcoholic fathers, have rough childhoods, and play on the dark side, and yet actors with Burton's gifts are rare flashes of lightening.

One thing is clear, though, and it's an area Bragg does not plumb. Burton was in pain, not just chronic physical pain. You don't smoke and drink as Burton did without some inner dragon gnawing away at your viscera. Tony Palmer was on to something. You have to wonder, if this book depicts things accurately, why none of Burton's many loved ones ever took him aside and said, "Rich, get some help. Stop killing yourself."

I picked up this little book (about 80 pages long), which my son had given to me for safe keeping, and started to read it one night recently when I was having trouble getting to sleep. And what an interesting little book it is. As the title indicates, it is a new verse translation (published in 1967) of a poem by a mediaeval poet who lived about the time of Geoffrey Chaucer.
There is a short introduction about how the poem came to be preserved in the library of Robert Cotton, the great Elizabethan antiquary, as well as a description of this Authurian Romance with its theme of the ideal of knightly conduct - of courage, loyalty and courtesy. Equally interesting in this brief introduction is a discussion of the alliterative style of the poem, and the principles the translator had to follow to ensure that her translation into Modern English would be able to adhere as closely as possible to this style. There is a short section at the back of the book on the Metrical form of the original poem which provides a detailed description of the "alliterative long line" of the poem and samples of the original Middle English version for comparison with the translated version.
The poem is about 2500 lines long and the alliterative style can probably be best appreciated if it is read out aloud. I am not going to go into the tale because that might spoil the fun, but it was an unexpectedly enjoyable read and I learnt more than I expected about the form and style of poetry of medieval times.
I have a copy of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales in my library, and perhaps I may renew my acquaintance with that, even though the English which Chaucer used is quite different (and perhaps more modern) from that of this poem - something which might be explained by the fact that mediaeval knights of England were mainly of Norman blood, whose first language was primarily French rather than English. According to my readings on the history of Norman England, it was not until the 14th century that the "English" nobility really started to adopt the use of the language of their native English servants and serfs.
If you like Arthurian Romances, this translation is easy and most enjoyable to read. I thoroughly recommend it!

Rare and elegant translation of a legendary tale...a great find for English Lit fanatics like me.

"Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" is considered one of the finest Arthurian romances in English. It belongs to the so-called Alliterative Revival: the organizing device of the line is alliteration, the beginning of several words with the same sounds ("foemen fled"). Unlike most Arthurian romances, which deal with the end of Arthur's life and his death, in "Sir Gawain," Arthur is still a youth, and the court is in its springtime. The main plot belongs to a type folklorists classify as the "Beheading Game," in which a supernatural challenger offers to let his head be cut off in exchange for a return blow. The poem is chock-full of games and exchanges.

Dr. Borroff studied under E. Talbot Donaldson, who translated "Beowulf" to prose during the same period at Yale. Her translation is a joy and great fun to read.

A king, a green giant, a temptress, a witch, and a knight. Seduction, drinking, hunting, and gore. Boring, scholarly, "classic"; I think not. The opening scene is h i l a r i o u s (Imagine congress in that situation!! Would Bill be up to the challenge?:-). If you hated the "literary classics" assigned to you in school, forget that this is one. My favorite parts were the ones with the lord's wife. Her hidden, and NOT so hidden, intentions make for great soap opera material. It's a fun read, and this translation is very well put together.

Gaiwan would be worth the purchase if only for the story line alone. However Marie Borroff's amazing translation adds that beauty and eloquence which only a master translator can produce. Borroff uses an alliterative meter which will get you tongue tied if you try and read it out loud. For example the first line is "Since the siege and the assault was ceased at Troy." She also gives us beautiful rhymes at the end of each stanza, like in lines 1236-1240: "My body is here at hand,/ Your each wish to fulfill;/ Your servant to command/ I am, and shall be still/." The story is full of symbolism, and confronts us with a tough philosophical question. You have to read the book to find out what that is however. The book also deals with the problems inherent in the institution of chivalry, and especially courtly love. Overall I thought the story was wonderful, the translation impeccable, and the underlying message profound.

I have not read the whole book so, correct me if I am wrong. The poster, "Paul" says that the author of the book "ruined a a mans life, betrayed love and gloated". Is he talking about how the author spoke publicly about how a married man in his mid 20's, her high school coach, Bruce, took advantage of her, molested her and raped her when she was 14? It is called statutory rape, taking advantage of power and it is illegal! Paul, why are you suggesting that the author cover up what Bruce did? He made those mistakes, and should have to face the consequences. Do you have a daughter, niece, cousin who is around the same age? How would you feel if this was done to them? Bruce ruined his own life by taking advantage of a 14 year old. Your suggestions that the 14 year old ruined someones life by talking about it are completely ridiculous.

This book is nothing but riding on the current child-abuse hysteria!
I can't believe that someone like Mariah get applause for what she did! She destroyed a mans life, betrayed love and gloats about it! Shame on her and everybody that thinks there is any honor in that!

Mariah Burton Nelson has taken an abstract concept and made it concrete. The book is beautifully written and impeccably researched, making it perfect for a good read or for a more scholarly examination of the information cited. Using both secular and religious concepts, this book does not preach. It is full of love and will enrich your life.

Thus far, I've been spared the torments experienced by many of the people Mariah profiles in her book. Her book touched me deeply on a far less dramatic level: Daily life. Life at work, at home, and on the road can so easily be an assault of small irritations. Because of Mariah's gentle, insightful book, I now pause to think empathetically about the "perpetrator". Each day is now far more relaxed. Thanks, Mariah.

The Unburdened Heart touched my heart and helped me key back into my need to stay current with the people in my life that I care about most and with those with whom I have on-going conflicted feelings. Mariah's writing style is open, engaging and makes sense. I am using her five key points in my personal life and also in my professional life as an organization development consultant. I would recommend this book to anyone wanting to change the way they relate to their partner, family, friends or colleagues. This is one of the best books I've read and the best on forgiveness - great job!

This is a fantastic book, I recommend it to any woman who is pregnant or is contemplating staying home with her children.

It is a wonderful resource for women who are sick and tired of having former co-workers ask them what they do all day. And for women who have been told they are too smart to be wasting themselves at home.

It discusses some of the emotional aspects of being home and it doesn't sugar-coat how difficult it can be to make the transition from career to home. I read this book while on maternity leave with my first child. As a 30-something career woman I found this book a to be a fanastic help while I was making the decision whether to turn in my resignation or return to work.

I am so happy to have found this book when I did! It changed my life almost 13 years ago, and so many times I wonder how my life might be different if I hadn't read it. I strongly encourage every mom to read it, whether you are a new or seasoned mom, whether your currently work full-time or part-time or have chosen to be home to raise your children. I guarantee that you will find it thought-provoking! I was a career woman when I became pregnant with twins. I believed the ever-popular myth that women could easily "have it all," happily juggling the perfect family life with the perfect full-time career. As soon as I became a mother, I realized more than ever before that life is full of trade-offs: there are only so many hours in a day, so many days in a week, so many years at home in a child's life. I knew I had to choose my priorities carefully. This unique book includes material not easily found in the mainstream media. Through its commentary and essays, it begged me to think through my short and long-term priorities and choose what was right for me and my family. What's A Smart Woman Like You Doing at Home? helped me to see the "big picture" and helped me realize the path I wanted and needed to take to fulfill my wish of becoming the best mother I could be. Reading the material covered in the three sections, Searching for Supermom and Discovering Home * Startling Realizations and Gentle Discoveries * Mothers and Society -- Perceptions and Possibilities, was an eye-opener and a much-cherished gift! My thanks to the authors and the many mothers who shared their heartfelt stories.

I think the review from "northeast USA" was way overblown. I too thought I would continue working when I became a parent - but that changed when I actually became one, and realized no other caregiver would love our child as much as we, her parents. This book does not condemn parents who work outside the home, but encourages mothers to make their own choice! So little of what is available in the media encourages the choice to be at home, it is nice to read a factual book that lets us know mothers at home are not throwbacks to the dark ages, and that we have the opportunity to make different choices at different stages of our lives.

mother with a new baby who is ambivalent about going back to work. With the rising cost of mediocre child care, it is impossible for most people to justify the expense of going to work. Being with mom is an inherent need that all babies have, and it is just as important to meet this need as it is to feed them. This book is wonderful, and I highly recommend it.

R>L>W.

Finally, a book for intelligent women who choose the challenging demands of staying at home to raise a family - a choice that requires use of every instinct and every ounce of intellect we possess!

"What's A Smart Woman Like You Doing At Home?" chronicles the real-life struggle mothers face when giving up (or putting on hold) the career they may have nurtured for years in order to nurture their children full-time instead. Without knocking moms who do return to the work force, this thoughtful book offers support and encouragement for new mothers who have trouble adjusting to their new and very different lifestyle, experienced mothers who need a "pick-me-up", and all mothers who have been faced with the question - what IS a smart woman like you doing at home?

For me, this book is like an old friend who is always there with an encouraging word just when I need it most. Hope you enjoy it!

Shea definatly puts the science into political science. I found the book went further than most in analyzing most aspects of campaigning. I've read all the books from Robert Thomas, Gary Bosley, Catherine Shaw, Ireland and Nash, and now Shea.
I think Shea has the better book, but all should be read and read again, for I have found useful information in all of them. Three days before 9/11 I entered the race for my City Council. Totally unprepared and overwhelmed I bowed out before the election. I'll be trying again for a seat on my city council in the next off year election cycle and I found the chapters on prior electoral targeting very helpful. Both the book and my volunteer work in other races have taught me a valuable lesson.
Most important, have the support of your family, then begin early (in my case two years), do your homework, and cultivate relationships with movers and shakers. No book can ever replace the real world experience of working for a candidate or party, but Shea, more than others has provided me the rough framework for a realistic and successful attempt at public office.

This book is one of the first books I reccomend whenever anyone asks me for a primer on political campaign strategy. This book is not for true beginners - if you don't know how to run a get out the vote operation or organize your grassroots organization, buy this book AFTER you've read a book geared towards beginners.

If you know the basics though, this book will guide you through Political Campaign Strategy 201 - it is a great, intermediate level work.

I wrote "25 Fundraising Secrets - Raise More Money, Guaranteed" to give political candidates some great advice on fundraising for thier campaigns. I often tell readers of my book to check out Shea's book as well, which has an good fundraising strategy section that gives the basics, and compliments my "secrets" book well.

In one compact volume, this book affords the reader a lot of insight into the way a professional campaign consultant evaluates a modern election contest. It shows the techniques of sophisticated precinct analysis and targeting, media strategies, polling, fundraising, and research. The book is also well sourced, so the reader can go to specific books, articles, and other reference materials for in-depth study of any given topic.

The book discusses internet campaigning, but not with the kind of comprehensiveness that is needed now. In fairness, the book was written in the 90s, before the indispensable role of the internet in political campaigns had been established. The modern professional can easily augment the materials in this book with independent research on internet campaigning, which is readily available.

I highly recommend this book for the campaign professional and manager.

I bought this book in October and have only finished it this May. I could only handle reading a page or so at a time because I found the style of this book awkward, stilted and difficult to follow. The 'conclusion' at the back of the book was particularly hard to read with the author evidently trying to impress the reader but failing to do so with me. The book also contained terminology and processes unique to the USA that was not explained such as GOP (which I found out through Yahoo is a reference to the Republican party) and 'auditor' elections. I still don't know what an auditor election is !

There is no doubt there is good information in this book, but it lacks humour which makes it dry, and did not flow well. That's why I could only manage a page or so before having to put the book down for later on.

As someone who has spent their entire professional life in politics, this book did not break any new ground. However, as someone who now teaches democracy in the former Soviet Union, I do like to read these types of books to order my normally scattered thoughts and be able to communicate ideas more effectively.

Shea's update of his orginal 1996 text is a very competent overview of most aspects of modern campaigning and is highly recommended for anyone working in the business or anyone who just wants to know how modern campaigns function. The book is highly modular, you can read various sections independently of each other. Shea pays close attention to research - a topic often given short shrift in many campaigns but deadly necessary in developing strategy. He covers well opposition research, precinct targeting by electoral history and polling (including the differences between different types of polls and why the ballot test is not necessarily the most useful. Something I can't get the Azeris to understand!!!)

Shea and Burton also explain the various aspects of paid and earned media strategy, including the use of "new" media. (I'm not sold on the use of the Net to move message, but it does have excellent fieldwork potential.) Their sections on fundraising and fieldwork are a bit skimpy, but certainly enlightening to people unfamiliar with the campaign operation.

All in all, Campaign Craft is a solid workhorse of a book, dutifully explaining in good detail the various aspects of a modern political operation. It's well recommended to anyone looking for an overview of the biz.

This book contains the "inner chapters," not the entire Chuang Tzu, but generally considered the essential and least corrupt chapters. It's one of my favorite books, and after reading Watson's translation I'm unable to read anyone else's - it's wonderful (and there are quite a few weak versions, and weaker paraphrases). Of the Chinese classics I've read this is not only the most subtle and profound, it's sometimes absolutely hilarious. His parodies of Confucianism are a riot, his magical unrealism is timeless, his man dreaming he's a butterfly - or is it the other way around? - the useless tree that's preserved itself so long by being useless, not like all those fructiferous trees .... It's a rare combination of inane silliness with serious reflections on human nature, existence, nature and metaphysics (if that's the right term).

My impression upon first reading this work is that the material could be differently, and perhaps better, translated.

This is a very different book than the Lao Tzu. It's written in a much less poetic style, but I find Chuang Tzu more readable for that reason. The style is more conversational, and well rendered into contemporary English by Burton Watson.

These inner chapters contain only the core of a much longer work. Over the 2200 years since its writing, many accretions had crept into the work, including commentaries and addenda by other authors. Watson strips those away and leaves only the central and most vivid writings. Some of those may already be familiar to today's reader. For example, this book originates the man dreaming to be a butterfly dreaming to be a man. Chuang Tzu offers many more of these anecdotes, too long to be analogies but too short for fables. He also calls on the history and mythology of his time - not always distinct from each other - and creates mythology of his own, whether he meant to or not.

That mythology lived on in Chinese alchemy, when Chuang Tzu's magical sages were taken as literal beings. Chuang Tzu lived on, too, in Taoism's eventual alignment with Buddhism. His cryptic, non sequitur style of answer seems to foreshadow the koans of the distinctly Chinese and Japanese schools of Buddhism.

This is a wonderful complement to the Lao Tzu. If that book is the art of enlightenment, then this is more like the practical craft. I recommend it highly to any student of eastern classics.

I must add that Chuang Tzu is an older romanization of "Zhuangzi" - different renderings of one name. It is easy to become confused and think that the two were different writers. It is especially confusing since Watson published this same material many years later under the "Zhuangzi" spelling (ISBN 0231129599). While I have the highest respect Burton's scholarship, I think that this difference-without-a-difference should be made more explicit.

//wiredweird

The Chuang Tzu (rendered Zhuangzi in pinyin, which is becoming the standard transliteration these days) is second only to Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching in its popularity and veneration in the Taoist world. If you've not heard of or read this book before, you're in for a real treat! The first time I read the Inner Chapters of the Chuang Tzu was like a revelation--the thoughts and ideas expressed in these passages still resonate today for their acuity, humor, satire, stabbing profundity, and life-changing potential. Indeed, after better understanding the thought this book expresses, I felt like so many loose ideas and insights I'd gleaned from other philosophy, literature, music, and poetry had been tied up together and formulated into a concise and elegant package that is urgently relevant to every day life--pretty amazing for a text that is well over 2000 years old!


I recently completed reading the last of three complete translations of the Chuang Tzu, and I decided to wait until I read all of them before reviewing any of the three. Since this text is written in ancient Chinese, a language that was reserved for the intellectual and cultural elite two thousand years ago and has been considered effectively "dead" (like Latin) for quite a while, even understanding what the author(s) were trying to say is difficult, let alone translating the words from Chinese to English. So I figured reading a few different translations is probably the best way to get a broad and deep understanding of the text, and the cumulative effect would make up for each translation's weaknesses. This proved a good strategy--the other translations I chose were Victor Mair's Wandering on the Way: Early Taoist Tales and Parables of Chuang Tzu and A.C. Graham's The Inner Chapters. All three were rewarding and worthwhile reads (I mean, it IS the Chuang Tzu!), but I still come back to Burton Watson's The Complete Works of Chuang Tzu as my favorite. I won't go into depth about what the Chuang Tzu says, since the writing in the text is so eloquent and vivid that any description won't do it justice, and because I would probably ramble on forever about either the academic issues and questions regarding the text's authorship, historicity, and philosophy, or about how mind-blowingly intellectually stimulating it is!

After reading three different translations of the Chuang Tzu, I have to say that this Basic Writings translated by Watson is the best place for the uninitiated to start--it contains nearly all the best ideas and passages from the text (which has many interpolations from other, later authors that are often not as interesting and never as well-written as the ideas expressed in the Inner Chapters). Graham's translation is very academically rigorous, but makes Chuang Tzu's already distant culture and time period even more distant for new readers by means of very technical terminology and commentary. Mair's translation is good but doesn't flow as well as Watson's, and it's also much longer since it contains the entire Chuang Tzu. Watson's Complete Works is great, but this Basic Writings is much cheaper and more concise an introduction--once you read it and get hooked on the surprisingly fresh insights of these ancient thinkers, perhaps you'll delve into some other illuminating translations--until then, I have to say that this should be required reading for anyone interested in philosophy or Eastern classics.

Anyone who may be coming to Chuang Tzu for the first time is in for a treat. Although Chuang Tzu is sometimes described as the most brilliant of all Chinese philosophers, what we find in him isn't what we normally understand by 'Philosophy' and isn't technical at all.

His appeal is not so much to the intellect as to the imagination, and he chose as a vehicle for his philosophical insights, not tedious and lengthy abstract treatises, but brief and witty anecdotes and dialogues and tales. His humor, sophistication, literary genius, and philosophical insights found their perfect expression in his brilliant fragments, and once having read them you never forget them.

Not much is known about Chuang Tzu, other than that he seems to have lived around the time of King Hui of Liang (370-319 B.C.). The received text of his book, which is sometimes referred to as 'the Chuang Tzu' (CT), is made up of thirty-three Chapters. Most scholars seem to feel that the CT is a composite text, and that only the first seven - the Inner Chapters - plus a few bits from the others are Chuang Tzu's own work, the remainder being by others.

Among the better known of his translators, all of them excellent, are Arthur Waley, Burton Watson, and A. C. Graham, though only the latter two translated the complete text. An abridged version of Watson's complete translation has now been made available for those who want to confine themselves mainly to the Inner Chapters.

Watson has always struck me as an eminently civilized scholar and as a brilliant translator. Unlike certain others, he wears his scholarship lightly, and doesn't overburden the text with extraneous matter. His many translations from Ancient Chinese Literature are of uniformly high quality, and are well worth having as they are books one often wants to returns to.

The present book won't, as I've said, give you the whole of Watson's Chuang Tzu. For that you'll have to find a copy of his 'Complete Works of Chuang Tzu.' But it will give you most of what is generally agreed to be Chuang Tzu, and everyone should read it. If you're not a Chuang Tzu enthusiast before you start, I can guarantee that you'll be one before you finish.

Max is a werewolf and his family is branching out to become top alpha's in the country, and he is ready for a mate. Shannon is part of a family with abilities to manipulate weather, and its her season. They have been brought together by Shannon's family wanting to expand their hotel business in New Orlean's, Max was going to help with public relations which is what Shannon was handling by herself. Shannon does not need or want Max's interference with her job (or her life), she is in control and she is going to make that clear from the start...but she doesn't know that Max is an alpha werewolf. As their passions rise Max tries to find a way to let Shannon know what he is, after all her mother has already figured it out, and Shannon tries to cope with his dominating personality. What will happen when Shannon realizes that Max is a werewolf? Will Shannon be able to give up some control over her life for Max? Read this book and find out how Jaci brings this all together.

I thought this book was much better than Aidan's story, but I am huge werewolf fan so I am partial. I thought the chemistry between Shannon and Max was sizzling. I recommend this book and I will be checking out more books from this author.

I liked this book fine, it's not going to go on my keeper shelf or anything, but all in all a good quick read. Shannon is likeable enough though a bit too stubborn. Max is a great character with an abundance of patience when dealing with Shannon. The meet, sparks fly, she is in denial because she's afraid of loosing who she is. Hence ensues the wooing and winning of Shannon by Max. Good installment in the series.

I do love Ms. Burton's writing and all the wonderful heat she generates between her main characters, but this one seemed a bit forced with the whole need for Max to "find his mate." Although I've liked the "weather magic" in the Storm family stories, I'm not a huge fan of the werewolf theme. And yes, while the "passionate" scenes are truly great, there aren't many in the book overall.

Book 2 of the Devlin Dynasty series and Book 2 of the Storm For All Seasons series, this book successfully merges the two. Shannon Storm is an independent woman with a successful career within her family's New Orleans based business. Max Devlin is a PR hot shot working with Shannon on her family's latest business venture. Max isn't just in town for business but to establish himself in his recent move from Boston and to find a mate.

I loved this book! The sexual tension between Max and Shannon is intense. The plot creative! If you like your romance red-hot, pick up a copy of this book. I've loved every Jaci Burton novel and this one was no exception. Her imagination is fertile and her narrative well written. I highly recommend this author.

Fall Fury is the continuation of two other books Jaci Burton has written - A Storm For All Seasons : Summer Heat ( chronicalling the elementally magical Storm family ) and Devlin Dynasty ( werewolves).

This time Max Devlin, werewolf of Boston, is in search of a mate. He knows exactly who he wants: Shannon Storm, fiery daughter of New Orleans's Storm family. And since he's been sent to help them with their P. R. campaign extolling their new casino its time to make his move. They'll be working together every day in the sultry southern heat and fall hasn't gotten chilly yet...

Shannon can't believe her family thinks she needs help with public relations and she doesn't want anything to do with the northerner they've brought in. And if her mother and sister don't shut up about her "destiny" soon she may just have to conjure a storm to do it for them. And why does a wolf suddenly show up in her neighborhood stalking her?!

For those who loved the previose novels the love scenes in this book are few but far more explicit ( if possible) than previousely. Seriousely, even if you've been a romance reader for years, you are still going to blush over this one! The story is also better, I thought, in this book than the others. I only wish Ms. Burton would finallly get around to chilly Logan's story!

In 1985, the Lunar and Planetary Institute compiled papers on possible Lunar bases and other 21st projects into Lunar Bases and Space Activities of the 21st Century. For the next 23 years, it was the guide for how things would be done in space in the 21st century.
This current book is an extension of the earlier work. Although not a direct sequel, It provides additional information on things discussed in the earlier work, as well as commenting on recent discoveries and developments, like the possibility of ice at the lunar south pole.
This book provides many ideas worth following, although I can only hope that in 2031, the follow=on to this book will have actual results from experiments done on the Moon, and perhaps more than a few papers actually 'written' there.

In this updated second edition(seven years of updates!), the authors expand on the "Planet Moon" Project.
We take a long, hard look at existing technologies and systems and visually depict what is possible for humanity to achieve on our nearest celestial neighbor, in the short term. While we base some of these designs on NASA plans, we fully expect multinational private capital and enterprises to drive lunar development. We believe, if we put our hearts and souls into the Planet Moon Project, the Moon could become the next frontier to establish a variety of peaceful,progressive, international, intercultural and interdisciplinary activities. Opening up such a new dimension in human pursuit will enable the creation of millions of new,imaginative and productive occupations in all walks of life, extending new horizons for human thought and activity. As the world becomes more interconnected and interdependent for resources, the Planet Moon Project, the authors believe, offers the inevitable "breakout" strategy. The only question is...which nation(s) is willing to lead us out of the cradle to our cosmic destiny ?!

So.....please buy the book and look at all the original artwork including those magnificient color plates. No warp drives here, just plain proven hard technology which the authors believe is sufficient to attain these results. Hope Hollywood movie directors use books like these for depicting our future in space.

This book is a compilation of various plans for the exploration and development of the Moon from what it is today, a magnificent desolation, to a vital integral part of the human economy. From initial landings of the Orion program to the preliminary robot probe of the Alpha Centauri system, this guide is a step by step instruction manual on how to do this. Much of what is recommended can be done with current technology. I would suggest this book to anyone who has curiosity about the future.Lunar Sourcebook: A User's Guide to the MoonMoonrush: Improving Life on Earth with the Moon's Resources: Apogee Books Space Series 43 (Apogee Books Space Series)The Lunar Exploration Scrapbook (Apogee Books Space Series)

As one of the contractors selected by NASA this year to design a lunar architecture, I can say this book provides an excellent and detailed inventory what is known about the Moon's challenges and ways that have been devised to overcome them. Peter Eckart is a hero of the lunar movement; if he were available, he would have a leading role on our lunar architecture team.

This book is the best up-to-date introduction to lunar development, focusing on the primary technical infrastructure necessary to expand from an initial base via In Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) to global development of what the authors term "Planet Moon". The book makes a clear case first for why we should do this, and then in quite detailed outline, how. While some technical components, such as remote robotic tele-operation, or lunar materials mining and processing, still require research and development work, nothing in this project is far from mundane things we already know how to do. The book isn't entirely self-consistent and the logical separation of topics sometimes seems a bit odd, but the range of material covered is satisfyingly broad: lunar topography and composition; railways, telecommunications and materials transport; requirements on construction and chemical processing equipment; human-suitable habitats, life support, agriculture, and "cislunar" transport and logistics, and more. Beyond the technical discussion of the physical, chemical, and engineering issues are several sections of the book dealing with lunar government, including a proposal for creation of a "Lunar Economic Development Authority" (LEDA) following a port authority model, which looks extremely promising. At least as valuable as the 10 main chapters are the 20 appendixes, to which over half the book's pages are devoted. These appendixes, based heavily on work published elsewhere, bring a lot of information together in one place available for ready inter-comparison. Perhaps the most interesting is also the longest, Appendix E, which thoroughly covers the proposed processes for lunar oxygen extraction and related chemical processing. This book is an essential guide for anybody hoping to work on lunar development and participate in, as the authors phrase it, the "Planet Moon Project".

I cannot say enough about this book. It is beautifully made. The graphics
are great, and it rhymes which I love. Top quality!!!

happy in texas

i idolize the movie so i bought the book and was very happy, it has a different story then the movie so fans will enjoy it...

This is a fun book I enjoy reading to my children. It is much shorter than the movie but its a great quick read before bedtime. Another great book I recommend is The Url King, by Beau Beaudoin. He has that same macabre yet silly style as Tim Burton, also written in rhyme and the illustrations are incredible.

This book is Tim Burton's original version of this story. It is different from the film of the same title. It is basically a long poem, not unlike "The Night Before Christmas" as teh title suggests. The drawings are superb, the story excellently witty, and it is a must have for all 'Nightmare Before Christmas' movie fans, and Tim Burton fans alike. As I say it does differ from the movie, I can't say it is better because it is much more brief and less detailed, but it is by no means worse- just different. A cute, fun story all around! I recommend it highly.

This is such a cute lil book. It perfect to read to my nephews and my neice. Illustrations are awesome!