Murray Books

Because he cared about how his art looked and because he accepted traditional ideas of what looked good on canvas, EGON SCHIELE remained outside of Expressionism. Expressionist influences nevertheless showed up in his bold graphics, distorted lines, and unnatural colors: "The artist's wife" wore a plain skirt covered with heavy impastoes, against a similarly treated background, by the emotionally charged, energetically treated brushwork style of Oskar Kokoschka; "View of Krumau" brought Georges Braque- and Pablo Picasso-type Cubism into the exaggeratedly high, unusual viewpoints to make a three-dimensional motif work on a two-dimensional Gustav Klimt-style decorative picture plane. They also had their role in his opinion of art as having to do with feelings, which he drew as abnormal or exaggerated in his self-portraits: "Self-portrait with black clay vase" gave him a double-jointed pair of hands in the manner of medievally represented saints, Paul Gauguin-style self-painted ceramic head, and a vulnerably, wide-eyed look. Expressionism played a part, too, in his pessimistic views: "The family" painted an unhappy trio looking in different directions against a brightly lit background as menacing as a spotlight; drooping "Sunflower" leaves hung dejectedly along a woody stalk; and with her Gustav Klimt-styled fine society lady's huge hat, "The scornful woman" showed an Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec-styled fish wife nude to the waist and sneering at a hurtful world. Author Frank Whitford has come up with a good set of illustrations and text. The author's book, along with his KLIMT, and Christopher Short's SHIELE give a good idea of the artist's place among Bernard Denvir's TOULOUSE-LAUTREC, Jose Maria Faerna's KOKOSCHKA, Hans Ludwig C Jaffe's PABLO PICASSO, Susanna Partsch's GUSTAV KLIMT, Belinda Thomson's GAUGUIN, and Karen Wilkin's GEORGES BRAQUE.

This is a very well written and illustrated introduction to Schiele. The intro, which provides the historical background, painting the late Austro-Hungarian empire as a decadent and decaying civilization whose days were numbered, is quite entertaining in its discussion of the sexual politics of the day and how Schiele's decadent Vienna compared with other cities in that regard, such as Berlin (which is still not as sophisticated in the perversion dept. according to the author). This made it entertaining just by itself. In fact, Whitford says turn of the century Vienna was in some ways the most schizoid in terms of hiding its seamy underside behind a false veneer of surface moral probity, while the prosperous middle and upper class continued to enjoy an occasional forbidden tryst with a prostitute, in the meantime condemning the theories of Freud and Kraft-Ebbing for their unvarnished look at sexual issues. Schiele's paintings of wasted looking, dissipated, and in general unprepossessing figures seems to reflect a fin de siecle disaffection and alienation with this sort of hypocrisy, although the author points out that Vienna did have one saving grace, which is that the intellectual culture was one of the most progressive in Europe, and many of the famous names and revolutionaries of the period, from Stalin to Trotsky to Freud and many avant-garde writers and artists, met and knew each other there. I thought this was an interesting perspective and commentary on Schiele and his relationship to the culture of the period, and I enjoyed the book as much for that in addition to the many important examples of his work.

This book is for the person just beginning to read about Ancient Egypt, as well as the more advanced reader. It's scholarly, well-organized, and up-to-date, but this narrative of the Old and Middle Kingdoms, and people who lived in those times, is also vivid and moving. Day-to-day life of those long gone becomes real, for Guillemette Andreu has given the Ancient Egyptians the immortality they yearned for. I haven't seen the book in its original French, but the translation by David Lorton must be excellent, it reads so well.

An extremely well-written thoroughly-explained book, it provides an expressive picture of everyday life of the Ancient Egyptians and the pharaohs of the time. In the first chapter, the history of the dynastic era (2700-1750 B.C.E.) is briefly summarized. Throughout the remainder of the book, the author attempts to recreate the daily lives, labours and religious beliefs of the Ancient Egyptians, with the aid of letters, artifacts, hieroglyphic inscriptions and tomb scenes. Highly recommended for all and particularly for those whose primary interest lies in the Age of the Pyramids.

This is an excellent biography not just for academics but also anyone who's interested in this period of American history or interested in women's history as well. Cleary does a great job of presenting this woman's struggles and life in a way that is entertaining as well as enlightening. I really enjoyed it and highly recommend it.

I was at the book signing and got an autographed copy. I haven't read it yet, but the author is a hottie!!

it is a excelent book, is easy to understand. I found a useful ideas and techniques that i didn't see before. everybody must read this book. pablo

Please look into the second edition, Problem Solving

The year 2006 was the 100th anniversary of the first scientific use of earth materials in a criminal trial. According to Murray, who wrote the book on the subject (it's called "Forensic Geology"), the first to assemble earth evidence systematically enough to present to a court was Georg Popp, a German chemist who was called in to examine evidence when a woman was strangled in a field.
On a dirty handkerchief, he found traces of coal, snuff and hornblende. Dirt from the clothes and under the fingernails of a suspect matched, and he confessed.
(Though Murray does not write about it, the mystery writer P.D. James and the historian T.A. Critchley used forensic geology to finger a likely suspect in one of the most sensational multiple murders of the 19th century. The investigators at the time were aware of the evidence -- otherwise James and Critchley could not have reconstructed the crime -- but unlike Popp, they were not able to use it in securing a conviction. The story is retold in "The Maul and the Pear Tree.")
One of the earliest appeals court decisions that endorsed the use of geologic evidence came from Hawaii in 1933, in a rape case, Territory v. Young. The soil on the suspect's trousers matched the crime scene but not his alibi location.
It isn't always simple. Murray says, "Some current television programs and books that describe forensic science confuse the roles of evidence collector, forensic examiner and investigator, giving the public the wrong idea . . . The true forensic scientist mechanically studies the evidence and presents an opinion independent of advocacy for any side in the legal issue."
It isn't all about gruesome killings, either.
The number of insurance cases requiring forensic geology involving international container shipments in the Age of Terrorism is disturbing.
Read Murray's book and you'll never watch "CSI" without laughing again.

EVIDENCE FROM THE EARTH Forensic Geology and Criminal Investigation, by Raymond C. Murray, 2004, Missoula, MT, Mountain Press, 226 p.

This book by Ray Murray is perhaps the most clearly written and definitive statement about forensic geology published to date. The author has close to 30 years experience as a forensic geologist in addition to being a renowned sedimentary geologist, a co-author of a major textbook on sedimentary geology, and a highly-respected and astute university administrator.

The basic principle of forensic geology is that of transfer. Anything (hands, feet, paper, and so forth) that is in contact with another object or person causes a transfer of signature traces from each object. Identifying that ingredient which is preserved from the transfer is critical to identify key sources of that ingredient. In criminology, those sources usually are associated with crime scenes and lead to convictions or exonerations.

Geological materials, whether natural or mixed with processed materials, provide an abundance of transferable ingredients and Murray illustrates the critical facts one needs to know to use such materials. The reader is taken through examples, historical improvement of technology, the nature of geological materials (written in everyday English without diminishing the technical level of what is being discussed), relevant geological principles, evidence collection, laboratory methods of examination, geophysical methods, and fraud related to the mining industry, gems and art. Each chapter focuses on one of these topics and is liberally sprinkled with actual cases that led to successful criminal prosecutions to illustrate the topic at hand.

Who should read this book? In my view, it should be read by every criminal lawyer, criminal investigator, judges, expert witnesses, consultants in the forensic field, professional geologists, mystery writers and producers and directors of mystery movies and yes everyone who enjoys CSI.

I highly recommend "Evidence from the earth:.." as a great read and learning experience and rate it as a five star, thumbs-up, outstanding book.

In English, Euripides: Tragedies, Volume III: Helen, Phoenician Women, Orestes, Bacchae, Iphigeneia in Aulis, Rhesos. Standard Oxford Classical Text edition of Euripides' late plays (and the Rhesos, which may be early Euripides or may be a later play that came to be confused with a play of Euripides), in Greek with Latin frontmatter and title, as edited by the widely respected Euripides textual scholar James Diggle. This is not so much a review as an attempt to correct the inaccurate title.

This edition is superb, a worthy successor to its immediate predecessor, Gilbert Murray's, which of course had to be brought up to date and is now richly, usefully, and definitively supplanted. Diggle is a consummate textual critic--and (icing on the cake) a winsome latinist.

This book explains Bowen's Extended Family Therapy Theory. This is one of the most important family systems theories in the history of family therapy and it is still one of the most widely used theories for working with families. Anyone that is studying family therapy should read this book as it is the seminal work on Bowen Therapy. Essential ideas such as triangling, emotional fusion, and intergenerational transmission are well explained.

One of the best things about this book is that it is highly readable. This book can be beneficial to anyone interested in learning more about families. It can be helpful to the lay person as well as to the professional family therapist.

A rich introduction to Murray Bowen's natural systems theory. Explains relevance of the theory to clinical work with families, couples, and individuals. Also, briefly explores and contrasts the relationship of Bowen theory to sociobiology, evolutionary neurology, and analytic theory. Case illustrations are clear and helpful. Would recommend to social workers, psychologist, biologists, and those interested in a natural systems approach to human behavior. Although strong on evaluation and descriptions concerning emotional processes in human families and groups, there is less attention to therapy techiques. More of a book about thinking on relationships, than one of the clinical "how to" kind of presentations that have become standard fare in the family therapy field. I have read through Dr. Kerr's text several times and have studied its chapters separately. Each reread reveals additional applications and insights into the theory. Surely, a book that can grow with you! Dr. Bowen's epilogue is an added jem in which he offers perhaps his last written description of the development of the theory and his belief in the relevance of theory to the future. Personally, the book has influenced both my private and professional life.

When a Main Line horticulturist is strangled at the Philadelphia Flower Show, it's clear there's a bad seed in the cultivated crowd....Ginger Struve Barnes never expected to become a detective. The happily married mother of two, known for her red hair and do-it-yourself skills, knew she had a flair for solving problems-but solving crimes? All Gin has to do is escort her mother's old crony, Iffy Bigelow, to the celebrated Philadelphia Flower Show, where she will compete in the world's most prestigious floral competition. But Gin is wary. Iffy is notoriously troublesome and bound to be a handful. Sure enough, Iffy creates havoc when she turns up dead in the Easter Lilies! And when Gin discovers the woman was hiding a scandalous secret, she must race to dig up all the dirt-before the killer has Gin herself pushing up daisies.

I don't usually like mysteries, but this one kept me on the edge of my seat

My interest in the successor states of France following the collapse of the Roman Empire was first awakened after I had read The Franks by Edward James (ISBN 0-631-14872-8). After that I read a number of other books about the histories of the barbarian hordes which poured into the Late Roman Empire, such as the Goths, the Ostrogoths, and the Huns, and I came to realise that they all had one thing in common. They were all very dependent upon the modern interpretation of what ancient sources (mainly Roman politicians or bishops) had to say about them. Whether the interpretations were correct, I couldn't say except that the authors were all highly regarded scholars. Edward Gibbon's great work, "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire" made extensive use of such sources, many of which were ecclesiastical in nature.

So rather than meekly accept what modern historians had to say, I searched and found translations of the works of some of these authors on the web , such as Cassiodorus, Zosimus, Sulpicius Severus and the Church Fathers, Bishops Eusebius, Socrates Scholasticus, and Hermias Sozomen. But there were two difficulties with this - firstly, there were few interpretive notes about what I was reading; and secondly their descriptions of the events were very frequently second hand and quite often merely passing observations.

The first original sources I bought were the Penguin Classics translations of the works of Ammianus Marcellinus (The Later Roman Empire - ISBN 0-14-044406-8) and of Gregory of Tours (History of the Franks - ISBN 01-14-044295-2) both of which are well translated, interesting to read, and which had many useful explanatory notes. But they only cover a limited period of the history of what was to become France after the fall of the western Roman Empire. So it was a great pleasure to acquire this book by Alexander Callander Murray which provides easy to read translations and useful notes of the most important primary sources for the entire period from when the Franks made their first appearance in Gaul in the 3rd century AD to the end of the Merovingian monarchy in the 8th century AD.

There are 113 extracts from original sources grouped in 17 chapters, each of which mark a significant event or group of events
which took place during this period.

Chapters 1-2 deal with the events of the 3rd and 4th centuries which includes the campaigns of the Emperor Julian in Gaul as described by Ammianus Marcellinus, while Chapters 3 - 8 deal with the period up to the last Visigothic kings as described by a variety of late Roman authors and early chroniclers.

Chapters 9 - 11 deal with the founding of the Merovingian monarchy by Clovis, son of Childeric, the King of the Salian Franks, and his immediate successors, the principal source for which was Gregory of Tours. Chapters 12-16 cover the later kings and the decline of the monarchy under Chlothar III, Theuderic II, and Childeric II during the middle of the 7th century when the territory of the dynasty was starting to split up into its component parts, the principal sources being the later chroniclers who modelled themselves on Gregory. The final chapter includes records of some the events leading up to and after the deposing of the Merovingian dynasty by the true founder of the Carolingian dynasty, Charles Martel, the grandfather of Charlemagne.

Each chapter starts with a helpful review of what is known about the author of the source, and there is useful supplementary information at the back of the book in the form of Genealogies, and a dozen maps showing the political boundaries of France, and Western Europe during the various periods of time, which I found most helpful in determining who was doing what to whom and where.

I found the best way to read this book was in small doses! The texts themselves are often very amusing, sometimes scurrilous, often quite matter of fact about the most brutal and lurid activities of the kings and their nobility, but usually informative, and rarely boring. The one exception to this, perhaps, was Chapter 15 on Frankish Law which I found was a bit dry, although those texts do shed light on the thinking of the Merovingian kings, in the times when they were forced to think about the interests of their subjects when it impinged upon their own selfish interests. And the overwhelming impression one gets of the Frankish kings is how self centered they were! The texts also show the often bizarre reasoning the monarchs and the nobility were prepared to use in order to justify their actions, and there are many wondrous tales told which are hard to believe in terms of what we know in these days, but which certainly throw light on the credulity of people at that time..

In summary, I enjoyed this book, all 678 pages of it, and it completely met my expectations. I would certainly recommend it to anyone who is interested in supplementing their knowledge of the period by reading the original sources, be they students of this particular period or the general reader like myself.

I'm a big fan of compilations of primary source material and this is one of the best. Alexander Callander Murray has put together an outstanding collection of sources, translated into English, describing events from the 3rd through the 8th centuries.

These sources are wide-ranging in style and scope, including works from Roman historians such as Ammianus Marcellinus and Orosius, Antique and Early Medieval chronicles, a selection of Saints' Lives, excerpts from Gregory of Tours, and numerous poems, letters, and legislative and legal documents.

This is a great starting point for someone wondering what original source material is available for the period. It also provides the reader with something of a "feel" for how life was conducted in Western Europe during the 5th-7th centuries. I found it excellent for showing me which primary sources I wanted to study further, such as Sidonius, Fredegar and Ammianus. It is also a very good counter to anyone characterizing the early medieval period as a "dark age" - one devoid of any written works.

This is not just a sales book. It's about how to structure your business with truth and integrity, how to put your clients needs first, and how to have the guts to only do the kind of business that you really want to have. Murray nails one of the great truths of investing: most investors cannot reach their goals without investing mostly or entirely in stocks, and catering to their fears and helping them invest partially or completely in bonds can be viewed as a disservice to them. Murray suggests that if you cannot convince a prospective client of this fact, then they do not deserve you as an adviser. While I do not accept everything he says as gospel, I have been heavily influenced by his books and articles, and my investment advisory practice has thrived, even through the recent market decline. I continue to read his stuff whenever it comes out -- and you should too, if you're interested in building a business that will not only be profitable -- you will be proud to have it.

This book focuses on the client-needs approach of selling investments. It is a sales book that teaches how to use the right words to close the sale and teaches the registered representative why the "hot" investment is not always the "right" investment. Further, it teaches that the "right" investment is always the "right" sale.