Nicholas Books

"UNIVERSE, a Journey from Earth TO THE EDGE OF THE COSMOS" is overwhelming. What else can be expected when the subject is our Universe?

Perhaps you remember a fad (mostly among boys?) to embellish the address inscribed in school textbooks: beginning with name, street, town & state, followed by "The U.S.A., North American continent, Planet Earth, The Milky Way, and ending: "THE UNIVERSE." Nicholas Cheetham, author & editor, takes the reader farther than that - on beyond the reaches of man's mind, using such sources as interplanetary probes and the Hubble Space Telescope. His (literally) soliid book contains the most currently available and glorious 'PORTRAITS' - numbering almost 200. All of these wonders are for us to see on the way to the edge of Space.

There are some like fireworks' displays, and others resembling the nanobodies in the bone marrow! Color, drama, EVEN SILENCE IS SOMEHOW VISIBLE in this wondrous photography. If you believe in a God of Creation there is plenty in this book to amaze you. The beauty of connectedness, formations, colors and shapes found in these photographs is mind-blowing. Should we close our minds to the possibility of understanding? NO! We need to learn a lesson in humility at the same time we seek out all the ways we can to learn more.

The 'table of contents' is presented in a unique horizontal chart that is a surprisingly easy aid to use. From our Solar System on pages 10-11 to the Pleiades (p.60), and Ghost Head Nebula (p.144), to 'The Mice' (p.198-99), we find our breathtaking way to the Hubble Ultra Deep Field galaxies that show order beginning to emerge from Chaos.

Explorers from our history books could only stare wordless if shown pictures of "this dawning of Time" & "the afterglow of the Big Bang itself." You don't have to be an astronomer to want to keep this book 'handy' ! You will want to refer often to its encyclopedic knowledge, the Glossary, and the magnificent, extraordinary beauty of these 'portraits'. And YES! (on pages 134-135) we are shown a dense field of nearly 10 million stars: the heart of our galaxy: THE MILKY WAY. Says mcHAIKU: 'How can we not live in awe of this, our Universe?' Absorb it, and share.

This is the ultimate "picture" book.I originally bought this book from a pile of remaindered books at a local bookstore for my young children. I'm now buying the hardcover version for myself because it's so unique from an artistic and lay-scientific view.

After the 4-page introduction, the balance of the 217 pages are devoted to strikingly glorious images of astronomic phenomena. The book ends with a computer image of dark matter, the first I've ever seen. All of the images are accompanied by a brief explanatory paragraph and by a number indicating how far in light-years (or in the case of our solar system, light-minutes or -seconds) the given nebula, galaxy, etc. is from Earth. The pages are arranged in ascending order in distance. One could learn a lot from reading this or one can simply enjoy the visuals.

This well-written book ought to be required reading for young people (and adults)growing up in a very religiously diverse world.

I loved this book. It provides information about the 5 major religions in a comprehensive manner. I plan to share this book with my students, who were confused by the discussion of religion and what religion is. Some have come from communist countries and never heard of the subject.

I came across this book by accident looking for something else entirely. Check out the last chapter on Brasil. This is the smartest American writing on Brazilian culture, particularly music, that I have seen. I don't totally agree with it but the argument is very tight. Now I feel less guilty about liking Caetano better than Chico.

If you're curious about why there are still Marxists knocking about in academia after everyone else agrees that Marxism is a joke, you should read this book and you might be in for a surprise. This is not an easy read, but neither is it filled with jargon. It makes some logical leaps that are hard to follow at first, and it takes some philosophical detours that might initially seem unnecessary. But figuring out what Brown has to say is well worth the trouble. The classic Marxist critics like Adorno are still interesting, but they read like antiques. This fellow, on the other hand, even when he's writing about old Modernists like James Joyce, is actually speaking to urgent contemporary concerns. The middle of the book is taken up with discussions of African Literature and mainly British modernism, and if you're at all interested in either of these you should check out his take on them BOTH, because he relates them to each other. Anyway, this is the first fellow I've read in a long time that makes me wonder if an unapologetic Marxism still does have something to tell us.

It's amazing how simple of a concept these 5 steps are. They are even outlined on the book's inside jacket. What is more amazing is that most companies or organizations don't bother following them. However if a company focuses on providing real vale to their customers and not just products, this book can help. Even non-for-profits or governmental agencies can re-focus their efforts to better serve their 'customers' by applying these methods. The concepts stay the same.

This book is a first in practical, down-to-earth marketing, driven from the customer perspective. Portraying a very logical and simple five-step model, supported by cases where the model has been followed successfully.
Each chapter also has a checklist and a set of key insights, making it easy to scan and lift the essentials
A MUST for all marketers.

I ordered this copy to entice my grand-daughter to read Thackery. It worked. She plowed through the entire novel in two weeks. This excellent edition, in fine condition helped. Thank you.

Greed, gold-digging and deception sit at the heart of "Vanity Fair." It's no joke that it's subtitled "a novel without a hero" -- William Makepeace Thackeray mercilessly skewered the pretentions and flaws of the upper class all throughout it. The result is a gloriously witty social satire.

It opens with two young women departing from a ladies' academy: dull, sweet Amelia (rich) and fiery sharp-witted Rebecca (poor). Becky Sharp is a relentless social climber, and her first effort to rise "above her station" is by trying to get Amelia's brother to marry her -- an effort thwarted by Amelia's fiancee. So instead she gets married to another family's second son, Rawdon Crawley.

Unfortunately, both young couples quickly get disinherited and George is killed. But Becky is determined to live the good life she has worked and married for -- she obtains jewels and money from admiring gentlemen, disrupting her marriage. But a little thing like a tarnished reputation isn't enough to keep Becky down...

"Vanity Fair" is actually a lot more complex than that, with dozens of little subplots and complicated character relationships. Reading it a few times is necessary to really absorb all of it, since it is not just a look at the two women in the middle of the book, but at the upper (and sometimes lower) social strata of the nineteenth century.

The main flaw of the book is perhaps that it sprawls too much -- there's always a lot of stuff going on, not to mention a huge cast of characters, and Thackeray sometimes drops the ball when it comes to the supporting characters and their little plots. It takes a lot of patience to absorb all of this. However... it's worth it.

Like most nineteenth-century writers, Thackeray had a very dense, formal writing style -- but once you get used to it, his writing becomes insanely funny. Witticisms and quips litter the pages, even if you don't pick them all up at once. At first Thackeray seems incredibly cynical (Becky's little schemes almost always pay off), but taken as a social satire, it's easier to understand why he was so cynical about the society of the time.

Becky Sharp is the quintessential anti-heroine -- she's very greedy and cold, yet she's also so smart and determined that it's hard not to have a grudging liking for her, no matter what she does. Certainly life hasn't been fair for her. Next to Becky, a goody-goody character like Amelia is pretty boring, and even the unsubtle George can't measure up to Becky.

To sum up "Vanity Fair": think a period soap opera with a heavy dose of social commentary. In other words, it doesn't get much better than this, Thackeray's masterpiece.

This book is the account of an English college professor and archaeologist recruited by British intelligence first to spy in Greece during the early Nazi occupation, and then to work as a liason between British Middle East GHQ in Cairo and the burgeoning Greek resistance movement that sprang up in the hills after Greece fell. After parachuting onto the snowy peaks of Mt. Olympus, the professor embarks on a series of adventures, including participation in the blowing of the Gorgopotamos Bridge -- a key strategic victory for the resistance movement. A good look at both the adventure side of the resistance movement and the political, including the author's very negative impression of the Communist-dominated ELAS-- Hellenic Liberation Army.

This book is the account of an English college professor and archaeologist recruited by British intelligence first to spy in Greece during the early Nazi occupation, and then to work as a liason between British Middle East GHQ in Cairo and the burgeoning Greek resistance movement that sprang up in the hills after Greece fell. After parachuting onto the snowy peaks of Mt. Olympus, the professor embarks on a series of adventures, including participation in the blowing of the Gorgopotamos Bridge -- a key strategic victory for the resistance movement. A good look at both the adventure side of the resistance movement and the political, including the author's very negative impression of the Communist-dominated ELA -- Hellenic Liberation Movement.

If you are planning to travel in Brazil, or if you simply seek a better understanding of its history and its people, you must read this book. Before this, I never realized the impact of drought in Brazil, nor did I appreciate the beauty and the suffering of Brazilians. A creative, inspired, tragic and often funny story - this book will stay with me.

I have traveled in the Northeast of Brasil and found it to be an area that does not lend itself easily to summation or description. The hardship and happiness - the spirit of the people - are best reflected in the oral poetry passed between and through generations. And the politics of the area are painful to observe. But Mr. Arons does a great job of capturing the essential spirit of the people of whom he writes. Capturing their own lyrical history and distilling it into a plaintive, kind book of understanding does a tremendous service to a culture and history that time could otherwise forget.

Anyone interested in the politics of water, an issue of increasing importance in the developing world now and for years to come should read this book. Anyone interested in Brasil (more than just carnaval and other hedonistic fun) should read this book. Anyone interested in oral history MUST read this book.

It was refreshing to read a good story of the first ascent of Hidden Peak in 1958. This was before the Himalayas were deluged by eco-tourists and before numerous sensationalist accounts of conquest written or filmed. Here is a story of some American mountaineers scraping together an expedition to enjyoy a climb of an 8,000 meter peak. How much better can it get? Perhaps the author "sanitized" the account since it is devoid of personality and ego conflicts. Everyone in the book is a happy camper: sahibs, HAPs and porters.

Since I know the author I am of course biased in his favor. But as he makes (favorable) mention of me in the book that gives him top rating of 5 stars.

Actually, it's a darn fine book. I've been reading mountaineering literature for quite some time now and am struck by evolution of style over the years. Books of the 1920s and 30s now seem "detached." We learn from them what people DID, but not a lot about who the people WERE. (Tilman is a great and welcome exception.) Through his humor--often self-deprecating--Clinch's story makes it plain that mountaineers can accomplish great things while still enjoying themselves. Probably as a reflection of what the publishers know will sell, more recent books (and especially TV movies and the like) place so much emphasis on danger, harum-scarum and disaster that a general reader (who can't see between the lines) must get a very peculiar slant on climbing.

Read it!

The Way of the World takes me back to when a generation traveled the world with backpacks, motorcycles and VW buses. It is a travel log set in the late fifties, of two casual travelers in their early twenties, who set off on a trip from Europe to India to explore the backroads and see life in its essence as lived by the local people. The book paints the pictures of gypsys, artists, mountain families and ancient cities with bazaars, using local color and the eye of an artist. Those who have traveled with similiar resources will enjoy the challenges of the innovative repair of an old Fiat in the middle of a desert, the capricousness of venturing into another country with only pocketchange, and the discovery that most people in the world do have a love of strangers.

I envy him. I envy his travels and his writing. For me Bouvier writes the best travel novels. It s something different. He doesn't describe the country. he simply lives country's life. Stays somewhere in Anatolia for a month, then suddenly one day decides it is time. Time to go, time to travel.

The author worked for 15 years on this book, and her hard work has paid off with a beautiful and inspiring work. Her dedication and devotion is apparent on every page. The book is not only filled with fascinating information, but is also so beautifully written it pulls you right along. Inspiring and uplifting. It clarifies a lot about the Roerichs and gave an intimate portrait of the family and their struggles and joys. I particularly appreciated the forthright way the author writes about the Masters - without sentiment and with great respect.

The book is essential for anyone interested in Agni Yoga or Nicholas and Helena Roerich.

I found this a fascinating book - I couldn't put it down!
Ruth Drayer has provided an invaluable service by bringing light to bear on several areas of the Roerich's life hitherto somewhat hidden or obscured.
Wayfarers - the clue is in the title. There are a few books on either Nicholas or Helena Roerich separately in print in the English language but this book, for the first time, deals with both of their lives together. Fascinating lives lived to the maximum along the spiritual Path.
Their Russian compatriot Helena Petrovna Blavatsky had brought the ancient wisdom to the West and co-founded the Theosophical Society during the last quarter of the nineteenth century. Both of the Roerich's were members and were undoubtedly well-read in the relevant subjects. At the turn of the twentieth century countless artists turned to Theosophy and such esoteric subjects and prominent among these are Kandinsky and Piet Mondrian. However, few artists are prepared or able to make the sacrifices necessary to put into practise the spiritual disciplines advocated by the Masters of the Wisdom. But with Roerich we find one such individual united in his path with, first his wife, and then his two sons. Humanity is in sore need of such self-sacrificing artists if those spiritual energies that contain the answer to the need of our time is to find a voice and all who follow the path of spirit will find inspiration in this story. Their lifetime together has many layers - even as Roerich's beloved paintings have several layers. We could take his paintings of Nagarjuna, Padmasambhava, Tsong-Kha-Pa,, Milarepa, Zoroaster, etc. For example, Lao Tse was reportedly last seen heading for Shambhala - and so he is depicted in Roerich's Banners of the East painting of 1924. Layers of meaning and significance lie in such paintings waiting to be teased out - as with life itself. One's research reveals more and more and one can liken living with these paintings to being on a journey. For example, a few years back I discovered that the local name for Alexander the Great was Iskander - thus another piece of the jig-saw fell into place, especially regarding the painting 'Iskander with his Teacher' by Roerich. This isn't a book about the paintings of Nicholas Roerich, but rather the spiritual adventures of two individuals united in spirit and together devoted in service to humankind and totally commited to the Work both of their Master, the Mahatma Morya, and of the united White Lodge of Masters and adepts as unfolded in the legends of the mythical Shambhala and the Hierarchy of Light and the Coming Era of Maitreya Buddha and of Rigden Djapo. When one considers all of the paper used to print fiction one can be grateful that here is a truly sublime use of earth's resources to help uplift all who read it.
A wonderful book - destined to be a significant contribution to the world of spiritual literature. I can thoroughly recommend it without any equivocation.