Robertson Books

Not a review - just a note to say that this book is still in print with HarperCollins, Australia. (It was shortlisted for the Australian Children's Book Council book of the year awards in 1993, and is still widely read in this country - I'd be very happy if North American readers could have access to it too.)

This book starts a little slow, as we are introduced to a rather stuffy young English lady, told through the letters she writes to family members in the mid-1800's. However, as the story unfolds, I found myself increasingly drawn into Rachel's world, and was reluctant to leave it. We follow her voyage from southern England to Australia, where she slowly adapts to and ultimately embraces life on the frontier, minus the many comforts with which she had been raised. We see not only Rachel's transformation, but a fascinating study of life in the Australian outback, and the triumph of hard work in a frontier that was at times quite harsh, yet which ultimately provided a good life. A very good book, particularly when you consider this story is told through a collection of real letters written by a real person. I bought this book used, but it has a permanent place in my library.

The two Robertson brothers, from Scotland, managed to witness the main events of southern South America, from the British invasions (1807) to the economical crisis of 1830. And somehow they were always in the right place when things happened. They are invaluable first hand sources. They wrote six books on their experience, three "letters from South America" (from present day Argentina, really, but few people would have recognized the name at the time), two "letters from Paraguay", and one more on Paraguay's dictator, Gaspar Francia. They promised more, but unluckily didn't keep up. They were into commerce, to make money. And they made bundles, daring to go were nobody else had the courage to, in dangerous times. Enough money to advance in the twenties a share of a national loan to the government of Rivadavia. And then they lost almost everything in the downturn that ensued the war with Brazil over present day Uruguay. The reader must be advised that the Robertsons were businessmen, uncritically on the side of free unrestricted trade, with no simpathy for the "lower classes" or for political movements with a social content, such as those of Artigas or Francia. But bias apart, their books are a unique glimpse into fascinating but little known times and places.

I HAVE BEEN A CERVANTES SCHOLAR FOR THE BETTER PART OF 30 YEARS AND HAVE READ AND STUDIED MANY OF HIS BIOGRAPHIES.THIS PARTICULAR BIOGRAPHY PRESENTS THE DETAILS OF THE LIFE OF THE WORLD'S GREATEST AUTHOR.LITTLE KNOWN FACTS ARE BROUGHT TO LIFE.I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS GREAT BIOGRAPHY FROM THE STANDPOINT OF MY BEING A COLLEGE PROFESSOR AND AS AN INDIVIDUAL WHO BELIEVES THAT READING IS AN END UNTO ITSELF!

William Spence Robertson was born in Glasgow (Scotland) on October 7 1872 and devoted his entire life to the study of Diplomacy and International Relationships in America. He prepared in Yale his Doctoral Thesis with the title of Francisco de Miranda and the Revolutionizing of Spanish America, who bestowed him the Prize of History of Yale `s University.

Under the light of the previous considerations, it has become a perpetual reference source and documentation for biographers, Historians and investigators at the moment to understand the complexity and enormous transcendence of this singular personage.

Finally I would like a little incise in this sense. The most pyramidal Venezuelan painter: Arturo Michelena, consecrated what to my mind constituted his sublime masterpiece: "Miranda en La Carraca", a mesmerizing and captivating that will shock you for the rest of your life due its impressive realism.

If you enjoy Ars Magica and want to know something about Scotland during the Middle Ages, something more than the pseudo-history of Braveheart, I highly recommend this volume. Ars Magica has been a marvelous game over the years for dispelling myths about the Middle Ages (although adding a few more...); Lion of the North is a fine example of deep background on a land that makes sense, is highly playable, and is reasonably accurate. Whether you want an overview of Scottish history, some knowledge on gruagach, or just want to liven your campaign up a bit, this supplement is worth your viewing. This is the first post-White Wolf product and it shows -- you will not find any vampires creeping around the corners here, nor the stupidity of the Realm of Reason. You will find out a bit more about clan structure, the influence of the vikings, Anglo-Saxons, and Scotii on the region, and why being the King of Scotland is not necessarily the easiest job in the world. Pick it up and down the sassanach!

Mr. Robertson weaves a unique and often frightening collection of fiction that places complex and interesting characters in realistic settings. "The Gatherer" taps into the fear of the unknown while "Unearthed" (the best tale in the book)paints a disturbing scenario that will stick in your mind long after you finish reading it. All in all, an excellant group of tales that will keep you up at night.

although this book is old, it is classic, and I really love the whole series. I highly recommend it, not only for Australians, of course, it's relevant to anyone, and it's a fun book.

Charles Burleigh put together this collection of mostly black-and-white and some color photos made during his many trips down the Mekong through Laos and Cambodia, published in 1971. If you love the people and the languages of the region, you need to own a copy of this classic. Alongside the well-captioned photos is a collection of sample writings in the Thai, Lao, and Khmer languages. Not a mention of war here, thank God. A restful and loving work which I have poured over hundreds of times since I bought my copy in 1975. It never fails to bring me peace, and it is remarkable that the peoples of the region have retained their culture despite the tragedies that have befallen them. These are people who have much to teach us about extracting joy from daily labor despite a type of poverty that few of us will ever experience.

This is a small book (about 100 pages) that packs quite a wallop. The reader will find here a good review and a sharp analysis of why classical-logical empiricism, the basis for scientific objectivism, fails to provide the only way of possessing knowledge. The claim that religious knowledge can be either summarily dismissed or defended on questionable cognitive or non-cognitive grounds is carefully analyzed and rejected. Robertson then shows why scientific objectivism's dialectical oppostite--humanistic subjectivism--best represented here by Nietzsche, provides both relief from the narrow and rigid constraints of scientific objectivism and emancipation from "morally oppressive" thinking about God. But secular humanism is rejected for its almost obsessive concern with the ideal of unlimited self-assertion and the will to power. A unique insight of this book is the parallel it draws between English philosophers of science and Heideggarian intellectual history. Both expose how the role of human interests--expressed through paradigms historically and politically constructed--drive scientific investigation. One such glaring paradigm is the desire to manage, dominate and control through the use of technology. With this insight Robertson establishes an inner affinity between objectivism and subjectivism: "Both are rooted in ...a way of being in the world, a technological way." This way--the desire to manage and control--effectively shuts down access to the Transcendent. Robertson now attacks on three fronts: First, following the work of H. G. Gadamer, Roberston shows clearly how the technolgical way is only an abstraction from the whole of what humans do; humans exist in a broader and deeper network of social relatedness. Second, as a matter of concrete historical fact, this social relatedness is characterized less by domination than by dialogue. The best part of this book, in my opinion, is how Robertson develops the dynamics of dialogue--which emerges as the dialogical way--as a way of contendeing with "the technological way." The dialogical way depends on and opens wider horizons, and it is within this widening process that the talk of Transcendence can best take place. Third, Robertson provides a needed corrective to traditional theism, one which emphasizes dominance, power, control and self-sufficiency; in fact, thinking in the mode of classical theism seems to flow from the kind of thinking undergirding the technological way. Robertson follows contemporary theologians in reconstructing a concept of God that emphasizes reciprocity and social relatedness. This corrective suggests "a way of seeing God and the world to be so intimately related, that the glorification of God and the love of the earth (and its inhabitants) need not be in competition: properly conceived, they are complementary." Robertson's book is a delight. It is clearly written and tightly argued. I believe that he has shown how the loss of Transcendence can be recovered and how theological conversation between leading thinkers can be restored.