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The Bible in History: How Writers Create a Past In this lucid and fascinating book, Professor Thompson shows that we misunderstand the Bible if we read it as history, a modern concept completely incompatible with the world-view of antiquity. Combining literary criticism of biblical texts and detailed analysis of ancient history, he shows that we have to look at the Bible as a body of literature that reflects the philosophical and moral views of its authors. By examining the social and political forces at work in the Middle East during the period that saw the Bible's texts composed, Thomas Thompson puts the Bible in its historical context and sheds new light on the relationship between the Old Testament and the New, Judaism and Greek philosophy, Yahweh and Christ.
Return of the Osprey: A Season of Flight and Wonder For six luminous months, an entire nesting season, David Gessner immersed himself in the lives of the magnificent ospreys that had returned to his seagirt corner of Cape Cod. In this marvelous book, part memoir, part paean to a once-endangered species, part natural history of the Cape, Gessner recounts the many discoveries he made in the course of that magical season. For Gessner, spotting an osprey dive for fish at forty miles an hour becomes a lesson in patience and focus, watching the birds build their nests illustrates the vital task of making a home, and following the chicks' attempts to fly shows him the value of letting go.
The Confessions of Nat Turner The revolt was led by a remarkable Negro preacher named Nat Turner, an educated slave who felt himself divinely ordained to annihilate all the white people in the region. The Confessions of Nat Turner is narrated by Nat himself as he lingers in jail through the cold autumnal days before his execution. The compelling story ranges over the whole of Nat's life, reaching its inevitable and shattering climax that bloody day in August. The Confessions of Nat Turner is not only a masterpiece of storytelling; it also reveals in unforgettable human terms the agonizing essence of Negro slavery. Through the mind of a slave, William Styron has re-created a catastrophic event, and dramatized the intermingled miseries, frustrations - and hopes - which caused this extraordinary black man to rise up out of the early mists of our history and strike down those who held his people in bondage.
The Naked and the Dead Hailed as one of the finest noels to come out of the Second world War, The Naked and the Dead received unprecedented critical acclaim upon its publication and has since enjoyed long and well-deserved tenure in the American canon. This fiftieth anniversary edition features a new introduction created especially for the occasion by Norman Mailer. Written in fascinating detail, the story follows a platoon of foot soldiers who are fighting for the possession of the Japanese-held island of Anopopei. Composed in 1948 with the wisdom of a man twice Mailer's age and the raw courage of the young man he was, The Naked and the Dead is representative of the best in twentieth-century American writing.
Mao, A Life Of the three great tyrants of the 20th century--Hitler, Stalin, and Mao--the West generally knows the least about the latter. What we do know is that he was every bit as genocidal in his policies as either of the other two great villains of the age. In fact, in purely statistical terms, Mao might have been responsible for the deaths of more people than Hitler and Stalin combined. However, Philip Short's immense but immensely readable and impressively researched biography of the man goes far deeper than this. Yes, he acknowledges, Mao was a tyrant, but then China always has been run by tyrants; it never has had a tradition of democracy. And Mao was also an idealist: the deaths of millions was, as he saw it, the price that his country had to pay for being dragged from a state of medieval servitude--perpetually on the brink of famine--to that of a modern, industrialized, self-sufficient nation, in the space of a single lifetime. Short also humanizes Mao, and shows a man who had a profound and sincere interest in Chinese philosophy and poetry, and a surprisingly sharp sense of humor. None of this can exonerate Mao from the charge of inhumanity on an epic scale. But it does make for a much more rounded and complex portrait of the figure who, as the 21st century unfolds, might be shown to have had more influence on world history than either Hitler or Stalin. --Christopher Hart
Death of Vishnu The title of Manil Suri's first novel gets right to the point. His protagonist, having purchased the right to sleep on the ground-floor landing of a Bombay apartment house, slips slowly from a coma into death. As this aging alcoholic takes leave of the earth, his neighbors surround him, arguing over who gave Vishnu a few dried chapatis, who called the doctor for him, and who will pay for the ambulance to cart him away. Meanwhile, the hero of The Death of Vishnu is lost in memories. Drifting through increasingly vivid scenes from his past, he recalls his relatively rare snatches of love and joy--and especially his romance with Padmini, a self-involved prostitute. Vishnu also recalls his secret passion for Kavita Asrani, the beautiful teenage daughter of one of the families for whom he works. Given the protagonist's focus on his hapless love life, the scope of Suri's dazzling debut may appear narrow. However, the apartment house upon whose floor Vishnu spends his final hours functions as a microcosm of Indian society. It helps to know even a smattering about Hindu mythology or India's religious conflicts. But even if you don't, there is plenty to relish in The Death of Vishnu, with its comical, richly drawn characters, loving attention to the details of everyday life, and provocative exploration of destiny and free will. --Regina Marler |
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Eleanor of Aquitaine Renowned in her time for being the most beautiful woman in Europe, the wife of two kings and the mother of three, Eleanor of Aquitaine was one of the great heroines of the Middle Ages. At a time when women were regarded as little more than chattel, Eleanor managed to defy convention as she exercised power in the political sphere and crucial influence over her husbands and sons. In this beautifully written biography, Alison Weir paints a vibrant portrait of this truly exceptional woman, and provides new insights into her intimate world.
Jivamukti Yoga Unlike many books about yoga, Jivamukti Yoga focuses not only on the physical postures but also on how they evolved, the origins of the practices in yoga's ancient sacred texts and five-thousand-year-old traditions, the psychotherapeutic benefits that accrue with a steady practice, and the spiritual power that is set free when energy flows throughout the mind and body. Jivamukti Yoga, which means "soul liberation," guides your body and soul into spiritual freedom, physical strength, peace of mind, better health, and self-realization, the ultimate goal of any practice.
The Complete War Memoirs of Charles de Gaulle Originally published in three separate volumes covering three distinct periods, this single edition encompasses all the personal writings by one of this century's most prominent generals and statesmen from the fall of France in 1940 to the aftermath of World War II in 1946. The first section, "The Call to Honor," recounts the confusion and despair triggered by Hitler's blitzkrieg invasion of France. The second section, "Unity," describes de Gaulle's struggles to rally the Free French in Africa and in underground movements throughout Europe, his bitter conflict with the Vichy puppet regime ruling occupied France, and his cooperation with the Allied powers. "Salvation," the final installment, chronicles the turning of the tide of war against Nazi Germany, de Gaulle's triumphant return to France, and the reincarnation of the French Republic as a major international presence.
The Fourth Hand Like anything newsworthy, miracles of medicine and technology inevitably make their way out of the headlines and become the stuff of fiction. In recent years readers have been absorbed by media accounts of a transplanted hand, an experiment that ultimately ended in amputation. Medical ethicists reason that a hand, unlike a heart or a liver--essential organs conveniently housed out of sight--is in full view and one of a pair, arguably dispensable. In his 10th novel, however, John Irving undertakes to imagine just such a transplant, which involves a donor, a recipient, a surgeon, a particular Green Bay Packer fan, and the remarkable left hand that brings them together.
The First World War: A Complete History It was to be the war to end all wars, and it began at 11:15 on the morning of June 28, 1914, in an outpost of the Austro-Hungarian Empire called Sarajevo. It would end officially almost five years later. Unofficially, it has never ended: the horrors we live with today were born in the First World War. "For the general reader who wants to know both what happened (on the field and off) and how it felt for the men who did the fighting, this is the best one-volume history of the First World War that has yet been written." Samuel Hynes, Newsday
Making Harvard Modern A former associate dean at Harvard, Keller collaborated with husband Morton (history, Brandeis) on this affectionate chronicle of Harvard's academic evolution. The first two parts of the book correspond with the terms of two contrasting presidents: James Bryant Conant (1933-53), who charted Harvard's course for meritocracy, and the more conservative Nathan Marsh Pusey (1953-71). In the past three decades, the authors maintain, the university has turned outward, becoming more involved with social and world issues. The Kellers relate the events of each era in scrupulous detail; the personal and departmental minutiae will no doubt interest those who share the authors' view of Harvard as "one of the most illustrious institutional adornments of American life." |
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