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Powerful; tools that can transform the way we live. 12 CD audio series. List price, $99.95. Product code #4002-C. ... Read more

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IEnlightenment's Wake stakes out the elements of John Gray's new position. He argues that all schools of contemporary political thought are variations on the Enlightenment Project--the Westernizing project of a universal civilization--and that this Enlightenment Project has proved self-undermining and is now exhausted. Fresh thought is needed on the dilemmas of the late modern age. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

This work is a must read for anyone interested in the future of the west.
I first encountered John Gray and his philosophical views in the special features portion of the movie Children of Men based on the book Children of Men by P.D. James and directed by Alfonso Cuaron.John Gray was making a startling claim about the future of the west and philosophy that held my mind captive until I decided to research his work and thought.I decided to first read Enlightenments Wake because I had grappled with other works on the Enlightenment and what it meant for the modern world.I discovered that there are some provocative and controversial claims made in the work that is edifying, however I did feel that Gray made a pedantic show of his clearly elite education.The reading was at time very difficult due to a writing style that was too loaded down with esoteric philosophical examples and an overloaded sentence stucture that made his points difficult to put together.All in all it is worth reading but is not for the faint of heart or the easily bored reader. ... Read more

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The first full biography of Confederate Raider John Mosby, Gray Ghost reveals new information on every aspect of Mosby’s life and provides the first analysis of his impact on the Civil War from the Union viewpoint.

With a genius for guerrilla warfare, Mosby diverted enemy troops from the front and used fear as a psychological weapon. For more than twenty-seven months he led daring overnight raids behind Union pickets and created false alarms up and down the Potomac. Although Mosby never commanded more than 400 men, his forces were regularly overestimated, once by a factor of forty. Union officials dispatched more than seventy search and destroy missions against him personally, but he retained the tactical advantage until Lee’s surrender at Appomattox.Mosby’s dynamic, double-sided personality, forged in childhood, was the foundation for his success as a guerrilla chief, but it was also his greatest weakness. Attempting to repeat patterns of heroic conflict after the war, he threw away his status as a leading southern hero and sacrificed a lucrative law practice to support the Republican party and U.S. Grant’s campaign for the presidency.Forced into exile from his native Virginia, Mosby frequently charged into controversy. He crusaded for truth and justice as consul to Hong Kong, acted as a federal land agent in the U.S. Midwest, authored an account of Jeb Stuart’s role in the Confederate loss at Gettysburg, and served as a Justice Department attorney. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

An Excellent Book!
John Singleton Mosby is not a major player in the American Civil War.He is not a major player in the Eastern Theater of the war either.However, Mosby has captured our imagination as few historical figures can.Within a defined area, Mosby was a major problem.Using a combination of good intelligence, detailed planning, some good luck and daring his men pulled off one spectacular raid after another.His mission was never to stand and fight, he avoided fights whenever possible.However, when it came to fighting, he did not hold back creating a reputation as a fighter that created fear in his opponents.He was the personification of what the Confederacy had in mind when they authorized partisan rangers.There is no denying the amount of problems he caused in "Mosby's Confederacy" and the impact he could have on operations in the Shenandoah Valley.A search in books on amazon.com for "John Mosby" returns over 200 entries.
This book is in the "best of the lot" category.This is a well-researched work, fully footnoted with a "Bibliographic Essay" making it a serious history.However, the author has a good lively writing style producing a fun and easy to read text.This converts Mosby's exploits into both an exciting read that is a history lesson.The book spends little time on Mosby's childhood, covers his war experiences in detail and spends a good deal of time on his post war life.In presenting a good balanced picture of the man, we get a real look at his times with a good deal of politics and personalities.Mosby managed to make firm friends and bitter enemies with equal ease.His "conversion" to the Republican Party is done without upsetting the "Lost Cause" group allowing him to stay in both camps.The post-war 100 pages is one of the strengths of the book providing an absorbing look at Reconstruction and American politics.The last chapter is a look at Mosby in film and television.In addition to how legends are built, this chapter talks about the end of his life and his children and grandchildren.
The author tends to overstate his case at some points.In addition, he has a small amount of psychoanalysis that is misplaced.Neither of these are serious flaws or a reason to not consider this book.The author assumes a basic understanding of the war that most buyers book will have.If you are interested in Mosby or the development of guerrilla warfare, this is an excellent book.

Excellent Read
This is a great book on a confederate icon about whom I'd heard, but as to whom I never really knew much.A great read; hard to put down.It spans his sickly childhood, through his arrest and conviction at the University of Virginia for shooting a local bully, through his finding himself in the Confederate calavry operating behind Union lines throughout the War.Never captured (although seriously wounded at one point), always honorable, he kept hundreds and at one point thousands of Union soldiers/cavalry tied up protecting against his sudden appearances.Then, the real shocker:after the War, he became friends with General/President Grant and was sent to the Indian Territories and Hong Kong on behalf of the US Government to clean up corruption there (which he did), and then he became an attorney with the US Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. for the remainder of his career.An amazing life and journey.Well worth the read.

Sleep Children Or Mosby will Get You!
Gray Ghost: The Life of Col. John Singleton Mosby

The Mosby Confederacy is well done and well written. The accuracy of the dates and times of his activities are amazing. It is fascinating what this mild mannered very ill young man was able to accomplish and how he seemed to thrive on being a partisan. What one does learn about is his zeal for accomplishing the impossible was not limited to the confederacy. He seemed to take on every mission with the idea of doing it right and doing it with precision. I really liked this book and learned about heroism and the fact that one can be a hero at almost any job they undertake by just being honest and doing what is right. In today's large corporation's it is almost unheard of for one to put their own character for the success of the whole above the shallow short term goals of an individual.

This book is exciting and very enjoyable to read. It doesn't end with the Civil War, but details Col. Mosby's entire life which certainly gives him perspective.

This must be THE definitive book on John Singleton Mosby
James A. Ramage has written what must be THE definitive book on the life of John Singleton Mosby. I cannot imagine a more thoroughly written book on the topic. Ramage discusses his family history, his childhood and more.

Of course, the largest amount is written about his service in the Civil War as a partisan ranger that terrorized the Union troops arrayed against Robert E. Lee. Ramage is definitely a fan of Mosby, but he refuses to get involved in the hype that Mosby and his contemporaries sometimes engaged in concerning how effective Mosby's men were. Ramage agrees that Mosby was cost-effective, meaning that his small groups of men - usually around 120 or so - would tie down thousands of Union soldiers, but disagrees with Mosby himself that he tied down tens of thousands.

The real strength of this biography is that Ramage covers Mosby's post-Civil War career thoroughly, including his controversial forays into politics and his government posting in Hong Kong. Ramage even includes a chapter on how Mosby has been represented in film and television, including a movie in which Mosby played himself in 1910.

This is not a book for the casual Civil War reader - there is too much specific detail and an assumption that the reader knows and understands the basics of the war. However, this book will continue to serve as the reference for all things Mosby.

Occasionally too 'intuitive'
Ramage is absolutely correct when he speaks about Mosby's effect on his adversaries. By the time the war was over, he was - after Jefferson Davis - the most hated Confederate in the North. Once, late in the war when a troop of Yankee cavalry bringing in prisoners (none of whom were Mosby's men) joked that they had 'caught Mosby', in just a few hours over 10,000 people gathered to see the vaunted guerrilla chief. Mosby's psychological tactics were such that often all he or one of his men had to do was approach a Union picket or vidette and say, "I am Mosby" and the man became paralyzed with fear. Yet, Mosby's treatment of those whom he captured was such that after the war, many of his best friends were former Union officers taken by him and his command.

Unfortunately, however, author Ramage has a tendency to speculate regarding things he cannot prove. His theory of Mosby's 'bipolar' personality - he was kind, gentle and loving at home but fierce, overly aggressive and untrusting out in the world - does not necessarily equate with the testimony of many of Mosby's men who wrote about the man and the 43rd Battalion.

Furthermore, Ramage's account of Mosby's relationship with Fitz Hugh Lee - the two men detested each other - contains a vignette in which Lee supposedly offers a terrible rebuke to then Lt. Mosby when he offered Lee a captured Union newspaper. Lee, according to Ramage said "The ruling passion strong in death" a quote from one of Pope's moral essays on Lord Cobham, a religious dissenter who was hanged and burned for his beliefs. Ramage recounted that as a classical scholor Mosby would understand this statement to mean that he would deserve his fate when the Yankees caught and hanged him as a spy during one of his 'scouts' for JEB Stuart. According to Ramage, Mosby had no suspicion of Fitz Lee's hatred of him until that point. Yet in all other accounts - including Mosby's - nothing much is made of the same incident. I would not mind Ramage's account or his conclusion if only he had given a more detailed account of how he came to know that Lee said what he said and meant it as Ramage posits. Furthermore, I would have liked to know how Ramage knew that Mosby had no idea of his superior officer's feelings for him at the time. However, Ramage simply makes the statement and let's it go at that.

There are certainly many psychological indicators apparent in Mosby's life which can enlighten interested parties regarding his forceful and unique personality but I must confess that I found some of author Ramage's speculations to be lacking in credible verification on such subjective matters. If one is going to speak of 'feelings' and 'passions', it is wise to have at least some documentation to back up one's claims. Otherwise, the matter becomes nothing more than another speculation regarding the individual being studied. ... Read more

Product Description
Since the publication in 1986 of the first edition of "Liberalism", both the world and the author's views have changed significantly. In this second edition, John Gray argues that, whereas liberalism was the political theory of modernity, it is ill-equipped to cope with the dilemmas of the postmodern condition. Developments in philosophy have undermined the attempts of liberal theorists to give liberal institutions a universal foundation in reason, while developments in political life have overturned the Enlightenment philosophy of history on which liberal theory depends. The liberal project - the project of stating universal principles which persons and communities with divergent conceptions of the good and differing views of the world can accept as framing terms of peaceful coexistence - has foundered. The task now, as Gray sees it, is to develop a pluralist political theory, in which the liberal problem of finding a modus vivendi among rival communities and worldviews is solved in postliberal terms. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A Short and Useful Introduction to the Historical and Philosophical foundations of Classical Liberalism and its Offshoots
The book begins with an introduction in which the author lays out four basic characteristics of liberalism:

1) Individualist - it asserts the moral primacy of the person against the claims of any social collectivity

2) Egalitarian - it confers on all men the same moral status and denies the relevance to legal or political order of differences in moral worth among human beings

3) Universalist - it affirms the moral unity of the human species and according to a second importance to specific historic associations and cultural forms

4) Meliorist - it affirms the corrigibility and improvability of all social institutions and political arrangements

The book is then divided into two parts: part one deals with the historical development of liberalism and part two deals with some of the philosophical issues associated with liberalism.The first part covers the pre-modern and early modern precursors of liberalism (which were of less interest to me), the characteristics of the liberalism of the Enlightenment period (mainly the 18th century), the liberalism of the Liberal Era (mainly the 19th century), the fall of liberalism (in the early and mid 20th century) and its revival (in the late 20th century).The liberalism of the Enlightenment period stressed the equal and natural rights of all men.While it believed that government should guarantee these rights (i.e., freedom of press, freedom of speech, private property, etc.), it generally proposed a limited role of government and stressed the importance of a free-market economy (i.e., free trade, low taxation and low public expenditure).The argument was that political freedom was inherently dependent on economic freedom.Enlightenment liberalism also emphasized reason over superstition and religious fanaticism, taking on a particularly anti-clerical character in countries where the Catholic Church had a very strong presence.

In the liberal era (19th century), however, there was a transition from classical liberalism to modern/revisionary liberalism, the latter expanding on the role of government.Jeremy Bentham (most famous for his conception of the panopticon prison) and John Stuart Mill were key figures in this transition.Bentham's philosophy of Utilitarianism promoted the idea that social institutions could improve society and led to attempts at social engineering.Mill advanced the idea that government ought to correct some of the injustices that occur in the free market system.

These changes, combined with the competition of popular democracy (the public voting against liberal policies) and the general disillusionment caused by WWI and WWII, led to the rise of the ideas of J. M. Keynes who sought to correct the injustices of capitalism with government intervention.Nevertheless, in the 1970s classical liberalism returned as the ideas of Friedrich Hayek found a voice in Margaret Thatcher in England and Ronald Reagan in the US.Following Hayek's argument that socialist economic policies led to totalitarian political policies and economic stagnation, Thatcher and Reagan pushed for limited government and free market reform with some clearly visible successes.The fall of the Soviet Union bolstered the belief that government management of the economy was a failure.

In the second part of the work, the author deals with some of the important philosophical concerns of liberalism, one of which is the concept of freedom.Gray asserts that classical liberals have a negative concept of freedom in that they believe freedom is assured by what the government does "not" do.For them, freedom is brought about by government NON-intervention (one is reminded of Reagan's famous slogan "Government is the problem, not the solution.").Revisionary liberals, on the other hand, have a positive view of freedom, that is, they believe in giving all citizens the opportunity for self-realization.This translates into their belief that government should provide certain basic resources to all individuals, which ultimately calls for government involvement rather than non-intervention.According to Gray: "The demarcation between classical liberalism and modern (revisionary) liberalism is that the latter believe that freedom as autonomy presupposes governmental provision of economic resources and governmental correction of the market process, whereas the former insist on free market policies" (59-60).

Gray also discusses the role of private property in liberalism arguing that private property is an essential part of individual freedom.Following the classical liberal tradition, Gray asserts that under a private property system, the individual can make decisions for himself; he is free in the sense that he is not subject to collective decision making when it comes to how to administer his own property.Gray argues that even non-property owners are freer under such a system because there are more choices in employers and products than there would be if the state controlled everything.

Moreover, Gray gives some time to the potential for conflict between liberalism and democracy.In a liberal system, for example, one should not be able to use a democratic vote and/or representative democracy to call for government intervention in the free market or to take away the right to freedom of speech.Anyone who is familiar with political thought of the 19th century knows that many liberals had a terrible fear of democracy since they viewed it as a "tyranny of the masses."They feared that their rights (and their economic privileges) would be taken away by the will of the ignorant and uninformed majority whose emotions and opinions were easily swayed.The US Constitution attempts to resolve this conflict through a system of checks and balances in which the court serves as a check on the democratic branches of government by ensuring that the laws they pass never violate certain basic liberal principles, or rights, guaranteed in the Constitution.Recent demagoguery revolving around "judicial activism" shows that the conflict between democracy and liberalism can easily be revived.

Although an apologist for classical liberalism, the author tries to give an evenhanded account of the criticisms of both classical and revisionary liberalism.Nevertheless, in my opinion, some of his arguments in favor of a free market economy fall flat.For one, as a proponent of a laissez-faire type economy, he fails to address the inherent contradiction of classical liberalism, which is that ALL classical liberals make exceptions to their own rules when they see fit.For example, Gray acknowledges that a pure laissez-faire economy has never existed, and that classical liberals of all stripes endorse some form of government intervention in the economy (i.e., military defense, education, anti-monopoly laws etc.).However, if we accept that the free market always operates better unhindered by government intervention, such exceptions cannot be justified; they simply undermine the whole liberal thesis.Moreover, in his insistence that private property is key to individual freedom, he does not address the fact that sometimes the rights of the private property holder can usurp the basic rights of other individuals. To give one example (obvious and extreme): when Shell Oil began polluting the land and water in Nigeria that the Ogoni people depended on for subsistence, the government hanged several of the activists who protested the company's actions.First, the destruction to the environment that Shell was causing was overriding these people's "right to life"- these people depended on this land for survival.Secondly, in an attempt to protect this corporation's "right" to do what it wanted on its own private property, the government failed to protect communal property as well as the protestors' right to freedom of expression and association.The government clearly turned to brutal, authoritarian measures to protect the rights of the property holders over those of the propertyless.Along these same lines, the idea that individual freedom and the free market go hand in hand has been proven categorically false as many a brutal dictatorial regime have thrived under free market economies (i.e., Guatemala, Chile).Finally, I think Gray could have mentioned (at least once?) that women, and slaves in the US and European colonies, were initially excluded almost entirely from the liberal project.

Yet, overall I found this work to be a useful and comprehensive overview of the subject.

Excellent book to start with....
I find this book excellent intraduction in liberalism. The book is devidedin two parts, historical and philosophical. Both parts are written veryinformativly. Author gave a good historical and philosophical review ofliberalisam. He gave distinction between English and European liberalismand I find his explanation of maior political philosophy terms andexplanation of teaching of maior liberalsm'stheoreticians very good. Iwould recoment this book to all those who want to know more aboutliberalism especially to the students. I find out bibliograpy that autorgave very inspiring for further reading. ... Read more

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Silverpoints is presented here in a high quality paperback edition. This popular classic work by John Gray is in the English language. If you enjoy the works of John Gray then we highly recommend this publication for your book collection. ... Read more

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London, 1852: the world's capital city of crime; a city where murder and hangings are public entertainment, where reporters and balladeers vie with one another to be first to the next grisly, exclusive revelation. Among the panoply of killers awaiting execution is Chokee Bill, whose stranglings have set the capital abuzz. One of the balladeers, Henry Owler, is determined to extract a true confession from the killer. However, Chokee Bill claims he is innocent and that the real Fiend is still on the loose. Owler, enlists the help of one of London's leading investigative journalists, Edmund Whitty of the Falcon, to help him to discover the real murderer before he strikes again. But fate has some other twists in store. The killer is closer than either one expects, close enough to touch in the fog bound streets. Is he a wraith of the imagination? Or is he the nightmare the public have dreamed and now made all too real? Is he The Fiend in Human Form?Amazon.com Review
Journalist Edmund Whitty, the dissolute protagonist in John MacLachlan Gray's gloomily atmospheric mystery, The Fiend in Human, knows how to feed the public's appetite for lurid sensationalism. His latest success is Chokee Bill, "The Fiend in Human Form," a diabolical caricature of the serial strangler who's been attacking "women of low character" in 1852 London, ending their lives with white silk scarves. However, the arrest of coiner William Ryan for these crimes threatens to cool demand for Whitty's work--and thus deprive him of the income he needs for lodging, gin, and opium. So when he's approached by Henry Owler, an impoverished but proud balladeer, who hopes to ring a "last confession" from Ryan before his hanging, Whitty sees the chance again to best his competitors. What he doesn't expect, though, is for the stranglings to continue, raising doubts about Ryan's guilt and leading him--in the interests of his own pocketbook, of course--to turn detective in search of the factual fiend.

Gray, a Canadian columnist and playwright, captures Victorian London in the breadth of its grandeur and decay, shining an especially bright but sympathetic light on the city's outcast populace. A destitute woman here eyes a stray cat, "mumbling to herself that there walks two pounds of meat." An executioner's "facial pores appear to have been pricked repeatedly with pointed sticks." Pursuing his investigation, despite warnings from police and others, leads to Whitty being "thrown headlong from [a] swiftly moving carriage" and having an irate rat stuffed down the front of his trousers. However, this egocentric scribbler considers the pain worth the price, as he goes on to confront an unconvicted murderess, enlist a daring prostitute in searching for the suspicious owner of a silver flask, and face the scorn of his professional brethren--all to prove that Ryan isn't Chokee Bill, after all. Or is he? The Fiend in Human resolves this mystery amid elegant prose, frequent bursts of wit, and integral commentary on the failures of the press that reveals just how little has changed in a century and a half. --J. Kingston Pierce ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

Fiendishly witty
What distinguishes The Fiend in Human from the myriad other Victorian thrillers?
1) The protagonist. Edmund Whitty is dissolute, insolvent, and hapless--yet aware of these shortcomings to comic yet poignant effect. He's also articulate, intelligent, intuitive, and despite an exterior of skepticism and degeneracy, a highly moral being. All of which makes him someone you want to spend as much time with as possible.
2) The writing. By combining the arch floridness of Victorian prose with a present-tense, subtly ironic style, Gray has created a distinctive voice.
3) The supporting characters. Not a cliche or stock character among them.
4) The humour. Yes, the story revolves around a Jack the Ripper type, but the book is damn funny nonetheless.

Awful
I read someone's review mentioning that The Fiend in Human Form"out-aliens The Alienist."Wow.Therefore, I quickly purchased this book.Sadly, I feel swindled.This book is not only a complete bore, but the author simply does not even come close to the likes of Caleb Carr or Michael Cox.When I see "judgment" spelled with an 'e,' it becomes readily apparent that the author and his editors are quacks.Pathetic.I want my money back.It seems as if the reviews on Amazon were written by the author's friends and family. Stay away.

A gritty portrayal of a predator in the underbelly of Victorian London!
With no small amount of national pride, I'm thrilled to report that mere superlatives somehow seem insufficient to convey Gray's debut success with The Fiend in Human.

Edmund Whitty is a profligate, dissolute freelance journalist who has succumbed to every known Victorian vice save womanizing - snuff, cigarettes, gin, opium, laudanum, and Acker's Chlorodine (a potent mixture of opium, marijuana and cocaine in alcohol!) Despite having achieved a measure of journalistic fame and public notoriety by assigning the moniker "Chokee Bill" to William Ryan, currently awaiting execution for the strangulation and grisly mutilation of five ladies of questionable virtue, Whitty struggles with an ongoing desperate need to produce the income required to stave off gambling debtors who won't hesitate to use a physical beating to persuade payment. In the course of searching out new "crisp copy", lurid sensational pieces he can submit to his tight-fisted editor, he meets the impoverished Henry Owler, a "patterer" who wishes to render Ryan's last confession before his hanging into "true crime" verse. But Ryan (not unlike other convicted criminals, of course) protests he is innocent and circumstances begin to persuade Owler and Whitty that Ryan is indeed telling the truth. The signature white scarf killings have continued, swept under the carpet and hushed up by one and all - the police, the merchants, the petty criminals and even the poverty stricken residents of the local neighbourhood! Whitty in a desperate bid to achieve real fame in a fading, limpid journalistic career and financial freedom from the debtors who are relentlessly hounding him, decides to stake all on proving Ryan's innocence.

Gray has masterfully married the ascerbically witty, comic and always flowery Dickensian dialogue with Anne Perry's superb, elegant atmospheric descriptions of Victorian London life and then improved both by taking a step down into a much grittier, earthier representation of real characters living real lives. Two gentlemen Oxford swells pass wastrel days around gaming, sex and booze. The pain and wretched difficulties of daily life in a London slum are portrayed in exquisite, graphic detail that might warrant a warning to sensitive viewers were the medium television instead of a novel. Older female chaperones, quaintly termed "confidential friends", are employed to protect the nominal virtue of young ladies of marriageable age. The surviving local champion bare-knuckles boxer is portrayed as a friendly publican quite capable of acting as his own bouncer. Steet walkers and hookers are picked up by "gentleman" johns with a ritualized stylized dialogue and negotiation that, by today's standards, is absolutely hilarious.

You'll be treated, for example, to Gray's wonderful Dickensian variation on a simple theme that you and I would have written as simply "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder":

"For in truth there exists no young female (charwoman or countess, schoolgirl or flower-seller) in London who does not exist in some male mind as a tantalizing fantasy, in whose honour some schoolboy does not regularly engage in self-abuse - fantasy which, when he becomes an old boy, he will seek to make real. Hence, the relation between the brothel and the theatre: success in both depends upon one's observation of the world, of the human mind, as well as one's own outward identity in the calligraphy of sex."

The whodunit succeeds admirably with a couple of superb twists reserved until the final pages. In fact, the final twist, a brilliant piece of mis-direction by Gray, is held in reserve until the very last paragraph! On a somewhat deeper level, Gray manages, like Dickens, to also make probing critical comment on a number of issues without disrupting the flow of the story in the slightest. For example, his criticism of the ethics of journalists and the vested interest they have in creating news where none necessarily exists is quite apparent.

What a find! The Fiend in Human qualifies as perhaps the finest, most enjoyable read I've had the good luck to encounter over the last few years!

Paul Weiss

A gritty portrayal of a predator in the underbelly of Victorian London!
With no small amount of national pride, I'm thrilled to report that mere superlatives somehow seem insufficient to convey Gray's debut success with The Fiend in Human.

Edmund Whitty is a profligate, dissolute freelance journalist who has succumbed to every known Victorian vice save womanizing - snuff, cigarettes, gin, opium, laudanum, and Acker's Chlorodine (a potent mixture of opium, marijuana and cocaine in alcohol!) Despite having achieved a measure of journalistic fame and public notoriety by assigning the moniker "Chokee Bill" to William Ryan, currently awaiting execution for the strangulation and grisly mutilation of five ladies of questionable virtue, Whitty struggles with an ongoing desperate need to produce the income required to stave off gambling debtors who won't hesitate to use a physical beating to persuade payment. In the course of searching out new "crisp copy", lurid sensational pieces he can submit to his tight-fisted editor, he meets the impoverished Henry Owler, a "patterer" who wishes to render Ryan's last confession before his hanging into "true crime" verse. But Ryan (not unlike other convicted criminals, of course) protests he is innocent and circumstances begin to persuade Owler and Whitty that Ryan is indeed telling the truth. The signature white scarf killings have continued, swept under the carpet and hushed up by one and all - the police, the merchants, the petty criminals and even the poverty stricken residents of the local neighbourhood! Whitty in a desperate bid to achieve real fame in a fading, limpid journalistic career and financial freedom from the debtors who are relentlessly hounding him, decides to stake all on proving Ryan's innocence.

Gray has masterfully married the ascerbically witty, comic and always flowery Dickensian dialogue with Anne Perry's superb, elegant atmospheric descriptions of Victorian London life and then improved both by taking a step down into a much grittier, earthier representation of real characters living real lives. Two gentlemen Oxford swells pass wastrel days around gaming, sex and booze. The pain and wretched difficulties of daily life in a London slum are portrayed in exquisite, graphic detail that might warrant a warning to sensitive viewers were the medium television instead of a novel. Older female chaperones, quaintly termed "confidential friends", are employed to protect the nominal virtue of young ladies of marriageable age. The surviving local champion bare-knuckles boxer is portrayed as a friendly publican quite capable of acting as his own bouncer. Steet walkers and hookers are picked up by "gentleman" johns with a ritualized stylized dialogue and negotiation that, by today's standards, is absolutely hilarious.

You'll be treated, for example, to Gray's wonderful Dickensian variation on a simple theme that you and I would have written as simply "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder":

"For in truth there exists no young female (charwoman or countess, schoolgirl or flower-seller) in London who does not exist in some male mind as a tantalizing fantasy, in whose honour some schoolboy does not regularly engage in self-abuse - fantasy which, when he becomes an old boy, he will seek to make real. Hence, the relation between the brothel and the theatre: success in both depends upon one's observation of the world, of the human mind, as well as one's own outward identity in the calligraphy of sex."

The whodunit succeeds admirably with a couple of superb twists reserved until the final pages. In fact, the final twist, a brilliant piece of mis-direction by Gray, is held in reserve until the very last paragraph! On a somewhat deeper level, Gray manages, like Dickens, to also make probing critical comment on a number of issues without disrupting the flow of the story in the slightest. For example, his criticism of the ethics of journalists and the vested interest they have in creating news where none necessarily exists is quite apparent.

What a find! The Fiend in Human qualifies as perhaps the finest, most enjoyable read I've had the good luck to encounter over the last few years!

A Literary Entertainment
Gray's gifts as a dramatist are in evidence throughout this fine novel.The dialouge and period detail are marvelous.Strange that this ambitiuous entertainment didn't get the reviews lavished on Mr. Timothy which was fine but not as well-written. ... Read more

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Dr. Gray takes us on the quest for true and lastinglove. For those in search of a soul mate, Dr. Gray gives you the powerto recognize the special person with whom you were meant to share yourlife.If you have already found your soul mate, Dr. Gray's advicewill reignite the chemistry that first brought you together. ... Read more

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Practical advice from the author of the No. 1 hardcover of the last decade for filling each day with wonder,power, and fulfillment.

Awaken your power to create practical miracles so that you can adjust to life's challenges and respond with greater peace, joy, and love.

John Gray provides nine guiding principles to live by:

1. Believe as if miracles are truly possible.
2. Live as if you are free to do what you want.
3. Learn as if you are a beginner.
4. Love as if for the first time.
5. Give as if you already have what you need.
6. Work as if money doesn't matter.
7. Relax as if everything will be okay.
8. Talk to God as if you are being heard.
9. Feast as if you can have whatever you want.

Practical Miracles for Mars & Venus also presents new practical tools for taking charge of your destiny.

Typical of Gray, he has narrowed his book down into concise formulas, following step-by-step, stage-by-stage plans and exercises. This compulsion to script his theories into neat little self-help packages is his downfall, limiting what could have been a meaningful and important discussion about miracle making in everyday life. Instead, we can't help feeling that he's simply holding up a bottle of his latest formula and saying, "Ladies from Venus, gentlemen from Mars, for just under $20 you too can be a miracle maker...." Nonetheless, his heart seems to be in the right place and there are passages of impressive wisdom. Even hardcore skeptics could live a better life (and may even encounter a miracle or two) by following his excellent list of guiding principles. --Gail Hudson ... Read more

Customer Reviews (13)

borring book
This book has very bad content. It doesn't really help at all. I'm a fan of lots of his books specially Men are from Mars.... and also Mars and Venus on a Date. But this, it was a disaster. I repent from buying this garbage. It works better for the chimney, I don't have one but I might consider building one to give this book some use.

The worst book I have ever read
I got this book because of the fame of John Gary and the big title of the book. I managed to go through half of the book and finally, I cannot stand it and throw it away.

Basically, this book gives you 9 principles to bring miracles to your life, like eating healthy, love as if it is your first love, blablablah. Yeah, it is true, but it is also totally vain and misleading. For example, everybody knows that if you eat healthy food and work out intensively four times a week, two hours each time, you will definitely be fit as supermodel. But, can anybody really do that if somebody just told you to do so? It has to be tricky to deal with like finding the right and affordable workout program, finding the incentive, etc.

What I found ridiculous is that John kept saying that if you believe in his nine principles, then you can do whatever you want. Even superman cannot do that! Well, John, have you accomplished all of your wishes in your life? Belief is necessary for any success, but it is not a guarantee for all successes.

Also, John made some metaphors to prove his points, but most of them don't make enough or any sense, at least to me. Another reason I hate the book is that it takes the first 1/3 to boast his former achievements, like 12 bestsellers, without touching the core topic of this book.

If you are looking for practical miracles in this book, I assure you that you will be practically disappointed, period.

Wonderful Nightly Reading!
I enjoyed this book but if you are a person that doesn't like John Gray then don't waste any of our time reading this book only to down it afterward.I think the book is great and being a Reiki Master I loved the section about recharging technique in which I tried and really felt the energy flowing from my elbows to my fingertips.I haven't tried connecting to the energy in this manner before and really felt the affects for a while afterward.I am going to use the technique often.

Great book for relaxing in the evening after dinner with or early in the morning when your mind is clear, it's a keeper in our house!

A Mixed Bag�
Albert Einstein's famous quote sums up the message of this book: "There are only two ways to live your life.
One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is."

A large part describes the cultural and historical changes that have taken place that now allow miracles to take place by common people - rather than by the stereotypical monks that live in the mountains.

Smashing old and limiting beliefs with inspiring and liberating ideas, John Gray provides nine techniques that'll
allow you to use these nine principles to create miracles in your life in a simple, practical manner.

One technique, however, may be a bit superficial and impractical: The Blockbuster Technique.

In this short chapter, John Gray describes a familiar way of healing: writing a mock letter to whomever you are feeling negative towards. Gray provides a chart of "blocks" that are common to most. Examples include: Resentment, Depression, Confusion, etc. Your letter should explore the feelings attached to your particular block. By exploring emotions below the "block," one can attain healing. Examples of feelings attached to these blocks: Deprived, Angry, Abandoned, etc.

I tried this with a particular person I knew at one time. My biggest challenge with this technique? I would have been up all night writing this letter. And I would have wasted an entire notebook of paper to boot!

In trying to figure what was not working out for me, I realized one's beliefs about oneself and others determine how long this letter will go on for. So rather than using this technique of letter-writing to feel better, go read something by Albert Ellis instead - and change your ideas that lead to these feelings. That way, you will not only feel better...but you will GET better. There is a big difference between those two.

Regardless of the validity of writing letters, there is one fantastic part that I love: this book will teach you the
exact technique behind energy healing.

Yes, the mysterious stuff "those spiritual people" have used to create miraculous healings. Whether these techniques work or not, I cannot say - I still need to start applying them myself. These are not ideas that you grasp in an hour, however. There are three separate exercises involved with energy: Recharging, Decharging, and Natural Energy Healing. Each one has separate instructions, and John encourages you to take baby steps
and learn these concepts gradually.

John Gray has the background for this, too. From my hazy understanding of him, before he got his Ph.D. in psychology and created the Mars-Venus craze, he was a monk for nine years. His story of how he healed his own blindness is described in the book as well.

A great book: liberating, practical, and useful. Most important, if you've always wanted to learn how to heal yourself and others via meditation, touch, and energy, you must read this book.

An Inspiration
This book is great, no matter what your stage of life.If you are ready to change your life and learn more about yourself and others, this book was meant for you.Miracles are possible. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Excellent history of early American trade and shipping
Excellent history of a little-known and fascinating chapter in early American maritime and trade history on the Pacific coast. Kendrick's and Gray's expedition helped spark Jefferson's interest in the west; their exploits were precursors to Lewis and Clark. Lively and full of interesting anecdotes, particularly of Kendrick's activities.

The definative work on the 1700's PNW fur trade
Scofield digs deep into hard-to-find journals and letters from the voyages of the Amercian fur trading vessels Columbia Rediviva and Lady Washington.His colorful descriptions of the meanderings of the two boats paints avivid portrait of life aboard a trading ship along the mostly-unchartedcoast.Most impressive here is Scofield's insight into the men who pressedon with arrogance and greed to find fortune in the Otter fur trade circleof the late 1700's. ... Read more

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Hailed by Kirkus Reviews as both "a convincing analysis of an international economy" and "a powerful challenge to economic orthodoxy", False Dawn proposes that the attempt to impose the Anglo-American-style free market on the world will create a disaster on the scale of Soviet communism.Gray believes that even America, the supposed flagship of the new civilization, is doomed to moral and social disintegration as it loses ground to cultures that have never forgotten that the market works best when it is embedded in society. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (4)

Poe, Dickens and Politics, Oh, my
Edgar Allan Poe was found lying in a ditch, ill and nearly dead, and was taken to a local Baltimore Hospital where he died. Or did he? Gray, in Not Quite Dead, sets out a series of events that bring Edgar Allan Poe, Charles Dickens, American politics, and publishing in 1849 into a book that is part historical, part wishful thinking, and surprisingly believable.

The first third of this book was totally engrossing as Gray set up the characters, atmosphere, time period, and political factions. The style and narrative kept me turning pages as fast as I could read them. The middle third of the book was, unfortunately, a chore to read. I kept going because the first chapters had convinced me that I really wanted to know what was going on. Finally, in the last third of the book, everything came together again and found me staying up late to finish because I couldn't wait 'til morning to find out how it all played out.

Thinking about it after finishing the book, I'd have to say that the reason the middle dragged so much for me was I really didn't care all that much for the main character of Dr. William Cheevers, childhood friend of Poe, who was our point of view character throughout most of the mid-section of the book. But none the less, I'm glad I read Not Quite Dead.

Living not that far from Baltimore, and having lived several years in Providence, RI, it was the mention of Poe that caught my interest. Poe's part is relatively minor, but pivotal, to the plot which seems designed not only to tell a story, but also a way to bring the reader into the time period. While history is frequently dull, when presented as a story, a well researched work of fiction (even when it's bordering on alternate history) can really give the reader a feel for the way people lived and their day-to-day activities that makes the past come alive.

Unique book
This story is so well written and is a unique read....I found I couldn't put it down. The way the author took two real authors, Dickens and Poe (who I admire, by the way) and put them in such a unique situation, made for a fantastic, quick read.I learned so much about a place and time I knew nothing of...I didn't realize that politics and the world in general in the US at that time were so dangerous!If you have any love of Dickens or Poe, this is a unique story (am I overusing the word UNIQUE?!) that you are sure to find intriguing.

A great read
Not Quite Dead is a great read. Despite surprising and outrageous turns the complex plot maintains plausibility and produces a conclusion that is satisfying on all fronts. The story is set in mid 19th century America and the bleak and troubled conditions of the period are detailed with great historical accuracy and nuance by 21st century author John MacLachlan Gray. The characters, who include authors Edgar Allan Poe and Charles Dickens, are wonderfully developed and actually very alive, if one dares repeat the suggestion that life and death can be matters of degree. The emotional priorities of Poe are constrasted to Dickens' pragmatism and this difference manifested in their approach to writing becomes an important plot point. Their differences also provoke a delightful level of consciousness about Gray's own project and the famciful mix his mind has imagined. Still, the best parts of the book may well be the little bits, found on every page: the narrator's wonderful sense of humour and acute observations, his wisdom and care for the human condition that make this such a wonderful read.

insightful mid nineteenth century Americana thriller
In 1848 on a cargo ship sailing from Liverpool to the United States, Irish stowaway Finn Devlin steals a package containing worthless papers "David Copperfield, Final Four Numbers, by Charles Dickens."Although the Irishman sees no profit, he plans to visit Dickens's American publisher to see if they might pay him anyway.Angry with his treatment Devilin kills the publisher.

In 1849 in Baltimore, infamous author, journalist and critic Edger Allen Poe collapses and is rushed to a hospital where he insists he has proof of a mob hit.Allegedly dying, he arranges with his childhood friend Dr. William Chivers to fake his death so that he can elude the Irish mob that wants him silent.Charles Dickens begins an America tour by having as a roommate in a dive, the maniacal Poe, who hides from the Irish mob.Soon all the players on this stage will collide in a final chapter worthy of both writers.

Although well written and very insightful into mid nineteenth century Baltimore and Philadelphia, NOT QUITE DEAD loses some speed by rotating perspective from the first person accounts of harassed Chivers and a third person viewpoint of Devilin's crossing and lethal time in the States where he seems more like a character from a Corman movie version of a Poe novel.Poe and Dickens play key roles, but are secondary to the prime duet.

Harriet Klausner ... Read more

Product Description
John Chipman Gray plays an unusual role in the study of the law of property. The impact of his scholarly effort continues today from and through the prism of his defining scholarship on the historical origin of the so-called enigmatic Rule against Perpetuities (RAP). His book on the RAP, first published in 1886, became the most authoritative guide on this decidedly complex inheritance of the English common law. His formulaic condensation of the RAP became a foreboding juggernaut for law students to comprehend for more than a century. His scholarship and enduring hegemony on the interpretation and aggressive enforcement of this sacrosanct RAP of property law eventually led to the demands for elimination of some of the excesses of his ensconced articulation of the RAP during the latter part of the Twentieth Century. Most of that action was foreordained by the highly critical and equally humorous scholarship of Professor W. Barton Leach. It was only a matter of time before the academy agreed to provide some revision to lessen the harshness of Gray's RAP by action of the American Institute of Law and then later by the National Conference of Commissioners. All of these factors led the author into the study of the life and career of John Chipman Gray. He was without doubt one of the Giants of the Harvard Law School during the period when the metaphysical structure of the traditional modern American law school were designed and implemented. The personal experiences and the cultural influences on Professor Gray greatly shaped his perception of the role and function of law in society. Professor Gray was not just a law professor and scholar extraordinaire, but also a founding member of one of the most prestigious law firms of the country - Ropes & Gray - as well as a quintessential Brahmin. He was also directly involved in the Civil War and a half brother of Justice Horace Gray, Jr. These factors reveal an uncommon man passionately engaged in matters of the public forum, who oddly did not seek notoriety, and was at his core a very private person. Lastly, the book provides a special chapter designed to reduce some of the mysticism generally associated with the study of the RAP for students of today. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

John Chipman Gray, Harvard Law School, and Property Law
This is the first book-length study of John Chipman Gray (1839-1915), co-founder of Ropes & Gray, Harvard Law School Professor, and a highly-influential architect of American real property law, especially the Rule against Perpetuities.This is really two books in one: a concise biography of Gray and a look at some of the key property concepts which he infuenced. It is quite an interesting study from a number of perspectives.First of all, it places Gray within the Brahmin circle of Boston intellectual leaders (including Justice Holmes, the James brothers, the Metaphysical Circle, and Harvard) that existed from the late 1850's through the rest of the 19th Century. This cultural context helps a great deal in understanding Gray. Also of interest is the author's discussion of how Gray's older brother, Horace Gray, Jr. (1828-1902), who sat on the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court and the U.S. Supreme Court, shaped JC Gray's interest in and approach to the law, especially the common law. One of the central issue that the author grapples with, as have others, is whether Gray was simply a legal formalist, strictly seeking answers via logical deductions from the law itself while ignoring any policy considerations, or did he change due to his teaching at HLS. The book focuses as well on the fascinating duality in Gray: law professor but also practicing head of his own law firm, and how this duality of approaches affected his work in both spheres. Of course there is much discussion of Harvard Law School during Gray's tenure, when Langdell reforms, including casebooks and the Socratic method, revolutionized American law teaching, sometimes exasperating Gray in the process.

The author also discusses Gray's role in the Civil War (yet another parallel with Holmes), his marriage, the elite legal clientele of the early Ropes & Gray and how this may have impacted Gray's legal pronouncements, his appointment to HLS and some instances of conflict with his colleagues and Langdell, and his final book, "The Nature and Sources of the Law," which has become somewhat of a classic of American legal literature.Anyone who has studied law can confirm how mind-deadening the rule against perpetuities can be. One important contribution this book makes is to illustrate how Gray's famous treatise on the RAP, despite its complexity, well illustrates one particular method of legal analysis (formalism) which was dominant at the time Gray wrote and was later squarely challenged by the legal realists.The author has included three chapters on property topics, including the "Spendthrift Doctrine," the American version of the RAP, and the modern rule. I pretty much skimmed these chapters, but they do at points discuss some important dimensions of Gray's thought.The author also has included a chapter on Gray's contemporary critics and what they made of him and his approach.

So, substantively, the book adds greatly to our understanding of Gray, a pretty much ignored figure recently except for a few interesting law review articles by Professor Stephen A. Siegel, and his legal and teaching philosophies.Unfortunately, this helpful book is hampered by incredibly poor editing: wrong dates appear; incorrect book titles are cited; wrong page citations abound; quotes become misquotes. As irritating as these flaws may be, we cannot allow them to undermine the substantial contributins the book makes. It is supported with interesting family phtographs, some unique appendices, a good bibliography, and footnotes actually on the bottom of each page. An important aspect of American legal history has been restored by this study. ... Read more

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BESTSELLING AUTHORS DR. JOHN GRAY AND JOHN SELBY HELP YOU FIND TRUE HAPPINESS BY REALIZING YOUR DREAMS

In this original audiobook, Dr. John Gray and John Selby have designed a series of guided experiences, carefully constructed to lead you toward your own insights and allow you to discover your vast potential for fulfilling your life dreams.

The four guided sessions consist of: Loving What You Already Are; Focusing On Your Deeper Needs; Clearing the Way; and a Daily Dream Booster. These experiences will powerfully support and accelerate your personal journey into deeper emotions, expanded consciousness, and intense harmony.

Living Your Dream also includes a Guided Experience Musical CD, which will provide a soothing harmonious foundation for your inner experiences as well as a chance for personal reflection. This Guided Experience Musical CD features Synergy created by The Atlantic Arts Ensemble. Their eclectic style of jazzy ambient music creates a relaxing atmosphere for new insights and realizations. ... Read more

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¡ EN CUANTO A LA PASI"N, NO HAY COMO EL AMOR CASERO

!John Gray muestra cómo transformar el matrimonio en una relación amorosa para toda la vida!

Si el fenomenal bestseller del New York Times de john Gray, Los Hombres son de Marte, Las Mujeres son de Venus, le ha ayudado a mejorar la relación con su pareja, este estupendo nuevo libro la hará aún más emocionante y duradera. Marte y Venus juntos para siempre presenta nuevas e innovadoras técnicas para crear y mantener una intimidad mutuamente satisfactoria-- una que crece y se enriquece con el tiempo. Entre las varias lecciones de este libro, Marte y Venus aprenderán:

Product Description
This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Remarkable!
This is possibly the finest single volume history of the Sioux War of 1876. I never realized from the Army's position what a concentrated effort, involving thousands of soldiers, this was. I also never realized that the Sioux inflicted not one but two significant defeats on the Army, both by 2 different groups of Indians and each within just a few days of the other.

From the Army point of view this was a determined campaign, involving 3 separate, converging columns over thousands of square miles. From the Indian point of view this was an uncoordinated, chance thing, with 2 different groups rendezvousing with each other within just a few days.

This is an excellent work about a strange pseudo war whose centerpiece is the Custer massacre. John S. Gray provides a meticulously researched, somewhat controversial, account of what appears to have been a totally unnecessary war. The maps are very well done, allowing a greater understanding of the tactical issues and terrain faced by both sides.

fair, balanced and packed with incredible information
fair, balanced and packed with incredible information
worth 6 stars !

the best
This is the best book on this subject! You should also get his book on the last stand.

A Total Picture of The Sioux War: Before and After Custer
This is a great book to learn everything about the 1876 Sioux War from the political and economic situations that fueled the conflict (gold and the Black Hills, dissolving the 1868 Peace Treaty), the behavior of the independent Sioux, Grant's ultimatum, the Sheridan three prong attack on the Sioux, the political (Custer and Grant) and weather problems hindering he start of the campaign and General's Crook and Terry's frustrating attempts to catch the Sioux and Cheyenne who fragmented into smaller groups after the Little Big Horn. Also covers Crook's March campaign that resulted in a controversial but failed battle on the Powder River and the critical battle of the Rosebud in June 30 miles southeast of the Little Big Horn which occurred just 8 days prior to Custer's annihilation. Crook, the great Indian fighter with twice Custer's number, becomes displaced out of the Sheridan attack plan due to the furious attack by the Sioux and Cheyenne. Gray also documents how the winter roamers left the agencies to join the summer roamers (Sitting Bull, Gall, Crazy Horse, Two Moon) which peaked with one of the largest villages ever on the North American continent at the time of Custer's attack. The book completes the story by detailing the aftermath of Custer's battle with Crooks and Terry's joint and separate campaigns and the addition of General Nelson Miles. Not a total story on Custer, for that you should read Gray's "Custer's Last Campaign" but start with "Centennial Campaign" to get the complete picture.

The Best about the Sioux War
In 1981 I made a phone call to a retired medical doctor named John Gray. I told him I had just finished reading his book, CENTENNIAL CAMPAIGN, and would love to talk with him. I figured we would talk on the phone, so I wassurprised when he invited me to visit him in his home in Ft. Collins,Colorado. I accepted his invitation without hesitation.

We spent theentire afternoon talking about his book. There was one question that I wasanxious to get answered. Why did he write less than a page about the Custerfight itself? Gray didn't really know what happened during that battle, sothere really wasn't much to say. I laughed but it made sense.

This bookis not about the Custer fight, but about the entire campaign of the SiouxWar of 1876 and it is filled with new revelations about the causes andevents of this war. Most interesting is Gray's narrative about the WhiteHouse meeting between Grant and his aides concerning how they should dealwith the Sioux problem and why they started a war.

The book is filledwith detailed maps of the Indian movements during the campaign, where andwhen they camped and for how long. The same is done for soldier columnmovements.

There is an excellent analysis of the size of the warriorforce at the Little Bighorn that historians accept to this day. The numberswill surprise you.

If you have not read much on the Sioux war, then Ihighly recommend this book. You'll learn that the Custer fight was just oneof many events of a long brutal, bloody war. ... Read more