Book Description

Customer Reviews (5)

Maybe 5 stars, hard to say
I've always thought that Bjork was just the loveliest lady, but I haven't seen or heard much of her.Yesterday I picked up this book at Barnes and Noble for $4.98, yes that's four ninety-eight, and it is just chock-full of so many pictures and clear tidy text that I am very impressed.It may not be the most in-depth work about her, but it seems fairly accessible, and she is not terribly well-known beyond a certain reputation as being a bit "out there."She's an artist, not a commodity like so many musicians, and it's not what we expect, and people forget to look beyond the far-out sound bite or video clip.

The Words Of Bjork
This is a good reference book if you want to know what Bjork is saying AND meaning in her songs.This book has helped me understand some of her Icelandic accent, which I think is awesome.Some of her songs get so twisted in my head, (I am always changing lyrics anyway) that I have to use this book to know what she is really saying.I have lots of fun with the English language, Bjork does speak very well, but if you have a hearing problem like I do, this book will make for good reading.
This book has mostly all of her songs, the reasons why she wrote them, it opens up a whole new realm for any Bjork fan.
The photography is great, also.Bjork is a Beautiful Icelandic Princess with much talent.

there's more to life than this
my mom brought this book back for me from london, because at that time (last november) it was next to impossible to find in the states. the book looks nice on the outside. nice oversized book, with thick glossy paper. and the idea of the book is nice, the story beihnd every song + info on the cubes/gling-glo and early stuff.

however, the book does fall a little short, content wise. the information gathered is mostly pretty well known (keep in mind i am a total björk dörk :p ) but the pictures in the book totally make up for the (lack of) content! there were so many pics i have never seen before, and huge, oversized glossy pictures! i was in heaven :)

i was really hoping for more information about the sugarcubes, which is why this book didn't get a 5 star rating! they only talked about the 'cubes, and didn't get in to the meaning behind the songs.

a fine start for a curious wannabe bjork fan
I guess since I've been a Bjork fan for a while now, I was hoping to find some new insight into her songs through this book. If you want to learn the intentions and meanings behind Bjork songs, you're better off going to her website or searching online for interpretations or interviews. This book, while providing some solid background information about Bjork, does not provide too much information about the songs themselves. It seems that the author took random quotes and tried to apply them to the songs as he saw fit. The timeline is useful, and pictures are gorgeous. The descriptions for each song are not more than a couple of paragraphs each, far too short to even get an introduction for a Bjork song. It is a good collector's item--that's why I bought it. But if you're looking for some answers, like, what do those bjorkish words mean?, look somewhere else...like the 4um

Bjork Fans Need This
A fine overview of Bjork's career, with lots of good photos, and a track-by-track discussion of each album, beginning with her pre-teen "Bjork" effort and concluding with "Vespertine." (There's also a discussion of all B-sides and collaborations.) Mr. Gittins is apparently not a musician--he can't tell a recorder from a flute and describes a sitar as "Indian strings"--but he's otherwise well-informed and appreciative of Bjork's genius without going overboard. Highly recommended to Bjork fans. ... Read more

Book Description
The life and music of Iceland's Björk Gudmundsdottir, from her origins as a burgeoning child star and her days spent training on the battleground of Iceland's notoriously seditious punk scene to her eventual emergence as one of pop music's pioneering figures, are explored in this comprehensive biography. Punk extremist, teenage mother, fashion iconoclast, fierce independent, emotional conduit, feminist antihero, reluctant actress, unabashed music geek, and lover-no side of the complex artist is left unexamined. Described are Björk's merging of naturalism with technology, self-empowerment with unflinching vulnerability, and elements of avant-garde and experimental music with her own irrefutably unique sensibilities. Containing a detailed songbook and more than 30 exclusive interviews with close family members, past band mates, and frequent collaborators, this is an exhaustive and revealing look at the life, music, and philosophy of one of modern music's most compelling innovators. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

i've been wow'ed and fluttered ;)
first, let me start out by saying, i've been a björk fan for 10 years now. many unofficialy "björkgraphies" have been released over the years, and i've read every one of them. when i first noticed "wow&flutter" on amazon earlier this year, i thought to myself .. another one, meaning, another björk book i will read, and kick myself for not writing one myself ;)

when i got "wow&flutter", i quickly flipped through it to look at the pictures. saw several that i didn't have, flipped through the pages, noticed it had a song guide and a mini discography. so far i was impressed.

but tonight, i decided to read the book. i really wanted to since none of my friends had the book, and no one on the bjork.com 4um had the book either. so i would be the first in my circle of friends to explore.

the book covers björk from her birth to present day, even talks about the birth of her daughter this past october. the author, mark pytlik, i can tell is like me. he is a fan. not just a casual fan, not someone who just knew her as "the lady who wore the swan dress". that's what made reading the book so exciting. it is a book i can relate to.

while i don't want to "give away" everything in the book, i will tell you that reading this has made me even more excited about her (i didn't think that was possible!) i know this review probably sounds a little corny and a lot obsessive, so i think i'll just stop here :) ... Read more

Book Description
The second edition of this popular introduction to the classical underpinnings of the mathematics behind finance continues to combine sound mathematical principles with economic applications.Concentrating on the probabilistic theory of continuous arbitrage pricing of financial derivatives, including stochastic optimal control theory and Merton's fund separation theory, the book is designed for graduate students and combines necessary mathematical background with a solid economic focus. It includes a solved example for every new technique presented, contains numerous exercises, and suggests further reading in each chapter.In this substantially extended new edition Bjork has added separate and complete chapters on measure theory, probability theory, Girsanov transformations, LIBOR and swap market models, and martingale representations, providing two full treatments of arbitrage pricing: the classical delta-hedging and the modern martingales. More advanced areas of study are clearly marked to help students and teachers use the book as it suits their needs. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Nicely Prepared Intermediate-Level Treatment
The author has put together an excellent text that will take readers of an elementary text like Hull's "Options, Futures and Other Derivatives" to the next level. In the author's treatment, the power of stochastic calculus is brought to bear on the options pricing problem from the point of view of modern martingale theory, if not the complete mathematical rigor needed to establish all the results.

The text contains 26 chapters and 3 appendices. There is simply too much here to give a blow-by-blow account. So I'll try to hit the highlights.

The author gives intuitive definitions of some of the more heavy concepts from measure theory/Lebesgue integration, measure-theoretic probability theory and basic stochastic analysis. For the rigor, one need only look to the appendices, but the treatment is intuitive enough that can still follow along with only the occasionally glance to the back of the book.

Readers of Hull's text will find the first couple of chapters quite familiar, but starting in Chapter 4, stochastic integrals are (somewhat) formally introduced, along with the multi-dimensional version of Ito's change of variable rule. This is not overkill as the development of multi-factor term structure models later in the book benefits from this early development.
We note that these formulas are stated without proof, although they are motivated intuitively.

In the next chapter, stochastic differential equations are introduced and the Feynman-Kac representation is established as a nice application of Ito's rule. The chapter winds up with an intuitive treatment of Kolmogorov's forward & backward equations.

For the remainder of the first half of the text, readers of Hull will feel themselves in quite familiar territory, as the author develops the solution for the options pricing problem, studies the Greek letters and establishes parity using the now classical approach.

The second half of the text delves into martingale methods for mathematical finance. As a consequence, the sophistication level jumps considerably. The reader is well-advised to get the basic analytical toolkit in hand before delving too far into the second half of the book. I recommend Rudin's "Real and Complex Analysis" 3rd edition.

Heavy machinery is pulled in from functional analysis to establish the first and second fundamental theorems of mathematical finance. Without some basic understanding of Hilbert and Banach space theory, the reader will understand very little of this treatment.

The next highlight is the Girsanov Theorem. The author actual provides a proof in the scalar case, and presents (without proof) the Novikov condition to test when the Girsanov transformation is indeed a martingale (so the theorem holds). As a nice application, the Black-Scholes theory is revisted and re-established via these martingale results.

Another highlight is the study of the Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman model for stochastic control, along with a small catalogue of cases under which the HJB equations can be solved. As a nice application, Merton's mutual fund theorem is established.

The last several chapters of the book deal with martingale methods for term structure models. There is a nice survey and study of the 1-factor short rate models before loading up and doing the k-factor model framework of Heath-Jarrow-Morton.
The martingale setting makes for a very rigorous treatment.

The book ends with a really nice treatment of the Libor Market and Swap Market Models. Pure finance students may feel that the mathematics at the end unnecessarily overwhelms the intuition, but students of mathematical finance will appreciate the analytical treatment and may even feel inspired to implement their own LMM.

There are a ton of terrific exercises at the end of each chapter. The exercises really solidify the understanding of the presentation and they make great technical interview questions as well.

intuitive introduction to option pricing
I agree with several reviewers above that the book is written in a style very helpful for students to understand the material.

It doesn't contain a lot of small details of financial markets like Hull's book, but the approach is very systematic. The derivations of formula for Barrier optionsis a nice example, Hull only lists a set of formula. The focus is on the theory, not on the practice. (No numerical method in the book). Bjork's book is very valuable for a student with very good math skills but want to learn the reasoning style for optionpricing.It is a quick and enjoyable read.

A huge plus side of the book is to describe strategy before writing down all the proofs. This helps greatly.Itcan be contrasted with Duffie's book "Dynamic Asset Pricing Theory", which is written like a dry math book (well, I have to admit thatDuffie's bookis not an intro book)

Only thing I can think of that can be improved is typo in the book, too many wrong formula, especially in the second half of the book, luckily enough, they are obviously wrong so that one can still understand the topics. I also find that using SEK and mentioning street name of Britain are amusingfor a student in U.S.

Hell, I should have rated it 5 stars!
If you're going to be introduced to Derivatives pricing and Quantitative finance in continuous time, you need some basics in probability theory, an elementary introduction to stochastic calculus and you need "bjork". It tells you the equation and how to understand it.

It's the best source for a complete understanding of the basics of arbitrage free pricing in continuous time; whether it's in complete or incomplete markets.

The best feature of this book is how the author invariably provides an "intuitive interpretation or explanation" to convey critical concepts. {Things like market price of risk in the context of interest rate modelling, change of measure etc...}

Why I rated the book 4 instead of 5?
I will not forgive "Tomas bjork" not to have covered the Libor Market Model; it's "THE" model and therefore should be covered in great details by any book of this calibre. A new edition of this book with the libor market model is needed.
Having said that, the coverage he gives to the popular short rate models is worth every read!

Guy,
Msc Financial Engineering at ISMA Center, Reading - UK.

Good introductory book
It is a good book to read as an introduction to the field. The author is successful in conveying the intuition behind the models instead of striving for complete mathematical rigor. I recommend this book if you want to quickly get acquainted with derivatives pricing but are a bit afraid of the higher math seen in other books.

An FE Bible
The central text for IOE 552(financial Engineering I) at the University of Michigan.Halfway through the course and I really understand the application of Ito's Lemma and the Feynman-Kac stochastic representation theorem.This book has just the right mixture of narative story telling, and mathematical rigor.The derivations are accessible to those with a semester of advanced calculus and a semester of probability.Over and over, Bjork shows that the secret of success in Financial Engineering is "RAIL" which stands for the "Relentless Application of Ito's Lemma". ... Read more

Book Description
Since the split of The Sugarcubes in 1992, Bjork has forged a new career as the world's highest profile diva, with a unique blend of classical music, pop standards, bleeding-edge dance and vocal experimentation.Bjork's fourth solo album 'Vespertine' is released on the 28th of August 2001. Through pre-orders alone, it is in the top 50 of all Amazon.com products.The first single from the album 'Hidden Place' is receiving heavy rotation on radio stations across the globe and, after only a few days on sale, went straight in at number 21 on the UK singles chart.Bjork's first solo album - aptly titled 'Debut' - sold nearly three million copies world-wide and spawned the massive top-twenty hits 'Human Behaviour' and 'Big Time Sensuality'. Her second and third albums were certified platinum and her latest is set to follow.Bjork is to undertake an extensive world tour of theatres and opera houses - her first tour for three years - in the fall of 2001. "As enduring as an Icelandic lava field." Rolling Stone"Maximum Bjork" now tells the full and unauthorised story of her public and private life. An ideal chance for millions of fans to discover more about one of the pop world's true musical innovators. ... Read more

Book Description

Customer Reviews (14)

A worthy experiment from the most unique celebrity I know of.
Björk is as unique as a person can be, yet still be famous. She is like pure imagination, with barely any reality. I'm exagerating, of course, but she is an ultimately original creature with seemingly endless curiosty in everything.

She has a noble idea behind this book. Many celebrities aline themselves with other famous people in their collaborations. That's 'the thing done'. But Björk has seen past that, and realized that collaborating with like-minded individuals makes alot more sense. Even so, her abilty to organize her ideas is a work in progress. As, this book is quite messy and confusing.

The back cover (shown here at amazon.com to represent the item) is absolutely beautiful. It is one of my favourite pictures of her, if not my outright favourite. The glossy finish is perfect. Unfortunately, the inside photography didn't follow suit with the glossy treatment. The photos were given a grainy look, which is more suitable to photographs of antiquity, not futurism. And the graininess doesn't bring out a person's features in portraits as well as a smooth finish does. I did buy this book believing that the inside photography would also be glossy, and still am sure it'd have been alot better had it been. (subjectivity allowing).
NOTE: Amazon.com's representation of the other photos inside the book suggest they're similarly glossy, but they're not.

Björk is amazingly creative, but lacks organizational skills. (Evident in the fact that she does require many collaborators even in the music studio). In this book, it's difficult to know when a submitted piece of work is by Björk, or by one of her friends. I often can't tell what a text is about, even. Are they talking about her? Is this text by her? Or is it random writing?

One problem consistent throughout all of Björk's projects, is they never reveal enough about her. I know much is revealed through her music and her photos, but rarely is there enough content straight from the horses mouth in interviews. I want to know her philosophies, her upbringing, and some life situations. I don't expect her to reveal anything too personal, but I'm always disappointed at how little I find out about her after buying a product of hers. I've heard her suggest that people wouldn't be interested in hearing about her outside of her art, which is for me a mistaken belief. (I'd love to know more about you as a person outside of your art, Björk). And this book continues the frustration for me, which began with the DVD collection I bought. There is a book about Björk by Ian Gittins. It is not a good book, in reality. For a start, it is hell bent on insulting a member of the Sugarcubes, which is poor form, even if you dislike a person. But, it certainly provided more quotes from Björk than this one did. I learnt quite a bit from that book. But this book here is, of course, a much better keepsake.

There is an interview 'by' Björk of David Attenborough (the nature documentary narrator and host). These two make a seemingly unlikely match, but infact are totally kindred when it comes to the natural world. They have a great respect and curiosity for nature. Unfortunately, it seemed that they may have had busy schedules and just squeezed this interview attempt in between engagements. I'd love to see a second attempt at this, where they start a recorder, and simply just talk for a couple hours. They are very insightful and refreshingly curious about the world.

I'm personally not fond of the artworks by Björk's friends, but I appreciate the idea. This kind of experiment is what got her where she is. She doesn't rest on regulation procedure. But overall, this book didn't work for me. No context is given to the works by her friends, so it's hard to appreciate where they are coming from, (if indeed one knows who a page of work is even by). Oftentimes, context makes the difference between enjoying a piece of art, and not.

In all, you get to know Björk through her art, and her sharing of her friends' art, but there still isn't enough material here that 'directly' reveals her to us. I respect the thought put into this book, but as with all original people, sometimes it's hard to know exactly what they set out to accomplish. But if you don't mind the obscurity, you will, as a fan, like this book anyway. Even though this book didn't strike a chord with me, the artist herself has, and I fully respect the attitude behind this project.

Great Artistic Direction
I'm an art student in college and would like to think that I am very dedicated to the work I do. Over Christmas I was preparing myself for a college interview in February and was told that the college likes to see my personality reflected through my interests. First thing that popped to mind? Björk. No one else quite moves me or holds my attention like this little genius, and the thought of doing sketchpad work on her 'art' brought a smile across my face, I can tell you! Okay, it might sound a bit self-indulgent, but I think I can afford to be in the case of Björk.

So over Christmas I produced sketchpad work on her 'art.' I was interested in exploring the way she communicates with her audience, and how she does this through music, video and fashion. Everything in her career is methodically thought out by herself. She isn't controlled by her record company, because you can't control people like her. Everything from remixes, photoshoots and videos are well-thought out to create elaborate works of art, so my aim was to research and analyse this, before somehow using it to make my own piece of art, using her level of artistic intelligence, based on this. That's where this book came in useful!

I ordered this book over Christmas and was delighted with it, because it has many things in it that I can use for my project. There isn't much text at all in this book apart from a few interviews so if you're expecting massive essays about her career and in-depth interviews then this probably isn't the book for you. However, if you're interested in visual communication which is thought-provoking like myself, then I would recommend this to you in a second. Perhaps one of my favourite sections of the book is a collection of cartoon drawings of dreams that Björk used to have as a child. I found this to be just adorable and very personal for her to communicate with her fanbase in such a way as to let them into her childhood dreams.

There are also many, many interesting photos of Björk, most in black and white, of her in just 'ordinary' situations. I think these are much more interesting than glamorous photoshoots of just an ordinary pop star. These photos make you think - or they make me think - about just what on earth she's trying to communicate with us. Is she trying to communicate anything at all? Perhaps not, but it's interesting to think about these things. I also really like the full colour reproduction of the "Homogenic" album cover, and also the CD cover to the single "Bachelorette." The large double-page screen still capture of the "All Is Full Of Love" is also very cool, with the two robots gently kissing.

This book has almost 200 pages in it, so I think you get your money's worth. It's a rather minimalist book though, and there are many blank pages with just a few words in the corner. This is how the book has been constructed, though, so you should respect Björk's artistic decisions. The cover jacket of the book also features an incredible story about Björk, which is hard to read at first because the font which has been used is the one which was used on the track listing of the "Vespertine" album. Overall I think a great product to add to your Björk collection, but perhaps not for everyone.

An emotional book
This is a gift to every Björk fan in the world. Every single page is an emotion, every page tells you a little story, and that helps you to collect them in major story that will describe Björk. Even though the book has not many words, those words make you think, those words urge you to ask yourself things that will make you meditate about your real connection with Björk and what is your real situation in it. Perhaps is not a book for everybody, but it works for me.

If Photos Will Satisfy You...
Even though I'm a huge Bjork fan, this book still dissapointed me.The book is a collection of some wonderful photographs of Bjork, including many intimate and beautiful ones.For readers (not lookers), there is nothing to be offered - the editors seem to have felt that they should throw some arbitrary text in the middle written by arbitrary authors - and they really shouldn't have.The centre articles offer no insight into Bjork's thoughts or life; they are simply a collection of why the authors think Bjork is special (and who needs to know that!).After the halfway point, some very strange and "arty" pictures are included to finish off.Buy this book only if you are interested in some wonderful photo's of Bjork and if you don't mind the relatively steep price for what you're getting.

Review
The book definitely was great. It was a bit pricey, but it was worth it.
I would give it four and a half stars only because it was a little disappointing. There could have been lots of things included as well. I only reccomend it to good Björk fans, due to the inner simplicity of it that is hard to understand at first. I really like it a lot and reccomend it to the serious consumer. It was truly awesome. ... Read more

Book Description
Wearing thick glasses, speaking in her thick Icelandic accent, and, well, seeming a touch thick, Bjork stormed the public consciousness in 2000 as an unlikely heroine in the experimental musical film Dancer In the Dark. Army of She is an in-depth look at the woman who first took the public stage twenty-three years ago, analyzing her rise from child prodigy to punk anarchist to New Wave novelty (as member of the Sugarcubes) to hit soloist to film star.Download Description
Wearing thick glasses, speaking in her thick Icelandic accent, and, well, seeming a touch thick, Bjork stormed the public consciousness in 2000 as an unlikely heroine in the experimental musical film Dancer in the Dark. Army of She is an in-depth look at the woman who first took the public stage twenty-three years ago, analyzing her rise from child prodigy to punk anarchist to New Wave novelty (as member of the Sugarcubes) to hit soloist to film star. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

not so bad... come on guys...
I couldn't help but smile while reading this book. I found it to be a fresh outlook on Bjork. Instead of hearing someone who knew everything, we see Bjork through the eyes of someone who started out knowing nothing about her. It's a first hand evolution of the bjork fan. I find it to be almost a representation of the crossing over into that place where it is hard to return. Once I became a fan, I was a fan for life, and I admire this author for sharing this raw, intimate experience she had. I enjoyed the book, and I feel it only brought me closer to Bjork's music. I think every Bjork fan could relate to this book.

Double yaaaaaaaawn
While I must admire the author for trying to write a book about Bjork, I began to wonder if she really was, or was just trying to write about her social view towards God knows what.I mean I know it's trendy and all but Labeling this and that conservative and calling former mayor Rudy Guliani an ---hole was not only in bad taste but has nothing to do with the book.If she wants express her liberal ideology kaka she needs not look far, just don't put it in a biography about Bjork, who is quite the fox I might add.

Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawn.........
Wow, who would of thought a book about the awesome BJORK would be dull. Instead of getting some interesting facts about Bjork, all we hear are the author's opinions over and over and over and over. It's like this, "Yadda yadda yadda yadda yabba dabbo do!" Boring!!Like fans don't already know how great she is. I put this book down after the first two chapters. All the information that IS in the book you can get from the Bjork webring. Don't waste your money, instead just buy the OFFICIAL BJORK book. Great stuff! heheheheh. ... Read more

Book Description
The most revered work composed in Old English, Beowulf is one of the landmarks of European literature. This handbook supplies a wealth of insights into all major aspects of this wondrous poem and its scholarly tradition.Each chapter provides a history of the scholarly interest in a particular topic, a synthesis of present knowledge and opinion, and an analysis of scholarly work that remains to be done. Written to accommodate the needs of a broad audience, A Beowulf Handbook will be of value to nonspecialists who wish simply to read and enjoy Beowulf and to scholars at work on their own research. In its clear and comprehensive treatment of the poem and its scholarship, this book will prove an indispensable guide to readers and specialists for many years to come.Robert E. Bjork is a professor of English at Arizona State University. He is the author of The Old English Verse Saints' Lives: A Study in Direct Discourse and the Iconography of Style. John D. Niles is a professor of English at the University of California, Berkeley. He is the author of Beowulf: The Poem and Its Tradition. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Great scholarly handbook,unsightly typographical format
This Beowulf Handbook disappointed me at first sight, for various aesthetic reasons. First, the printing quality: the text appears set in a 1990's-style laser-printout font (probably Times New Roman...) with thick, somewhat fuzzy letters as a result, making the text look like a xeroxed lecture-note handout. And there are no colour pictures, only 13 b/w drawings, all lumped together at the end of the book outside of the text part which they should illustrate. For such a high-prized book, and 35 USD for a paperback college textbook of 359 ugly pages IS expensive, you would expect the publisher to have put much more labour of love into the production -especially of a work in the humanities where you expect readers to have above-average sensibilities to aesthetic values.....
That said, this compendium is a very systematic treatment of the main questions that you need to address when studying Beowulf, as the chapter titles show: here I have to write them out myself since that lousy publisher, Universiy of Nebraska Press, even failed to activate Amazon's great "Look inside this book" feature which normally allows you to see the Contents page for yourself.
1. Introduction: Beowulf, Truth and Meaning.
2. Date, Provenance, Author, Audiences.
3. Textual Criticism (by veteran Germanist Robert D Fulk).
4. Prosody.
5. Diction, Variation, the Formula.
6. Rhethoric and Style.
7. Sources and Analogues.
8. Structure and Unity.
9. Christian and Pagan Elements.
10. Digressions and Episodes.
11. Myth and History.
12. Symbolism and Allegory.
13. Social milieu.
14. The Hero and the Theme.
15. Beowulf and Archaeology.
16. Gender Roles.
17. Beowulf and Contemporary Critical Theory.
18. Translations, Versions, Illustrations.
List of Abbreviations.
Works Cited (pp.377-431 so this is a LONG section).

An innovative and helpful innovation in this book is that each chapter begins with a very short summary, 8-10 lines at most, followed by a section entitled Chronology (usually 1-2 pages long): this is a list where each line starts with a year, and then states (again very shortly, 1-2 lines), what was written about Beowulf that year. An example from chapter 9, Christian and pagan elements:

"1986: Karl Schneider argues at length that the poem is camouflaged paganism with only a deceptive Christian overlay."
"1988: Charles Dahlberg reasserts strongly the Augustinian interpretation of the poem".

Most students will be thankful to the authors for compiling these brief tabulations, literally saving thousands of them from having to wade through dozens of pages of German or other outlandish texts ! You can follow the waves and trends in research on Beowulf as they evolved over time almost at an eyeglance. And they do refer to European works in other languages than English, which is alas becoming a rarity among English-speaking scholars today. These features alone are, I was tempted to write "almost worth the price of the book" as the saying goes, but again I have to refer to my first paragraph above where I outlined why I think it is really too expensive for the graphic product that it is, despite its obvious virtues.
This is not a poor work and so perhaps for what it offers inside could be a 4-star work but I definitely have to deduct a star for the poor typographical craftmanship combined with the hefty price asked for it. This is why I only gave it 3 stars. But I am still glad that I now own this book.

A comprehensive feast--the "Beophile's" motherlode.
"A Beowulf Handbook"--edited by professors Bjork and Niles--is an open door to a genuine treasure-mound. The volumes many scholarly writers describe the origin and chronology of, as far as I can tell, everyimportant branch of "Beowulf" critical thought. Three centuriesof interpretive battles rage between these covers. The index andbibliographies are a joy and, by themselves, worth the price of admission. ... Read more

Product Description
Taking Teaching Seriously expands and enriches discussions about teacher preparation in the United States. Its authors describe the unique contexts for teacher preparation offered by liberal arts institutions and analyze the effects of these programs on their graduates and on K 12 schools. They emphasize that the goals and conditions for teacher preparation differ from larger public institutions in several key respects including supervisor-student teacher relationships, philosophical foundations, and approaches to clinical fieldwork. Taken together, the essays provide compelling evidence that educational studies programs in liberal arts colleges and universities constitute a vital component of the teacher education system in the United States. Contributors: Irving Epstein, Alice Lesnick, Alison Cook-Sather, Lisa Smulyan, Vicki Kubler LaBoskey, Linda R. Kroll, Christopher Roellke, Jennifer Rice, Susan Riemer Sacks, Charlotte Mendoza ... Read more

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For nearly two decades, and particularly since the civil war, Somali men, women, and sometimes even children without families fled the country in droves. Some sought refuge amongst established Somali communities in the Horn of Africa, the former colonial states of England, France, and Italy, and the Middle East. Others journeyed to new destinations. Today, Somali communities are found in nearly every corner of the world from small rural towns like Barron, Wisconsin and Lewiston, Maine in the United States, to cities like Johannesburg, Sydney, Helsinki, Minneapolis, and Toronto. Diasporic Somalis are just as likely to speak Afrikaans or Finnish as they are to speak Somali. This book represents the first attempt to map the social and cultural contours of the Somali diaspora in a global context. Using case studies from Somali communities in Africa, Europe, and North America, the contributors to this volume construct a global framework for studying the Somali diaspora. This framework simultaneously compares dispersed Somalis in different cultural, economic, political, and racial contexts, and captures the fluid, transnational context of the Somali diaspora. The central questions that guide this book are: How do these contexts inform the production and maintenance of Somali diaspora formation? Consequently, how do the making and remaking of diasporic identities affect local Somali communities, the global diaspora community, host societies as well as the homeland communities they left behind? ... Read more

Book Description
Feeling initially aimless and out of place in rural Nepal where she accompanied her anthropologist husband for a year of fieldwork, Katharine Bjork Guneratne turned to writing to make sense of her sojourn in the shadow of the Himalaya. The resulting book is both an acute portrait of a village and an intimate account of her struggles to adapt to a different way of life. Like the best cultural travel narratives, In the Circle of the Dance draws on the author's experiences to illuminate both exterior and interior worlds. Bjork's book is in many ways a primer on the realities of fieldwork, from setting up house to participating in the work of the village women to finding ways to communicate across cultural divides. It describes how this outsider achieved a gradual and provisional inclusion in the community, an inclusion represented by her participation in a traditional women's circle dance. The book also depicts the effects of modernization and tourism on a society that remained closed to the West well into this century, while offering comparative insights about wider South Asian cultures. The author's lyrical, frequently moving descriptions of everyday life guide her readers through the stages of her cultural apprenticeship. In the end, as Bjork joins the circle dance, she is a stranger to the community still, but a familiar and welcome one. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

very thoughtful and insightful
Before I travel I always look for a book to describe the country. I don't like the usual travelogue that might just describe the monuments or temples.

I look for one which describes the every day lives of the people there. And so I ordered this book.... wow. It is a description of rural life in a village in the terai of Nepal, the lowlands near the border with India. The author spent time with the local women while her spouse did his field work for an anthropology PhD. The writing goes between descriptions of rural life and includes some passages detailing what was going through her mind at the time in terms of how her own cultural background influenced her realtionships in the host culture. The perspective which she brought was amazing to me - a very mature and thoughful outlook indeed!

After my own trip to Nepal I will know more about whether to recommend this I suppose - but in the meantime, I enjoyed reading it, it was wonderfully done, and it stands by itself very well as an example of wonderful travel writing esp if you are interested in the daily life of people from a very differetn culture than our own...

Joe Niemczura
Honolulu Hawaii

Entering the Circle
This book depicts the adventures of a young American woman staying in a Tharu village in Nepal. While her husband was there as an Anthropologist, she was there as a visitor.The author tries to adapt to everyday life inthe village, and in doing so gives us a unique insight into what it is liketo be a young Tharu woman--as the author, herself, goes through a period ofdiscovery about what it means to be a woman. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Young gardeners
... Long before [my daughter] was born I discovered the wonderful books by the two Swedish women Lena Anderson and Christina Bjørk. They have made several books together, one of them is Linneas Almanac.

Linnea is a little girl we meet in several of their books, and in this one we follow her for a year, taking part in all her garden activities. There are 12 chapters in the book, one for each month. And in the first one, January, we meet her feeding the winter birds. We also get to know her best friend, an old man named Blomkvist. We already know both Linnea and Blomkvist quite well, visiting Monet's Garden together with them.(Another book by the same women)

In February Linnea shows us what is happening under the snow during the winter months, in March we can start planting, and then every months comes and goes, each with a new activity.

The paintings are simple, charming and filled with life. Linnea is a girl easy to love, and it is easy to follow her activities following the text and the illustrations. We use this book all year round, and discover old and new treasures every year...

Linnea in love with nature, month by month!
Linnea is delightful and fun and exhuberant. She has energy and zest for life that is wonderfully contagious. Her almanac introduces the calendaryear through the exploration of nature. Her happy, enchanting, writtenvoice is a motivator forchildren like no other. This is a book forlearning and loving life and nature --- again and again and again. I nevertire of Linnea; her appeal is universal. The only thing that would bebetter is if she was a real person!

Linnea's Almanac
Linnea is a delightful young lady that finds gardening, nature and life in general interesting and waiting to be explored. She takes the reader young and old alike on a wonderful exploration of nature each month. Her storytelling puts the reader in the mood to try the activities she discribes,while providing information and facts for use in the future. Theillustrations put the reader into the story and show the finished productof the monthly activity.

I use Linnea's Almanac to introduce each monthto my special education students, kindergarden to third grade and they loveher. Linnea's adventues have peeked their interest in nature. They have putthis interest to use by creating a Garden Learning Center just outside ourclassroom window, to share with the rest of the school.

Linnea's WindowGarden and Monet's Garden in Giveny are also favorites and are used in theclassroom. Working with plants and seed was fun after reading about thewindow garden and Monet has become a familiar artist to the students afterreading about Linnea's visit to his garden.

Linnea's books makewonderful gifts for all ages young and old. I would suggest starting withLinnea's Almanac. It introduces the reader to Linnea in such a way that sheis an instant friend. Plus, the illustrations are interesting anddiscriptive even for the non-reader. I have been Linnea's friend for almostfive years and enjoy rereading about her again and again. ... Read more

Book Description

The writing projects introduced in Teaching Academic Writing in European Higher Education have been pioneering as their country's first endeavors towards a research-based teaching of academic writing. They serve as guiding examples for educators and administrators of European universities that are interested in starting and developing writing programs or writing centers themselves. The structure of this book reflects the specific needs for and demands from writing instruction in certain stages of transition from school to university, from graduate to post graduate and to professional training. The chapters display writer-, text- and discipline-based approaches.

Book Description
The ultimate guide for flying skillfully and safely

Now, in one comprehensive volume you can get both step-by-step instruction in basic piloting skills, and FARs that every pilot must be able to reference and understand. Piloting Basics by Lewis Bjork truly packs all the detailed, profusely illustrated how-to information you need. From total preflight preparations to takeoffs and landings, it’s all here: basic instrument flying…transitioning to multiengine airplanes…navigating…reading standard and supplemental visual charts…flying in special-use airspace…working with transponders…operating in class B, class C, and TRSA airport environments…what to do in an emergency – and much, much more. You learn vital facts about terminal radar approach and departure control facilities, air route traffic control centers, and Unicorn and Multicom airport radio communications. What’s more, this pilot’s information powerhouse puts at your fingertips the expertise ofsix bestselling references:Love’s Flight Maneuvers and Light Airplane Navigation Essentials -- plus must-have aviation classics including Illman’sPilot's Radio Communications Handbook, 5th Edition; Lankford’sUnderstanding Aeronautical Charts, 2nd Edition and Frazier’s ABCs of Safe Flying, 4th Edition.

Download Description
A comprehensive reference containing detailed, how-to information on all pilots need to know in order to fly. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Great for basic info.
I ordered this book as a supplement to another title to help me study for the AFOQT (Air Force entry exam). While it doesnt really talk about the AFOQT at all, it contains basically everything you need to know about the aviation section on the test. Its a bit lengthy so I had to skim some parts, but if you want to further your flight knowledge or even just a basic introduction, you cant go wrong with this book. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

ABOOK THAT HAD TO BE WRITTEN
This is about the real life child who inspired the stories:Alice Liddell,and her connections to Charles Dodgson as she and her family then knew him.It also focuses on the Liddells in order to introduce plenty of Victorian history which is presented in a very easy to digest form.
Full of pictures both photos and original art from Inga Karin-Erikkson.
Its where to start if you're new to Alice and it would make anyone want to collect Alice/Lewis Carroll.
The earlier Beyond The Looking Glass by Colin Gordon explores the same subject in minute detail for anyone who wants more
Highly recommended

A childrens' book with great appeal for older readers
This is a book for children (with wonderful illustrations) that attempts to tell the story of the friendship between Alice Liddell and "Lewis Carroll".It is written is a somewhat episodic style.The episodesare chosen, for the most part, due to the bearing that each one has onilluminating characters and situations found in the "Alice"books.The author does not completely avoid the controversial, and this issomewhat of a pleasant surprise. Though originally written in Swedish, itreads very well in translation.I found the book to be both poignant andscholarly (i.e., well-researched), and with great adult appeal for achildrens' book. (Even if the text were less rewarding than it is, the bookwould be worth keeping for the illustrations alone)

Beautiful telling of the true Alice in Wonderland story
Although The Other Alice is technically a children's book, any fan of Lewis Carroll will find it rewarding. The meticulous art work, showing Alice Liddell and her sisters and Charles Dodgeson [Carroll] and many Oxford settings is superb. The book is also includes many actual photgraphs of Alice, her family and Dodgeson's other child friends. Although this is a book for children, it does not shy away from the rather sad life and obsession which drove Dodgeson, nor does it give an artifically happy ending to the story. If you wonder where many of Dodgeson's plot developments came from [e.g. the Dodo, the wet 'caucus race' you'll find it all here. The author [who also wrote the delightful Linnea in Monet's Garden] and illustrator deserve kudos for this book [translated from the Sweedish, there is apparently a different translation avaiable in England under the title Alice's Oxford Adventure]. Well worth reading in a more adult approach is Staphanie Stoffel's Lewis Carroll in Wonderland [which includes some of the paintings done by Erickson for this book] both are better reads [and far more fun] than Gardner's Carroll biography. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

I saw the cover, and without opening it, bought it ASAP!
While shopping in Ireland, I saw this book in a pile of other books, and I didn't even open it or look at the price, I bought it.And boy, I'm so happy I'm as impulsive as they come because this book is wondeful!Notonly does it talk about Bjork (my heroine), but also about everyone thathelped her to become who she is today.It has in-depth interveiws with herand everyone who helped create her second album POST, including Tricky. Plus, great pics of Bjork and copies of her notes.If you idolize Bjorklike I do, definulty order this book, it rocks!

While I crawl into the unknown...
An in-depth journey into the heart of Björk's second solo album, `Post' introduces the many collaborators on the album `Post' who helped with the album. Graham Massey, Tricky, Eumir Deodato, and Evelyn Glennie are just a few. Full-color photos, sketches, and more bring the book to life. From Björk's reasons for writing the songs and their meanings to interviews to Björk's diary, and even a fairy tale with (Nova) Björk as the main character, the book explains much and answers many questions. A must-read for Björk fans.

"Violently Happy!"
"Post" offers an intimacy with Bjork and the supporting cast.If you want to know Bjork and her music, you must know the people that make it happen.If you want to go behind the scenes, you've got to sneak behind the curtain."Post" is your backstage pass.mws ... Read more

Book Description
This reissued biography of one of the world's most eminent psychologistswill appeal to interested general readers as much as it will topsychologists. Accessible and engaging, it brings Skinner fully to life,describing his youth, family, and education; his early and lingeringdesires to become famous as a writer or artist; his lifelong fascinationwith literary and "bohemian" figures; his difficault marriage; and hisdevotion to his children. The author strips away many misconceptions about the great behaviorist. The result is a fascinating narrative of afascinating life, of the astounding breakthroughs Skinner made as aresearcher, and the lasting influences that his work has on the science of psychology. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Skinner: The Humanist Behind The Behaviorist
The how's, why's, when's, and where's of a forged life are depicted beautifully in the biography of a scholar and scientist that dared question our penchant to attribute our so-called "success" to our will and dignity. Skinner is portrayed as a human being who readily recognized that his success was indeed accidental. Skinner is real, geniune, and too much for the ordinary mind to handle.

The Biography Box
This is the best biography I've read. I certainly find Skinner interesting, but what's impressive is how well this book flows, and I expect that's due to Bjork's writing skills and understanding of Skinner.

I came to this book because I don't know much about Skinner.I can't vouch for its accuracy or slant but it seems very professional, with plenty of references. I feel lucky to have started here. I've been reading other books on Skinner and Radical Behaviorism and appreciate the background Bjork has given me. There's a smooth mix of detail and overview.

Although there's plenty of material to help to understand Skinner the scientist and philosopher, there is also a good amount for feeling one has learned about Skinner the man, a dutiful husband, warm father, and, despite some isolation that his advanced thinking brought him, a decent friend. Seeing this side of Skinner provides good reason not to jump at labelling him a reductionist. I also learned to admire his faithfulness, despite popular opposition, to pushing forward to scientifically study how conditioning impacts us (and how we use and can better use conditioning to our own advantage).

While I'll be reading Skinner, I'd also like to read more of Bjork. If I were a famous thinker, Bjork is someone I'd like to have write my biography.

Insight to Skinner
This is a good primer of Skinner's life. It provides clarification regarding the origin of Skinner's ideas and charts the course of his personal and intellectual development through his career. ... Read more

Book Description
Barron’s just-published test preparation manual for the CLEP—or College Level Examination Program—has now been augmented with a CD-ROM that offers a Computer Adaptive test that virtually replicates the actual test-taking situation. With its three pencil-and-paper style practice tests and answers, the book serves as an excellent review of all CLEP subject material. However, most students who prefer to recreate actual test-taking conditions will choose this brand-new combination book-and-CD-ROM, which gives them the most complete CLEP test preparation available anywhere. This software offers timed and untimed computer versions of the tests presented in the book. The test is scored automatically when the test-taker completes it. In addition, the manual presents subject reviews plus pencil-and-paper sample exams in English composition, the humanities, math, the natural sciences, and social sciences--history, with answer keys and explanations. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Too many errors
In the English Composition preparation section, there are four practice tests to help you. The problem is that there are too many errors in the practice test questions. One answer tells you that "colonies" should be singular to agree with the singular verb, but the verb is plural in the question. Another answer tells you that "they" should be singular, but there is no "they" in the question. Also many of the sentences which Barron says are correct are poorly written and often lack proper punctuation. One run on sentence was called a dangling modifier. It is quite frustrating, to say the least.

I don't rate it one star because the effort put into this work is impressive, but I do recommend a revision of this book. It is desperately needed.

Some helpful info; many mistakes
I actually picked this book up at the library for some early prep for a state subject-specific test I'll eventually have to take (not for the CLEP).However, while I know this is harder than anything I'll have to take, the questions are definitely difficult and cover all the different aspects (I was focusing on the social science area).However, there are many erros in the answer key.The detailed answer is correct but the letter corresponding to it may not be.My favorite question was:

From 1845 to 1855, a considerable number of the immigrants to the U.S. came from:

A) China B) Ireland C) Greece D) Russia E) Spain.

Ireland, you say.WRONG.The answer according to the book is Germany.I have to admit from glancing at the other sections, I think the social sciences is easily the hardest.Anyways, it's worth getting if you are to take the CLEP probably but beware of mistakes.There probably is something better and more concise out there.

High Marks for a good review book
I needed a review book for the math CLEP. One of my friends recommended the Barrons CLEP review book.It turned out to be a very good recommendation.The types of questions in the book were almost identical to the types of questions on the test.There were no surprises, no types of examples or problems I had never seen before.Even the percentage breakdown the book described of the various problems was pretty accurate. There were 60 questions on each of the three practice exams in the book plus the book provided an additional trial examination. Plenty of practice that allowed me to sharpen my question/answer skills. I didn't notice any typo's in the answer part. The book also gives a brief explanation of each answer.This is where I though the review book was a little shallow. When I was familiar with the material, the explanation of the answer was fine. When I need more depth in the answer, the review book didn't have it. Well, it's a review book, not a text book so I did not lower my rating. Needless to say, I had a scale score equal to an 'A' on a 6 credit CLEP College math test. ... Read more