Teilhard de Chardin, a 20th-century Jesuit priest and paleontologist, is a favorite theologian of contemporary notables such as Al Gore, Mario Cuomo, Marshall McCluhan, and cyberguru John Perry Barlow. Cuomo has said, "Teilhard made negativism a sin.He taught us how the whole universe--even pain and imperfection--is sacred." Ursula King, in Spirit of Fire: The Life and Vision of Teilhard de Chardin, has written an accessible, entertaining, and lavishly illustrated biography of Teilhard. His writings were all but ignored during his lifetime, but now serve as a lifeline for people of faith struggling to define divine imperatives for ecological responsibility and technological engagement. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Great introduction to De Chardin
This is a great introduction to those who want to know more about this great man. No doubt as time go by his original thinking will be recognized, The author does a good job touching all periods of his life along with his writing. A lot of photos. But if you what to know De Chardin use his writings for prayer.

Before you read the works of Chardin, read this!
This is a fine introduction to the prolific life and writings of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, the most important theologian of the 20th century. Chardin's theology, banned for years by the Vatican, was at least a hundred years ahead of it's time. A geologist, palenthologist, mystic, spiritual lover, he proposed that Darwin's theories of evolution were not contrary to God's revelation but actually was Revelation.

King's book does a good job of detailing Chardin's life, his passions, his pursuits, his beliefs and his science. Though dry and slow at times, the author does help to illuminate the theology of someone who isn't easy to read. Though he lived a rich life, Chardin's writing can be somewhat cold and too scientific at times for the layreader to understand. This book, however, is good solid primer and should be the starting point for anyone interested in a man ahead of his time. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography   2. Biography & Autobiography   3. Biography / Autobiography   4. Biography/Autobiography   5. Christianity - Theology - Catholic   6. General   7. Jesuits   8. Paleontologists   9. Religious   10. Teilhard de Chardin, Pierre   

Customer Reviews (1)

The Man who Bought General Motors
When we hear about the Du Pont Company with think of synthetics and even nylon, but few realize that the Du Pont Company was founded as a maker of explosives - - black powder to be exact and that this firm was founded in 1802.

On it's 100th anniversary, the firm was about to go under as its family-owners due to age, illness, or other factors could not find a successor following the death of Du Pont's president and patriarch. Some of the Du Ponts who were involved in the day to day affairs were too old to run the firm and wanted to sell out. But the youngest of them, Alfred, was in his early thirties and he would not hear of his birthright being sold out from under him. In one of the first modern large scale leveraged buyouts, Alfred and his two other young cousins, Coleman du Pont and Pierre du Pont, bought the firm from the family for the stupendous sum, in 1902 dollars, for $12 million.

And now the story gets interesting!

The three cousins proceed to build the Du Pont company until, some years later as the firm thrived, Coleman decides to step out and in a move on. Coleman's departure (into politics no less) meant Coleman's shares were up for grabs. And in a almost Byzantine set of events, the shares ended up in Pierre's hands. That outcome embittered Alfred until his death and led to a split in the Du Pont family's allegiances with Pierre garnering the lions share of family support.

World War One brought a windfall of profits to Du Pont that had expanded far beyond black powder. Adding smokeless powder and dynamite to its products and selling to the powers fighting the war, Du Pont Company soon was, probably unfairly, dubbed "the merchants of death."

But the real story here is not of Alfred and Pierre, although this story is well known and documented in other interesting books. Nor is it the story of the explosives business in World war One and the eventual break-up of Du Pont. Like Standard Oil, Du Pont was considered to big and powerful and the firm was split into Du Pont, Hercules, and Atlas. But even that story is prelude to the real story and subject of this interesting book. Bill Gates at Microsoft would do well to think through what happened to some of the large firms in at the turn of the century that seemed to control their markets far too tightly.

The key player and genius that Chandler and Salsbury focus on is Pierre Du Pont and how his genius transformed Du Pont from an explosives manufacturing company into one of the most modern industrial giants of the day. Undaunted by the split up of Du Pont, Pierre set sail, so to speak, and acquired Durant's failing automotive manufacturing firm, General Motors.

It was Pierre du Pont who hand picked Alfred P. Sloan to serve as President while Pierre was Chairman of the Board of GM. And although not the only story that Chandler covers, it is interesting to see how tight a reign Pierre held over Sloan and how Pierre incentivized the future GM President and others in Pierre cadre of senior managers.

As one reads about the operating problems facing the current Chairman of Du Pont, Chad Holliday, we see that the issues are in many ways the same ones - - a global economy and getting feed-stocks to keep the firm running in a world where we need three world worth of resources to supply the one world's worth of people on this planet.

Ultimately, there was too much power in the Du Pont Company as Du Pont acquired Fisher Body from the Fisher brothers, and Delco, and put its hooks into the tire business. We watch the vertical integration of not only GM, but Du Pont and its interlocking directorates.

This book is a "good read" for people who enjoy business history and the behind the scenes pulling of strings by the captains of industry when they were called "robber barons" among those writing yellow journalism.

Yet for its faults, Du Pont was and continues to be perhaps the greatest industrial firm of all time and its staying power of two centuries is no accident.

Chandler and Salsbury weave together hard facts along with an interesting narrative to give a vivid picture of business in an age of new strategies and modern structures that have stood even into the so-called information age and virtual corporation. For those who do not wish to wade through the hundreds of pages of "Pierre S. Du Pont and the Making of the Modern Corporation," I highly recommend the broader and less intense, although equally fascinating "Strategy and Structure," also by Alfred D. Chandler. Much of the material in "Strategy & Structure" can be found in "Pierre S. Du Pont and the Making of the Modern Corporation," along with the stories of GM, Standard Oil and Sears and the coming of vertical integration to those industries. If that book does not sate the appetite, by all means read "Pierre S. Du Pont and the Making of the Modern Corporation."

On a personal note, my first job out of college was at Du Pont and it was the best five years of experience I ever had in industry. It was the very end of the 1960's and the last of the "grand old men" of the Pierre era were leaving the firm, but I caught the tail end of it enough to see what Chandler and Salsbury write and they captured it, but good!

Again, if you like business history, Harvard Business School case method style, I recommend this book without hesitation. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. (Pierre Samuel),   2. 1870-1954   3. Biography / Autobiography   4. Business   5. Business/Economics   6. Corporate & Business History - General   7. Du Pont, Pierre S   8. E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Comp   9. General Motors Corporation   

Customer Reviews (2)

Interesting and different book
This nontechnical writing is quite different from others. There are mathematical formulas, but they are expressed in words, without symbols. The interesting is that Laplace motivates the use of probability theory with exemples of all branches of human knowledge. More than this, he argue that the entire system of human knowledge is conected with that theory, because most important problems of human life are problems in probability. This book is an opportunity to read an original and historical "introduction" to Laplace's work on probability theory.

Interesting book, but not for everyone
I recommend this book to people with a science background that want a little light reading. This will probably not be very appealing to the layman. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Philosophy & Social Aspects   2. Probabilities   3. Probability & Statistics - General   4. Science   5. Science/Mathematics   

Customer Reviews (1)

Excellent treatise on scaling concepts!
de Gennes is one of the most eminent polymer physicists of our times, and this book is perhaps the most significant book in polymer physics. All books by this author are treasures of knowledge, concepts introduced in simple, yet elegant way. A must read for anyone who wishes to appreciate the structure and dynamics of polymeric materials! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Chemistry - Organic   2. Polymers   3. Science   

Subjects:  1. Evolution   2. God   3. History & Surveys - Modern   4. Philosophy   5. Philosophy, Hindu   6. Teilhard de Chardin, Pierre   

Customer Reviews (1)

Excellent overview of her work
It's a huge, thick book filled with color photos of her work -- some are foldouts. In French, German and English. Highly recommended. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Art   2. Art & Art Instruction   3. Individual Artist   4. Sculpture   

Customer Reviews (1)

Majorelle A Moroccan Oasis
The quality of the photography is unsurpassed. The color is magnificent! Anyone who enjoys books, gardens, Morocco, or the color blue (Majorelle Blue) will love this book.

MAJORELLE tells the history of the gardens in Marrakesh, first laid out by Louis Majorelle in the 1920's. The beautiful shade of blue that is used throughout the gardens, in the tile work, the paint, the walkways, the ponds and the plants and flowers themselves, was the start of the term "Majorelle Blue". The grounds are now owned by Yves Saint Laurent and are open for tours.

The back of the book shows the layout of the gardens, old photos of Marrakesh, the interior of the salon in Majorelle's villa and a photo of Majorelle, himself.

The small size of this book gives it an added preciousness that makes it a great choice for gift giving. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Architecture   2. Garden Design   3. Gardening/Plants   4. Individual Architect   5. Landscape   6. Landscape Architecture And Design   7. Majorelle Gardens (Marrakech,   8. Art / General   

Customer Reviews (2)

A fine account of Fermat's work
There is a tremendous mythology surrounding Fermat, and interest in Fermat is high because of Wiles' proof of "Fermat's last theorem." Fermat was undoubtedly a genius, but exactly what he did and didn't do will never be clear, because he wrote so little about his methods and his proofs. Mahoney's book comes as close as I think it's possible to come in figuring out what Fermat's mathematical interests and methods were, what he proved and what he didn't. Only high school math is required to read this book easily; the writing style is clear, and the structure of the book is well organized.

Some readers may be disappointed to learn that Fermat's abilities were only human, and that he made a number of mistakes. But even a genius is entitled to be less than perfect, and the real Fermat is in many ways more interesting than the myth. I recommend this book to anyone curious about Fermat's mathematical abilities and achievements.

Mathematics in transition: Pierre de Fermat
Thanks to the widely publicized proof of Fermat's Last Theorem by Andrew Wiles, there is a growing public interest in the 17th- century mathematician and his famous theorem. However, readers interested in the theorem and its history should look elsewhere as this book is directed towards the history and the transition of mathematics as a science in the 17th century. Studying the evolution of concepts and methods in mathematics, Michael Mahony sets a standard with this excellent work. A student of Thomas Kuhn, Mahony is meticulous in his treatment and interpretation of historical data about Fermat within its historical context. He is very careful in the use of notational systems and at appropriate times he uses the same symbolism as Fermat used in his correspondence with Mersenne and others. These subtleties are important as the evolution in algebraic symbolism has precisely been functional in the foundation of analytic geometry. Further in line with Kuhn's Structure of Scientific Revolutions Mahony first situates Pierre de Fermat within Viète's analytic program and continuously refers to this program of scientific research. He clearly shows where Fermat departs from this program and lays the foundation of something new as with number theory as a discipline on its own.

The career of Pierre de Fermat coincides with an important revolution within mathematics during the 17th century: together with Descartes he fundamentally altered the balance between the visual and the abstract in mathematics. The Greek tradition of visually stating problems about curves, loci and triangles gave way to an abstract characterization in algebraic equations which allowed a more general treatment of these original problems. Where the Greek tradition provided the starting point for Fermat, he moved that far beyond his original sources that by the end of his carreer the original Greek texts became history for mathematicians.

However, the book is even more than an illustration of science in transition: it reveals the mathematician in transition. The author is very convincing in recreating step by step the way Fermat arrived at new ideas and theorems and how, over time, he became the father of new disciplines in mathematics. Mahony does so by reconstructing all the conceptual steps needed in arriving at new ideas. For the method of maxima and minima, the doctrine of tangents and the quadrature, he relies on available historical data, such as Fermat's letters to Mersenne, Descartes and Frenicle. For Fermat's contributions on number theory however, only a few historical documents are available as Fermat was very secretive about his findings and reluctant to publish anything. With some help from Euler and Weil, Mahony shows very convincingly and fits together how theorems and proofs on number theory emerged over time for the man who was Pierre de Fermat.

Everybody who is keen on mathematics and its history should read this book. Being an excellent case study of science in transition, the book will highly appeal to students in the philosophy of science. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1601-1665   2. Biography   3. Fermat, Pierre de,   4. France   5. General   6. History   7. Mathematicians   8. Mathematicians And Their Works   9. Mathematics   10. Science/Mathematics   11. European History   12. Fermat, Pierre de   13. History of Science and Medicine, Philosophy of Science   14. Science / History   

Customer Reviews (1)

Arts in Lorraine
That only taxes and death are certain would sum up what we know for sure about GEORGES du Mesnil DE LA TOUR AND HIS WORLD. Just as his native Lorraine lost its independence to France, so was he factored out of the art world during the 250 some years after he died in 1652. His "flea catcher"; "hurdy-gurdy player," variously mistaken as the work of 17th-century Spanish masters Herrera the Elder, Maino, Murillo, Rivera, Velazquez, and Zurbaran; and my favorite, Jacques Callot-type "newborn child" have been recognized as the most beloved of his art of Dutch- and Flemish-type earthy realism and luminously softened colors, eerily flickering light and spectacular lighting effects, finely drafted clothing and hair, highly focused and tensely concentrated mood, and minimal expressions, forms and gestures subtly cluing character. He excelled in not only the theatrically controlled daylight manner, with the henpecked "old man" and thin-lipped "old woman" of the piercing eyes and the careworn "old peasant couple eating" in worn clothing with pulled stitches accented by light brushstrokes and rubbed-thin paint, but also the deeply shadowed and dramatically night-time style, with "denial of St Peter" and "dream of St Joseph." His subjects ranged from the everyday life of ordinary people, as in his boys blowing on a charcoal stick and a firebrand, "girl blowing on a brazier," and my favorite "payment of taxes" with a Jacques Bellange-styled unsettling atmosphere of crowded space, deeply shadowed eyes, meticulously folded drapery and unusual candle-cast shine to arms and faces; to music, with "cornet player," "musicians' brawl" of gesturing arms and gnarled hands around beautifully painted musical instruments and lively highlighted weather-cracked and wrinkled faces, Jean Appier aka Hanzelet-type "woman playing a triangle," and "young singer"; to nonreligious moralizing with all the furtiveness and sideways glances by cheats with the aces of clubs and diamonds in Fontainebleau school-styled solidly brushed half-length figures and Simon Vouet-type colorfully light fine materials, "dice players," and my favorite "fortune-teller"; to religious meditations with "adoration of the shepherds," Job with his broken bowl for scraping sores and his Jacques Bellange-styled highwaisted wife, and such Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio- and Hendrick ter Brugghen-type ordinary people caught up in extraordinary events as saints Alexis, Andrew, Anne mothering Mary and grandmothering Jesus, Francis in ecstasy, James the Less of the brushy arthritic hands, Jerome the scholarly ascetic with a bloodstained knotted rope against self-indulgence, John the Baptist in the wilderness, Jude Thaddeus, Mary Magdalene sorrowing over her sins, Philip of the crystal buttons ingeniously refracting light onto his jacket, Sebastian tenderly cared by Irene and her tearful assistant, and Thomas transformed from doubt to toughly unflinching faith. I particularly like the way he showed children behaving goodly with "Christ with St Joseph in the carpenter's shop" and "education of the Virgin." Ever since reading Aldous Huxley I have wondered which three books I would take to a BRAVE NEW WORLD: chances are that one would be editor Philip Conisbee's carefully written, gorgeously illustrated and well-organized book, because I have loved de La Tour's art ever since learning about him from my artist mother and sister during my student years and because this one-of-a-kind, reader-friendly book plants his first American exhibition so firmly in the art world that, what with GEORGES DE LA TOUR in French by Paulette Chone, Pierre Rosenberg and Bruno Ferte, and Jacques Thuillier and what with David Huddle's upcoming LA TOUR DREAMS OF THE WOLF GIRL and Christopher Wright's THE MASTERS OF CANDLELIGHT, he should never be dislodged again. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1593-1652   2. Art   3. Art & Art Instruction   4. Exhibitions   5. History - General   6. Individual Artist   7. La Tour, Georges du Mesnil de,   8. National Gallery Of Art - Exhibition Catalogs   9. Psychology   10. La Tour, Georges du Mesnil   11. La Tour, Georges du Mesnil de   12. Picasso, Pablo   

Subjects:  1. Catholic Church   2. Christianity - Christian Life - General   3. Inspirational - Catholic   4. Meditations   5. Prayer   6. Religion   7. Religion - Roman Catholic   8. Spiritual life   9. Teilhard de Chardin, Pierre   

Subjects:  1. Civilization   2. Europe - France   3. France   4. General   5. History   6. History - General History   7. History: World   8. Memory   9. National characteristics, French   10. Philosophy   11. Symbolism   12. History / France   

Subjects:  1. 1857-1927   2. Atget, Eugene,   3. Collections, Catalogs, Exhibitions   4. Exhibitions   5. History   6. Individual Photographer   7. Individual Photographers And Their Work   8. Logic   9. Philosophy   10. Photo Essays   11. Photoessays & Documentaries   12. Photography   13. Photography, Artistic   

Customer Reviews (3)

Very good book,
Not a lot of explanations but lots and lots of exercises I am a violin teacher and I sugest the book to all my students... but most things in the book still need explanations, Very good exercise book if nothing else. Fingering has changed from the time the book was originaly written, but still a very usefull book if you would like to use the fingering and style that players in Beethoven's time used. I sugest the book to all beginners and advanced players.

Encyclopedic but with loads of stuff to play.
As an adult beginner, "The Art" gives me everything I need to complement my lessons - answers to basic questions of theory and technique, progressive exercises, technical principles illustrated by hundreds of phrases from the masters. And scales, scales, scales. Especially nice are the complete two-part scales of Cherubini.

Must-buy for string players not least for the bowingchapter
This is one of the great string-playing books. Please buy it and read it---you will not be disappointed. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Methods   2. Music   3. Musical Instruments - Strings   4. Reference   5. Violin   

Customer Reviews (9)

doubtful paternity
This is a short novel, easy to follow, and enjoyable to read.

Here's what it's about basically. There's these two brothers, right?--as the title indicates. One of them gets a really nice inheritance from a family friend. The other brother gets NOTHING. He's jealous of his brother for his good fortune, and gets suspicious about WHY his brother got the inheritance. He finds out that it's because their mother had an affair with the family friend and his brother was born illegitimately from the affair. He confronts his mother about it and she admits it. That's why his brother got the inheritance, because he was the family friend's true son, it was a shameful secret that the mother kept from her husband (their father). That's all there is to it. It's not a complex book and the story's pretty simple, but the underlying psychology is really interesting and the book is very well-written--very tight and engaging. Maupassant's best novel, I would say.

David Rehak
author of "Love and Madness.

"The vile secret."
Sibling rivalry is at the heart of the novella "Pierre Et Jean" by Guy de Maupassant. Brothers Pierre and Jean are totally different in every way. Pierre Roland, a doctor, is dark, brooding and serious. The younger brother, Jean, a lawyer, is fair-haired, easy going and placid. Mild resentments exist between the two brothers--this is mainly directed from Pierre towards Jean. Pierre has taken some time to decide on a career--whereas Jean had no difficulties whatsoever making up his mind. Consequently, even though there is an age gap of five years between the two brothers, they both arrive at the beginning point of their professional careers at the same time.

One evening, the Roland family receives the news that Jean has inherited a fortune--thanks to a Monsieur Marechal, an old friend of the family. In the celebration that follows, Pierre begins to experience the stirrings of jealousy. These feelings are fueled by the attention lavished on Jean by his parents. But in the days that follow the news of the inheritance, Pierre begins to have suspicions about Monsieur Marechal's true relationship with Madame Roland, and Pierre even begins to wonder if Jean is Marechal's son.

Fans of Maupassant will really enjoy this well written novella. The groundwork of the family is laid out succinctly within the first few pages as Maupassant skillfully describes the smouldering resentment Pierre feels for Jean. This resentment festers like a cancer within the family home until those involved can no longer ignore the tension. Pierre is, in many ways, a much more interesting character than Jean. Pierre is "impetuous, intelligent, volatile and stubborn." Jean is by far the nicer person, but he's much less complex. In creating the two main characters, Maupassant shows true genius. One has sympathy with Pierre's feelings--even though he succumbs to less-than-noble jealously, and nastiness. Pierre's torment is all too real, and who can fail to identify with a sibling who is always sick "at hearing endless praises sung" for another. I found the story riveting, and I felt very involved with the characters and the ultimate outcome. "Pierre Et Jean" is a tremendously enjoyable read--displacedhuman

A STUDY OF FAMILY RELATIONS
WHAT CAN BE EXPECTED TO HAPPEN IN A FAMILY WHEN ONE OF ITS MEMBERS INHERITS A LARGE SUM OF MONEY? EVERYBODY IS HAPPIER AND BETTER OFF, RIGHT? WRONG! AS WE SEE FROM THIS STORY, THE WHOLE FABRIC OF THE FAMILY CAN BECOME TORN. YET, BY EMPLOYING SOME SUBTLE TACTICS, MEMBERS OF THE FAMILY CAN FIND A WAY TO STAY TOGETHER. AT A BIG PRICE THOUGH, BECAUSE ONE OF THE MEMBERS OF THE FAMILY HAS TO HOLD HIMSELF ALOOF IN ORDER TO PRESERVE FAMILY BOUNDS. A VERY DELICATE STUDY OF THE SUBJECT! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Classics   2. Fiction   3. French Novel And Short Story   4. Literary   5. Literature - Classics / Criticism   6. Sagas   7. 19th century fiction   8. Classic fiction   

Subjects:  1. 20th century   2. Anthropology - Cultural   3. Conduct of life in literature   4. Cookery, French   5. Customs & Traditions   6. France   7. General   8. Life skills   9. Social Philosophy   10. Social Science   11. Social life and customs   12. Sociology   

Customer Reviews (5)

THE HEART OF THE MATTER OF TERRORISM
This book - whose subject is the tactics employed by those at odds with institutions physical and intellectual - offers profound insights not only into terrorism and the tools available to terrorists but also the deep philosophical and psychological rift between the Western and Arab worlds. It fact after reading the book I am convinced that efforts to combat terrorism are doomed to failure until the issues in this book are both discussed and absorbed by people in charge of counter-terrorism (on the policy level and on the enforcement side) and the public at large. Though it's not an easy read (What philosophical discourse is an easy read?), it is illuminates the battleground between the institution which imposes order (democracy for instance) and it's improvising enemy, who operates within the dominant force's own field of vision and seizes opportunities as they arise. It would give me great feeling of reassurance if FBI and CIA counter-terrorism officials used it as a practical guide.

Enigmatic and enlightening
Sometimes I am simply proud that I have read a book. This slim volume falls into that category. The fourteen short chapters explode with new ideas, fresh perspectives, and tantalizing viewpoints. To summarize these riches is unlikely to do them justice, yet I will try.

De Certeau inverts social values and cultural hierarchies. His hero metaphor is not the exemplar, but rather the ant. Wisdom resides not in the pronouncement of expert or philosopher, but in the routine discourse between ordinary people. To De Certeau the definitional constraints imposed by the experts result in artificial distinctions. Only the discourse of ordinary people is firmly rooted in experience and embraces the varieties and logical complexities of living.

Among these complexities of life is the amazing adaptive capacity of the ordinary. Even the most oppressive and controlling of cultures cannot eradicate the subversive agency of the peasant. This subversive agency is expressed through mythic stories, common proverbs, and verbal tricks. De Certeau refers to the adaptive capacity of the ordinary as tactics of living, and these tactics may be best exemplified when the worker does the personal while on the clock.

The distinction between strategy and tactics is central to De Certeau's thought. Strategy refers to the top-down exercise of power to coerce compliance. Tactics refer to the opportunistic manipulations offered by circumstance. The conflict between strategies and tactics is ironic - as strategic forces expand to increase dominance, there is a corresponding increase in opportunity for tactical subversion.

De Certeau relates his ideas to the theoretical work of Foucault and Bourdieu, and continues his inverted perspective by looking anew at the concept of city, commuter travel by rail, story telling, writing, reading, and believing.

This book is more of a riddle than a narrative; de Certeau provides glimpses of his meaning from time to time, but deliberately avoids propositional clarity. This style requires that the reader take an unusual stance toward this book. Instead of expecting the author to communicate, the reader must content himself with hints and suggestions of meaning. I am convinced that these hints and suggestions are more than worth the reader's investment of time. Find a quiet place and enjoy!

Incomparable style and scholarship
Michel de Certeau's brilliant book is one of the primary nodes in the historical switchbox that eventually crossed the signals that led us through structuralism and practice theory to critical realism and Women, Fire, and Dangerous Things. His classic exploration of everyday life will send flashes of light and pleasure through the mind on a constant basis - his dense, absolutely masterful, and witty expository quasi-poetry on economy, power, and practice is essentially an extended series of aphorisms, upon any one of which an entire essay could be based. And a good one, at that.

What we have here is a celebration of the everyday, the common, the mundane, and the wonderful capacity of life to resist systematization and classification via its organic flexibility and espirit de corps. It is a wonderful wake-up call: "A few individuals, after having long considered themselves experts speaking a scientific language, have finally awoken from their slumbers and suddenly realized that for the last few moments they have been walking on air, like Felix the Cat in the old cartoons, far from the scientific ground. Though legitimized by scientific knowledge, their discourse is seen to have been no more than the ordinary language of tactical games between economic powers and symbolic authorities."

Writing in the tradition of Lefevbre (more so than anyone else who comes to mind at the moment), his work touches upon contemporary Foucault and Bourdieu only briefly and then moves on to do much more. For example, in the way of analyses of strategic and tactical behavior, resistances, spatial practices, sublatern hermeneutics, and state/scientific ideologies of secrecy and knowledge. In de Certeau, we see not just a clearing of the intellectual path for towering figures such as Baudrillard, Bourdieu, Giddens, Lash, Appadurai, and Taussig (to name only a handful) - enabling them to come whistling along with their variously insightful ideas from A to Z - but we see it done with a panache and "Ich weiss es nicht" that is memorable in the persona it invokes.

And as long as you're sitting on the Paris-Munchen ICE, scratching your chin and contemplating the axiological implications of beer or coffee at 9am, I can't think of anything better to read than de Certeau's comments on the rite of passage of Railway Incarceration and Navigation (Chapter VIII), in which a whole series of transformations is extracted from the mundane in a suprahumane and very-French manner. Bon voyage! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 20th century   2. Anthropology - Cultural   3. Conduct of life in literature   4. Cookery, French   5. Customs & Traditions   6. France   7. Life skills   8. Social life and customs   9. Sociology   

Customer Reviews (4)

Filled to the brim with poetry
Both of these volumes are tremendous works illustrating a wide range of poetry from a wide range of voices. I love how the sections are delineated, and there is a wealth of information about poets, poems, schools of thought and poetics along with the actual poems. I learned a lot about poetry just by reading these two volumes. This is truly an example of wonderful, dedicated editing.

poetry? you bet!
if you get this volume you have to get the first volume and the OUTLAW BIBLE OF AMERICAN POETRY. if modern american poetry is something that gets you goin, then these volumes are for you.

rothenberg does a great job of introducing and giving information, critiques, etc of the poetry encased in these volumes.

dig it, man. dig it.

A very detailed book dedicated to poetry
Personally I found that this book was very informative and aimed towards the people who are involved in poetry so it was more on a level basis that gives numerous examples of different types. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Anthologies (multiple authors)   2. General   3. Poetry   4. Poetry, Modern   

Subjects:  1. Aeschylus   2. Agamemnon   

Subjects:  1. Classics   2. Continental European   3. European - French   4. Literary Criticism   5. Plays / Drama   6. Drama texts: 16th to 18th centuries   7. French