Customer Reviews (2)

Hilarious hoax-busting
The author argues, and convincingly demonstrates, that with his series of bestselling books Castaneda perpetrated "the greatest anthropological hoax since the Piltdown Man." This is a very well written book and among the funniest I have ever read. Perhaps a little more credit should have been given Castaneda as an author of imaginative fiction. His "Journey to Ixtlan" is a masterpiece.

A valuable book on a controversial subject
This is a collection of essays critiquing the claims of Carlos Castaneda, whose series of books about the Yaqui 'brujo', Don Juan Matus, have been spiritual bestsellers.

In a series of books beginning with 'The Teachings of Don Juan, A Yaqui Way of Knowledge' Castaneda presents what he claims are factual interviews with a Yaqui shaman in northern Mexico. The first book recounts Castaneda's inculcation into Yaqui shamanism through a peyote ceremony. The later books downplay the hallucinogenic aspect and present a sort of fantastic mystic existentialism.

de Mille and his contributors assert that the accounts are fabulations. Other accounts of Yaqui shamanism are quite different. Environmental conditions and animal behaviour described are inconsistent with existing conditions in the Sonoran desert. Yaqui use of hallucinogens is asserted to differ from that described by Castaneda. Finally, some critics suggest that the author is a poor stylist.

de Mille discusses Castaneda's academic milieu and possible influences upon the spiritual ideas he presents. While it is plain that de Mille (and most of his contributors) have their minds made up much of the material presented should be of interest even to Castaneda's many fans. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1891-   2. 1931-   3. Anthropologists   4. Anthropology - Cultural   5. Archaeology / Anthropology   6. Biography   7. Castaneda, Carlos,   8. Cultural And Social Anthropology   9. Don,   10. Juan,   11. United States   12. Yaqui Indians   13. Castaneda, Carlos   14. Juan   

Subjects:  1. Anthologies (multiple authors)   2. European - Spanish & Portuguese   3. Fiction   4. Literature - Classics / Criticism   5. Short Stories (Anthologies)   6. Spanish: Adult Fiction   7. Untranslated Fiction - Spanish   

Subjects:  1. Caribbean & Latin American   2. Fiction - General   3. General   4. Literary Collections   5. Spanish: Adult Fiction   

Features

• Facsimil

Customer Reviews (3)

A boon for researchers
For those who wish to re-create 16th century Spanish clothing and make them as authentic as possible, this is the book for you! The patterns should be used as general shapes and adjustments made for various body types. One word of caution: these patterns are not like those sold by Simplicity, McCall's, etc. Extensive experience with tailoring is required. However, even a novice can appreciate the value of this book as a source of documentation.

THIS IS IT!
Many of us, in reading Janet Arnold are familiar with this book due to her citing it numerous times. Now we can own it...and own it I do! This book is indespencible if you want to know what paterns from the latter 16th century looked like. It was written in 1589 by master tailor Jaun de Alcega to show others how to lay out patterns to conserve fabric. This book, is like having someone hand you a layout diagram from a modern pattern for many many differnt items of clothing ranging from doublets; to dresses; to cloaks; to horse barding. This book includes the actual 16th century Spanish work, followed by a translation...It even includes a conversion chart from the period Spanish measurements to modern ones ESSENTIAL!

Very worthwhile for scholars of 16th century costume
Today my copy of this book arrived in the mail. I am very excited, this is a reissue of the 1978 edition which has been unavailable for so long! The book is a facsimile (with translation) of "Libro de Geometria, Pratica Y Traca" (Book of the Practice of Tailoring-- Measuring and Marking Out) by Juan de Alcega, printed in Madrid in 1589. Alcega was a master tailor.

The book was apparently intended as a guide for journeymen tailors, to help them figure out economical ways of cutting out garments, as well as giving them diagrams for some standard styles of garment. For each garment, there is a cutting diagram (much like the cutting diagrams that come with modern patterns), an estimate as to how much fabric is required (in Castillian ells) and brief directions on how the garment goes together. He also includes charts to help figure out how much fabric is needed based on desired length of the garment and fabric width.

In "Patterns of Fashion" Janet Arnold cites this book extensively (the '78 edition), though she complains that the translation is not as perfect as it could be, because the translators were not costume scholars. Any Spanish speaking folks doing graduate work in this area? Here's your chance. However, at least after a cursory examination, the translation seems good enough to me. And Arnold commented that it was extremely useful even without a perfect translation.

The first 4/5 of the book is a facsimile of the original, the remaining 1/5 is a translation, glossary, and notes (including a conversion table for Castillian ells to centimeters).

The book contains diagrams for 73 garments, plus a diagram for a "war banner," and two diagrams for "silk saddle trappings for jousts." The garments are for both men and women. The men's garments include ceremonial cloaks and church vestments. There are no diagrams for trousers, because trouser-making was apparently a different craft in Alcega's time. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Art   2. Art & Art Instruction   3. Commercial - Fashion Design   4. Fashion   5. Costume   6. Tailoring   

Customer Reviews (1)

Great Book!!! A+++++++++
I had a history report on Ponce de Leon and this book covered every question and topic I had. The content is very detailed, but too complex for children under 11. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1460?-1521   2. America   3. Biography   4. Biography & Autobiography   5. Biography/Autobiography   6. Caribbean & West Indies - General   7. Expeditions & Discoveries   8. Explorers   9. General   10. Historical - General   11. History - General History   12. Ponce de Leon, Juan,   13. Spain   

Subjects:  1. Ships & Shipbuilding - Engineering   2. Transportation   

Customer Reviews (1)

Definitive book on the subject
This is an excellent book on the Spanish Civil War. The author is impartial to a fault. The outlines of the crisis of leadership of the Spanish revolution can be clearly be seen. The Stalinists following the direction of the Comintern opted for the chessboard of international relations rather than the shopfloor. The mass revolutionary movement looked to the anarchists for leadership but the CNT and FAI failed to step up to the plate until too late.
The detail in this book is impeccable, Stalins gold buttons? Inca gold. Every last bit of it that Spain stole was in turn stolen by the Russians. Anarchists diging disinterring the remains of priests and nuns and dancing with them. etc. It has been a while since I read it but I cannot give a stronger reccommendation to someone wishing to get a complete overview of the events of the Spanish revolution and civil war. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Civil War, 1936-1939   2. Communism   3. Europe - Spain & Portugal   4. History   5. History - General History   6. History: World   7. Military - Other   8. Partido Comunista de Espana   9. Reference   10. Spain   11. Spain And Portugal - History   12. Negrín, Juan   

Subjects:  1. Architecture   2. Planning   3. Public, Commercial, or Industrial Buildings   

Subjects:  1. Description and travel   2. Discovery and exploration, Spa   3. History: World   4. Juan de Fuca, Strait of (B.C.   5. Northwest Coast of North Ameri   6. Northwest, Pacific   

Subjects:  1. Fiction - General   2. General   

Customer Reviews (1)

A Worthy Purchase
"Querido Alberto" is the authorized biography of the legendary Mexican singer/songwriter Juan Gabriel. Written by Gabriel's longtime friend and musical arranger Eduardo Magallanes, the book gives the reader a view into the life of the kid who grew up in the streets of Chihuahua, Mexico as Alberto Aguilera Valadez through the 1995 publication date.

Magallanes absorbs the reader immediately by opening the biography with a description of Gabriel's benefit performance at the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City in 1990, the concert that became famous through audio and video sales. Magallanes then covers the life of Gabriel in short segments relating more to significance than chronology.

Magallanes addresses Gabriel's early life: the mysterious disappearance of his father three months after Gabriel's birth on January 7, 1950; the mother for whom he wrote "Amor Eterno"; the sister who lies in a coma, a state she has been in for many years; the various people who took him in off the streets and how they influenced him and his music; in essence, the steps through which Alberto Aguilera Valadez become the international pop singer known as Juan (named after a teacher) Gabriel (named after his father).

The book also includes a few chapters on Gabriel's personal life as an adult, a subject about which Gabriel is intensely private, particularly his near-30-year relationship with Laura Salas Campa and their four sons.

The book is written in Spanish but at such a level that people with a limited Spanish reading ability would be able to understand the main ideas. It includes extensive quotes by Gabriel, lyrics to many of his songs and tributes to Gabriel by Lola Beltran, Lucha Villa and other Gabriel contemporaries.

The photographs are perhaps the most intriguing part of the book. More than 100 captioned pictures show the singer's transformation from Alberto Aguilera Valadez, the poor street kid, to Juan Gabriel, the superstar. All the photos are black and white. No matter. Some allow a glimpse into Gabriel's private life. There are several pictures of his houses, his sons as young children, his partner Laura Salas and there's even one of his German shepherd dog, the breed he still keeps today.

This is a professionally written book that doesn't waste the reader's time on smutty tabloid material. It is a worthy purchase. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography   2. Biography / Autobiography   3. Composers & Musicians - Country & Folk   4. Composers & Musicians - Pop   5. Historical - General   6. Popular Music   7. Spanish: Adult Nonfiction   8. Biography & Autobiography / General   

Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography   2. General   3. Spanish: Adult Nonfiction   

Customer Reviews (2)

Necesitamos mas informacion de esta clase
Es necesdario cambiar nuestro systema social que en realidad no aporta nada a lo que realmente somos,criaturas con la capacidad de percibir cosas que ni siquiera imaginamos, el arte de ensonar opino que es una herramienta para alcanzar a conocer un poco mas de lo que somos capaces, y en realidad toda la informacion que este hombre y sus companeros de su grupo han aportado son en verdad maravillas de conocimiento y algo que no se deve de ignorar.................

El Arte de Ensoñar es realmente maravilloso!!!
Una tradicion que se perpetua por vias subterraneas, hermetica y cerrada.La que silenciosa respira en los hombros de los comunes, y sin importarle su atencion pasa desapercibida. La sociedad de los brujos de Mexico, herederos los sacerdotes y chamanes precolombinos. Don Carlos no deja de sorprendernos con su extraordinario poder de narrativa.Una forma de no extrañarlo, y diria hasta de festejarlo este libro. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1891-   2. Don   3. Don,   4. Dreams   5. Ethnic Studies - Native American Studies - Spirituality   6. Juan,   7. New Age / Parapsychology   8. Spanish: Adult Nonfiction   9. Spirituality - Shamanism   10. Body, Mind & Spirit / General   11. Juan   

Customer Reviews (1)

diccionario de símbolos de J:E CIRLOT
Es un libro apasionante que permite consultas frecuentes;lo utilizo mucho en la enseñanza secundaria.Los adolescentes se sorprenden con la profundidad de la simbología ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Dictionaries - General   2. Foreign Language Study   3. General   4. Psychology   5. Spanish   6. Spanish: Adult Nonfiction   

Subjects:  1. Foreign Language - Dictionaries / Phrase Books   2. Spanish   3. Spanish: Adult Nonfiction   

Customer Reviews (1)

one classic argentine's book
It's difficult to classify "Facundo" written by Domingo Faustino Sarmiento (argentine thinker, politician and educator) in 1845: it is at the same time history, myth, essay, pamphelt and sociological discourse. It was published for first time as a newspaper serial in Chile where Sarmiento was in exile and written against Rosas'dictatorchip in Argentina. The text is influenced by the Enlightment and specially by the romanticism. Because of the romantic influence, it tells Facundo Quiroga's biography since for romantic'stream a "great man" (Facundo in this case) expresses an epoch. This book has the intention of solving an enigma: how independence's revolution in Argentina (1810) reached Rosas ' dictactorship (1835-1852) This drama, product of the revolution, was caused by the combination of 2 elements which shouldn't have been combined: the city, civilization's field, and the countryside, barbarism's field. The book can be read as the city and the countryside were the characters. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1817-1860   2. Argentina   3. Caribbean & Latin American   4. Description and travel   5. History   6. History - General History   7. History: World   8. Latin America - General   9. Latin America - South America   10. Quiroga, Juan Facundo,   11. South America - History   12. Latin America   13. Literary studies: 19th century   14. Other prose: 19th century   15. Quiroga, Juan Facundo   16. Rosas, Juan Manuel José Domingo Ortiz de   17. South America   18. Spanish   

Customer Reviews (1)

Cortijo, the musician and friend
A wonderful memory of a dear friend and one of the kindest human beings I've had the pleasure to know.

I left Puerto Rico in 1980 and still, in my heart, think of it as home. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography   2. Biography / Autobiography   3. Composers & Musicians - General   4. Cortijo, Rafael   5. Ethnic Studies - Hispanic American Studies   6. Genres & Styles - Latin   7. Music   8. Musicians   9. Puerto Rico   10. Social conditions   11. Spanish: Adult Nonfiction   

Customer Reviews (1)

Selected life details and writing excerpts
Organized approach to life, poetry and prose tracing the spiritual journey made by St. John. Life details are summarized into a chronology. The original Spanish and English translation of famous poems such as "Dark Night" are included. The prose focuses on the Saint's explaination of the poems and omits portions written to address the Inquisition. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Catholic Church   2. Doctrines   3. Early works to 1800   4. General   5. Mysticism   6. New Age   7. New Age / Parapsychology   8. Religion