Leather Books

I read this book for a graduate Humanities course. Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, written in 1899 is a seminal work about the ills of colonialism, as well as a postmodern look at the subject of mankind. Conrad's book had a crucial influence on five important works of the twentieth century: J. G. Frazier's book The Golden Bough. Jessie L. Weston's book From Ritual to Romance, T. S. Elliott's poem the Waste Land, Joseph Campbell's Hero with a Thousand Faces, and Francis Ford Coppolla's movie Apocalypse Now, screenplay by John Milius, was based on Conrad's book. Another interesting fact is that this work was read by Orson Welle's Mercury Theater Players on the radio and was to be his first movie. After doing some work on it he abandoned the project to do Citizen Kane! I would have loved to of seen what Welles could have done with this story. Conrad's story is so riveting in part, because he himself served as a riverboat captain. High school teachers and college professors who have discussed this book in thousands of classrooms over the years tend to do so in terms of Freud, Jung, and Nietzsche; of classical myth, Victorian innocence, and original sin; of postmodernism, postcolonialism, and poststructuralism.

Just a taste of the plot reels you in! Marlow, the narrator of Heart of Darkness and Conrad's alter ego, is hired by an ivory-trading company to sail a steamboat up an unnamed river whose shape on the map resembles "an immense snake uncoiled, with its head in the sea, its body at rest curving afar over a vast country and its tail lost in the depths of the land" (8). His destination is a post where the company's brilliant, ambitious star agent, Mr. Kurtz, is stationed. Kurtz has collected legendary quantities of ivory, but, Marlow learns along the way, is also rumored to have sunk into unspecified savagery. Marlow's steamer survives an attack by blacks and picks up a load of ivory and the ill Kurtz; Kurtz, talking of his grandiose plans, dies on board as they travel, downstream.

Sketched with only a few bold strokes, Kurtz's image has nonetheless remained in the memories of millions of readers: the lone white agent far up the great river, with his dreams of grandeur,his great store of precious ivory, and his fiefdom carved out of the African jungle. Perhaps more than anything, we remember Marlow, on the steamboat, looking through binoculars at what he thinks are ornamental knobs atop the fence posts in front of Kurtz's house and then finding that each is "black, dried, sunken, with closed eyelids-a head that seemed to sleep at the top of that pole, and with the shrunken dry lips showing a narrow white line of the teeth" (57).

I especially became interested in Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness from the movie Apocalypse Now. There is a scene in the movie that shows Colonel Kurtz's nightstand in his cave. T. S. Elliott's poem the Waste Land is one of three books on the nightstand. The other two are Jessie L. Weston's book From Ritual to Romance, and J. G. Frazier's book The Golden Bough. Anyone wanting to understand the movie Apocalypse Now, especially the character of Colonel Kurtz, and what Milius and Copolla are trying to tell their audience need to read these three books as well as Conrad's Heart of Darkness!

As a graduate student reading in philosophy and history I recommend this book for anyone interested in literature, myth, history, philosophy, religion and fans of Apocalypse Now.

I read this book for a graduate Humanities course. Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, written in 1899 is a seminal work about the ills of colonialism, as well as a postmodern look at the subject of mankind. Conrad's book had a crucial influence on five important works of the twentieth century: J. G. Frazier's book The Golden Bough. Jessie L. Weston's book From Ritual to Romance, T. S. Elliott's poem the Waste Land, Joseph Campbell's Hero with a Thousand Faces, and Francis Ford Coppolla's movie Apocalypse Now, screenplay by John Milius, was based on Conrad's book. Another interesting fact is that this work was read by Orson Welle's Mercury Theater Players on the radio and was to be his first movie. After doing some work on it he abandoned the project to do Citizen Kane! I would have loved to of seen what Welles could have done with this story. Conrad's story is so riveting in part, because he himself served as a riverboat captain. High school teachers and college professors who have discussed this book in thousands of classrooms over the years tend to do so in terms of Freud, Jung, and Nietzsche; of classical myth, Victorian innocence, and original sin; of postmodernism, postcolonialism, and poststructuralism.

Just a taste of the plot reels you in! Marlow, the narrator of Heart of Darkness and Conrad's alter ego, is hired by an ivory-trading company to sail a steamboat up an unnamed river whose shape on the map resembles "an immense snake uncoiled, with its head in the sea, its body at rest curving afar over a vast country and its tail lost in the depths of the land" (8). His destination is a post where the company's brilliant, ambitious star agent, Mr. Kurtz, is stationed. Kurtz has collected legendary quantities of ivory, but, Marlow learns along the way, is also rumored to have sunk into unspecified savagery. Marlow's steamer survives an attack by blacks and picks up a load of ivory and the ill Kurtz; Kurtz, talking of his grandiose plans, dies on board as they travel, downstream.

Sketched with only a few bold strokes, Kurtz's image has nonetheless remained in the memories of millions of readers: the lone white agent far up the great river, with his dreams of grandeur,his great store of precious ivory, and his fiefdom carved out of the African jungle. Perhaps more than anything, we remember Marlow, on the steamboat, looking through binoculars at what he thinks are ornamental knobs atop the fence posts in front of Kurtz's house and then finding that each is "black, dried, sunken, with closed eyelids-a head that seemed to sleep at the top of that pole, and with the shrunken dry lips showing a narrow white line of the teeth" (57).

I especially became interested in Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness from the movie Apocalypse Now. There is a scene in the movie that shows Colonel Kurtz's nightstand in his cave. T. S. Elliott's poem the Waste Land is one of three books on the nightstand. The other two are Jessie L. Weston's book From Ritual to Romance, and J. G. Frazier's book The Golden Bough. Anyone wanting to understand the movie Apocalypse Now, especially the character of Colonel Kurtz, and what Milius and Copolla are trying to tell their audience need to read these three books as well as Conrad's Heart of Darkness!

As a graduate student reading in philosophy and history I recommend this book for anyone interested in literature, myth, history, philosophy, religion and fans of Apocalypse Now.

After reading my morning dose of daily wisdom from Ms. Amsden, I am ready to tackle even the most challenging day! Her passages have the ability to reassure, support, and nurture growth in oneself - the wisdom shines through the pages. Thank you!

I whole heartedly recommend this book. My husband and I enjoy reading the day's meditation together every morning. Each meditation helps us to start the day with a positive and thoughtful attitude.

The strongest point of this book is the quality of its color plates--which of course makes or breaks an art book. Fortunately, the prints in this book are very rich and most images are full page. The accompanying text is also very thorough, informative, and interesting. My only complaint is that this book doesn't present much of the posters for which Toulouse-Lautrec is perhaps most famous; however, it does cover much of his other work. In that sense, I got to learn a lot about the body of this artist's work outside of the usual cliche of Toulouse-Lautrec. I would recommend this book for any art library.

"Being able to show people in simple, real moments of their lives was one of Henri's greatest talents", p 18

The young reader will learn about Henri's being born into a rich family, his having broken both of his legs in his early teenage years resulting in his small stature, and his years in Paris painting the life with which he came in contact.

Toulouse-Lautrec's painting of lively scenes of the theaters, dance halls and circuses makes this a perfect choice for young children. His Moulin Rouge advertisement prints are easy to read, uncluttered and therefore grab the young reader's attention. The young are frequently in motion. As a result they will appreciate Toulouse-Lautrec's ability to capture a scene in mid motion. The young reader will be drawn in by Henri's choice of brilliant colors and will have fun finding Henri in some of his paintings.

Henri's portrait of van Gogh is breathtaking. He van Gogh'd van Gogh. He does honor to the painter by mimicking van Gogh's style.

Venezia's illustrations are humorous. His narrative is delightfully entertaining. His approach brings the artist within reach of the young. His illustration of the Parisian friends that Henri may have introduced to his parent's is jokingly exaggerated.

The size of the book is perfect for smaller hands. It enables the young to have art within their grasp. Venezia gives the locations of the paintings and as result if the child lives near one of the museums or will be near one on vacation, she/he would be able to see the original.

This is the 18th in Venezia's "Getting to know the World's Greatest Artist" series. He also has similar series on composers. Venezia's back cover illustrations tie back to the subject. "Greatly influenced by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Mike also tries to capture the private moments ...".

The price of the book is well worth paying. The book contains the following: Toulouse-Lautrec's Paintings (13) and Prints (4), Photos of Toulouse-Lautrec - 2, Venezia's Illustrations - 6, Others' paintings/prints - 3.

Who should read this book ?

* Anyone who wants to understand how free societies can descend into tyranny:

* Anyone who does not realise that merely holding free elections is not enough to preserve a society worth living in, especially if you don't combine democracy with the rule of law:

* Anyone who needs to understand how two or more nations can stumble into a war devastating to both:

* Anyone who imagines that genocide and ethnic cleansing were limited to our own era:

* Anyone interested in reading one of the first works of true history ever written.

In other words this history of a terrible war nearly two and half thousand years ago is as relevant in the first decade of the third millenium as it was when it was written, four centuries before the birth of Jesus Christ.

If I had to nominate one historical work for my son and daughter to read, I would think carefully between this volume, Suetonius's "The 12 Caesars", and Herodotus's "Histories", but Thucydides "History of the Poloponnesian war" would edge it.

You cannot take every word in this book for granted, but Herodotus and Thucydides came closer to an objective search for truth than any writer whose works survive and was writing before them or for centuries afterwards.

The story of the tragic wars, initially between Athens and Sparta, which decimated Greek civilisation between 431BC and 404 BC is absolutely gripping, and Thucydides brings the story to life for me.

This translation by Richard Crawley was written more than 130 years ago, and slightly revised by R.C. Feetham in 1903. Despite teh fact that even the revised version is more than a century old, I found the translation to be accessible and easy to understand. I understand from those who know more about history than I do that Crawley's translation is now preferred by current experts to the rival Victorian translation by Benjamin Jowett which provides more of a general sense of Thucydides' writing but is less good at conveying the detail.

The most irritating thing about Thucydides book is that it stops suddently in the middle of a sentence in 411 BC, shortly after the overthrow of democracy in Athens and the Athenian naval victory at the Dardanelles. E.g. well before the actual resolution of the conflict between Athens and Sparta, let alone the subsequent struggle between both cities and Thebes.

If, like me, this leaves you wanting to learn more about what happened next, your best bet is to read Xenophon's "A history of my times" which was deliberately written to follow on from Thucydides, to such an extent that it actually starts with the words "And after this."

The reputation of Xenophon among historians as a reliable source has fallen dramatically over the past few decades, and he is undoubtedly not in the same class as Thucydides as a historian, but he certainly is in the same class as a storyteller and he does complete the story of the war.

The greatest of all Greek historians was the Athenian general Thucydides (455-400 B.C.E.). Thucydides' classic work, "History Of The Peloponnesian War", provides us with the historical framework for 5th century Greece, a golden age of intellectual achievement and creativity rarely equaled in human history. This history is by far the best account of the bitter war between Athens and Sparta as well as the only surviving contemporary record of the rise of the Athenian empire. Thucydides as a master storyteller does not just cover the battle scenes; he records the great political speeches of Pericles, leader of Athens, and Lysander leader of Sparta with great acumen. He is recognized as the first historian to actually go and get eyewitness accounts, visit battlefieilds and research documents and records. This work took him over 20 years and it shows!

The lessons he teaches about imperial over reaching and unreasonable peace settlements are prescient today as they were during his times. President Woodrow Wilson, read this book on his voyage across the Atlantic to the Versailles Peace Conference and vociferously fought the other Allies in making unreasonable demands of the Germans. Wilson learned the dangers that the world would be placed in by backing the Germans into a corner politically and economically from Thucydides book.

As a graduate student in philosophy and history, I heartily recommend this timeless classic to anyone who is interested in political philosophy, and history. I also recommend you read it with David Cartwright's "A Historical Commentary On Thucydides."

I had to order this one from Amazon at a relatively higher cost, as this kind of editions are not available locally. Most of the Bibles that you get in the stores are printed on thin paper, with microscopic print. All this is done to make the Bible easy to carry, but imagine the strain on people's eyes!

This one has been printed in fairly large typeface (perhaps 13 or 14 points), though it is not giant typeface, as the blurb claims. However, the line margins have been completely eaten up to provide the space for the larger type. Also there is no line spacing between paras. The paper is better than most pocket editions, but the typing on the reverse still shows through, and is a bit of a distraction while reading. If you like to mark or underline your Bible, you are going to have an absolutely frustrating time finding the space for it. There is some space in the margins though.

The pages have been edged beautifully in gilt. The signature binding is superb. I have not been able to make out whether the cover is made of leather or some synthetic material, but it wears well. There are also eight pages of color maps at the end, as well as a concordance. There are no other study aids, except of course a list of the books.

The edition is King James, 1611. Direct statements made by Lord Jesus Christ have been printed in a dull kind of red, which is somewhat difficult to read as the color is not very sharp.

Holy Bible does not normally print the original language text alongside the translation, as is normal with Quran Sharif or Shrimad Bhagwad Gita. To my mind, this is a major loss, as some of the concepts get transformed during translation into another language. For the story of how the King James translation came about, read 'God's Secretaries', Adam Nicholson God's Secretaries: The Making of the King James Bible (P.S.)

All in all an excellent gift for a family friend who is getting along in years.

I have the BLACK-cover 1990 Edition and looks GREAT. Large print.

I'm gonna tell you how it ends right up front! the Devil did it...and God wins!!!!!! If you haven't read it...you really need to read this book!!! It IS the best book ever written! If you have read it...hey, read it again...over and over. This is the best self help book and comforting book that anyone ever needs!!! Whether or not you take my word...you'll find out all about it...

With all of the current debate over Bible translations, its hard to know where to turn. Some factions are even militant in their claims for one version over the other. And there can be no doubt that some of the newer translations are indeed lacking. But as a Pastor, I have found the NAS an invaluable study tool, and one I recommend for several reasons. 1 - If you are looking for more precise renderings in the nuances of the original autographs, especially the Greek, the NAS wins the day. Although the English may be a bit halting at times, it becomes quickly evident that there is increased clarity of meaning. Bear with it being a little "clunky", and you'll be rewarded by the treasures of the linguistic subtleties rising to the top. 2 - It makes an excellent bridge between the Elizabethan quaintness of the KJV and modern English. While nothing rivals the beauty and music of the KJV, the NAS still retains a stately reverence and never falls into familial contempt. It is true, there are some textual concerns over which manuscripts were used for translation in the NAS vs the KJV. But the majority of the differences are minor, and no major doctrine of the orthodox Christian faith suffers in the process. In fact, you'll probably find the themes emerging with more precision and clarity than ever before. For memorization, stick with King James. For serious study and teaching, pick up an NAS and enjoy

Before mentioning how much I like this edition of the NKJV, I must first mention why I like it as a translation goes. Despite the fact that the NKJV is a 20th century revision of the 1769 KJV revision, it remains unsurpassed in terms of something I didn't appreciate until later on in my use of it, the editor's choice of style. The use of special formats like quoting from the OT in the NT is especially appreciated. Instead of using ALL CAPITALS and/or bold face which I find unaesthetic and gives too much OT emphasis, as if the quotation was more important that the NT passage quoting it, the NKJV utilizes an oblique typeface. While close in appearance to italics, there's enough difference between the two to know which is which. Italics are used to tell when a word is not from the original languages but supplied to make sense of the passage being translated. I could go on endlessly about why I like the NKJV over other modern translations despite the fact that they are translated from better sources. (No vital doctrine is affected despite claims to the contrary by KJV only advocates.) I only hope that in future editions, the publishers of the ESV would incorporate these stylistic choices. For an expanded treatment/discussion of the features incorporated in the NKJV, I recommend reading "THE NEW KING JAMES VERSION IN THE GREAT TRADITION" by the late Arthur Farstad. The ISBNs are 0840731485 & 0785251758.

Now for this edition; "Nelson's Exclusive Royal LeatherSoft" feels like butter! It's so soft for a man made material. I like it better than anybody else's imitation leather. As features goes, this is a reading Bible, nothing else; very economical. Nelson still supplies features like a "Read-the Bible-Through-In-A-Year" reading schedule, a Harmony of the Gospels, and Translation and Textual Notes. It's a very nice complement to this text. The printed text itself is identical to the one used in Nelson's flagship Study Bibles. For a Pocket Companion Bible its very easy to read and lightweight.

I normally read and study from the NKJV compact reference Bible, but often I just want to read without cross-referencing. When I see those small reference letters and footnotes I can't help it, and I still go to look them up. This compact Bible is the perfect text-only, with minimal cross references and footnotes. It is small and light enough to hold easily in your hands, but large enough to sit flat on a table with pages open. The text is relatively large and easy to read at an arms length. The royal leather soft cover is comfortable and warm to the touch. Occasionally I will give someone a Bible, and this is inexpensive enough that I wouldn't think twice about giving it away and buying two more.

This is one of three companion bibles I have in the New King James Version. One is a Royal leather soft edition and the other is the black calfskin signature series. This british tan edition with slip on tab is perfect for carry along wherever in all extremes of weather. Of course because it is bonded leather, I don't expect the leather binding to last as long as my high quality genuine leather editions but this one will be a survivor. It's format presentation is clear and compact. I really enjoy reading from this edition. I can rapidly locate favorite portions of scripture from its clear text font. If you prefer the New King James, then lug this one along wherever, whenever.

I wanted a small light weight bible to carry in my purse for travel and church. this bible is perfect for that purpose.The print is small but very readable even for my seventy-two year old eyes! I very much like this bible and you can't beat the price!

This is thee best study Bible I have ever read. It doesn't explain each and every verse but gives you solid facts that aid in your study. It lets the word of God explain itself and doesn't give some editors opinion.

I have many Bibles, but this one is very user friendly. I needed to do research and I found this Bible most helpful. A friend let me use hers for a paper and I fell in love with it. I had to put it in my shopping cart ASAP. Buy it if you are in the process of studying the Bible, you won't regret it!

I have owned my New Open Study Bible since 1994. I have split the spine on my Bible from overuse so I had to order another. The topical index in the front is superb and covers more topics than you will ever need to teach or study the Bible. The background articles on the customs and manners of Bible times dispersed throughout this work give all the background necessary to teach an in-depth bible study on that topic. The charts of measures, currency, customs, feasts, kingdoms, and time are excellent. The Visual Survey of the Bible Chart in the center of the Bible is a fabulous overview of the key concepts and principles taught in the O.T. and N.T. It is worth the price of this Bible. It fabulously shows how all of the books of the Bible fit together and the main topics presented in each book. The book introductions found at the beginning of each book are meaty enough for a scholar but explained simply enough for a layperson. I wish that every member of my church would invest in this wonderful study Bible. I would never want to be without it.

Love the Bible Cyclopedic, the Concordance, the Christian Worker section, the Between the Testaments, the .... could go on and on with the pluses! AWESOME BOOK - AWESOME AUTHOR!