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The Road to Reality - A Complete Guide to the Laws of the Universe

1 stars (Who is the audience for this book?) - This is the first review I have been moved to write ... I bought this book because I like to read other people's perspectives on Physics; particularly when they are as smart as Roger Penrose undoutedly is. I have a PhD in theoretical physics (QFT) so I am hardly uneducated, or uninterested, in these topics. I found that this book tried to jump straight to an elegant mathermatical explanation without trying to impart any of the physical understanding. If you don't already know this material, this book won't help. At several points I just laughed out loud; one in particular when after explaining some arcane point in complex algebra involving a fraction, Penrose adds a comment along the lines of "I explained what a fraction was at the start of the book". He seems to be under the total delusion that you can just present the results of 20yrs of education in as many pages and people will just pick it up. I can only conclude that he is so familiar with this material that he has completely lost touch with its difficulty. The same must be said for those reviewers who liked this book; or else they are just lying to make themselves feel good; or perhaps they don't understand as much as they think they do! 5 stars (Shining brilliance!) - Penrose's book is really a thrilling experience. His intuition is brilliant. His explanations are crisp. His teaching ability can be probably only matched by Feynman. I got the book yesterday, but couldn't stop reading it so far. The first 150 pages I've read gave me a completely new perspective on complex calculus, which I had studied in undergraduate and thought I understood it. I am looking forward to other sections on differential geometry and other advanced topics. The book is very appropriate for people who have taken/are taking math courses but don't have good intuitive feel for the subjects covered---most math courses (especially, the grad ones) only emphasize the mathematics not the in...
Knopf :: Science & Astrophysics & Space Science :: Science&Mathematics :: Science :: Physical laws :: Mathematical Physics :: General :: Cosmology :: Astrophysics & Space Sc :: The Road to Reality - A Complete Guide to the Laws of the Universe

 

Salonica- City of Ghosts - Christians- Muslims and Jews- 1430-1950

4 stars (History Matters) - Mazower captures in remarkable ways the history of Salonica, a town which is today in northern Greece. At the same time many events that took place at Salonica were repercussions and optics on European and Middle Eastern history as a whole. For very different reasons at different epocs, Salonica found itself responding to events far beyond its shores. In the fifteenth century it became the home of many Jews expelled from Spain. After centuries under Ottoman rule, in the twentieth century it saw the return of Greek rule and then the forced removal of its large Jewish population under German occupation. The story of Salonica is an illustration of the ways in which a single physical place has seen whole communities come and go, typically under tragic circumstances. The book reminds us of how difficult it is for human beings with different beliefs and ideologies to live peacefully together. For many centuries this was achieved in Salonica, but then something changes and persecutions and emigrations follow. Mazower tells these stories without any attempt to prove a thesis about inter-faith or even human relations. There are interesting individuals but no heroes or saints. Communities do good things and do bad things. It is a story of many human lives that would otherwise have been buried with the communities that over the years have been forced to leave and officially left out of the city's history. After reding it Salonica will be on my next trip to Europe! 5 stars (Thessaloniki Explained) - The Mazower book is superb. It makes the city come alive with a careful and thorough review of the city's history. Its ethnic composition was fascinating to explore. His footnotes put me on to two other books which added even more to the story of this intriguing city. He made some of what I have felt on my several visits become clear. Although he writes in a precise chronological manner, he inserts up-to-date observations which make the mosaic of T...
Knopf :: History & Greece :: Thessalonik?#e (Greece) :: Thessalonike (Greece) :: History- World :: History - General History :: History :: Greece - History :: Europe - Greec :: Salonica- City of Ghosts - Christians- Muslims and Jews- 1430-1950

 

The Prophet

5 stars (Gently Grasps Our Consciousness) - "For what is it to die but to stand naked in the wind and melt into the sun?" -Kahlil Gibran, On Death Originally published in 1923, this little gift to the world has been printed and reprinted hundreds of times. It has been distributed and read to an appreciative audience world-wide. This book certainly does not need another review, as it has received many fine reviews already. Because there are so many book reviews of " The Prophet ", there must be some indwelling need for all of us willing to add a book review, to do so for no other reason than to share our admiration and respect for Kahlil Gibran. This is because to hold this book in your hands and absorb the reverberating depth of Gibran, is to realize that there truly is a divinity within mankind and these are the transcendent words of someone who wrote with his soul. Perhaps the vast number of reviews written, and those so frequently written, will encourage someone who has not yet obtained their own copy to do so. This book is comprised of twenty-eight chapters that reach to the essence of who we are as human beings. Composed as a story about a prophet (or mystic, if you prefer that word) who has lived homeless in a fictional city and is preparing to leave its shores and never return. Each chapter illustrates his departing words to the people as they gather around him to bid him a final farewell. The time period, although unimportant to the material, is not modern. Each chapter addresses certain topics such as: Beauty, Death, Freedom, Pleasure, and Love. What is difficult to describe about this book is the vast spiritual insight it contains, written in such an utterly elegant fashion. The comparisons and metaphors Kahlil Gibran uses are both beautiful and brilliant. Their meanings tenderly flow across the spirit and gently grasps our consciousness, soothing our heart and inspiring our lives. This is truly more than a book- it's an experience. It is an...
Knopf :: Religion & Bible & Commentaries & New Testament :: Prose poems :: American :: Poetry :: Mysticism :: Inspirational & Religious :: Bible - Commentaries - New Testa :: The Prophet

 

The Time of the Uprooted

4 stars (A deeply moving meditation on hope and despair) - Elie Wiesel's THE TIME OF THE UPROOTED shouldn't work. With its sudden shifts in point of view, disturbingly eloquent children, truncated storylines and generally convoluted, if scanty, plot, the book should be a disappointment. But the Nobel Prize winner's meditation on despair and hope in the face of both the unthinkable and the mundane is deeply moving. Wiesel (and his translator, David Hapgood) skillfully controls the mood of the work, immersing the reader in the sadness of Gamaliel Friedman, a man whose life has been a series of struggles. A childhood spent in hiding from the Nazis and an adulthood spent in unhappy romances have left Gamaliel irreparably harmed. Spiritual issues are pervasive in this book. A ghostwriter, Gamaliel is at work on a story of his own centered on a conflict between a rabbi and a priest. He is also enamored of a rabbi seeking to force the arrival of the Messiah. And he is preoccupied with a woman, near death, who he imagines might be the woman who protected him as a child. Each interlocking piece of his life adds heft to the book's spiritual themes. Gamaliel's relationships with women, central to the story, are almost cursorily described. Each seems a rich vein of material that Wiesel barely mines. Indeed, the same could be said of many of the plot points. THE TIME OF THE UPROOTED often feels like a slimmed down version of a potentially more ornately layered tale. Ultimately, however, Wiesel stirs the reader's emotions with economy and power. --- Reviewed by Rob Cline ([...]) 5 stars (excellent but desolate look at humanity) - In 1939, Germany is cleansing Czechoslovakia of the Jewish problem forcing the Friedmans to flee their home for Hungary. The Nazis soon march into Budapest where they continue to implement the final solution. Hoping to keep their son safe, the Friedmans leave their child Gamaliel with a young Christian cabaret singer Ilonka. She keeps him saf...
Knopf :: Fiction & General :: Wiesel :: Elie - Prose & Criticism :: Literary :: Jews :: Jewish children in the Holocaust :: Jewish children in the Holocau :: Holocaust :: Jewi :: The Time of the Uprooted

 

A Field Guide to American Houses

5 stars (Great Photographs-Line Drawings Weak) - At 525 pages, Virginia and Lee McAlester's " A Field Guide to American Houses " is an exhaustive study of the different styles of American domestic architecture. They identify and categorize 39 different architectural styles. This is much more than most field guides. I have been collecting architectural field guides for a number of years. The only thing I do not like in this well prepared book is the over-reliance on black and white photos of homes. The quality of the photos vary significantly. The photos are not of the same high caliber as the photos taken for Historic American Building Survey.(HABS) I believe the best field guides are made up line drawings. Line drawings get to the point and the different archiectural features can be labled. The best line drawings really help in clarifying stylistic points. Photos can be distracting because trees, power lines and vehicles end up in many of the photos. There are line drawings in this book at the beginning of each section. Unfortunately, the line drawings are the weakest part of the book. This is a great book and you cannot go wrong with purchasing it. However, as a devotee of these types of books, I would recommend purchasing Lester Walker's "American Shelter". His illustrations are really beautiful and very informative. 5 stars (Great Book for Preservationists!) - This book has helped me through school! Its a great book to have in your collection if you study preservation or interested in architecture! 5 stars (Invaluable Reference) - You will truly value this book if you are interested in the styles of residential architecture in America. After an engaging survey in the introduction, the styles and movements are presented in chronological order. Also included at this point are outline drawings of the various types of houses, illustrating style, basic shapes, elevations, plans, types of materials and building techniques used as well as a pictori...
Knopf :: Architecture & Reference :: United States :: U S Architecture - General :: Reference :: Guides :: Guidebooks :: Domestic :: Description and travel :: Architecture :: D :: A Field Guide to American Houses

 

The Endurance - Shackleton-s Legendary Antarctic Expedition

5 stars (Great book with outstanding pictures) - In reading this book I am amazed at the needless hardships these men have endured and even thou they failed how much you can learn about leadership in this book. The lack of common since surely hurt them to no end. I felt Shackleton even thou always optimistic among the men did not learn from his past failures or obtain very much common since but put his own desire to succeed before the safety or well being of the men. Overall it is a very interesting story and I enjoyed the pictures immensely it really brings the story to life. 5 stars (Enduring 'Endurance'.) - An excellent book, lavishly illustrated, which considerably enhances this absorbing tale of hardship and courage in bitter weather conditions, which would otherwise bt difficult to visualise. 1 stars (Read Alfred Lansing's Book) - Several days after purchasing Caroline Alexander's, "The Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition" from Amazon.com, I read a few customer reviews that recommended Alfred Lansing's 1959 classic: "Endurance: Shakelton's Incredible Journey." These reviews extolled Lansing's book, and pointed-out how Alexander's was essentially a rewrite of this earlier work. Consequently, I also purchased his book, and thoroughly enjoyed reading the two of them while on vacation a few weeks ago. (I had already begun Alexander's book -- so, completed it before beginning Lansing's.) Alexander's book has one (and only one) distinct and obvious advantage over Lansing's -- the inclusion of scores of the original expedition photographs taken by Frank Hurley (the ship's photographer). These photos are incredible and make Alexander's book indispensable to anyone interested in Shakelton's Endurance expedition. That said -- here's why I gave her book only ONE STAR. In the Acknowledgements" section of her book, Alexander makes only a one sentence reference to Lansing's earlier work -- something to the effect of, "An exciting sea adventure." (a...
Knopf :: Travel & Adventure :: Shackleton :: Ernest Henry :: Journeys :: Travel :: Special Interest - Adventure :: Sir :: :: Shackleton :: Ernest Henry :: :: Polar Regions :: Imperial :: The Endurance - Shackleton-s Legendary Antarctic Expedition