Island Style: Tropical Dream Houses in Indonesia

Customer Reviews:

Truly Wonderful!.......2006-05-30

This book has delicious, detailed pictures that calmly transports readers into the most wonderful parts of Indonesia. I was looking for a book that would give me design ideas to use and this book delivered those ideas and more. If you're looking for authentic,tropical designs, I think this is one book in which to begin your journey. Get it, sit back and enjoy the absolute beauty it has to offer.

I love this book!.......2004-12-05

I love this book. I've always dreamed of living in Indonesia. This book has many magnificent pictures that makes me more excited in moving there with my family! This is a great book because it exhibits many architectures unique to the balinese culture and would truly be enjoyed by anyone interested in tropical designs. I highly recommend it.

Great book!!.......2002-05-25

This book features many amazing pictures- of exclusive hotels as well as private homes. I was most impressed with the pictures of Amanjiwo- a famed Aman resort - and with Begawan Giri in Bali. This book is also well laid out and well written. Highly recommended for people who are interested in Balinese and tropical architecture and design.

Mastering Color: The Essentials Of Color Illustrated With Oils
Average customer rating:

great book

KARIN WAS RIGHT

Scooterpaints

Awesome book, as beautiful and inspiring as the cover!

I wish I didn't buy it

Mastering Color: The Essentials Of Color Illustrated With Oils
Vicki Mcmurry
Manufacturer: North Light Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Using Color | Instructional & How-To | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
General | Instructional & How-To | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
Painting | Instructional & How-To | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
General | Painting | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
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Landscape Painting Inside and Out: Capture the Vitality of Outdoor Painting in Your Studio With Oils

Fill Your Oil Paintings With Light & Color

Dramatic Light: Paint Eye-catching Art in Watercolor And Oil

Brushwork Essentials: How to Render Expressive Form and Texture With Every Stroke

Problem Solving for Oil Painters: Recognizing What's Gone Wrong and How to Make It Right

ASIN: 1581806353

Book Description

Mastering Color takes artists beyond the color wheel for a deeper understanding of the emotional and practical uses of their palettes. It features inventive, yet easy-to-understand, concepts and techniques that apply to every subject, medium, and painting level, with:

-An in-depth section on the properties of color, including color density, mother colors, and transition colors

-Examples, charts, mini-demos, demos, and comparisons to illustrate color theory

-Advice for maximizing color as it relates to value, design, light, shadow, and mood

Artists will appreciate this in-depth look at color theory -- one that's sure to maximize the beauty and appeal of their next paintings.

Customer Reviews:

great book.......2007-09-09

great book-like the explaination on all the color schemes. very easy to understand and refer to when doing color studies.

KARIN WAS RIGHT.......2007-08-19

I just got this book and I too am glad I did not pay attention to the ONE negative review.... I know, everybody has the liberty of saying what they think, but I was truly surprised and inspired once I opened this book! I cannot wait to finish reading it and putting into practice its tips! Thank you Vicki Mcmurry!

Scooterpaints.......2007-03-19

I spent the afternoon with 2 other artists; one brought this book to share... we were oohing and aahing. I had to buy immediately & can hardly wait for my own copy to arrive. For those painting awhile, we don't need the basics and it's good to have such wonderful artists sharing their techniques to inspire us. I look forward to having this in my 'arsenal'.

Awesome book, as beautiful and inspiring as the cover!.......2007-02-17

If you love color and are ready to take your painting to the next level, this is the book for you! I just received Ms. McMurry's masterpiece a few days ago and was so pleasantly surprised. Please do not listen to the ONE negative review - (I almost did and am so glad I went with my intuition instead...) this wonderful treat is as gorgeous on each page as the cover promises. If you are touched by the passionate painting on the cover as I was, you will love the book. Not only is it a visual feast, but Ms. Mcmurry takes us inside her knowledge and discoveries of a painter. She is like a friend sharing her secrets.

Even just flipping through the pages I have picked up many new tips (and I've been painting all my life...) and can't wait to read the whole book cover to cover. In addition to the great insights and instruction, I find the best way to learn from great artists is to just "absorb" the paintings and let them affect you a on a deep level- each of Vicky's paintings is like a "transmission" of color mastery.

Even though this may not be the perfect book for a complete beginner (the title is "MASTERING Color" afterall...), I believe that painters of all levels (and art lovers...) will greatly benefit from this treasure.

And by the way, I have never met Ms. Mcmurry (although I'd love to study with her...) and didn't even know about her until a few days ago. I just love her book and art, and find it sad that beacuse of one bad review many folks might be missing out on it. If you enjoy this book, please write a little note to let folks know.
Happy Painting!

I wish I didn't buy it.......2007-01-29

This book really has annoyed me. I knew nothing about using color in oil paintings, and I still know nothing after reading it:
1) The book is basically a series of pictures of this artist's paintings (one or two per page), with really little comments near them. The pages are really empty: small pictures with little text.
2) Sometimes the author speaks about techniques (i.e. direct or indirect painting)
and after reading the text I still don't understand what is she talking about.
3) There are also a lot of trivial explanations (like that of primary, secondary colors, etc.) that it seems a joke dedicating a lot of space to them.
4) The paintings are almost all beautiful, but it is not worthwhile buying the book just to see the illustrations.
5) The most of the explanations sound to me like: "I thought I could use red here, and I did it. I like the result because it reflects the emotions I had when I was
painting. You must do what you find right". Do I have to extract a knowledge from that?

After reading the book I thought the author made an effort to avoid good explanations. Perhaps this book is not intended for beginners like me, but I think it is a bad book for everyone. She seems a good painter, but this book tells me she is not a good teacher.

Sorry for the comparison (because they seem to follow different goals), but "Painting the Impressionist Landscape" from Lois Griffel is infinitely better than this one
from Mcmurry. I never regreted buying Griffel's.

You are warned: don't let a good cover mislead you.

Book Description

¡Cobertura actualizada de las últimas cámaras y programas!

Su fácil y divertida guía para conocer el mundo de la fotografía digital

Las cámaras digitales se ponen mejor – y más baratas. ¿Pero por dónde comenzar? En esta amistosa guía, Julie Adair King le da justo lo que necesita. Ella le dice cómo seleccionar el equipo correcto. Ella revela los secretos para tomar las mejores fotos digitales. Y ella le muestra cómo utilizar los programas de edición de fotos para realzar cualquier foto digital.

Customer Reviews:

buen libro, MALA TRADUCCION........2007-07-16

El libro esta bien. La traduccion es pesima, parece hecha por esos software que traducen y luego retocada por alguien, o tal vez hecha por alguien que no habla español como lengua materna. Le he pedido a amazon devolver el libro y lo comprare nuevamente en ingles.

Fotografia Digital / Digital Photography (Informatica Para Torpes / Informatics for Dummies)

Average customer rating:

Fotografia Digital / Digital Photography (Informatica Para Torpes / Informatics for Dummies)
Jorge Abaurrea Velarde
Manufacturer: Anaya Multimedia
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Digital Photography | Digital Photography & Video | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

Digital Photography | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Spanish | Foreign Language Nonfiction | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Book Description

A fun, easy to read book covering the basics of successful change management. Written in story format, readers follow the stages of a typical project, (riddled with problems) while solutions are revealed through lessons learned from pig farming. Introduces a new set of corporate jargon including the pig snout, the boar, the angry sow plus much more.

Yankee on the Prairie: Howard R. Barnard, Pioneer Educator
Average customer rating:

Wonderful Accounts of Barnard and Western Kansas!

Yankee on the Prairie: Howard R. Barnard, Pioneer Educator
Allan R. Miller
Manufacturer: Sunflower University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
Educators | Professionals & Academics | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0897451848

Customer Reviews:

Wonderful Accounts of Barnard and Western Kansas!.......2006-09-19

This book is a wonderful account of the life and times of Howard Barnard, as well as the life of an educator on the prairie. It encompasses the life's work of Barnard and his trials tribulations in a new land. The book is written with zest and demonstrates Miller's love for education, history and western Kansas.

A Bride's Book of Wedding Traditions
Average customer rating:

Buy it used, if at all!

The best book of wedding traditions in its genre

A Bride's Book of Wedding Traditions
Arlene Stewart
Manufacturer: William Morrow
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Marriage | Relationships | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
General | Weddings | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Planning | Weddings | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Ethics & Morality | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
General | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
General | Etiquette | Reference | Subjects | Books
General | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books
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Timeless Traditions : A couple's guide to wedding customs around the world

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The Knot Guide to Wedding Vows and Traditions: Readings, Rituals, Music, Dances, and Toasts

The Knot Ultimate Wedding Planner: Worksheets, Checklists, Etiquette, Calendars, and Answers to Frequently Asked Questions

All Dressed in White : The Irresistible Rise of the American Wedding

Accessories:

Health o Meter HDC100-01 "Grow with Me" Teddy Bear Scale for Babies and Toddlers Health o Meter HDC100-01 "Grow with Me" Teddy Bear Scale for Babies and Toddlers

ASIN: 0688127681
Release Date: 1995-03-20

Book Description

Whether it's candlelit and black tie, breezily casual, or sleek and postmodern, every wedding reflects the unique values, taste, and heritage of the bride and groom. Arlene Hamilton Stewart helps today's bride fill her wedding with special meaningful touches by revealing traditions and customs that span cultures and centuries and have symbolized love, luck, fruitfulness, and joy from time immemorial. She shares dozens of ways a bride can adapt these rituals to give her ceremony extra beauty and resonance. Perhaps it's a sheaf of golden wheat at the altar (an ancient Greek custom); elegant calligraphy invitations (as were done by medieval monks); or a Victorian "regard ring," in which the first letter of each gemstone spells out a message or a name. Sharing traditions from ancient times through the Victorian era and the postwar years as well as African-American, Native American, Asian, and other ethnic traditions, this book will help brides personalize their weddings as never before.

Customer Reviews:

Buy it used, if at all!.......2003-07-10

The book has some wedding history in it, but I would not purchase this book again. From the title and an Amazon.com search, I anticipated more cultural traditions, and while there are a few intertwined in the writing, they are not clearly defined. Everyone is different, so I hope that if you do purchase this book, you find something useful in it! I gave it 2 stars for an easy read.

The best book of wedding traditions in its genre.......1997-08-23

A Bride's Book of Wedding Traditions is quite well-written. The smooth prose presents information in a clear and concise format while informing the bride-to-be/reader of the symbolism behind familiar wedding traditions, and introducing traditions from other cultures. Covers areas from engagement to betrothal, to honeymooning to happily-ever-after. Contains wedding superstitions, examines new traditions as well as including an assortment of wedding readings. The bibliography is extensive and representative of the topics discussed within the text

Average customer rating:

Here Come the Brides
Ellen Jackson
Manufacturer: Walker & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Ages 9-12 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

Customs & Traditions | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0802784682

Packaged Japaneseness: Weddings, Business, and Brides (Consumasian Book Series)

Average customer rating:

Packaged Japaneseness: Weddings, Business, and Brides (Consumasian Book Series)
Ofra Goldstein-Gidoni
Manufacturer: University of Hawaii Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Japan | Asia | History | Subjects | Books

General | Weddings | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Planning | Weddings | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Customs & Traditions | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

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General | Etiquette | Reference | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0824819543

Book Description

A landmark book published to rave reviews a decade ago, Pearl Harbor Ghosts has now been updated to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the surprise attack that forever changed the course of history.

Full of gripping drama and vibrant details, here is the intimate human story of the events surrounding that fateful day of December 7, 1941–the glamorous tropical city that seemed too beautiful to suffer devastation . . . the stunned naval personnel whose lives would permanently be divided into before and after Pearl Harbor . . . the ordinary Honolulu residents who were tragically unprepared to be the first target in the Pacific war . . . the Japanese pilots who manned the squadron of deadly silver bombers . . . and the island’s community of Japanese-Americans whose lives would never be the same again.

Blending meticulous historic recreation with lively reporting, Clarke counterpoints the freeze-frame nightmare of the 1941 bombing with the disturbing realities of present-day Honolulu, where hundreds of veterans, both American and Japanese, converge each year to relive every hour of the attack. Wealthy Waikiki landowners and native Hawaiian farmers, admirals and nurses, Navy wives and government officials–all take their part in Clarke’s rich tapestry of memory and insight. In the end, Pearl Harbor emerges as a trauma that spread from Oahu to engulf the nation and the world–an event that continues to reverberate in the lives of all who experienced it.

Customer Reviews:

A decent respect for the Japanese-American position.......2006-11-10

BOOK REVIEW

Among the many attempts to piggyback on the movie "Pearl Harbor," this revised version of Thurston Clarke's 10-year-old book is among the most interesting.
First written for the 50th anniversary, most of "Pearl Harbor Ghosts" has worn well. But the lengthy section about islanders' resentment against the Japanese conquest of Hawaii by yen in the late '80s sounds odd in the 21st century, when most of those yen investments have been wiped out.
Clarke comments that it seems strange that a defeat, rather than a victory, should be so deeply engrained in America's consciousness, but we also remember the Alamo, as the British do Dunkirk. But it is remarkable that after six decades, the shock of that moment retains such force.
Clarke expresses the feeling in many ways, but his most pungent comment is that the islands' "beauty must have unhinged the purpose of their defenders." The contrast between the putative paradise and the flaming immolation of Pearl Harbor, Hickam, Kaneohe and Wheeler is easy to feel even at this distance -- easier, probably, than the shock of German tanks rolling across the sandy plains of Poland in 1939.
Also, Clarke notes, Oahu's military bases have changed little since 1941, compared with the rest of the island, so a visitor can more easily imagine the extraordinary calm of the opening hours of Dec. 7, 1941.
Or perhaps it is just that great events set all perceptions at higher resolution. Accounts of the Battle of Britain mention that the weather in southern England in June of 1940 was exceptionally sweet. Perhaps it was, but perhaps that is mostly an artifact or trick of memory, contrasting the usual with the unanticipated.
Though it was not unanticipated by all. Admiral Husband Kimmel and Lt. Gen. Walter Short were culpably lax in the last weeks of 1941, but real fighting men, like Vice Adm. William Halsey, were not. Clarke has nothing to say about Halsey on that day, but on Dec. 7, Halsey's planes and guns were armed and his commanders had orders to shoot the Japanese on sight. They were in the wrong place, though.
Clarke spends much time investigating the complex attitudes of and toward the Japanese and Japanese-Americans in Hawaii.
Clearer sighted than most, he critically evaluates the claim -- now inviolable PC doctrine -- of their total loyalty to the United States. It is true that no "acts of sabotage" were recorded, but this view of uncomplicated patriotism practically devalues the remarkable attitude of Hawaii's (and the Mainland's) Japanese. Clarke does them the credit of understanding that they were pulled in both directions and had a moral choice to make.
The suspicion directed against the Japanese (and what is usually forgotten but which Clarke properly takes into account, against Germans and Italians) is usually treated today as a compound of racism, blindness and stupidity. It was all of those, but there was more to it than that.
The government of Japan, equally with many in the government of the United States, expected many or most Japanese in America to side with their ancestral country. For white Americans, the fact that they had refused Japanese immigrants the chance to become American citizens made such speculations logical.
That logic was trumped, it turned out, by a loftier conception. Though the Japanese who came to America had not enjoyed all the benefits implicit and explicit in the Constitution, they believed in them anyhow.
Clarke does a better job than most of untangling this issue, but it was even more complex than he lets on. In the 1930s, many responsible people (among them, President Franklin Roosevelt) seriously feared that the United States was on the verge of revolution.
And there were plenty of real subversives around to lend credibility to their fears. Hundreds of thousands of traitors lived in the United States and were supporting Axis war aims during most of the 21 months after September 1939. Only they were not, for the most part, Japanese, Italian or German, but Communists and Popular Fronters taking orders from the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
Popular history has given them an undeserved pass.
To a degree, the Pearl Harbor ghosts have been laid. On a sunny day at Pearl Harbor, long lines of visitors wait patiently to enter the overcrowded USS Arizona Memorial. Americans and Japanese stand quietly together.

A vivid picture of Honolulu in December 1941.......2003-12-05

This book is more anecdotal than historical. The book doesn't dwell on the minutiae of military history, but it does perfectly set the scene of Honolulu during the days leading up to the attack, Dec. 7, and the days immediately after the attack. We learn about the complex ethnic mix on the island of Oahu; how military leaders were more concerned about internal sabotage than external attack; how people from all walks of life -- soldiers and civilians -- responded to the attack. I had a greater appreciation for the people and place of Honolulu after reading this book.

Too Much Sensationalism........2003-04-30

"Pearl Harbor Ghosts", by Thurston Clarke, sub-titled: "The Legacy Of December 7, 1941." Ballantine Books, New York, 1999 & 2001.
The extensive research by the author, Thurston Clarke, is marred, in my opinion, by a tendency towards sensationalism. Clarke's agenda is not really clear, but when a choice can be made, his writing tended towards the more popular and more sensational. For example, on page 22, Clarke writes that the Japanese spy, Ensign Yoshikawa, was not on either list of suspects to be detained in case of war. The implication, of course, being that the FBI and military intelligence were sort of incompetent in pre-war Hawaii. A very casual check on my part found in John Toland's book, " Infamy. Pearl Harbor And Its Aftermath", that secret agent Takeo Yoshikawa was burning code books during the Pearl Harbor attack, but within ten minutes of the bombs beginning to fall, "...someone shouted, `Open the door!' The door caved in and Lieutant Yoshio Hasegawa of the Honolulu police burst in with several men. They began stamping on the smoldering code books". It would seem that Yoshikawa was on someone's list, and to imply otherwise is tending towards sensationalism.

On pages 133-134, the author, T. Clarke, presents a case for calling the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the A-bomb drop on Hiroshima as "sneak attacks". The sneak attack on Pearl Harbor is obvious, but making the use of a nuclear weapon on Hiroshima "sneaky" is illogical and sensational.

Clarke let his book follow the popular movie plots, so that he tells you, on page 192, that the name of the black mess attendant (recall the movie) on the "West Virginia" was Doris Miller and that he earned the Navy Cross. For some reason, however, he does not mention that fifteen (15) Medals of Honor were awarded for the action at Pearl Harbor. For example, when the "Oklahoma" turned turtle and capsized, Ensign Francis Flaherty pushed the last sailor out of the turret, thereby trapping himself in the sinking battle ship. I wonder if Clarke missed a grand opportunity to develop more "ghosts" by interviewing the sailors who had been saved by this officer's bravery. What did those men accomplish in the remainder of the war? Did they survive? Where are they now?

Take a look at the picture of the USS Arizona's band at Bloch Arena (following page 204). On page 84, Mr. Clarke comments and sees them as ghosts already, "...sitting ... in dress whites and already a ghostly presence". Unfortunately for Mr. Clarke's comments, in the late 1930s, the U. S. Navy did away with "dress white" uniforms for enlisted men. The picture in his book clearly shows the Arizona's band in undress whites with neckerchiefs.

Finally, the group that called the Opana Radar Site as an "electrical engineering milestone" (page 99) was NOT the Institute of Electrical Engineers, which is British, but rather was the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), an American organization, which at 300,000 member engineers is usually considered the world's largest professional group.
Sincerely, John Peter Rooney, Senior Member IEEE.

Not Exactly What I Expected, But Still a Good Book.......2002-05-22

This book is not like other books about Pearl Harbor. Most of the others deal mainly with the events leading up to the attack and the attack itself. Mr. Clarke has chosen a different path with Pearl Harbor Ghosts. He has concentrated on the evolution of Hawaii and Honolulu from the time of the attack to the present day and inserted lessons that may be learned from the attack. Before December 7, 1941, Honolulu and the Hawaiian islands were nothing like they are today. Life consisted of working shortened days so that one could go to the docks to see an ocean liner off. Lazy sugarcane fields and pineapple plantations covered the soil. Life was much simpler. But December 7 changed Hawaii from a tropical paradise into a modernized military outpost. Gone were the lazy drives up winding roads to the beach. The rule of the day now was working long hours to repair the damage done by the Japanese. Americans and Hawaiians, as explained by the author, had developed a sense of arrogance. No one in their right mind thought that a bunch of inferior people could attack the United States by surprise. We were, unfortunately, proven wrong. One partiular aspect of this book which I especially enjoyed was the discussion of the Japanese islanders and thier treatment after the attack. Many of the Japanese were rounded up and put in internment camps on the mainland. Large numbers of the nisei (second generation Japanese) had joined the American armed forces, and now faced the horrible task of fighting an enemy that looked just like themselves. Others simply left the islands altogether. Some of the nisei were simply discharged from their units after the attack and given no explanations. After time, a full nisei Regiment was developed, fought in the European theater, and became the most decorated group in the war. Still, even 60 years after that disasterous day, many American survivors still harbor ill feelings toward the Japanese. Will these feelings ever go away for these men? That is a difficult question to ask. Meanwhile, Honolulu has developed like most other American cities. Gone are many of the plantations and palm trees, having been replaced by shopping malls and skyscraper office buildings. The dirt roads have been mostly replaced by interstates. And the Pearl Harbor ghosts still linger for some of the survivors. Will they ever be completely forgotten?

What it was like to be there........2002-01-19

This book is a great in-depth look at Pearl Harbor and its impact from 1941 to today.

It gives the best sense of what it was like to be on Oahu from the days leading to the attack to the days following the attack, and then it compares them to the present day.

I had a better sense of what Pearl harbor was like after reading this book than after all the other Pearl Harbor books I've read (and it's been quite a few) combined.

If you're at all interested in Pearl Harbor, read this book.

Customer Reviews:

good journalism, so-so analysis .......2006-07-27

As the editorial reviews point out, this book describes the rise and fall of religious tolerance in Spain and the birth of the Spanish Inquisition. Paris gives a fascinating blow-by-blow account of how the Spanish clergy first pressured Jews into converting to Christianity, then used torture and false promises of clemency to punish "conversos" (former Jews who had converted) for allegedly relapsing into Judaism, and finally blamed Jews for the conversos' heresy. Spanish monarchs were only too happy to support these policies, because the crown confiscated the property of anyone punished by the Inquisition.

Paris stumbles when she attempts to explain popular support for the Inquisition. Why did Spain shift from becoming the most tolerant country in Europe to the least tolerant? Paris blames natural disasters, social instability and economic hardship. But after I read this book, it was not clear to me whether (or why) these problems were so much worse in 14th and 15th-century Spain than in other countries or other times. And the last chapter of the book would have been deleted by a more thoughtful editor; it drags in every conceivable social problem in order to argue that the U.S. or Canada could turn into 15th-century Spain.

As other reviewers point out, this book is not a masterpiece of sociological analysis. But I still thought it was vivid and informative enough to be worth the time I spent on it.

The crimes of the Catholic Church revealed.......2003-01-03

I picked up this book when looking for something on Muslim/Christian relations in 15th century Spain.

Here is a summary of the book's theme: The Catholic church, in general, and the Spanish Catholic church, in particular, have been attempting to eradicate the Jews for the last 1400 years (at least). In the year 712, Muslims brought multi-culturalism to Spain. The resulting golden-age of tolerance was ended by Catholic bigotry, lies and murders. The book retells Spanish history in terms of crimes against the Spanish Jewish people (people who practiced the Jewish faith and those whose Spanish ancestors were Jewish but practiced Catholic Christianity themselves). Particular attention is given to the anti-Jewish riots of 1391 and inquisition, but these events are linked to more contemporary Catholic crimes.

I found the details of Spanish history interesting. This period is particularly ugly to our modern sensibility and English speaking historians seem to avoid it. For example, Queen Isabella looks like a good candidate for modern feminist biography. She created one of the first modern states and financed the first European adventures in the Western Hemisphere. Despite this, the Amazon website has only 1 post-1950 biography on her. I suspect her role in establishing the Spanish inquisition seems decidedly un-feminist.

I don't recommend this book. The author naively accepts various first person accounts from the era when they support her case. At one point, she retells the miraculous story of Jewish children having visions of Christian crosses entirely without a modern skepticism. It simply happened. Less sentimental was her naive acceptance of the racist premise that being a 'converso' (Spanish Catholics with a Jewish ancestor) had some sort of biological reality. Somehow, the persecution of these Christians was a crime against the Jewish race because the biological reality of race was more important than the details of faith.

The conventional wisdom on the Spanish Inquisition, (see B. Netanyahu's "The Origins of the Inquisition in Fifteenth-Century Spain") takes the view that the Spanish sovereigns let the 'coversos' be attacked in order to distract the outraged city masses and their leaders from turning against the royal establishment itself. In other words, it was a media campaign to control the 'masses' via propaganda. For example, King Ferdinand himself was a 'converso', but he continually used the inquisition to suppress opposition to his innovations in tax policy.

The 'revisionist' view (see The Spanish Inquisition: A Historical Revision by H.Kamen) suggests the modern understanding of the inquisition is Marxist propaganda of the 20th century. If you can take this perspective for a moment, the fact Paris ignores the 13th century expulsion of Jews from Muslim Spain suggests Paris fits Kamen's critique. For Paris, the only villain is the Catholic Church.

Lessons From Old Spain.......2000-07-02

In The End of Days, Erna Paris's quest has taken her into the chronicles and archives of the "astonishing world" of the Moors in Spain - civilized, learned, tolerant - and its dynamic Jewish communities. Of the Holy Reconquest of Spain by Christian armies, of religious fanaticism, wholesale destruction of Jewish and Muslim monuments in an age of grisly plagues and pogroms. Paris is well-served by her material. And she has a powerful message. Our civility as a nation can be measured by our tolerance of minorities. Religious and racial intolerance violently transformed one of the richest pluralistic societies in Europe - Moorish Spain - into a society of savage conformism and fear at the brink of the modern age. That themes of this magnitude for our time arise from a retelling of event from 15th century Spain is a testimony of the powerful and fluent sweep of "The End of Days."

Not a history but an apology and a prediction........1999-11-09

Ms. Paris is not a historian. She admits that primary sources are scarce. She has produced an "explanation" of how the Jews of Germany could have been taken in 500 years after the events decribed and how the "fear of the Other" continues today.

This is a hard read as she skips back and forth and from place to place. She details the pogroms but not the accomplishments of the Jewish community. She virtually ignores the events in the rest of Europe and cannot tell us why Spain was different from France or Italy.

Book Description

The projects and experiements, backed up by expert information, are designed to explain basic scientific principles and give insight and understanding into how things work

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