Merchant Adventurer: The Story of W.R. Grace (Latin American Silhouettes)

Customer Reviews:

The Birth of a Enterprise.......2001-08-04

For many people, the name W.R. Grace is connected with lawsuits and legal nightmares. But, for a true look at the birth of this amazing enterprise, one should read "The Story of W.R.Grace". Apart from the civil actions that Grace has confronted in the past 50 years(which you will not read about in this book), the company and its fascinating founder, William R. Grace, hold a rich history and an incredible story of rags to riches.

As a young Irish boy, W.R. Grace came to America with a dream of wealth and commerce tied with a honest and sound approach to business. At a time when America's industrial revolution was booming and business pratices were not as regulated as they are today, Grace came forward with a honest and upfront approach that would change the face of America Commerce and would launch Grace into the spotlight, good and bad, for years to come. A must read for anyone in business!

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Great book, excellent read!

Surfing Huge Waves With Ease
Fred Van Dyke
Manufacturer: Mutual Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Surfer's Code

ASIN: 1566470080

Book Description

Fred Van Dyke, retired teacher, is proclaimed a living legend in the surfing world. Fred lives on the cutting edge of society, falling through the cracks whenever possible. He values free time like a broker who invests in the stock market.

In Surfing Huge Waves With Ease, he prepares and launches into high adventure, riding 35 foot plus waves. you'll love every moment! In this book Fred is the senior teacher-mentor. He coaches the younger surfer who may aspire to ride huge surf, and gives helpful tips on what it takes, physically and emotionally, to surf huge waves.

Customer Reviews:

Great book, excellent read!.......2004-09-12

Fred once refered to big wave surfers as latent homosexuals. The surfing community at the time didn't quite get what Fred was trying to say. Here you know exactly what he's trying to say. Surfing Huge Waves with Ease is pure Fred! I can just see him telling me out in the line up, "Hey. It's only water?!!!" as a huge monstrosity of a wave is approaching! This book is from first hand experience. He's done it all and then some. To get a take on what it's like to ride these behemoths, get this book and read through the pages. Guaranteed you'll be wet before you put it down!

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To the man who said "To the man who said it "stunk""

To the man who said it "stunk"

This movie stinks

Beautiful and Haunting

Wonderful! Fantastic! Nothing more to say then that!

Lolita: The Book of the Film
Stephen Schiff
Manufacturer: Applause Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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Lolita: A Screenplay

Lolita Lolita

Lolita Lolita

The Annotated Lolita: Revised and Updated

Lolita Lolita

ASIN: 1557833540

Book Description

Foreword by Jeremy Irons, preface by Adrian Lyne. Based on the novel by Vladimir Nabokov, Schiff tells the astounding story behind the most controversial movie of our time. 75 movie stills. "Like Nabokov's novel, it is an eloquent tragedy laced with wit and a serious, disturbing work of art..." - The New York Times

Customer Reviews:

To the man who said "To the man who said it "stunk"".......2006-01-17

I DID really read Lolita - five times in fact - and I wholly concur with the man who said this movie stinks: Adrian Lyne's movie is a dangerously naive misreading of Nabokov's masterpiece. The strength of Nabokov's novel is the tension between Humbert Humbert's equilibristic depiction of his "relationship" with Lolita as an essentially unhappy love affair and of himself as a spurned lover, and Nabokov's subtle - and even more equilibristic - depiction of Humbert as an egocentric, manipulating monster. Nabokov himself called Humbert "a vain and cruel wretch who manages to appear touching". Humbert manages this through his undoubted rhetoric skills. He simply writes enormously well, and his powers of persuasion have led many a naive reader to accept his version of the story at face value (such as Lyne and Schiff have done). Through his subtle undercutting, however, Nabokov lets the good reader see what a ridiculous monster Humbert really is. Nabokov lets Humbert praise himself a couple of times too many, he lets him speak a little bit too much French, etc., and through this brilliant, unobtrusive undermining of Humbert's own story, Nabokov demasks his own narrator. Lyne and Schiff completely miss this crucial aspect of the novel, and consequently their movie tells a deeply problematic story about an unhappy love affair between a 12-year-old girl and an adult man, rather than - as Nabokov did - telling a story about an evil, but eloquent, man who manipulates everyone around him, including the naive reader.
Nabokov's novel was something of a scandal when it came out, but by taking Humbert at his word, Lyne's and Schiff's movie is even more scandalous. Even though their movie is closer to the words of Nabokov's novel than Kubrick's adaptation, it is very far from the dark spirit of the book. Nabokov's novel (and Kubrick's version) is a dark comedy; Lyne and Schiff's version is a pink, sentimental melodrama.

To the man who said it "stunk".......2002-06-26

Obviously you did not really read Lolita. The depiction of Humbert in this film was brilliant and Jeremy irons did an amazing job. Here are a few reasons why you know nothing. 1. You read Lolita because someone told you to and they also told you what to expect. 2. If you expected someone to be able to include every aspect of a 309 page novel in a two hour movie, your expectations are far too high. They included the key elements to capture the true feel of the novel. 3. This movie should be praised for Dominique Swain's performance alone. She played the part perfect. 4. Get off your "Nabokov-knowing-high-horse." I think that you need to make a movie based on a Nabokov novel before you can say anything negative. Try "Despair" out and we see how far youg get.

This movie stinks.......2000-07-26

Anyone who has actually READ Nabokov's Lolita understands the character of Humbert Humbert far better than Adrian Lyne did and much better than Jeremy Irons. This movie (and screenplay) captures next to nothing of what Nabokov was attempting to tell. Instead of a witty, sarcastic, intelligent, and clever book on the timeless (and ageless) nature of love, you get a sappy, sentimental, two hours of Jeremy Irons weeping and moaning that adds up to nothing more than a movie that, if it hadn't been for the subject matter, would have been a movie of the week- AT BEST. Gimme a break. This movie stinks.

Beautiful and Haunting.......1999-06-26

Having just seen Lyne's film of "Lolita," I must say that even though I am a devout Kubrick fan, I admit it surpasses his weak 1962 film by a longshot. Jeremy Irons brings out all of Humbert's excruciating obsession; The young Dominique Swain is a lovely Lolita who perfectly captures her seductiveness and childishness at the same time. The film brims with wonderful moments; you almost feel guilty for feeling so good about a movie that deels with such subjects!

Wonderful! Fantastic! Nothing more to say then that!.......1998-09-07

This book is a must have for anyone who has seen Lolita or for those who are unable to see it at the moment. The script by Stephen Schiff is incredible! He leaves nothing out or tries to hid anything. Every scene every word clear as a bell. I myself have not seen Lolita yet but have read the book by Nabokov. I believe Mr. Schiff stuck strickly to Nabokovs book. The photos in the book are an added bonus to fans of the film or the actors in the film. So if you happen to be a Lolita, Nabokov, or Lyne fan this is the book for you.

LOLITA: THE BOOK OF THE FILM. Foreword by Jeremy Irons. Preface by Adrian Lyne. Applause Screenplay Series.

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LOLITA: THE BOOK OF THE FILM. Foreword by Jeremy Irons. Preface by Adrian Lyne. Applause Screenplay Series.
Stephen. Schiff
Manufacturer: Applause Books,
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000N7I1OC

Book Description

A guide to all the different roles scientists must play-from "concertmaster" to "producer"--to succeed in the high-stakes world of professional science. In this inspiring book of personal insight and sound advice, veteran scientist Carl J. Sindermann gives an insider's look at the competitive world of science and reveals the best strategies for attaining prominence and success. Taking apart the many different roles scientists must play during their careers, Sindermann compares common mistakes scientists make with what the best strategists do-whether they are publishing papers, presenting data, chairing meetings, or coping with government or academic bureaucracy. In the end, he maintains, well-honed interpersonal skills, a savvy eye on one's competitors, and excellent science are the keys to a satisfying and successful career.

Customer Reviews:

The most disconcerting words ever put in print........2003-11-18

This is a deeply troubling book, both for reasons of content and for its projection of a certain view about the scientific community. Its goal is to advise would-be scientists on a set of actions that will increase their eventual success as professional scientists. The book is merely a collection of opinions with no historical, statistical, or even anecdotal justification. The reader will not find in this book a statistical study or comparison between individuals who follow its advice, and those that don't. Why should readers believe that engaging in the conduct recommended will "win" them respect in the scientific community? Are there objective, rigorous, studies available that show this is the case? Are the rules of the "scientific game", as described in the book, so constraining so as to result in low bandwidth against those who do not follow them? There are no examples given of individuals who have achieved much in science but who have not played these games. Are there no such individuals? Where is the scientific evidence that following such a game-playing path will result in scientific excellence?

I do not know of, nor have I met, anyone who has read this book and consequently decided to follow its advice. In addition, I have not done a scientific study of the sociology of its advice to be able to judge its efficacy. The disgust I felt while reading the book does not disqualify it from being sound advice. Anecdotally speaking though, I have known a few individuals who have followed, with delight, what could be described as the "easy" path to scientific recognition. Their algorithm of conduct is to do the least possible, to follow the path of least resistance, to appear competent regardless of the factual evidence to the contrary, to suppress the creative and to admonish those that express it, and to ridicule the "idealism" of those who do not follow their myopic, pessimistic vision of life. Having indulged themselves in these unproductive games, they seem unable to end them and find the center, the goal of the game. Reaching retirement age, they have lost themselves, tragically, in the labyrinth of anger and cynicism.

The true scientist is a truth seeker, and plays a game of logic and experimentation. Science is a game of total honesty with oneself and others. The true path of science is a highly constrained one to be sure, as it respects only patience with ideas and tools. There are no shortcuts in its path. No amount of advertising can alleviate its requirement for validation with what is real. Syllogisms and experiments only obey the rigorous game of facts....we are all indeed fortunate to have these kinds of games being played by hundreds of thousands of scientists today.

Play a Scientific Game.......2002-11-24

This book teaches the written and unwritten rules in the scientific games. How to move up, on and out to where you want and not to be a pawn in someone else's game.

Pragmatic Book for Scientists.......2002-02-12

This book has one key message: every game has its rules, and scientists should understand the rules of their game and play it both professionally and ethically. Though many scientists may disdain such things, the author argues that the scientific enterprise is not divorced from the messy world of people, and that there are many complexities that scientists must master to have successful careers.

The author discusses a wide range of topics from a highly pragmatic standpoint, including publishing, presenting, attending meetings and conferences, chairing sessions, understanding problems women in science face, coping with bureacracy, and dealing with lawyers, politicians, and the public. I found these sections enlightening, since these are part of "The Things That You Don't Learn in Grad School But Should Anyway."

Although the author occasionally comes off as cynical, his basic message still stands. He has many good insights into how science works, and gives his honest opinion on the elements it takes (beyond a strong research ability) to become a successful and respected scientist.

Common Knowledge....No Practical Advice.......2002-02-09

This is a good book for those scientists who are really, truly hiding under a rock, but will not be helpful for most others. The book can be summed up in a few sentences: Be nice to everyone you meet. Do good work. Don't allow yourself to get walked on. Now you can move on to a book with some practical advice like "Tomorrow's Professor."

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Winning the Games Scientists Play
C.J. Sindermann
Manufacturer: Springer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OS5NY6

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Winning the Games Scientists Play.

Manufacturer: 0
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000ICBOGY

Book Description

Even if you start out with a brain that's operating perfectly well, by the time you're halfway through these 36 whodunit puzzles you'll be lucky if you can remember your name! You start by getting caught up in an argument among some musicians, and try to find out who started it; then the dispute turns more serious, when one of the choir members gets murdered. Later, a friendly game of cards features a bit of cheating that leads to a killing; and then a backstage whistling incident causes still another death (many actors believe it's bad luck to hear whistling before a performance). There's much more, for there are 29 culprits to catch, plus seven other puzzles where you must find a missing word or number. Start each Mind Baffler by reading the problem to be solved, then use the handy solution scheme to keep your facts straight. You can peek at hints and clues, and if you're still stumped, then study the pointers on what kind of logic to use, or use the sets of Solution Starters that will put you firmly on the trail of the evildoers. Sterling 128 pages, 60 b/w illus., 5 3/8 x 8 1/4.

Customer Reviews:

Fun to solve puzzles a challenge for most any one........1999-02-19

Savored this book page by page. Great fun to work together (or against) friends on the internet to see who can get the answer fastest. One of my friends occasionally solved the puzzles by writing a computer program. I told him that was cheating but he had great fun doing it. The puzzles involving adding or multiplying words to get other words were amazing and popular in our group.

Amazon.com

This Squaresoft-sanctioned book on one of the most highly anticipated console games ever does not disappoint. Those who have managed to obtain a copy of the game (descriptions of rioting and fighting upon the retail release of Final Fantasy IIV sound like sheer hyperbole, but probably aren't) will find plenty of helpful clues, maps, and general game play advice. Those less fortunate can at least take solace in--or further whet their appetites with--the hundreds of beautiful glossy screen shots that fill each chapter.

Book Description

With the Official Final Fantasy VII Strategy Guide gamers have the opportunity to save their world from an evil corporation which is siphoning off energy from the planet. Complete walkthroughs and all the maps help players navigate the game. Character descriptions, complete lists of items, monsters and magic and the revelation of all the secrets help players defeat the evil corporation. The ONLY Guide with COMPLETE Coverage of the American Game! Find over 350 full-color maps, ultimate weapons, extreme breaks, complete bestiary, walkthroughs, character bios, boss strategies, materia combinations, and more.

Customer Reviews:

Lack of clarity and unhelpful info.......2007-09-05

This book was a bit of a challenge. There are some times when it helps and a lot more when it doesn't. I would like to know when the Limits increase, how to learn more Enemy Skills, and about Chocobo breeding. This book doesn't cover these things. It gives you a walkthrough, the plot and some battle tips, but not much else that you can use. (As soon as I figure out how to change the stars, I'm putting it down to a 2-star rating.)

FF7 Strategy Guide.......2007-08-31

This strategy guide is good for people who don't want to miss parts of the storyline or the best items, etc., while still having to do everything yourself. However, for people like me who just wanted to be told exactly how to get everything in the game, it was dissappointing.

Misunderstood Intent.......2007-08-11

I think a lot of people over look the difference between a strategy guide and a walkthrough. If you want to be walked through the game step by step theres tons of free FAQ's on line. This guide is the same as every other official guide for a game. It's a GUIDE, its meant to help you along while you do most of the work. Thats what a guide is.

One thing I heard a lot of people complain about is that this book is full of spoilers. While that may be true, its your own fault if you let it spoil you. Don't want to be spoiled? Then don't read ahead of the part of the game you're in.

Another thing I heard a lot of complaints about is wrong info and typo's. While I haven't read through the entire book so far, I've yet to come across any wrong info. As far as typo's, I may have seen one or two but I wouldn't go as far as to say this book is "loaded" with them.

Yet another bad thing I've heard about this book are the maps. I think the maps are fine. The world map is the last page, makes it real easy to be able to flip to it while holding the page you're on. Also, the towns and areas are lettered and in the order that you have to visit them. For instance, Midgar is lettered "A" and the second town is "B" and so on. As for the maps of the towns and dungeons, I'll have to admit they sometimes get a little hard to read. But if they confuse you and you can't figure them out, you should consider going back to school. I think the game itself is some times confusing, when you're on a certain screen sometimes it isn't clear right away which way you need to go (where entrances and exits are) and the maps match that. I'm going to stop referring to them as maps because they're actually screen shots of the game itself.

This guide is perfect for some one who hasn't played through the game before. One thing I really liked about it was it gives you steal suggestions. For example, it suggests to steal a certain weapon outside of the first town instead of buying the weapon upgrade in the town. Not only do you save the money, but its a stronger weapon. Better yet, the weapon is available to buy in the next town so you saved on buying two items and had the stronger weapon all the while. Another example would be the guide suggesting to steal a certain armor while in a dungeon. Its stronger then what was currently available and better yet free.

I don't give the guide 5 starts because I feel it could have been better, but this isn't a bad guide at all. It could have had a better explanation of materia to beginners, and might have been a little weak in some other explanations. But all the info you need for anything is in the game itself. This is how an RPG works, you have to talk to every one. If you're upset that this guide doesn't hold you hand and tell you how to do everything step by step then I don't know what you're doing playing an RPG game. Half the fun of an RPG game is discovery.

If you're playing this game for the first time and you want something to help you when you get stuck, then this guide is for you. Its also nice to look over an area after you've completed it to see if you missed anything. I recommend it to anyone playing the game for the first time.

Please remember the difference between a guide and a walkthrough ;)

Great game, terrible guide........2007-06-15

As much as I love this game, the guide was of no use to me.

9 times out of 10, an item was misplaced from one dungeon into another.

And the thing that really upset me was the Side-Quest tasks.
No where does it give an in depth description of the All American Creatures. Now I know that's part of the challenge is figuring out how to defeat them. But if Cassady's intentions were to put them into the guide in the first place, he should have at least gave more than what he wrote.

In addition, the Chocobo raising guide is bleaker than a rainy Sunday. Sure it tells you how to achieve the infamous Golden Chocobo. Though does it tell you to race 9 times to reach class S? Does it tell you the possible great prizes to be won for dominating races?

Another interesting thing is the amount of cool materia that is shown in the back, yet half of them aren't even expressed in the guide.

It's pretty sad that I had to go online to find out where to obtain some of them.

For those of you buying the guide, I'd advise against it. Invest ten dollars on bubble-gum.

Should have been better.......2007-06-09

For such a legendary game, I would have liked a meatier guide. The walkthrough is great, but that's pretty much all this book features. A quick overview of limit breaks is good, but the fly-by of the side quests leaves a lot to be desired. The bestiary is kind of goofy too. They've improved on these guides for the more recent games, but in comparison this one just seems kind of flimsy. It's a nice tool the first time around,especially because this game can get pretty difficult to master, but afterwards it isn't all that useful.

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A time gone with the wind

Lost Splendor

An interesting glance into pre-revolutionary Russia

"The trials you are going through will teach you that life is not just a pastime."

A Glimpse Into A Vanished World

Lost Splendor: The Amazing Memoirs of the Man Who Killed Rasputin
Felix Youssoupoff , and Prince Felix Youssoupoff
Manufacturer: Helen Marx Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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The Court of the Last Tsar: Pomp, Power and Pageantry in the Reign of Nicholas II

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Rasputin: The Saint Who Sinned

The Rasputin File

ASIN: 1885586582

Book Description

The fascinating first-person account of the cross-dressing prince who poisoned Rasputin with rose cream cakes laced with cyanide and spiked Madeira is now back in print. Originally published in France in 1952, during the years of Prince Youssoupoff's exile from Russia, Lost Splendor has all the excitement of a thriller. Born to great riches, lord of vast feudal estates and many palaces, Felix Youssoupoff led the life of a grand seigneur in the days before the Russian Revolution. Married to the niece of Czar Nicholas II, he could observe at close range the rampant corruption and intrigues of the imperial court, which culminated in the rise to power of the sinister monk Rasputin. Finally, impelled by patriotism and his love for the Romanoff dynasty, which he felt was in danger of destroying itself and Russia, he killed Rasputin in 1916 with the help of the Grand Duke Dimitri and others. More than any other single event, this deed helped to bring about the cataclysmic upheaval that ended in the advent of the Soviet regime.~The author describes the luxury and glamour of his upbringing, fantastic episodes at nightclubs and with the gypsies in St. Petersburg, grand tours of Europe, dabbling in spiritualism and occultism, and an occasional conscience-stricken attempt to alleviate the lot of the poor.~Prince Youssoupoff was an aristocrat of character. When the moment for action came, when the monk's evil influence over the czar and czarina became unbearable, he and his friends decided that they must get rid of the monster. He tells how Rasputin courted him and tried to hypnotize him, and how finally they decoyed him to the basement of the prince's palace. Prince Youssoupoff...is perfectly objective, remarkably modern and as accurate as human fallibility allows. His book is therefore readable, of historical value and intimately tragic. It is as if Count Fersen had written a detailed account of the last years of Marie Antoinette. --Harold Nicholson, on the first English edition, 1955 By Prince Felix Youssoupoff. Hardcover, 5.25 x 8.25 in./300 pgs / 0 color 14 BW0 duotone 0 ~ Item D20143

Customer Reviews:

A time gone with the wind.......2007-08-07

I read this book, here in Brazil.The author(a gay) was a noble and rich man, in tzarist Russia.This memories are about the time when he was in Russia.Don't wait to read about the life of the author, in exile.
Chapter after chapter, you can read, about the life of a noble, rich (and gay) man in Russia before the communism.There's even an entire chapter, about the death of Rasputin.In fact, the author killed Rasputin.
Last chapters are about the life, in after-revolution Russia.Including about the author's scape.Don't wait nothing gay-rights, even being the author a gay.The author blames the jews of Russia, for many bad things.
This book is about a time gone with the wind.

Lost Splendor.......2007-04-11

Lost Splendor is a wonderful firsthand account of Russia during the Romanoff dynasty. Prince Felix Youssoupoff was a member of one of Russia's richest families and tells a compelling story of what imperial Russia was like before the revolution. He goes into detail about the killing of Rasputin which he had a hand in. A wonderful book that is a page turner from start to finish.

An interesting glance into pre-revolutionary Russia.......2006-06-27

Like another reviewer I had visited the Youssoupoff palace and was amazed by the richness and beauty these people possessed. Unlike some others who might have sided with the revolutionaries for whatever reason Felix of course doesn't, as far as I could tell. I also think he misses the point of why exactly the revolution occurred although presents his side of events which I found fascinating when it came to Rasputin, the nobility, and even the royal family whom he was pretty intimate with.
It was his belief that by getting rid of Rasputin he could start Russia on a highway to reform and reorganization, this in my opinion he was very gullible in believing, but understandable as he was very distant from the population at large.
The reader is taken through Felix's childhood and we get a glimpse of how spoiled he was and how terribly difficult it was to keep him in line and make him understand what responsibility and civility mean, etc. And at the same time we see him sneaking off to find out what the poor live like which in the end changes how he views the world and those around him.
These are just some episodes from his memoirs, there are many others and many of them will make you laugh out loud, children will be children and their experiences of a century ago are very much alike to what goes on in our world today. A worthwhile read, very easy to get into and at times a real page turner, highly recommended for a side of things from the rich/nobility point of view.

"The trials you are going through will teach you that life is not just a pastime.".......2006-04-06

"I'll have you appointed minister, if you like," Rasputin tells Felix Yusupov as they began to get chummy with one another. But Yusupov, our author herein, had a far different motive for getting close to this "mystic." After all, he was the last remaining son of one of the wealthiest families in Russia (his family's palatial estates, pictured in this book, were downright royal). To boot, he was newly married to Tsar Nicholas II's niece Irina. The tsar was godfather to his first child as well. He didn't want for anything and certainly could have had a position in government had he been interested in one. But what he was interested in was getting close to the ever guarded Rasputin; ever watched over by the secret police, thanks to the tsarina. Rasputin, in Yusupov's words was "an uncultured, cynical, avid and unscrupulous peasant who had reached the pinnacle of power owing to a chain of circumstances." The sole son of the tsar had hemophilia & Rasputin was soon judged (by the Tsarina Alexandra) to be some comfort in alleviating the effects of the tsarevich's condition. Soon, however, Rasputin began to play on his influence with the tsarina (& through Alexandra's infuence with her husband) to engineer the likes of just what he had offered Yusupov---ie., effecting the political appointments of government personel. Then in 1914 war broke out with Germany. About a year after which Rasputin seems to have had an effect, as well, on persuading Alexandra to badger the tsar to take direct control over the war effort. Thus when the tsar did take command of the army (at field headquarters, which was far removed from the capital of St. Petersburg) Rasputin's hand in affairs of the state---including the army, through Alexandra, began to become quite pronounced. "Not a single important measure was taken at the front without his being consulted," Yusupov writes. But this wasn't just his impression. Russian society was awfully suspicious of German-born Alexandra's apparent closeness with an unwashed degenerate who had a reputation for engaging in orgies. It was an open scandal, costing the tsar much in the respect felt for the royal family; respect badly needed during wartime as the fighting continued to drag on, under conditions of societal hardship relating to food rationing and the like. Grand Duchess Elizabeth (whose husband had been assassinated), in particular, begged her sister Alexandra to acknowledge what damage her "blind confidence" in Rasputin was costing the country, but to no avail. The above is addressed through the first 229 (large type) pages in this autobiography as Yusupov paints a vanishing era of aristocratic splendor. Then he elaborately describes how he (supported by 4 other dignitaries) killed Rasputin in Yusupov's St. Petersburg mansion. The tsar's 1905 war with Japan, in Yusupov's words, was "one of the most terrible blunders made during the reign of Nicholas II." Another one was doing nothing in the wake of Rasputin's removal from the scene. "Rasputin's death made a new policy possible." Russians applauded Rasputin's removal, hoping that the tsar would now be emboldened to heed the cacophony of concerned advice & take needed measures before it was too late. But Nicholas seemed to be a "confirmed fatalist" who wasn't going to do much until he was forced to. A little more than 2 months later he was forced to abdicte. Perennial inaction by Nicholas, one of the most ineffective Romanov tsars, had finally cost him his crown. (PS: Yusupov-owned paintings can be seen in Russian museums now; his family's wealth/palaces having been confiscated by Lenin & Co not long after the Bolsheviks murdered Nicholas, Alexandra, their children, and as many relatives they could; after having usurped power from the Provisional Russian Government. Yusupov, in the company of Tsar Alexander III's widow---the Dowager Empress/mother of Nicholas---sailed out of the Crimea on a Royal (British) Navy ship 4-13-1919. Thanks for reading my review. Cheers!

A Glimpse Into A Vanished World.......2003-12-19

Prince Felix Yousssoupoff is best known as one of the murderers of Gregory Rasputin just before the Russian Revolution. He was a member of one of Russia's most aristocratic families, and in this memoir, originally published in the 1950s, he gives us a glimpse of life for a nobleman in pre-Revolutionary Russia.

Life was certainly rich, if not always good, for Prince Felix. As a younger son, he was given very little education and basically allowed to do as he pleased during his formative years. Most of the time what he was pleased to do was to get into trouble. I lost count of the number of servants, governesses, and other retainers who quit with nervous breakdowns after trying to look after Felix. Under the influence of his elder brother, whom he adored, Felix had an early initiation into sexual and other kinds of debauchery. He enjoyed dressing as a woman and living the high life in St. Petersburg, London, and Paris. Felix was reticent about his sexuality, claiming several affairs with women but speaking more warmly about his men friends, including Grand Duke Dmitri, who helped him murder Rasputin. When Felix's brother was killed in a duel Felix became the heir to a vast fortune. He married Tsar Nicholas' niece Irina, whom he claimed to adore but otherwise said little about.

The most interesting parts of this book deal with Rasputin, whom Felix met several times. Typically, Felix hints that there was a sexual nature to these encounters, but divulges few details. Felix describes the murder and his subsequent exile, which saved him from being in St. Petersburg during the February Revolution in 1917, and his internment in the Crimea with other members of the Imperial Family from 1917 through 1919, when he escaped on a British warship.

This book is interesting but highly reticent. Felix never loses a chance to glamorize himself and his activities, with the result that some undeniably brave actions, like his several trips to St. Petersburg to rescue treasures while the Bolshevik terror was at its height, tend to get less attention than they deserve. A more open and informative biography of Prince Felix, The Man Who Killed Rasputin, by Greg King, was published several years ago and will help fill in the gaps left by Felix's own work.

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Lost Splendor The Amazing Memoirs of the Man Who Killed Rasputin
Prince Felix (Ann Green and Nicholas Katkoff, Trans) Youssoupoff
Manufacturer: G.P. Putnam's Sons
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000VWAG0Q

Customer Reviews:

Quaintly antiquated........2007-05-27

I use this constantly as a Jew. Get the original, not the newer printings. The original was done in the '70's and it just has this very open, dowhatchalike feel. Everything is covered from living Kosher to Shabbat to the Shoah. It's a 'how-to' manual for the Reformers. Good things abound. Take what you like and leave the rest.

I had this book and the second edition years ago.......2006-07-15

Surprisingly, I found this book and it's second book in the series to be helpful. It's a compendium of Jewish culture and knowledge and I, who grew up in a somewhat "Jewishly deprived" neighborhood in LI, NY found that the Jewish Catalogs managed to connect me to what was going on elsewhere. I think someone should update these books and bring them up to par in the modern age.
I learned about resources and people like the late Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach, from this book and some of these resources as well as Shlomo became important in my life for a long period of time.

Whole Earth Catalog for Jews!.......2003-07-12

It's a lot of fun and good info, now getting dated.

Great, funny, easy to read!.......2002-12-07

i love this book, people of all ages and all religious "ranges" can relate to it! It is funny, easy to read and understand, plus it is very "jewish" you can hear your parents and grandparents speak through the many yiddish exppressions found here. I used this book as a source of information to learn about the Mikveh for my wedding, and now, I am one of the best educated on the subject! I recomend it wholehartedly.

Seventies hippie nostalgia, Jewish-style...........2001-11-19

I'm not even Jewish, and this is one of my all time favorites (I discovered it at the library). It belongs in the hall of fame for its genre: the large-format black-and-white early 1970s counterculture workbook/"catalog." Make your own prayer shawl, make your own yarmulke, make your own wallhanging to indicate the direction of Jerusalem, make your own challah....make your own is definitely the name of the game. I'm not personally likely to do most of those things (though I do like challah), but I just can't get enough of the b&w photos of young people sitting cross-legged on the floor with their long wavy hair, bell bottoms, beards and beads; and the eclectic, semi-disorganized format really holds your interest and keeps you coming back for more. I'm not qualified to measure the vision of Judaism presented in this book against traditional standards; but hippie optimism and "make your own" seem to marry well with the concept of tikkun olam. The connection to a traditional faith is definitely what makes this catalog a cut above the rest, such as the secular "Whole Earth" - makes it easier to take the nostalgia seriously at this late date, I suppose.

Amazon.com

In this book the author of Innumeracy : Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences reveals the hidden mathematical angles in countless media stories. His real life perspective on the statistics we rely on and how they can mislead is for anyone interested in gaining a more accurate view of their world. The book is written with a humorous and knowledgeable style that makes it great reading.

Book Description

With the same user-friendly, quirky, and perceptive approach that made Innumeracy a bestseller, John Allen Paulos travels though the pages of the daily newspaper showing how math and numbers are a key element in many of the articles we read every day. From the Senate, SATs, and sex, to crime, celebrities, and cults, he takes stories that may not seem to involve mathematics at all and demonstrates how a lack of mathematical knowledge can hinder our understanding of them.

Customer Reviews:

When did you last read the Newspaper?.......2007-10-13

"Don't believe everything you read in the papers" - more or less sums up what John Allen Paulos says in this Mathematician's eye-view of the printed news. But I would take that caveat a step further - especially in the light of today's news media: "Don't believe what you hear or see either!" Mainstream media it seems, is way to easy to manipulate, subjugate and otherwise coerce into only telling stories which the powers-that-be want the people to hear. Who decides what is written about? Who decides what ends up on television? This book was written at a time when the Internet was not quite the ubiquitous source of information it is today. Heck, in 1995 - even to someone like me, the word "Amazon" still conjured up the image of a lush, steamy rainforest somewhere in South America. In this light, the book represents a sort of snapshot of history in the days when people still had a modicum of respect for print on pulp from (possibly) rainforest trees, delivered every morning to their doorsteps. Strangely enough, this book may even serve as an epitaph to the Newspaper itself.

The book is actually structured like a regular newspaper, however with insightful (if a little mathematical) criticism by the author himself. You won't need a degree to understand what he is saying, however you will require some basic (High School level) knowledge of Statistics and Probability. John A.Paulos is a Ph.D. in Mathematical Logic - and thus he frames most of his arguments in an Aristotelian fashion, avoiding the cryptographic symbolism which pollutes (or, clarifies?) modern day mathematics. In short, you can read this book without a pencil and paper. What makes the book delightful however, is the author's ever-present sense of humor (which I suspect is a little funnier to those with some mathematical background themselves!)

The only problem I have with this book is the subject matter itself. I do believe that eventually, newspapers will go the way of the dinosaur. And maybe in another 65 million years or so, sapient beings will wonder at how strangely attached our minds were to the woody pulp of Amazonian trees.

Excellent book.......2007-05-15

I love this book. It gives concrete numbers to common sense -- and not-so-common sense. I particularly liked how Paulos uses examples from all areas of life. The political/voting section is especially interesting!

good sequel to Innumeracy appropriate for news readers and writers.......2006-10-15

This 1995 Paulos book is written in the form of a newspaper, with many short chapters not particularly related to each other, grouped into sections--politics, economics, and the nation; local, business, and social issues; lifestyle, spin, and soft news; science, medicine, and the environment; and food, book reviews, sports, obituaries. Each chapter is headed with an actual newspaper headline that bears some relation to the topic discussed.

The book has a few minor repetitions from Paulos' other works, but is mostly new material. It is entertainingly written and informative, providing useful information about how to critically analyze a wide variety of subjects, suitable for both readers and writers of newspapers and other forms of news reporting, including blogs.

THE VIRTUE OF QUANTITATIVE SELFISHNESS.......2006-09-23

As a mathematician who has, in the past year, been reading a few volumes of Ayn Rand and who has a degree of familiarity with the works of John Allen Paulos, including A Mathematician Reads the Newspaper, I have wondered how Rand and Paulos would have gotten along with each other. In a day and age where many have turned to faith or reason, where the former seems to more frequently be exclusive of the latter, there are numerous affinities that can be characterized between the two authors, both of whom have asserted to be on the side of reason. In the review of this book, I will try to draw out these similarities while assuming that I am one of the first at this particular attempt.

A Mathematician Reads the Newspaper is a getting back to basics reference to helping one interpret his or her surroundings from both empirical and metaphysical points of view. Where Rand's philosophy of Objectivist Ethics provides sound arguments on why people should try to be rational thinkers as opposed to mere altruists who defer their opinions and conclusions to those of others, Paulos' mathematical logic in this book provides applications on how rationalism can be a guide to enable one's discernment between what is fact and what is misinformation.

I do not know John Allen Paulos' view on philosophy, but I think that, with his expertise in mathematics and mathematics' presence in the real world, his works, so far, have, in their own feasible way, supplemented the ideological and social constructs developed by Ayn Rand and those belonging to her particular think tanks. Why? Because, like Rand during her day, Paulos has academically crusaded against anti-intellectual, collectivist dogmas.

Just as Rand endorsed the establishment of an objectivist philosophy to form the best of arguments and conclusions on the basis of utilizing the highest levels of reasoning, Paulos, in this book, has emphasized the field of mathematics in the same regard. From both schools of thought, objectivist philosophy and mathematics, have been wars declared on fearmongers, feel good doctors and snake oil salesmen who use emotionally driven ideologies that ultimately disappoint and faulty statistics to deceive the masses, whether intentional or not.

Where one in the humanities might cite cases of altruism and the abandonment of reason in the context of placing blind faith in the manifestos of how society should be, Paulos warns that the same parallels can occur in mathematics, where one can be deceived into thinking that what are direct, cause and effect correlations are actually apples and oranges comparisons. Throughout A Mathematician Reads the Newspaper, Paulos uses examples that seem nonmathematical, such as racism, crime, everyday gossip, drug testing, etc. and demonstrates how a lack of mathematical understanding can hinder one's total perspective of the aforementioned.

In conclusion, I would like to say that Paulos, with the themes and tones set in A Mathematician Reads the Newspaper, has carried on the works of many an outstanding scholar and has left words of admonition fit for those absolutist, intellectual elites who claim to have all the answers in the domains of their respective fields. They are as follows: "Always be smart; seldom be certain...Whether we admit it or not, it seems that we all tend to rise to our level of uncertainty. We master the easy links, the local correspondences, the ways to get by...New understanding develops, but we tend to keep pushing until we come up against social and physical phenomena that are too complex for us to grasp or foresee in any detail."

Would make a good discussion book in all kinds of classes.......2006-01-26

This is a more accessible exposition of his ideas in his previous book, `Innumeracy'. It consists of a very eclectic collection of short essays that I think can be illuminating in a myriad of class settings: science, critical thinking, philosophy, math, and journalism, to name some.

By its nature, however, it can be somewhat redundant. Also, the point of a good number of the essays seemed elusive at first reading. I found a lot of his footnotes more interesting and worthy of further discussion, and would've liked them to become expanded into their own essay.

Besides the print media, his criticism and advice can be suitably applied to the electronic media and beyond.

Book Description

As humans, we make choices. With change as a constant, we are continually presented with a number of choices, and we must choose. The change represented by the divergence of humanity from the rest of the world is rapidly growing, and in need of transformation. Setting the Stage for Sustainable Community Development is a guide for that transformation, which can help to create a sense of "place" where it did not previously exist. This invaluable text looks at resolving environmental conflicts through a "transformative" rather than a "problem-solving" approach. The transformative approach emphasizes the capacity of facilitation for personal growth. The text analyzes good and bad institutionalized social patterns in an ecological sense. The authors believe that through positive thinking and the willingness to take risks, we can become creative forces in our communities and in the world.

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