Cioran transcends the human mind. Cioran is a case. A case which originated in Transilvania, near Sibiu (Rasinari). Growing up surrounded by religous elements (his father was an orthodox priest) and in the tumultous political scene of '30 in Romania, Emil was early age influenced by the most bizzare things: 1) being a kid, he was playing soccer with human skulls 2) when he is 14 he gets angry with his mom, and says to her " I wish you hadn't given birth to me". He is part of a top elite romanian philosophers generation, together with Constatin Noica, Mircea Eliade ,and Petre Tutea.

Cioran moves to Paris after publishing 5 books in Romania. 10 years after, he writes his "Treatise of decomposition" in french, for which he receives the prize from the French Academy for the most promising french !!! writer. He refuses the prize, invoking the very essence of his book. He could not receive a prize after writing a book like "Treastise of decomposition". A crazy gesture of anguish and youth, as he declares decades later. He writes 10 more books in french.

This book is a delightful, thought-provoking journey from the simple and ordinary questions of existence, to the most intense and shivering forms of lucidity in analyzing culture, society,and history. His reply-letter to his friend Contantin Noica is really moving, displaying a well anchored sense of reality. The letter presents his opinion on comparison between societies.

Cioran is more lucid than the lucidity itself :).

I would highly recommend this book to all the thought-consumer beings out there.

In this book Cioran continues to devalop his peculiar philosophy of despair. He focuses here on human obsession with history. He somewhat confirms Joyce's vision of history as a nightmare from which one wants to awake. He also knows that Utopia is - in translation from its Latin origin -a place that is nowhere. Once more Cioran is great. One more must-read for all fans of "Tears and Saints" and "Anathemas and Adirations"

This work is the definitive word on surrealism. All bases are covered, from the history of the movement to the methods behind it; the artists, culture, and times. If you know a little about the art movement, SURREALISM, this will further your knowledge by far - and if you're relatively new to the subject DON'T WORRY...! This piece is all you'll ever need to speak proficiently on the subject of surrealism.

i read this book in 1978 and it was a great influence on me. the surrealists wanted to change the world also i recommend anais nin's "novel of the future".

This book left me breathless....absolutely beautiful. The faces of the homeless were indescribable and brought tears to my eyes. It's hard to imagine what these people have gone through...but this book portrays it. An excellent buy!!

The images in this collection are stunning. The text equally so. (Schatz has provided the photo images and the subjects dictate their own text). The result is a very compassionate look at a real human dilema - this work will both challenge your stereotypes of homelessness and confirm them. For writers, preachers, speakers and those engaged in the fight for human justice, you will be afforded a broad and insightful glimpse into the world of homeless persons - one that will either enflame your heart or cause you to bolt.

I can give this book no higher praise than I have read it every year for the last 15 years, and have never tired of it. It describes my utopia.

The highly mannered style and aggrandized gaze of Nicholson's world nevertheless delights and enchants the reader with the silken kaleidoscope of sensory values pulled through narrow golden hoop of the written page. Indiana's lace-edged tintype history gleams with romance, mystery, substance. I am proud to own this signed first edition, and collect Nicholsons where others have imprudently overlooked them. The story begins as the hero enters the scene, nodding at the criminal foil, the stately and perfect heroine(American style if you please,) and the lifelong friend of the old school. Never again shall a writer look to the future and look back over the shoulder of American History with such finesse. A grand mystery, may Hollywood never grab it!

This book is incredible! It answers questions about the New Testament that have been floating in my head for 20 years. Nearly every chapter brings a new revelation. Teeple was deeply steeped in archaeology, Biblical criticism, and history. To give just one example, he explains how Jewish Christians were convinced to accept the communion ritual, which bears striking similarities to pagan mystery cult ceremonies and seems to violate the Jewish taboo on eating blood. Most authors on the topic seem content with simply explaining the resemblance between the eucharist and the mystery cults, without considering the political issues involved. This is just one small example of what's in this book. Teeple goes further, and he's not afraid to take risks where the scholarship is inconclusive, or to acknowledge possible counterarguments. I really wish I could have met the man during his lifetime. To the orthodox, I say don't read this book unless you are ready to have your basic assumptions challenged in a scholarly, informed manner.

Although this book is no longer in print it is well worth the effort to try to locate a copy. Published in 1992 it is the result of 50 years of scholarly research by Dr. Howard Teeple who was the executive director of the Religion and Ethics Institute in Evanston, Illinois. He held a Ph.D. in the field from the University of Chicago. The .book is most impressive in its scope and objectivity, and most importantly it is written by a scholar who stands outside the tradition he is studying - in other words a non-believer. But because he is a trained historian his conclusions are based on thorough research and not simply the cynical bias displayed by secular humanists, for example, who are not trained in the field. This book covers virtually every aspect of Christian origins and I cannot recommend it highly enough. You may also wish to read his earlier works The Noah's Ark Nonsense and The Historical Approach to the Bible. Sadly, Dr. Teeple passed away in early 1997 in his mid-80's, but his masterwork How Did Christianity Really Begin? will be a beacon of valuable scholarship for many years to come.

" A chess problem is a position arranged to illustrate an interesting chess idea,
which frequently is based on some particular characteristics of the various men employed".
by Kenneth S. Howard

This book has procedures which will enable him to solve problems with greater
certainty and rapidity. Altough chess problems involves some chess tactics like pin, forks,
etc. they are not practical to develop tactical skills, because a problem is arranged, it's

artificial, the position of a problem won't be reached in a real game.
The purpose of a chess problem is to provide fun for all chess players. Solving
C. Prob. is a wonderful way to relax, specially when you get home after work and you pick up your favorite whiskey.

I am a chess problem composer and solver. This was the first book I read about problems, and it's a great introduction to the subject. At the price too you cannot go wrong.

Other great books include Chess Wizrdry by J Rice. (I am in that one.) It has a far better collection of problems than the Howard but costs more and doesn't teach you much about how to solve them. John Nunn's Solving in Style is great as well, but perhaps not as good a collection.

Serious problemists can contact the British Chess Problem Society (web search!)

My significant other lives in Houston, and I, a Californian by birth, have lived in Philadelphia most of my life. An avid gardener at home here in PA, I felt uncharacteristically unsure about tackling the long-neglected flower beds in Houston.

Then I read the reviews for Howard Garrett's charming and fabulous "Plants for Texas," and ordered it immediately. It arrived yesterday and I could not put it down until I had read it cover to cover.

Every single question I have had is answered in this book in a format so clear, so concise, and so heartwarming to any gardener, that I found I was smiling ear to ear. From the beginning pages, where Garrett presents his no-nonsense advice on design, maintenance, and care of everything from trees to turf grasses to annuals, to his staunch anti-chemical point of view (YES!), I gained a wealth of information.

By the time I got to the alphabetical pages with the full-color pictures of everything a Texas gardener could ever want to plant, I was thoroughly and totally delighted. Already I have made a rudimentary list (way too ambitious, of course). Already, I have page after page bookmarked and highlighted. Already, I have planted perfect gardens in my mind's eye.

Perhaps my favorite part of the entire book is the page on hackberry (celtis), which nastily eats up a major portion of my friend's flower beds, and which I secretly, and guiltily, hate. Garrett's take: "Do not plant and cut down the ones that sprout up!" Gotta love a man who shares my views on hackberry. I love this book. Plain and simple. I recommend it to anybody who gardens, or who plans to garden, in the Great State of Texas!

He lists almost all the plants that can grow in Texas and ones that don't-- The best part are the color photos of each plant along with details on mature height, distinguishing attributes and cultural requirements for each. An excellent reference for the Texas do it yourself home landscaper. His info on trees was invaluable to me

I've checked this book out from the library twice. Both times I returned it late because I didn't want to give it up. I finally realized that I needed to buy one for myself. It is an excellent resource for beginners and experts. Howard Garrett teaches us that working with nature is easier, more effective, and safer for our planet than trying to master it. Nature cannot be controlled. This book helps you learn how to work in harmony with your natural surroundings. Also included is a handy month-by-month guide to organic gardening.

Howard Garret has provided an easy reading, informative view aimed toward those of us in Texas that prefer the natural, organic methods of gardening. The subjects flow smoothly from basics of soil preparation and maintenance, through dealing with pests in environmentally freindly ways.

Much of the information strikes familiar chords for Texas gardeners, like dealing with our perverse soils, doing battle with our average (?) weather conditions, and deciphering seed catalogs mostly from nothern climates that don't provide satisfactory choices for out USDA zones.

I enjoyed this book so much that I ordered his Texas Organic Vegetable Gardening : The Total Guide to Growing Vegetables, Fruits,Herbs, and Other Edible Plants the Natural Way - I,m sure it will be just as good.

The very dust-jacket with its dynamic detail from Hodgkin's Old Sky strikes the right note in this intelligently presented and visually seductive review of the painter's career. The excellent quality of the illustrations, their logical placing directly opposite the pertinent text, marginal page references, the choice of type-face and the luxury-feel paper all make the mere handling of the book a real pleasure.
Far from being of mere coffee-table appeal, however, the author's cool authoritative voice makes one feel that here is a critic in whose hands one is safe. Such a gem of wisdom as 'whatever residue of inexplicability lodges in a work of art is also its only hope of an afterlife' establishes his impeccable credentials as a discerning critic. Graham-Dixon deals with Hodgkin's seminal influences, his eclecticism, his evolving theatrical style, his preoccupation with the vagaries of memory and its transmutation into art. 'Hodgkin does not set out to paint what the world looks like, but what it feels like.' His work has the quality of intimacy which makes its own demands on the viewer who would engage with it, Graham-Dixon observes in a book which is lucid and comprehensive without ever wearying the reader.

Andrew Graham-Dixon's passionate book about the work of Howard Hodgkin, has the detail and insight serious students of this important artist want. This book is as the first monograph to be published on this artist,a very important purchase. If like me you thirst for really good reproduction,the colour plates are large and do justice to the paintings.