This is a quaint and charming book full of the obscure history of the Dark Ages. Liudprand, the writer, was a churchman in an Italy that had recently been overrun by waves of German invaders -- Lombards and Franks -- and integrated into the great feudalistic German Empire that then dominated central Europe.

This book has an introduction by the English historian John Julius Norwich, who probably came across Liudprand's writings when he was doing research for his own history of the Byzantine Empire. Indeed it is Luidprand's account of his embassy to Constantinople that is the most fascinating and cohesive part of this book, as he expresses the manly contempt of the semi-civilized barbarian for the servile, effete, and overcivilized Byzantines.

In the light of recent events, it is easy to draw parallels between the German Empire, the Byzantines, and the threat posed to Christendom by expansionary Islam, on the one hand, and the United States, 'Old Europe,' and the threat to democracy posed by terrorism and tyranny, on the other. In other words, no matter how obscure it may seem, we can learn a lot form this period of history too.

One criticism I have is that the editors have not bothered to give a clear chronological framework, so that the year in which the events described occur is left up to one's imagination.

Grace Jantzen presents a thorough, interesting background of Julian's place, time, and spirituality. It is especially valuable because, unlike many other contemporary books on the topic, it is not speculative - conclusions can be trusted because no half truths are justified. Excellent scholarly work. Only the political correctness in the introduction is a bit boring.

I wondered when ordering whether this book was overpriced or not. My answer after reading the book: it may be a bit pricey, but the content is well worth reading (a few glaring misprints notwithstanding.) Krantz makes clear at the start of this academic study her personal stakes in the issues she seeks to explore, a stance which helped me to gauge where she was coming from. She combines literary/structural analysis of the text, word studies, and psychoanalytical categories to show that Julian's text is informed by and in return informs her understanding of her enclosed life as an anchoress. The ideas of humanity being enclosed in God, of enclosing God within our souls, of birth and birthing, and of Jesus as Mother are explored in gentle yet convincing ways, and one leaves with the impression that Julian's way of theologizing is experiential, tentative, self-reflective, and other-inviting. Would that more theologians had half of Julian's confident humility and winsome integrity. This slim volume helped me to better understand Julian, and to see my own life as enclosed in God's love.

Having read several transcriptions of "The Shewings of Julian of Norwich" I have found that this version has been one of the best transcriptions. Georgia Crampton did a very good editing job. I had a few questions on her placement of certain punctuation which led to a little confusion in parts, but overall, the transcription and editing was done wonderfully. The footnotes which explain unknown words are helpful, though they explain several obvious words and don't explain many indecipherable words. This, however, is the only problem that I could find.

"Why Julian Now" is a study of the teachings of fourteenth-century English anchoress Julian Of Norwich that attempts to explain why she is seen as relevant even in this day and age.

The book does not, though, look at her thought in any way from the perspective of modern Western society. Rather, it is written as a journey through Julian's thought and Upjohn uses highly symbolic language to title each chapter, so that the reader has to read intensely to find meaning in the book.

However, the analysic of the teachings Julian makes is, if you are able to make your way into the language, very deep and profound. Sheila Upjohn has a very good understanding of the way in which Julian thought and gives the reader this in full depth. Each chapter follows quite logically so that there is a very good sense of cohesion - welcome for the student who does not know much about what Julian taught. There are some perspective on how her teachings fit into history, but only just enough to avoid the problem of historically isolating her work.

On the whole, most interesting, even if it will not be what you expect. This book is a very deep spiritual analysis that may not appeal to some.

This is a good book to have if you own a Norwich Terrier.
There are not to many books on the Norwich.
The person who wrote the previous review spelled Norwich wrong.
Even in my Vet's computer the program has it spelled wrong.
Norwich is not even listed in the animal shelter's computer program.

This book provides historical information on the Norwhich and general dog care information, that is standard in this series. The color pictures are a nice touch and show the Norwhich in their best adorable poses. It is good for the first time dog owner who may need general information on the Norwhich and general dog issues.

The back cover of "Love in the Ancient World" states that the author will tell the reader, "What is love? And how did people deal with it from humanity's earliest days? How was it represented, communicated . . . ? The answer to such questions would be interesting.
Unfortunately, the author confuses sex and love and tells us stories of Nero's slaughter of his wife, mistress, etc. There is pottery that shows Greeks engaged in gay activities. Do these things say anything about love? No. There is a difference between love and sex which the author fails to distinguish. He actually confuses the two throughout the book. The photographs are wonderful and I learned something by looking at them. The text, however, leaves way too much to be desired.
(PS I am not some crazy conservative.)
Do not spend your hard earned dollars on this book.

The book's strength is its beautiful, abundant illustrations; its weakness is the text. Reading through the book is not nearly as enjoyable as simply looking at the pictures: Some of the illustrations are not discussed in the text, and the text often refers to works of art not pictured in the book.

Another weakness of the text is its frequently dumbed-down tone and the shallow treatment given many of the subjects in its survey. The text and picture captions are also riddled with typographical and grammatical errors.

Despite the flaws in the text, however, the photographs of classical art are lovely, and the book is certainly worth browsing through.

This is a large format (coffee-table) book with lots of excellent pictures and a readable but erudite text. "Olisboi" is the ancient Greek word for dildo (p 84), and to my eye it looks suspiciously like "lesbian", suggesting an altogether different origin for the latter word, perhaps a pun.

Among the excellent pix in this book is a mosaic from a Roman villa in Corinth. It portrays the face of Dionysus, but the pattern around his central portrait is best described as psychedelic (p 58). So, there really is nothing new under the Sun - this is the first century equivalent of a black light poster of op-art. Followers of Dionysus liked to warm up with unmingled wine and allegedly some mildly stimulating herbs. This cult goes back, apparently, to the heyday of Catal Huyuk, as there are representations of Dionysus-like and related characters. Catal Huyuk and its short-lived successor ceased to be 7500 years ago.

Magdelanian art comes from the last Ice Age. It's the same culture discussed as the source of the Atlantis legend by Mary Settegast in her excellent "Plato Prehistorian: 10,000 to 5000 B.C. Myth, Religion, Archaeology" which has a chapter about Catal Huyuk and is out in a Jan 2000 edition.

Among the Magdelanian art shown in Love in the Ancient World are phalli carved from mammoth ivory up to 19,000 years ago, and a vulva carved on a cavern wall up to 32,000 years ago. I figure that people by and large were not living in caves and carving naughty bits on the wall, but rather that the same kinds of people who pursue artistic fields today were off by themselves. Most of the cave art found in books concerns animals and supposed hunting magic rituals, so it's probably a public service that Miles and Norwich have included these surpressed works.

See also "Eros In Pompeii" by Michael Grant with photography by Antonia Mulas and "A Book of Love from the Ancient Mediterranean: The Sweetness of Honey and the Sting of Bees" by Michelle Lovric and Nikiforos Doxiadis Mardas.

I bought this book for my niece's fourth birthday. The pictures looked vibrant and fun, and my niece's name is Molly, too. The premise of the book looked promising: she has a much-beloved magic dress that makes her anyone she wishes to be (such as a scientist or the mayor). The author, however, describes Molly's existence with a sneering snideness. She lives with her divorced mother and anonymous housekeeper in an all-white New York apartment. Her mother, accompanied by her interior designer, takes Molly to a society wedding, where all the guests appear to be caricatures of adult types that children would have difficulty recognizing. I can't imagine any child who would have a relevant context in which to place this book (and I feel sorry for any who would!). Characterization is poor--all the characters are stock stereotypes, and it lacks the fun and imagination of Eloise, another neglected child living in privilege in New York. This is not a book for children--unfortunately, it's not really a book for anyone!

Molly has a favorite dress and it has become very worn and tattered from constant wear. When she wears it she can be anything and often includes her cat Slim Enid in her adventures. When Molly is forced to wear a new dress to a "very important wedding" she is dismayed, but packs her favorite dress in a backpack to comfort her. What happens next includes a chance meeting with a homeless woman and a miracle of a small girl's belief. I wasn't that taken with the story, noy really liking the illustrations and finding the story a bit simple. I sat down with a friend's little girl and got a whole new perspective, She loved the story! It was this little friend who told me what the story was about, nice things are good, but being nice is always better.

This is the abridged version, which may be useful for some who want to get a quick overview of Julian's theology. I prefer the "whole story" contained in the full version for its elaboration of Julian's reasoning and elaborate and untraditional imagery of God/Christ as a mother who nurses us at his breast...