The Kluge-Ruhe collection, housed at the University of Virginia, is among the largest and most diverse Aboriginal art collections outside of Australia. This book, the first published guide to the collection, highlights many of the important works held by the Kluge-Ruhe, covering many Aboriginal cultures and regions with a strong focus on Arnhem Land and the central desert. Thought provoking essays by many of the top scholars in the field accompany beautiful color images of many sigificant pieces. Unlike many introductions to Aboriginal art, this guide discusses themes in depth, providing solid meaningful analysis which places the art in its social context, rather than the usual 'Bark Painting of a Bird' type annotation, which provides no insight into the culture which produced it. Highly recommended--you will not be disappointed.

The last decade of the 19th century produced revolutionary changes in architecture, painting and sculpture. These new forms shaped many features of the art of the 20th century. A general statement of the art of our times is that one by one the old criteria of what a work of art ought to be has been discarded in favor of a dynamic approach in which everything becomes possible.

The author brings the distinctive aspects of each work into focus by means of visual juxtaposition. Contrasting works gives insight into differences in approach, purpose and form. No restrictive labels are affixed to styles. Artistic development is placed within its general cultural framework, not separated from political and intellectual concerns during the period in which the artists lived and made their art.

This book with 1,600 illustrations of which 300 plates are in full color is a comprehensive and inclusive visual record of the nine individual decades from l890 - l980. The emphasis is equally divided among the three specialties - decade by decade.

The text is so interestingly informative indicating formidable research and a high degree of selectivity and sensitivity in the use of the material. Each page adds immeasurably to ones knowledge and background.

This volume would provide comprehensive material for any teacher of art as well as unlimited possibilities for a student.

Highly recommended as most definitive and detailed and marvelously illustrated - really a pleasure to peruse. I love this book a lot.

Howard Terpning is the one of the if not the best artist in this century.His spectacular artistic style is definitly far more superior to any other famous artists out there.The way he uses his colors and the way he applies brush strokes is unbelievable.When you read this book written by Elmer Kelton you will travel back in time and enjoy beautiful paintings done by a master.Such a great book,as a proffesional artist I recommend this every artist,art enthusiast and Indian art lovers,hurry up before it becomes out of print.

Meditation as I see it is a process of intense concentration on a particular duty at hand. This I feel relieves the subconcious mind to work on important aspects of life without the interference of mundane thought.
The humble non-pushy approach of the author is the first striking thing about this book . He gives a wonderful idea about zen and the purpose of meditation. I found his approach very useful.
Let me tell a few things that I have learnt about meditation. It might be useful for you too. Our mind has a compulsive need to flow. It always thinks about the past or plans for the future or just dreams. It hardly stays in the present. It is reflected not only in our thought preocess but also in our overall living. We interpret the reality by our experience and knowledge. There is a famous zen story. Once a student wanted to know what zen really means. He raised his question to a zen master with great expectations. But, the master remained still as if he did'nt even hear the student's question. Many say that real zen masters realize the complexity of zen that they dont talk about it. But, in my opinion he did answer the question, and I feel complete silence is what zen is all about. The complete stillness of mind where it becomes one with the universe and becomes aware of reality without any contamination of the thought process is what we are trying to achieve through meditation. As Fast points out, one of the purposes of meditation is to stay in the present. Relaxation of body and concentration of the thought on our breathing will be very useful to achieve this (This book explains the method wonderfully). I would like to mention here that our mind has been programmed to flow for so many years that we should not get discouraged or feel guilty with initial failures. We should practice, persevere and be patient with ourselves during our practices. The decision to be patient with ourselves will be a great boost in learning this art. Also, our mind has the character of branching out. One thought comes in, we interpret it and it branches out in another direction, we interpret again and it branches again and the process continues. When we meditate we should try and not interpret any of the passing thoughts forcefully. This will assist in our mind becoming calm as the practice proceeds. Concentration on some words like "om" or " ave maria" or just "relax" with that in mind helps a lot too.
I read this book along with " Zen in the art of archery" and I suggest this combination for others too.

This is an intreaging book that questions the roots of one of the greatest legends in Western culture. This is an intriguing book that questions the roots of one of the greatest legends in Western culture. The book is essentially discussing a theory that legends and heroes that lived in central Asia spread out to affect other histories and cultures. If there is more solid evidence that surfaces over the following years then it may mean that our image and the history of everything from Christianity to the first contacts with the East will drastically change. The book's main drawback as a historical resource is that it is predominantly theory and plausible evidence, but nothing proven, at least for now.

I hope that the author, Howard Reid, is able to complete his follow up book looking at links with the legends in Asia, all the way to Japan. Experimental research and theory in history is always needed and attracts new blood and ideas into the field. As every avid reader of history knows, history is ever changing - new perspectives, evidence, and fallacies are constantly being uncovered. We should learn what is factual in order to question it, and ultimately strive to find the truth.

Enjoy a good read on a possible past!

This book, as far as I know, is the first to focus on the anonymous warriors of feudal Japan. Turnbull does an excellent job of shedding light on the class of warriors that bore the brunt of fighting during sengoku jidai. He covers everything from arms and armor, how the farmer/soldiers were mobilized in time of war, to life on campaign and medical treatment for wounded soldiers. He also shows how ashigaru went from being despised underlings to finally being granted the social status of samurai under Hideyoshi, who himself started his military career as an ashigaru. All of this in 64 pages. Well worth the money.

I work in a museum of history, in southwest Georgia. When recently completing a presentation on local history,I found this atlas to be invaluable. The historical maps showing the Indian trails, and Indian Cessions are excellent. The maps showing the state according to county development and transportation are informative. I would recommend this book to anyone researching Georgia. In fact, two of my colleagues want to purchase individual copies!

"Austen Country" is a lovely book, loaded with photographs! It traces Jane Austen's life, with chapters on Steventon, Bath, Southampton, Visits and Winchester.

Since 1950, H. Richard Niebuhr's Christ and Culture has set the terms for understanding the relationship of the Church to the wider culture. He delineated five ideal types or stances, but clearly preferred the "transformationist" type. The influence of Niebuhr at this point cannot be overstated as the book was a staple of seminary courses throughout North America, influencing 3 generations of pastors and theologians. The sole dissenting voice for some time was that of Mennonite theologian John Howard Yoder who, in a privately circulated manuscript, contended that Niebuhr mis-discribed the "against" culture type and was guilty of both Trinitarian errors and a mis-use of typology. Now, at last, that inciteful critique is presented in a polished and revised form. However, Authentic Transformation is not simply the published form of Yoder's critique of Niebuhr. It also presents a previously unpublished article by Niebuhr and a partial defense of Niebuhr by Lutheran ethicist Diane Yeager. The book's greatest strength, however, lies in the concluding two chapters by the editor, Baptist ethicist Glen Stassen. In his first chapter, Stassen basically agrees with Yoder's critique of Christ and Culture, but places this work in the larger body of H. Richard Niebuhr's work. In this way, he shows what influences and factors caused HRN to make the mistakes Yoder notices and what features of his larger work could correct those problems. In the concluding chapter, Stassen gives a programmatic statement for what kinds of concrete practices churches would need to embody in order to "authentically transform" the wider culture. In this he draws on insights from Yoder & Yeager, his own original biblical work, and recent sociological studies of effective and ineffective congregations. Although the final chapter was written solely by Stassen, Yoder and Yeager endorse it's conclusions in broad terms. The result is a tour-de-force for Christian ethics: a thorough critical re-thinking of the relationship of Christianity and culture combined with concrete guidelines for implementing authentically transformative practices.

I have been doing laying on of hands for about 8 years now and this book summarizes the process in an interesting and understandable manner. The writer's style and structure brings the process to life with ease. To understand this subject well, knowledge about all types should be presented... and this authors does. A book you would not regret buying or having. I will be buying a few extra copies for my students and friends for gifts.