I wouldn't have met Piti if it hadn't been for a chichigua. To translate chichigua as a kite does not do justice to these beautiful creations of...
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I'm not one to argue with the authenticity of a private manuscript, nor will I say anything more on the subject other than that you should be aware of these academic arguments before reading the book.
I will however say that this book is a fascinating read. The author of the book has done well to exclude enough commentary reported to be in the original manuscript relating to the original author's religion to yield it reasonably easy to read while leaving enough of that commentary in place so as to remind the reader of the original writer's time, place, and individual sensibilities. Even that amount which remains can be difficult for most casual readers, even Jewish ones such as myself, to wade through. I'd never suggest this book to anyone that had not the patience and understanding to cope with what I consider the Jewish equivalent of attempting to read a 12-century papal bull.
Past that, the story itself is on par with the nearly-contemporary Sir John Mandeville, however somewhat more believable than that writer. Once one gets their mind in the setting of the original author and their world, an amazing story unfolds before them that makes them feel as if they're going somewhere new, like an explorer, however no more new than the moon would be to, say, a 22nd-century passenger.
Seldom does one come across a thousand-year history that feels more like a tale of individuals from a common thread than small snapshots from different periods. I picked-up this book years ago but never read it until after returning from Budapest last year. By the time I reached page twenty the itch that had told me I should go back to Budapest became a full personal requirement. The author spends most of the book weaving the stories of nearly a thousand years of history from a people's beginnings on the Eurasian steppe to mainland Europe, their identity (as "Huns" and/or "Magyars"), their culture, their social structure, the monarchies, their lands, and the centuries of being Europe's "barrier" between the Empire and the Turks. When the reader suddenly finds themselves midway through the 20th century they're faced with a modern history only half-written and half-lived, and presented with a contemporary overview of the personalities that have come from the Hungarian people that few would ever have identified, not only from musicians such as Liszt and Bartok, but renowned economists, physicists, mathematicians, artists, and actors that have changed the entire world as we know it. By the time you close the back cover you feel that you have only begun to know an almost alien people, unlike most cultures while like so many at once. A culture that was often grouped with others however never belonged to any of them. A people so amazingly intricate and yet so simple that it requires one to review their own life and how they themselves fit into the world around them - both the product of their surroundings and yet an amazingly different entity on their own.
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(2 of 3 readers found this comment helpful)
Holding this book in front of you on the bus will get you many a stare. Not only because it's a decently hefty-sized read, but because despite it's not-large-print, you'll be flipping pages, smiling, possibly laughing, and periodically appear wide-eyed and mystified. What Sugden has written isn't only a masterpiece, but lends shame to every other biography of Nelson's life through 1797. The author is amazingly well-read on the topic and does well to present not only his own views and hypotheses, but those of past writers and biographers of Nelson. By the end of the book, you feel that you've only just begun to reach a true climax, leaving you almost upset that Sugden has yet to write anything covering the last 8 years of Nelson's life. You'll inevitably reach for other writers to get a grasp of those 8 years and find yourself rudely disappointed. In Sugden's book you find yourself not only apprised of information but introduced to the individuals in Nelson's life story to a degree that few biographers could even imagine let alone attain.
For anyone that wants to get an easy grip on Europe at the end of the 17th century or beginning of the 18th century, this book is a must-have. Well-written, easily-read, reasonably concise, and VERY easy to use as a periodic reference. The book is half-story and half-reference, however no more of either, making it less of a chore to get through than most histories. The breadth of the book engulfs all of Europe which makes it an amazing find and primer for anyone looking for either a general overview or a starting point to leap almost any political situation of the period.
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livnah has commented on (4) products.
The City of Light: The Hidden Journal of the Man Who Entered China Four Years Before Marco Polo by Jacob D'ancona
livnah, February 6, 2009
I'm not one to argue with the authenticity of a private manuscript, nor will I say anything more on the subject other than that you should be aware of these academic arguments before reading the book.I will however say that this book is a fascinating read. The author of the book has done well to exclude enough commentary reported to be in the original manuscript relating to the original author's religion to yield it reasonably easy to read while leaving enough of that commentary in place so as to remind the reader of the original writer's time, place, and individual sensibilities. Even that amount which remains can be difficult for most casual readers, even Jewish ones such as myself, to wade through. I'd never suggest this book to anyone that had not the patience and understanding to cope with what I consider the Jewish equivalent of attempting to read a 12-century papal bull.
Past that, the story itself is on par with the nearly-contemporary Sir John Mandeville, however somewhat more believable than that writer. Once one gets their mind in the setting of the original author and their world, an amazing story unfolds before them that makes them feel as if they're going somewhere new, like an explorer, however no more new than the moon would be to, say, a 22nd-century passenger.
The Hungarians: A Thousand Years of Victory in Defeat by Paul Lendvai
livnah, February 6, 2009
Seldom does one come across a thousand-year history that feels more like a tale of individuals from a common thread than small snapshots from different periods. I picked-up this book years ago but never read it until after returning from Budapest last year. By the time I reached page twenty the itch that had told me I should go back to Budapest became a full personal requirement. The author spends most of the book weaving the stories of nearly a thousand years of history from a people's beginnings on the Eurasian steppe to mainland Europe, their identity (as "Huns" and/or "Magyars"), their culture, their social structure, the monarchies, their lands, and the centuries of being Europe's "barrier" between the Empire and the Turks. When the reader suddenly finds themselves midway through the 20th century they're faced with a modern history only half-written and half-lived, and presented with a contemporary overview of the personalities that have come from the Hungarian people that few would ever have identified, not only from musicians such as Liszt and Bartok, but renowned economists, physicists, mathematicians, artists, and actors that have changed the entire world as we know it. By the time you close the back cover you feel that you have only begun to know an almost alien people, unlike most cultures while like so many at once. A culture that was often grouped with others however never belonged to any of them. A people so amazingly intricate and yet so simple that it requires one to review their own life and how they themselves fit into the world around them - both the product of their surroundings and yet an amazingly different entity on their own.(2 of 3 readers found this comment helpful)
Nelson: A Dream of Glory, 1758-1797 (John MacRae Books)
livnah, February 6, 2009
Holding this book in front of you on the bus will get you many a stare. Not only because it's a decently hefty-sized read, but because despite it's not-large-print, you'll be flipping pages, smiling, possibly laughing, and periodically appear wide-eyed and mystified. What Sugden has written isn't only a masterpiece, but lends shame to every other biography of Nelson's life through 1797. The author is amazingly well-read on the topic and does well to present not only his own views and hypotheses, but those of past writers and biographers of Nelson. By the end of the book, you feel that you've only just begun to reach a true climax, leaving you almost upset that Sugden has yet to write anything covering the last 8 years of Nelson's life. You'll inevitably reach for other writers to get a grasp of those 8 years and find yourself rudely disappointed. In Sugden's book you find yourself not only apprised of information but introduced to the individuals in Nelson's life story to a degree that few biographers could even imagine let alone attain.livnah, February 6, 2009
For anyone that wants to get an easy grip on Europe at the end of the 17th century or beginning of the 18th century, this book is a must-have. Well-written, easily-read, reasonably concise, and VERY easy to use as a periodic reference. The book is half-story and half-reference, however no more of either, making it less of a chore to get through than most histories. The breadth of the book engulfs all of Europe which makes it an amazing find and primer for anyone looking for either a general overview or a starting point to leap almost any political situation of the period.