Amazon.com
To "sell short" on Wall Street, an investor finds overpriced stocks and then deals them before actually buying them. Regularly falling in and out of favor, the discipline remains one of the financial market's highest-risks but most profitable practices. The Art of Short Selling by Kathryn Staley, an expert in the field, uses examples and instructions to show how it can be done successfully--while cautioning that it "is not for the faint of heart."
Book Description
A one-of-a-kind book that shows you how to cash in on the latest investing trend—short selling
"The Art of Short Selling is the best description of this difficult technique."—John Train, Train, Thomas, Smith Investment Counsel, and author of The New Money Masters
"Kathryn Staley has done a masterful job explaining the highly specialized art of short selling. Her approach to telling the true stories of famous investment 'scams' will keep the reader spellbound, while teaching the investor many crucial lessons."—David W. Tice, Portfolio Manager, Prudent Bear Fund
"Selling short is still a misunderstood discipline, but even the most raging bull needs to know this valuable technique to master the ever-changing markets."—Jim Rogers, author, Investment Biker
On the investment playing field, there is perhaps no game more exciting than short selling. With the right moves, it can yield high returns; one misstep, however, can have disastrous consequences. Despite the risk, a growing number of players are anteing up, sparked in part by success stories such as that of George Soros and the billions he netted by short selling the British pound. In The Art of Short Selling, Kathryn Staley, an expert in the field, examines the essentials of this important investment vehicle, providing a comprehensive game plan with which you can effectively play—and win—the short selling game.
Whether used as a means of hedging bets, decreasing the volatility of total returns, or improving returns, short selling must be handled with care—and with the right know-how. As Staley points out, "Short selling is not for the faint of heart. If a stock moves against the position holder, the effect on a portfolio and net worth can be devastating. Investors need to understand the impact on their accounts as well as the consequences of getting bought in before they indulge in short selling." The Art of Short Selling guides you—clearly and concisely—through the ins and outs of this high-risk, high-stakes game.
The first—and most important—move in selling short is to identify flaws in a business before its share prices drop. To help you tackle this key step, Staley shows you how to evaluate company financial statements and balance sheets, make sense of return ratios, detect inconsistencies in inventory, and analyze the statement of cash flows. Through real-world examples that illustrate the shorting of bubble, high multiple growth, and theme stocks, you'll proceed step by step through the complete process and learn to carry out all the essentials for a successful short sell, including quantifying the risk factor and orchestrating correct timing, as well as implementing advanced valuation techniques to execute the sell/buy.
Packed with landmark, cutting-edge examples, up-to-the-minute guidelines, and pertinent regulations, The Art of Short Selling is a timely and comprehensive reference that arms you with the necessary tools to make a prepared and confident entrance onto the short selling playing field.
Customer Reviews:
Dated and uninformative.......2006-08-16
This book will not be useful to most readers. Staley touts shorting-hedge-fund managers and similar folk who can hire investigators and who can delegate maniacally-intensive accounting & financials research. This book also suffers from being highly specific in detailing financial irregularities of companies forgotten in light of the stupendous failures of Worldcom, Enron etc. Finally, if you actually want to short securities, don't expect this book to help you.
Go Long This Book.......2006-01-27
Chapter Six of Kathryn F. Staley's excellent book is titled, "If You Can't Read It, Short It." In it she explains something called iceberg phenomena: "If you find five or six serious questions in financial statements, you can be sure that there are many more you cannot see." She's dead right.
My analysis is to go long this well-written (but very poorly proofread) introduction to the specialized realm of shorting equities. Ms Staley has chosen a style well-suited to the non-expert, rather breezily taking the reader through the balance sheet shenanigans, distribution channel stuffing and other tricks CEOs and corporate directors use to puff up share price and get option grants into the money before taking the next Gulfsteam outta Dodge.
The book is chock-full of entertaining examples of games CEOs and their pliant Boards try to play with shareholders' money. Don't let Ms Staley's light-hearted style fool you. This is very serious business, and she's got years of success in the trenches to bolster her credibility as a writer on this topic.
Reading The Art of Short Selling also reminds even experienced practitioners of financial statement analysis that a 1OK is often an attempt to put a wedding dress on a dog in order to pretty it up for the next financing. I feel obliged to point out that this review is being written during earnings season, and it never ceases to amaze one when supposedly objective analysts are heard on conference calls being cheerleaders for company managements obviously in need of good thrashing.
Kathryn Staley is not unknown to the community of financial analysts. She was profiled as being among the most innovative of analysts in a recent issue of CFA Magazine. To understand the nature of the book she has written, it will be helpful to share two of her quotes from that article:
"...a company's prospectus clearly showed the problems that would ensue with the business plan. It was revelatory for me to find such specific, honest information in the SEC-filed documents about what was going on with a company in both the risk factor section and 'Certain Transactions.'"
"Short sellers think differently from normal brokerage house stock analysts. They work the same numbers but take a different view, a jaundiced view, of growth and the patterns that emerge."
With its focus on the fundamentals of a stock, the business of a company and the manner it which it reports financial results, The Art of Short Selling is not a book on technical analysis (tea-leaf ~ oh, pardon me ~ chart reading), and thus those who have complained that it's not should have their reviews appropriately discounted by potential purchasers.
This is a book for people who want to dig line-by-line through SEC filings to come up with nuggets of knowledge that can be spun into gold ~ if one is willing to risk capital. And, ultimately, it is all about the degree of risk exposure one is willing to assume. Short selling is not for the risk-averse.
Kathryn F. Staley's, The Art of Short Selling, is the best introduction to this iconoclastic field of equities investing. I reiterate, go long this book.
One criticism: this book is hideously proofread and copy-edited. There are dozens of ludicrous spelling errors and inconsistancies. In example, abbreviations aren't uniform throughout the text. There are other errors of this kind. To not make corrections in future editions discounts the future value of the knowledge between the covers. Thus, four stars, not five.
Focus on fundamentals.......2005-06-03
Anecdotes and successful short stories rule this book. If you are a technical trader you will be disappointed since 'The Art of Short Selling' choses which stocks to short based on (primarily) the financials.
I was rather disappointed because it took until alomst the last chapter before the 'meat' of how to pick stocks for shorting was discussed. Even then it only briefly discusses which aspects of the financial statements one should look out for.
If you do not understand how to read a balance sheet, statement of cash flow etc, you are better off understanding those before reading this.
However, the various examples given are insightful and would suggest to me that what has happened in the past will inevitably happen again in the future. There are profits to be made! You'd just have to know where to look.
A Skeptics guide to Fundamental Analysis.......2003-04-26
I came across this book years ago in a bookstore, browsed through it, and put it away. Being caught up in the study of technical analysis at the time, I clearly wasn't ready at the time to find value (pun intended) in Staley's fundamental approach to the market. This time, however, I'm listening to her.
With a bit more experience, I can appreciate 3 of the many lessons _The Art of Short Selling_ teaches:
1) Fundamentals drive market action...eventually
2) It is often a costly mistake to short a stock simply because it apepars overvalued. A catalyst of some sort is needed to encourage massive selling.
3) Markets can ignore negative fundamentals for significantly extended periods of time--giving the astute trader ample time to sell at a profit, or even turn and sell short. Positive fundamentals are more rapidly incorporated into stock prices, but significant inefficiencies still exist on both sides of the market--long and short.
The author uses case histories of significant corporate failures from the 80's and early 90's in light of the publicly available info at that time, which clearly demonstrated the inivetable fall of Wall Street's institutional favorites.
Numerous fundamental techniques are discussed, such as tracking changes in inventory and receivables, as well as tricks companies play to make revenues and earnings appear better than they are.
Also interesting--a high short interest ratio in a stock is often a significant sign of potential trouble in a company. Do not let those analysts lead you to believe a high short interest ratio is always bullish. Check the fundamentals and make your own call.
Qualitative factors are also discussed, with specific examples on how a close reading of public financial data on one company would have lead you to a profitable short sale of another. This occurs frequently in the finance and insurance industries.
This book is especially important, because every book I've seen teaches which stocks to BUY on a fundamental basis. No book ever mentions what fundamental factors suggest you SELL. Even if you never sell short, this is profitable info.
Being a student of technical analysis, what struck me is the insight those skeptical shorts had about the companies mentioned. Clearly, they knew the eventual outcome in each specific instance.
Yet, despite being right, most of these guys lost millions by going strictly by fundamentals. Those who survived incorporated additional (ie. technical) factors, such as relative strength or momentum. As Keynes stated, "The market can remain irrational much longer than you can remain solvent."
It is clear to me that using both fundamental and technical analysis is the most efficient path to market profits.
disappointing,it is not helpful for short selling at all........2002-09-21
This book is'nt introductuction and rationale to the technical approach.
Amazon.com
Shortly after Elaine Pagels' two-and-half-year-old son was diagnosed with a rare lung disease, the religion professor found herself drawn to a Christian church again for the first time in many years. In Beyond Belief: The Secret Gospel of Thomas Pagels, best know for her National Book Award-winning The Gnostic Gospels, wrestles with her own faith as she struggles to understand when--and why--Christianity became associated almost exclusively with the ideas codified in the fourth-century Nicene Creed and in the canonical texts of the New Testament. In her exploration, she uncovers the richness and diversity of Christian philosophy that has only become available since the discovery of the Nag Hammadi texts.
At the center of Beyond Belief is what Pagels identifies as a textual battle between The Gospel of Thomas (rediscovered in Egypt in 1945) and The Gospel of John. While these gospels have many superficial similarities, Pagels demonstrates that John, unlike Thomas, declares that Jesus is equivalent to "God the Father" as identified in the Old Testament. Thomas, in contrast, shares with other supposed secret teachings a belief that Jesus is not God but, rather, is a teacher who seeks to uncover the divine light in all human beings. Pagels then shows how the Gospel of John was used by Bishop Irenaeus of Lyon and others to define orthodoxy during the second and third centuries. The secret teachings were literally driven underground, disappearing until the Twentieth Century. As Pagels argues this process "not only impoverished the churches that remained but also impoverished those [Irenaeus] expelled."
Beyond Belief offers a profound framework with which to examine Christian history and contemporary Christian faith, and Pagels renders her scholarship in a highly readable narrative. The one deficiency in Pagels' examination of Thomas, if there is one, is that she never fully returns in the end to her own struggles with religion that so poignantly open the book. How has the mysticism of the Gnostic Gospels affected her? While she hints that she and others have found new pathways to faith through Thomas, the impact of Pagels' work on contemporary Christianity may not be understood for years to come. --Patrick O'Kelley
Book Description
Special edition including the complete text of the Gospel of Thomas
Elaine Pagels, one of the world’s most important writers and thinkers on religion and history, and winner of the National Book Award for her groundbreaking work The Gnostic Gospels, now reflects on what matters most about spiritual and religious exploration in the twenty-first century. This bold new book explores how Christianity began by tracing its earliest texts, including the secret Gospel of Thomas, rediscovered in Egypt in 1945.
When her infant son was diagnosed with fatal pulmonary hypertension, Elaine Pagels’s spiritual and intellectual quest took on a new urgency, leading her to explore historical and archeological sources and to investigate what Jesus and his teachings meant to his followers before the invention of doctrine–and before the invention of Christianity as we know it.
The astonishing discovery of the Gospel of Thomas, along with more than fifty other early Christian texts unknown since antiquity, offers startling clues. Pagels compares such sources as Thomas’s gospel (which claims to give Jesus’ secret teaching, and finds its closest affinities with kabbalah) with the canonic texts to show how Christian leaders chose to include some gospels and exclude others from the collection we have come to know as the New Testament. To stabilize the emerging Christian church in times of devastating persecution, the church fathers constructed the canon, creed, and hierarchy–and, in the process, suppressed many of its spiritual resources.
Drawing on new scholarship–her own, and that of an international group of scholars–that has come to light since the publication in 1979 of The Gnostic Gospels, Pagels shows that what matters about Christianity involves much more than any one set of beliefs. Traditions embodied in Judaism and Christianity can powerfully affect us in heart, mind, and spirit, inspire visions of a new society based on practicing justice and love, even heal and transform us.
Provocative, beautifully written, and moving, Beyond Belief, the most personal of Pagels’s books to date, shows how “the impulse to seek God overflows the narrow banks of a single tradition.” Pagels writes, “What I have come to love in the wealth and diversity of our religious traditions–and the communities that sustain them–is that they offer the testimony of innumerable people to spiritual discovery, encouraging us, in Jesus’ words, to ‘seek, and you shall find.’”
Customer Reviews:
She writes convincing material, but.......2007-08-27
WOW! She really writes convincing material and writes it well! She made me scared to study Gnostic writings, I was afraid they'd be right and I'd have to rework my faith of almost 40 years. As another reviewer pointed out, she does not really explore the Gospel of Thomas in this book...instead she trashes the Gospel of John. I found this curious. If the Gnostic writings are so great, then let's study them! But I have come to understand that the modern Gnostic movement is not about believing in Gnosticism...it is about NOT believing in the books of the New Testament. For after reading her book, I went on a journey of studying Gnostic writings as well as how the New Testament Canon was formed. Some of the major themes that are ascribed to Gnosticism by Pagels and others today are simply incorrect. The Gnostics did not believe in tolerance, they were a 'holier than thou' elistest group. And they also believed that salvation was only for men (Jesus is quoted as saying that he would turn Mary into a man so she would reach her spiritual path). The Gnostics were also strongly antisemitic. But Pagels doesn't share this information. And all this was the opposite in the teachings and actions of the apostles and early church, who were open,tolerant, and believed all were equal in Christ-including women.
However, in accepting books as being holy and to be used for doctrine, the early church followed some basic rules. The book had to be written by an apostle or someone who had been with an apostle, and the book had to agree with the teachings the apostles had given. Paul's letters are the earliest documents, and the doctrines he taught are the basis of Christianity, and these doctrines agree with writings of the other apostles. These works were written while people who knew the apostles were still alive. The Gnostics writings came later and were recognized as forgeries. They completely disagreed with the earlier teachings of the apostles: they were not like a different denomination of Christianity, they were a different religion altogether. The early church was tolerant, except when it came to untruth, and therefore the early church leaders tried to expose the hoax of Gnosticism. George Washington worked to prove the letters which were supposedly from him as a spy to the English govenment were forged letters. He did not do this for power or in order to suppress some secret. He did it because the letters were forgeries. In the same way the early church denounced the writings of the Gnostics: they did so because the writings were forgeries.
But I as said at the beginning, Pagels writes very well and very convincingly. I'm glad I read the book, for it sparked an indepth study of the early church which I am still pursuing.
Well written.......2007-07-19
I found this book well written and compelling , but not over the top. A good work to introduce and explain the relevance and works discovered known as the Gospel of Thomas.
An Argument for Gnosticism.......2007-04-27
Raised within the confines of fundamentalist religion, we found that asking Biblical questions could be extremely hazardous to our religious existence. After being excommunicated for numerous such affronts to the sanctity of the written word, we are especially appreciative of Ms. Pagels and her untiring efforts to shed light on so many of the lesser known aspects of early Christianity. Some readers have expressed their disappointment, feeling the book devotes too much attention to the formation of orthodoxy, the evolution of the Gospel of John and the suppression of many books labeled Gnostic. But, as pointed out by Pagels, these events still play a role in our cultural history and untangling these, ". . .complex strands have practical consequences as well as intellectual ones." We may not be aware of the cultural wallpaper we have assimilated until it is pointed out that it is indeed wallpaper, and it may be in need of refurbishing. As noted in the book, "orthodoxy tends to distrust our capacity to make such discriminations and insists on making them for us." It would be difficult to fully appreciate the radical differences contained in the Gospel of Thomas if we did not examine the thought processes involved in suppressing it.
As Pagels develops her arguments, she demonstrates how orthodoxy created an ever widening chasm that placed God, His only-begotten son and the church fathers on one side, and the congregation of sinners on the other. The increased value bestowed on Jesus by the church, equaled the speedy demotion of a flock whose only hope lay in their unquestioning belief in him. The writer of the Gospel of Thomas had the effrontery to suggest that Jesus' real message lay in his knowledge that all men, including him, were one with God. And, "Thomas' Jesus directs each disciple to discover the light within" through gnosis, an experiential knowing gained through a connection with higher consciousness. Shockingly, this message took church fathers out of the loop by suggesting that each person had an equal opportunity to save themselves. It is not surprising then that heresy was originally defined as "the act of choice!"
Orthodoxy attempted to control the people through selective information and the lack of choice. We, on the other hand, can easily miss the gifts offered by the Gospel of Thomas because we are inundated with information and choke on the multitude of choices offered to us on a daily basis. If we dismiss the Gospel of Thomas as another curiosity, we will miss the invitation Thomas' Jesus extends," If you bring forth what is within you, what you bring forth will save you." Books such as Pagels' "Beyond Belief" and Ehrman's "Misquoting Jesus" offer proof that there is little reason to take a literalist view of the Bible. This does not mean that Jesus' teachings are inaccessible. It does mean that we must each choose whether we will be one who accepts what is found outside us, or one who searches for the answers within. Pagels' book offers a great platform for exploration.
Lee & Steven Hager are the authors of Quantum Prodigal Son: Revisiting Jesus' Parable of the Prodigal Son from the Perspective of Quantum Mechanics
Orthodoxy vs. Gnosticism.......2007-03-19
My primary interest in reading this book was to better understand and appreciate the evolution of Christian thought and belief in the early church. On this score, Elaine Pagels definitely does not disappoint.
I found her choice of beginning this work with an intensely personal description of the spiritual journey she faced during her young son's fatal illness to be surprising at first, but through her book I came to understand why she introduced this work in such a way: all spiritual journeys are intensely personal. The authors of the "Secret Gospel of Thomas", the Gospel of John, and the later Church Fathers who built upon these writings, all faced challenging times. In seeking answers to the challenges they faced, they engaged in their own personal spiritual journeys, which resulted in their recording what they learned and believed in the texts that have been passed down to us.
Elaine Pagels engages us in the challenges and spiritual journeys of these early Christian writers, both known (mostly proponents of what became the roots of Christianity as we know it today); and unknown (mostly the authors of the Gnostic books found in the Nag Hammadi library, such as the Gospel of Thomas; and other works).
The Gnostic authors and their adherents found themselves marginalized if not actively persecuted as the well-organized and controlled universal Church took hold in the ancient world. Gnosticism is an intensely personal form of faith, where one seeks to find Spiritual truth for oneself instead of unquestioningly adopting an external authority's view.
Dr. Pagels referees for us the centuries-long debate between early Christian Fathers and their Gnostic counterparts - helping us see how the debate between control of doctrine vs. freedom of exploration changed and grew over time. She seeks to help us understand the complexities of the central question for us: What is truth, and what is lies? In making our spiritual journeys, how can we tell them apart? How do we find that truth for ourselves without falling into error?
The roots of that debate reach far back into Jewish history: centuries before Jesus started teaching. Therefore, Dr. Pagels knows she cannot answer the question. Instead, she seeks to help us understand the issues and the context within which we, as Christians, make our own journeys in search of spiritual truth.
The great authors of Orthodoxy - Tertullian, Athanaeus and Irenaeus, among others, all saw that allowing too much freedom of exploration often led to spiritual error and excess. On the other hand, they appreciated the importance of needing to explore one's own faith for oneself, and did not want to create a rigid and inflexible Christian faith that could not tolerate such journeys of faith. They understood that a balance between the two extremes must be found.
Ultimately, and as Dr. Pagels says in her book, it is not right, or wise, to accept spiritual authority without question, or to seek to eliminate the rich spiritual diversity found throughout the Christian world. Diversity brings strength and vitality, but too much diversity brings conflict and destruction. There is no simple answer to the question: we must each find an answer for ourselves.
Dr. Pagels' work is easy to read, well researched, well footnoted, and thought provoking. While I highly recommend this book, I would have to agree with what others here have said: that the title is misleading. This book focuses more on the evolution of orthodox Christianity than it does on the Gnostic tradition, or on the Gospel of Thomas itself. I give it a four star recommendation.
The Gospel of St John is more accurate.......2007-02-09
If you want a review of the gospel of Thomas look to the references cited in this book. The end notes are an excellent source of research in early Christian texts. This book is about the gospel of St John, how the politics of the time shaped what was written and how the work of Origen and the Emperor Constantine decided what gospels would constitute the New Testament. The writing is uneven or perhaps it needed tighter editing to have the work flow in a more even pace.
This mis-naming and awkward, read as uneven, pace seems to be characteristic of Pagels, her origin of Satan had similar problems. What she clearly possesses is the desire to ferret out the details and offer a plausible explanation.
Product Description
Secret Mark first became known to modern scholarship in 1958 when a newly hired assistant professor at Columbia University in New York by the name of Morton Smith visited the monastery of Mar Saba near Jerusalem and photographed its fragments. Secret Mark was announced on the heels of many spectacular discoveries of ancient manuscripts in the Near East, such as the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Nag Hammadi gnostic corpus in the late 1940s, and promised to be just as revolutionary. Secret Mark presents what appears to be a valuable, albeit fragmentary, witness to early Christian traditions, traditions that might shed light on Jesus's most intimate behavior. In this book, Stephen C. Carlson uses state of the art science to demonstrate that Secret Mark was an elaborate hoax created by Morton Smith. Carlson's discussion places Smith s trick alongside many other hoaxes before probing the reasons why so many scholars have been taken in by it.
Customer Reviews:
God this book bored me to tears.......2007-07-22
I love detective novels about forged books, my all time favorite being, "An Enquiry into the Nature of Certain Nineteenth-Century Pamphlets", by John Carter, and Graham Pollard. The very best books about forgeries tell you a great deal about books and manuscripts, not just the fraud in question. I had hoped that this book would be in that vein -- cool, dry, utterly objective, facts-only, and absolutely convincing, while at the same time opening up the world of ancient manuscripts and how to reason about them.
Instead it is unconvincing and inflamed in the *weirdest* sort of way. It seems as though Stephen Carlson really wants to settle a score with Morton Smith. I was looking for an exquisitely argued piecing together of a puzzle. Instead I got a very erudite, very lengthy disquisition bundled up with a huge number of angry neurosies, not all of them Smith's by any means.
I'm not convinced.......2007-06-30
I'm just not convinced. A lot of people seem to have a very strong vested interest in seeing Morton Smith proved wrong. And yet his work passed serious academic scrutiny for decades until -- speaking of "convenient" -- after his death, at which point this guy steps up to indict him as a hoaxer.
"The Secret Gospel" is not Smith's only book-length work of Biblical history. He pursued many of the issues raised by this work in the later "Jesus the Magician," which is a fascinating and persuasive book -- more so, in my opinion, than the earlier volume -- and his arguments and analysis would seem to be valid regardless of the historical status of the "secret" gospel of Mark.
I kind of suspect a different sort of intellectual dishonesty at work here: hardcore Christianists who can't stand their core assumptions being called into question.
The Truth & Proof About The Secret Gospel of Mark.......2007-05-13
Utilizing the little-known presence of word Puzzle-like mosaics called "chiasms," nationally recognized author John Dart painstakingly reconstructs Mark's Gospel in his recent book entitled 'Decoding Mark', showing exactly how the previously removed and concealed sections of the `Secret Gospel' indubitably belong in the original, and identifying sections that were added by a later editor (redactor). Any noteworthy biblical researcher worth their salt should recognize the peculiar presence of an ancient writing device called "chiasms", and educated scholars have proposed a few dozen in the Gospel of Mark alone.
However, veteran commentator John Dart, a popular interpreter of biblical research and word-puzzle militant, reports that Mark contains within its encrypted pages more than 150 chiastic patterns, large and small! The bigger shock is that this concentric mosaic word matrix prove, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that the barely clothed beloved young man affair from the Secret Gospel of Mark discovered by Professor Morton Smith at Mar Saba Monastery in 1958, was indeed a part of the original Gospel of Mark! Another hidden key to the Kingdom presented in Decoding Mark is an editor who deleted the original story and inserted a miracle-laden section that 'Luke' never saw. The Secret Gospel reveals the critically important lost testimonial role played by this rich young man, beloved by Jesus, as the foremost interior joint-hero -along with the risen Christ- of the original narrative core of the Gospel of Mark. This book will lead its readers into the Innermost Sanctuary itself of that Truth, which lays veiled beneath Seven. An absolute must read for any scholar on the Golden Path that leads to lifting the veil of the Disciple Whom Jesus Loved.
And he says to me, "Write: Happy are they who have been called to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb" ...These are the true words of God.
The Greatest Story Never Told! This book hints of a very controversial story of a long-lost disciple loved by Jesus who stays with him for six days,and on the evening of the seventh day: the young man comes to Him wearing nothing but a linen veil over his naked body for an all-night ceremonial rite where Jesus teaches him the Secret Mystery of the Kingdom of God. Dart's book details how this is by far an integral part to the original version of the Gospel of Mark.
Author John Dart (Los Angeles Times, Christian Century), is a popular interpreter of biblical research and incorporates his intrinsic bible-decoding skills astonishingly making a solidified case that the ancient writing device known as 'chiasmus' sets the hacked story neatly back into the earliest version of the oldest biblical gospel, where it comes to rest... beautifully illuminating a rather evocative account of Jesus and a young man.
Moreover, when placed back in Mark 10:46a: "Then they come to Jericho," and 10:46b: "As he was leaving Jericho..." the place where Clement of Alexandria indicates these secret fragments occured, it fills a well-known lacuna in the Markan narrative.
This young man seems to play a rather important, yet veiled, role in Mark. Most notably, his reappearance in the empty tomb announcing 'He is not here, He has risen!'(Mk 16:5)suggest that this secret story of this young man's own ressurection served to foreshadow Jesus'.
And the Scripture was fulfilled which says:
'His grave was assigned with wicked men, Yet He was with a Rich Man in His death, Because he had done no violence, Nor was there any deceit in his mouth' [Is.53:9]....but that all the Writings may be fulfilled:
"And having left Him they all fled; and a certain young man was following Him, wearing nothing but a linen cloth about his naked body, and the young men lay hold on him, and he, having left the cloth behind, did flee from them naked."
[Mark 14:50-52] Only to return and follow the Lamb wherever He goes [Rev. 14:4]. Thus, Simon Peter was following Jesus, and another disciple[Jon 18:15]. Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following; the one who laying back on His bosom at the Supper and said, "Lord, who is the one who betrays You?" [Jon. 21:20]
Jesus said, "Recognize what is in front of your face, and that which is hidden from you will be disclosed to you. For there is nothing hidden that won't be revealed, and nothing buried that will not be raised, and there is nothing covered up that will remain unexposed." [GrGospThom 5:1-2; 6:5-6]
The beginning of the Knowledge of the Truth is to Marvel at what is already present, laying this down as the first step toward the Knowledge of the Secret things beyond. This book is crucial proof that 'the Secret Gospel' is NOT a hoax, and never was. Among good scholars, the debates the late Professor Morton Smith's research has initiated are just 'the top of the Ark'; no doubt they will continue for decades to come.
Meanwhile, 'The Secret Gospel' invites readers to peek back behind the veil, and behold the Two Witnesses of the Testimony of God joined One to Another atop the Mercy Seat. Then, and only then, may the 'Secret of the Kingdom of God' be revealed to you; "...yet for those on the outside everything is in parables; so that they may indeed see but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand; lest they should turn again, and be forgiven." [Mark 4:10]
Jesus said, "After all, there is nothing hidden except to be brought to Light, nor anything kept Secret that won't be exposed. If anyone here has two good ears, use them!"
[Mark 4:22-23]
And there are also many other things which Jesus did, which even if they were written in detail, I suppose that even the world itself would not contain the books that were written.
[Jon. 21:25]
Decoding Mark
The Secret Gospel: The Discovery and Interpretation of the Secret Gospel According to Mark
A HILARIOUS pack of LIES.......2007-04-04
If Carlson *truly* believed that Secret Mark was a modern forgery, he would simply track down the manuscript and carbon-date the parchment/ink.
However, since he knows it's genuine, (but doesn't fit with his version of Christianity) his only option is embarrass himself with his feeble arguments about how Morton Smith "forged" it: Clement is TOO much like Clement. The Morton Salt theory (hilarious). Etc.
Bottom Line: Don't waste your time or your money.
Morton Smith among the Lilliputians, Part I.......2007-01-23
Given the breathless cover blurbs by Mark Goodacre and Larry Hurtado, one might expect that Stephen Carlson had uncovered some previously unknown and utterly spectacular new manuscript evidence or made a similarly startling scholarly breakthrough on the subject of the Secret Gospel of Mark. Instead, Gospel Hoax is a tendentious, lawyerly daisy chain of micro-arguments that forcibly reminded me of Kierkegaard's complaint about being trampled by geese. Carlson comes to the question of authenticity already convinced that Secret Mark has been falsified and announces in his preface, "Now that I knew what to look for and where to look for it, all I had to do was find it." (xviii) If there is anything axiomatic in New Testament studies, it is that a priori conclusions are always confirmed by "evidence" and Carlson's hoax has become the most recent Exhibit A of this sad fact.
Much of Carlson's evidence for forgery revolves upon the flimsy spindle of handwriting analysis. Mr. Carlson, to the best of my knowledge, has no particular training in paleography or document verification, has never published in this field, nor has his work been vetted by disinterested experts. The inadequacy of this amateur exercise has been thoroughly revealed by Scott Brown in "Factualizing the Folklore: Stephen Carlson's Case Against Morton Smith" in the Harvard Theological Review (99:291, ff).
A close reading of the supposed evidence for forgery shows that Carlson actually negates much of his own argument. The features of supposed forgery cited by Carlson "can be attributed to the writer's age, fatigue, stress level, or other causes for a loss of fine motor control." (26) A further objection which readily comes to mind is the fact that the text in question was copied in a small cursive hand into the end pages of a small book. Did the copyist have the luxury of placing the book on a steady surface, or did he hold it in his lap? Questions of this kind could be multiplied, but there is obviously no way to answer them. Indeed, the apparent strength of Carlson's arguments disappears once it is pointed out that they are, in the final analysis, speculative and can therefore never be either proven or disconfirmed.
A second major claim of this very minor book is that the overweening Smith planted references to himself within the Clement letter to tweak the noses of his fellow academics. Only a very clever person indeed would be able to identify these hidden signatures and Carlson imagines himself to be that very person, a delusion which may account for the smirking, self-congratulatory tone of his writing. The silliness of this project culminates in the identification of a passing mention of salt --"even the salt loses its flavor"-- as a reference to Morton Smith (Morton Smith = Morton Salt). A critique of this bizarre line of argumentation has been written by Kyle Smith (no relation to Morton) of Duke University, "Mixed with Inventions: Salt and Metaphor in Secret Mark" (available online on Wieland Willker's New Testament homepage). Kyle Smith concludes, "...by my reckoning, Carlson is down 0-1."
Naturally Carlson does not fail to raise the non-issue of Smith's sexuality. In point of fact one must wonder if this is part of the reason the book was released by Baylor University Press, the publishing arm of the notoriously homophobic Baylor University which has the dubious distinction of being the world's largest, and no doubt grandest, Baptist school. I supply this bit of information lest the unsuspecting reader assume that Baylor represents a source of reasoned inquiry. The intellectual universe of Baylor University is in fact one of the outer planets of the Bible Belt and closely reflects denominational prejudice and hostility to contrary opinion. On this question the interested reader is referred to Scott Brown's refutation of The Hoax, "The Question of Motive in the Case against Morton Smith," in the Journal of Biblical Literature (125:351,ff)
It is quite ironic that Carlson castigates Smith for cluttering the presentation of his evidence with "historically worthless testimonia" (88) which Carlson has decreed to have no relevance to the authenticity of Secret Mark, but uses up 23 pages (by my count) of his slender volume to expatiate on such subjects as faked artifacts, Piltdown Man, Pfaff's forgery of Irenaeus, the Coleman-Norton agraphon, and how CBS supposedly got it all wrong about George Bush's exit strategy from Vietnam. In Stephen Carlson's parallel universe these wildly disparate subjects apparently have some material bearing on the letter of Clement.
There is little point in cataloging each and every claim made in Gospel Hoax, claims which are already being examined and dismantled on a regular basis. In fact, I predict that Carlson's hoax will catalyze a more sober and thorough examination of the evidence and will in fact result in the publication of additional opinion favoring the authenticity of Secret Mark. Contrary to Carlson's intent, this book has not buried the longer gospel of Mark, but instead helped to raise the whole matter once again. Having served this purpose, the book will be retired to the science fiction section of Christian bookstores.
For those readers in search of intelligent discussions of Secret Mark and the ways in which it may illuminate our understanding of Jesus' life and career, the following are recommended (with some reservations): Crossan's Four Other Gospels: Shadows on the Contours of Canon, Meyer's Secret Gospels: Essays on Thomas and the Secret Gospel of Mark, Brown's Mark's Other Gospel, and my own Jesus the Sorcerer: Exorcist and Prophet of the Apocalypse. Dr. Wieland Willker's home page has an excellent section on the Secret Gospel of Mark with links to a number of important and informative articles.
On cross examination Carlson's Hoax fails in each and every particular argument. In short, it is a painful book to read, but at least the pain is over quickly.
Robert Conner
Book Description
A unique and compelling narrative combining landscape design with science and philosophy.
Customer Reviews:
WEIRD GARDEN.......2007-02-22
ALOT OF TIME WENT INTO THIS GARDEN BUT I THINK THEY MISSED THE BOAT
Book Description
The bible for successful speculators, written on speculation, by a successful speculator. Watts was president of The New York Cotton Exchange between 1878 and 1879, which was then one of the greatest arenas of speculation in America. This is a combination of what is speculation, along with some thoughts on life, business, society, and language. An excellent thought starter.
Customer Reviews:
Disappointed with this "Classic".......2007-09-30
I had to add this book to my library due to it being mentioned by the cloaked "Jesse Livermore" in reminiscences of a stock operator. I am a successful trader and read all things related to Jesse Livermore. This book only consisted of 43 pages and a nice card board cover. It contains seven pages of stock trading advice, yes 7, that is it. The remaining pages have some proverbs about life, which if you are mature in years you will probably find light reading. One of the proverbs is "If speculation keeps you up at night, sell down to the sleeping point". which is excellent common sense advice. The stock trading tips are:
1. Never over trade
2. Never reverse a position and go the other way.
3. Run Quickly or not at all.
4. Reduce your position when doubtful.
5. It is better to average up than down in a position (I completely agree)
6. Do not ignore public opinion.
7. Sell in weak markets.
8. Always factor in chance in your trading.
This is probably one of the first books ever written on speculating so it may have been why it was mentioned, their were no others. I would say skip this one and buy any of these to really learn in detail about speculating:
"How I made $2,000,000 in the stock market" Darvas
"How to trade in stocks" Livermore
"How to make money in stocks" O'Neal
I expected much more.......2007-03-25
I can't say the book doesn't tell important things, but reading it (half an hour) I felt like ... having recieved "Ten Commandments"!
Tell they right things? (mainly) yes!
if you red them, would you be able to be a better person? .... mmh ..here is the problem.
I like to read books that force readers to think, but I believe that having said right things it's not all: only showing the big picture around, examples, how to overcome typical difficulties, etc.. one person could share a complete message for a path.
I'll think on the points presented by the author in the book, but I'm sure that few pages more would have helped me much...
Extraordinary wisdom !.......2006-11-10
This is truly a very rare book. Succinct, wise and practical. The first and last book on speculation. Its relevance can seen, if we understand that any speculator big or small...is essentially battling the market with his 'mind'. This simple book of hardly "7 pages" (in fact it is just an essay)....explains all one needs to know about the 'mind' and the 'market'. Totally devoid of meaningless jargon.
Socrates of the trading world........2005-07-11
"There is no royal road to success in speculation....Those who make for themselves or others an infallible plan delude themselves and others." The best book on speculation you can read. The above passage is as true today as it was in 1880 when Watts wrote it.
There is some great information in this book. The end result is that a trader has to find what works for him. This way he will keep the most important trait in trading, his head. Staying calm when others panic, keeping a cool head under all conditions, is the most important trait a trader can have. The guidelines spelt out in this book help a trader develop into a trader that can keep his/her cool.
This book was quoted several times in "Reminicences of a Stock Operator" for a reason. Livermore greatly admired Watts as a trader, and so should we. A great book, a real classic.
Good advice!.......2004-09-02
This booklet was written by cotton trader, Dickson G. Watts in the 1880s. The first few pages are an excellent summary of the required state of mind for the successful trader. The rest of the booklet consists of epigrams on how to have and enjoy a good life. The author seems to assert (correctly, I believe) that internal balance and a positive relationship with one's environment are both necessary prequisites for true success.
As good as it is, this booklet would have most likely gone out of print years ago if it had not been mentioned in Lefevre's "Reminiscences of a Stock Operator," the bio of Jesse Livermore. Livermore is quoted as saying that Watts "wrote the book on speculation."
Amazon.com
First published in 1930, The Art of Speculation by Philip Carret has long been praised for its perceptive examination of the various ways that speculation impacts the worlds of both business and financial trading. Now, almost seven decades later, a newly updated edition proves as instructive as ever on this and related investment topics such as short selling, government regulation, options, and arbitrage. Chapters on reading a balance sheet and an income statement remain classics.
Book Description
"The Art of Speculation is laden with insights and studies that are as fresh today as newly cut grass . . . a joy to read. The topics covered were timeless in 1931 . . . and written in 24-carat prose." -from the Foreword by Victor Niederhoffer
A classic in every sense of the word, The Art of Speculation has been heralded by investors, both past and present, as a true standout in the field. Written by Philip Carret -a Wall Street legend long considered a leading thinker in basic value investing -this timeless work is as vital a part of finance literature today as it was when it first appeared almost seventy years ago.
Acclaim for The Art of Speculation
"Philip Carret has been practicing the art of investing longer than anyone. In the current frothy stock market environment it is helpful to read his insights into the Great Crash of 1929 to see if there are useful parallels. Beginning investors will find The Art of Speculation instructive and students of the market will learn much about what investing was like seven decades ago before computers, derivatives, junk bonds, discount brokers, and hedge funds. His Twelve Commandments for Speculators is good advice for us all." -Byron R. Wien, Managing Director/U.S. Investment Strategist Morgan Stanley & Co., Inc.
"A genuine rarity: the intricacies of investing illuminated by clear writing and timeless insight. The chapters on how to read a balance sheet and income statement are classics. No investor should even consider dabbling in the frantic IPO market of today without having read them first." -Christopher M. Byron Esquire
Customer Reviews:
Classic.......2002-02-04
This is one of the books that I decided to re-read. There is a little something for everyone in this book. Technical analysis, fundamental analysis, investing and speculation. The thing that really strikes me about books like this that were written 70-80 years ago is how true they are today. Sure, when the author writes about railroads, you may have to replace that with optical equipment today, but the premise and outcomes are the same. If you want some perspective of what things were like in the 30s, with some practical application in the new century, this is a great choice.
An abbreviated Graham & Dodd.......2002-01-06
There is alot to this book that makes the reader think...the beginning chapters on what is speculation and what is gambling, I found invaluable. As a full time trader I needed someone to explain to me why I wasn't just a river boat gambler, or for that matter why all the Brokerage & Banks weren't either, and Mr Carret did beautifully, putting speculation in its proper place in the trade annals of all mankind.
The bulk of the book gives one a short course in Graham & Dodd valuation & why the Internet stocks with no sales/no profits were bound to come to earth (sorry AMZN :-)
Yes he talks about mining and railroads but don't they still exist? Or their counterparts? Railroads are transports; mining is r/d semis and electronics, energy & of course minig. The ideas are the same. Do a little thinking & this book is sheer gold.
I will not say that I overstayed in the valuation parts but I do admit it was good to understand & what to look for whilst reading the various trade papers. Exactly why do profits matter?
Finally, the chapter on volatility...haven't we all been caught in volatility is priceless. It's helped me in my trading immeasurably.
I saw Mr Carret on Lou Rukeyser when he was in his 90's & still working. He impressed me then, vigorous in mind & body, & I was saddened to hear that he died at 101 just 2 years ago. This book like the man, is a time that is lost to all of us & thus with the Internet bubble we were condemned to repeat it.
I wish I had read him earlier. Honestly.
God Bless you Mr Carret & Thanks
Why is this a classic? Please help..........2001-11-23
There are good bits and bad bits to Phillip Caret's classic. The bits on balance sheets, P&Ls and what makes the difference between investment and speculation are very good. His style is tight and unambiguous. The message is clear. The bad side is that I found it boring and not at all the 24-carat prose that is claimed in the introduction.
Wiley has many great books in its Investment Classics series. This isn't one of them.
I'm very disappointed..........2001-01-23
When I think of a classic then I think of something that holds true regardless of time. This book is a bit outdated (it was written in 1930). A third of the book is concerning the analysis of mining and railroad companies.
Plus the book was very rudimentary in its writings. Not really a book on speculation as an introductary book for a 1930's investor. In my opinion not worthy of the term "Classic"
If you want a true classic read "Reminences of a Stock Operator" This is a true classic with truths that hold true today as well as 1923 when it was written.
Great Information - Difficult to Digest.......2000-08-17
Mr. Carret was a well-respected financier who spent a lot of time and thought putting to paper the ideas that helped him build a fortune for himself and his clients. The ideas that he writes on, value-investing, market forecasting, evaluating a company's R&D prospects are relevant to this day, and are valuable given the age of the text.
However, this is a somewhat difficult book to read, indeed arguably one of the most difficult to read texts in the Wiley Investment Classic series. With that in mind, I would only suggest it's reading to the dedicated financier who has already digested many of the other fine historical banking books that are available.
Again, this is a good book, but it's wording is old and often not very direct. The graphs and charts need further touching up as they are also somewhat difficult to decipher.
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The Imitation of Christ
Thomas, A Kempis
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ASIN: 1599869799 |
Book Description
With the exception of the Bible, no Christian writing has had so wide a vogue or so sustained a popularity as this. And yet, in one sense, it is hardly an original work at all. Its structure it owes largely to the writings of the medieval mystics, and its ideas and phrases are a mosaic from the Bible and the Fathers of the early Church. But these elements are interwoven with such delicate skill and a religious feeling at once so ardent and so sound, that it promises to remain, what it has been for five hundred years, the supreme call and guide to spiritual aspiration. The treatise "Of the Imitation of Christ" appears to have been originally written in Latin early in the fifteenth century. Its exact date and its authorship are still a matter of debate. Manuscripts of the Latin version survive in considerable numbers all over Western Europe, and they, with the vast list of translations and of printed editions, testify to its almost unparalleled popularity.
Book Description
Discovered in fragments in Egypt in 1945, The Gospel of Mary remains one of the most controversial texts of early Christianity. This translation of Mary’s teachings, from the original Greek and Coptic, offers a unique new perspective: authors Claire Nahmad and Margaret Bailey utilized "inner listening" to uncover lost material, and they present Mary’s ideas in the form of a dialogue between the (risen) Savior and His disciples. Most importantly, the volume includes a description by Mary of special revelations given to her by Jesus. Nahmad and Bailey argues that Mary was not just the consort of Christ but the feminine Christ herself, and in their view, the partnership between Jesus and Mary exemplifies the crucial balance of male and female in spiritual and corporeal life. It’s an interpretation that uncovers a rich subtext in Mary's words offering wisdom on an extraordinary range of concerns, from the origins of the human race to the pathway to Christlike consciousness.
Customer Reviews:
Claire & Margaret - You've done a good job!!.......2007-04-20
I bought this book for myself on my birthday, January 6th, and read it in 1-2 days. It was interesting and a very easy read from beginning to end. Good work (wink)!!
An Intuitive and Historical Literary Art.......2007-01-01
I too am surprised at some of the negative reviews, given so much historical accuracy in the book. I have not read her other works, but intend to buy them now. I am a Mystic and a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. I believe that all spiritual paths eventually get us to the same place of union with each other and the Divine Source.
There is just as much validity in communicating with fairies as there is in communicating with Jesus and relatives who have exited this body. I have communicated with all of these and more. I communicate with Jesus and my angels the most and believe Him to be in every path, as is Buddha.
Whether you choose to believe all that is written here, it is in my opinion, a wonderful compilation of many ideas around the historical and Biblical accounts of Mary Magdaline. The authors report the historical interpreations that differ from their own.
In the end, a book is always written from the perspective from the author. Just as 5 people can see an auto accident and report 5 different accounts of what "really happened" we will always have many different interpretations of history, of the Bible, and of spiritual books that are not the Bible. Ultimately, we all can go into ourselves and connect with our own Guidance for the valid answers for ourselves.
I enjoyed reading the "channeled" missing pages of the Gospel of Mary. Until the missing pages are found, these offer one possiblity of what is missing. There is much depth in the book siting Mary's connection to The Egyptians, the Essenes, Camelot, to Britian. There is even information to tie this to our chakras.
I applaud the authors for standing in the integrity of thier beliefs and their interpretation of the Mary Magdalene Story.,
Before you buy..........2006-09-25
Those expecting the revelation of hitherto unknown writings of ancient origin will be sorely disappointed. From the onset, the reader must accept without skepticism the claim of the authors that they are in direct communication with Mary Magdalene herself, and that not only has she transmitted the so-called "secret teachings" to them but is also the corroborator of the book's claim to "historical" accuracy. If one does not accept this proposition, one is faced with reading a stew of fact, theory and fiction consisting primarily of gigantic leaps of faith, unreasonable assumptions and unsubstantiated conclusions. One might also consider the previous works of author Nahmad, which includes "Fairy Spells: Seeing and Communicating with Fairies" when deciding the validity of the author's "sources". Personally, it was a claim I was unable to bring myself to consider beyond the first few chapters.
As an aside, I would offer the analysis that such books do nothing to advance the study and practice of feminist spirituality, except perhaps for those who are satisfied with merely feeling good about it.
The Secret Teachings of Mary Magdalene.......2006-05-03
I have just finished reading 'The Secret Teachings of Mary Magdalene.' I find it hard to believe that one reviewer suggested it was a work of fiction - she can't possibly have read it from cover to cover as she would be well aware that it is full of verified historical content. I would also suggest that she has little understanding of Gnosis - inner knowing. Has she not heard of the Gnostic gospels and of the group of people calling themselves Gnostic, who believe that spiritual development and enlightenment are achieved through inner knowledge? It does state clearly on the synopsis that the authors have intuited inner knowledge i.e. Gnosis. The book also discusses the immense connection to Great Britain that the group called the Bethany party has. The group included the three Marys, Joseph of Arimthea and other disciples. Source documents verify Mary Magdalene's presence in Britian. These historical events are recorded in the British Royal Archieves, The Doomsday Book and in many other ancient texts including the Vatican Library - FACT! Mary Magdalenes gospel found in 1896 in Cairo- FACT! In AD 36 the first chapter of land dedicated to Jesus Christ was the land in the Isle of Avalon / Glastonbury, given to Joseph of Arimethia by King Guiderius and his brother Prince Arviragus. The land consisted of 12 hides, a hide for each of the 12 disciples of the Bethany party. These 1920 acres are officially recorded in the British Royal Archives one of the orinial charters is embodied in the Doomsday Book AD 1066 - FACT!
Quote Doomsday Book AD 1086 - Survey Folio P249B
"The Donus Dei in the great monostary of Glastonbury called the secret of our Lord. This Glastonbury church possesses in it's own ville X11 hides of land which have never paid tax."
These are just a few examples of the many historical facts in this book. Facts- not myths, legend or fiction.
I personally feel very strongly about this wonderful book, beautifully written, full of fact and Gnosis. It gives insight into how, if we wish to embrace Mary's message within, humnity could be restored to a place of peace and balance. A transformative read - a must for all!
First Book I ever Returned to Amazon for a Refund!.......2006-04-22
Absolute FICTION. This book should be labeled FICTION, it is ABSOLUTELY NOT HISTORY! When a book is "channelled" , this should be made absolutely clear in the info & description given about the book and should not be catagorized as HISTORY! This is the first book, out of 100's that I have ordered from Amazon that I have returned for a refund. I am willing to eat the shipping charges on the return, which I shouldn't have to pay - as this book is mislabeled by the publisher!
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All Powers Necessary and Convenient: A Play of Fact and Speculation
M. F. O. Jenkins
Manufacturer: University of Washington Press
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America then and now.......2003-12-16
This is quite simply the best 'political' play to have come out of America since Tony Kushner's Angels in America, and it would be a great shame if it failed to reach as wide an audience. Set in Seattle in 1948, the play recounts (in scenes alternating between 'record' and 'conjecture') the persecution of members of the Seattle Rep Theatre and the University of Washington's English Lit department by the State's House UnAmerican Activities Committee. For simply shedding light on a piece of little known but fascinating 'local' history, Jenkins is to be congratulated; for bringing historical figures alive on stage with a ready wit and great sympathy so that we get a keen sense of what's really at stake, he is to be admired; but the playwright's most remarkable achievement is how effectively he suggests that the fight between Left and Right in the US has never abated. That HUAC's legacy impacts still on all our lives. That this is a Play for Today. Indeed it is impossible to read 'All Powers ...' in the wake of 9/11 and Bush's Patriot Act without being forcefully struck by its topicality and relevance. Jenkins reminds us that freedom of speech and thought is constantly under attack. Read his play, along with Eric Schlosser's equally under-rated 'Americans', and you will hear the authentic voice of American Opposition - reasonable, humane, passionate, and far from silenced.
Book Description
The Dramatic Imagination is one of the few enduring works written about set design.
Robert Edmond Jones's innovations in set design and lighting brought new ideas to the stage, but it is greater understanding of design - its role at the heart of theater - that has continued to inspire theater students. The volume includes "A New Kind of Drama," "To a Young Stage Designer" and six other of Jones's "reflections."
Customer Reviews:
interesting.......2007-05-12
I enjoyed the passion expressed by Jones as wel as the detailed examples given in each chapter.
The Dramatic Imagination; Reflections and Speculations on the Art of the Theatre .......2006-01-30
Received in record time and in great condition for a used book. In fact you couldn't tell that it was used at all.
take it with an open mind.......2000-11-17
OK, you can't rate this book on the level of literature, cuz it's not. From that point of view it's horrible. But you can rate it on what it might teach you if you let it "speak to you." This is a book that can easily be taken two ways. 1) An inspiring look at theater and at life, and 2) the cheesiest, corniest, campiest thing ever. I myself have wondered at times how I really feel about this book. I have had it read it throughout this past quarter for my Stagecraft class, and it can say a whole lot or it can say nothing, depending on how you read it. The author's absolute passion for all aspects of theater often comes across as wishy-washy, but if you set that aside, you might, if you love theater, find that you can relate to what he is saying. Or you might make fun of it incessantly! Which I have done a few times. But seriously, it's the kind of book that if you tell yourself you'll take a lot out of it, you will. And in several ways, I have.
a wonderful book to have on the shelf.......1999-09-06
my set design professor described this as the book to read when one is disillusioned with theater and need to restore faith, and I have to agree. It reminds us of the total art of theater, where poetry is expressed verbally, visually, and through the _presence_ of actors in a setting. It describes the curious not-reality that theater should create. It was written in 1941, so some of the references ring a little false and the language can wax florid, but the essence of what theater should be is described here.
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