Book Description
There will be three, kin of your kin . . .
The wild cats have flourished in their new home on the banks of the lake for several seasons, and the Clans are growing strong and healthy with new kits. The time has come for three kits of ThunderClan to become apprentices.
Hollypaw, Jaypaw, and Lionpaw spring from a strong legacy: children of Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw, two of the noblest ThunderClan warriors, and grandchildren of the great leader Firestar himself. All three young cats possess unusual power and talent and seem certain to provide strength to the Clan for the next generation.
But there are dark secrets around the three, and a mysterious prophecy hints at trouble to come. An undercurrent of rage is rising against those who are not Clanborn, and the warrior code is in danger of being washed away by a river of blood. All the young cats' strength will be needed if the Clans are to survive.
. . . who hold the power of the stars in their paws.
Customer Reviews:
Good!.......2007-10-01
I really think that this book kind of created a new writing style for all the series. I mean, there was one for Warriors, there was one for New Prophecy, and there is a new one for this, and I think that it is really good. I really think that the Erin Hunters outdid themselves on this one.
Great Book.......2007-09-19
I really liked the new Warriors book! I can't wait until the next book comes out. This book is by far Hunter's best book. Jaypaw, the main character, is angry most of the time because he believes his clanmates think he is weak. Jaypaw, Hollypaw and Lionpaw are the grandchildren of Firestar, Sandstorm, Goldenflower and Tigerstar, from previous books. And they are the children of Brambleclaw and Squirrelflight. Hollypaw becomes the medicine cat apprentice, but then realizes she has special abilities as a fighter just as Lionpaw is a fine hunter and Jaypaw has mysterious powers with StarClan.
Choose your poison: Predictable Plot or Irritating Characters?.......2007-09-05
The Sight tries to recapture the original series, but Firestar's grandkits are tiresome. Jaykit in particular is exasperating; being blind apparantly means that nothing in the world is good enough, and your handicap gives you grounds to continuously complain. Hollykit's arc in exploring medicine cattery seems pointless, (because it ultimately is), and Lionkit is instantly forget-able as an ... arrogant cat who falls into a tunnel?
Being a Warrior apparantly means that you have to be miserable, while you're upholding a code that keeps changing every time the elders feel you need chiding. There have to be 4 Clans, but not really, because there were 5, and StarClan just decided not to tell you. You can't abandon a kit, no matter what, but not really, because Shadowclan likes watching the ones that get caught in snares. And don't forget that StarClan is all-powerful, except when they tell you they aren't, and helpfully offer obscure prophecy. A true Warrior doesn't trespass or steal prey, but no one ever seems to call Shadowclan or Windclan out on that during the Gatherings. And even though the code says a cat is supposed to help a cat that asks for it, none of the leaders ever do, because it'd look bad. They'd rather keep their pride than feed their dying elders.
Ultimately, I can't understand why an animal as naturally disdainful and independent as a cat would swear allegience to such smoky laws. Gatherings especially irk me, because no cat would ever bother to find out how another pack is doing, especially if they're not on their territory. Why go to see a bunch of cats brag about how well they're doing?
The world-building in Warriors doesn't stand up to a lot of scrutiny, and any reader that bothers to start looking closer will find themselves disappointed. Young readers are more likely to forgive the large holes (suspesion of disbelief is always easier when you're little), but that will last only as long as that reader is young. But they grow up, and Warriors will become replaced by better anthropomorphic fantasy, like Tailchaser's Song by Tad Williams, and Fire-Bring by David Clement-Davies.
You don't have to be a kid to love the Warrior Cats.......2007-08-29
I am 54 yrs. old and a grandmother. A year ago I was unemployed and was at the bookstore and they had one of the Warrior Cat books on display up front. I am a huge cat/dog lover and I foster cats for a local rescue. Well, I couldn't put these books down. I bought one after another. I hadn't been to the bookstore in awhile as I am working again. Last night I bought The Sight and I can hardly wait to read it this weekend. I'm addicted and I know this book will be just as good as the first. For young and old alike...read The Warrior Cat books....they are delightful!!! Kudos to Erin Hunter for providing an intermediate book series so entertaining to adults...I am reminded of the years I spent in Study Hall reading horse and dog books and I still cry when anything sad happens!! Grammy
A Great Start to a Great Series.......2007-08-16
Without giving too much away, let me say that The Sight is about Brambleclaw and Squirrelflight's kits, Jaypaw, Hollypaw, and Lionpaw and their incredible abilities from StarClan. Most other previously key characters fall back a bit to allow the three kits to take center stage. Don't believe what you hear when others say that Firestar is dead. He isn't. He's still leader of ThunderClan, it's just that he isn't the main character anymore.
This book is an excellent beginning to the series, although I dock a star for the cliche "dog attack" and "fox attack". However, Jaypaw's abilities are original and intriguing, Hollypaw is a lovable character, and Lionpaw seems to be getting a love interest in Heatherpaw of WindClan.
This is an excellent book for any Warriors enthusiast and can give any fanfiction writer the right sort of inspiration they need. If you haven't read this yet, do so!
Book Description
Author of the greatest inspirational bestseller of our time offers positive strategies for success in business and personal life. The remarkable self-help phenomenon,
The Power of Positive Thinking, plus the successful
The Positive Principle Today and
Enthusiasm Makes the Difference show why Norman Vincent Peale has helped millions of readers transform their lives and find joy and fulfillment.
Customer Reviews:
Very good book.......2007-06-06
I own the first book "Power of positive thinking". I can hardly wait to read the other two. At one point in my life I was covered with negative thinking and it drastically affected my actions and situations around me. However, using this book changed my life. I trust in God more now, have more faith in him, and I am much happier today. Also, more people started noticing and they liked the happier, more in control me. Praise God!!
Full of Stories, no real direction.......2007-03-27
The book teaches through others inspirational stories; there is no real teaching on how to have a positive attitude. I was expecting the book to give me steps on how to have a positive out look. It is also a religious book, which I didn't expect when I ordered it.
Excellent Boost!.......2007-01-05
This book is an excellent comprehensive boost for anyone who wants to welcome change and new ways of seeing their world and the issues they may have in relationships, wealth, success and life in general. I haven't finished reading it yet - but have found that even just one page a night before bed does wonders in slowly opening us up to change and positive ways of thinking. It's difficult to do in a world that bombards us at lightening speed with so many mixed positive and negative, draining messages. This is a great way to keep your feet on the ground, mind focused on the important things and even if you aren't religious to explore yourself and spirituality. Like a pocket psychotherapist ;-)
PEALE SOME OFF FOR ME!.......2006-11-18
STILL APPROPRIATE AFTER ALL THESE YEARS. I READ IT 30 YEARS AGO, NOW IT IS HELPING MY SON.
Buy it. NOW........2006-11-04
Easily the best book I've ever bought. If I could rate this book six stars, I would.
Six months ago, I decided to change my life and head for the military. I wanted to be the best and decided to try out for the Rangers, an especially ambitious goal considering my activity level was on par with most vegetables. My friends laughed at me, I bought this book.
Using this book as my motivational guide and Stew Smith's 12 Weeks to BUD/S as my exercise plan, my pushup/run/situp/swim scores absolutely shot through the roof. I have never felt motivation like I felt after reading through Norman Peale's book and if it wasn't for this purchase, I honestly believe I would have abandoned this goal and would still be miserable, sitting on my couch, and playing video games, not out getting in shape for the Rangers.
That was over six months ago now, and am heading off to basic pretty soon with my body ready and my mind motivated.
Thank you Mr. Peale even though you are probably dead, I am a very happy customer and have even bought a couple copies for my friends. The concepts in this book are the best things that have ever happened to me and have absolutely revolutionized my life.
They can revolutionize yours too. All you have to do is buy it and use it.
Average customer rating:
- good for your health
- I want to be Dean Koontz
- The only thing missing was aliens!
- Unusual
- Masterful!
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Three Days to Never: A Novel
Tim Powers
Manufacturer: William Morrow
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Binding: Hardcover
 Contemporary
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On Stranger Tides
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The Jennifer Morgue
ASIN: 0380976536
Release Date: 2006-08-08 |
Book Description
When Albert Einstein told Franklin Roosevelt in 1939 that the atomic bomb was possible, he did not tell the president about another discovery he had made, something so extreme and horrific it remained a secret . . . until now. This extraordinary new novel from one of the most brilliant talents in contemporary fiction is a standout literary thriller in which one man stumbles upon the discovery Einstein himself tried to keep hidden.
When twelve-year-old Daphne Marrity takes a videotape labeled Pee-wee's Big Adventure from her grandmother's house, neither she nor her college-professor father, Frank Marrity, has any idea that the theft has drawn the attention of both the Israeli Secret Service and an ancient European cabal of occultists—or that within hours they'll be visited by her long-lost grandfather, who is also desperate to get that tape.
And when Daphne's teddy bear is stolen, a blind assassin nearly kills Frank, and a phantom begins to speak to her from a switched-off television set, Daphne and her father find themselves caught in the middle of a murderous power struggle that originated long ago in Israel and Germany but now crashes through Los Angeles and out to the Mojave Desert. To survive, they must quickly learn the rules of a dangerous magical chess game and use all their cleverness and courage—as well as their love and loyalty to each other—to escape a fate more profound than death.
A pulse-pounding epic adventure that blurs the lines between espionage and the supernatural; good and evil; past, present and future, Three Days to Never is an exhilarating masterwork of speculative suspense from the always remarkable imagination of the incomparable Tim Powers.
Customer Reviews:
good for your health.......2007-07-30
Some stories delight; some instruct; some do both. This one delights, combining various, seemingly irrelevant historical and scientific facts (Einstein, the Six Day War, SoCal earthquakes, etc.) into a plot that scoots deliciously along the edge of ridiculousness. It doesn't instruct, quite, it almost can't and expect to succeed, in a reading culture where most storygoers have anti-moral antennae alerting them to possible sermonising. You won't feel preached at. But I've read most of Tim Powers' books, and liked almost as many, and this one is the first one (or maybe the second one, after Declare) I can say I feel healthier after reading, a better person--not that I have principles or rules to make me better, more that I'm seeing the world in a better, clearer way. It's a feeling, not an intellectual epiphany. This feeling is not common after reading books which involve poltergeists and shrunken heads.
"Clearer" might be the word for it, or at least, that's the kind of thing Dean Koontz was implying in his highly intriguing blurb on the book's cover: "a hurricane blowing away the stale postmodern sensibility of most fiction," by which I suppose he means most fiction written today. So something stale needs to be blown away, cleared away, and Three Days to Never is a violent force accomplishing this, according to Koontz. Which is surprising, because this book has the usual ingredients of a Tim Powers book: time travel, quasi-scientific supernatural phenomena, ordinary people having really out-of-the-ordinary problems (such as periodically sensing something like you've just heard John Wayne's name for the last time, or just heard a telephone bell for the last time), secret agents, extra-sensory or trans-sensory perception. A lot of Anubis Gates, a lot of Declare. Nothing terribly new. No single ingredient that I'd be really shocked at, either, if meeting it in another book written recently by someone else (although the heady brew together makes Powers unique). Then one of the characters says to another of something that other one's proposing, "It's a sin," and a lot of excuses get blown away right then.
This is beginning to make sense, because fantasy/horror (or whatever the thing is that you can say Powers and Koontz and Stephen King all practice) is one of the last refuges for writers who take seriously evil--or, more specifically, meaningful avoidable personal guilt, or, more briefly, sin. And if you really take seriously the kind of thing that's been described as sin (whatever standard you go by), then the rarity of its discussion in our common culture would lead you to suspect a cover-up (however unconscious), a cover-up that needs to be blown away. And anything that leads you to reconsider such guilt once it's hidden away--camouflaged by your own logical excuses, deterministic deflection of blame, or self-centred moral relativity--could be considered health-giving. I understand why one of the Mr. Marritys wanted to do what he wanted to do, just as I understand at the end of Declare why Kim Philby behaved the way he did. Their conclusions are perfectly logical, self-serving, and specious. They sound an awful lot like mine, even though mine have very little to do with time-travel.
I want to be Dean Koontz.......2007-07-24
This is a confused story of time travel and mysticism. I felt like the author wanted to create the mystery and menace of a Dean Koontz novel but fell short. He links Albert Einstein and Charlie Chaplin together in the unknown mystery half of Einstein's life in which Einstein discovered that special symbols and mysterious thought processes can allow a person to leave his body and maybe change the past and the future. Lots of time travel stories are exciting or interesting, but this one tried to link together too many unconnected and impossible pieces of historical fact. He tried to combine science fiction, mystery, and mysticism, but it didn't work. Despite all the strangeness, it was a decent suspense novel, so 3 out of 5.
The only thing missing was aliens!.......2007-07-19
Paranormal activity abounds here, in the form of psychic mind readers and other forms of telepathy, remote viewing, ghosts, and a "talking head" that works a bit like a ouija board. There is even a secret government/military underground base in the desert, much reminiscent of Area 51. And it all fits snugly into a mystery involving time travel and espionage. Who can resist such fun?
If you like smart, weird, action packed suspense that really makes you think on many different levels, with some humor thrown in, then you have to love Tim Powers. I've read nothing else like him. The time travel plot is very intriguing and there is a wonderfully unique character I have never come across anything like before. This book is a terrific way to pass a summer weekend.
Maybe Powers will work the aliens into one of his next books for us?
Unusual.......2007-03-24
Throughout this book I felt as though I had picked up several books and started reading them from the middle. I understand that it is about "time travel" but it felt very disorganized. It was too in-depth in some areas and did not invest enough effort in others. The characters were not well developed. It just had an overall empty feel to it. I am a first time reader of Tim Powers and I guess I chose the wrong book to start with.
Masterful!.......2007-02-12
Just when you think he can't get any better, this author, like that proverbial fine wine, keeps improving with age. After a long hiatus since his masterful attempt and successful supernatural conquest of the spy genre (Declare), Powers pulls off his latest adventures into new realms in this exceptional novel. From a cozy beginning with a family at home, we are swept through supernatural mysteries which turn into spy-adventures which end beyond the bounds of space and time bordering on an almost Phildickian philosophical mysticism, all the while recalling so much of the "weird-California" elements that his readers have come so much to love. The result is a wonderous sense of exploring new frontiers, while giving the reader a false sense of security of being grounded in the vaguely familiar. All that, and Einstein too.
This may be one of the most experimental Powers has done yet. More proof (as if it were needed) that he is The Maestro, even in areas he has never gone before.
Average customer rating:
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The Power of Display: A History of Exhibition Installations at the Museum of Modern Art
Mary Anne Staniszewski
Manufacturer: The MIT Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
General
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ASIN: 0262194023 |
Book Description
Art historians, traditionally, have implicitly accepted the autonomy of the artwork and ignored what Mary Anne Staniszewski calls "the power of display." In this groundbreaking examination of installation design as an aesthetic medium and cultural practice, Staniszewski offers the first history of exhibitions at the most powerful and influential modern art museum--The Museum of Modern Art in New York. Focusing on over two hundred photographs of the visually rich but overlooked history of exhibitions, Staniszewski documents and deciphers an essential chapter of twentieth-century art and culture and provides a historical and theoretical framework for a primary area of contemporary aesthetic practice--installation-based art.
Staniszewski treats installations as creations that manifest values, ideologies, politics, and of course aesthetics. Incorporating analysis of display techniques used in department stores, natural history museums, non-Western art galleries, and the international avant-gardes' exhibitions of the first half of the century, she makes visible both the explicit and covert meanings found in exhibitions. Some of the questions she addresses are: What sorts of viewers do different types of installations "create"? How do exhibition designs affect the meanings and receptions of specific objects, images, artifacts, and buildings when they are displayed? How do installations shape the viewer's experience of the cultural ritual of a museum visit? How does an amnesia regarding exhibition design affect art history, the art world, and collective cultural memories?
Among the artists, designers, architects, and curators whose installations the author features are Dennis Adams, Alfred H. Barr, Jr., Herbert Bayer, René d'Harnoncourt, Ray and Charles Eames, Hans Haacke, David Hammons, Philip Johnson, Frederick Kiesler, Barbara Kruger, Louise Lawler, El Lissitzky, Adrian Piper, Lilly Reich, William Rubin, Paul Rudolph, Edward Steichen, Giuseppe Terragni, and Kirk Varnedoe.
Book Description
From one of our shrewdest economic trend-spotters, a wake-up call that prosperity is about to shift from the West to the East, and what we can do before it's too late
By the beginning of this century it was already commonplace to speak of the U.S. as a "hyperpower," to talk of its military, political, and economic clout as unprecedented in world history, and to assume that American dominance would continue at least throughout our lifetimes. It is conventional wisdom that America will have no serious rivals for at least a generation. But the American position is far more fragile and ephemeral than much of the world believes.
Clyde Prestowitz shows the powerful yet barely visible trends that are threatening to end the six-hundred-year run of Western domination of the world. The trends include America's increasingly unsustainable trade deficits; the equally unsustainable (and dangerous) buildup of massive dollar reserves in places like Japan and China; the end of America's position as the world's premier center for invention and technological innovation; the sudden entrance of 2.5 billion people in India and China into the world's skilled job market; the role of the World Wide Web in permitting many formerly localized jobs to be done anywhere in the world; and the demographic meltdown of Europe, Japan, Russia, and, in later decades, even China. Three Billion New Capitalists is a clear-eyed and profoundly unsettling look at America's and the world's economic future, from an author with a history of predicting the important trends long before they become apparent to others.
Customer Reviews:
Scary but Excellent Must Read.......2007-05-28
No need to write anything extensive as the prior reviewers have done a great job. I have found this book to be the most profound analysis of what is happening around the world to date. This book really sums things up and paints a grim picture of things to come in the USA. This book is miles above Thomas Friedmans breezy light cheerleading extolling the benefits of a flat world. This book is truly a must read.
Great Read on globalisation, economics and politics.......2007-02-03
Clyde has done a great job trying to explain how globalization, economics and politics is changing the way we live today. Even though he is from the conservative Reagan administration, he has unbiased opinions about the current economic situations around the globe.
He not only talks about China as a globalization power, but also talks about the shortcomings of the United States as the current economic super power.
This book is better that Tom Friedman's "The World is Flat"
Very detailed....and sobering if even only half true.......2006-10-28
I believe this accounts listed in the book are true, and so my title wasn't written to indicate that I don't believe the book...but rather to indicate how serious our situation could be.
I say could be because I think the countries of China and India still need us in a big way...because we are the #1 consumers. But as we lose that benchmark and sink to 2nd or even third behind Europe and Asia, they will no longer have an interest in supporting our unbridaled spending. (lets face it, we spend more money than we actually have....not everyone, but as a whole as a country!)
This book outlines all the numbers, and reasons for the current situation. I actually feel it is somewhat positive in it's progonosis for the future. There are other books that have us jumping right off the cliff....but the outlooks given here are not all rosy, but don't all end with a 100 foot plunge to our end.
Very good book...I recommend it highly!
Haven't We Been Down This Road Before?.......2006-08-14
Interesting to see a book like this come from Prestowitz, former Undersecretary in the Reagan Administration. Back then it was America losing its good jobs and future to the Japanese. Remember them? Japan, Inc....central planning...national industrial policy...would soon be running the world. American debt, loss of technological edge, outsourcing would all mean the USA would be reduced to second-world status by 2006.
It was precisely because Prestowitz's Commerce Department let the 'hidden hand' of the market prevail that we wound up with the economic boom of the 90s.
So it is very strange to see Prestowitz ring the same alarm bells he firmly rejected a generation ago. Seems every economic book I read these days remeinds me of the early 80s....alarmist. That is not to deny the issues he raises in this book, but to paint a grim and destitute future for the American economy is tired and not well thought out.
That, in the end, is why this book only gets two stars. Intellectually it's bereft. Nothing new here.
another one about globalization like the analysis of thomas friedman.......2006-06-26
I liked this book. Obviously, with the Cold War over, America now needs to compete globally with India and China, among others. This book talks about the ways that companies can do so and the challenges facing us. This book is quite similar to Thomas Friedman's book The World Is Flat, in places. The apologists for globalization say one thing-- the opponents of multinational corporations' exploitation of workers say another thing-- but the fact remains that worldwide capitalism is changing, and each of us needs to change to remain employable. This book is a report on the inclusion of India and China's billions into capitalism.
Average customer rating:
- Not Free SF Reader
- Power of Three is great; to the power of 5!
- "May it Never Loose Until the Three are Placated..."
- Get the "Power"
- Really good
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Power of Three
Diana Wynne Jones
Manufacturer: HarperTrophy
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Magic
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Year of the Griffin
ASIN: 0064473597
Release Date: 2003-08-12 |
Book Description
Ayna could predict the future.
Cari could find what was lost.
Gair thought he was ordinary.
The three children of Gest, the chief of Garholt, know the perils of the Moor on which they live. The Dorig, their people's enemies, are cold-blooded, fierce underwater creatures who terrify anyone unlucky enough to happen upon them. The Giants are dangerous and violent.
But it's not until their home is invaded that Gair learns of a dying curse that endangers all three peoples of the Moor. A curse that ordinary Gair, with the help of his extraordinary brother and sister, may be able to break, but only at the most dreadful risk to all three, and to the Moor itself.
Customer Reviews:
Not Free SF Reader.......2007-09-03
A pretty good kids book. The three children of a clan leader have psionic powers, or, at least, all come to discover that they do.
They also have to deal with the feuds between their clans and others, as well as with the different non-human races that inhabit the same area.
Power of Three is great; to the power of 5!.......2006-02-21
I have to admit, I'm one of those people who just can't sit and look at words hour after hour because it's just a bunch of...WORDS ON A PIECE OF PAPER, but Power of Three really kept me stimulated to read more. Don't let the 9-12 age group scare you, because I underestimated the book a bit. It is a great book.
It starts with Gair, an unsure boy who's the middle child of Gest, whose other children (Ayna, Ceri) both have gifts. Gair thinks he's a nothing among his two siblings, but one fateful day when the Dorig attack their village and his loved ones are captured, he encounters the giants with his siblings and they end up in the middle of a deal that could put their family in danger. The fate of Gair's village is in his hands, but he supposedly has no gift...
The writing is very descriptive, hands down. The emotions in the mind of Gair really symbolize the troubles a child goes through in adolescence. The story really comes together in the end, and a fourth of the time it is told through flashbacks. It starts out as an unfinshed puzzle that you put together as you read on and on. The main character's not corny, like in books like Harry Potter, "OH MY GOD! IT'S THE BOY WHO LIVED!! LET'S GO ON FOR ANOTHER SEVEN BOOKS ABOUT HIM AND WRITE IN THE MOST UNORIGINAL MANNER POSSIBLE!", Gair is just a brilliant, antisocial lone wolf whose world is literally falling apart. Nobody understands him, that's why he's such a good character and he doesn't whine (like a similar character from Neon Genesis Evangelion, Shinji). The great thing is that Power of Three isn't as stereotypical for a fantasy as you'd expect, it's a bit darker and somewhat more complex.
You seriously need to read this if you think that reading sucks, no matter how old you are. Don't base this on the cover art, this is a brilliant piece of original work, not a fake Harry potter takeoff because this was before Harry-mania! It's an epic.
"May it Never Loose Until the Three are Placated...".......2005-01-06
Combining the atmosphere of Celtic folklore with a plot reminiscent of Shakespeare's "Hamlet", as well as an intricate plot (including a huge twist halfway through that will completely turn your perception of the story on its head) and likeable characters, "Power of Three" is one of Diana Wynne Jones's best novels - and so inevitably it is one of her least known.
Set on moorlands inhabited by Giants, reptilian Dorig and tribes of warrior-like clans, the first two chapters introduces the rest of the story to come. First, Adara and her bullish brother Orban come across a young Dorig princeling, and Orban demands the beautiful collar around its neck. Refusing, the Dorig places a deep curse upon the collar that will bestow bad luck upon the holder and the surroundings.
Chapter two takes place several years later when Adara elopes with the chief of a neighbouring Mound. This reads like a Celtic legend as the hero Gest must perform three impossible tasks concerning riddles, collars, standing stones, Dorig and Giants, and exactly how he manages to accomplish these feats is a mystery that (like the influence of the curse) is explored more deeply in the rest of the book that skips onto the next generation.
Gest and Adara's three children are Ayna, Gair and Ceri. Ayna the eldest can answer any question posed toward her, whilst Ceri can not only find anything that is lost but manipulate matter with his mind. Gair however is devastatingly normal, and so considers himself a disappointment to his entire community. But with the evil of the curse winding its way into all aspects of life (including food supply, war with the Dorig, and an unwelcome invasion of relatives into their Mound), Gair finally reaches breaking point and heads for the countryside. Tailed by Ayna and Ceri, the three siblings find adventures with both Dorig and Giants waiting for them, and realisation that the Moor itself is in danger of destruction.
In terms of theme and plot, "Power of Three" may very well be the deepest and most complicated novel for young readers that DWJ has written. Exploring the definition of humanity, the worth of the individual and the necessity for peace at its core, the book also has plenty of humour, quirky characters and intricate subplots - far too many to properly explain in a simple review. But it is worth saying that this book in particular has a range of interesting and vivid characters - from saintly Adara, woebegone Gerald, bossy Brenda, spoilt Ceri, sage-like Ayna and the odious Ondo. But the spotlight mostly falls on Gair, and he is a protagonist that most will find very easy to relate to - melancholy and serious, but determined and intelligent, and altogether a likeable guy.
The author also makes some wonderful connections between characters - the siblings in particular are warm and affectionate (most of the time) and the friendships that Gair forges within the story are also realistic and enjoyable to read. But then again, DWJ is an expert at portraying human behaviour and it should come as no surprise to any familiar readers that such things are handled just as well here.
"Power of Three" definitely has my recommendation, though I should warn you about reading other reviews on the story, as some of them give away the big twist - something that shouldn't be revealed if you want to truly revel in DWJ's genius.
Get the "Power".......2004-02-02
Diana Wynne-Jones's books are enjoying a much-deserved resurgence, thanks to the renewed interest in well-written juvenile fantasy. One of the latest reprinted novels is "Power of Three," a unique story about three very unusual siblings, and the Moor that is under attack.
The leader of the mound of Garholt has three children. Eldest Ayna has the Sight, and youngest Ceri has the Gift of Finding AND the Gift of Thought. The middle child, Gair, considers himself extremely ordinary, and tries to become wise and skilled to make up for his lack of extraordinary gifts. Gair isn't as ordinary as he had thought, but his secret talents lie hidden until a disaster falls.
Long ago, their uncle Orban killed a Dorig (a water-dwelling reptilian creature) for its golden collar, and the Dorig's brother laid a curse on everyone. Now the Dorig invade the mound when the chief is out on a hunt and the three kids manage to escape, taking refuge with the Giants (who are apparently ordinary human beings). They learn that they're running out of time -- the Moor will soon be turned into a lake, driving out the Giants and killing the Moung People and Dorig, unless they find a way to stop it.
"Power of Three" is in some ways a much darker book than many of Jones' others. There are more complex issues about morality and ethics. Not to mention the enviroment, and the question of what makes a person special. (Even before Gair's gift surfaces, he's considered special for his hunger for knowledge) There's murder, trickery, there are battles (not magical ones either), hostage situations and curses that affect entire populations.
Jones gives the Mound People a semi-Celtic flair; the story about how the kids' dad had to win their mom is reminiscent of old Irish legends. The shapeshifting, water-dwelling Dorig are suitably mysterious and alien. Jones fills her story with atmospheric wildlands, cozy British houses and plenty of vivid descriptions.
Gair is clearly the center of this book. He's a likable kid, quiet when his rotten cousin isn't taunting him, and more thoughtful than his siblings. Ayna and Ceri are also well-done. The biggest problem is probably Gerald and Brenda. While Jones does a passable job with these two, it takes awhile to warm up to them because we don't get a lot of insight into their thoughts.
"Power of Three" is a fast-paced, well-written fantasy adventure, full of strange and mysterious creatures (and a few who are all too familiar). Like just about all of Jones' works, a treat.
Really good.......2004-01-04
I picked up this book on a shelf in school one day because I forgot to bring one and I figured it was worth a try reading it, but once I did I couldn't put it down. Power of Three is one of the best books I've Ever read! It's very captivating and keeps you wondering what's going to happen next. It's like you're actually a part of the book! It's the kind of book where you can't help but wonder if there's a sequel. So if you like fantasy and action/adventure books I highly recomend it.
Average customer rating:
- More educational than engrossing
- An audacious novel
- A Most Interesting Meta-Fiction
- Impressive First Novel. Not for Casual Readers.
- An Intelligent, Complex Novel of Ideas
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Three Farmers on Their Way to a Dance
Richard Powers
Manufacturer: William Morrow & Co
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Binding: Hardcover
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Powers, Richard
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ASIN: 0688042015 |
Book Description
In the spring of 1914, renowned photographer August Sander took a photograph of three young men on their way to a country dance. This haunting image, capturing the last moments of innocence on the brink of World War I, provides the central focus of Powers's brilliant and compelling novel. As the fate of the three farmers is chronicled, two contemporary stories unfold. The young narrator becomes obsessed with the photo, while Peter Mays, a computer writer in Boston, discovers he has a personal link with it. The three stories connect in a surprising way and provide the reader with a mystery that spans a century of brutality and progress.
Customer Reviews:
More educational than engrossing.......2004-11-21
I like Richard Powers, in fact, I'd rate his "Galatea 2.2" as one of my top ten novels of all time.
But "Three Farmers" (which I read _after_ "Galatea" and "The Goldbug Variations" and "Gain") was a bit of a let down. Sure, it had all the intellectual stimulation that I expected. And yes, it had some great quotes (both from Powers and from others that he cites ... such as "The world has changed less since the death of Jesus than it has in the past 30 years").
What went wrong? Maybe I was just not in the mood. Maybe it was the lack of a compelling love interest (so powerful in his other novels). Maybe it was that his historical lectures (on Ford, WW I, Sarah Berndhart, and photography) were a bit too pedantic.
But what really bothered me was the gimmicky ending: in the final two pages, one of the protagonists (who is on the verge of continuing a relationship with a female character) abruptly stops and asks (the reader? the author?) "So does he [I] get the girl?" ... and he walks out of her life forever. Huh?
Okay, so Powers has just finished a lecture on how (in photography, at least) there is a fascinating relationship between photographer, subject, and viewer. They fulfill each other, they create each other, they cannot exist without each other. I get it: this same relationship exists between author, characters, and reader. But to take a 350 page narrative and have it end on this cheesy metaphysical note .. a bit of a let down. I'm not even sure what is happening: is the character stepping out of the novel and into the readers reality? If this is so important to Powers, why not at least develop it for a few pages rather than tack it on in the last page?
This device reminds me of Pirandello's "Seven Characters in Search of an Author" ... but in that case it was a successful device because it was clear what was happening, and gave the audience something to chew on.
Try one of Power's other books.
An audacious novel.......2004-08-20
Mr Powers begins his novel by following a narrator travelling by train from Chicago to Boston. He has to change trains in Detroit and since he has several hours at his leisure, he decides to visit the Detroit Institute of Arts. There, he is puzzled by a photograph taken by Augustus Sander in 1914 showing three farmers on their way to a dance. The reader follows the narrator's progress as he tries to find answers to the questions that preoccupy him about the photograph: who took it, why was it taken, who are the three farmers appearing in the picture.
On another level, Mr Powers gives a fictional account - or it may also be the result of the narrator's research, it is not explicit in the text - of the action taking place at the time the photograph was taken and also what happens subsequently. And so the reader gets to know the three farmers Hubert, Peter and Adolphe.
Yet on another level, the author introduces various contemporary characters working in the Powell Building for a magazine called "Micro Monthly News": Mays, Moseley, Delaney. After having at first the impression that the events at this level are unrelated to the two other levels, the reader soon realises that there is a connection indeed.
What makes Mr Powers's novel interesting are his many reflections on various topics. These range from the situation of a small Belgian village called Petit Roi during the First World War, the part that Henry Ford played in that war, various personalities like Darwin, Freud, Gödel, Planck or Sarah Bernhardt, to the Industrial Revolution and the changes that mechanisation brought to our civilisation. And because the main protagonist so to speak of the novel is a photograph, Mr Powers also deals in detail in the history of photography.
A very instructive novel, plenty of interesting points of view that show Mr Powers's broad knowledge.
A Most Interesting Meta-Fiction.......2003-11-11
I agree with the other customer reviewers of this novel when they state that it is a "difficult" work. In many ways, reading Three Farmers on Their Way to a Dance is not even like reading a novel. The book uses its main stories as a clothesline to hang an astonishing number of meditations on history, culture, technology, and memory.
While the other customer reviews to a wonderful job of touching on most of the topics described above, the one area I would add is that the novel serves as an excellent explanation of the principles underlying the Heisenberg uncertainty principle: that it is impossible to study anything or anyone without bringing the researcher's bias into the study. In this novel, the reader is treated to discussions on the subjectivity of history, as well as of the seemingly concrete art of photography, that will cause the reader not to be able to view either discipline in the same way after completing the book.
Hopefully, readers will not find all of the discussion of the more challenging aspects of the novel as a reason to find the book too intimidating to read, as it is a work that surely rewards the efforts necessary to read it.
Impressive First Novel. Not for Casual Readers........2003-10-31
This book consists of three intertwined sagas, all revolving around a picture of three farmers taken in 1914. The main idea behind this book, as I see it, is the interconnectedness of observer and observed. The lives of people who see this picture are irrevocably changed, but the prospect of having their picture seen by generations of future viewers, changes the lives of the three farmers as well. This is a recurring motif in the book.
After reading this book, I discovered two amazing facts. The first is that this is Richard Powers' first novel and as such the virtuosity and craftsmanship that Powers' exhibits in this book are truly incredible. The second incredible fact is that the picture around which the novel revolves is a real one. Had I known these facts before reading the book, I would have enjoyed it even more.
On the down side, this book is not an easy read. The story itself never really gripped me, and there are a lot of dead spots. In addition, while the prose is beautiful it demands concentration and close attention to every word and sentence. Bottom line, I will definitely read Powers' other works, but I cannot recommend this one to the casual reader.
An Intelligent, Complex Novel of Ideas.......2002-07-26
In 1910, Richard Powers relates in "Three Farmers on Their Way to a Dance," the German photographer August Sander came upon the idea of an epic photographic collection to be called "Man of the Twentieth Century." Sander went on, during the next several decades, to take thousands of photographs of everyday life, "a massive, comprehensive catalog of people written in the universal language-photography."
One of Sander's photographs, taken in May, 1914, depicts three German farmers standing in a muddy road, their heads turned to the camera. The three farmers are dressed in their best suits, white shirts, ties, hats, and walking sticks. They are on their way to a dance. As Powers' first person narrator writes, "the date sufficed to show that they were not going to their expected dance. I was not going to my expected dance. We would all be taken blindfolded into a field somewhere in this tortured century and made to dance until we'd had enough. Dance until we dropped."
From this intriguing beginning, Richard Powers tells three stories, each of them connected through the photograph and through time. The first is that of the narrator, who stumbles upon Sander's photograph at the Detroit Institute of Arts. He becomes obsessed with the haunting aura of the photograph and spends the next several months trying to find out more about the photographer and the three men in the photograph. The second is that of the three farmers themselves-Hubert, Peter and Adolphe-and what happens to each of them when the Great War breaks out in Europe. The third story is that of Peter Mays, a writer for a computer trade magazine in 1980s Boston, who also becomes obsessed-not with the photograph, but with a beautiful red haired woman dressed in early twentieth century period costume that he sees on the street following a Veterans' Day Parade-and ultimately finds out that he has a connection to one of the men in the picture and to the events of the Great War.
To say that "Three Farmers on Their Way to a Dance" tells three stories is misleading, however, insofar as the novel is dominated not by plot, but, rather, by a range of discursive narratives on how the world has changed between the Great War, when Sander's photograph was taken, and the present day. Plot does not drive the action of Powers' densely intellectual novel; rather, it provides a touchstone for the narrator to explore certain events and fundamental ideas of the Twentieth Century. For example, when the office cleaning woman shows the narrator artifacts from the Great War, it strikes an intellectual cord that leads to a long discourse on Charles Peguy, the French thinker who, in 1913, made the subsequently oft-quoted remark that "the world had changed less since the death of Jesus than it had in the last thirty years," and the ideas "hidden" in Peguy's formulation. Similarly, the narrator's obsessive study of the 1914 photograph leads to an historical investigation of Sander's life and works. It also leads to speculations on the nature of photography and on how photography changed conceptions of art that derive closely from Walter Benjamin's classic essay, "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction."
Ideas and intellectual referents are ubiquitous in this novel; simply read the epigraphs to each chapter to get a feel for the intellectual gyroscope that orients "Three Farmers on Their Way to a Dance". It is a remarkable work that demands a great deal from the reader. It is also a work that will disappoint anyone who is looking for a straightforward plot or a mere "page turner."
If you're interested in ideas, in novels with intellectual density, in narratives that force you to think deeply and reflectively about the world, "Three Farmers on Their Way to a Dance" is the perfect novel. Read it, enjoy it, and move on to the rest of Richard Powers' remarkable list of fictions.
Book Description
** COMPLETELY UNAUTHORIZED **
From Cole's downfall and Phoebe's somewhat questionable fashion sense to the power of three in history and literature and a magical tourist's guide to the Halliwells's hometown of San Francisco, this clever, lighthearted essay collection offers a fun and funny look at the world of the WB hit series Charmed. Edited by New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Crusie, these accessible and entertaining essays apply the wit and insight of one of today's leading romance authors to the stylish, occasionally campy fan favorite known for its scandalous outfits, revolving door of love interests, and the magical mayhem of three otherwise normal sisters who must fight against evil as they deal with the challenges of everyday life.
Customer Reviews:
I love the charmed ones.......2007-05-16
I really thought it was different than it was. I found it a bit on the boring side and a bit of a mistake. The only interesting thing was it was about the charmed ones.
Totally Charmed:Demons,Whitelighters adn the Power of 3.......2006-03-16
I thought this book was good but it needed more about the show and less opinions. I would recommend this book to people who have follow the show but not for people that have not.
so not charmed.......2006-03-01
I found this book wasn't worth the money I paid for it. All it did was go on about how sexy Cole Turner and the older version of Chris was, what the girls were wearing and the power the girls have. But worse of all they did nothing but rubbish Leo and rave about women's lib. For me in the series, Leo is my favourite character, to me he makes the show, he shows the love he has for Piper and his two boys as well as fighting evil. He might be a whitelighter but to me he holds the family together, he's down to earth and trust worthy. As far as Cole goes if people only watch the show to see how sexy the men or women are then they're missing the whole meaning of the show! I have never liked Julian Mc Mahon even when he was in Home and Away. I think he loves himself and thinks he's just it! And frankly, he's nothing! Look what he did to his wife in real life? Married a few months and having an affair. They also wanted to get rid of Grams and the girl's mother and how glad they were that Prue is dead, I think the people who wrote this book are only interested in what is and isn't sexy and the power the girls have. They appear to have boring lives themselves and have to have television to have fantasies about what they're lives might of been. I mean if your a true lover of the show who cares who is better in bed a demon (Cole) or a whitelighter (Leo), or if Cole has a hairier chest than Leo? These people want Charmed to be a boring everyone's in bed soap opera or something similar. They aren't interested in the real meaning of the show! I have been too many charmed sites and hundreds of people have e-mailed these sites saying how upset they were that Leo is getting the axe. If amazon had zero then this is what I would of given this book, I found it very disappointing. I know my opinion doesn't amount to much, but I would suggest to others don't worry about getting this book because it isn't worth it if you are a true Charmed fan! Which these people who wrote in this book can't be! They're too busy living in the land of fairies!
Charmed & Dangerous.......2006-01-01
This book compiles a gaggle of essays on the facts, fans, flaws and fallacies of "Charmed." The chapters are written by a variety of fantasy, science fiction and romance novelists, modern witches, essayists, columnists, film critics, scientists and more.
The funny thing is, being a non-member of the "Charmed" fanverse, I expected to get bored with the book and quickly hand it off to another reviewer. But no, instead I found myself enjoying these deep, analytical explorations of a show I rarely watched. The hypotheses made and the arguments supporting them are interesting, and often quite fun. ("Charmed" fans must, by the show's very nature, have a good sense of humor, and that comes through in many of these essays.)
I can't say whether or not I'll become a fan of the show. But "Totally Charmed" has me wanting to turn on the television and give it a chance, and that has to be a victory for the writers.
Intellectual Fun.......2005-11-12
"Charmed" has always been a show that more than what it seemed. It was never really about 3 sisters with magical powers, but 3 sisters and their dynamic. That's one of the things that I loved about this book - it takes the ideas presented in the series over the course of the past 7 years (not including the current 8th season) and examine them. My favorite is the article discussing Piper's powers that both freeze and speed up time. Personally, I've always believed in magic, but I'm also aware that most of magic is just science. To learn that there is actually a scientific theory behind her power was absolutely fascinating.
So if you're looking for something a little different to read, pick this one up. You won't regret it.
Book Description
"Three Deep Breaths uses the popular parable format to illustrate an effective antidote to anger, stress, and overwhelming busyness. Through the story of a harried worker struggling to balance work, life, and family pressures, readers learn three different ways to use breathing to live in the present, think positive thoughts, and release negativity and judgment. By actively practicing the prescribed breathing exercises, readers maintain clarity and purpose even when confronted with the most chaotic and stressful environments. Straightforward and easy to learn, these simple centering techniques can be done in as little time as it takes to walk to the next meeting.
Customer Reviews:
Beat ing sress, without beating yoursel.......2007-04-10
As the third of Tom's books, Three Deep Breaths is a refinement of the others. Readers who are familiar with Aikido, as well as those who are not, will appreciate the simplicity of the parable.
I have recommended it to family, friends and co-workers.
Simple? Yes. Too good to be true? No.......2007-04-10
This is a great story! Using a parable-like format, Tom Crum has identified "every person's" delimma...finding balance in a world that seems to be spinning out of control. We often look for solutions outside ourselves, while Tom reminds us that the real answer to our time-challenged life resides within us. Our task is to delve inward to determine what is of greatest value. The three deep breath concept is a simple, yet powerful tool that helps the mind and spirit settle down. In doing so, we are able to clear the clutter, see our best self emerge, and focus on possibilites that are aligned with our intrinsic needs and lifelong desires. Give the book (and the breaths) a chance. You'll be glad you did -- and so will the people you live and work with.
Earnest But Naive.......2007-03-29
With stress levels at an epidemic high and businesses shelling out more than $300 billion a year, businessman/corporate speaker/marshal arts expert Thomas Crum offers a technique for coping with anxiety. Breathing, to be exact.
Written with very simplistic prose as a parable about a businessman who learns Crum's breathing system and thus changes his entire life, this new age tome supposedly teaches people how to achieve a "centered state" using three simple breaths. It's earnest, but naive. If only life's problems were so easily solved! Unfortunately, this book reads far too much like an infomercial to have broad appeal.
Improving Focus While Reducing Stress.......2007-01-11
This is an outstanding book! The story helps the reader to see the benefits of adopting the Three Deep Breaths as part of their daily regimen. As for me, I have begun using the technique described in the book to improve my ability to focus during bowling events. The results have been fantastic; I have won a tournament and placed second in another by using the three breaths to reduce stress and stay focused on my goal. I bowled my first 279 during a qualifying event because of the second breath. I look forward to my first 300 and am confident that the Three Deep Breaths will be a factor in that accomplishment.
Powerful in its simplicity.......2007-01-09
What a great book. I love how the author takes a simple parable that we can all relate to and breaks it down into 3 simple steps (and breaths) we can come back to anytime, anyplace to breathe in the person we really want to BE.
Book Description
Rees offers the first in-depth account of the extraordinary transformation in the safety standards, operations, and management of the nation's nuclear facilities spurred by the accident at Three Mile Island. Detailing the surprising success of self-regulation within the nuclear industry, his book reveals the possibilities for effective communitarian action.
Customer Reviews:
Disappointing analysis .......2005-10-08
For a long time I have been looking for a book with a coherent and convincing analysis on successful self-regulation. Well, perhaps any type of successful regulation. Books on regulatory failure are much easier to come by. And this book had such a promising setting. The claim: A single catastrophic accident at any one US nuclear plant would have ruinous consequences for the entire industry. Each licencee is a hostage of every other licencee. Safety pays! Result: the nuclear industry has founded the INPO organization, to police uniform high safety standards, simply to protect industry's huge investment in nuclear power.
Rees' basic hypothesis is that nuclear power plants operate on some sort of Enlightened Self Interest (ESI). This assumption on rationality is never explicitly stated however, nor is it examined critically. But Rees argues from industry sources that nuclear plants strive to be safe, they compete with each other to be the safest, and that the nuclear industry provide INPO with muscle to make life difficult for those who either cannot or will not do so.
Surprisingly, many of Rees' examples have kind of a dualism. On the one hand, Rees' examples tell a story on how the Three Mile Island accident resulted in soul searching and catharsis, how the transformaton has resulted in increased industry responsibility, how new controls have been set up, and how INPO succesfully fulfills its policing role. But many of the examples could equally well be interpreted the other way around:
- that INPO has been given only weak powers - the so-called Management by Embarassment in closed industry fora. Not stong ones; because linking INPO evaluations and insurance cost, for instance, can affect stock price enormously (p94)
- that INPO is extremely cautious not to alienate its sponsor base (p145)
- that the "safety pays" notion is not widely shared across industry, to say the least, and that cost-cutting on safety is widespread
- that the wake-up call from Three-Mile Island is not received by all actors
For instance, take the example of the INPO crack-down in 1987 - eight years after TMI (!) - on a plant where all operators had fallen asleep on several occasions, leaving operating reactors unattended. Is this an example of a more fundamental free-rider problem in the industry and an opportunity to re-examine the rational ESI assumption ?- or is it an example of succesful INPO peer-pressure intervention? Rees only considers the latter.
It is a mystery to me why Rees has not exploited this alternative line of interpretation and the reason why I find the analysis disappointing.
Rees demonstrates that self-regulation can improve the safety of some plants, likely in ways that public regulation cannot achieve and possibly in a more efficient manner. But the analysis fails to demonstrate that self-regulation can replace public regulation, which is surprising, bearing in mind the "hostages of each other" setting of the analysis.
Persuasive Argument For Communitarian Regulation.......2004-09-09
Joseph Rees has written a superior account of the improvements in nuclear systems safety since the Three Mile Island accident. Without getting too deep into the technical details of nuclear systems or chemistry (other than a basic explanation of the general theory of plant operation and a bit of detail about the faulty PORV design), Rees analyzes TMI from a human factors and safety systems vantage point, and subsequently details the improvements made to the US nuclear power industry since the accident.
Rees especially details the workings of the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO), a non-governmental industry group which oversees safety more diligently than even the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in a system that Rees dubs "communitarian regulation." He details industry problems such as "nonconservative decision making" and provides useful analogies to other industries. The case of Consolidated Edison (p. 154) is of particular interest for those people interested in studying corporate safety systems and programs.
I highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in nuclear power, and particularly to professionals and students with an interest in industrial safety, regardless of their specific field. This book has applications in every industry, and will improve the understanding of human factors and industrial safety for any interested reader.
Hostages of Each Other.......2000-05-29
This book is about how the Nuclear Energy Industry "bootstrapped" itself to improve operational and nuclear safety after the TMI accident. Prior to TMI, the NRC had been enforcing minimum safety requirements, not promoting operational excellence. The industry realized it might not economically survive another TMI, and while the fundamental design of the plants appeared to be safe, significant operational improvements were needed to reduce the chance another similar accident. The industry formed INPO (the Institute for Nuclear Power Operations) to share information and resources to promote excellence and safety in operations. The book is full of stories of what happened and quotes from the principles involved (no heavy technical stuff) and I found it an enjoyable, interesting read. The author is a professor at the Center for Public Policy at Virginia Tech, and I detected no pro or anti-nuke sentiment, just lots of well researched information. Probably the best book I have read on the subject.
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