Aug 18 2009
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Aug 18 2009
I am back from my mini-vacation. I hope to pick up the pace again with commentary and reviews. But regular readers know not to hold their breath for that.
Description
These lists, arranged by genre, director, or actor, answer that most difficult of questions: what DVD should you rent for the night?
Fabulously quirky and enjoyable, this book is both a celebration of movies and a handy, entertaining guide to films guaranteed to deliver. Oddly enough, most movie guides are not full of recommendations. But Movie Lists is-and you don’t have to watch them all before you die!
Publishers Weekly
Collin (Altered State) combines history, political analysis and personal interviews to paint an intriguing picture of former Soviet bloc societies in transition—and the role of youth movements and peaceful resistance in dismantling undemocratic regimes. The narrative begins in Serbia, where the student group Otpor waged a dissident campaign against then president Slobodan Milosevic using traditional media-savvy tactics, successfully “selling resistance like Coca-Cola, running the movement like a corporate brand.” From the successful push to defeat Milosevic in the presidential elections of 2000, the book shifts focus to Ukraine’s much publicized Orange Revolution and a Georgian group, Kmara, appropriated Otpor’s tactics and iconography in its struggle against the ruling “liberal autocracy” of Eduard Shevardnadze. Collin’s extensive research and vivid style provides an almost sociological snapshot of a political dissident in 21st century post-Soviet society, and while his sympathies clearly lie with the dissidents, he acknowledges the movements’ seamier sides—the internal squabbling, murky funding sources and accusations that they are supported by the CIA. The result is a valuable overview of the political movements that sought to renew democracy in a region frequently overlooked by the Western press.
Aug 16 2009
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Aug 12 2009
Any fan of antiquity will have heard of Flavius Josephus or simply known as Josephus, the Jewish historian famous for his eyewitness account of the first Jewish War. His account is the only surviving manuscript of the War. Desmond Seward in Jerusalem’s Traitor provides a “life and times” biography of Josephus. Seward writes a compelling story of the life of Josephus as it relates to the first century history of Judea and the Roman Empire.
Josephus was from an aristocratic family who was appointed the governor of Galilee when the Jews revolted against the Roman Empire in 66 CE. He was captured by the Romans after the capture of Jotapata and escaped death by his prophesy that Titus Vespasian (Roman general sent by Emperor Nero to squash the revolt) would become Emperor of Rome. He eventually became a Roman citizen and tried to convince his fellow Jews to surrender to the Romans. During the siege of Jerusalem, Josephus urged the Jews to surrender the city to avoid annihilation. Following the Roman crushing of the revolt, Josephus moved to Rome and wrote several books including The Jewish War.
Aug 12 2009
Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. In Baker’s lovely 10th novel, readers are introduced to Paul Chowder, a study in failure, at a very dark time in his life. He has lost the two things that he values most: his girlfriend, Roz, and his ability to write. The looming introduction to an anthology of poems he owes a friend, credit card debt and frequent finger injuries aren’t helping either. Chowder narrates in a professorial and often very funny stream of consciousness as he relates his woes and shares his knowledge of poetry, and though a desire to learn about verse will certainly make the novel more accessible and interesting, it isn’t a prerequisite to enjoying it. Chowder’s interest in poetry extends beyond meter and enjambment; alongside discussions of craft, he explores the often sordid lives of poets (Poe, Tennyson and Rothke are just some of the poets who figuratively and literally haunt Chowder). And when he isn’t missing Roz or waxing on poetics, he busies himself with a slow and strangely compelling attempt at cleaning up his office. Baker pulls off an original and touching story, demonstrating his remarkable writing ability while putting it under a microscope.
Publishers Weekly
The pseudonymous Dryden, a British journalist, eschews both technological marvels and implausible action scenes in his absorbing debut, a spy thriller that exposes the links between the “old” Russia of the Cold War and the “new” Russia of Vladimir Putin. In 1999, Anna, a colonel in the Russian foreign intelligence service, becomes romantically involved with Finn, an MI6 agent stationed in Moscow whom she deliberately targets for seduction. Meanwhile, Finn has learned of “the Plan,” a long-nurtured and fiercely guarded scheme to undermine the West. Finn and Anna each play a decade-long and dangerous double game as they seek to uncover incontrovertible proof that will thwart the Plan and allow them to leave intelligence work together without fear of reprisals. The detailed accounts of the financial maneuverings of the KGB and its successor, the FSB, are mind-boggling. Despite lackluster prose, Dryden’s fact-based scenario provides worrisome food for thought.
