Isabel of Burgundy: The Duchess Who Played Politics in the Age of Joan of Arc

Book Description

This is the only biography available of Isabel of Burgundy (1397-1471) who, amid the shadowy intrigues and bloody politics of fifteenth-century court life, had the ambitiion and ingenuity to achieve prominence in a man's world.

Customer Reviews:

Not worth your time.......2004-03-11

The sort of book that gives women's history a bad name, Taylor's biography of Isabel is a melodramatic rehash of previously published material (all secondary sources and chronicles, rarely footnoted), combined with hyperbolic insights into Isabel's thoughts, actions, and sentiments that the author cannot possibly have discovered on her own, given that all of the duchess' letters and private papers have long since vanished. At times, Taylor succeeds in portraying Isabel as an important player on the European scene and as a skilled diplomat more sensitive than her husband, Duke Phillip the Good (an opinion shared by historians such as Vaughn), to Burgundy's best interests, yet all that is negated by her choice of a title, which seems to suggest that the duchess was merely dabbling for her own amusement in the political turmoil of the times. Taylor does fill an important gap left by Richard Vaughn's biographies of the Burgundian dukes, depicting in detail the trial of Joan of Arc that Vaughn completely ignores, yet there too her writing style, better suited perhaps to a romance novel, undermines the narrative, and Taylor does not really take advantage of opportunities to directly compare Isabel with other powerful women of the time, such as Margaret of Anjou, the wife of England's Henry VI. Taylor presents as fact scenes of Isabel pacing through her palace (peering out windows, no less!), studying with her future daughter-in-law, musing on the character of Louis XI, or riding through the forests, yet she presents no footnotes to suggest where her information originates. Isabel of Portugal is a fascinating person who deserves a good and comprehensive biography; this, unfortunately, is not it.

A Woman of Power in a Man's World.......2003-10-21

Princess Isabel of Portugal was the only daughter of King John. She was bought up as the pampered daughter of the kingdom, but also to assume the financial responsibilities of the prudent royal. At what was considered a late age, 33, she married Phillip the Good, Duke of Burgundy.

Duke Philip was the most powerful non-crowned person in Europe at the time and was an extremely suitable match for Isabel rank-wise. For the next 40 years Isabel played a decisive role in the Dukedom of Burgundy, mostly in diplomatic and financial roles. Isabel was related to the English house of Lancaster and spent most of those 40 years trying ally Burgundy to England and offset the influence of the French kings in the affairs of Burgundy in order to safeguard he son Charles's inheritance. Something she only had mixed success in as her husband had an almost blind faith that the French Kings would "do right" by Burgundy.

This is the first biography of Isabel and one of the very few available in English of any of Burgundy's Duchesses. The author has produced a lively portrait of a very active woman and gives a clear outline of the political and financial influences that prompted many of Isabel's decisions. This book covers the age of Joan of Arc and the early to late middle years of the Wars of the Roses in England. Although these large political events took place outside Burgundy they did have a direct influence on Isabel's life.

If you have any curiosity about Medieval and early Renaissance Burgundy then this book is a must.

Good read.......2002-03-21

Interesting subject and time. I found the biography a bit dry. Would have welcomed further comments on the court of her birth, Portugal, and the development of her court by marriage. Ms Taylor gives us good information on the economics of the French, English and Burgugundian relations and the negociations between these courts,but the insights into the personalities are too shetchy. Never the less a book that makes you want to know more about persons who most historians seem to have forgoten.

Book Description

These are riveting, true-life tales of the legendary Jim Corbett and the man-eating tigers and leopards he tracked and killed in India in the early part of this century.

Customer Reviews:

WERLING writing about CORBETT.......2002-12-12

I have read many of these kinds of books. However, I was not able to finish reading this book. WERLING lacks the writing skills of the greats in this line of true-life adventures. He could not get me to "feel" for or with the characters, nor re-create the carousel of emotions that you would experience if you were actually there. His book did not bring his subject to life, and it was not interesting to read. Sorry, Tim.

Truth or fiction?.......2000-11-29

Being somewhat of a student of Corbetts writing, I was really looking forward to the first new book written about him in some time. Jim Corbetts own writing is full of moment by moment, edge of your seat type of adventure. I was hoping this book would dig more deeply into Corbett the man. Overall I was very disappointed. The book is shallow, inaccurate, and in places dramatized. For the life of me I can't understand why anyone would think they could add to the story as written by Corbett himself. Worst of all some events where altered from what Corbett wrote. If you have never read one of Corbetts own accounts this one might be okay. If you have read the real thing, then don't bother with this book.

The Legend lives On!.......2000-04-25

I am a long-time follower of Jim Corbett and have read everything Corbett wrote and everything others have written about him. I found Werling's account of Corbett's life and adventures to be extremely exciting and enjoyable. The story plot is fast moving and made it difficult to put the book down. It's quite apparent that the author holds Corbett in high esteem, judging from the manner in which he describes Corbett's boundless courage, love of wildlife, and strong bond with the native population. Who among us would not like to have such a wonderful biography written about our life? Also, I believe the critics are being short-sighted in their reviews. Although the story is dramatized, it successfully brings Corbett to life, which is something woefully lacking in other biographies. Hopefully, this book will introduce Corbett to others who have never heard of him or his remarkable deeds. For that alone we should be thankful. Safari Press and the author should be lauded for taking such a risk in publishing a story that was bound to be controversial among Corbett followers. As for me, I highly recommend the book. I think it will help keep the name and reputation of Jim Corbett alive.

Defacing a Legend.......2000-04-19

If I could give this book "No Star," I would. This is a badly written and shamefully fictionalized re-hash of the career of a true hero. It does Jim Corbett a real disservice. To anyone interested in Corbett's career, I strongly recommend you read instead Corbett's own accounts, Man-Eater of Kumaon, The Temple Tiger and the Man-eating Leopard of Rudraprayag. All are easy to obtain if not new then second-hand. They are much better written, much more exciting, and true. The author of this book should be ashamed of himself for defacing a legend.

Wonderful story for people of all ages!.......2000-01-19

This true-life story on Jim Corbett's man-eater hunting adventures was one of the best I've ever read. I couldn't put the book down until I read the entire story. I was captivated by Corbett's bravery and the photos of Corbett, his family, man-eaters that he killed, and places in India where he hunted these beasts definitely helped put the story into perspective. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who has a taste for wild-life adventure.

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Shared Pleasures: A History of Movie Presentation in the United States (Wisconsin Studies in Film)
Douglas Gomery
Manufacturer: Univ of Wisconsin Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0299132145

Book Description

Writings that sparkle with the psychedelic revolution. The Politics of Ecstasy is Timothy Leary's most provocative and influential exploration of human consciousness, written during the period from his Harvard days to the Summer of Love. Includes his early pronouncements on the psychedelic movement and his views on social and political ramifications of psychedelic and mystical experience.
Here is the outspoken Playboy interview revealing the sexual power of LSD-a statement that many believe played a key role in provoking Leary's incarceration by the authorities; an early outline of the neurological theory that became Leary's classic eight-circuit model of the human nervous system; an insightful exploration of the life and work of novelist Hermann Hesse; an effervescent dialogue with humorist Paul Krassner; and an impassioned defense of what Leary called "The Fifth Freedom"-the right to get high.

Customer Reviews:

DO NOT READ THIS BOOK..........2005-09-28

...if you wish to stay the same because believe me, once you read it, you never will be. I got this book when I was about 26-27 years old when I felt as though I was just passing through life and not really living it. I felt like everything was "ho-hum". All of my senses were set to dull. Inside of me there was just this gnawing ache that there has got to be something more...not just "out there"...but "in here"...in my heart, in my soul, in my mind...

And then along comes Timothy.

Irreverent, Rebellious,Smart-Ass Timothy Leary espousing the Truth that all advancement in life is already in our very DNA. It dwells deep within the very marrow of our bones because we, as a species, were not meant to stand still...we were not meant to live lives of quiet desperation...we were meant to behold a world that burns and sparkles with Light.

People tend to think one is hallucinating when one sees vibrant colors, when everyday things seem to shine with a new brilliance, when even the song from a songbird feels like a musical triumph, but this is how life really is, boys and girls! We are hallucinating when we think that the world is dull and thick and leaden...we are hallucinating when we think that we are just these heavy clods of biodegradble clay that stalk the earth. We are here to discover...or should I say, uncover the paradise that is already within the invisible realms of the ancient mind that dwells within us and we in it.

Does this mean you have to take LSD in order to experience the jewelike radiance that all of life is made in and out of? Not neccessarily and I am not advocating that you do. What I am advocating is that you allow yourself to get enthused about life. Enthusiasm literally means to be filled with God. God wants to know Itself as you...as me...in each and every moment of creation.

Read Timothy Leary. Marvel at his excitement for life, join him in the mind & soul rebellion against flaccid governments and soul controlling religions and their warped politics and dissapointing creeds both of which are more than happy to think and decide for you, laugh in joyful relief that you are not a body with a soul, but you are a soul with a body,and be willing to stray from the pack of lemmings that's headed for the edge of the cliff only to drown in the shallow seas of mediocrity.

Open your eyes.
Open your mind.
Open your soul.
Open your heart.
Open this book and let the tingling in each of your 40 trillion cells remind you are here to do more than exist, you are here to LIVE and to LIVE WELL.

Peace & Blessings to this this place we call the world.

Expanding Consciousness Beyond the Mind's Homocentric Limits.......2004-09-22

Wow! What a book! Leary is a real psychedelic guru, not in the orthodox sense, but really a man ahead of his time, a Galileo in the charter exploration of the mind and consciousness. He started off as a conservative Harvard professor, yet not so conservative, as he had his own ideas. But after his religious experience, and that's what psychedelics do - the expanding of your consciousness to a religious experience - he became aware of the societal and cultural chessboards - the games - and here became outspoken apart from the Harvard rationalistic mindset which rests on only one static frame of a multi-dimensional, dynamic existence.

I read this book smiling, over and over again. I walked down the street with a smile, mostly for Leary's optimism, then his frank and bold statements, which in most part I agree with. His style sometimes just makes you laugh and smile and say to yourself "I wish I had the guts enough say this." And although his predictions did not come true, you can't help but subjectively comprehend the 60's atmosphere, enveloped with the baby boomers in their youth taking up the majority of the population and their experiential drug use in psychedelics, which in turn, brought forth all the femininity of creativeness, patience, tolerance, peacefulness and artistic development that was permeating the entire American culture and spreading around the world and thus brought on the male dominated aggression of control and police power. So Leary's optimism and predictions were really a good assessment of the time despite their failure to come true. And nothing makes me sadder than to see his predictions fail from the creative mind expanding youth to our current male power, controlling and agressive society.

You can write Leary off as a kook from the conservative's point of view, the rationalist who never "experienced," and that's the KEY here - never experienced a trip under favorable circumstances and environment. Leary is the same as other heretics and kooks of history, a Galileo of mind exploration and conscious expansion, a Guttenberg of exoteric enlightenment, as in this book as well as one who clearly recognizes the need for new symbols that relate the esoteric experience of LSD, of cellular memories, of DNA language outside the mind, of experiential journeys that can only be told under a new language, as the microscope discovered new world had brought forth, as quantum physics brought forth and every other new fields of exploration that can only be described outside the current symbols we currently use.

Leary on page 141: The lesson I have learned from over 300 sessions, and which I have been passing on to others, can be stated in 6 syllables: Turn on, tune in, drop out. "Turn on" means to contact the ancient energies and wisdoms that are built into your nervous system. They provide unspeakable pleasure and revelation. "Tune in" means to harness and communicate these new perspectives in a harmonious dance with the external world. "Drop out' means to detach yourself from the tribal game. Current models of social adjustment - mechanized, computerized, socialized, intellectualized, televised, Sanforized - make no sense to the new LSD generation, who see clearly that American society is becoming an air-conditioned anthill. In every generation of human history, thoughtful men have turned on and dropped out of the tribal game and thus stimulated the larger society to lurch ahead. Every historical advance has resulted from the stern pressure of visionary men who have declared their independence from the game.

On page 196: My philosophy of life has been tremendously influenced by my study of oriental philosophy and religion. Of course, what the American, regardless of his religious belief, doesn't understand is that the aim of oriental religious is to get high, to have an ecstasy, to tune in, to turn on, to contact incredible diversity, beauty, living, pulsating meaning of the sense organs, and the much more complicated and pleasurable and revelatory messages of cellular energy. To a Hindu, the spiritual quest is internal.

Different sects of oriental religion use different methods and different body organs to find God. The Shivites use the senses; the followers of Vishnu are concerned with cellular wisdom, contacting the endless flow of reincarnation wisdom which biochemists would call protein wisdom of the DNA code; Buddhist manuals on consciousness expansion are concerned with the flash, the white light of the void, the ecstatic union that comes when you're completely turned on, beyond the senses, beyond the body.

On page 202-203: What we're doing for the mind is what the microbiologists did for the external science 300 years ago when they discovered the microscope. And they made this incredible discovery that life, health, growth, every form of organic life, is based on the cell, which is invisible.

You've never seen a cell; what do you think of that? Yet it's the key to everything that happens to a living creature. I'm simply saying that same thing from the mental, psychological standpoint, that there are wisdoms, lawful units inside the nervous system, invisible to the symbolic mind, which determine almost everything.

And I don't consider myself that mystical - unless you'd call someone who looks through a microscope a mystic, because he's telling you about something for which you don't have the symbols. Or the astronomer who detects a quasar and speculates about it.

On page 208: Every time you take LSD you completely suspend - you step outside of - the symbolic chessboard which you have built up over the long years of social conditioning. And you whirl through different levels of neurological and cellular energy, continually flowing and changing.

Your symbolic mind is flashing in and out. You never love your mind during and LSD session. It's always there, but it's one of a thousand cameras that are flashing away. Of course, the LSD freak-out, or paranoia, is where the symbolic mind freezes any aspect of the LSD session and defines a new reality, which can be positive or negative.

Read this book.

Changed my life.......2004-01-25

This is the single most influential book I have ever read. Completely legitmizes and encourages religious experiences through psychedelic means. Anyone currently using psychedelic drugs or interested in them should read this to gain greater understanding of their power. Learn why LSD and other are really illegal, the government knows they free minds!

Let freedom reign.......2002-01-31

This work is a hallmark for questioning authority, pursuing individual freedom and happiness, and working to build a more enjoyable and enriched world. Lovers of liberty would be well-advised to study this work thoroughly, and then pass it along to the nearest religious extremist. It will surely get a reaction.

The original........1998-10-20

Dr. Leary maintains a high ground in his defense of the value of the psychedelic. This is the early work and a must have.

Ecstasy Unlimited: On Sex, Capital, Gender, and Aesthetics

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Ecstasy Unlimited: On Sex, Capital, Gender, and Aesthetics
Laura Kipnis
Manufacturer: University of Minnesota Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0816619964

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THE POLITICS OF ECSTASY
TIMOTHY LEARY
Manufacturer: COLLEGE NOTES & TEXTS, INC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000WHZS30

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Politics of Ecstasy
Timothy Leary
Manufacturer: COLLEGE NOTES & TEXTS
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000SNYJF6

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The Politics of Ecstasy
Timothy Leary
Manufacturer: Paladin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0586080082

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Politics of Ecstasy
Timothy Leary
Manufacturer: PUTNAM PUBLISHNG
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000SO24M0

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THE POLITICS OF ECSTASY
Timothy Leary
Manufacturer: Putnam
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000NVREIM

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The Politics of Ecstasy
Leary Timothy
Manufacturer: College Notes & Texts
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: B000NUD8JC

Product Description

This is the first edition of this important work. This edition is unabridged.

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The politics of ecstasy,
Timothy Leary
Manufacturer: New York, Putnam [1968]
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000UC8D3O

Return to South Africa: The Ecstasy and the Agony

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Return to South Africa: The Ecstasy and the Agony
Trevor Huddleston
Manufacturer: Eerdmans Pub Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Lot of useful advice!

I've Seen Better

You'll Pick Up At Least One Really Good Idea, Maybe Two

You Can't Win a Fight with Your Boss: & 55 Other Rules for Success
Tom Markert
Manufacturer: Collins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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The Rules of Work: The Unspoken Truth About Getting Ahead in Business (Richard Templar's Rules)

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What Your Boss Doesn't Tell You Until It's Too Late: How to Correct Behavior That Is Holding You Back

You Can't Win a Fight with Your Client: & 49 Other Rules for Providing Great Service

ASIN: 0060776625
Release Date: 2005-05-03

Book Description

You can't win a fight with your boss.

If you have ever thought otherwise, then you're dead wrong. And you're career is over, too.

In this lively guide to surviving the pitfalls of the modern corporate environment, Tom Markert, a senior executive at information giant ACNielsen, presents 56 practical rules that every employee, manager, and executive must follow in order to find corporate success.

With rules such as "Work hard and smart" and "Find a good boss" Markert addresses some of the most important questions facing corporate executives today. Here, in colorful and inspiring language, he offers practical advice on how to impress and make your boss look good, how to position yourself for success, and how to address work and social situations that every employee must conquer.

And, most important, Markert covers the number one question in any employee's mind: How do I work with my boss? Here, this book becomes an indispensable guide to corporate life.

Markert draws on his experience to illustrate these rules with telling, and often funny, anecdotes about people who have not followed the rules and paid the ultimate corporate price -- failure, embarrassment, and a career stopped dead in its tracks.

Customer Reviews:

Lot of useful advice!.......2006-03-02

I remember seeing YOU CAN'T FIGHT WITH YOUR
BOSS by Tom Markert and
saying to myself, "I know that!"

Then I remembered when I just began my working
life and the fact that nobody taught me that rule then--much
to my eventual dismay . . . I had to learn the hard way,
and I did.

The same could be said about much of the other practical
advice that Markert, a senior executive with ACNielsen, gives in
this short but insightful guide to both getting and staying
ahead at work--and in life, too . . . some of it may appear
basic ("Put in the Hours," "Write Well," etc.), yet it all
makes sense . . . and are things that even the most
experienced of us need to be reminded about from time to time.

What made YOU CAN'T so valuable to me was the fact that
the author backs up his rules with many actual examples of
situations that he has personally been involved in . . . when
reading the book, I often felt myself nodding in agreement--and
thinking to myself who would be next best for me to get my copy.

There were useful tidbit that I gleaned in my reading; among them:
* If I have an important issue for my boss, would he or she prefer
a short e-mail, a phone call, a voice mail--or some combination?
If you don't know, find out. The first rule of communicating
effectively with your boss: Give it to them the way they want it.

* If you are traveling, get up on time. "I overslept" doesn't cut it.
I always pack a travel alarm, plus I use the alarm in the room, and
I order a wake-up call. Paranoia? Nope, I just want to get to where
I'm going on time.

* A colleague of mine has a plague above his desk that reads:
DWYPYWD

It stands for Do What You Promised You Would Do. These are
certainly wise words to live by. If you always do what you promised
you would do, not only is your boss likely to admire you for life, but
your career will move forward in leaps and bounds.

I've Seen Better.......2005-10-14

This book has an interesting title and premise, the author's background is intriguing and his promise to teach valuable lessons exciting, however, the body of the book delivers on few of these expectation. The text is simplistic, the situtions outlined uncomplicated, and the author's attempts to paint rosy pictures of the business environment just too good to be true. Perhaps it has value for the individual just starting out in business with no people or working experience, yet even here unrealistic situations and clean-cut advice will do nothing but set up the beginner for a career of disappointment and failure.

You'll Pick Up At Least One Really Good Idea, Maybe Two.......2005-06-23

As I look back on my career in business, I do remember some fights with my bosses. They were wrong, but I was the one that got fired. I've always done pretty good on the first eight rules, but No. 9 is the reason that I've spent most of my career working for myself. That way I can't fight with the boss, or if I do, I can win because I'm the boss as well as the employee.

Rule 16, Read Books, is one with which I completely agree. The best business leaders in the world write books on their lives, philosophies, even business rules. I find that I can't read one of these books without picking up an idea or two that makes the small price of the book.

As stated in the title, this book is a little set of 56 rules for a successful business career. Each rule is only two to four pages long. It won't take long to read, but you'll pick up an idea or two

You Can't Win A Fight With Your Boss & 55 Other Rules For Success

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You Can't Win A Fight With Your Boss & 55 Other Rules For Success
Tom Markert
Manufacturer: Collins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OEPVLK

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