Svetlana's Reads and Views

Title of the book: Sailors of Stonehenge The Celestial & Atlantic Origin of Civilization Author: Manuel Vega Publisher: Independent not available Publishing Date: 2012 ISBN: 9781479169238 Summary: Could the legend of Atlantis be far simpler than we thought? By means of a novel and simple interpretation grounded in the stars, Manuel Vega presents a compelling case to answer this question positively. In Sailors of Stonehenge, Vega cruises the prehistoric times to solve the mystifying puzzle of the origin of Civilization, by smoothly assembling the archaelogical data related to the most impressive stone monuments like Stonehenge with teh classical myths like Jason and the Argonauts. Sailors of Stonehenge contains more than a hundred images and figures. Other works: From what I can see on the goodreads page, the author doesn't have any other works and this appears to be his first novel. Background of author: (from goodreads.com) url http://www.goodreads.c...

Books to be reviewed: 3. The Ill-made Knight by TH White When 1st published in its entirety in 1958, T.H. White's masterly, incomparable, entertaining epic novel about King Arthur & his round table was hailed by critics as an instant classic. So it became; widely acknowledged as one of the definitive works of the fantasy genre, The Once & Future King is a retelling of the Arthurian legend that is at once both comic & political, enchanting & educational. While it works on one level as a highly entertaining saga of knights, battles, magic & heroes, the novel also presents a conscientiously researched historical interpretation of the round table as a civilizing force that brought England out of the Dark Ages thru the notion of chivalry. Divided into four books originally published separately which detail Arthur's boyhood, the building of his empire, his doomed friendship with Lancelot & his undoing thru the boy Mordred, White's novel reimagines se...

Name of Book: Eleanor & Park Author: Rainbow Rowell ISBN: 978-1-250-01257-9 Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin Type of book: 1986, nostalgia, misfits, first love, half Korean/American male/white female, rock and roll, domestic abuse, parental relationships Year it was published: 2013 Summary: Two misfits. One extraordinary love. Its 1986 and two star-crossed teens are smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try. When Eleanor meets Park, you'll remember your own first love- and just how hard it pulled you under. Characters: The characters are unique, memorable and stay with you for a very long time. Eleanor is a much more stronger and fleshed out character than Park, and at some points in the story I found myself irritated with her, but then I think I was in her shoes a lot, especially her view towards Park's slimness and her own weight. I would have liked to know more about Park's character and ...

Name of Book: The Queen of Air and Darkness Author: TH White ISBN: 0-425-06310-395 Publisher: Berkley Part of a Series: The Once and Future King Type of book: King Arthur, government, round table, incest, Medieval Europe possibly 1100s or 1300s?, myth, fantasy Year it was published: 1939 Summary: The Queen of Air and Darkness, originally titled The Witch in the Wood, is the second book in his epic work, The Once and Future King. It continues the story of the newly-crowned King Arthur, his tutelage by the wise Merlyn, his war against King Lot, and also introduces the Orkney clan, a group of characters who would cause the eventual downfall of the king. First published in 1939, it was re-released under the new title after some editing. Characters: The author tries to make the characters round and interesting, but I feel he doesn't do a good job of it and the characters tend to blur in my mind, or perhaps the plot and story are dead which causes me to lose inter...

General Information: Name of Book: The Greek Myths Vol I ISBN: 0-14-020508-X Publisher: Pelican book Year it was published: 1955 Overall theme: "My method has been to assemble in harmonious narrative all the scattered elements of each myth, supported by little-known variants which may help to determine the meaning, and to answer all questions that arise, as best I can, in anthropological or historical terms. " (22) 37. The Aloeids Issue: Iphimedeia, who was a daughter of Triops, fell in love with Poseidon and got herself with twin sons named Ephialtes adn Otus. Later she married Aloeus. The boys began a war against Olympus, captured Ares, (there was a prophecy that none could kill them,) and Artemis agreed to submit them. She appeared as a doe, and the brothers began to argue and killed one another with a javelin. 38. Deucalion's Flood Issue: Pelasgus had son named Lycaon who instituted worship of Zeus, but sacrificed a boy to him. Zeus transformed ...

General Information: Name of Book: Mythology ISBN: 9780316341516 Publisher: First Black Bay Year it was published: 1942 Overall theme: "The Greeks did not believe that the gods created the universe. It was the other way about: the universe created the gods. Before there were gods heaven and earth had been formed. They were the first parents. The Titans were their children, and the gods were their grandchildren." (24) Part Four: The Heroes of the Trojan War 13. The Trojan War Prologue: The Judgment of Paris Observations: Eris created an apple called "For the Fairest" and tossed it into the crowd. Of course, all the goddesses desired it. They asked Zeus to decide but he refused and asked them to go to Paris, son of King Priam, so that he could decide. They bribed him with different gifts; Hera that he will become Lord of Europe and Asia, Pallas Athena that he will lay waste to Greece and Aphrodite that a fairest woman will be his. He decided t...

General Information: Name of Book: Tree of Souls ISBN: 9780195086799 Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA Year it was published: 2004 Overall theme: "With only one God, heaven would be a barren place, at least in mythic terms. Yet the actual Jewish view of heaven is quite different. There are seven heavens, filled with angels and other divine beings, such as the Messiah [Not jesus!], who is said to have a palace of his own in the highest heaven. The clestial Temple can be found there- the mirror image of the Temple in the earthly Jerusalem- as well as an abundance of heavenly palaces, one for each of the patriarchs and matriarchs and sages, where he or she teaches Torah to the attentive souls of the righteous and the angels..." (xliii) "Drawing on the full range of Jewish sources, sacred and nonsacred, ten major categories of Jewish mythology can be identified: Myths of God, Myths of Creation...Each of these categories explores a mythic realm, and, in...

Title of the Book: Why We are here; Mobile and the spirit of a southern city Author: Edward O Wilson and Alex Harris Publisher: Liveright Publishing Company Publishing Date: 2012 ISBN: 978-0-87140-470-1 Summary: Entranced by Edward O. Wilson 's mesmerizing evocation of his Southern childhood in The Naturalist and Anthill, Alex Harris approached the scientist about collaborating on a book about Wilson 's native world of Mobile, Alabama. Perceiving that Mobile was a city small enough to be captured through a lens yet old enough to have experienced a full epic cycle of tragedy and rebirth, the photographer and the naturalist joined forces to capture the rhythms of this storied Alabama Gulf region through a swirling tango of lyrical words and breathtaking images. With Wilson tracing his family 's history from the Civil War through the Depression when mule-driven wagons still clogged the roads to Mobile 's racial and environmental struggles to its cultural tr...

Books to be reviewed: Why we are here; Mobile and the Spirit of a Southern City by Edward O Wilson and Alex Harris Entranced by Edward O. Wilson 's mesmerizing evocation of his Southern childhood in The Naturalist and Anthill, Alex Harris approached the scientist about collaborating on a book about Wilson 's native world of Mobile, Alabama. Perceiving that Mobile was a city small enough to be captured through a lens yet old enough to have experienced a full epic cycle of tragedy and rebirth, the photographer and the naturalist joined forces to capture the rhythms of this storied Alabama Gulf region through a swirling tango of lyrical words and breathtaking images. With Wilson tracing his family 's history from the Civil War through the Depression when mule-driven wagons still clogged the roads to Mobile 's racial and environmental struggles to its cultural triumphs today, and with Harris stunningly capturing the mood of a radically transformed city that has adapte...