difficult to rate rumi's any version written by anyone.
930944
Rumi's mystic is the mystic of love which doesnt have beginning and end,wherever you start from , it does represent a portion of flood-wise that sweep out all conventional understanding. Neither Rumi nor Hafez represent any certain culture but LOVE that emerge in forms of paradoxical verses depend on your preception. I respect Rumi's Masnawi as encyclopaedia of mysticism,but I would ruther love Shams valume that has alot to do with human soul,even verses of blasphemous. Masnawi needs more study-background whereas Shams interduce you to the gigant mainstream of love.
1082505
This was Verdi's first try at writing an original work for the Paris Opera.  The librettist, Scribe, gave Verdi a warmed-over millstone of a libretto that he'd originally written for Donizetti.  The five-act structure in combination with the cliche of a text proved too cumbersome, for in spite of all the glorious music Verdi wrote to lift his work out of the depths of mediocrity, the opera never makes the "escape velocity" of "Aida", "Traviata", etc.  It does, however, make several sustained flights, enjoyable even if they don't last forever.
RCA's 1973 recording also remains earthbound, due mainly to the tepid contribution of Martina Arroyo as Elena. Arroyo served as  replacement for Montserrat Caballe, who, due to pregnancy, couldn't participate as planned.  That's not to say her singing is objectionable.  It's just that Caballe would have been more helpful in making the "sound and fury" cohere.  Domingo, Milnes, Raimondi, and Levine are all powerful elements which make their presence strongly felt, but aren't sufficient to make their chain stronger than "the weak link".
Aside from the cast, the recording was originally a model of early 70's stereo sonority.  It's a shame that BMG couldn't have done a better job of transferring it to CD.  In its present incarnation, the sound is painfully edgy, obscuring the warmth of the voices and instruments.  In spite of the botched remastering job, this is still the best recording of this opera available on the market.
4354019
I envy those who enjoyed this book for there can't be much that displeases them. The overrated author is way off course in his work. It's another rambling, incoherent work with a massive amount of unimpressive, unsympathetic characters. A novel is supposed to evoke emotion. This book evokes as much emotion as reading a telephone book.

Savannah lost me as I tried to figure out the shape of this thing. I have to say that I started to read it a second time supposing that I surely must have missed something along the way. But after a third, I simply could not go on with the same excruciatingly boring read.

After reading some of the early "Kents" and North and South Trilogy, I have to conclude that the author is one of the most overrated authors of historical fiction of our time.

The author's only works of note in the his entire body of work are North and South Books I & II where the Hollywood miniseries adaptor was able to extract a good story for TV by changing and deleting from these verbose works filled with amateurish prose.

Not only are the stories of these books like Savannah flat, but the structure, like North and South, is "telling" not "showing" and the prose quality is that of a beginning creative writing student, which is why a reader can't "get into" the characters.

It must be that there are people around the author praising him for this stuff, when he should be questioning his failures while seeking to improve.
3204991
I was close to some of Prof. Allchin's close friends and students who had a very warm regard for him and bought this book with a lot a hope but was badly disappointed. I had no idea that one could write a book on Early historic south Asia without mentioning Chandragupta Maurya. Allchin has blamed Sir Mortimer Wheeler for many ills of Indian history which may be a reference to Wheeler's theory of Aryans destroying the Harappan civilization which Wheeler himself admitted to be hasty scholarship, but on the whole there cannot be any comparison between Allchin and Wheeler. Does he not know that the root of the problem is Jones' discovery of Palibothra which he thrusts into the mouths of the unwary readers? This he supports on the strength of the reports of the Chinese pilgrims but as they came nearly a thousand years after the Mauryas, their accounts cannot be documents for Mauryan history. True A. L. Basham, H. C. Roychaudhuri and even the great D.D. Kosambi accepted Jones' work as a great breakthrough but one had greater expectations from Prof. Allchin. I had the good fortune to discuss the matter with the Late Prof. A. K. Narain who admitted candidly that Jones' discovery lacks corroboration, but unfortunately he was too afraid to open his mouth. The only exception was the great N.G.L. Hammond, discoverer of Vergina, who wrote that 'Patna is too far east' to be a Palibothra. In the book Dilip Chakrabarti mentions many inscriptions from Mathura but remains silent on the absence of any inscription from Patna. This is shallow and motivated scholarship which I condemn very strongly.
4910911
Robert is one of the vilest writers that I have read. This person does not have the ability to write even one truthful sentence. Here is a perfect example, In the first chapter under "The Battle of Badr", he quotes quranic verse as

Anyone who insults or even opposes Muhammad or his people deserves a humiliating deathby beheading if possible, (This is in accordance with All ah's command to "smite the necks" of the "unbelievers" (Qur'an 47:4)).

Here is the real translation of the verse "And when you meet in regular battle those who disbelieve, smite their necks; and, when you have overcome them, bind fast the fetters  then afterwards either release them as a favour or by taking ransom  until the war lays down its burdens. That is the ordinance. And if Allah had so pleased, He could have punished them Himself, but He has willed that He may try some of you by others. And those who are killed in the way of Allah  He will never render their works vain.(Qur'an 47:4)  Read any translation and it will be the same.

 Readers, this is just one verse. Robert has misquoted each and every verse of the Qur'an. This should be enough for anyone who has a little bit of decency to call a spade a spade.
3753021
I am commenting on this book solely on my finding it totally unreadable.  I managed the first seventy odd pages without having a clue who the narrator is and where the book is going.  It seems to be an acid-fuelled commentary on a musical band from the early 1980s whose few live performances were complete secrets. They are renowned for being unknown.

The narrator is unsure whether his memories are real or the result of a particularly vivid 'trip', but he has been engaged to write a retrospective on them.

Having said all that, it is well written in terms of grammar and style and I am not condemning it as a bad book;  it is clear from other reviews that other people loved it but, much as I hate giving up on a book, life is too short and regrettably it failed to engage me.

Pashtpaws

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.
1689412
SPOILER FREE
There were so many bad decisions that went into making this it's hard to believe the person who wrote the finely crafted interlocking world of the original books was involved in any way.
First, why on earth would you issue the final episode in the form of a play? People keep saying "well it's probably better on stage". Well, the fan base is an ardent worldwide group of novel readers. Choosing to only show the true version of the story to ONE room of people in one place at a time was a just a poor choice. Everyone else gets cold and frankly ridiculous sounding stage directions instead of pages of rich description from one of the greatest writers of the century.

Second, and much more importantly, this story line is so bad it's actually gut-wrenching. As a huge long time potter it was so hard and painful to read. I don't usually like being critical or snobbish about movies or books. I try to enjoy them for what they are and not dissect them 100 different ways. That being said this script was so full of plot holes and inconsistencies it's actually hard to believe JK ever read it. Books can and will be written about the problems with this story line. It is completely incompatible with the world the original 1~7 books established. I would provide examples but don't have it in me to open the book again. The motives and actions of many of the characters make absolutely no sense at all. The decisions of both the protagonists and the main villain are so absurd and illogical that the only explanation is plot convenience to take the audience to revisit an old story.
It's so frustrating to see an almost perfect series, something which will live on as a classic; tarnished by what is essentially a polished turd.
2215079
There is only one reason I read through that one. And it is because I never ever leave once open book unfinished. However despite very rarely writing bad reviews (I usually only write reviews for only what I like) I feel myself obligated to warn the others in this case.

The story is too jerky with a lot of things coming out of thin air which you would never understand (nor should you try) by scrolling back. More than half of otherwise good pieces are just reflections of the ideas from other good books. I think the author should try and write something simpler but on his own rather than create an explosive mix from the things he saw, read or otherwise experienced in life. That totally didn't work here and the end result is a confusing flow of unconnected pieces.
887830
This account of Indian history is written by a Westernized Indian with an ingrained inferiority complex due to British and Muslim rule.  This work is not based on his own analysis of Sanskrit literature but rather the English and Hindi translations of the Vedas by various European scholars and other Westernized Indian hacks with similar inferiority complex about their indigenous culture.

This author is ignorant and on a quest for fame by writing a "popular" (his own description) account of ancient Indian history.  The publisher Elibron Classics is happy to republish a 1889 text by an Indian author that supports the now discounted Aryan Invasion Theory.  The original printing was published by another British racist group named Thacker, Spink and Co., Calcutta; Trubner and Co., London.  Elibron and Elibron Classics are trademarks of Adamant Media Corporation (probably another racist group).

Many Indian understandably had an inferiority complex versus the British. These Indians who had lost faith in religious teachings believed anything the British told them about their own ancient history. India's ancient history was purposefully clouded due to 800 years of Muslim rule so that the Muslims could not distort and negate its past glory.

In this book, there is no original translation analysis from the original Sanskrit by this author. It is not clear from the reading whether he even knows Sanskrit since he depends so heavily of English translations. He simply reiterates the racist, colonialist account of the imagined Aryan invasion popular at the time by European translators of Hindu religious texts.

Religious sages and teachers who have studied the Vedas in their original Sanskrit have a much different account of the Hindu religion which they believe to be 10,000 plus years old.  It is no wonder why Hinduism is referred to as Sanatan (Eternal) Dharma.  Krishna birth (and the subsequent Mahabharat war) is dated by Indian religious scholars to have occurred 5000 years ago during the onset of the Indus River Civilization. Rama Bhagwan's virtuous kingdom existed a few thousand years previous to Krishna's birth.

European and specifically British colonialist scholars vehemently opposed this historical account since it didn't support their racist agenda to subvert Indian history.  Weaker Indians with an inferiority complex such as the author of this text quickly adopted the Eurocentric view that Indian culture and languages came about from white Aryan conquest.  Fortunately this racist myth has now been put to rest by archeological evidence which is still discounted by Western scholars who have more faith in vague and extremely hypothetical linguistics analysis.

It is not surprising why an outdated book such as this by an Indian author is being republished and sold on Amazon with free Super Saver Shipping. Anyone who is not racist would see that the Aryan invasion theory has been disproved by simple common sense analysis of archeological facts and a true literary analysis of the Rig Veda and subsequent Saraswati River Civilization Vedas. Eurocentric Westerners have a hard time accepting that civilization did not arise from noble white conquerors of inferior dark-skinned "aborigines" as this author likes to call them.  A better translation of the Sanskrit word arya is not "noble" but rather civilized.  And civilized people are not racists. Rather they have to fight an ongoing "war" against forces of untruth and ignorance, who use propaganda to bolster their selfish agendas.
1347475
review of one chapter:Dialogue and tolerance under the Mughals (p 527-573): Apart from many factual errors in this history Doniger presents, I must say,  it is simply a `whitewash of the Muslim period'.  Doniger would have done shown some scholarship if she quoted the great American historian William Durant's The Story of Civilization:  "The Islamic conquest of India is probably the bloodiest story in history. It is a discouraging tale, for its evident moral is that civilization is a precious good, whose delicate complex and freedom can at any moment be overthrown by barbarians invading from without and multiplying from within." Or that of French historian Alain Danielou's statement, in his Histoire de l' Inde : "From the time Muslims started arriving, around 632 AD, the history of India becomes a long, monotonous series of murders, massacres, spoliations, destructions. It is, as usual, in the name of 'a holy war' of their faith, of their sole God, that the barbarians have destroyed civilizations, wiped out entire races." Doniger had a chance at least to go to the source, the Islamic chroniclers who accompanied these barbaric marauders. e.g., Al Beruni, who chronicled the destruction of Takshasila university and  the sky-high fire of the treasure of its books by Mahmud Gazni in the name of wiping out the infidels' civilization and to install  the Islamic one.  The `Alternate history `, Doniger presents, is a stink of bald lies to fit her Hinduphobic Indology.
400340
My main bugaboo comes from the author's amateurish writing style, to say nothing of his disparaging remarks about "Godzilla, King of the Monsters."
The author claims the original Japanese version was a low-budget throw-away of a film, when in fact it was the most expensive film ever made by Toho up to that time and is highly-regarded by those who know what they are talking about.  The author cannot also cannot understand how Mr. Burr came to admire the film when in fact it is easy to understand why.
It is a pity the author did not do proper research rather than rely on misinformation and his own personal prejudices.
As for his writing style, it is overly insouciant (with puns for chapter titles) and gives a false impression that somehow he - the author - was on intimate terms with the actor.
Therefore, any additional facts considering Mr. Burr must be taken in the context of having been noted by an author who makes at least one critical error, giving the impression that his other "facts" must also be taken into questionable consideration.
1358610
I was interested in obtaining copies of the Prasthana Traya (Triple Canon) of Vedanta literature. The Bhagavad Gita and 4-volume Upanishads as translated by Swami Nikhilananda are both excellent, and this looked like the best available version of the Brahma Sutras.

Alas, this book doesn't come anywhere near the very high standards set by Nikhilananda.

The book is riddled with literally thousands of spelling and grammatical errors. The printing and binding are as bad as the editing. But these mechanical problems could be forgiven if the meaning was clear. It isn't. Despite a long (and terribly dry) introduction that attempts to explain the context, along with an interpolation of Shankara's commentary, the import of this work simply isn't being communicated.

As far as I can tell from slogging through about halfway, the Brahma Sutras are an attempt to refute the dualistic arguments of rival Vedic interpreters. The counter-arguments are presented in an extremely condensed, aphoristic form that requires PAGES of explanation to grasp.

There MUST be something great in here, or the book would not be held in such high esteem. But I can't tell. The translation is just too opaque.

Not recommended. Maybe there's a better English take on this out there somewhere.
2057392
If you are looking for help with difficult passages or the translation in general, forget it. Basically, the author writes for fellow scholars and assumes that you understand the Latin perfectly without his help. You'll find original Greek quotations, childish comments such as "this is a fine poetic line," lengthy discussions about unimportant arcane points and only very occasionally something useful on basic translation problems. The author denies the reader even the most basic courtesies such as a vocabulary list at the end of the book.

Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be an alternative that is in print if you want an edition of the complete second half of the Aeneid, but this will be a major disappointment, especially if you studied the first half in Pharr's marvelous edition.
3791633
Before judging the quality of Like This note that Barks titles them "versions by Coleman Barks."  Barks does not read Rumi in the  original but rather produces secondary translations through working with  scholars who can read the original.  If you are looking for a translation  which carries the flavor of the original language, these translations are  not for you.  If, however, you are interested in reading poetry that tries  to maintain original images and make them understandable to the Western  mind, then you will find that Barks achieves his goal very well.
Like  This contains 43 odes originally translated by John Moyne, a linguist at  CUNY; Coleman Barks has then used in skill in English poetry to make  version of these poems.  What is most evident in his versions is that he  has spent many years with the material and has developed a "sense of  it" without mistaking that "sense of it" with being a Sufi  Master.
If you have an interest in Sufi or religious ectastic poetry,  this volume is well worth your time.  If you are a 12th-13th century  Persian scholar they are not.  An example: "There's a tradition that  God can be seen / in the color red.  In the lights / that come from red  hair!" - interesting thought which arouses in me, at least, a healthy  curiousity regarding the tradition.
4492776
I was delighted when the book arrived, AND it was autographed!  I started reading...and I gagged. I found
many stupid spelling errors. Worse, this book was supposed to be about Queen Tetisheri...and she doesn't
show up until page 61 (and then only as a figurehead). The book announced that Roberts has written over 100 romances.  Okay, fine (if you like romances).
But she cannot write historical fiction!  This book is a disaster.  Because of the autograph, I'll keep it as
an oddball in my Egyptian collection. It was so awful, I couldn't finish it.  I will never read ANY book by
this author (I was that irritated). There is no excuse for non-editing and bad writing. The cover art is ridiculous...if this book is about Tetisheri
and the Tao family, WHY is there a picture of Abu Simbel (from Ramses II)
on the cover? Ramses ruled over 200 years after Tetisheri's time. Well,
the picture has thrones in it...
918366
Not only has this poor translation done no justice to the Shadhili tariq, it has done no justice to Tawawwuf in general.  The Arabic is not translated correctly, the Hizbs and the prayers of Abdul Hasan AlShadhili  are incorrect, if you want to know more about the tariq that still exsists  today, I suggest pray to Allah that He sends you a Shaykh, and steer clear  away from this waist of time and money.
2259880
This book is little more than a slight and and exceedingly awkward version of the Silmarillion (not that I expected another version of the Silmarillion).  I have long been a huge fan of Tolkein's works but this book was an effort to extend Tolkein's Silmarilion as it was originally created from his notes and earlier writings.  The annotations and attempts to give the book body, style, background, syntax and context are distracting and add little to the ultimate aim of his products.  A huge disappointment!

One example that is at an unhelpful and incongruent variance in the text are the limitations on the actions and abilities made on the Ainur.  These beings are originally presented in the Valaquenta as almost omniscient 'angels' of Eru, the mightiest of the mightiest creations of Eru; limitations certainly but without the awkwardness, weakness, 'ditheringness' (sorry) degraded ability that we see in the Valaquenta when Eru has them make a music that is a great reflection of the creator.