Masterfull Piece of Selfe
935642
This is the only album I didn't have of our Kevin's. Absolutely love the darker Chicago blues feel of this earlier work. Really good buy.
443909
Exquisite; a masterpiece. Wynton has done something great for jazz here. Unfortunately, nostalgia for and festishization of the legends of the '20s-60s will probably not permit it to be placed among the greatest of the  great jazz works but it should be. Also unfortunately, the politicization  of his image (due to him, his allies, and his critics) will affect one's  impression of the album.
Originality, vitality, innovation perfectly  enmeshed with an awareness of jazz's past. Too bad that his other albums  can't match this one in terms of combining momementum, passinon,  creativity, theme and structure.
If you are going to get one album by  Marsalis, then get this one. It is a mindblowing experience. I enjoy other  albums by Wynton but I can't characterize any of them as being  "mindblowing" like I can this one.
3521705
Definitely as masterful a piece of writing as I have ever encountered.

I don't mean masterful as in mastery of the language, enjoyed for pure reading pleasure as an art-form. You really will need some definite interest in Islamism, or at least some interest in history and/or sociology to appreciate the depth of analysis in this book.

But if you have this interest, you will be rewarded and know when finished, that you have not been deprived of any considerations that might weigh on this subject, nor has an attempt been made to distort the dilemma that faces the Islamic sector of Arab and other Islamic nations: that is, their imminent need to make choices that will on one hand allow a working plan for Islamism to keep a calm foot in the door of national, pluralistic governments, and on the other, not cause further loss of respect for Islamism after that which was lost due to recent returns (and gains in numbers of converts) to Salafist fundamentalism since 1990.

Tarek Osman is not at all making a case for Islamism to survive its current situation. Neither is he making an argument against it. He is not taking a side, politically or theologically. He is just, in much detail, discussing the politics of the Arab world, Iran and Turkey, since the fall of the Ottoman Empire, especially as Islam has found itself entangled therein. He is pointing out that necessarily, Islamism is a feature of these governments, whether it is major or minor. And that is due to the tenants of Islam which declare it to be deterministic of the government of the Muslim people.

While in his introduction, Osman states that digesting the book does not require prior knowledge of Islam, I would disagree. It would be very helpful for one to be familiar with the religion, or at least Sharia Law, as that determines essentially most of the underpinnings of why Islamism has a dilemma at present.

I especially like that Osman divided the book into chapters that handled the subject in geographically logical pieces, but also in different political points of view, from those of Europe to those of monarchies and secular democracies within the Arab world. And always, urban Islamism trends were contrasted to contemporaneous rural trends. All this helped fix the concept that the evolution of Islamism toward more open mindedness through a short 160 year period from 1850 until 2110 was not a concerted symphony, but is and remains a very disjointed, staggered movement which in varying degrees shows endorsement of modern industrial economics and pluralistic governments, but is by no means yet resolved within any of these countries, thanks to the nature of Islam itself.

Though a very small part of this book, I consider Osmans conclusions at the end to be most proper and in need of communication to those leading Islamist groups: Islamism has so far failed to confront the reality that Salafist jihadist ideas have captured significantly large areas of the Islamic world...That the largest Islamist groups have not considered this to be a strategic threat to their ideology and their future ...- betrays a calamitous failure of judgement.

I found this book very helpful in putting into perspective and determining the significance of all the events taking place in the Islamic world in the Near East during the first 16 years of the 21st centurn.
1235685
Wow, this is a masterpiece, written so cleverly. It takes you to find basic Human emotions and need, all while riding the line of fiction and fantasy. Please do read and pay attention!!
3471030
The book is simply amazing as art -- the creation of so many expertly drawn scenes. Not only does Craig Thompson have the skill to render any scene at all that is real or that he could have imagined, but his lines are more and more masterful with each book.  I hardly see how his art can improve, unless he were to change his style entirely.

As a story, it is both simple and complex -- simple in lining out the lives of the two characters Dodola and Zam from childhood, through their separation and meeting again, and complex because of the backdrop of culture and even religion that he draws into the story, which may not interest everyone, naturally.  The juxtaposing of modern times with what seems to be an ancient world comes slowly until we realize the story setting is quite current.  The overbearing nature of both old and new worlds on a poverty stricken individual is striking -- that these two did not fall victim is perhaps the story's triumph.  Sex affects both victims by its inherent practice within the culture; I did not find it gratuitous but rather what I would have expected a young helpless bride or an enslaved girl to go through, the practices of arrogant, dominant males toward women, and how a young man's might have become a eunuch.

I will say that the ending entirely satisfied me.  Without spoiling it, the final action of good taken by Dodola and Zam toward another helpless person is another triumph.  How should one's philosophy and view of life ultimately manifest itself, if not in the choice to do good for someone in need?  So despite the almost overwhelming size of the tome, I am solidly happy with the conclusion which Thompson obviously means us to take away with us.
2460096
Perhaps more brilliant than "Self Portrait". Quite arresting in fact. Enjoy my dear "Dylanies".
3488630
This novel's masterful craftsmanship and subject matter bring to mind a comparison with&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/One-Day-in-the-Life-of-Ivan-Denisovich/dp/0451228146/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich</a>. In Solzhenitsyn's much briefer novel, the point is that a single day in the Gulag is representative of Soviet life under Stalin. Examine a tree and you've seen the forest. In North Korea under Kim Jung Il (at least as Adam Johnson tells it here), the same is not true. It takes the story of a full lifetime to really see these characters in relation to their nation-state. You must survey the forest to understand the trees. (The specter and reality of labor camps also loom large in this novel.)

Early in the novel, Pak Jun Do trains for zero-light hand-to-hand combat, which the government deems necessary for preparing to resist underground attacks from South Korea. Regarding how he adjusted to the complete lack of light in the tunnels, he reflects, "The darkness inside your head is something your imagination fills with stories that have nothing to do with the real darkness around you." So it is with the North Korea of this novel--citizens here are kept in perpetual darkness, and unlikely stories become plausible and accepted. This book is a testament to the human spirit, in that it is the story of how a man trains himself to keep such stories out of his head, understand the darkness for what it is, and learn to fight for dignity within that darkness.
4587708
What a magnificent piece of work. It took me a little while to get into it but, once I was in, I was mesmerised.  Do not expect a fun ride, it is a hard read as in subject matter, but it is so exquisitely written and bonds you so tightly to the main characters.  A very hard act to follow.
3178639
The nature of short stories has always intrigued me. I appreciate that every word has to be carefully chosen so that a lot of content can be squeezed into a small amount of words. I think this work is masterfully crafted and is complete within itself but it gives the reader a lot to think about.
1820107
This is the epitome of a great book.  Dickens' social conscience, originality, and powerful artistry are evident on every page.  He is a master at creating keen portraiture without losing the scope of the overall picture.  And what portraits... of greed, love, injustice, cruelty, all painted with his deft brush.  He was a student of humanity, and his body of work is an indictment of its evil, and a paean to its beauty.
815092
Adyashanti has a way with words in not just describing but enabling the feeling of what he is pointing too.  His words invoke the experience. Truly phenomenal.
2014041
A beautiful and masterful album played by a great musician. This album entres you into a pure world of contemplation and rythm with the sound of the daf, the drum and the dayereh. I suggest this Cd.
1477743
A masterful piece of writing. Moving, complex and beautiful. I would highly recommend it to anyone. Hobson deals with difficult themes deftly and sympathetically. A wonderful read.
2806076
This is a truly wonderful piece of writing. Not only does Brandon do the expected, with interesting and unique magic system, and expertly crafted writing, but he take that extra step that I personally love and elevates the story to the exosphere of story; that area that borders on the poetic. I am reluctant to compare it compare it Patrick Rothfuss's The Slow Regard of Silent Things because the story extends much farther beyond the awareness of the main character, but it fits on the same shelf in my library of awesome writing.&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/The-Emperor-s-Soul-Elantris-Book-2/dp/B00A1XOPE8/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">The Emperor's Soul (Elantris Book 2)</a>&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/The-Slow-Regard-of-Silent-Things-The-Kingkiller-Chronicle/dp/B00J9SUF2W/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">The Slow Regard of Silent Things (The Kingkiller Chronicle)</a>
2076656
Beautiful, wondrous, compelling old tale from the Master.  A should read for everyone.  More thinking...less hatred. Listen to your own private river and hear its words.  Peace.
762474
This work stands in a category by itself.  It adopts the universe as it's medium, but you will find that the issues raised are quite worldly and recognizable.  As a musician myself, I am convinced that the author draws upon personal repetoire in crafting this amazing book.  Certainly, this book is based as much upon experience as imagination.  Totally genuine and honest.  Not for the squeemish.
1824384
It is difficult to write a review of a piece of art like this.  Words just don't do it justice.  The emotions conveyed on this relatively short record (about thirty minutes) alone are enough to take you to a higher place.
Everybody's playing on this record is about as good as it can get.  Hartman's voice is incredible; he floats on top of the melody, he gets deep inside the groove, he sings behind the notes, he tap dances with Elvin Jones' brush.  Coltrane's playing is simply beautiful; there is no other word for it.  All you can sometimes do is just cry at how ethereal, spiritual, and calmly reinforcing his playing is.
McCoy Tyner's piano playing is sublime; it's like watching a zen master float through the air or something.
Jimmy Garrison's bass playing; I don't have the words.  It is so good that I don't notice he's there WHILE I AM COMPLETELY AWARE AT ALL TIMES WHAT HE IS DOING IN THE MUSIC.  It is an accomplishment of such gravity that I shudder just at the thought of it.
In the end it is the sum of the parts, not the parts themselves that matter.  The players here are collectively committed to not just playing at a high level but they are simply out of their bodies and minds here. This is a true piece of art that will be even better 500 years from now.