Reviews Written By: A2NDI4N7NEX219provided by Amazon.com |
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 | Wagner - Tristan und Isolde / Bohm, Nilsson, Vickers | |
 | "Don't Miss This" | 2007-12-10 |
| I am afraid that many people contemplating the purchase of this DVD will look at the one, two and three-star reviews and pass. That is a shame.
I own eight CDs of this Wagner masterpiece and three DVDs. While I would not make this your only exposure to TRISTAN, I would make it an essential one. Yes, the sound quality is poor. Yes, the production is rather abyssmal. Yes, the camera work has much, much to be desired. BUT, you get Birgit Nilsson and Jon Vickers in roles in which they excelled. Wagnerians will know what I mean. And while the production in itself has too much of the traces of Wieland Wagner for my taste, one soon forgets this as the music tranports you into the heart of the drama. Giving this DVD less than the five stars that it deserves for its historical value alone is like criticizing any performance by a great actor or actress because of the failure of the lighting tecyhnician. | ||
 | Infidel | |
| "Dispell Your Illusions About Islam" | 2007-12-01 |
| I wish that I could send everyone who thinks, or has ever said, that Islam "means peace," (in the words of our hapless president) this gem of a book. For Ayann Hirsi Ali has written for us all an account of what it means to be a Muslim who takes her faith seriously, and who grows up in a clan where it is taken seriously by others. And those of us who live in a world where it is taken seriously by others neglect her words at our peril. This autobiography is an atheistic bildungsroman, a coming of age (and to reason) of a woman who is too curious and too honest to enclose within the confines of faith her single soiltary life. Those of us who have made the journey from trying, ever so hard, to make our lives consistent with the mandates of a repressive and paternalistic theological system will recognize many moments. But for all of that, the most moving moment in this book (which I have in both hardback and audio, and will get the soft-cover edition for the introduction by Christopher Hitchens)is when Ayaan tells us of her gentital mutilation at the hands of her grandmother and some ignoramus wielding sheers. This is enough to bring tears to the eys of any but the most hardened misanthrope. And the most telling part is when Ayann writes of Muslim children dancing with glee on a Dutch street after the Twin Towers attacks on 9/11, and when she writes of how many Attas are out there, who believe just as he did, and who do as he did if they but had his courage. Like Christopher Hitchens, I am convinced that religion, taken seriously, leads to disasterous consequences. It indeed poisons everything. And while I would be loath to deprive some people, specifically those who are dying and who have been devout believers all their lives, of the consolation of this false belief, I do think that for the rest of us, the sooner we toss these falsehoods into the can, the better. For, as Mr. Hitchens would say, who can doubt that the most sincere believers on that awful day in September, when the clear sky turned to ash and the towers fell, and holes gaped in the wall of the Pentagon and a quiet Pennsylvania farm field, were frenzied murderers yelling "allah akbar!" as they headed the planes into eternity? Ayaan Hirsi Ali is living under constant threat by Islamic terrorists who wish to kill her, as they did her friend and colleague Theo Van Gogh for daring to make a movie about the realities for women of life under Islam. You can help contribute to her security fund, as neither the United States nor the Dutch government will help fund her security (she currently lives in DC). Just google her name and "security fund" and you'll find out how to send money to keep her safe. And buy the book of this brave and honest woman. | ||
 | Wagner - Der Ring des Nibelungen (Ring Cycle) / Sir Georg Solti | |
| "The Greatest Listening Experience You Can Ever Have" | 2007-11-10 |
| I have owned three versions of this classic recording. My first as a set of cassette tapes that I worked part-time one summer just be be able to purchase. The second version was an early CD recording, and my third purchase was this remastered set.
This is the definitive listening experience for anyone who loves music, art, poetry and literature. I have long felt that the musical drama is the apogee of art, in that it combines so many art forms into one experience: poetry, music, singing, instrumentation, narrative, costume design, and set design. One does not experience all of these by listening to a CD recording, but we all cannot travel to Bayreuth every time we want to experience Wagner. I own many recordings of THE RING, and eack one has something to offer. But for sheer enjoyment and power, Solti's RING is it for me. It is my desert island disc set! | ||
 | Mammoth Book of the World's Greatest Chess Games: Improve Your Chess by Studying the Greatest Games of All time, from Adolf Anderssen's 'Immortal' Game to Kramnik Versus Kasparov 2000 | |
 | "The copy I saw was a mis-printing" | 2007-06-07 |
| I looked at this book (2nd edition) specifically for a game where Nigel Short marches his king across the board to defeat Jan Timman. I got interested in this because chess teacher Fred Wilson mentioned it in his "Four Fighting Kings" tape (available from fredwilsonchess.com). It was a real disappointment to see that the book I examined was apparently the result of a printing that went from pp. 481 to 486, then went back to 482 and was missing the first 8 moves of the game! So I ordered a copy of the first edition. | ||
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