Amazon Customer

odd antiquarianisms

Revisado: 08-14-23

I found it off-putting that Ruderman insists on using the antiquated "Moslems" in every discussion of Muslim interactions with Jewish communities. Ruderman boldly ignores the criticism that followed from Edward Said's critique of orientalists and their tendency to lump together and essentialize what are actually diverse groups of people. He makes an interesting argument for this at the beginning of his lecture series, but what holds for the Jewish people does not seem as bulletproof for Muslims. Ruderman's treatment of Muslims as a single monolithic entity entitled (according to 19th century nomenclature) 'the Moslems' is strangely out of step with the modern fields of NELC or Religious Studies. I may seem to nit pick here, but this kind of antiquarianism seems somewhat indicative of his approach to the study of the civilizations that surrounded Judaism. This antiquarianism is particularly dangerous in a field––formerly called Oriental studies––that has a long and sordid history of misunderstanding and misrepresenting its subject matter.

This is a solid lecture series for the beginner, but it preserves wholesale some of the old prejudices that should have been dropped in the the late 70s.

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Three books!

Revisado: 11-14-22

Includes
1. Works and days (incredible)
2. Theogony (very fun)
3. Shield of Heracles (this last may be wrongly attributed to Hesiod, and you can hear the change of tone in it clearly! Glad it was included!)

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Powerful

Revisado: 06-14-22

It's as powerful as these productions are. We need more people like Mr Doerries in the world. As a classicist, this work also casts Greek drama in a new light.

Thanks,
Cameron

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mispronounces Qutb's name throughout...

Revisado: 06-12-22

This book is about the tension in the Arab world between the visions of Gamel Abdel Nasser and Said Qutb, and unfortunately, the narrator mispronounces Qutb's name throughout the book. Unless he's adhering a subtlety of the Arabic that I do not understand, or decided to put Qutb in the accusative for similarly obscure reasons, it is an inexplicable blunder of the reading. The name comes up several times per page, and the narrator says "Qutuba" every time, which is in Arabic "he collected" or "he scrunched his [eyebrows]" which is what I did every time I heard it, until I couldn't take it anymore. I'll come back to this in print, unless someone can explain the unconventional pronunciation and save me from my disappointment here.

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Increíble

Revisado: 06-07-22

Best book I’ve read in a long time. 10 times better than the count of monte Cristo. It’s an epic written, translated and read masterfully.

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Great book, terrible pronunciations

Revisado: 05-03-21

I appreciate the book and it’s historical work, but it’s appalling that someone reading such a long book should fail to learn at least basic pinyin before embarking on this project. Many names are butchered, and even province names are mispronounced in such an inconsistent way that within the same paragraph, you can’t tell if he’s talking about the same place, or just forgot how he sounded out the name of the place the first time. Yunan is pronounced yaanaan, yinaan, yunan, yunun etc.. when it comes to people’s names, it’s a crap shoot who he is talking about. A little basic mandarin phonology would fix the problem (e.g. there is no Californian or chicago style “aa” in mandarin—the old singing in the rain pronunciation lesson would do this man some good). it’s frustrating, but the book is still a good one.

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Best story

Revisado: 12-16-20

This is the best story I know. You won’t regret listening to it.

Thank you,
Cameron

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Incredible

Revisado: 04-04-20

I was putting off reading this for a little while. A friend recommended it and he loves sailing and studied his rigging when reading it, so I thought I might find it technical and a little dry. It was certainly technical, but man! I haven’t been so completely consumed in a book in a long time. The fight scenes can’t be stopped halfway through. It’s an incredible feat of writing. There simply aren’t movies that are this good or exciting. Master and commander movie is of a different story too, so don’t worry, but I wouldn’t watch it at the same time. Give this book its room. It deserves it.

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Incredible

Revisado: 10-23-19

This course is one of the most entertaining ones I’ve found. The speaker knows what he’s talking about and conveys his enthusiasm about a subject that deserves the enthusiasm. He gives great examples of everything he’s talking about too. I love ancient history too and though it wasn’t about that, you get a lot of world history through the movements of languages. I was never disappointed when I turned this lecture series on. I’ll be looking for another similar one right now.

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naturalism and conservationism

Revisado: 07-14-18

I have just finished this book and will soon be looking for jobs in conservation. I had no idea what I was getting myself into when i downloaded this book, and did so on a recommendation from a good friend of mine. I am glad that I did, and will surely listen to it many times over. Listen to this book when in nature––no matter where you find yourself. It is not well suited to my life when I am working in the factory. it is perfect and incredibly beautiful when i am alone in my fields or forest or sitting at the fire. everyone should read this book today too. Especially if you're in a rural place. It will change the way you see your world. I do not see mere shrubs these days, and i will learn my birds soon enough.

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