Open Doors and Three Novellas

Book Description

From one of modern Italy's greatest writers come four flawless novellas that combine history and fiction while mapping the treacherous relations between individuals and the state. Whether set amid the paranoia of the fascist past or the criminal and political labyrinths of present-day Italy, these Kafkaesque novellas are thrillers of moral gravity, beautifully written and relentlessly engrossing.

Customer Reviews:

Four Novellas.......2004-12-03

I am an avid reader of Sciascia and have been trying to track down every thing I can in English. (My Italian is not so good.)

The product description for this book does not list the novellas included in this collection. They are:

* Open Doors
* Death and the Knight
* A Straight Forward Tale
* 1912 + 1

A mixed bag. If you are new to Sciascia, I'd start with The Day of the Owl or Equal Danger. Both five stars.

As far as I can tell his novella One Way or Another (Todo Modo) is currently only available in the UK. I mention this because that book packages One Way or Another with Death and the Knight.

The New York Review has re-released much of his work recently. All are worth giving a look.

Most of his other books are available in British editions-- try ordering from amazon.uk. However, I can tell you that the British translation of Night of the Owl is inferior to the American translation and the the British paperbacks are cheaply thrown together. The New York Review editions are attractive and feature good introductory essays.

Open Doors and Three Novellas.(Brief Article): An article from: The Review of Contemporary Fiction

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Open Doors and Three Novellas.(Brief Article): An article from: The Review of Contemporary Fiction
Christopher Metress
Manufacturer: Review of Contemporary Fiction
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Book Description

This digital document is an article from The Review of Contemporary Fiction, published by Review of Contemporary Fiction on June 22, 1994. The length of the article is 568 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Open Doors and Three Novellas.(Brief Article)
Author: Christopher Metress
Publication: The Review of Contemporary Fiction (Refereed)
Date: June 22, 1994
Publisher: Review of Contemporary Fiction
Volume: v14 Issue: n2 Page: p216(2)

Article Type: Book Review, Brief Article

Distributed by Thomson Gale

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Open Doors: and Three Novellas
Leonardo Sciascia
Manufacturer: Vintage Books USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000N758NO

Book Description

Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.

Customer Reviews:

Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03

Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.

Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19

Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.

Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09

There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.

For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.

Very Interesting.......2007-03-07

It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.

History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10

Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.

I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.

Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.

Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.

I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.

This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.

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One of the best young adult fantasy novels ever
The Blue Sword
The book that made me fall in love with reading
25 years later this is still my favorite book
A Well-Crafted Fantasy About a Lonely Orphan Girl, A Proud Desert King, and a Very Nasty Demon Menace...

Blue Sword
Robin McKinley
Manufacturer: Ace
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0441068804

Book Description

Harry Crewe is an orphan girl who comes to live in Damar, the desert country shared by the Homelanders and the secretive, magical Hillfolk. Her life is quiet and ordinary-until the night she is kidnapped by Corlath, the Hillfolk King, who takes her deep into the desert. She does not know the Hillfolk language; she does not know why she has been chosen. But Corlath does. Harry is to be trained in the arts of war until she is a match for any of his men. Does she have the courage to accept her true fate?

"McKinley's spare and eloquent prose is sheer delight... a compelling portrait of the vibrant, wryly humorous Harry." -School Library Journal, starred review

"This is a zesty, romantic heroic...." -Booklist, starred review

Awards:

( A 1983 Newbery Honor Book
( An ALA Notable Book
( An ALA Best Book for Young Adults

Customer Reviews:

One of the best young adult fantasy novels ever.......2007-09-20

The only quibble I have with this book is that her real name, which Harry Crewe despises, is one of my favorites. (Perhaps the problem is that she doesn't know how to pronounce it. I listened to this book on tape, after having read it many times, and the reader mispronounced the name in a very ugly fashion.)In any case, The Blue Sword and its sister book, The Hero and the Crown, are both wonderful and original books, with heroines who combine strengths they didn't know they had with very human flaws. The setting of The Blue Sword would remind one of Naomi Novik's more recent--and equally excellent--Temeraire series: the 19th century British Empire with a remarkably well-done twist. I only wish that Robin McKinley would favor us with another Damar novel.

The Blue Sword.......2007-09-17

I first read the Hero and the Crown over 10 years ago. I found The Blue Sword in the Library and read it. I enjoyed both books so much that I insisted my sister read them. After a few years she still had not touched either book (she is doesn't really read much). These books are so good that I decided to read the books to her. It took us a long time to read the hero and the crown because of how busy we are and have not always been living in the same state. She has thoroughly enjoyed The Hero and The Crown and we are both looking forward to reading The Blue Sword together.

There is a lot of good imagery in these books. At times it may seem that the action has slowed down because of all the description. I find all the descriptions wonderfully vivid and very easy to picture. I know of a few people who have trouble getting into the books at first because of it. Keep reading and it will pickup.

The stories take place in very different times and climates. I found this to add to my interest and intrigue in both stories. Most of the time I have found that fantasy books by the same author all tend to be in the same time period and atmosphere. I found the change in setting to be fascinating and add to the sense that a lot of time had past between the two books.

The book that made me fall in love with reading.......2007-08-11

I picked this up at a bookstore as a horse crazy kid back when it first came out because of the cover art. I read it straight through and then proceeded to read it over and over and over again until it turned to dust. It was the first book I'd ever fallen in love with, and as my first, has a special place in my heart and in my library (third copy does anyway). I highly recommend it. I can't say enough good things about. Read it.

25 years later this is still my favorite book.......2007-06-24

I first read this book about 25 years ago. My friend and I fought over who got to buy the one copy in the bookstore and who had to order another one. I still re-read this book at least once a year. I'm now 37 years old and this book remains one of my all-time favorites. I still have my original copy, beat-up and worn as it is.

A Well-Crafted Fantasy About a Lonely Orphan Girl, A Proud Desert King, and a Very Nasty Demon Menace..........2007-05-03

...This one is a slow starter-- but once it revs up, you'll be turning the pages all night. After her parents' death, young Harry (her true name is only revealed late in the book) is packed off to live near her brother's military outpost on the edge of a great sandy desert. The book seems to be set in a time of British Colonialism. But this Colony has uncanny locals. When a desert king comes to warn the outpost of a terrible threat, and to obtain aid against it, his concerns are, apparently, dismissed as fanciful. But Harry is oddly transfixed at the sight of the king, and he, too, finds himself thinking of her over and over again. And then the Magic takes over, and Harry is whisked away, to an alien society she never knew existed.

And -- oddly-- she finds that she fits in.

This fantasy does not have a lot of "flash and dazzle" in the first chapters. Instead, the author transitions you away from the "normal" world bit by bit -- Harry leaves her old home, and takes a train to the desert, and adjusts to life at the outpost town before meeting the desert king. I wouldn't think that it would appeal to the young and impatient reader, due to the careful development of the setting, and due to the fact that the author takes the time to offer lot of savory description (you can taste the desert sand and smell the horse sweat). But it rewards the reader who will go along with Harry into the desert world. The writing is graceful and the characters very well drawn and compelling. I come back to this one over and over; I find that it refreshes my spirit a bit every time.

Blue Lightning: Wilder's Mounted Infantry Brigade in the Battle of Chickamauga

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An indispensable resource
A Classic Work on a n Overlooked Man & Weapon.

Blue Lightning: Wilder's Mounted Infantry Brigade in the Battle of Chickamauga
Richard A. Baumgartner
Manufacturer: Blue Acorn Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Shiloh and the Western Campaign of 1862

ASIN: 1885033354

Customer Reviews:

An indispensable resource.......2006-06-28

I recently used this book as one of my key souces on a staff-ride conducted by the Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth. Deeply detailed, and very unbaised, it is a great companion to LIGHTNING AT HOOVERS GAP and THE WAR OF THE REBELLION, OFFICAL RECORDS OF THE UNION AND CONFEDERATE ARMIES. Baumgartner uses a combination of offical records, state historical archives, and contemporary personal journals to tell the story of a unit that was far ahead of its time in both doctrine and technology. Today in the United States military we talk about "transformation" as if it were a new concept, but the experiances of the Lighnting Brigade clearly demonstrate transformative military revolutions are a salient part of all military history, and there are very few far-sighted individuals who can recognize when one comes along and leverage it to their military advantage. I borrowed a copy from my local library to read, now I'm shelling out the 100+ dollars to have my own copy.

A Classic Work on a n Overlooked Man & Weapon........2004-10-28

I'd give this book 10 stars if they'd let me !!
Baumgartner's book is the PREMIER book on Colonel Wilder, a man of immense forsight and vision, as he had the common sense to see that the Spencer Repeating Rifle was going to be the weapon of the future in 1861, and was a pivotal and deciding factor at the battle of Hoover's Gap, where his unit defeated a force of Confederates 3 times its size, due entirely to the firepower of the Spencer. And then, at Chicamuaga, though considerd by many a Federal defeat, his 72nd Indiana still kept it from being a complete rout, again due to the use of the Spencer Rifle. This book is, as mentioned peviously, a classic in every sense of the word. Easily as well written as Roy Marcot's book on the Rifle itself. If you are a Spencer enthusiast, GET THIS BOOK!
It tells the story of a man that could not be more closely associated to a historical weapon except the inventor.
IT IT EXCELLENT !!!

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BLUE SWORD
Robin McKinley
Manufacturer: Penguin Putnam~trade
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OJG1A0

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The Blue Sword

Manufacturer: Rcorded Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

Product Description

Young Adult Fiction. Sequel to The Hero and the Crown.

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The Blue Sword
Michael Vlahos
Manufacturer: NAVAL WAR COLLEGE PRESS
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000FNKMT6

The Blue Sword [UNABRIDGED] (Audio CD) (Unabridged)

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The Blue Sword [UNABRIDGED] (Audio CD) (Unabridged)
Robin McKinley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

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Product Description

Harry Crewe, the Homelander orphan girl, is pleased with her new home. Life in Istan is certainly easy, but a voice in her ear whispers that the home of her heart is among the Hillfolk, among the descendants of Lady Aerin, who once wielded Gonturan, the Blue Sword.

Exploration of the Nile tributaries of Abyssinia: The sources, supply, and overflow of the Nile; the country, people, customs, etc. Interspersed with highly ... accompanied by expert native sword hunters

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Exploration of the Nile tributaries of Abyssinia: The sources, supply, and overflow of the Nile; the country, people, customs, etc. Interspersed with highly ... accompanied by expert native sword hunters
Samuel White Baker
Manufacturer: O.D. Case & Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

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ASIN: B00085IOHS

Holy Bible: King James Version, Blue/tan, Leatherlike, Sword Bible, Personal Size

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Holy Bible: King James Version, Blue/tan, Leatherlike, Sword Bible, Personal Size
Whitaker House
Manufacturer: Whitaker House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Leather Bound

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ASIN: 1603740120

Meissen Porcelain: White Gold with Blue Swords

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Meissen Porcelain: White Gold with Blue Swords
Staatliche Porzellan-manufaktur Meissen
Manufacturer: Staatliche Porzellan-manufaktur Meissen
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000K6ZT6E

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