Haruki Murakami and the Music of Words

Book Description

Jay Rubin explains how Murakami developed a distinctive new style in Japanese writing. In tracing the reclusive writer’s career, he draws on his own interviews with him, and observations gathered from ten years of collaborating with Murakami on translations of his works.

Customer Reviews:

Rubin - a fine editor, but too often pale as a writer.......2007-10-09

Jay Rubin is the English translator for such Murakami releases as The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, Norwegian Wood and after the quake. In this book, he brings some interesting insight from Murakami into the novels that have captured such a level of interest in the US. While most US Murakami fans probably only first learned of this author in picking up a copy of A Wild Sheep Chase (for me, it was finding "TV People" in the fantastic anthology Monkey Brain Sushi), Rubin shows us how Murakami has developed a much more thorough career in Japan and has put out not only an impressive number of translations of classics from the English (which was the way he first received any notoriety in the US) but travel writing and even has a website where fans can actually get responses from H.M. himself.

By using a nice array of tidbits from interviews and insight from Murakami himself, Rubin provides a wonderful perspective of Murakami's simple and artistic pursuits in his writing. How Murakami uses inspiration from detective novels to provide novels that have trhe rhythm and drive of a mystery, but the mysteries themselves become unsolveable ones - the influence of Murakami's own disillusionment with the protests of his youth - the influences of jazz and other popular music on Murakami's writing - how Murakami has tried to tackle different genre as his career continued. This, as well as a small treatise on the Boku-narrative Murakami uses in Japanese, one that is far more informal than the usual first-person narratives of Japanese literature (and also a good explanation for the central mystery of my attraction for Murakami's novels, that the narrators always seemed to be the same person, and in fact are, to an extent), makes this book well worth purchasing and exploring if you have any interest in Murakami's writing.

Though it is obvious that Rubin wants to keep the tone of the book informational and biographical in broad strokes rather than critical, it seems that he cannot resist the occasional foray into psychological criticism, which are typically rather empty in nature and don't carry much weight. Also, Rubin's assessments of the strengths and weaknesses of Murakami's later works sound somewhat snooty and seem off the mark.

As an editor and compiler, Rubin puts together a fascinating collection of information of Murakami's work and perspectives from the author himself that don't feel too defensive against analysis (though it would seem that Murakami himself is), and there is an interesting appendix on translation from Japanese, but as an author in this book, Rubin typically falls short of the mark. Murakami, no doubt, was intended to shine brightly in this book, but sometimes he does so more as a competent writer holding power over his admirer.

A Must for Murakami Fans.......2007-09-11

Rubin has translated much of HM's work and has met, in this highly readable book, Murakami's American readership's desire for commentary and biographical information. Rubin takes us through the when, what, and how of the stories and novels, illuminating the connections between them and HM's own opinions of them as well as many other critics' reviews and comments. This book is almost like having another Murakami work on hand--we hear interviews, get plot summaries and interpretations, and generally feel ourselves in Murakami's presence throughout. If you read HM in Japanese, you should also check out Rubin's "Making Sense of Japanese," which is similarly readable, tongue-in-cheek and sensible, useful and informative. Thanks, Rubin, for expanding our understanding of this modern master and his language and culture!

simply great. puts everything in perspective.......2003-11-08

first of all, i would recommend that you read all of murakami's books before you tackle this one, otherwise you'll just be left in the dark. overall, this book gives you the major themes and influences behind murakami's works, and how they relate to each other. the bifurcation of worlds, Rubin tells us, is present in all of his stories, either explicitly or implicitly. and throughout this book, we see murakami evolving. he struggles with what it means to be a japanese writer, especially one who has nothing much in common with his predecessors. we also see murakami, a loner by nature, coming to grips with fame and all its implications. but this is not a biography. what little biographical detail there is is presented as mere background information for how each novel was written. altogether, this book will not disappoint. rubin's writing style is clear and precise, and his analysis is right on. rubin, my friend, you got the job done. hats off gentlemen, hats off.

simply great. puts everything in perspective.......2003-11-08

first of all, i would recommend that you read all of murakami's books before you tackle this one, otherwise you'll just be left in the dark. overall, this book gives you the major themes and influences behind murakami's works, and how they relate to each other. the bifurcation of worlds, Rubin tells us, is present in all of his stories, either explicitly or implicitly. and throughout this book, we see murakami evolving. he struggles with what it means to be a japanese writer, especially one who has nothing much in common with his predecessors. we also see murakami, a loner by nature, coming to grips with fame and all its implications. but this is not a biography. what little biographical detail there is is presented as mere background information for how each novel was written. altogether, this book will not disappoint. rubin's writing style is clear and precise, and his analysis is right on. altogether, rubin has written a great critique of murakami. hats off gentlemen, hats off.

The literary phenomenon that is Haruki Murakami.......2002-12-05

First of all, don't buy this book purely for biographical purposes, hoping to get some hidden insight on Murakami's life. It is clear that Murakami values his privacy intensely and Rubin goes to great lengths to respect that. Also, what information is given about Murakami will pretty much conform with what you probably could've assumed about him. This book, more than anything else, is a chronological literary criticism of Murakami's works up through "after the quake." Rubin does a good job of analyzing many of the running motifs and themes that occur in Murakami's books (wells, corridors, birds, and elephants, to name a few). It is clear that Rubin has a hard time being a Murakami fan and a Murakami scholar at the same time, but he seems to do a good job remaining impartial (although it is clear which books are his favorites and which are not!)

My first experience with Murakami was when I read "A Wild Sheep Chase" a year and a half ago, and before I knew it I had read every major novel and short story he'd written, finishing Pinball 1973 just last week. I read the books in an order that pretty much had nothing to do with the order they were written (beware that the order that the English translations came out in is often quite different than the original order). As a result, reading the details Rubin gives behind each of the books and about the growth that Murakami experienced along the way were among the highlights of the book for me and helped to solidify the ties that hold his books together. Murakami fascinates me because he is still growing rapidly as a writer and a person and the growing pains as well as the links to his past work are found in each work if you know what to look for.

Rubin spends the most time in this book discussing "The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle," which for me was an incredibly thrilling and frustrating book at the same time. Murakami had so many excellent storylines and so many running motifs, but many seemed to frazzle and die out by the end. Some call this piece Murakami's masterpiece, but I have a feeling that when all is said and done, this will be seen as a transitional piece: the first work where Murakami fully takes on the responsibility he feels towards the Japanese people. Murakami tackled so many issues with such brilliance (the Nomonhan Incident in particular) that I look forward to seeing where this new focus takes Murakami in the future. Some of his more recent work ("Sputnik Sweetheart" comes to mind) seem more of a step backwards than real progress, but there is no way Wind-Up Bird is a mere aberration.

Perhaps more so than any other writer, we as readers have the interesting opportunity to watch Murakami grow and experiment before our very eyes. If you haven't already, definitely try to get your hands on some of the earlier novels and short stories Rubin mentions ("Hear the Wind Sing" in particular) to get an even better grasp of where Murakami has started from.

If you are a serious fan of Murakami and want a better understanding of the thinking behind his works and a bit of an analysis of the works themselves (remember that as an individualist, Murakami believes his books have no one, strict interpretation!), "Haruki Murakami and the Music of Words" is a must-have companion to Murakami's works. Reliving Murakami's works through Rubin's analyses is a joy.

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Haruki Murakami and the Music of Words / Kharuki Murakami i muzyka slov
Jay Rubin
Manufacturer: Amfora
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 5942784795

Product Description

Eta kniga - pervaya v mire monografiya o zhizni i tvorchestve Kharuki Murakami, napisannaya ego drugom, amerikanskim literaturovedom Dzheem Rubinom, professorom yaponskoj literatury. Rubin raskryvaet glavnuyu tajnu muzykal'nosti yazyka Murakami, kotoryj srodni dzhazu (v sootvetstvii s muzykal'nymi vkusami samogo Murakami), legko i uvlekatel'no podmechaet vse chertochki i osobennosti zhizni samogo izvestnogo yaponskogo pisatelya. V issledovanii ispol'zovany neizvestnye ranee materialy, predostavlennye avtoru samim Murakami: chastnaya perepiska, dokumenty s zakrytogo sajta pisatelya, neopublikovannye zametki iz lichnogo arkhiva.Tirazhi proizvedenij Kharuki Murakami b'yut vse rekordy. Avtor ''Okhoty na ovets'' i ''Norvezhskogo lesa'' sejchas, pozhaluj, samyj chitaemyj pisatel' vo vsem mire, i kontsa etomu bumu ne vidno. Ego knigi - povod dlya samykh smelykh sravnenij: Selindzher, Kapote, Chandler, BorkhesOdnako do nedavnego vremeni ne vykhodilo podrobnoj i, glavnoe, vnyatno napisannoj biografii samogo Murakami. Monografiya professora yaponskoj literatury Garvardskogo universiteta Dzheya Rubina vospolnyaet etot probel. Bolee togo, eto ne tol'ko biografiya, no i pervoe issledovanie zhizni i tvorchestva velikogo yapontsa.V chem sekret Murakami? Kakovy ego predpochteniya v zhizni i literature? Chem on zanyat sejchas? Na vse eti voprosy zainteresovannyj chitatel' najdet v knige Dzheya Rubina ischerpyvayuschie otvety. Nemalym ee dostoinstvom yavlyaetsya privlechenie unikal'nykh, malodostupnykh materialov, i eto ponyatno: professor Rubin - drug sem'i Murakami. Krome togo, v knige privoditsya samaya polnaya na segodnyashnij den' bibliografiya proizvedenij yaponskogo pisatelya.

Book Description

Plays One:
A Chorus of Disapproval
A Small Family Business
Henceforward...
Man of the Moment

Alan Ayckbourn introduces his first volume of collected work that contains his morality plays from the 1980s.

The Scandal of Christine Keeler and John Profumo: Lord Denning's Report, 1963 (Moments of History)

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The Scandal of Christine Keeler and John Profumo: Lord Denning's Report, 1963 (Moments of History)
Tim Coates , and Alfred Thompson Denning, Baron Denning
Manufacturer: Tim Coates Books
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The Truth at Last
John Profumo and Christine Keeler (Uncovered Editions)

ASIN: 1843810247

Notre Dame Golden Moments: 20 Memorable Events That Shaped Notre Dame Football

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For the Diehard Irish Fan
Great book for Fighting Irish fans

Notre Dame Golden Moments: 20 Memorable Events That Shaped Notre Dame Football
John Walters
Manufacturer: Thomas Nelson
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Binding: Hardcover

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Echoes of Notre Dame Football: The Greatest Stories Ever Told (Echoes of)
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The Notre Dame Football Encyclopedia: The Ultimate Guide to America's Favorite College Team

ASIN: 1591860423

Book Description

Notre Dame Golden Moments - The Twenty Memorable Events That Shaped

Customer Reviews:

For the Diehard Irish Fan.......2007-10-07
Okay, so the football team isn't looking so great, but this is a must-have item for the Notre Dame Football fan in your life. I gave this as a Christmas gift and the person that I gave it to continues to talk about this book. With Christmas right around the corner, how can you go wrong?
Great book for Fighting Irish fans.......2004-11-24
This is a great book for fans of the Fighting Irish. It delves into and gives great accounts of 20 of the biggest games in Notre Dame history.

From the "Gipper" game to Notre Dame's huge victory over Miami on the road to their National Championship in 1988 to the "Game of the Century" in 1993, this covers most of the biggest moments in Notre Dame history.

The DVD is nice for showing highlights of a lot of these games. (Though I wonder why some of the footage from later years looks like practice film instead of TV broadcast tape.)

The book is the best part. It doesn't just give a play-by-play of each game, but talks about the interesting stories leading up to and after the games.

Seminole fans, stay home.

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The British War in Afghanistan (Moments in History)

Manufacturer: Tim Coates Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1843810069

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A Spiritual oasis of Selfless Service and Divine Love

Moments of Truth: Excerpts from Autobiography of a Yogi
Paramahansa Yogananda , and J. Donald Walters
Manufacturer: Crystal Clarity Publishers
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Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1565897250

Customer Reviews:

A Spiritual oasis of Selfless Service and Divine Love.......1999-11-06
Meditation leads to Superconsciousness and for many people an experience of bliss and ecstacy that surpasses understanding. Imagination and sleep lead to the subconsciousness. Meditation leads to actual God contact! Paramahansa Yogananda infused truely dead dogmatic and old crystalized forms with a Spirit and life that had been missing for many of us in religious words and phrases that had lost their meaning. This man of God, lived what he spoke and through his autobiography more people will awaken to greater "consciousness"(another word for "Soul"). This book, "Autobiography of a Yogi," is infused with Light and Love Divine literally. Here true seekers will be true finders. Since the book is authorized by Self Realization Fellowship (his only true organization authorized by him to promote his teachings) one will find the super jet plane path off the wheel of birth and death (reincarnation). A true teacher such as Yogananda is rarer than you might imagine. And Autobiography of a Yogi (his evolution/remembrance) was written in a manner that was for me, very entertaining! More fun than Science Fiction--because it is TRUE! This is possibly, a starting point for the change you have unknowingly wanted all your life. Yoganada brings from the East light that reveals to us more than we may have known about our Western path. The blend of the two paths is Light Divine. I've read it three times. And all my friends and family agree--Yogananda was an enlightened being. A true gift from God. Leading many souls back to God. (Buy it, read it, contemplate it. Come to it with an open mind and heart). Fear not--it is a great read! 5 Stars!

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Plenty of First Rate Nostalgia

Legends of College Football

A Bright Spot in a Dark Year

A Lesson in Irish History

Echoes of Notre Dame Football: Great and Memorable Moments of the Fighting Irish (with 2 audio CDs)
Joe Garner
Manufacturer: Sourcebooks Mediafusion
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 157071763X

Book Description
See and Hear the Legends of Notre Dame Football
Experience all the excitement and human drama that sports has to offer. For casual fans, lifelong boosters and anyone who just loves great stories, Echoes of Notre Dame Football is an action-packed romp through the most exciting moments and legendary characters in collegiate sports.
Simply put, Notre Dame is college football. Its legends and stars include Knute Rockne, "the Gipper," and the "Four Horsemen"; Joe Theismann and Joe Montana; Ara Parseghian and Paul Hornung; Jerome Bettis and Raghib "Rocket" Ismail.
In the thrilling tradition of And The Crowd Goes Wild, author Joe Garner takes you into the stadium on gameday. Through vivid stories and rare photos, Echoes of Notre Dame Football brings the action on the field to life.
More amazing are two compact discs featuring the actual broadcasts of the Fighting Irish in action, plus the voices of Notre Dame coaching legends like Harper, Rockne, Parseghian, Devine and Holtz and Irish warriors Gus Dorais, Donald Miller, Jim Crowley, Dick Lynch, Tim Brown and more.
Relive the most thrilling moments in Notre Dame football history and hear the actual broadcasts, including:
--The Heisman Winners
--Johnny Lujack, Paul Hornung, Tim Brown and Others Show Why They Were Among Notre Dame's Record 7 Heisman Winners
--Montana's Chicken Soup Heroics: Joe Montana, Sidelined with the Flu, Returns to Lead the Irish Back from 22 Points Behind to Beat Houston in the 1979 Cotton Bowl
--Notre Dame Beats Miami: Notre Dame Knocks Off No. 1 Miami 31-30, Going on to Win the 1988 National Championship
--Wooden Bats Away the Seminoles: No. 1 Florida State vs. No. 2 Notre Dame in 1993--the "Game of the Century"
--The greatest voices of Notre Dame, like Joe Boland, Tony Roberts and Al Wester
--Ronald Reagan paying special tribute to Knute Rockne and the Fighting Irish
--Plus, you'll hear actor Martin Sheen's original reading from Grantland Rice's immortal "Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse"
Customer Reviews:

Plenty of First Rate Nostalgia.......2001-12-31
"Echoes of Notre Dame Football," with its superb collection of Fighting Irish football memorabilia, hits on the high points of a storied football tradition. In additon to having a fine text with plenty of stories on the great Irish football hereoes, including a full chapter on the school's 7 Heisman Trophy winners, along with the memorable games, the book also includes CD disks with audio material involving the likes of ND super fan Regis Philbin and memorable coach Ara Parseghian.
The big games are covered in fascinating detail, making them come live again. The disks include audio portions from those great contests with announcers like Keith Jackson and Van Patrick calling play by play. Among the memorable contests covered are the 1935 classic when the Irish upended Ohio State 18-13 in the closing seconds, the famous 10-10 tie at Michigan State in 1966, and the great comeback in the 1979 Cotton Bowl, when a dehydrated Joe Montana, fortified by chicken soup, returned after the second half had already begun, leading the previously overwhelmed Irish from a 34-7 deficit against Houston to win 35-34 as the clock expired, giving football fans a preview of what to expect from the great quarterback when he joined the Forty-Niners in the NFL.
Having formerly lived in Los Angeles, I was fortunate to see many of Notre Dame's class games at the Coliseum against arch-rival USC. This book has a chapter which covers that famous series, which began in Los Angeles in 1926,in comprehensive and exciting detail.
Legends of College Football.......2001-11-29
I confess...I'm a woman who loves football. Not to mention an Irish-Catholic. So when a football-fanatic friend of mine told me about Echoes of Notre Dame Football, I had to check it out. I read it, I listened to the CDs, and I have to say--this book has it all! Lots of stats for the serious football fan, tons of incredible photographs spanning over 100 years and compelling stories of football legends that will keep you up late into the night reading "just one more" chapter. And the CDs are great! Going back in time and hearing the broadcasters' excitement as Notre Dame football history unfurled on the field before them actually gave me goosebumps. I will admit that it was hard at first to listen to Regis without picturing him on the set of "Millionaire", which was distracting. More of the original play-by-play broadcasts would have been a plus. But any fan of the noble tradition of college football will enjoy this book.
A Bright Spot in a Dark Year.......2001-11-28
Just got the new "ECHOES" book for an early Christmas present while visiting family up north. AWESOME!
We listened to the CD's the whole way home - it was almost like we were really there. Regis was a good pick for the narrator. After your reader from Galesburg listens to the CDs, he'll realize that all of the events not in the book are ALL on the CDs. Now I remember why I'm such a huge Rocket fan.
I've only had time skim through the book, but I can already tell that it will be hard to put down once I get the time to get into it. Garner has hit another home run...or should I say "touchdown"? What a great Christmas present. I almost forgot about what a lousy season the Irish are having this year.
A Lesson in Irish History.......2001-09-17
This is the fourth book written by Mr. Garner that I have read. The first three were awesome and this book comes close to matching the standard set by them. For the most part this is a very enjoyable book: an easy-reading text detailing legendary moments in Irish football history, accompanied by tons of great pictures. The CDs are a bonus, but there is too much Regis and not enough actual game audio. My only other complaint regards the choice of what was included (or excluded) from this project. Can anyone really believe that the '92 Sugar Bowl (Cheerios Bowl) or the '92 Penn St. game are more defining moments in ND football lore than the '46 Army game (the most famous 0-0 tie in college football history and included 4 Heisman trophy winners in the lineups) or the '87 Michigan State game, featuring Tim Brown's back-to-back punt returns for TD's (I still get chills listening to this) and the fastest score in NCAA history (ND awarded a safety on the opening kick-off), or even the '75 Orange Bowl win over 'Bama in Ara's last game? And as for including "Rudy", well, the movie should have been enough, OK?

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An Epiphany of Literary Study

Poetics of Epiphany: 19th Century Origins of the Modern Literary Moment
Ashton Nichols
Manufacturer: University of Alabama Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0817303278

Customer Reviews:

An Epiphany of Literary Study.......2007-03-25
"The Poetics of Epiphany" is a nice, well-argued book of thoughtful literary criticism. It follows somewhat in the tradition of Robert Langbaum, but handles the same theme of literary epiphany in one large, sustained, cohesive argument rather than in a variety of multifarious essays (as in Langbaum's The Word from Below: Essays on Modern Literature and Culture). Both approaches have their strengths, of course, but the overarching consistency of this book is impressive even if Nichols doesn't quite possess the same level of eloquence and flair in style. The prose is clear and dependable all the same, free of the excesses of impenetrable jargon that mar much work in literary studies nowadays.

The focus of Nichols' extended discussion is made plain enough by the rather straightforward title, of course: literary epiphany, an aesthetic experience that imbues the ordinary bits and pieces of one's experience (especially in nature) with an aura of significance, a spiritual sense of wholeness and unity as powerfully felt as it is fleeting. The modernist novelist James Joyce is known for having articulated and described this phenomenon and made it the basis of his literary craft, and so Nichols first explores the origins of this concept in William Wordsworth and his "spots of time" in the nineteenth century and then begins to trace its evolution through the works of Coleridge and Shelley, Browning, Tennyson and Hopkins, and finally to Yeats, T.S. Eliot, Wallace Stevens, and Seamus Heaney (among others). Throughout the book, the author is able to keep on track and stay focused while at the same time showing an uncanny ability to tease out major and minor differences and particularities in emphasis and approach to literary epiphany among these various writers and so clarify them for the reader. There is nothing perfunctory or monotonous in these chapters--Nichols has clearly given a great deal of careful thought to this subject, and it really comes across. If you believe that literature is more than just a Foucaldian power trip, that it is deeply meaningful and spiritually significant (possibly even religious, as with Hopkins and Eliot), then you'll without doubt find this book as interesting and edifying as I did. Highly recommended.

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Brilliant

The Epistolary Moment: The Poetics of the Eighteenth-Century Verse Epistle
William C. Dowling
Manufacturer: Princeton University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

18th Century | Poetry | British | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0691068917

Book Description
The eighteenth-century verse epistle, argues William Dowling, was an attempt to solve in literary terms the dilemma of solipsism as raised by Locke and Hume. The focus of The Epistolary Moment is on internal audience in poetry--the audience "inside" the poem, created by its discourse and belonging to its world--as this divides in epistolary poetry into a double or simultaneous register of address: the audience directly addressed by the letter-writer, and an epistolary audience listening in on the exchange from a point external to the discourse of the speaker but internal to the discourse of the poem. Epistolary audience lies, contends The Epistolary Moment, at the heart of an Augustan theory of poetry as ideological intervention, poems as symbolic acts with enormous consequences in the domain of the real. The emergence of the verse epistle as the dominant form in eighteenth-century poetry thus takes as its ultimate context the origins of eighteenth-century solipsism in a degraded modernity symbolized by Sir Robert Walpole and his Robinocracy, the demonic representatives of a new money or market society arising from the ruins of organic or traditional community.
Customer Reviews:

Brilliant.......2000-07-18
I was lucky enough to be his student, but you can read his book! And you SHOULD read his book. It may not be cheap, but it is dense with brilliant insight and well-written commentary. It's worth every penny.

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The Puritan Moment: The Coming of Revolution in an English County (Harvard Historical Studies)
William Hunt
Manufacturer: Harvard University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0674739043

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