Book Description
Meet the new boss... The corporate war is over, but the corps need the shadows now more than ever as they scramble for position in the new power structure. Fuchi is dead, Novatech has risen from its ashes, and Wuxing and Cross have elbowed their way onto the Corporate Court. The corps have ceased their open conflict, but the guns are still drawn under the table ... Corporate Download describes the history, power players and business interests of the ten top megacorps. Corporate Download focuses on information that runners need: the latest security trends, secret plans, dirty tricks, people to know and how to use them. Players will learn what working for each corp means for their characters, and gamemasters will find new rules for using and rating the megacorps in their campaigns.
Customer Reviews:
Nothing personal, just business.......2005-07-04
"CORPORATE DOWNLOAD focuses on the ten most important characters in the SHADOWRUN universe - the AAA megacorporations that dictate what happens in the shadows and the world at large. The year is 2061, and the dust is settling on a corporate war in which one of the mightiest megacorporations fell. In the aftershocks, three new megacorps rose to prominence, each taking a different path to the top and showing the other megas that they do not have the market cornered on deception and power."
- from the Introduction
Meant for use with:
SHADOWRUN, 3rd edition and the revised SHADOWRUN COMPANION
RIGGER 2
VIRTUAL REALITIES 2.0
CRITTERS
MAGIC IN THE SHADOWS
Plot-wise, CORPORATE DOWNLOAD describes the corporate world as it is after the death of Dunkelzahn (which indirectly triggered the corporate war) and after Deus' takeover of the Renraku Arcology in Seattle, so it is effectively a sequel to PORTFOLIO OF A DRAGON and to RENRAKU ARCOLOGY: SHUTDOWN.
Typically of the best of the Shadowrun sourcebooks, this volume is organized as an electronic document from Shadowland, the (fictional) central clearinghouse for shadowrunner information in the Shadowrun world. As in the real world, of course, information is compiled by characters having their own agendas, which may include the spread of disinformation, so gamemasters are free to decide whether the truth is out there and what it is.
Captain Chaos begins by turning over center stage to two shadowrunners who in parallel provide two quick and dirty tutorials about the facts of life. The Chromed Accountant in "Taking Care of Business" outlines the basic knowledge needed to understand the megacorps: the definitions of "corporation", "multinational corporation", and "megacorporation", and what the AAA rating system actually tells you about a megacorporation. Alongside this explanation of what the corps are lies Wobbly's "They Got the Whole World in Their Hands", which discusses the power of the megacorps: how it evolved and how they maintain it.
The next section, before discussion of the individual megacorps begins, covers "The Corporate Court". The Big 10 megacorps - the 10 biggest multinationals, who between them control more resources than all the other corporations on Earth put together - comprise the Corporate Court, which not only settles inter-corporate disputes but determines a corporation's status in the A - AAA rating system; that is, the Corporate Court decides whether a corporation has extraterritoriality, whether it can act as a law unto itself.
After a final bit of initial tutorial material, "Surviving the Corporations", each individual member of the Big 10 has its own chapter, ranked in alphabetical order. Several entries begin with a little corporate history lesson before moving on to discuss the corporation's internal organization (e.g. primary divisions or businesses) and the major power players, such as Lofwyr's inner circle in the case of Saeder-Krupp.
All of the above is marked up with running commentary by Shadowland's shadowrunner visitors, expanding on areas of their own expertise and debunking items they disagree with. Lots of adventure seeds here, though no pre-packaged scenarios; shadowrunners often give examples. The main article on Yamatetsu, for instance, describes their corporate policy of no shadowruns not sanctioned by upper management, to prevent pointy-haired middle managers from messing up situations they don't understand. (The policy came about because a mid-level exec arranged for the murder of a Shiawase employee who'd been making trouble for Yamatetsu - who turned out to be a Yamatetsu deep-cover agent luring Shiawase into trusting him, unbeknownst to the middle-management Yamatetsu weenie who tried to take him out.) In real life, this means that runs arranged for a mid-level exec's personal gain involve dodging Yamatetsu's own security.
Very good read.
"Though AA corps have frequent dealings with the Corporate Court and accounts with the Zurich-Orbital Bank, they have no official presence on the Court proper. Despite their power, they remain as much at the Court's mercy as the smallest corps. Each and every one would kill their mothers to get on the Court."
- the Chromed Accountant
very useful in games where the corps play big.......1999-11-08
I liked the book overall, and found that a lot of background info was given to help anyone who cared learn about the big 10. The mega-corps are all very well-detailed, and some of the info has mucho potential as GM material and story hooks. However, I thought that the game info section with the rules could have been a bit better, such as maybe including general pay scale for certain types of shadowruns. But that's just me. Overall, the book rocked. Get it if the Big 10 interest you at all, and especially if you're a GM planning on some corporate espionage!
This book rocks.......1999-09-07
this is a great book if you feel like running a game where the corps have a greater presence and intrical part in the story. also good for a history on the corps.
anyone who injoys role playing games should play shadowrun........1999-07-18
shadowrun is one of the best rpg made. this is my opinion but you you should definatly should get it.
Another excellent source.......1999-07-17
Another excellent source for information on the Awakened World. A much needed update on the corporate struggles that plague the UCAS, CAS, and anywhere else that holds any value. Valuable info on new corps, such as Novatech. A good accessory to help sort out the chaos of the Fuchi collapse.
Customer Reviews:
Leadership 360.......2007-08-09
John Maxwell does it again. He bring perspective to you and your environment wherever you may be in the orgnaization and helps you look at yourself in a different light.
Everyday Practicality.......2007-08-06
Once again John Maxwell gives us sound advice on how to be more effective and he does it in ways that we can actually accomplish.
I like the fact that he gives us tasks and subtasks that allow us to meet each goal and become effective from where ever we may be in the company. Everyone has the potential to influence others if they can only find the right way to do it.
Maxwell believes that leading can occur from most anywhere and he gives practical ways to do just that. The thing that holds many people back is that they often feel that because they don't have any direct reports or because they are not in middle management or above that they can't lead and have influence. Maxwell refutes that myth and shows us how to lead up, down and across. These 3 directions will touch everyone and improve their ability to lead.
The book is broken into sections that covers each of the leadership directions and each direction is filled with tips and advice. The book isn't too long and is never boring. It it worth reading again and again to make sure that you are staying on track with your leadership goals and growth.
Required Reading for Today's Leaders.......2007-07-07
Another great book by leadership guru, J. Maxwell. This is an excellent book on leadership and contains many good ideas that anyone can apply from anywhere in their organization.
OK.......2007-06-20
This book has a lot of usefull information in it however at times I felt myself getting a little bored. The writer used to be a pastor and refers back to that a lot. Although I know he is trying to use real world examples I feel as though I have no relation with that genre of life. All in all, it's a good book and I learned a lot but I wish it was a little more interesting and more importantly exciting!!!
Developing middle-managers.......2007-06-13
This is a very good book to develop middle managers in an organization. John Maxwell points out how those in the middle can have a great leadership influence and shouldn't wait until they make it to the top to sharpen their skills. The book is easy to read and full of insightful quotes and stories.
Book Description
Jack Whitman is a powerful executive with a massive multimedia conglomerate. He is extremely well-paid, highly ambitious, and desperately lonely since his wife's murder. Then one night on a subway car, his eyes meet those of a woman he cannot forget.Dolores Salcines is a ravaged beauty on the knife edge of despair--a woman on the run with secrets, and good reason to hide them. What she needs is a savior--an impulsive rescue form a dire past. What she has found is a man willing to give it to her.It begins as a reckless liaison. It spirals into a nightmare that threatens Jack's career, his fortune, and his life. A trap has been set. For Jack, the only chance at escape is to submit to the one final dangerous urge that resides in the dark side of every human heart.
Customer Reviews:
More Than Just A Thriller.......2007-04-10
Harrison's novel is an engrossing and suspenseful story of colliding ambitions and needs in America, with an incisive view of how corporations dehumanize the people who support them. His rich descriptions of life and society are as astute as any critical essay, yet make for irresistible reading. He also is a master of the "gray area": there are no good guys or bad guys in this book -- just people trying to survive and find personal fulfillment in their own ways. This novel has changed both the way I write and the way I view other people trying to make sense of life.
Absolutely Compelling.......2004-11-28
I could hardly put this book down. I really enjoyed the theme and the development of the characters. Really a pleasure to have come across it.
engrossing thriller.......2003-03-31
I had some minor issues toward the end. During a meeting late in the novel, a character is forced to present wearing nothing but swimwear. This seemed a laborious way to make a point, and the silliness of the situation distracted me. The ending ties up messily, with everything resolved but in a manner that stretches the limits of disbelief. People are revealed for what and who they really are, certainly, but there's a lack of motivation behind their actions, and their deeds are not convincing.
I'm being deliberately coy, because all faults aside, this is a very impressive book. Harrison's writing style and the depth and breadth of his characters are beautiful. Reading on, you come to feel as if you know these people, and in most instances you genuinely care about them. Even minor characters are fully limned. Better still is what Harrison doesn't say. Jack Whitman tells us that his mother never liked his late wife, and in the next breath that he doesn't speak to his mother much anymore. Harrison lets us read between the lines in many such places.
A classical sense of tragedy runs through this book: that our lives are not foretold but shaped by us, and that we are often the sources of our own ruin. At the tale's end, you'll want to go back to the beginning, armed with a new knowledge of who these people are and what will become of them.
A great novel.......2001-05-15
Bodies Electric is over all a good novel. The novel is about a man named Jack Whitman. In the beginnig of the novel, Harrison does a nice job introducing Jack, and this continues throughout the rest of the novel as well. By the end of the novel, the reader really feels as if they had personally met Jack, which to me, makes this a well written novel. Jack is a business man who works in a very large and well known media corperation. At first, I was not sure if I would really like this novel because I am not usually interested in things dealing with large businesses. However, I ended up learning a lot about big corporations and it was actually quite interesting. I would more than likely recommend this novel to someone looking for a novel to read. I would definitely suggest to go somewhere where you know you will not be bothered because I was unable to stop reading by the time I got to the last few chapters.
Again, Harrison has fulfilled my life for 2 more days........2000-09-23
Fantastic! That's what I could only say to you guys without any chronicle backpains. I suffered a badback again last week and had to lie down in bed for 4 days. "Bodies Electric" had lightened my painful suffering for two days and enlightened me in the meantime. When I finished it, I could not help but shaking my head awkwardly on my pillows with amazement and appreciation. This review is also my "Thank You!" note to Mr. Harrison for this wonderful and profound painkiller other than Motrin 800 mg and Flexril. The only thing that I did not quite enjoyed is that when I finished reading, the ending seems to be a bit rushed and obscure. Mr. Harrison so far has created two profound, memorable yet lonely characters: Jack Whiteman and Porter Wren. Both are fatally driven to be a "tragic hero" and a living example of "The heart is a lonely hunter." Both have made you, the reader, to look at the faceless lonely crowd out in the street, on the sidewalk, in the concrete jungles, with new way of looking angle, finally realized and visualized that behind every expressionless face and worldly success, some of them might still with passion, love, warmth, sympathy, fantasy, desire, weakness, helplessness, tenderness, hopes and dreams. Harrion's artwork might not be easily appreciated by those under 30 who are still unconciously or subconciously reading books with their own different moral standards, with their bias social values or pre-judgement to approach a book, trying to categorize a book with the superflous commercial brands: "Thriller, Genre," words like "Suspenseful, whodunit...." These pathetic marketing stuff in fact, all got nothing to do with Harrison's works. Because he only told us two thing: "No matter what and why, no matter how and when, with wife and children or not, we human beings still got a darker side and lonely inner self. The spur-of-the-moment or your behavior, no matter how reasonable or logical at the moment, or vise versa, sometimes might just ruin everything you have worked so hard to have achieved or reached." Reading Mr. Harrison's books with any social value or moral standard is a doomed wrong start albeit to appreciate his greatness.
Download Description
PRAISE FOR JENNIFER GOVERNMENT
“Funny and clever . . . a kind of ad-world version of Dr. Strangelove . . . [Barry] unleashes enough wit and surprise to make his story a total blast.”
—New York Times Book Review
“Barry capitalizes on the strengths of the characters and ends up creating a brilliant finale to a clever story.”
—USA Today
“The plot rockets forward on hyperdrive . . . fresh and very clever.”
—Boston Globe
“A wicked and wonderful satire . . . Jennifer Government does just about everything right.”
—Washington Post Book World
“Extremely funny . . . Barry is a smart writer with a Cassandra’s gift for dark-edged prognostication.”
—Time
“A riotous satirical rant . . . [its characters’] excesses . . . make Barry’s world of unregulated corporate greed and unrelenting consumerism so frightening and funny.”
—Entertainment Weekly
“It’s Catch-22 by way of The Matrix.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“A thoroughly modern tale in the tradition of George Orwell and Aldous Huxley.”
—Book
Customer Reviews:
It's like Dilbert on steroids.......2007-08-07
This was the first book I read by Barry. I didn't know what to expect, but after the first page I don't think I put the book down more than a few minutes until I had finished the entire thing. I've since read any other Barry books I could get my hands on.
I thought that every parody of corporate culture that could be made had already been covered by Dilbert, yet The Company gave me new and funny material to laugh at. The book offers a unique and creative explanation for the seemingly retarded decisions of big business, and then destroys it all with a story where integrity and strength of character win over greed.
Company - to the ludicrous extreme.......2007-07-18
Picture your typical company and all it's ridiculous bureaucracy, then take it to almost Dilbert levels - but not that far - where it's still somewhat believable. Throw in a twist in the company history, and you've got Max Barry's company. A funny read along the sames lines of his Jennifer Government and Syrup. I love Max's style because it reads so easily and quick, you can almost sit down and read it straight through without feeling like you've wasted any time at all.
Satirical Look at Corporate Culture.......2007-07-10
What starts as a satirical look at corporate culture twists and turns into something else. Max Barry can mock like the best of them, and it's encouraging to see publishers embracing a book that bends genres (satire, thriller). The ending just didn't live up to the expectations, however--it's good that the rest of the novel kept me engaged until the climax, but Barry ultimately doesn't close the deal. Four stars for the first 3/4 of the book, and two stars for the finish.
Very clever.......2007-07-09
This is based upon the audio download from audible.com.
There have been various comments about this reader...either love him or hate him. I happily align with the former.
Since there are many other sources for a review of the book, I'll comment only what makes this different, the reader. With so many characters in the story, I found different voices the reader used for each helpful and delightful in the reading of this very clever story.
I rate William Dufris right along my other favorite reader, Scott Brick.
Maxx Barry is the author of the decade.......2007-06-18
This guy is amazing. Jennifer Government, Syrup, and Company are all engrossing tongue in cheek reads that satire marketing and the business world. He is one of the most intelligent authors I have come across. Keep up the awesome work Maxx!!!
(btw I liked it better when it was with 2 x's bro)
Amazon.com
Jack Groppel is a speaker-consultant on business issues and a partner in a company that helps sports stars such as Ernie Els and Monica Seles enhance their competitive edge by fine-tuning their training regimens and overall lifestyles. In The Corporate Athlete, he proposes a total program of nutrition, exercise, and spiritual fitness that's designed to do the same for those competing in the world of business. "Executives and employees in the new millennium can protect their health and happiness and continue to perform at high levels only by doing what athletes do--train," Groppel writes. "You must become a Corporate Athlete, which means adapting the training mentality of elite, high-performance athletes." His program is hardly "a quick fix," Groppel admits, but rather a demanding (albeit versatile) and multifaceted process with explicit short- and long-term guidelines. He clearly explains how carbohydrates and proteins, stretching and aerobic activity, and even ethics and values affect performance at work, for example, and offers practical suggestions for incorporating them into an already overcrowded day. He concludes by outlining a complete 21-day improvement program, which includes day-by-day goals for exercise and meals along with ways to track subsequent accomplishments. This book is for anyone, corporate or otherwise, looking to add balance to an otherwise stressful and hectic work life. --Howard Rothman
Book Description
Today's corporate world is much like the world of professional sports -- fiercely competitive, mentally and physically demanding, and requiring constant, vigilant, training. More than ever, to maintain health, happiness, and career success, executives and employees must become Corporate Athletes.
Based on the latest scientific and medical studies, The Corporate Athlete tells corporate competitors how to achieve maximum performance levels. Drawing on the parallels between sports and business, Jack Groppel reveals the integral roles that nutrition, fitness, and self-improvement -- mental, physical and emotional-play in giving corporate athletes their winning edge. Learn to:
* Have as much energy for your family at 8 p.m. as you have at the office at 8 a.m.
* Respond to change, adversity and crisis more constructively
* Slow down the aging process
Whether or not you can hit a home run or run a marathon, this program will train you to perform at the highest possible levels in both your professional and family life.
Customer Reviews:
OUTSTANDING!.......2000-02-18
This great book should be on the desk of every stressed out business executive.It brilliantly describes what it takes to be in a peak state of mind when you need to be.There is no question that business people as well as everyone should train their bodies to get their minds in top shape.This book illustrates that with great information about diet,exercise,and proper attitude.A wise investment.
Lacking new Insight to an age-old problem.......2000-02-01
I waited in anticipation for this book to arrive. Much hype had been made about this new research and the 21 day plan. Business men and women stuggle to balance work and home-life, and the foundation of this book is right on. If we loose weight, drink more water and exercise we will have more energy for both. The problem with this book is that it says very little more. I found myself brousing through the book looking for new ideas to give me some boost. The book does have some excellent chapters on how to deal with stress in the work place. In fact, this book is worth buying just for these two chapters. However, for those of us who read self help books on a daily basis, you might be looking for more.
At the Top of Your Game.......2000-01-23
Finally - a book that delivers on its promise to help you get to the top of your game, to help you achieve maximal performance levels in life - and does so using a common sense approach that integrates experience, study and science with focus and commitment. The key is training like an athlete whether its following an exercise or nutrition program or developing a positive attitude. What a refreshingly realistic concept in this "a pill a day takes the fat away" world! Through Dr. Groppel's convincing clarity, it all makes perfect sense. And you don't have to be in the business arena to benefit from the principles of THE CORPORATE ATHLETE. Maximizing performance can be a goal that crosses age, gender and occupational or vocational boundaries. But what makes this book stand out for me is Dr. Groppel's holistic approach - completing the palate of fitness by incorporating the physical, mental and emotional with the spiritual. It takes courage to take spirituality out of its politically correct closet and plop it onto the Board Room table, to make it a key component of performance enhancement. Could it be that the growth of courage, confidence, conviction and character is a natural end product of one's development into the ultimate corporate athlete? I am convinced, after reading the book, that this is the case.
Book Description
This definitive guide provides tips for producing music using Reason, one of the most popular virtual-studio programs. This second edition explores new features of the latest version, and projects from the earlier edition incorporate the new devices and samples. Revisions reflect the features added with the MClass Compressor, Maximizer, and Equalizer devices, while a new chapter on audio mastering discusses the use of these devices. A Combinator chapter discusses new synthesis, effect configurations, and methods used in the patches from the updated Factory Soundbank Library. This book delivers advanced production techniques to experienced Reason users.
Customer Reviews:
Not for the faint of heart.......2007-10-04
Very, very deep. This is for synth freaks like Me!
This is not for begginers or intermediate...this is an expert's book.
The combinator chapter is great!
Insightful for Power Users..........2007-05-13
This book is chock full of interesting ideas and strategies for sound-designers and composers using Reason. It's fairly well written, and provides excellent logic-diagrams and tips for building devices using the Combinator that I hadn't thought of. Many examples are multi-device applicable - so even people that don't exclusively use Reason can learn things about general synthesis and sound-design. As other people have noted: THIS IS NOT FOR BEGINNERS. Highly recommended for sound-designers, medium/advanced users and performers.
Great book for learning some practical synthesis techniques.......2007-03-29
This book will teach you some very useful and practical synthesis techniques that are used in popular electronic music. Almost all the examples he walks the reader through ends with "oh! that's how they do that!" I have been doing electronic music off and on for over 10 years and was wanting to learn some new techniques and this book definately did the job. As a double-wammy, if you're familiar with synthesis you can apply everything you learn to other programs and hardware.
Great Tips & Tricks!!.......2007-02-06
I got this book a couple a weeks ago and have to say that it is pretty cool. It is not for beginners. It will show you more advanced concepts of Reason 3.0. Still working my way through the book. Very cool.
Fantastic book.......2007-01-23
This book really covers the program in incredible detail. It's not a book that can be skimmed through. You really need to have your highlighter handy as you read it. There's a lot to absorb even for someone who has used Reason before. The chapters on "Essential Shortcuts" and "Control Voltages" alone are worth the price of admission.
Book Description
Geared toward intermediate users, Reason 3 Power! is a perfect book for the home recording studio musician! Readers learn how to use Reason with other software and hardware through in-depth tutorials and explanations. This guide is packed with tips that even a quite experienced user may not be aware of. It provides the "why" behind the "how" so readers leave this book with a better overall knowledge of the ins and outs of the application. The authors cover Reason from A to Z in order to bring readers up to "power user" status. This book explores the history of MIDI, how Reason works with MIDI, and valuable tricks of the trade that will help make readers' songs sound professional. Whether it's for a professional musician or a hobbyist, Reason X Power! coupled with this dynamic software will take the creative possibilities to a whole new level.
Customer Reviews:
the perfect blend.......2007-10-04
This is the perfect book to start becoming a Power User. Goes way ahead of the ignite series but not as deep as the Power Tools series.
Very good examples, very easy to read . Gives a lot of information of the background of synthesis and sequencing.
Good, thorough starting point for learning Reason.......2007-06-05
This book has received some criticism for being dry, boring, etc. I didn't find it so, but even if I had I would still value this book. I didn't buy it to be entertained, I bought it to learn Reason. Having read it and used it for an occasional reference I can safely say that this book accomplished all that I expected of it. I highly recommend it to anyone who is learning Reason. It's more thorough than some of the beginner type books, but still covers all the basics.
If you want an advanced "tips & tricks" type book, this one won't satisfy. If you want it to teach you music theory or mixing & mastering techniques, again, you'll be disappointed. But if you want to get up to speed in Reason and go beyond just the basics and want something that's a little easier to digest than the manual, this is perhaps the best such book on the market.
Very useful but incredibly hard to go through.......2007-03-15
The title should say it all. Reason is really not that complicated to grasp. At least the basics are simple enough.
I've used 3D software for many years (3D Studio MAX and more recently Autodesk Maya) and they're about as complicated as they get in terms of software. Yet the books i've bought to learn the software have been relatively easy to go through.
Reason just isn't complicated by comparison, but the authors of this book just make it monumentally painful to walk through. Graphic illustrations are often pages ahead of the paragraph that refers to them, random bits of tips and tricks brutally interrupt the flow of the book, explanations to concepts or tool functions are sometimes poorly worded, making it difficult to understand them and finally, a lot of repetition. Many of the instruments in Reason have the exact same buttons. So sometimes they bring up the same explanations and they look exactly the same, word for word, and then sometimes they'll say "we've already explained this before, we'll leave it out here". Well make up your mind. They could quite simply have grouped them together in a chapter of their own to refer to as you went through the book for example.
Like i said, monumentally painful to walk through. Disorganized.
However, i would STILL recommend this book quite simply because it's so complete. It goes through every single instrument and effect. All the instruments have their own in-depth chapters and the effects are grouped together and covered thoroughly. I just wish they'd organized this book like they actually wanted to teach Reason...
Dry and boring, but useful.......2007-03-10
I bought this book because I wanted to learn how to create great music using Reason 3.0, which is an amazing piece of software. I feel as if I could spend a lifetime experimenting with its different virtual sound modules, effects, and drum machines. Unfortunately, I thought this book was too dry, and more focused on various "nuts and bolts" of the software, instead of the artistry a composer can explore. I actually preferred the Lyford book, which performs a great walkthrough on building a song from scratch. This book also has a walk-through on building a song, but I didn't enjoy going through it as much.
Pretty complete!.......2006-08-23
I tried the Visual Quick Start Guide, but I prefer this much better! It has more explanation on the consequences of your actions, and why thing happen. I found it more satisfying.
There are lots of hints and tips throughout the books which proved to be very valuable.
Definitely recommend.
Customer Reviews:
So Disappointed.......2005-10-25
First book written in the series, written in 1940, but second in chronological order, "Time of Hope" being the first, starting in 1914, when Lewis Eliot is almost 9 years old. I started with "Time of Hope", thinking that since it was first in time, I should read it first. Perhaps that was a mistake, since I do not think "Strangers and Brothers" can hold a candle to "Time of Hope", written in 1949. That was a masterpeice, pure and simple. In "Strangers and Brothers" the narrative seems plodding, heavy, and at times downright preachy. And because I already knew that it was due mainly to George Passant alone that Lewis becomes the barrister he was, and the success that he was, the characterization of George by his trial lawyer as a man who has wasted his life seemed just plain wrong. No man who gives another man a chance he would never have had otherwise has wasted his life. He helped Lewis rise from his lower middle class beginnings with his prodding, encouragement, and most of all money, money that he had to take from those funds with which he regularly helped his parents. None of this is brought out in "Strangers and Brothers". But here too, as in "Time of Hope" is still that vagueness about what exactly George and Jack and Olive did that such a fuss was made about. All is implied; there are no scenes which take place telling us what happened. This did not hold me at all, and I found it tedious in spots. To be fair, I already knew that the three would be acquited from "Time of Hope", and maybe that colored my reading to some extent. Although to set the facts straight, Lewis was not the one who got George off; it was Getliff, his first employer when he was a young barrister.
A most impressive, imaginative story.......2001-03-04
Set in a provincial English village, Strangers and Brothers was written in 1940 and is the first of a series featuring the protagonist Lewis Eliot. The main cast is a group of poor young college students who are mentored by one of their law professors, George Passant, a man of remarkable gifts who exerts a crucial influence on the lives of the young people he has gathered around himself.
Passant attracts the devotion of the group, and helps them with advice, lending them money and generally persuading them of their worth and motivating them to go on to greater things. He also parties with them. Eliot is one of the group who goes on to become a solicitor (lawyer).
Passant is a passionate, scrupulously honest idealist who is endlessly optimistic about human value and worth; a penchant that leads him into quixotic ventures, and eventually into trouble with the law on a fraud accusation, from which Lewis Elliot eventually extricates him.
The story is entirely about complex human motivations and relationships, with no violence, explicit sex, high speed auto chases or any of the other devices deemed so necessary by modern fiction writers. Yet it is fascinating, full of tension, and holds the reader's interest to the end.
C.P. Snow is also the author of The Search, The Affair, Homecoming and several other best selling novels of his day. This as a story that caught and held my interest.
Joseph H Pierre
Greatest Series of Novels Ever Read.......2000-08-22
I have read many series of novels - from The Forsyte Saga (Galsworthy) to Dance to the Music of Time (Powell), from The Raj Quartet (Scott) to The Alexandrine Quartet (Durrell). This is the best. It is the most profound, sensitive, deeply involving series of novels, set iun England from about 1920 through the mid-1960s, against the background of the small town where the barrister grew up, the university he attended and became a fellow, the world of nuclear physics during W.W.II (in which his brother is a scientist) and the related worlds of espionage involving nuclear secrets, Cabinet politics, and high business.
Snow's interests are many: obsessive love, the gaining and holding of power over others (politics in all sorts of worlds), manners, psychological infirmity. He is fascinated by the development and shredding of character and power. Warning: these books take about 150 pages to get into, so it does require patience. Once you are into the series, there is no satisfaction to be gained from any other book until the series is done. (My reaction when reading others is "why won't the author REALLY tell us what is happening in this scene?").
These books are truly great and truly under-appreciated. (The poor, overly reductive television series in the mid-1980s or early 1990s didn't help).
A Masterpiece of Modern History and Personal Observation.......2000-08-06
This is the first book in a series of wonderful novels by C.P.Snow.
Snow was a molecular physicist in England in the 1930-1940's. During world war II he became a civil servant, engaged in recruiting scientists to the war efforts, especially the development of the atomic bomb.
His books contain detailed observation of all levels of life in this setting; pre-world war II England (Strangers and Brothers), academic politics in Cambridge (The Masters), Whitehall politics (Corridors of Power) and the discovery of atomic power and the dread of its consequences (The New Men). All his books are woven with sensitive descriptions of his personal life and that of his friends. His first wife, suffering froms schizophrenia, had almost crippled him emotionally (Homecomings, A Time of Hope) untill he met his second wife who taught him to experience love and friendship.
His work as Civil Servant Commissioner and industry earned him a knighthood in 1957.
Stangers and Brothers is the first book, telling the story of Lewis Eliot (CP Snow's literary identity) and his encounter with George Passant between 1925-1933, who brought together a group of young people in an idealistic search for personal, social, and sexual freedom. It is a fascinating decription of social ideas typical of pre-world war II England, yet universal to young adulthood's search for independence.
I enjoyed almost all of Snow's books and I certainly recommend this one too. I sincerely wish all his books were available, but unfortunately many are out of press.
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- Price is Right
- Humanistic Traditions (vol. 4-6)
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The Humanistic Tradition: Faith, Reason, and Power in the Early Modern World : Volumes 3, 4, and 5
Gloria K. Fiero
Manufacturer: Mcgraw-Hill College
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 General
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Consciousness & Thought
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Humanism
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ASIN: 007561328X |
Book Description
In Volume Four, readers are exposed to the cornerstones of the early modern world, from the age of the Baroque to the art, music, and culture of the eighteenth century. As in previous volumes, the author presents lively discussion accompanied by literary excerpts and examples to illuminate a variety of topics, including Catholicism's global reach, the birth of modern philosophy, the political theories of Hobbes and Locke, the Enlightenment, and the music of Hayden and Mozart, to name a few.
Customer Reviews:
Price is Right.......2006-08-11
The price of the book was a very good price compared to other places I've looked.
Humanistic Traditions (vol. 4-6).......2000-05-26
Fiero has done a wonderful job surveying history, making it enjoyable and interesting to almost any reader. With pictures of artwork and architecture, Fiero's text is enchanced, allowing the reading to gain a broader view into history from the enlightenment to modern times. As with many history books, the writer's presuppitions are reflected in their writing. Fiero follows this trend, allowing her feministic presupptions to interpret history. While this is not so evident in volumes 4 and 5, in volume 6 (a review of modern times), this view is highly stated. This series (including the first 3 volumes) is a wonderful review of history, allowing the reader to see into various cultures throughout history.
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Power Tools Reason 3.0
Manufacturer: BACKBEAT BOOKS (HI M
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000GSUCX6 |
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