5 comments about Ready-to-Use North American Indian Motifs: 391 Different Permission-Free Designs Printed One Side (Clip Art Series).

1. This book is wonderful because the motifs are available for you to use as you wish! I bought this after reading a review of another book that everything was copyrighted and I wanted non-copyrighted motifs. All the pages are black and white, loaded with Native American Motifs. Each motif has the name and tribe so if you make something to sell, you will know which tribe to use on your labels/ads. Reminds me of the art books we used in the 1980's for newspaper ad clip-art before the use of computers. No problem about the sizes if you have access to a copier. Happy to add this to my collection of art books!



2. The product was promptly delivered in excellent condition. I am impressed with the number of different Native American tribes that were represented in the motifs.



3. I was expecting full size patterns. However there are good
   patterns, but will have to be enlarged to use them.



4. I bought this for my son who loves drawing and he really has enjoyed it. The illustrations are great and theres good information along with the illustartions.



5. As a descendant of the Native American Choctaw tribe, I was VERY pleased with this book. The illustrations are clear and precisely drawn. The reader receives a lot of inspiration for Native American art and designs. However, of far more value to the reader, the author identifies the designs with various tribes. Naturally, I was particularly pleased to find the highly modernistic looking designs of the Choctaws. I strongly recommend this book to any students of Native Americans or students of art.
   
   Robert J. Deffeyes

5 comments about Art Since 1900: Modernism, Antimodernism, Postmodernism: 1945 to the Present.

1. Ok, parts of this book, especially the first few chapters, are really, really hard. But if you slow down enough, you can sometimes figure out what the author(s) are saying. Some of it is clearly written, so there must be at least one writer on board who can write for the educated masses.
   
   This book does deal with a lot of issues that are important to contemporary visual artists, especially in the second half of the book. The roundtable discussion at the end is worth the price of admission alone.
   
   The reproductions are really good.
   
   I taught art history for a couple of years, and I would love to teach a class using this book. It raises a lot of issues that would be fun to talk about in a seminar. I wish I had had it when I was in graduate school in photography.



2. As a visual studies major, I've read my fair share of theory and art history books, and this is by far the worst. It is filled with statements that ramble on for full paragraphs leave you looking for both the period and the point. The reader gets the impression that an intoxicated art historian is rambling on at a party, completely unaware of how uninteresting he or she is, or how little sense is being made. The legitimate information in this book could be presented in a pamphlet. I was forced to read this, and sift through 704 pages of hay to find the needle. I literally read this book while walking on a treadmill in order to maintain consciousness.



3. The best example I've ever seen of art historians taking themselves so seriously that almost every paragraph drips with pretension.



4. I suspect that a number of these comments were inspired by a scathing review in the Wall Street Journal by Eric Gibson (the "culture war" ones at least). But maybe not...
   I would have liked to write a more critical review of this book, although, or perhaps, because I liked it so much, but with all of these rather "blunt" opinions, it is hard to do anything but just praise it. Still, I'll throw out a couple of points of critique:
   
   1. It is obvious that the authors are trying to create a kind of definitive history of 20th century art. This is in part based on their particular take, and indeed, sometimes this is more evident than others (esp. the closer you get to the present), but in general it is a very thorough book (presenting numerous positions). That they were among the founding editors of October should make it more interesting to read than otherwise. Needless to say, it should also be read in this way. There is definitely a certain direction to this work. But isn't that what writing and scholarship is all about? See also point 3.
   
   2. I do wish that they would call into question some more of their own philosophical and political "foundations." For the most part, much like in October, their critique and development of Marxism, structuralism, psychoanalysis, "post-structuralism" etc. all seem to focus on a historical or art historical USE of these fields rather than going to the "heart of the matter" and maybe trying to address them on a philosophical or for that matter on a "real-political" level. It would be nice to be able to read the work from a philosophical or political vantage point too, not just an art historical one...they seem to SOMETIMES ironically mirror their "blunt" critic's weak position of lumping everything into one common trend of "continental philosophy" or "postmodernism" etc.
   
   3. The tension between textbook and the "avant-garde" art critic: I find this to be sometimes a bit too much, end up asking myself, am I in some "contemporary art 101 class?" or am I directly "on the front"...but in the end I find this also to be interesting. Trying to make an institution, a textbook classic out of all of these disparate attempts to undermine such an idea... I hope the next version is less well-mannered and proper and a bit crazier (less a text book).



5. The reproductions are good and very useful, but the language is a bit convoluted.

5 comments about About Looking.

1. The book was in great condition and came very prompty. I know nothing about art history, so this book is way over my head.



2. This is a romantic view of art with leftist references. It is about the way we perceive things visually, in various contexts. He uses photographs and painted works primarily but ends the book by describing how we might view a field. Different sociological and psychological factors will temper what we interpret what we are seeing.
   
   Berger writes in a style that I enjoy, descriptive and without concern for the grammatical structure that the nuns taught me in elementary school. That is not to say it is poorly written, Berger does take some license with proper English. Still the florid prose is very entertaining to me.
   
   I agree with the political concerns that the author has but I do have a problem with his presentation. In particular he discusses the uses of visual images for propaganda and how art was manipulated by Nazi Germany. This is true but then he describes how art can be used to promote socially progressive ideology. In my own opinion propaganda is propaganda whether it is from the left or the right of the political spectrum.
   
   A second issue I take with this author is that he takes some pretty fanciful leaps in his determination of what some artistic ploy means. He described a series of sculptures that would be placed next to a wall. One side of the sculptures was flat. He determined that this was not due to their inevitable placement but to some other factor.
   
   My last issue has to do with presentation. Berger makes a lot of assumptions that are personal. They are undoubtedly a result of a lot of thinking, reading and discussing art. I do not necessarily think they are wrong. He does however, assume that he is correct. Several times this occurred when I was unable to see from his perspective at all. I think that suggestions and fanciful leaps can be appropriate in an art criticism reading. I suggest that the points would reach home more readily if they were phrased ala "...perhaps we could suggest..., or ...maybe one way of interpreting the form is..." Berger instead uses polemic type phrasing such as "undoubtedly this is a result of..."
   
   For an interesting perspective, some historical information and thought provoking suggestions this is a very good read.



3. This is indispensable reading. No joke.



4. Please please read this book. You will not regret it. Every essay is an eye opener and get you to really rethink your world-view.



5. Most of what our eyes take in is filtered, as we cannot process all that is within the field of our vision. Were there no limits, sleep would be required for the vast majority of each 24-hour period. Our brain provides filters that allow selective acknowledgement or perhaps isolated concentration on those visual cues that we deem important.

   Mr. John Berger's book, "About Looking", will radically change your perception of what you see.

   Much of the book is dedicated to explaining how various artists' works should be visually understood, what a casual viewer would observe as opposed to someone who is trained in art. I have generally found the long-winded, affected, and pretentious descriptions of art by "Art Experts" to be ridiculous at best and coma inducing more the norm. As Mr. Berger takes you through various artists and how he "sees" their work the language can still seem a bit affected, but as you read, this man uses the words he needs. To suggest he is affecting his explanations would be a petty way to express one's ignorance. Read what he says, and you will see things, as you have not before.

   I enjoyed the entire book, however the essays, "Why Look At Animals, and, Uses of Photography", were of greatest interest. They went beyond the explanation of expanding the methods of how the visual can be expanded and included History, Anthropology, and Sociology as well. Many people find zoos artificial, perverse, or even fraudulent. When you read this man's explanation of Animals, our relationships to them over time and how we see them, and they us, regardless of what you now feel you will feel differently.

   The same is true in his essay on photography. The science is relatively new, the use and invasion of the camera has become something so common the practice of using a camera is barely noticed. There are the occasional eruptions over privacy, surveillance, and "Big Brother", but those that suggest we are not already a society who have given up much of their privacy, are deluding themselves. Mr. Berger does not just opine on the subject. Court cases, the use of the camera in all its incarnations is explored more deeply than a casual look would suggest there is material to talk about.

   This is not a book by a shallow charlatan picking off a couple of quick tricks that make you say hmmmmmmm. He does show that even when the filtered information arrives we see very little of what reaches us; we rarely gain the benefit of all the information. He demonstrates how a bit of inquisitiveness can make what seems ordinary spectacularly special.

No comments about Contemporary Botanical Illustration: Challenging Colour and Texture.

5 comments about Elements of Writing Fiction - Scene & Structure (Elements of Fiction Writing).

1. This book is an absolute must.
   
   The first book that you should read is Swain's Techniques of the Selling Writer.
   
   The second book is this one.
   
   Both of these books demonstrate fundamental dramatic technique: scene and sequel. Scene is comprised of goal, conflict, disaster and in which the conflict is worked out via stimulus-internal reaction-response. After a scene comes the sequel in which the character emotionally and rationally selects a new goal.
   
   Other reviewers notwithstanding, this is not a write by the numbers book. You are free to vary the pattern as much as you please -- after all, it's your book, and your vision. But for anyone who has written numerous chapters and realizes that something is wrong, this book will give much needed understanding.



2. Bickham was Dwight Swain's student at Oklahoma and went on to write a lot of (I think) pot boilers using what he learned, then wrote Scene & Structure. If you're a working writer (or want to be), the book to read, study and memorize is Dwight Swains "Techniques of the Selling Writer." It's got everything you need to kick start your education in writing fiction. I've published one short story, won several literary prizes for both fiction and non-fiction, and I'm deep into writing my first novel. Swain is the only one I've ever read who really knows how fiction works and can explain it so others can do it, too. Bickham's book is 168 pages, including index. By page 168, Swain is telling the student how the "end of the beginning" needs to be structured to generate suspense. Which one sounds more valuable to you?



3. I just finished reading this book. I read the whole book carefully, then went back and re-read several chapters. I believe I understand what Mr. Bickham is trying to get across.
   
   I agree with the reviewers who accuse the author of presenting a formulaic, by-the-numbers prescription for writing, because that's exactly what he does. The idea that every scene must begin with a clear statement of goal and must end in a disaster is simply ludicrous. Even if by "disaster" Bickham means "setback," his poor choice of word is symptomatic of his own prose style, which is simply dreadful. I thought Dan Brown was a poor wordsmith, but Bickham makes him seem like Shakespeare! Unfortunately 90% of his examples come from his own wretched novels, which makes for some very unpalatable reading.
   
   Still, the idea of scene plus sequel as a basic pattern in a genre novel is probably on the mark. Clearly many variants and deviations from this pattern are possible, and Bickham admits this, even offers some examples. But I think his book might be more useful as a tool for analyzing genre novels than as a blueprint for writing them. The author who follows Bickham's prescriptive formulae is bound to produce a stilted piece of work that very few would want to read. On the other hand, using Bickham's ideas for fine-tuning a scene or sequel might bear fruit. But beware pronouncements such as avoiding narrative summary or extended internalization within a scene.
   
   I am much more in tune with Stephen King's method of writing, in which the plot or structure of the novel evolves organically as it's written. Those who feel otherwise and are looking for a method of plotting a novel may turn to a book like this. But I would caution against plotting out every scene and sequel in advance, as Bickham advocates. If you know in advance every twist and turn the story is going to take, then where's the fun in writing it?



4. I have used this book to teach plotting to creative writing students, so my review is based on how well absolute novice writers respond to the ideas he puts forth in this book. On the whole, they respond positively. Once they grasp the standard three-act structure of a plot, they find his scene-sequel formula to be IMMENSELY helpful figuring out how to work out options for rising action. A few students complain that they don't like being taught a *formula*, and it seems a few reviewers have that gripe as well.
   
   I'll say here what I say in class. First, if a formula happens to have been successful (as you can see if you break down almost any movie or popular novel), eh, maybe just this once it might be worth your time to learn it. Just file it away somewhere or something. Second, just because Bickham advocates a linear tic-tock scene-sequel way of composing your plot, that does not mean, nor does Bickham anywhere say, that you have to TELL the story in simple lockstep straightforward chronology. Once you have the basic idea of what's going to happen and why, you can start the story whenever you darn well please. You can start just at the climax, if you want, and tell the story through disconnected flashbacks, so that readers have to piece together the shards into the picture of the story arc. You can tell the story as an epistolary novel. You can tell it by varied protagonists. The only limit is imagination of the author. If you hate this book because you can't figure out new and creative ways to apply his basic formula, that doesn't necessarily equate with the *book* being worthless.
   
   My students are grateful because (and remember they're all fledgling writers) this book's ideas give them handles to grasp when they sit down to write. I don't advocate the whole 'scene goal clearly stated to the reader' thing Bickham states, but if you as the WRITER have no idea what the scene goal is, or how things are going to wind up worse for the protagonist, chances are pretty high there will be a high Flounder Quotient in your plotting. All in all, it's worth your time and money as long as you are willing to view it as a plotting aid device and not the Magic Potion of Writing. It's a skeleton upon which one can reliably hang decent stories: my students are invariably impressed at the end of the semester both at their own ingenuity in storytelling and how they managed to create a story that *moves* and unfolds logically.



5. I have this book as well as Dwight Swains Techniques of the Selling Writer, I am working through them both as I learn fiction writing, hopefully for a profit. Yes, I hope to make money off of writing; it seems there are a few reviews here making profit sound like an evil thing and this book, the spawn of that evil.
   
   If I needed to write "important" books, or to help the world with my writing, I wouldn't want this book, I'd want an MFA. This is about fun, writing fun and reading fun, at least to me anyway. I want books I wright to be fun, fun to write and fun to read. I'll take "Pot Boiling" as some other reviews have stated this is, I'm quite content to leave windmill tilting to more suitably equipped, perhaps better educated individuals. I want to learn to spin yarns, sturdy yarns that sell, this book seems a good place for me to start. For me, someone looking to tell a better story, Bickham and Swain are helping out a lot.

No comments about A History of Advertising (Basic Architecture Series).

5 comments about This Is Not a Pipe (Quantum Books).

1. This essay entitled "This Is Not A Pipe" is a fascinating excursion into the intriguing art of the great 20th C. Belgian painter. In this essay Foucault blurs the space between the critic and the subject being criticized. His thorough analysis inculcates his own hypertextual "isms" and replicating terminology that adequately reciprocates Magritte's offbeat beauty. From Foucault's view of what he considers the two principles that ruled painting (European painting?) from the 15th C. to the 20th C., to the relationship between resemblance and similitude, the mystery and static of a Magritte painting is transported onto the pages of this book. Ultimately this text is an interesting display of the interplay between text, image and the elements inculcated in the analysis thereof.



2. if you consider this treacle then you certainly lack any real insight into philosophy or art criticism of the 20th century; either that, or you're carrying some kind of baggage or childish grudge.

   foucault offers us just one interpretation of magritte's _pipe_, and some thought in general about art, representation and the sign. it's really just part of an on-going discussion. it's a shame he's dead; he'd have loved usenet.

   in any case, this book is one voice in a chorus of discussion on the matter; his is also an informed, intelligent, and original voice - albeit controversial (see review below for ruffled feathers).

   this book stands on its own, but is definetly not a good introduction to foucault per se; I think it's best to start with a history of sexuality volume I, then read the introduction of history of sexuality volume II, and then you can pretty much read any foucault from there.




3. I read this in college while studying semiotics and surrealism, yet the message of Foucault should not be relegated to the exotic and extreme "isms" of academia. I found "Pipe" to be a marvelous and playful illustration of the tryanny of language and the Orwellian control of thought which follows. Readers of Postmodern thought, Zen, Marxism, Film Theory, Psychoanlysis, and Modern Art will find moments of illumination throughout.



4. No, Foucault is never easy. He sometimes even writes in Foucault-ese. But the intellectual payoffs are well worth it. Seeing him approach a single painting -- which you can look at while reading the book -- is much less taxing than seeing him dissect huge topics such as the history of prisons or the history of sex. Sure, those bigger Foucault tomes carry immense rewards all their own... but for a good, stimulating, and challenging (but not TOO challenging!) introduction to Foucault's philosophy of seeing and of naming, this is a great read.

   Perhaps this book is a better choice for philosophy or lit-crit fams than art / art history fans. The "artistic" value of the painting is really of not much importance to Foucault; he is more concerned with its self-referentiality, its use of meaning and names, and so on.




5. "If you are looking for a quick read"? What are you doing with Foucault when there's always another Tom Clancy? If you think that looking at pictures precludes thinking about them, then this book isn't for you.

5 comments about The Shape of Content (The Charles Eliot Norton Lectures).

1. What's good about this book is that it defines art and discusses what it should be. Shahn says art is conventional and noncomformist, and it should be objective and subjective. The definition of art is the key point I found useful. I did, however, think that he could've kept it a little shorter. He digresses a lot. It's still a quick read (131pgs). I recommend this book to artists, whether writer, painter, etc., who are having trouble finding subject matter to depict or are unsure about what appeals to audiences.



2. This book was dull and I would not recommend it to someone who is not a fan of Ben Shahn and his work.



3. This book is one of the clearest explanations of the creative process of an artist available anywhere. Shahn speaks of painting, of course, but his lucid, interesting text, his ideas and explorations, apply to artists in any field. Highly recommended.



4. Ben Shan's "The Shape of Content" in many ways truly defines the thinking of artists in a time that might be considered the height of modern american painting and art. It is an enormously human and genuine dialogue on art of the fifties. Few books so clearly establish how and why one becomes an artist. It is written with soul, intelligence, and great humanism while totally avoiding the sophistry of the critics and journalists writing about art at that time in American society. A great book!



5. Based on a series of six lectures given by Shahn at Harvard University in the 1950's, this collection gives an overview of Shahn's ideas and opinions on such topics as the education of artists, the creative process, the nonconformity of artists, and appraisals of various modern art movements and artists. Shahn is a surprisingly gifted writer. His arguments are clearly reasoned and his tone is that of an art historian or philosopher. At the same time, the book is an intimate look at Shahn the artist. It is illustrated with numerous pen and ink sketches by Shahn

4 comments about Hundertwasser (Taschen 25th Anniversary).

1. I am a quilter, and bought this book largely because of my love for batiks,(which are cotton fabrics hand dyed)and on recollection of a show I saw 32 years ago on Hundertwasser in Toronto's ROM.I like it,big time.Yep,there's no gold leaf in them thar hills and curves of Hundertwasser repros,if it bothers you enough,grab a gold leaf marker and add it yourself.Taschen offers value for your money,if you want gold leaf,you may have to add another 20.00 to the cost of the book.I have no problems about the quality of the repros.Anything that looks like pale brown,try and doublecheck,it is likely it is gold leaf. The artist may not have alot to say as other painters,but his designs,and color sense are really got me going into my studio.
   I am glad I got it!



2. This book really shows off Hundertwasser and is a great addition to any art collection. This is another hit by Taschen.



3. Any book about art or an artist that doesn't make me fall asleep gets five stars from me. The only downside (but it still gets five stars) as that you don't get the full representation of the pictures and need to look at the description to see the medium. For example the foil overlay. Still wonderful. (Feb 17, 2008)
   
   I eventually found a small, beautiful, cloth-bound catalogue of his Australian and New Zealand exhibitions (the one I have was produced in 1973 by cicero, gmbh and titled 'Hundertwasser 1974 Australia') and there you get glimpse of the phosphoric metallic brilliance that I find missing in many of the books about Hundertwasser - although for the price of these books, no complaint. This book and the catalogue are a good combination. The catalogue I was able to find at a very reasonable price of $30, but it took a bit of searching. (April 16, 2008)



4. REVIEW SUBTITLE: A Serendipitous Purchase
   
   While I had come across references to "the art of Hundertwasser," because I knew only of him as an architect and consider architecture an art, I assumed that the colorful work adorning the cover of this book was one of the Gaudi-esque architect's occasionally fancified plans. As a number probably know, however, it is not. Rather it is but one of Hundertwasser's many paintings.
   
   Though I'd expected a book on architecture, I was not disappointed to receive one focusing on H's development as a painter. In fact, I was elated, for splashed across approximately 2/3rds of the 197 pages of this book are what had originally attracted me to him: the "lush opulence" of what I now know are his watercolors and paintings.
   
   This book, however, is not just a visual feast. In addition tracing his development as an artist, the text includes and discusses H's thoughts on topics such as those noted in the Table of Contents I've included in the commentary following this review. And while some may seem esoteric, the discussions are not. In fact, they're fascinating.
   
   That most of the focus of Taschen's retrospective of H and his work is on water colors/painting is not surprising, for so few of his structures were ever realized. However, approximately 30 well-illustrated pages are devoted to H's theories about architecture, his architectural models, and the utopian structure he was commissioned by the city of Vienna to build.
   
   I was certainly correct in one assumption I made when I ordered HUNDERTWASSER: With the words "Taschen 25th Anniversary" attached to its title, I could not go wrong. Nor will anyone who purchases it.
   
   Note: Lest you give any weight to L. Egan's comment about the book's "downsides," please read my response to his review.

4 comments about The New Testament and Other Early Christian Writings: A Reader.

1. I bought this book to learn more about the events and issues of early Christianity from the actual texts that have survived from that period. The book includes up to date translations of the 27 books of the New Testament and of 26 other non canonical books which are believed to have been written within a hundred years of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. There is a brief 6 page introduction on the development of early Christianty, followed by the translations themselves. These are divided into sections which are consistent with the order of the books in the New Testament itself. That is:
   * Early Christian Gospels - the 4 New Testament books followed by eight others
   * Early Christian Acts - Acts of the Apostles followed by two other writings
   * Early Christian Letters attributed to Paul - the 13 canonical epistles plus one other epistle
   * General Epistles & Other early Christian writings - the 8 canonical epistles plus 13 others
   * Early Christian Apcalypses - Revelations plus 2 other much loved apocalpytic books of the early period
   
   Each book is provided with a brief introduction describing the content and purpose of the book, and identifying the purported author and probable date of its writing. The 27 books of the New Testament are from the New Revised Standard version Bible of 1989, while 17 of the 26 non canonical books are translations by the author himself. 8 books are from the Apocryphal New Testament translated by J K Elliott and published in 1993, and one, the Gospel of Thomas, is from the Nag Hammadi Library translated by Thomas Lambdin and published in 1988.
   
   My reactions in reading this book are decidedly mixed. On the one hand, I wanted something which was readable, which it certainly is, and I certainly wanted to read the texts which were unfamiliar to me and to gain some understanding of the context of the times in which they were written. But on the other hand, I also wanted some explanation of what it was that I was reading. This book was certainly successful in illuminating my mind on the first goal, but much less so on the second. Perhaps I should have chosen one of the other books by Professor Ehrman - either "The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings" or perhaps "Lost Scriptures: Books That Did Not Make It Into the New Testament".
   
   Be that it may, I certainly got many benefits from reading the book. In order to understand what I was reading, I really had to read the books from a different perspective. For example, I had never noted the many similarities and differences in the Gospels and in the Epistles before, with respect to the events as well as the issues which the Apostles had to address in establishing the new faith in the cities of the Middle East, Asia Minor, and other parts of the Roman Empire, and I had never really properly absorbed the content of Revelations. I found it absolutely necessary to have my own Bible close at hand, and to develop a workfile on my PC to summarize the content of each book, to list the people mentioned in these books, and to check the text of biblical quotations against the actual text in the books to which they were supposed to refer. In this last item, I was surprised at the extent to which many quotations differed from the original.
   
   My motivation for this approach was that I wanted to understand the development of early Christianity in the context of what had gone before, particularly with respect to Mosaic Law, and the messages of the Prophets. I also wanted to understand more on how the early church interpreted the actual sayings of Jesus Christ, and how these were further developed by the later institutions of Christianity, since it seems to me that His message of love and forgiveness is rather different from the preaching (and actions in the name of Christ) of the historical and modern institutions of Christianity, be they Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox, or Protestant denominations.
   
   I would have liked to have read something more about the provenance of these books, particularly the non-canonical ones, but the introductions did not cover that particular topic. I would have liked to see some titles and headings for the chapters and various sections within the chapters - but the book did not provide that either. I would have also liked to have seen notes on some of the hidden meanings of the more obscure statements within the texts. So for this information I had to go to my Jerusalem Bible for the canonical books, and to various Internet websites containing the late 19th century translations of texts of the books by the Ante-Nicene Fathers.
   
   That turned out to be very helpful, but it did mean that I spent rather more time on reading and rereading this book than I expected. Nevertheless, I am happy I bought the book, and the translations were certainly easy to read. For those people wishing to study the surviving texts of Early Christianity, they should first decide what is the important information they wish to learn about. If it is mainly for the texts themselves, then this book certainly provides that.



2. Why buy a book of readings when you can buy the New Testament and get the selections there? Reason # 1 Bart Ehrman. Ehrman is an exceptional scholar, so the inclusion of his commentaries and translations is well worth the price of the book. Reason # 2. This book has more than the 27 chapters of the NT, and includes some heretofore neglected manuscripts that are not easily obtainable elsewhere (e.g., Epistle of Barnabas, Infancy Gospel of Thomas).



3. Let's suppose you already own a satisfactory copy of the canonical New Testament in English, and that you're considering this book for its ADDITIONAL material. In that case, Ehrman's "Lost Scriptures," at two-thirds the price or less, contains the same texts (plus a couple dozen extra texts), with the exception only of Ignatius, Polycarp, and the fragments of Papias.
   
   If Ignatius and Polycarp are too sore a loss for you to bear, use the money you save to grab Ehrman's "The Apostolic Fathers: Volume I" (Loeb Classical Library, bilingual Greek-English edition). If you want a COMPLETE text of the Shepherd of Hermas, you'll need Volume II of the Loeb as well, since BOTH of Ehrman's English anthologies present only "extracts...representative of the whole."



4. at a glance reviews customer comments if you like this book... table of contents e-mail a friend about this book...

   Keyword Search

   Full search: Books, Music, DVD & Video, Toys, or Electronics

   of The New Testament and Other Early Christian Writings : A Reader by Bart D. Ehrman