Astrologie-Bücher

I just love it!

5 von 5 Punkten
Das beste Buch, was ich je gelesen habe. Ich habe gelacht, ich habe geweint und am Ende hatte ich das Gefühl eine gute Freundin zu verlieren.

Schöne Freizeitlektüre

4 von 5 Punkten
Es ist ein wunderbar leichtes Buch, in dem ich mich sehr gut wieder gefunden habe. Scheidung, Selbstzweifel, Zusammenbruch, ausbrechen aus dem Alltag. Es folgen herrliche Beschreibungen zu den 3 Stationen Italien, Indien und
Indonesien, die zum Träumen und nachmachen anregen. Letztlich ein "Mutmacher" das wahre ich oder den Sinn des Lebens zu finden. Allerdings mit sehr religiösem Hintergrund und vielen Gebeten, wem das nicht gefällt - Vorsicht.
Insgesamt supi.

Terrible book

2 von 5 Punkten
The tital of the book promised more then what it actually contained. It is very dull, this is one of the very few books I put aside half way through. I like the style in which it is written but that's about it. I cannot imagine how the movie will be like.

A lovely, spellbinding book!

5 von 5 Punkten
Dieses Buch kam durch zufall in meine Hände. Es lag vor vier tagen verlassen auf einen Rückflug von London in diesem Klappfach des Vordersitzes.

Die Story um Elisabeth ist in anderen Rezensionen und der Kurzbeschreibung beschrieben, dem möchte ich nichts hinzufügen.
Für mich das Richtige um das Urlaubsgefühl heraufzubeschwören und von einer Weltreise zu träumen. Besonders auch für Leute die Italien, Indien oder Indonesien mögen.Im Gegensatz zu meinen sonstigen Lesegewohnheiten, hatte ich dieses Buch in kürzester Zeit ausgelesen. Die Geschichte ist nachvollziehbar, ich habe mich einige Male selbst wiedergefunden, und wer wünscht sich nicht mal so eine "Auszeit"?

Der Schreibstil von Elizabeth Gilbert ist amüsant und kurzweilig, das Buch ist humorvoll und doch tiefsinnig, unterhaltsam und inspirierend zugleich. Ein must-read! Als positive Seite des Buches kann ich aufführen, dass die Lektüre trotz vieler Kopfschüttel-Momente eher kurzweilig war und die Selbstironie der Autorin mich oft zum Schmunzeln gebracht hat.

I just love it!

5 von 5 Punkten
Das beste Buch, was ich je gelesen habe. Ich habe gelacht, ich habe geweint und am Ende hatte ich das Gefühl eine gute Freundin zu verlieren.

Schöne Freizeitlektüre

4 von 5 Punkten
Es ist ein wunderbar leichtes Buch, in dem ich mich sehr gut wieder gefunden habe. Scheidung, Selbstzweifel, Zusammenbruch, ausbrechen aus dem Alltag. Es folgen herrliche Beschreibungen zu den 3 Stationen Italien, Indien und
Indonesien, die zum Träumen und nachmachen anregen. Letztlich ein "Mutmacher" das wahre ich oder den Sinn des Lebens zu finden. Allerdings mit sehr religiösem Hintergrund und vielen Gebeten, wem das nicht gefällt - Vorsicht.
Insgesamt supi.

Terrible book

2 von 5 Punkten
The tital of the book promised more then what it actually contained. It is very dull, this is one of the very few books I put aside half way through. I like the style in which it is written but that's about it. I cannot imagine how the movie will be like.

A lovely, spellbinding book!

5 von 5 Punkten
Dieses Buch kam durch zufall in meine Hände. Es lag vor vier tagen verlassen auf einen Rückflug von London in diesem Klappfach des Vordersitzes.

Die Story um Elisabeth ist in anderen Rezensionen und der Kurzbeschreibung beschrieben, dem möchte ich nichts hinzufügen.
Für mich das Richtige um das Urlaubsgefühl heraufzubeschwören und von einer Weltreise zu träumen. Besonders auch für Leute die Italien, Indien oder Indonesien mögen.Im Gegensatz zu meinen sonstigen Lesegewohnheiten, hatte ich dieses Buch in kürzester Zeit ausgelesen. Die Geschichte ist nachvollziehbar, ich habe mich einige Male selbst wiedergefunden, und wer wünscht sich nicht mal so eine "Auszeit"?

Der Schreibstil von Elizabeth Gilbert ist amüsant und kurzweilig, das Buch ist humorvoll und doch tiefsinnig, unterhaltsam und inspirierend zugleich. Ein must-read! Als positive Seite des Buches kann ich aufführen, dass die Lektüre trotz vieler Kopfschüttel-Momente eher kurzweilig war und die Selbstironie der Autorin mich oft zum Schmunzeln gebracht hat.

A series of worrying admissions from a once very powerful man.

5 von 5 Punkten
It was 0830 on 1 September 2010 as I walked past a large London bookshop. The window display comprised 2 books - one of which was this much awaited Blair Memoirs. Mine was the first copy sold. Whilst political insiders will doubtless find much over which to raise their eyebrows, my own surprises were over his relationship with his immediate successor Gordon Brown. Don't you just hate it when people say "THEY KNEW" that such and such was going to happen but did nothing to prevent it from happening when they had the power to make a difference. In this work, Blair actually claims to have known Brown would be an awful Prime Minister. Well, we can all say that - after the event. More importantly, he also admits that he failed to sack Brown for fear of creating problems for the Labour Party and accelerating Brown's succession to Number Ten! I found this difficult to digest.

This is neither a pro nor anti-Blair review, it is based on his book and his revelations. A couple of years before standing down in the most diabolical fashion ever!, Blair stated he would reduce immigration to the United Kingdom to a certain figure by the September of that year. Eventually, however, nothing happened because he was unable to make any difference whatsoever. Now ask yourself this; If the Prime Minister is unable to change things, who can? Because of his disclosures in this book, for the very first time I have begun to see Blair as a weakling. Here is a man who admits to crying because a soldier was killed in Iraq. Well what did he expect? Here is a man who would not remove or even demote Gordon Brown for "FEAR" of the consequences. Not a strong man then! Here is a man who admits to having turned to drink because of the pressures of the job. Definitely not! Altogether, I began to feel so disappointed in this man, it came as something of a betrayal. Perhaps we were all fooled to some extent by the young, pretty boy, self assured image - although it is an image that has now also caught on in other parties!

The memoirs commences with the revelation (for those who did not know!) that, as he entered No 10 for the first time as Prime Minister, he had not previously held any government post whatsoever - not even a junior post. From there he went on to change the face of British politics, change the face of the Labour Party and introduce several American-style techniques by employing spin-doctors to provide the most positive gloss onto anything that might be perceived as unsavoury. It really is a candid and revealing exposé of the man in charge for all those years and for that he must be applauded.

Only now, however - some two years after stepping down, do we read this personal account of those years only to learn it appears he became a victim of his own spin. In so doing he leaves a lingering question over whether or not he was ever completely suited to the job. This book has changed my perception of so many aspects of British political life in general and Tony Blair in particular. No longer will I blame Gordon Brown for the financial mess in which the UK finds itself at this time. Why? Because it is abundantly clear from this book that Brown should never have been Chancellor and the only person able to remove him from that post had become frightened of replacing him.

My own political inclinations are simple; I subscribe to the view that one must vote for the party who will best look after your own personal interests. Having read this book, my personal assessment of Tony Blair - as a person, is reduced to the minimum ONE star rating. That said, the book itself is easily a FIVE star product and, therefore, well worth reading.

NM

Griffin öffnet Augen

5 von 5 Punkten
In den USA wird dieses Buch in den Schulen gelesen, nicht zu Unrecht, denn es öffnet dem Leser die Augen.

Von Griffin selbst bin ich mehr als beeindruckt. Es ist erschütternd, was er im Jahr 1960 während seiner einmonatige Reise als "Neger" (mit chemisch gefärbter Haut) im tiefen Süden der USA (Alabama, Mississipi, Louisiana, Georgia) und darüber, wie ihn diese Erlebnisse persönlich verändern, berichtet. Eines wird hier überdeutlich: Nicht über Hautfarben und Rasse nachzudenken, ist ein Luxus, den nur Weiße haben. Sobald Griffin in die Haut des "Negers" schlüpft, erlebt er eine völlig andere Wirklichkeit: Er ist den starrenden (meist feindseligen oder zumindest misstrauischen) Blicken Anderer ("hate stares") ausgesetzt, fühlt permanent auch eine physische Bedrohung, ihm ist der Zugang zu Konzertsälen, Bibliotheken, und anderen Formen von Bildung, die Freiheit, seine Notdurft zu verrichten oder z.B. Wasser zu trinken, an den entsprechenden öffentlichen Einrichtungen für Weiße verwehrt. Nie wird er als Mensch, als er selbst, wahrgenommen, sondern immer als das, was Weiße in ihn hineinprojizieren: den potentiellen Kriminellen, Vergewaltiger, Analphabeten oder auch die dauerpotente Sexbestie. Und Griffin kann nicht anders, als einen Teil dieser Projektionen anzunehmen: Er bewegt sich anders, spricht anders, fühlt sich erdrückt von der Aussichtslosigkeit, die mit der schwarzen Hautfarbe verbunden ist. Und er sieht, wie die schwarzen Menschen um ihn herum diese Zuschreibungen angenommen haben, wie sie geduckt werden, z.T. ihre eigene Hautfarbe hassen, alles gäben, um weiß oder zumindest von Weißen anerkannt zu sein.

Dieses Buch ist zeitlos. Sicher hat es in den vergangenen 50 Jahren Fortschritte in der "Rassenfrage" gegeben, aber besser ist nicht gleich gut. Griffin schafft es, dass auch der weiße Leser, dessen Privileg es ist, die schreiende Ungerechtigkeit, die täglich verübte rassistische Diskriminierungshandlungen nun mal sind, einfach nicht wahrzunehmen, erfahrbar zu machen, zumindest zu einem Bruchteil.

Someone Else's Reality

5 von 5 Punkten
We simply cannot experience everything. There are too many options to choose between. Our only hope to understand all that is out there is through books. Vicariously we can at least partial understand the suffering in our world. Black Like Me is one of the better inside looks at a particular reality. Griffin sunned and dyed himself black and went into the deep south to experience life as a black man. The book is a revelation of human nature. Written as a diary it is hard not to symphathize with the situation described. Everything should read.

Should be required reading in school

5 von 5 Punkten
As a caucasian American, I don't know what it is like to live as an African American in the United States, day in and day out. I have rarely experienced direct or indirect racism. Perhaps I never will. And for that reason, I can never truly relate to the racism experienced by people who are not caucasian. This book provides a place to start, however. Without it, I think many may be tempted to say, "surely that never happens," or "I'm sure it's not that bad." It is a sad testimony to our country that it took a white person writing a book like this (instead of just listening to those already experiencing racism) to wake us up, but at least it has served its purpose. As I read the book (which is a very quick read) I felt like I was riding along with Griffin in the South and walking the roads with him. I don't know how he maintained his composure during some of the situations he found himself in. I respect what he did, especially considering the hate he experienced both during and after his "experiement."
In conclusion, I wonder what would happen if someone did this again, in the year 2000. Given what I've read by African American authors and heard from black friends, I don't know if it would be all that different. Perhaps the racism wouldn't be as blatant. But all in all, not very different.

About the color line

5 von 5 Punkten
I got to read 'Black like me', when I was an exchange student in Michigan in 1968. For me, the question of color had been very distant before - I dindn't know any 'Negroes'. My Highschool had *one* black girl. Thanks to our librarian, I got hold on 'Black like me'. This book taught me a whole lot about the question of race in the US. It is a huge book - everyone ought to read it.

Interesting an well written

5 von 5 Punkten
This book gives an interesting insight on the life of an American slave. The well written autobiography is an essential piece of American literature.

A classic "narrative"

5 von 5 Punkten
This is one of the most lucid, absorbing autobiographies I've read; that it has much to say about American history, specifically the institution of slavery, only adds to its luster. It is remarkable that someone born into slavery could learn to write as well as virtually any "man of letters" in his era. Despite Douglass' unhappy lot (or maybe because of it), he managed to acquire a great deal of insight into the people, white and black, around him. Douglass convincingly depicts how the institution of slavery damages both oppressed and oppressor--it dehumanizes the former and brings out the cruelest qualities of the latter. (A hundred years later, Martin Luther King would say much the same about the practice of segregration.) There is much anger in the Narrative--but also a wise and noble spirit. Compulsively readable, this book is still very much "relevant" today, and I can hardly imagine a time in which people will no longer wish to read it.

great insight

4 von 5 Punkten
I expected this book to be rather historical in nature and probably pretty boring- but I was pleasantly suprised to find it to be a definite page-turner! This book offers valuable insight into what slavery was truly like for Douglass and many others of his time. His account is heart-wrenching. I definitely suggest this book.

An insightful and powerful portrail of humanity's many sides

5 von 5 Punkten
What at first glance appears to be a gripping story of the evils of slavery and the excitement and thrill of the battle against and escape from those evils, on second glance reveals itself to be a deeply insightful look into the nature (and in some ways the meaning) of humanity. We see the cruelty, the evil, the jealousy, and the brutality and we see the dignity, the honor, the kindness, and the compassion of humanity. We see nearly all that we as humans are capable of and through reading this short narrative we may become aware of the fact that humanity is what we make of it and that inhumanity is not so different from humanity as we had wished.
This book presents a great story that is interesting in and of itself, but it also presents lessons to be learned. Lessons made clear by experiences among the most horrifying in all of human history. Hopefully these lessons will be learned from the experiences of the past and not from new horrific experiences in our own time.

Amazon.co.uk

What would possess a gifted young man recently graduated from college to literally walk away from his life? Noted outdoor writer and mountaineer Jon Krakauer tackles that question in his reporting on Chris McCandless, whose emaciated body was found in an abandoned bus in the Alaskan wilderness in 1992.
Described by friends and relatives as smart, literate, compassionate and funny, did McCandless simply read too much Thoreau and Jack London and lose sight of the dangers of heading into the wilderness alone? Krakauer, whose own adventures have taken him to the perilous heights of Everest, provides some answers by exploring the pull the outdoors, seductive yet often dangerous, has had on his own life. --Amazon.com

Amazon.com

What would possess a gifted young man recently graduated from college to literally walk away from his life? Noted outdoor writer and mountaineer Jon Krakauer tackles that question in his reporting on Chris McCandless, whose emaciated body was found in an abandoned bus in the Alaskan wilderness in 1992.
Described by friends and relatives as smart, literate, compassionate, and funny, did McCandless simply read too much Thoreau and Jack London and lose sight of the dangers of heading into the wilderness alone? Krakauer, whose own adventures have taken him to the perilous heights of Everest, provides some answers by exploring the pull the outdoors, seductive yet often dangerous, has had on his own life.

the spirit of youth

4 von 5 Punkten
Author: Jon Krakauer
Title: Into the wild
Time: 1992
Destination: Alaska
Length: four months
Type: some hitchhiking, some walking
Rating: 8/10

The spirit of youth

J.K. writes about Christopher McCandless, a young man who ventured out into the wilderness of Alaska in the spring of 1992, stayed there by himself for four months, and eventually died due to malnutrition.

The story is well paced and compact (around 200 pages), and while seeming very thoroughly researched, it presents itself in a rather emotional form of journalism that even borders gonzo at times.

I liked it.

The thing I liked most about it was the strong empathy pulsing from the author towards the young and reckless McCandless. J.K. clearly avoids idolizing the young man, but when he talks about his own mountaineering experiences in the 70s, I cant help but find it apologetic for McCandless behavior fifteen years later.

There is one paragraph that I highlighted: It is hardly unusual for a young man to be drawn to a pursuit considered reckless by his elders; engaging in risky behavior is a rite of passage in our culture no less than in most others. Danger has always held a certain allure.

True that.

the call of the wild

5 von 5 Punkten
First things first: "Into the wild" is not a novel but rather a lengthy reportage in book format. Structure and style are strongly journalistic.

Taking McCandless's vagabond life as a starting point, the author reflects on (as Jack London put it) the call of the wild, the yearning for isolation and loneliness and the will to test one's limits surrounded by a challenging nature. Roughly half of the book tells McCandless's story and how he ended up as a twentysomething leading a vagabond life in America's Southwest till he went to Alaska where he died of starvation. (The book starts with McCandless's death so don't think I'm spoiling it!) ;-)

The other half deals with other rather famous people who succumbed to the call of the wild, Krakauer being one of them himself - yet unlike others he survived. The author also interviews McCandless's family, friends and acquaintances. He highlights the loss and pain the family suffered.

Ultimately, Krakauer thinks that youth, idealism and a certain unwillingness to forgive other people's mistakes are some of the main reasons why people go into the wild and severe all contact with their families.

Abenteuerlust

5 von 5 Punkten
Zu Chris Mccandless Ausbruch aus gesellschaftlichen Denkmustern und seine Wanderung in die "Wildnis" ist viel geschrieben und diskutiert worden.
Wer sich hier ein bißchen umtut sieht schnell, daß Krakauers Buch stark polarisiert. Entweder wird Chris Mccandless von seinen Anhängern enthusiastisch gefeiert oder es wird mit erstaunlicher Wut über sein Scheitern gelästert.

Ich habe dieses Buch geliebt. Es hat mich beschäftigt wie schon lange kein Buch mehr. Entscheidend sind für mich nicht Chris mögliche Fehler und warum er es nicht geschafft hat, der Wildnis wieder zu entkommen. Entscheidend ist für mich, warum er in die Wildnis gegangen ist.

Hier liegt die Stärke von Krakauers Buch, detailreich schildert er die Motive eines jungen Mannes aus wohlbehüteten Verhältnissen, radikal aus einem vorgebenen Lebenslauf auszubrechen und sich auf eine Wanderung quer durch Amerika zu begeben.
Gleichzeitig zeichnet Krakauer in groben Zügen eine amerikanische Tradition von Everett Ruess bis zu sich selbst nach, in der einzelne immer wieder aus festgefahrenen Lebensläufen ausbrachen, um in der Wildnis zu sich selbst zu finden.

Natürlich, und hier setzt vielfach die Kritik an Krakauer an, ist sein Buch nur eine Interpretation dessen, was möglicherweise wirklich geschehen ist.
Eine Schwäche seines Buchs ist ganz klar die Deutung der Umstände die zu Chris Mccandless Tod führten.

Was Krakauer immer nur am Rande erwähnt, ist, daß Chris tatsächlich eine Karte dabei hatte und er für seine Wanderung in die Wildnis gezielt auf dieser Karte den Stampede Trail ausgewählt hat.
Auf jeder Karte Alaskas, die den Stampede Trail verzeichnet, ist immer auch der Denali Park, einer der touristisch meistbesuchten Parks Alaskas verzeichnet. Im Sommer ist hier wirklich was los und Chris befand sich in Laufnähe des Parks.

Daß Chris sich in irgendeiner Weise, durch wilde Kartoffelpflanzen vergiftet hat, ist durch toxikologische Gutachten widerlegt worden. Chris Mccandless ist verhungert.

Völlig außer Acht läßt Krakauer das SOS Schreiben, das Chris an den Bus gepinnt hatte. Hier schreibt er, daß er verletzt ist. Wer sich das berühmte Foto, das Chris sitzend im karierten Hemd vor dem Bus zeigt, genau anschaut, wird feststellen, daß der rechte Ärmel seines Hemdes leer ist. Er hat den rechten Arm unter dem Hemd und nicht im Ärmel, was auf eine Schulterverletzung hindeutet, die übrigens bei einer Autopsie nicht zwingend festgestellt werden kann.

Fazit: Absolut lesenswert. Natürlich schildert Krakauer seine Interpretation des Geschehens, aber genau das macht das Buch auch so spannend.

great experience

3 von 5 Punkten
Jon Krakauer really earns respect for his writing and the result of his research after the death of this lost soul. He describes the way of this young guy to Alaska using his diary and what people said who met him. He travels the way himself and so his own impressions make this work complete.
The whole time I was thinking what does he want? Why does he do this? Why does he die? I was confused, but I felt what the guy must have been through. He does what other people won't because of fear.
And it hurt so bad that he really wanted to go back home and couldn't.
It is not really a novel. It is more a report. Sometimes I wished for some more objectiveness. This guy met all this crazy good people he could have been murdered or whatever alone on the road like that, but he made friends and was not seeing what he had. This book should have been about the people giving a lost human shelter.

awakening

5 von 5 Punkten
Her music reflects inexhaustible strength. So does her language. Being a delicate child, she reads all she can get. Well read and pregnant at the age of seventeen, she has to move to another family's house due to bigoted neighbours' hypocritic little town chit-chat. All these adversities make her even stronger. She quits her mother's house at an early age and takes the bus bound to New York. There she meets the late Robert Mappelthorpe. Robert becomes her boyfriend. After spending several months of vagrancy on New York doorsills and in subway stations, they find an affordable apartment. Being both erudite in arts and literature, they start an artist's life.
Smith gets a job at the famous Scribner's Bookstore. Robert paints and takes photographs. Some of them, as well as a few of Patti`s paintings, are included in this volume. The Stones deploy Patti's love for rock. They don't have enough money for meals or to go into the major arts exhibitions. So one would go and tell the other in turn. They live in a cheap hotel amongst heroine junkies. One of them is a ballet dancer whose career is already destroyed by his addiction. I very much like Smith's dense description of a dance in the corridor. I could see both the sad appearance and the dancer's ruined body. Eventually, the junkies recommend Patti and Robert to leave this undeserving place.
The book is easy to read and it's full of subliminal wits, philosophy, and intelligence. Patti Smith is not only a great musician, painter, and poet. She is a great intellectual as well. I have loved her work since around 1975. That is the year of her bewildering Rockpalast appearance on German television. Read this book, it is a summary of the sixties and seventies. The text offers the typical rhythm of Patti's narrative chat-songs such as "Birdland" or "horses". Due to Patti's wide range of skills and interest, the book offers a deep insight into the 70 NY and its in crowd: The Velvet Underground and Reed, Nico, Warhol's round table at Max's, Todd Rundgren, her first rock-poetry attempts with Lenny Kaye on guitar along with her reading, and so on and so forth. To me, the best is her being so very unpretentious. She hides her self behind the protgonists of the NY 70s culture.

Patti Smith - Just Kids

5 von 5 Punkten
This is a very beautiful and well-written autobiographical book. And I am very greatful to Patti for creating it.
The edition is of high quality.
I belive everyone who appreciates the art of Patti Smith should read it.

Lewis did a great job

5 von 5 Punkten
Gutes buch, witzig geschrieben, gut um einige Einblicke in das Wirken früherer Bondtrader zu bekommen.

Great book from a Wall Street/City insider

4 von 5 Punkten
An excellent book. One wonders sometimes if some of the things aren't perhaps just a little exaggerated... but they could just be completely true. Altogether, though, the gist is easy to get: Wall Street firms (at least in the 80s) were/are not well organized and are ruled by a culture of testosterone and risk-taking. No surprise really, but to see it in action can still be shocking and informative.

Lesenswert

5 von 5 Punkten
Wer wissen will, wie Investmentbanker ticken und das locker geschrieben und spannend erzählt lesen will, greift zu diesem Buch.
Nach dem Schock 2007/2008 ist dieses Buch aktueller denn je. Denn Hypothekenbonds, Junkbonds und viele andere Produkte aus den 80igern hatten auch einen Einfluss auf die aktuelle Krise. Sehr lesenswert

How and when the mortgage market initiated

4 von 5 Punkten
More than ever there is meaning to this story. The author gives us an insiders view of the very first days of mortgage securitization. It is difficult not to be taken aback about how this market was originally designed to match the interests of the few who initiated it. At the time, the technical advance in the Fixed Income area of the S bros such that they could trick the Federal decision taker in whatever advantaged them. Only an insider could give such a microscopic description of greed and excess but also how financial innovation occurs to a young salesperson. And only an insider could point out the precise point when the decline started, up to the consequences we know now.
What is funny though is that figures will look quite modest to anyone familiar with finance today. I learned a lot reading this book which was given to me when I was a trainee in fixed income; however it really puts aside the genuine value added that financial industry has once striped of excesses, moral hazard.