"The Once and Future Sex: Going Medieval on Women's Roles in Society" by Eleanor Janega

 

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company

Copyright: 2023

ISBN: 9780393867817

This was a very enjoyable and extremely informative book to read. It gives the reader whole new insights into how women have been treated over the centuries and the reasons behind why they were generally treated so badly. Primarily this was due to the influence of the various flavours of the Christian church, Which essentially blamed women for everything because of the mythology surrounding the original sin.

As a humanist I will freely admit that I do not understand the concept of original sin, and the various other concepts and myths that are listed in the Bible, as for the most part they seem to simply take a concept or an event and find someone or something to blame it on. And while this seems to comfort a large group of religious people in the world it seems like a rather shortsighted way to justify the way society as a whole treats 1/2 of our population.

Dr. Janega goes into a lot of detail as she investigated the various roles that women filled in medieval times, and looked at how real women lived in that era.

I first encountered Dr. Janega on the History Hit YouTube channel where she does the occasional episode on medieval history, which I would highly recommend if you're interested as she gets into some very interesting topics. She is also the creator of the popular "Going Medieval" blog and the author of "The Middle Ages: A Graphic History".

An excellent read with lots of fascinating information. Highly recommended.

"The Fabric of Civilization: How Textiles Made the World" by Virginia Postrel

 

Publisher: Basic Books

Copyright: 2020

ISBN: 97815416117605

This book is without a doubt absolutely fascinating, it takes you on a guided tour through history of how textiles of all kinds were discovered, and developed. 

The first three chapters look at how fibres were developed, how the spinning industry made these into threads, then goes on to how cloth was made and how it developed throughout history.

After we humans had cloth Ms. Postrel goes on to examine the process of dyeing and the methods that were used historically, and then right up to modern day. She then moves on to looking at trading and how that affected the world over. This is a topic which is frequently and unfortunately glossed over in school as they typically mention only "The Silk Road", but trade was widespread throughout the world, and it is a shame that students aren't taught this type of thing, as maybe then they would have more of an appreciation of how the world works.

After trade her next focus is on consumers and how they see fabrics, how they guide the industry and influence changes in the market (and vice versa as well).

The last chapter deals with the innovators that are currently developing new and what I consider to be amazing fabrics. Such as ones that will allow sweat to easily evaporate from your skin thereby keeping your cool, but will also protect you from UV radiation. New fabrics, and new techniques that will result in a revolution in the fashion industry and the environment (for the better, I'm glad to note) when some of these hit the market.

An excellent book, highly recommended.

"The 99% Invisible City: A Field Guide to the Hidden World of Everyday Design" by Roman Mars and Kurt Kohlstedt

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Copyright: 2020
ISBN: 9780358126607

    This is an extremely interesting book that examines the hidden stories behind some rather common things that are found in your typical city. The format of the book divides the topic into six areas focusing on inconspicuous, conspicuous, infrastructure, architecture, geography and urbanism. Within each of the larger topics there are discussion on a number of different subjects. Some of these are utility codes, wireless towers, love locks, civic monuments, traffic lights, inflatable figures, roadways, technology, modern elevators, door locks, the layout of streets and roads, street trees, and grassroots gardening to name but a few of the over 125 topics.
 

   I picked this book up after watching Mars' TED Talk primarily out of curiosity, but found it to be a very interesting read. The majority of his examples come from the United States, but he does look at things in other countries as well. For people who like trivia, or compete in quiz tournaments this could be an interesting book to read. As a writer, I found it quite interesting, and think it would make wonderful source material especially for those who write mysteries and need a source of information they can use for obscure clues.

   Roman Mars is the host of 99% Invisible a popular podcast that explores these same types of things. While Kurt Kohlstedt is the digital director of the podcast and an architect.
   

 An excellent book.

"Artifact" by Gregory Benford

 

Publisher: Tom Doherty Associates

Copyright: 1985

ISBN: 0312930488

Artifact tells the tale of an archeological find in Greece that is not expected or understood. The excavation and examination of the artefact becomes an issue of Greek heritage, and when the basic principles of archeological research conflict directly with of an overzealous ex-archeologist who is now a member of the military, and also part of a junta that is trying to overthrow the government.

The lead archeologists is Dr. Claire Anderson, and she along with her crew foreman discover the artifact, just in time to be interrupted by Kontos the military / ex-archeologist who becomes the ever demanding bureaucrat, and who always wants his own way. Claire recruits another academic Dr. John Bishop to assist her in discovering what the specimen is, and this leads the story in a whole new direction. 

The characters in the story are very well written, and represented. I found the story to be very interesting, and there was actually science in the story, and as all science-fiction should have (but that is usually lacking).

Excellent read.

"Time Travel" by James Gleick

 

Publisher: Pantheon Books
Copyright: 2016
ISBN: 9780307908797

    This was an extremely interesting book to read, as it began with an examination of the phenomena created by H. G. Wells when in wrote "The Time Machine" in 1895, and then went on to look at how it has been treated in other stories. Mr. Gleick also reviews the science behind time travel, as well as the philosophy of it as well.

    To say that the concept of time travel is a staple of science fiction as some authors have said is, I believe, an exaggeration as Wells was the originator of the concept, and science fiction itself existed for a considerable time before he came on the scene, even though it went by other names. Mr. Gleick looks at a number of different topics related to time travel such as: the concept of time itself, paradoxes, how time flows, etc.

    Mr. Gleick's research on this topic was extensive, and I am looking forward to reading some of his other books, as if they are even half as good as this one they should be well worth it.

"Da Vinci Code" by Dan Brown

Publisher: Doubleday
Copyright: 2003
ISBN: 9780385504201
 

This is the first book of Mr. Brown's that I've read, and to say the least I was very impressed. The plotting, characterizations, research were fantastic. Unfortunately (at least for me) it is the second book in the Robert Langdon series, which I didn't know, so now that's I'm hooked I've got to go read Angels and Demons.

The lead character is Robert Langdon, a symbologist is summoned to the Louvre in the middle of the night as the curator has been murdered. Unbeknownst to Langdon he is the chief suspect, but with the help of the police's cryptologist he begins to uncover a evidence the leads him to the discovery of a shocking historical fact, one certain people groups will do anything to keep a secret.

A number of christian sects, most notably the catholic church were quite upset as the book supposedly misrepresented their rituals, and beliefs, however as Mr. Brown stated in an interview with Martin Savidge "99 percent of it is true. All of the architecture, the art, the secret rituals, the history, all of that is true, the Gnostic gospels."

In any case it is an absolutely great story, and I'm looking forward to his other novels.

"Venus and Aphrodite: A Biography of Desire" by Bettany Hughes

Publisher: Basic Books, New York

Copyright: 2020

ISBN: 9781541674233

This is the marvellous biography of the goddess Aphrodite, that takes the reader from her origins – which predates her appearance in classical mythology - right through to the present day.

Ms. Hughes examines the history of Aphrodite, as well as her links to the various cultures she was worshipped in. Although Aphrodite is typically considered to be a Greek goddess, who was then adopted by the Romans to become Venus her origins are much earlier than the classical Greek civilization many people are familiar with. Such as "Lady of Lemba" a statue found on the island of Cyprus and dated to approximately 5000 years ago. As most people know the history of Aphrodite revolves around sex, procreation, love, and other forms of spirituality. Therefore this book does focus on that a fair bit, but in an extremely informative and fascinating way.

Since the time of Greek and Roman dominance in the world she has been transformed, and excepted in numerous other cultures up to and including modern day. Is the fantastic book with lots of information, and Ms. Hughes obviously did a fantastic amount of research to put this together.

Highly recommended.

 

"Greek Mythology: The Gods, Goddesses, and Heroes Handbook" by Liv Albert

 

Publisher: Adams Media (Simon & Schuster)

Copyright: 2021

ISBN: 9781507215494

Liv Albert is the creator, host and producer of the podcast "Let's Talk About Myths, baby!" which has been running now since July 2017. It is one of the most popular podcasts in Canada, as she tells it like it is, and doesn't mince words.

"Greek Mythology: The Gods, Goddesses, and Heroes Handbook" is written in the same style, and portrays the Greek and Roman myths in an honest, but humourous way that acts as an excellent introduction for those people who have not taken or at least not referenced the myths for sometime.

The first part is a basic introduction to Greek mythology and the creation mythos that surrounds it. The second part deals with biographies of the Olympians themselves, e.g. Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Demeter, Here, Athena, Aphrodite, Apollo, Artemis, Hephaestus, Area, Hermes, Dionysus, and Hestia. Some of these are more important than others, but for the most part these are the ones that most people have learned about in school. There are also related stores about Persephone, Hectate, and Cerebus.

The third part deals with the deities Prometheus, Leto, Daphna, and Erosalong with related stores dealing with Pandora, Echo & Narcissus and Typhon & Echidna. The fourth part is the largest and deals with a number of the Heroes and Mortals, such as Heracles, Perseus, Jason, Medea, Daedalus, Oedipus, and more. Once again there are accompanying stories about the Minotaur, Icarus, Medusa, and more.

Overall this is a great review of classical Greek mythology, with the twist of relating it to the many modern interpretations of the myths.

The artwork in this book is by Sara Richard, and is quite stunning in its styling, and I hope that prints of these panels will eventually be available on her site www.sararichard.com

Highly recommended. Looking forward the the second volume (Yes, Simon & Schuster, this is a hint).

“Labor of Love: The Invention of Dating” by Moria Weigel

 

Publisher: Straus and Giroux

Copyright: 2016

ISBN: 9780374182533

This book looks at the history of dating, from his very early beginnings as a recognized activity through to modern day.

The author has done considerable research into this subject and presents a detailed examination of all the things that have both influenced people who date, as well as how dating has influenced the world we currently live in.

The book is written from a feminist point of you, but this just adds to the overall story as it gives a woman's point of view, whereas the majority of other books out there seem to focus more on the male perspective.

Ms. Weigel touches on a number of different subjects throughout the book such as historically how families dealt with the prospects of romance and used their influence/positions of power to select partners for their children, and how this practise changed throughout history. How things changed during and after the two world wars, and how it is continuing to change into the digital age.

An extremely interesting book to read.

"The End is Always Near: Apocalyptic moments, From the Bronze Age Collapse to Nuclear Near Misses" by Dan Carlin

 

Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers

Copyright Date:©2019

ISBN: 9780062868046 

Dan Carlin for those of you who don't know is the host of the "Hardcore History" Podcast which has been running for close to 15 years if I'm not mistaken. Mr. Carlin is a fantastic storyteller who blends real history, but not always the way you were told into both his podcasts, and now his first book. The podcast and now this book invites the listener and reader to think about what really happened in history, what people were thinking, and where we as supposedly rational humans might be headed.

"The End is Always Near" takes the reader on a journey that examines the Bronze Age collapse, the way children were raised historically, the fall of the Assyrian Empire, the Roman Empire vs. the Barbarians (everyone who wasn't Roman), the various epidemics and pandemics that have scourged the world over time (which as I am writing this we are in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic is rather frightening), the nuclear age and the attacks on Japan in 1945, the horrors of the wars in Europe and how they can be compared to what happened in Japan.

This book is absolutely full of fascinating information, but the information may at times be a little shocking, especially to people who have gone through the school system in the last 30 years when the material being taught has been sanitized.

This would make a fantastic text book for a high school or a 1st year University history class.

"T-Rex and the Crater of Doom" by Walter Alvarez

 

Publisher: Princeton University press

Copyright: 1997

ISBN: 9780691169668

I have been working in the field of palaeontology for 10 years now, and even prior to that likely since I first heard about it in the 1980s, I have always excepted the fact that a meteor or a comet had spelled the end of the era of dinosaurs (otherwise known as the Cretaceous), and that it had hit on what we now know as the Yucatán Peninsula.

I was unaware however of all the research, and the years it took for Walter Alvarez, his father Luis Alvarez, and scores of other scientists to prove that this had actually occurred. This book takes you on an absolutely enthralling journey of how the discovery was made.

The first chapter takes you back to a world 65 Million years ago, just before the Cretaceous era was about to abruptly end. It describes in detail what must have happened on that fateful day when either a comet or meteor approximately 10 kilometres across slammed into the Yucatán Peninsula. There was no warning as it was travelling at an estimated 30 kilometres per second (about 150 times faster than your typical airliner).

Between the time it first touched the Earth's atmosphere and it hit the ground, only 1 second had elapsed.

Dr. Alvarez'sstyle of writing makes this a very easy book to read, and provides the reader with a close look at exactly how the scientific method works, and should be required reading for anyone interested in the scientific method regardless of their discipline, as a great many people don't really seem to realize all the work that has to go in to actually examining a hypothesis, and subsequently proving a theory, or the amount of time it can take to do it.

A great book, I'm kind of sorry it took me so long to getting around to reading it.

"Battling the Gods: Atheism in the Ancient World" by Tim Whitmarsh

Publisher:New York : Alfred A. Knopf, 2015.
Edition:First edition.
ISBN: 9780307958327
Characteristics: viii, 290 pages

This is a scholarly publication that looks in depth at the relationship of what we refer to as religion and Greek mythology. 

It examines the philosophies and writings of a number of different Greek philosophers who wrote on the subjects of atheism or at the very least the concepts that the gods may not exist. I say it this way, as in many context now-a-days atheism is automatically thought to be the non-belief in one of Abrahamic religions. However this took place many hundreds of year before any of that was thought up.

For the most the book it concerns itself that what is commonly referred to as Greek mythology but is in actual fact more of a system of folklore and folktales rather than an actual religion. The reason for this is because for the most part the religious figures that were present in Greece at the time we're not comparable in anyway to what we currently see as priests and clerics as they were more there to aid the populace and provide comfort as opposed to guiding them towards certain  deities.

This book is an excellent read however some readers may find it somewhat daunting due to the number of references made to the various Greek historical figures, playwrights and philosophers. I think it would make an excellent text for a class in comparative religions, classics, or cultural anthropology. 

"Asimov on Science Fiction" by Isaac Asimov (1920-1992)

Publisher: Avon Books
Copyright: 1981
ISBN: 0380585111

This book is a collection of 55 essays that were taken from the editorials published in "Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine", and many other publications, such as Parade magazine. The range of topics is very large even though they are all concerned with some aspect of science fiction.

The majority of these essays deal with the writing of science fiction, the history of s-f, and to an extent the history of pulp fiction in general. When Science Fiction first became a literary genre (even though it was nowhere near official) virtually the only place that authors could have their stores published was in what was then known as the pulps (so named because they were printed on cheap pulp paper). VP the author is virtually nothing, one of the highest was 1 cent a word, but most much less than that. Nevertheless, this is were the majority of classic science fiction writers cut their teeth. Authors such as Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein, Arthur C. Clarke, E. E. "Doc" Smith, and many more.

While I had not been born when the pulps were in their heyday, I'm not sure what the current state of science fiction would be today if they hadn't existed, in fact it's possible that the genre might not even exist as we know it.

Any person who is interested in the history of science fiction, the history of the authors of the genre, or just reading some very good essays on the topic of science fiction would find this book very interesting I think.

"How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci: Seven Steps to Genius Every Day" by Michael Gelb

Published: New York, N.Y.: Delacorte Press
Year: c1998.
Physical Details: xiv, 322 p. : ill. ; 23 cm
ISBN: 0385323816

On the outside this may seem like a standard self-help book, but it is a bit more than that. Not only does it give you some very interesting insights into the life of Leonardo da Vinci, but it examines his philosophy and methodology on how he thought and practised what he accomplished during his life.

Mr. Gelb was invited to speak at a conference of executives, on how to be more creative, and balanced etc. The chairman of this conference even suggested something about Leonardo, and this book is the result of all the research that had to be done to produce the talk.

The book is separated into three sections. Part one of this book gives an overview of Leonardo da Vinci's life, his major accomplishments, some of the practical aspects of how he did his work, and an overview of what the renaissance was actually like. Part two takes you through seven different principles used by da Vinci: Curosità, Dimostrazione, Sensazione, Sfumato, Arte/Scienza, Corporalita, and Connessione. In English these are generally Curiosity, the willingness to gain knowledge through experience, the continual refinement of the senses, the willingness to embrace ambiguity, the balance between science and art, the cultivation of dexterity, and finally the appreciation of the interconnectedness of everything. Part three gives a short but very interesting course on da Vincian drawing principles, which is very interesting and worth the time.

Each of these sections gives an overview of the topic, as well as exercises the reader can do to further their knowledge and enjoyment of the lessons being learned. By doing these exercises it is almost guaranteed that the reader will open up a new understanding of how their life can be changed, and they enjoy it more.

There is a workbook that goes with this text, which I have not seen, but I am assuming it is just an expansion on the various exercises that are given in this book. 

Overall this is an extremely interesting book, and I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in both the life of Leonardo da Vinci, as well as improving their enjoyment of life.

"Science Past - Science Future" by Isaac Asimov (1920-1992)

Publisher:  Doubleday, Garden City, NY
Copyright: 1975
ISBN: 0385099231

This book is a compilation of 39 essays by Dr. Asimov written over his long career. The majority are from various magazines, but but a few were never published, and the stories that he relates regarding the rejections are rather curious to read. 

The past section covers topics such as technology, the physical sciences, the life sciences. While the future section talks about parts of society, then society as a whole. Between these two sections are two short essays that are rather personal in nature but they fit in well with the rest of the book.

Because this book was written in the 1970s, A number of the science future essays are more prediction than fact, but are still interesting to read. It is surprising how close Dr. Asimov came to predicting the actual Earth's population in the year 2000 considering he was writing so long ago. Some of the technology he talks about, such as the newly developed transistor, are explained very well, but as the integrated circuit that--everybody is familiar with nowadays--didn't exist at this point he was unable to scratch that topic. I do believe he touches on the subject in one of his other books, but seeing that he died in 1988 even this information would be relatively basic compared to what we now know.

One of the reoccurring themes or topics, that comes up in the future section is the high population of the earth. Dr. Asimov has some pretty strong opinions about that, but for the most part they are justified. His solutions however may not be to everyone's liking.

I'd recommend this book to anybody who's looking for a very good overview of the history of science, and inventions that have shape the world as we know it today.

"Secret Language: Codes, Tricks, Spies, Thieves and Symbols" by Barry J. Blake

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Copyright: 2011

ISBN: 9780199579280

I have had this book in my collection for quite some time, but never got around to actually reading it. I suppose in an off-handed away this is one advantage to the COVID-19 pandemic as none of the library's here are open so I am forced to actually read books that I've been meaning to (in some cases for years).

As it turns out this book is absolutely wonderful and Mr. Blake goes into significant amounts of detail with lots of examples from various languages, cultures, and history. A brief introduction deals with why people want to be mysterious. He then goes on to talk about topics related to anagrams and cryptic crosswords which includes things like palindromes and acronyms which he gives numerous examples of.

His next topic is all about riddles. Riddles have been with us for centuries, and have appeared in many forms. He discusses things like the rebus, the charade (and how it has changed from it's inception, into the kids game people are familiar with today). And then goes on to give some riddles that the reader can try.

The next section is one that I found extremely fascinating and that was on codes and ciphers. He deals with the history from pre-Roman times up to the present and the use of computers. Once again he gives the reader some interesting challenges.

The next three chapters deal with biblical secrets, words of power, and words to avoid. These are explored from a historical as well as a cultural viewpoint. His next chapter deals with jargon, slang, argot and various secret languages.

He ends the book with a discussion of things like politeness, humour, euphemism, abusive language, oxymorons, parody and satire to name but a few.

I found this to be an excellent book, and was quite sorry that I hadn't read it many years ago. It is especially renewed my interest in codes and ciphers, and I'll be reviewing another book that I have on that in the future.

"The Epic of Gilgamesh" English version with introduction by N. K. Sandars

Publisher:London : Penguin Books, 1972.

Edition:Revised edition, incorporating new material.

Copyright Date:©1972

ISBN: 9780140441000 

Characteristics: 127 pages :,map ;,20 cm.

The Epic of Gilgamesh who was the renowned king of Uruk in Mesopotamia, was discovered in 1839 by Austen Henry Layard when he was travelling in Mesopotamia and was delayed by excavations of the Assyrian mounds. He was there for a number of years and the result was a number of Assyrian sculptures and over twenty-five thousand broken tablets from the Palace at Nineveh being returned to the British Museum. These tablets were all written in cuneiform (wedge shaped characters, on clay tablets). The decipherment of the language took many years and was finally aided by the discovery by Henry Rawlinson of the 'Record of Darius' on the rock of Behistun near Kermanshah in Persia, which was written in cuneiform, Old Persian, Elamite and Babylonian languages. The epic of Gilgamesh is typically considered to be the earliest existing work of literature.

Unlike many heroes told of in mythology Gilgamesh is was considered by most scholars to be a real person, a King who lived and reigned in Uruk sometime during the first half of the third millennium. The introduction to this book explains in great length the history of the region, of the story itself, it's discovery, translation etc. The introduction itself is 58 pages long which maybe somewhat daunting to your average reader, but it is extremely fascinating as well and takes the reader on a journey that helps to explain the story itself.

The first half of the story gives background information on Gilgamesh himself and a wild being called Enkidu who was created by the gods to oppose Gilgamesh and stop him from oppressing the people of Uruk. Enkidu becomes human after having sex intercourse with a prostitute. He then travels to Uruk and challenges Gilgamesh to a contest of strength, which Gilgamesh wins. The two men then become fast friends (some say lovers), and undertake a journey to kill Humbaba the Terrible the guardian of the sacred forest and then cut down the sacred cedar. After succeeding in this the goddess Ishtar attempts to punish Gilgamesh for refusing her sexually by sending the Bull of Heaven. The Bull is killed by the two men, and the gods decide to kill Enkidu as a punishment for Gilgamesh as they are the best of friends.

The second part of the story details Gilgamesh's distress over Enkidu's death and his quest for eternal life. He doesn't succeed in his quest because death is man's burden. During his travels however he does hear the tale of the great flood.

It is interesting to note that there are many similarities between the epic of Gilgamesh and the Hebrew Bible such as the story of the Garden of Eden, and the flood. In the first case Enkidu is created from the soil just like the mythological Adam, he lives in a worry free world alongside all the animals, he is tempted by a female (who is created from one of his bones), accepts food from the female, then needs to cover his nakedness, and then must leave, etc. As for the flood similarities the flood narrative in the Hebrew Bible is so close to that from Gilgamesh that they can be considered the same and scholars have all agreed that Gilgamesh influenced the mythology of the genesis flood. There are many other similarities as well that I won't bother detailing here.

All told this is a very good story, and I would recommend it to all.

"Circe" by Madeline Miller

Publisher:New York : Little, Brown and Company, 2018.

Edition:First edition.

ISBN: 9780316556347 

Characteristics: 393 pages

In "Circe" (pronounced 'Keer-Kay') Madeline Miller gives ask a look at the life of Circe, and what caused her banishment, how she adapted and lived the rest of her life. Many people know the basics of her tale from the Odyssey by Homer, but she is just one small part of that epic.

In the Odyssey she is painted as a very badass witch. She is taking out her revenge of how she's been treated in the world, who liked her solitude and gets her thrills by enslaving the crews of ship who visit her island and turning them into pigs.

In this book she a totally different picture is painted. Her actions are explained as she is the victim of Helios - her father - and other members of the Olympian divinity who were essentially needing a scapegoat (or so it seemed to me). And even though she was banished to the island of Aiaia she adapted well and lived a full life. It gives plausible explanations of how she learned to use her power, and showed her obsession with turning wayward sailors into pigs was a means of self defence, as she was a woman living alone, and the sailors had plans for solitary women.

In this book we also learn of her involvement with the birth of the Minotaur, her relations with her brother and two sisters as well as her relations with other members of the Olympians - all very strained to say the least.

Now, not being a authority on Greek history, and literature I can’t say how many liberties Ms. Miller took with her story, but I found it to be a very engrossing story that was well worth reading. She has another book “The Song of Achilles” which I’m hoping to read in the near future as it has been recommended to me as a fantastic novel.

I was first introduced to Madeline Miller's work via the podcast "Let's Talk About Myths, Baby" by Liv Albert, and I would definitely recommend it to anybody who is interested in Greek and Roman mythology. The myths are told from a refreshing feminist perspective, and Ms. Albert doesn't pull any punches (especially when talking about Zeus).

"Samurai: A Concise History" by Michael Wert

Publisher:New York, NY : Oxford University Press, [2019]

Copyright Date:©2019

ISBN: 9780190932947 

Characteristics: vii, 118 pages :,illustrations

The history and folklore surrounding the Samurai is fascinating to many people. This likely has to do a lot with the way they have been portrayed in movies and television, and likely to a certain point as well in graphic novels and such however, I am not too familiar with the latter.

Most of what has been shown on the screen either from Hollywood or other sources is typically quite a bit different than what happened in reality (even when allowing a wide range for artistic license). This book goes a long way toward clearing up the confusion by giving a brief history of Japan that details the rise and fall of the Samurai.

If I remember correctly my first exposure to any relatively detailed knowledge of the samurai was through the miniseries "Shogun" by James Clavell, Which I believe came out in the 1980s, and everybody was reading it. This mini-series examined the life of a fictional sailor who is shipwrecked on the shores of Japan, and what he had to go through to live with the people there. The novel by Clavell is the first of a trilogy, but I've only read the first as they are very long novels.

Getting back to "Samurai: A Concise History". This book is extremely well written and extensively researched. It is easy to read and should give any person who is interested in getting their facts straight the real story about how the Samurai lived and how their lives were really different from what has been portrayed in the various media. This book could easily have been many times longer, but this wouldn't have been a burden as the author's style of writing is excellent for understanding by people of all ages.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in this facet of Japanese life and history. It would make a great addition to any historical collections.

"Sexual Intelligence" by Kim Cattrall

Publisher: Greystone / Madison Press Books, New Video Group (DVD)
Copyright: 2005 (Book), 2006 (DVD)
ISBN: 1-55365-105-7 (Book), 0-7670-8772-0 (DVD)

Ms. Cattrall first wrote the book and this inspired the documentary. According to her the reason for writing the book: "For me, it was a desire to define myself beyond an iconic character I played for over seven years - a character I love and fully embraced. Samantha Jones captured people's imaginations and earned a place in our collective culture."

The book and documentary interviewed a number of professionals with regard to their work in the areas of sex education, their thoughts, and feelings, etc. Three of the professionals consulted: Thomas Moore "The Scale of Sex", Michael J. Bader "Arousal", & Maggie Paley "The Book of the Penis" have each published on the topic and are considered authorities in the field. In addition the renowned sex therapist Betty Dodson gives her input from a medical point of view. Six non-professionals are also featured in the documentary and a seventh is included in the book, and all candidly tell their stories and give their opinions on how they feel about sex in general and with regard to specific topics.

Comprehensive and accurate sex education is something that is severely lacking in North American society, and unfortunately even more so in other cultures. The vast majority of today's youth have a very lopsided view of what sex actually is, as they are getting their information from a number of sources such as religious institutions, the internet, pornographic videos, etc. The vast majority of these are less than credible, after all how are religious practitioners - that supposedly practise abstention - supposed to give accurate information about something they shouldn't even know anything about? As for the internet, well that is likely the worst place to get accurate information as on there every male is so well endowed that he should probably invest in training wheels, those who aren't are told they should be and tons of ridiculous potions, pills, and other concoctions promise that he will be in a matter of days. For women, they are all supposedly ready for intercourse at the drop of a hat, have to be cleanly shaven, and have enormous breasts.

The book and DVD give a very good introduction to the history of sex, its representation in the arts (both historically and contemporarily), how it is seen in other cultures (primarily historically - in such places as Pompeii), and in basic sex education. Hopefully this inspires readers and viewers to investigate the topic further. The book contains an extensive bibliography, and this alone is worth the price of the book.

As the book asks "Is it possible to develop a kind of sexual intelligence, one that can deepen our pleasure and give us a greater awareness of ourselves?" If a reader takes this to heart and continues to read from reputable sources on the subject then I would say it is possible, but it is something that a person will have to work at.