Deconstructing the Bible represents the first attempt by a single author to place the great Spanish Jewish Hebrew bible exegete; philosopher; poet; astronomer; astrologer and scientist Abraham ibn Ezra (1089-1164) in his complete contextual environment. It charts his unusual travels and discusses changes and contradictions in his hermeneutic approach; analysing his vision of the future for the Jewish people in the Christian north of Europe rather than in Muslim Spain. It also examines his influence on subsequent Jewish thought; as well as his place in the wider hermeneutic debate. The book contains a new translation of ibn Ezra's Introduction to the Torah; written in Lucca; northern Italy; together with a full commentary. It will be of interest to a wide variety of scholars; ranging from philosophers and theologians to linguists and students of hermeneutics.
#578595 in Books 2015-04-10 2015-02-09Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.11 x 1.11 x 6.97l; .0 #File Name: 0700620958368 pages
Review
51 of 51 people found the following review helpful. A Complete Readable Account of WWI's Eastern FrontBy Michael J. FeinsteinDavid Stone's "The Russian Army in the Great War" is an enjoyable; well-written and comprehensive account of the often neglected Eastern Front in WWI. Focusing primarily (though not exclusively) on Russia's military situation; the book covers the eastern campaigns from the initial invasion of East Prussia to the Russian Army's collapse in late 1917. Included are short but interesting chapters on the Caucasian and Romanian fronts (the former often overlooked) as well as a chapter on the Russian home front and supply problems. I also found the coverage of the 1914 1915 campaigns in Galicia to be particularly interesting. The book covers the Serbian front very briefly due to the absence of direct Russian military involvement.Stone's narrative flows very smoothly making the book easy to read. He includes not only description of what happened and what went wrong but also useful explanations of why and provides a strategic overview as well. For example; while citing the haste; command carelessness and supply problems dooming Samsonov's 2nd Army at Tannenberg; he balances the mistakes by explaining the strategic importance of diverting some German resources away from the key Western Front just before the Marne. While the focus is on Russia's army; German and Austrian strategic decisions are also discussed. The dozen or so area-wide campaign maps are reasonably helpful though not especially detailed.While the book is comprehensive in the scope of its coverage; buyers should recognize that it does not cover each battle in great detail. This is simply not possible in 300 pages. For example; the Battle of Tannenberg is covered in 7 pages. By contrast; Prit Buttar's recent "Collision of Empires" (which focuses just on the campaigns of 1914) devotes 50 pages to that battle. Accordingly; those wanting highly detailed day-by-day; unit-by-unit battle descriptions might prefer books devoted to individual campaigns instead of one covering the entire war in the east.That stated; there is no better written one-volume work on the entire Eastern Front of WWI from 1914-1917 that I have seen. It provides complete coverage; insightful analysis and sufficient battle description to make it a thoroughly satisfying yet fairly quick read.6 of 6 people found the following review helpful. Excellent coverageBy Te BadaT’s Rating System0 to 5 with 0 the lowest score and 5 the highest and NA for not applicable:Books (nonfiction) Content 4 Coverage of topic 4 Adequacy of descriptions 4 Detail 4 Accuracy 5 References 5 Illustrations 3 Size 4 Detail 3 Captions 4 Sufficient Maps 4 Sufficient Drawings NA Sufficient Photos 4 Product worth the price - Yes; 4.Excellent book. THe coverage seems a better than Norman Stone's (apparently no relation) Eastern Front. The two Stone's seem to have a different point of view on the collapse of the Austrian forces in their August 1914 offensive. Norman describes it as a rout; but David does not express that opinion. It could use more maps; but otherwise a book worth having. The "Look Inside" should give you a good enough idea of what you are buying.7 of 7 people found the following review helpful. Very good general history of the Eastern Front.By Robert MurleyMuch good information on the unfolding events of the war. Could have looked into the command structure and the division between the younger well educated staff officers at Stavka and the older generals.
