Ibu Maluku: The Story of Jeanne van Diejen
By Ron Heynneman
Paperback: 636 pages
Publisher: Sid Harta Publishers (May 1, 2002)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1877059080
ISBN-13: 978-1877059087
This is what is stated on the back cover of this book:
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A Study in Red – The Secret Journal of Jack the Ripper
By Brian L Porter
Paperback: 244 pages
Publisher: Double Dragon Publishing; 1st edition (January 11, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1554045274
ISBN-13: 978-1554045273
Read more on A Study in Red – The Secret Journal of Jack the Ripper by Brian L Porter…
The Flight of the Swans is a work of literary fiction and is the author’s first book. On the cover of the book, the blurb states as follows:
To Have and to Hold
By Philipp Blom
Paperback: 345 pages
Publisher: Overlook TP (May 25, 2004)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 158567561X
ISBN-13: 978-1585675616
In a nutshell, reading Philipp Blom’s book is time well spent. At first, the sight of beetles and insects on its cover is not only disconcerting but also not at all appetising.
However the full title of the book, To Have and To Hold: An Intimate History of Collectors and Collecting, takes the reader into the private world of people whose lives are so connected with the idea of collecting stuff that you’re instantly hooked.
Start flicking through the pages and you need not go far before you encounter the first of many things that makes the book unique. The titles Blom gives his chapters are in themselves interesting, for example, ‘Parliament of Monsters’, ‘An Ark Abducted’ and ‘Why Boling People is Wrong’.
The order in which her presents the chapters is cleverly structured to reveal the routes collectors take to explore their interest.
We begin with Blom’s story about the three gentlemen he knew who had started him thinking about collectors and collecting. One of them collects books because he did not have much or a formal education in his youth. Now, he makes up for that by collecting and reading every book he can get his hands on.
Then, we are taken on a historical journey which involves the collection of mystical items and relics from a bygone ear. Next, there are strange plants, animals and insects to consider. Once nature has been ‘conquered’, we learnt about the collection of things human – organs, skulls and ‘unnatural’ people.
We turn next to what I like to call the hybrid between relics and humans – memorabilia of and from people who have become relics themselves. An example of this would be Napoleon Bonaparte’s locks.
The book comes a full circle when Blom relates the story of another man who collects an enormous amount of books, manuscripts and anything at all in print.
It is obvious that lots of research has gone into this book. Moreover, what is astounding is the manner in which Blom has conveyed the intimate details of the collectors’ lives, their problems, misfortunes, fortunes and idiosyncrasies and the era in which they live. He does it with such flair that the reader is bound to view this subject in new light. The language is simple and the message is conveyed effectively.
It is to Blom’s credit that he is able to foresee the questions a reader may have and has inserted his answers where appropriate. For example, by the time one is more that halfway thought the book, one begins to ask, “Why on earth would someone collect deformed babies who were born dead or died soon after birth?” Blom answers by saying that the value of these collections lie in their usefulness, significance, meaning and association with the collector.
The reader will no doubt go through a gamut of emotions reading this book. How, indeed, is it not possible to laugh when reading this:
As far as opening lines go, this one will forever stand out in my mind. They were the ones uttered by Sharanya Manivannan during her solo show, Ochre As The Earth. The show was held in No Black Tie on Sunday June 3rd 2007 at 9 p.m. Before I proceed to write a review of the show proper, I’d like to start with the poster.
It Works is a non-fiction piece of work and can safely be categorised under the self-help genre. On the back cover of the book, it is stated that Ronald Miller ‘shows us how to achieve all our dreams and desires through’ mind power and goal setting, the process of goal setting and tools and resources for successful goal setting.
