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PARIS AND HER CATHEDRALS

Name: PARIS AND HER CATHEDRALS
Author: R. Howard Bloch
ISBN: 978-1-63149-392-8

by R. Howard Bloch ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 11, 2022

Useful for tourists, students of French culture, and historians of Christianity.

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An exploration of six great cathedrals in Paris.

In his latest book—part travel guide, part history book, and part homage—Bloch, a professor of French and humanities at Yale, provides a thorough account of the “monumental churches” of Saint-Denis, Notre-Dame, Chartres, Sainte-Chapelle, Amiens, and Reims, all from a variety of perspectives. In each case, Bloch discusses the predecessor buildings that stood on the sites of the current cathedrals. Many of these histories are surprisingly ancient. Saint-Denis, for instance, “had been the burial place of French kings, beginning with the Frankish leader Dagobert, who died in 639.” These histories, which wind through medieval times into the Renaissance, offer intriguing tales of court politics, church power, and cultural change. Each capsule history also seems touched by two of the great enemies of Parisian cathedrals: fire and the French Revolution. Fire has been an ever present threat, most recently destroying Notre-Dame in 2019. However, the revolution was just as devastating for most of the cathedrals. Bloch examines the art and architecture of each cathedral in great depth, noting that the art was not merely decorative or sacred, but also practical for elucidating sermons and lessons. “In an age in which few could read or write and literacy was the sign of a clerical education, the cathedral was, in the popular phrase, ‘a poor man’s Bible’ and a teaching tool,” writes the author. “The priest preaching a sermon might illustrate his lesson by pointing to the astonishing array of sculpture and stained glass illustrations of biblical figures and stories by which he was surrounded.” Though the text is well written and filled with meaningful information, general readers may be overwhelmed by countless descriptions of sculpture and stained glass, which tend to blur together. The book contains nearly 100 photographs.

Useful for tourists, students of French culture, and historians of Christianity.

Pub Date: Oct. 11, 2022

ISBN: 978-1-63149-392-8

Page Count: 368

Publisher: Liveright/Norton

Review Posted Online: Oct. 6, 2022

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2022

Categories:

HISTORY | PHILOSOPHY & RELIGION | WORLD

ROSE BOOK OF BIBLE CHARTS, MAPS AND TIME LINES

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ROSE BOOK OF BIBLE CHARTS, MAPS AND TIME LINES

by Timothy Paul Jones ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2005

Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.

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A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.

This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is â€œHow We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.

Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005

ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8

Page Count: -

Publisher: N/A

Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010

Review Program: Kirkus Indie

Categories:

PHILOSOPHY & RELIGION

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THE MYTH OF SISYPHUS

AND OTHER ESSAYS

by Albert Camus ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 26, 1955

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This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.