Lights of Madness In Search of Joan of Arc Preston Russell 9781499040579 Books
Download As PDF : Lights of Madness In Search of Joan of Arc Preston Russell 9781499040579 Books
_feature_div" class="feature" data-feature-name="bookDescription">
Lights of Madness In Search of Joan of Arc Preston Russell 9781499040579 Books
As fascinating historical figures go, Joan of Arc ranks up there among the most inscrutable and the most tragic. Convinced that she was hearing the voice of God and a few saints, Joan of Arc took off to take back France from the English, and reinstate Charles VII to the throne. While she enjoyed early success, and even had the British on the run, she was eventually captured at Compeigne and burned at the stake in 1431 after a lengthy and far from fair trial. Eventually, Charles VII was successfully reinstated, he initiated a trial of reclamation to clear her verdict of heresy, and centuries later Joan was declared a saint in the Catholic Church.Joan of Arc has been examined from many different perspectives and milieus. She has been the subject of theater, feminist essays, religious festivals, and medical models. Author Preston Russell begins with a blow-by-blow of her trial, and delves a little deeper into her religious motivations (which given the times were also intertwined with her political motivations) and continues with a literature review of her evolving persona and concludes with some medical theories regarding her mental health state, particularly captivating to the author as he is himself a physician.
Like everyone else, a medieval teenage girl leading armies because of voices in her head fascinates me. The fact that there is no Joan of Arc disorder or real medical explanation further bolsters her religious acumen, and I enjoy pundits trying to explain the unexplainable. I found Lights of Madness to be a really thorough and well researched book, and I loved the references to the source material. That being said, it read more like a thesis than a book, and I think it could benefit from some reorganization, or at least clearer sections and author interjections. In fact, I think that rather than just an introduction from the author on how he discovered and was enthralled with the subject, the book would benefit from his description of exactly how he went about finding everything in each section - religious, medical, literature, etc. I know it’s scientifically trendy to pretend to be objective, but everyone comes from somewhere and has reasons to be pulled toward different subjects, and, for me, that helps my own evaluation and conclusions. The author’s personal story is just as important as Joan’s, and just as it was critical to describe how Shaw and Shakespeare treated her story differently, he needs to add his to the pile.
Product details
|
Tags : Lights of Madness: In Search of Joan of Arc [Preston Russell] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers.,Preston Russell,Lights of Madness: In Search of Joan of Arc,Xlibris,1499040571,Special Interest - Religious,TRAVEL Special Interest Religious,Travel,Travel & holiday guides,Travel - General
People also read other books :
- Bitten Beauty Book 3 Of the Deadly Beauties Live On edition by CM Owens Paranormal Romance eBooks
- The Darkness of Her Complexion Made Him Attracted to Her BWWM Romance Short Story (Audible Audio Edition) Samantha Wellshauna Eddie Leonard Jr Books
- Watercolors Paintings by Mark Sandman Mark Sandman Sara Beth Wiley Dana Colley Andrew D Mazzone 9781450534376 Books
- Dictionary of the Holy Quran Arabic English Abdul Mannan Omar 9780976697282 Books
- Live Free or Tri A collection of three short mystery stories edition by Judy Penz Sheluk Mystery Thriller Suspense eBooks
Lights of Madness In Search of Joan of Arc Preston Russell 9781499040579 Books Reviews
Joan of Arc has been a hero of mine for more than fifty years. Over those years I have read every book on her I could find. Many of these carry with them, naturally enough, the point of view of the author(s). Joan is one of those very rare personalities in history who seem to arrive out of thin air and turn the times on their head. Her short life is one of the most documented of her age, yet for many she remains an enigma. If one accepts the Roman Catholic view, there is a faith-based explanation. Other approaches to come to grips with this all too human teenage woman may reflect a gamut of ideas that cover the entire human experience, from romance to science.
Doctor Russell's thoroughness in exploring the various possibilites take on an intriguing trek. He first recounts Joan's life as it is documented, without dwelling on any certain aspect, such as military. His purpose seems to be "let's agree on what is undisputed" as we begin to search for any non faith-based explanation as to how a previously unknown teenage woman, who had no education, could motivate first a knight, then a baron, then the French prince and most remarkedly, his dismal army and it's commanders. I believe it is a fair statement that without Joan, France as we know it today, would not exist.
Modern researchers have a new arena to debate Joan's behavior, that of medical science. This is where Dr. Russell's work has it's greatest strength. He probes all of the modern theories that medical science has provided yet makes it understanble to the non-medical mind (like mine). I found the book a real page-turner, as if I was on a road to uncover a mystery, which I was. It has opened up some new possibilites I had not really considered. What better success can an author seek other than he made his readers think?
Joan is still a hero of mine. Dr. Russell has not tarnished her memory, but revived it in a modern light. Make sure your personal library contains Dr. Russell's book. Mine does.
Brilliant! I don't know how all this enormous research could have been done in only 10 years. What a masterful way of drawing on such experts in all fields to get to the real Joan of Ark.
This book includes an account of Joan of Arc’s life mainly relying on the transcripts of her trial. There are numerous endnotes. I have no complaints about Russell’s accuracy, but it would have been enormously convenient for readers if these notes had been hyperlinked within the text in the electronic version. I have seen this user friendly feature in textbooks. I think it should be standard in any digitized book that has endnotes or a glossary.
There is also a section dealing with portrayals of Joan of Arc since her death, but the aspect of this biographical study that I found most useful was Russell’s discussion of all the attempts to diagnose Joan of Arc. As a physician, his views on this topic seemed authoritative. I also very much appreciated Russell’s perspective on the the medicalization of spiritual figures. Those who search for an appropriate diagnosis for this particular saint definitely need to read the trial transcripts thoroughly as Preston Russell has evidently done.
The cover and internal illustrations enhance the experience of reading Lights of Madness, so that it seems less dry and academic.
Although there were a handful of typographical errors, I found the book very readable. I would recommend it to any reader who wants an in depth exploration of Joan of Arc’s life and a thoughtful evaluation of her psychology based on the extensive evidence available.
As fascinating historical figures go, Joan of Arc ranks up there among the most inscrutable and the most tragic. Convinced that she was hearing the voice of God and a few saints, Joan of Arc took off to take back France from the English, and reinstate Charles VII to the throne. While she enjoyed early success, and even had the British on the run, she was eventually captured at Compeigne and burned at the stake in 1431 after a lengthy and far from fair trial. Eventually, Charles VII was successfully reinstated, he initiated a trial of reclamation to clear her verdict of heresy, and centuries later Joan was declared a saint in the Catholic Church.
Joan of Arc has been examined from many different perspectives and milieus. She has been the subject of theater, feminist essays, religious festivals, and medical models. Author Preston Russell begins with a blow-by-blow of her trial, and delves a little deeper into her religious motivations (which given the times were also intertwined with her political motivations) and continues with a literature review of her evolving persona and concludes with some medical theories regarding her mental health state, particularly captivating to the author as he is himself a physician.
Like everyone else, a medieval teenage girl leading armies because of voices in her head fascinates me. The fact that there is no Joan of Arc disorder or real medical explanation further bolsters her religious acumen, and I enjoy pundits trying to explain the unexplainable. I found Lights of Madness to be a really thorough and well researched book, and I loved the references to the source material. That being said, it read more like a thesis than a book, and I think it could benefit from some reorganization, or at least clearer sections and author interjections. In fact, I think that rather than just an introduction from the author on how he discovered and was enthralled with the subject, the book would benefit from his description of exactly how he went about finding everything in each section - religious, medical, literature, etc. I know it’s scientifically trendy to pretend to be objective, but everyone comes from somewhere and has reasons to be pulled toward different subjects, and, for me, that helps my own evaluation and conclusions. The author’s personal story is just as important as Joan’s, and just as it was critical to describe how Shaw and Shakespeare treated her story differently, he needs to add his to the pile.
0 Response to "≫ Descargar Lights of Madness In Search of Joan of Arc Preston Russell 9781499040579 Books"
Post a Comment