African religion is ancestor worship; it revolves around the dead; now thought to be alive and well in heaven (the Samanadzie) and propitiated by the living on earth. For the Akan; the ancestors' stool is the emblem of the ancestors (Nananom Nsamanfo). Led by their kings and queen mothers as living ancestors; the Akan periodically propitiate the ancestors' stools housing their ancestors. In return; the ancestors and deities influence the affairs of living descendants; making ancestor worship as tenably viable as any other religion. This second edition updates the scholarship on ancestor worship by demonstrating the centrality of the ancestors' stool as the ultimate religious symbol. In addition; all chapters have been expanded. A new chapter has been added to show how ancestor worship is pragmatically integrative; theologically sound; teleological as well as soteriological; with a highly trained clerical body and elders as mediators.
#99348 in Books Gail MacColl 2012-03-15 2012-03-15Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.06 x .88 x 6.00l; 1.42 #File Name: 0761171959414 pagesTo Marry an English Lord
Review
30 of 31 people found the following review helpful. Everything BBC loving Anglophiles craveBy Jane DoeThis book is an easy read with more photos and line drawings than can be imagined. The vast majority of pages have multiple photos and every couple pages offers a 1-2 page special section with either photos or line drawings demonstrating; for example; the 6 rankings of royalty; 9 types of costume changes; how estate drains work; calling card protocol; etc.I also gained a bigger context of how Astor's 400 in New York created a vacuum; so that young ladies looked elsewhere for fame fortune; and how Queen Victoria's neurotic refusal to allow Bertie into the business side of being a manager of England increased his demands on the upper classes for expensive novel entertainment.For me there were only 2 drawbacks:(1) There were so many names bandied about; I totally lost track of who was who. So I just went with the story; without trying to track individuals; which was OK.(2) After tens of pages of tales about wealthy American beauties and their conquest of fiscally poor English nobles; I felt sick of all the (not always; but often) calculated / manipulative bartering of sex; money privilege. However; I gave the book a break for a while; and then came back to it; and am quite glad that I did.If you can't get enough of English period pieces; and are interested in the woman's experience (at a not very academic; not very feminist) level; you will probably really like this book. If you enjoy reading People magazine; you will LOVE this book.232 of 239 people found the following review helpful. Takes you into Another time....By Ashley S.I already own the 1989 out-of-print version of 'To Marry an English Lord' in my collection and its one of my absolute favorites! So when I saw that it was going to be republished I thought that there was going to be new information or pictures (and possibly a color section); but I was mistaken; the only thing new is the lovely cover of Consuelo Vanderbilt-Balsan. On the flip side; I am happy to have it nonetheless; and thanks to the great success of Downton Abbey and Julian Fellowes; this gem may have never been back on the shelves.Without giving too much away; the book is full of pictures and information of everything you need to know about the many American heiresses who went across the waters (some by force)to marry a money-poor; land-rich English peer during the late 19th to the early 20th centuries. The book has plenty of background information and images of the American; Victorian; and Edwardian high societies; as well as enlightening and amusing facts concerning these Aristocratic American ladies and their British spouses. In the back there is even a directory of every American heiress (that is at least known) to have married into the English aristocracy.2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. The stories behind the stories that inspired James and WhartonBy M. A NewmanThis is a delightful book that provides the stories behind the stories that Henry James and Edith Wharton mined so successfully in various fictional treatments that addressed the trans-Atlantic phenomenon. Several prominent figures serve to focus this chronicle; Jennie Jerome Churchill; Consuelo Vanderbilt Churchill; Nancy Astor and Mary Curzon. Each was successful in her own way and managed to transcend the role of mere society hostess; Astor was actually the first woman to serve in Parliament. This entertaining book contains much to capture the period and is said to have served as the inspiration for Julian Fellows' creation of Downton Abbey. A good book to read on a Saturday afternoon after a stressful week.
