About the AuthorHerbert L. Kaufmans multi-faceted career has included positions as professor of German language and literature at Queens College (New York), visiting professor of American Studies at Kiel University (Germany), violinist with the Alabama Symphony, and adjunct professor of music history in Antwerp Universitys European Studies Program (Belgium). From 1980 to 1997, he was a violinist with the Flemish Opera in Antwerp and Ghent. In 1994, Kaufmans play Pals won First Prize in the 25th Anniversary Playwriting Competition of the American Theatre Company in Brussels, and was produced by the ATC that same year. In 1995, Kaufmans radio play Last Supper received the BBCs Best Play from Europe award, and was produced and broadcast by BBC World Service Drama. Last Supper has also been published by the BBC in its anthology Radio Plays for the World. More recent works include Pebbles on the Stone (2002) and Lucky To Be Here (2003), both published by Xlibris. Lifelines, a Holocaust drama, was produced in Antwerp, Belgium in 2002 by the British American Theatrical Society. Pathways, an autobiography published by Lulu in 2004, comprises original prose pieces inspired by eventful periods. Interjected between ordinary accounts of the authors existence are imaginative and strange tales illustrating the spirited vision of the writer. In Armchair Cogitations, the author continues his reflections, including his struggle to come to terms with his existence as a stroke survivor. Collected Plays for Stage and Radio is a compilation of Kaufman's nine plays. what is the best used book website Armchair Cogitations
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. You will enjoy "Armchair Cogitations"By stockwrockSome books emanate the warmth of their authors, leaving the reader with a gratifying feeling that they have come to know someone worth knowing. Herbert Kaufman is such an author, and I highly recommend his latest work, "Armchair Cogitations."If you believe, as I do, that there would be little point in writing a book that reveals nothing of the author's true self, this book reaffirms that belief. More autobiographical than fiction, Kaufman contemplates life from the perspective of one whose past is abundant, and future admittedly limited. His self-revelations are at times shockingly honest, offering the reader insights from his unique perspective into sensitive subjects, such as life after death, self-worth, getting old, loss of physical and mental abilities, etc.In particular, Kaufman conveys a self-preserving cleverness for adaptation to the limitations of his recently-acquired physical limitations imposed by a stroke. His writing displays a terrific eye for detail. At times sensitive, perhaps neurotic, but always artistic, you will enjoy "Armchair Cogitations."0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. personal/universalBy pseudonym"Armchair Cogitations" continues in the apparently semi-autobiographical vein of "Pathways", Herbert Kaufman's previous book. The section "Air Force Vignettes", especially, provides a glimpse into a world that, in some ways, no longer exists. However, just when you think that a piece is going to be primarily nostalgic in nature, an event or conversation between characters shifts the emphasis. Often we understand then that the relationships between humans broadly follow along certain well-worn paths; what may appear as our own original, highly personal drama is part of an existence common to all of us. Perhaps the reader's age will, in part, determine the extent to which he or she may empathize with some of the book's characters and situations, but there is much that all will recognize.