Companies Books

This book is an introductory peek at one of the most foundational mathematical tools needed for any consideration of cosmology, astronomy, and/or particle physics:
"At one end, far out where the galaxies appear like glowing froth in darkness, all our sciences become only one: cosmology. ... At the other end, for the very small we again have one science only: particle physics. There are even hints that the two ends inform each other." Evidence, perhaps, that television isn't all bad, the concept here was developed for a TV special program (quite a few years ago now), then plucked from video to print. It's a 'can't miss' premise but I find the writing to be slightly awkward and there may be too many illustrations. For a book that begs me to pick it up, it too easily invites me to put it down. Even so, it makes for a reasonably good overview of a universe more than 20 billion light years wide made out of stuff so small that we must describe it using negative powers of ten. The idea here is to illustrate the dramatic changes of scale involved in only a few powers of ten, and thus the "power" of powers of ten. The book's theme is itself quite modest, but for the reader unfamiliar with the concept of exponential notation, this small volume may be a startling revelation. To those familiar with the concept, the book may be a mere novelty, perhaps a "coffee table book."

The premise of this book leads to one of the most fascinating demonstrations of what relative sizes really are. The first illustration is on the order of 10^25 meters, which is approximately 1 billion light years. At this level, even giant galaxies are little more than a dot of light. Subsequent illustrations move in by powers of ten, so by 10^23, our galaxy is now a large period with some evidence of a swirling structure. This zooming in continues until at the level of 10^1 meters, we see a man and a woman on a blanket in a grassy park on the edge of a marina in Chicago, Illinois. Their location was the central position of all previous illustrations.
The zooming in continues, the focus now in on the back of the man's right hand. At the level of 10^(-5) meters, we see an entire white blood cell. When the level of 10^(-8) meters is reached we see the structure of DNA and at the level of 10^(-14) meters, we see the nucleus of a carbon-12 atom. Finally, at the level of 10^(-16) we see nothing more than a random collection of colored splotches.
This is one of the best basic science books ever published; it should be read by all students before they get out of high school. Our brains have an inherent difficulty in grasping the enormous differences in size that exist in the universe. The illustrations are also an excellent lesson in the basic mathematics of exponents. From 25 to -16 is only 41 orders of magnitude and yet we have gone from what is close to the size of the universe down to the smallest objects that are currently known to exist.

I purchased this book years ago when I began collecting the magnificent Scientific American Collection. It has since been published in paperback and I have heard there is a corresponding book that decreases by powers of ten. This is easily the most approachable of all the books in the series and I have used it with both my boys when they were younger.

Parenthetically, anything that would stimulate American interest in science - and stem the tide toward a universal scientific illiteracy - should be welcome. I have seen this powers of ten device several times but the one that stands out in my mind is the opening scene of CONTACT that was marred only by the pitiful displays of stupidity heard from the members of the audience. ("Is that Saturn?" "Yeah, it was once a star and that's how it got its rings." "That's what I thought.")

Back to the book, we start off matter of factly then proceed outward. The commentary is sparse because little is needed. In this case, the picture IS worth a thousand words - more if you get down to it. Get this now-affordable volume and give it to a youngster.

I've seen this book for the first time in 1985, when I was kid. It is still my all-time favorite.

Although the book does have lots of textual info pages, the core of the book is a series of 42 full-page pictures which depict the an ordinary picnic photo in different scales.

Starting from an ordinary dude resting on the grass, each page turn shows the scene from 10 times farther away. First we see the park he is picnicing on, then the entire city, and before you know it we are in deep space racing towards the outskirts of the Universe.

On the other side of the journey, each page turn magnifies the last picture tenfold. First by viewing a close-up view of the picnicing guy's hand, you quickly find yourself probing deeper and deeper through the realms of biology and chemistry right into the core of a single atom.

The really cool thing about the whole deal, is that all the images are centered at the same object: a single atom on the picnicing dude's hand.

In short, the idea is absolutely brilliant. The images chosen for the presentation is not perfect, but they are still amazing. Of-course, the film is much more impressive then the book, but you can't take a film with you to a camping trip...

This is a great book. Believe it or not, I walk my 5 year old son through the pictures. I am sure it is not meant for youngsters but it can be used like I am am doing.

The idea behind the book is on its smallest scale it is inside a qark inside an atomic nucleus, inside an atom, attached to a DNA molecule, inside a nucleus of a white blood cell, slightly below the skin on a hand of a man asleep at a picnic on some grass in Chicago....all the way to the scale of the universe. My son and I will transverse the middle 1/3 or 1/2 of the journey. He gets to pick his own bedtime books and he chooses this one out of hundreds once or twice a week.

The pictures make a great way to explain the concept of scale and various aspects of science. On the facing page of the main picture underconsideration are objects of the same scale. You can really see that the tail of a dinosaur is 10 times longer than a man.

For the adult, it is an easy introduction to various aspects of science all at different scales. It is not a super serious book - no math - simple explanations. But as a practicing scientist, I view it as vary factual.

When I read this book 10 years ago, I couldn't understand what Lomax was talking about when he described how he was held down by Japanese soldiers, a cloth placed over his face, and water poured over him.

It's now very topical.

It's a very honest and informative personal story, as well

I was standing in a college bookstore and saw this title as the text for a class on Asian history. I typically have no interest in this genre but this book was riveting. The detail and genuine quality of the author's words are unique. One expects a POW who was tortured to seek out the torturer for revenge not forgiveness. This story has a beautiful, eternal message to the rest of us who hold grudges over much smaller offenses.

What an incredible book I was not able to put down. I am a big military history buff and found the early pacific theater defeats very disturbing especially the battles in and around Malaya.

The treatment of Mr. Lomax was not surprising as the Japanese were ruthless. Putting this experience into such a personal and riveting ordeal makes this book a must read. Eric Lomax puts personal vivid perspective on the years after his ordeal that is often left out of most military history accounts of battle, defeat and capture.

This book is very cathartic and brought tears to my eyes. Forgiveness is a more powerful emotion and triumphs over anger and revenge.

i also read this when it first appeared, was deeply moved and presented it to my wife's father, a ww2 veteran. i write this review today because a man george bush proposed for attorney general is about to be approved while refusing to admit that waterboarding is torture.

as every reader of this book knows, this is precisely the torture that was used on the author eric lomax, which terrified and impacted him for his entire life, and made it so hard for him to forgive even the interrogator present during it.

several reviewers have said this book documents how brutal was the japanese treatment of prisoners, and i agree.. how can we allow ourselves to become the same as those wartime enemies we have characterized as monsters? god help us if we do not object..

I read this book when it was first published about ten years ago and the moving experience has remained with me since I finished the final sentence. It is an incredibly vivid book that you will not be able to put down.
What Eric Lomax went through as a POW, and his eventual reconciliation with one of his torturers 50 years later displays a depth of humanity that is deeply moving.

The author has a really great sense of our water and how we must learn to live within our means. Not just a technical manual but a rationale for changing our water ways.

If I had to give up all the books on my shelf, this would be one of the last to go. Not only pertinent to drylands, harvesting rainwater can and should be implemented in any climate. I can only wonder why all buildings and residents don't take collecting rainwater into account. Our landscapes and lives can be greatly enhanced by putting the tools Mr. Lancaster introduces into practice.

The concepts described in this book are applicable to all climates. The book is useful to any permaculture practitioner for any climate type. I live in the northeast with 35 inches per year, and it has been helpful to me personally in designing rainwater harvesting systems for my village lot. When is vol. 2 coming out?

I suggest as companion reading "Water Storage: Tanks, Cisterns, Aquifers, and Ponds for Domestic Supply, Fire and Emergency Use--Includes How to Make Ferrocement Water Tanks (Paperback) by Art Ludwig; and also his "The New Create an Oasis With Greywater: Choosing, Building and Using Greywater Systms - Includes Branched Drains (Paperback)". Together you can come up with an irrigation plan for a yard anywhere.

It is not appropriately titled, or, better put, our minds are not appropriately programmed. All of our lands are in need of Rainwater Harvesting, not just the "drylands". Rainwater Harvesting for Ourlands, that is much better. Rainwater is another piece of the puzzle to independence.

This is an incredible study of a topic that most of us don't think about much, that is, how we are wasting our rainwater, and what we could be doing instead. This is required reading for anyone who cares about the environment.

Best, the book is highly readable, with excellent illustrations. I knew literally nothing about this topic before I read this book. Now I am a believer. The story of the African man who "farms water" is incredibly moving and actually brought tears to my eyes. I have already bought three copies of this book to distribute to friends and I will probably buy more! The author, Brad Lancaster, speaks on this topic around the country and I am looking forward to hearing him in person. There are two more volumes coming in this series and I am looking forward to reading those, as well.

I purchased this book back when it first was published, and have recommended it to many people who used to consider themselves to be rightwing conservatives. This book helped convince them that the right was wrong, and supported stealing with both hands, whether it is Corporate Welfare that ADM has taken for buying influence, or altering trade barriers to block out legitimate competitors, or simple illegal price fixing on a global scale, the ADM Corp led the way. Now that ethanol has offerred up a new way to steal from the public trough, ADM is again leading the way with the biggest 'snout' in the Government Trough.

Attorney Lieber deserves high praise for his objective, informative presentation of the antitrust criminal case vs. Archer Daniels Midland, the agribusiness giant, that ADM, its powerful lawyers and Clinton's Justice Department did not want published. To his credit, he continued to pursue this case after most reporters backed off and swallowed the dizzying spin and disinformation that ADM's CEO Dwayne Andreas and his aggressive lawyers gave the media, crying crocodile tears as the "victim" of an allegedly deranged ADM executive, Mark Whitacre, who became the FBI's mole, and made hundreds of tapes incriminating ADM executives fixing prices in world markets with their competitors. Lieber correctly smelled the stench of a cover-up and adroitly guides readers to make their own
conclusions after compiling evidence, omissions from court records, and other factors that allow readers to infer that the judicial process was compromised by ADM's widespread political
influence before the trial even began. Although Dwayne Andreas,
the infamous political fixer and king of corporate welfare, got immunity in a highly secretive plea bargain to Justice in 1996,
after ADM agreed to pay a record fine of $100 million, his son
Michael was convicted and imprisoned with Terry Wilson for a
mere 3 years, and Dwayne (thanks to outraged and courageous ADM
shareholders) finally resigned. Tragically, Whitacre was
convicted, fined and sentenced to a harsh term of 9 years
because of ADM's swift retaliation against him as whistleblower, for exposing to the FBI the ... corporate culture of
ADM...(anything goes-but don't get caught-and here's your big
bonus (not reported on books)to keep silent, the unspoken words
being that an employee would be fired and crucified if they
blew the whistle.
Lieber's chilling comment (p. 322)should concern every citizen
or future whistleblower who believes in due process and our rule of law: "It was expected that ADM's attorneys would savage the
snitch. What was highly bizarre in the world of criminal law was the way the Justice Department joined in the frenzy to destroy Whitacre. This was an aberration...the perpetrator was a
politically wired corporation whose law firm- the president's law firm- had unbridled entree and influence at Justice. The
mole's lawyer had none."
Lieber makes a strong case that this American corporate history- "one of the most important antitrust cases of the century"- should be closely examined. Rightly so. Why was the court record sealed, why were key witnesses (e.g., Wayne Brasser) not deposed, who could have validated Whitacre's claims that the hidden bonuses were a quid pro quo for engaging in illegal price-fixing? The author's appendices are very helpful. ADM and Dwayne Andreas not only have lobbied for years to emasculate our antitrust laws (the "Magna Carta" of free enterprise) but know that the massive soft money donations to key politicians can grease not only the wheels of justice, but also ensure that ADM continues to get huge subsidies for ethanol and other favors from Agriculture Dept. (high fructose corn syrup,peanuts) that have cost taxpayers billions of dollars.
Rats in the Grain is highly recommended, and was a difficult book to write because of the case's complexity. James Lieber should be considered for a Pulitzer Prize.

I have not read this book, but it seems that the publisher's statement here at Amazon should include some mention of what this book can tell us that Kurt Eichenwald's exhaustive, prizewinning book, _The Informant_, does not. Eichenwald's book covers exactly the same material, and Eichenwald (the _New York Times_ reporter who covered the case) had the same access to Whitacre and other sources that Lieber had.

For obvious reasons, I would prefer not to give a "number-of-stars" rating to a book I haven't read. But Amazon demands it, so I've chosen a neutral "three."

Jim Liebert gets to the truth. Dwayne Andreas and others at ADM are not kind folks. Their ties with murderer/dictator Fidel Castro are real. Their contemptuous involvement with the illegal extraction of Elian Gonzalez from freedom and his subsequent delivery to slavery in Castro's communist prison is also very real. All in the name of appeasment to Castro. These people are stench and deserve to be imprisoned, if not worse. Thank you Mr. Liebert for telling the truth.

Lieber possesses a unique blend of talents to investigate the price fixing trial of the century.

The book chronicles ADM kingmaker Dwayne Andreas's rise to business and political power, charts the evolution of US antitrust law, and dissect's the testimony of key witnesses in the trial.

The chapters on the trial delve into ADM's chief defense: its executives were white-hatted American heroes intent on destroying an "Asian" cartel. You will find the race baiting and "we-are-heroes" defense surreal, especially since audio and video tape caught the conspirators red-handed and potty-mouthed.

Lieber presents shocking evidence to build a solid case that the US Justice Department often subjugated itself to ADM's political power and well-connected attorneys in the prosecution of informant Mark Whitacre for fraud and tax evasion. For example, Whitacre still maintains the nearly $10 million of ADM money he stashed in Switzerland and the Cayman Islands was "off-the-books" bonuses given to him by Michael Andreas with the approval of ADM president James Randall. Lieber provides multi-layered facts that endorse Whitacre's story.

The book's final chapters contain even more revelations: alleged document shredding by ADM chairman Andreas after the June 1995 FBI raid; ADM's hiring prostitutes to help steal competitors' technology; the never investigated role of ADM president James Randall--or Chairman Andreas--in price fixing conspiracies; the Justice Department's refusal to release public documents, and other sordid facts of sex, lies and videotape.

As you will discover in reading this book, justice was plea bargined away and the wishes of the Andreas crime family boss Dwayne were granted, one of which was sending Whitacre to jail for 10 years.

Lieber is to be commended for this historical document which will explain to generations to come how corporate crime destoyed our country.

A very nice book, with remarkable trees, however, from the cover I suppose I wrongly assumed they would be beautiful trees. Quite a lot of the book is spent on African trees of a very strange nature, and to my husband's suprise, very little was done on the banyan tree. I was looking forward to large, ancient trees myself. All in all, it is still a wonderful book, it just wasn't what we were expecting.

Great Book will enough the wonder hopefully they have it in the school systems or county systems

Trees are grouped by various, sensible categories that other books on trees might neglect: Giants: Gods, Goddesses, Grizzlies; Dwarfs: For Fear of Little Men, In Bondage; Methuselahs: The Living and the Dead, Shrines; Dreams: Prisoners, Aliens, Lovers and Dancers, Snakes and Ladders, Ghosts; and Trees in Peril: Do the Loggers always Win? and Ten Green Bottles. Pakenham's text is great fun to read, as can be viewed from those sectional titles, and individual tree titles such as "Tie up my feet, Darling, and I'll live forever" for the Bonsai tree that is the In Bondage section.

I suppose coffee table books really shouldn't be considered exceptional items to read - view, yes; read, not so much. This is an exception. Tolkien's Ents are invoked for a handful of trees, and rightly so; geography students who get a core borer stuck and (somehow) get permission to cut down what had possibly been the oldest tree in the world just to retrieve it are warned against; and, of course, it is mentioned that any fool can climb a gum tree. I've read this about six times this year, high time I count it officially.

beautiful book. Bought it as a gift for my brother.
I already have a copy for myself.

In fall 2006, Lansing's forestry department planted a tiny gingko biloba tree between the sidewalk and the street in front of my house.
It had four and a half branches, all oriented in one plane like the candlesticks in a menorah. You could barely roast a wiener with it.
I scrambled into the house for a book I had bought, by sheer coincidence, the previous day -- Thomas Pakenham's "Remarkable Trees of the World."
Yes! There, sprawling across pages 110 and 111, was a gingko nearly 1,000 years old, still living in Tokyo, measuring 30 feet in girth and 66 feet high.
Pakenham, a British historian with Irish wanderlust and a gentle sense of drama, has traveled the world to photograph and research the history and lore of 60 of the world's most remarkable trees.
This oversize book, just now out in paperback, is so relaxed and un-sensational you picture Pakenham walking from tree to tree, a Haydn string quartet playing in the background, not minding the continents and oceans in between. It's a follow-up to another book that's just as good: "Meetings With Remarkable Trees," in which Packenham confined his wanderings to the British Isles. The response to "Meetings" was so warm that Pakenham packed his bags and expanded his search to global proportions.
Pakenham's style is that of a curious, intelligent pilgrim. He pairs generous full-page or double-page images of his subjects with un-fussy, lightly conversational background information. He clearly respects local lore and legend, but doesn't go overboard with it, nor does he bog the text down in scientific details. The result is almost a set of personality profiles.
The images are spectacular -- given the subject matter, most of them can't help it -- but sensitively chosen and framed, with an eye toward the unique setting, mood and attributes of each tree.
It's a low-key approach, but if this book doesn't awaken your sense of awe, nothing can. That little stick of a gingko in my front yard, for example, belongs to a hyper-ancient species/order/family that predates dinosaurs. Its peculiar lineage (it's related to ferns) is betrayed by unique, fan-shaped leaves that have no central fold.
Of course, trees have their own agenda, and don't care whether they get into a coffee-table book or not (it's tempting to think they'd rather not, insofar as books are made of paper). But it was hard not to think of Pakenham's gargantuan gingko as a thundering encouragement for my little tree's stressed-out, brown-fringed leaves and spindly trunk.
For one thing, Japanese Buddhists believe the gingko, not the Bo tree of India, was the tree under which Buddha found enlightenment.
If lore doesn't thrill, Pakenham serves up history and science. For example, a gingko 800 yards from the epicenter of Hiroshima threw up new sprouts even after the atomic bomb hit.
But enough about gingkos. In this book, the reader will meet a panoply of the world's most amazing creatures: General Sherman, a mega-giant sequoia in California that weights 1,500 tons and is probably the largest living thing on Earth; ancient teapot-shaped African baobabs out of a Dr. Suess illustration; the leaning Italian cypress said to have been planted by St. Francis; wind-lashed cypresses clinging to the rocky California coast; great oaks with hollows where 20 people can sit down to a banquet; bristlecone pines now into their fifth millennium of existence.
Some of these magnificent trees are near roadsides or chained off in parks, all but ignored by passersby. The wonder of this book is that it tunes the mind to the low-frequency, centuries-long chords only these creatures can hear. Looking at trees that have lived the better part of a millennium make you wonder whether there will be a California -- the home of a disproportionate number of these giants -- or a Lansing in 1,000 years.
My bet's on Lansing, which is far less likely to slip into the ocean before my gingko grows up.

I've read a few books about PCOS over the years and I have to say that this one really is the most helpful I've come across. Not only does it not repeat the same old out of date information that seems to continually spring up everywhere, but I learnt a lot of important new information, in particular that some health issues that I'd never thought to connect with PCOS may well be part of it after all. It's also given me some useful things to talk over with my specialist, including some new treatment options.

The book manages to tread the fine line between not overly dumbing down the scientific information, while also being readable by a layperson.

I'd highly recommend this to anyone who suspects they might have PCOS, has been only recently diagnosed or even those who have been living with the diagnosis for a long time and already feel pretty well informed.

This is the best book I have read on the subject!

If you're not put off by the awful cover choice, this book is full of great information, charts, health tests, etc.

I read this book in a 2 hour sitting, and took it with me to my nutritionist who specializes in PCOS and it really helped to guide my questions and what modifications I'd be making in my life.

Definitely worth reading- especially if your newly diagnosed or struggling for answers.

This book has a lot of knowledge from a doctor who seems to know her stuff. It is helpful for me because I am getting ready to find a doctor and I will better be able to explain my situation. The book is a little bit of a difficult read, but I read it in short spurts and it is fine. Overall, it is a good book for anyone who has PCOS or who thinks that they might have PCOS but doesn't have a diagnosis. It can help someone go to their doctor and know how to tell them about their symptoms and what kind of tests to ask for.

This book is an incredibly thorough guide to PCOS, albeit from a very allopathic perspective. Vliet is clearly an expert in the realm of hormonal reproductive disorders. However, I wish it contained more info regarding pregnancy and breastfeeding and on alernative and holistic treatments. It also is the type of book that could stand to have an index.

With several shelves full of cookbooks to choose from, this is the one that I pull down when I need some inspiration for good, hearty, tasty, basic foods that are easy to prepare. This is my most used cookbook, and everything I've made from it has turned out well. Pop culture cookbooks come and go but this classic stands the test of time. Highly recommended.

This is my favorite go-to cookbook for a weekend meal when I am not craving any particular cuisine and just want to try something new. The chatter is lively, and the recipes fun to cook, both reducing well and expanding to suit a bigger crowd. While the dishes do not reflect a "pure" ethnic sensibility, the blending of flavors and seasonings lead to delicious results sometimes even exciting. I return to many of these recipes again and again. My (spoiled) husband who sometimes doesn't know what he is eating but certainly knows if he likes it, is a big fan of this cookbook.

I love cookbooks and this is one of the best I have ever read or used. It is both a good cookbook and a good read, and most recipes are ones you will use. I am so impressed that I am giving it to several good cooks as a Christmas present.

This is the cookbook I have been waiting for for many years. It is supberb, down to earth cooking and it is so well set out that even an occasional cook can follow it and get wonderful results. I would recommend this to any one who likes excellent eating. Every time I look at it I want to go back to Chantarelle for another great eating experience

When we moved last year, it was one of 5 cookbooks I packed in my suitcase to use in our temporary apartment. It's chock full of great recipes for American classics, but done in a way that appeals to people who've gone beyond Campbell's soup casseroles. A number of easy ethnic recipes rounds out the mix.

This book is delightful. If you enjoy gardening,herbs,cooking and summer fun,this book will bring you pleasure. Simple,light and tasty recipes.It is a great book to pick off the shelf in Feburary and escape the winter blues.

Great book I enjoy reading cookbooks and this is a cozy heart warming along with recipes. Once I got this one had to order more. The recipes are easy and good. I enjoyed the whole book. Its very cute with all the little drawings and stories. I'm hooked on her books.

This is a unique book, full of beautiful illustrations, easy to use recipes, quotes and ideas for making Summer a special season.

Susan Branch is a talented woman. Her cookbooks are beautifully illustrated with her drawings throughout. Her stories convey a warm sense of family and fun and will make you daydream about summer even in August.

Her recipes are simple and fairly easy to make and she leans heavily towards family friendly comfort foods with a little bit of pizazz. In fact, it is her ideas for presentation that make some of the recipes so special (the Bowl of Vegetables comes to mind...a simple twist on crudite that is elegant and delicious).

Those with picky children may find this book to be a surprising source of ideas (Lemon Linguini, Corn Salad, Lemon Chicken, Sweet Potato Fries, Kiwi Cups and Tortilla Roll-ups to name a few).

Her recipe for Crab Cakes is very good as is the one for Fish Tacos. Her recipes for vegetables are among her best; very simple and often quick ways to make vegetables special without drowning them in anything.

The Profiteroles recipe is my husbands favorite; the shells are simple to make and freeze very well. I love to make the Crostini for parties, the recipe is very flexible and all of the variations are a treat.

I love that she is not afraid to mix ideas and food and drawings and inspirational sayings all together in one book. You might not think that a quote from Gandi and a recipe for Jell-o shots could co-exist, but they do, and it works.

This is my all-time favorite book by Susan Branch! The recipes, the ideas, the personal stories all bring it home. When the dog-days of summer hit I reach for my copy and escape ~ she has so many ideas that don't take a lot of pre-prep. Her recipes are great (try the potato salad or the pacific coast peelers). A great addition to anyones cooking library and a must for those soon-to-be-brides! I have even given this book as a hostess thank you. You won't be disappointed!

Being heavily interested in art, I fell in love with the philosphy of postmodernism as it is an issue, and a period, in which we live. While philosphy is often incredibly dense, this book helps lure you in as it gives a simple, unbiased overview of different aspects, reasons, and affects of postmodernism. It draws on several different critics of postmodernism and branches out to discuss the cultural, architectural, artistic, political, and self-developmental issues. After reading this, I find it hard to objectively view everything in life as I somehow draw connections back to postmodernism. The book also gives suggestions for further reading if you're interested in a certain viewpoint and would like to explore it in greater depth. Unfortionately, there are some issues in the book that you wonder why people would actually waste their time studying as they are rather pretensious, but nonetheless, it is a nice, easy, broad introduction into an boundless area of study.

This book has a lot of information in it. I am using it in a class.

Teach Yourself Postmodernism, despite the slightly tacky series title, is by far the best introduction to the topic I have yet to come across. It is easy to read, exceptionally inclusive, and well-researched,and concludes every section with what critics of the philosopher/philosophy say about him/it. It is very narrative-neutral in its own postmodern way.

Even readers already familiar with the work of many the writers and philosophers most closely associated with post modernism will find this book useful, as it serves as an excellent pocket resource to all of the important people and ideas of our post-modern era - including the idea that postmdernism is an oxymoron or just another modernism.

This is a good read if you're new to what postmodernism is all about. It's fairly clear as far as explaining things and it gives you direction on who and what to read should you desire to delve deeper into postmodernism.

I had always heard the term "postmodernism" and never really put much thought into it. However about four years ago, while I was working on my masters in social sciences the term was brought up again and again. After reading many philosophy type books, I thought the concept was grasped. Consequently, the notion of postmodernism was still nebulous, evasive and elusive. I can recall asking my advisor in my graduate program what defines a postmodern theorist. He simplistically stated that a postmodern theorist will claim he/she isn't a postmodern theorist. Also postmodern theorists tend to not agree with one and other.

Ultimately I felt quasi-comfortable about my knowledge in postmodernism, yet I had a thirst for more. This led me to look for a book on the topic and to "Teach Yourself Postmodernism". I have to say that I am very pleased with the content within the pages of this paperback by Glenn Ward. This book spoke of postmodernism in terms of architecture, art, music, film, history, politics, fashion, languages/words/text and psychology (to list a few). Another thing that I liked about this book is it provided many lucid and tangible examples when discussing concepts. For instance, the movie Blade Runner was used as paradigm of postmodernism.

Modernism was also tackled in this book, mainly because there can't be postmodern without modern. The book also is reader friendly. However, there were some aspects/points that were totally over my head. I reread many components several times and grasped it and other things were just way too abstract for me to clench.

Other cool parts of this book:

* Ideas are broken down by chapters
* Theorists from both modern & postmodern are reviewed
* Books on similar subject matter within a chapter are provided
* There is a chronological list dates of postmodern history
* A glossary of key terms used throughout the book
* As noted prior, many lucid examples of postmodernism

Overall, I felt like this was a great book to learn about not only postmodernism, but society and really the world people live in. The book is only about 232 pages, but Glenn Ward packed a great deal of information in this book. I would be really interested in reading another book by him, just based off this one. After finishing this book, I feel like I have a more solid understanding of the complex perception that is postmodernism.

besides the Bible. Page by Page, Young Cajun Priest Fr Romaro has Answered All Key attacks/questions about the Catholic Church. He Cites Early Church Fathers, after Citing each Question/Attack. Cites Definitive Bible Verses, And Reasoning, And Sometimes Recent Church Leaders. An Ideal Methodology. Fr Romero Adds a Basic Chart of the Many Different Protestant Denominations That Began 1500 Years after Jesus. Major Surprises Page by Page. Cannot put down. And This Book by Fr Romero is the First Such Book. Other Authors are Following. Very Highest Recommendation.

Fr. Romero has written an excellent resource that should be on every apologist's bookshelf. Each topic begins with a statement of Catholic teaching, then each major objection is handled individually, and finally the writings of the early Fathers of the Church end the chapter. The footnotes alone are worth the price of the book!

Using the Bible, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, writings of the early Church Fathers, and a number of other references, new and old, Father Mario Romero has compiled a wonderful defense of the Catholic faith in "Unabridged Christianity." Having read a number of apologetics (including many of the newer references used in this book), I've found that Protestants will accept few sources outside of the Bible. It appears that Father Romero had this idea in mind when writing his book. He takes a number of the primary complaints, disagreements, or falsifications of the faith from Protestants, divides them into chapters, and then answers each one with solid Biblical references. He also educates the reader on the proper translation of certain words that seem to be problematic for those outside of the Catholic faith. At the end of each chapter, he lists writings of the early Church fathers to show how the Catholic Church has been doing things the same way for two thousand years. Also at the end of each chapter are endnotes (some of which take up almost as much space as their respective chapters).

The topics covered range from Mary to Purgatory to "statue worship." He also defends transubstantiation, which always gets my friends of other faiths riled up. He covers marriage annulments, which do not always get a lot of attention from apologists.

All of this is done in a very straight-forward, plain talking manner that is neither offensive to Protestants nor is it egotistical sounding. I've come across a few apologists who are very headstrong with their defense of the faith which, while not necessarily wrong, might turn off Protestants from studying further. Father Romero's writing style is more like a "sit down over a cup of coffee" than an out-and-out religious debate.

I highly recommend this book. It's an enjoyable read that won't weigh you down with a lot of philosophical jargon or lose you with lots of "big words." I also recommend a number of the books that Father Romero uses as references, particularly the Karl Keating and Scott Hahn books. Another excellent apologetic is "Why Do Catholics Do That?" by Kevin Orlin Johnson. His writing style is very much like Father Romero's, with a little more humor spread throughout his book. Check these titles out if you are a budding apologist like myself.

If you're a Catholic you MUST own this book and read it so that you can defend your faith. If you're a non-Catholic Christian, you must read it to learn about your heritage. When I was a protestant, I one day wondered, "Just what am I protesting against? Why should I assume that the Catholic Church is wrong without looking into the matter myself?" It's been my experience that most people don't really know what they believe or why they believe it, much less what or why anyone else believes. If you are an "Anti-Catholic" protestant who thinks that the Roman Catholic Church is the [..] of Babylon' then, with all due respect, PARK YOUR PRIDE, remove the chip from your shoulder, get comfy and open your mind and heart and read this book. Of course, before you do, offer a prayer to the Holy Spirit for guidance. God Bless all of you on your journey.

This book is a very practical guide to what Catholics believe. It is written is practical style, setting forth in each chapter a basic tenant of Catholic faith, followed by a series of Protestant objections and Catholic Responses to each objection. This format makes the book easy to follow and a great source for quick research or for group study discussions. As a protestant, I am trying to educate myself on what Catholics genuinely believe, and I've concluded that the best source for that information is not from Protestant critics but from those who are themselves Catholic. The author, a Catholic priest whose ministry emphasizes teaching about what it means to be Catholic, quotes from much Scripture in this book and provides citations and footnotes to numerous Church documents to support the points made.

For purposes of gaining a better understanding of what the Catholic Church teaches, I highly recommend this book. It is also beneficial for developing a mutual sharing of faith between Protestants and Catholics so that each can better understand what they have in common as well as their actual differences. From that point, a more meaningful, productive and spiritual conversation may follow.