Titles Books

Wow, I loved this book as a child. I think I had it perpetually taken out of the library. I am so excited to share it with my children!

This was one of the first books I read in grade school. It made a real impression on me. It was kind of "strange" in the early 70's, but I as a strange, artistic child. I have been looking for this book for the past 10-15 years. Ya'll read it! It's really, well, I wept when I found IT.

Cabbage Moon glows off the pages while Adelgatha and her dog save the day.Very imaginative,unlike many books today.

As one of many people who were daunted by math texts that were poorly written, confusing, stuffed with pictures and meaningless examples, and plagued with mistakes and wrong answers in the back, I say "Thanks" to Louis Leithold for writing well crafted, well ordered, relevant, and challenging yet comprehensible math texts. Even though I was able to get good grades in all my math classes, there were many times when I simply didn't understand why the things I was doing worked. I knew the techniques, but I had no understanding of the math behind them. The texts that Leithold wrote -- all of them -- opened my eyes to the why as well as the how, and made me a much better mathematician than I was before. If you want to know math, or have kids who are stymied by the awful texts they a forced to cope with today, get Leithold's math texts. They are excellent, relevant, and if they are not on Amazon, can still be found with just a bit of looking and usually for a good price.

Calculus with Analytic Geometry by Louis Leithold teaches math the old fashioned way by Theorom-Proof, Theorom-Proof. It does not try to water down the math, nor does it try to make the math interesting. This book is for serious math students who have an interest in the subject and who have been looking for good mathematical explanations of the subjects in Calculus. It is very complete and has many examples with many exercises to pound in the ideas it presents. It is very good, but one must be warned that this book does not try to simplify so be ready for math, pure and complete.

This calculus book is the best calculus book I've ever seen! Here are my reasons!
1. Many definitions are thoroughly stated in the most accurate way. Unlike many other text, you will be able to understand what he's talking about without any confusion since the terms he uses are already defined for you.
2. He presents most of theorems of calculus (like twice more theorems than James Stewart's) with clear examples and explanations.

3. Most importantaly, he does not avoid proving the theorems although some proofs are hard to grasp and understood(many other texts, will just say, 'it can be shown' or 'it is intuitively clear'). He's not afraid of intimidating first year calculus students by showing them the true mathmatics and how it should be done!

This text treats the subject very seriously, so if you're a serious math, science, or engineering major student this book has potential of becoming the bible for you. But if you're like Biology major, just forget it.

Not so much the return of the Captain, darlin', but his "overlooked" adventures in Sabatini's first book, begining shortly after his escape from slavery. Contains all the clever tricks and swashbuckling you've come to expect in a series of short stories. Sabatini's talent really shines in this format and _Captain Blood Returns_ is entertaining to read all at once or bits at a time.

THIS WAS A EXCELLANT STORY OF THE BUCCANEERS OF THE SPANISH MAIN.
I CANNOT FOR THE LIFE OF ME SEE WHY THIS BOOK IS NOT MORE FAMOUS THAN THE ORIGINAL BOOK. I CANNOT WAIT FOR THE SEQUEL TO THIS STORY TO CONTINUE THE THRILL ON AND ON.

I was surprised to find there were more books written about Captain Blood. I had read the original Captain Blood and loved it. I think it is high time Hollywood remade the movie too. Captain Blood Returns takes place during the same time as the original Captain Blood story. It is a collection of more adventures that could very well have been added to the original story. I can't wait to read the next book waiting for me--The Fortunes of Captain Blood.

Every school library will want this book. Through diverse, inspiring examples Dr.Perry shows how teens all across America have made a difference by volunteering their time and passion to good causes. Each story is both personal and universal and brings home the point that nothing feels better than making the world a better place. In the back of the book are great suggestions for getting started with your own service project and special tips if you're shy or unsure what kind of project is right for you. This book would also be a great gift for service organizations to give to outstanding teens.

So much of what is said in the news about young people today is negative and critical of them, highlighting disasters and tragedies. CATCH THE SPIRIT focuses on a few of the many teenagers who volunteer and make a difference in the world by giving of themselves and reaching out to help others. More important, they learn that confidence and self-esteem come from taking having purpose and taking action in their lives. How delightful to hear these stories in the words of these young, courageous, and empathic teens! I'd love to see some of these stories featured on TV talk shows.

~Joan Mazza, author of Dream Back Your Life; Dreaming Your Real Self; Things That Tick Me Off; and Exploring Your Sexual Self.

Even thought this is a book of wonderful examples about teens who have volunteered, it's an inspiration for everyone -- whether they already volunteer or want to. I'm recommending this book to the thousands of people I network with while co-authoring "Chicken Soup for the Volunteer's Soul."

Covers the entire spectrum of Acupuncture with emphasis on the latest discoveries in Advanced Japanese Acupuncture. Excellent introduction on a vast number of treatment modalities. Teaches a workable method of Abdominal Palpitation for Channel Disturbance. Gives wonderful new scientific research on the possible workings of Acupuncture. Provides the non-needle practitioner with a workable and very powerful system which includes the use of Open Points. Dr. C Ledwell OM

Using ideas from chaos, quantum, systems, and information theory (and many more), this book is a truly fresh and much needed perspective on TCM. The X Signal System abandons the causal theory of western biological sciences to answer the questions of TCM and effective treatment, and draws explanations and theories of energy, information exchange, and life from modern physics.

I am a student of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and am young in the arts, but it is clear that the foundation laid in this book will be used as a framework for western science to gain a new appreciation for Acupuncture.

We have learned much since the Huang Di and his ministers, and now with the help of Manaka, we can focus on effective treatment in modern times, as well as the classics.

- Thomas

As an entry into the possibilities of acupuncture, within and beyond "TCM", this is a great book.

As an entry to understanding a methodical practice of Japanese acupuncture, - a must have.

As a reference for an experienced acupunctutist who is interested in further studies on treatment options, again a must have.

Simply (and not so simply) Brilliant and Exciting!

The textbook arrived in the condition that was promised. It was also received in a timely manner.

The book I got looked brand new and at a great price. And It was shipped quickly. She was very nice and let know when she sent it and when I could expect it.

a very enlighting and helpful book

Since about the middle of the 20th century, it has become increasingly difficult to find poetic translations of long poems. This trend has recently been reversing, with some excellent translations of the Iliad and the Odyssey -- and Ruth Harwood Cline's translations of Troyes' works joins this new and welcome trend.

Most reviews and reviewers will concentrate on the plot -- I want to focus on the translation itself. For too long there has been a philosophy of translation that does not see any value in translating poems in the forms in which they were written. With longer poems especially, more "literal" and plot-driven prose translations have been the norm. But prose is not how these works were written, and it is not how they were meant to be read or heard. They are poems, and only a poetic translation will be able to communicate the full meaning of the poem being translated. Meaning in a poem lies not just in the plot and characters, or even in the particular words used -- though all of this is true -- but also in the rhythms and rhymes, the music, of the poem. Cline's poetic translation thus translates too the music of the poems she translates. We get the full beauty of the works only when we read them the way they were meant to be read: as poems. One hopes Cline continues to translate poems of this period into English.

And now, for a slight aside: Do not read Cervantes' "Don Quixote" until you have read all of Troyes' works, for you will miss almost all the jokes and the full satirical impact of the novel.

Chretien de Troyes invented the Arthurian romance with Erec and Enide. It was the first of what would soon come to be a genre unto itself. Tales of King Arthur and his knights are still popular after centuries of retelling, and Chretien de Troyes is responsible for many of the stories as we know them. Erec and Enide, the earliest of his surviving works, is a story about all the things we recognize as Arthurian--honor, chivalry, love, and courage.

When the poem begins, Erec is a young knight at Arthur's court and heir to his father's throne. When an unknown knight humiliates one of Guinevere's handmaidens during a hunt, Erec follows the knight, his lady, and their cruel dwarf home. There he meets an old man with a beautiful daughter, Enide. They come from ancient nobility but are no impoverished, and the girl can afford nothing but a ragged tunic to wear. The man tells him about a yearly ritual enacted there, where a fine hawk is placed on a perch and only the man with the most beautiful lady can dare to take it. The arrogant young knight from the day before has won several years in a row.

Erec, of course, takes Enide with him to the ritual and, because of Enide's superior beauty, denies the knight the hawk. The knight is furious and challenges Erec to combat, which Erec wins. The father of the girl is so overjoyed that he gives her to Erec as his bride, and the two fall madly in love.

So much in love, in fact, that Erec is soon criticized by many for staying at home in bed when he should be looking to chivalry. After overhearing complaints among the other knights, one night Enide accidentally speaks of her worry about Erec's reputation. Erec is angry and determines to prove himself. He immediately saddles his horse, has Enide follow suit, and orders her to ride ahead of himself and not speak. They set out with no specific destination in mind. Enide is understandably upset.

For the rest of the poem, Erec saves Enide from one predicament after another--three bandits, five bandits, giants, pandering nobles, and would-be assassins. It is never clear whether Erec is proving himself or proving Enide's loyalty, but in the end, when Erec is believed to be dead, only to regain consciousness and kill an overeager suitor, the two are reconciled to each other.

It is then that the poem moves from a string of episodes to a moving and deep symbolic tale that parallels Erec and Enide's own. In another kingdom there is a man trapped in an enchanted garden by his beloved after swearing to do whatever she pleases. In fear that he will leave her, she has made him swear an oath that he will not leave the garden until someone challenges him to combat that he cannot beat. Dozens have tried, and all failed. Erec is victorious, and the man and his lover are set free of the garden.

This, in part, saves Erec and Enide from becoming a tedious, episodic story without a point. The poem--just under 7,000 lines long--is so carefully constructed and unified that a second reading is just as rewarding as the first time. Throughout the story, seemingly every incident in the lives of Erec and Enide have a darker parallel that must be overcome. And, of course, the two lovers must prove to each other that they have "the proper balance between devotion and freedom," that they are not so tied to one another that they neglect their duties, or vice versa.

These themes and the history of the poem are explored in an informative afterword by Joseph Duggan, who has written scholarly end matter for all of Burton Raffel's translations of Chretien's works. Raffel himself has written a short translator's note, and the translation itself is outstanding. As he has proven time and again, Raffel can perfectly balance literalness with beauty--his translations actually convey the spirit of Chretien's poetry.

Erec and Enide is required reading for anyone with an interest in medieval poetry, Arthurian legend, or great literature in general.

Highly recommended.

With Arthurian Romances seemingly always staging a comeback, how nice to have a fast-read, "words-a-poppin" translation of the very first Arthurian Romance, written in Old French around 1170. What I found most intriquing was that the book essentially wrestles with the ways in which men and women define themselves when becoming partners. Erec's rather pig-headed forcing of Enide to lead the way in the forest and never speak to him has odd contemporary overtones. But they are sweet compared to the couple they meet in Erec's final quest in the book - wait until you find out who "The Joy of the Court" is. Burton Raffel's translation, even if you don't like poetry, reads like a smooth silver skate. I gave the book a "9" instead of "10" because it doesn't have any illustrations. I know it's a University Press, but come on folks, with a story about knights couldn't you throw in at least one old woodcut or something

My wife and I have bought most of Barbara McClintock's books for our daughters, and all are of extremely high quality in terms of the art and writing. This version of Cinderella is especially good and will not disappoint, even for those who already know and love Disney's version (of which I am a fan). Highly recommended!

My 4-year-old daughter selected this book at the library one day, and when it came time to return the book, I didn't want to take it back. It is beautifully illustrated and the story is a wonderful lesson about true beauty and kindness. I enjoyed reading it to my daughter over and over and plan to buy a copy soon.

This is a beautiful Cinderella book with the most amazing illustrations you will find anywhere! Illustrations make or break a book for me, and this one does not disappoint. My daughter is almost 3 and wants to hear this story over and over, and I love to read it to her.

VERY highly recommended!!

My mother got this book for me when I was a child, and needless to say, it changed the way I learned fairy tales. Iona Opie presents some classic fairy tales as they were ORIGINALLY written... Dark, lurid, mysterious, and pessimistic. The artwork littered throughout the pages is commendable even if it were its own title.

I love this book so much that I have purchased it as a gift for countless friends, including a pen pal from Japan who found it amazing that our Western fairy tales (the stories told to our ancestors as young children) were indeed so graphic.

Great, great book -- a classic. Hope this one never goes out of style.

I first read this book in 1983, and was amazed with it then. It's unique and extremely interesting. Iona and Peter Opie have the original tales as first printed in the English language. Added to that is the history and the actual gruesome origins of what we now consider children's stories! For example, Sleeping Beauty is not awakened by a kiss. Her Prince Charming violates her while she sleeps (and since she doesn't wake up, we can only imagine how mediocre he was...). She only awakens 9 months later, during the birth of twins! He eventually returns to her, and then the story gets more complicated with his ogre mother who wants to canibalize the children. The story of the Frog Prince is even stranger. Since these are the actual tales, we can see how we've changed the stories to fit in with our culture. This is not a book for young children. The history part was the most fascinating to me. In addition, litle details such as learning that Cinderella's slippers were originally made out of squirrel fur, not glass. Both words in French are spelled similarly (vaire, verre...I'm not sure of the spelling either)and the original printer had a typo that lives on til today.

Everything the Opies write is fascinating and approachable, and this book is a revelation. All these tales, familiar and no-longer-so-familiar, are great to read in this age of sanitised, bowdlerised, or Disneyfied folktales. But the historical details of how the stories evolved, what and from where the variants are, and the significance of various elements of the stories - all these are of great general interest, and are also invaluable to the storyteller needing to do a bit of research.

Richard Swinburne came highly recommended to me. Yet, after reading this book, I can say that he has greatly exceeded my expectations. I found Swinburne's argumentation to be clear, concise, and in many cases interesting. But not easy. There were several parts of his book which I had to read, and re-read, in order to fully understand his line of thought, which I expected.

Swinburne's task is to discover whether or not Theism is coherent. He concludes that it (probably) is. He doesn't argue that it's true per say merely that the Theist can not be charged with holding incoherent views. The book is split into three separate sections. In the first, Swinburne goes about defining what it means for something to be `coherent' and `incoherent.' He argues that a statement is incoherent if it entails a self-contradictory statement. He also argues that the easiest way to find a statement to be coherent is if that statement entails another statement which is coherent. He spends the rest of section 1 describing religious language--i.e. whether language describing God is used equivocally, univocally, or analogously. Throughout the book Swinburne maintains that we can describe God using words (such as "love" and "good") in their `mundane' senses without (always) appealing to analogy.

In section 2, Swinburne argues for a `contingent' god. He looks at eight different characteristics that Theists have typically used to describe God--an omnipresent spirit, free and creator of the universe, omnipotent, omniscient, perfectly good, a source of moral obligation, eternal, and immutable. He goes through each and argues first, that such notions are in fact coherent, and second such notions can be successfully defended against critiques. The bulk of the book takes up this portion. Perhaps what I found most interesting was how he indicated how several of these characteristics (for example, omnipotent and omniscient) entailed other characteristics (omnipresent spirit).

In the final section, Swinburne argues for the notion of a necessary being. He first lists different criteria for something to be necessary. Then he sees how these criteria apply to God's existence, and God's possession of these characteristics. He concludes that in order for a Theist to express what he normally expresses when saying that "God exists" the Theist must use some terms in a slightly analogous way. And since, it's not clear which terms are being analogously, and to what degree the question of coherence cannot (ultimately) be removed from the question of whether or not Theism is true. All in all, I highly recommend Swinburne's book as a fascinating read and a great defense of the coherency of theism.

This book is the first of his trilogy, the next book being "The Existence of God" and concluding with "Faith and Reason."

Swinburne's book is essential reading. I originally bought the book to see how he deviates away from the Thomistic doctrines of Analogy. I was very glad to see that his tough minded philosophical explications of God-Talk are defensible without much fallback to analogy(or from what he says). From my perspective, Swinburne is tops in the Philosophy of Religion.

This tome is a must-read classic for any serious philosophy of religion student. Swinburne is fair, concise, and clear. The Coherence of Theism will likely be influential for some time to come. Simply outstanding!