Distributors Books

1st ed. 1970; Institute of Islamic Culture; Lahore, Pakistan; 146 pages; paper dustjacket, hardback. From the dustjacket: "aims at giving reliable definitions and clear explanations of the major terms used in the Muslim philosophical and scholastic thought, more particularly of the terminology employed by the medieval Muslim thinkers in logic, psychology and metaphysics. Arranged according to Arabic alphabet, all terms have been transliterated into English." The Arabic word or term is presented, then translated into English pronunciation of that Arabic word, and followed with a 'transliteration' or explanation of the word or phrase. For example: ibda: "Creation from absolute nothingness; to be distinguished from the cognate terms khalq, takwin and ihdath, all of which presuppose the temporal priority of cause to effect. In ibda there is no priority of cause to effect; there is only priority in essence so that effect comes to be after not-being with a posteriority in essence. Ibda again is of higher order than ihdath or takwin in so far as it signifies granting existence without an intermediary, be it time or motion, or matter one or other of which is necessarily presupposed in ihdath and takwin. Further, ibda is specific to the creation on intelligences, khalq to that of the natural beings and takwin to that on the 'corruptible' among them." Each of the following phrases receives a one-sentence transliteration into English (but much-shortened here): jins al-agnas (genus of genera), al-jins al-tab (natural genus), aljins al-aqli (mental genus), al-jins al-mantiqi (logical genus). The three terms of a syllogism are noted, as well as syllogism involving conditional conjunctive proposition (al-shartiyat al-muttasilah) and enthymeme (al-qiyas al-mujiz) abridged syllogism, versus complex syllogism with major and minor premises, and yet not overlooking antecedent (al-muqaddam) or the consequent (tali). The four kinds of quantitative changes in a body are explained. Linear or unidirectional on-earth movements (al-harakat al-mustaqimah) are contrasted from those of heavenly bodies (al-harakat al-mustadirah). This book does not debate any philosophical differences between Shiite or Sunna philosophers. It defines. Various analogical reasonings are discussed. This book contains serious transliterations of serious philosophical stuff. If you are interested in this type of analysis being translated from Arabic into English, this much-to-short book is for you. Really a 5-star book, but only 4-stars for its brevity.

This dictionary was compiled by the Omaha Francis LaFlesche, a BAE ethnographer and student of Osage ritual texts. It was published postumously. The orthography is influenced by Omaha-Ponca phonetics (b d ds g bth gth for p t ts k br l, i ~ u ~ iu for u, etc.) and by LaFlesche's Omaha orthography, which uses c-cedilla for s and z (theta in LaFlesche's Omaha dialect), x for the voiced and voiceless velar fricatives, o for all back nasal vowels, etc. In addition, the verb paradigms are mostly after the Omaha-Ponca pattern, which is especially noticeable with th-stems. The definitions are written in an elevated style with old-fashioned usages that sometimes confuse modern readers. There are some typographical errors, and verb paradigms are sometimes mixed. However, the headwords, if adjusted in spelling, are good, somewhat archaic Osage, and overall this work is an impressive feat of scholarship. Check both the Osage and English sides, as they are not always equivalent. An essential reference on Osage (and Omaha-Ponca!), and one of the best dictionaries of a Siouan language, praise in no way muted by there being so few!

When you look at this book, the author's photo on the back cover will be familiar to owners of dutch ovens from Lodge Cast Iron. He and his wife also appear on Lodges' cooking accessory pamphlet which comes with every new dutch oven from the company. He has written a good guide and cookbook, and done it well, I might add. A complete table of contents, chapters on care & handling, tools & accessories, heat sources, cooking techniques, even competition cooking, large group cooking & catering tips and dutch ovens in food storage programs are covered. Calling on his experience, he shares tips and advice that are thoughtful and practical, such as: read the rules BEFORE you get to any competition you are planning to cook in, prepare as much as you can before the day of a big party you're cooking for, and try to get a good night's sleep the night before. All sound advice that can be overlooked to your regret. Of course, there are recipes, more than eighty of them, well organized by chapters. One chapter each for vegetable dishes, sourdough recipes, breads, desserts, even a separate one for pies, with a pie crust recipe and other good tips. There are, of course beef, pork, chicken, and lamb chapters, even if lamb has only four recipes. (Have you ever looked for recipes for lamb? - In a dutch oven)? Whether you are a novice dutch oven cook or a seasoned sourdough, you can get good ideas and advice from this book, it should go into your collection. Lynn is a winner of cooking competitions and a good teacher, to boot - I'd like to meet him someday.

This book is essential for anyone who is interested in having an extensive collection of Sun Ra's music. For those of you who do not know, this is a discography that details approximately 800 records and concerts by Mr. Ra. This massive tome helps me to understand his recording legacy every time I have a question about his obscure recordings, concert set lists, or Arkestra personnel. It is the "road map" to understanding his career (or at least a start).

However, if you are not obsessed with Mr. Ra's music, there is no need to purchase this book. There is little biographical information (and that has already been covered thoroughly by John Szwed), so the book is really only directed to the collectors of his music.

The only reason I have given the book 4 stars instead of 5 is due to the poor quality of the book itself. Cadence Jazz Books (the publisher) should be ashamed. For a book of this price, there should have been a much better binding. The book is a paperback! Clocking in at over 800 pages, if you actually plan to use this book frequently as a resource, it will be only a matter of days before the spine cracks and pages start falling out. And, no, this book is not available in either a hardback or library bound format. The poor quality of the book will unfortunately lead some individuals who are moderate fans of Sun Ra to view its cost as potentially excessive.

I THINK THIS BOOK IS VERY USEFUL FOR PRIMER NEUROLOGIS

This is a fascinating book which provides insight into Richard Helms and the CIA's activities from the end of WW II through the seventies, including revelations on Watergate, Chile, Iraq, Cuban Missile Crisis, Castro, Bay of Pigs, and the presidents of that time.
The book goes on at length discussing when, to whom in Congress, and about what, the CIA may lie.
The book's faults are that it assumes too much historical knowledge of the reader, and a bit too much flitting back and forth time-wise.

This spare book glitters -- with moisture, with crystallized salt from the body and the sea.

"Fishing and Hunting Stories from Lake of the Woods" is an aptly titled book, as it is basically a collection of the author's favorite experiences from his hunting and fishing trips to Lake of the Woods. For those of you unfortunates who are unfamiliar with the lake named in the title, it is the 12th largest lake in the US, sits on the Canadian/US (Minnesota) border, and provides the east border for the small town in which I grew up. So now you know my motivation for picking up this short collection.

The booked is split into halves, one fishing and one hunting, and each chapter contains a collection of stories and recollections pertaining to a different species of animal. The author is the owner of Lund fishing tackle in Minnesota, as well as a high school teacher, and he owns land on the islands of Lake of the Woods. Made obvious by the volume of his stories is the fact that he has spent many, many hours enjoying the lake and has taken his share of bounty from it. At the end of each chapter, Lund gives some bullet point helpful hints for hunting/fishing the species discussed in the chapter. They all seem tried and true based on his experiences.

While Dr. Lund is definitely an outdoorsman first and an author second, I thoroughly enjoyed the book. I felt as if I were listening to my grandfather retell tales that he has told dozens of times, and you can sense the joy that Lund gets from the act of recalling and telling about his experiences.

My favorite part of the book is Dr. Lund's reinforcement of my own belief, that while the act of hunting and fishing is great, the real joy is found in being outdoors and sharing experiences with friends/family. The product of the hunt is secondary. He has been blessed with many friends and relatives around whom his stories revolve, and the memories of his experiences with these people make the memories more indelible for him, and bring the stories to life for the reader.

As I mentioned, I am completely biased since I grew up on Lake of the Woods and love hunting and fishing, so I am giving the book a 4 rating. The prose is not astounding, but I enjoyed hearing the stories and became excited to continue building my own collection as a result of reading this book.

To understand the quest of a man such as Gandhi; to understand his idealogy; his beliefs; his faith and his deep-rooted spirituality within Hinduism; all within the context of India's independence struggle is truly a fascinating experience. His extremist approach to non-violence, and his indomnitable spirit to sustain pain and his simplistic approach towards life, humbled the British to part ways with their jewel, India. Knowing fully well that India was no match for the might of the British Empire, Gandhi was truly the saint that drove the British out of India. Ofcourse, many facts highlighted are not to personal approval, however in the spirit of knowledge and understanding, this book has provided me with fresh insights and thought provoking images.

This 1982 entry is essentially a home-canning cookbook, oriented toward presenting the finished culinary products as gifts to friends. You'll also find some nice (gift) cake and beverage recipes here.

The book is softcover, 155 pages (1-3 recipes per page), and the dimensions are 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" x 1/2". The work is not illustrated either with photos or drawings but honestly they aren't necessary as the recipe instructions are very clear and detailed. The helpful index is nicely organized and here is the table of contents:

1. Introduction
2. From a bountiful garden
3. Gathered from the wilds
4. Fresh from the oven
5. Gifts with a foreign flair
6. Cheese and nuts
7. Cordials, liqueurs and flavored brandy
8. Treats from the orchard
9. Medley of miscellaneous gourmet treats
10. Where to find it
11. Index

Chapter 10 is now clearly out-of-date but the recipes are just fine. I would not recommend this work for the newbie to home-canning but if you've been doing it for awhile and already know much of the ins-and-outs of this culinary art, then I think you would find no small amount of value in Darcy Williamson's well-done cookbook.

What I personally like most about this volume are the basic spice-blend recipes which include chili powder, seasoned salt, sweet spice blend, etc. While this is not in any way a "general cookbook" for daily reference it's still stands as a nice "specialty cookbook". While I knocked off a star for the book's limited market, I still highly recommended it for appropriate readers.