Humanities Books

I purchased this book in supplement to Dr. Berg's Criminal Investigation Class at Cal State Long Beach. The book covers most if not all topics on crime scene and related investigations. I apply much of what I learned from this book and Dr. Berg in latent print techniques on a weekly basis. A must for any law enforcement official.

Bruce Berg does it again. Another exceptional book that anyone interested in the subject must have. This book features many design characteristics that make it easy and even fun to read. No matter what book you currently count on for Criminal Investigation, if you don't have this text in your library, you are lacking the finest text on the subject.

As someone who has followed Ken Hanke's work since the days he was writing on subjects ranging from George Arliss and Orson Welles to Tod Slaughter and the Beatles movies for FILMS IN REVIEW, I highly recommend this little guide to horror movie series, which contains some of the writer's best work. The approach is an interesting one, since he makes the case that films like the early 1930s Lionel Atwill starring vehicles constitute a series, and the execution is exceptional. No series--or even marginal series--is left untouched. The section on the Frankenstein movies for Universal is the best quick guide/analysis of that series I've ever seen, and it's a pure delight to see obscure oddities like the Warner Oland Fu Manchu pictures discussed in some depth. If I've any complaint--other than the publisher's inglorious presentation--it's simply that Hanke is clearly more at home with films of the 1930s, 40s, 70s, and 80s than he is with those of the 50s and 60s, which are given shorter--though interesting--shrift. But the rest of the material more than makes up for this.

Though obviously beset by production problems (the book is ill-served by its publisher), the idea behind this book is certainly interesting--to assess horror films by the series that contains them. As the author rightly points out, most horror films are indeed a part of a series of films, whether in continuing characters or in intent, and looking at them in this light brings new insight to bear on them. Fortunately, the author is more than up to the task, especially when dealing with some of the more esoteric or loosely defined series--the Tod Slaughter films or the movies that Bela Lugosi made for Monogram Pictures in the 1940s. His examination of more familiar territory, such as the Universal Frankenstein series, is also exemplary, even though there is a sense that some of the material has been shortened for space considerations. The opinions are invariably insightful, even when one doesn't agree with them, and are so entertainingly written that even those with which one isn't accord have much to recommend them. The only flaw with this book really--unless the reader just can't handle alternate views on films--is the mechanical reproduction. What I would like to see is this book to be updated and picked up by some savvy company for publication as a trade paperback. It might then get the audience it deserves far more than its relative obscurity has allowed.

A refreshing change from most internet books. This book actually lists sites worth visiting. I found it very entertaining and enlightening.

Mike Clark's book is itself a "cultural treasure." It provides beautifully clear and succinct explanations of how to navigate the Internet and the Web specifically so as to harvest the wealth of material that is of interest to humanistic scholars and the culturally committed public alike. Mike is not a computer geek by trade; he's a university professor of humanities, and his knowledge and experience as a scholar, writer, and teacher accrue to make this book highly readable and easy to use. It has an excellent index and table of contents, and the addition in this new edition of an interactive CD-ROM, with narration by Mike, means that even the Web novice can use this book to locate and explore the riches of Cyberspace--literally within minutes. I recommend this book highly to anyone who wants to use the Web to access materials in the arts and humanities...and especially to those folks who don't have the time, patience, or interest to plow through lots of irrelevant and confusing technical details. This book is fun to use! I'm giving it as a Christmas gift to friends who are writers, readers, teachers, and researchers, in particular to those who see themselves as technobumblers and who need this kind of friendly guide to assuage their Cyberphobia. Note: It even leads one to Amazon.com, and a wonderful new way to find and buy books

After reading several books on Female Genital Mutilation, I have discovered that most people I've talked with about FGM know little if anything about the practice. According to the statistics in Cutting the Rose, 6,000 young girls are mutilated each day! FGM has been reported in 28 countries in Africa, several countries in the Middle East and Europe, Latin American, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the United States. Whether directly or indirectly, FGM affects all of us. Efau Dorkenoo has compiled a practical, compassionate, informative book that describes the practice of FGM and advocates realistic solutions for its prevention. She says, "Rather than righteous indignation, what is urgently needed is understanding of the problem and the practical support to change it." Everyone should read this book.

Who would have known this was even taking place, even right here in the USA? If you are a woman who enjoys her sexuality, please read this. Something needs to be done.

A fantastic accomplishment! As a longtime Dante enthusiast, I have been waiting for something in English (my Italian not being up to snuff yet) that combines breadth with depth.

As my own metric, I like to pick a topic that is not altogether esoteric and that is the subject of at least several competing theories. In studying Dante, that topic for me is numerology. I was especially pleased to read the article on numerology because the Dante Encyclopedia fairly explained the competing theories on the use of numerology by Dante. Never have I seen one source that provides the in-depth overview that this book does. For the serious student of the classics, this is a must-have! Gracie! And bravo!

Prof. Richard Lansing's Dante Encyclopedia is a reference work of deep interest, wide scope, and unimpeachable authority. General readers, students, and scholars--especially those who are English-based--are bound to make this volume their Dante reference of choice. Hundreds of clear, intelligent, and up-to-date entries from today's best-respected Dante scholars discuss every person and place mentioned in Dante's works as well as a vast number of biographical, historical, and cultural topics. The encyclopedia will appeal to anyone who is looking for a better appreciation of the poet's background, achievement, and critical legacy.

The maps and schematic drawings at the beginning of the encyclopedia are the best of their kind. The text is interspersed with an abundance of fine photographs and illustrations. Appended to the work are a detailed and reliable chronology of the poet's life, useful lists of the popes and emperors, a chronology of musical settings of Dante's Comedy, a list of available recordings of these settings, a list of reference works (including electronic resources), a complete pronouncing index, with textual citations, of the Italian and Latin proper names used by Dante, and an exhaustive index of subjects and illustrations.

So big, so accurate and comprehensive, the Dante Encyclopedia completely supersedes its predecessors and promises to remain authoritative for many years. No college or university, no lover of poetry and world literature will want to be without it.

Usually one hears about the "decline and fall" of ancient Rome. In this case, it's ancient Greece that declines and falls. The book consists of a series of essays by well-known historians who give a fnely detailed synopsis of the centuries in which the Greeks fought each other to the point where they were too weak to stand up to the Romans. The list of books in the bibliograpy is huge and helpful for those looking for more information on the subject.

This book tells the exciting and tragic story of how the ancient Greeks fell from glory. It consists of a series of essays written by noted historians who are experts on ancient Greek history and culture. Each essay has an introduction that tells what it is about and also tells a little about the person who wrote it, a very helpful feature. The book was edited by Don Nardo, who is himself a fine historian. He provides an excellent summary at the beginning of the book telling the main points that the essays later tackle in greater detail. He also provides an excellent bibliography. I have already begun to read two of the books he listed in it. I have also been reading some of Mr. Nardo's other ancient history books. Most that I have seen were aimed at students and general readers, but he uses a semi-scholarly style and includes numerous primary sources quotes and explanatory footnotes that make this and his other books very authoritative. The Greeks declined for a lot of reasons, but mostly because they couldn't get along with each other and unite into one strong country. Mr. Nardo makes that point strongly in his introduction and also includes one whole essay that discusses this theme of disunity. I highly recommend this book to students and anyone else who is interested in past civilizations.

This book is one of the best books I have ever seen on human nature, psychology, relationships, life outlook, and common sense. An uncommon work of scholorship that posseses a unique didactic style. Sophisticated yet easy to read and entertaining. A truly rewarding read. M.D.

Anyone who wants a thought provoking and amazingly interesting read must buy this book. It has changed my life. It's more than just a book. It is whole new way of looking at yourself and the world around you.

I have been interested in history since I was young. As a boy, I heard so much about things in the Bible, finding out about things that were going on at the same time in part of the world that was also influenced by Egypt without having been slaves there, etc., I actually became more interested in philosophy than in the political structures of those times. Those who think they already know how to spell might struggle to get used to Sokrates and maps that have cities with different spellings than in the text: Corinth in the index shows up as Korinth on maps 1, 2 and 3, etc. Athens and Sparta played large roles in Greece, but Syracuse, the Carthaginians, and local groups struggled to control cities in Sicily and Southern Italy that are shown on map 4. The second edition, with a chapter that includes many speeches from the court proceedings in Athens, helps to show how court speeches depend on points of view that would be more likely among millionaires and billionaires now, particularly those who tend to be the purest of bastards, than among the lowly slaves that were captured when some cities were wiped out. Democracy sprang up in Greece occasionally, but that is only a small part of what this book is about, and modern life seems to be similarly demented for those whose intellectual viewpoints know a number of wide stances, etc.

entirely satisfied with the service: the book arrived on time and in perfect condition

Fred Levit's book is far and away the most helpful and complete Dickens glossary I've been able to find anywhere. I work with high school students who read at various points A Christmas Carol, Great Expectations and David Copperfield. Dickens's vocabulary is one of the most extensive of any author's, and it isn't hard for a student to wind up with at best a foggy idea of what's going on at key points, and at worst in a state of total bewilderment, slogging blindly through the swamp. Earlier dictionaries and glossaries we found ranged from completely unhelpful to mildly helpful. With this impeccably researched glossary as a guide, students are now able to navigate the material with a far greater degree of certainty, not to mention a tremendously enhanced appreciation for the richness of the language. I thought I was fairly knowledgeable on the subject myself until I started cross-checking some of my earlier assumptions. My own love for Dickens increased correspondingly. The book gets an A+. No reader of Dickens should be without it.

A glossary that's fun to read. Contains words and expressions that I've not been able to find in any dictionary. Makes reading Dickens an even greater pleasure!

The text was used for my directing one class in college. It is very straight forward and delves into various aspects of directing. A very well rounded read. I will not be selling this back, and plan on referring to it in the future.

Dr. Catron's book melds theory with practicality in the most utilitarian Directing primer on the market. Designed, I believe, as a college text, it has strong application at the professional and community theatre levels, better than Cohen/Harrop, John Miles-Brown and Dean & Carra. The only book which comes close to Catron's is Benedetti's The Director at Work.