Representatives Books

What else can I say, for the first time in over 4 months I can finally breath and smile in the mornings. I thought our case was to tough for this technique, so far we had been implementing something very similar and we had seen some minor changes of attitude, so we made the some adjustments to adopt this plan and WOW wat a change, our Foster child, soon to be adopted changed from one day to another, it is liek something clicked on him. He woke up in the morning without complaining and got ready for school. WE DID NOT HAVE TO REPEAT OURSELVES, not once. Every parent, foster parent, adult should read this book.

I was skeptical at first. The day before I bought this book, I cried for 2 hours after my daughter left the house to go with her father. My boyfriend asked me for about the 5th time, have you looked to see if there are any books written that would help you with this discipline problem you are having with your daughter? So, I went to the bookstore and bought Larry's book on Smart Discipline. The Smart Discipline process worked for me because it helped me to know what the rules are in my home. Sound too simple? I am a single mother, whose 10 year old daughter spends 1/2 time with her father each week. He is the disciplinarian, I was not. I was so glad to see my daughter when she would arrive back with me, that I had no control over her behavior. She is not one of those easy children to raise. She has a definite mind of her own and seems to thrive on stepping over the line and then watching the fireworks. There were countless mornings where I would go to work feeling guilty for how the early morning had gone trying to get her ready for school. Then there were the evenings with homework! I started Smart Discipline with my daughter about four weeks ago. She didn't like it at first and tried all of the behaviors Larry said she would, to try to get me to stop. It is not easy to hold fast when you are used to giving in all of the time, but it pays off. Last week she had no X's! And, she was proud of it. She suggested that maybe we didn't need to do the chart anymore. Ha! I told her I thought we did. She seems more at ease, knowing where the line is consistently. And, I know I am more relaxed. Now I won't tell you it will be a piece of cake. It is not. But, I will tell you that reading Larry's book, saved me and my daughter from endless days of fighting over silly stuff like whether or not she was going to take a shower or brush her teeth. With the problems I was having now, my thoughts about what she was going to be like at 15 were not good. Now I see a better future for us. If you feel like your child is out of control, and want to do something about it, read this book.

Every parent needs this book. Not only will it assist you in creating the family atmosphere you want and need, but it will make your relationship with your child better. My daughter is 8 and we've seen obvious improvement in only two weeks. Thanks Dr. Koenig!

Not that I disagree with the author. As far as discipline concerned, this book offered wonderful method for behavior modification that I would gladly apply.

However, this book doesn't cover psychology of children (which is exactly my intention of buying the title) nor give you understanding of their behavior.

If you are looking for simple and ready-to-use method of disciplining your children, this book is for you. But if you are looking for deeper parents-children relationship, you need to find elsewhere.

Hans L. Trefousse wrote a definitive biography on this great Republican that helped initiated the Reconstruction period after the post-Civil War period. The sub-titled: 19th Century Egalitarian proves to be an aptly named since Stevens proves to be one of the foremost egalitarians of his century. The book clears up the myths and misconceptions that Stevens were often regarded in and set the records straight. Well written, nicely researched and with superbly insights, I can only wished that the book went even deeper into Stevens' life.

The book also goes into Stevens' strengths, weaknesses and his troubles. I thought it was a honest effort on the part of the author to showed the reader the complete man and the account of Stevens' life proves to be balance and fair.

One of the more interesting aspects of this book lies within the struggled between Stevens and Andrew Johnson. The fight between "reconstruction of the south" to the "restoration of the south". This struggle had far reaching consequences in our nation's politics as well as racial relationship. Although product of his time and era, Stevens proves to be far ahead of himself in terms of race relations. It was interesting to learned that his concerns lies not only with the blacks but also toward Indians and Orientals. The book reflects accurately in the end that Stevens was a true egalitarian in the truest form.

Hans Trefousse has done a magnificent job in portraying the "Great Commoner" and his effect on the United States. In fact, the book inspired myself and some other people in Gettysburg to start the Thaddeus Stevens Society to promote his memory. For information about the society, write The Thaddeus Stevens Society, 65 W. Middle Street, Gettysburg, PA 17325 or email me at rhetrick@gettysburg.edu.

I want to thank Hans L Tredousse for a remarkable job on the unfolding of the character of one of the most complex individuals I have ever studied. Trefousse does a great job of showing us as much of what is humanly possible to know about Thaddeus Stevens.

By far, Stevens comes alive in the preface of Trefousse'account. The reader is pulled gently into the life of this individal because of the hardships he experienced as a child and because of his determination to see justice prevailed.

As I progressed into the book, I marvelled at both the strengths and weaknesses of this complex man called Thaddeus Stevens. Personally, I think he was a man before his times. It is unfortunate that he considered himself a failure. We have had many presidents in recent years who could not or would not acknowledge that they had achieved anything of "real tangible worth". Stevens comes to the end of life feeling that he had achieved very little of lasting value. It is truly worth lamenting! If Stevens could come back to this century, I think he would be astonished to see what legacy he left the United States and particular minorities who have benefitted much from his efforts to support emancipation and a true Reconstruction for those who had suffered because of slavery.

I was first introduced to Thaddeus Stevens in Lerone Bennett's BEFORE THE MAYFLOWER. I found Stevens to be the underdog, but an all powerful hero for the rights of equality. I think the second best thing to having enjoyed Trefousse' outling the work of Stevens would be to see the book made into historical fiction. Somewhere out there in "fantasy land" is an actor who could bring more to "life" this complex man called Thaddeus Stevens

Thaddeus Stevens casts a long shadow in American History; a shadow that continues to bedevil the likes of Robert Bork, Anton Scalia and the so-called "original intent" crowd.

Stevens, the tactical leader of the "radical Republicans" through the Civil War and Reconstruction era stands probably second to only James Madison in Constitutional history.

Considering his historical role a thorough biography has been long overdue. Trefousse has gone a long way toward supplying a fresh biography of the man. In its pages he has applied the extensive depth of modern scholarship now available on the reconstruction era.

Only Fawne Brodie has attempted a biography in recent times and that book, Thaddeus Stevens: Scourge of the South has slid thankfully out of print.

The Trefousse biography will likely be the standard source on the life of "the old Commoner" for some decades to come.

Mr. Powell another of our past heros, not be forgotten. Read about the horrible treatment he received from the US congressmen in his day and his fight for his people.

Mr. Powell another of our past heros, not be forgotten. Read about the horrible treatment he received from the US congressmen in his day and his fight for his people.

Adam Clayton Powell Jr's autobiography is an extremely interesting read. However, for its true historical significance, it should be read in connection with one of the two biography's that came about about Powell in the early 1990's - KING OF THE CATS by Wil Haygood and/or the Political Biography by Charles V. Hamilton.

Powell's life story is amazing. Unfortunately, his contributions to the cause of civil rights has been loss in the media coverage that he brought upon himself, particularly his explusion from Congress. There are those who are quick to say that Powell's problems were a result of racial discrimination. Sure, there was some of that, but Powell brought a great deal upon himself. His flamboyant life style, his absences from congress, his lavish spending at tax papers expense all did serious damage to his image. Probably the most damaging was his refusal to deal with a law suit brought by one of his constituants who he referred to as a "bag lady" while appearing on a TV talk show. The TV station settled with the woman for $1700 and it went away. However, Powell stonewalled the case for years until he was ultimately charged with criminal contempt of court. The case had gone through dozens of court hearings, several trials and numerous judges. There were even offers from supporters to pay the woman and get rid of the case. But Powell refused. It got so bad that he could only go to his district on sunday. Otherwise, he would have been arrested. He admits that his handling of the case was a major mistake.

In an era when JFK's romantic engagments were kept secret and before the Gary Hart affairs, Powell was able to get away with a life style that was literally filled with wine, women and song. Even his position as a Baptist minister did not limit his life style, his affairs or his three marriages. He was a creature of the time in which he lived.

ADAM BY ADAM was written near the end of Powell's life. In reading Haygood's account of his final days, you see a man trying to hold on to the past. He is alone and sick and abandoned by his former friends. As a result, Powell's accounts of his many friends and relationships rang very hollow to me. His finances were shot, he had no place to go. He was very much alone.

Powell made significant contributions to American life and should not be forgotten. However, in reviewing his life, one wonders if following the old advise - you got to know when to fold and know when to hold - may have been wise. When Martin Luther King and other civil rights leaders meet with LBJ, Powell was excluded. He had become damaged goods. At the March on Washington in 1963 he was not allowed to speak. For a man with his ego, it must have been terrible.

However, politicans create their own image. Powell was a loner who never listened to anyone. He had no close advisors. In many respects his life had a sad ending. But still his contribution to African American history should not be forgotten

I just bought this book a year ago. first time i saw this book at the bookshop, the first impression is the packaging/ cover of this book. its so thick and heavy, but the content...WOW! what can i say, the best reference for illustrator / graphic designer. many techniques have been used to make great illustration. From science fiction, cyber-art, human form, fantasy, comic and etc. It costs me a lot to pay this book, cause i'm in Australia, but it's worth to buy. That's why i bought american showcase 22 and 23. And this time from Amazon, cause Amazon has give me better deal! :-) Now i'm waiting for American Showcase 24!

American Showcase is the best reference to know what's new in Illustration tendency.

...a must have for any artist that is constantly learning from others. Every one of these books that I've seen has been great. As most artwork goes, every one is very different. I first found out about them through my father who purchased #17 in New Orleans, where I used to live. Since then we both have been hooked. I really suggest any of the American Showcase books if you can find the spare cash. P.S. Just to let you know, this book really contains no data on "how to". It is simply this, a HUGE collection of famous and not so famous graphic designer's work, who all deserve recognition if only we had that much space in our brains.

And Then, a novel by Natsume Soseki, opens with an image of extreme isolation: Daisuke, the protagonist, has woken up, and stares blankly at the ceiling with his hand on his chest, feeling his heart beat. He belongs to a wealthy family, has a cultivated aesthetic taste, is well-read, knows multiple languages, and has graduated from a prestigious university, at a time in Japan's history when universities were so new that the government had to hire Western expatriates to teach in them. It seems that Daisuke could get anything he wanted from life. Surely he was ambitious in his university days; it's difficult to imagine how a talented, educated, proud young man couldn't see himself as headed for greatness. But, by the time the book begins, Daisuke lives in seclusion, without an occupation, continuing to depend upon his rich father. He is about thirty years old.

The novel poses the following question: How could a man who showed all the promise in the world ultimately come to naught?

In his university days, Daisuke had two friends, who also had great plans for the future. But, when the thirty-year-old Daisuke meets them again, he learns that their hopes fell short of their mark. One of them, Hiraoka, sought to forge a brilliant career in Japan's civil service system, but fell into conflict with his superiors, mismanaged the money entrusted to him, and was fired. Daisuke's other friend, Terao, intended to become a world-renowned novelist, but failed to find a sponsor, and found himself having to scrounge, day by day, for one-time deals writing articles for cheap rags, or translating documents from English, in order to survive. Both men are now consumed with the fear of dying in poverty.

Daisuke has a strong sense of dignity, emerging from his refined aesthetic sensibilities. To him, such fear is degrading; his idleness becomes the only way to preserve his clarity of thought. Consequently, his reluctance to enter the "world of men" is confirmed in his mind, widening the gulf between him and his former friends, who view him as lazy and sheltered. When Daisuke writes to an acquaintance about a certain book he had sent, the acquaintance politely thanks him for the gift, but says, with regret, that he no longer has time to read. Soseki writes, "As he put the letter back in the envelope, Daisuke felt keenly the fact that this old friend, with whom he once shared the same inclinations, was now playing a different tune, governed by thoughts and actions that were nearly the precise opposite of those of the past."

Daisuke is adrift without ties to history. Unlike his father, he has no attachment whatsoever to traditional Japanese society; his education has given him the knowledge that the world is too vast to be confined to the boundaries delineated by tradition. Furthermore, Daisuke cannot help but notice that his father is motivated by selfish, ulterior motives as much as by any sense of obligation to tradition. Unlike his friends, however, Daisuke also cannot form a connection to modern society, which views education as a means to advancement in a bureaucratic order. He has no roots anywhere; one might say that he remains standing still at a crossroads after all other passersby have left. When Daisuke considers the occupations that he might be qualified for, were he to look for a job, he concludes that he would be incapable of doing anything other than begging on the street.

Daisuke's peace of mind is dependent on such artificial circumstances that it essentially rests on the head of a pin, where the slightest vibration will send it tumbling down. The more intent he becomes on continuing to be a detached observer, the more difficult it is for him to do so. His family has long given up hope that he will do anything with himself, and is willing to support him for the rest of his life, but demands in return that he get married, and threatens to disown him if he doesn't comply. Daisuke prefers to deliberately take a self-destructive path by categorically rejecting his family's demands and falling in love with Hiraoka's wife Michiyo.

Of all Japanese writers, Soseki, the father of contemporary Japanese literature, is the most inscrutable. His works cannot be called "beautiful" in the same way Kawabata's works can; "precise" is a more appropriate adjective. Kawabata's books overflow with beautiful, painfully fragile imagery of nature, glass, fabric, arranging these things in a way that creates a mood of deep melancholy. Soseki, however, is concerned above all with his characters' thoughts, which he faithfully records with painstaking levels of detail. They are not told in interior monologue, or any other such device, but rather conveyed straightforwardly in the third person. The book is absorbed in Daisuke's situation, yet simultaneously detached from it. One may find this style of writing to be pedantic, even artificial, but it enables Soseki to describe emotional truths that are complicated to the point of abstraction.

Soseki's writing is not without flourishes. Until the very end, Daisuke regards his circumstances with a charmingly carefree air, and is witty in conversations with his family, which makes him quite likable. Soseki also uses colours to symbolize his themes. There is a recurring image of white lilies, perhaps representing an ideal of frail beauty that, as it turns out, is impossible to attain, and the novel's ending is painted in bright, fiery red, carrying an air of beautiful, tragic finality, conveyed in sharp, concise language.

And Then is the greatest work by Japan's greatest novelist. Like all of Soseki's works, it moves very slowly. There is no real action in it, and yet, when it ends, one feels that a great upheaval has occurred. This is not a book to read when one is living a peaceful, wholesome life; however, in times of personal crisis, when one is driven to sleepless self-analysis, there is no book more relevant than this one.

Let me start off by saying that I cannot do this novel sufficient justice. The words I have put down are those of a fan. Soseki is regarded most highly by literary critics, in as many ciruits as they run, and to this I can only toss in my own small verbal confetti. For more adroid renderings, please see Donald Keane, Edward Seidenstiker, and Norma Moore Field.

Of all modern Japanese writers, Soseki is one of my three most favorites. Of his books, I have read Kokoro, The Three Cornered World, Grass by the Wayside, Light and Darkness, and, And Then. Of these, And Then, is by far my most favorite. I probably love it for different reasons than most.

Whenever I begin re-reading it (I have read it four times now), it is initially for the feeling of being transported into Daisuke's beautiful, if fragile world, where he set against a cast of lovable if predictable characters. His lazy houseboy, Kodono ("is that right, Sensei?"), his niece, Niu ("I'm warning you, you'd better watch out") who changes her hair ribbon several times daily, his sister in law with her love of Western music and concern for Deisuke's future and keeping the peace with Father, and so on. But as the novel evolves, the imagery takes on stronger substance, while retaining the light touch of a master. Of the lighter: the time when Daisuke and Kadono strip down to their waists and toss water around in the garden; when Daisuke fills a bowl with water and floats white lillies to offset a pounding headache, how he sets off to take a trip (in an attempt to avoid facing the pressure from his family to choose a bride) and never quite goes anywhere, and his foolish mishandling of his personal affairs.

Daisuke sees no point in trying to overcome his enui and take a stand of any kind, nor to try and resolve a series of issues that offer no simple resolution. Daisuke is a man with his feet planted in neither the past nor the future, and as the story comes to crisis, he loses his already delicate equilibrium, and plunges into a near mad state, where, since he cannot conceive of hurting anyone else, he runs headlong into trouble.

It is unfortunate that my copy gives no credit to the translator, for the prose is of exceedingly high calibre.

I highly recommend this book.

"And Then" ("Sore Kara") is a perfectly beautiful novel. Soseki always writes with an elegant clarity, tackling complex emotions and situations that creep up just like life. Nothing seems forced or unreal.

The plot reminds me of a quote I heard once. "I was a soldier so that my children could be merchants, and their children could be artists." The main character, Daisuke, is a dilettante, an appreciator of life's fineries who has never turned his hand towards anything seriously in his life. His father was a famous soldier during the Russo-Sino war, and his older brother is successful in business, and neither of them can understand this luxury object of a younger sibling that they both maintain financially. Seeking to find some value in him, his family attempts to pressure him into an advantageous marriage, which Daisuke's refinements does not permit. Love, however, will destroy everything.

The story floats along at Daisuke's pace, with nothing hurried or in crisis. Inside of this veneer are heavy issues of family obligation, the distaste of working for food as opposed to working for pure artistry, and most of all the undeniability of love, something that none of us can choose for ourselves.

Like all of Soseki's novels, "And Then" lingers long after the last page is turned, forcing us to evaluate our own lives and wonder what we would do in similar circumstances. How much of our own dreams have been sacrificed for necessities, and what does it mean to be human besides eating, sleeping and making more humans?

G.B. Powell's book "Elections as Instruments of Democracy" researches precisely what its title promises: elections as ways for citizens to have their preferences represented in a parliament. Because the procedure through which these preferences at election time get translated into representation is the voting system, Powell analyzes the two main voting 'visions' and their respective performance in actually doing what they promise, namely to represent people's wishes. This means also that he only goes into the way in which voting systems represent people in given countries empirically - he does not go into the "fairness" of certain aspects of the voting systems themselves, such as FPTP's tendency to actually not count around 70% of the vote in common elections.

These two viewpoints on voting systems are the majoritarian one, usually implemented as some form of first-past-the-post voting (or with runoff, like in France), and the proportional one, implemented as proportional representation or a (regionally) mixed system, like in Germany or Italy. Using extensive data from over 150 elections in more than 20 countries, Powell first reviews both the majoritarian and the proportional 'vision' according to their own standards. For the majoritarians, this is that the voters must clearly be able to identify which government they're going to get by voting, and that the will of the majority must be represented over that of the minority. For the proportionalists, this is that the voters must all be represented equitably in accordance with their popular support.

Using a system of (somewhat arbitrary) weighing of various criteria related to each vision's objectives, Powell shows that each is relatively good at doing what it wants to do. Still, the majoritarians come off more poorly than the proportionalists already, since in practice a given party rarely actually achieves a majority of all votes cast, and the distortions created by first-past-the-post voting actually enables the second-most popular party overall to gain majority representation, as happened in New Zealand in 1993: the National Party got 35% of the popular vote and an absolute majority in parliament.

But then Powell has to do the hardest task, and that is to meaningfully compare the voting systems in accordance with a common standard. He does this elegantly by measuring several criteria that are supposedly shared widely by supporters of both visions: effective representation and closeness of government to the median voter's preferences. The former is measured by looking at how the voters' preferences are actually weighed in the government policies, not by going into each policy everywhere individually, but by ranking the government parties or coalitions on a left-right scale. When weighed against various aspects of political rules that allow non-government parties a certain say as well (shared committees, veto powers in Senate, etc.), one can get a sort of 'weighted average' of the country's effective policy stance at a given point, and measure this against the self-identification of the voters.
The latter in turn is measured by looking at the median voters' preferences and then weighing this against the median legislator within the government (coalition).

Now some of the weights may seem somewhat arbitrary, but Powell's enormous data quantity and his neutral stance towards the actual content of policies (he avoids all pitfalls of having to measure the "leftistness" or "rightistness" of individual policies), as well as the way in which his data matches with a lot of prior political science work by Lijphart, Strom and others, lend his conclusions significant weight. In the end, Powell demonstrates that the proportional systems score systematically vastly better on scales of effective representation, closeness to median voter, and even considering that some of the common ways of measuring are themselves already put in majoritarian terms. One can have issues maybe with the left-right dimension's usefulness (Powell discusses this but claims the literature shows it has good predictive power), as well as the odd assumption he seems to make that people supporting a proportional vision tend to be more opposed to direct democracy and to be more "elitist", but the conclusions are clear as can be. The proportional voting system is the better one.

"The tyranny of the legislature is really the danger most to be feared, and will continue to be so for many years to come." - Thomas Jefferson.

Contrary to democracy which is ideally defined in terms of "effective citizen control over policy", the minimalist version of democracy, which Dahl prefers to name as polyarchy, is defined in terms of institutions. Put simply, according to the minimalist approach, democracies systems in which officials are elected through "free and fair" elections. Bingham Powell's book "Elections as Instrument of Democracy" is a powerful study that demonstrates the "insufficiency" of the minimalist version of democracy with respect to responsiveness of the elected representatives to the preferences of the citizens.

The main point of Powell is that "elections, even free, competitive elections with universal suffrage, are the instruments of democracy, not democracy itself" (p. 160). The essence of democracy - rule by the people- means that the preferences of citizens, not their votes, will prevail in policy making. However, the minimalist understanding of democracy and the modern democracies we have in practice pays an exclusively greater attention to the mere existence of electoral institutions than to how far and well these institutions fare with respect to realizing the essence/ideal of democracy.

Powell criticizes the optimistic assumption that elections are sufficient instruments to reflect the exact/highest preferences of voters. There are a number of political and institutional factor that restrain the reflection of preference to their votes. First, election choices are constrained by the alternatives available to the voter. It is very likely that a citizen may not like any of the candidates and this may make his/her voting choosing "the best of several unpalatable alternatives". Second, the existence of `strong' candidates can lead voters to vote `strategically' and prefer to vote for a candidate that is less preferable yet with a high chance of winning the elections. Third, institutional elements such as thresholds prevent the reflection of the primary preferences of a considerable portion of the population to the elections. Thus, we cannot safely believe that by the end of an election we will `learn' the preferences of citizens. Therefore, we need to search for the electoral systems that come closest to the realization of the ideal of democracy on the one hand and establish new institutions that will increase the power of citizens in terms of policy making between the elections.

Another merit of Powell's book is that by analyzing the varying performances of different electoral systems with respect to accountability, responsiveness, and voter preferences, it demonstrates that each system has its own advantages and drawbacks.

The book does a good job of laying out how two models of democracy--majoritarian and proportional--deal with voters' intent and desires. While both political systems have their merits, this book shows how the proportional vision out-performs the majoritarian by better reflecting the populace's needs and better representation of the voter's wishes. This result may give pause to many Americans, who may believe that our majoritarian system is preferable to others, when, in fact, Proportional Representation may actually be the most democratic. One note of caution: the intended audience is clearly the Poly Sci community, so be ready for lots of tables, charts, averages and regressions.

Out of the dozen or so different versions, translations, and interpretations of Rumi I've gone through, Arberry is still my favorite. Some say it's a bit stale with the literal translation, but that is far better than someone else's limited interpretation (like Barks or Harvey), especially when today's popular interpreters are unable to dive deep enough into Rumi and simply call him a mystic or a writer of Love poetry.

Arberry also includes some notes (though a full addendum is really required to begin to grasp the layers of Rumi), which are helpful.

If you do like the modern interpretations, at least read Arberry first. Then you can make up your own interpretations before reading someone elses.

It is unfortunate that most readers are introduced to Rumi through the "interpretations" of Coleman Barks (you'll notice I didn't say translations). A. J. Arberry's tranlslations are where readers should start; as a matter of fact Barks himself said that he uses Arberry's translations, which should speak volumes in itself. Arberry stays very close to the literal readings and the notes he provides are invaluable when reading these poems. There are a few places where the notes prove very helpful because Rumi plays on words a lot and the double meanings would have went over my head otherwise. And because Rumi's original works haven't survived there are several versions of what might be called his "original" poetry. The differences, when they arise, are included in the notes and there are a few instances where the alternate reading makes more sense than the one given. If you are an avid reader of Rumi or looking for an introduction, this book and its companion volume are a must have.

This 2 volume set of translations by Arberry and the translations by Nicholson are the best readily available. Numerous "renderings" by popular writers littering the bookstores fail to even touch the depth and layers of meaning to be found in Rumi. These are works of spiritual power brought to life for the english reader by a scholar in the language and history of the Sufi traditions. If you want the real thing, this is it.

Glenn Gould lived the "hermit lifestyle" after his retreat from the concert stage in 1964. Just a little later the English translation of Soseki's book appeared, and the "Oracle from Toronto" considered it a great inspiration for his life as an artist. He used it as a subject in one of his radio programs and kept referring to it until the end of his life.

The subject of the three-cornered world (TCW) is the relationship between the artist and his environment. While the book's Japanese title can be best translated as "Grass Pillow", a symbol for a journey, the translator chose the current title based on the book's statement that the artist inhabits a three-cornered world from which the one corner that is part of all non-artists' life, the rationality, has been removed. Apart from the obvious interest that a Gould devotee may get out of reading the book that inspired the world's greatest recording artist, this book is a remarkable bridge between the traditional Japanese literature and it's modern counterparts.

The TCW describes a symbolic trip of the painting/writing protagonist up a mountain and his stay at a deserted inn, where he "interacts" with the innkeeper's daughter. Soseki wrote in a very precise and poetic style and this book has been properly characterized as a word-painting. The initial trip up the mountain greatly reminded me of a similar trip in Murakami's "Norwegian Wood". During the ascent the artist reflects upon life, society and the artist. He puts forward the notion that an artist interacts with the "real world" as if it were a two-dimensional picture, that he himself is not really part of. Through interaction with characters he encounters during his trip and subsequent stay this notion is worked out in more detail and receives comments from the outsiders. In the second part of the book the artist is mesmerized by the innkeeper's daughter, who is a favorite subject of local gossip. While I am not quite sure that the author intended to give the ensuing "distant interaction" humorous overtones, I thought that the lack of action following the lady's sharing of the steamy hot tub downright funny. Yet, the girl becomes the symbol of the artist's subject and the book ends in a beautiful finale stressing the importance of compassion in art.

In all this is a short, very worthwhile read. The story flows seemingly effortless in a way that reminds one of the famous liner notes that Bill Evans wrote for Miles' Davis "Kind of Blue" album. All characters are truly three-dimensional and the writing style is fluent and evocative. I addition, this book gives a unique Eastern perspective on the relationship between art(ists) and society.

Just after finishing this book, I received Kevin Bazzana's superb new Gould biography from Amazon Canada, which mentions this book on several occasions. Let's hope that the TCW may get a revival, both for it's own great merits and the effect the writer continues to have on contemporary Japanese literature.

There are many themes examined in The Three Cornered world, the most predominant being the interior thoughts of the painter-poet on his vision quest. Much mush has been written of the Japanese poets' concern with nature, but here, for all its landscapes and mountains and moons and spring airs, we see what that nature poetry is truly all about. Nature in Soseki (For, among other things, Soseki is creating, not only a novel, but expressing a theory of aesthetics) is not an object apart from the artist (Who is different from most people) it is a sense object, and nature is not the thing, but the source of sensual awareness. Japan is a sensual country, and the Japanese are a sensual people. The Japanese, for all their supposed rigidity and formality, are deeply emotional and intense, and are the most avowedly aesthetic (Not rational, not formal, but artistic) culture that our species has produced. The Three Cornered World examines this theme of the artist in the world and connects this theme to a more general concept of the artist as a person aware of the world's artists--at least the asthetics of China and England--in a manner that suggests the importance and value and uncertainty of the life of the artist. While Soseki longs for a Buddhist escape from the "Real" world, at the same time, his artist is at his most absurd, even silly, when he acheives that escape from the real world. No matter what, the man is never more alive, more real, than when he is with the incredible O-Nami, and he is never more in the world than when thinking of her. As with many real Japanese women, no man worthy of living would fail to fall in love with her, as Soseki's protagonist certainly does. I did.

This book is not just a wonderful introduction to the differences between Western and Eastern views of art. It is a lovely exploration of art in general -- the need for art, the demands made on an artist, and especially the place of artists and their work in the world.

Hamilton has done an extraordinary job with one of America's most enigmatic political figures. Representative Powell was a man hard to figure by anybody. A rascal, decried as a corrupt politician, loved by his constituents and vilified by much of the establishment.

Powell was one of the century's (I guess that is now "last century's") first and longest serving African American members of Congress. He was on the forefront of the campaign against lynching. He brought the moral imperative of the Freedom Rides and the lunch counter sitins going on in the South to the major urban areas of the North.

His position as a vociferous champion of civil rights (more than his indiscretions) led his colleagues in the House to try to oust him. When his constituents rejected this initiative and overwhelmingly returned him to Congress, he had to go the the Supreme Court for his right to continue service (even after being stripped of his seniority.

Great history, and great reading. A thoroughly engaging subject. Even as an out-of-print book it is well worth waiting for.

Charles V. Hamilton calls his biography of Adam Clayton Powell, Jrs. THE POLITICAL BIOGRAPHY OF AN AMERICAN DILEMMA. The American dilemma that he refers to is Gunnar Myrdal's 1944 thesis. Myrdal concluded taht American society possess a strong belief in liberty, equality, respect for law and democracy but when it comes to blacks, those same values do not always apply. So the society says one thing and does another as it relates to blacks and other minorities. Hamilton argues that this "blatant contradiction in American society between the Creed and reality was constantly highlighted by white and black advocates of civil rights." In Adam Clayton Powell, Hamilton finds the personification of this dilemma. He asserts that Powell made that dilemma the main issue of his public life. As a result, Powell's constant attempts to raisse and challege America's dilemma is the theme that Hamilton uses to portray his subject.

For students of Powell who may have read Wil Haygood's KING OF THE CATS, Hamilton's portrayal is much different. As the title implies, Hamilton primarily sticks to the political side of Powell's career while Haygood presents a much more personal account of the preacher/congressman. While I came away from the Haygood work feeling attached and sympathetic of Powell, I came away from Hamilton's work realizing that Powell had an extremely dark side and that many of his problmes were self inflicted. In addiiton, for the serious students, Hamilton's footnotes are invaluable.

One of Hamilton's major arguments is that Powell endorsed Eisenhower in 1956 in the hopes of stopping further IRS and FBI investigations of his personal finances. He also makes it clear that Powell had access to the White House during the Eisenhower administration, something that he did not have with Truman. Of course, he had created his own persona non grata status with the Turman White House when he attempted to have his wife, Hazel Scott perform at the DAR hall in Washington. It seems that Powell was attempting to do another "Marian Anderson" event and failed. One can easily conclude that Powell enjoyed the access he had with Ike's staff and figured that Sstevenson was not going to win anyway, so Powell feathered his own nest. While he wanted the poublic to believe his endorsement was for the sake of Stevenson's poor stand on Civil Rights, it is more likely that Powell enjoyed and wanted to continue his access to power.

Hamilton relates how Powell threatened to expose Bayard Rustin and Martin Luther King for an alleged homosexual relationship in order to force them to call off a demonstration at the Republican National Convention in 1960. Powell knew full well the accusations were false but the blackmail served his purpose.

In 1966 Powell scuttled an attempt by James Farmer of CORE to establish a national literacy project. Hamilton argues that in return, Powell hoped to be given White House assistance in having his New York libel judgment reduced.

As does Haygood, and Powell himself in his autobiography ADAM BY ADAM, Hamilton demonstrates how Powell made one of the worse decisions of his life in ignoring the libel suit brought against him by a New York woman that he referred to as a "bag woman." The eventual legal repercussions from the law suit (Powell refused to even show up at the trial) along with Ppowell's flagrant disregard for his congressional duties, excessive spending of congressional funds and egotistical and sometimes hedonistic life style all conributed to his demise. And when he needed the support of other civil rights leaders, who who had been victims of his wrath while he ws in power, they where not there for him as his power wained.

As the sage progresess and Powell gets closer and closer to the time that Congress refuses to seat him, the reader realizes that when Powell pointed the finger of racism at his attackers, as the old saying goes, he was pointing four fingers back at himself.

Oscar DePriest was the first black person elected to Congress in the 20th Century. But Powell was really the first black congressman that African Americans nationwide identified with. He came to congress driving a Jaguar in 1944, wearing $500 suits and looking like a movie star. He became the voice of Black America in congress, especially in the area of desegregation of the military. But his Powell Amendment had its good sides and its bad. While it raised the issue of unequal treatment, it also resulted in the defeat of legislation that would have been beneficial to Black America.

Powell's final demise was no doubt self inflictd. In the final years of his career he midjudged the reapportionment process allowing for a change in his district. Times change and voters change and eventually his base of support eroded. His religious base eroded. With his life syle it seems hard to imagine that he could be identified with the church. Harlem residents realized tht they needed a congressman, not an aging symbol of the past fishing in Bimini. As Hamilton points out, if Powell had fought before for final election defeat as much as he did after the defeat in attempts to get recounts and court battles over the election, he probably would have won.

Adam Clayton Powell died in 1972. It took almost 20 years for historians to write serious biographies of his life. Hamilton's contribution is excellent and well worth the read, not only for the life of Adam Clayton Powell, but for a history of America during the 20th century.

Un saludo afectuoso, desde la Ciudad de San Salvador, El Salvador

Respetable, señores deseo adquirir los siguientes Libros de Ilustraciòn (un ejemplar por cada uno):

* "American Showcase Illustration: Volume 23, 5 stars". * "American Showcase: Artists' Representatives and Illustrators & Designers (American Showcase Illustration, Vol 24". * "Title American Showcase: Illustration (21st Ed, 5 Stars)".

Deseo, que me envien factura pro-forma, por la compra de lo anterior descrito, en el cual deberà de incluir todo los gastos de envìo, reqerido para obtenerlos en nuestras oficina.

Favor de dirigirlo a siguiente direcciòn:

Jorge Antonio Garay Asociaciòn Demografica Salvadoreña 25 Av. Norte No. 583, San Salvador, El Salvador, C.A. Tel.: (503) 225-0588 Fax.: (503) 225-0506 E-Mail: jorge_garay@ads.org.sv

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