K Books

May Sarton is an insightful writer in all of her books. Although I am not a cat lover, I read the book first before deciding whether or not my cat-lover reader friends would enjoy this book. I know they will. The hardcover edition is especially nice for a gift. The illustrations in the book are a treasure as well.

May Sarton, poet and journal-writer extraorindaire, wrote a novella/poem to the Cat, the Gentleman Cat, called "The Fur Person". I have reread this masterpiece every year for the past 25 years. "The Fur Person" is for children and adults, for everyone!

This is a good book both children and adults. Couldn't wait to read the next chapter.

This book was given to me as a gift and after reading it I promptly bought 4 from Amazon to give as gifts for the holidays. The author has truly captured her cat's essence. It's beautifuly written and tells just how much love a cat needs and gives. I highly recommend this book.

This is such a wonderful book. It is short and easy to read, but so well written, by the late poet May Sarton. It is the story of her cat, Tom Jones. When the fur person decided it was time to settle down and find a home, he found Ms. Sarton and her partner, and became a precious part of their family. This book makes a very great gift for any cat lover. Unbelievably, it has been out of print from time to time. Thank goodness it is available both in paperback and a gift edition now.

I very good book. Very comprehensive and a big change from all the other golfing books!!

Train smart guys! This manual is fantastic. If you're gonna train, you should seriously take this into consideration, at least as a template. The bread and butter is the fact that he addresses postural distortions and biomechanical tests, which I can say 80% of the trainers in the US don't do.

the book came as represented very new wonderful condition and timely; but with a 30% discount which was hard to find elsewhere

If you golf or train golfers this book is a must. Hands down the best most complete book on golf conditioning on the market today.

The Fitness Professional will find themselves refering to this book ever so often as it covers all areas from the reason why one should be conditioned for this sport to flexibility tests, the importance of stretching and how to warm up for golf (- an area most often skipped by golf enthusiats) functional exercise (- and the importance of it) strength & power exercises. An important aspect is also that exercises should be progressed from flexibility to stability to strength and finally power to enhance performance and be injury free. The diagrams are excellent for convincing and explaining to clients. Infact the concepts in this book has carry over to any other sport that requires you to move as an integrated whole!!

Grave Undertakings was a pleasant surprise to read! The author, Alexandra Mosca, comes across as so genuine, sensitive and caring, that it made me look at funeral directors in a whole different light. Before reading this book, I will admit, I did not have a high opinion of the funeral industry. But, Mosca conveys through her writing how difficult the job can be emotionally and what a special sort of person it takes to do this work. Perhaps, because of her own difficult childhood, the author has a particular empathy for people who are grieving and in pain.
I purchased this book because I recalled seeing Mosca on talk shows over the years, especially when she was a Playboy model (there is a chapter about this), wondering what she had to say about her funeral career. Frankly, I wasn't expecting to be this engrossed by what turned out to be a most sensitive and tasteful memoir. The book takes us through her beginnings as a naieve young woman starting out in a rather hostile environment, trying to learn her trade and do right by her clientele. Despite coming across some rather unpleasant colleagues, (what a bunch of losers) she is determined to succeed.. Along the way, she has many unusual experiences such as attending John Gotti's funeral (another reason I bought the book), as well as poignant ones like working on the charred bodies in the Flight 587 plane crash in NY, shortly after 9/11.
Mosca has guts She is not afraid to take chances and try her hand at different careers, while always remaining dedicated to her role as a funeral director. She has a good sense of humor and is not above poking fun at herself. She sounds like a lot of fun to hang out with.
I hope we hear more from her in another book. Maybe even a televison show with Mosca as the main character. She's a lot more interesting as a real funeral director than any "Six Feet Under" fictional character.
And, Amazon, I hope you will soon be restocking this book!

This book gives great insight into the funeral business. Alexandra has a terrific style and flair for writing. I am awaiting her next work.

From life as a wistful adopted child to her days gracing the pages of national magazines with her Italian-Greek beauty, Alexandra Mosca certainly has a story to tell. And tell it she does! She overcame alot of unhappy days to become a funeral director, model and actress. Her book is filled with stories about the struggles of a young woman trying to make it in a man's business. It is absorbing, funny, sad and poignant. Her sensitivity to the needs of the people and families she serves is evident from the stories that make up this great book. The photos of her as a child are touching and her later good looks radiates through them. This volume some eye opening details of the business as well. The author comes accross as a caring and sensitive funeral director. This book is certainly a must read for anyone interested in the funeral business or contemplating a career in that industry. The publisher should bring out a new edition and make it available as a current book. It is worth it and certainly has the potential to sell. Hopefully, we will see more books by Ms. Mosca!

This was a superb book! I bought this book while still a student of mortuary science, and I have re-read it dozens of times since. I turn to this book for comfort and inspiration when I find myself struggling in the business. I am also a young female funeral director and Alexandra's book is a true-to-life account of what we face. Any young woman hoping to break into the funeral industry must read this book!!!

Grave Undertakings is a spellbinding story about the valiant efforts of a young New York lady to break into the `concealed world' of funeral directing, funeral home hierarchy and the cumbersome `male chauvinistic society' that feels a woman's place is at the reception desk. Alexandra Mosca's true life story tells of the uphill battle to be accepted and licensed by her peers. The `formaldehyde curtain' is parted as we learn about the `long secretive' profession of caring for the dead, the proper etiquette for services and final disposition. Ms. Mosca is not only a educated, skilled and respected funeral director-she has both acting and modeling credits to her name. Beautiful lady that she is, also takes us behind the `scenes' of a Playboy feature photography session. This is another part of life that people always think they know so much about and are so misinformed!

For anyone interested in today's modern society, the funeral directing profession and the autobiography of a gutsy, tenacious lady with lots of moxie-this is a perfect read. As a former funeral director, the story is accurately told with finesse and shows how a caring and well trained director takes care of their (her) clientele.

Among her many talents, Alexandra has honed her writing skills and funeral industry education to become a leading feature writer in many funeral trade publications.

This is a great book that is interesting, well written and captivating. You will not be disappointed!

This is very useful pocket handbook for just about every radiation oncology trainee out there. It clearly presents management recommendations for everyday malignancies, and then follows that up with a three to four line summary of each of the pivotal papers. Its only weakness is a lack of critical appraisal of the evidence it cites, but then again, if you only rely on this handbook and don't read the evidence yourself, you're not studying properly for your exams!

An excellent basis for structuring your study notes around, and for use in everyday clinical practice. Thoroughly recommended.

In this book you can find all the information you need in just few minutes. The size is very portable and there are all the important references to go deep in every theme.

A good book to start with in an overwhelming field of radiation oncology. Most, if not all, of the important radiation-related clinical trials are included. Can't replace a classic textbook, but very high yield.

This book is fantastic...concise, easy to carry around, and has tons of pearls, and pertinent studies that you need to know. I wish I had it at the beginning of residency....but better late than never! Kudos!!!

The Handbook of Evidence-based Radiation Oncology is a must-have for residents and trainees in radiation oncology. Written almost entirely in note form, the authors present the absolute essentials for patient management - from initial history and examination through to follow-up.
Brief refreshers of anatomy and pathology are intelligently included where relevant. Stage-by-stage treatment recommendations are clearly drawn from concise summaries of relevant landmark publications. Practical hints for treatment planning are included along with handy guides to dose constraints and potential toxicities.
The Handbok does not replace the more detailed commentary of a full Radiation Oncology text, but is an invaluable summary of key points.
Highly recommended.

A great book if you're learning German (like me) and want to try your hand at some pleasure reading. Most books in second hand shops that are printed in German (at least, the ones near me) only have books by authors that I've never heard of, or who are a dime-a-dozen. Maybe I'm biased because I've loved the Potter series from its beginning, but I would definitely recommend this book.

For those who have read the Harry Potter books and who are also interested in learning German this book is a great tool. I have found it easier to learn new words when I already know what the plot is.
Diese Buch macht sehr viel spass!

I bought this book for a young man who was taking High School German because I felt that he would have fun while learning new words, verb tenses and sentence structure. He had already read Harry Potter in English but suddenly finding it in German was an exciting adventure for him. I would recommend anyone wishing to encourage or improve someone's language skills to buy this book in whatever language needed. Great fun!

This book is a great way to improve your german language skills. I would strongly recommend it to any student of the german language... not to mention it is a great story!!!

Ich finde Harry Potter und der Stein der Weisen absolut fantastisch!! Ich empfehle dieses Buch weil es sehr spannend ist. Das Buch kann dir auch mit der deutschen Sprache helfen.

Ich bin Amerikanerin, und ich hab das Buch niemals auf Englisch gelesen,also ist es schwer für mich, die Übersetzung mit der englischen Version zu vergleichen, aber ich kann sagen, dass die Übersetzung gut genug war, dass ich ab und zu total vergessen, dass ich im Moment Deutsch lese. Ich habe auch die spanische Version gelesen..aber die spanische Version war überhaupt nicht so gut wie die deutsche. Dieses Buch ist sehr gut für alle Studenten, die ihren deutschen Wortschatz vergrössern möchten. Manche Ausdrücke in diesem Buch, wird man nie im Klassenzimmer lernen. Aber natürlich sind die Gedichte im Buch nicht so gut wie in der englischen Version, aber das ist normal....Ich habe niemals eine Übersetzung gesehen, die besser war als die originale für Gedichten und Lieder.

I found the book compelling. It is a warm, human book, capturing well what seems today as the innocence of an earlier time. With touching humility, Kelly brings to life Truman's humanity and the deep sense of responsibility he felt as president to help create a truly democractic society. Kelly's many personal anecdotes and reflections take the reader back into this simpler world and helps create hope for the future of real democracy.

In all of Frank K. Kelly's books, especially this one, he writes with the objectivity of a seasoned reporter and the heart of a compassionate observer.

Truman's humanity is profoundly related to us in this carefully crafted work. We now know a softer and warmer side of Harry Truman because Kelly has been able to focus attention on a major aspect of a very complex man.

This is a report of the observations of a man who had long-term personal contact with Truman and is uniquely qualified to present a perspective of him in context with the times.

The book itself is a good read because of Kelly's story telling style and his organizational skills with regard to documenting historical information.

A local author known to me has written an engaging book. It is a beautiful testimony to the fact that politics can be about the pursuit of high ideals. Frank captures so well the interdependent dance between people, their leaders and their values. What I love most is how easily people of varying degrees of prominence move in and out of the story Frank weaves. He creates the proof that we are one wonderful human family - flaws and all!

Too often the political process is something that takes place far outside our own lives, which is why voters tend to be either emotional partisans of their celebrity heroes or apathetic or cynical. Frank Kelly's understanding of one very human and accessible man, Harry Truman, made me rethink what the American Presidency is about. By interweaving his own lifestory with the Truman presidency, Kelly creates an absorbing drama into which we are all swept. He sees politics not as a game, but as the means to realizing a nation's highest potential. Yes, he is an idealist, but we have too few of those. Kelly's vision of one president and his world-changing decisions is transferable to every presidency. As we prepare to elect a new man to that office, there's no more appropriate reading for us than Kelly's book.

This book is by an insider in the 1948 campaign that everyone thought that Truman would loose. Mr Kelly gained a lot of respect for Mr. Truman as an honest man in a flawed system. Truman didn't seek the presidency but was thrust into it by the death of Roosevelt. President Truman had a vision for America and America's position in the world. Special interests in Congress blocked many of Truman's dreams. Mr Kelly's later disallusionment with the Washington scene echoes the chaos we see today in Washington.

Mr. Kelly sheds light on Truman's difficult decisions to use the atom bomb, the atmosphere around Jor Mc Carthy,the Berlin Airlift, the occupation of Japan, the Korean War and many less well known actions by President Truman. This was for me the most enjoyable bok on Truman since "Plain Speaking" by Merle Miller.

A fairly interesting book. O'Donnell lists the campaigns of the elite troops of this theater of command, details the plan of battle, and then gives the oral histories of those who served in those campaigns. Most of the veterans are at the end of their lives, so these oral histories present a heartfelt tribute to the difficulties these soldiers endured during combat. What surprised me most was how these soldiers/veterans got choked up recounting the battles they went through, and the friends they lost. Freedom isn't cheap, and these soldiers are living proof of how America was affected by the battle.
This is a good read. Oral histories are good at describing the personal experiences of soldiers, but they don't put perspective on the actual battle campaigns. If one wants to know more about the War in the Pacific, one needs to read a general history, before reading this book.

This review is of the Audio CD version of this excellent book. Jeff Riggenbach did a fantastic job reading this text. He managed to give proper emphasis without drowning the material.

Many soldiers are reluctant to talk of their wartime experiences for fear of seeming boastful. O'Donnell got these veterans to open up and tell their stories. They did so that the fallen heroes would get proper credit, not to tell of their own exploits in a grand fashion. Many of the other reviewers have told of the specific episodes relayed in the book, but what struck me was the depth of feeling that these men had many decades after the fact. One soldier tells of looking up the family of a fallen buddy after the war. It was as if he felt driven to tell them of their son's valor and his worth to his fellow soldiers. Another tells of a friend he saw die in combat after having met his wife and been their with him during the arrival of their child. It was a common theme that these men had these experiences with them every day, if only just beneath the surface. I highly recommend it to those who would like to grasp the depth of the sacrifice these individuals made on our behalf.

I found this an unusually readable book as first person narratives of combat. The emotion was left in the accounts and you can't help but be touched by the various stories as opposed to a detached historical rendering. The latter is important as a context for these highly personal accounts. There is no attempt to cover the gore and pathos of combat. The accompanying maps were very good also and helped to pinpoint actual events; many of the battles I never heard of. Reminds me of With The Old Breed and Pacific War Diary for its impact, also Flags of Our Fathers. It's great that these veterans lived until a time when they could have permission to express these emotions; they weren't allowed this I don't think until the last decade or two.

I read this book after "Beyond Valor" by the same author and I wasn't disappointed. "Into the Rising Sun" is a collection of first hand accounts of the brave men who fought in the Pacific. The author sets up the accounts with some background material to make more sense to it all. After re-living some of these battle through this book, I started to understand what a living Hell these guys lived through. The intensity of the Japanese soldier was astonishing.

This book has special meaning to me since my father was a Marine fighting the Japanese in the Pacific. He was at Guadalcanal and Okinawa .I now know what a hero he was!

This is the second of Patrick O'Donnell's books. O'Donnell is a gifted oral historian who's been collecting the recollections of men who were soldiers and served in the Second World War, partially through a website he set up some years ago, and partially through other sources. This compilation shows off O'Donnnell's strengths, and weaknesses (such as they are) and is a good example of his work.

O'Donnell, for whatever reason, is very attached to "elite" infantry units. In his book on the European Theater, this included paratroopers, rangers, and the members of the 1st Special Service Force. In the current book, which covers the Pacific Theater, the distinction between "elite" forces and the regular ones is somewhat more blurry: Army Rangers, paratroopers, and members of Merril's Marauders are the participants from the army, but the author chose to distinguish the Marine Raider and Parachute units from other Marine outfits. This is a weakness as all of these forces were disbanded in 1943-4, and so the book would be rather truncated as far as the Marine Corps went for the last 18 months or so of the war. This (of course) is unacceptable, so the author merely follows former members of these specialized units who were absorbed into other, regular Marine regiments.

The result is that some battles are covered in considerable detail here, while others (notably Saipan and Peleliu) are ignored because the Marines who participated in these campaigns weren't "elite." This includes members of the 1st Marine Division, who were arguably the most experienced in terms of combat against Japanese soldiers. So what's here is rather skewed and somewhat disjointed, but if you accept that, then the material that's here is worthwhile.

I enjoyed this book, within its limitations, and I would recommend it and the others in O'Donnell's series, provided you accept what they are.

This is the definitive history of what I consider the best brigade-sized unit in either army during the Civil War. Alan Nolan is THE authority on this famous, hard-hitting outfit and this book is a classic. Interesting, vivid, full of valor, heartbreaking losses, and gallant deeds, it chronicles the Army of the Potomac's sole western unit from its meager beginnings, its first engagement at Brawner's Farm the day before Second Bull Run, where it met and defeated the vaunted Stonewall Brigade in a vicious stand-up fight though outnumbered and still an untried unit of well-trained rookies. through the tough tutelage of veteran artilleryman John Gibbon, its first commander of note, to its moment of truth at Gettysburg, where, suffering almost 70% casualties, it goes into the fire unperturbed and outnumbered, both ruining and capturing opposing Confederate units, coming onto the field behind its tattered regimental flags like a wave of blue doom. I first became interested in the Iron Brigade while reading Bruce Catton's excellent trilogy on the Army of the Potomac. Not until this superb volume, however, did the whole story come out in gripping detail and hard-to-put-down narrative. The author paints a vivid picture of the realities of war, what losses can do to even a veteran, well-trained unit, and the value of personal valor and leadership. This book is highly recommended and should be on the book shelf of every Civil War reenactor, historian, and enthusiast.

Author Alan Nolan has brought the story of the Iron Brigade to life in this excellent study of this famous group of hard fighting midwesterners. Nolan's information is valuable and everything is backed by references. Nolan's style is concise. It was nice that he didn't dwell on subjects like battles or politics not involving the Iron Brigade. He kept the book's chapters flowing and informative. He kept biographies short while the movements and changes in command structure through out the book were covered very well. The fighting at Gettysburg was probably the best coverage and most descriptive although it was most fitting considering it was the brigade's crescendo in battle. Overall, Nolan's book is a valuable tool, reference and history of the Iron Brigade that many people could benefit from reading. 5 STARS!

The author successfully weaves together regimental histories with grand strategic movements and anecdotal observations of the common soldier. All this gives a feel for the the tension and struggle faced by the "heroes" of this story-- the officers and common soldiers of the Iron Brigade. Common men of uncommon bravery and valor. The reader is able to follow the progress of each regiment within the Brigade through Nolan's fast paced, dramatic narrative. A fine reference and requisite companion to Herdegen's "Four Years with the Iron Brigade," since it puts the diaries in the larger context of Brigade movements. I appreciated Nolan's work all the more after Herdegen's book, and wished I had read them together.

Nolan's "biography" of the battle-torn Iron Brigade contains the most stirring description of the 1st day of battle at Gettysburg that I have ever read. His account of the bravery and heroism of these men is exceptional. At times I got a bit confused trying to keep track with whom was in charge of which regiment/brigade/division, etc., but this information is vital to the history of the brigade. This book also made me aware of the under-appreciated accomplishments of Lt. Col. Rufus Dawes who should be accorded the same recognition as other noble Union leaders during this battle, such as Chamberlain, Hancock and Warren.

Nolan's book about the Iron Brigade is a fantastic account of the brigade's history, covering its intriguing stories off the field as much as on it.

The book is very easy to follow as it begins with the creation of every regiment in the brigade and ends months after Appomattox.

By using primary accounts and concise analysis, Nolan covers the relationships between the ordinary men and their officers, the relationships between the regiments, the relationships between the brigades and divisional/corps commanders all the way up to McClellan/Hooker and more. In addition, the politics in the brigade and the Army of the Potomac as a whole are covered, and all of this without even getting into the combat history of the brigade.

Nolan covers in depth every combat the Iron Brigade was engaged in while it consisted of just Westerners, and the Epilogue in the book deals with the addition of non Western units to the Brigade, the dissolution of some of the regiments and the mustering out of notable officers through discharges, wounds and death.

In Nolan's interpretation, although it keeps its name, the Iron Brigade is no longer THE Iron Brigade after all the casualties at Gettysburg and the addition of Eastern troops to the brigade on July 18, 1863. Thus the combat from Brawner's Farm to Gettysburg is covered in depth concerning the brigade's actions. The book has exceptional maps for the actions of the brigade on the battlefields and casualty counts for every regiment. The chapter dealing with Day 1 of Gettysburg is the book's most poignant and gripping battle account.

The notes in the book are nearly 100 pages and are nearly as interesting as the narrative itself. In the notes are extended discussions on casualty %s (the Iron Brigade as a whole suffered the most battle casualties by % than any Federal brigade during the war, the 2nd Wisconsin suffered the most by % of any regiment, the 24th Michigan suffered 80% casualties on July 1 etc.) and Nolan's explanation in how he dealt with discrepancies in battle records and accounts. In the epilogue's notes, Nolan offers up post-war details of the officers in the 5 regiments.

One of the best parts of the book is how Nolan really takes issue with Glenn Turner's book on Gettysburg due to its pro-Confederate slant. Turner claims the Iron Brigade was "swept off" the field and calls Old Man Burns, the old citizen who came onto the field and fought with the Iron Brigade, a "cowardly" "bushwhacker" despite fighting in line and being wounded three times during the battle.

This book is perfect for anyone interested in the Civil War or anyone interested in the military history of Wisconsin, Indiana and Michigan.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys photography, animals, scenery, and just beautiful magical things. Franz Lanting is able to capture images from the real world but in a way that makes them seem not of this world.

Not only are the pictures a work of art but the book itself is contructed so that it too feels like a masterpiece. An oversized book that just feels good to hold in your hands and each new section in the book is seperated by lovely, transparant vellum.

Treat yourself or someone you love and buy this book!

Frans Lanting is a god among nature photographers. This book's *gorgeous* imagery takes me to another world completey, and I can only hope to follow in his genius footsteps with my humble little SLR. For anyone who loves to look at up close and personal pictures of animals or of lush jungle vegetation/rivers, or anyone who loves nature photography, I highly recommend this book. No wildlife photographer's shelf should be void of it.

And yet another 10 star book on nature photography. This is a hard to get title, if you find it buy it. It is absolutely fascinating, I cannot say anything else that hasn't been said by all other previous reviewers. For nature lovers and rainforest addicts, this should be a must have. Bravo, Mr. Lanting!!! Save the jungles and the wonderful creatures of the world!!!!

This is really an excellent portfolio with some stunning photography that really inspires one. I am a fan of Lanting's work and this book does not dissapoint.

My only issue is not with Lanting, but rather with Taschen (the publisher). The book is really very poorly bound and the glue just does'nt seem to hold the book together. This is not just an isolated case with my copy. I found that most of the copies (even those on the bookstore shelves) that I handled has this problem. I must say that this is quite dissapointing work from Taschen.

Well,when I was 14-15 years old,I was mostly interested in underwater photography and therefore,I had only a few photo books. But later,my interest for other animals too,grew much larger and therefore,I received this book as a christmas gift from my mother. It was really not a bad book,and it made me love Lanting and buy two more books with his pictures later.
It is a huge book,weighing perhaps 1,5 kilograms and with dimensions "14" x "10". It contains 150 photographs of plants and animals living in jungles around the world. Among the animals included are a series of pictures of red macaws in Peru,
dancing lemurs of Madagascar,cute little frogs in giant flowers in Borneo,incredibly strang-looking insects of various jungles,bats fishing at night in South America,and the shining eyes of caimans in Brazil.
But don`t just look at the animal pictures. The part which I find most inspiring is the jungle habitats. Especially the morning light in Borneo and Peru,and the palm savannah of Brazil. They all look humid and there are fog clouds in the dawin. Very beautifull. The australian jungles look very exciting too. Many pictures,especially of birds,are very windy to make a real impression of the movements of the animals. Lanting`s capability of capturing details of animals has never been as well presented as in this book. Especially in this huge format and double-page photos in the half of the book.
Over all,this is a fantastic book recommended to anyone interested in jungles,animals,or just in beautifull natural photography. You`ll be amazed,whoever you are.

In his book `Reason and Culture', Ernest Gellner points his finger at certain philosophers of science for undermining reason. One of the culprits is Paul Feyerabend.
This autobiography is very revealing indeed. It gives an in depth view of Feyerabend's eventful life, his difficult character, his fierce philosophical battles, his profound (physical and intellectual) loves and his (self-) inflicted deceptions.
As young soldier, he was physically heavily marked by World War II, but astonishingly his fighting spirit was enhanced. On the other hand, was this experience not a main reason for his deep pessimism: `Me? A family? Children? Not on this planet!' He called himself an `icy egotist'. All his life he had violent outburst of inner rage: `We shall act in a barbaric way. We shall punish, kill, meet violence with violence.'
During the war, he was lived, as Nietzsche said: `the aims of Nazism - I hardly knew what they were.' Already then for him, `a clean moral vision implies simplifications and acts of cruelty and injustice.'
After the war, he had to choose between a career as a professional singer (he had a beautiful voice and loved opera) or as a scientist. He became a philosopher of science.
But now the intellectual caste became the target of his violent attacks: `intellectuals prepare a New Age of ignorance, darkness and slavery.' His main foe was the man he saw as the new POP(p)E(r) of philosophy.
Overreactions and exaggerations made him even return to animism: `two types of tumors to be removed - philosophy of science and general philosophy (ethics, epistemology etc.) ... Nor is there one way of knowing, science. There are many such ways, and before they were ruined by Western civilization, they were effective in the sense that they kept people alive and made their existence comprehensible.'??
His anger culminated in his best known book `Against Method', called by his caste `anything goes'. Already the title is a provocation. It provoked an avalanche of devastating reviews which traumatized him deeply. He defends himself: `I never denigrated reason, only some petrified and tyrannical versions of it.'
After meeting the love of his life, the rebel (sometimes without a cause) became less caustic, and even wanted children.

All in all, this book is a fascinating read.

One of the most moving, insightful, and honest autobiographies I've ever read. Unduly influenced by the standard ignorant rap on Against Method, I was also very surprised. Get it, especially if you have a background in math, physics, philosophy, or even music.

This is one of the most touching autobiography I have read. Paul Feyerabend was not only an important thinker or philosopher, I was also an interesting human being. It is not, however, so much his story that is intriguing as it is the moral we can draw from his experiences that is illuminating. Perhaps the most valuable counsel he gives us in this book is the following:"If you want to achieve something, if you want to write a book, paint a picture, be sure that the center of your existence is somewhere else and that it's solidly grounded; only then will you be able to keep your cool and laugh at the attacks that are bound to come"(147). I think any student of philosophy, literature and the arts should take this advice to heart. Feyerabend is one of the rare philosophers who realized that, after all, a worthwile life is not one devoted to abstract thinking but one devoted to love. As he says," There are strong inclinations after all;...they are not about abstract things such as solitude or intellectual achievements but about a live human being"(169). I cannot but recommend you to read this very enlightening autobiography. Vladimir Pintro, student of philosophy at S.U.N.Y.

This is a slim volume, barely 200 pages, but it charts an awesome spiritual odyssee. Paul Feyerabend - enfant terrible of late 20th century philosophy - looked ruthlessly in the mirror and painted an unadorned picture of himself. At the end of his life, he painfully recognised that its course had been shaped by absences, rather than by specific events or, for that matter, ideas: absence of purpose, of content, of a focused interest, absence of moral character, absence of warmth and of social relationships.

Only when Feyerabend approached the final fifteen years of his life and settled as a professor in the philosophy of science in Zürich - after having lectured four decades at Anglo-American universities - he started to relax. And eventually, a woman came and set things right. In 1983 he met the Italian physicist Grazia Borrini for the first time. Five years later they married. His relationship with Mrs. Borrini must have been the single most important event in Feyerabend's life. Reading his autobiography is an experience akin to listening to Sibelius' tone-poem 'Nightride and Sunrise': after 1983 the colours change dramatically and his prose is infused with warmth and immense gratefulness. It is a delight to read his rapt eulogies on the companion of the last decade of his life, on his most fortunate discovery of true love and friendship. Indeed, although Feyerabend is not interested in 'spoiling' his autobiography with an extensive reiteration of his philosophical positions, there are a few messages he clearly wants to drive home. The central role in life of love and friendship is one of them. Without these "even the noblest achievements and the most fundamental principles remain pale, empty and dangerous" (p. 173). Yet, Feyerabend clearly wants us to see that this love "is a gift, not an achievement" (p. 173). It is something which is subjected neither to the intellect, nor to the will, but is the result of a fortunate constellation of circumstances.

The same applies to the acquisition of 'moral character'. This too "cannot be created by argument, 'education' or an act of will." (p.174). Yet, it is only in the context of a moral character - something which Feyerabend confesses to having only acquired a trace of after a long life and the good fortune of having met Grazia - that ethical categories such as guilt, responsibility and obligation acquire a meaning. "They are empty words, even obstacles, when it is lacking." (p.174) (Consequently, he did not think himself responsible for his behavior during the Nazi period).

Contrary to someone like Karl Kraus, Feyerabend seems to think that men, at least as long as they have not acquired moral character, are morally neutral, whilst ideas are not. A question which remains, of course, is who is to be held responsible for intellectual aberrations and intentional obfuscation if this character is only to be acquired by an act of grace, an accidental constellation of circumstances.

There is an enigmatic passage in the autobiography which may shed light on this important problem. After having seen a performance of Shakespeare's Richard II, in which the protagonist undoes himself of all his royal insigna, thereby relinquishing not just "a social role but his very individuality, those features of his character that separated him from other", Feyerabend notes that the "dark, unwieldy, clumsy, helpless creature that appeared seemed freer and safer, despite prison and death, than what he had left behind." (p. 172) It prompts him to the insight that "the sum of our works and/or deeds does not constitute a life. These . . . are like debris on an ocean . . . They may even form a solid platform, thus creating an illusion of universality, security, and permanence. Yet the security and the permanence can be swept away by the powers that permitted them to arise." (p. 172) These ideas do not exactly solve the question about moral responsibility, but they do suggest a tragic 'Lebensgefühl' - an acknowledgment of the fact that the spheres of reason, order and justice are terribly limited and that no progress in our science and technical resources will change their relevance - which seems to underpin Feyerabends very earthbound philosophy.

Typical Feyerabend arrogance, spiced with unbearable charm. Brimming with intimate details of his sexual experiences, fighting with the Nazi Army on the Western Front, his lifelong (almost) apathy toward academic philosophy, and his real passion: opera singing. Philosophy, it turns out, was "just a job." I had *no* idea that Paul Feyerabend once possessed a "world voice" for opera. It was opera he loved. About 1/3 of the story is about operas he'd seen worldwide, who sang the roles, his critical opinion of the singing!

Also includes his bookish, only-child upbringing; his horribly depressed mother and her suicide in his teens; his adult depressions; his affairs and marriages; and finally, his mature love for the beautiful Graziana, which allowed him some actual truth in this life. It ends with Graziana's reminder that most of Feyerabend's life was spent in chronic pain, the result of a gunshot to his groin during the Nazi retreat from Russia. That was the injury which rendered him sexually impotent at 20 - a recurring theme in the story.

By the last page, I was in tears. Imagine tears of compassion after reading the words of that anarchist maniac who wrote "Against Method"!! But tears there were. It's a very good book.