F Books

If you have had analysis with Rudin, this book is very weird - no metric spaces, no convergence theorems to speak of, no series - but it does have some very interesting stuff. Buck's explanation of things like open sets, the double integral, the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus are really interesting. If you have the spare change, buy this and really look at it - even better - check it out from the library.

The book under review is an easily accessible introduction to Advanced Calculus for those at the upper undergraduate level. As a student, I found it to be a successful mix of rigor and insight, a particularly valuable quality considering the fact that the subject is oftentimes the pons asinorum to abstract reasonings and proofs for most students of mathematics.

The book begins with a relatively "rigorous" refresher on the concepts of sets, functions, and graphs; later on a bunch of so-called field axioms are thrown in, but the author didn't treat these "basic concepts" extensively as interesting subjects in their own right. Some topological concepts are introduced next, then sequence, continuity, and differentiation; in that order. Up to the last item, the semester course was concluded. Notice that this was only page 125 of a 600 page book, hence my inability to comment on subsequent chapters following that elementary discussion of differentiation.

Pictures appropriate to the particular discussion are available; whenever possible the author attempted to provide a more intuitive understanding of a deep mathematical idea by discussing an example from the real world or through a physical interpretation.

The exercises vary in difficulty, but some are particularly hard that a solution manual would be very much welcomed. The hints and answers in the back are too brief to be of much use in demystifying those seemingly mysterious and unmotivated tricks needed in particular solution.

The author encourages the readers to employ any tool of elementary calculus learned earlier, an understandable choice since it was actually his decision not to introduce an axiomatic development of the subject that would compel the readers to deduce a solution to a problem from "scratch".

I would highly recommend the book, even for self-study to the mathematical enthusiasts. Those who desire a not-too-formidable introduction to real analysis may find this classic enjoyable.

This book provides a very readable and insightful account of the material that is usually covered in two semesters of advanced undergraduate courses usually called "Advanced Calculus" or "Real Analysis." Explanations are clear and concepts are well motivated. The problem sets are well-selected, and are do-able after reading the relevant chapters. This book is highly recommended for engineers or scientists wishing to gain a deeper understanding of mathematics, and for math majors preparing for graduate study in real analysis. It is a great book.

The book was excellent, starting with the basics of sets and topology and build quickly to the traditional subjects of calculus. I particularly enjoyed the way the author was able to draw attention to the key ideas that come up again and again, the mean value theorem for example. I have never seen a better view of the foundation of calculus, and this book is never leaving my shelf.

This book is extremely well written and comprehensive. It is appropriately approaches the subject and addresses the audience (primarily undergraduates) in an elegant manner with a fair amount of challenging problems, though never overestimates the reader's previous knowledge or background. Time and time again, I've found myself digging back in this book finding more depth and content through each pass. This is by far the best Advance Calculus book I've come across for undergraduates.

Kluge takes you into the inner workings of a small liberal arts college in Gambier, Ohio during the '90's. He looks at the admissions, grades, decisions, teaching expectations/styles,tenures, fraternities, etc., that make this college click and draw in more students. He discusses his contributions and his interaction with other professors and departments. Being a college instructor myself, I found that much of what he expressed so well, could apply to my Micronesian college. Good writer and accurate in his observations and conclusions. I liked it and have recommended it to other professor-types.

This book is a great look at small liberal arts colleges through the eyes of a past graduate returning to teach at his alma mater. The book provides insight into the inner workings of a college both from an administrative and academic point of view. Kluge's reflections are always though-provoking and yet the prose is so wonderfully simple. I would recommend this book to anyone and everyone.

Liberal arts colleges evoke a certain image in the American imagination: ivy-laced little cities on a thousand different hills; places rich in tradition, where teachers teach, students learn, and smallness encourages community and accountability. As compared to big research universities, their professors are less likely to be distracted by big-city pretensions and obsequious grad students. The small-college ideal is what much of America likes to think higher education once was and should be again.

Kluge, in this touching, sardonic reconsideration of his own alma mater, Kenyon College (the book is essentially a diary of the year he spent back in Gambier, Ohio, as a visiting professor), shows us that the reality of a real liberal arts college -- its ghosts, aspirations, conceits, compromises -- is far more complicated. Its history and traditions are as much a curse as a blessing. The dignified, self-knowing exterior it presents to prospective students and the public may mask self-doubts, intrigues, identity crises. For faculty as well as students, small size and intimacy means academic and cultural debates are more difficult to avoid, the stakes higher, the joys and sorrows more intensely personal.

Though not the author's primary purpose, Alma Mater provides a rich and interpretive portrait of contemporary American academic culture. Today a college like Kenyon, isolated though it may be by geography, is awash in the same turmoils as the biggest and most unwieldy Research I institution: race, gender, fraternities, curriculum, faculty roles and rewards, and, as always, money. Just as TV and computers have virtually wiped out traditional regional cultures, so journals, conferences, and faculty mobility assure that professors in vastly different settings will be wrestling with the same ideas, controversies, and alienations.

Kluge's vivid, indeed exquisite, writing draws out larger truths behind quotidian events and observations. Office corridors strangely dark and deserted in the middle of a weekday become a metaphor for faculty overspecialization (increasingly treated like free agents, professors ply their little projects in solitude from home) and the consequent loss of campus collegiality and sense of community. Figures at a faculty meeting seem to come from some central casting of academic types and images. And anyone who has taught a college course would empathize with Kluge's take on grading: "Splattering comments on papers, you sense you are working harder on grading than they ever did on writing, that you are obliged to take seriously what they took casually."

To his bemusement, Kluge, ultimately discovers he can't go home again. But he gives us a loving and richly detailed portrait of the inner life of a college he still loves, a "good place," and we understand why.

As a professor at a small college (Muhlenberg, in Allentown, PA), I found these descriptions of Kenyon to be instantly transferrable. When Alma Mater was sweeping Muhlenberg a few years ago, my faculty colleagues swore that Kluge must have been hiding behind the drapes, so perfectly did he capture the scene here. Of course, friends on other campuses said the same. Kluge has hit upon something universal about what it means to be a faculty member at a liberal arts college in a book that is at once funny, moving, and spot-on accurate.

Every autumn, I make a point of pulling Alma Mater off the shelf to recharge my professorial batteries. In so doing, I remind myself of both the peculiarities and the nobility of this profession. And I remind myself, as well, of what excellent writing sounds like.

Professors, even visiting ones, have one rare luxury. They live and work in a place where everyone stops and listens to their opinions. Did P.F. forget to mention all the fawning adoration that was his lot in tiny Gambier? Tough life. This book was accurate in what it did record (I was there too, after all), but by synecdoche presented a part to be taken for the whole. An easy for example; it's convenient to present anecdotal evidence that the entire student body was lazy and spoiled, since this excuses the professor(s) from having to pay attention to or bother about the ones who are not either of those things. And it gives an old fellow something to gripe about and be nostalgic for. There's excellent mileage in such an opinion, without a doubt. Maybe even a book. And, after all, Alma Mater is on my bookshelf, reminding me of my undergraduate days and of the coot on Middle Path who used to reply to my passing "good morning" with outraged glares and once a tirade about perfectly decent looking young women who chose to dress like hoboes. Ah, nostalgia. Who gets that much bang for the buck in a big city? Such thoughts are a comfort while paying student loans. If you are connected with Kenyon, this is an amusing read which raises corollary questions about the relative laziness or degree of spoilation found in the professors at a small, expensive liberal arts college.

If you buy this book because the title might indicate it is an overall look at the banjo, its playing, its musics, and its place in society, that is not what this book is or pretends to be.

This is a history of the physical development of the banjo and its construction and manufacture during the 19th Century. There are some small references to the different musics the instrument was used for, but not many. There is elaborate and detailed discussion of the main lines of construction of the banjos during this period. The authors also write well and thoroughly about the business dynamics of the chief producers
of the banjo during the 19th Century.

While this book is obviously the work of two of leading banjo collectors in the world and of interest to banjoists and instrument makers of all kinds, it is an important picture of America social and economic history as well. Someone interested in the rise and development of capitalist industry, fetishism of "the finer things in life" by the middle class, and how culture wars were waged in the 19th Century would profit from reading this book.

For the artistically inclined there are a number of beautiful plates of 19th Century Banjos as works of art. It is clear that the authors priviledge the decoration and physical beauty of the instruments as much as they do the instruments "playability."

This work is great in itself. I found it very readable and believe someone who did not know much about banjos would also find this readable.

If you are interested in the social and cultural history of the instrument to the present day, what you need is
That Half-Barbaric Twang: The Banjo in American Popular Culture Culture by Karen Linn.

If you are interested in the African origin of the instrument, its development from African playing styles, as well as the roots of contemporary "frailing" and clawhammer and much else about the musical tradition of the banjo, especially as used in traditional folk music try African Banjo Echoes in Appalachia: A Study of Folk Traditions by Cecelia Conway. Both books are available here on Amazon

At last, another important book has emerged to stand with the few other necessary references on early American 5-string banjos.

Unlike the two fine Tsumura books which are primarily photographic essays of considerable magnitude, Gura and Bollman's treatise combines a highly readable and informed history with a remarkable collection of rare antique photographs and ephemera plus 4 lengthy sections of recent photographs of exquisite instruments and banjo related objects. Any one of these three aspects would be sufficient reason to own the book.

The frequently startling and personal photographs impart a very human feeling as we progress through the story of the evolution of the banjo in American culture. Amazingly, they represent just a minor fraction of Jim Bollman's immense collection.

Special praise is due Peter Szego for his magnificent photographs of the wonderful early banjos from his own collection.

I find it hard to remain objective as I turn the pages and imagine what it must have been like to pose for one of those Dageurreotypes, rudely dressed, banjo in hand, daring the photographer to capture my soul. And again, when I turn to that favorite Boucher or Fairbanks banjo and long to feel and play it.

Well done, gentlemen, and thank you!

James Bollman's collection of banjos and banjo memorabilia is stunning and this volume may be the only way in which I would ever be able to view it in my home a photograph at a time. The history is a resource for historians and reenactors alike. The vintage photos are mostly ones I've never seen before. This collection has the most vintage photos of lady banjo players I have ever seen. The 1860's photo of a young woman playing the banjo on page 93 has enough detail for a reenactor to duplicate her dress and accessories as well as her banjo. The same is true of an 1895 photograph of a woman playing a Fairbanks Electric. The turn of the century all woman banjo band on page 10 is inspiring. It's great to know that there have always been lady banjo players and these photos give the lady reenactor a place to start when planning a period costume to go with a period banjo. There is a section of breath taking color plates in this book that allow you not only to see detail on some rare banjos, but also depict antique banjo clocks and memorabilia. I never knew such pieces existed until this book. A great book and a must have for anyone interested in vintage instruments and pickers.

As a banjo player of some twenty-five years experience, as well as a historic interpreter/performer of Early American music, all I can say is that this is the book that I've been waiting for! This well-researched, well-written, beautifully illustrated tome doesn't just give us an interesting history of the banjo; it offer us a fascinating view of the instrument's pivotal role in the birth of American "pop" music.

My favorite features of the book are the antique period photographs, as well as the many wonderful illustrations of authentic period instruments and ephemeria, primarily from the extensive personal collection of the book's authors and fellow collectors such as Peter Szego. The majority of the 19th century photos depicted belong to author Jim Bollman, whose home can best be described as a museum and shrine to the banjo. I'm also a collector of vintage photos of musicians and I can tell you there's no one more respected in the field than Jim. His name is constantly invoked with awe and reverence by both dealers and other collectors. I have to admit there were times at photo shows when I've had cause to harbor some unkindly thoughts towards Jim every time it had become that he had scored all the best photos. However, purchasing this book, which contains many of those incredible unattainable photos, more than makes up for that.

My only complaint about "America's Instrument..." is its failure to really explore the banjo's African roots other than to briefly quote Dena Epstein's pioneering work on the subject. Also, the authors are mistaken in their statements that the African ancestors of the banjo, such as the xalam, "lack the shortened string on the top of the fingerboard that is characteristic of later banjos." In fact, the xalam has three "chanterelles" (drone strings) of various lengths above the two long melody strings. A cursory look at the xalam illustrated in the book would reveal that.

Be that as it may, I highly recommend "America's Instrument...!"

If one were to collect instruments, art and ephemera to organize and document an exhibition about the banjo, a good place to start would be to review Gura's and Bollman's "America's Instrument: The Banjo in the Nineteenth Century." This impressive book actually seems like a comprehensive companion to a museum's exhibition which could have the same name, and I could envision such a treatise being a museum gift shop's best-seller.

James Bollman is recognized as one of our Nation's foremost banjo collectors, and his outstanding assortment of Victorian-era banjos and related paraphernalia is one of the finest in the world. He was very pivotal as a project consultant to the fine exhibition that took place in 1984 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology called "Ring the Banjar!: The Banjo in America from Folklore to Factory," curated by Robert Lloyd Webb. That exhibit's catalogue had some wonderful information, photographs and illustrations. After seeing it, I was personally inspired to research and write an article about "Banjos at the Smithsonian Institution" which subsequently appeared in Bluegrass Unlimited magazine (Vol. 27, No. 5, November, 1992).

Philip Gura, historian and Professor of English and American Studies at the University of North Carolina, is an expert in the history and culture of America's music industry. I found Gura's 2003 charming book, "C.F. Martin and His Guitars 1976-1873," to be well-researched, thoughtfully written, beautifully illustrated, and professionally executed.

In "America's Instrument: The Banjo in the Nineteenth Century," Gura and Bollman begin by documenting the banjo's evolution from the plantation to the stage. An interesting overview of the minstrel tradition and early performers is given. The authors show how the popularity of banjos increased, largely due to effective marketing. As the banjo made its way from the minstrel stage to Victorian parlors and concert halls, the physical development of the instrument was also affected. Part III of the book addresses "selling the banjo to all America," focusing on the efforts of Philadelphia's S.S. Stewart. It's interesting that Stewart's adoption of the "cause" of the banjo (nothing short of everything about it) set him apart from other makers. The book's fourth part, "manufacturing the real thing," delves into how the Boston banjo makers (Fairbanks, Cole) began to challenge Stewart's preeminence in the mid-1880s and eventually design and build the acknowledged standards of the banjo world.

Ragtime is given cursory treatment in this book. Another direction that banjo music took was into classical music, and the book could have devoted something to that incarnation of the instrument. I found it curious that this book makes no mention of Alfred A. Farland, "the progressive banjoist," who caused quite a stir in the banjo world in the mid-1890s when he played concertos, Beethoven sonatas, and even Rossini's "William Tell Overture" on the instrument. He was also known as the "Scientific Banjoist of Pittsburgh, Pa."

It also becomes quite apparent that the major banjo makers in the late 19th Century were located mainly in the urban north, and the great majority of major makers are discussed. However, this book should have at least acknowledged J.B. Schall, from Chicago, who built a large number of banjos about 1870-1907. Of a list of manufacturers of "classic" banjos in Akira Tsumura's "Banjos: The Tsumura Collection," most are addressed. Rettberg & Lange (New York 1897-1929) aren't mentioned, and only very brief mention is made of Weymann & Son (who made banjos in Philadelphia from 1864-1935) and Charles Bobzin (who operated in Detroit from 1892-1915).

While this book is beautifully laid out with over 250 illustrations, some of the very special banjos featured in the MIT exhibition, at the Smithsonian Institution, and in private collections such as Akira Tsumura's or David Vachon's, might have further enhanced Gura and Bollman's book. Some of the instruments are credited as from the collection of Peter Szego or Philip Gura, and the other uncredited photographs are apparently from the extensive collection of James Bollman. While the many full page color illustrations are definitely nice, perhaps the book could've added many more by placing two to four per page. Banjo afficinados typically enjoy such "eye candy," and photos speak a thousand words.

Keep in mind that this book only covers the banjo in the 19th Century. There is a cursory link to the banjo in the 20th Century, and there's only minor mention of firms such as Gibson, Paramount, Bacon and Day, and Weymann. While the authors state that "the stories of these companies and their instruments are fairly well known and...belong to the history of the new century," I hope that Gura and Bollman will consider pulling all these tales together into a sequel that documents the banjo in the Twentieth Century. All in all, they've done a very fine job covering a hundred years of the instrument's early history in America. Banjo-players and others interested in the instrument's history should certainly add this book to their library. (Joe Ross, staff writer, Bluegrass Now)

This is a collection of articles from Foreign Affairs, which is the journal of the internationalist (and since WWII the dominant) wing of the American foreign policy Establishment. The selection choice of articles was pretty good and interesting, though I am disappointed that they did not publish any articles from the Dulles brothers. Members of Yale secret societies, however, are well represented.

Some of the more revealing articles are:
Elihu Root's lead article in the first issue, a sort of mission statement for the purpose of the journal.
Hamilton Fish's reflection on fifty years of interventionist foreign policy.
Walter Lippmann's smear job on Senator Borah (he later suggested waging political warfare on isolationist congressment to the head of BSC during WWII, and they were quite successful).
The articles of members affiliated with the Royal Institute of International Affairs before WWII.
George Kennan's 'X' article suggesting containment among others.

For anyone interested in American political history and foreign policy in particular, this is an excellent book to possess. The pictures of some of the writers were also very interesting, I particularly enjoyed the picture of Bill Buckley striking a Jesus Christ pose with American flags draped in the background. This picture was placed above a picture of a nude woman covering her behind with a copy of Foreign Affairs. A very interesting choice, indeed! For the prices listed for the used copies, it is a bargain. Get the book!

This is a collection of articles from Foreign Affairs, which is the journal of the internationalist (and since WWII the dominant) wing of the American foreign policy Establishment. The selection choice of articles was pretty good and interesting, though I am disappointed that they did not publish any articles from the Dulles brothers. Members of Yale secret societies, however, are well represented.

Some of the more revealing articles are:
Elihu Root's lead article in the first issue, a sort of mission statement for the purpose of the journal.
Hamilton Fish's reflection on fifty years of interventionist foreign policy.
Walter Lippmann's smear job on Senator Borah (he later suggested waging political warfare on isolationist congressment to the head of BSC during WWII, and they were quite successful).
The articles of members affiliated with the Royal Institute of International Affairs before WWII.
George Kennan's 'X' article suggesting containment among others.

For anyone interested in American political history and foreign policy in particular, this is an excellent book to possess. The pictures of some of the writers were also very interesting, I particularly enjoyed the picture of Bill Buckley striking a Jesus Christ pose with American flags draped in the background. This picture was placed above a picture of a nude woman covering her behind with a copy of Foreign Affairs. A very interesting choice, indeed! For the prices listed for the used copies, it is a bargain. Get the book!

An amazing trip through the 20th century with the best minds of the age. Reading these classic essays you get new insights into the big trends, events, ideas that have brought us to where we are today. I was given this book as a gift and was genuinely surprised by how much I have enjoyed it. (The photographs are a nice bonus.) Anyone who likes history and politics will love this book.

The essays in this volume range from extremely good to outstanding to outright brilliant. Collectively, these forty-two essays chronicle the evolution of American foreign policy-its intellectual and political struggle to deal with the world since 1922. This compilation is divided into decades-1930s, 1940s, and so on, each dealing with the dominant themes of that decade, ranging from the founding of Foreign Affairs in 1922 to its 75th anniversary in 1997.

Broadly speaking, there are two kinds of essays: on one hand are those essays for which the reader will have a historical interest-as a snapshot of contemporary debates; on the other, there are essays which probe timeless themes and their ideas can be as applicable today as they were when they were first written. What is most exciting is when essays combine the two-capturing the essence of past debates while developing timeless themes and arguments for posterity to refer to. It is in these cases that "Foreign Affairs" is at its best.

It is impossible, for example, to read Fouad Ajami's "The end of Pan-Arabism" without feeling that you're getting a deeper understanding of the Middle East, one that is as necessary today as it was when it was written in 1978. Or, to read David Fromkin's "Strategies of Terrorism," without drawing parallels with Al-Qaeda and the United States and their own battle against each other. Or to read Richard Cooper propose a world currency without thinking how many of the problems we face today were anticipated back in the 1980s. Or Julien Brenda counter the case the pacifism and democracy go hand in hand, without thinking how the two ideas have been so connected in our minds today. Or, reading Hans Morgenthau discuss intervention and non-intervention in Viet Nam without drawing lessons about America's contemporary strategic debate which revolves around the same questions.

Inevitably, every reader's list of favorites will vary-the anthology, after all, is so diverse as to placate everyone's appetite. There are essays on war and peace, international economics, development, terrorism, nationalism, isolationism, containment, imperialism, human rights, and technology; and there are more specific ones that deal with the interwar period, the Cold War, the war in Viet Nam, decolonization in Africa, on the Middle East in the 1970s, on American foreign policy, on the Soviet Union in the 1980s, and on the war in the former Yugoslavia.

The authors too are drawn from all specters of political debates. They include such theoretical legends as Hans Morgenthau and Samuel Huntington; key political players as Henry Kissinger, George F. Kennan, Zbigniew Brzezinski and Nikolai Bukharin; economists as Paul Krugman and Richard Cooper; journalists as Walter Lippmann, Irving Kristol, and Hamilton Fish Armstrong; and others as Fouad Ajami, David Fromkin, Isaiah Berlin, W.E.B. Du Bois, Arthur Schlesinger Jr., Aleksandr Solzhenistym, and others.

As a primary source, but also a reference on what some of the brightest minds of the century had to say on the important issues of the day, "The American Encounter" cannot be absent from the library of anyone who is serious about understanding the international politics of the twentieth century.

This compilation of the "best of the best" articles from the journal Foreign Affairs is a real gem that is especially relevant today as America continues to neglect its international responsibilities and certain Senators and Congressman have the ignorant temerity to brag that they don't own nor need an American passport. The conclusion of the July 1932 article by Edwin F. Gay, "The Great Depression", is instructive: "The world war affirmed the international political responsibilities of the United States; the world depression demonstrates the economic interdependence of the United States with other states. It cannot be a hermit nation." With four seminal articles from each decade (1920's forward), including just about every great name in the international discussions of the century, this book is a fundamental reference point for those who would dare to craft a vibrant foreign policy for the United States in the 21st Century. The book ends with several thoughtful pieces including, most fittingly, an interview with Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore on culture as destiny, an article whose subtitle might have been "How extended families and the collective good still matter."

Kimberly Marooney's beautiful work in Angel Love Cards is filled with the highest, and most loving energy. You are guided and taught how to connect with the Divine guidance that is always available to you, and will be able to feel yourself accelerate with your personal and spiritual growth.

Kimberly herself has such a pure energy about her, and this is completely evident in ANGEL LOVE CARDS. The content was given to her in a Divine manner from The Holy Spirit - yet in an all embracing non-denominational manner that is nothing short of heart touching, and soul healing.

I HIGHLY recommend this book - it is a gift to all who need pure, loving Divine guidance that actually makes a real difference!

Meditating on the cards selected offer profound insights. -
Edwin Harkness Spina, author of Mystic Warrior: A Novel Beyond Time and Space

"Kimberly Marooney's, Angel Love creates a powerfull way to connect with Angelic wisdom and guidance with insightful thought-provoking questions that lead to inspired actions. Angel Love offers the reader an invaluable tool to use repeatedly when faced with confusion or conflict in any life situation, personally or professionally. Add this resource to your toolbox, today!" - Lorraine Coach, Business and Personal Coach

I have been using both of Kimberly's Angel Card sets - Angel Love and Angel Blessings - on a daily basis and I am amazed at how intuitive they are. I've been recommending them both to everyone. It's hard to put into words how much they've actually helped me on my own spiritual journey.

You need to get these cards if you feel drawn to them at all, they will make a difference in your life.

I have used Kimberly Marooney's Angel Blessings Cards for several years. This new Angel Love book and cards continue on the path of grace to acheive closer connection with God and his Angels. The Book contains references to music to put you in the mood for receiving enlightened information from our angelic guides. The quotes are inspiring and the cards are amazing tools. I will be using both the Angel Love Cards & Book on my personal path and to help spiritually counseling my clients. Blessings, Harmony & Light, Rev. Ann

It was actually a gift for my father, who is a seminary student. He needed it for his discertation. Her really liked it a lot. It was worth the money! :)

This book clearly outlines how God has been working, is working, and will continue to work to redeem Mankind. The authors demonstrate, as reflected in the subtitle "The Story of God's Mission in the Bible," that God's redemptive plan began with Old Testament prophets and the Nation of Israel. His Plans culminates with Jesus Christ of Nazareth and continues with His Church. "Announcing the Kingdom" is an excellent companion to the textbook (a Reader edited by Winter and Hawthorne) used in the Perspectives on the World Christian Movement course. Every Believer should take this course; every Believer should read the book by Glasser, et. al.

i thought that the book was a great introduction to the idea of the kingdom of God and its role in the entire Bible. The book was written in a scholarly fashion, but was accessible to anyone with Biblical knowledge. It sets a great foundation for anyone who is serious about critical Biblical interpretation and especially the influence of the Kingdom of God on the Bible. It brought me great insight and appreciation to what the Bible discusses about Kingdom and its power in my own life.

Although a long read, it's an excellent book on God's mission from Genesis to Revelation. Included in this book are many insight addressing issues in modern missions today such as ethics and strategy. Would make a great text for a biblical theology of missions class. Great for the seminarian, possibly challenging to the layperson.

Having read 5 well-published books within a timespan of 3 months on the subject of the Kingdom of God, this book was the most thorough and thought provoking. It's one downfall is the author's propencity to be sidetracked from the main subject at hand and his use of secular humanistic venacular. Besides these, it is very comprehensive and a joy to read yet not written for one's first book on the subject. If looking for an introductory book, look into Roberts's book entitled: God's Big Picture.

Bradley had the misfortune to coincide in his later years with Russell and Whitehead, whose monumental work redirected Philosphy towards the realm of Mathematical Logic and Scientific Materialism. Yet, Bradley's revised version of Hegelian Idealism, strengthened by judiciously chosen elements from the British Idealist tradition, still stands as a practically inexpugnable bulwark against the inroads of those tempted by a spontaneous, unreflective materialism, namely, most of the scientific community today.
Also extremely well written, witty, sharp and captivating in parts. Well worth a perusal, especially the early chapters.

I completely disagree with his conception of reality, but I enjoyed this book. Bradley was a precursor to the language philosophers. Everyone seems intrigued with Wittgenstein; however, Bradley is far more comprehensive and profound. Plus, he writes very good English. Bradley distinguishes subtle naunces in meaning between words and in this way is a precursor to language philosophy. I also recommend C. S. Lewis's book, A Study in Words.

I'm amazed that all the books I have on language philosophy exclude F H Bradley. He did everything language philosophers did before they did it.

This book, written in 1893, is one of the most important books in the history of English language philosophy. During his lifetime, Bradley was one of the best known of British philosophers, but before he died (in 1924) his metaphysical position dropped out of fashion, in part because it was attacked (and misrepresented) by Russell and Moore. In spite of their hostility, Twentieth Century analytic philosophers were profoundly influenced by Bradley. For an excellent discussion of this matter, read the first chapter of Tom Rockmore's book, Hegel, Idealism, and Analytic Philosophy. I recommend reading _Appearance and Reality_ before taking on Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit (Galaxy Books). Bradley's argument for absolute idealism is the best written in English. His writing is lively, frequently pointed and sardonic, a "good read". This version, a reproduction of the 1893 edition, is sturdy, well bound, on good paper. It is a bargain and a must read for anyone with a serious interest in philosophy.

Something must have _happened_ to Francis Herbert Bradley.

He seems to have been something of a curmudgeon; at least, he was extremely reclusive and had a reputation for shooting cats. But at some point in his life he must have come to some sort of deep mystical realization.

Otherwise he couldn't have written this book, which reads like a Western version of Shankara. This is philosophy in the grand old style, and it's one of the high points of British idealism.

Bradley's argument doesn't always hold up in its precise details. He doesn't, for example, think that "relations" are real because (he says) they lead to an infinite regress. But Royce replied to this pretty adequately in an appendix to _The World and the Individual_. He also states firmly (and I think correctly) that there's no conceiving reality apart from experience and there's no duality in experience between subject and object. But support for this claim isn't exactly forthcoming. (Timothy L.S. Sprigge does a much better job with it in _The Vindication of Absolute Idealism_.)

But the essential structure of his argument is sound and could be carried through again with a different set of examples (the standard logical paradoxes, say): the world of our ordinary experience turns out upon inspection to be contradictory, so it can't be fully and finally real; what _is_ fully and finally real is a nondual Absolute in which all those apparent contradictions are resolved through that very nonduality.

Well, Bradley puts it better than that, of course, and his prose style is very pleasant to read. This work is also excerpted in James W. Allard and Guy Stock's collection of Bradley's _Writings on Logic and Metaphysics_, so if you want to read a shorter version, check that volume out.

Anyway, the point is, don't ever let anybody tell you there isn't any nondualistic wisdom here in the West. In a different time and place, Bradley would have been revered as a guru -- a prospect that in all likelihood would have made him cringe, so it's probably just as well. But he's clearly trying to articulate a vision here, and few writers have tackled "rational mysticism" with such philosophical flair.

I doubt that Shankara would have shot cats. Fortunately the similarities run deeper than that.

This book is indeed extremely important for analytic, continental, and mystic philosophers alike. Bradley's positive view, the Absolute, is proposed here as the _only way out_ of those messy analytic debates regarding topics such as appearance vs. reality, plurality, quality, and causation. Bradley's starting point: what is absurd (logically impossible) cannot exist.

Left Behind is a wonderful series. I am looking forward to listening to all the audio cd's.
I have read the books and they are just as great.

better!! The plague, or whatever it was that wiped out billions of people on earth is gone. Now the survivors must make sense of the rubble. Thye must find Rabbi Ben Ezra (i think thats his name) and also the Anarchist's forces of evil. SOunds a bit like Star wars? Well, its pretty good, keeps you listening. each episode ends wiht character arch or cliff hanger.

I just finished listening to the last of these episodes yesterday. The characters go through incredibly difficult times, but are preparing for even worse days ahead. This is the 6th in a series of 12 sets. The last episode in this set really leaves you hanging - time to order set #7!

Yes, these audio dramas are the BEST thing that could happen to Left Behind. The crew that put this together do an awesome job of using the "theater of the mind" to dramatize Tim LaHaye/Jerry Jenkins' New York Times Bestseller Christian fiction novels!

Assassins details the relentless pursuit by Rayford Steele for vengeance against God's enemy, as well as many other events that take place as the Tribulation Force tries to survive the Tribulation.

It's non-stop action, brilliant acting, super sound effects, and neat music. If you like Left Behind...get it!!

This series is awesome, because it gives the listener a chance to vizualize what is happening in the story, just by hearing it. If you haven't already, start collecting the series, with "Left Behind", and go on from there.

lots of step by step examples. nice guiding. not an indepth guide for choosing and using auto-colors.

This book is one of the best. It motivates a person to paint-paint-paint. This book has great tips, illustrations, directions and good common-sense.

I've never airbrushed before I got this book, but I feel like I have a head-start after reading it. It explains things very well, like the may types of automotive paint, and demonstrates the use of stencils and freehand sheilds. He even has a computer that he can make designs with! I always thought everything was done freehand. He also explains and demonstrates how to highlight and very effective use of shading and shadows. He even shows how to do a carbon fiber effect. Very cool! I highly recommend this book. Thanks!

This is one of the best books of it's kind! I absolutely love this book! I've been a fan of Craig Fraser and Jon Kosmoski for years, and they(mostly Craig) have done a wonderful job compiling information and demonstrating various techniques in the field of automotive airbrushing. Though focused mainly on the automotive genre, these techniques can be used in any field of airbrushing!! Craig is one of a kind, and he has been a tremendous mentor to many, and a terrific teacher to "airheads" everywhere. For the price of the book, you will get priceless information! It's well written, informative, and loaded with the coolest tips and tricks!!!

If you like custom painting, you'll find several -other- nice books about the theme. This is not the only I've got about car painting and custom painting, but in fact, is not the one I like the most...

Even if it contains nice step-by-step procedures, and goes with most of the painting proceses you may want to know, is not a great font of inspiration -for me-. It is most like a airbrushing book, that goes even in painting things that I would never paint on cars... and really hate to see on cars...

Craig Fraser is surely a very good airbrush painter, but if you are looking for some custom painting, without getting your car out of mind, I'd suggest rather to buy "how to paint flames" or "pinstripping masters"... maybe also "advanced custom painting technics", but not this book.

All in all, it is not a bad book, is just not the kind of information I like to have on my library.

"Battling Wall Street: The Kennedy Presidency" is great reading for people who want to move beyond books about the mechanics of the Kennedy assassination. The book helps explain why the "Eastern establishment" and a lot of other influential people, might want to get rid of President Kennedy. Another book, "History Will Not Absolve Us : Orwellian Control, Public Denial, & the Murder of President Kennedy" provides additional pieces of the puzzle by explaining how the American establishment, including leading establishment liberals like Noam Chomsky and Alexander Cockburn, have worked to sell the Warren Commision's 'lone gunman' cover-up. The amazing thing about the Kennedy assassination is that, despite a lot of nonsense coming from the mainstream media, the American people know it wasn't a lone gunman and the killers didn't do us a favor.

In reviewing the thoughts of most researchers of the JFK assassination, one sees that most of them invariably bring up the Cuba issue, and occasionally Lee Harvey Oswald's possible involvement with this issue.
Now, however, in this book, Professor Donald Gibson may have uncovered the real issues behind the death of President Kennedy. He reveals so many issues, in fact, that one has to begin to decide which one is the crucial one, the one that provoked the conspirators to decide to kill him.

The death of Kennedy seems to this observer of the American scene a resolution of the struggle of the two forces to decide who really rules America. Since people who run the government colluded with the murderers of the president, it's pretty obvious who really runs the show.
Readers of this book may want to try Gibson's second book, "The Kennedy Assassination Cover-Up". After forty years, Americans should want a reasonable answer to the question of who killed Kennedy. Gibson may provide the answer.

In 1989 a book was published called "Crossfire", in which Texas-based journalist Jim Marrs reviewed most of the information he thought was then available concerning the JFK assassination. A large part of the book dealt with those people and groups whom he thought were the most likely to have killed Kennedy. Allen Dulles and his CIA were included in his list.
Donald Gibson has added one more suspect to this list in this book, and it would appear to this reader that someone has finally made sense of the events of November 22, 1963.
From this one book alone, one could seriously accept the idea that the eastern establishment, the Wall Street crowd, the corporate elite and all their connections had the most to lose with Kennedy as president. They had the motive and means to kill the president and then to cover it up. Gibson flatly states the establishment and the CIA's interests were intertwined. In fact, the CIA was merely the enforcer for the Council on Foreign Relations global agenda. Both Allen Dulles and John J McCloy were extremely important members of the Council, who managed to land on the Warren Commission and lead the cover-up. In fact, a case could be built that they organized the plot. All they needed was the green light from someone in the inner circle of the Rockefeller-dominated Council, like one of the Rockefellers.

this book helped give me a whole new meaningful perspective on the kennedy assasination..it sifts through all the misinformation, and the same tired trashy expose type books on the kennedy presidency that don't give any meaningful information, i am much more interested in a president's policies economic and otherwise as opposed to his sex life...i highly reccommend that anyone interested in politics, economics, or the kennedy assasination read this book twice and very slowly. gibson lays everything out clearly in an easy to understand way, i highly reccomend this book.

This book is a great read. The subject matter is interesting and thought provoking. I had the privilage of having Prof. Gibson in class. His knowledge is vast and inspiring. His passion has motivated me not only in the college realm but in life itself.