Source The Books

This reference guide is a life saver! I keep it on hand to help me through new tasks, and use it as a quick guide for time saving keystrokes and shortcuts. I have purchased all the Microsoft Office guides and think they are fantastic! I would recommend them to anyone - for new users the step by step instructions are easy to follow, so they will have you up and running in no time. If you are familiar with the software they are a great reference for less used tasks. Thumbs up!

This reference guide is a life saver! I keep it on hand to help me through new tasks, and use it as a quick guide for time saving keystrokes and shortcuts. I have purchased all the Microsoft Office guides and think they are fantastic! I would recommend them to anyone - for new users the step by step instructions are easy to follow, so they will have you up and running in no time. If you are familiar with the software they are a great reference for less used tasks. Thumbs up!

The book was in great condition, it was a older version then we used in class, but it stil works. It also arrived a little later then I was hoping for.

Brian Tierney has collected so many excellent primary sources. If you are interested in what people of that time thought about or wrote, by all means get anything by Tierney. If you are a history student or teacher, these gems will enliven the discussion in the classroom and will even challenge your ideas of modernity. Enjoy!

A Mighty Change is a MUST HAVE for anyone interested in Deaf history or, more broadly, the perspectives of early national and antebellum Americans who are generally overlooked in discussions of U.S. history. The anthology contains valuable documents that clearly demonstrate that the Deaf civil rights movement began during the early nineteenth century. Featured is the writing of well known deaf activists such as Laurent Clerc, John Carlin and Edmund Booth. The collection also introduces less (but soon to be) famous deaf activists like John Burnet, whose penetrating analysis of the of the rhetoric used by antebellum educators of deaf children remains instructive for critics of Deaf education today. Krentz's useful chapter introductions and helpful footnotes explain the context of the documents and provide interesting interpretations of the issues the authors debate. Many of the documents in the collection are not easily available to interested readers who should not miss the opportunity to own this fantastic collection!

A Mighty Change is a MUST HAVE for anyone interested in Deaf history or, more broadly, the perspectives of early national and antebellum Americans who are generally overlooked in discussions of U.S. history. The anthology contains valuable documents that clearly demonstrate that the Deaf civil rights movement began during the early nineteenth century. Featured is the writing of well known deaf activists such as Laurent Clerc, John Carlin and Edmund Booth. The collection also introduces less (but soon to be) famous deaf activists like John Burnet, whose penetrating analysis of the of the rhetoric used by antebellum educators of deaf children remains instructive for critics of Deaf education today. Krentz's useful chapter introductions and helpful footnotes explain the context of the documents and provide interesting interpretations of the issues the authors debate. Many of the documents in the collection are not easily available to interested readers who should not miss the opportunity to own this fantastic collection!

I used this anthology in the late 1990's for a course I was teaching in the history of modern philosophy. I will be teaching the same course in the Spring of 2009 and I will be using the same textbook. It is comprehensive. And students will appreciate the fact that it is relatively inexpensive. Hackett does it again!

Modern Philosophy -- full of writings from philosophers such as Locke, Kant or Spinoza -- can be seen as a daunting period of philosophy. I read this book as a text for a modern philosophy class, and found that it is a very competant editing of these difficult texts. The anthology begins with "premodern" writings of Galileo and others, goes through Descartes (with a selection of criticisms of Decartes' work from his contemporaries), and then goes through the work of other modern philosophers such as Locke, Berkeley, Spinoza, Libeniz, Kant, and others. The editor does a wonderful job arranging texts to illustrate the back and forth dialog and critisms among the philosophers. In addition to the selection of texts, there are wonderful notes scattered throughout the text to help alleviate much of the confusion that can arise after reading some of the quite lengthly writings of some (many! ) modern philosophers. Perhaps on an aesthetic (non-content) sidenote -- the book itself is excellent. When I was reading a section, I did not have to worry about pages flipping on me, because the binding is very flexible. In addition highlighters don't bleed through the page -- a wonderful plus to a great anthology! I would highly recommend it.

This collection straightforwardly introduces two early medieval accounts of a missionary effort to Poland by five brethren sent by Romauld, followed by Peter Damian's Life of St. Romauld. The few who follow Camoldolese tradition, begun around 1070, are far less known than their Benedictine forebears or, lacking a Thomas Merton to publicize and disseminate its particular rule and message, the Trappist reformers of the Cistercians, who in turn were reforming the Benedictines, just after the time Romauld started the Camolodolese observance. Perhaps all a bit confusing if you're not previously versed in Catholic medieval monastic history!

Such discipline as required of a hermit-monk is not glamorized or sugarcoated, and within Romauld's own tense and wandering life in a turbulent and violent medieval world, we see through Matus' remarks how--perhaps contrary to stereotype--the true demands of a monk or hermit bring often not seclusion but perhaps paradoxically immersion into one's times. Matus compares this task to a prophetic paradigm--Nathan to King David--of solidarity with the weak and persecuted and neglected in society. (I recall Merton's relating a remark that a monk is no different than the rest of us save that he can choose his own battlefield--the monastery--in which to fight the devil.)

Thomas Matus provides--as his superior first urged him in the late 1960s when he, as a young American monk, went to Camaldoli--not only these two medieval texts, annotated, but a very helpful, rather self-effacing, but clear and thoughtful extended preface. Here, Matus blends these tales and Romauld's efforts to balance the eremetical (hermit) with the cenobitic (communal) forms of monastic life into glimpses of his own early monastic experience as he struggled to align his all-too pervasive American individualism with a need, for the realization of his true vocation, to integrate his desires into the works of the Spirit. I wish that this volume did also reach out a bit more to those of us far from Camoldoli--but I do recognize that its primary purpose is to orient the American novice or monk towards the lodestar of their tradition's founding documents. Perhaps in another work, Fr Matus can suggest how the rest of us can also benefit from knowing more about this rarely investigated branch of the Benedictines?

For those of us who know of hermits only from fairytales or New Yorker cartoons, this corrective showing real hermits--then and now--from within this still-living practice that aligns solitude with hospitality should prove welcome, and challenging. While not an easy life, by the one-page "little rule" of Romauld printed here, there echoes nonetheless a commonsensical, earthy, and sensitively calibrated message that emphasizes not sin or sackcloth but perseverence and patience. (By the way, Matus is a monk at the innovative and flourishing Big Sur hermitage, alternating there with continued studies in Italy, and he himself blends yoga with his monastic calling.)

In The Mystery of Romuald and the Five Brothers,Thomas Matus tells the story of the origins of the branch of the Benedictine Order known as the Camaldolese.Interspersed with the histories,Matus gives us his personal history,and accounts his entering the order and conversatons with the Superior of the Order.The early part of the narrative goes back and forth,from Romuald's time to the near present.Matus tells his story very well,lyrically and,at times quite beautifully.For the English speaking world,this is a glance into a remote and unknown history,still living and active today{the Camaldolese have a Monastery in Big Sur}.As an introduction to the history and backround of this little known group, I can think of no better or more welcome guide.

This is a fascinating book. In Hawaiian many words have multiple meanings, and understanding their meaning is only possible if you study the culture, and vice versa. This book illustrates meaning and culture by giving examples, interviews, stories, cross-references, as well as definitions. This is no dry dictionary or analytical scholarly work. It's very readable, evocative, and draws you into the magical and sometimes alien world of old Hawaii.

There are actually two volumes, at least in the 1972 edition that I have. Volume 1 is a discussion of cultural concepts. Volume two "traces social customs, practices and beliefs from birth to old age".

Aloha Amazon Reader,

If you are looking for a book that illustrates the lives ancient Hawaiians from the Hawaiian perspective (and not from the Hollywood perspective) then this book is for you. It is an excellent resource for scholar and layman alike.

Written in a format similar to an encyclopedia to allow easy lookup, the authors paints though spiritual, emotional and practical examples of ancient Hawaiian life. We follow a Hawaiian 'Ohana from conception to birth of the child to the child learning and growing up in society; relationships (sexual or otherwise) between man and woman; healing and spirituality; dreams and symbols; the many faces of aggressions; shame and guilt; ESP and prophecies; and lastly, the Hawaiian Self Image.

I ordered this book because my kumu hula (hula teacher) recommended it to suppliment my hula kahiko (ancient) instruction and understand what I am dancing to. A hula dancer, scholar or one that has the aloha spirit will find value in this book.

Hawaiians believe in the power of words, especially the spoken word. I encourage you to understand the power behind these written words. Nana I Ke Kumu (Look to the source)!!

O Hui Hou!

Dr. Mundo, widely regarded as a national expert on U.S. Trade Policy, has written a comprehensive review of the process of making U.S. trade policy. His ability to look beneath the surface and connect various political occurances helps to put the policy making process into its proper perspective. Students of Political Science will find this book most helpful as they study one of the most important processes in government. Dr. Mundo's work is certainly a "must-read."

Dr. Mundo, widely regarded as a national expert on U.S. Trade Policy, has written a comprehensive review of the process of making U.S. trade policy. His ability to look beneath the surface and connect various political occurances helps to put the policy making process into its proper perspective. Students of Political Science will find this book most helpful as they study one of the most important processes in government. Dr. Mundo's work is certainly a "must-read."

Goddard and Bragdon did a great service in the compilation of this work, containing "an edition of all known manuscript writings in the Massachusett language by Native speakers." Published in two parts, this book includes photographs of historical manuscript texts with verbatim transcription and English translation. Includes an historical, anthropological, and linguistic introduction to these rare and precious documents, grammatical sketch, and separate indices for Massachusett and English words. Not only for the specialist, this book provides a fascinating glimpse into Native literacy, culture, politics, and worldview in 17th through 19th century Massachusetts. Bragdon's wonderful book, Native Peoples of New England, is well-paired with Native Writings in Massachusetts.

...already did a good job of describing what to expect from this fascinating book. I would just like to add a few small points.

A reader might have trouble finding Kathleen Bragdon's other, related publication, based on the way the earlier reviewer described it. The correct title of that book is "Native People of Southern New England, 1500-1650." It is very interesting, and it greatly expands the information given in the volume that I'm primarily discussing here.

Another point, which I feel prospective buyers might wish to be aware of, is that "Native Writings in Massachusett" is composed almost entirely of historical minutiae. What I mean by this is that most of the documents here are of extremely slight historical import. Don't expect major treaties, or folk literature. The writings here are fascinating precisely because of their pedestrian, mundane, quotidian nature. They include marriage vows, marginalia from old bibles, personal wills, or land deeds (an issue of overwhelming significance, to be sure, but the actual documents here tend to be of very small transactions). There are about 150 of these short documents. In every case, we first see a xerox of the original, almost always handwritten document, which is usually very faded and difficult to read. There follows a transcription of the Massachusett text. Next, there is a translation into English, or an effort to translate. Sometimes there are words that no one understands anymore...

Volume two is basically a guide to the grammar of the language. Be warned, volume two is written for trained linguists, so it can be difficult to make your way through the pages. There's a lot of linguistics jargon. It isn't like a Berlitz book. Still, I think you should give it a shot -- it's more than worth it. If you need help with the linguistics terminology, try using "A Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics," by David Crystal

Beyond these issues, the other reviewer has already made all the salient points, in my opinion. I would just like to add that it really is an amazing experience to leaf through this book. If you live in Eastern Massachusetts, or went to school there, this book has serious potential to enrich your library, and your mind. I grew up mostly in Massachusetts, and I remember always being curious about some of the odd names of places I would hear. Places like Lake Hocomoc, Mount Wachusett, Lake Quinebequin, Lake Quinsigamond, the place called Mishawum... As a child I used to wonder if maybe some of these odd words were perhaps Irish in origin, at least the names of the lakes, as I had friends with the last name Quinn and knew this word to be Irish. Of course, the Irish came to Massachusetts far too late to play a major role in the naming of places. The words that so many of us find to be enthralling are, in fact, of the ancient Massachusett tongue. Today, this tongue is very difficult to find examples of.

It may seem odd to devote attention to the tongue that was spoken in Massachusetts for so long, before the arrival of English. I hope you try to confront this feeling of oddness, and face it down. This book evokes a certain wrenching of one's customary paradigm, when one thinks of the copper-colored folk who lived in Massachusetts for innumerable cycles of years, fishing and hunting, working and playing, living and loving, before the arrival of the English. This book helps you to feel that once Massachusetts was just a place like any other, with no broader significance in the worlds of politics, science, or education. Today the ancient Massachusett tribe exists only in the Ponkapoag band, spread out across many neighborhoods in towns to the south of Boston. Their language is preserved in these magical pages. In fact, this very book has helped a member of the nearby, more populous Mashpee Wampanoag tribe, Jessie "Little Doe" Fermino, to revitalize the almost identical lost Wampanoag tongue.

If you'd like to show some interest and respect for the people who walked the paths, fished the rivers, and knew the forests of Eastern Massachusetts for unknown centuries before our current civilization came into being, you could do worse than to purchase these books. I'd also like to strongly recommend that you alert your local library to its existence.

Stackelberg and Winkle do a magnificent job of accumulating important primary sources into one, easily accessible sourcebook. Whether you are writing a dissertation on a topic of Nazi Germany, or are just looking for extra reading material, this book is not only useful, but also intriguing. Over 150 primary sources are included within the text, each including an introductory paragraph or two, which means you are getting your moneys worth.

I initially bought this book for my Nazi Germany class, but found myself reading through it for fun. I had never been into the historical topic of Germany during the WWI and WWII period until I opened this book, but now its one of my favorite subjects. Many people think they know, at least in a moderate sense, about the rise of Hitler and the Nazi party, but questions about what influenced Hitler's radical anti-Semitism and how he was able to seize and use the emotions of one of the most intelligent nations in the world are answered. I recommend this book to anyone even vaguely interested in Nazi Germany or how one of the world's most devastating genocidal wars came about.

This book is long overdue for students of Nazi Germany that have not yet mastered the German language. Included in this book are chapter after chapter of important primary documents from the late 19th century and World War I to the Historians Debate concerning Nazism in the late 20th century.
Stackelberg includes a very readable introduction to each chapter that puts the documents in that chapter in their historical perspective. Most documents are ordered chronologically, however a few are thematically ordered because they're best viewed in that context.
This isn't a book of just dry Nazi government documents either, it includes works from others that were influential in the development of the Nazi ideology, such as Wagner.
In contrast to other books, such as the series by Nokes and Pridham, this book also includes an index, which prevents scholars from having to search through the entire book to find a document on a particular subject.
This book should be read by anyone that has a serious interest in Nazi Germany.

I don't have a lot to say about "Network Performance Open Source Toolkit" (NPOST), other than I think it's excellent. We need more tool-oriented books to teach admins how to do real work on their networks. NPOST delivers chapter after chapter of practical, hands-on material applicable to the networking shop in any organization.

NPOST shines in three respects. First, the author ensures readers can properly install each tool he discusses. When dealing with open source tools, installation cannot be taken for granted. (The exception is using the FreeBSD operating system's "ports tree," which almost guarantees easy installation of any tool listed in the system.) Second, the author walks readers through the use of each tool, explaining what it does and how to best deploy it. Finally, readers are given mini-case studies demonstrating the use of each tool to solve real-world problems. This is just the sort of approach which helps readers understand the differences between network simulators and emulators, for example.

I found only a few minor issues. When providing command-line tcpdump options on pages 230 and 234, I believe the author should have passed a '-s 1514' option to change the default 68-byte snaplength to something more reasonable. I felt the FreeBSD kernel configuration advice in chapter 14 was insufficient, and didn't specify whether it applied to 4.x or 5.x FreeBSD systems. Last, the author's tcpdump command line for capturing FTP sessions on p. 230 will only capture "active" FTP sessions using port 20 TCP. It will miss any passive FTP data channels.

In summary, I give NPOST two thumbs up. Since so many other open source networking tools are available, perhaps we'll see a second volume?

This book helped me out a lot in troubleshooting my networks and trying to figure out what was wrong with it. I had switches and hubs cascaded too many times, bad network interface cards that were causing broadcast storms, i had a hacker that was sitting on a pc he took control of. and i figure it all out with the book by RB. i was able to analyze each traffic segment and immediately recognized what type of traffic was being sent across the network. i was even able to decipher spoofed ip addresses created by the hacker. this book is amazing!