Source The Books

This is a solid treatise on how to construct perspective images of given objects, and there is also some discussion of inverse problems of perspective, notably to determine for a given painting where the artist would have wanted you to put your eye to best enjoy his perspective virtuosity. The modern mathematical reader may not be very interested in perfecting his skill in perspective drawing, but neglect of theory of perspective is unhealthy if only for the narrow reason that it creates a blind spot in our understanding of projective geometry (itself sadly neglected, but that's a different matter). For example, Desargues's theorem emerges from the construction of the perspective of a triangle (fig. 20 of the 1715 ed.) by means of one of Taylor's most elegant techniques, the "visual ray construction", where both the triangle and the eye-point are rotated into the picture plane (the triangle plane is rotated down about its intersection with the picture plane and the eye is rotated up about the horizon of the triangle plane). Taylor even manages to hint at the cross-ratio in the context of finding the perspective image of a line segment divided in a given ratio (p. 183; Andersen's commentary pp. 27-29).

Josiah Royce (1855 - 1916) was a great American philosopher in the idealist tradition whose work has been overshadowed by that of his colleague and dear friend at Harvard, William James. I recently had the good fortune to attend an academic conference at the Harvard Divinity School with the theme "Pragmatism and Idealism in Dialogue: James and Royce 100 years later" which explored the close relationship of the work of these two thinkers. Royce was raised in frontier California as an evangelical Christian and, although he abandoned this particular creed in adult life, he remained preoccupied with religious questions and with the Christian heritage of his youth. Royce's "The Sources of Religious Insight" (1912) consists of seven lectures delivered at Lake Forest College, Illinois. Royce said that the "Sources" "contains the whole sense of me in a brief compass". And the Roycean scholar, Frank Oppenheim S.J. has written in his book "Reverence for the Relations of Life" (2005 at p. 265) that the "Sources" "constitutes one of the most valuable yet tragically neglected works of the twentieth century."

The Sources is written in an accessible, non-technical style that tends to mask the complexity of its thought. Royce makes use of stories and anecdotes, historical figures, homely examples, poetry, and the popular literature of his day. Royce characterizes religious life as concerned with the salvation of man. The idea of salvation means, for Royce, that there is some end or aim of human life that is far more important and fundamental than other aims and that people live in great danger of missing this goal by devoting themselves to trivialities. (p. 12) Royce endeavors to study "insight into the way of salvation and into those objects whereof the knowledge conduces to salvation." (p. 9). The "Sources" is much less based upon a Christian approach to religion than is Royce's subsequent book, "The Problem of Christianity." Royce disclaims any doctrinal teaching. This gives the "Sources" a much broader scope than the "Problem" even though it does not show the influence of the thought of Charles Peirce and the possible curtailment of Royce's idealistic tendencies that are apparent in the latter work.

Much of the "Sources" can be viewed as amplification and modification of the project William James began in his "The Varieties of Religious Experience" (1902). In the "Varieties" James identified individual private experience, the experience of a person "alone with the divine" as the fundamental religious attitude. In accordance with his pragmatism, James believed the value of this experience could be measured in terms of its fruits for life, rather than by abstract considerations of truth and falsity.

In the "Sources", Royce agrees with James about the experiential, personal character of religion. He also agrees, to a point, with James's emphasis on pragmatism and the individual will. But Royce finds James's approach insufficient. He proceeds in the "Sources" to identify seven sources of religious insight: 1. the individual in his solitude, as identified by James, 2 social community, 3. reason, 4. will, 5. loyalty, 6. responses to certain forms of evil and sorrow in human life, 7. the unity of spirit and the individual church. (Oppenheim discusses these factors at p. 258 of "Reinventing Pragmatism".)

Royce has much to say about each of these factors. The most striking difficulty for the modern reader, and the point of greatest divergence from James, lies in Royce's consideration of reason and in his attempt to construct a source of religion through an argument for the philosophy of absolute idealism. Royce's philosophy culminates in what he calls the "Religion of Loyalty" which combines individualism and communalism, ethics and religion to the service of "the spiritual unity of all the worlds of reasonable beings." (p. 205) Individuals may be devoted to different causes, in terms of their countries, families, and work and to different religions - or to no formal religion at all. But through loyalty to the good and a willingness to respect the facially diverging goods of others, individuals may reach an understanding of the bases of the religious search.

In his final chapter, Royce distinguishes the visible church - the community of believers in an established religious tradition - from the invisible church which he describes as the `spiritual brotherhood of the loyal." (p. 282) Membership in the invisible church requires tolerance for the individual loyalties of others which we do not share and an attempt to further their just loyalties as well as one's own. There is an ultimate unity among all believers in the good, regardless of their superficial differences. Loyalty, for Royce, "implies genuine faith in the abiding and supreme unity of the spirit." (p. 297)

There is a great deal to be learned about religion from this wonderful book as it shows a fallible humanity in quest of the transcendent. Royce does not attempt to foist a creed upon his readers but rather to help provide a basis in which people may come to specifically religious conclusions of their own. As Royce exhorts at the end of the "Sources", "seek insight where it is to be found."

Robin Friedman

Habersetzer's book includes quite a bit of information not found anywhere else. First to my fellow English speakers, this volume is written entirely in the French language. PLEASE do not discount it for this reason. It will be worth your time to learn some basic grammer and forge on through this well-written book armed with a good French dictionary. If you can't find Habersetzer's "Bubishi" here, try Amazon.fr

This book should be of great interest to any of you researching the roots of Okinawa karate, or its relation to Chinese martial arts. Roland Haberzetzer is a prolific author who also has studied with such respected teachers as Tadahiko Ohtsuka (who has done extensive work on the Bubishi's history and published several books in Japanese concerning it). Habersetzer runs the Centre de Recherche Budo (Center for Research into Budo) in France.

Illustrated in this manual are applications/interpretations of the 48-movement 2-man portion of the Bubishi. Some have complained that Habersetzer's interpretations tend to be overly linear, in the tradition of Japanese karate. I would agree with this assessment to a degree, but caution once again that anyone with several years experience should be able to see Habersetzer's applications in light of their own individual style and practice. The same techniques he applies from a zenkutsu dachi (long forward stance) may work with shorter, more upright stances common to Shorin-ryu karate, or even a Shiko-dachi from Goju. The techniques themselves are shown in their original manuscript form, then their application in detailed line drawings, often with photographs of the author showing important points. Habersetzer executes each technique in line with the original manuscript illustration. Worth mentioning is that most techniques tend to prefer the open hand or fingertips rather than the more modern fist, leaving the wrist curved where the original manuscript authr left it so. He appears to stay true to the original illustrations, which often bind striking and locking techniques.

Throughout there are also a number of photographs of respected masters from Uechi-ryu (Uechi Kanei), Goju-ryu (Toguchi Seikichi), Chinese white crane teacher Tong Mu-yao, and respected researcher Ohtsuka Tadahiko. Notably, Habersetzer also demonstrates two "crane" type forms at the end of the volume. First is the form "Hakufu", learned from Ohtsuka and apparently in the line of Miyagi Chojun. Next is the form "Happoren", thought to descend from Higaonna Kanryo, and taught by Tokashiki Iken and also by Ohtsuka. Both forms show extensive use of arm, wrist, and hand turning and gripping, and rather interesting footwork.

If you do decide to obtain this book, more power to you! I found the work to be rewarding and enlightening, if time consuming. Again I'll offer this advice for the dedicted: Don't fear the French, get a good dictionary!

The author, who has numerous titles on this "burned county", fills in the period just prior to the courthouse fire by transcribing the county clerk's death records from the surviving copy held by the state auditor of public accounts in Richmond. In addition, she has searched contemporary newspapers from the area as well as secondary published sources (including the W.P.A. records) to produce the most thorough death record of this county to date.

The Business Research Handbook (Methods and Sources for Lawyers and Business Professionals) by Kathy Shimpock is a must buy. This noted author and lecturer has taken a very difficult subject - retrieving business factual information - but immensely valuable one and simplified it for legal professionals. This book covers basic research strategies, research tools, and how to retrieve information from libraries, government agencies, corporations, associations and a host of other organizations. Information can be located in areas such as accounting, economics, finance, management, marketing and insurance, retrieving government publications, corporate information, expert witness location and background research and a private company profile. Over the last 15 years we have observed and experienced an information communication revolution. As the Internet and other electronic sources continue their phenomenal growth it has become the first stop for legal researchers in collecting factual information. The foundation of this revolution is the fact that most information is available electronically today through the Internet, online databases or CD-ROM (soon DVD). However, one still must know how and where to look for this information. Knowledge derived from such information is indispensable in the practice of law. The uses for this information are endless. It can be used to counsel clients, for your opening and closing arguments, for counseling information for sentencing hearings, doing background research on a potential client, adverse party or employer or preparing for cross-examination of expert witnesses. The uses are only limited by the needs of your clients. If you are interested in an exhaustive, authoritative book that directs you to factual sources important to your practice and clients buy this one. Finding online nonlegal information is a must for lawyers as we transition into the new millenium. This book will start you down this valuable path.

As an economic analyst I WAS SHOCKED AT HOW MUCH THE MARKET NEEDS THIS BOOK. I thought I was well prepared to do research, but... my experience was, ask any manager or business student questions about business references and 95% of them responded with "don't know". PERHAPS YOU'RE SMARTER THAN THE REST, WANT TO TRY SOME EASY ONES?? What, for example, is the difference between Standard & Poors and Moodys? In what reference book can you find a bio on Bill Gates? What is the single journal in the US that specializes on China, one of the fastest growing economies in the world? What reference book will show you how many men's athletic shoes were manufactured in the US last year? What reference work will show which was consumed more in 1997: beer, milk,or coffee? Where can you find the CIA's economic profile of Germany? OK, How many of you got all of the questions right? Thought so.....

This is not a trivia game. Rather, Butler has issued a call to arms for business schools in the US and Europe to heed. Most business people and students do not know where to look for business information. The easy answer is the web. But it's the wrong answer in the sense that haphazard searches can be long, frustrating and empty if you don't know where to look. For example: Want an immediate profile of a company in the US or Europe, that tells you who's in charge, where they are located, what their history is, and how they are doing financially? Answer: Go to Hoover's Online, or a hardcopy in the library. Butler's book will tell you about Hoover's, Directories, Almanacs, Encyclopedias, Government Publications, International publications, Industry and Trade Magazines, Databases, Newspapers, etc. His "Reference Navigator" shows you how to immediately get to the web address, use the e-mail and find the database. He gives you a two-page description, an ACTUAL SAMPLE of the TABLE OF CONTENTS of the publication, plus an ACTUAL SAMPLE PAGE from the publication.

In my opinion, no business professor, student, investor, or analyst WHO THINKS SERIOUSLY ABOUT THEIR CAREER should be without this book. BUY IT! You can see it online at McGraw-Hill's Higher Education Website: www.MHHE.com/Butler

If you don't believe me listen to what Irving R. Levine (former Chief Economics Correspondent for NBC News) said: "Dr. Butler has skillfully undertaken the role of Sherpa on the treacherous slopes of the mountains of available business data and he guides the reader with precision and even a generous ration of wit. The problem for anyone doing research in the Information Age is not a lack of information, but rather how to target the information required for a particular project and how to get to it quickly. That's what this book accomplishes."

The writings of Diego de Vargas, commander of the re-conquest of New Mexico after 15 years of terror following the revolt of 1680 are now available in English. This book is a must for anyone interested in New Mexico history. This is history straight from the source through the eyes of the man who created the history. I consider this to be the best of the De Vargas reads.

I'm not one to normally shy away from a tough read, so when I ordered "A Byzantine Encyclopaedia of Horse Medicine, I prepared for a tough read. Much to my delight, Anne McCabe's book is very readable for a scholarly work. It is well footnoted and unlike some works in which the original foreign language is given, Ms. McCabe does not assume that the reader understands it and thus provides both the original text and the translation.

She tracks the history of the Hippitatrica and takes us from Antiquity to the Middle Ages.

It is a must have for anyone interested in the history of veterinary medicine.

This is an excellently compiled collection of translated original source material regarding the Byzantine Empire. Here you can read about what the Byzantines thought about Byzantine. It's got wonderful sections about relations with the West, the Turks, Culture and Life, Politics, Christianity, etc. If you have any interest in Byzantine, you've got to get this book. Great for not only the serious scholar but the general reader as well. Don't rely on historians to translate history for you; Do it yourself

I am a fan of history-and-criticism books (especially on musical topics), but ONLY when they read with the clarity of logic and the authority of resourced research which is demonstrated by this wonderful book. The purposes and meanings which underlie so much of Bartok's work and music, from folk-song research to Cantata Profana and all of the stage works, are beautifully revealed. It is a true inspiration to read about the milieu which helped to create the great sense of purpose which drove Bartok to his greatness. (Derrill Bodley, Professor)