2D Books

This is a REAL HIGHLIGHT out of the last "creative period" of Nietzsche, dating from about one and a half year before he fell in that cruel mental illness (NOT syphillis, as is told in the streets...), that lead him to his death: HE WROTE THIS BOOK IN ONE BREATHE, WITHOUT INTERRUPTION, IN 3 WEEKS: FROM JULY 10th UNTIL JULY 30th OF 1887 !!! In his "Genealogy" we find back some basic concepts, principles of ethics as there are "GOOD AND EVIL", "GUILT AND CONSCIENCE" and "THE ASCETIC IDEAL". These subjects stay central anywhere in the book. But the author DOES NOT AT ALL "TREAT" these notions conform to their normal usage in the philosophy of morality. He is NOT INTERESTED IN WHAT THEY (the morals) MEAN, or in THEIR VALUE in whatever kind of morality, NOR in their NORMATIVE VALUE OR MERIT. Instead he is in search of their "BIRTH", their "ORIGIN" and in how they "FUNCTION" in an organised society.

Again, it is NOT IMPORTANT to Nietzsche what is the VALUE of this or that action. WHAT IS REALLY OF IMPORTANCE HERE IS THE VALUE/MERIT OF THIS OR THAT VALUE ITSELF. As he wrote (and said so many times): "WE NEED A CRITICISM OF MORAL VALUES: FIRST OF ALL, THE VALUE OF THESE VALUES MUST BE QUESTIONED." As to him there doesn't exist anything like a linear, progressive development of morality: the latter is the RESULT of the eternal combat between "masters and slaves", between "those who govern and those that are being reigned over". Each of these "GROUPS" tries - ALWAYS AND EVERYWHERE - to acquire as much power as possible versus the other.
MORALITY ("MORALS") IS THE MOST IMPORTANT INSTRUMENT - IF NOT BY EXCELLENCE - IN THIS FIGHT, THIS COMBAT, WHICH IS THE RESULT OF THE DRIFT, THE PASSION OF EACH MAN OR GROUP: THE WILL FOR POWER.

This MASTERPIECE from the giant German philosopher DOES NOT READ like a novel. BUT THE BOOK IS SO IMPORTANT FOR THE THOUGHTS, THIS HIGHEST-LEVEL THINKING of this genius concerning morals which he describes, even DISSECTS here. "Not an easy read" DOES NOT MEAN that it can't and/or shouldn't be read! ON THE CONTRARY: THANKS TO THE ENORMOUS LITERARY TALENT OF NIETZSCHE, THE THEMES AND THOUGHTS THAT TOUCH, AFFECT ALL OF US EVERY DAY, THIS WORK "NEEDS" OUR ATTENTION (and vice versa).
TO EVERY READER WHO KNOWS THE IMPORTANCE OF INTROSPECTION, AND WHO WANTS TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THE ORIGIN OF "OUR MORALS", I RECOMMEND THIS "GENEALOGY" (OH YES, HE CHOSE THE RIGHT WORDS...) OUT OF MY HEART AND REASON. NONE OF YOU WILL EVER REGRET HAVING READ THIS SO "MATURE" MASTERPIECE, WHICH TOUCHES ALL OF OUR BEINGS AND SOULS.

What Socrates tried to build troughout his whole life, Nietzsche almost destroyed in couple of books. Said like this, it seems simplistic enough, but it is far from that. To understand Nietzsche, one has to reach much deeper than Nietzsche's words suggest. One has to know Schoppenhauer, has to now french philosophers, contractualist, and most of all one has to know greek philosophy. And greek culture. The place where it all began. At least for the westerners. Nietzsche was also great admirer and critic of Indian, Vedanta tradition, so to understand Nietzsche one will eventualy have to travel even to those horisons, which are in itself something completely different.

Why am I saying all of this?

Because it is often proven that it is too easy to misread Nietzsche, calling him an emerging point from which Nacism rose, and putting him, with Plato in a place where inventors of fascist state sleep their eternal sleep.

One has to be careful when reading Nietzsche. It is too easy to insert meaning which are not present in the text. And in that manner, it is easy to create philosophy totaly alien from its author.

If one wants to travel deep inside the Nietzsches core, one should start his journey with this book. It seems to be the most grateful for begginners. Not to mention that it is excellent for trying different approach to history of morals, approach that is in a way revolutionary if we were not customed to it nowadays. But in time of Nietzsches life, this sounded outrageous.

It may stand as constant reminder, if some of you forgot that, how radical criticism is not looked upon with kindness.

These are just few words which doesen't explain a thing in fact, but if you are at least interested in history (or geneaology) of morals, and conceptual problems which rise from it, you should definitely read this book.

Nietzsche, like no other philosopher that I have read, has changed the way that I see the world. This is a book to read if you want to learn something about yourself. Nietzsche may have gone insane and had delusions that he was God, but he revolutionised modern thought. There is a special place in hell for German philosophers, but it's a place that's worth visiting.

This particular piece of Nietzsche's writing is a marvelous work - it is interesting and lively, much as Nietzsche's own writing and tendency toward the dramatic was noted by his contemporaries.

Nietzsche's father was a Lutheran minister, but he died five years after Nietzsche's birth in 1844. Nietzsche was raised by his mother, grandmother and aunts; later in his life, his sister would become executor of his estate (after Nietzsche had become incapable of managing his own affairs) and reshape his philosophy and writings in her own idea - this becomes a running motif in later anthologies of Nietzsche; editors can quote and clip to fit their own agendas. In some ways, that is true of the text here, but in much less inappropriate ways than others, particularly Nietzsche's first editor, his sister.

Nietzsche was a star pupil from his earliest days at university in Bonn and Leipzig. His formal study was in classical philology, but his attentions turned in various directions quickly during his writing and professional life - he had an intense interest in drama and the arts, with Wagner's music and Greek drama in principal interest. His first book was devoted to these topics - 'The Birth of Tragedy'. It was not highly regarded at the time, but has since become much more appreciated as an anticipation of later developments in philosophy and aesthetics.

Nietzsche's life after this period was a very choppy one - he left the university, claiming illness, and while this developed later to be a true situation, at the time is was probably academic politics and difficulties fitting in with the establishment he was trying to break. He had a formal falling-out with Wagner, even writing later a piece entitled ' Nietzsche contra Wagner', finished just a few week prior to his going insane.

In another edition, Walter Kaufmann states that Nietzsche's real career took off after his active life was over; under his sister's direction, many of the writings Nietzsche had managed to do and not get published, or which were published but forgotten, really took off in major directions. While his major works of Zarathustra, Ecce Homo, Will to Power and Genealogy of Morals were in various editions of disrepair (indeed, the Will to Power was never more complete than a series of notes), Nietzsche had a knack for language that made him very quotable, and his influence continued to grow well into the first half of the twentieth century, influencing art, philosophy, history, and politics in dramatic ways, if not always the ways in which Nietzsche envisioned.

For example, Nietzsche was not particularly impressed with the 'typical' German anti-semitism, which later erupted into the Nazi movement. He considered it rather bourgeois, and while he undoubted had his own issues with Jews (Nietzsche had issues with almost everyone, particularly any group, Christians included, who had a religious connection), the Nazi use of Nietzsche's work owes more to Nietzsche's sister's influence than anyone else.

'The Genealogy of Morals' is perhaps the closest in form to English-speaking philosophical discourse. This is a discussion that involves philosophy, psychology and linguistic theory, looking at morality in three different essays. The first essay explores the idea of good and evil as good and bad; Nietzsche develops the idea of master and slave morality - the slave resists the ideas of the master, and thus values things that are less likely to gain power - Nietzsche sees Christianity as an example of slave morality.

The second essay looks at the issues of conscience and guilt, and how these spawned the invention of gods. The third essay concludes the work with a look at ascetic ideas, how these relate to aesthetic ideas, and where in Nietzsche's opinion the great philosophers of the past have gone wrong.

In his book Ecce Homo (first published posthumously), Nietzsche analyses his own work piece by piece, as well as gives an overall assessment of his life. Nietzsche's insights into his own writings in hindsight is fascinating to behold. His own idea of 'The Genealogy of Morals' can be found in this piece as follows:

'Regarding expression, intention, and the art of suprise, the three inquiries which constitute this Genealogy are perhaps uncannier than anything else written so far. Dionysus is, as is known, also the god of darkness.'

Nietzsce is not easy reading, and this work is not the best for casual reading or the first-time reader of Nietzsche. However, for those who have already made some headway into understanding him, this is a good volume.

This is the intelligent man or woman's bible. It shows just how morals came to be. How they have dictated our lives ever since they have been created. How they have changed our society, and especially how they have silenced the common man. Nietzsche is, for lack of a better word, brillant. His writing never ever loses its passion. He believes in what he writes and he supports it even more, with not just what Christians call "athiest dogma" but with theory and evne fact.

He outlines how "Good and Evil" really came to be. How what we define as good is only what the people in power (the rich and people of religion) tell us is good. They only share with us the good that keeps us in line, not what sets us free. This is what Nietzsche outlines so very well. This book is brillant, one of a kind, and possibly one of his most important novels.

No matter your race, religion, or creed, I hope you check this book out. It is worth your time, trust me. What he talks about affects us all and should be shared in the public. It really is a shame that even today, long after his death, his words still have not had the affect they should have had.

I was required to do the C.A.P.T.O.R. plan with one of my college classes that used this books as a resource. It was wonderful to actually get the book and read it for myself. A little complicated in places but a good read either way.

Easy reading, easy to understand. Very informative

I have been on something of a quest to find the right book to use in an adult Sunday School class on biblical interpretation and application. While this book still isn't quite perfect, it stands head and shoulders above the other dozen or so books I have read on the topic in the past year. If I could assign it a more exact numerical rating, it would probably be about 4.7 out of 5.

The book is divided into 13 chapters, each ending with 2-4 exercises to allow the reader to practice the material covered in the chapter. The book is organised around an acronym, CAPTOR, which stands for Context, Analysis, Problems, Themes, Obligations, and Reflection. I'm not a big fan of mnemonic acronyms because I often remember the acronym and not what it is intended to stand for, and because adherence to an acronym sometimes necessitates choosing terms that don't exactly fit (for instance, Doriani admits that application would have been a better label than Obligations for that particular section of the book). However, many people find them far more helpful than I do, so I won't deduct any points for that.

Context is explained as both the literary and historical context. The book examines how one goes about understanding and applying each and directs readers to tools that might be helpful (e.g. bible dictionaries).

The section on analysis is divided into two chapters, one on analyzing narrative and the other on analyzing discourse (Doriani's catch all term for poetry, prophetic oracles, wisdom literature, the epistles of the new testament and so on). Initially I suspected that his attempt to abstract all non-narrative into a general category would fail, but he handles it surprisingly well. The few pages on understanding Hebrew poetry need to be greatly expanded. The author does provide several footnote references to Kugel's book for those wishing further study of that topic. One of the appendices also offers some genre specific advice for analysis.

One suspects that the chapter "Solving Problems" exists primarily to get a P into the acronym. Some good advice is offered there, but realistically the step of solving problems, which the author defines as "any term, concept, custom, or teaching that eludes our understanding" fits either into the context phase or the analysis phase depending on what sort of problem it is.

The themes chapter is good, but in my opinion spends too much time on the idea of approaching the bible with a theme in mind, e.g. "What does the bible say about marriage?" and not enough time on how to recognise the themes that are inherent in the bible (covenantal documents, the prophets as prosecutors of covenantal disobedience, &c.). This defect is remedied somewhat in the final chapter where he discusses the redemptive-historical method in the context of reflection.

The section on obligations is the best in the book. The author observes that too often, bible teachers leave their students with nothing but abstractions. He discusses how to derive an application from narrative, how to apply the commands of Scripture that no longer have direct relevance (e.g. parapets around roof tops and goring oxen), and how to derive an application from a text that is strictly theological (e.g. large sections of Paul's epistles).

In the reflection section, he attempts to bring together the previous five steps and discuss the different ways one can faithfully present the same text. That is, how does one distill one's insights about a text into a coherent message that best fits what one's listeners need to hear. Two approaches he suggests are the redemptive historical method (that is, how does this text fit into God's overall plan of redemption) and what he calls the fallen condition focus (FCF) (how does this text address the problems that are inherent in living in a fallen world?)

The imperfections in this book are mostly due to omissions of things that I think are useful. Doriani refers to many works in his endnotes that will fill in these gaps if the reader cares to pursue them. Also, the book is aimed at teachers and preachers rather than individuals. While that isn't a defect, it will mean that I have to do a bit of extra work to use it with a class of laymen.

The other problems are minor, and have more to do with the publisher than the author. For some reason, P&R chooses to use endnotes rather than footnotes - this is very disruptive when you wish to pursue one of the notes. Also, P&R never puts a bibliography in their books anymore - if you want to find the particulars on a book the author refers to, you have to dig through the endnotes to find the first reference to it. Lastly, P&R's bindings are not very good and tend to show wear very easily and very quickly. This book deserves a hardcover edition.

Doriani has assembled this book with great concern for those who have not had formal Seminary or Bible college training, but who have a strong desire to be involved in the teaching ministry at the local church. I believe--as a formally trained Biblical interpreter--that this book needs to to be in the hands of all those in this category, as well as in the hands of those formally trained! Doriani has carefully communicated all the important "steps" of Biblical interpretation in a manner that is understandable and clear for lay men and women. Don't know Hebrew or Greek but desire to teach the Bible correctly? Buy this book now.

This book is a great read and easy to understand. The book is organized wonderfully with summaries and sections so that the information is easily accessible at a later time. In addition, the CAPTOR method is easy to remember. This book is a must for any minister serious about teaching the word of God. Moreover, this is a great book for those that want to learn how to study the Bible for themselves. If you are sick and tried of shallow Bible studies and sermons this book will give you the tools you need to deepen your knowledge of the Bible and therefore your relationship with Jesus. RLT

Great book! Does s good job of covering all the different types of mammoth earth-moving equipment. The best book of it's kind I have read with the best photography of these machines when compared to similar books. The only thing I felt was maybe missing is the location of the mines where some of these machines are/were working, but perhaps that was left out for a reason.

As a operator on one of the machines featured in the book I really enjoyed the book and the development and history of the machines in the book Some of the machines in the book are no longer in use so it is nice to be able to see pictures of them..

Giant Earth Moving Equipment is a great book and it covers lots of machines. There are sevral types of equipment and lots of great examples of each. It has loads, we're talking TONS, of great COLAR pictures. Also the MOTHER LOAD of info on all types of mining machines. Plus the detailed history of all the large machines and thier names.(this is for the striping shovles section)

A very good history of the development of the large excavators used in the mining industry. Excellent photos and good background data for each of these historic machines. A must reference for anyone interested in large equipment or mining.

The son of a friend is crazy about construction equipment. I gave this book to him for Christmas 1998. He had everyone read some sections of the book to him that day. It's been his constant companion since then at overnight's to his grandparents.

Although intended for a much different audience, this book can be a real hit with younger readers because of the great pictures.

GIVE ME BACH MY SCHUBERT is a humorous, pun-filled story of a boy's attempt to run from his piano lesson. The adventure starts at Madame Phalanges' (note pun) Piano Studio, where the narrator's friend Bert absconds with his shoe: My buddy Bert likes HAYDY things -- he's sometimes hard to HANDEL. I said, "Give me BACH my SCHUBERT," `cause I knew he took my sandal. While Cleary's text chronicles the narrator's subsequent attempt to flag down his antagonist-friend, Rick Dupre's illustrations tell a separate "story-within-a-story" -- i.e., Madame Phalanges' attempt to return the boy to his music lesson. Cleary highlights each of his musical puns in the story with color and contrasting typefaces -- lest any children get the idea that "violence" is actually the same as "violins," for example. This clever technique also has the dual effect of making the book more user-friendly to parents, many of whom might not be too astute with musical lingo. This book is as educational as it is unique and entertaining, and -- at $18.95 -- is well worth its asking price. ##

"Give me Bach my Schubert" is a humorous, pun-filled story of a boy's attempt to run from his piano lesson. The adventure starts at Madame Phalanges' (note pun) Piano Studio, where the narrator's friend Bert absconds with his shoe: "My buddy Bert likes Haydn things -- he's sometimes hard to Handel. I said, 'Give me Bach my Schubert,' `cause I knew he took my sandal." While Cleary's text chronicles the narrator's subsequent attempt to flag down his antagonist-friend, Rick Dupre's illustrations tell a separate "story-within-a-story" -- i.e., Madame Phalanges' attempt to return the boy to his music lesson. Cleary highlights each of his musical puns in the story with color and contrasting typefaces -- lest any children get the idea that "violence" is actually the same as "violins," for example. This clever technique also has the dual effect of making the book more user-friendly to parents, many of whom might not be too astute with musical lingo. This book is as educational as it is unique and entertaining, and -- at $18.95 -- is well worth its asking price

"Give me Bach my Schubert" is a humorous, pun-filled story of a boy's attempt to run from his piano lesson. The adventure starts at Madame Phalanges' (note pun) Piano Studio, where the narrator's friend Bert absconds with his shoe: "My buddy Bert likes Haydn things -- he's sometimes hard to Handel. I said, 'Give me Bach my Schubert,' `cause I knew he took my sandal." While Cleary's text chronicles the narrator's subsequent attempt to flag down his antagonist-friend, Rick Dupre's illustrations tell a separate "story-within-a-story" -- i.e., Madame Phalanges' attempt to return the boy to his music lesson. Cleary highlights each of his musical puns in the story with color and contrasting typefaces -- lest any children get the idea that "violence" is actually the same as "violins," for example. This clever technique also has the dual effect of making the book more user-friendly to parents, many of whom might not be too astute with musical lingo. This book is as educational as it is unique and entertaining, and -- at $18.95 -- is well worth its asking price

This book won a Children's Choice Award for books published this year. Along with Shel Silverstein and Roald Dahl, Brian Cleary was honored as more than 10,000 school-aged children cast their votes for their 99 favorite books of the year. Children's Choices are overseen by a joint committee of the International Reading Association and the Children's Book Council. The year of publication was 1996.

"Give me Bach my Schubert" is a humorous, pun-filled story of a boy's attempt to run from his piano lesson. The adventure starts at Madame Phalanges' (note pun) Piano Studio, where the narrator's friend Bert absconds with his shoe: "My buddy Bert likes HAYDN things -- he's sometimes hard to HANDEL. I said, 'Give me BACH my SCHUBERT,' `cause I knew he took my sandal." While Cleary's text chronicles the narrator's subsequent attempt to flag down his antagonist-friend, Rick Dupre's illustrations tell a separate "story-within-a-story" -- i.e., Madame Phalanges' attempt to return the boy to his music lesson. Cleary highlights each of his musical puns in the story with color and contrasting typefaces -- lest any children get the idea that "violence" is actually the same as "violins," for example. This clever technique also has the dual effect of making the book more user-friendly to parents, many of whom might not be too astute with musical lingo. This book is as educational as it is unique and entertaining, and -- at $18.95 -- is well worth its asking price

I received this book last Christmas and found it to be a treasure.

I bought this book on sale for several people, and I didn't know exactly what to expect. When I received it, I started reading and couldn't stop. I got to the point of tears (good ones) several times! So I am keeping one for myself and ordering an extra. This is just a wonderful book about the true meaning of Christmas - the salvation, power, and love of God for mankind. Each short story or reflection is true as well as touching, and the illustrations are warm and inviting. I am giving this book as a gift to several friends who have been Christians for a long time, and also to a friend who is a new Christian. It will be meaningful for all of them, so it really is a great gift. I look forward to pulling this book out each Christmas and enjoying the stories over and over again.

This is a gift worth giving. It gives your spirit a well deserved uplifting, and those to whom you give it, will rejoice with you.

Not a "New Age" perspective at all, Max Lucado and Chuck Colson have done an exciting job of collecting writings on the western world's biggest holiday. From a Christian, Evangelical, Biblical viewpoint you will have the information needed to get away from the commercialism and back to what was intended when the angels told the shepherds outside Bethlehem "Peace on earth, good will to men."

This book is so wonderful that I have given it as a gift to several friends who also treasure it. The writings are the very best of Swindoll, Lucado and Colson and should be read many times.

This book was written for general audience appeal and is approachable by all backgrounds and ages. In the first 11 chapters, Evans introduces readers to detailed explanations of many insect species with wit, humor and anecdotal information. Detailed line drawings give one a good view of insects that would normally require magnification to be seen in detail. Evans points out that even those bugs that are microscopic in size have very sophisticated attributes and can manage their affairs with very efficient capabilities.

The sad confrontations of bugs and uninformed humans is well covered, but Evans, while demonstrating a profound knowledge and admiration for just about all bugs and life itself, takes, in my opinion, a rather unfair poke at Rachel Carson's famous book, "Silent Spring". He comes off sounding like those in the pesticide industry or those who relied on their funding of research grants who attempted to debunk Carson's important work as "alarmist" and over-done. As we now know, Carson's work was proven correct and alarming and set the stage for an invigorated environmental movement world-wide.

Evans points out that "They [insects] are not only marvelous creatures in their own right; they may also teach us something about population control and the proper use of the Earth's resources."-pg 47. And, "As the anthroposphere [human saturated world] continues to encroach upon the biosphere, the museums will more and more assume the role of guardians of the world's treasures."-pg 285.

So this seems somewhat contradictory to his comments on pesticide use, but in all fairness, he also sees the wanton and reckless misuse of pesticides as very harmful to life.

The last two chapters give a very studied view of the collision-course that humanity is on with Earth's life support systems and in the end, it might be proven that those "pesky" bugs are far superior to humans in managing survival on a fragile and "Little-Known Planet"- Evans' call to expedite our research of the many awesome, yet unstudied life-forms that inhabit this planet before we inadvertently eradicate them with our paved-over human world.

For understanding and empathy for the insect world and the vitally important services that insect's provide, this book and Joanne Elizabeth Lauck's book, "The Voice of the Infinite In The Small: Re-Visioning the Insect-Human Connection" is highly recommended.

I can find no other way to begin this review than to say that this book was amazing. A good read to be had by all. And when I say all I really mean it. Biology and non-biology alike will find something to gain from t his book. The author of this book, Howard Ensign Adams, has the ability to teach the non-biologist but the talent of enticing the biology undergraduate. His ability to merge these two extremes while keeping both groups content is amazing and in a lot of ways impossible yet he has managed to do it. Each chapter is another adventure in insect know-how with tidbits of information, interesting anecdotes, and, in many chapters, a general call for more research into the specific fields discussed.

This book is organized into thirteen amazingly interesting chapters. Each chapter touches on a particular subfield of the insect world with the exception of the first and last chapters. The first chapter discusses the author's reasons for writing the book as well as his personal sales pitch on the content of the book and its intentions. The reader must be aware that this book is not recently written but was published in 1966. This is made evident in the first chapter with his discussion of the space program and its future plans to put man on the moon. It's almost comical to read his discussion of this, a feat that seems like old news to anyone nowadays but to him is only a future possibility. It can be said, however, that the age of this book is not a handicap. Aside from the obvious limited technology present in his time, the science presented does not suffer. The observations and data that Evans presents and discusses are very sound in their scientific method and in their accuracy as far as I can tell from my limited exposure to the field.

The book is fairly easy to read and most biological terminology is explained. Pictures accompany most in-depth explanations and the captions are short and usually humorous in content. The book is both accessible to those of the non-science community in terms of its skill level and in terms of its lack of necessity for prior biology knowledge. The book is also effective in its intentions of making the reader aware of the world beneath our feet and within our homes. Interesting aspects of each topic are discussed in order to keep the attention of the reader and to provide enjoyment in what might be perceived by some to be a very boring topic.

There is an obvious bias present in the author's focus on insects and the beauty he finds within their appearances and habitats. However, he does make a point to provide a disclaimer in the introducing chapter in which he makes the reader aware of his past experiences and his current work in entomology, specifically wasps. Throughout the first chapter he emphasizes that although many might not find the field as interesting and as beautiful as he, it will benefit most to learn of the things he is about to put forth. He does ask for continued research in the field and attempts to downplay the importance of the space program by referring to society's need to explain the depths of the universe while forgetting what is not known about the world within our reach.

Each subject is explored to the furthest ability of the author. Where he is not knowledgeable he brings in outside data from other scientists in the field and uses anecdotal information to highlight the interesting aspects of entomological research. He also uses these instances to give evidence to his assertions by providing sound evidence of the research in the field of interest. For example, in his bedbug chapter, humorously titled "Bedbugs, Cone-nosed Bugs, and Other Cuddly Animals", Evans discusses the research of Sir Vincent Wigglesworth on the Rhodnius prolixus, Rhodnius bug for short. Evans also provides detailed drawings of Wigglesworth experiments and discusses their results in depth. This is the rule throughout his book when discussing anything scientific.

I would whole-heartedly recommend this book to anyone that can handle a bit of biological vocabulary and enjoys a good comedy. Howard Evans' style is witty yet informative. He puts forth the facts while adding incentive to read them. His prior work on wasps sneaks through every now and then and often he alludes to past selections or future topics that he has yet to delight you with. Overall his organization is clear and eloquent with each topic building on knowledge from the last. It is also noted on the cover that the author is also the writer of another entomological book called "Wasp Farm". I can say for myself that I have already made plans to stop by the library at some point this week to pick up this book to continue reading what I hope to be another great work by this amazing author. Even as I write this review I am making a mental list of friends and colleagues that I plan on recommending this book to, academic and non-academic alike.

Man will go to great lengths and spend great sums of money and time on the search for life in outer space, but will not look at the magnificent life forms under his feet, those largely unknown creatures that still hold many secrets worth studying. That is the recurring theme of this book, first published in 1968, when the race to the moon was in full swing. Here, Evans, who was considered a leading authority on wasps, ventures into the worlds of various insects with which he seems intimately familiar, demonstrating along the way the significance of these often overlooked animals and the virtues of studying them.
The book is divided into thirteen chapters, most focusing on a single group of insects-springtails, dragonflies, butterflies, fireflies, crickets, flies, cockroaches, bedbugs, locust and wasps-most of them familiar to any reader. But each chapter goes much deeper into the intricacies of every one of those familiar insects than most people ever think about. Every chapter makes you want to go outside and observe those fascinating creatures and the behaviors Evans so knowingly describes. While repeatedly pointing out that very little is known about the biology and behavior of most species of insects (in fact he speaks of our "depth of ignorance" of this group), he proceeds to go into great detail into the mating habits, courtship, feeding, and other behaviors of select species in every group discussed, giving various examples of typical and atypical behavior. In the course of his vivid descriptions, Evans touches on many important aspects of insect biology, and biological concepts in general, from anatomy and physiology to evolution, sexual selection, endocrinology and more.
In his 83 years (he died in 2002), Evans had published numerous papers and books of both technical and popular nature. Along with "Wasp Farm", this is one of the most familiar of his popular books. It can serve as a good introduction for those already fascinated with insects, or convert those who weren't. After reading this book, you won't look at your backyard or the local park the same way. You'll be able to look at dragonflies and recognize a mating flight, scream at a cloud of midges and see them respond to sound, and look carefully at piles of snow for swarms of tiny, fascinating springtails. This book is suitable for anyone who is willing to kneel down and look beneath their feet, or at a plant stem, and wants to know what they're looking at. As an introduction to insect diversity it is a highly enjoyable book, even when the amount of detail into the intimate lives of some insects gets a little tedious. Evans writes in simple and straightforward language, avoiding technical terms as much as possible, and the pages are interspersed with simple but informative black and white illustrations, including some insect structures and major experiments.
In addition to providing insight into the lives of the most common and familiar insects that share the world with us, Evans also introduces his readers to the more unusual species, known mostly to specialists. We learn of the microscopic parasitic wasp Trichogramma evanescens that lays her eggs inside other insects' eggs, sometimes many tiny adult wasps emerging from one moth egg. Or the peculiar habits of springtails, which do not have external genital organs and therefore do not mate at all, where the male leaves his drops of semen scattered around females on little stalks, and has to depend on chance that she will stumble on one.
Every detailed account of a particular species brings home the point that every species is unique, and has to be studied separately, because making generalizations from one species to another can be dangerous. Each insect is incredibly specialized to do only what is necessary for their immediate survival and reproduction, so that each species of insect has only a limited set of responses to a limited set of stimuli. As Evans puts it, every insect is adapted to doing "some things extremely well, and most things not at all". But he continues: "However, so many different kinds of insects have evolved that collectively they can do almost anything not requiring them to reason or to learn very much." Indeed, insects are so diverse that every species has the potential of teaching us something, if only we care to look.
The first chapter and the last two are more general, about people, insects, their relationships and their place in nature. In a chapter devoted to the human impact on nature-that of pesticides, introduced species, biological control, pollution, loss of habitats-Evans laments the loss of natural diversity in favor of human developments in an increasingly crowded planet and emphasizes the importance of preserving what is left, for its own sake as well as for the possibility of things we may still learn from the most obscure creatures. An intelligent application of biological control requires an in-depth knowledge of all the organisms involved and their web of interactions with the biological and physical aspects of their environment; the next medical breakthrough may lie in the hormonal regulation of a soil dwelling arthropod. But to reap these rewards requires an enormous amount of "basic research," curious inquiry into the basic biology of numerous organisms, not driven by immediately foreseeable benefits. It is precisely this type of research that Evans sees as being in danger in a world of "cost-benefit analysis" and "mission-oriented research".
Evans' writing is filled with humor, and he has a knack for summarizing many profound ideas into a witty one-liner. Unfortunately, in discussions of mating practices his brand of humor occasionally turns corny and cringe inducing, perhaps a telling sign of the fact this was written almost 40 years ago. On these occasions he tends to make analogies to human behavior, making statements and innuendo that to a modern reader accustomed to a politically correct world might seem insensitive if not downright sexist. But this in no way diminishes the quality of the content, as he describes the lives of insects with great knowledge and enthusiasm. His fascination with the living world, especially insects, is of the kind many people lose when they enter the adult world. The overarching theme, and his main argument throughout the book (if there is one), is that a lot of good can come from the study of insects and that people should devote more time to this greatly underestimated endeavor. There should be no urgency to look for life in outer space when the greatest mysteries of life on earth are still unsolved. By the end of the book we are left to share his hope that there will be enough curious minds, given enough funds, to pursue those mysteries.

I love this boook!!!!! Its easy to read, yet it goes into enough depth that you really learn about the insects. There's a whole chapter just on fireflies for example. Its the kind of book you can just pick up, read a chapter and say - wow, that's neat. (At least that's what i say) then I'll be outside and I'll be able to see whatever it is that I read about and understand so much more. So basically, the content is fantastic and the writing is so accessible that its not at all intimidating but also not patronizing. Its just very straightforward and so informative. I've learned so much. Its one of my favorite books and I wasn't even that into bugs before this. You won't go wrong with this one!

I had to find this book for my own kids since my parents' copy was badly damaged. I have great childhood memories of this book and my daughter loved it by the second reading. "Why?" . . . "Never mind why," said the woman. . . "I don't want to go," . . . "Go," said his wife. The wonderful rhyme and nagging wife make this book a classic. I miss the old pictures but it has the original text which no other version of this Grimm's fairy tale has matched.

The story in this book is one of the most important because it teaches that we should be grateful for what we have. Gratitude seems to be one of the forgotten virtues of our day. The world would be a much better place if everyone had read Magic Fish.

This book has a "forever" place in my heart. As a child I would never tire of listening to my mother read it to me. Imagine her surprise when I was able to read it back to her! (Okay, so I probably had it memorized, but it still felt good to be "reading") I have looked all over for it. I am glad I finally found it.Thank you Amazon.com. I would love to share it with my children.

This folk tale is unlike most of the storybooks that you'll find marketed towards children. It is much closer to the original grim fairy tales in that it has something of a sense of menace and danger about it, and also lacks the now-requisite happy ending.

It tells the story of a fisherman who earns the favor of a magic fish through his own good-heartedness. He has no thought of reward, but his wife convinces him to ask the fish to upgrade their hut to a house, which the fish seems happy to do. But then the wife continues to convince the fisherman to go ask the fish for upgrades, until she is Queen of the land and wants to be Queen of the Sun and the Stars.

Every time the fisherman goes to ask the fish for something else, the sea is stormier, although the fish says nothing. In the end, the fish decides that the wife has asked for too much, and takes away everything.

There is so much going on in this story that a child can enjoy it for years. The characters and their relationship to each other provide for an instructive discussion about why we do favors, and why we should be reasonable in our requests. It also tells us a lot about what it takes to be happy.

The repetitive nature of the plot should also be comforting to children.

I really recommend the 1967 edition, which was masterfully illustrated by Ed Arno. The pictures are done in blue and black, with a funky thick-line-drawing style which perfectly captures the mood of each page.

The Magic Fish is a classic fable of greed that all people (not just children!) should read and familiarize themselves with. An old fisherman and his crabby, demanding wife live by the sea. She demands that he go catch some fish, and the fisherman snags a bug-eyed, yellow talking magic fish. The Fish is really a prince, and the fisherman frees him. His wife, angry that he returned empty handed, demands that he go back and demand a pretty house from the fish. Her wish is granted.

One can see where this leads to: the wife continually demands more and more wonderful things for herself (is this where the term "fishwife" came from??) until the magic fish becomes angry and takes EVERYTHING back. The fisherman, who meanwhile didn't WANT to keep going back to the magic fish, was perfectly happy with what he already had.

"The Magic Fish" is a fable that we simply don't hear enough of these days, and I think it would be good if we heard it more often. Our culture is one where we are constantly encouraged to buy, buy, BUY and our spiritual wealth is often judged by our material wealth: more stuff = happiness. The tale of the magic fish, with it's stout, heavy illustrations by Pels, reminds us that sometimes what we HAVE is all that we NEED, and greed comes before a fall. Highly recommended for all ages.

This is an exceptional work of real empirical science. Steve Biddle has a hypothesis that "force employment" is a more important determinant of military success than either technology or preponderance of military forces. He subjects this hypothesis to a wide range of analytical and empirical tests, and the evidence in support of his argument is compelling. And the author has the foresight to raise many of the issues that occur to a skeptical reader, and to treat them with reasoned analysis and data. His prose is clear, and this is compelling reading even to one who is not an expert in this field.

Stephen Biddle, a Professor at the US Army War College, has produced an important book on modern warfare. He shows how material forces, numbers and technology, only count if used in the modern system. Force deployment shapes the role of material forces. He analyses full data-sets of modern battles, proving that bigger is not always better.

The increasing lethality of firepower means that since 1914 exposed mass movement is suicidal. Only the modern system of using combined arms, cover and concealment enables the attackers' forces to survive the defence's response.

Biddle looks at three significant battles, firstly, the successful German attack of March 1918. For preponderance theorists, the Allies should have stopped this attack dead. The German/British force-to-force ratio was 1.5/1, among the least favourable of any major attack of the war. The British had a few more tanks, but the main weapons were still the infantry and guns of 1915-18, a defence-dominant technology. The British official history blamed the fog, as if there had been no fog until then.

The Germans won an unprecedented breakthrough, advancing 40 miles across a 50-mile front. The Germans implemented the modern system tactically and to some extent operationally; the British didn't. This broke the great stalemate, not new technology, US intervention or exhaustion.

Biddle's second example, Operation Goodwood in July 1944, was the failed Allied effort to break out of the Normandy beachhead. The British had more troops and weapons: 1,277 tanks, 4,500 aircraft and 118,000 troops against 319 tanks, several hundred aircraft and 29,000 troops. If preponderance theorists were right, the British would have won, but they tried an exposed mass tank charge, unsupported by infantry or suppressive artillery.

Biddle's third example is Operation Desert Storm of 1991, which US forces won with an unprecedentedly low loss rate. US forces used the modern system, the Iraqis did not. The superior US air technology did not eliminate the Iraqi resistance: 2,000 tanks still fought back after the air assault. US troops with or without advanced ground technology, and those fighting local engagements at better or worse odds, won equally convincingly.

According to Stephen Biddle force employment or the use of combined arms is the secret to military success not superior technology or overwhelming numbers. The first example that Biddle uses is the opening German offensive in 1918 against the British in which they succeded intially against the English army due to effective coordination of artillery and infantry. The second case that Biddle brings up is the British operation Goodwood against the Germans in 1944. The British failed, according to Biddle, due to the lack of cooperation between infantry and armor.Also Biddle dispels the myth that technology alone won Desert Storm because the Marines,equipped with only sixties era tanks, were able to defeat the Iraqis with superior tactics. The only weakness of Biddle's book is that he leaves out the two cases in which opponents with superior nummers defeated a force with effective force employment methods which is the defeat of the Germans to the Russians in the summer of 1944, and the rout of the Americans from North Korea by the Chinese in the winter of 1950. Otherwise, Biddle writes an effective case that force employment and not technology is the most important factor in military victory.

I'll begin by saying that this is an excellent book and highly recommended to anyone interested in the field. Well written and great to read even for a non-military reader.
Unfortunately, the case studies and battles are not really described, and if you were not already familiar with the battles before (as I was not in 2 of 3), the analyses will not help to gain any real understanding.
Second, the model presented is an excellent tool for "post mortem" analyses. However, since according to the model, the major factor that will decide the outcome of the battle is force emplacement, and since it cannot be known in advance what will the force emplacement be (neither for friendly nor for enemy forces), the model cannot really be used to predict outcomes of future battles. I see this as a major problem with the model.

Prof Terry Tucker, Senior Doctrine Developer, Saudi Arabian NG Modernization Program;
The author presents a balanced, provocative and well presented case for how victory or defeat occurs in battle. This book is designed for both the tecnical numbers kind of person and also the less technical. The chapters can be read as a stand alone or you can also go through the entire book. Either way it has immense value.
The thesis of this book is that force employment, or the doctrine and tactics by which forces are used in combat is centrally important. This book is great reading, is controversial in its presentation but clearly provides both empirical and quantitative analysis to support his position. THIS BOOK IS A MUST READ.

This is a beautiful and truly enlightening book. I read it in less than a week because I couldn't put it down. I bought about 9 other copies and passed them out to my professors and my friends in the Christian ministry. The only regret I'll ever have about my life is that I didn't get to meet this man in person to express my gratitude.

This is possibly my favorite of all Watts' books, and according to his autobiography In My Own Way (another of his best), he considered this one his best-written (not that he was putting down the content, either).

Although clearly directed to a male audience, I as a woman found much of interest here -- in the application of a Taoist/Zen approach both to love and life in general. A deeply thought and well-articulated book, the scope of Watts' topic is wide but well-supported both logically and factually. A deeply satsifying read with profound implications.

Using some of the basic principles of Taoism, Alan Watts is able to explain to us the true meaning of life, love, and simple existence in an astonishingly simple way. This book is both creative and enlightening. It provides a fresh new perspective on Western culture and how we have sent ourselves to purgatory by developing a certain type of consciousness emphasized in Western culture. If you read another exceptional book called "The Ever-Transcending Spirit" by Toru Sato, you will also learn that this is part of the process of both life and evolution. These are the kind of teachers we truly need more of in this age of chaos and confusion. Highly recommended!

For a more formal account of the Chinese philosophy of Nature you may want to look to Mr. Watts book, "The Way of Zen", or to Joseph Needham's "Science and Civilization in China".

This book is about the problem of man's relationship with Nature. A problem that gives rise to the problem of man's relation to woman and to himself. This book was published in 1958. I am certain that today Alan would have taken a more egalitarian approach to the subject of Mankind's alienation from Nature. Even our sages are to an extent the product of their immediate environment. Nurture is the yang to Nature's yin. In my opinion this book should be read by every High School student in America,.. by everyone.

The Taoist philosophy of Nature is more than a theoretical system, it is primarily a way of life in which the original sense of the seamless unity of Nature is restored without the loss of individual consciousness. To follow the watercourse way of Taoism is like a hand that has been reunited with its body. It is still a hand, but now it is part of something bigger than its narrow sense of self.

For the Taoist the mystery of life is not so much a problem to be solved intellectually as it is a reality to be experienced intuitively. Intuition is of a higher order because it includes the rational mind. Synthesis is the product of the whole person. The left and right hemispheres of our brains working as one. Nature is a synergetic whole that is greater than the sum of its parts, a synergetic organic unity. Nature, though it has mechanistic characteristics, is not a machine. We are a microcosm of the macrocosm, Nature in miniature. Nature is not made up of space and matter. Nature is an energy field of varying density. Nature is whole, more a volume than a line. The Taoist comes out of Nature, not into it. We are not strangers in a strange land, we are home, Heaven is beneath our feet. We do not need to try and control Nature, we need to go with the flow of the grain of reality. To recognize the yin/yang polarities of life as being two sides of a unified whole. Day without night is meaningless. Each pole contains the seed of its opposite pole, it is darkest before the Dawn. The Thread of Life has two ends, birth and death, and yet the thread is whole. Our world is not an illusion, maya. Life matters. If there is a bias to Taoism, it is an optimistic one. It is the thinking that anything is separate from the whole that is illusion, that is pessimistic. The inside of the inside of all outsides is the same inside. The eternal Tao is omnipresent. There is a grain to reality that is the path of least resistance, the Way of ways.

For the Taoist "Nature" is a guide book, the lone book written solely by the hand of Providence. "Nature" is a manifold collection of parables. The Sun shines on good and bad alike. God, the eternal Tao by another name, is impartial. God's love shines on everyone for God's love is whole. It is we that divide with our rational minds. We have been taught by our culture here in the West that our spotlight focus, generally the left hemisphere of our brain, is not only superior to our floodlight awareness, the right hemisphere, but that we are our narrow focus, our left hemisphere. We are fragmented. The Fall from the Garden was due to eating of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, of thinking that polarities are separate, that we are separate from God. As Ken Wilber theorizes in his book "Up from Eden", the Fall was a necessary evolutionary step up in our mental development, a necessary evil. Or as Julian Jaynes theorizes in his book "The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind", the consciousness of consciousness is a relatively recent development in the history of Man. Except for the rare sage or saint rationality is a new tool Mankind has yet to learn how to use properly, myself included. By fixating on a part of ourselves as though it was all of ourselves we have become fragmented and thus alienated and in need of reintegration with our whole selves. Not a return to the naive holism of Tribal Societies, but to evolve from the Individual extremism of our current civilization, to the mature holism of Global Man. This is the way of the Taoist. As Barbara Marx Hubbard has stated in her forward to Ralph Alan Dale's excellent translation of Lao Tzu's "Tao Te Ching"-the Old Testament of Taoism, "The spiral of our evolutionary progress is turning back in time to reconnect with the great sage Lao Tzu". God did not kick us out of the Garden, we kicked ourselves out. "As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he". Proverbs 23:7. Sometimes we rationalize too much.

Meditation is a master key that all wisdom traditions use to reconnect us with our feelings, with our whole selves. "Be still, and know that I am God". Psalm 46:10. Jesus, Moses, Buddha, Rumi, Ghandi, Maharshi, were all master meditators. They meditated before they acted, often for forty days and forty nights. Nature is the action of awareness. We can all be more aware, wake up, be born again, through silent meditation. No one can do it for us. No one can give us anything we don't already have. The Kingdom of God is within each of us. It is in silence, in awareness stripped of the chatter of our rational minds, that we hear the still small voice of God. Khamush!

Looks brand new. Very useful and I'm happy to have this in my library

I received this textbook in just a few days and it was in perfect condition. The price was very reasonable, slightly below what the college bookstore wanted, even after shipping.

I bought this to use with Tapestry of Grace curriculum, and used it with a 14 yr old fresh out of public school. It was way beyond her vocabulary level and reading skill set. This is a book I have seen used in college classes, and it figures, because much of the poems and plays are written in old or medieval English. We ended up scrapping this book most of the time and reading the same works in modern English online.
Having said that, for a child who is used to a classical education, this collection of works would be a pleasure to read.

I purchased this book for a class, but was delighted to discover that I will definitely want to hang onto it afterwards. The translations chosen for the 'Ancient World' portion are, for the most part, delightfully vivid and capture the spirit of the original language. I also like the layout - the margin size is just perfect for taking notes.

I purchased this book for my Literature class. Unfortunately we did not get to read all of the works. I have fallen in love with this book and I hope to keep it for many many years. Some of the works can be boring but if you keep an open mind and concentrate on the ideas, language, and meaning you will understand even the most boring of works.