Perspective Books

A well written book that managed to hold my attention. Good, understandable technical explanations and fascinating tales of organizational intrigue. Important lessons for anyone taking part in complex development projects. The acchievements described are quite mindboggling. As I have been personally involved in naval command and control development, and am a naval technology freak, I found this book extremely interesting.
A bit long for a casual read, but easily lends to skipping around.

When Computers Went To Sea is an outstanding book because it takes us back almost 60 years (October, 1944) to define the problem to be solved and traces how this definition evolved to the threats our nation and our world face today. There's an important story here for all of us as we think about current questions like the 7/11/01, Page 1, Wall Street Journal article on Risk Assessment - Plans for a Small Ship Pose Big Questions for the U.S. Navy.

NTDS was a successful early (starting in the 1950s) large-scale digital computer hardware and software development project. How could NTDS be so successful in a hostile environment when so many comparable military and commercial development projects experienced major problems? This book also tells that story very well, with important lessons for all who manage large software and hardware developments.

Some readers unfamiliar with NTDS and the Navy ships and people involved may find the book a bit difficult to read because it is filled with well researched and documented names and facts. However, the important stories and lessons are written in a way we can all understand and appreciate as we learn more about the roles Alan Turing and Seymour Cray, and many other well-recognized people, played in this important part of our history.

I bought this book because I thought it might help our grown children understand what I did in the Navy. Now I will have to buy another copy for them because I'm sure not going to give them mine!

Today's high bandwidth technologists have nothing over the NTDS architects who masterminded the solution to the very complex engineering problems presented by warfare: real time data acquisition and weapons assignment. (The penalty for error is death of comrades in battle.)

The story is told with all the warts and struggles, which ring true: inter-departments squabbles, jousting with Congress and contractors, resistance of the fleet commanders. It's all there.

The complexity of engineering project management with multiple contractors, tough cost and schedule constraints remain the same in the new millennium. A good addition to the reading list for any business school.

I confess to being biased. My father, Captain Joseph Stoutenburgh, USN Ret., is a principal in the book. When I was 6 years old I did not understand why Dad was gone for weeks at a time. Now I know he was altering forever the nature of tactical warfare and in turn the geopolitical reach of the United States.

As a sailor who served as a computer technician from 1967 to 1978, many of the issues that this book documents bring back a flood of memories. The historical background is well laid out in chronological order and contains many personal perspectives on what would normally be a dry and very technical subject. An extensive table of contents, a good glossary and index make this a prized reference book in my library alongside my Jane's publications. The sparseness of illustrations and photos are my only criticism of this fascinating historical compilation.

"These remarkable volumes, edited thoughtfully and vividly by Ilene Serlin, provide a comprehensive view of the full potential of healthcare in the 21st century. Many of the most important voices in alternative medicine, mental health and arts therapies are represented and all attest to the profound importance of treating human beings as fully human, in body and spirit, in mind and emotion, not only as patients, but as active and creative partners in their own healing. This is a must-read for all practitioners and students in the healing professions." Robert J. Landy, Ph.D., RDT/BCT, LCAT, Professor of Educational Theatre and Applied Psychology; Director, Drama Therapy Program, New York University

21st century healthcare will come to embrace these rich modalities of mind-body-spirit healing, too long overlooked by many in the mainstream of modern Western medicine. Speaking as an M.D., I deeply thank Dr. Ilene Serlin and her collaborators for bringing together this broad collection of resources from major figures in the field today. Many patients and clients will benefit as a result. Here is the future!

The three volumes that comprise Whole Person Healthcare are an excellent and important source of information about health and healthcare. From Volume I Humanizing Health Care with its emphasis on treatments for patient populations, to Volume II Psychology, Spirituality, and Health which shows the intimate connection between mind and body, to Volume III The Arts and Health which reveals the role of creativity in wellness, the essays are both original and thought provoking. Dr. Ilene Ava Serlin, the General Editor of these volumes has done outstanding work in bringing this often cutting-edge information to health professionals and the general public.

This very readable compilation of opinion and guidance from the most eminent practitioners and thinkers is an excellent one stop source for information and guidance for alternative approaches to healthcare.

Today in the US there is more out of pocket expenditure on alternative wellness and healing products, services and practices than on traditional medicine. This category is becoming increasingly important as baby-boomers seek to have greater control of their own health care and seek alternatives to the pharma-industrial complex.

The editor, Ilene Ava Serlin, has done a great service for the field in providing this very timely and comprehensive series. It is an excellent resource to health care providers as well as informed laypeople.

The only criticism is the price of the series and that all three volumes must be purchased together. This will inhibit its distribution, particularly to individual healthcare practitioners and laypeople. It would be preferable if individual chapters could be purchased as pdf files or podcasts; most people are interested in certain approaches and may not want all. Hopefully, the publisher will make this series more adaptable so many more people can access this wonderful work by so many dedicated professionals who contributed to the effort.

We are blessed that my wife, who makes many public appearances, has gone to the top of her craft. She is not an actress, but the thinking and metaphysical, but practical, approach illustrated in this book would benefit an actress and almost anyone in any professional area. It would at least assist toward experiencing a great life!

Celebrate the "fabulosity" of this book as Ms. Bild encourages those interested in acting (and others) to celebrate the "fabulosity of life" plus the creativity available to us all.

I am an avid reader of acting books. All types: technique, history, fundamentals, etc. You could say I was reading my dream, not "acting" my dream. I wanted to be a working actor. It got to a point where I was reading so much about the art and craft of acting, that I was "paralyzed." I didn't believe I could really be an actor...especially at the age of 42! Deep down I didn't think I could do it. This book changed my mindset completely! It gave me the kick-in-the-butt I needed. Ms. Bild's words gave me the confidence to "get off the fence." I now earn a livng as an actor. And most of all, I am the happiest I've ever been!

Her advice on technique, styles, etc, are O.K. There are hundreds of books on those topics. But there are not many books that can change the mental block that may be holding you back from pursuing, achieving and living your dream. I loved this book!!

Acting From A Spiritual Perspective: Your Art, Your Business, Your Calling by writer, director, acting, theatrical coach, and Grammy Award-winning producer Kathryn Marie Bild distills her many years of experience and expertise (she lectures on Stanislavski and Strasberg, coaches acting privately, and teaches acting and directing at the New York Film Academy) into a thoroughly "user friendly" instructional guide for aspiring actors and actresses with a specific focus on the importance of integrating spiritual values and emotional attitudes into their work upon the stage or in front of cameras. Acting From A Spiritual Perspective is a welcome and valued addition to any personal, professional, or school theatrical department or community theater reference collection and supplemental reading list.

This book arrived in adequate time and was in great condition. There was no trouble with delivery, it was on time.

This book brings together some of the best minds to discuss what we
know about evolutionary strategies for mating, parenting, reproduction
and altruism. It consists of numerous studies showing the universality
of human behavior, and how different ecologies result in different
local behaviors, all the while conforming to our innate algorithms.
That is, how nature and nurture combine resulting in our modern
societies, and how our maladaptations with regards to rep[17~roduction
and altruism are a result of our technology changing the rules of
adapted strategies. Such things as birth control have now unlinked
male social displays of wealth and dominance that once led to
reproductive success.

But the best part of the book is the Statement
of Theories. It is a lucid history of how cultural anthropology has
all but abandoned the scientific empiricism for a politically driven
agenda of cultural determinism. That is, while these radical
environmentalists were criticizing evolutionary approaches without
coming up with alternative theories, evolutionary theorists were
charging ahead, making phenomenal progress in understanding human
nature. It explains again how detractors such as Sahlins, Gould,
Lewontin, Kamin, Rose, et al., with their condemnation of the
evolutionary perspective, without providing alternative hypotheses,
have actually accelerated the progress made in linking humans to all
other organisms in an evolutionary explanation of how we interact with
the world about us.


[17~[17~[17~

Overall, this book is must
reading, especially for anyone interested in demographics, parenting,
and reproduction rates of different population groups. Especially now
when there is a renewed interest in many countries that reproduction
rates are so low that immigration is sought to make up the difference,
with the impending problems it brings when multiculturalism replaces
homogeneous populations and cultures.

The greatest error in social theory throughout the 20th century was the belief that humans are so different from other species that none of the tools normally used to study behavior in non-humans is applicable to the study of behavior in humans. Usually this was supported by arguing that human culture is so variable and human nature so malleable that we have virtually completely transcended our animal roots.

E. O. Wilson's great book, Sociobiology (1975) changed all that. Despite ferocious opposition to the idea that humans are animals deeply affected by their evolutionary history (Wilson was called a racist and a fascist by very eminent biologists and anthropologists), a whole generation of young researchers got the message, and began producing extremely valuable studies confirming that many aspects of human psychology and human social organization could be better appreciated by treating humans as the product of evolution, and using methods little different from the study of primates, and even birds and insects.

This book is an edited collection of some of the major research efforts undertaken by these evolutionary psychologists, sociobiologists, and behavioral ecologists. The research is for the most part not armchair theorizing, but the analysis of painfully collected and minutely analyzed data on small scale societies. After two chapters of nicely developed theory, the book offers five chapters on mating, followed by another five chapters on parenting.

The book then attacks a major problem in sociobiology: the demographic transition, which occurred in Europe a century ago, and is occuring in many developing nations today. The demographic transition consists of a fall in the birth rate following a rise in per capital income---an event that is quite unexpected, since sociobiology is based on the notion that humans are/were in their evolutionary history, fitness maximizers. The most plausible explanation, offered by Kaplan and Lancaster, is that humans do not maximize fitness, but rather a combination of fitness and welfare. The implications of this for social theory are immense, and begin to draw sociobiology back into conformance with economic theory, which stresses utility maximization.

The book then presents four papers on human sociality. These papers, while quite impressive, are to my mind excessively closely tied to Robert Triver's notion of reciprocal altruism, and more broadly, Richard Alexander's slightly broader notion of indirect altruism. I think recent evidence fairly conclusively shows that human behavior is not self-interested even in the widest sense, and some theory of multilevel selection and/or culture/gene coevolution is needed to explain human sociality in an acceptable manner.

But these are quibbles on the edge of current research, and should by no means deter the interested reader from profiting from these exciting and impressive articles.

My college degree, light years ago, was in Historic Archaeology, and I've been a Civil War enthusiast for 40 years. So, when I spotted this book, I just had to check it out. I wasn't disappointed and neither will you be. Archaeology in the Civil War field is relatively new, save for the traditional structures. All of that changed with the burning and subsequent excavations of the Custer Battlefield. Finally we are seeing more and more applications to various Civil War sites, although all too often it is salvage archaeology. In any event, this book will give you a glimpse into the science of historic archaeology without bogging you down and zoning you out with the technical aspects. The sites covered are varied and historically interesting. It is a fun read with ample photographs and charts. Of particular interest, for example, were the excavations at Andersonville that produced some spectacular results on locating and identifying the walls. Your next visit to a Civil War site will never be the same after you read this book and get a new perspective of what you are walking on. Buy and enjoy this book!

This is an absoulutely brilliant work and makes fascinating reading for any Civil War Buff, collector or digger. Very well written articles that belie any misaprehensions that this may be too technical a subject. I couldn't put it down. It exemplifies the belief that "every artifact has a story to tell." Highly recommended.

This is an excellent book for the anyone interested both archaeology and history. Many people do not know what a great deal of information can be gleaned from an archaeological analysis of historic sites. The authors look at several archaeological studies done on the Civil War, especially the battle of Antietam, and shed some new light on military strategies, the ebb and flow of battlefields, and the daily lives of soldiers and citizens. A must-read for any Civil War buff and anyone interested in seeing how archaeology can affect the historical record.

This book is based upon the principles presented in the authors' previous book, The New Perspective, and explores how the spiritual self-awareness and self-discovery tools apply to growth and development in intimate relationships. With extensive personal experience from their own relationship as well as observations from clients and other persons they have encountered, this duo offer many wonderful insights and anecdotes. Their ideas empower us to become more conscious and open to transformation in our lives, keys to maintaining an ongoing dance of intimacy with our partners/loved ones. This book is fairly compact and offers specific exercises and tools to apply (note that some of the intimacy exercises require a partner, though you can work with a lot of this even if you don't have a partner), while presenting ideas in a very accessible and inspirational manner. The ideas may be familiar to those like myself who have been studying "new thought" and "new age" metaphysical and psychological materials. Yet, they are presented here in a way that is fresh and vital and easy to relate to what you may actually experience in your own relationships or observe in others. This book is a valuable resource independent of whether you read the preceding book in their New Perspective series.

ART OF RELATIONSHIP is an amazingly helpful book for anyone in a romantic relationship who truly desires greater intimacy, understanding and depth. Authors Ron and Denny Reynolds are superbly qualified as relationship experts, as they have weathered numerous challenges through their four decades together as a couple, and as counselors. Relationships truly are an art form, as they seldom fit hard-and-fast rules regarding what always works and what doesn't... and ART OF RELATIONSHIP provides assistance in those vexing gray areas in which we run into our own and each others' dark, or shadow, sides. Ron and Denny take turns sharing both sides of their experiences, demonstrating how it really is possible to move away from blaming to claiming... and how balance is required so we don't over-give or over-take.

My favorite part of this book is the part about getting conscious with one's truth by finding the story we are creating, and determining whether this story is based on real emotions or some kind of rationalization concealing a deeper truth. When we work together in our relationships and learn to develop trust of one another and ourselves, the most wonderfully enriching spiritual growth can occur. This is an extraordinary gem of a book that you'll want to get at least two of... one to keep on hand, and one to give or loan!

This is the second book in Ron and Denny Reynolds's new perspective series. I read their first book, "Ten Tools for Self-Transformation" and really liked it. I liked this one even more. Here Ron and Denny share of their experience and knowledge around relationships (something that they obviously know quite a lot about, as in the book we learn that they have been married for 45 years!). The perspective taken here is both metaphysical and psychological, with lots of very useful observations that are drawn not only from Ron and Denny's personal experience as a couple, but also from Denny's twenty years of work as a Marriage and Family Therapist. The result is a very grounded book, clear and to the point, which emanates however a beautiful and very high spiritual vibration. One can feel the hand of Spirit oozing through the pages, inspiring us to embrace each other and our reflection in the other, inspiring us to use "Relationship" as one of the most potent and satisfying vehicles for personal growth.

Because of my work as a healer, many of the concepts in this book are not new to me...but maybe because of this I found myself appreciating even more how neatly this information was packaged. Also knowing information and living information are two different things. As stated in the book, staying conscious is really at the center of our ability to have fulfilling relationships. But how often do we find ourselves sleeping at the wheel? I guess we need constant reminders and nudges and this book was just that for me. I found myself apologizing to a few people in my life immediately after reading the book, realizing I had gotten stuck into needing to be right. The person I had the disagreement with was really pleased I buried the war hatchet and we had our first proper conversation in weeks...The book was an excellent reminder of what is important and what is not, encouraging us to stay conscious enough in our dealings with our significant others, so that we may operate from Spirit rather than ego, so that we may grow together with love, compassion and mutual respect.

All in all, a very pleasant read and a wonderfully inspiring little book.

Spiritual transformation from the standpoint of human understanding has proved tedious. The belief that the human expands or becomes spiritual has been problematic and not fruitful for me. It was not until I began a serious study of John Hargreaves' book that I began to recognize life as wholly spiritual. This has changed my perspective on who and what I am. Living universal and eternal divine completeness now as the truth of all creation is expansive in ways I could never have imagined and establishes me in the line of spiritual creation with the whole of the world.

This book, long out of print, will be republished by Mulberry Press in Spring 2006 in paperback!

In an age where everything must have universal/worldly appeal; including all arts, government and religion; there is a "voice" in each of us, guiding us to be greater and more harmonious together; telling us who we really are. Clearing the mist of worldly desires and oversimplifications of the complex universe, in an attempt to make it appear "stupid/immoral friendly", there is the universe of Truth or reality. Books from all sectors of religion have pointed to a loving and giving God, called by many names, but all of us have something between a guess and working knowledge that this Being is what we refer to as the Creator of All; that which is all in all. This book, "As "I" See It" by John Hargreaves, does the decidedly significant task of defining "the tares from the wheat" separating the Truth from the lie.

As "I" See It brings the reader closer to a functional knowledge of divine metaphysics and challenges the reader to raise the bar on their own sense of what consciousness is and what "I" (referring to both "me" and "you") means to them.

Using The Bible and The Science & Health (by Mary Baker Eddy which is the companion book for Christian Science along-side the Bible) as the starting point as well as stories from people of different walks of life, "As "I" See It" brings in many useful angles of what reality is. This book puts the idea, paraphrased from the Bible, of "work(ing) out our own salvation..." in a new light for me; stating it, in the sense that each of us is responsible for our own sense of what and how we see reality. That what we perceive is not out there but is all within us- and as we gain more correct views of God's creation, "life" becomes harmonious, happy and fruitful.

I highly recommend this book to anyone, regardless of their religious beliefs, who seeks a greater understanding of what Life is all about and how to bring more Love, Truth, and Principle into their experience. Unfortunately, "As "I" See It" is out of print as of early 2004 and older copies seem to go for quite a bit; but if you do come across one and have the dough, you may very well find this book to be one of a kind and helpful on your spiritual journey as I have.

Co-written by Eric Hinderaker (Associate Professor of History, University of Utah) and Peter C. Mancall (Professor of History, University of Southern California), At The Edge Of Empire: The Backcountry In British North America focuses upon the interplay between Europeans and Native Americans during the seventeenth century. The "backcountry" that existed just beyond the imperial reach of Britain is the primary subject of this acutely written, meticulously researched, scholarly history which closely examines the manifold causes of conflict, as well as the ordinary situations of daily life which were to significantly contribute to the American Revolut-ion of 1776.

When an American thinks of the frontier of history, modern day Ohio, Kentucky and the Appalachian mountains are hardly the first thing that comes to mind. When a British subject thinks of the effects of the nation's past in Ireland or Scotland, dealings with Cherokees or Mohawks hardly come to mind. But Professor's Hinderaker and Mancall make the case in their comprehensive yet concise story about the edge of the first British Empire and the first American frontier.

The back country of America is often approached from a modern, American standpoint, from the perspective of the early Americans, like Daniel Boone. This book makes the case that the American back country should be instead be likened to the English experience in Ireland and Scotland in the 16th century, rather than being likened to the American experience in western and Rocky Mountain states in the 19th century. Though to a large degree, it is impossible to understand the later American historical experience of the Wild west without understanding the wild mid-west.

This book can be understood well from three perspectives: the relationship of the settlers along the American frontier to the native Americans, the relationship of the British Empire to the settlers, the relationship between Britain and France in their longstanding struggle for supremacy. As the 170 years or so of the first British Empire in North America rolled on, the conflicting attitudes, alliances and interests of all the parties involved made the time period one of constant change with at times brutal results in economic deprivation and war. What emerged was perhaps the most unlikely event possible, a continental republic where authority flowed from the bottom up, as much as it has at any point in human history.

The authors do a fine job of showing just why the interior of North America was so valuable to all parties involved, and why confusion and misunderstanding often carried the day. The Pennsylvania backcountry is a prime example. Founded by Quaker businessman and pacifists, ruling from far away Philadelphia, they simply had no framework for understanding the disputes, claims and issues involved among the German and Scotch Irish settlers in today's central Pennsylvania. And these decades of misunderstandings often led to unnecessary conflict among the natives, settlers and rising disputes with the ruling class.

The familiar events leading to the American Revolution are told from the perspective that disputes in the backcountry largely led to the conflict that founded the United States. Even given several decades to solve the situation politically, the British Empire could never effectively design systems to deal with trade, backcountry political representation and native disputes. The worldview of the day and the distant London government could never quite understand just how complex a situation they were dealing with. How the early American Republic was able to solve the issues that were raised by the backcountry disputes with London so quickly, such as the removal of nearly every colonial capital from the coast to the interior and the means of creating new interior territories, is told well, with the only losers being the native tribes who were seen as a problem to be pushed away until later by the British and a problem to be swept away by the backcountry settlers.

This is a short book, worth a reader's time, as it shows just how dramatic and incredible the changes were in eastern North America during the 16th and 17th century. Things that began small: land speculation, Indian conflict, individual settlement apart from an often disinterested justice system grew up into something completely unexpected. Few of the actors of the day escape unscathed from this 170 year time period, and the misunderstandings of the time period often met their end in civil war in the American Revolution.

In about a 180 pages, the authors map out a pattern of settlement by Europeans, unlike anything that had happened before, one that was unruly, controlled from the ground up and led to the modern world. This book is highly recommended.

Co-written by Eric Hinderaker (Associate Professor of History, University of Utah) and Peter C. Mancall (Professor of History, University of Southern California), At The Edge Of Empire: The Backcountry In British North America focuses upon the interplay between Europeans and Native Americans during the seventeenth century. The "backcountry" that existed just beyond the imperial reach of Britain is the primary subject of this acutely written, meticulously researched, scholarly history which closely examines the manifold causes of conflict, as well as the ordinary situations of daily life which were to significantly contribute to the American Revolution of 1776.

The product of a lifetime of dedicated scholarship, this is Rothbard's magnum opus.

Volume one is a breathtaking journey through time, analyzing how culture, religion, and politics have impacted upon economic thought.

Volume two contains the most devastating refutation and trenchant analysis of Karl Marx and his destructive, apocalyptic theory of Communism."

I borrowed this work from my local university library and read it through TWICE! I am now about to order this new affordable set published by the Mises Institute so that I can not only read it through again but have as a constant source of reference. A brilliant work!

This work is a tour de force of economic thought, spanning a thousand pages and nearly two millennia.

The books thesis rests on Thomas Kuhn's theory of paradigm shifts of scientific intellectuals in "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions." In these two volumes, Rothbard grinds his axe against what he would refer to as the "Whig theory of history" or the idea that history of ideas is always a progression forward.

In light of this thesis, Rothbard carefully works in progression from ancient Greek thought of Plato, Aristotle, and Xenophobe to the late 19th century works of J.S. Mill, Marx, Bastiat and Pareto. What is truly amazing is amount of time in Volume I he devotes to smaller unknown scholastics (who revived much of the work of Aristotle after finding preserved by the Arabs) overlooked by works like Lionel Robbins lectures on Economic thought and much of Hayek's contributions, which were dominated by the Scottish Enlightenment. Insomuch, Rothbard credits - like Schumpeter did - many lesser individuals which prefigured Smith, like Turgot, Cantillon and the French tradition; or the School of Salamanca and the Scholastic's who debunked the idea of a just price - based in a theoretical corpus of Natural Law (like Rothbard himself).

There are some who have taken the whole book out of context by reading only his treatment of Adam Smith - mostly because this is the most controversial section. Without context, Rothbard chapter on Smith seems to be harsh for those who consider him a great defender of liberty and lassie faire. Yet, to me, he sufficiently backs his libertarian case against Smith - as those who have actually looked into the Wealth of Nations can attest (the contradiction in Book 1 and 5 is most apparent in his description of the division of labor on one hand and alienation on the other). In fact, he continues Joseph Schumpeter's famous assessment of `das AdamSmith' problem (Schumpeter argues that Smith, in the Wealth of Nations is just carrying on a physiocrat position in `Economic Doctrine and Method'); which has plagued economic thought by misplacing an emphasis on one man as the intellectual godfather while belittling outstanding prefigures like Turgot and Cantillon, the Scholastics and post-figures such as Senior, Bastiat and Say.

It is not that Rothbard means to tear Smith's whole doctrine asunder. Rothbard admits freely that Smith was important up to a point, yet was bereft in his defense of liberty. Hence Smith doesn't measure up to his `hardcore' liberal French counterparts - for instance Turgot or Say. Rothbard illustrates this in the American tradition by quoting Thomas Jefferson as having admiration and preference for De Tracy and J.S. Say instead of Adam Smith.

A mild warning - although the book is an exhilarating history of ideas, some of the finer points may be difficult or perhaps too technical for a layman. Rothbard has particular detailed points on theoretical economic issues. (Which makes me question the familiar charge about Rothbard retreating from Economics during the 1970's - as this book was written in the 1980's) He spends some space analyzing the differences in the theory of price (between Mill, Ricardo, Smith and the French School), interest and other lengthy sections (roughly 3 chapters of the second book) on monetary theory.

In light of the 20th century textbook analysis dominated by the neo-classical tradition in the micro sphere and Keynesianism in the macro sphere, Rothbard seeks to carve out and correct misunderstanding and misrepresentation of the classics and its development into the strains of these modern ideas - evaluating them by his own Austrian standard (see Rothbard's Man, Economy and State and Human Action by L. von Mises). Yet, Rothbard is not intentionally setting up historical economists as straw men, but to show that they were pioneers - some with clearer insight than others. In effect, he shows that some economics has gotten better while other have gotten worse.

Although this book is aimed at understanding economics, these two volumes also show the depth of Rothbard as an intellectual, religious and political historian as well. Again, this work ought to be disquieting to those scholars who continually discounted Rothbard. It is this painstaking argumentation which feeds directly into his thesis and makes the work sparkle; providing relevance to the questions which still persist today and will be here tomorrow.

The book has minor water damage(not a big deal) and arrived really fast. Thanks for getting it to me before my classes got crazy.

I needed this book for one of my college classes and the Amazon price was almost 3/4 cheaper then in the schools book store. This book was only used for about 3-4 months and from what I saw from the textbook... it was great. I learned a lot and I might keep it around just in case I need it for a future class. But overall, I give it an A...

Pros: A definite must-have book and recommended reading for designers, artists and teachers. Excellent for art teachers seeking project ideas for students in traditional art/design media, also provides a design refresher for teachers with students in digital media, as the principles apply to web, cd-rom and new media design (but not animation. However, there is a section on objects in 3D space).

This book covers key design principles and art techniques that you may have forgotten after art school.

Cons: A lot easier to read for precticing artists and designers; may be brain freeze to art students goggling at the compact knowledge. Not recommended reading unless student is mature enough/is in the higher years/is truly interested.

Initial impression based on format, book thickness and the language used may appear too stiff and seem like very heavy reading at first, specially to first time art educators. Read the book in topics you need in order to digest info better.

After a while the format becomes familiar, the information astoundingly clear/well researched and you realize the book was brilliantly organized. Eureka!

As with all art/design reference book collections, this makes a good backbone book that could be supplemented by others, as it cannot cover everything. Ex: For selecting/using type and organizing layouts try "The Non-Designer's Design Book" by Robin Williams, Peachpit Press. There's a web book version as well.

Final comment: Basic Visual Concepts and Principles, a thumbs up, definitely must have reference.