Perspective Books

If you want to understand something about the nature of Adorno's overall project, read the guy below, sadly cut off as he is in mid-sentence. If your only contact with Adorno is the bitter "Minima Moralia" or the (to me) rebarbative "Negative Dialectics", this is an essential complement. If you aren't interested in radical cultural criticism...er, why are you reading this?

Critical Models is a collection of essays, articles and radio talks, mostly from quite late in Adorno's career. I am neither a philosopher nor an academic, and would be the first person to admit that I'm not quite up to Adorno's more Hegelian moments. I'm just casting about for help in an increasingly bland, homogenised, uncritical cultural environment, and the best thing about Critical Models is that it's Adorno being unusually _helpful_.

This is Adorno throwing himself into the task of trying to build a post-war democracy in Germany, not Adorno the cantankerous emigre complaining that doors shut more violently than they used to. He urges the value of promoting the status of teachers, of rooting out and criticising Nazi attitudes (who'd have thought that they'd still be flourishing fifty years on). Adorno is seldom a very approachable writer, but here he's making the effort to communicate to a mass audience, and to a relatively uneducated schmuck like me it's critical dynamite. The spine of my copy of Negative Dialectics may remain forever uncreased, but this one will be carried around.

It is important to point out that Teddie Adorno is spinning in his grave, for the very venue on which I am reviewing Critical Models is itself an example of the fetishized, reified and administered world that Adorno named, and critiqued. However, Adorno's philosophical tradition also includes the catchphrase what is, is right, and would probably view the Internet as more or less a necessary consequence of vast economic forces which it would be simple minded to simply ignore, or negate. And, his "dialectical" logic not only permits us to log on and praise him where praise is due: it requires us to do so.

This collection is of essays written after Adorno returned to the Federal Republic of Germany in the early 1950s. Because culturally Adorno was "very German" and indeed he resented the *Volkische* definition of Germanness imposed by Hitler, Adorno delayed his escape, as the son of a Jewish father and Catholic mother, from Hitlerdom to a dangerous point. He resided briefly in England and somewhat longer in America. Strangely, he did not like England and (given the choice) preferred America, and specifically California, the latter because of its climate.

This collection makes it clear that although Adorno was critical of many tendencies in America he was by no means knee-jerk in his criticism. Adorno enjoyed the very real democracy of American life and the very real empiricism of science as practised here...insofar as democracy and empiricism did not become, as a very different sort of emigre might call it, a shtick, or a number: or, as Adorno would call it, fetishized or reified.

But it is clear from these essays that Adorno would be very critical of changes in America that have occured since my generation, that of the immediate post-war Baby Boom, has taken over the shop. Adorno's work on Fascist tendencies in California, for example, located Fascism in our hearts and at our dinner tables. These tendencies are denied in ceremonies (such as the commemoration, last week, of the bombing in Oklahoma City) which are structured by press and lawyers in a way that fully denies anything like a spontaneous response.

One naturally wonders why it is that people at these commemorations, which memorialize real pain that should never be repeated, have to act in such structured fashions, and it was the structuring of Timothy McVeigh's life by similar tendencies that caused him, in all probability, to bomb the Murragh building.

It was irresponsible to decry social research that located Fascist and authoritarian tendencies so close to home and to expect no incidents such as the bombing of the Oklahoma City building. Adorno's work is a reminder to examine our own environment for barbarism, and Americans who have worked on issues of domestic abuse are in his tradition, even if they would actually find the guy irritating, arrogant and conceited...all of which he was.

Some of the book does require, because of Adorno's arrogance, a knowledge of German philosophy, which is not a laugh a minute by any means. The essay "On Subject and Object", for example, may be completely opaque, even to, and especially to, the "educated" reader if her education is in the typical American university. That's because what we mean by the subject may be divergent from what Ted meant, a difference expressed by our own "catchphrase", "that's subjective."

"That's subjective" means in ordinary usage that "that" can be dismissed, and despite the (laudable) place that mere listening plays in our life, "that's subjective" forecloses listening. Adorno writes from a tradition in which subjectivity is not a sink and instead is a source of value.

The surprising end of "on subject and object" is one in which the mere subject acquires value precisely by being removed from a place of origin: we realize, in the general murk of Adorno's style, that the very reason why we exhibit a false humility about our own subjectivity is that we are delivered a false story about our origins as "the first man", which exalts the subjectivity of a mythical Adam, and makes our own second-hand. Adorno makes the common sense point that given our initial resources (which are inferior, because less specialized, than those of other large mammals) "the first man" was probably the group, in which the "subjectivity" of each member had to be (paradoxically enough) treasured because it was a group resource.

The experience of reading the more difficult essays is one of struggle, and reward, in which one realizes that one's mere failure to comprehend is only in part a product of ignorance: it is one of dawn. This is in contrast to reading the typical American scholarly essay in which the very lack of participation and struggle...and the airy dismissal of important questions as marginalia, drives questions to the zone of the subconscious.

That is, Adorno is outside of the tradition which recast and rephrased problems into such a shape that they could be solved...that their solution was implied by their clear phrasing. Mathematics is an example of this. At its best (and Adorno conceded this in many ways) this tradition is a source of both power and democracy.

At its worst, however, and especially as applied to Adorno's own field of social research, this tradition makes people into objects precisely because it has to ignore the philosopher's tendency to delay, by questioning everything. The most obscene consequence of this is the political poll and its unstated influence on our elections.

Like Adorno's longer works but more accessibly, Critical Models rewards reading, and rereading: the very density of his style provides, in terms that would make the guy shudder, good value for the dollar...precisely because, as

Prfoessor Killoran's scholarship is well-respected, thorough and readable. In this text she surveys the reception of Wharton's work by its critics. Neither a feminist, a Marxist, a post-structuralist or a Freudian, Killoran has no axe to grind but rather interprets the works of Wharton from a multi-faceted close-reading approach and looks at the historical record of reception and review with an eye to giving her reader meaningful insight into the author's life and times. Useful to the undergraduate, indispensible to the specialist.

As with her earlier deft readings, Killoran has done it again, this time with THE CRITICAL RECEPTION OF EDITH WHARTON. We learn a great deal about the author, including what her contemporaries thought of her, and how critics have viewed her throughout the decades since her early publications. Killoran does not shy away from controversial ground, showing the illogic of those who see Wharton as a disciple of Henry James, and, even more intriguing, takes up the "feminist takeover of Edith Wharton". Killoran is not intemperate: with an exhaustive and respectful view of feminist scholarship, Killoran shows that there are indeed other views, ones that may be more fruitful for a deep understanding of the author's genius. Of particular interest is Killoran's unconventional reading of ETHAN FROME, and her detail of all the contradictory things that critics have had to say over the years.

Whether you agree or disagree with Killoran, you will come away with a clear and detailed view of Wharton's standing among various critics, her shifting place in the American literary canon, and a deep appreciation for the many reasons this outstanding writer has appealed and continues to appeal to her readership. Bravo, Professor Killoran.

This book is excellent for college research papers and oral reports. Facts are current and unbiased. I would highly recommend.

Use this for a different perspective. Avoides all the bashing that is so common on the topic, keeps it in perspective, rather balanced.

This book provides, first, a detailed survey of the history and theory behind the concept of hegemony, and then illustrates its relevance to our understanding of race, gender, class, and social struggle. Meticulously documented, exceptionally well-organized, and passionately concerned with social justice, Cultural Hegemony in the United States is highly recommended to students, activists, and academics bored with keeping it all in the classroom.

This is an excellent, easily digestable introduction to the complex concept of cultural hegemony. The authors present a straightforward but informative overview of the subject, including a review of the important thinkers in the field (like Gramsci, Althusser and Stuart Hall). I used this text in an undergraduate course and it was well received by my students...it's a bit pricey but worth it.

The book shows a strong vision of CRM projects under a management perspective.
Very helpful both for academics and practitioners.
Read it!

The book shows a strong vision of CRM projects under a management perspective.
Very helpful both for academics and practitioners.
Read it!

An excellent book which threatens to lapse into obscurity. Everyone should read "Williard and Progressive Management" for its pertenance to today's business as well as its insight into twentieth century history.

A word of warning as stated by the author in his preface: This is NOT a "choo-choo" book!

David Vrooman fills a BIG VOID to document what was a harbinger of the so-called Japanese style of corporate management, the principles of which were developed by W. Edwards Deming after World War II under the name of Total Quality Management, or "TQM". Rather than trying to upstage Deming, Vrooman presents Daniel Willard's common-sense approach in recognizing the dignity and worth of every employee in the corporate structure which he based on good individual upbringing and having been on virtually every rung of the railroad career ladder himself, culminating in the presidency of the B&O Railroad from 1910 to 1941. Throughout his 31 years as B&O president, Willard raised the status of his company from a large, second-class railroad to one that became a model for others to emulate. He did this through two major programs: 1) the Cooperative Plan, during the teens and twenties, receiving exemplary results based on employee unit meetings where suggestions for improvement of their individual work processes were solicited, and 2) the Corporate Traffic Plan, where employees were rewarded if they were able to get new freight accounts and passenger traffic during the years of the Great Depression. Vrooman also examines Willard's contributions to the country's logistics efforts on the railroads during World War I and his successes in averting major labor shutdowns of the nation's railroads. Also, Vrooman admiringly documents Willard's success in his effort to bring together the nation's railroad presidents and rail labor to save them from bankruptcy during the Great Depression by getting them to agree to an across-the-board 10% wage cut! If you were to ask if this could be done today, I would be forced to give a resounding NO! Willard did this through the TRUST that he was able to garner throughout all levels of the railroad industry, to become one of the most beloved individuals in his field as one of the greatest unsung Captains of Industry that American history SORROWFULLY OVERLOOKS!

This is a MUST READ for all those in corporate venues who want to get ahead, and at the same time, exercise the individual scruples they personally have developed in how they deal with their clients, superiors, and employees.

"one of the best biblical studies and reflections I know of on the nuclear menace." -- Jacques Ellul

"If ever a book were written to arouse the church from its self-imposed blindness and to draw it into the light of biblical truth, Dale Aukerman's 'Darkening Valley' is it. It is unlikely to be surpassed by anything written on nuclear war from a religious perspective. I can only regard it as a kind of miracle, delivered into our hands at the time when we most need it. In my opinion Aukerman has produced the most important work on Christian discipleship since Bonhoeffer." -- the Christian Century

I loved this book when I first read it years ago for a college classroom, and I would like to use it immediately for adult church members who take the Bible as ground and authority for faith. Aukerman takes one significant passage of the Bible after another and insightfully brings out meanings clearly in the Bible which speak precisely to the contemporary world (he does this rather like the close readings of Erich Auerbach in Mimesis). This may be the best book I have ever read on the issue of a Biblical view of war and peace. Timely, urgent, readable, timeless.

20 years ago being a parent to an Anorexia Nervosa patient often meant being subjected to scrutiny bordering on assumption that there must be some family "problem", overenmeshment etc. causing the child's illness. Dr. Luca's book sets the story straight and is genuinely helpful to parent's struggling with this disorder in an offspring, e.g. p 17, "Work with patient's) parents focused on helping them to cope better with Andrea's illness and on assuring them that they were not at fault."

This book is written in a very readable style and, reflecting Dr. Luca's academic credentials, it is accurate and informative.
I enthusiastically recommend it to my patients & their families.

This book offers lots of information, backed by both scientific sources and the author's personal experience as a physician. But what I appreciated most was the author's calm and reassuring tone. The book lives up to its subtitle, An Optimistic Guide to Understanding and Healing. Although Lucas describes admittedly alarming situations in detail, he does not sensationalize the disease. Instead he presents a very human side of both the victims and the loved ones (usually the parents).

I found that Demystifying Anorexia Nervosa is an excellent complement to Ellyn Satter's books about children's eating and the "division of responsibility" idea. Lucas, like Satter, place great importance on respecting the individual and the individual's desire to make decisions for him/herself. (For those who have not read Satter's books, they describe how to have the right feeding relationship with your child, and also offer excellent practical advice on feeding babies through school age children.)

I found this collection of 17 essays to be a delightful read. Only two seemed a little too dense or obscure for an introduction, and many seemed to be top-drawer. Because this book captures different perspectives in one volume, I believe it is an excellent primer on the issues and contemporary state of evolutionary psychology.

Taken as a whole this collection argues most explicitly for the evolution of mind. In particular, the primary challenge is to understand the evolutionary development of personality, theory of mind, metamind, social mind, intelligence and language. I was continually amazed at the blending of paleontology, neurology, animal studies, and childhood development into a synthetic whole. The importance of social context in hominid evolution, especially in the development of semantics and grammar, was presented in a clear and convincing manner.

Evolutionary psychology must deal with a breadth of data that is astonishing. Mastery of this interdisciplinary approach may be beyond most readers, but Corballis and Lea offer a diverse collection capable if whetting the appetite of almost everyone. It is my pleasure to recommend this book for the curious, the analytical, and the theorist. Within these pages may lie the kernel of a meta-narrative for all of psychology.

I found this collection of 17 essays to be a delightful read. Only two seemed a little too dense or obscure for an introduction, and many seemed to be top-drawer. Because this book captures different perspectives in one volume, I believe it is an excellent primer on the issues and contemporary state of evolutionary psychology.

Taken as a whole this collection argues most explicitly for the evolution of mind. In particular, the primary challenge is to understand the evolutionary development of personality, theory of mind, metamind, social mind, intelligence and language. I was continually amazed at the blending of paleontology, neurology, animal studies, and childhood development into a synthetic whole. The importance of social context in hominid evolution, especially in the development of semantics and grammar, was presented in a clear and convincing manner.

Evolutionary psychology must deal with a breadth of data that is astonishing. Mastery of this interdisciplinary approach may be beyond most readers, but Corballis and Lea offer a diverse collection capable if whetting the appetite of almost everyone. It is my pleasure to recommend this book for the curious, the analytical, and the theorist. Within these pages may lie the kernel of a meta-narrative for all of psychology.

Detailed review of the book was published in Biomedical Instrumentation & Technology, Vol. 39 (4), pp. 280-281 (July/August 2005).

I couldn't put this book down. It contains a good description of instrumentation, including analog and digital filtering, signal conditioning, data acquisition. The authors' background is in cardiac care (pacemakers, etc.), and the book seems to focus a great deal on patient contact scenarios, whereas I would have preferred some discussion of instrumentation of other signals such as optical techniques (e.g. pulse oximetry), thermography, perhaps imaging technologies. It's a great book for anyone doing work with defibrillators/pacemakers, myography.

Medical Compliance: This book is a *fantastic* reference for anyone who needs to take a medical device through regulatory compliance. It includes a succint introduction to getting through the FDA mazz, plus several chapters dedicated to EMC (radiated/conducted emissions & suceptibility, etc.) and safety.
Although you'll find a decent quantity of equations and theory, the book is extremely practical and hands-on, including tons of clear schematics for various affordable test circuits (field probes, Hipot, leakage, etc.), and simple, direct approaches to testing and construction.
If you're looking strictly for a book on medical instrumentation, this is probably not enough. You won't find details of advanced filtering (e.g., adaptive noise cancellation), chopper detectors, fuzzy modeling & logic, algorithms, etc. But even though it's sparse on "design", this book is very strong on "development". Note the emphasis on FDA in this book, and very little mention of the European Medical Device directives (which, admittedly, are somewhat harmonized).