Switzerland Books

Thinking this would help me better understand Saussure and the roots of modern linguistics, I bought and read this book.

It is not helpful at all, and definitely not a Cliff's Notes to Saussure.

I got this book because I was having so much trouble getting behind Saussure's Course in General Linguistics (available here in amazon), a required text for my college course in Linguistics.

The illustrations usually do not illuminate the text, and seldom offer concrete examples of Saussure's theories. A few times, there is a huge hunk of text, illustrated only with a line drawing of Saussure! Saussure's work is a lot to digest, and the sort of reader (like me) who is attracted to a book like this is in need of some simple explanations and illustrations that really make the text come alive. The book actually makes matters more complex. There is little attempt to meaningfully place Saussure in history, and no mention of how differing modern liguistic theories evolved from either illumination of or dissent from Saussure. This sort of historical context, which I now understand, would be a really helpful feature in an illustrated guide to Saussure. This book is actually a great little example of how NOT to write an idiot's guide.

The Gordon/Lubell book only made my confusion worse, and I ended up slogging on through Course in General Linguistics, pestering my professors after every lecture, and so on. My final "A" owes nothing to Saussure For Beginners.

I would be most grateful to any scholar of Linguistics who can visit this review site and post a comparison of the Gordon book to a more simple writing on Saussure. Future first-year Linguistics students will appreciate it.

From the point of view of teaching Saussure's famous (and obscure) Course in General Linguistics, this is a good book. It is particularly well developed, even for the "For Beginners" series. With a little concentration, one should emerge from this book with a basic grasp of Saussure's linguistics. Further, the book briefly touches on Saussure's influence on later thinkers such as Levi-Strauss or Derrida.

The book disappointed, however, in answering (or failing to answer) the question, "What is it all FOR?" I shall try to expand briefly on this:

Saussure defines a "sign" as "anything that tells us something other than itself". For instance, "the jagged line on a graph isn't there to make you think about jagged lines; it's there to show sales going up and down". It was Saussure's view that such signs derive their meaning from their relationships to other signs. He gave the example of a chess game. All the pieces (the signs) form a system, and it is the interaction between the pieces, or their relationships, that creates their value.

Supposing, then, that we should apply this to a philosophy of life. Saussure's system of signs could show how people make sense of their world by the value they attribute to various signs. Further, all of these signs would hold meaning only insofar as they related to the whole system. Or supposing that one should desacralise religion, and reinterpret it all in terms of signs -- one would have a whole new way of looking at religion.

This is an excellent book, yet the relationships between Saussure's linguistics and various other systems of meaning are not brought out well. This is arguably what Saussure has become most famous for.

If you have not read Saussure before, this is a great advance organizer on his thinking. If you have read him, it is a fine review. You finish the book with a good practical knowledge of Saussure's language and concepts, grounded in the confidence to leap into Structuralism and Deconstruction.

First I will talk about the content and then I will say what I think about the book in all.

The book is 122 pages long including the index. It basically talks about this man Saussure (1857-1913) and his theories of language. The book starts of with a brief history of "linguistics" and briefly explains how the word linguistic came about. The book also talks about the way people studied languages before Saussure.

The book then gives a brief biography of Saussure and how his works were put together. The rest of the book is devoted to his ideas. The book is formated in certain pages so that a question is on the top and the answer is the entire page. For example one of the question is "how come nobody studied the language the Saussure did." The book then tries to answer that question on one page. The book defines certain terms of what you need to know. It tells you what a SIGN is and what ARBITARY is.

The majority of the book is formed in the folowing style: A statement in black letters is on the top of the page. For example a statment might be like this: All sings are arbitary. The entire page is then devoted to explain that. I think the book is pretty good but it can get very confusing and you should use extra sources in the definitions that they try to explain. For example, I couldn't understand what the heck a sign was in terms of linguistics. So I consulted an internet dictionary. The book is very good for somone who is taking a course which includes Saussure. The book is for a realtively familiar beginners with linguistics and I am not one so that is why I was confused. But all in all, it is probably the best book on introducing Saussure.

Saussure for Beginners is an excellent intro to the man whom is credited with as the the creator of modern linguistics. Well written and somewhat easy. This book will surely be taken in stride if you intend to understand exactly what Saussure was saying. As a beginner myself, I found some of the theories confusing. Yet, as I found out later, it was not the writing, it was the theory itself because linguistics is a tricky subject if not approached with some caution. I dont know of any other book that would be a good introduction to the subject, not only of Saussure, but of linguistics itself. Saussure has influenced so many others from Chomsky, Lacan, Derrida, Barthes and so many others. Overall not as fun as many other For Beginners books, however there is certainly more information displayed here. I definately reccomend this book before any other books on linguistics (yes, even before Saussures own posthumous book 'Course on General Linguistics').

Amazon's presentation on this Web page is very confusing as there are two completely different books being referred to here under the title "C.G. Jung":

C.G. Jung: Letters Vol.2 1951-1961, and
C.G. Jung: Word and Image [a biography].

The ISBN number used for this Web page is 0691097240, which refers to volume 2 of Letters (1951-1961). However, when you click on the "Paperback Edition" link, it takes you to Word and Image; ISBN: 0691018472! The Book Description obviously thinks this is the Letters book, but the reviews are clearly also referring to Word and Image.

This is all especially confusing for those looking for a used version of Letters Vol.2 and who are tantalized by the lower prices for an apparent paperback version. Jung's two-volume Letters collection has never come out in paperback and the used paperback that is actually being offered is Word and Image!

It might be time for Amazon to fix this discrepancy before someone receives a different book than the one he thought he was ordering.

This is a biography of Carl Jung (1875-1961), but so much more than that. It traces his life and professional development, drawing on letters and extensive quotes from the Collected Works. It is profusely illustrated, not only with photographs of Jung and the relevant people and places in his life, but also with his drawings. After Jung's break with Freud in the early 1910's, Jung went through a about a decade of professional isolation and rich personal growth. During that time, he kept a journal called the "Red Book", which he decorated with drawing and paintings based on his dreams and active imagination. Many striking images from the Red Book are reproduced in this volume: a drawing of Philemon, Jung's inner spiritual guide; the viscerally disquieting "Meeting with the Shadow"; and a singularly captivating image, "The Light at the Heart of Darkness". Photos of Jung in his travels and at his house in Bollingen round out this engaging visual tour of Jung's contribution. This is a wonderful introduction to Jung's life and work, especially for someone of an artistic inclination.

This is a huge book shining light on Jung's psychology--both personal & theoretical. I added over 100 quotes from it into my collection--an incredible amount. They address a wide range of topics such as: modern art, telepathy, astrology, fear, schizophrenia, the death penalty, ethics & morality, music, evil, psychological projection, Freud, science & its limits esp. in relation to religion, neologisms (creating new words), doctors vs. scientists, rationality/consciousness vs. non-rationality/unconscious mind, the dangers of groups, ethnic differences, & the nature of analytical psychology.

Of special interest, due to the accusations against Jung of anti-semitism, are the several letters sent in his own defense. Based upon the written material herein, these criticisms appear to be unfounded. For example, he wrote: p. 148 "It is my opinion that the peculiarity of the Jews might explain why they are an absolutely essential symbiotic element in our population. If there were no differences between them and other people, there would be nothing to distinguish them at all and then there would also be nothing in the characteristic influence, amply attested by history, which they have exerted on their environment. It must after all be supposed that a people which has kept itself more or less unadulterated for several thousand years and clung onto its belief in being "chosen" is psychologically different in some way from the relatively young Germanic peoples whose culture is scarcely more than a thousand years old" & p. 154 "I am absolutely not an opponent of the Jews even though I am an opponent of Freud's...not because he is a Jew."

He also succinctly describes the overarching nature of analytical psychology which, IMHO, differentiates it from forms of therapy in general & from Freudian psychoanalysis in particular: p. 377 "the main interest of my work is not concerned with the treatment of neuroses but rather with the approach to the numinous. But the fact is that the approach to the numinous is the real therapy and inasmuch as you attain to the numinous experiences you are released from the curse of pathology. Even the very disease takes on a numinous characteristic."

Interestingly, despite his obvious erudition, Thinking orientation, & scholarship, he retains his connection to the real world (reminiscent of Buddhist mindfulness meditation & other techniques): p. 479 "Sometimes a tree tells you more than can be read in books." Clever & profound IMHO. Worth 4.5*'s

A very fine collection...with plenty of glimpses at Jung's trans-analytic speculations and personal reactions. Soulful and, in places, very funny too.

Map is very useful for the immediate downtown section of the city. It doesn't show the business areas to the north of the downtown, We found it usewful.

The Streetwise Zurich map folds accordian style, which makes it much easier to pull out and look at with one hand. It's waterproof and creaseproof too. This is my third Streetwise map and I don't think it will be the last one I buy.

Terrific pocket map. Ordered same for all of the major cities we visited in Europe.

I happen to like city maps, and tend to feel a bit lost if I don't have a city map riding in my backpack. However, having recently returned from Switzerland, I found that all 6 of the Swiss cities I traveled to, had free city maps "stadtplans" both at the hotels I was staying at and more importantly at the tourist information offices. Fortunately most of these tourist information offices are located inside the main train stations, so if you are planning on traveling Switzerland by rail and arriving in towns during normal business hours, you'll be able to get free stadtplans. I ended up folding my free paper maps in my back pocket and wandering around (in fact, in Zurich and Lausanne I ended up wandering off the maps).

That said, the Streetwise map was still instrumental in my pre-trip planning phase. I used the map to locate the potential hotels I was booking for myself on-line. The map did allow me to get a good feel for how close to the train station and main tourist sites the various hotels were, and most importantly, if I couldn't find an address on the map, I chose to not book that hotel. While I could have also used an on-line service to view the maps, I've found that sometimes US based maps make mistakes in smaller European cities.

Zurich is a small enough city, that you honestly will not need a city map. Furthermore, I was also able to get excellent directions from locals in a mixture of English / German. But I'm still happy I have the map, as I now pull out the map laminated map and use it to point out where my Zurich adventures took me to my family and friends. It makes a nice addition to my Lonely Planet Frankfurt and Paris maps. It is small, sturdy, and water proof. For my next vacation, I'll look for more Streetwise city maps.

I ordered this before Christmas and still have not received it.

I have perused many guide books on the Alps, but this is the best one for planning a trip. Why? 1.Instead of unintelligible maps and chunks of incomprehensible prose, this guide has clear maps and concise descriptions (plus good pictures) that help you decide which trip is right for you. 2.The author includes a great range of hikes, from day trips to 2-3 days to longer treks. Also summit climbing routes on mountains from easy to moderate difficulty, plus snowshoe hikes for winter. 3. Unlike guide books that are only about getting from point A to B, this one has a lot of really interesting information about the history, flowers, wildlife, architecture, and culture of the alps. It's a complete package for planning a great trip.

An excellent book that will appeal equally to walkers and climbers.The selection is wide and varied and the format is easy to follow.A detailed and thorough first hand knowledge is much in evidence and the writer does a great job in promoting The Alps.One suspects that there will be more books to follow from this author.I am planning to do the Chamonix--Zermatt trek this summer and Hilary`s description makes it all the more enticing.I can`t wait to get there!!

nice price for a book detailing 22 different Alpine treks. Ms. Sharp includes practical "how to" information on each trek, as well as essentials on technical peaks that are accessible along the way. Her knowledge and love of the Alps is obvious from the text, and the photos are a real motivator to get over to Europe and do them all. Printed on high quality paper, this is a useful take-along resource for anyone who wants to include some adventure in a visit to Europe. Highly recommended.

] The mere words "walking in the alps" conjure images of snowcapped mountains, lakes nestled in valleys, breathtaking scenery and fill the heart with longing to be there. This volume does not transport the reader - it is not an "armchair travel" experience". But it does provide massive amounts of information to the traveler planning a trip.

Planning is the key word. The paperback volume is too bulky (480 pages) to pack to take with you or to comfortably carry, although if you don't mind destroying your book (paperbound), you could easily tear out the sections appropriate for your travel plans.

Coverage is exhaustive in terms of area: from the Alpes Maritime in France to the wooded hills of Vienna, with Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Austria in between.

This book is not for the general tourist or casual walker, but is geared toward a specific audience. The introduction says that "the mountain walker the individual with good general fitness, a modicum of scrambling experience and an eye for the hills, can move far enough and at the right paced ... is the person for whom this book is written."

Since it is written for such a specific audience, I was surprised at some of the omissions. The maps are excellent. Attempts have been made to define the topography of each area. But precise route descriptions are not supplied.

In summary, this is a good, but not stand alone, reference for the serious walker to use in planning a trip.

You read it with a map alongside and you study the map a while - then everything falls into place.

There is nowhere this book cannot take you.

It is a labour of love, written by a man who knows his Alps and knows his onions !

Get stuck in !

This book has a wealth of information on specific trails and specific mountains. It is incredibly detailed, but it lacks any overview. It provides no help on how to choose a trail or select where to go. Nor does it cover what sorts of things you will need on your trip or how to plan it. So unless you know exactly where you want to go hiking and need some specific information on trails in that area, this book is not too helpful.

When buying this book, a person feels will to walk in the Alps. When reading it this will fast becomes in life objective! I really disagree with the affirmation that this book does not serve to choose what to make in the Alps. I covered 3 passages indicated for this great man (Kev Reynolds) in the zone of the Graian Alps, in France, and any one of the passages corresponded to the one that assumes to be. Absolutely incredible! It is a book to read in house even because the bookbinding is, no doubt, the weak part of this magnificent book. The indications concerning the maps to buy and of the difficulty of the hikes are correct.

I have the 1987 edition of this book so the newer edition may include hut and hotel information. However, for a book where part of the title is "From Vacation Apartments, Hotels, Mountain Inns, and Huts" there is NO hotel information or any information on how to book a stay at a hut.

Also, the hikes are limited to very small areas. Val d'Herens is not listed on any of my maps and there are no hikes listed for Verbier which is right over the mountain.

If you want to model your vacation after theirs this book is nice. This book won't fit into your vacation though. I'd recommend "100 Hut Walks in the Alps" which lists hut information across France, Switzerland, Italy, Austria and Slovenia.

Walking Switzerland-The Swiss Way was an invaluable source of quality information. I used the book to help me choose which hikes in the Val d'Herens, in the Saas Valley, and around Zermatt would best suit my tastes during a two week hiking trip. Each hike was described accurately. The book does not contain wasted prose on "touristy" information, but rather concentrates on the details of each individual hike. The authors have carefully organized the details (how long, how high, what views may be seen at each pass) of each hike. Using the book, I was able to select a new hike each day. I knew what to expect with each new hike, and I was never disappointed with the book. This is the most informative, most accurate book of its kind that I have seen. I recommend it to anyone who wishes to hike in the Swiss Alps, and who needs some ideas of exactly where to go and what to expect. Information is not limited to the Valasian Alps. Hikes in the Jura, Engadine, Ticino, as well as in the Eiger, Moench, Jungfrau region are described as well.

My wife and I have hiked the Swiss Alps for 4 consecutive summers. The Lieberman book got us hooked on Switzerland. The book is the most informative resource for "off-the-beaten track" travel in Switzerland. Perhaps the greatest feature of the book is the detail in which every walk is described almost from "boulder to boulder" so even the amateur hiker can feel confident in the alps. Secondly, the book opens up a whole new world for travellers not familiar with "vacation apartments". These rental properties are the REAL "bargains" that can be found in a stereotypically expensive country for travellers. It is obvious the Liebermans have written the book with passion and have uncovered several hidden gems such as the villages of "Ardez" and "Les Haudéres" that most travel guides overlook. If you didn't have this book you'd miss fabulous remote villages and hikes that are well within reach of the average hiker. I have bought both editions and am planning to buy their new book on Mountain Inns...its probably great!

For any one who loves Antarctica andice, this is a wonderful book, written by one of the world's foremostglaciologists.

For any one who loves Antarctica andice, this is a wonderful book, written by one of the world's foremostglaciologists.

This entire series is fantastic. I've been using it both with my Girl Scouts & 4H clubs for about 20 years now, but also for myself.

This is meant to be a children's cookbook, but unlike most on the market it doesn't talk down to them. A fantastic introduction to the regional cooking with lots of useful information regarding cooking in general & ethnic cooking as well.

Not for someone who is advanced in a particular cuisine, but it does what it sets out to do really, really well. Just wish they would put out regional American cooking books as well.

Cooking the Swiss way is a simple book with basic Swiss recipes. It also gives a broad explanation of some of the Swiss customs. It is a fantastic book (5 stars) for the young cook in the kitchen trying new cultural recipes although for the more advanced it misses its mark.

what a fabulous book! well-written, accurate, and *funny*-- i can't stand how good this book is!

This book spends too much time on where you should stay and not enough time is spent on what there is to see and do. Geneva sounds really boring in the book but the reality is very different. The maps of Switzerland don't even have much detail so it can be difficult to tell where things are. Check out the Swiss tourism site for some great information

This atlas contains tons of information in several different languages. Each page in the atlas is a different retangular section of this region, but the only key that helps orient each page in the bigger picture is a small map of the entire region in the front. It is difficult to follow, say, a certain highway across Germany without flipping back and forth to the front of the book several times. In addition, the pages are not split very well according to regions of interest - i.e. several metroplitian areas are split between two pages, and not even necessarily on successive pages. There are maps of each country in its entirety, but they are not very detailed - most don't even include the names of major highways.

All in all, this is still a useful atlas with tons of information.

Highly recommended to plan for driving in Europe. Specially if one wants to get off the main highways and drive along scenic routes to their destination, this map is highly recommended. Easy to use and very clear.