Massachusetts Books

As a beginning student in graphic art, I heard Leonard Baskin speak at the opening of a printing exhibition at Washington University in St. Louis. That experience made The Gehenna Press and Baskin's work alive for me in a way that simple research could not.

This book contains a bibliography of Gehenna's work which is annotated by Baskin, and that in and of itself makes it beautiful and invaluable. It took Amazon two years to locate the book for me, but it was well worth the wait. If you can find a copy, buy it and cherish it!

an undeniably comprehensive understanding of what it is to be male, female, heterosexual, homosexual, peasant, dubliner, etc., in contemporary ireland, placed in historical, political, economic, and academic contexts as appropriate, this collection of essays grants the reader insight into the most engaging aspects of gender and sexuality in a country where they have historically been marginalized by an overriding theme of nationalism and religion. only in recent years have studies of gender and sexuality reached the irish, as a result of many factors, perhaps most noticably the entry into the EC and the influence of modern media that followed, and this book provides an absolutely comprehensive encapsulation of the different views and interpretations of literary forms that these studies have taken on in recent years.

"The Genesis and Evolution of Time" by J. T. Fraser

Fraser's central thesis in this book asserts that time, rather than constituting the undifferentiated medium of classical philosophy and physics, consists of a hierarchy of interrelationships between aspects of the physical and mental universe.

In his first chapter Fraser outlines the history and philosophy of temporal measurement, culminating in a subtle and precise staement of the requirements for such a measurement. This provides his answer to the question:

"What do we do when we measure time? We test the validity of transformation equations. More generally, we search for order among clock readings and, when found, we express them [sic] in laws of nature."

In the second chapter Fraser, after a brief introduction and justification of application of the concepts of 'Umwelt' and hierarchy in science and philosophy, introduces his fundamental thesis. Briefly, he postulates that the universe exhibits several distict stable integrative levels, i.e., 'Umwelts' within which distinct sets components and their relationships may be described, and which possess distinct 'temporalities', or temporal components of these relationships. Fraser identifies six such levels:

1 Atemporal - the world of particles of zero rest mass, always moving at the speed of light.

2 Prototemporal - the world of particles of non-zero rest mass, always moving, but at speeds less than that of light.

3 Eotemporal - the world of large masses, gathered into stars, galaxies, groups of galaxies, etc.

4 Biotemporal - the world of living organisms.

5 Nootemporal - the world of man as a species and as individual member of the species.

6 ? - the world of collective human institutions, to the extent that they function as semiautonomous structures

Fraser's next four chapters elaborate on the first three levels through extended discussion of the four theories describing phenomena at these levels. The atemporal world is associated with special relativity, the prototemporal with quantum theory, and the eotemporal with thermodynamics and general relativity.

The seventh chapter addresses theories of biogenesis and organic evolution as the source of the biotemporal world, and the role of complexity and organisation in giving rise to the new temporal relationships.

The brief eighth and last chapter reviews the classical notion of time in the context of its role in the sciences and indicates Fraser's position regarding changes in that role necessary to achieve unification and coherence within and among the sciences.

Portions of this book work will seem dated to those keeping up with modern physics, and his views on complexity, while not invalid, seem crude in the light of recent work, particularly that of Stuart Kauffman and others of the Sante Fe Institute. Nonetheless, much of this recent work would appear to support Fraser's conceptual framework. Fraser's use of these concepts is original and important, and possibly the most carefully thought out approach to the problem of time available prior to Julian Barbour's "The End of Time". Fraser's concepts, moreover, as extended by him and others under the auspices of the 'International Society for the Study of Time' , are morelikely to prove applicable to current research in the near term. Barbour's theories are as yet more speculative, and their application as yet difficult to conceptualize.

In all, a book which will reward careful reading with ample food for thought, and provide powerful new tools to anyone seriously interested in the study of time.

A Genius for Place, the latest work by noted landscape historian and preservationist Robin Karson, offers an illuminating look at a number of noteworthy American landscapes of the Country Place Era, including the du Pont estate at Winterthur and Naumkeag in Stockbridge, and weaves together the historical, cultural, esthetic, and personal influences on landscape designers such as Warren Manning, Beatrix Farrand, and Fletcher Steele. Speaking of illuminating, the lavishly illustrated volume features stunning photographs by gifted landscape photographer Carol Betsch. A Genius for Place is an impeccably researched, beautifully written book, accessible to both scholars in the field and the garden variety reader alike.

The process of selling your home can be a very emotional and stressful one, while the process of choosing the RIGHT realtor can also be confusing.

This book helps avoid costly mistakes made by many homeowners, who attempt to sell their most valuable assest on their own, or who don't have enough information on how to choose the best realtor for them. This book gets the point across of how the NET return is the most important number to the seller(finally!), highlighting a common mistake many homesellers make by focusing only on the commission charged.

Written by two very experienced agents, this book outlines the important tips for gettting the MOST money for your property in any market, and how to avoid common pitfalls made by inexperienced homeowners and/or agents.

Using real-life case studies, this book demonstrates how empowering yourself with information can make all the difference to your bottom line, as well as the level of stress involved in the selling of your home. I would highly recommend to anyone thinking about selling that you read this book first!

I read this book once in the 9th Grade and again when I was a Junior and It just gets better every time I read. I was almost a little sad that it isn't one of the top sellers under the medical catagory. The reason I liked this book so much is because A. It is a real story, so all these heart breaking and emotional stories are true B. It was told by the doctor himself, because only he can describe the trials and tribulations of aspiring to be a doctor. Anyone that wants to be or who has ever thought being a doctor should read this book.

Jean McMahon Humez' "Gifts Of Power" collects the writings of Mother Rebecca Cox Jackson, whose career as preacher and Shaker leader spanned from 1830 until her death in 1871.

Though the book contains a lot of detail some might find superfluous, the whole story Rebecca Jackson gives of her life and the spiritual experiences that shaped it is most interesting to read. One sees that at the beginning of her career Rebecca, a black women from Philadelphia, was a part of the Methodist Episcopal Church in her youth and was involved in "Holiness" prayer meetngs during the 1820s.

This part of her career is particularly interesting for the way in which we see that Rebecca, as a result of the Holiness movement's highly participatory nature, was able to write down detailed visions of the coming of Heaven and the Day Of Judgement. These are blended in a facinating way with imagery taken from a woman's everyday life in Jackson's time. Many of her early visions realted closely to Jesus's miracles, but there was also many dreams of such mundane things as quilts, cakes, rain, and deaths of her relatives. Rebecca's writing style was immediate, dramatic, and intensely touching.

Later, she decribed the strains preaching was having on her married life as she moved into intense prayer as Methodists criticised her ministry as a black woman preaching a false doctrine. In response, we see that Jackson focused clearly and sincerely on trying to live the life of Jesus, especially after visiting the Shakers in 1836.

The next part of "Gifts Of Power" deals with the way in which Rebecca, though troubled, found the Shakers. This part of the book is mystical in focus, but is really close to the heart and passionate about how Rebecca's conversion to Shakerism was really based on spiritual visions and dreams stemming from her experience with other Sisters at Watervliet. Her actual entry is likened, indeed, to the Resurrection of Jesus in fiery, yet simple language, and McMahon-Humex does a wonderful job of explaining exactly what Rebecca Jackson was doing in these densely narrated pages.

As a Shaker, Rebecca Jackson did not cede that mystical, fiery character of her early writings, but her later writings have an epic tone lacking in previous letters. She saw during her residence at Watervliet a desite to do missionary work among blacks, which is seen in visions of herself travelling long distances or of the arrival of Native American seeking help. Later still, Jackson appeared to be able to see the whole of the globe, and she described her desperation in explicit and dramatic tones, notable during her brother's last illness.

In Philadelphia, Jackson's drams became focused on early events in her life, and she would dream of being united with her brother as she went on a long pilgrimate to develop a Shaker community for blacks. Her work during her second residence at Watervliet and with the Philadelphia Shakers was indeed seen by her as "going to Zion", in terms that make one clearly understand what she saw of herself like few other texts of this type. She saw herself as revealing the Kngdom of Heaven in her labours with the people of Philadelphia, and she never was afraid to conceal her feelings through her life.

Jean McMahon-Humez adds fitting notes that make unraveling and interpreting the texts very easy. I do not find that these notes detract in any way from the fiery, yet touching quality of Rebecca's texts - and the glossaries make "Gifts Of Power" a true historical documents. "Gifts Of Power" is a must-read for those interested in women's biographies.

If you're interested in either boats or photography, GLASS PLATES & WOODEN BOATS: THE YACHTING PHOTOGRAPHY OF WILLARD B. JACKSON AT MARBLEHEAD, 1898-1937 is for you. It provides both a history of yachting and a history of the yachting photography of Jackson, with full-page black and white photos packed with classic sailing vessels gathered from an archive of over a thousand glass plates images. There's more than the 75 images Murphy has gathered, too: Murphy adds commentary noting nautical facts and history to round out the photos,

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

Book is a good photocopy of the original and an interesting challenge to read it as it was written - uncorrected. I saw strains of Manifest Destiny taking shape as early as 1620.

This booklet is an outline introducing the Bible to young people from a New Church (Swedenborgian) perspective.

Contents

1. Bible Origins
2. The Growth of the Book
3. Translations
4. A Literal and a Spiritual Understanding of the Word of God
5. "The Law"
6. "The Prophets"
7. The Psalms
8. New Testament Literature
9. Daily Use