New York Books

Totally gorgeous pictures of one of the last great places in the world. Sun and sand and water and nature make up Robbin's oeuvre and he gives us pictures that are worthy of his subject--and elevates it to art.

Brandt's essay is particularly enlightening about Robbin's body of work.

A magnificent work of art transports you this land of beauty and charm. it leaves just enough for your imagination to interpet.

I would love to buy this book but the price prevents me from doing so...

Your Price is much too high!

These beautiful hand-painted and computer-manipulated photographs of the Hamptons transcend category and genre -- they are simply masterful works of art.

You don't have to have any familiarity with this part of the world to derive considerable pleasure from these images. If you do know this place, you will be amazed: It's as if you've never seen it before.

This exquisitely designed and produced volume has the feel of an instant classic.

Hilda Dunn's The Hanged Man is a clever and entertaining mystery that should be read by everyone who admires the novels of Jane Austen and Barbara Pym. With great skill, Dunn presents an exciting story (one that makes unobtrusive references to works by such writers as T.S. Eliot and Graham Greene among others)while presenting a view of post-World War 2 England that is as good as anything in the novels of Pym. The reader needn't have read these earlier writers to enjoy Dunn's novel, but if one has some familiarity with with them, the enjoyment is increased, and the reader sees that Dunn is an extrordinarily clever writer.

But,more important, The Hanged Man is an entertainment. It is fun to read, and the final pages are as exciting as any other mystery story I know. Don't miss out on this treat.

THE HANGED MAN offers the enjoyment of meeting a well-furnished mind through an enthralling story, with highly evocative period details that bring daily life in the 1940s to the page. The author's wit and intelligence shine through and ensure the reader's pleasure.

Reading "The Hanged Man" was a thoroughly enjoyable experience for me. The plot has more twists than a Celtic knot, something I usually don't go for since in most twist-and-turn detective novels the cast are not much more than pawns in the author's effort to concoct a surprise-filled puzzle. In this book, however, the players were all alive and interesting, each with its own funny and loveable idiosyncrasies. Every character in this book was vivid and fascinating to me, even the secondary ones. In fact it seemed each one had enough "juice" in it to merit being a protagonist in a book of its own.

The language in the book is rich, sometimes almost too rich for someone like me for whom English is not a native tongue. I'm sure I missed most of the interesting (and funny) homages to (and parodies of) classic works of literature. It comes across very vividly that Ms. Dunn was in love with the English language and literature, and the book is virtually fizzling with this love affair.

With suspense hitting you right on page 1 without relenting till the last chapter, "The Hanged Man" manages a truly unique tight-wire act in my eyes: It somehow manages to be fun and yet deep at the same time. A spoiled reader like me is thus provided with everything he could possibly wish for: Instant gratification AND an intellectually worthwhile adventure...

Isaac Orr, Israel.

This novella is a gem, a comedy of manners written with gentle wit and intelligence.There is a mystery to hang the plot on, but Dunn shines best in the scenes and the verbal sparring of characters. It's the kind of book that makes a reader hope to get a bad cold, just for an excuse to stay in bed and slowly reread it.

THE HANGED MAN is a masterpiece of the thriller genre, every page pulsing with energy and interest. Dunn treats her characters generously but with clear-eyed understanding, and, as in the great realists' novels, each character has the complexity and instability of a living thing.. The speech of the characters is quicker, racier, wittier, more richly evocative of personality than actual speech, and it is precisely for that reason that it seems to ring so true. It is when Dunn ties together all of the novel's various strands at the end of the novel that the extent of her artistry is revealed: even as one is overcome by the surprise ending, one feels that the novel could not have ended any other way.

Great read, to see just how these people live. Interesting facts about the buildings and the people who live in them.

This book was fantastic. I couldn't put it down. For someone like myself who is obsessed with all things New York, this gave an unprecedented look at what goes on behind the walls of NY's most coveted buildings. A definite must read.

Great read if the outrageously rich, shallow and pompous icons (of thier own minds) facinate you. I couldn't put it down!

This book is a great and easy read. I enjoyed shuffling the chapters so that I could read about the most famous/notorious buildings first. The best thing is that each chapter "tackles" a different building. In addition, each chapter reads like a Movie of the Week - stranger than fiction. The stuff is so bizarre that it could not be made up. The wealth of information shows that the authoress really did her homework.

If you are a New Yorker like I am and enjoy history of New York buildings, this book is for you. It will be one I read over and over and even imspired me to go around to all the buildings and take my own pictures of them. I LOVE NEW YORK and especially the buildings. I thank the ladies who wrote this book as they did a very good job. I have always been in love with New York buildings. You will enjoy it too if you are so inclined.

This was a good buy has excellent material for hiking any of the areas along the AT. in Mid Atlantic.

There are many books about the AT, but this one is superb for it's detail and attention to partial sections for hiking. Can be used for thru hiking as well. Gives day and overnight parking details, profile of terrain, degree of difficulty, recommended direction, water and shelter locations, topo maps, mileage etc. Everything that a hiker needs!! Excellent.

I have 2 books in this series, and have frequently used photocopied pages from them on my AT section hikes. I never needed to buy the AMC versions of the maps since comprehensive maps are provided within this book, along with mileage charts for road crossings, springs, campsites, landmarks, etc. for every section of the Trail.

Although this book is obviously geared for the day-hiker or overnighter, it has also come in handy on my longer hikes. And the writers have narrowed down every section into either 1- or 2-day hikes, along with directions to the trailheads (even in the remote 100-Mile Wilderness section in Maine!), proving that the AT can be enjoyed by casual hikers as well as hardcore mile-crunchers.

Cons: This book, and the others in the series, is seriously due for an updated edition. Lots has changed along the trail even in 8 years. (carrying up-to-date pages from the ALDHA Thru-Hikers' Companion is necessary to have the full info). Also, the maps are two-color, making certain features hard to read, i.e. roads are the same color as elevation markings.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE are NOT 170 hikes in the book. The whole series must contain that many.

I own 3 books in this series. The Southern Appalachian, the Virginias, and the Mid-Atlantic States guide. I have found these books to be a great aid in planning hikes, especially 2-3 day backpacking trips. Since most of these hikes are either one-way or round trip (as opposed to circuit hikes) you either need to have two cars or plan on seeing the same sites twice. I'm not saying this is a bad thing, but other books have better circuit hikes.

This series IS very informative, not only with regards to the actually hike, but also the history both natural and otherwise of the area you are hiking in.

I have only done a few of the hikes in the Mid-Atlantic Guide, all of which have been out and back day hikes, and this book has been very informative during these hikes. The maps could be a little better, as they are topographocal maps with a green line for the trail.. They are adequate, but I've seen better.

All 41 hikes come with a description, a map, an elevation profile, and an itinerary, as well as various other information.

When planning for a hike I do tend to use this book in conjunction with other books, but I usually take this book (or copies of the pages) on the actual hike itself. The fact that the pages are so small allows for easier handling and storage of the laminated pages during the trip.

So if you enjoy hiking and are near the AT while in PA, you may want to take a look at this book. It is well worth the money.

It is clear that these authors were not kidding when they stated that they have a love affair with the Appalachian Trail. The descriptions not only cover all you need to know to be prepared to hike a certain section, but there's lots of history and local color as well.

I've used this book successfully to plan hikes for a youth group. I must admit I disregarded the advice that a certain section (Knife's Edge) was not for those suffering from vertigo and sure enough, the group of kids I took on this section included one who suffered severely from fear of heights. But the kids worked together to get through that section and all was very well in the end.

This book is by no means dry. Sprinkled here and there are humorous passages, like the classification of vampire rocks versus jumping rocks. A pollution-damaged section is described as "shaved clean."

An experienced hiker who has decided to hike section-hike or day-hike the trail between Harper's Ferry and the New York / Connecticut state line needs no other guide. I also recommend this book for the library of every youth group, particularly scouts, in this geographic area that would (or should) plan hiking outings as part of their yearly plans.

I enjoyed this book very much. Tarleton's deductive and vainglorious writings are very informative yet do not dwell on American victories but rather American humiliation. I would not recommend it if you are not altogether serious though.

A fascinating book, plainly and well written. It took a moment or so to get used to the vernacular but it's a smooth read. I was particularly interested in Tarleton's say on what happened during the Buford Massacre because he implies (in my opinion) that the slaughter of the American troops was not ordered by him but rather, a circumstance of war and the crazed emotional upheaval that accompanies the heat of battle. The book presents an interesting view of the American War of Independence from the "other side". Well worth it.

After over 113 years of being out of print, Banastre Tarleton once again speaks (at an affordable leavel no less) of his experiences and knowledge of the battles he and his British compatriots went through. Mind you, it is a bit of a dry read as that his legal style of writing shows through the whole thing. If you ever wanted insight as to the British side of the American Revolution,here's your book!

The style of the antique font is most appealing to devotees of British Militaria. It is though one is reading the dispatches from "Bloody Bana" himself. This is the point of view never learned in America. If you enjoyed "The Patriot" you will enjoy this book. Refers in the 1st part to Major Patrick Ferguson, the inventor of the Ferguson Breechloading Flintlock rifle. The descriptions of the terrain and hardships as well as surrender terms and stores captured are thoroughly detailed.

A very detailed history of the Southern Campaigns of the American Revolution. At times a little self serving. It is enjoyable in eighteenth century text. Detailed maps.

When one Edwin Henderson, a Harvard-educated African American physical education teacher - was introduced to basketball in Washington DC in 1907, he envisioned it as a method of organizing black athletes to allow them to excel at northern while colleges. In sports, he reasoned, blacks would get a fair chance to succeed. Hot Potato details the birth and rise of black amateur basketball in America, examines college basketball and the origins of the CIAA, and surveys the rise of black professional athletes. A truly outstanding sports history evolves.

Kuska has given us some details to back up the legends of black basketball stars from the first half of the 20th century. Many of the individual names are known and the New York Renaissance team has been heard of by real basketball fans. This book gives us some details and further understanding of what the individuals went through and what modern basketball owes to them. A GREAT READ!! Hope to hear more from this fine writer and sports historian.

I am the granddaughter of Samuel Buck Covington. I'd just like to point out in the editorial by John Grasso, from Guilford, NY, that my grandfather, Samuel Buck Covington was mistakenly referenced as "Cunningham". Samuel Buck Covington was an outstanding athlelete and pillar of the Washington Metropolitan community. He was honored to be part of the writing of this wonderful book and the naming of the title "Hot Potato". Growing up he told countless stories of what it was like breaking barriers and playing semi-professional basketball for the Washington Bruins against teams such as the Harlem Globtrotters. This is a wonderful tribute to those who came through during this time who had gone unnoticed. I am proud to say he was my grandfather. Unfortunately, he did not live to see the final product of this book. Samuel Buck Covington died in September,1998 . . . Cheryl Moore

There aren't enough adjectives to describe this important work on an oftentimes overlooked part of U.S. history/sports.

Bob Kuska takes the reader on an exploration of the development of black athletics at the turn of the last century, with his focus surrounding basketball teams and leagues in New York City and Washington, D.C.

The chapters are in chronological order by year and highlights the important personalities, teams and events in the two cities and throughout the country - from youth leagues to the colleges and beyond.

I am particularly impressed with Kuska's acknowledgement of many individuals that time had seemingly forgotten. The ten years of research he did certainly accomplished his goal of giving the reader a complete understanding of the era.

To set a clear path to the future, our society must have an appreciation of the rough paths taken by those who confronted the hideous Jim Crow laws and other forms of racisim & truly learn from the past.

America's game was changed forever, but not just on the hardwood floors. These heroes knocked down barriers and opened the door for others to pursue their dreams, no matter what the odds.

Seldom does a basketball historian find a book on basketball in which more than 75% of the material is new to him. Bob Kuska's new book - Hot Potato: How Washington and New York
Gave Birth to Black Basketball and Changed America's Game Forever is such a book.

It is a chronicle of the earliest days of Black basketball in the two cities where its impact was greatest and covers the period 1905 through the 1930s. There have only been a handful of
books written on basketball history of this period and none of them devote more than a few pages to Black teams.

More than a decade of research went into this work which includes a detailed reference section and twelve pages of photos.

The story begins with Edwin Henderson, the first major contributor to Black basketball and concludes with the New York Renaissance - the Hall of Fame team of the 1930s. Both amateur and pro basketball are covered.

Along the way the basketball exploits of such legendary figures as Paul Robeson and Cumberland Posey are detailed along with Fat (not Fats) Jenkins, Pop Gates, George Fiall, Bob Douglas and many others.

The intriguing title came about as a result of an discussion with Sam "Buck" Cunningham, one of the players interviewed during the research for the book. "The players today are much better than we were - ... but there is one thing that we could do better. We could pass the ball better than they can now.
Man, we used to pass that basketball around like it was a hot potato."

This is definitely a must addition to the library of a basketball historian. Thank you very much, Bob."

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Fisher presents detailed, compassionate portraits of seven (plus) dauntingly complex individuals, as well as providing a highly textured sense of time and place. This biography goes far beyond recounting pedigrees and achievements to convey a real sense of the individual human being (in this case, each individual in the James family). I particularly enjoyed Fisher's careful attention to the less prominent family members. The "intimate" point of view (rendering events from the perspectives of family members) is compelling and effective in recreating this fascinating family. The author's opinions are presented respectfully and provide much food for thought without reducing the complexity and ambiguity of real people and events. This book--its rendering of a generation, its stories, its wonderful photographs--is a gift.

I've been reading books by and about the various Jameses for years and this is one of the absolute best for its range, wit, compassion, and modernity. The author isn't afraid to look openly at the dark side of this remarkable family, but he also doesn't overdraw conclusions. What I like best is that Fisher gives you a profound sense of the fault lines in the James clan, the allegiances, the jealousies, the ways in which they depended on one another and undermined each other. And the family exists in each historic period it passes through, so that the impact of technological and cultural shifts is always present. His grasp of the material is flawless, his insight sharp, and his writing is so good I read some passages aloud. This book marks a new era in James studies, but you don't have to know anything about the clan to be riveted by this complex story of wealth, ambition, despair, defeat, genius.

I love this biography. I grew up in the Albany-Saratoga area, lived in New York for many years and now live in Boston. Paul Fisher brings these places alive through his beautiful writing of this complex, troubled yet lovable family. It's a great book.

This is not the type of book I would normally read but I absolutely loved it! I am not a scholar and I knew nothing about the James family but it was a real page-turner. What I loved most about it was the family dysfunction, scandal and complicated relationships. I thought that people just spent their time painting china and doing needlepoint during this era and I was shocked and delighted to learn that this family struggled with many issues and challenges that we struggle with today! The book was funny, moving, informative and I learned a lot about the period. Looking at this family through a contemporary lens was really fascinating. It is a great book and a lot of fun to read.

I loved this book. It is a great read. I could not stop turning the pages. Fisher is an amazing storyteller. I am impressed by his ability to capture scenes and characters.Not only did I learn about the James family, I also learned about this period in American history. Fisher weaves incredible details into his narrative. This book is a delight.

Comprehensive, simple, full of examples - worth the money.

Good introductory book with plenty of examples. Good layout too. Many different options trading techniques are discussed, each with an indication of how risky it is. It even suggests leaving some of the more advanced techniques to the professionals, or more experienced traders - good advice.

If i had to pick a book that explained the most about options to the layman in the clearest language in the fewest pages, this would be it.

a must read for anybody who wants to understand how to use options

Yes, As a beginner I can confidently say I know what option is, it's uses and the risk involve. The Author did not only explain the principle but gave practicable example everyone can relate to. All in simple and plain English, you don't need to have been to a school of economy to know what an option is. With the help of this book, I can't look stupid when others uses terminologies relating to option. Keep up the good work Joseph.

Mr. Walker is clear and concise in his depiction of how the options markets work. He details various strategies and makes options investing understandable to those new to it.

In my 11 years as a futures investor, broker, and author, I have never seen someone with as much grasp of options investing as Mr.Walker and have the capability to explain it.

John Russon's book is now one that I have used in both my introductory courses and in my upper division course on Heidegger's Being and Time. In each case, students have reacted extremely well and have declared that Russon's is the most concrete and well-argued book in the course.

In my introductory course, I have used Russon's book after Descartes and Kant and before Simone de Beauvoir's Ethics of Ambiguity. The problems of embodiment, of time, and of other people that Russon explores stand in stark contrast to Descartes' dualism and Kant's categorical imperative. After reading Russon, students become more attuned to the way in which Descartes and Kant leave something important out of the description of human experience--namely, the experience of unity with others or mutual recognition. Having recognized this, students are then prepared to read de Beauvoir, who challenges the classical notions of ethics and knowing in phenomenological/existential ways.

Ordinarily, I would be the first to argue that phenomenology is difficult to present to introductory students because so many of the primary texts are difficult for them to read. Russon's book, however, is short and it covers a great deal of ground easily through his use of some key examples. I am happy to say that I have found that even my less involved or weaker students are able to locate the critical sentences of Russon's argument, and they report that his examples assist them in explicating his argument in their own words.

In my course on Heidegger's Being and Time, I used Russon's book first. This allowed students to come to grips with the issues of interpretation, memory, and other persons in ways that mattered to them. Introducing them to the issues and to the type of examples that Heidegger could have in mind then really helped me make Heidegger's language more accessible. Heidegger's introduction, which I find very difficult to teach, seemed to fly by for them, and we soon were able to delve into the concepts of being-in-the-world, etc.

What I noticed most about Russon's book in teaching it in the upper division course was that it was a book that easily sustained a variety of student levels. It was concrete and direct enough for an introductory student to get something out of, yet it was sophisticated enough to allow me to assign three-page papers for upper-level students on each chapter.

Lest the reader of this review think that Russon's book is only for undergraduates, let me say that I think Russon's book is also a very helpful resource for graduate students in philosophy and for persons looking to get a handle on phenomenology as a whole. It is possible to see within his chapters not only the logical development of Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit but also the descriptive power of Merleau-Ponty's Phenomenology of Perception. Russon's is obviously a book written by someone who has dwelled within the texts of phenomenology and has internalized them to the degree that he is able to speak directly and clearly about them.

This is the best introduction to the themes, results and approach of phenomenological philosophy available in the English language. Written so as to be accessible to students or readers with little or no background in philosophy, Russon's book is at once a lucid, compelling and comprehensive account of the problems of human life, and a novel, cogent synthesis of central concepts of contemporary European philosophy. Beginning with a superb discussion of interpretation, embodiment and memory as central to experience, the book then shows how our experience turns on our relations to others, in family and civil society; how such experience leads to dissociations that turn into neuroses; and how therapy, education and philosophy can help us learn to handle neuroses. It is a perfect book in its genre, and its genre is perfect for our time: a book for the general reader that shows how philosophy provides deep insights into human experience and everyday life.

I would recommend Human Experience to anyone seeking philosophical or psychological insight into the human situation. I would also recommend it as a text for those teaching or learning introductory philosophy, existentialism, phenomenology, or as an introduction to the themes of Contemporary European philosophy.

In "Human Experience," John Russon offers engaging and thought provoking interpretations of aspects of our human life that most of us assume we have already come to understand. He provokes readers to reconsider the way they think about the role of family in their lives, about the nature of the mind and the body, about mental health, and about the significance and role of philosophy in everyday life. Remarkably, Russon's book is accessible to the lay community, while also being a challenging and critical text for those studying philosophy and psychology (and especially for those with interests in phenomenology, existentialism, and mental health therapy). My own experiences with this text attest to this: I have profitably studied and discussed Russon's text with professors in the fields of philosophy and psychology, and I also recently taught this book with great success in an introductory philosophy course at the undergraduate level (beside texts by Plato and Descartes). The students in my introductory philosophy course were thrilled by the connections that Russon's book had to their own lives; they frequently claimed and explained how Russon had helped them to understand or recognize something that had previously been opaque to them. I recommend this book to anyone who is looking for an intelligent, compelling, and accessible introduction to some of the most contemporary issues in philosophy, and I especially recommend it for use as a text in a course in Introduction to Philosophy. This book would also be of particular interest to those interested in Salvador Minuchin's family therapy or R.D. Laing's "anti-psychiatry," or contemporary cognitive science.

Self-help books are usually premised on the idea that we know more or less how we'd like to turn out, and just need some good advice on how to get there. We want to be rich, have people like us, get more done in less time, overcome depression, lose weight, or maximize our pleasure. Even if the practical instruction were sound (usually it just amounts to a series of platitudes like: invest and save your money, try to be more witty, buy a planner, take more time for yourself, don't eat fatty foods, tell your lover what you want....), even if these books offered advice on achieving your goals that really worked, the approach is still problematic because it fails to take into account the question why we want just these outcomes, what is going on in our lives that has so far resisted our achievement of these outcomes, and whether these outcomes will really bring "satisfaction." Before we begin the process of self-improvement, we really have to know who we are. We need to begin the process of rigorous self-examination, that was first proposed by the ancient Greek philosopher Socrates as essential to a life worth living. In that process it would be difficult to find a better guide than John Russon, who has absorbed the pivotal insights on the question to be drawn from the history of philosophy from Plato and Aristotle through Freud and Marx to Heidegger and Sartre and Merleau Ponty, and distilled their essence into the form of a rigorous but readable treatise on the nature of human experience, and especially on what it takes to be healthy and whole in the face of diverse and contradictory demands imposed on us by ourselves, our families and our worlds.

Several other reviewers have noted that the book is informed by and works in the philosophical tradition of 20th Century phenomenology, and constitutes an important contribution to contemporary Continental philosophy. What is perhaps most distinctive about the book is that, like Aristotle's ethics, the explicit aim of the book is not merely to help us understand ourselves but to assist in the process of actually becoming better. In fact, the book might be considered as a kind of update (after Descartes, Kant, Hegel, Nietzsche, Freud, Marx, Husserl, Heidegger and Merleau-Ponty) of Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics. Aristotle's ethics amounts to an effort to fulfill the human potential. Notoriously, though, he claimed that this fulfillment was only possible for those who had already been raised well, with roughly the right set of habits or characteristic dispositions to act. The reason for this seemed to be that when we reach the age of reason, and acquire the capacity to reflect on what we do and how to do it better, it is already too late to modify our basic dispositions unless those dispositions are already more or less self consistent and more or less moderate and amenable to change. So, presupposed by his ethics is a good social and familial environment for child rearing: an environment that is built up with a more or less clear sense of what the best kind of life for human beings is, and with a more or less clear strategy of how to prepare children for this life. Another way to put this was that he knew his ethics would not be realizable on a large scale without large scale political effort, and he complemented his ethical writings with a political treatise. The problem is, if this was a problem in the time of Aristotle it is much more obviously a problem today, where individuals and families and religions and communities have nothing close to a consensus about the nature of human beings and the strategies for their education. The habits we develop in our families can easily conflict with those required for performance in school or expected in church or demanded by our relationships within the larger community. And we can't really expect that to change, and can't wait until it does to implement a plan for individual development. Russon's text can be considered an update of Aristotelian ethics that takes the modern social and political world as its context, and therefore cannot presuppose an ideal reader who is more or less already "well adjusted" with the approximately right set of habits that would allow her to attune these through the application of practical wisdom.

The basic argument of the text can be summarized fairly quickly in a series of theses that build upon each other:

(1) we and the world we inhabit, do not merely consist of objective realities (a mind and bodies) that just are what they are; rather, we and our world are to a significant degree the product of interpretation;
(2) the interpretive acts that inform our sense of ourselves and our world is not the result of an arbitrary choice, but is rather the product of a history of unreflective engagement with the world, beginning with childhood and family life, that results in our acquisition of habits that allow us to navigate our surroundings with a degree of success;
(3) these habits we develop in a range of situations constitute a kind of memory of those situations, that prepares us well for similar situations but may be ill suited for new situations; so we (and our loved ones) may find ourselves acting in ways that appear odd or inappropriate as responses to our current situation, but these responses are in fact the result of our past habits that "interpret" the new situation as analogous to the past one and thereby calling for the same response;
(4) adopting such "irrational" behaviors (i.e. behaviors that are unresponsive to the immediacy of the situation one is facing) is what is usually described as neurosis, and so the analysis shows that it is in a way part of the human condition to be neurotic
(5) overcoming the dangers of this neurosis requires that we develop a new habit of interpreting ourselves, and of making sense of why we act the way that we do; rather than berate ourselves for behaving in ways that cause us problems we learn to assess these behaviors in light of our past; only when we understand the circumstances in which the behaviors were learned are we likely to be able to change them (by changing our current circumstances, or learning to see that these new circumstances do not call for the response we have learned) in appropriate ways
(6) this new set of habits of self-interpretation and self-analysis cannot really be done well in isolation (because the ways in which we think are themselves conditioned by our past and by prejudice) and so requires that we be willing to submit our self-analyses to scrutiny (through reading, through philosophy, through therapy) -- which means that we cannot improve our lives unless we are willing to engage in the process of philosophical self-examination that Socrates encouraged, a process whose aim is to "know thyself."

While the argument by itself could be used to mount serious challenge to several of the basic premises of the popular self-help (and pop psychology) movement, what is really brilliant about the book are the wide range of examples and Russon's deliberate and sustained effort to teach the reader how to redescribe experience in ways that enable and sustain the effort to grow and become healthy. Part of the process of the book is not merely to come to an intellectual understanding of what life is like, but to develop a whole new way of talking and thinking about life experience that actually transforms the way our experience unfolds. Like some of the other reviewers here, I used this book in the classroom to teach students about phenomenology. They learned a lot and really enjoyed the book but what was most notable was the way that writing about it clearly gave them the tools to reflect upon their lives in new and empowering ways. I can't recommend the book highly enough -- though be warned that it is a challenging book, both in the sense that it requires careful attention and slow digestion, and in the sense that it aims to challenge a number of our most basic prejudices about the nature of reality and experience.

John Russon's Human Experience is a work that offers a unique pedagogical opportunity. I have used the book in an undergraduate course on Existentialism to great advantage, and again in an Introductory course to draw together diverse threads of a year-long study of the goals and varied expressions of a philosophical education. It was, however, in my repeated references to Russon's arguments in an Ancient Philosophy course that the book's sophistication became most apparent to me.

Russon is already recognized, by virtue of a series of shorter studies published in a range of journals, as a careful and persuasive reader of ancient philosophical texts. These works, however, focus primarily on working through the complexity of those texts in an explicit and focused exegetical manner. This book offers something quite different: no less than a detailed and self-determining account of the philosophical project underway in the ancient texts, a setting out of the framework within which they unfold, a reckoning with the 'why' as much as with the 'how' of the Platonic, Aristotelian and Stoic projects.

The power of Russon's book in this context is that it shows how ancient philosophy provides what must be called the animating context for the concerns of existential phenomenology, and indeed vice-versa: why it matters, that is, that Charmides blushes, or that Socrates is familiar with Theaetetus' family background (and Theodorus is not); why thinking and ethics depend on having taken an investigative stance toward our experience, and why it is that our expressive behaviour, and especially our conversations, are reflective of our being developed, and the scene and event for our openness to further development - our therapy, our education - and why that possibility for further development is situated in a social and political context that may or may not be favourable to it. Like Aristotle, Russon shows us why a study of life is required of an account of thinking, and why a study of politics is required of an account of ethics. Like Plato, Russon argues that education is a conversion predicated on the community and the presence within it of teachers, whose goal is to have us see our place in the midst of things for ourselves.

Russon's achievement would be somehow diminished if it were not to be studied as having argued for the richness of ancient philosophical practice and the urgency of that practice in our lives, and of course (which is to say the same thing) in our classrooms.

Fron the 1600's to the Present, this is the "go to" book for Hurricane history affecting the eastern coastline. But more than just weather and geographical facts, Rick "The Hurricane Man" Schwartz has conducted many personal interviews to put a human interest face in this well-read timeline of the Hurricanes' impact, and stories of miraculous survival and devastatingly tragic loss. As Mr. Schwartz reminds, "Hurricane history repeats" and "The Year of the Hurricane is coming"! Are we prepared?

Over the years any number of books have been written about the devastating hurricanes that have struck coastal New England. Likewise, there are a whole host of books available about the history of hurricanes in the great state of Florida. Yet, when he sought to do some research on the history of hurricanes in the Middle Atlantic states Rick Schwartz discovered to his great consternation that very little had been written about the subject and that no really comprehensive book on this topic had ever been written. So Rick Schwartz decided to correct this glaring oversight himself. After more than six years of painstaking research "Hurricanes And The Middle Atlantic States" was released in 2007. This is a book that proves to be well worth your time and attention.
As the complete title would indicate "Hurricanes And The Middle Atlantic States: A Surprising History...From Jamestown To The Present" traces the history of hurricanes in this region from colonial times until the present day. It is a fascinating study. Rick Schwartz conducted more than 100 interviews in putting together this superb book. He also unearthed old newspaper articles, personal letters and state and local government documents in attempting to cobble together the real story. Consequently, there is an interesting narrative on almost all of the storms Rick decided to cover in his book. Schwartz also made a very wise decision by choosing to include track maps on a good many of these hurricanes. This feature greatly enhances the readers understanding of the storms and underscores just how unpredictable they can be. In addition, the inclusion of more than 200 black and white photographs helps readers to gage the full impact of these powerful cyclones and serves to emphasize the need for coastal communities to carefully reconsider public policies that have allowed for reckless overdevelopment on the waterfront. The question is not "if" these areas will be struck by a major hurricane in the future but only "when". Then there is the enormous toll these storms exact on everyday people. For all too many, life will never be the same again. Schwartz devotes considerable time to those who are victimized by hurricanes as well as those public officials who must find new and creative ways to deal with the devastation. High winds, heavy rain, tornadoes and flooding can all combine to wreak havoc for residents in the affected areas. Finally, I would be remiss if I failed to make mention of some of the fascinating local folklore that Rick Schwartz managed to sprinkle in throughout this book. Outstanding stuff!
Every now and then I come across a book like "Hurricanes And The Middle Atlantic States" that really seems to be much more appropriate as a reference volume. This is no knock on Rick Schwartz. This book is extremely well written, meticulously researched and thoughtfully laid out. Yet the stories inevitably do tend to become a bit repetitive and I found myself losing just a bit of interest from time to time. This is hardly surprising when one realizes that this book covers more than 300 years of hurricane history! Having said that, "Hurricanes And The Middle Atlantic States" remains an extremely important addition to the literature on hurricanes in this nation and deserves a spot not only on the shelves of libraries in the Middle Atlantic region but in other parts of the country as well. It is a book that students, researchers and general interest readers will turn to time and again in the decades to come. Highly recommended!

Researched, compiled and written by hurricane historian Rick Schwartz, "Hurricanes And The Middle Atlantic States: A Surprising History, Jamestown To The Present" chronicles four hundred years of the Middle Atlantic region's significant tropical cyclones beginning with the experiences of the Jamestown settlers and continuing down to the present day. A unique and exhaustively researched study, "Hurricanes And The Middle Atlantic States" features a substantial chronology profiling all of the Mid-Atlantic hurricanes and major storms, examines the patterns and characteristics of the region's tropical cyclones, and provides a sound basis for comparison, planning and preparation with respect to Mid-Atlantic hurricanes. Of special note is a forecasting history chapter offering insights into past progress and current knowledge about predicting hurricanes. Ideal for weather and meteorology students, "Hurricanes And The Middle Atlantic States" is especially recommended for non-specialist general readers with an interest in hurricanes and climate-changed influences on storm behavior, frequency, and intensity. Enhanced with an extensive glossary, a bibliography, and a geographically oriented index, as well as track maps and some 200 black-and-white photographs, "Hurricanes And The Middle Atlantic States" is confidently recommended for personal, professional, academic, and community library Weather & Meteorology reference collections.

Fascinating Book!!! Very informative, interesting facts and interviews. A must read for anyone with any interest at all on this topic.

BOOK REVIEW - "HURRICANES AND THE MIDDLE ATLANTIC STATES"
Author: Richard Schwartz (Hardcover - 400 pages)

This incredible book is a first of its kind - dedicated to the storms that have affected the Mid-Atlantic States through the past 300+ years, from the "Year of the Hurricane in 1667" up through Hurricane Jeanne in September 2004. A great reference for all hurricane enthusiasts the book includes explanations of all commonly used technical terms, references, and internet sources for everyone to use. But mostly it covers all the storms that through this extensive historical period had an affect on the mid-Atlantic States region. And Rick has done this with a definite personal touch, going to great lengths to get a "people- perspective" on what actually happened, what people went through during these storms. And he does his best to educate all of us that we are never "out of the woods" as to the future. We may be in a lull for action right now, but that is definitely temporary, and more storms that form in the future will definitely have more profound affects on the Mid-Atlantic region. Anyone and everyone in the mid-Atlantic area should reach out and get this book to have as a reference and to learn about the great effects these powerful storms have on their local areas. As Rick put it, "An understanding of storms past is vital to preparing for those ahead..."