Bernard Books

Evie and Margie is a wonderful story that deals with real emotions that children face. In this particular story, jealousy is the problem -- and Waber handles it beautifully. Bravo!-

Book Review: Exposing Electronics
edited by Bernard Finn, Smithsonian Institute, Washington DC

Exposing Electronics is the second Volume of a series "Artefacts: Studies in the History of Science and Technology". (Artefact: a functional or decorative man-made object) "..historians are using technological artefacts in the study and interpretation of the recent past. Their work is largely pioneering, as they investigate approaches and modes of presentation."

While a delegate at IEEE Sections Congress in Washington DC, last year, a group of us were conducted around the exhibit "Information Age" in the Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of American History. Our guide was Bernard "Barnie" Finn, who is a curator and designer of "Information Age".

Our small group of electrical engineers heard a "behind the scenes" explanation of how the exhibits were put together with the rationale of attracting and holding the interest of the public of all ages. To us it was fascinating - not just a collection of original objects, but a story line threading through communications - telegraphy, telephony, digital, satellite; computation - calculating engines, data processing, real-time data bases; electronic devices - control, power, integrated circuits. The displays of artefacts were supplemented by photographs, posters, videos, and original films which helped our understanding of the motivations and needs of the engineers and scientists who built them.

"Why" are there museums and how do things end up displayed in museum exhibits? Exposing Electronics tells us about the "Information Age" exhibit and points out many of the problems in communicating the history behind the objects.

Why do we go to museums? The theory of learning is touched: What is the necessity of prior learning for vision? The role of the curator- `first helps visitors to see artefacts more clearly, then imbues those artefacts with symbolic values that come from their function and history.'

Exposing Electronics is worth having from many points of view.
It is a high quality publication 19cmx 24cm filled with interesting chapters, historical photographs and clear drawings of electronic devices - J.A.Fleming's valves; Wilhelm Cauer's calculating engines, Baaken's transistor devices, Boysel's microprocessor, Seymour Cray's supercomputers, I.I.Rabi's molecular beam apparatus.

The stories are those of our contemporaries and predecessors. The chapters have many notes which support the observations and conclusions, and invite further investigation.

The final chapter "Collectors and Museums" suggests the origins and uses of why we save, classify, index, record, things as a hobby, and how these collections can end up in museums. "Collectors help to shape museums, and therefore to shape the ways we present our cultural identities to ourselves and to others." The author notes that `Electricity is well represented in museums throughout the world.' and lists five pages of them around the world- one near you

Exposing Electronics Finn, Bud, Trischler eds. xiv+199 pp. Amsterdam: Harwood Academic Publishers 2000. Euro25 paper
ISBN 90-5823-057

© Roland Saam, February 2003

Set in a jungle in India, two boys band together to escape the elders of the village who planned to kill the boys. They had talked about God. Then a tiger attacked the village. The villagers believed it was punishment for the talk of the strange God.

A tiger hunt, a nighttime escape over the mountains and an unexpected run-in with the killer tiger all play a part in the surprise ending of this thrilling adventure in India.

Great Christian reading for elementary to high school children.

A little background

Bernard Mandeville was a practicing physician in Early Modern Europe who, towards his later years, spent much of his time composing political philosophy and satire. In fact, the two genres were almost always intertwined. When published, Mandeville's 'Fable of the Bees' created a large stir throughout English society and the work was largely criticized for the views it put forth. However, at the same time, it was this same critical popularity that turned this doctor into a best-selling author. Sweet irony, eh?

The work

I have to admit that at first sight, I thought this work to be a bit too silly and not very substantial. This edited version begins with Mandeville's 'Grumbling Hive', a poem that really cannot be considered one of the great pieces of 18th century satire. If that's what you want, I suggest that you check out Jonathan Swift's writings or Montesquieu's 'Persian Letters.'

Instead, it is his essays and 'dialogues' within the Fable of the Bees which are of greater importance and far more interesting to read. Much of the political work is devoted to grounding various human sentiments, virtues, and behaviors within human egoism and self-interest. That is, he wishes to illustrate how much of what we consider virtuous within human beings or civil societies is, on the contrary, based upon pride and self-interest. Particularly interesting is Mandeville's account of social development. He, like many early modern european theorists, has a tale of the state-of-nature and the rise of political society. In it, he argues that reason, the arts, sciences, language, and other skills are not natural human characteristics. Instead, they developed over time through man's interactions with the outside world and man's interaction with other men. Indeed, Mandeville's views seem to be very close to that of Adam Smith, on the one hand, and Rousseau, on the other. It's quite bizarre. That is, at least, my interpretation.

While Mandeville has primarily been read in English classes as a piece of satire, it is only recently that greater attention has been given to his political philosophy. Whereas a good amount of time is spent studying Hobbes, Locke, Adam Smith and Rousseau, among others, there is usually little time to get to Mandeville.

As such, I definately recommend this to anyone who wishes to learn more about the political philosophy of early modern europe and the enlightenment. However, I doubt it will be of interest to many others. If you wish to learn more about Mandeville, there are some great secondary texts. However, Hundert (the editor) provides a great introduction and overview himself in this abridged version of the Fable of the Bees.

Great reference book. contains good information which can be used on a daily basis. Anyone in the facility management business should have a copy on their desk.

This is a wonderful text because the language level required of the ESL student is at first low, but the methodical building of reading skills and vocabulary make this a fantastic text for beginning and false beginning students. The reading passages are of international interest and quite intersting besides. This is just another of the winning texts from Patricia Ackert and her co-authors.

This book will give you unvarnished observations from new visitors to the south east Pacific immediately after WWI. The descrptions of Hall's visit to the Paumotus (Tuamotus) are really priceless today, as is his account of Hotel Tiare and Lavaina, before her death. If you enjoy this, then see if you can get a copy of My Island Home. The island parts are very good (especially Singh, A Song of Six Pence). Also read The Forgotten One, and Other Stories, a darker look at the affects and outcomes of caucasians in the islands.

This book will give you unvarnished observations from new visitors to the south east Pacific immediately after WWI. The descrptions of Hall's visit to the Paumotus (Tuamotus) are really priceless today, as is his account of Hotel Tiare and Lavaina, before her death. If you enjoy this, then see if you can get a copy of My Island Home. The island parts are very good (especially Singh, A Song of Six Pence). Also read The Forgotten One, and Other Stories, a darker look at the affects and outcomes of caucasians in the islands.

A superb collection of nine favorite H.C.A. stories (see below), wonderously illustrated with something like a hundred hig-quality reproductions, at least half of which are full-page, drawn from the work of twenty of the greatest artists from the "Golden Age" of children's book illustration (around the turn of the century). The art is simply mind-blowingly beautiful.

The tellings themselves are very fine. The language used is both delightful and sophisticated, making this a fine volume to entertain good readers amongst older children, and to expand their language skills. Of course, less able readers and younger children might like the stories just as well if they were read to them. There is no information in the book or on the publishers website regarding the origins of these particular tellings.

A sample paragraph, from "Thumbelina":

"Then they came to the warm lands. The sun was shining much more brightly, the sky was twice as high, and the most wonderful green and black grapes were growing by the roadside and on fences. Lemons and oranges hung in the forests, and there was a scent of myrtle and curled mint, and pretty children were running by the roadside playing with big colorful butterflies. But the swallow flew still further, and everything became even more beautiful. There, beneath magnificent green trees by a blue lake, stood a shining white palace, with vines climbing up it's lofty pillars. At the top were lots of swallows' nests, and the swallow carrying Thumbelina lived in one of them."

This collection contains the following stories:

The Emperor's New Clothes The Little Mermaid The Little Match Girl The Nightingale The Princess and the Pea The Steadfast Tin Soldier Thumbelina The Tinderbox The Ugly Duckling

The compilers, Russell Ash and Bernard Higton, must be very proud of the beautiful object they have produced. The publisher, Cronicle Books, deserves praise and support.

This book is a must, either for the child's library or the collectors shelf.

FAITH AND DOUBT discusses religious faith and comes from a former President of Yeshiva University identified with modern Orthodox Judaism - but this book shouldn't be limited to such an audience. It discusses everything from comparative law and metaphysics to natural science and updates all topics discussed in the prior edition. For college-level in-depth Judaic philosophy and spirituality holdings, it is a top pick.