Bradford Books

This is an excellent anthology if you are beginning to do research on functions, or just any research in the philosophy of biology. It has many classic papers, and is balanced in point of view-- overall, a great starting place.

If you've ever read Professor Grossberg's theories, you might have noticed most of them seem to come from a couple of very interesting basic principles and ideas. In this book you can find the basis of some of his theories, as always very well orginized and very enjoyable.

This reference considers the organization and function of the brain. The structural approach considers neural morphology and synaptic connectivity. It is noted that pasterns of reciprocal interaction are common, binding structural units together. The functional approach considers functional decomposition of skills or behavior. Computational neural networks are used in models but are constrained by neuroanatomy and neurophysiology. 'Schemas' are functional entities. The dynamics approach allows analysis of spatiotemporal neural phenomena, and provides another bridge between structure and function. The reference begins with three chapters, each an overview on structure, function and dynamics. Chapters on the olfactory system, hippocampus, thalamus, cerebral cortex, cerebellum and basal ganglia follow.

Neurocomputing is a collection of reprints of classic papers in neural networks. This volume provides a great background for reading recent literature. It's extremely convenient to have them collected like this, each with an introduction to put the paper in context. Highly recommended.

Though written as a textbook, this is a very well written and enjoyable book. I work as a school psychologist and found the book very useful in broadening my understanding of how the mind goes about making sense of the world.

I read this in high school, about 10 years ago, so the only thing I really remember is the Jamaica Kincaid story 'Ovando.' I don't remember specifics of it, and maybe it wouldn't affect me now the way it did then, but at the time I was staggered by it. I am so glad I found this book so I can read it again. It's worth reading the book just for this one story, although I remember enjoying the rest of it, too.

I can whole-heartedly recommend Dr Bradford's book "The New Testament on Women" to all who have puzzled over St Paul's comments about women in his New Testament letters. It is so easy to disregard these comments or assume that they only applied to the culture in which Paul was writing, and they can certainly make women seem second-class citizens in the church.

Adam Bradford's book is a breath of fresh air as he demonstrates chapter by chapter in his book how inaccurate translation and incorrect exegesis can colour our understanding of these parts of Paul's writing, and sets out to show how in reality the New Testament "actually treats women with the greatest degree of respect". His book explores what Paul actually teaches on some of these mistranslated passages on topics such as women keeping silent in church, head coverings, authority and submission and others. Bradford shows how both Paul and Peter follow Jesus' example in relating to women as equal in status and worth to men, which was revolutionary at the time they were writing. I particularly loved the chapter he includes about how Jesus related to women.

Dr Bradford also demonstrates how there are God-given differences between men and women reflected in different roles and abilities, but celebrates the strength brought to the church and society when men and women live and work together well. Addressing these passages of Scripture that have been fraught with difficulty and controversy, and that have often puzzled me as a woman, I found this book scholarly, very readable and very helpful.

(Reviewer: Clare Bick)

Globalization and new technologies have been changing the face of the Earth at an unprecedented pace and on an unprecedented scale. New World Orders offers a glimpse of how contemporary children's and YA texts reflect these changes and how they speculate on some of our possible futures.
The key concept of this book is transformative utopianism--an open-ended, always unfinished process of narrative imagining alternatives to the status quo; the main argument is that genres and strategies of children's literature provide the most conducive means for effecting new world orders and transformative utopianism. If this sounds dry, the bottom line is that what today's children watch and read they absorb as templates for reality they may (or will) create in their adult lives. If you're interested in how picture books deal with environmental issues, in how movies such as Monsters, Inc. create the global image of labor or in how children's books and films have responded to the posthuman (virtual reality, cloning, genetic engineering and so forth), this is the book for you. Although in part written in a dry lit-crit jargon, this book is worth the trouble and offers a lot in return. For teachers, students of humanities, educators, librarians and animators of culture New World Orders is an indispensable, solid, thematically-organized overview of important contemporary novels, short stories, picture books and films. It gives a fresh perspective on why children's and YA narratives are so vital for positioning young readers "to recognize the interaction between their own understandings of the world as it is now and the vision of what it might become" (129).

This album-type booklet, produced by the N&W, is a selection of some of OWL's best-known and evocative railroad photographs. The images of scenes in Virginia and West Virginia are familiar, but at the same time you see something different each time you look at them. Well worth getting if you can find a copy.

Awaiting execution for treason after she was Queen of England for just nine days, sixteen-year-old Lady Jane Grey looks back on her short life. She had some happiness as a child, but her parents were distant. A cousin of the Tudor ruling family, she spent some time at court as a young girl. Eventually, her parents had her married to a man she didn't love, or even like. Meanwhile, England is caught in turmoil, as the young Protestant king, Edward, dies. Jane's male relatives scheme to have her crowned Queen of England instead of Edward's Catholic half-sister Mary, although Jane wants no part of it. Powerless to determine her own destiny, she is forced to accept the crown of England and is caught up against her will in events that can only end in tragedy.

This excellent historical novel brought to life the tragic story of Lady Jane Grey; as a big fan of historical fiction about young female royals, I found it particularly interesting. She was just a young girl who had no say in her own future and wrongly lost her life as a result of a plot she had no real part in. I highly recommend this novel to young adult readers who like to read historical fiction about royalty; I think it would particularly appeal to readers of the Young Royals and Royal Diaries series.