Bruno Books

Well, like it or not - you have to read it. Clear books are boring propaganda. Insightful thoughts are never quite clear. For the clear read your bank statement.

This is a very disturbing but at the same time very thought-provoking book on the adoption of a hypermodern new means of public transportation. Aramis was a small car version of the driverless subway which is now commonly known because of applications in Lille (France) and Orlando (USA)
Latour disguises as a student of engineering sciences and writes a kind of whodunnit on the final question: 'who killed Aramis"? Because he lends his voice to the engineer, to his professor of Sociology,
to the Aramis system itself and to himself as an author, the book shows different views on the same reality.
Highly documented with texts that would be dynamite if they had been published during the development of the Aramis train system itself.
Latour shows why Conservative governments never would adopt really revolutionary developments in public transportation.

At times a difficult book, but hilarious too, and a reader for every technology-minded post-structuralist and post-marxist thinker...

Stefaan Van Ryssen

I hated this book for all the same reasons that the previous reviewer loved it. Latour's voice changes add some depth to the story, but are done in a manner so convoluted that much of the substance is lost. Using Aramis itself as the voice of martyred technology just becomes increasingly absurd throughout the book. There are much better books than this out there about man's relationship with technology, do yourself a favor and find one of them.

Divided into 6 main chapters and with 223 photo's - most spanning 2 pages giving a beautiful panoramaview - this handy book is a lust for your eyes.

Focusing more on interior details then the facade and the overall view, it's fascinating to see the differences between the styles of Art Nouveau. It's also quite comprehensive showing buildings like the Beurs van Berlage in Amsterdam and the Egyptian Embassy in Instanbul. Remarkably it leaves out Riga.

Do remember that this is a photoalbum, not and architectural book. The photo's capture the atmosphere, the way the light plays with the rooms, the objects, the structure of the walls. Unfortunately most of the photo's have a high contrast resulting in a drastic loss of detail - a killer for architectural photo's. I want to see everything bright and clear, not hidden in shades or blinded by light. It's but a minor issue.

A much bigger issue is the quality of the book. While the binding itself is good, the cover comes off in a matter of minutes. I don't know what they used but it wasn't glue. I've never seen anything like this before. I've read other people complaining about this also. A real pity!

This lovely book will make a nice addition to anyones collection, even if it does fall apart. If you don't mind you can add a star.

There is an other publisher of this book Art Nouveau Architecture but it has the same problems with the binding.

This is the most beautiful and comprehensive book of images of Art Nouveau architecture I have ever seen. Yes the quality of the binding is substandard...and the book is not large...but, hey...it's $......not $......so what...if you love this style of architecture..get it!

If you believe that one picture is worth 1,000 words, then this book is worth 223,000 words. There are 223 beautiful pictures of art nouveau buildings from throughout the world.

The book is subdivided into sections by geography each with a brief text introduction covering key artists and trends. This book has the broadest geographic overview of art nouveau buildings I have ever seen including Russia, Italy, Turkey, Hungary as well as the more well known Western European locales.

The bulk of the book is photos, beautiful color photos. Mostly detail photos. Some of the photos are too close, focusing too much on the detail, and ignoring the context and larger scale themes of many of the buildings. For instance, there were closeups of many details from Gaudi buildings, but few of the complete exteriors that other books include. I think that focusing on the subtle details is the author's intent, but I still want to see what the outside of the building looks like before I see the detail of the stair-rail and chimney. This was one of my key disappointments.

The other disappointment was the quality of the perfect-bound binding. I first saw this book on the shelf of a local bookstore. That copy's cover was almost completely off the book. I bought my copy from Amazon for the generous discount and in the hope of getting a copy whose cover was not abused. Well, I got mine yesterday. I opened it, thumbed through it, and the cover started to separate from the binding. My binding separated from the spine completely before I had thumbed through the first 100 pages in the first hour I had the book. The paper is very high quality, so I don't think the separation is a production problem. I think the separation is a design problem. In order to keep the cost down, the publisher chose a binding technology more appropriate to a smaller book with lighter paper.

The photographer's focus on beautiful details at the expense of context and the binding quality kept me from giving the book the five full stars this unique, insightful photo album otherwise deserve.

I am currently a teaching assistant for a class which uses this textbook. Comparatively, this is probably one of the better introductory textbooks for students who are not necessarily musically inclined, such as the class I work with. There is not a great deal of technical music jargon and it provides some decent contextualizations. However, some chapters are lacking in information and can be quite a dull read for students, such as the chapter on Japanese music. And at times authors give too much in the way of personal "fieldwork" anecdotes instead of covering other areas or possible issues. The third edition came out not too recently, but from what I can tell, contains almost the exact same information as the second.

I first came across this book when still a student taking an introductory course in asian music cultures. It was and is still is a great read especially for students who are non-musicology majors and have a tendency to get lsot in more technical books. The language, style, presentation and discussion is simple and interestingly handled. Not too scholarly as to be overwhelming. Great background on the socio-cultural context of the music.

This book presents a series of articles on music and the role of music in a variety of cultures around the globe. The articles each begin with a description of a musical event or concert in a culture, then go on to give more details about characteristics of a wide range of musical styles in that culture. The featured description in each chapter is usually some sort of traditional or classical style for that culture, and popular music in the culture is treated briefly. I found a few of the musical terms hard to understand, never having studied musical theory myself. Perhaps some of these terms would have become more clear through listening to the oft-mentioned accompanying CD, which I unfortunately don't have. There is a glossary in the back of the book, but its definitions are not sufficient to make meanings clear to someone without a thorough grounding in world music. In a few places, the proofreader missed some details, as for example, p. 46 the map of the Middle East shows UAR where the UAE is supposed to be! In addition to the use of technical terms without explanations, the lack of an overall big picture of world music makes this book more of a resource to dip into for background readings than a systematic introduction to the subject. It would work well as readings for a course, but is not ideal for self-study.

I am an expat, and I found answers to many of my questions in this work book. I am not knowledgable enough in tax law to pass judgement on the quality of the information presented here. Expat tax law is complicated and intricate, involving many special cases which may not apply to you. The work book overcomes this through careful organization of chapters and topics. It is possible to locate topics of interest without having wade through large amounts of unrelated material. I gave this work book the fifth star for it's spiral binding, which makes it much easier to work with.

I have been living abroad for several years, and purchased this book when my tax situation became more complicated (i.e. when my income passed the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion). Although the information in the book is helpful, I found that the large majority of what I needed was available on the IRS' website, which is very user-friendly, contains a wealth of valuable information, and most importantly is free.

In particular, IRS Publication 54 "Tax Guide for U.S. Citizens and Resident Aliens Abroad" seemed to answer all of my questions, and there are hundreds of other publications available from the IRS that are very helpful, are written in plain English and contain many useful examples. Of course, if your tax situation is extremely complex, you may need more help, but in that case, you probably will need to seek recourse to a sophisticated tax advisor as opposed to a book.

This book is an extremely helpful resource for expat tax issues. This subject is very difficult for an individual without a big company taking care of all the details. If I had found this book earlier, it would have saved me dozens of hours scouring the internet for relavent information. Note that this isn't a book to help you figure out the best way to wangle yourself into tax-freedom. You should get this book well before moving, use it to help you plan and then visit a professional - but at least you won't be paying a professional to cover the groundwork.

A very well researched book about a man who refused to back down to the Inquisition.For this he was burned at the stake in 1600. He could have saved his life as did Galileo. He chose not to do so. His statue overlooks the marketplace of Campo de' Fiori (Field of Flowers) in Rome where he died. He was a martyr to his ideas which he refused to deny. He started out as a monk but became a visionary of modern science questioning just about everything the Catholic church held sacred predicting that there could be many worlds beside ours which could be inhabited by many other forms of life.The Holy Inquisition declared him to be "an impenitent, pertinacious, and obstinate heretic." He was indeed all that and one of our early heroes, a model for free thinking.

Here Ingrid Rowland continues to demonstrate her profound mastery of the society and space of sixteenth-century Rome. Unlike most other accounts, Rowland emphasizes Bruno's role as a writer and shows that his fiery death at the stake in the Campo de' Fiori provoked change in the policy of the Roman Inquisition's treatment of intellectuals. I admire most of all Rowland's ability to bring forth vivid details from Bruno's beginnings in Naples, from his travels through France, England and even to the Frankfurt book fair, and from his obstinate conclusions both religious and scientific. She does much to humanize both Bruno and his chief prosecutor, Cardinal Bellarmine, and in the end suggests how science and religion soon found that they belong together rather than in conflict. This bright and polished biography does much to put the imagination of Bruno and his moving historical context in this reader's mind.

Rowland's work was a pretty big disappoint for me. Everything that was wonderful about Stephen Greenblatt's "Will in the World" (i.e. it was as fun to read as it was educationally rewarding) was missing in "Giardano Bruno". For a religious humanist who was so incredibly courageous, clever, exciting, and ahead of his time, his story, as told in this book, isn't a story at all. It is a dissertation on Italy during the time of the Inquisition. Rowland leaves literally no stone unturned, going on, sometimes for pages, about obscure influences and their influences, remarking on meaningless descriptions of plazas and statues that Bruno may have seen in the cities through which he traveled. The chapter on "The Art of Memory" was especially disappointing as, true to her form in the rest of the book, Rowland barely described this most famous aspect of Bruno's skill and philosophy, saying only that Bruno recited a psalm backward. I was looking forward to an enjoyable read. Bruno, if I get anything out of this book, was one of those rare geniuses, like a Shakespeare or a Poe, who had a sense of humor as well as a limitless intellect. This book was tedious and slow; I often, literally, had to force my way through it. For a book titled "Giardano Bruno: Philosopher, Heretic" I'd say about 75% of the novel isn't even about Bruno, his philosophy or his heresy. Rowland seemed to be more intent on displaying the breadth of her own research and understanding of the time period than on shedding any light on this remarkable and remarkably obscure man. I don't recommend this unless you're a Ph.d. candidate specializing in late 16th Century Italian Religious Figures Who Suffered Under the Inquisition and the World They Populated. The wikipedia entry on Giardano Bruno will tell you more about him in way less time. Ouch.

My English instructor had assigned us to analyize part of the book. As a non-English speaker, I really had hard time to read it. The ideas were not clear. Overall, I didn't like it at all.

The unique perspective of Bettelheim, as a survivor of Nazi Concentration Camps, is invaluable to us today. How could people be so passive in such horrible conditions? What could have been different?

Bettelheim outlines his beliefs on how individuals must act when freedom is threatened, if freedom is to be maintained. We forget today how tenuous freedom can be.

I was fortunate to meet Dr. Bettelheim in his later life, and found the strength of the persona every bit as enlightening as this book. A remarkable book by a remarkable man. A man who overcame much and came to understand.

It is a hard book describing situations people who live in a free society just don't have to face. It illuminates issues of personal choice in the face of overwhelming external pressure. I first read it eight years ago and I still remember it. The bit about the psychology of the Nazi salute was remarkable. Also his view on the nature of (and need for) work in a person's life is worth considering. I have lost my copy and am in the process of getting another copy to replace it. The highest accolade .. it is a book worth spending money on!

This book weighs in at 217 pages (including index). Unfortunately, what you really get is about 50 pages worth of material, and much of that is repetitive and/or obvious.

Particularly galling are the many pages (over 25) devoted to quotes, one quote per page. We're talking 15-20 words per page for such pages. OK, nice quotes, but they should take a line or two each, not a page.

Probably the most useful thing is that it includes a sample business plan.

In sum, this book is an outline of the book it should be, and an outline that has been stretched to cover 200 pages.

Until the authors write the book that goes with this outline, save your money.

Probably a updated and translated version of the "Planen, gründen, wachsen. Mit dem professionellen Businessplan zum Erfolg" Book (ISBN: 3706405962).

The original meaning of the word "adventure" evolved from "what comes or happens by chance" (i.e. luck) to "hazardous undertaking." Looser and Schlapfer perhaps had this in mind as they collaborated on this book. In it, they provide a step-by-step in introduction to the concepts needed to prepare a business plan and then to arrange the financing of a business idea; also, the basic knowledge needed to participate effectively in subsequent discussions and negotiations and to ask the right questions; also, the necessary business language (i.e. all the jargon and technical expressions one needs to know), explained by the authors and augmented by a very useful Glossary; finally, a References section for further reading. They organize their material within four Parts:

Starting Up a Company -- How Companies Grow

The Business Idea -- Concept and Presentation

Developing the Business Plan

Valuing a Start-Up and Raising Equity

Looser and Schlapfer are well aware of the fact that a reputable venture capital firm annually funds (on average) only one business plan of every 500 considered. (In 1999, Draper Fisher Jurvetson received almost 20,000 business plans.) Obviously, competition is ferocious. As the authors explain, their manual "is aimed at helping you through the first stage of starting up an innovative, high-growth company: writing a professional business plan....The trick is to take advantage of promising, innovative ideas, research and technology, and financing in the form of venture capital investment funds to achieve a breakthrough." There are three stages to the start-up process: First, put the business idea down on paper and analyze its marketability of on the basis of a few key indicators. (the authors identify and explain them.) Next, develop the idea into a detailed business plan which obtains the funds needed. Finally, build the company to profitability according to the business plan. (The authors suggest several "next steps", including the withdrawal of investors.) Part 3 is perhaps the most valuable section of the book because it provides a comprehensive, step-by-step explanation of HOW to formulate a proper business plan. Another valuable section is located in the Appendix: the "Extended Table of Contents"(ETC). After you have read the book, I urge you to review the ETC at least weekly. Why? Because it can serve as a check list of possible "early-warning signs" to which you and your associates must constantly be alert. You also need to know that each copy includes a CD: "mySAP Workplace -- The Enterprise Portal solution." This is an excellent value-added benefit.

If you share my high regard for this book, check out Done Deals (edited by Udayan Gupta) and The VC Way (authored by Jeffrey Zygmont). Those involved in a "hazardous undertaking" need all the help they can

Latour again demonstrates trivial insights and egregious errors. He simply does not know his subject (allegedly science) well enough - he makes conceptual and factual blunders. I am glad this book is still in print because it is a useful aid in teaching humanity students about science - but not in the way Latour had envisioned! By understanding his misinterpretations, we can learn how laypeople get confused.

Latour today can be regarded as one of the leading philosophers of science and technology. After his first work with Steve Woolgar, "Laboratory life", this is his second major work in which he generalises on various topics that he only touched in a very preliminary way in the above work. Latour adopts a very original way of following scientists in their struggle to "produce" scientific truth. He studies them as if they were a tribe (Latour is originally an ethnographer).

His conclusion is that scientific truth and the designing of succesful technological artefacts is not so much a "unveiling of some hidden truth behind things" or a logical construction, but a very heterogeneous project in which money, resources, statements, objects, people and numerous other things are linked in such a way that a strong chain is formed. Something is true if the chains is strong enough to withstand "trials of strength". Latour does away with metaphysical ideas of "The Truth" but insist in stead that truth is very much a stage in a process of negotiation between human and non-human actors. The idea that truth is the result of a logical process in which an abstract "reality" is discovered is, according to Latour, a story that is told afterwards to defend the theory itself and not something that is inherent in the forming of the theory itself.

In a very easy-to-read way Latour guides his readers through the work of science and technology "in the making". A must for any student in science and technology as well as for any scholar in social sciences and philosophy.

I'm an electrical and electronics engineer, working for a governmental R&D Institution. I also study on Science and Technology Policy Studies for an M.S. degree. I found the book quite useful, especially in its aspect of analyzing the scientist and engineer in his own time, his own context, his own psychology... It is a well organized, fluent, clear book. It may not be a complete guide or a definitive study, but it is a good point to start. Recommended...

I am a huge se7en fan, and I found this barely worthy of adding to my collection.

This book was a fun book to read. It really captivated me, the intricacy of the murders and the suspenful way in which they were written. Some people say the book is sadistic and wantonishly cruel, but I think it is well thought out and an excellent murder mystery to read for those not faint at heart.

Based on the bleak and disturbing movie starring Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman and Gwyneth Paltrow, this is a very neat, economic thriller. It captures the sense of dread that permeates the movie and also, it gives some insight on the motivations of Somerset and Mills... but surprisingly, the motivations of John Doe (The murderer) come across as too easy and bland.

Still, as far as film novelizations go, this one is actually quite good and satisfying... and can be read without thinking of the film at all, which gives it a strenght of its own.

USELESS ! ! ! I never got it and you people just blew me off,, not to make a pun. I gave the seller a P O box address and they gave the package to U P S who, according to their records left the package on "the porch ". Whatever that means? The post office claim they never saw it, or they would have left it in my box. What good is anything, if it is never delivered? I sent email to Amazon and made a call. No response to either! Don't expect me back at Amazon.com..... and since you have to have a rating to get out of this stupid thing I put one star. If you had black or negative stars, I would fill the page. it's stupid!

This is an annual purchase for me. I agree with the previous reviewer--forget the rest of the guides or jumping around on multiple websites. Spartacus is truly the only international guide you will need. It will bump out underwear or shoes or anything else to get into my suitcase for a trip. Sure, Damron guides are good for USA travel and if you never plan on leaving the US border get that guide. For all the other globe trotting guys like me, this is the one you'll want.

Spartacus saves time! Forget searching through endless website for information on the local gay scene. Who knows if the website even exists anymore or when it was updated the last time. Spartacus is ideal for planning your holiday. It is up-to-date (even though the gay scene changes all the time) and at least I am sure that the advertisers are still around when I visit their city. We don't have a better gay guide - Spartacus remains the number one for gay international travel.