Farrell Books

This is a difficult book to review. Farrell's command of his subject is awe-inspiring and the argument complicated enough to warrant several reads. The central project of the book is a unification of Aristotelean philosophy on practical reason (phronesis) and Habermasian theory on proper public adress. What Farrell attempts is nothing less than a contemporary foundational philosophy of rhetoric in direct opposition to post-modern critics of "reason" (Foucault and Baudrillard are mentioned). His vision is of a republican political culture where rhetoric creates public character and ultimately enables community. The best parts of the book are the many readings of great and small rhetorical exchanges. Better than the sometimes impenetrable (though always erudite) philosophical passages, they convince that rhetorical culture is a possibility, and perhaps even a dessirable one.

Farrell's "Northern Ireland: The Orange State" is tough to find but well worth the effort for those seriously interested in the history and politics of Northern Ireland. Written in 1976 by a committed Irish republican and socialist, this not the book for someone with no prior background in Northern Irish history. Yet the same characteristics that make it unsuitable for newcomers to the topic -- its age and biased viewpoint -- make it valuable for students of Northern Ireland.

Farrell's history is not simply a curiosity, however. His treatment of Northern Ireland's early history (1920s through 1950s) is far more in-depth than more recent texts, which tend to gloss over the state's formation and pick up the story with the beginning of the present "Troubles" in the late 1960s. Additionally, Farrell is a good history writer and his narrative style is often more engaging than more recent, balanced accounts. Those who read extensively on Northern Ireland and wish to add a unique volume to their shelves would do well to track down a copy of this book.

This novel ought to be produced as a film. The setting is exotic, the characters, charming, and scenes, vivid. The story satisfies a wide audience--young, mature, male, female. Chicks would love discovering a new hearthrob, Arne. Those who seek believable villians will find that Werner portrays a man of mixed emotions that pull him in two directions--tradition and utility. Quisling, Terboven, and a cast of enemy soldiers entice Werner into the only life he knows now. Haakon and a host of patriots, along with Norway's landscape, remind the villian of his roots. Veterans would find accurate, real episodes that will remind them of their own contribution to the cause of a just war.

A film is never as good as the novel. Among the pages, readers find insight, real people, and a true depiction of enemy occupation during wartime. Common laborers help restore a nation to its former glory. Everyone participates. A more benevolent leader than Haakon is difficult to imagine. Hope rules the pages, but tragedy, near-bungled missions, and betrayal add gripping elements. History and war buffs would enjoy the readable style. Must reading.

Michael Farrell's first full-length is a splendid trip. It hops effortlessly from signal-jamming collage pieces to the music of a latter-day Keats. The Aussie has it. A satisfying and rewarding departure from the maps we have of contemporary poetry.

I gather the author wrote of his sailing adventures with the help of his significant other, Sandra Burns. They did what most of us only dream about -- left the security of job and home bound for foreign ports aboard a 40' sailboat. They sailed for several years. This book is a wonderful expose' of their sailing adventures in Mexican waters aboard "Abrazo II", an Acapulco 40 Cutter. "Boulevard" is without a doubt the best adventure book ever written about Mexico. It is a tribute to the authors' inimitable flair, as well as to the culture they experienced during their voyage. This book should be on the shelf of every sailor plying Mexican waters, and those dreaming about it

I am a student in Farell's English class at Cuyamaca College. In class it is easy to tell that he is a deep thinker and very eloquent as well as charasmatic, but what stood out in this book is how much of an introspective person he is. I particularly liked these works because of the realness and rawness of them. He shared things that I don't know that I could. I usually see teacher's as distant from me, but when I was reading this book it seemed that he was describing things that I've been through better than I could rationalize them to myself. If you are ready this book is a definite good read for anyone and very powerful.

I take great pride and satisfaction in having served as the senior co-editor of _An Ong Reader: Challenges for Further Inquiry_, because it is arguably the finest collection of essays by Ong -- this collection is the eleventh collection of essays by Ong.

The 28 selections gathered together in this collection span six decades of Ong's enormously productive life. The selections vary in length and in genre -- with two published interviews, six book reviews, one review essay, and one preface to another author's book. Several of the scholarly studies focus on the history of rhetoric and dialectic, whereas others center on orality and voice in literature.

This collection should provide a strong background for reading Ong's masterwork, _Ramus, Method, and the Decay of Dialogue: From the Art of Discourse to the Art of Reason_ (3rd ed. University of Chicago Press, 2004), as well as for reading Ong's most widely known book, _Orality and Literacy: The Technologizing of the Word_ (2nd ed. Routledge, 2002).

--Thomas J. Farrell, author of Walter Ong's Contributions to Cultural Studies: The Phenomenology of the Word and I-Thou Communication (Media Ecology)

This book is great for the education of Literature!

YOUNG LONIGAN, the short novel that introduces the STUDS LONIGAN trilogy, is the brilliant evocation of the tough youth of a tough kid in pre-WWI Chicago. The prose is tour-de-force stream-of-consciousness. It seeps into the mind of a smart, flawed, hilarious kid (imagine Max Fisher without the scholarship, or Stephen Dedalus without the educated abracadabra) and it takes you right into the depths of your own conflicted youth. If you're a reader, you'll devour this book (and its successors); if you're a writer, you'll emulate it.

This book is aimed at specialists interested in the chemistry and biology of platinum based cancer chemotherapeutic drugs. Unfortunately the level of specific scientific knowledge (required at the university level at the least) to understand key concepts in the book, is very high and is therefore not recommended for readers who are just interested in learning about cancer or chemotherapy.

For those who do have a tertiary background in science, particularly in chemistry, they will find that this book one of the best publications ever. Written by two experts in the field Professor Nicholas Farrell (Virginia Commonwaelth University) and Professor Lloyd Kelland (Institute of Cancer Reserach England), the book covers all areas of platinum chemistry from synthesis and DNA binding to cytotoxicity and cellular uptake.

As a single publication this book is an excellent review of all major work that has occurred since the discovery of cisplatin in the late 1960's.

This book is a definite must for scientists entering, or already conducting research into platinum chemotherapy.