Francis Books

While you won't fully understand what is going on in deconstructionism after reading this book, you'll probably be closer than most. Deconstructionism is probably the most misunderstood "thing" around. Norris provides an incredibly fair and balanced presentation of the basic issues and main misreadings of the people involved. If you want a basic overview of what is going on that doesn't attempt to reduce everything to pragmatism or relativism, then this is the place to start. This was the first book that made me go, "ah, I at least understand what the problems are."

My only complaint is that I wish Norris spent more time on Heidegger and the roots of deconstructionism. However given how complex Heidegger is, this is understandable. After reading Norris I'd suggest going back to something like _Between the Blinds: A Derrida Reader_. He'll make a whole lot more sense after reading Norris.

This book provides an excellent introduction to deconstruction in general, as well as to Derrida, the major philosophical figure of the late Twentieth Century. Norris is one of the foremost authorities on Derrida and deconstruction in the English-speaking world, and he writes with great insight. This is emphatically not a lightweight work, although most of it is not beyond the ability of the average literate reader. Much of it is brilliantly written and illuminating. I came away from this book with a pretty good grasp of what deconstruction involves, and the significance of Derrida as a writer and thinker.

For anyone interested in the evolution of literary theory over the last century, beginning with the old "new criticism", structuralism, and then post-structuralism, this book presents an excellent and lucid explanation of all these movements, and the major figures in them: F.R. Leavis, Saussure, Barthes, Derrida, de Man, among others. Norris is completely sympathetic in his treatment of deconstruction; there is no Anglo-American analytic bias against it present anywhere. The understanding is deep, and the writing is (mostly) clear and lucid. The pages devoted to de Man were quite opaque to me, however. (But then, de Man is probably opaque to most everyone, Norris excepted.) In the concluding chapter Norris gives an account of those who have tried to counter deconstruction's influence on the American scene. Norris contends that deconstruction is an important method which has raised genuine and vitally important issues which cannot be lightly dismissed. To do so is to fail to confront it on its own ground.

As lucid and concise an exposition as you are likely to find on Derrida and deconstruction. Norris covers an amazing amount of material in this brief book, mostly chronologically (the Sophists put in an appearance along with, of course, fairly extensive treatment of Nietzsche and Heidegger) though with occasionally necessary digressions. Derrida's central concept (to speak metaphysically) of 'supplementarity' is clearly explained, and the sections on Paul De Man and his 'theory of rhetoric' are especially good. Norris goes to great pains to distinguish 'philosophical' deconstruction from the more stylistically 'literary' varieties as propagated by Geoffrey Hartman, J Hillis Miller et al. While clearly sympathetic - - even at times somewhat defensive - - toward deconstruction, Norris is very even-handed in his treatment of the subject, originally concluding the book with a chapter on 'Dissenting Voices' such as John Ellis' cogently-articulated AGAINST DECONSTRUCTION. Originally published in 1982, this later edition has a supplementary (!) 'Afterword' in which Norris mitigates some of his (as he would have it) understatements on speech-act theory and the misunderstandings over what deconstruction 'really' does; that is, the differences between post-modern 'destructive' and 'deconstructive' performance and criticism, using source materials throughout to bolster his points.

As we approach the end of the semester, the question concerning
independent reading arises. I always recommend that my students read
Ronald Bogue's Deleuze and Guattari to get clearly elaborated information on Deleuze and Guattari, and James Brusseau's Isolated Experience to see how Deleuze's philosophy can be actualized. Bogue's text was the first, if memory serves, in the English language to lay out the basic tenets of Deleuze and Guattari's thought and it remains, to my mind, the most informative and helpful. Perhaps part of the reason for its clarity is that it was written while the subject was nearly entirely undeveloped. Bogue enjoyed, consequently, a certain freedom to explain his subject in his own highly clear language. Brusseau's is the most innovative and thoughtful English-language book on Deleuze I've encountered. He demonstrates how one may strike out on a path within the realm of Deleuze's philosophical difference, and his book's final chapter on solitude is quite memorable and moving.

I completely agree with the previous reviewer about this concise and razor sharp explication of Deleuze and Guattari's work. While I'm no expert, I have read a great deal of the secondary literature out there and this one exceeds them all in clarity, rigor, and the all-important avoidance of that snobby tone so-many D&G commentator's take, as if privy to something one's readers aren't. This isn't going to be an actual review, by the way, just an added encouragement to whoever chances upon this book to get it and be quick about it. Yes, it's rather old; yes, Bogue does refer to Logique du Sens as the "Logic of Meaning" (I don't think it'd been translated when he wrote the book); yes, for all of that, it remains the one commentary that stands out (in my mind) above all the others.
After this, the secondary works I would recommend are Michael Hardt's "Apprenticeship in Philosophy," Claire Colebrook's "Gilles Deleuze," Eugene Holland's invaluable explication of Anti-Oedipus (he has written many outstanding little articles as well, which you'll find in the anthologies), and finally, the more difficult but singularly rewarding "Clamor of Being" by Alain Badiou. Also, as far as the "applications" of D&G go, the little book by a guy named James Brusseau, "Isolated Experiences," is by far the best, however much one wants to disagree with his making a solipsist of Deleuze (more or less).
All in all, this book will punch a hole in your mindzone without messing up your pathways. For once...a book that allows you to MAKE connections rather than preventing them with the standard proxy of "DeleuzoGuattarian." As a final note, unrelated to Bogue's book, everyone who's interested should be aware that there is a slew of Deleuze's lectures from his time at Vincennes available in translation at WebDeleuze, I believe. They range in subject from Kant, Leibniz, Spinoza, to cinema, AO and ATP, and one shouldn't miss the opportunity to see what incredible pedagogic gifts Deleuze possessed. These lectures are superb, clear, and, contrary to what most uninformed people seem to think of Deleuze's work, extremely rigorous and invigorating. Such was the man's gift...

It's amazing that the first book written in English on Deleuze and Guattari is still the best one to be found out there. I've been working deeply on the work of Deleuze and Guattari for about four years now and have read a vast amount of the secondary literature that's out there. Although I do not fully agree with all of the ways in which Bogue unfolds their work, he is very clear, highly accurate, and demonstrates a great deal of respect for the text. This is especially true of the sections on _Difference and Repetition_ and _The Logic of Sense_ that have managed to say more in twenty five pages than nearly everything that's out there. Moreover, Bogue does something tremendously important in these remarkable pages... He reads Deleuze as Deleuze without assimilating the project of DR and LoS to the later work with Guattari. Since there are important innovations between the early work and the later work, such an approach is extremely important. Bogue also demonstrates the same degree of respect when he approaches _Anti-Oedipus_ and _A Thousand Plateaus_ by discussing Guattari's important work before his fortuitous encounter with Deleuze. Although, in the end, you might not agree with all Bogue has to say, this is a must read for enthusiatic fans of Deleuze and Guattari. It's too bad other commentators have not adopted the ideal of precision Bogue adopts here... An ideal Deleuze himself praises and demands as a necessary condition for philosophy in _Bergsonism_.

In this volume, Martin Gilbert, who is possibly the most prolific historian on the history of the Holocaust, traces the geographical history of the Holocaust using maps accompanied by detailed commentary to illustrate the scope and horror that took place between 1941 and 1945. Also included in this volume is a detailed account of antisemitic violence that was rife in Europe in the early 20th Century.

Gilbert painstakingly covers each region of Europe and North Africa, where Jews were targeted, interred and murdered. Gilbert gives an account of the systematic attempts to exterminate the Jews: the random killing and anti-Jewish pogroms, the forcing of Jews into ghettos, the deliberate starvation of these Jews, deportations and death camps, slave labor and mass killings.

Gilbert also enumerates the countries where many Jews fled to escape Nazi persecution. Between 1933 and 1938, 500 000 German Jews emigrated or fled abroad, including more than 33 000 to Palestine, where they joined tens of thousands of recent Jewish immigrants from Poland. After the war, 200 000 survivors of the camps immigrated to Palestine, hence, Holocaust survivors and their descendants make up a substantial part of Israel's population today.

Gilbert record the names, ages and places of birth of some specific Holocaust victims whose cases he examines. He also details lesser-known locations of the Nazi persecution such as Morocco, Libya and Tunisia which were under Nazi occupation. Every period is intensely covered, as is every geographic region where Jews suffered and died.

The atlas is supplemented with photographs, some of which are very graphic. Two important maps are placed at the end of the book estimating how many Jews from each country were murdered during the Holocaust, and how many Jews returned to their countries of birth after the war.

Through his use of maps to illustrate the destruction of European Jewry and eyewitness accounts of the Nazi atrocities, Gilbert succeeds as always in combining the recording of the larger events, with a ground eye view.

One of the way the human mind learns is through ordering complex realities into diagrams and pictures and illustrations and maps. These somehow give us a sense of really comprehending what we understand only vaguely.
So these maps which tell the story of the Holocaust , from the time of initial German violence against the Jews through the time of the destruction itself, and then for the remainder, the aftermath.
In collecting this material Martin Gilbert one of the great modern historians , and one of the major historians of the Holocaust provides the reader with still more information, more means for knowing about, if not completely understanding, what is arguably the greatest act of collective Evil in human history.

This detailed account of horrendous facts will bring tears to the eyes of the hardest ones.
Each of the numbers reported concerns human persons with their wives, family, parents, children. Behind each figure there is a drama. It is not a book about the holocaust, it's just figures and maps. There is no human aspect in these inhuman statistics.
Ever since the Greek classic period, the ones reporting a defeat are no longer killed. Martin Gilbert is supplying a very detailed, thorough and actualized report on one of the greatest defeat of humanity. He should be praised for that.
His book doesn't cover the documents which permitted the holocaust or the proofs substantiating what is not to be proven. It simply attempts at tracing each and every deportation by the nazi (no capital N, please, they have lost such a right). This is an essential working tool for historians, if they can avoid loosing the human faces behind the figures.
I still rather work with Raul Hilberg, Richard Breitman, Walter Laqueur, Randolph Braham, Yitshak Arad, Gerald Reitlinger, Lucy Dawidowicz, Saul Friedlander, Yeshuda Bauer, John Mendelsohn, Henry Friedlander & Sybil Milton, and many other with the same approach but Martin Gilbert book is always next to each of them, it maintains a synthetic global view and it is a reference as well.
If you have an interest in the nazi mass murders, you simply cannot afford not to have Gilbert's atlas. By the way why don't we have a similar Atlas on the goulag as yet? This lack shows how Gilbert's book filled a hisorical need.
Don't be satisfied with Martin Gilbert's Atlas, but don't do without it.
People dying in the camps were begging for us to tell: Jewish or not Jewish, let's keep on telling.

This book should be the reference for any engineer involved in todays transition into the digital TV world.
It goes to the guts of analog and digital signal processing and its complex interactions. It really helps us in setting up -and mantain healthy- our daily workplace: the citadin HFC network.
You can't expect less from an Hewlett-Packard book.

Digital Basics for Cable TV Systems is an extremely valuable source for learning about how Analog and Digital data is created and tested. The differences between Analog and Digital channels is described using very basic concepts. Complex modulation and measurement considerations are explained in an easy-to-understand format, with terrific examples. The test set-up procedures definitely help anyone who needs to learn how to test Cable systems with Analog and/or Digital Channels.

Explanations of the interractions between existing Analog and new Digital channels are very clear and relate well to the Cable TV population.

Digital Basics for Cable TV Systems is a great reference tool for teaching engineers and technicians!! The Chapter quizzes and summaries really help the reader to organize their learning and prove to themselves that they grasp the concepts. The Glossary provides definitions of all of the industry terms.

I read and learned from every chapter! I recommend this book to anyone who works with Analog or Digital Broadcast Systems--it is a MUST!

An excellent introductory book describing the characteristics of digital transmission. I picked up this book based on the review from the Boston, MA reader with the expectation that it would provide me with the basics of digital transmission theory.

The topics are organized in logical order with the basics of signal transmission, conversion from analog to digital data streams, digital modulation, error correction, power measurements, and interference sources.

What really impressed me was the simple to understand descriptions and drawings used to convey the underlying theory without getting the reader bogged down in engineering type equations.

I definitely recommend this book for anyone interested in a general understanding of digital signal applicaitons. Even though the book is geared towards cable TV, it provided me with a strong foundation in digital communications!

I originally purchased this book because the topics list had a lot of common items with the Praxis test list (for high school math teachers). Although I recognize this is a class textbook somewhere I did not take it in a class and simply used it for self-study. I found it to be one of the best math textbooks I've ever used for self-study. Although probably very few people checking out these reviews will be taking the Math Praxis test (WEST-E in Washington state), if you are then I highly recommend this text to study/review.

The text covers a wide range of topics, and in that sense it truly is good for students considering technology or computer programming. It is also good in many parts for people who work with databases and are interested in learning more about the mathematics behind databases. It also has an interesting and reasonably well developed chapter on graph theory which can appeal to a wide range of fields - in some ways the introductory level approach to this field is perfect as it can easily be explored by people not wildly interested in mathematics and yet they can find find relevance in almost any field.

Topics covered include functions, set theory, graph theory and some basic combinatorics. This book provides a good foundation for each area, but understandably specializing in the mathematics of any particular field requires additional specialized texts.

One of the best specifics and strengths of the text is a multi-page multi-example review of injective/surjective/bijective functions. Usually these terms are described in a terse sentence or two each - this text gives pages of examples,pictures, etc.

This book is accessible to students whom have successfully completed a strong algebra/geometry sequence... precalculus will help but is not absolutely necessary.

This book is clear,had a lot of very good examples and easy to understand.

...for cleaning up Johnsonbaugh's mess. I bought this as a supplemental text for a DM course using Johnsonbaugh's book. Thank god I bought this book!

Particularly impressive is the author's approach at presenting the Chinese thought process in such a manner that Westerners can not only understand the Chinese psyche, but respect and learn from it as well. This book was perhaps one of the most enlightening books I have read in a while. There is a a concerted effort to show business protocol and potential avenues of entry, but more importantly this book addresses the fundamental social concepts that need to be FULLY understood before attempting to grow in China.

Of the vast number of books about China, this one is a very useful account of how successfully doing business in China. Western Managers at the forefront in China should read this book which brings together a lifetime of research and practice on China.

Doing business in China!
Relation, Relation And Relation....

If you are using your American or European style to work and even partner with China's firms, you must be failure in the end.

Relationship with the Government and officials are the major concerns when you stepping into the door of China.

Think Global and hire Local Chinese people is the only way to have the final success with your partner in China.

China means: " Always in the historical culture "
So don't think about China with your American Standard !

Try to learn with your local Chinese people (doer)

Anyway, China is opened now and also needed to face the ways for WTO ! Reckon, China can learn from their European and American business partners from today.

Great companion and elucidator to the complex mind of Dorothy Dunnett and House of Niccolo Series. Lots of fascinating info and translations.

Volume II of the Dorothy Dunnett Companion completes and expands the first Companion by documenting all of the novels in both the House of Niccolo and the Lymond Chronicles. It complements, not replaces, the first Companion.

For the devoted Dunnett reader, the Companion serves two purposes. Firstly, it provides a wealth of knowledge including translations of some of those non English phrases that made life difficult for some of us when tackling the books the first time around.
Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, it keeps Lady Dunnett's erudition and sparkling humour alive for us. We see the application of her knowledge in the novels themselves but here, first hand, we experience the breadth and depth of knowledge and research that made both series so special.

Highly recommended.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

Dorothy Dunnett's profound erudition and unprecedented ability to incorporate information into her novels set her apart from many, if not most, authors of historical fiction. The fact that her novels are so packed with information (as well as plot) is one of the reasons I love her books so much. I read her books, I devour her books, and I always want to learn more about the time periods she evokes so effectively.

That is where this book comes in. The novels provide tantalizing glimpses into a rich and complex world; the Companion allows the interested reader to pursue these glimpses into the labyrinthine world of Renaissance life and politics. The Companion (and what I say here applies to both Volumes I and II) is organized alphabetically and makes it possible for the reader who wants to do so to learn more about the multitude of historical figures who are so beautifully woven into the novels.

The Companion also provides the means for tracking down the quotations and other rhetorical devices that appear in the novels. The Companion carefully provides enough information to educate the reader, but not so much as to give away any of the plots of the novels. This is a delicate task, but is accomplished beautifully.

We all miss Dorothy Dunnett. May her novels long survive in print, and may the number of her fans continue to grow. Books like the Companion will help to make sure that both of these exhortations remain reality.

This book is a real "must have" for anyone who loves structural dynamics and would like to study further. Even though it is expensive, I really think that it's worth it. There is no other book as thorough as this book in this subject. I just simply like this book, and also because I know the author is a tremendously nice professor.

Just like his teaching, Humar's book is straight forward and no-nonsense. This man is THE prof to have for complexe subject matter and his text is just the same: THE reference for dynamic analysis of structures. Presents all the relevant information you require, with easy to follow examples and a clarity we all wish was the standard for engineering publications. I have not even taken this as a course text, but looked into and purchased as a desk reference.... wound up reading a good portion of the book out of personal interest. There is a good review available at http://pubs.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/rp/rppdf/l02-107.pdf . Take a look if you want another opinion.

I am a graduate student in earthquake engineering and structural dynamics. I have almost all of the books that are out there on the subject. I find this book to be the best. It is more advanced than other books on the subject (e.g. Chopra, Clough&Penzien, Tedesco et al., etc.) but also more comprehensive and thorough.
My only objection is its outrageous price. I find it completely ridiculous to pay $195, and that is why I decided to actually borrow and constantly renew the book from the library and not buy it. It is sad that such a great book will lose many prospective buyers because of its high price. Of course, you can buy the paperback for $95--which I personally think is also an outrageous price to pay for a paperback.
Bottom line: If money is not an issue for you, go ahead and buy the best book in structural dynamcics out there.

This is by far the best book I have seen on reliability planning, evaluation and engineering of electric power delivery systems. The book is well organized and very linear in its progression through its topics, so its makes for a very good textbook or self-study guide, as was the case for me. It has an extremely comprehensive index, which means its should serve as a good, quick reference in the future.

The book is pretty rigorous, and has a good bit of equations and theory, but what I appreciated is that there is a lot of common sense and good recommendations throughout, plus good data and tables on reliability, equipment, expectations, etc. I learned just a lot about distribution systems and reliability, and what to expect and how to make improvements in the real world, from this book.

But what I think is unique about this book and its greatest value was its combination of rigorous analysis of system configuration and indidivual equipment focus. You find a lot of stuff written that focuses on one or the other. There are books and technical papers on methods to analyze systems based on layout, load, switching capabilities, etc. (configuration), but they are often theoretical and neglect issues of equipment. There are also books on equipment lifetime versus loading analysis, condition evaluation and assessment, and maintainability. But rarely are the two combined well, and in one whole analytical method.

This is one of the best engineering books I have.

This is by far the best book I have seen on reliability planning, evaluation and engineering of electric power delivery systems. The book is well organized and very linear in its progression through its topics, so its makes for a very good textbook or self-study guide, as was the case for me. It has an extremely comprehensive index, which means its should serve as a good, quick reference in the future.

The book is pretty rigorous, and has a good bit of equations and theory, but what I appreciated is that there is a lot of common sense and good recommendations throughout, plus good data and tables on reliability, equipment, expectations, etc. I learned just a lot about distribution systems and reliability, and what to expect and how to make improvements in the real world, from this book.

But what I think is unique about this book and its greatest value was its combination of rigorous analysis of system configuration and indidivual equipment focus. You find a lot of stuff written that focuses on one or the other. There are books and technical papers on methods to analyze systems based on layout, load, switching capabilities, etc. (configuration), but they are often theoretical and neglect issues of equipment. There are also books on equipment lifetime versus loading analysis, condition evaluation and assessment, and maintainability. But rarely are the two combined well, and in one whole analytical method.

This is one of the best engineering books I have.

This book covers it all: causes of reliability, measures of reliability, component modeling, system modeling, system analysis, and system optimization. It even has a great primer on distribution systems from a reliability perspective.

The great thing about this book is its ability to bridge the gap between theoretical treatment and practical applications. Although it is full of algorithms and equations, all are presented in the context of real applications and real results. It has truly broadened my understanding of of the subject.

I think to have known Francis Poulenc was to love him, and this book makes it clear what a compelling and kind man Poulenc was. In addition to that, it makes clear the ambiance of the company he kept and the period of musical history in which he kept it. When I finished the book, I sat down at the piano and learned two new (new to me) piano works of his. The book was good enough to spur me in that direction. Very well done!

One of the Pendragon Press "Lives In Music" series, Carl Schmidt's Entrancing Muse: A Documented Biography Of Francis Poulenc surveys the life and work of a most notable composer who lived from 1899 to 1963. Packed cover to cover with a wealth of detailed lore about the man, his life, and his work, Entrancing Muse is a fascinating read especially recommended for anyone interested in the personality and life experiences of a man responsible for great and critically acclaimed music.

While the exhaustive approach of Carl B. Schmidt will not be for everyone, I believe Bonnie Jo Dopp's assesment unfairly shortchanges this book, stating that "This scholarly work is recommended only for research libraries or those that own Schmidt's other Poulenc title and wish to supplement it." Rather, I believe this work is for anyone inclined to read more than one work on Poulenc, for those who on first reading want to see the trees as well as the forest, and for those wishing to get to the bottom of errors and inconsistencies in the other publications.

Dr. Schmidt does not provide any of his own musical analysis, descriptions, or even musical examples, but traces the events of Poulenc's life in comprehensive detail via Poulenc's own voice in writings, interviews and letters. The reporting is factual and with voluminous footnotes, making it possible to retrace his steps. His editorial neutrality and the sheer mass of material makes for a less sophisticated approach than Mellers' or Ivry's books. Some people may prefer this, and in any case I have found it completely absorbing, because the ever-fascinating Poulenc, the "Entrancing Muse" [said Stravinsky], is presented here in unprecedented, vivid detail -- and accurately so.

The quality of this volume strengthens the case for a new English translation of Poulenc's correspondence!