Francis Books

The book is brilliant! Just one thing I would add; Take everywhere it says LSD and replace it with Amanita muscaria (Which was the real entheogen this manual is experientially based upon). Then you have it! Keep in mind that NONE of the world's religions tell the whole truth, and this includes Tibetan Buddhism. All Patriarcal religions have severe problems and you should know what those problems (false dogmas) are before experimenting. The discovery that this book is not necessarily a book for the dead but a book to map the consciousness of those experiencing the Shamanistic 'Death Experience' is crucial to humanity's understanding of Tibetan Buddhism and other world religion.

In the 1960's Leary, Alpert, and Metzner were experimenting with psychedelic chemicals. All being trained psychologists, the experiences they were having with these chemicals did not fit into the zeigeist of what they have learned concerning the "maps" of the mind. They were suprised to find that there experiences were documented step by step in a book over 3500 years old known as The Tibetan Book of the Dead. This book is an explanation of the process of psychological death and rebirth using psychedelic chemicals. If you explore with psychedelics, this book will give you a context in which to explore and achieve the desired goal...Nirvana. A true gem of the era! Highly recommended. Anything positive that can be said about this book is an understatement.

Without a peer for an encyclopediac reference of psychoanalytic theory as it existed at the close of World War Two, Fenichels' Psychoanalytic Theory of Neurosis is an absolute necessity for any student of, researcher in or practitioner of psychoanalysis or analytic therapy. Unlike other reference works in the subject, which present analytic thinkers as competing "systems," Fenichel sets psychoanalytic theory up as a broad framework, with each theorist adding a novel perspective or elucidating finer points in the broad theory.

Fenichel has done the impossible with this sublime work: he has made a canon of psychoanalysis, uniting almost imperceptibly theories and research from over 1500 journal articles upto 1945;
he corrects Freud when wrong---as in his critique of the Death Instinct---yet he presents, extends, and applies Freud's science in a comprehensiveness and accuracy which no other psychoanalyst has since done. Fenichel not only summarizes and clearly explains theory, but also provides case-histories. He also decribes the most basic concepts of psychoanalysis such that any
intelligent layman/woman could use this book as a starting point, though the book does reach a very sophiscated level after the introduction and early chapters. Very significant is Fenichel's presentation of how mere neuroses can advance to psychoses, and that solely mentalistic causes can force such an advance; this etiology ruptures the current fashion of
emphasizing brain-biochemical causes, or, holding biochemicals to be the ONLY cause of mental illness; Fenichel's work here shows why the biochemical/physicalist-theory is at best half-true (despite the best marketing tactics of American pharmaceutical companies, and the outright bombast of the psychiatric community).

Fenichel is truly Freud's heir, and anyone interested in what psychoanalyisis is should read this book, as well as Feni's Collected Papers. Pompous and asinine critics of psychoanalysis,
from femininists to diluters like Lacan, to petty, small-minded
"philosophers," like Adolph Grundbaum, could have no rejoinder to this work, and they rarely if ever refer to it: its scope is so vast, and its ordering of theory and fact so powerful, its sources so numerous that critics would prefer to ignore it.

This is the most important work outside Freud's own that anyone could read.

This is a solid piece of research and will provide insights to any student of terrorism. The author bases most of his research on scores of interviews with actual terrorists (the IRA, in particular) and this is a must read if you want to challenge much of the "pop psychology" generally applied to the study of terrorist mindsets or attempts at profiling.

How and why does someone become a terrorist? Are there common causes? Is there a terrorist personality?

For the first time I've seen, a senior psychologist has approached the concept of terrorism with a view to trying to understand what makes the mind of the terrorist work. Only with a greater understanding of every aspect of terrorism will we be able to work out the techniques that will enable the world to effectively fight it.

The author has conducted research that considers terrorism as a process and exploring three distinct phases of the making of a terrorist: becoming involved, remaining involved (or being a terrorist), and then leaving terrorism behind.

Despite the ongoing search for a terrorist personality, the most insightful and evidence-based research to date not only illustrates the lack of any identifiable psychopathology in in terrorists, but demonstrates how frighteningly 'normal' and unremarkable in psychological terms are those who engage in terrorist activity.

Mann writes, "It is my proposition that the emergence of the erotic transference signifies the patients deepest wish for growth. Like those in love, patients wish to be known and understood, to change what they do not like about themselves, to alter what makes them unlovable. Through the erotic light is shone on the deepest recesses of the psyche...The erotic transference, therefore, is the most powerful and positive quality in the therapeutic process. The development of the erotic transference is a major transitional stage in which the repetitive and transformational desire of the patient's unconscious meet at a passionate junction. The heart of the unconscious is visible in all it's 'elemental passion', and in so opening allows for the prospect of transformation and psychic growth."

Upon stating this thesis the author then methodically proceeds to offer evidence in a thorough review of the literature and in some very interesting case studies. He actually served as the therapist for a man who killed his father and married his mother, Oedipus incarnate! Mann is very eloquent and I believe he contributes greatly to the discussion on transference.

I very much enjoyed this book, which takes the reader beyond the classical view that erotic transference and countertransference signal forms of resistance, and instead looks at the inherent sensuality and sexuality in the therapy couple, and how this can be understood and worked with to effect transformation. David Mann takes us on a journey of the erotic, of love, showing us how this is at the basis of everything within us, and thus also at the basis of the therapy relationship.

Andrew Feenberg is the currently most prominent and productive philosopher in the area of technology and politics. He is an extraordinarily well-read and cosmopolitan thinker. He has made original contributions both to technology studies and political theory. And he has fashioned a viable and hopeful philosophy of the left. Feenberg is also a fine craftsman. He writes easily and lucidly. His book is well-constructed and carefully argued. Feenberg does not hesitate to lay bare the skeleton of his argument in clear and helpful charts. His book has an extensive bibliography and an instructive index. And he uses lay-out devices to keep the line of argument before his readers. _Questioning Technology_ is eminently teachable. However, it deserves wide reading and discussion beyond the classroom as well.

Andrew Feenberg's analysis of technology is profound and liberating.In his theory Feenberg incorporates ideas and insights from Heidegger, Marcuse, Foucault and Habermas among others, but goes beyond them in elaborating an original view. Dr. Feenberg sees technology as value-laden but humanly controlled and develops a historical concept of the essence of technology that incorporates philosophical, social and scientific perspectives. Convincing arguments are made for not viewing technology as a multiplicity of devices separated from the social sphere. "The technical always already incorporates the social in its structure."(Feenberg, 210) This means that devices could be designed to incorporate technical and environmental aspects that would enable liberation and life promoting values, instead of domination. In other words, technology is not autonomous and deteministic, it is possible, through design, to change its social, normative character. The book is clearly written and well organized, easy to read in the beginning, more demanding toward the end. But the chapters are organized to enable the reader to successfully get through the book, which includes many examples and detailed explanations. This book is a synthesis of philosophy, history and social thought. At the end of the book you are no longer the person you were before, and your view of technology will be forever changed. You begin to see possibilities where you thought none existed, and connections between things that you never dreamed of! I just finished reading it, and plan to read it again, soon!

Race and the American Prospect should be required reading for U.S. college students. The essays are written by distinguished race realists who examine the subject from all points of view: biological,psychological/mental., anthropological, sociological,legal, economic and demographic. The reader unfamiliar with the subject or who has heard only equalitarian propaganda on race will be well grouded on the subject of race and racial differences after having read this book.

The promotion of racial egalitarianism and "diversity" is the state religion of our time. So says Sam Francis in the Introduction to this magisterial and authoritative collection of essays written by some of America's leading dissidents. Egalitarianism and diversity are promoted by all the institutions of our society, which subject us to an all-encompassing and unceasing propaganda that the Medieval church and the Communists could only envy. Furthermore, dissent from the reigning orthodoxy is punished by social ostracism, the denial of employment, and even, in Canada and many countries in Europe, by legal prosecution. Yet, as the authors of this book prove, egalitarianism is a superstition and diversity is destructive. These views brand them as heretics, but they have their reasons, and they are presented here with clear prose, rigorous arguments, and exhaustive documentation.

I would summarize the message of this extraordinary book as follows. Distinct races exist in nature; they are not merely social constructs. The races are not equal and interchangeable, and because racial differences are real, not socially constructed, racial ineqalities cannot be changed by social policies. Therefore, multiracial (and multicultural) societies are inferior to racially and culturally homogenous ones.

The reasons for this are simple: racial and cultural difference means that different values and styles of life are appropriate to different peoples, and when they have to live in the same system, these differences inevitably produce conflict. Dominant groups, which set social standards appropriate to themselves, resent the disruptive and retarding presence of other groups that find these standards difficult or impossible to meet. The latter groups, in turn, resent the dominant group for imposing expactations and standards that chafe against the natures and values of the subordinates. At best, multiracial societies are peaceful--albeit with high "normal" rates of crime--but the quality of life is poisoned by tension, resentment, exploitation, and maddening inefficiency. At worst, they explode into chaos and bloodshed. Rather high a price to pay for authentic ethnic restaurants, which is the only concrete blessing of diversity that its advocates can cite. (It is a remarkably weak case, given that only a vanishingly small percent of non-White immigrants go into the restaurant business.)

Another important message of this book is that the prospects of America as a multiracial, majority non-White nation are very dim indeed. Since race is real and races unequal, the ongoing replacement of the White European people who created this country by a non-White majority, by means of massive non-White immigration (legal and illegal) and differential birthrates, must inevitably change America into something resembling the other majority non-White countries of the world, specifically the Third World. Those Whites who have a stake in the future, i.e., who have children or who simply feel ties of kinship to their extended racial family, should view this with alarm.

The final important message of this book is that, although present racial trends are ominous for the future of White America, these trends are not inevitable. They are the product of bad decisions made by our government, and they can be changed by good decisions. The longer we wait, however, the harder it will be to change course and the more radical will be the policies required.

The message of RACE AND THE AMERICAN PROSPECT is not unique. Other books have made the same arguments, but few make them so well. Indeed, this volume compares well with Wilmot Robertson's classic THE DISPOSSESSED MAJORITY but has one significant advantage: The last edition of THE DISPOSSESSED MAJORITY was published in 1981, and the present book takes into account the science and social trends the past 25 years, which immeasurably strengthen its case.

Sam Francis and the authors he has assembled are the Galileos of our time, and RACE AND THE AMERICAN PROSPECT is their telescope. Shame on you, if you refuse to look.

This anthology is as exciting and interesting as McDowell's M and W; Stroud's Quest; Crary's The New Wittgenstein; and Brewer's Perception and Reason. This anthology contains new material from some top-flight folks in the field.

M and W is an important text; it engages, as very few contemporary philosophy of mind texts have, the serious and neglected dualisms of conceptual scheme and empirical content; spontaneity and receptivity, which are, needless to say, Kantian concerns. McDowell is a proponent of conceptual content (within the realm of a 'minimal empiricism') and appeals to Kant and Wittgenstein to buttress his descriptive approach to philosophical inquiry. M and W has some brillant and evocative insights (with more than a few expensive obscurities), and some of McDowell's metaphors are splendid indeed, such as the teetering 'seesaw' and the 'sideways on picture.' Of course, it attempts to negotiate Kantian insights concerning human cognition with certain contemporary discussions on the Myth of the Given (Sellars), The Third Dogma (Davidson)and the Tribunal of Experience (Quine), and Rorty's attack on epistemology.

This anthology could offer disenchanted graduate students a reason to complete doctoral studies in philosophy. It is that rich and exciting. I am seriously nervous with glee (nerd alert!).

The most important and interesting articles here are: M. Friedman, "Exorcising the Philosophical Tradition" (previously published); R. Pippin, "Leaving Nature Behind" (on subjectivism); B. Stroud, "Sense Experience and the Grounding of Thought" (always a pleasure to read Barry); R. Brandom, "Non-Inferential Knowledge, Perceptual Experience..."; G. McCulloch, "Phenomenological Externalism" (see A. Brueckner and/or K. Falvey on this topic); H. Putnam, "McD's Mind and McD's World" (also see his Three-Fold Cord on McD and his soon to be released UW lectures from Columbia UP); C. Larmore, "Attending to Reasons."

This is my highest recommendation.

John McDowell's "Mind and World" is a truly illuminating work as anyone will agree who has read it or followed the intense debate the book has aroused ever since it hit the market.
A discussion this thorough is an indication that the subject the book deals with is highly complex. To understand it better you may have to read it twice or even more often, attend a few seminars,or study "Reading McDowell", edited by Nicholas H. Smith.
This will help you gain more insights into McDowell's thoughts.The fourteen essays (Crispin Wright has contributed two) cover many facets of "Mind and World" and put them into very different perspectives. They let you compare your interpretation with the points of view of these philosophers: Richard J. Bernstein, Michael Friedman, Robert B. Pippin, Barry Stroud, Robert Brandom,Charles Taylor, Gregory McCulloch, Crispin Wright, Hilary Putnam,Charles Larmore, Rüdiger Bubner, Jay M. Bernstein, Axel Honneth. All these essays are of high quality and sometimes critical. This induces the reader of "Reading McDowell" to reread "Mind and World" once more. In the last part, John McDowell responds to all the essays. Maybe it is not fair to highlight any of the contributions over others, but I found the ones by Barry Stroud and Crispin Wright the most helpful.
I recommend "Reading McDowell" highly for everyone interested in epistemology and the philosophy of mind.

what ken does with this book is amazing for a basic person like me to sit down and read a book like this is amazing i learnt soooooo much!!!!!!!!!!! buy this book!!!!!!!!!!!

This is a fabulous book. It's a great place to start for one who is interested in the more intellectual side of vampire fiction. There is some great discussion of the vampire as an economic metaphor.

In the last few years, I have learned a lot about WWII from my own father, a Navy veteran. As many times as I hear and read stories like Mr. Angier's, I am continually amazed at the bravery and dedication of these boys. Would I do the same? I'd like to think so, but I really can't say.

Especially now, we owe it to ourselves to learn what our fathers and grandfathers (and mothers and grandmothers) did for us so that we have so much freedom and so little to fear.

The book is an incredible first person story, very well told.

The relevance of this book cannot be overstated. It is a first person account from a man who remembers his experiences as a Vermont farm boy, pilot, prisoner of war, and patriot with a clarity that is remarkable. This is a poignant reckoning with what makes boys men and men heroes. J. Francis Angier is humble in his assessment of his contributions but they speak louder than he ever would about himself and his generation. Better than "Saving Private Ryan". Better than "From Here to Eternity", this is the real thing. A fast, riveting, remarkable book and man. This is such a well-written autobiography it almost feels like great fiction. The fact that all of this really happened makes the book even more powerful and fascinating. Great for anyone who lived it; or who wonders what it was really like for those who did.

This book is a true testament to thought in reference to "the place" of the black writer. The issues raised bv the author can be piercing in their clarity. It is a must for any university Lit program or library collection, where real discussion is placed on African-American Literature, thereby American Literature.

This really complicated book--with highly informed theoretical concepts--makes a controversial and solid arugment about the making of race in the United States. It should be a mandatory read for anyone interested in twentieth century American and African American literature.