Hoffman Books

The Structuralism asserts that text tells itself and there is no place the author dwell on. With no doubt, the text we read is not the one the author wrote or intended. It's the text reconstructed on our own. According to the Structuralism, the intellectual history is the waste of time and effort. For this field traces the background of the text: what was the zeitgeist of author; what kind of influences could be spotted in the text.
In fact, text could be read in itself with no background knowledge of the text. But I suspect that kind of reading is not sufficient to depict the overall picture of the text. We always adopt or reject some part of text or another. I think such treatment of text could be done effectively only when the overall points of the text are settled down. The text is not isolated from the environment. The text itself is some kind of social action. If not, why do we write the text at all? Writing could not be a simple dabbling, but a painstaking endeavor. It's written to communicate with others. So the understanding some text should be the knowing where was the text located, in other word, the readers of text. Reading the intellectual history is, therefore, definitely helpful to understand the text.
Hughes is the right person to write such a history. He is the master in the intellectual history. this book is one of the trilogy which covers the modern Western thoughts. This book is the intellectual history of the French thoughts from the 1930s to the 1960s. This period is the cradle of Annal school, Existentialism, French phenomenology and Structuralism. Hughes argues that those schools were obsessed with the changed relationship of the intellectuals with society. As we can see from French enlightenment and the Dreyfus affair, French intellectuals enjoyed the influences over public sphere. Since the 17th C. French intellectuals didn't have any doubt about their role of steering the France. They even thought they set the direction of the Western civilization. For example, the very basic principles of democracy, liberty and equality were manifested in the French Revolution, and the very conception of rationality was formalized by Descartes. But World War I cast doubt over those doctrines. And it was commensurate to the suspicion of the role of intellectuals. It seems that the postwar West did not follow the principles they proclaimed. The Fascism was the good example. French thoughts of this period like Existentialism, Structuralism and so on are offspring of this intellectual situation. Hughes illustrates the circumstances they faced in the graphic way. And better, his recapping of major thinkers of those schools are skillful. I recommend this book to who want to understand those schools better.

ms. hoffman , hope you are doing fine and still publishing the poetry works. I was out of the country for a while and would like to be printed again. please, let me know how is every thing with you.

This is one of the most beautiful children's books I have read. We are all unique and special yet many children (and adults) have trouble remembering that. Ms. Glenn's amazing literary talent reinforces that important message in a way that touches the very soul.

I would suggest this for anyone who is looking for a new book to either tuck their children into bed with, or one for kids begining how to read. I love the storyline as well as the wonderful illustrations. I am waiting to see more books by this author.

Before commenting on the stories themselves, I want to say that Donald Hoffman's prose is in itself a pleasure to read. It has a leisurely, discursive quality, a little like Old World courtesy, which invites you into the stories. In fact, the first one, "The Prisoner," is framed as a traveler's tale, and this style is perfectly suited to the narrator's voice. It's a good introductory story; the narrator ends with a wink at his audience, refusing to commit to the truth or falsehood of his tale. The reader, who is left feeling `well, if it wasn't true, it should have been,' is nicely set up for the rest of the book. There's a lot of variety in this collection, which includes satire, fable, and what might be called a children's story (though like all fine children's literature it speaks equally to adults). My two favorites are the title story, about a father's grief at his infant daughter's death, and "The Man in a Tree," a fable. I was fascinated with the title story because whenever I read about the death of a child, I wonder how a parent goes on living afterwards. I was quite moved when I understood that music and poetry bring the father to a deep acceptance of his loss and help him say good-bye. "The Man in a Tree," which reminded me of Kipling's Just So Stories, is a lovely tale of unquestioning devotion. I thought of Bruno Bettelheim's The Uses of Enchantment as I was reading Hoffman's book. In three of the five tales, art or imagination saves the characters, helps them to heal. I felt Hoffman is showing how we tap into the wellspring of cultural wisdom as we navigate our lives.

I've never read a true story like this one. Oscar is my Great Great Uncle. I don't know him very well but I know he's a great man. In the book there are so many close calls. There were so many times where he was close to being caught but yet he never was. There were people who risked there lives to help him and some of those peoples lives were taken from them. This story would make a wonderful movie!!!

THIS BOOK ALLOWS THE LAY PERSON TO LOOK AT THE WAY THE SOCIETY VIEWS WOMEN AND THEIR HEALTH PROBLEMS. IT SHOWS US THAT THERE IS A DIFFERENT WAY OF INTERACTING WITH ONE'S PHYSICIAN AND THAT IT'S UNACCEPTABLE TO HAVE A DOCTOR THAT WON'T WORK WITH AND FOR THEIR PATIENT. THE LANGUAGE OF THIS BOOK IS DOWN AND DIRECT AND IS A WONDERFUL INVITATION TO FURTHER EXPLORATION OF THE MEDICAL ENVIRONMENT BOTH FOR MEN AND WOMEN, BUT ESPECIALLY FOR WOMEN.

PALI BUDDHISM: This work is co-edited by an American professor of philosophy and religion and by a Sri Lankan Buddhist monk who received academic training in the history of religions in the United States. The three sections of the book are: PHILOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS, INSIDER'S UNDERSTANDINGS, and PHILOSOPHICAL IMPLICATIONS. The focus in on early Indian Theravada Buddhism in the Pali tradition.

The FOREWORD is by Ninian Smart. The INTRODUCTION by Hoffman and Deegalle offers a historical overview of the significance of Pali Buddhist Studies and its historical background. It also provies a discussion of comparative philosophy as it relates to Pali Buddhism, and explains the rationale for this particular volume.

CONTRIBUTORS INCLUDE: George D. Bond, Andrew Olendzki, Subramania Gopalan, Christopher Key Chapple, Deegalle Mahinda, Padmasiri DeSilva, A.D.P. Kalansuriya, Gunapala Dharmasiri, Arthur L. Herman, Ramakrishna Puligandla, Shanta Ratnayaka, Ninian Smart, and Frank J. Hoffman.

The work contains an Index and section divider plates from Sri Lanka courtesy of the American Institute of Indian Studies, Varanasi.

This book is suitable as a supplementary text in survey courses on Philosophies and Religions of India and for upper-level undergraduate and graduate courses as well.

Olmsted's own writings about the necessity and joys of grand public green spaces are amazingly current and relevant.

The price tag may limit this reference to the most dedicated reference library; but this new 2001 edition updates a reference which has not seen a new edition in seven years: there are many changes to contact information and details on facilities, activities, and special features have also changed. This edition of Parks Directory Of The United States also enjoys web site and e-mail addresses where possible, and adds four indexes by type of park, special features, geography and all park listings. An excellent reference.