L Books

For those desiring a 'meat & potatoes' study of the Middle Way, this is an excellent book.

Next to the Heart Sutra (Maha Prajna Paramita Hridaya Sutra), one of the most important writings for Mahayana Buddhists, and this is a good translation and commentary (there is Ocean of Reasoning, but that is way, way too massive and far more than what is necessary). Stick with the basics and simplicity, I always say. For a book of this magnitude, pick this one. You'll have enough to study while still coming to grips with its message.

I spent the better part of year getting into this book. Having begun to understand Nagarjuna's project, however, I have fond that this book has completely changed the way I think.

Basically, Nagarjuna works against two types of philosophical view: the view of the naive realist, which assumes, for example, that motion, perception, and causal force are inherently existing things, and the view of the nihilist, who would say that all these things are nonexistent or illusory.

Take causality. It seems that one event must surely cause another because of some sort of inherently existing causal force, right? The problem is that this causal power, if it exists, must either (1) appear as an essential property of certain events under certain conditions, or (2) it must appear as a property of those events mysteriously, for no particular reason. In the first case, causality itself requires a causal explanation--an infinite regress. In the second case, the explanation of causality, which is supposed to explain all regularities which we perceive in the universe, rests upon an ineffable mystery. So events do occur in a particular order with a certain degree of regularity. However, there is no need to posit some additional, basic force in order to explain this causal regularity.

A good way to appreciate Nagarjuna's perspective is to look at certain recent ideas from science and the humanities according to its light. For example, the theory of evolution tells us that the idea of "species" does not refer to some inherently existing type of essence, but rather that "species" is a handy designation for organisms which are of a certain degree of similarity to one another at this particular point in time. As organisms of a given "species" give birth to offspring, the very definition of this "species" changes, since it was never a monolithic, stable, inherently existing thing to start with.

I strongly recommend this book, difficult though it is. I would also suggest the Dalai Lama's commentary on the Heart Sutra (Essence of the Heart Sutra) and Chogyam Trungpa's book Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism as partners to this text.

i have not studied all of nagarjunas logic carefully in this book, it seems that he is arguing for the underlying emptiness of all things on the basis of his assumption of dependent or mutual arising. perhaps its a bit more complicated than this though. a cup of tea is not a cup of tea in itself. nor does the teabag have any individual or inherent identity, rather the teabag is a collection of collections without any individuality. just as my finger is a collection of cells, so a teabag is a combination of dependent things. infact he believes that everything depends on the presence or absence of something else. tea leaves depend on the presence of tanins, flavins, cells, maturation, drying, there is nothing inherently existent that could be called the individuality of the teabag. this of course defies common sense, but is reasonable. why cannot a collection be at one and the same time an individuality. ie one in many, or many as one. such an argument though would be contrary to nagarjunas thrust, which is to emphasise the existence of emptiness through dependence. ie everything that is dependent has no individual uniqueness (or soul) since all individuals are merely collections.

i am still studying nagarjuna, it seems that a statement such as "walker is not the same as walking, nor is it different from walking" can be argued any way which can. "walker is not the same as walking, if it were how could the two be told apart, nor is walker different from walking, or otherwise there would be walking without walker." it could be argued on the grounds of oneness that walker and walking are one and the same, that structure and function are inseperable. you could just as easily say that walker is the same as walking and that is why there isnt walking without walker. if nagarjuna says that legs are not the same as arms because they can be told apart he is right, because they can be told apart, but wrong because arms and legs are all part of one body and cannot be separated. so paradoxically one can say that walker and walking are not the same, but one can also say that they are the same (the same body/oneness).

it can be argued that walker is walking, walker is not walking, and as nagarjuna says walker is not the same as, nor different from walking. infact whatever you seek to prove, if you are clever enough, you can prove it. this is the nature of reason and logic. a donkey that is lead by the carrot of the person who possesses it.

i find his logic is clear (it is)infact, it is pure genius, but as with all logic one has to realise that at this moment logic is thoroughly illogical. though perhaps when he wrote it was thoroughly logical. logic being logical? logic being illogical? two sides of the same coin. if logical can be illogical why discuss something as important as emptiness using logic? this defies a common understanding of nagarjuna, unless of course he wished to impress buddhist emptiness upon the minds of the common people. or, perhaps he really did believe in the immutable logos (reason) of plato. that insoluble all pervasive notion of truth. personally i see that reason has its uses (many of them groundbreaking and earth shattering), but can often be used to say what you want, especially when it comes to philosophy.

i find the argument for emptiness grounded in dependent arising 'can' be compelling, or not compelling. its just how you approach it. in that a collection does not necessarily indicate an individuality, it could be seen as a collective, for example a sea sponge colony 'may' have no singular conscious individuality as the colony as a whole, but then a human being is a collection with a consciousness . but as i see it, dependent arising could be used as a proof against emptiness just as much as a proof for it. i believe that the buddha would have days where he took time out from such an approach, that is he would respect the agile logical display of nagarjuna, but have said "not on mondays nagarjuna" (but only if you dont mind my friend).

i dont think that the buddha was about dogmatising certain concepts and words such as emptiness, as useful as they may be. even freedom can become an obstacle to relationship and his word "liberation" can be in buddhism taken to mean many different things. it may just be that mental freedom and freedom from suffering are synonymous. emptiness is representative of water and air, but one should not forget the presence of fire, or gold (earth)(male elements)that are representative of fullness/form. to argue away form for emptiness seems unbalanced. just as to argue away emptiness for form would be unbalanced, though it may be an interesting excercise (and not too difficult). infact rising to the challenge if one looks in minute detail/huge magnification at an area of space one will find it a quantum soup, and not nearly as empty as one expected. infact buddha is implacable when he says emptiness is form for this could imply that there is no emptiness, only form. or visa-versa one could argue that all is empty.

i have also read nagarjunas, i think its called the flower garland, which was less a discussion of emptiness and logical proof for such, though his approach in the middle way comes across in this book too. no, i remember now its called the discourse of the precious flower garland.

i realise that my comments on nagarguna's mulamadhyamakakarika may seem disrespectful regarding the buddhist saint, and have no desire to show disrespect, but i do feel that all in all, though brilliant his arguments are not compelling ground for emptiness. this is because i am aware of the bias behind reason. there are other ways to illustrate emptiness. the buddhas "emptiness is form" for example is a much clearer statement of anti-logic, that i find very elegant. also the prescence of the zero in any effective numerical system requires a hypothetical emptiness.

i have no doubt that in the original tongue nagarjuna was a marvellous poet, sadly this does not come across in this translation or in "verses from the centre" a different translation of the same work. perhaps, in his poetic form his genius would have shone out as much as it does from his rational genius.

this is an interesting book to read, a fascinating insight into the mind of an early buddhist saint and an example of how one can use logic to prove anything, even that which intuitively seems almost impossible. but personally i dont feel it tells me anything, other than showing patterns of logic, which are a useful thing to aquire. i must say though that i am 'astonished' by the mans logical dexterity.

i would have found nagarjuna more interesting if he had tried to prove the existence of form and balanced this with a proof for the existence of emptiness. for in truth it is not balanced to prove the existence of emptiness without proving the existence of form. and you cannot prove the existence of emptiness without proving the existence of form, for emptiness is form. it can be argued that all is emptiness, but it can also be argued that all is form. whatever you look for is whatever you find. such is the nature of reality. seek and you will find.

infact... making things fun, and killing the buddhas word, i would say that "form is not emptiness, form is form" is just as true as "emptiness is form". this is the buddas freedom. playing with logic, one does not take reason too seriously on mondays, but... aah, on tuesdays it is profoundly important.

thank you nagarjuna for the encouragement you have given many.

love, flakey xxx.

Before you stare at a wall to practice suchness, you may want to spend some time acquainting yourself with this philosophical presentation that justifies your practice.

It will be no easy task. Both Nagarjuna's text and Garfield's commentary are challenging: I'm sure that would be true for the Western philosophers Garfield's commentary is targeted to and it certainly was for me as a lay person. But I persisted in what often seemed repetitious and tedious to find enough interspersed wisdom to make my patient reading worthwhile. This is not a book I could comfortably have browsed. Without Garfield's commentary, I might have quickly read over Nagarjuna's verses and believed I had understood much of it. Despite much that seemed cryptic, I'd have thought myself well educated in dependent origination, impermanence, emptiness, the self and other key Buddhist concepts. But, if I did that, I may have missed about 99% of what Garfield found therein.

A Sanskrit text by Nagarjuna translated into Tibetan and then into English by Garfield. A commentary informed by a tradition of Tibetan teachings. Understandings which may enrich one's meditation ... on emptiness. It is humbling to consider that Nagarjuna composed his verses in India about the 2nd century A.D. Such a thorough and penetrating analysis must have resulted from many challenges from others. That it holds up is something worth ... experiencing as one reads Nagarjuna and Garfield.

Nagarjuna's text is presented by itself, then again interspersed wihin Garfield's commentary. Garfield proceeds very precisely, keeping his interpretations closely tied to the verses at hand. Together they offer a tour de force in Buddhist philosophy. If you read this book and later hear someone say, as if it were a complete thought, that the self is an illusion, you should understand much better what the too often unstated context for such a statement is.

There are many valuable lessons: about the lack of inherent existence, interdependence, conventional and ultimate truth, dependent origination of all phenomena, the emptiness of even emptiness, even dependent origination as dependently originated, reification, of the self as a conventional designation. There are conclusions I found profound such as that "the conventional nature of conventional entities and their emptiness are one and the same". That "to say of a thing that is dependently arisen is to say that its identity as a single entity is nothing more than being the reference of a word", i.e. that its identity "depends upon verbal convention". Do I follow that? One problem may be that at the time I read such lines I may think I do but a short while later, I've lost it. This is not a book I would want to be tested on anytime soon after finishing it. I don't know when I will be ready for such a test. The answers may not be found through further study of the text and commentary but through meditation ... or perhaps some of both.

I recommend going back over after a first reading and making notes. Even then, it may take ... years ... lifetimes? ... for everything taught in here to sink in, but the intent is to enable you to internalize the teachings presented here through meditation so that it becomes more than philosophy but a way to live. A tall order but that is what Buddhist meditative practice, properly understand, seems to be.

I do feel I understand better from this reading, if only a little better, why meditation seems warranted. Being a less confused about that seems worthwhile.

A MUST READ for any beginner. If you're looking for your first book on Stocks, look no more, just buy this one.

This book is highly reccomended for all beginners. This book will give you the basis for everyting you want to know about the stock market. Period!

I loved this book. It talked about every facet of the stock market, but didn't go overboard with jargon. I knew absolutely nothing about stocks and after reading this book I am ready to learn more. It was well written, interesting, and, unlike some investing books, the author was not trying to sell anything. This is the perfect book for anyone who wants to invest but has no knowledge of the subject. I really enjoyed this book.

This well written book gives the beginner investor the information needed to understand investing in stocks.

The book goes through setting your goals, assesing your risks and rewards. It teaches you about common and preferred stocks and the basics of buying and selling stocks.

There is a chapter on different investment strategies and then the book takes you into fundamental and technical analysis of a stock.

Finally the book touches on mutual funds, rights, warrants, and options.

All in all this is an excellent book and is one that any beginner investor will learn a lot from.

This book was an easy read to learn the basic terminology. And it's a nice reference book with a good "stock" glossary at the back of the book. After this, you'll be ready to read something a little for philosophical like Peter Lynch's masterpiece "One Up On Wall Street".

Great book for early teens, even pre-teens. Kids at risk identify with the main charactor, love the animals, wish for someone like the old man to be there for them.

Imagine having a mother who doesn't seem to know you exist. Unless she needs money or someone to take her frustrations out on. Imagine having a father who hasn't had contact with you in two years, even though he lives only a couple of hours away. A father who kept taking you back to an abusive mother until he became too busy to even come see you at all.

Sean just plain doesn't care anymore. So he's been suspended yet again for fighting - big deal. It'll be just another vacation. That is, until he's assigned community service at a local ranch. Starting immediately.

Mr. Hassler, the old geezer ranch owner, puts Sean to work cleaning out stalls, spreading manure, and unloading feed. Things change when he helps deliver a colt that imprints Sean, instead of its mother. Their bond helps him explore his tangle of emotions about his parents and Mr. Hassler.

HERO is a heartwarming story about a young man in search of someone to love and respect, including himself. Rottman leaves the reader wanting more as Sean faces a new future with his dad and the ranch.

Reviewed by: Cana Rensberger

Now here's a book that clearly defines the meaning of "hero". Rottman's books always have a good message for us. They often deal with mature subjects, drugs and alcohol, but never glorified. His books are great for mature readers. A clear look into what life is like for many young adults today.

S.L. Rottman reveals young children's lives by covering child abuse and abandonment that has been affecting our world for centuries. Sean copes with his parent's divorce he also has to face his alcoholic mother abusing him. On top of that Sean tangles with the law. He gets sent to a horse ranch were he meets a man named Mr. Hassler who tries to give Sean some Moral support. Sean faces the fact that there are good people in the world that he can call his hero.
Rottman has written a fantastic book that many people should read. Hero has a remarkable plot to the story. For example it shows a young boy trying to overcome all the obstacles in his life. This book keeps the reader thinking through the whole story. S.L. Rottman gives readers a chance to see what problems young children face every day.

I think this is a good book. I like all the characters and I like how this book is setup. This book is good for all ages. Good classroom book for teachers. I read this book in my reading class. I got into the book really fast and I couldn't put the book down. My favorite character in this book was Sean. He was a nice kid inside and it shows you in the book. At first he seemed like a trouble maker and later he shows you the real him. With a farmers help (Mr. Hassler). I really don't read books. It's not my thing but when I read this one it had me going for another one.

Jean-Francois Revel was one of those rare French philosophers - others include Andre Glucksmann, Chantal Delsol, Bernard Henri-Levy and Alain Besancon - who seek to clarify and elucidate rather than obfuscate. Revel's revelations and observations on anti-Americanism have since been confirmed by other intellectuals like Andre Markovits in his equally thought-provoking work Uncouth Nation which also demonstrates the intimate connection to Antisemitism.

Revel first examines the contradictory character of the diatribes against America, pointing out how the European elites that always blame the USA conveniently forget certain unpleasant facts: their own continent turned the 20th century into the most murderous in history through colonialism, genocidal ideologies like communism and Nazism and two world wars. Bernard Harrison has identified and analyzed this sordid blame game of the elites - in the UK in particular - in the way it targets Israel and incites Antisemitism.

Revel then turns his attention to Antiglobalism, proving that it really is a struggle against classical liberalism of which the USA is a shining example. Not that the Left has anything against globalism, they just don't like the fact that people worldwide will be able to freely trade with one another with diminishing government interference and become prosperous in the process.

The mostly young antiglobalists are blind ideologues, remnants from a past of cruelty and bloodshed. Poor Third World countries want more international trade because that is the only way to escape from poverty, in the same way Taiwan, Singapore, South Korea and others have done and India is now doing. Only economic growth brings prosperity as has been demonstrated time and again.

Interesting historical trends are examined, like Régis Benichi's three waves of globalization. The first started during the 16th and 17th centuries, the second lasted from 1840 to 1914 and the third has continued since the end of the Second World War. This one has improved the lives of third world people in direct proportion to the individual countries' adherence to the rule of law and its measure of economic freedom.

Revel explores America's relations with the world in the chapter Hatreds And Fallacies, detailing the distortions from the left following 9/11 and the liberation of Afghanistan. The phobias and fallacies of old-style anti-Americanism and of Neo-totalitarianism greatly intensified at this time, as also observed by Nick Cohen in What's Left?. Nothing escapes Revel's scrutiny, as he provides evidence of the sinister alliance between Leftists and Islamists, a marriage of convenience based on mutual hatred.

In the next chapter The Worst Society That Ever Was, Revel ridicules the crude lies about American society invented by the French media. Exposing the deliberate distortions and contradictions, he observes that such mendacity can only emanate from sick minds. He compares health care in the USA and Europe, looks at literature, crime statistics and the American melting pot versus large non-integrated minorities in France as discussed in books like Menace in Europe and While Europe Slept. His revealing dissection of the French state-sponsored movie industry, including his hilarious opinion of the film Amelie, is a real treasure.

In the chapter Cultural Extinction, Revel considers popular culture in more detail, arguing that cross-fertilization benefits everybody whilst state protection of local culture leads to stagnation. Globalization is an engine of enrichment that enhances cultural diversity. He warns that anti-American phobias and antiglobalism might derail progress in Europe, referring to Guy Sorman's book Progress And Its Enemies. This is not an idea based on partisan ideology but a rational argument also supported by the socialist Claude Allegré.

In chapter 6: Being Simplistic, Revel demolishes the notion that poverty is the root cause of terrorism, asserting that the Jihadists perceive the secular character of the Western concept of human rights at the heart of liberal democracy as the real enemy. The Al-Qa'ida terrorists never even mentioned economic inequalities but reproach the West for contravening the fundamentalist interpretations of their religion's scripture.

In the last chapter: Scapegoating, Revel distinguishes between rational criticism of the USA that is based on facts, and the mental/spiritual disease that is Anti-Americanism. The second is a fanatical mindset that is also obviously idiotic in that it condemns America for certain behaviors (intervention in Kosovo) while simultaneously condemning it for the opposite (lack of intervention in Rwanda). He cites numerous instances where the French elites demonize America while much worse was happening in France, like the huge support for the extreme rightist Le Pen in the first round of the 2000 French presidential election.

Revel concludes that the lunatic ravings of hatred for America and the opinionated ill will in much of the European media will only lead to Americans rejecting the idea of consultation. He believes that the USA's mistakes should always be subject to vigilant criticism but that the gross bias currently reigning will only weaken its exponents and encourage American unilateralism.

The most important lesson from this book is that anti-Americanism is a disease, not a position. The prognosis is not good - Revel believes that countering this attitude with facts and reason will not work since the disinformation in question is not the result of honest, correctable mistakes, but rather of a squalid psychological need. Attitudes that were not formed by facts cannot be changed by facts.

For further light on the matter, I recommend Hating America: A History by Barry Rubin, a book that reveals the long history and the inherent irrationality of the phenomenon. Bat Ye'or reveals the identities, aims and achievements of certain elements within the Brussels eurocracy in her alarming work Eurabia. The fact that the project is doomed will not erase its unintended and disastrous consequences, some of which are already apparent.

Ce livre dresse une critique vigoureuse de la dictature intellectuelle gauchiste en France. Ou de l'asservissement à nos nouveaux maîtres, comme dirait Minc. Il dénonce l'antiaméricanisme, bien sûr, mais aussi l'absurdité des "progressistes" paléomarxistes, des "tiersmondistes" protectionnistes, des "antiglobalistes" adeptes de la pensée unique, des "pacifistes" alliés à Saddam Hussein, des "multiculturalistes" qui condamnent les enfants ethniques aux ghettos.
À vrai dire, la lecture de ce livre suscite un malaise: comment se fait-il que des propos si évidents, au point qu'on a l'impression que Revel s'acharne sur une cause déjà gagnée, soient encore rejetés par la majorité des intellectuels, et même que l'antiaméricanisme ait progressé depuis une dizaine d'années, malgré la chute du mur de Berlin et l'évident succès économique américain? Jalousie? Inquiétude face aux puissants? Humiliation des gauchistes qui en a exacerbé l'animosité? Certes, mais il y a probablement autre chose.
Il me semble que l'antiaméricanisme européen, tout comme le pacifisme, l'écologisme, l'animalisme etc. est passé du domaine des choix socio-politiques à celui de l'image qu'on veut projeter pour soi-même: il s'agit moins de ce qu'on veut faire et plus de ce qu'on veut être. En d'autres termes, ce sont des modes, d'où le malaise: démontrer l'incohérence des modes, irrationnelles par définition, semble être aussi futile que reconnaître la superfluité de la cravate, ou constater qu'il n'y a la moindre utilité pratique à pousser une boule dans un trou avec un bâton (jouer au golf)! Cependant, tant que les intellectuels gauchistes nous présentent leurs idées comme la vérité absolue, plutôt que comme une affectation mondaine, on n'a d'autre choix que d'étaler leur inconsistance.
Comme disait déjà Jean-Paul Aron il y a deux décennies dans "Les Modernes", les Français semblent avoir cessé d'utiliser leur jugement individuel pour suivre les modes intellectuelles des maîtres à penser. Doit-on conclure que le cartésianisme de la vieille France, qui m'avait jadis séduit, s'est désormais atrophié? La clarté logique montrée par Revel, qui a quand-même passé la plupart de sa vie en France, semble indiquer qu'il y a encore un espoir.

Quelle belle description d'une vérité trop dure à admettre pour certains: Le capitalisme est la voie et les USA sont les leaders.

Revel nous fait une excellente description de ce qui est, selon lui, la cause de l'anti-américanisme moderne, c-à-d, l'échec du modèle socialiste (le communisme moderne) et/ou totalitarisme et/ou dictature sanglante.

Il décrit très bien comment les organisations anti-mondialisation sont des organes anti-américaine qui prennent naissance grace à la démocratie contre celle-ci et comment ces groupes garde leur pouvoir grace aux mensonges. Son récit du comment la France et l'Europe sont devenu pathétiquement misérable et comment la guerre du Viet-nam est d'abord un échec Francais vous galvaniseront des commentaires haineux des antis.

Aussi, si vous voulez plus de chiffres pour voir les bienfaits de la démocratie capitalistique, lisez "Plaidoyer pour la mondialisation capitalistique de Norberg" ou "In defence of globalization de Bhagwati".

Ce livre dresse une critique vigoureuse de la dictature intellectuelle gauchiste en France. Ou de l'asservissement à nos nouveaux maîtres, comme dirait Minc. Il dénonce l'antiaméricanisme, bien sûr, mais aussi l'absurdité des "progressistes" paléomarxistes, des "tiersmondistes" protectionnistes, des "antiglobalistes" adeptes de la pensée unique, des "pacifistes" alliés à Saddam Hussein, des "multiculturalistes" qui condamnent les enfants ethniques aux ghettos.
À vrai dire, la lecture de ce livre suscite un malaise: comment se fait-il que des propos si évidents, au point qu'on a l'impression que Revel s'acharne sur une cause déjà gagnée, soient encore rejetés par la majorité des intellectuels, et même que l'antiaméricanisme ait progressé depuis une dizaine d'années, malgré la chute du mur de Berlin et l'évident succès économique américain? Jalousie? Inquiétude face aux puissants? Humiliation des gauchistes qui en a exacerbé l'animosité? Certes, mais il y a probablement autre chose.
Il me semble que l'antiaméricanisme européen, tout comme le pacifisme, l'écologisme, l'animalisme etc. est passé du domaine des choix socio-politiques à celui de l'image qu'on veut projeter pour soi-même: il s'agit moins de ce qu'on veut faire et plus de ce qu'on veut être. En d'autres termes, ce sont des modes, d'où le malaise: démontrer l'incohérence des modes, irrationnelles par définition, semble être aussi futile que reconnaître la superfluité de la cravate, ou constater qu'il n'y a la moindre utilité pratique à pousser une boule dans un trou avec un bâton (jouer au golf)! Cependant, tant que les intellectuels gauchistes nous présentent leurs idées comme la vérité absolue, plutôt que comme une affectation mondaine, on n'a d'autre choix que d'étaler leur inconsistance.
Comme disait déjà Jean-Paul Aron il y a deux décennies dans "Les Modernes", les Français semblent avoir cessé d'utiliser leur jugement individuel pour suivre les modes intellectuelles des maîtres à penser. Doit-on conclure que le cartésianisme de la vieille France, qui m'avait jadis séduit, s'est désormais atrophié? La clarté logique montrée par Revel, qui a quand-même passé la plupart de sa vie en France, semble indiquer qu'il y a encore un espoir.

American readers may be surprised to discover that this putatively pro-American book reached the best-seller list in France. It is written by a French intellectual and journalist who, at nearly eighty years of age, knows the United States well (having written on the same subject nearly three decades ago in a book called Ni Jesus Ni Marx or, in English, Without Jesus or Marx ). The global position of the United States having evolved considerably since his previous book, Revel takes a fresh look at this question in a larger context of debates worldwide on globalization, and not just U.S. society and foreign policy.

Published about a year after the events of September 11, 2001, the book takes a fresh look at the root causes of anti-Americanism, particularly in France, but also, to some extent, in Europe and the rest of the world, although some critics in France argue that he uses the book to pursue his own hidden political bias against certain French elites and domestic policies.

Revel examines the mixed and often contradictory dual sense of envy and contempt that the United States inspires abroad, seeking to identify which of these attitudes are objectively based. He generally contends that it was this long-established ambivalent set of feelings outside the Untied States, and not the aftermath of 9/11, which underlies the resurgence of negative attitudes to the United States.

Revel's style is full of irony and paradox as he takes on subjects as diverse as attitudes on globalization, foreign fears of cultural extinction from Americanisms, and foreign policy. He sees in the anti-globalization debate a deeper resentment of American ideals of economic free-market liberalism. He challenges the demonstrators at the Seattle WTO meeting or at other anti-globalziaiton rallies which periodically sprout up, to look at the contradiction between their assault on so-called unbridled market ideology of free trade and the real attempts of the WTO to create rules of trade which most developing countries are seeking to join. In an interesting final chapter, Revel blames the anti-americanism of foreign governments as actually bolstering the American superpower status which they revile.

To characterize this book as pro-American simply beause it challenges a wide range of attitudes that have broadly come to be seen as anti-American is to misunderstand some of the arguments Revel makes. There is some interesting historical and sociological analysis which makes reading this book a few times worthwhile if you wish to decode contemporary attitudes to the United States in a much deeper and, ultimately, more illuminating historical framework of understanding.

Excellent writing reminiscent of Madeline L'Engle, but not in the same league as A Wrinkle in Time. This book would be better for older ages as some of the language is a bit abstract. I wished the area of Lightland was more substantial as there doesn't seem to be a lot going on there. Not a thrilling journey, but still pretty good writing.

I could write a whole review, but i only need one word...AWESOME! I loved it and couldn't put it down!

This is my favorite book ever! I have read it five times already and am likely to read it much more! If you like fantasy books with a little magic and lots of excitement, this is a book for you! The main characters are exotic, interesting and keep the readers on their toes. I'd definitely suggest this book!

This book is on of the most amazing books i've ever read!!!!!! It is the BEST!!!! It's fantasy, which i love, but it has some different plot ideas than most fantasy! it raises some interesting questions and ideas about memories, and how important they are to us. I've read this book about ten times!!!!! The characters are wonderful!! Lottie is so likable and Lewis is one of the most fascinating characters i've read about in any book, ever! and i've read a lot of books! The plot is quick moving, interesting and suspensful. The whole thing is extraordinarily well written!!!!! I could write pages and pages about this book, but i really only need three words: IT IS AWESOME!!! I would recommend it to absolutely anyone!!! Also, my mom is the author, but that's completely irrelevant.

Magical dorms in England? Who needs 'em. McCutchen gives us the down-home American farmland specificity of Iowa, very firmly rooted in time and space and a jumping-off point for a fine children's fantasy that will capture adults too. Perfectly paced, Lottie and Lewis's forays into Lightland left me wanting more; perhaps in what will hopefully be Lightland's sequel(s?) we will find out: what happened when Lottie's father and Ms. d'Avignon went to Lightland as youngsters? Are the memories they created still there? Will Lottie and her father ever go there and maybe, just maybe, will Lottie get to meet her mother? And most sinister of all, is the Nightking REALLY gone? (and for the romantics among us, is Lottie going to get a new mom, one who's really cool?????)

One of the things I loved most about this book was the emphasis that memories make a person. Some cultures can recite lineages back thousands of years--in America we seem to have amnesia about who we are and the people we came from. So enjoy this book. But to really learn something from it, to carry on the spirit of it, this holiday season sit down next to that deaf old relative of yours that you usually ignore and ask them about their memories. And maybe tape them, or write them down. Why not? Then when your kids ask YOU.....you'll have memories too.

I bought this book for my mom. She's a big fan of missionary stories and she loved this one! I recently bought her Peace Child by the same author. She enjoyed it as well.

This book is incredible. Sad and at the same time so incredibly uplifting. It shows how God's plans are so much bigger than ours, and His hand works in ways we cannot comprehend.

Lords of the Earth (International Adventures) (International Adventures)

My boss recommended this book to me, and I'm so glad he did. It was not an easy read as many of the things in it are difficult to hear. It is an incredible story though, and worth reading.

My heart was torn apart as I read the story of the Yali people. This is one of those 'I can't put it down' books. I'm still somewhat smitten in my heart over the price these missionaries paid and the intense need for the gospel these people so desperately demonstrated. God help us to heed the call to go into all the world.

"Lords of the Earth" is the term the Yali warriors use to describe themselves. They live in the Heluk valley in Irian Jaya, and the only knowledge of them to reach the outside world are the dark rumors of the cannibals beyond the mountains. The first section of the book is about them, their customs, and the awful fear and darkness they lived in. Don Richardson does a great job portraying a people bound by chains of sin, and longing for release. The horror of their pain is graphic, and not suitable to be read to younger children.

The second part of the book describes the early life of Stan Dale, his conversion, and his burden for those in darkness. He is drawn as a determined man, physically strong and fit, with firm convictions.

The book goes on to tell of Stan's coming to the Yali people. How a strange story begins over his identity, protecting his life. How the first few Yali Christians were killed, and later Stan and a fellow missionary were brutally murdered. How another missionary family died in a plane crash, except for the nine-year-old son, whose friendship with the Yali paves the way for them to turn to Christ.

The book reminded me Christ's words in John 12:24, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit." On earth, Stan Dale never saw the fruit his life and death brought forth, but he will rejoice in heaven with the Yali that are there through his witness.

I bought this book for my children as a special treat for Advent. We read a chapter a night leading up to Christmas. The book held their attention and in a very subtle way helped them to contemplate how GOD works in their life - how they have a mission to fulfill called GOD's will and how GOD is truly All-Powerful. My children's favorite scenes were when the main characters were in sticky situations and they receive the help of the angels..I think this helped them to ponder how they are not ever alone, but surrounded by GOD's power and might.

I have always wondered what happened to the wisemen after they saw Jesus. Did they go back and pick up on their lives or were they forever connected to Jesus? Were they there when they crucified Jesus? Were they witnesses to His teachings? A little after reading the book, the sequel, THE MUMMY RETURNS, opened in movie theaters. The main character in the movie, as played by Brendan Fraser, discovers that he is a descendant of the Magi. He even had a special mark on his arm that only the Magi had. Weird huh? This book and then this movie, talking about the magi. Arabian Horses are amazing animals. They are deeply spiritual horses. The splendor of God is evident in these horses. If you love Arabian Horses, this is a wonderful book to read. If you need to "jump-start" your passion for Jesus, this book, will help you to do it!!!

Wisdom of the ages has been passed down by storytellers for thousands of years from generation to generation. Jo is a master storyteller who knows how to weave a plot. She knows people, she knows horses, and she knows what she believes in. You won't want to put this book down!

I read this book over a year ago for the first time. Now I have read it three times! I'm never able to stop reading it once I start to. I love horses and I love the way the author describes things. I feel like I am actually in the story! I 'm only eleven, so trust me, you need to buy this for your kids, especially ones like me who love horses.

My friend asked me to read this book, but I was reluctant, because I'm not into horses. I was pleasantly surprised by how I was drawn into the story and how it kept my interest. I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the Trilogy with great anticipation!

Although the author was clearly writing for an audience in their teens, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is a quick read for an adult. The text is large and the sentence structure simple. The plot is easy to follow. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the story of Roanoak Island and the mystery of the vanishing villagers who made friends with the Croatoan Indians off the Outer Banks. I would not, however, assume that this author is a historical expert on the subject. Nor would I assume that her perspective is necessarily the only possible explanation for the disappearance of these settlers.

The book is an excellent tale! I recommend it highly!

Ive read all of the books so far except for the last one which i cant wait to read. I can assure myself that it will be great and its better since I know the illustrators daughter in my school and i tell u i couldnt wait to get the fourth one i searched everywhere every library i could go to and when i got it I was amazed once more my frends like them to but this book was stuck in my mind for weeks until i found the fourth one but before then i couldnt get it out of my mind i was just so hooked on the book its like my life depended on the book i definitely think this book deserves a 5 stars i advise all kids to read this book ill definitely look for more of miss Steiners books, they're just the best. if i new when the final one was coming out it would be great(...)

M. L. Stainer is a wonderful writer. The Lyon's Roar tells the story of Jessabel Archarde and her family, who travel to the New World in 1587 and get stranded on Roanoke Island. The characters are believable and there's a lot of action. Everyone should read this book!

Highly palettable presentation of a reasonable explanation for the disappearance of the first colonists in America, on Roanoak Island off Virginia. They were stranded there in 1587 (a year before the Spanish Armada distracted Queen Elizabeth's attention from exploration and colonization of the New World). Related in the first person by 14-year-old Jess, this book reads swiftly, thanks to many short chapters and extensive dialogue. The author includes non-judgmental references to native religion and medicine, while offering a viable alternative to the theory that the entire colony was brutally wiped out by hostile Idians.

But this is no boring history book; rather it is more a coming-of-age tale with some gentle romance. Jess confides her dreams and fears, her doubts and plans, as her family emigrates to the Chesapeake Bay--to found a city called Ralegh. We suffer with her on the ghastly ocean voyage; we observe life in that island colony which has since disappeared into the misty myth of time. Jess shares the gradual dawning of her womanhood--both physical and emotional--as she writes in her diary. This young protagonist is torn between George, her first crush, and the allure of the forbidden "savage"--the son of one of the camp's two native guides.

Being blond was something special even back then, as this daring girl matures from selfish child to compassionate young woman, pursuing her private quest for love, while remaining steadfast in her family loyalty. Excellent for middle school, partiuclarly girls; it will stimulate discussion about the fate of the Roanoak colonists. Well-researched, the LYON Saga will entertain and hold the interest young readers. History made Human!

More people need to learn about this book. It's a really great story, full of adventure, first love and coming of age. The time period is America's early colonial history, with few people realizing the Lost Colony was here long before the Pilgrims. Only they vanished without a trace. As a new teacher, I would recommend this book to all literature and history classes in the middle schools.

At first blush this book appears to be a footnote to a writer who had an eccentric hobby. Since Professor Boyd's definitive biography some may consider that there was little else to explore. The scientific achievements of Vladimir Nabakov were not lost but perhaps overwhelmed in the literary story.
Nabakov's Blues does more than just dust off the lepidoptry papers. The book is in the final assessment a celebration of how science and research are never a sterile academic exercise but a reflection of greater issues of the beauty and elegance of intellect at work.
During the course of shedding light on the under recognized research we are reminded that the mundane work of classifying and sorting often underpins more glamorous tasks, but are also given insight into the many quiet achievers in science, who often take considerable personal risks to complete research which is part of a greater whole and leaves them only as a name in a arid catalogue.
We are too prone to identify the heros and not those who without clamor or boasting actually do the work.
Nabakov himself never "promoted" his science although he made it clear that his butterflies were an integral part of his life. We grow to specialise and those who can travel in literary circles as well as science are rare. The authors Johnson and Coates do themselves demonstrate that they too can travel the literary salons and the research laboratories, and write an elegant supplement to Professor Boyd that transcends that status to become a commentary on the man who was in many ways a true renaissance figure.

NABOKOV'S BLUES

Nabokov's Blues: The Scientific Odyssey of a Literary Genius. Kurt Johnson, Steve Coates. Cambridge, MA: Zoland Books, 1999. Pp 372 $27.00

In his Field Guide to the Butterflies of North America Alexander Klots wrote of the genus Lycaeides that "the recent work of Nabokov has entirely rearranged the classification of this genus." The response of Vladimir Nabokov, the acclaimed author of Lolita, Pale Fire and Ada or Ardor: A Family Chronicle, was "That's real fame. That means more than anything a literary critic might say."

Nabokov was born in April 1899 and his reputation as a leading literary figure of the century he was almost born in seems secure; the Random House Modern Library proclaimed Lolita the fourth greatest novel of the century and the memoir Speak, Memory, the eighth greatest work of non-fiction, thus Nabokov was the only author to feature in the top ten of both lists. It is well known that Nabokov had a strong interest in lepidoptery. Often however it is dismissed as mere dilettantism, or seen by academics and critics as a source of Freudian symbolism. Nabokov himself detested such phenomena as the crass observation that "insect" and "incest" are anagrams, and attacked "the vulgar, shabby, fundamentally medieval world of Freud, with its crankish quest for sexual symbols." Full-time lepidopterists were either ignorant of Nabokov's work or regarded it as amateur dabblings; perhaps they also felt resentment at this part-timer who was nevertheless dubbed "the most famous lepidopterist in the world."

Kurt Johnson is a lepidopterist associated with the Florida State Collection of Arthropods, while Steve Coates is an editor at The New York Times. This, their first book, fights on many fronts; it tries to restore Nabokov's scientific reputation and give some account of lepidoptery's place in his life and literary work; pleads for the oft-ignored discipline of taxonomy, more important now than ever in the light of the crisis in biodiversity; and is an exciting scientific adventure story ranging from the "incorrigible continent" of South America to the squabbles of the world of academia.

Nabokov's scientific work belongs in every sense in a different era; he represents one of the last of the gentleman naturalists. Lepidoptery was an interest inherited from his father, a prominent Russian liberal assassinated in Berlin in 1922. It remained constant throughout the upheaval of the Russian Revolution and exile in Cambridge, Germany and France. On coming to the United States in May 1940 he soon visited the American Museum of Natural History in New York City with certain puzzling specimens from Europe. In Autumn 1941 he visited Harvard's Museum of Comparative Zoology and found the collections in disarray, and first as a volunteer and then as a part-time research fellow in entomology he endeavoured to straighten it out. This was typical of the war years; considerable lacunae existed in academia and were filled with available workers with little regard for their professional training.

Nabokov's paper Notes on Neotropical Plebejinae is the key in the reassessment of his position in science. It was a pioneering classification of the Latin American Polyommatini, a diverse group of Blue butterflies with members from the tip of Chile to the Caribbean. This paper established a broad framework of genera for later researchers to insert new species. In 1948 he left the Museum of Comparative Zoology to become Professor of Russian and European Literature at Cornell University. This marked the end of Nabokov's formal association with the world of lepidoptery, and with the publication of Lolita Nabokov's fame became a two-edged sword as far as his scientific reputation was concerned.

In the 1980s a series of expeditions to Las Abejas, a jungle enclave near Dominican Republic's Haitian border, began to turn up new specimens of what were known as Blues. Over the next decade and a half, Johnson and other lepidopterists travelled all over South America, becoming increasingly aware of the crucial relevance of Nabokov's classification system to the multiplicity of new species they discovered. In these chapters the authors make us aware of the biodiversity crisis which means species are becoming extinct faster than science can ascertain their existence. The humble place of the taxonomist, seen by some as a drone of biology, is scarcely deserved, considering the importance of this work. The authors are also at pains not to judge Nabokov by the standards of today; some of his beliefs on mimicry and evolution appear scientifically unorthodox, but reflect that when he was working these issues were still being resolved.

This book will provide both enjoyment and enlightenment to any reader interested not only in Nabokov but in the relationship of the arts and sciences, the current state of natural science and the biodiversity crisis. The crucial question for Johnson and Coates is "Was Nabokov a true scholar of Lepidoptera, or merely a dilettante whose contributions were remarkable?" The casual observer might wonder how "mere" a dilettante would make "remarkable" contributions, but the question is deeper; seeing Nabokov as a scientist gives the understanding of his life and works a whole new dimension.

The authors seem to suggest that a healthy relation between CP Snow's "two cultures" requires not a facile "unity" but a deep appreciation of both the humanities and the sciences. Nabokov's quote "Does there not exist a high ridge where the mountainside of 'scientific' knowledge joins the opposite slope of 'artistic' imagination" is often quoted in this context. Far from an airy abstraction, this refers to a specific example; Nabokov's 1952 review of a book centred around the drawings of John James Audubon; Nabokov found Audobon's butterfly drawings inept, and wondered "can anyone draw something he knows nothing about?" Nabokov considered a knowledge of natural science indispensable for a truly cultured sensibility; he was shocked when his literature students at Cornell University were ignorant of the names of local trees and birds.

We see Chekhov and William Carlos Williams as doctors and as writers; we see Primo Levi as a chemist and as a writer. Johnson and Coates convincingly try to persuade us that Nabokov should be seen as a writer and as a lepidopterist. Nabokov himself said "whenever I allude to butterflies in my novels ... it remains pale and false and does not really express what I want it to express, what, indeed, it can only express in the special scientific language of my entomological papers."

I picked up the paperback of this book because I'd heard about it when it was in hardback. For anyone who is fascinated by science, literature, history, sociology and much more, they will find the blend of story, information and insight in this book satisfying and enlightening. Its never gets dull because you're reading about a historical literary figure, and his biography, tons of information about science and exploration, the scientists who completed the formative work Nabokov began at Harvard before becoming famous after Lolita, and how this all fits together in todays biodiversity crisis and squabbles over whether Nabokov was really a bona fide scientist or just an boyish aficionado. I felt I had learned a great deal from this book but also enjoyed it. It is a great blend of historical fact, new stories, and insight the into world's environmental dilemmas. I also had no idea of the complex ways in which Nabokov interwove butterflies and their images and symbols into his novels.

This book is a fun read for anyone with an interest in the personal histories that shape authors, in biology and/or in the environment and ecology. It provides great insight into the scientific passion that moved one of the more interesting figures in literature, and nicely weaves the tale of Nabokov's first passion, lepidoptery, providing many interesting biographical details (including his wonderful sense of humor!), and the modern day story of the scientists who continued his work and discovered that his scientific legacy was truly as important and inventive as his literature. It discusses the science in a way that is interesting and easily understood by the non-scientist, but does not diminish the nature of the scientific information conveyed. In addition, it shows how the science impacted the literature. How interesting that a butterfly-gathering trip would provide the backdrop for Lolita! I found this book to be very interesting, informative and entertaining, and I highly recommend it.

Nabokov's Blues by Kurt Johnson and Stephen Coates is a testament to the dogged pursuit of their art by basic scientists such as Drs. Vladimir Nabokov and Kurt Johnson who continue their efforts with minimal funding and little glamour, and the roles played by happenstance and eccentricity in substantial discoveries. The adventure stories spun by Stephen Jay Gould in Wonderful Life and Jonathan Weiner in The Beak of the Finch in high profile, well-financed disciplines, and by Mark Jaffe in And No Birds Sing and now by Johnson and Coates in Nabokov's Blues in lesser known arenas, demonstrate how events and personalities conspire. Johnson and Coates capture this process and invite the reader into this adventure as the scientists and their colleagues pursue the magic of butterflies. Nabokov's Blues is an engaging retelling of the exciting set of adventures, in the field and in museums, begun by one of the great storytellers of the 20th Century, Vladimir Nabokov. With the disclaimer of a member of a class described by the reviewer as "eccentrics and polymaths" who played a minor role in Kurt Johnson's great adventure, I cannot disagree more strongly with Richard Conniff's assertion in his February 20,2000 review in The New York Times Book Review that "the authors fail to capture the full wonder and oddity of the enterprise." This is exactly what the authors accomplish.

Back in 98 I took a datanetworking course and the author, Dave Prowse, was my instructor. This course concentrated on hands on skills. Wiring, network design and building, server installations, troubleshooting, the knowledge needed to do the job. This book brings Daves hands on approach home and is a good companion for anyone considering a home network lab.

I've just passed my CompTIA Network+ certification using this book and other sources.

David Prowse's Network+ Lab Manual provides some great exercises, providing real experience required for understanding the topics covered by the Network+ exam.

The book also gives clear and concise summaries of all the important areas of the exam, including the OSI model; Commonly used TCP/IP ports and network cabling types.

Great Book! I'd definitely recommend it to anyone taking the Network+ certification.

Just passed the Net+ exam. I found this book through a link on the website www.technicalblog.com. While going through the labs in the book, I did have a few questions about some of the step by step instructions. They were answered quickly by the author on the above website. I also got some valuable information from other moderators on the sites bulletin board.
I didn't really understand VPNs until going through the labs in this book. The questions (while I wish there was more) were very helpful as well.
Amazing book for the money, I recommend!

I actually took the Net + Class with David Prowse this past year, the class was very amazing and then when I was studying for the test, his new book came out and it was like putting the finishing touches for me. It answered all my questions and got me ready for the test. I passed the test easily, thanks to Dave's teachings and his book.

If you want to pass the test, you must study first and then practice everything on a real network, this book can be a great help when you try to actually do what you learn in class.

Great book

This book is by far the best cert book I have ever read. It's extremely informative and presents the information in a manner that is easy to understand and learn. Mr Prowse goes so far as to offer up his techblog for assistance with any issues you may come across while reading the text and and doing the labs. Also, he is extremely helpful and responsive when you do need a questions answered.
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking to prepare for the Network+ exam.