Meyer Books

This book is a well written one that sure to be an enlightening experience. Although this book was written in the late 70s, it was written at a time when academic feminist research of the bible was in it's infancy and consequently I find it a must read for any serious study of the subject. The book discusses a survey of feminist research both religious and otherwise up to the point the book was written and addresses various flaws and misdirections the author feels exists in the methodologies that predate this book (I personally find these same flaws and misdirections just as current as they ever were). I feel it's most important contribution is that it provides a fundamental, responsible perspective to studying the bible apart from political or social agendas and the bias of modern day perspectives of both feminism and patriarchal society and women in ancient history. In many respects I consider this book to be so far ahead of its time that we are still trying to catch up in many respects.

I chose to write a report on this book for an introductory Hebrew Bible class. The book gave me plenty to write (and think) about, although I found some sections a bit dry and the constant references to previous and later material a bit dizzying. Overall, it was a fantastic book. I was able to sit down and read through it in only a few sittings, so it's interesting enough to hold the attention of someone unfamiliar with the material it contains. I found that the knowledge that I had previously from class helped me to appreciate some of the points, and I don't know whether I would have been able to enjoy/understand parts of the book without that previous knowledge about biblical editing and composition. I found one part especially interesting and at the same time completely unnecessary. Although plagues in the Bible have little to do with the point of the book (and certainly don't merit 8 pages of writing), I found the material fascinating and plan on exploring the matter further. Not bad at all for something that I had to read for a class and probably would not have picked up otherwise. I don't regret reading it, because some of the epiphanies in the book were just mind-blowing to me. It never occurred to me that a simple revisiting of the original Hebrew could tear down centuries of translational prejudices. I would suggest the book, but I feel as if the material could have been presented in an equally poignant manner in only 100 pages rather than 200.

I first read this book years ago while researching the book of Genesis. I continue to refer it to students and others seeking to understand the Garden of Eden story and other sometimes confused stories from the Hebrew Scriptures involving women. This book should be read by all interesting in allowing the Hebrew Scriptures to speak in their own voices, including the voices of women.

Carol Meyers has an easy to read writing style. I read it and wanted more. She adds flesh to the bones of the people of ancient Israel especially the women. I would recommend it to any one but especially women who want a better understanding of our heritage and a clearer understanding of the part our early mothers played. It made me hungry for more.

I first read this book several years ago, when putting together an undergraduate course on ancient and medieval women, and have yet to find anything that comes even close to Meyers' beautifully written and convincing account of ancient Israelite women. The book's greatest strength is the way the author blends archaeological and linguistic information, building a convincing portrait of early women that gets past the wall of later Jewish patriarchal thought. Meyers is by no means a "rabid feminist," but gives a great deal of food for thought about how women "fell out" of the Bible and how cultural expectations have led to centuries of misinterpretation.

I thought that this book was a very well written and completely frank and open book. But the first reviewer of this book Mr Frank Kalenski's biased opinion of this book has flawed his review. He says, that the Hitlerjugend command athorized criminal atrocities. This is not at all true. In fact US troops were responsible for many criminal atrocities Against the Hilterjugend! The US troops would strip SS pows (if they didnt shoot the outright first!) and put them on the front of their jeeps. The German pows of course froze to death. Many US soldiers shot surrendering Hilterjugend POWs onsight even though these had first surrendered. Shooting 16 year od kids.
I read some of the other reviews Mr Kalenski wrote. It seems that he thinks the books covering the American troops are "outstanding!", yet in his biased opinion he suggests that the German oriented books have "glossed over" their atrocities. What kind of glossing over has Mr Kalenski (who is from NY) done instead? He hasnt learned from history.

An excellant review on the history of an outfit in which not much has been written about. It has both tactical information on the unit's movements and fighting as well as excerpts of individuals memoirs of those who participated.

This is the definitive work on the glory and downfall of one of the best, if not the best, fighting formation ever in the annals of war. The sacrifice, the valour and the superhuman deeds of the young HJ soldiers will never be equalled, let alone excelled.

I thought that this book was a very well written and completely equivocal book. But the first reviewer of this book Mr Frank Kalenski's biased opinion of this book has flawed his review. He says, that the Hitlerjugend command athorized criminal atrocities. This is not at all true. In fact US troops were responsible for many criminal atrocities Against the Hilterjugend! The US troops would strip SS pows (if they didnt shoot the outright first!) and put them on the front of their jeeps. The German pows of course froze to death. Many US soldiers shot surrendering Hilterjugend POWs onsight even though these had first surrendered. Shooting 16 year od kids.
I read some of the other reviews Mr Kalenski wrote. It seems that he thinks the books covering the American troops are "outstanding!", yet in his biased opinion he suggests that the German oriented books have "glossed over" their atrocities. What kind of glossing over has Mr Kalenski done instead. He hasnt learned from history.

The most defining moment for the 12th SS was the murder of 12 Canadain POW at the Abby Ardennes during the Normandy landings. This event is glossed over, the commanding general, Kurt Meyer was Canada's only war criminal. He served 5 years in Dorchester Prison in NB. This book is a very weak translation from German - very slow at times. However, a must for those interested in the Waffen SS. Comes with a seperate map book, so you can follow the battles - very neat!

Nan Meyer is to be congratulated! She has written a Haggadah with which Jewish families can welcome their non-Jewish friends and relatives to the Seder table. But in the process she has produced a Seder book that many Jews who have lost touch with but wish to return to their culture will find inviting to use. The Inter-Faith Family Seder Book is not only entirely user-friendly, it also provides practical suggestions for preparation and conduction of the Seder, and it gives the Seder service in a step-by-step, easy to follow sequence. In an era where Jews are becoming increasingly assimilated into the population, through both intermarriage and simple acculturation, it's easy to lose touch with their heritage. Getting back in touch with it can be difficult. However, this Haggadah can ease the retunr. It is very comfortable to use. It is in no way intimidating, the Hebrew that is used appropriately is also used sparingly, but in ways that are familiar. It is as appropriate to the ex-patriot Jews who wish to return as it is to non-Jews. Nan Meyer has made an important social contribution with her Haggadah. I would love to see more publications of this nature.

THE INTER-FAITH FAMILY SEDER BOOK: How to Celebrate a Jewish Passover Supper with Christian In-Laws and Non-Jewish Friends by Nan Meyer (1998),says it all. This is a delightful, easy-to-use haggadah that while making the prayers, songs and ritual accessible and comprehensible to the non-Jew, does not fall into the trap of "Christianizing" the seder. It has such practicial pointers as suggesting white rather than purple grape juice for the children because purple stains, "and there may not be much time to get their holiday finery cleaned for Easter Sunday." Then there are sensitive interpretations, such as that for the ten plagues visited on the Egyptians: "When people do evil and bring suffering upon themselves ... (but) we cannot rejoice over their pain." Traditional songs like "Chad Gadya" are paired with universalist English (only the blessings are in Hebrew in this user-friendly ritual) paraphrase of "Eliyahu ha-Navi" set to the tune of "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing." This reviewer suggests you take advantage of this book for your family seders.

Must write to thank the author for this wonderful book. I never thought I would be able to be at a seder again after I married out of my faith. Imagine my astonishment when my Christian wife surprised me with a seder in my own home. My children could see what a happy party a seder is. The author has explained the do's and don'ts of a seder so that anyone can produce one. My children could have the fun of asking questions that have been asked for thousands of years. I could have the pride of answering them. Can't wait till my next Jewish friend marries a Christian so I can give them a set of these books as a wedding gift.

No holiday is as well kept and as beloved by Jews as the Passover. In continual observance for over 3,500 years, Passover is a holiday that celebrates the first freedom flight, the Exodus of the Jews from Egypt. The highpoint of the Passover is its Seder Supper, as treasured by Jewish families as the Christmas tree is by Christian families. Finally, here is a book that demystifies the Passover Seder Supper, yet retains the wonderful imagery and splendor of this ritual meal that Christians call The Last Supper. This book makes it possible to observe this tradition without having a formal Hebrew education. Christians will find in it the beginning of some of their own observances. (Churches can use it to recreate a Last Supper.) All will enjoy this authentic haggadah that is on-point for the Jewish-American family of the 90's. Bet this book would make a great wedding gift for the inter-faith couple, who could treasure the fact that at the Passover Seder Supper, the two religions were still one and the same.

This is an easy to understand version of the Passover Haggadah, and the author adds some clever songs and poems. The Passover Seder is indeed the ideal opportunity to include people of other faiths, cultures, etc., and its message is universal. However, Ms. Meyer doesn't really take advantage of the opportunity she has, and I find some of her choices problematic.

Why, for example, does she have "two young women" bring around the pitcher of water for the ritual washing of hands, and the "four SONS" explore the questions of Judaism? It would seem to me that this would be an ideal time to do away with gender biases.

Ms. Meyer's ideas of what is "necessary" is also curious. Why is it necessary for the youngest child to recite the four questions, but not necessary to repeat some of the important points made in the Haggadah?

And why bother to call this an inter-faith seder if she limits the Exodus experience to Judaism? Any simple exploration of Passover symbolism would reveal that Mitzrayim, the Hebrew word for Egypt, translates to "the narrow place" - everyone (Jewish or otherwise) has had experience with escaping oppression of one kind or another, and the Haggadah could easily be a means by which to discuss the past and current oppressions that surround us all.

At our Seder, we discussed everything from media exploitation, to the Kosovar refugees, to the women of Afghanistan, to the Holocaust. We didn't limit the discussion to the Jewish experience, and therefore the non-Jewish participants were as integral to the goings-on as the Jewish ones.

As every group is different, I would ideally recommend writing your own service, and Ira Steingroot has written an amazing book entitled KEEPING PASSOVER that can help you do so.

For a good, basic, egalitarian Haggadah, I liked BECAUSE WE WERE SLAVES: A CONCISE HAGGADAH FOR ALL OF US by Claire E. Gorfinkel and Charles Davis. Another beautiful one is GATES OF FREEDOM by Chaim Stern, with a focus on issues of peace.

While I agree that there is a strong need for an inclusive Haggadah for Interfaith families, I'm afraid that this one is not it.

I am now graduating from school and looking back at this class, this book, I do not agree with it at all. Hopefully your instructor will not use this book.

This book is ok if you need a view at a glance. I found this book in http://www.helpdesksite.us and I am happy with the purchase.

I'm in the process of setting up a 10 person help desk. I found this book thorough and comperehensive in introducing me to many of the concepts required to plan, set up, and run a help desk. The enclosed software (HelpSTAR) and exercises as well as help desk simulation are well thought out.

The book is positioned as a college-level text, but I found it practical for my own self learning.

This Book is ideally suited to those looking for guidance on the concepts and skills required for the setup and implementation of a World Class Help Desk.

Along the way, you get in-depth analysis and exercises, giving you a balanced insight into the way a Help Desk should be set up, and operated, providing both the End-Users, and Employees of the Help Desk with the best of both worlds.

Also, there are numerous examples of ways to both run the help desk itself, and the management of it's personnel, but particularly useful are the audio examples of a number of typical situations the Help Desk Staff can find themselves dealing with.

The book wraps up with a useful simulation including help desk software to give you hands-on practice in solving problems.

One of the hardest things to learn in the IT industry is how to deal with customers. Learning good skills is often an ongoing process. Learning how to communicate ideas and concepts can often be very difficult.

Having run 2 help desks I know that good agents are hard to find. Susan Sanderson has put together one of the few book on help desk that take it from the beginning and give you information that will help in everyday life. I have already found several things in here that I can use in the classes I teach as well as the customers I visit.

There are 10 chapters and each one builds on each other. You have practice labs and even review questions. This book can be used as a self paced course or in the formal classroom setting.

One of the things I liked best was the cd that is included; this cd has Help Desk Software included for practice. The big plus of the cd is the sample recording of actual calls so that you can hear what the customers is saying and learn several techniques for communicating and listening.

Overall this book is very helpful and seems to have just about everything included.

Although well written and useful for its target application, "Principles of Functional Verification" addresses only the concerns of 100% digital integrated circuit verification. It is only marginally useful for mixed signal system-on-chip verification.

Now there's an opportunity for a book!

This is a great book for the college student, co-op/intern, or any engineer or manager new to the field of DV (Design Verification). I could easily see a college course being built around this book. Although the seasoned verification engineer may not find much in the way of new information in this book, it may provide insite into why others in your team, group, company, or industry don't quite do things the same way you would. One of the greatest dangers in this, as in any field, is zealotry (bordering on facism) for a particular verification methodology above all others.

Meyer has done a brilliant job of capturing the various approaches to functional verification without any bias toward one methodology. He, in fact, deserves credit for stressing that there is no single verification methodology that fits all engineering needs. In 10 years of experience in FPGA design and verification I find that it often takes a blend of approaches to achieve confidence in your verification environment.

He also deserves much credit for divorcing the concepts of functional verification from any one language or tool set. In fact you don't need to know the syntax for any verification language or have experience with any particular simulation tool suite to read and understand this book.

If there is one complaint I have, it is that the price of this book is a little too steep; espcially for a soft-cover book with small pages and large print (thus my four-star rating). Perhaps, though, this is just my experience speaking. It would be well worth the money if I were just starting out in the field.

Meyer's book starts with basic concepts of functional verification and gradually introduces you to more advanced topics such as constrained random testing and hardware/software co-simulation techniques. This is a very good book for design engineers and project managers who would like to quickly get up-to-speed on ASIC/SoC functional verification concepts and advanced techniques. For experienced ASIC/SoC verification engineers, this is a good book to refresh your memory on the topic.

Meyer jumps to the heart of advanced verification issues. I have 12 years experience in functional verification and this book provides good information about all the advanced verification topics haunting designers of SoCs today, like, verification reuse, coverage, assertions, testbench development, etc. We bought one for everyone in our group.

Instead of attempting to teach you the "howtos" of functional verification this book teaches you the "whys". This causes it to be much less like a textbook than many others on the same subject. Therefore reading this book cover to cover is relatively easy and useful. Examples given are at the appropriate level of complexity - neither too simple nor too complex.

Readers of this book could easily range from senior management to test coders. Senior management would learn the purposes behind various aspects of functional verification and why the cost and complexity continues to rise. Engineers would be exposed to the reasoning behind the use of some functional verification techniques.

Each chapter discusses the ideas behind some aspects of functional verification with examples of how this might be used in an actual system being verified. There are few code examples since that would not contribute to the purpose of the book. The examples are primarily system architectures and how a specific component of functional verification would be used in testing that architecture.

The list of subjects covered is complete relative to the current state of the art.

Overall this is a very useful book to read. I would suggest that most verification engineers and their managers would benefit from exposure to this book. Even if you know all of this already it is a good book to have available to explain to other people what you are doing.

The book came in great shape and was delivered promptly and on time.

Something nagging at me is preventing me from giving this book 5 stars. For one thing, it's purported to be a handbook for current psychology majors, but the first one or two chapters are directed towards evaluating reasons for selecting psychology as a major. If you're not sure or still shaky on your major being psychology, this may help; but for those who are positive and solid in their choice, it's not helpful. To me it states too many things that are obvious. It's definitely not worth nearly $30! "Getting In," the APA-written manual on getting into graduate school, was a little over $10 and was a much better buy than this book.

However the book is good, and it may help those wishy-washy major-changers settle on whether or not psychology is good for them. My advice: borrow it from someone who has it, or find it at the library, and then decide if it's a constant reference you'll need or one-time reading material.

Hi Dr. Kuther!

I just wanted to tell you THANK YOU! I checked The Psych Major's Handbook out from our library and I found it to be an indispensable resource! It's compelling, thorough, easy to read and CHOCK FULL of "can't-do-without" information.

I'm scheduled to graduate from University of Central Florida next fall and I'll be bound for grad school. I was panicking about grad school, the dreaded GRE, and finding a job before reading your book but now I feel a lot more confident. I will DEFINITELY buy the book. I just gotta have it!

Thank you again!

A One-of-these-ol'-days Psychologist,

Kerilynn Kelly-Moss
Titusville, Florida

I would recomend this book to every person who is a psychology major. This book has helped me to see all of the diverse areas I can explore during my career and how to best market myself for securing these positions. After having read the book, I can see more clearly all of the skills I have gained and how I can best market and utilize them all in the world. I have read and reread this book many times to consider how to best prepare myself right now and have gained new insight with each read. The book helped to give me more direction and was very clear and has great humor thoughout. I am now really excited about finishing my degree and trying all of the areas I have found that I have great interest in that I was not aware of before.

I wish I had this years ago! It has everything that a psych major needs to know including how to figure out whether to major in psych, how to do well in classes, how to write papers, what you can do with a degree in psychology, how to get a job, what you can do with a graduate degree and how to get into graduate school. Awesome advice

Like Sterne's other works, _A Sentimental Journey_ is extraordinarily playful. His works are the eighteenth century's postmodernist works of play. They have lots of textual puzzles and tend toward the absurd. For example, the Mr. Yorick of the _Journey_ is also a character in Sterne's major novel _Tristram Shandy_ and is also the name under which he publishes his own sermons (he was a clergyman). The text is very "fragmentary" and the novel even jokes about that itself, labelling parts of itself "fragment." In these ways, the _Journey_ is fun and modern.

But it is also indicative of an important eighteenth-century trend--sensibility or sentimentalism. All eras have their debates about the relationshp between the individual and society and this is one eighteenth-century answer. This opinion has nothing to do with "rights" but everything to do with "sympathy." Mr. Yorick, the "sentimental traveller," relates to other human beings through sympathetic physical responses, most notably the "pulses" and "beats" of his heart and hands for various women.

Therefore, this book is a good way to get into a very different historical mindset while at the same time seeing the roots of some of the literary forms of today.

This autobiographical acount by Sterne of his amorous progress through France and Northern Italy is surely one of the most delightful books ever written. Composed as he lay dying of tuberculosis, the book nonetheless encaptures the author's renowned zest for life as well as the libertine spirit of the age in which he lived. The journey down through France to Northern Italy is the perfect vehicle for an excursion into the nature of human sensibility, and from the moment that this cultured Anglo-Irish cleric sets foot in Calais, the reader is treated to a seies of exquisite encounters with the fairer sex. Rarely has an author transmitted so well his understanding of the psychological complexity of women, or the pleasure he takes in their company. Engaging, perceptive and witty, this is a book whiich cannot fail to leave an imprint on the imagination.

Even for modern readers, "A Sentimental Journey" (published 1768)is as startlingly innovative as Sterne's celebrated "Tristram Shandy". Sterne's ability to crystallize the minute details of experience - which may be down to a few seconds only - is reminiscent of Virginia Woolf's "To the Lighthouse". Indeed, Woolf admired this book.

This is by no means an easy read. The 18th-century prose is difficult; the book is larded with Frenchisms and Biblical or classical allusions; the complex, slow narrative often requires re-reading. But the rewards are great! It's wise, deeply comical, and incredibly perceptive.

There are several helpful reviews below dealing with the aspect of "sentimentality", and so I will just single out two things which appealed to me:

1. STERNE AND BODY LANGUAGE. Sterne shows an almost 20th-century appreciation of body language. In fact, I believe he might have been the first to identify it as such. His chapter, "The Translation", highlights the importance of being able to interpret subtle physical hints, like a language: "There is not a secret so aiding to the progress of sociality, as to get master of this _shorthand_, and be quick in rendering the several turns of looks and limbs, with all their inflections and delineations, into plain words." How visionary!

2. STERNE AND THE FRENCH. Ever since Shakespeare inserted a scene in "cod French" into _Henry V_, actually ever since the Norman Conquest and up to Monty Python and beyond, the English have revelled in mocking the French and their language. His Continental travelling gives Sterne the perfect excuse to do this. At one point he differentiates between "tant pis" (= "never mind" - where there is nothing to be gained) and "tant mieux" (= so much the better - where there IS an advantage). He also has a hilarious section on the grades of French swearing: first "Diable!", then "Peste!" and finally the words that he won't repeat. In all cases, Sterne carefully shows the social niceties of these expressions.

The protagonist, Yorick, has various adventures of lust and feeling with women and other typically travelish things like losing his passport that we can all relate to. He's tender, obscene, learned, funny, companionable, and above all, readable - if tough.

A Sentimental Journey is a fabulous book for so many reasons. Laurence Sterne was an immensely influential writer in the 18th century--his major works, Sentimental Journey and Tristram Shandy, were responses to the travel narrative and newly born novel, respectively. His writing is essential to scholars of the 18th century--he is referenced in Austen's Mansfield Park and Northanger Abbey, Brown's The Power of Sympathy, Foster's The Coquette and Tyler's The Contrast. To understand and appreciate his novel is to have a better appreciation and love of the works that built their structures on his foundation. And yet it is original, as Yorick says himself, "both my travels and observations will be altogether of a different cast from any of my fore-runners."

Yet it is not solely for historical benefit that one should read Sentimental Journey. The adventures and amours of Sterne's semi-autobiographical Yorick are delightful. One of the most romantic passages I've read in a book occurs when Yorick inadvertantly takes the hand of a woman and describes in detail the thrill of merely holding it. Granted, hers is not the only hand he will hold, but he writes so wonderfully, candidly and engagingly that it is extremely difficult to hold his passions against the sentimental Yorick. His scene with the starling locked in a cage is pertinent and a touching commentary on slavery. What a guy! My only complaint is the editor of this edition does not feel it necessary to translate the French-of which there is plenty-making some passages difficult to understand at best. However,this is a sentimental journey that I will gladly take over and over.

Sterne befuddles and delights readers and critics alike in A Sentimental Journey. He takes the fashionable travel log of the time and satarizes it. Contemporary critics had a fit over its supposedly bawdy nature, yet some modern readers may over look its sublte innuendo. The form of the novel is quite unlike anything that had preceeded it, thus is important for any scholars. Most importanly, however, the book is funny and fun to read.

It's fun to read a book when you recognize street names, landmarks, and small towns. This was hard to put down. What great comparisons are made between the 1890's and present day Hamilton County. Well done!!

I love to read, I read a book a week and I know when I've got something wonderful. Kurt Meyer made his characters very real. You actually felt what the people in the book felt. When a writer can make you laugh out loud when you are alone, that is a good writer. Why this young man does not have this book available in bookstores everwhere, I just don't understand. I would love to see this become a triligy!

Normally I am not a fan of science fiction or a lover of history so I didn't expect to be so taken with the story of a small town history teacher who slipped into another era. The author conveyed his interest in Victorian architecture without becoming pedantic and made the time warp seem almost believable. It was particularly rewarding that the ending of the story was not entirely predictable. The author successfully brought out the advantages and disadvantages of life in both time periods though it was easy to see where his preference lies.

I'm from Indianapolis and initially purchased the book because it centered around Noblesville, a community north of Indy. I thought it would be fun to read a book with some familiar sites I could identify with. Kurt Meyer surprised me with an interesting story that I couldn't put down. I highly recommend this book and purchased more copies to give as gifts.

I admit it wasn't love at first sight when this book was chosen as our book club book. I couldn't imagine that I would find this "history" book at all entertaining...but by the fifth chapter, I'd fallen head over heels in love!! In love with the characters, in love with the storyline, in love with the setting and yes, even in love with the history! I have a renewed appreciation for the town I was born in and where my grandparents still live. It was fascinating reading about the places that are familiar to me and about some of the history of it. Although, the story is fiction, the setting is not and because of that, this book was REAL.

This is a moving collection of 19 essays by fathers with children of various ages and various special needs. This book gives voice to fathers who are often overlooked in the literature about families of children with special needs. There is no comparable book. These articulate men capture the essence of what they have learned about love for their children. A book you can pick up and read one essay at a time. A great gift for fathers.

--Robert A. Naseef, Ph.D., author of Special Children, Challenged Parents and co-editor Voices from the Spectrum.

So many times in a family with special needs, the mom gets involved with taking care of the child and the other kids, and the dad gets left out. Dads have feelings too, and these fathers tell how they coped with having a special child. Should be a father's day gift for all the special fathers out there!

"Uncommon Fathers: Reflections on Raising a Child with a Disability" has been a struggle to read. Finding the right tone for these comments has also proved hard. The book does provide a good but incomplete cross-section about how being the father of a disabled child affects one's life.

The editor, Donald Meyer, allows a number of fathers, most of whom are well-educated and from the higher socioeconomic strata, to share their experiences. Some are moving accounts that clearly depict the frustration, isolation, and sometimes enlightenment associated with parenting a child who is disabled.

Some are down-right irritating laments about a father's broken dreams or lost opportunities.

Regardless, the stories here are important, for they offer insights to parts of the human experience that, unless you are a member of this fraternity, most folks will never understand. Somehow, I wish that there could be both a wider audience for this book so that those in the mainstream might have an inkling of what happens to a family that includes a disabled individual.

I also wish that there were more stories from the blue-collar dads who struggle not only to survive financially but emotionally when their lives are also involuntarily altered by the flaws in our collective gene pool.

I wish also that the reflections here included more advice about how to cope with emotional issues, financial concerns, and long-term planning. My expectations were that those types of topics might be addressed more directly.

Still, the sketches in this book are valuable for anyone because they confirm both how fragile and resilient life really is.

It was so nice to finally read a book like this for fathers. My wife has read many books on having a child with a disability, and though I've found some of them helpful, this one met specific emotions for me as a father. I recommend this to any father who has a child with special needs...it's very affirming.

I can't explain what prompted me to buy this book but I'm glad that I did. The author of each essay has a child with special needs. Some with problems that we can't even imagine having to deal with. Each has taken the time to express how the birth and life of his child has changed his life. These fathers are truly special. I admired each one, not just because they had overcome (or were trying to overcome) enormous obstacles, but because they accepted one of God's children and expressed such love at such trying times. We all think that we could rise to the occasion and parent a child with special needs but these men are doing it and doing it better than I could ever hope to do myself. It's not too often that you read a book written by someone living through the experience who makes no attempt to get credit for what he's done. If you don't mind shedding a tear or two (for joy or sorrow), I recommend it to any mother or father.

Not only is this a work of great scholarship and research it is also valuable in that it will educate the reader on the history of SciFi. However its focus is not history, but research into the possibilities of language and communication that could exist among alien species. The history aspect comes into play because Mr. Meyers sites so many examples from so many books by a plethora of authors. Some of the authors are from the early days of SciFi and some are more recent...well recent when the book was written. If you can find this book, get it. If you get it dedicate yourself to reading it for it is a valuable tool for learning much about ourselves.

I was lucky enough to find this book in a dim corner of Uris Library at Cornell U. As a sf enthusiast with some layman's knowledge of linguistics (mostly from the Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language), I found it fascinating.

I do wish that someone would write an updated version, since many of the sf stories that Meyers refers to can be hard to find. Also, I found his religious adherence to the Whorf-Sapir hypothesis amusing...but then, I don't know what the accepted viewpoint was in linguistics when he wrote this book.

Definitely worthwhile for people curious about linguistics or about language as portrayed in sf (usually poorly, I'm sorry to say).

Aliens and Linguists: Language Study and Science Fiction by Walter Earl Meyers is a really good book and worth hunting up in the used book market. Published in 1980, it's a little out of date and very out of print, but still a good look at some of the way linguistics has been used, and abused, in science-fiction. Of course, there is also the prerequisite discussion of the most famous conlanger of all, J.R.R. Tolkien. But, mostly this book focuses on science-fiction.
A fair part of the book is spent criticizing the lack of good language use in science-fiction. Highlights include aliens that all speak our language. Or find it ridiculously easy to learn. But, also, the lack of language variation is hammered home as well as other similar errors. Another area of criticism is the lack of up-to-date use of theories and linguistic science in current, at the time, science-fiction. Linguistics, as well as the other so called "soft-sciences" were just getting their hooks into science-fiction at the time.
But, Meyers finds plenty to be happy about, as well. Sure, most writers took the Worf-Saphir theory way too far, but at least they were aware enough of it to use it. There are other good examples of linguistics in science-fiction as well.
Most interesting to me, was Meyers discussion of how aliens might approach language. First, there is every reason to believe that they will have language. It takes a lot of communication to get off a planet! Second, Meyers indicates that, while that language may be wildly different from our own, there's a good possibility that we can learn it, eventually. Meyers also explores alternate methods of using language, including how telepathy might work from a linguistic point of view.

In all, it was a great read. Especially if you want to write fiction about a "realistic" created world. Language is a part of every culture that we know of, so it must be part of a created culture, as well. A completely enjoyable book and a fascinating subject.

Anyone who wants a readable introduction to the subject of contemporary linguistic science should read this book instead of tackling the technical literature. The explanations of linguistics terms and concepts and methods are clear, and the use of science fiction as the source for illustrations and examples makes the material a great read. If I were teaching introductory linguistics today, I'd move heaven and earth to find copies of this book for my students