Peter Books

I first bought this book when it initially came out and found it fascinating. I loaned my old book out too many times and had to replace it. I'd highly recommend it to anyone interested in their environment.

The simple but profound truths in this book opened a lot of eyes -- within the chemical industry and in the real world. Facing some of the strongest opposition, Dr. Colborn changed lives (and scientific approaches) with Stolen Future. Humanity owes her a debt of gratitude.

Perhaps EPA will start to require testing of chemicals for endocrine disruption. Regulations have only been delayed for a dozen years...

This book is an incredible read. I highly recommend it for anyone who is concerned about the environment and their own health. This book contains a lot of research, which contributes to its credibility, however it is far from your typical scientific book. It's a fascinating read for anyone, whether they have a background in biology or environmental science or not. I actually read it as part of an extra credit assignment for one of my college classes. My original intention was to skim the book and write a summary. I became so wrapped up in the book that I literally read it cover to cover - including the forward and the afterward. I later purchased my own copy. This book is both challenging and fascinating. Read it!

This book is a must read for all who are concerned about improving their own quality of life and that of our future generations, as well as preserving life in every facet. It is our responsibility to pass on this information in whatever capacity we are equipped to do so.

A great, easy to read arguement that we are creating our own demise to profit in the short term. Theo has had a daunting task and put together the pieces of scientific evidence into a timely work of art that questions the side effects of our daily practices. I'd love a sequeal for personal and corporate change that would, of course, only slow the possible outcomes of our daily lives and of those wonderous creatures which have no choice inhabiting and inheriting the tainted sphere with us.

I am a 10 year old and I like this book because it teaches me about Pedro's journey with Christopher Columbus. Pedro tells us what he did while sailing with Christopher Columbus. Take for example the time he tricked someone else into swabbing the deck while he sat back and watched. Also, the prayers written in the book gave me a mind movie. I can imagine myself there with Pedro on the wooden bed on the ship with my hands together, saying a prayer. I would recommend this book to other 10 year olds. They'll find it interesting.

A enjoyable book for my 9 year old. A story that captures and keeps the attention thoughout the book.

Pedro's Journal by Pam Conrad is a heartwarming story about trust. Pam really brought out the characters by using lot's of detail.

Pedro is a boy who went sailing with Christopher Columbus. He's the only person on the ship who knew how to read and write.

Pam kept you reading by her creative chapter endings. She changed font and size when writing about what the characters were saying and thinking.

Anyone who reads this book will say it's hard to put down. Don't miss this good chance to read this outstanding book.

Pedro's Journal, written by Pam Conrad, is about a boy who loved the sea. He went out to sea with Christopher Columbus to find the new land. The captain thought he would be useful because he can read and write. He goes back and forth from ship to ship each day. The weather is terrible. The storms are on and off. Finally they get there. They find that the Indians are very useful. So they bring some Indians aboard. It took them longer to get back to Spain. Finally they get back to Spain. The last place Pedro is seen is when he is walking up toward his mother's house. I would recommend this
book to a friend.

Pedro's Journal was read by my 5th grade classes to learn more about Christopher Columbus and his journey. It was perfect for a class of mixed ability readers, it's history was well researched, and it engaged the students. We used it for a Literary Circle book. I highly recommend it for Social Studies, Language Arts, or an example of journal writing.

This is one of the greatest plays of the 20th Century. Read it. If you can find a DVD of the Royal Shakespeare Company production of it with Glenda Jackson as Charlotte Corday, but it. If you are a composer, make an opera out of it. It is a wonderful, terrible, terrifying piece of theater, and when Corday remarks regarding the guillotine, "They say, when the head is cut from the body...", it is one of the most frightening, wonderful stage moments in history, up there with Williams, with Brecht. Hell, with Marlowe and Shakespeare.

While certainly a brilliant play, I should mention that this edition differs slightly from the edition I used while in the United Kingdom. Aside from the typical spelling changes, certain words were changed slightly in meaning (Coulmier's "This is outright defeatism!" vs. "...outright pacifism!"). The biggest crime, however, was a drastic reduction of the final scene.

The UK edition features an extended Epilogue, including an explanation from Sade, the "resurrection" and counter-explanation of Marat, and a giant poster of Napoleon during the parade scene. In this edition, some of the Herald's lines were given to Coulmier to apparently bridge the gap.

All of the descriptions, introductions, notes, and even inclusion of musical scores remain identical. If given a choice, I would certainly look for that edition, as it is somewhat more fulfilling. (It features a standard black & white cover with no pink trim)

I found the title of Peter Weiss's play so interesting that I bought his play on an impulse. I half expected it to be unreadably pretentious, but in fact I thoroughly enjoyed it. I would love to see it actually performed, but I live over a thousand miles from where that might be happening. One advantage of reading the play is that the author's comments are available.

I knew very little beyond the superficial about Sade or Marat, so I was somewhat surprised to discover that Sade actually wrote plays while confined in Charenton that were performed by the inmates, and that Marat was a scientist who expressed ideas well ahead of his time. I was inspired to learn more about Marat, so I read his essay ARE WE UNDONE, in which he urges: "The cutting off of five or six hundred heads would have guaranteed your peace, liberty and happiness." In the play he justifies this savagery by insisting (p. 113): "We do not murder we kill in self-defence." (It might very well be our beloved president speaking). If Marat was made the scapegoat for the Reign of Terror, it was not without foundation.

Weiss writes that what interested him "in bringing Sade and Marat together was the conflict between an individualism carried to extreme lengths and the idea of a political and social upheaval. Speaking to Marat, Sade says (p. 131), "these cells of the inner self are worse than the deepest stone dungeon as long as they are locked all your Revolution remains only a prison mutiny to be put down by corrupted fellow-prisoners." This dovetails interestingly with Sade's comment to his wife when she complained that one could not approve of his mode of thought (p. 147): "My mode of thought is the result of my reflections, it is a part of my life, of my own nature. It is not in my power to alter it, and if it were in my power I should not do it." This brings to mind Schopenhauer's reflection that "You can do what you want, but you cannot want what you want." Thus do Sade and Marat imprison themselves within their own grubby little minds. Sade claims, in this play at least, (p.72), "In a criminal society I dug the criminal out of myself so I could understand him and so understand the times we live in." His mode of thought makes this sort of understanding improbable.

However, as with all pessimistic assertions, this is not really true. With just a moment's honest reflection it is obvious enough that most of what makes up our "nature" is purely haphazard, and our "reflections" are just an obsessive rehashing of petty grievances and sexual fantasies that that we come to mistake for our true nature.

Maybe you have seen the film "Quills" and it has sparked an interest in you about the Marquis de Sade. Or maybe you are a history buff and are interested in the time of the French revolution, or perhaps you just love a really good thought-provoking play. If any of those things holds your interest you are in for a really marvelous read. 'The Persecution and Assassination of Jean Paul Marat as performed by the Inmates of the Asylum of Charenton Under The Direction of Marquis de Sade"(by Peter Weiss) is the full title of this book, but is AKA "Marat/Sade" and various editions may be found under either title. The edition I am reviewing is the English version(original is German) by Geoffrey Skelton.

So Marat/Sade is a play within a play with definite messages concerning "Revolution" and the effects on both the masses and the leaders. The setting is a fictional one, but uses the basis of historical events and characters to tell the story. The play inside this play is written and produced by Sade and performed by the inmates of Charenton where he spent so many years imprisoned for his writing, considered socially unacceptable and outrageous. The year it is being performed is 1808 but the events surrounding the story are happening on July 13, 1793, the day Charlotte Corday stabbed Jean-Paul Marat.

It is the day of the assassination. Marat, Sade, Corday,and political activists of the time argue back and forth about the reasoning and atrocities surrounding the Revolution and the state of Terror. The points going back and forth(sometimes in song) has the inmates(the rest of the cast), being easily swayed and worked up into a state of frenzy, all the while building to the stabbing. What is morally right and wrong? Heads are rolling - literally - who are the sane ones here - are the inmates running the asylum - so to speak?Even Columier(progressive director of the institution and supporter of freedom in arts)has trouble with the play when he feels it goes to far against the establishment.

This book, first published in 1965 grasps not only the horrific events of the 18th century, it is also certainly a statement on the international events of the 1960's. It will still provoke thought and may translate to some of the atrocities going on in the world today. Author Peter Weiss, seems to have really gotten into the heads of Sade, Marat and the others giving intellectual and provocative dialogue to the players. The scenes are well set for the stage, and excellent descriptions are given for each character making it very easy to visualize the entire play.

The books includes character descriptions - even down to subtle items in the wardrobe that would distinguish their roles, author's note on the historical background of the play,the music and words to the songs, and a brief bio of Weiss. I don't speak German(the 2 semesters I took in college nearly 40 years ago is long forgotten), but I have to say I don't feel like anything was lost in the translation of this play.

I would highly recommend this play to anyone who enjoys historical fiction, politics, infamous characters, and even if you are part of an acting group looking for an interesting and provocative play, you should have a look at this one.

This is a keeper and one to be read repeated times...enjoy the read...Laurie

I first heard of this play around 30 years ago when it was performed by the upper classes of my school in England. I never forgot it and decided recently to purchase the play and to read it.
The story takes place in an insane asylum in France around the time of the French Revolution, where The Marquis de Sade was kept for a number of years. He wrote a play about the revolutionary - Jean-Paul Marat, which was performed by the inmates of the asylum.
However, the play is much more than that. It really is a commentary about about how people behave toward one another during terrible periods of time.
I think it is a remarkable play - sometimes a little horrifying - but very well worth while picking up to read. I whole heartedly recommend it.

Marat/Sade is an excellent script. for all of you out there who love the book and the story come To Baldwin Wallace College in Berea, Ohio, november 20th through the 24th for a fabulous performance of the show. call the box office at 1-440-826-2240. ask for tony and if he's there tell him u saw this.

This book is written both as a script of the play and a narrative of the action of the players(inmates). It's fantastic. I loaned the book to someone years ago and never got it back. If anyone knows where I can get a copy, please email me!

I have to say that this is an absolutly beautiful piece of literature. The language rolls off the tounge like a symphony with a harmonizing dissonance. The story itself is so simple yet complicated all at the same time. The emotion that one feels after reading this is numbing. You sit there not knowing what to say and think.

The play was puton by actors from my school and it was terrific. I cannot wait to read the book. I give the play and book(in advance)5 stars and my gratitude that this play and book exist.

MARAT/SADE

"This play-within-a-play is about pushing at the limits", said Dramaturg William Lewis Evans.

I first saw the play performed by students of the Bishop's College School Studio Theatre in Lennoxville, Quebec. The text was phenomenally stimulating. The play was memorable, intense, and for the audience at least, indeed a little scary. Marat/Sade, after all, is the practical quintessence of what Antonin Artaud called the Theatre of Cruelty - theatre of the visceral and disturbing - theatre that "wakes us up, mind and heart". The highlight of that Canadian gala, for me, was when I witnessed an audience member and retired member of the French Foreign Legion (an outstanding citoyen-expatrie who should remain nameless) stand up - in the middle of this High School play - and leave the theatre in protest.

The play was, and remains, exceedingly powerful.

Years later I saw the play performed by Yale students in New Haven, Connecticut. If I remember correctly, Loren Stein directed. At one point during the performance, it became clear to the audience that one of the patients - an actor - had, during the course of the performance, in fact urinated on an audience member. As a reporter for Radio in New Haven, I interrogated that audience member at the end of the night, and caught a soundbite.

She said:

"It was wonderful. I don't know what else to say. This is Theatre, I guess. Real theatre."

Perhaps it should come as no surprise that this play should end up out of print, along with a dozen or so others like it, and be replaced on your roster with the latest celebrity-authored self-help books.

Maybe Oprah Winfrey will teach me how to fry tofu. It seems to be all we have a taste for anymore.

Franklin Pryce Raff

Peter Penny: Discovers The Gift It is a common occurence - your child is fearing the darkness, hearing an unexpected noise, taking a school test, or being left alone at home for the very first time. This book has a great storyline because it contains several instances of how a child can be overwhelmed by fear or uneasiness. To address those feelings, as a parent, I found this book to be a wonderful tool by reminding my child of the gift. I recommend this 'feel good' and 'self-esteem builder' book to all early to pre-teen readers.

What an outstanding book to add to my collection.This has to be as close to home as I can get."Peter Penny Discovers The Gift" really kept my attention as I was reading.The story takes you back to a childhood that most us have lived.From the time I started the book, I just could'nt put it down. It definitely makes you want to finish it, just to find out what happens in the end.With all the color illustrations in this story, you can almost feel the moments happen as if you where there.Children will love this story, as well as adults. I recommend this book highly.

This book I would recommend to any parent that wants to send a great message to their child. What a wonderful story , and message. The wonderful illistrations that go along with add so much to the story , makes it fun and easy to follow. This would be the perfect gift for around the Holidays or any time of the year .

With the market place being flooded with so many negative images for our kids and youth today, it's nice to be able to read a book to my three-year-old son that shares some of our same beliefs about faith. I would recommend this book to anyone with young children.

A nice, warm story for young readers to learn how coincidences in everyday life can lead to misunderstandings and beliefs, but also shows that being faithful can have its rewards. The illustrations on every page help young readers envision the story and lets older readers remember a simpler time.

A phenomenal representation of a single building monograph. It has client/architect history, site and design process, early sketches, development drawings, construction drawings and details. It has it all.
They wont let you take pictures or sketch at the building, so get the book - no qualms there.

This is an amazing book with lots of Zumthor's sketches and commentary. The photographs are beautifully shot and printed, however there tend to focus on interesting details rather than capture the overall structure. The text, photographs and sketches are excellently integrated and the book really capture the unique experience of this building.

Another great book from a great architect. Therme Vals are a masterpiece of architecture. Anything related must be good.

this book covers in depth of his famous Therme Vals bath house. beautifully photographed, detail drawings, and insightful text of Zumthor's thinking. this is the kind of architecture you will never learn through CAD, but only through life experience of visitng numerous architectural spaces. I highly recommend to anyone who still cherish the poetics of physical space.

This is a beautiful book which deftly combines four threads; the images of Helene Binet, the thoughts of Peter Zumthor, drawings and sketches of the baths and a dictionary of terms and themes by Sigrid Hauser. Few contemporary works deserve to be as completely documented. Unlike most contemporary projects there was no rush to make a publication, the building has aged gracefully and become embedded in architectural culture, this book documents the making of a place for human experience embedded in the history and tradition of bathing. Vals has become a place of pilgrimage to the senses.

This book will make room for itself on even the fullest bookshelf.

Kreeft's book is an excellent philosophy primer that anyone can enjoy, easily read, and benefit from. As a huge fan of Socrates, I was enthralled with the use of Plato's "Apology", the "Euthyphro", and the "Phaedo" as a teaching tools that will captivate your imagination and search your soul. You can really feel Socrates probing you, making you ask questions of and about yourself, profound questions, that everyone needs to confront and be confronted by. Everyone should apply the Socratic Method to their own life...it will change it forever!

This book is an easy read and you should purchase a copy, take it with you everywhere, and read every chance you get. When you finish, READ IT AGAIN!!! Let Socrates teach you that what you think you know, you really don't know. The unexamined life is truly not worth living. Let Socrates examine you and then you too will live life more fully...by asking good questions about everything. Take nothing for granted or on surface value; probe, probe, probe!

This book would be a great tool for informal chats re philosophy, psychology, religion, or even just for fun. I highly recommend it...no matter your chosen faith or the lack thereof. But get ready to be challenged!

As a popular writer who is also a populist writer, Kreeft is brilliant. This book is a delightful beginner's guide to one of the most important philosophical documents ever written. As a professor, and philosopher, and PhD--I am always looking for books that introduce the Great Books to students. Dr. Kreeft has written these helpful guides (4 now) to the Great Books. So if anyone out there is still reading and if anyone is still reading the Great Books, let Dr. Kreeft be of some help.

Peter Kreeft has taught philosophy for over forty years. He is also a Christian. So what does philosophy have to do with Christianity? Or as Tertullian put it long ago, what does Athens have to do with Jerusalem?

Well quite a bit really, according to Kreeft. For example, both are, or should be, concerned with truth, or the discovery of truth. Both are concerned about going beyond appearances and getting at reality.

Thus Kreeft thinks philosophy, properly understood and practiced, can be a real aid to the believer. This book is an introductory primer to philosophy, or more specifically, to doing philosophy. Kreeft thinks that Plato/Socrates may have been our greatest philosopher, and his works make for an excellent entry point to philosophy. (Kreeft side-steps the historical debate over Socrates, and for his/our purposes, we will simply speak of Socrates.)

Three dialogues that exemplify Socrates' method and manner are here focused on: the Apology of Socrates, the Euthyphro, and the Phaedo. Kreeft enjoys using these dialogues as they do not just talk about philosophy but they actually show us philosophy in action.

The Apology is the main text focused on. In it Kreeft tells us forty different things about philosophy and the philosophical method. As we all know, philosophy is the love of wisdom. It differs from mere knowledge, and God is its source. While God has wisdom, man pursues it. In this Socrates and biblical religion are on common ground.

Moreover, the quest of philosophy is not for truth as found in the physical sciences, but moral and eternal truths, as found in religion. Moral questions, like "What is justice?" cannot be answered by the physical sciences.

Also, belief in God and the really important things in life goes hand in hand with humility. Socrates stressed this, as do many of the great religions. Skepticism about God tends to correlate with pride, while true wisdom recognizes its limits, and is open to truth outside its limited perceptions.

And Socrates, like Jesus, was a real counter-culturalist. Indeed, both men were hated by many because of their challenges to the status quo. Indeed, both were ultimately put to death.

Of course in all this Kreeft does not equate the two great men. Socrates could only claim to be a seeker after truth, while Jesus claimed to be the truth.

A key issue raised in the Euthyphro is the connection between God and goodness. Can we be good without God? The two options presented are, 1) that God chooses what is good (Euthyphro's position), and 2) that God is subject to what is good (Socrates' position). Of course Christians tend to say that this is a false dilemma, and argue for a third position, that God's goodness is coterminous with his nature. Position one seems to make God arbitrary, and position two seems to make goodness greater than God. But the third option fully equates goodness with God. What God commands is good because it is in accord with his own good nature.

The last work examined, the Phaedo, is the story of the death of Socrates. It is also the argument of Socrates for why life extends beyond the grave, for why the soul is immortal.

The "gadfly of Athens" was put to death for his search for truth. Of course Jesus was put to death for his proclamation of truth. To refer to the earlier discussion about historicity, Kreeft reminds us that while Christianity cannot survive without Christ, philosophy can survive without an historical Socrates. Even if he is just the creation of Plato's pen, his timeless truths live on.

It was Alfred North Whitehead who once said that the European philosophical tradition "consists of a series of footnotes to Plato." No one can improve upon the greatness of Plato/Socrates. His greatness and wisdom live on. Thus there is so much we can learn from Socrates, so much we are indebted to.

He is not the equivalent of Christ, but he bears many similarities, as Kreeft points out throughout this book. And there are real shortcomings to Socrates. His insistence on the importance of the soul was as valuable as his denial of the importance of the body was flawed.

Believers need not be ashamed of nor afraid of philosophy. In its proper form, it leads us to truth. And in the Christian tradition, God is truth. Of course in a fallen world, extrnal revelation is needed to supplement internal inquiry.

But is it possible that God can use pre-Christians like Socrates to teach us much about life and even Himself? Kreeft thinks so, and this book goes a long way in showing Christians how to appreciate the beauties of philosophy. Of course in other books in this series, Kreeft shows the dark side of reckless philosophy (as in his discussions about Sartre and Marx). But here we learn of the good purposes which philosophy can serve.

Peter Kreeft transmits his passion for wisdom, for philosophy, in this small book by focusing on the personification of philosophy: Socrates. Kreeft shows us how the pursuit of wisdom will lead to respectful confrontation with those who do not know but think they know. The Socratic method of respectful cross-examination is at the core of exposing the fallacies of those, as someone once said, who are always certain but seldom right. Kreeft also presents the parallels between Socrates and Jesus. You will enjoy and be inspired by this celebration of the passionate pursuit of philosophy.

Peter Kreeft introduces Philosophy by introducing us to the father of philosophy, Socrates. He uses the Apology of Socrates to give 40 descriptions of philosophy. He shows the paradox of philosophy with such terms as foolish, simplistic and conformist. Throughout the book, Kreeft's Christian perspective comes through with comparisons of Socrates and Christ, which I think give the book a unique niche but I sure will offend some.

It has been awhile since I had thought about my quest to read all of Andrew Lang's color fairy books. If I'm right, this completes it, and I will say that I was thoroughly impressed with this collection that pretty much avoids Grimm while getting the juciest of Hans Christian Andersen and a multi-cultural array of other stories, from humerous animal tales to hilarious folktales, to daring and imaginative stories of fairies and princesses and goblins.

I am a teacher and I read many stories from The Pink Fairy Book to my class. They were amazed that there were so many more wonderful fairy tales that they had never seen on cartoons. I recomend this to all teachers and parents to read to treir kids.

I was at the library with my father and mother when I first saw this book. I looked at all the colors and decided by pink being my favorite color. I read the whole book in gaps between 2 days and at bedtime. And I was so amazed at the mermaids, princesses, and fairies and all the wonder that a few days later I took out the orange, green, and crimson fairy book just so I could dwell in the land of fairy tales for a few more weeks! Im a young girl of fourteen, and I love fantasy stories. The Pink fairy book is my favorite because it was my first, but the whole collection are my favorites and I recomend them to boys and girls (There are plenty of stories boys would like too) and adults! (for they are just as interesting) I love art, and the pictures by H.J ford are so amazing and attractive, I stared at them for hours!

Having a complete collection of the Hans Christian Anderson fairy tales, I was a little disappointed when I opened this book and found so many stories with which I was familiar. But as I read further along, I found additional tales translated from Danish, French, Swedish, German, and Japanese. I have definitely found some new favorites with this collection, especially in the few Japanese stories. Uraschimataro and the Turtle is wonderful. I also loved Peter Bull! I wish there were more Japanese stories but, as this is the first volume of this collection I have read, I am hopeful to find more in another one of the series. Depending on your existing collection of fairy tales, this may not be a must-own but it is certainly a must-read.

The Andrew Lang collections are well worth it. I read them when I was a child (bless that library) and when I saw them for sale I couldn't resist. The stories have retained their freshness and it is interesting to see similar themes dealt with by different cultures.

These would be great for parents reading to their children or for children looking for something interesting and fun to read.

Definitely worth it!

I have received the item in a good condition. Else, product features were available as mentioned on website. This is for the first time I have dealt with Amazon people and I find it worth dealing in future also. Regards, Pranav Darji.

James has been rightly credited as the father of Psychology, and this was the work that launched psychology into a field of its own. When it came out some 100 years ago, The Principles was criticized as "un-systematic." James would have taken this as a compliment. It is exactly because this book is not an elaborately contrived system that it remains fresh as a morning flower. Full of details and insight, it is perhaps the most epic and insightful psychological work every produced. That said, The Principles doesn't quite stay within the bounds of psychology. As you will see from the citations (which are voluminous), James was also well read in the humanities, from abstruse philosophy to literary fiction. But then, James was living in a time when Philosophy and Psychology were not distinct disciplines. Not a problem if you enjoy philosophizing. For its breadth, scope and penetrating insights, this book might never grow stale.

This book is a beautiful classic. James is unafraid to tackle the perplexing questions about consciousness. He is also unencumbered by simplistic theoretical assumptions or restrictive definitions of science, but he holds to a high standard of clarity and steers for the truth.

This book is a brilliant catalogue of the phenomena that must be explained by the various brain and psychological sciences. While the behaviorist movement that came after James led to important advances in scientific method, in terms of objectively establishing empirical results, it also led to a massive denial of mental phenomena that cannot at present be explained purely in mechanical or behaviorial terms. Because subsequent generations have denied the phenomena, or written them off as "illusions" or "folk psychology," as is still common today, this book is a precious trove of unbiased insights about the mind.

I would thus agree with the other reviewers that this is a great book. However, while they seem to claim James for functionalism, (which is I think the dominant framework for understanding mind in contemporary cognitive science--holding that implementing certain functions such as self-representation and planning, are what makes a system conscious, no matter what it's made out of) I suggest that much of James' critique of what he calls the "mind-stuff theory" and the "associationists" is equally devastating to what is now called functionalism. For example, people still talk about patterns of brain actvity as if they had objective, ontological reality. But we can completely describe the brain at the level of molecules without reference to patterns, so the pattern is not an intrinsic, necessary way of interpreting the activity of the physical brain system. Similarly, having the idea of A and the idea of B does not imply having the idea of A+B. James makes this basic point in multiple ways in his book. It seems more or less equivalent to the point articulated in recent times by John Searle, that "any physical process you might find is computational only relative to some interpretation," ie some observer (in "The Mystery of Consciousness" p.16). When expressed in Searle's modern language, it is more clear why the distinction between real objective properties of a system and its extrinsic observer-dependent properties, is a big problem for contemporary functionalism.

In any case, I highly recommend this book to any serious student of psychology. It's not for boneing up for psych exams or grant proposals, but for patiently ruminating on and savoring.

This 1400-page work in two volumes, published in 1890, is probably the best single survey of psychology ever written.

The work is of imposing size, but James covers such a wide field, so thoroughly and so engagingly, that to my own surprise I read both volumes cover to cover, back to back. The two volumes comprise 28 chapters, including "The Functions of the Brain", "Habit", "The Stream of Thought", "Attention", "Association", "Memory", "Imagination", "The Perception of Reality", "Reasoning", and "Will"--to name just a few that I found the most fascinating.

James's reasoning is sharp and subtle, his writing clear and vigorous. The qualities of his own mind, which come through in the prose, are astonishing: he is both skeptical and open-minded, deeply versed in the existing literature, and an original and fearless thinker. He must have been a fantastic prof.

I was a little afraid that the age of the book would make it antique, with fusty 19th-century notions that have long since been disproved. Not a bit! With few exceptions, the material is as fresh and relevant today as it was in 1890. Even the material on brain physiology and function, an area where the 20th century can claim to have made some progress, was sharp, perceptive, and interesting.

The advent of Freud, Pavlov, and others in the 20th century seemed to push certain theoretical ideas about the mind to the forefront, putting other, older ideas in the shade. My prejudice was that they had made 19th-century psychology irrelevant. I was wrong. There were many able minds studying psychology long before Freud, and their findings and views are well worth knowing. Among other things, James's book is a treasure-trove of psychological thinking up to the time of his writing, including many extracts by other researchers, both those he admires and those he is critical or dismissive of.

James, of course, was not merely a psychologist; he was also a philosopher. If I had to give a single reason why I think this book is excellent, it would be that James fearlessly tackles questions lying at the boundary of what today are seen as distinct disciplines. Here you'll find penetrating, persuasive insights into the nature of reasoning, logic, and the will, as well as the origin of aesthetic and moral ideas. James is as thoroughly versed in the works and ideas of Kant, Hume, Berkeley, Locke, and Mill as he is in those of his fellow psychologists. He confronts the thinking of the greatest minds with complete confidence, using his laserlike intellect to discover their obscurities and contradictions. He is their peer.

At the same time, James is humane and folksy in his style, often making references to his own experience, domestic life, and the little experiments he often performed on himself or his students. He writes with candor, humanity, and honesty. Time and again he comes to conclusions or makes observations that cut to the core of human experience altogether.

Technically this is a textbook surveying psychology, probably for a first-year introductory course. It bears almost no resemblance to the dry, cautious tomes that usually fill that role. It is an impassioned work by a learned, deep, and original mind explaining his own conclusions on this vast and elusive topic, based on long study, experiment, and careful thought. It is one of a kind. If you're interested in the human mind, this book is for you.

Why would anyone want to read a book about psychology that was first published 113 years
ago? One answer is the rationale for reading any psychology book: that it
provides insights into psychological issues not available elsewhere. Although
many psychologists of the late 19th and early 20th century probably started their career by
reading this book, it is not appropriate today as an introduction to psychology. Too
many of James's viewpoints are antiquated, and his facts, outdated or incorrect. Neither
is it the book to read if you are looking for contemporary psychological views
or a compilation of psychological knowledge. Recent textbooks are better for these purposes.
Yet, the word most frequently used to describe James's Principles of Psychology
is probably 'monumental' and rightly so because not only is this a lengthy work (~1400pgs),
but it also is the culmination of a long line of philosophical thinking about the Soul,
Self, Mind, Matter, and related topics that began with the pre-Socratic Greeks
and continued through the 19th century, when positivist philosophers and experimentalists
began to explore psychologically relevant philosophical questions in more concrete terms,
invoking a scientific method and rejecting metaphysics. At the end of the 19th century, a
seeming riot of discussion about the meaning of life, the nature of consciousness, mind,
ego, evolution, and related subjects dominated the scientific and popular culture.

At this point in history, William James, an American trained as a physician and employed
as a Harvard professor, examines the various philosophies of the previous two millenia, picking
out those aspects relevant to psychology, comparing and sorting them to reveal their value
as unambiguous theories that might be tested by research, and reflecting on how the evidence
stacks up in their favor. He also advances his own, original conceptions on various issues.
His work is not the first to collect speculation and evidence into a coherent
psychology, and there are many previous works with "Psychology" in their titles,
but James's efforts would galvanize an American discipline of psychological science that
would eventually become a dominant intellectual force.

James defines psychology as the "Science of Mental Life" and describes the
stream of consciousness as "the ultimate fact for psychology." Out of his viewpoint,
the school of functionalism in psychology developed, where the mind is conceived as a
useful organ that evolves according to natural selection and grows according
to discoverable rules. His orientation towards physiological and behavioral data
eventually diminished the then dominant psychological
method of introspection that James himself uses so frequently with great effect.
Subsequent viewpoints in psychology, such as behaviorism, though taking part of their
inspiration from functionalism, reject James's definition of psychology, so that
by the end of the 20th century, most psychologists with an empirical orientation may
call themselves "behavioral scientists," but certainly not "mental scientists."

Reading this book can be disconcerting, perhaps because of his period style or
Victorian sensibilities, or the frequent, unglossed short quotes and phrases in German, French,
and Latin because he assumes the reader has at least these minimal language skills.
Perhaps also, it is because James is not only conversant with the giants of philosophy
and experimental technique who preceeded him, but seemingly, with virtually every
published sentence to date bearing on the subjects of concern, and in veritable fractal detail,
producing a tour de force in erudition. His is not the style of current psychology
journals and textbooks, but fortunately he does translate into English many long passages
he quotes from their original sources. Yet possibly the most disconcerting aspects
are the subjects that James raises in this book.

The new mainstream psychology after James rejects many topics as unsuitable - even for
discussion - that figure prominently in the intellectual history of philosophy
and psychology. James's view that the concept of Soul should be eliminated in
scientific works is one point on which later psychologists heartily agree, but they
also, to a large extent, throw out other concepts of central concern to James, such as
mind, emotion, will, and feeling. Rare pleas by scholars
with varying backgrounds (e.g., Ornstein, Tomkins) urge students of psychology to
revisit issues discussed by James and address the larger questions contained therein, but
such exhorations echo mostly in halls of learning emptied by Vita enhancement pressures.
Renewal of interest reappears lately for some of the suppressed topics, cast into such areas as
cognitive psychology or emotion theory, but James's idea that the mind is a core
concept remains foreign to virtually all contemporary psychologists, and much of his
emphasis seems uncomfortable from today's viewpoint.

The reluctance among psychologists to embrace such philosophical and scientific issues
concerning the mind is remarkably not shared by some physicists, mathematicians,
biologists, computer scientists, and other scientists who in recent works have implied
that psychologists may be irrelevant to elucidating such issues, if not muddle-headed,
scientific dwarfs. This twist is ironic because psychologists restrict their
vocabulary and investigations partly to ape their conception of these "hard-core" sciences.
It is not clear whether psychology will survive the choices that psychologists have
made about their subject matter, or whether psychology departments will inevitably be
diced and parsed into their appropriate slots in departments of computer science, biology,
medicine, statistics, and physics, but certainly, the end of psychology is nearer if
tomorrow's students of psychology fail to study James's Principles of Psychology.

James's work is the jumping off point for much of what forms 20th century psychology:
habit, association, attention, memory, imagination, object and space perception, etc.
His thoughts about emotion, feelings, the self, consciousness, and other topics remain important
for today's theoretical views. On the other hand, this work predates psychoanalysis
and does not include an organized account of abnormal psychology, human communication,
and other topics raised in most elementary surveys of psychology. The context in which
James puts scientific psychology is probably the most important lesson of this book.
The Dover edition is unabridged, the only form of this work that should be
considered by the serious reader.

Peter Mayle's books about Provence are always wonderful, and this one does not disappoint!
Mireille McKell

Peter Mayle's "Provence A-Z" is a collection of personal interests and discoveries. There are amusing stories of construction complexities, the celebration of truffles and humorous stories of wild pigs eating perfectly ripe melons. Peter invites you into his world and as he explains the reality of Provence he keeps the fantasy of the perfect vacation alive and well. Since I recently made my own tapenade it was interesting to see a new recipe. There is also an explanation of why tomatoes are known as pommes d'amour. There are stories of unique fruits and visions of hills that are home to two thousand types of butterfly. I loved the story of the new puppy and you can't help but smile when you think of all the adventures Peter has on a daily basis. Overall, this collection of writing makes winter days seem a bit warmer and it is perfect as a cozy read by the fire.

~The Rebecca Review
Once I spent a weekend in Provence

An enjoyable collection about things in and of provence. Peter Mayle has done another winner.
An easy read and quite informative.

This is a collection of short essays about the culture of Provence in alphabetical order. I think it is typical Mayle, intelligent, bright, and whimsical without being "cute". It's a writing you can sample in at odd times.

Here's a book of a couple of hundred entries, from A to Z of course, about life in the Provence region of France. Each entry then has from a short paragraph to a few pages of description. The author is Peter Mayle who has almost made a careet of writing about Provence. He's a Brit who moved there many years ago. He was going there to write a novel, but instead wrote a book on Provence which to the surprise of many turned into a best seller.

This started a trend with 'A Year in Provence' and 'Toujours Provence' being the best known. Like expats everywhere who have permanently moved from their homeland, Mr. Mayle is in love with his new chosen country. It shows through his selection of words to include in the book and in the dedication with which he has given these words their Provence meaning.

It's almost enough to make people who don't like France ready to go visit.