Phillips Books

"The Apostrophe Thief" is definitely the better of the two Barbara Paul books I've read. In fact, the title for this book is the reason I picked both of them up. I was fascinated by the title.

What is an Apostrophe Thief? Does he steal the apostrophe from "it's" to make it "its?" Well, it is the name of a Braodway play that has been burglarized for items that can be re-sold to collerctors. The book includes fascinating insight to compulsive collectors of memorabilia. This book was written pre-Ebay so all of the collecors have to connect by word of mouth or at auctions so there are lots of offbeat characters to meet.

I give this book an "A-".

"In this volume are presented the basic symbol systems of Western Occultism culminating in the one comprehensive system of the Tree of Life in which all are related into a single whole. Planets and Zodiacal Signs, Mineral, Plant and Animal Kingdoms, Calendar, Mathematics and man-designed Cities and Temples - all are used as vehicles for the projection of human concepts of perfection. The Four Elemental Weapons, the Tarot, the Girdle Jewel of Adam Kadmon, and the Twenty-eight Mansions of the Moon become the magical tools for the transformation of the magician himself. The Tree of Life is the philosophic and psychological means to the integration and comprehension of all that has been experienced and provides the magical foundation for Man's quantum leap to a higher evolutionary development."

The Aputamkon Review Vol. 1 is an excellent book that covers the artistic community. I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Les Simon. He is an excellent person to know and very caring of the artistic community in Maine. This is an enlightning book that is full of hillarious stories that make you want to read the book over and over.

Creek Indian History is one of the best books we have read. It is very informative. We have learned more from this book about our heritage and traditions than we thought possible. Just learning that the dead were buried under the floor of the home was fasinating. It's a book everyone wanting to know about the Creek Indians should read.

Because they avoid humans, it's very hard to observe wolf behavior in the wild. Mech managed to do it at a remote site in the arctic. Some of his observations confirm the conventional wisdom, others do not. This makes his book a must for those interested in real wolves as opposed to mythologized wolves or the semi-domesticated wolves in wolf parks. The book is also full of gorgeous, full-color pictures.

Phillip Windolph's Are Faith & Science Both Right? is a brand new treatise and interpretation on faith in Jesus Christ, and how that faith should not have to conflict with modern scientific studies. Written by a devout Catholic, who chose to be discharged from the celibate priesthood in order to marry, Are Faith & Science Both Right? is a step toward unity and belief in truth -- that the truth of Science should not be pushed away any more than the truth of Faith should be. Especially recommended for the non-specialist general reader with an interest in the reconciliation of Science and Religion.

The legend is that when the comedy "The Clouds" by Aristophanes was first performed in Athens in 423 B.C., his target, Socrates, stood throughout the performance so that everyone in the audience was aware that he was there and hearing what was said of him. The portrait of Socrates clearly satirical and most critics consider it to be inaccurate. But Aristophanes is making fun of Athens' renowned "Think-tank" the "Phrontisterion," the school where the rich young men of Athens were taught the fine art of rhetoric. Instead of anything lofty the comic poet suggests the primary purpose of such an education is to be clever and out-reason greedy creditors. This is an especially good translation of the play, which includes insightful notes and essays on both Old Comedy and the Theater of Dionysus that helps readers understand the conventions of staged comedy at the time of Aristophanes.

In this comedy Socrates is consulted by an old rogue, Strepsiades (sometimes translated as "Twisterson"), who is upset with the mountain of debts his playboy son Phidippides, who loves fast horses and fast living. Phidippides agrees to go to Socrates' school of logic where he can learn to make a wrong argument sound right. After graduation is able to use the system of "unjust logic" to outwit his father and kick him out of the family home. The Chorus of Clouds comments on the proceedings and in the end the Phrontisterion is burned to the ground by Strepsiades.

The flaw of the play is Aristophanes is trying to satirize the Sophists, who were popularizing a new philosophy that denied the possibility of ever reaching objective truth, he picked the wrong target. The Sophists were mostly teachers who were not native to Athens, such as Isocartes and Gorgias. "Sophist" basically meant teacher, so while Socrates was a "sophist" he was not a "Sophist." Twenty-four years later, when Socrates was condemned to death for "corrupting the youth of Athens," the only accuser he said he could name was a certain "comic poet." For contemporary audiences who are untutored in the traditions of classical Greek philosophy it is easy to see Socrates as the prototype for the absent-minded professor, but historically that is, of course, far from the truth. Ironically, even today, Socrates is still one of the few "sophists" that a contemporary audience would recognize by name if not by reputation.

The version of "The Clouds" that has passed down to us is not the original version, which was defeated by Cratinus' "Wine Flask" at a comedy competition during the Great Dionysia celebrations. We know this is a revised version because the Chorus complains about Aristophanes finishing third in that competition. However, critics assume it is essentially the same play, albeit a more polished version. Once you forgive Aristophanes for his unfair characterization of Socrates, "The Clouds" is a great comedy employing all of his standard tricks of the trade from fantasy and ribaldry to funny songs and obscene words.

The information and directions included in this book are very informative, but not in a lot of depth. Photos were fantastic. Buy it with another book whose emphasis is Arizona history with more specific directions and it will be a winning combination.

At age nine I made my first recording, playing a medley of Hawaiian and American songs on my Hawaiian Steel Guitar. After 60+ years, and still with the motivation to please my mother, I've picked up a Decca Steel Guitar, as my own, for the first time in all these musically-quiet years. Without this magical book by Stacy Phillips, it'd be virtually impossible to move that studio to my shop and "pick up where I left off." Of course, this book's perfect for the rank beginner BUT, beyond that, it's just the thing for an old codger who has to work his way UP to rank beginner.

I have read all of Donald Phillip Verene's books, and this is my favorite. Verene's career as a philosopher and a scholar has been centered on the philosophy of history and culture, particularly in the traditions of Italian humanism and German idealism. He is the most important Vico scholar and Vician philosopher working today, and has produced important studies of Hegel, Cassirer, and Joyce as well. Verene not only has a distinctive voice, but a distinctive style: a manly sort of eloquence, carefully hewn but not smoothed, rich in images, irony, and humor, innovative in form, and sometimes playfully esoteric. This is Verene's most accessible book. He is speaking here on a subject close to his heart, and he wants to communicate to as wide an audience as possible. Written in the form of four letters to a colleague in the sciences (an ideal slant, since all of us today are so heavily biased by the influence of the sciences), Verene talks about the aims of humanistic education, the idea of a canon, the role of the teacher, and the forces that work against humanistic education, such a modern scientism, gimcrack technological nostrums, and the corruption of the university by consumerism, careerism, and bureaucracy - all of this in about 80 pages. There are plenty of books directed to the general public documenting and decrying the decline of humanistic education today. Verene is not trying to compete with this literature. His primary audience consists of educators themselves. He reminded me why I chose this vocation in the first place. I recommend this book to all people in higher education and all those contemplating such careers.