Sachs Books

I loved this book - I got stuck waiting for a meeting...all day. I had brought this book, expecting to wait. I read the whole thing in the course of the day. I loved the use of Louis' voice as the narrator and I found the other characters interesting, real, and compelling. The author gives you peeks at the backstory, enough to tantalize without insulting your intelligence. Very well written!

Reading Louis Drax's story is almost as exhausting as living through must be! The main character's life is one deep, dark, tragic secret after another, and there's barely a break in the misery. Somehow, this book manages to avoid becoming bogged down in all its negativity. You'll get something out of reading it, but you may not quite be sure what it is. Most likely, you'll be grateful that hardships like Louis' only happen in fiction!

First time authors usually don't achieve this kind of suspenseful writing; normally a few books must be written before the proper balance of horror and coherence is achieved. This author competently enters into the mind of a very unusual nine year old boy, who is in a coma after a fall (or a push) from a cliff into a deep ravine. We read his thoughts, and we follow the actions the the doctor into whose care he has been placed. It's a novel of psychologicl suspense, and also a mystery, not to mention the various twists and turns of the plot right up until the end. It's a book that can keep you up very late at night trying to finish, and I highly recommend it.

Louis Drax is a nine year old French boy, definitely a difficult child, and prone to horrible life-threatening accidents, at least once a year. This year his estranged parents take him on a family picnic, but guess what--he has an accident and falls to his death. Or near death--because to everyone's surprise, he starts breathing again (remaining in a deep coma).

Dr. Pascal Dannachet is a somewhat troubled middle-aged man with marital problems who works in a coma clinic. Occasionally his patients recover. His methods, of course, are a bit unorthodox.

Natalie Drax is Louis' overprotective mother--a beautiful, seemingly vulnerable waif who has a strangely powerful effect on men. Often to their downfall.

Well, the plot brings these three and other interesting characters together to reveal some strange discoveries about each other and the mysteries of life. I won't tell you what happens of course. You'll have to read it for itself.

Author Liz Jensen writes beautiful, evocative prose. She creates such a powerful French atmosphere for her story that I had to look and make sure this wasn't a translation. In the beginning I found the little boy, Louis, oddly appealing in his insights--something like a very dysfunctional version of Adrian Mole. However the charm dissipates as the plot grows more absurd and unbelievable. This was not an easy book to finish. The suspension of disbelief simply couldn't be sustained--for me--enough for the story to work. I can recommend it with reservations. Reviewed by Louis N. Gruber.

Although a relatively small book, and one that will compel you to finish it once you open the cover, this book is not an easy read. Oh you'll fly through the pages easily enough, but the story of young accident-prone Louis Drax is not a happy one.

This dark psychological thriller may be unsettling to some, particularly if you are a protective mother of an only child, and you may find yourself trying on the shoes of Natalie Drax, said shoes being pretty uncomfortable to live in.

Few readers can escape unmoved when being told of a child who has escaped death eight times in eight years, only to fall off a cliff on his ninth birthday, under suspicious circumstances, to his apparent death.

Miraculously, Louis lives to fight another day, but this time he's in a coma, in a special clinic, "talking" to us through an imaginary and gruesome companion. Always a difficult and precocious child, the comatose Louis still manages to stir up trouble for not only his mother, but also his doctor and one-time psychiatrist, and the police find themselves dealing with something quite out of the ordinary.

Certain conclusions can be drawn quite early in the book, but do not detract from the clever story telling. This one grabs your attention and holds it until you reluctantly turn the final page.


Amanda Richards, November 13, 2005

I'm a huge fan of Deaver's non-Lincoln Rymes writings. I loved "Twisted" as each short story I eagerly took in every word to figure what the twist was that I was reading. I am a reader that "always figures it out" too soon in books. "Twisted" kept me captivated. I was so anxious to read "More Twisted" but was utterly and sadly disappointed. NONE of the stories were written with the same verve as those found in "Twisted". Dull would be a closer description of the ending of most of the stories in "More Twisted". I am hoping the next book of short stories by Deaver will be as good as "Twisted" - but just like movies, book sequels are never as good as the first.

I picked this up, recognising Deaver as the guy who wrote the film I had liked- 'The Bone Collector'. There are lots of videos of Deaver on the Internet which show off the care he ostensibly takes in plotting his novels via a million post-its and boxes on a whiteboard. But the work displayed in More Twisted doesn't betray all that effort. The stories are simplistic and use only one trick in the book-that the good guy is bad and vice versa. The quality of the stories is further dragged down by staid and plainly written revelations in the end which left me feeling cheated-since none of the information to come to the twisted conclusions were made available to the reader in the story. This mistake was made only by the early writers of crime and detective fiction. Later practitioners gave the readers enough clues to have fighting chances of being sleuths themselves. One story "Born Bad" (awarding winning as it turns out) is bearable. However, its not because of its plot twist for it is the same old black is white and vice versa but because it is relatively well-written. As for "Afraid", which Deaver showcases in an afterword, it wouldn't scare even a five year old.

Afterword-I have given him one more chance and have picked up his new novel, 'The Sleeping Doll'. May be he has put those post-its to good use in this one.

It's been 4 years since I picked up Twisted Vol 1 and I still remember the kick I got from flipping the pages. Somehow, that kick is missing in Vol 2 but nevertheless, it is still a fairly good read.

I am a Jeffery Deaver fan and have read all of his novels. I looked forward to his short stories in this collection and was not diasppointed. He is a master storyteller with interesting twists. He also has a chapter where he shares some of his techniques with the reader. I am reminded of another short story master named O'Henry, but Deaver succeeds in making his endings truly twisted in ways O'Henry never did. If you enjoy short stories, and are a Deaver fan, or just would like to become acquainted with him, you should definitely read this collection.

In each of the 16 stories in this volume, Deaver keeps you guessing as the twists and turns keep coming. A master of the thriller, Deaver will definitely give you thrills and chills, and keep you reading well into the night. Fans of Deaver will not want to miss this exciting collection of short stories. Ranging from the 1800s (with a surprise guest!) to the present day, comprised of murder mysteries, swindles and scams, you won't be able to put it down. High recommend from me!

Because my family loves to party, I'm always looking for ideas that are easy and fun. Patty Sachs delivers again! Whenever I am planning a celebration, I know that her books will help... and this one is the best yet! The book makes finding ideas so simple. It's like having my own personal party planner! (Only less expensive!)

As an award-winning professional event planner who has been in the business for over 15 years, I figured there probably wasn't a whole lot I was going to learn by reading Patty's book, but just in case there was, I thought I'd buy it. I'm so glad I did! There were TONS of ideas that I know will work not only for my clients' parties, but also will be fun to do when I'm planning a party for my own friends.

Most are easy to duplicate and adapt to every situation...and Patty even provided a grid to help the "thematically challenged" find a theme to fit any occasion! :)

The ideas are bulleted and easy to read. And if you need a little more of an explanation or "how-to," Patty's provided that also for many of the projects.

If you are a newbie host, or are like me, and have thrown hundreds...thousands...of parties, BUY THIS BOOK! You'll use it again and again.

This book is a waste of your money and time if you are looking for creative ideas for entertaining your party guests. Here is a statement for the New Year's Eve party: "New Year's Eve celebration often includes the whole family, with game playing, lively competitions, music, and food." (p.66). Yeah, right - this is extremely helpful to me to know when I am organizing such a party... Besides, this book does not have any concrete examples or suggestions on how to make parties fun. Instead of this book I would recommend one by Andrea Campbell "Great Games for Great Parties" - a lot more mileage for the same price.

When I bought this book I was thinking that it will has a good ideas for parties but, it does not have any. There are a lot of good party book out there. Some of the ideas are too embarrassing to do with your guest. If you ask me to buy this book again, my answer will be not.

There are far too many good party idea books on the market to consider, making this one a waste. There are very few original and creative ideas given in this book. I wish I hadn't spent the money on it.

This book gives a good look at Goldman's history and how the firm operates so successfully. For a bit more recent insider's look inside Goldman and how to get hired also try the Vault.com Employer Profile on Goldman Sachs.

Goldman Sachs is the employer of choice for those seeking investment banking careers. Say what you will about the competitors in the marketplace, but Goldman definitely exercises the right of first refusal in the hiring process. There is a reason that this came to be. The firm has developed an outstanding reputation based on client service and an unmatched commitment to excellence.

A disappointment for a 2nd Ed given what the author could have done with new info. And the author is still completely wrong about Goldman being the top investment bank. They are prob in the top tier with Morgan Stanley & Merrill Lynch, but they are not #1. Let me point out a few glaring issues the author conveniently overlooked. Merrill is usually #1 in domestic debt/equity underwriting (Salomon is #2). Goldman is about 3rd or 4th along with Morgan in that category. Goldman is near the top in M&A fees & in lead-managed IPOs, but Morgan has a similar ranking and may be stronger given their deeper European revenue streams (BusWk, 1Nov99). Most analysts think Morgan & Merrill look stronger than Goldman, which relies on proprietary trading in addition to fees for their profits. Goldman has a weak product line, no retail distribution network, only modest assets under management, and their research is just competitive, not superior. Without the large cash infusions (over $1B) after 1986 by their various limited partners like Sumitomo, etc., Goldman would be much less visible today. As a result of those cash investments, Goldman general partners contributed only about ¼ of the firm's equity after 1994 (see Lisa Endlich's book), so Goldman was effectively an LP in recent yrs. Post IPO, Goldman looks more like JP Morgan, which has struggled, than it does like Morgan or Merrill.

Apart from a proclivity for 12C calculators, Goldman is not known as a firm with original ideas. Everybody reads Fabozzi's book (Handbook of Fixed Income Securities), although it doesn't help to generate ideas. But Goldman is not alone in that regard. Merrill & Salomon are usually associated with new ideas, but Salomon has had problems (CitiGroup merger, etc.) since their heydays of the mid 80s (see Liar's Poker by Michael Lewis). MBSs were developed at Salomon and were then gobbled up by Goldman. Drexel developed junk-bond financing for LBOs, and Goldman came on board after such financing was prettied up with the so-called mezzanine level of debt restructuring. But after a few yrs this mezzanine nomenclature retreated into its more accurate bleacher seat characterization when the defaults started. Goldman was not involved in the so-called raid-defense of management because of altruistic notions but only because of the large fees they were paid. Moreover, the idea of leveraged recaps was developed by other firms before Goldman even got into the act. Morgan & First Boston, for example, advised on the Phillips Petroleum recap in 1984. And please note, Goldman is now advising Vodafone on their hostile bid for Mannesmann, so Goldman will evidently advise on hostile takeovers for large fees. Morgan is the lead defender of Mannesmann, while Goldman just advised Orange in their recent sale to Mannesmann, so this is a conflict of interest for Goldman. The first casualty in this European phone war is Goldman (BusWk, 29Nov99). In fact, Goldman has advised on several hostile deals recently including Louis Vittons's attempt to buy Gucci and AT&T's bid for MediaOne. And there are other examples of Goldman latching onto Other People's Ideas. As Michael Lewis pointed out, if Salomon came up with a new bond, Goldman & Morgan would have it in 3 colors & 2 flavors the next day.

Goldman also tried hard to leverage market inefficiencies identified by Johnnie Meriwether's bad-boy group at LTCM. Goldman, Salomon, & Merrill (along with LTCM) each lost enormous sums of money in leveraged bond-based derivative schemes structured by LTCM (Michael Lewis, NYTimes, 24Jan99) during the SUMMER OF 98. Markets are said to be efficient, but the LTCM computers had identified several temporary inefficiencies (such as interest-rate differences that should converge). If those inefficiencies were accurate, then leverage could be used to generate large profits (from interest-rate swaps, etc.). Goldman was evidently intimidated by the so-called faculty at LCTM, but Goldman wanted to play the game, so they imitated LTCM trades. Goldman was just as greedy as LTCM, but all they generated were huge leveraged losses (interest rates failed to converge) with the LTCM Nobel-laureate computer model. This sort of unglamorous proprietary trading and losses by Goldman is completely ignored by Mr. Lindskoog, who thinks of Goldman as a shrewd trader. The LTCM scandal along with the role played by other major tag-along firms should be made completely public (perhaps by Michael Lewis).

I found Long-Term Greedy to be an eye opener, as after reading it one realizes there is a great deal that is involved beyond the headlines and published accounts of Wall Street and investment banking. Through an in-depth description of a series of leverage deals, Nils Lindskoog does an interesting job of illustrating how Goldman Sachs survived the roaring eighties and set itself apart from other Wall Street firms in the process. The author's personal experience as a finance person helps him to bring out concepts and aspects of the era that are absent from journalistic accounts. Lindskoog then puts it all in perspective by showing how Goldman's principles relate to what is going on on Wall Street now. Best of all, he writes in a highly clear and concise style, and with a nice dash of wit. With so much negativity about Wall Street and business, it was refreshing to read a success story (and one done in a non-evaluative tone). I believe Long-Term Greedy would be very helpful for anyone interested in Goldman Sachs or how to succeed in an advisory business. For anyone who wants to learn something new about Wall Street finance on a cerebral level or who just wants to curl up with a really neat and intriguing book, I recommend this one--a real gem.

Supposedly the second most popular book at Goldman Sachs this past summer. This short book was more interesting than I originally supposed. I would have preferred a longer book, but it is likely that the author (unlike Lisa Endlich) had little access to the real secret world at Goldman. The author tries to make the case that Goldman is the current top investment bank. Well, his book is a bit dated, and things have changed in the past few years. The current three top investment banks are prob. Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, & Merrill Lynch. There is no clear #1 investment bank, but Merrill & Morgan look more stable going forward, because they have a retail distribution network and a stronger product line. Short of an unlikely merger between Goldman & Morgan or Goldman & Merrill, Goldman is going to have to do something like develop its own retail distribution network from the ground up. They could open a few retail offices in the Northeast and expand from there. Morgan Stanley spends a huge amount of money on each training class (~300 rookies each x 12-16 classes per yr). Goldman could develop its own training program and turn out perhaps a 1000 retail brokers per year, and by 2010 they could have north of 10k brokers. Otherwise Morgan & Merrill are just going to push further ahead.

Because of the large capital infusion from various groups of financial partners (technically Limited Partners) after about 1986 (see Goldman Sachs by Lisa Endlich), I vaguely thought of Goldman Sachs as an LP in recent years prior to the IPO. As a result of the various capital infusions, Goldman general partners owned only about ¼ of the firm's equity in 1994. The general partners controlled the contributed equity, but the LPs received a cash flow of sorts. So even Goldman general partners were mostly using Other Peoples Money in the recent past. Ms. Endlich's book is quite informative. What would a little voir dire disclosure reveal? What would have happened to Goldman in the absence of those very large capital infusions? Even I might have done well with a $500M loan in 1986. And remember, Goldman likes leverage. Imagine leveraging just 9:1 with a 3% net profit. That's a $135M gain. Goldman's motto is evidently something like "you can't be too thin or have too much leverage".

It appears that the three firms who were most interested in learning Johnnie Meriwether's market inefficiency secrets at LTCM were Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, & Salomon SB. And it is said that Goldman worked harder to copy LTCM's trading patterns (NYTimes, 24Jan99---written by Michael Lewis of Liar's Poker, who is the only journalist who has been allowed to interview LTCM principals). All three of those firms did post colossal bond-related (derivative-based) trading losses by the end of 1998. The odd, risk-assessment scenarios that these firms were dealing with were not low probability occurrences at all, but were in fact likely coincidences (unloading similar derivative positions [interest rate swaps] at the same time). They all sustained huge losses from proprietary trading using the LTCM Nobel-prize driven computer model with its high profile "faculty" of 25 PhDs, and then they were asked to help rescue LTCM by the NYFederal Reserve. Just a bit of bad timing and not quite enough leverage. We need a definitive book on LTCM, but no one has access to the definitive information since the principals are under lock & key. Apparently all that Goldman, Merrill, & Salomon learned from LTCM was how to loose money. Where is Frank Partnoy of FIASCO? This is a colossal scandal, and Goldman did not emerge looking like the single top investment bank.

Sachs' translations of Aristotle (I have read his Physics, Metaphysics, and On the Soul) are wonderful in a number of ways: he eschews traditional translations of key words for more descriptive ones (case in point: "entelecheia" is often translated as "actuality," but his "being-at-work-staying-itself" gets to the heart of Aristotle's meaning), he provides plenty of helpful features, such as a large glossary and commentaries, and the books are well-organized and geared toward the student who needs to be able to find a place in the text quickly.

Unfortunately, one of the great benefits of Sachs' translation method is also one of its downfalls: "Being-at-work-staying-itself" may get the idea across, but it just doesn't read well in English. Reading Aristotle in Sachs' translation is rewarding, but cumbersome. I would recommend reading Sachs alongside Apostle or the Loeb edition to get an addditional perpective on the text, and also to alert you to the terms that, although misleading, form the framework of later Aristotelian thought.

I have used Sachs' translation of the Nichomachean ethics and found it helpful, so I will not criticize Sachs' translation technique here. Unfortunately though I could not use this edition of the physics for one simple reason. The line numbers are not in the margines but imbeded in the text, and not bolded. This made it very difficult to use in the semenar style discussions of St. John's College (ironically the college that Sach's is a professor at). So I stopped using it emediately and opted for the complete works version so I could participate in semenar discussions. I would like to give Sachs' translation of the physics a chance but the lack of clear line numbers in this edition is a serious problem for me.

I read this book for a graduate seminar on Aristotle.

PHYSICS--Aristotle addresses the "why" questions. Aetia= causes, there are 4 causes. Only 1 cause actually sounds what like we call a cause today. A better translation is "explanation." 4 ways to explanations. Arche=origins/principles, something that is 1st, or rule, or, commanding, or beginning. Thus 1st thought that leads us to understand something and how we proceed. Begin how we think and rule or govern how we think. Phusis= "nature," like physics. He understands nature differently than we do today. For Aristotle the planets orbits never change so not part of nature. Everything below the moon, "lunar," is nature. Thus everything below lunar is not perfect and goes through change. Phusis root= to grow or bloom. Thus, emerging like birth. This term has to do with movement and change. Also connected to "coming to light." Also, connected to "being."

Physics (nature) is an arche (rule) of motion and change. Concept of physics (nature) has to do with motion and change. Paramedes denies change. Aristotle takes umbrage with this. Plato says change is a deficient condition; Aristotle is against both men's notion of change.
IMPORTANT--Aristotle talks about how we talk about how we talk about change all the time. Aristotle says no such things as "being" itself. For Aristotle there is change we always talk about it.

Potentiality and actuality- 2 terms that dominate Aristotle's thinking. Change is potentiality to actuality. Potentiality is a "not yet." He criticizes premises of philosophers for denying or denigrating change. His physics is his thought to explain change. Ousia can't mean something unchanging, it is always a changing phenomena. For Aristotle and the Greeks the "world" has no beginning or end it is always here. No God or creator. Big and small are opposites, but are only conceptual. Small things become big Aristotle sees this. Our language is the guide here. The fact that there is change doesn't mean it is chaotic, you plant a seed, and it grows from small to big, this is normal change.

3 senses Aristotle uses phusis or nature. IMPORTANT- 1. "Always or for the most part." 2. Telos-end, purposes. 3. Movement is self-generated toward something. When a seed falls to the ground it grows and moves towards growing. Contrast Phusis with techne="produce something by humans." Both have to do with change and movement. 1 is self-moving, 1 is moved by us. Trees are not brought into being by themselves; beds out of trees are made by us. What is a bed? For Aristotle it has no nature or physics, it can have an essence. Everything other than Techne "things of production" are physics, nature. It is natural that humans have productive capacity and skills. Techne and physics are distinguished to understand change. Aristotle is important in philosophy and science because he uses language of science. He sees that change is internal within phusis in their own nature, not from myth or storytelling.

His phenomenology says our primary access to things is the "whole" like a dog, once we analyze them we can break them down. This is different from the premises of philosophers who believed in "inarticulate wholes." This is a dramatic difference from Platonists and atomists ideas. Atomist says all things made up of individual stuff like atoms. Aristotle is against atomist doesn't accept describing atoms as real. Like atomist the "whole" or dog is real for him. He isn't a Darwinist because the earth is always the way it was, is and will be. He talks about elements earth, fire, water, air.

IMPORTANT- For Aristotle, "being" of a thing comes 1st, knowledge 2nd. He says knowledge comes to rest in the soul. The soul is calmed by knowledge. When the soul or the mind comes to rest this is out of a natural turbulence of the mind. When he says "by nature" it is intrinsic in us we are by nature turbulent like children, this is part of us. Knowledge achieves calming it emerges out of the turbulence like "wonder."

Techne and physics are not opposites they are distinct different ways to explain movement. Both parts of our world can illuminate each other. He doesn't have idea of a creator God but understands if their were nature it would come by way of god. He says nature is self-manifesting. Techne completes nature (physics) Art doesn't quite imitate nature but talking about shapes like a bed or cave like a house. More like impersonates nature. Craft or Techne our natural capacity to make things, we are elated by being able to craft we do have to be taught to produce things. When we build houses, we are completing something nature can't do. Today, modern science rejects idea "nature" has a purpose. Thus, Aristotle doesn't see physics, nature and techne craft as that different.

Aitia=Causes better definition is "explanation."

1. Material Cause, answers question "out of what"
2. Formal Cause, answers question "into what"
3. Efficient Cause, answers question "from what"
4. Final Cause, answers question "for what, or toward what"

Qua= Latin for "as." We understand something by questions we ask. He uses ordinary language. This arms us with information to look at whatever phenomena by deduction. Fill in the 4 causes and categories and then you have knowledge.

IMPORTANT- Most important is #2 the Formal cause. Efficient and Final cause fall under it. Usually he uses artifacts crafted by man to explain this. Example of a house:

1.Material Cause, answers question "out of what" Wood
2.Formal Cause, answers question "into what" A certain shape of house
3.Efficient Cause, answers question "from what" the builder
4.Final Cause, answers question "for what, or toward what" to provide shelter

Things of phusis can be explained by 4 causes a little tricky. Form isn't just shape for Aristotle.
He uses different works for form, like logos = ordering, or pattern, or structure, in this case, organization in living things it is richer our bodies are our being cause. A corpse is no longer organized for a functioning body. Same with material cause. Aristotle distinguishes between wood or real matter and less tangible, he uses idea of material cause thus doesn't just mean stuff like matter. Thus, in his book Politics, what is the material of the polis? The citizens. Material is just a way to explain it. The word matter works like "What subject matter are you taking"? Thus, Aristotle uses matter in the rich and varied linguistic way. Thus, he provides guides and 4 categories and causes to gain knowledge. He thinks his approach is an improvement over Plato and pre-Socratics like materialists.

IMPORTANT- Everything is what it is in combination of matter and form in the world except God. There is a difference between dogs and beds, thus he is against the atomists. If you don't know what a cake is ahead of time you don't ever get to the molecular structure to get you there. To talk about matter without form is to miss something. Any 4 causes alone doesn't work, all together give an apt account of how things are. Modern science breaks with him on #4 the Final cause; scientists say this doesn't exist in nature.

For Aristotle, if it is evident and real in nature it must be real. The Telos shouldn't be understood as "push pull." Understanding can shift based on different issues and topics so Aristotle is a "pluralist." Never think of telos, or end, or purpose as "design." Not all forms of telos are "conscious design" for Aristotle. There is no intelligent design of nature for Aristotle. (No God). He rejects it, no beginning, or end of nature. However, he believes nature has purposeful elements to it, so it is mind like. Therefore, when we think purposefully we are not violating nature. We are rational animals. There is no mind before or behind nature. For Aristotle idea of telos is built into nature. Aristotle's idea of an unmoved, mover is archaic. He believes that movement in nature must ultimately come to stop, can't go to infinity, thus unmoved mover. This is his idea of God. Doesn't mean first cause or creator but more a "draw" not a "push" like draw of a lover. Thus, he doesn't believe in universal laws of motion. This is a limitation in his philosophy.

IMPORTANT-Basic distinction between matter and form, form has efficient and final cause as subsets. Matter and form are separable in analysis but not in reality. Two sides of the same coin, always present together. You can't have a sculpture without matter like clay. Aristotle criticizes Plato and others for delinking form and matter. Form isn't just shape, form is structure and organization. Corpse has same shape as a human but Aristotle says, "The form is gone in the corpse" so form is more than shape. Matter is unknowable; form gives us something that we can gain knowledge with, example a hunk of clay vs. a bowl.

Bottom line of modern physics and science is math, Newton, Kant, etc. said this. Thus, H2O is proportions of elements. A "towards which" is not a phenomena to examine. Here he is saying math is legitimate form of knowledge but it is not primary way or status of understanding how things are. Natural motion has nothing to do with line and math, etc. for Aristotle. One can't explain natural motion with math. We never come across geometric shapes in nature. Form is natural phenomena but different from mathematical form. Thus, you can't understand nature by math, as primary knowledge only secondary. For Plato, math is real for Aristotle they only help explain nature.

I recommend Aristotle's works to anyone interested in obtaining a classical education, and those interested in philosophy. Aristotle is one of the most important philosophers and the standard that all others must be judged by.

Aristotle's Physics is one of the least studied "great books"--physics has come to mean something entirely different than Aristotle's inquiry into nature, and stereotyped Medieval interpretations have buried the original text. Sach's translation is really the only one that I know of that attempts to take the reader back to the text itself.

I do have a few quibbles, mostly with the presentation. The line numbers are buried in the text, rather than set off in the margins, which is annoying. The typeface is difficult and too closely packed. The cover is one of the ugliest ever produced. The book is too expensive, given the quality.

If you are going to study or teach the Physics in English, however, this is absolutely the edition you should use.

Wanting to read Aristotle's "Physics", I started off with the translation in Richard McKeon's collection "Basic Works of Aristotle", I don't remember the translator, but it is easy to find out, it was one of the standard old-time British classicists. Finding it stilted, and having read about the supposed virtues of Joe Sachs' "authentic" translation, I bought the book. I used it for a while, but found his bizarre literalism to be be far more opaque and clumsy than the older effort in the McKeon book. If Joe Sachs' Aristotle is the real thing, why bother?

Finally, I got ahold of the Wicksteed/Cornford translation in the Harvard "Loeb Classics" series. I found this to be a nice literary effort, with real grace, and also a lot of notes on difficult or ambiguous passages. It's not true that the old-timers had buried the real Aristotle under layers of maladapted Latinisms, and that Joe Sachs has recovered the "real" Aristotle. To the contrary: his bizarre malapropisms make it very difficult to follow what Aristotle was saying -- which is hard enough in a lot of places, probably in part because these were lecture notes, not a finished literary work, and probably corrupted over time in various places. So, try the Joe Sachs translation, if you like it, fine. To me, it's a cult item, even if it has some interest. I haven't tried every translation, I don't pretend to be any kind of Aristotle scholar, but for my money, the Loeb edition is the best.

Having several translations available certainly helps, there are plenty of places in Aristotle's Physics that should leave you scratching your head, a look at another translation sometimes helps clear things up.

Good selection of Cuban dishes. A great book for those who like easy to follow directions.

Many books claim to give AUTHENTIC recipes with there Colorful Pictures and expensive price tag but most fail to claim. Having lived in South Florida and eating the foods on a regular basis I have to say that this little book is as Authentic as it gets from the ingredients of the black Beans to the secret ingredient in (Bistec Empanizado)Cracker Meal; which I could never figure out until reading this book,. A great book which I give five stars. If only they publish a greek cooking book as authentic as this one.

Excellent book full of real authentic recipes! A must in any Cuban kitchen! I bought this for a friend and loved it so much that I didn't wanted to keep it. Best Cuban recipe book I've ever come across and I'm 1/2 Cuban so that's saying ALOT!

Raised with typical Cuban dishes (both of my parents immigrated from Cuba to the US), I searched for a good, concise Cuban cookbook and found it! This it it! Sure, there aren't any fancy pictures but there are also no fancy ingredients or obscure dishes. The list of recipes covers all the basic dishes (I read the list to my mother and she agrees - it's all in there) and the recipes are so simple and easy (almost all are only a paragraph long).

I've tried other Cuban recipe books and I still *always* come back to this one for dishes that turn out as close to Mom's as possible. Maybe I'll just toss the other books out... all I need is this one!

Hi there,
I am half Cuban and was raised on the delicious cooking of my Cuban grandmother. The recipes in this book remind me of her cooking. They are easy to follow and tasty. I'm only an average cook with not much time and this was a good book to have. I once made six pounds of the black bean recipe for a family dinner and people where scraping the bottom of the pot for more! The picadillo is fast and yummy. As is the beef stew. Buy it and Enjoy!

I must have reached some wild Auntie Mame stage: I have now read a book about sex that I thought was so good I bought a copy for my nineteen-year-old daughter. This book was a wonderful read: for me at fifty-two (and suffering from two misconceptions: 1. I already knew everything; and 2. It's time to prepare to enjoy sexuality less, not more), and for young women. I wish I could have read it thirty years ago. I'm glad I've read it now.

So what else is new? Boring, redundant and lacking in new information.

This is a really good book. The writing is entertaining and clear. The information is comprehensive and thorough. It's a pleasure to read, but it's a serious and subtantial book (unlike a lot of the competition). There is no other book on the market quite like it.

An especially good feature is the way the book addresses issues and problems specific to women in many different situations and ages of life. The discussion of up-to-date treatments for sexual problems is well-informed, and offers a balanced appraisal of their effectiveness.

Recommended.

"Getting the Sex" is a great book that you can pick, find what you're looking for, and put down. The author's give a comprehensive understanding of the woman's psyche, but its also a great resource for men to get a better understanding of their partner. Put it on your bedside table - it can lead to a richer dialogue between partners and ultimately a closer relationship.

this book provides no new information. It's riding on the heels of other books detailing the complex nature of female sexuality and response. Do yourself a favor and save your money. You'd learn more reading the cover stories of NY Times Magazine and Newsweek that dealt with all this material a year or two ago.

Reminiscent of Durrell's "sense of place," Leon's writing evokes Venice and its people with strong characterization, an obvious love of its food, weather, bureaucratic wrangles and rich dialogue. The plot is secondary to these thoroughly enjoyable features. There are two or three scenes where the Commissario interviews players in the evolving murder plot which are so carefully detailed that the reader feels he is seeing a movie. One does not have to worry about cardboard characters and implausible plots; Leon is a fine writer and a joy to read. "We'll always have Venice," by reading Donna Leon.

Few people in Venice trust the cops who tend to be dense, crooked, and conniving. One exception is the compassionate, clever, and honest Commissario Guido Brunetti, Donna Leon's series detective. Venice is a city that thrives on gossip, corruption and petty politics. Brunetti calls Italy a loony bin.
A cranky, nasty old lady is found murdered in her apartment. Her maid is suspected because she takes flight and later while running from the police is killed under a rushing train. Case closed by his colleagues--but not by Brunetti who finds a witness to disprove the maid's guilt. The detective not only has to solve the case but fight off a superior and underlings looking for a quick solution.
This is not Donna Leon writing at the top of her form. It's a listless story that is a fairly long slog plodding to an ending that's a let-down. The story's pace is one that only a turtle would love. But I still like the series and especially Guido .
Nine Lives Too Many
The Daemon in Our Dreams
The Rice Queen Spy
Clawed Back from the Dead

Early in Doctored Evidence, Commissario Guido Brunetti asks his wife, Paola, about a book she is reading . . . a text on religion that has been assigned to their daughter, Chiara. They muse about the seven deadly sins and speculate about whether or not anyone takes those sins seriously any more. During his case, Brunetti assumes that only certain sins can be motive enough for murder. Is he right?

As the story opens, Signora Battestini has been bludgeoned to death by someone strong. She's an old lady who never leaves her apartment, but nothing has been taken. A missing housekeeper seems worth tracking down by Lieutenant Scarpa, one of Vice-Questore Patta's enforcers. In the process of arresting her, a terrible accident takes place. Scarpa and Patta are satisfied that the housekeeper is the killer, and the case goes dormant. Brunetti is away on vacation at the time.

All might have stayed that way, but a neighbor comes to report that the housekeeper is probably innocent. Scarpa tries to get rid of the neighbor, but Brunetti ends up involved. From there, the real investigation begins.

One of the most interesting parts of this story is when Dona Leon fills in some background by Signorina Elletra Zorzi and her seemingly magical ability to access records that shouldn't be available to her. You'll be astonished by the contrast between her personal scruples and her unscrupulous methods for gaining police information.

Brunetti also gets caught with his hand in the cookie jar after doing some illegal searching. How will he handle the potential for exposure and discipline?

The mystery in this book is pretty good. It will be some time before you'll be able to figure out who the murderer is and the motive. The ultimate explanation was credible and added to the pedestrian tone of dealing with the minor and major annoyances of life:

How should you persuade the neighbors to make less noise at night?

How can an exploited housekeeper with questionable papers protect herself from exploitation?

How should a threat to respectability be met?

How can endless official delays be overcome?

Take a ride on the #1 Vaporetto if it's not crowded and enjoy the sights and sounds of Venice (I wouldn't dare suggest you try to enjoy the odors of Venice).

Maria Grazia Battestini was an old women about whom nothing good could be said, not even by the most generous of souls. Whoever had killed her must have taken her completely by surprise.

Battestini maid an illegal Romanian woman was missing and currently the prime suspect, the police were hot in pursuit. Located at the central station trying to leave the country the maid is killed in a fatal train accident. only suspect dead, case closed.

Commissario Brunetti has just return from his vacation. His first day back on the job he encounters Signora Gismondi who also had just returned from a vacation in London. Signora Gismondi was Maria Battestini neighbour and had learned of her death on her return. Signora Gismondi also knew the Romanian maid, and is rather forthcoming with some relevant information. Brunetti intrigued - unofficially - investigates. The motive looks like greed or was he looking at the wrong deadly sin.

Doctored Evidence is the thirteenth novel in the Brunetti series and for me my first. This book does not disappoint as murder has been set off against the backdrop of Venice. Donna Leon the author lives in Venice you can clearly see from the writing that she enjoys living there, the story flows really well and beautifully pieced together. Commissario Brunetti is a character you warm to straight away but also for me in this book, Brunetti's source of information Signorina Elettra is a great character, a women who uses her contacts and connections, which seem just as corrupt, Elettra mind is as sharp as a razor. When reading murder mysteries I always try to put a face to the characters in Signoriana Elettra case an Italian actress by the name of Claudia Gerini came to mind. A face for Commissario Brunetti I will have to investigate more, that's going to be a tough one. Donna Leon has written a whole Brunetti series of whodunit, so I will be backtracking to the beginning and with thirteen left to read through, my mind will be occupied for quite a while.

Commissario Brunetti, truly one of only a handful of Venice's finest, solves the murder of an elderly, hateful harridan using his intelligence, humor, skill, and humanity. Follow him through the monumental buildings, calle, and offices of this most intriguing of cities, without once motoring down the Grand Canal. And learn something about the Venetian psyche in the bargain. Nearly as good as being there, but be forewarned, do not read Donna Leon while hungry. Luigi Brunetti eats very well.

I picked this book up because I had struggled with my weight as a teen and was interested by the synopsis. As I read and the amount of pages remaining dwindled down, I realized that story really wasn't going anywhere. Sachs has a habit of opening doors within the story and then never revisiting the specific situations again, almost making you feel as though she just threw those pieces in as fillers. Also, while I certainly believe that not all stories are meant to have a happy ending, per se, I believe there should be some sort of closure or resolution at the end of the novel. This book lacks that. After reading the last page, I closed the book feeling quite ambivalent toward the entire novel as well as the characters in it. There wasn't enough emotion in this book to really make you feel a connection to anyone, right up to the last page. It wasn't mind-blowing or shocking, it was just kind of dead. I'm not saying it was a terrible book, and to be quite honest I do enjoy her style of writing, but I really feel as though she could have done more with the story, because the premise is so interesting. I would recommend maybe picking this book up at the library over paying money for it, because chances are you'll read it once and that will be about it. There isn't enough substance to this book that will keep you coming back for more.

This book was recommended to me by a fat girl and I thought it was going to be really good by her recommendation but the book sucked! I mean come on if you are fat and unhappy take of the problem I mean exercise instead of being selfish and contimplating suicide...This book sets a bad example for kids and they feel they need to change themselves just because someone doesn't like them...I think this book should be burned just like in Farenheit 451, which may I say is an excellent book, WE SHOULD BURN ALL COPIES OF THIS BOOK!

This fall I've read a book called `The Fat Girl'. It was a very good book, one of the best I've read. It was very realistic and inspiring as well. The book can teach you as very valuable lesson on judging people. Basically it tells you that you should judge people on how they look, but what's on the inside.
Everyone has different looks on the outside of course. However, when you judge people on how they look it hurts them and eventually it hurts you. In the book this boy judged this girl because she had a weight problem. But one day when he was making fun of her she was standing right there. Afterwards he eventually apologized and they became friends. That shows first off you shouldn't talk about people behind their back. Secondly, you should get to know them before you judge them.

I couldn't believe how good this book is. The story is a compleate surprise. Based in the 80's were people were all different one girl didn't understand why this fun was denied to her simply because of her weight. When she threatens to kill herself she get help from a surprising person. The one who had despised her most, a normal popular kid ends up liking her. But there ends up being catch he doesn't just like her he owns her. The fat girl takes a crash course in what is to far and when do you draw the line between love and obbsession.

This book is one of those which I recognize as being very good without actually liking it. It wasn't at all what I expected. I was hoping it would be a story about a boy genuinely falling for someone who wasn't his physical ideal. There are very few stories like that for young people, so while the many surprising twists were satisfying in a literary way, they were disappointing on a personal level. Yet perhaps some might argue that it is much more realistic that a young man would become drunk with the power of transforming the life of an unhappy fat girl than that he would genuinely fall in love with her. So it's the Pygmalion/My Fair Lady story all over again, but this Eliza Doolittle has the sense to get out. That is satisfying, in a way, though her emancipation is seen in the book entirely through the eyes of Jeff, a very unreliable narrator. This made it a good book, but not a comfortable or heartwarming book. It was edgy and the ending was somewhat disturbing.

I admit that it was very well written, and that the author's intentions were good, but there is a kind of disheartening subtext to the story that suggests that in order for a handsome young man to fall in love with a woman above a certain weight, there must be something wrong with him or the kind of love he feels. How wonderful it would be to read a story in which a boy tells a large girl, "I love you the way you are," without his being seriously neurotic.

I got this book as a gift for my Birth Day. I loved Edgar Allan Poe, his writings, poetry, essays, everything. I first heard The Raven in my [...] class, than heard The Cask of Amontillado in my [...] class. I than fully fell-in-love with this Poet! I also went out and picked up Young Edgar Allan Poe, and read it, exploring his life from a small child in beautiful detail to his death. If you haven't read any of Edgar Allan Poe's writings yet, please do so. Now...
At first when you read some of his writings, you get washed away by the old-fashioned literature, to the insanity of his mind (which isn't so, mind you). I had to re-read The Masque of the Red Death twice before I fully comprehended just what happened. I relieved in the story: The Cask of Amontillado and The Pit and the Pendulum, struggled through The Bells, read my heart out in The Raven, raced through The Tell-Tale Heart and read curiously at The Man of the Crowd. This is truly the king of horror and insanity at it's best! Drop Stephen King for just a little while and read Poe, you won't regret it!

THIS BOOK IS VERY GOOD AND KEPT MY INTEREST THROUGH OUT THE WHOLE TIME I READ IT.

I've found this particular edition of Poe's (albiet incomplete) collected works to be the best and most accurate blend possible of his short fiction, poetry, and most important prose. The annotations and background information are also extremely helpful unlike some works that do not translate the Latin, for example. MOST IMPORTANTLY I've found this work to contain the most perfect editions of his poetry, as opposed to other collected works I've owned that have unusual deviances, such as "monody compels" (this ed.) vs "melody compels" of another edition. This has indeed become a faithful companion and my particular copy has become well-worn! I would suggest obtaining as a supplement a seperate edition of Poe's complete short stories and possibly also an edition of his collected prose, although this volume contains his perhaps most important work "The American Drama" anyway. Cheers, hope this helps!

Reading "The Fall of the House of Usher" for the first time it seems quite complicated due to both vocabulary and interpretation. Reading it again you notice how this difficult yet discriptive and varied vocabulary together with his narrative style capture you and set you right there next to the narrator to see what he saw and feel what he felt. The self-realizing prophecy of R.Usher makes you, too, fight with fear, but from a safe distance.

This story was disjointed, abstract, distrubing and confusing to the point that it hurt my head... yet I want to read it again. Although I'm not sure I understood everthing that happened, you get so caught up in the the agony of the characters insanity, one must read on to try to make sense of it. This is a book that you will read over and over to try and understand and just when you think you've got it... you will have doubt enough to read it once again!