Stanley Books

Although it is now almost fifty years since the first edition appeared, a recent rereading reminded me why this has long been considered the essential English-language oveview of the social thought of turn-of-the-century continental Europe (Germany, France, Italy, and Austria). Hughes focuses on the central issues in social theory--positivism, pragmatism, idealism, irrationalism, materialism, liberalism--as they were addressed by the most innovative and influential thinkers of the period (notably Freud, Durkheim, Croce, Bergson, Sorel, and Pareto, and--Hughes' hero--Weber). Hughes assess ideas at a high level of abstraction, so this is probably not the book for a reader with no previous acquaintance with modern social theory. And although he sketches in the social and political background and offers penetrating biographical sketches, Hughes does not undertake the kind of close reading exemplified by Carl Schorske's Fin-de-Siecle Vienna, which demonstrates the intimate links between intellectuals' life experience and their ideas. But not many works of history age this well. One sign of Hughes' success: closing this book, I wanted to pick up Freud and Durkheim and Weber again.

This is an important book that is deservedly back in print and well worth reading at a time when we seem to be reliving the mistakes of the positivistic surge at the end of the nineteenth century, deja vu all over again. The crash of the Hegelian movement and the reversal of thought in the post-Hegelian generation saw many influenced by the (quite metaphysical) Comtean positivism, among them none other than Charles Darwin. The effect is practically cast in granite in the works of Marx who unwittinlgy signatures the trend. The tide of positivism carrying its distinct set of hidden metaphysical premises and limits was fairly well exposed at the time, but in the age of dominant Darwinism it has made a comeback in disguise. Hughes goes through the whole development tracing the stream of influences and gives us an significant portrait of intellectual history we seemed doomed to relive none the wiser. (Reviewed from memory, I think I got it right)

Wonderful children's visual book about language acquisition. Good read for grade-school children, adults reading to their children, or first grade teachers and librarians as a resource for their classroom

Yes, I know it's out of print and you're only buying used copies--but just to set the record straight, the author of this book is Diane (not Douglas, whoever he is) Stanley. That's me.

Thanks!

I have just finished reading Stanley Brodsky's Coping With Cross Examination. I absorbed it like a sponge. Although most of the book is devoted to testimony by mental health experts in criminal court, there is much in the book that is very relevant in other contexts. I have rarely been asked or required to testify in criminal cases, but I have provided expert medical testimony at hundreds of Social Security disability appeals hearings, complete with judge and lawyer. In that role there is often conflicting evidence and the expert must integrate all of the relevant evidence, and most importantly be prepared, professional, impartial, and provide relevant understandable testimony. Dr Brodsky's book clearly speaks to those points. The book is full of good examples, good humor, and good reasoning. It is the kind of book that I am likely to consult again to help me in my work. I highly recommend this book to any mental health professional who may be asked to provide sworn testimony. I also recommend it to those who may not testify but who may be retained by lawyers for evaluations or consultations. Dr. Brodsky's ethics are superb. This book is a very practical and helpful guide to working with lawyers and judges.

This is the third installment. In plain language, the author tackles many difficult cross-examination issues. The author uses easy to understand examples to illustrate complex litigation processes and skills that the expert witness must master before taking the stand. As a lawyer, I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in expert testimony. I give this book my highest rating. Also, check out the other two books on expert testimony by the author.

This work, published in 1980, is perhaps the best introduction and summary of Stanley Jaki's ideas on the relationship between science, cosmology, and religion. It is considerably less dense than some of his other works and, as he tells us, was written specifically as a concise treatment of his views.

Each chapter provides a good overview of the topic at hand. For example, the chapter entitled "The Dogma of Creation" is particularly thorough. It is common to assert that the dogma of creatio ex nihilo is not found in the Old Testament but came about as a result of the influence of Greek thought. But as Jaki shows, the concept is at least implied in the opening chapter of Genesis. He provides a discussion of supposed similarities between Genesis and the Sumerian creation story Enumah Elish. He then surveys the New Testament and Gnostic literature and presents a fascinating discussion of the claim that creatio ex nihilo is a Greek idea. He quotes from Plato and Aristotle statements in which they unambiguously reject the concept. The chapter concludes with a discussion of Medieval, Jewish, Moslem and modern thought on the subject. Particularly fascinating is Jaki's discussion of the question of whether the doctrine may properly be called "Judeo-Christian" in light of certain strands in Jewish thought.

Cosmos and Creator, a best all-time favorite of mine, relates--among a multitude of wondrous ideas about existence--the theory that science progressed only under the aegis of Christian belief--whereas it halted under other cultures.

The history of science (Jaki's field) is therefore no stranger to religion, though both are distinctly separate disciplines. Nowhere else that I know will you find a distinguished physicist discusing science, and at the same time, philosophy and religion in rigorous loyalty to each.

The book documents certain cases of Gardner's "Court of Last Resort". This court is the highest of the land, which Gardner felt was not the Supreme Court of the United States, but the court of the people of America. The book documents several cases of men who found themselves tried and convicted of crimes. In many cases, they were innocent. In other cases, they were guilty. Gardner's task force served the cause of justice.

What is most astounding about this book is the insights as to how things go around and come around. In this case, Gardner argues against life/no parole sentences for "habitual criminals". 50 years later we see the same kind of laws passed, life/no parole for "3 strikes" offenders. Right or wrong, it's just another issue that resurfaced in a different form.

Reading this book is a tonic for anyone who thinks we can solve the crime problem by locking people up and throwing away the key. It makes you wish there were a Court of Last Resort today.

This is great because it provides insight into what was important to the Sioux and how they raised their children. It also provides a good background for the man who became Crazy Horse. I think students can easily read these biographies and get a good feeling for how people grow up and what forms their lives.

This book gives insight into the happenings of Native Americans as the settlers moved in, specifically into the plains. Both my children, ages 3 and 5 have enjoyed learning about the native american customs as well as anticipating what will happen next in the story. Great read.

"The Deliverance of Dancing Bears" tells the story ofan unnamed bear that is taken every day by its "owner" to amarket square in a mountain village of eastern Turkey and set to dance on its hind legs for hours. Elizabeth Stanley's prose makes clear to young readers that this is not really dancing. "Around and around the poor bear turned on her two back legs, her head pulled from side to side by the chain which Haluk jangled to the clatter of his tambourine... The performance continued relentlessly for many hours until day began to fade [and] Haluk led the bear back to her cage and lock[ed] the door." Stanley's pastel illustrations in purple, blue, gold, scarlet and indigo evoke the liveliness of Turkish village life as people go about their ordinary business of shopping, eating and paying the bearkeeper to see dancing bear. The overall effect of these village scenes, however, is depressing. The heavily textured paper to which the pastels are applied seems to drain the light out of these sad market scenes, in which no-one seems to smile.

The power of the book, however, comes from the scenes that depict the dreams of the chained bear. The scenes that show her fishing in mountain streams with her mate or lying lazily with her babies in the sun are full of shimmering light and vibrant energy.

And thankfully, the bear's dreams come true. An old man named Yusuf buys the bear from Haluk, takes it with him to his house by a stream and slowly reintroduces it to the wild. And that is just the beginning of this eloquently written and superbly illustrated book dedicated to relieving the suffering of captive bears.

Stanley saw her first "dancing bear" in 1979 in Athens and decided then to write a book to challenge the assumption that men could cruelly use wild animals to make money. In 1992 she took her written text to Turkey to take photos and to make sketches for the artwork. In the same year The World Society for the Protection of Animals effected the release and the return to the wild of all chained bears in Turkey. Today there are no dancing bears in Greece or Turkey.

But a recent WISPA report has revealed that the trade in dancing bears is still alive and well in India. It says that "60-70% of cubs taken from the wild die before they even begin their brutal training. Dehydration, starvation and trauma are all reasons [for their dying]. Should the cub be lucky enough to live, a punishing regime of starvation and beating will begin to condition it to perform. The piercing of the cub's sensitive muzzle with a rope for control is the next ordeal. It is held down without anaesthetic while a crude iron needle is heated in a coal fire and plunged in with a group of men holding the squealing cub tight. The investigators also found that the site of the nose piercing was invariably infected in all the seventeen cases observed. 'The cub would the have to suffer a second piercing before the first was healed, compounding his agony,' explained Geete Seshamani. 'The tug of this rope, along with an intense fear of the strike of a heavy stick, motivates the bear to lift its legs in turn and 'dance'.'"

The WISPA site also provides gory and even more gruesome details of bearbaiting in Pakistan and of the farming of bears for bear bile in China.

WISPA has done and will continue to provide facts about animal mistreatment and about campaigns and projects to challenge these abuses. Whilst it is important for the thinking public to have access to information like that on the WISPA site, I believe that Elizabeth Stanley's "The Deliverance of Dancing Bears" is one of the best books for introducing pre-school, elementary and junior high school aged children to these issues.

While not so sparsely written as Anthony Browne's "Gorilla", the prose is tight. The illustrations are similar to and as powerful as those in Brian Wildsmith's animal books. The interleaving of reality and dream is reminiscent of Shirley Hughes' "Stay Away from the Water Shirley" or of the more recently published "Magic Beach" by Alison Lester. All in all, this is an ideal book to get the young and the not-so-young thinking about animal rights issues. It is a beautiful book that can help us all to realise the epigraph that Stanley has taken from Aristotle: "Hope is a waking dream."

Named an honor book of The Children's Book Council of Australia, The Deliverance Of Dancing Bears is a wonderful picture book story written by Elizabeth Stanley for young readers having intermediate level reading skills. This very highly recommended account is about a captive bear who forced to dance, and who clings to hope, even though the degradations of her daily life cause her spirit to ebb. It is a kind-hearted peasant who liberates the bear and who reminds all of those watching of an important moral lesson about dignity and life. Elizabeth Stanley's touching and emotional color artwork highlights and enhances her original and involving parable.

Visual patterns and designs generated from mathematical operations is one of the best ways to learn mathematics. Through this technique, many students learn that they in fact know more mathematics than they realize. This book presents many beautiful designs that can be generated from basic mathematical operations.
The operations are:

*) Designs from modular arithmetic
*) Designs from Latin squares
*) Tesellations from Pascal's triangle
*) Designs from magic squares
*) Designs from the Fibonacci numbers
*) Spirogram sequences from number sequences

Each section begins with a basic description of the operation and how it can be used to create specific diagrams. This is followed by a series of example figures and then a set of skeletal figures that the reader is to work on to create their own figures. This makes the book an excellent resource for the teaching of mathematics at the middle school level.
I strongly recommend this book for the teaching of mathematics, the figures that are generated in the exercises will interest the students and they cannot help but learn some mathematics along the way.

I teach high school math, and this book was a great help to me! It provided a great set of extra activities for students in algebra to learn and understand Pascal's triangle and modular addition. In addition, they got a chance to use their creativity! A must-have as a tool for introducing art and design into the math classroom.

This down-to-earth,easy-to-read guide is a must for diabetics and their families. The tips for eating out in restaurants, travel, and other aspects of daily living are especially helpful. This is a book you'll pull off the shelf and refer to over and over again.

Five Stars are not enough!! I would like to give it Six Stars!!! An AWESOME Diabetes guide written by Stanley Mirsky, a medical doctor who is a well-known expert in the field, and co-author Joan Rattner Heilman, an experienced medical writer who makes the information so accessible. This is the best all-in-one source of information about this disease that I have read. This book belongs in many homes as a reference guide, for use as a "Diabetes Survival Guide" in homes where the disease is already present, and/or as a hedge against future possibilities.

No doubt about it, Diabetes (my caps for emphasis) is a scourge that is rapidly spreading across the USA and the world, killing and maiming in it's worst stages, and now reaching EPIDEMIC levels of more than 1 Million new cases each year. This disease, according to the author can be silent and insidious in it's early stages, catching many unaware of it's early presence. It has been tied to heart disease and stroke, along with the more well-known worst-case effects such as blindness and amputation. Striking children, teenagers, as well as older people, it has been tied to the rising tide of OBESITY and the SEDENTARY LIFESTYLE that is so prevalent in this age of excessive TV watching and hours of web surfing. If you fit in those categories, take note. Even if you think you don't, educate yourself just to be certain; If not through this book, search the web or other sources.

Finally in plain, very understandable words in 327 pages, the authors give us the most current information on this disease: what it is, how to detect it, the "Types" of diabetes, how to treat it, and very importantly, diet. Finally, 'hard', definitive numbers on the meaning of the results of the home blood glucose test meter results! The information of diet alone is invaluable and the surprising information in the "Diet for Dummies" area may surprise you as much as it did me. There is a list of what CAN and CANNOT ever be eaten. Gensing, marajuana, alcohol following exercise are not recommended for diabetics. This book cites definite life-style and habitual changes for some that will require discipline, more for some than others. Other important topics include the very important topic of exercise, insulin usage, and the other medications to keep it within controllable circumstances. ONE SIMPLE FASTING TEST can alert one to the possibility of diabetes or Pre-diabetes. The book cites the importance of detecting at the EARLY stage of "Pre-diabetes", where the disease can be aggressively attacked and managed or eradicated, and it cannot be over-emphasized!

This is a must-have reference guide that deserves the title "Survival Guide" and should be read by everyone. BUT this is just a guide. If you suspect Diabetes, the importance of seeing a MEDICAL DOCTOR and getting "hands on" treatment and remaining under their individualized care cannot be stressed enough. This book is an educational tool that can alert you to the early warning signs of Diabetes, assist in asking the right questions of a medical specialist if you have it, and guide you along the arc of treatment as a reference. My HIGHEST recommendation. Thank you Dr Mirsky and Ms Heilman! Five HEALTHIER Stars.
(Paperback, 327 pages with many tables)

The first thing that impressed me was how much Kroll's Dragons felt like and reminded me of Jessie Livermore's How to Trade in Stocks.

Memoirs
I knew for sure this would be something special because Stanley was not trying to make a textbook or have somebody else write it for him. Unlike many books written for no one in particular, Kroll assumes readers know how to read charts and has had some experience speculating. This book is inner Kroll. Dragons supplements Reminiscences.

Risks
Not written to praise the market or pay homage to his experiments with technical analysis. Dragons covers the essence of speculating whether it is securities that require the greatest risk margin like stocks, minimum margins like futures, or practically no margins at all like calendar spreads.

Strategies
It is clear that Kroll dabbled with fundamentals. He got over that. Then he may have gone a little to far with technical analysis. But it is clear that he honed in on his true contribution to trading with Dragons. Stanley finely figured it out. He had to draw on none other than Sun Tzu to pull it all together with a little help from Partridge. Traders should be more concerned with an overall profitable operation than catching tops and bottoms. The most expensive loss effecting success, is the loss of confidence.

Mort
Dragons is light on Livermore the trader, heavy on Sun Tzu the philosopher. It is not so strange that many people expound on a philosophy as life itself draws to a close. Do you suppose this acceptance precedes death?

Forces
The long shot pays better, but the favorite is the way to bet. Presuppose that every with-the-trend trade will be the big one. You maintain your potential for profit when you hold on, build positions, and sell your losers. Buying strength and selling weakness applies to portfolio management, right thru selection of markets to the time differences between contracts. Buy what's going up, sell or even short what's falling.

Oscillator/ Indicators
Stochastics - entry
Parabolic - pyramid and stop
Macd - trend confirmation
Bollinger Bands - volatility

Moving Averages
Kroll suggests that moving average crossover systems, combined with the slope of the moving average are good enough to confirm a trend. Stanley reinforces a theme that has made has been taught before by Joe Ross in his excellent "Trading Spreads," and by Wells Wilder in "New Concepts," by Jake Bernstein probably in "Seasonality," and spread guru Jerry Toepke of "Moore Research." It does not matter what technical studies that you use, as long as you are comfortable and use them regularity.

Control losses and allow profits to run
Limit risk - percent of exchange margin
Avoid overtrading - churning or too large a position relative to capital
Cut your losses - advance your stops

Parabolic
The most difficult part of developing a trend following system is fine-tuning your stops. Using a percentage of exchange margins has the advantage of being related to the volatility, risk, and the profit potential of each market. Another strategy is to advance your stop after each week. You have to develop a method to reenter lost positions as well as build your position in a trending market.

Spreads
In the early 80's Stanley told me that he did not specifically trade spreads, but sometimes they showed up to advantage requiring fewer margins. Kroll notes that Spreads advantages include higher profits. Here Kroll shows spread charts from the mid eighties and has a whole chapter on spreads in Dragons. Kroll suggests traders watch spread differences as an accurate indicator for managing positions.

Spread Orders
Stanley does not mention market on close spread orders (MOC), preferring instead to leg in and out. But he does suggest giving your broker the spread order. Stanley details the three reasons that you might want to place a spread, switch, or straddles order.

Entering a new trade,
Shifting forward (rollover)
Spreading a losing position

Wisdom
Kroll's tactics remains about the same as he marketed a decade before with Wells Wilder. You can see this in his long-term winners, short-term losers philosophy.

Tactics
Kroll sets up for a major move entering with-the-trend positions, and try's to stay with them as long as possible. Diversification with the addition of China stock indexes. Price based entry signals, no longer optimized. No long side bias. Stop placement that allows time & space for long-term trades to develop. Kroll may get in late on an entry signal that is showing a loss, but when he gets stopped out prematurely he would get right back on board a day or two later, when the trend resumed.

Regardubg Oruce Keveks?

Just as Stanley likes to quote Jessie, following are some quotes from Kroll's Dragons:

I am a long-term trader on my winning positions and a short-term trader on my adverse ones.

The traders who make money on a consistent basis are the long-term position traders.

One of the traits of successful operators is to close out losing positions and stay with, and even add to, the winning ones.

In two related markets, you should buy the strongest acting one and sell the weakest acting one.

The most important tactic for consistent and successful speculation is to control losses.

A long-term holder speculating with the trend, should not try to capture small counter-trend profits by trying to get in and out.

I might lose my position, and with it the certainty of making a big killing with the big move. It is the big swing that makes the big money for you.

If you exit a trending position, regardless of the reason, and on the close of the next two days the trend is still in the original direction, you should get back on board.

The most damaging loss, and the one to be avoided at all costs, is the loss of confidence and belief in your ability to trade with consistent success - you must avoid that loss at all costs.

Dragons - ISBN-10: 0201420848

This book is an excellent exposition which, contrary to the title, concentrates on commodities. If you have read Kroll's other books (such as "Kroll on Futures Trading" or "The Professional Commodities Speculator") then feel free to skip this one (unless one becomes available at a better price). If you are a true Kroll groupie (such as myself), then go ahead and treat yourself.