Columbia Books

Excellent resource for the Lacanian scholar, if you are looking specifically at abjection. If you are looking at Subjectivity theory overall, however, this is too specific. Luckily, my focus is abjection, and this book really did wonders for the article I'm working on!

Don't be abjected even further than you already are, read this book and allow Kristeva's language to take you on a hallucinatory journey to the limits of symbolization. The act of reading this book can be, at times, an excersize in facing/coping with abjection. If you're patient, go slow, and finally understand thirty percent of this book, you'll be leagues ahead of most intellectuals out there.

Kristeva rules... To everyone who has some interest in the ABJECT matter, here's the Bible! Uncanny...

It has been a while since I read it, so this will be short, but I can tell you that I loved this work. In fact, I read it twice.

Seale takes you through the origins and changes in the house and the property, which is interesting enough to me. But he also takes you, with great detail, through the families and events that occupied and occurred in the President's House. You get a real sense of what life was like there, and how history was made. It is a very interesting story both from a historical house perspective, and a human perspective. I only wish I had bought the leather bound edition.

William Seale has put together an excellent historical perspective of the history of the White House, including it's construction, reconstruction, and many renovations. The book also recounts the evolution of Washington, D.C. relative to it's relationship with the White House and it's occupants.

Along with describing the physical structure and it's many evolutions, Seale has managed to include a significant amount of history relative to the occupants of the White House, including their personal and political lives. This provides the reader with a good feel for life in the White House. Additionally, most will learn a significant amount about presidents who we simply know by name but not much else.

Overall, I would highly recommend this book to those most interested in american history. Although it includes two volumes, the book is such an interesting read that it is hard to put it down.

Often, history is written in broad sweep narratives that can be static and boring to the reader. Although William Seale wrote more than 1,000 pages on the history of the White House, you can be assured that there is nothing static or boring about these volumes. He displays an understanding of the fact that history is about the human drama of real people facing real predicaments, and it's poignance is found in how they react to those predicaments.

Whereas a history book will tell you that the British burned the White House in 1814, Seale tells us what was happening on the DAY the British marched into town. The hundred sentry guards who were supposed to defend the White House were gone, and they could easily have taken on the battalion of 150 British soldiers who marched in the mud down Pennsylvania Avenue, walked around the White House like tourists, ate Dolley Madison's dinner, and then torched the White House with precision. Then there is the even more dramatic moment when Lincoln looked out across the Potomac into Virginia to see the flags of the Confederacy flying, knowing that soon the capital would be surrounded if Maryland seceded from the Union.

The book is a perfect match of comedy and drama with stories ranging from the infestation of rats in the basement to a presidential love story that rivals "The American President," and in places describes a house that you would never imagine to be destined as the symbol of the most powerful nation on earth.

this is an excellent collection, full of valuable insights and arguments. well worth the money.

Consider this book, in its thoughtful approach to a socialproblem, possibly the best that anyone could expect to find amongthose who might consider making suggestions to those astute professionals who have the right to think of themselves the most modern of moderns. I doubt if I could ever find a better line than the one addressed by Jacques Derrida, in a plea for specific opposition to the brutal methods adopted by powers in Latin America, on page 81, "and this on the very face of the earth itself." On pages 68 and 69, Derrida made it clear that he considered himself an outsider, who could easily have his remarks "classified and forgotten even more quickly," when he was addressing a professional body on Geopsychoanalysis. Having been born in Africa, Derrida had spent his youth on a continent where "African psychoanalysis was European, structurally defined in the profoundest way by the colonial state apparatus." When I was young, I pictured our contacts with outsiders as the work of missionaries. Removing the notion of evil, as a total triumph of the state of mind of global capitalism must, if it is to consider the problem of race like it would consider anything else, leaves individuals to frame this problem in their own way. On the subject of Africa, Christopher Lane's remarks on "Savage Ecstasy" and Tim Dean's attempt to tie the disease of "Mistah Kurtz" (p. 306) in the famous story, "Heart of Darkness" to "the Historiography of AIDS" leave a distinct impression. For me to understand this book would require a look at the ways in which it treats Frantz Fanon, whom I might consider an agitator. The more one attempts to locate an element of control here, the greater the problem seems to be. Awareness of the ability of those who serve the existing public order as mind doctors to drug, or not to drug, certain individuals (the real power of a doctor's pen, in a world of highly profitable drugs) is of hardly any benefit to a society which would like to obtain as much control as possible over the lives of those who seek any excuse that they can find (my accusation against the agitators of race) to disrupt the operation of power. As well as the picture is framed here, I do not see race as a problem which is likely to find a solution through the actions of individuals who have assumed a professional obligation to classify individuals on the basis of how well they serve the social system. There is a chapter on "The Comedy of Domination" by Kalpana Seshadri-Crooks, which looks closely at Freud, a sure sign of "malicious mischief and sly humor." (p.360) This book remains insightful, on a matter which is likely to remain a real problem for those who must deal with personal problems worthy of delicate consideration, throughout.

I liked the clarity of these essays, and learned a great deal about prejudice and racial tensions. Nothing I've read so far better explains the problems we're seeing now in the former Yugoslavia and other parts of the world.

This is an excellent academic account--and, at the same time, most enjoyable reading for a scholarly work--on ethnic succession in organized crime. Italian and Jewish gangsters supplanted German and Irish hoods during Prohibition. The Italians outlasted the Jews and are now being supplanted by other ethnic groups. Working largely from FBI files and contemporary news accounts, Fried examines the why and how of it all, tracing Jewish organized crime from the early New York street gangs through such powerhouse mobsters as Waxey Gordon, Louis "Lepke" Buchalter, the "Cleveland Four," headed by Moe Dalitz who later migrated to Las Vegas, and the legendary "Chairman of the Board," Meyer Lansky. One wishes there had been more emphasis on other Jewish mobsters such as Dutch Schultz, Jake Guzik, Charlie Birger, Kid Cann, and the Purple Gang but the rise and fall of the Jewish gangster seems to have been much the same story anyway throughout America and I don't think it's been told better anywhere.

Anyone who has looked into American 20th century "Leftist" urban politics has undoubtedly run across Albert Fried's name before. In this wonderful history, he expertly tells the story of emerging urban Jewish culture at the turn of the century and of how one segment of this culture then quickly evolved to succeed in the wilderness of the Lower East Side, Manhattan. All of the major gangster figures are covered in detail and a number of "lesser known" gangsters (to those who are not as expert in this subject) are revealed to have been important local figures in their day, as well as meaningful players in a larger coherent socio-political story. I emphasize "story" because to me that is what this book really is: Fried clearly has a passion for his subject and his city and as a result, the book reads like a wise Jewish grandfather passing down his legends. Anyone with an interest in gangster culture, its relationship to local, state and national politics, the history of New York City, and/or the history of American Judaism as developed through the New York Secular movement MUST read this book!

This is a gripping, elegantly written account of some of the most colorfully horrible people in our nation's history.

This collection of the late Richard Salant's letters and memoirs shows that the former CBS News president -- with his strong sense of justice, fairness and intelligence -- deserves to be just as much a legend to the public as the men and women who worked for him.

Throughout the Vietnam and Watergate era of the 60s and 70s, the lawyer-turned-news executive was credited with standing up for his news people in conflicts with the government and business interests. In this volume of memoirs, organized very well by Susan and Bill Buzenberg, readers also see that he was just as tough with his own staff when it came to issues of balance and accuracy.

Readers will also be intrigued by Salant's explanation of why he approved "60 Minutes" several years after it was proposed; his written battle of wits with Charles Crutchfield, the conservative chief executive of a CBS Television affiliate;
why he didn't like music on CBS news shows; and why he felt himself a stranger in strange lands during his post-CBS years at NBC and the National News Council.

This book will be enjoyed by those interested in the issues behind newsgathering. And even though the business has changed markedly (to many, for the worse) since Salant's days, the Salant memoirs show the intelligence, thought and love of humanity he brought to his work -- qualities that are always needed in the exercise of news judgement.

It's been a quarter century after Dick Salant's left the stage of broadcast journalism. But thanks to this excellent book, his wisdom and intellect can benefit generations of young journalists.

I had to read this book for a Media Ethics class and I must say that it was one of my favourite books! Salant teaches readers about the workings of a newsroom and the struggle to do what is right with the news through funny annecdotes and interesting stories. Any aspiring journalist MUST read this, and anyone just looking for a good biography would do well to read this. (Actually, EVERYONE should read this as journalism and the media are a strong presence in all our lives, and this is a fun way to learn more about it.)

The Buzenbergs have captured the essence of a unique man of principle. Using Salant's voluminous archives, this book is a fascinating trip through an era that established high standards in broadcast journalism. The book raises issues and questions which are at the heart of today's journalism. Household names Cronkite, Rather, Brokaw, Jennings, Sevareid are the characters in the tale of how the premiere broadcast news organization came to be - what and who held it together - and the inside view of a corporation struggling with its identity. The players were giants in a land that has more recently turned into a universe of pygmies. You don't have to be a news junkie to enjoy and learn from this book - you just have to ask yourself: "if I see one more Monica Lewinsky story"...I won't take it anymore! Good reading.

Peter Herford

For anyone with an interest in law or history this is a great read. Justice Rutledge was my grandfather's first cousin -- thus the initial reason I bought the book. Unfortunately the dust jacket was crinkled upon arrival so I'll have to send it back for a new copy.

As the folks at Amazon could tell you, I read many novels and very few biographies. I am a corporate lawyer, and have not practiced constitutional law since I clerked for Judge Ferren, the author of this Rutledge bio, more than 20 years ago. I picked up this book because of my connection to the author, but I stuck with it for other reasons. First, the writing is elegant and precise; it is a very readable book. The book tells the story of a good man (and very good lawyer/dean/judge) who is concerned with doing his job right, respected others, was respected by others in return, and achieved great things -- what an encouraging, uncynical story! (Not dissimilar to the author's own story, a fact that creates an extra richness of texture in this book, especially in its descriptions of the life of an appellate judge.) In addition, the constitutional issues that the Court dealt with during WWII and the immediate post-war era remain fascinating -- and very timely. These issues are made understandable to nonexperts without being oversimplified. I learned a lot, and greatly enjoyed the process.

At long last, thanks to Judge Ferren, we have a complete biography of Justice Wiley Rutledge. While Rutledge is not much remembered today, and his tenure on the Supreme Court was relatively brief (1943-49), his significance merits more attention than he has received. Judge Ferren employs a completely different approach than the only other biography of the Justice, Harper's "Justice Rutledge and the Bright Constellation" (1965). Harper focused almost exclusively upon Justice Rutledge's decisions. Judge Ferren does not get Rutledge on the court until page 222 (out of 548). While one might conclude that perhaps too much detail occupies the pre-Court discussion, I can't think of another judicial biography that so effectively affords one a feeling of becoming so intimately familiar with its subject. This initial section is particularly effective in discussing the political maneuvering that accompanied filling several vacancies on the Court, including Rutledge's. The book's central focus, Rutledge on the Court, is very well developed. Judge Ferren not only brings his own insight into the judicial process to his analysis, but discusses some unique aspects as well, such as Rutledge's habit of asking trusted law faculty members their opinions on issues before the court, and Rutledge's exhaustive preparation for writing opinions. The book also adds to our understanding of the personal interplay in that most bombastic of Supreme Courts, that chaired by Chief Justice Stone. Interspersed with the discussion of Court cases is additional biographical material relating to the Justice. Finally, the underlying research is simply awesome--truly a labor of love. While it is a very long book, if you are interested in Justice Rutledge or his period on the Court, it makes for indispensable reading.

While the Burton Watson translation of the Lotus Sutra is "elegant" as one reviewer commented, to be sure, it was also totally commissioned by the Soka Gakkai International to be written. Don't get me wrong, it is a great translation in it's own right as Burton Watson has done some excellent translations in the past, it's just that that one had an agenda from the beginning.

Now this older Leon Hurvitz translation, on the other hand, had no political influence. It just remained pure to the Sanskrit and Chinese translation from the Kumarajiva. This remains the most accurate and readable translation to date - period and exclamation point!

Buy both copies and read them side by side. Do all the research online into the original Sanskrit of the Bodhisattvas and then make your own judgement. Better yet buy as many translations of The Lotus Sutra as you can and refer to all of them from time to time - it will broaden your understanding deeply.

Namaste, Donna

The Lotus Sutra, or Scripture of the Lotus Blossom of the Fine Dharma (J., Myohorengekyo, Hokkekyo), the preeminent scripture in the Mahayana Buddhism of East Asia -- China, Tibet, Mongolia, Korea, Japan, and Vietnam -- is known primarily through the translation into Chinese of the Sanskrit Saddharma-pundarika-sutra by Kumarajiva in CE 406. (This 28-chapter version differs in organization and presentation from the 27-chapter Sanskrit text translated into English by H. Kern in 1884, and still available for sale; the two versions should not be confused.)

Although Kumarajiva's Lotus Sutra has influenced all of Japanese Buddhism in one way or another, it is the basic scripture for the great medieval Tendai (C., T'ien T'ai) sect, as well as the later Nichiren sect and its offshoots, especially Soka Gakkai and Rissho Koseikai, all three of which emphasize recitation of the "Nam' myohorengekyo" formula." The Lotus is NOT included in the scriptural canon of Southern Buddhism (Theravada) in Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand, and other areas of SE Asia.

The Lotus Sutra is basically a statement of philosophical principles and should not be approached as literary entertainment. Its message has serious implications - today probably more so than any time in past history. But the reading takes patience and serious, quiet rumination. Its message is that all sentient beings have the potential for attaining Buddhahood, but conceptual illusion prevents them from realizing that this is their essential nature. Out of compassion, the Buddha(s) employs many devices (Skillful Means/Expedients; hoben) accommodated to their specific needs, to assist them in seeing through this illusion. (The notion is expressed through most of the sutra's Seven Parables.) Although provisional teachings are not only possible but necessary, there is, in fact, only One Vehicle, one ultimate, ineffable spiritual goal; and for this reason the Lotus is sometimes called the Sutra of the One Vehicle. It is important to note, however, that the term does not describe an EXCLUSIVE DOGMATIC FORMULATION that is taken to be correct while others are false. The ultimate religious experience is beyond the reach of rational understanding, which is, at best, "a finger pointing at the moon".

Although the Lotus Sutra might be viewed as the BEST possible expression of the Buddha's teaching, it is NOT THE ONE AND ONLY way to spiritual realization: other scriptures (and other words, rituals, myths, metaphors, etc.) can be embraced as expressing a more or less adequate means for attaining spiritual understanding - the specific words or symbols do no matter. The One Vehicle refers to a single experiential GOAL to be reached through a variety of conceptual formulations and exercises, but ultimately transcending the word-games of rationality. Note, however, that although the Lotus Sutra freely admits many routes to enlightenment (because of the varying needs of individuals), it does NOT claim that "one view is just as good as any another," i.e., relativism.

Although today the most popular translation of the (Chinese) Lotus Sutra may be Burton Watson's elegant rendition (1993) into English, some serious scholars still prefer this older version by Leon Hurvitz (1976); and even, occasionally, the Bunno Kato collection of three sutras (1975). Depending on the size of your wallet, you might consider buying all 3.

Many English versions of the Lotus Sutra are translated from a Chinese translation of the original Sanskrit version. Regardless of how well they were translated into English, the quality of these versions depends heavily on the quality of the Chinese translation. As many such translations were either done by merchants who didn't know that much about religion or by monks who didn't know much about the other language, there are quite a few bad versions of the Lotus Sutra.

This is not one of them. Not only was it translated from the best known of the Chinese versions (that of Kumarajiva), but Hurvitz also consulted the original Sanskrit to see where the versions differed. While the main text comes entirely from the Chinese, there are nearly 70 pages of endnotes on the Sanskrit, in which Hurvitz either comments on differences between that and the Chinese, or gives a translation of Sanskrit passages that don't appear in Kumarajiva's translation.

What this means for the text is that it is one of the most readable versions of the Lotus Sutra and, at the same time, one of the most informative.

Well, Mr. Criscuolo has proven me wrong. Having growing up skiing other places like Idaho, Utah, and California I thought all skiing up in the Washington area was wet and marginal. I had no idea that there were all these different places to ski in the Seattle area (2 hour drive or less).

There are even more if you want to do some traveling but not make the hike all the way to Sun Valley or get on a plane to make it to Utah, Colorado, or California.

Thanks Mr. Criscuolo This is a resource that I needed to make my winters fun in Seattle!

Santo has done extensive research and this book is excellent! Santo writes very clearly and provides and all the pertinent information you'll need to enjoy any of these Northwest resorts to the fullest. Having grown up in the Northwest and skied many of these mountains, I found myself agreeing completely with what Santo wrote. His descriptions brought the resorts back to life in my memory. I especially like that he chose some out-of-the-way places that haven't been covered in other guide books. Santo gives press to some of the best-kept Northwest secrets, for which I suppose I can forgive him, and I applaud his honest enthusiasm for snow riding. This book makes me excited about the upcoming season and want to ride every single mountain he's reviewed! Get this book. Then get out there and make some turns!

Finally, a book about Pacific NW skiing that nails it!

Criscuolo obviously did his research, because the information is dead-on. While the book is meticulously detailed, it is easy to navigate and well-written.

Anyone who's serious about NW skiing & boarding needs to have this book.

I was first introduced to Talk the Talk by a close friend of mine, who is an avid debater. He recommended this book to me, promising that it would be interesting and worth the read. I have always been interested in debate, but my previous schools did not offer debate as an extra-curricular option.

Despite my lack of experience, I found Talk the Talk fascinating and very easy to understand. There was no technical jargon or excessively flowery writing - the book gets straight to the point, and teaches you the basics of debate. Although I may not be joining a debate team in the near future, this book is a useful tool that has helped strengthen my presentation skills.

"Talk the Talk" is the book I always needed and never had. With creative examples and clear explanations, it tells you what to say and how to say it. Merali's examples are well-structured, insightful, and often humourous. This book takes you from start to finish - and doesn't miss a step along the way! -Rowan Dorin, 2003 World Debating and Public Speaking Champion

Talk The Talk: Speech And Debate Made Easy by Alim Merali (a past Canadian Student Debating Federation National Champion and professional debate training expert) methodically explains the tools and strategies necessary for students to excel at debate. Merali illustrates key concepts with examples and includes full debates with commentary and analysis. Coverall all of the key areas that student debaters need to know in order to succeed, Talk The Talk discusses how to craft and deliver speeches effectively, explains what it takes to win rounds, provides special focus on two essential debate skills (developing top-notch arguments and clashing with the other team's points), and surveys techniques for specific style of parliamentary, cross- examination, and forum debating. Talk The Talk is essential, strongly recommended reading for all aspiring practitioners of the art of debating.

Other's have said much about this book so I will keep my review short. I've given this book to many friends of mine and explained that it is the first book I've read on writing that merits a reread. It is without catagory or direct instruction. It speaks on the art of writing, as well as the craft. Most importantly, it speaks of sacrifice. Frankly, I am tired of reading about or reading books from authors who give nothing of themselves in their art. Lispector, Kafka - where have all the dusty and tattered souls gone.

I knew of Cixous, had a general idea of her doing work toward a kind of ecriture feminine (feminine writing), but hadn't actually read her writing until I read this book while tanning in Southern New Jersey this past June. This book was on a recommended reading list for a writing class I was taking, though I think I'm the only one who read it; it's not at all your usual writer's-help book, but that's good. It is dense, genre-breaking academic-poetic writing that I ended up having to get out of the sun to read. This book is comprised of a set of essays originally given as lectures, separated into "The School of the Dead," "The School of Dreams," and "The School of Roots." The writers that resonate with Cixous are "descenders, explorers of the lowest and the deepest," (a concept introduced in "The School of the Dead") and include some I knew -- Kafka, Dostoevsky, Genet, and Ingeborg Bachmann, and others I hadn't -- Clarice Lispector and Marina Tsvetaeva. I see there's a Derrida "endorsement" both here on the Amazon website and on the cover of the book, and so, as you would expect, this book's meditation on the connection between language and desire, between writing and the body, some wordplay and deconstruction of the very shape of letters or the names of writers is what you might expect from a French poststructuralist. What set this book apart for me was its attitude toward the works cited. Cixous doesn't use literature to promote flashy ideas; it's seriously personal work, a "Schooling" on thinking about one's own writing, she's actually interested in defining "truth." The first part of "The Dead," especially the kind of cataloguing of "deaths-as-beginnings" was fascinating. I found the "School of Roots" section absolutely packed with virtuoso readings and ideas. Her closing, "Toward a book without an author" is the perfect payoff culmination of her/our hard work from the pages that preceded it. You'll have to read it yourself to see if you "get it" / agree with it. Now I'm inspired to read more Cixous.

I knew of Cixous, had a general idea of her doing work toward a kind of ecriture feminine (feminine writing), but hadn't actually read her writing until I read this book while tanning in Southern New Jersey this past June. This book was on a recommended reading list for a writing class I was taking, though I think I'm the only one who read it; it's not at all your usual writer's-help book, but that's good. It is dense, genre-breaking academic-poetic writing that I ended up having to get out of the sun to read. This book is comprised of a set of essays originally given as lectures, separated into "The School of the Dead," "The School of Dreams," and "The School of Roots." The writers that resonate with Cixous are "descenders, explorers of the lowest and the deepest," (a concept introduced in "The School of the Dead") and include some I knew -- Kafka, Dostoevsky, Genet, and Ingeborg Bachmann, and others I hadn't -- Clarice Lispector and Marina Tsvetaeva. I see there's a Derrida "endorsement" both here on the Amazon website and on the cover of the book, and so, as you would expect, this book's meditation on the connection between language and desire, between writing and the body, some wordplay and deconstruction of the very shape of letters or the names of writers is what you might expect from a French poststructuralist. What set this book apart for me was its attitude toward the works cited. Cixous doesn't use literature to promote flashy ideas; it's seriously personal work, a "Schooling" on thinking about one's own writing, she's actually interested in defining "truth." The first part of "The Dead," especially the kind of cataloguing of "deaths-as-beginnings" was fascinating. I found the "School of Roots" section absolutely packed with virtuoso readings and ideas. Her closing, "Toward a book without an author" is the perfect payoff culmination of her/our hard work from the pages that preceded it. You'll have to read it yourself to see if you "get it" / agree with it.