Columbia Books

Jack Boudreau grew up in the central BC lumber town of Penny, which is located along the Canadian National Railway line that runs through the Fraser valley in central B.C. He was regaled as a youth with stories of the guides, trappers, settlers, prospectors and others who tried to make this inhospitable wilderness their home during the beginning of the twentieth century. He decided that these stories were too valuable to let disappear with the passing of the original taletellers and began to record their stories. After several decades of collecting data from/about these individuals, Jack has done an excellent job of consolidating the best of their stories in this pleasurably readable collection. I highly recommend this book for anyone who is interested in outdoor adventures. The wondrous thing is that the stories are true and these robust individuals actually went through trials that the contemporary reader might find incredible.

I may be a biased reviewer in that, J. Boudreau is my mother's brother and I also grew up listening to a few of the tales depicted in this book. I can guarantee that once you pick it up, you won't want to put it down until it's finished. In my case, I read it several times. This book is worth every penny and will bring you much pleasure.

As a history student focusing on women's World War II military history, I can honestly say that this is the best book out there for original analysis and attention to detail. Meyer covers everything behind-the-scenes that does not get written about with women's military history. If you're looking for a good analysis on WHY the Women's Army Corps created certain rules and HOW they enforced them, this is the only book that you need.

What a wonderful book!! Ricoeur talks about his life, his journey through philosophy, his thoughts, feelings and much more. He talks about his encounters with some of our centuries great philosophers, such as Heidegger, Jaspers, Marcel and Gadamer. From his childhood to his experience as a prisioner during W.W.II; talks about his teaching years in both Europe and USA (he makes an excelent analysis of the two cultures). A must read for anyone interested in philosophy, ethics, history, phenomenology, psychanalysis, religion, art, education, politics, european and american culture. A great introduction to his work and life. Very pleasant book. I highly recomend it!!

This entire crochet collection by Columbia Minerva is classic sixties Chanel-like suits, coats and sheath
dresses that will leave you breathless with it's high style. If you want to express the 'Jacqueline Kennedy-
Onassis' era with a crochet hook then this is the collection to do it. I feel giddy with the priviledge running
accross this collection by chance. If you see this collection again, grab it!

I am so happy I bought this older title.. It has some patterns that are classic in styling, but also some very "mod" looking items that would be very trendy today.

Check the uploaded images.

The afghans in particular are awesome! The black and white one would look right at home in today's home and garden magazines. The mosaic-style afghan looks like stained glass. What a great project in today's yarns.

"As a student, teacher, and writer of autobiography, I found this book thought-provoking and well-written. This study, which draws on--and re-examines--theories of female development as well as psychoanalytic theory, asks us to investigate the myriad ways in which memory and imagination can recombine to create a life story. This book encourages us to explore how a metaphor such as Bettina Aptheker's "braiding" can help to elucidate possible meanings within a text. It asks us to scrutinize the pact negotiated between author and reader to comprehend better the factors that might affect a reader's access to an author's experinece. Because it is such a highly accessible and readable text, CRUCIAL CONVERSATIONS might be used effectively in a variety of literature, women's studies, and autobiography courses. This book might also become a valuable resource for those of us who conceive of autobiography not only as theory but also as praxis." Excerpted from review published in a/b: Auto/biography Studies, 12.2(Fall 1997).

There is evidence Silvanus was one of the most worshiped gods in the Roman pantheon, but little has survived of his cult due to his temples being sacred groves and much of his idols being made of wood. Though Dr. Dorcey admits he stands on the shoulders of researchers before him and gives them ample credit in his bibliography, Dorcey has done a lot of hard work in hunting down every trace and scrap of information on Silvanus he could find.

Silvanus was a rural god of agriculture, forests, and boundaries whose cult was amazingly widespread and though much of archeology has found his artifacts in Italy, the worship of Silvanus was widespread throughout the Roman Empire with evidence as far away as Britain, northeastern Africa and northern Germany. Eventually, as the farmlands were deserted by the lower and middle classes who ultimately huddled in cities, the cult of Silvanus became an urban religion that turned into an idealistic picture of the time when humanity dwelt in peace with nature, but a nature that with divine assistance was subdued under the hand of man. The closest counterpart we have today of this phenomenon is Christianity's ongoing fascination with Celtic Christianity and a desire to return to a simpler and more nobler time.

And what I find most interesting about Silvanus is that he is a "civilized" god, which is rather rare for a pagan god of nature.

This goes against today's ongoing assumption that pagans of old were at peace between themselves and a personal, pantheistic nature. In reality, the people of Europe during the times of the Pax Romana were just as terrified of a vast, impersonal nature as any other peoples. The cult of Silvanus dealt with a desire not to return to uncontrollable nature, but to return to Arcadia, the idealistic rural life of the farmer-philosopher at peace in his relationship with a nature partially under his civilizing hand.

In another example of Silvanus' civilized demeanor, unlike Faunus and Pan who were gods of untamed nature, violent and sexually capricious, Silvanus was a chaste god of cultivated land, man made boundaries, and tamed forests. Also, unlike Faunus who in his sexual, predatory nature, put women and even animals in danger, Silvanus is normally accompanied by female attendants, the Silvanae and Nymphs in an asexual relationship. Though no family relationship is implied between the two in the cult, the interaction between Silvanus and his female companions is almost like one of father to daughter.

Secondly, I appreciated Dorcey's research that there is no strong evidence that Silvanus was ultimately absorbed into the early Christian Church and made a saint. The name of Silvanus was a popular name and there is no evidence the plethora of Saint Silvanuses are the pagan god undergoing a Christian conversion.

The Cult of Silvanus is very much approachable by scholar and interested amateur alike. Though a knowledge of Latin and Greek is helpful to understand the footnotes, almost without exception these terms are interpreted in the body of the text. It's just a pity the price will keep this information out of the hands of people with a non-professional interest in the subject.

In closing, Dorcey has inadvertently proved the reality of the intellectual wasteland the Internet has become. A Google search for Silvanus will pull up much information, but most of it is incorrect. It is in thanks to research such as Doctor Dorcey's which will bring to light Silvanus' fascinating history and the now obscure reality of what was an important part of humanity's religious formation.

The typical student of comparative religion or mythology/folklore might not be aware of the prevalence and influence of the various fox cults of northern China. In this incredibly thorough and balanced study, Kang examines the nature of fox-worship: its local incarnations; its role in politics; and, perhaps most importantly, its evolution from imperial times through the early modern era.

As a former student of Professor Kang, I can say without doubt that her scholarship is impeccable, and the enthusiasm and grace with which she handles her subject makes "The Cult of the Fox" a true joy to read and a valuable resource for any student of Chinese history, religion or folklore.

This is a book I read in my student days and it is even more relevant today. It basically posits the idea that certain actions must be stopped, regardless of whether they are perpetrated by a native government or an occupying power. Such actions include, for example, such extremes as genocide and severe human rights abuses. How far does the slogan 'respect for culture' go in the face of watching people tortured or starved to death?

An example he has given that has stayed with me to this day was a series of human rights abuses conducted by the colonial governor of an African village. The occupying forces rightly stepped in and put a stop to it. Hatch points out that if the native government had been doing such a thing, there would have been no authority to stop it, although the abuse would remain as abhorrent as ever. The question of what to do, and whether it is possible to intervene disitnerestedly, is what takes up the majority of the book.

The flip side, of course, is respect for countries' sovereignty. While Hatch concludes that some abuses must be stopped, he nevertheless conducts a thoughtful analysis of how easily the license to use military might could be abused. Whether you ultimately agree or disagree with Hatch, he'll get you thinking, and these are issues that must be discussed. I doubt he's updated it in some time - I would appreciate a post-Afghanistan and Iraq chapter where he analyses whether or not this constitutes a practical application of his theory, or a violation thereof - but the book remains a must-read for these times.

An excellent and up to date review of the whole field of rheumatology. This book is very thorough and is well organized so as to enable easy access to the information contained therein.