Europe Books

The emotion that produces Vishniac's work,in the Eastern Europe Jewish comunnities a few years before the II World War is hard to put in words, because it's really a world that vanished not because of progress but because someone, with hatred, erased it from earth.
I feel grateful to Vishniac cause he allows us not to forget.

This book moved me a great deal. The black and white images convey such innocence in the children. The simplicity of the beautifully produced photographs juxtaposed with children's songs and rhymes (in Hebrew, Yiddish, and English) gives the impression of viewing the images in a gallery. The photographs, the narrative, and the publication itself are of very fine quality. And the message is unforgettable.

This is a powerful book. In its pages we find starkly beautiful black and white photographs of children laughing, crying, playing, studying, working, in the course of their daily life... unaware of the horrific nightmare that will overtake them soon and destroy their world.

The children's eyes look at you with all the innocent curiousity and wonder of eternal, universal childhood. You look again and apprehension grips you: in a few short years after being photographed, the future of many of these children will be brutally terminated in an unmarked mass grave or a crematorium. The poignancy of this harsh reality is driven home when you read editor Mara Vishniac Kohn's dramatic description of her father's desperate, futile efforts to use his photographs as a means of arousing the conscience of the world and inspiring action to save these children and their families. We learn that Roman Vishniac sent these photos to the White House, only to recieve a perfunctory note thanking him for "the excellent pictures you sent the President."

I must express my heartfelt compliments and appreciation to the editors, Mara Vishniac Kohn and Miriam Hartman Flacks, for the way in which they have presented these precious images-- accompanying them with the lyrics of appropriate Yiddish children's songs, in the original Yiddish and English transliteration and translation, rather than the standard dry caption text. I am especially grateful to the editors for including the music and annotation for these wonderful songs.

This book belongs in every home and library.

In a haunting collection of black-and-white photographs, Roman Vishniac records the lives of Jewish children in Eastern Europe in the early part of the century, before the start of the Holocaust. The text is a series of children's songs (in Hebrew with English translation), which are touching and show how much children are alike whether they're from one side of the world or another. But the shadow of the Holocaust, while never shown, shades readers' appreciation of the images. This is a book I will not soon forget.

I am an amateur photographer. 90% of good photography is in finding the right subject. These photos are stirring.

As a distant relative of Oliver, I was surprised that I had never heard his story. What amazes me more is the fact that countless people like Ras never recieved recognition. All in all, however, the story is one of the best I've ever read in my life.

When I was a little boy, I grew up hearing about my Uncle Oliver's story and some of the wondrous adventures he had and shared with us. Finally I am able to read a accurate accounting and in-depth look at my family's history and its impact on my life.

When Oz's brother, Danwood, (my father), died, Oz became my father and mentor. Over the years, I would talk to him and feel his story come alive.

Before I took my turn as a warrior protecting my people, as a young Marine, I went to see Oz in California to talk about my turn in combat. His words to me gave me strength during my time in hell. Bakite ishin, "hit me if you dare," was his gift to me that protected me along with my heritage and my father's spirit.

Oz's spirit live on within these pages. His gift of life for his children, wife, and his relatives is one of struggle, within his own roots, happiness, and glory. To many in the Native American community, his life is one of the Ogitchidaa, (warrior): one who defends, protects, serves his family, community and their way of life. Now in this time of mourning over the World Trade Center disaster, his story can provide a special insight into a way of strength and overcoming the hardships of life.

My uncle's gift to me lies within those simple words,Bakite Ishin. They continue to give me the strength and insight to survive in today's world. I sit here now putting a Native American publishing house together with my wife. We suffer and endure for the people of our lives and heritage. Our first book, "Freddie Came Home & Other Coyote Tales," reflects the courage of my uncle's spirit and life. Our struggle with life, whether it be in business, traditions, family or community is supported by my Uncle Oliver's legacy. He truly gives hope to the world and to the people.

Bakite Ishin. Hit me if you dare. Words of the old ones in our proud heritage. Words for people to stand up to, to be proud of, and to stay strong. Che-Miigwech, Uncle, Che-Miigwech

This is a gripping tale of a real American hero surviving behind enemy lines in WWII. It is a definite must-read. Kudos to the author for bringing this story to print!

I met Oliver Rasmussen in the 1950s when I was a U.S. Navy apprentice and he was a chief. He was short, dark, rugged, didn't talk much and there was a kind of legend about him. He had walked down out of the Japanese hills at the end of the war and had quite a story to tell. But he didn't.

He also did strange things-going without food, making marathon runs (long before they became popular), and peeling paper matches to get two lights out of one. He didn't waste words or anything else.

Rasmussen had given a press conference after his ordeal in 1945. The media kissed it off as a joke with headlines like, "Aviator Wandered Around Japan." So he stopped talking.

I left the Navy in 1955 after a four-year hitch but I never forgot the mystery of Rasmussen's sojourn in Japan. In 1997 I was retired and decided to find him and ask him about it. I found his widow, Esther, living in California. She told me that in the late 1960s a friend asked her husband if she could tape his story. He agreed with the idea that she would write a book so he could "leave something for his children." But the book never materialized. Chief Rasmussen died in 1980 and his friend died not long after, without starting the project. The tapes were delivered to Esther Rasmussen who kept them in her garage for seventeen years, but didn't listen to them. Esther loaned me the tapes. The book they produced makes an exciting read, with plenty of tips on how to survive in the wild.

As Chuck Yeager put it: Rasmussen went down in Japan and I went down in Nazi-occupied France-a couple of bad places for Americans to visit during World War II. But both of us knew how to trap and hunt and live off Mother Nature. That helped. We were country boys-combat fliers, but still country boys. When our planes went down and we found ourselves in the wild, we knew what to do.

This book is about my uncle Oliver (Oz). I wish some reader has an "in" with Steven Spielberg. My uncle survived in Japan for 60+ days, undetected. His skills, stamina and heroism deserve legendary status. In our family he has that and more. I hope others find this book of interest. Heroes come few and far between, this book is a real heroic tale.

During the middle ages the Christian church increased in political power and cultural authority. "The Christian East & The Rise of the Papacy: The Church AD 1071-1453" is the fourth volume of the acclaimed 'The Church in History' series, and covers such topics as the reformation of the papacy, the crusades, scholasticism and its impacts on the Eastern Orthodox church. Also exploring theological and spiritual trends that helped the Byzantine Commonwealth maintain its identity even as the empire itself crumbled. An informed and informative work, "The Christian East & The Rise of the Papacy: The Church AD 1071-1453" is very highly recommended to any Religious Studies shelf, as well as the non-specialist general interest reader who wishes to learn more about the history of the Christian Church.

SVS Press has publishes another invaluable volume for the church historian in "The Christian East and the Rise of the Papacy" by Aresteides Papadakis, since it focuses on the much-neglected area of Byzantium. Papadakis' essential thesis is that the final split between the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches did not come about in 1054, with the mutual anathemas, but in 1204, when crusaders sacked Constantinople. The factors that led to this were a stronger papal control over the church, and an imperialism during the crusades, wherein Eastern Christians were the victims more than Muslims were.

In the 11th century, the clergy were appointed by feudal lords in Western Europe, which resulted in all kinds of simony and corruption. "It was undoubtedly lay control of ecclesiastical structure that made possible the purchase or sale of virtually every clerical grade the general rule by the tenth century. Simony became in fact unavoidable once clerical offices began to be treated like secular appointments." (p. 23) Most priests were married, and the church property simply went to their children. Further, the papacy itself was a puppet of the German emperor. A reform movement emerged in response to these abuses, led by Peter Damian and Leo IX. First, they wanted to enforce mandatory celibacy to prevent church property to pass into the hands of the priests' children. Second, they wanted to make the papacy independent of secular political control by electing the popes through conclaves made of cardinals. The College of Cardinals, which survives to this day, was Peter Damian's idea. "Significantly, the belief frequently expressed by medieval authors that the college of cardinals was the pope's supreme advisory body and, as such, was an imitation of the ancient Roman senate, was first articulated by one of the most uncompromising of the early Gregorians, Peter Damian." (p. 35-36) Finally, they wanted to end lay investiture.

In the context of the newly-powerful papacy and a suspicion towards Islam, the crusades were launched. The ostensible purpose of the first crusade was to re-capture Jerusalem from the Muslims and help the Christians of the east. Unfortunately, this is not exactly what happened. The papacy wanted to bring the Eastern Christians under its control, evoking the Donation of Constantine and historically specious arguments. Many in the western church saw the easterners as traitors. After the first crusade, parallel Latin jurisdictions were set up in areas where there were no Latin Christians before. This continued through the crusades in the Middle East (to say nothing of the Northern Crusades). Papadakis does not neglect to note that the idea of violence in the Western church had deep roots. "The theoretical justification for just war or even holy war outlined above- expressed for the first time by Augustine- was to have a lasting influence on the ethic of warfare in Western Christendom...Later papal reformers, insofar as they viewed their opposition to feudal power as a struggle against heretics and schismatics, or even excommunicates, were to find in these ideas a number of useful weapons...The belief that the Church had the power to authorize violence against heretics was in fact expanded to include pagans, as pope Gregory I's encouragement of such activity for the purpose of evangelization in the sixth century illustrates. This principle of forcible conversion may have inspired Charlemagne's later campaigns against the pagan Saxons." (p. 80) Many on both sides, however, still thought that some form of reconciliation was possible.

With the sack of Constantinople in 1204, any hope for re-union was effectively destroyed along with the city. The purpose of Fourth Crusade was to conquer Muslim Jerusalem via an invasion of Egypt. Instead, the crusaders diverted to Constantinople and took the city. The sacking was brutal, even by medieval standards. It did not happen in a vacuum or in a fit of mob rage, however. The constant rhetoric that people were hearing in the west was that the Byzantines were heretics, schismatics, and traitors. "Such observations came to be viewed as Gospel truth by the end of the century. They had become so popular by then that the diversionary assault on Constantinople, when it finally did come, was accepted with little hesitation. The fatal attack was rationalized by everyone involved by the belief that the Byzantines were already heretics. For the fourth crusade apparently the schism had been in existence for some time." (p. 103) Although there were attempts at reconciliation after 1204, in the Councils of Lyons and Florence, they ultimately failed. In addition, though Constantinople was eventually returned to the Byzantine Empire, the sacking of the city so weakened the Empire that they were unable to withstand the Turkish assaults in the 15th century. "Conceivably, the systematic Ottoman occupation of Asia Minor and the Balkans would not have been so effortless had the empire been able to maintain its territorial unity and strength after the fourth crusade." (p. 410) Although the Christians in the Ottoman Empire were allowed to exist and practice their religion, theological/cultural development would come to a halt, and they would be cut off from communication with their Western brethren until the fall of the Ottoman Empire. Highly recommended for students of church history.

The period covered in this book is 1071-1453, the final "decline and fall of the Roman Empire". In 1071, both of the Byzantine Empire's deadliest enemies launched their initial attacks - the Turks at Manzikert and the Italian Normans in Greece. The Norman onslaught was intimately connected with the relationship between eastern and western Christianity and caused such a decline that the Empire could not resist the Turks.
In the West, the Saxon kings of Germany had demanded that the Pope restore Charlemagne's title as "Roman Emperor" and grant it to them. Consequently, these "Holy Roman Emperors" (the title actually originates later) interfered in the papacy in order to maintain their claim to be Roman Emperors, forcing their choice of German prelates on the church. Eventually the German Popes asserted themselves and claimed universal authority over all of Christianity and all Christians. They also established the rule that the Cardinal-Bishops, previously a less powerful set of advisers, would be the sole electors of successive popes.
In the middle of the eleventh century, a papal legation attempted to force the Patriarch of Constantinople to be subject to the Pope. The Eastern Church's position is that the Pope was one of five patriarchs, equal in power and independent, differing only in that the Pope was owed a higher degree of respect since his city was the founding city of the Roman Empire. Further, the government of the Church was instituted by the human race for human needs by the Church Councils and the Pope was not an infallible king. The legate (Cardinal Humbert) excommunicated the Patriarch and several other high officials.
This schism was not recognized as being irreparable at the time, but every attempt at reconciliation ran into Papal demands for submission.
Indeed, a friend of mine who is in the Roman Catholic clergy stated that the Catholic Church would welcome the Orthodox back into union and would only impose the "magisterium" of the Pope "lightly" - the very sticking point of the past millennium.
The Normans used these differences to arouse hatred toward the Empire during the course of the Crusades, eventually resulting in the diversion of the Fourth Crusade into the conquest of Constantinople, a catastrophe from with the Empire never fully recovered. The Fourth Crusade and the treatment of the Eastern Church by its western overlords solidified the schism.
The Crusades were devastating for not only the Orthodox, but also for the Copts (Egypt) and Nestorians (Syria, Persia and farther east) who had been quite numerous and had thrived under Muslim rule. The Crusades established the idea that Christians were the enemy of Islam and so these communities were subjected to severe persecution and were vastly reduced in size and influence.
The one permanent success of the Papacy in the East was the union with the Marionites of Lebanon, who are henceforth loyal Catholics.
The supposedly all powerful Papacy suffered itself from schism, first moving to Avignon, then splitting into two (Avignon and Rome) when the return to Rome was attempted and, finally three (Pisa, whose second and last Pope was John XXIII, whose Papacy was so controversial that the Catholic Church avoided this once popular Papal name for 500 years until a Pope decided to ignore him as an anti-pope and take the name and number for himself) before the split was finally healed. This split and the conciliar movement (Ecumenical Councils as a church "Parliament" to balance the Papal monarch), which was spawned then, were part of the background of the Reformation. Ironically, the theory of Papal absolutism resulted in, first, a separation from the non Latin Church and, second, in a substantial civil war and separation in the Latin Church itself.
The Eastern Church turned more metaphysical during this period. St. Gregory Palamas championed the idea that experience of the divine was possible for human beings. For an excellent discussion see The Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church.
The West went in the opposite direction - Scholasticism, the idea that Theology could be derived from Axioms in the manner of geometry, prevailed.
In addition to the comprehensive coverage of the Greek and Latin Churches, there is fairly good coverage of the Slavic and Armenian Orthodox Churches.
The people at St. Vladimir's Press informed me that this book and Imperial Unity and Christian Divisions: The Church, 450-680 Ad (Church History ; 2) will be reprinted in the winter of 2007-8 and volume 1, part 1 of this series Formation And Struggles and volume 3 Greek East And Latin West: The Church AD 681-1071 (The Church in History) have appeared in the fall of 2007 with the rest of the series to follow.

Aristeides Papadakis' "The Christian East and the Rise of the Papacy" is a fantastic work that deals with the subject of the Roman papacy trying to assert itself and its authority over the whole of Christendom.

The book is exhaustive in detail and meticulously notated. It took me quite some time to read because of the complexities of the subject. However, it is one of the best church history books I've ever read and an absolutely essential read. It tells the story of church history from the Eastern perspective and shows why the Eastern Orthodox Church resisted (and continues to resist) the papal claims of universal authority.

The Eastern Orthodox Church has always been conciliar in nature and refutes the "infallibility" claims of the papacy. He draws on Nicholas Cabasilas' view about the idea of papal infallibity as being a flawed concept. He asserts that the College of Cardinals can't give to the pope that which they don't possess (infallibility) and draws on the eastern view that a group of bishops ordains a bishop and can only invest that person with authority that they themselves possess.

It is an idea that is discussed at length. The book also shows a lot of the internal workings within the Byzantine empire and the Slavic kingdoms and how they dealt individually as well as collectively with the papacy. A truly amazing book that should be read by anyone wanting to see the view of the papacy from an Eastern perspective.

A clear and well-written history of the major interaction of East and West at the height of the largest and most divisive split in the Church.

Excellently written. Provides a wealth of information on the events surrounding schism of the Papacy and the East.

The USS Macedonean (originally HMS) is largely forgotten today, but her legacy is intertwined with the early days and wellfare of the young American republic. She was the first English warship to be captured by the American Navy, and was instrumental to putting an end to the Barbary pirates, and even had a hand in the reopening of Japan to the world.

It is only fitting therefore that a book would be written about her. De Kay's book, "Chronicles of the Frigate Macedonian" is an extremely entertaining read, one that well worth the time. There aren't many single ship biographies out there about the American sailing navy, which makes this book a solid gem.

Chronicling the Macedonean from her construction in a shipwayd in england, to her (What was left of her) final destruction at the hands of a fire in 1922, De Kay weaves a entertaining account of the ship, her glories and her more tarnished incidents. The true cast of character is diverse, ranging from the honorable John carden, who lost the Macedonian to the USS United States and never commanded a ship again, to Commodore James Biddle, who's own tenure as captain was filled with sickness and death on the ship, to "Commodore George DeKay" who successfully used the Macedonian to bring much needed relief to an Ireland suffering from famine.

The Macedonian's history was filled with political intruige, madmen, jealousy, courage, an death. De Kay chronicles it all in vivid color. If you enjoy C.S Forester, Patrick O'Brian, or Naval History, I'd strongly suggest this book.

You don't often find a biography of a ship. Especially a ship which has a history as rich and varied as this one. The lives, careers,countries this ship saw. Wonderful history. It ties time together and does what few teachers can, makes history live. With a broadside!

The USS Macedonean (originally HMS) is largely forgotten today, but her legacy is intertwined with the early days and wellfare of the young American republic. She was the first English warship to be captured by the American Navy, and was instrumental to putting an end to the Barbary pirates, and even had a hand in the reopening of Japan to the world.

It is only fitting therefore that a book would be written about her. De Kay's book, "Chronicles of the Frigate Macedonian" is an extremely entertaining read, one that well worth the time. There aren't many single ship biographies out there about the American sailing navy, which makes this book a solid gem.

Chronicling the Macedonean from her construction in a shipwayd in england, to her (What was left of her) final destruction at the hands of a fire in 1922, De Kay weaves a entertaining account of the ship, her glories and her more tarnished incidents. The true cast of character is diverse, ranging from the honorable John carden, who lost the Macedonian to the USS United States and never commanded a ship again, to Commodore James Biddle, who's own tenure as captain was filled with sickness and death on the ship, to "Commodore George DeKay" who successfully used the Macedonian to bring much needed relief to an Ireland suffering from famine.

The Macedonian's history was filled with political intruige, madmen, jealousy, courage, and death. De Kay chronicles it all in vivid color. If you enjoy C.S Forester, Patrick O'Brian, or Naval History, I'd strongly suggest this book.

Fascinating account of how the capture of one ship from the British during the War of 1812 boosted national morale and elevated the United States in the international arena. De Kay skillfully illustrates how the US's leaders shrewdly manipulated the Macedonian's psychological power by sending her on highly visible missions. As a result, the Macedonian was there for over 100 years' worth of some of the US's most fascinating history, and captained by some of the most colorful officers in the United States Navy. De Kay masterfully ties the Macedonian's history with our history. Excellent!

During the War of 1812 many early land battles ended terribly for the United States. Our soldiers were volunteers who lacked the training to sustain the fierce attacks of the seasoned British troops who had just defeated Napoleon.

America needed a boost of confidence to thwart those in the land who would capitulate to the British rather than fight what they saw as a loosing battle.

In a short span of several weeks, two sea battles took place against the British. These intense conflicts with cannons blazing and men fighting as they never fought before, resulted in victories for the U.S. Navy.

This turn of events brought the British government great shame in their own country and gave the Americans much to celebrate.

In the first battle, the British ship sank, but in the second the Macedonian was captured by Stephen Decatur and his brave and dedicated crew.

When this ship was brought to America's shores the people were greatly motivated to try and fight everywhere to save their country. the War of 1812 is often called the second American Revolution and could have marked the end of this new form of government.

The defeat and capture of the Macedonian was so grand and uplifting to the U.S. Navy and the American people that it remained in service and was kept as a reminder of our strength for about 100 years.

The story that unfolds about this ship brings so much rich history about the United States and its people that it is well worth getting excited over.

All the reviews here so far were written on the tourist side, not the scholar's. The great merit of this book, in my view, is that it fits both audiences in a very nice manner. Scholars would of course expect a more exhaustive treatment, but it's striking that there are almost no other academic books devoted to the subject of the Colosseum. Many studies on this building and other amphitheatres concentrate on technical, architectural issues, but this book offers concise and clear analyses on social aspects of gladiators, the interpretations of the Colosseum through the ages (a fascinating part!) and other varied issues. Profs. Hopkins and Beard are two leading authorities in Roman History, but their text is lively, fluent, good-humored and very pleasant - I wish all scholars could write like this! Therefore: for specialists, it's not a thorough book, but very welcoming all the same.

As for the occasional interested tourist, as others here have also said, this book is as useful, appealing and enjoyable as it can be. Having been to the Colosseum myself, though, I don't agree with the advice of getting there one hour before it closes (last entrance allowed is at 3PM). Packed crowds of tired tourists with noisy kids are better to be avoided if you want to take your time inside, so get there as early as you can. Also, like the authors, I strongly recommend a visit to the nearby Palatine - but get a good guide, so that you can understand the ruins you're seeing (use Oxford Archeological Guide, Coarelli's book, or even Blue Guide Rome).

This is a scholarly analytic type book that investigates not only the colliseum building itself,but the spectacles that took place inside.The book also describes why the Colliseum was built as well as how it was bulilt.The Colliseum according to my read of the book was an important propoganda and public education tool of the Roman rulers.It showed the populace that not only had Rome conquered,but that all the beasts and "savage peoples" of the world were Roman possesions for amusement.The building may have also served as a warning,"you too could end up here" and was an outlet for high risk takers to make a name and a fortune. Also alot of these gladiatorial spectacles were actually public executions of criminals,the sword of a gladiator maybe no worse than the electric chair or gas chamber!Unfortunately no work on the Colliseum has covered the gambling on an immense scale that must have gone on at these events.For one I have always thought that the Gladiatorial helmet that is always used in movies and art appears awkward. It seems as if the fancy ornate designs and rims would block not just the peripheral view but about every other one as well.The author points out that these helmets that were found in the buried ruins of Pompeii may have actually been "parade helmets",used for the pre-fight spectacle to identify and give status to the Gladiator.In the arena he may have found such a helmet in fact a great disadvantage. That's the kind of research contained in this book.In regard to the wild animal fights the author spends alot of time breaking down and analyzing the industry that was involved in transporting "wild beasts" of all descriptions from various parts of the world. It must have been a great part of Rome's GNP.The author also questions alot of the traditional source material for acounts in regard to the Colliseum and its spectacles.It seems in times past that writers may have been as prone to exaggerations as they are today.You'll leave this book with a good knowledge of "the Games" and realize that alot of them were anything but "fair contests" between men and beasts.Rather alot of stage theatrics and "smoke and mirrors".Could it be that the the Roman popes banned these spectacles not only for the brutality,but because they were just plain boring.In fact these games were continued on well into the Roman Christian era,so there may not have been an initial Christian "moral outrage" when Rome was Christianized under Constantine.Anyway,I got my tickets to my first(and last) game from a scalper who had "copped them" free from a "charity organization"On the final page I seriously believed that the Retiarius Gaius was using steroids,and someone had spilled their greasy nacho cheese on my"Gladius" t-shirt.I also had to move 2 seats over because I believed the man next to me was coming down with a case of "bubonic plaque"That's how real this book is.

This is a rather specialized account of the Colosseum, and any student intending to visit the structure should read it. It debunks some myths about the place, but shows that it is a fascinating world wonder which deserves the attention of all visiting Rome. The research seems impeccable.

Small though it may be, this wonderful book contains a wealth of information on the Colosseum. The authors - scholars in this field - very ably guide the reader along this amazing structure's long journey through the ages up to the present, debunking myths along the way. Although details on the formidable challenges faced by those who built the Colosseum are relatively few, its history and archaeology, as well as snapshots of the lives and times of those who used it and performed in it, more than compensate. Occasionally, the authors challenge the "generally accepted" interpretations of some of the often-sparse archaeological and historical evidence and offer alternative views. Near the end of the book, useful advice for the potential visitor is provided, followed by an extensive bibliography. The writing style is clear, friendly, authoritative and quite lively. This book can be enjoyed by anyone, but especially by those fascinated by ancient history and archaeology.

The Colloseum in Rome is arguably one of the five most famous buildings in the world but there are very few books about it. At least I have found that to be the case, as I have always had a fascination for the place. May this is the macabre side of me coming out. But it is not just the gladiatorial contests and many other blood letting contests that went on including wild animals fighting both humans and one another or the naval battles that were fought there. Yes naval battles, with real ships and the arena flooded with water. I readily admit that I find these interesting and have done for many years.

However the main attraction of the Flavian Amphitheatre, to give it its correct name is its architectural beauty. It is a building that we would be hard pressed to replicate today, even with all the modern building techniques that we now possess. A building that could fill with people and empty at the end of the games quicker than most modern football stadiums. A building that has stood the test of time. It is only vibration and pollution from modern day traffic that is now affecting the building more than the last two thousand years ever have.

A building that had more happening underground than ever happened above ground. Gladiator quarters, infirmaries. Lifts and hoists moved by an intricate network of pulleys and cables, that allowed wild animals to be brought up to the arena level.

This book tells you everything you need to know and more. It is well written And has some illustrations, but these are secondary to the excellent text.

When this book appeared, it collectively took the breath away from World War Two armor enthusiasts and historians alike. Karlheinz Munch has cleared away decades of half-truths and assumptions by going directly to the source. He has interviewed unit veterans and consulted original military documents and private diaries to produce the most complete history of the 653rd Heavy Tank Destroyer Battalion, a unit that operated some of the most remarkable vehicles of the war, the Ferdinand, a self-propelled antitank gun built on the redundant chassis of the Porsche Tiger (and later renamed the Elefant), and the Jagdtiger, a self-propelled 128 mm antitank gun built on the chassis of the King Tiger. The other surprise was that the soldiers were avid shutterbugs, and the veterans and their familes have opened their private photo collections to the author. These are vehicles previously known through a mere handful of German propaganda photos and US Army Signal Corps pictures. Suddenly, we have not dozens but hundreds of fresh photos, showing details of operations, unit markings, and more. Rarities include a Porsche Tiger P prototype converted to a command tank, a recovery Panther with a Panzer IV turret bolted to the roof, a Russian T-34 converted to a German antiarcraft tank, and more.
What you will not find is breathless, blow by blow recreations of thrilling battle scenes (for that, read books by Franz Kurowsky). Munch offers straightforward reprints of unit after-action accounts augmented by some private materials provided by unit veterans. Publisher Stackpole books has taken the enormous hardcover edition originally published in Canada by J. J. Fedorowicz, and reissued it in a slightly edited softcover edition at 20% of the original price. A superb investment for the historian or model builder.

The great book on this unit, when you want to get know its history.
It's a pity, there is no table where you can easily find a particular vehicle's tactical number, its commander's name or the details on its end, especially when you look for any details on rearming this unit with Jadtigers.
The big disadvantage are the photos, not good quality in fact.

Superb pictures, exhaustive detail on all facets of this Unit. Great coverage of the Ferdinand. Combat diaries, maintenance records, tons of detail that you either love or hate. A treasure trove for the armor nut, highly recommended for the modeler as well.

This book does give you an idea of what working with these very heavy tank destroyers was like. In practice that meant dealing with the frustrations of equipment which was frequently broken down, and you will see how critical the infrastructure which supported the actual AFV is. There is very little about actual combat, but some. You do get a good feeling for the tradeoff of extremely heavy unit weight and combat effectivness. If you know what you are buying this can show you a lot, but it is not a combat narrative.

This book contains little combat information so it is not for the combat fan. However it does provide you with a written record of how this unit functioned, the trials and problems incountered with heavy tank killers.
The book is crammed with photographs, most of which I have never seen before. It is a wonderful source of information for the historian, heavy fan, or model nut. A must have for any reference library and the scale drawings and colour picture will please the model builder. An unbeatable value for the price!!

Let me state, before beginning to comment, that I did not read the English version, but the French one. The comment therefore pertains only to the contents.

There is a great deal of information in this book: technical, historical and cultural.

If there is something to pick upon, it will be that the book focus too much in France - but then, this is only normal and it may be argued that France having been one of the most important cultural centers of Europe this is no bad thing.

The book is very well written: in some places it may be difficult to understand unless one already knows something about printing and casting, but it is always very clear. The logical integration of the book - I mean, the connection of ideas - and the balance between facts and interpretations is extremely good. In fact, it is possible to read it for very long hours indeed, which is rare for books on books.

As far as I know, in terms of quality, it is the very best book on this subject.

Some people will deplore the lack of pictures. But I think the flow would be compromised and, in any case, there are other books which illustrate printing history.

Excellent

The written word isn't going away. Prose may read from the commercial to poetic, we may read more package copy than works of literature, and more off a screen or monitor than printed on the page; but read we do and will continue to do. One could say that reading is as natural (and necessary) a function as breathing, eating or drinking; but, in fact, the book has an techno/economic/political origin. And, why not learn something of that origin? Just how did the book happen? Why? And, once the proverbial genii left the bottle, how did the book change everything? Things just don't happen. Dots are not just connected. Or are they?

Febvre and Martin explain it all and with all its historical, political and economic implications. David Gerard translation is lucid and fluid and the book is a lovely read.

The Coming of the Book is essential reading for anyone interested in book history, the development of modern literary languages, or the growth of capitalism in early modern Europe. It's an excellent example of the social history that the Annales school of sociologists and historians worked to produce: coherent narrative drawn not from specific important events but from the interpretation of massive amounts of data on the 'everyday' professional lives of early type founders, journeyman printers, shippers and booksellers. Most importantly, Febvre and Martin analyze the affect that the unique pressures of print as a capitalist enterprise (the capital investment in type, the costs of paper and of labor, problems in transport and marketing) had on the development of standardized print-languages, the development of 'mass' culture, and the spread and evolving functions of literacy.

Lucien Febvre and Jean-Henri Martin have integrated careful archival research with a lively recounting of history which transcends individual rulers in this account of early printing. The book is particularly interesting since we also live in a time when the economics and sociology of information dissemination is changing quickly.

The reaction of the early copyright system in place at medieval universities to new realities, of the technical innovation necessary to make good type founts, and of early print censorship were particularly interesting. I also enjoyed the discussion of the documentary evidence about Gutenburg and his unhappy relations with his financial backers.

Febvre and Martin's, The Coming of the Book, is a scholarly work without the dry academic tone of a textbook. Having said that, this isn't a casual read, as the authors will provide some of the details of edition sizes, costs, and distribution. The authors themselves give the reason for the present work, "...we hope to establish how and why the printed book was something more than a triumph of technical ingenuity, but was also one of the most potent agents at the disposal of western civilization in bringing together the scattered ideas of representative thinkers." In support of this thesis, Febvre and Martin spend a considerable portion of the book on technical issues such as the invention of the moveable-type press, how books were constructed, economic and social forces affecting the distribution and printing of books, and the geography of the spread of books. About the last third focuses on, "The Book as a Force for Change."

The first three chapters are devoted to the introduction of paper into Europe, the technical difficulties associated with the invention of the moveable-type press in Europe, and the basic construction of the book. It is important to note that both paper and moveable-type presses were not unique to Europe - they were invented in China centuries before. However, aside from paper there is no direct evidence that the moveable-type press was imported; it seems more likely that it was an independent invention. The major problem facing inventor(s) of the moveable-type press was finding suitable materials and processes for the creation of metal type founts. Febvre and Martin devote relatively few pages to such enabling forces as the development alphabetic languages (Douglas McMurtrie in, The Book: The Story of Printing and Bookmaking, provides a more complete summary). But they do spend some time discussing processes in related industries that provided adaptable techniques - the use of clay moulds to make relief inscriptions and the use of brass die-stamps by moneyers to strike coins to name two.

The next four chapters are devoted to the book as a commodity, the economic and social conditions affecting its production and sale, a short section on apprenticeships, and geography. Here the authors discuss the growth of book production into an international trade and its subsequent fracturing into more localized businesses, due in part to a series of wars and the increasing popularity of printed material in the vernacular. Febvre and Martin introduce the reader to the great printer/publishers of each age, Anton Koberger, Jean Petit, the Estiennes, etc.

It is the last, and longest, chapter that is devoted to how the book enabled some of the changes that occurred in Early Modern Europe. If there is one event that most readers will be familiar, it is the Reformation. Febvre and Martin discuss the distribution of Protestant literature and the ineffectiveness of the various laws and censoring edicts enacted in France, and other countries, with the intent to stem the spread of such material. But this chapter isn't limited to the Reformation. It also covers the effect of printing on Humanism and the knowledge of Latin and the classics and the effect on the development of modern European languages.

Throughout, Febvre and Martin provide details on the sizes of editions, and sometimes their geographic distribution, of the most popular works in each period; be warned though, the authors do not translate the French, Latin, Greek, and German titles. You can see how the increased availability of books led to social and cultural changes, which in turn led to changes in what works were produced, which lead...well you get the picture. As with many of the scholarly works I've read of late this one is also nearly devoid of illustration. It isn't a fatal flaw, but it would have been nice to include more maps and perhaps some images of incunabula. Though I haven't picked it up yet, The Smithsonian Book of Books looks like it makes up for this lack with over 300 color plates. You can also, as I did, find plenty of images and the occasional map on the web. One thing I do want to point out is that the Verso paperback edition is rather fragile. After a single reading the book is falling apart. If you are more careful than I was, you can probably keep it together.

If you are interested in learning some of the details of the invention of the moveable-type press in Europe, the economics of early printing concerns, and some of the social and cultural changes books enabled I'd recommend reading, The Coming of the Book.

I've spent the past year spending literally thousands of dollars on various books about ancient Greece. I wish to write about it, and I've read about 60 books so far on the subject. I found this book in a secondary book store, and as I've read so many specialty books, almost passed it up. Feeling the need to step back and get a more general perspective on how everything I'd been reading about fit in to the scheme of things, I bought it. Boy, am I glad I did. I've read many types of collections in my time from short stories to articles, and one never really thinks of the editor who put it all together. With this book, however, I was struck early on by the fluid and expert way the various articles and excerpts by varying archeologists went together as if it were all written by the same author. The choice of the little examples of ancient life, or the passing mention of a political outlook did a great job of illuminating whatever the excerpt was about, and since the excerpts had to be edited to fit the chapters, much credit must go to Mr. Nardo for his choices of passages as well as his choices of books to borrow from and his progression and layout of chapters. If you are starting study of Ancient Greece, there is no better place to start than this book. If you only want one book to get a general understanding of the greeks, this has to be the one. I've never seen this sort of thing done this well before. One thing that astonishes me is the price of it here on amazon, though, as I only paid 12 dollars for it at book store which had 3 of them in the Northgate mall in Chattanooga. Go figure.

As general reference books for students go, this is absolutely first rate. The author, who has written numerous smaller books on the subject, goes all out here, providing almost a whole library unto itself about the ancient Greeks, their history, institutions, ideas, etc. This should be on every educated person's shelf, not to mention every library shelf.

Historian Don Nardo edited this large compendium of articles by himself and other noted classicists about ancient Greek civilization. Extremely well-organized, thorough, and informational, the volume covers all aspects of Greek history and culture, each aspect covered in a separate chapter that begins with a helpful introduction by the editor. The articles themselves also have introductions providing brief backgrounds of the various contributors. A chronology, glossary, bibliography, and indexes, all quite large and useful (especially the bibliography, which is one of the best I've ever seen for ancient Greece), round out this first-rate volume, which I highly recommend to students and teachers alike.

Wow! For high school or college students doing research on ancient Greece, or for anyone interested in the ancient Greeks in general, this is an extremely comprehensive, well-organized, and useful book! It starts off with a general overview of ancient Greek civilization written by the editor, Don Nardo, who is a noted authority on the subject. Then there are dozens of articles witten by other well-known historians, each covering some aspect of Greek history or life. There's information on democracy and and how it came about, about Greek literature, about Greek theater, which started in Athens, about commerce and trade, and weapons and war, and lots more. In the back of the book are short biographies of important people and gods and Greek places, and a huge!! glossary, and best of all a really huge bibliography, that gives the reader plenty of ideas about where to go for more information (though it seems to me that only scholars would need to look furhter than this book). The price is kind of high, but students should be able to find the book in a nearby library. It will be well worth the effort!

I teach high school history, including a course on ancient history. I spend quite a bit of time on the Greeks and Romans, of course, and I have used a number of Mr. Nardo's small but superbly written and well-documented books in the past as supplementary materials to the regular text. His LIFE IN ANCIENT ATHENS, AGE OF AUGUSTUS, LIFE OF A ROMAN SLAVE, LEADERS OF ANCIENT GREECE, and several others have proved invaluable as sources of information for both my students and myself. Mr. Nardo's more recent COMPLETE HISTORY OF ANCIENT GREECE, which I'm reviewing here, is easily the best single-volume overview of the ancient Greeks I ever seen for this age group. Though much larger and more comprehensive than his other books for young readers, this one is extremely well-organized, both chronologically and thematically. The essays he has chosen and edited are all clearly-written, highly informative, and each perfectly captures or illustrates an important aspect of Greek history or culture. Nardo's own quite fulsome chapter introductions are also very informative, well-written, and up-to-date. The appendices of this book also deserve special mention. The glossary is huge and accurate, the best available in any non-scholarly book about ancient Greece that I am aware of. The bibliography is also massive, again, the biggest and best I've seen outside of scholarly works. ... it is also proving a tremendous aid to me personally by giving me one, compact source from which to draw facts, topics, and ideas. Would that more professional historians took the time to write as much first-rate material for high school students as Mr. Nardo does.

Although written before the fall of the Soviet empire, this books charts the course of relations between the Russian nation and Islam during the past 300 years or so.
At times this book is difficult for the average interested reader because it is so full of facts and unfamiliar names.
But those who persist will be amplyu rewarded, if only by the beauty of the wrtier's prose and his strong narrative sense which is closer to a literary novelist than a journalist.
R.B

As this review is being written, the attack by Chechen guerrillas against a theatre in Moscow is still going on.
The outside world is trying to understand why so many desperate men and women decided to risk their own lives by seizing hundreds of innocent people hostage in a Moscow theatre?
The answer comes in this book to which I return whenever there is something dramatic between the Russians and the Muslim peoples who live amongst them or are teir neighbours.
I wish Vladimir Putin had read this book before vowing to crush the Chechens who have been at war against Russia, and for their own independence, since trhe 18th century.
Believe me it is not enough to say "terrorism and repression" to understand.
A READER IN PARIS FRANCE

The liberation of Afghanistan from the Taleban last year has attracted international attention to a vast area the size of the United States and known as Central Asia.
It was there that the colonial empires of the 19th century played what is known as The Great Game.
The term Central Asia is misleading because the lands concerned resemble a secluded area rather than one that is at the centre of things.
The region may achieve centrality because of its oil and natural gas resources, and the rivarly it is generating among America, the European Union, Russia, China, India, Iran, and Pakistan.
This book by an Iranian author and journalist tells the story of Islam in the entire Soviet Union of which Central Asia was part until 1991.
Much research has gone into this volumnious study, one might even say too much research, and the torrent of details may prove tiresome to some readers.
But the prose is fast paced and journalistic in the best sense of the term, thus compensating for the heaviness of the facts, names, dates and figures.
The book appeared more than a year before the collapse of the USSR but clearly predicts that event.
One would have preferred more detailed maps with this volume.
The author should do a sequel to bring us up to date about developments in the region in the past decade or so.
A READER

Very little is known about the huge landmass that forms Central Asia and the Caucasian highlands with the Caspian Sea, the world's biggest inland body of water, in the middle.
This book tries to fill the gap by providing an exhaustive, and yet highly enjoyable, account of the history, geography and culture of the many different nations that inhabit the area.
The book was published a year before the fall of the Soviet Empire and clearly predicts the end of Communsim and the USSR.
But the chief interest of the book is the fact that it brings so many peoples out of obscurity.
In recent years such places as Chechnya have gained notoriety. We also know about the overspill of terrorism from Afghanistan into neighboring Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. But little material is available on the background of these conflicts. This scholarly book is, to my knoweldge, the most authoritative source available in English.
I receommend it to students and scholars as well as the intersted general reader. A READER

Bombs exploding in Moscow and Saint Petersburg? Russian planes pouring Napalm on villages in Chechniya and Daghestan? If you wish to know why all this is happening all you need do is get a copy of Amir Taheri's book, already regarded as a classic. The book was written before the Soviet empire collapsed and clearly forecasts the disintegration of the USSR as " the last colonial empire of the 20th century." Narrating a history of over 1000 years, from the time that Islam arrived in the lands that later became Russia, the book provides a detailed study of numerous ethnic groups, languages, cultures and civilisations spread from the Ural mountains to the Far East and from the frozen steppes of the north to the Caspian Sea in the south. One of the first books to tackle this complex subject " Crescent in a Red Sky: The Future of Islam In The Soviet Union" may at first feel a bit heavy going for the uninitiated, especially because of the copious footnotes and addenda the author provides. But a little bit of patience and time would procure great rewards. The reader discoveres an entire world about which very little is known in the West. For example did you know the symbolic signficance of those strange domes in Saint Basil's church in Moscow? Taheri's book gives the unexpected answer. The chapters that deal with the Russian and then Soviet periods in the history of Muslims in that part of Eurasia are especially fascinating. They reveal an underground world that continued to exist side by side with the official Russian or Soviet society for almost two centuries. The book tears aside the masks of many Russian and Soviet leaders to show their exceptional brutality in dealing with the Muslim nations under their rule. Peter the Great and Cahterine the Great are revealed as barbarous conquerors who built their empires on hecatombs. Lenin, Stalin and Ferunze are presented as mass murderers who drew the map of the Soviet empire in blood. Even Mikhail Gorbachev, the darling of Western lberals, is shown ordering the use of force to crush revolts in Kazakhstan, Central Asia and the Caucasus. Taheri's book accurtaely forecast the wars in Chechniya and Daghestan which are now raging. Once you have read the book you will know that this is not the end of the story. More wars could come in Tatarstan, Bashkortstan, Ossetia, Ingushetia and other parts of northern Caucasus. Although the Soviet empire has collapsed, the Russian empire continues to cling to its bloody existence. Taheri's book shows that this empire, too, is sure to disintegrate. The time when one nation could rule over whole subject nations is gone. I wish Boris Yeltsin, the Russian President, would read this book to understand why.Western leaders, especially in the United States, also need to read this book to get a measure of the biggest problem that new Russia is facing as it tries to build itself a new future. A READER IN CASABLANCA

I have read husserl's the crisis and enjoyed it very much. I think that this book has lost none of it's relevance. It is a thorough analysis of what science can and cannot do. For me as a landscape architecture teacher this books delivers a good antidote against all too positivistic scientific thinking within the university. It opens our eyes to the fact that science can answer certain questions very well but at a loss of meaning and sense. It peals off the layers of history that hide the shaky foundations of science and reveals the scope of science and that much is beyond this scope. It is meticulous in it's analysis, but in that it is thorough and not shallow. I can advice all who are interested in the relation between science and the world to carefully study this book.The Merleau-Ponty Aesthetics Reader: Philosophy and Painting (SPEP)The World of Perception

Edmund Husserl's "The Crisis of European Sciences and Transcendental Phenomenology" resonates well. The following are my impressions and reflections after reading this very interesting book.

Every object-subject composite (relation) is a "phenomenon", and Husserl begins his phenomenology from Descartes' doubt that cannot be doubted. Husserl notes that the phenomenon is open to exploration. We explore so we can discover what is pregiven, so we can find our preconditions. Husserl reminds us that Kant was sterred from his slumber by Hume's skepticism. Kant's "appearance" is embedded in a space-time manifold, and as such it represents a phenomenon that hides the "thing-in-itself". The phenomenon is a composite uniting the provisional with the universal, and Kant had to feel it to be so reactive once Hume and Leibniz made their points known. Husserl reminds us to look beyond the ego-soul of Descartes, and to look beyond the dualism where Kant got stuck.

Every feeling is such a composite, so every feeling is also a phenomenon. Every feeling holds the slightest spark of awareness. I might add that every law of nature given by an equation is experiential in the sense that the law is first conceived in the mind, and then later is it empirically verified. Therefore, the law as an equation is abstraction that forgets the experiential. Because natural laws are experiential they involve feelings, and therefore these laws are phenomenological too. It is not surprising that Husserl is very critical of objective philosophy and positive science that has lost track of the subjective ingredients that come with all phenomenon.

Husserl tells us that meaning may become lost in history, and meaning relates to the preconditions of history which has to do with the geometrical horizons that history grows into. Husserl (page 49) is translated to write: "The geometry of idealities was preceded by the practical art of surveying, which knew nothing of idealities. Yet such a pregeometrical achievement was a meaning-fundament for geometry, a fundament for the great invention of idealization; the latter encompassed the invention of the ideal world of geometry, or rather the methodology of the objectifying determinations of idealities through the construction which create `mathematical existence.'"

Science grew out of traditions, and geometry is no less a tradition. The pregivens are found sleeping, Husserl tells us that the pregivens are taken for granted. Husserl (page 69) writes: "Only a radical inquiry back into subjectivity - and specifically the subjectivity which ultimately brings about all world-validity, with its content and in all its prescientific and scientific modes, and into the `what' and the `how' of the rational accomplishments - can make objective truth comprehensible and arrive at the ultimate ontic meaning of the world."

In Husserl day (right before World War II) positivist science and existential philosophy lost their meaning (I add that the meaning is still lost today), as these were all about extensions of the status quo that were no longer connected to their original preconditions.

To find the original meaning there must be a reactivation of the construction of geometry, among other exercises. Husserl tells us that meaning is discovered by reactivating the construction that have hid themselves in history. This leads us to what is self evident and beyond doubt.

The precondition of history is the stark reminder that the universal has connected with the provisional; this is the stark mystery of life, the relation again.

Husserl's phenomenology studies the precondition as it is, rather than through presumptions that derive from an extended historicism that has lost its meaning.

Husserl has much to say about intentionality, and the validation that is always sought when truth statements are attempted. And we all see people that seek validation; the pay received for a hard days work; the affirmation that is required when gifts are exchanged; the suicide note that betrays its own reason for being, as no message is needed to announce a departure unless the issue of validation is found even in the confused.

We see the need for validation in others, but can we also see it in ourselves too? Ask yourself if you seek validation in all your activities? Am I to expect an angry reaction, a denial? If so, an emotional reaction (the phenomenon again) that denies validation is an emotion that is found announcing its need for validation. In which case, the announcement is only concealed from you, but the meaning is clear to me and others that the answer is found to be yes again. If emotion is not expressed, and the answer is - yes -, then there is no disagreement. Therefore, the challenge remains to answer - no - while expressing a more reflective emotion. This challenge may be impossible to meet, as a calm denial today may follow by an angry release tomorrow, and this will cause me to return to my original conclusion: that the intentionality that seeks validation is a universal, and leads to Husserl's intersubjective person. But note also the emotional issues. It is no wonder that Husserl takes his phenomenology into psychology.

This drive to seek validity is what gives birth to our "objective" meanings, according to Edmund Husserl, but note I put objective in quotations to refer to the observation that I am referring to a subjective transcendentalism rather than an objectivity that Husserl tells us is illusory. Science and logic can give us no help if the emotional temperament is missing, yet scientism is found today expressing its need for validation. Dawkins's "The God Delusion" is an expression that is asking religiosity to love science too. But how can religion love science if scientism lacks the emotional certitude to deal with its own pregivens? It is not unsurprising that atheist Sam Harris is now making a call for contemplation within atheistic circles. Contemplation delivers the reflexive capacity to deal with our drive for validation, for both believer and nonbeliever.

Husserl (page 168) writes on elementary intentionalities that seek validity: "The being of these intentionalities themselves is nothing but one meaning-formation operating together with another, `constituting' new meaning through synthesis. And meaning is never anything but meaning in modes of validity. Intentionality is the title which stands for the only actual and genuine way of explaining, making intelligible."

All objective philosophy and positive science are unreal, that is, they all depend on pregivens that are subjective in nature. To question the pregivens is to enter phenomenology, and it is here that psychology transforms itself into Husserl's transcendental phenomenology. All "objective" science requires its purification by a transcendental psychology. Husserl (page 257) writes: "a pure psychology as positive science, a psychology which would investigate universally the human beings living in the world as real facts in the world, similarly to other positive sciences (both sciences of nature and humanistic disciplines), does not exist. There is only a transcendental psychology, which is identical with transcendental philosophy."

All of our beliefs are dependent on Husserl's pregivens, and to explore the pregivens is to enter the transcendental world that rediscovers hidden meanings of dimensionality. This activity engages our emotions, and so it is that the innate feeling is found supporting a universal grammar. As long as we remain true to our purpose, to love our self, to love others, to love God, we may always re-look at our slumber and find the hidden dimensions in our own mistakes; we can always overcome our feelings of doubt in this way, finding a deeper feeling expressed in a deeper beauty. This allows us to purify our feelings, by referring to the original intention that was never meant to do harm to ourselves, others or God. Husserl's universal drive that seeks affirmation is no more than the past that seeks wholeness with the present, it is no more than what I call the affirmation of Trinity, it is the work of the Holy Spirit among our vast plurality. This insight was meant to be shared, but in sharing this expect the emotional outcries that are found seeking their own validation.

[...]

Full disclosure: I am the author of "Trinity: the scientific basis of vitalism and transcendentalism"

It is somewhat ironic that Phenomenology, as a term or as a philosophical school, has yet to really reach the popular consciousness, given that phenomenology is in many respects a study of consciousness and how reality impacts consciousness. Phenomenology in the most formal sense of being a school of philosophy is largely traced to Franz Brentano (1838-1917) and Edmund Husserl (1859-1938). Husserl's great work at the turn of the last century, Logical Investigations, set the stage for the development of phenomenology as a way of seeing, a descriptive study with roots in empiricism going back to inspiration from Aristotelian ideas. This is a key word - description. Rather than being a set of constructs and principles typical of previous philosophical systems, Phenomenology attempts to describe reality fully as reality is presented to our senses.

Phenomenology is different from scientific study in that it does not pretend toward a universal truth or experience unmediated through our subjectivity (a principle modern science seems to be incorporating more and more). Editor Dermot Moran has a solid introduction to the subject, including distinctions of different kinds of study, some of the personalities involved in the development of phenomenology, and the current state of the discipline.

This book by Husserl is one written late in his career. The Nazi party was well on its way to taking complete power in Germany, and other forces of despair were very present in the Western culture. Husserl's protege Heidegger had gone from phenomenology to existentialism, a philosophical framework that Husserl distrusted, but understood as completely in keeping with the overall crisis of meaning and purpose that he saw taking root in society at its very core.

Husserl's work from 1900 forward was always involved in recasting and adapting phenomenology to the current culture; each of his books in that time had as a title or subtitle 'An Introduction to Phenomenology', and this particular text was no different. Often overlooked in this text's presentation is that it was actually unfinished at Husserl's death, and had once again taken phenomenology in new directions. Perhaps the most radical departure of this version of phenomenology to Husserl's earlier constructs is the incorporation of psychological ideas.

Husserl's concern is to overcome the lack of meaning found in science and technology, the lack of telos and the lack of an inherent moral structure. Husserl traces the history of ideas and search for meaning in intellectual enterprise, and ends with a sense of a 'life-world' that draws closer to the aims of existentialism than he had ever done before.

This is a fascinating text.

Husserl is a tremendous apologist of "philosophy as rigorous science." This volume ("The Crisis") serves as the philosopher's clearest and most distinct exposition of the problems that beset modern Civilization and that still prevent many of us from appreciating an understanding of reality unmediated by empiricist and historicist biases. Most succinctly, Husserl has shown how and why it is possible for practical judgment to remain unbiased, and for theoretical/pure reason to remain in touch with life.

Husserl has helped later generations re-discover a rational/classical alternative to both modern reason and modern irrationalism. With Husserl, the critique of modernity points to a reason above "the machine." That is why Husserl rejected the anti-rationalist disposition displayed by his brilliant student, Martin Heidegger, whose inconclusive turn to pre-Socratic Wisdom arguably suffered from an inadequate understanding of the Socratic/"mediating/moderating" Quest for wisdom.

With Husserl, two options were disclosed to public attention: 1) a "new [atheistic, nihilistic] thinking" finding its core representation in Heideggerian "Existentialism"; 2) Classical (pre-Cartesian, non-Machiavellian) Rationalism, or "rational life" not subject to the Cartesian tendency to decay into the historicization and mechanization of reason/philosophy.

Most scholars today have found a way to dilute "Existentialism" to a degree that makes it possible to place "Existentialism" at the service of the powers that be (conformism). Among the very few who prefer to seek out a classical, non-historicist understanding of reason and history, we find two of Husserl's students--Jacob Klein and Leo Strauss. The first helped expose the essential link between Husserl's teachings and classical Socratic/Platonic philosophy; the second, inaugurated an exceptional return OF classical political rationalism--of a School of Philosophy, in the Platonic sense--at a time when the "temple" of science (the Academy) had become a sea of suspicion-breeding sophisticated ideologies.

It need not surprise the disinterested bystander that Strauss has henceforth become target of many an ideological reprisal. What is perhaps most "disturbing" about Strauss is that he makes it extremely difficult to critique rationalists such as Husserl for their (unremarkable?) inadequacies. That is because with Strauss such a critique presupposes access to a degree of speculative reason that is higher, and NOT lower, than the one exemplified by Husserl: one must understand an author as clearly and distinctly as he understood himself, BEFORE claiming to understand him "better."

Written at the end of his career and on the eve of the Holocaust, the Crisis stands, I believe, as one of the greatest one volume educations in print today. Unlike his more "technical" works which rigorously deal with phenomenology in itself, the Crisis is more of a look at the need for phenomenology and phenomenological psychology in modern humanity's life. Looking at the history of science and philosophy, Husserl traces the development and "success" of scientism and materialism. In doing so phenomenologically, Husserl makes a very strong case for the need of phenomenology in order to overcome the lifelessness of materialism and inaugurate a "heroism of reason" and humanism. Anyone interested in philosophy, science, sociology, civil rights, etc. I urge to read this book actively and critically. For non-specialists and people who aren't "scholars" of any kind or degree may find the language a bit dense or heavy at times, but ! . . . it's good for you. The volume also features appendices which include the classic Vienna Lecture as well as other essays and lectures. The Crisis is a classic and brilliant look into science, philosophy and society which, unlike a lot of theory today, offers a cohesive system grounded in humanism, to wit, Husserlian phenomenology. Please read this book.