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This book is absolutely fascinating, and a must-buy for those who wish to know the details of Judaism's principles of faith. Dr. Shapiro does not merely bring obscure opinions rejected in their own time, but rather strongly-held opinions of prominent authorities of yore which are still alive and well for the learned.

It is interesting that just this past weekend, I first saw this book, and I happened to read the exact same chapter as Mr. Lewyn describes in his review below. I will elaborate on Mr. Lewyn's sample, for the interest of those who want a more extensive sample of this book:

Dr. Shapiro notes that Rambam himself knew as much, if not more than, anyone else of his time, about the different textual variants of the Torah, as Rambam was involved in arbitrating between different Masoretic texts available to him. So he could not possibly have meant to declare that no textual errors have crept into our Torah. In fact, Rambam's son refused (if I remember correctly) to arbitrate between alternative accepted texts.

However, Rambam DID mean to say that no post-Moshe additions were (permissibly) deliberately made (presumably, they could be made, just as textual errors can be made, as this is the real world with real humans, but this would be a violation of the law). However, ibn Ezra says that individual verses could be permissibly post-Moshe, and Rabbi Yehuda heChasid says entire sections of narrative could be post-Moshe. Another view opines that Ezra haSofer could not add to the mitzvot, but he could add to the narratives. Most importantly, the Gemara itself has one view that the account of Moshe's death was written by Yehoshua. Dr. Shapiro cites a prominent modern Orthodox authority (I forget who) who says that the important thing is simply that "for all intents and purposes" the Torah is the same as given to Moshe, and that it is "from Heaven"; the Gemara itself requires belief not in the Torah being from Moshe's hand, but rather "from Heaven". So while Rambam personally believed that the Torah was written entirely by Moshe, surely Rambam could not hold the opposing opinion to be heresy, as even the Gemara itself offers one opinion to this effect.

Now, we said Rambam could not possibly hold that no textual variants or errors exist. But he makes exactly this claim in his Iggeret Teiman! This letter was written for the layman, as was the Mishneh Torah. At this time, Muslims were claiming the Torah was textually corrupted by the Jews, and any admission of this fact, by rabbis, to the laymen, could impair the simple ignorant faith of the masses. For these, it was important to tell a lie that would strengthen their faith, rather than telling a truth that was difficult to understand. For those capable of understanding, the truth would be made known, but not through the popular channels.

Maimonides asserted that anyone who rejected his Thirteen Principles was a heretic who has removed himself from the Jewish people- yet most of these Principles were at one time or another rejected by leading rabbis both before and after Maimonides.

For example, Shapiro writes that even the view that "the Torah in our hands is exactly the same as the Torah that Moses presented to the Children of Israel" has been widely disputed. To be sure, pre-Reform Jews universally accepted the Torah as Divine and as roughly the same as the original text. But Shapiro asserts that historically there have been minor deviations in Torah scrolls, and that even today nine letters in Yemenite Torahs differ from those in those used by the rest of Jewry. Shapiro also cites numerous medieval commentators' assertions that some non-halakhic portions of the Torah, although true and divinely inspired, were written by Joshua or Ezra rather than Moses.

Shapiro also asserts that some of the Principles were arguably contradicted even by Maimonides' own later writings.

A minor quibble: Shapiro's discussion would have been clearer if he had put Maimonides' own language in his book as an appendix.

There are those for whom their belief in religion will never quite approach their scholarly understanding of it. But the opposite is probably more prevalent. Many more people sincerely profess faith but are ignorant of the knowledge that should necessarily underpin such faith.

It is to this latter group that Marc Shapiro is addressing himself in his book, traditional Jews who might know halakha but who are otherwise ignorant of what their great spiritual giants believed for millennia. Many of the beliefs espoused by these great men run counter to the Thirteen Principles set down by Maimonides (some disagreements extending into the present!), a situation that, ostensibly, should have prevented them from an afterlife and which would have excised their souls from the Jewish nation.

Besides proving his point exhaustively, Dr. Shapiro is presenting a fine intellectual history of Jewish thought from the vantage point of its outer limits. The appendix even includes pictures of God on the title pages of sacred books written in the past few hundred years!

There is no doubt that this book, based on a controversial and satisfyingly unsettling essay that Shapiro penned just a few years ago, will both elicit praise and scorn, the scorn manifesting itself in book bannings and in the hiring of scholarly mercenaries who will be asked to trash the book, site unseen, in predetermined reviews.

Well, these reviewers will have their work cut out for them because Shapiro's book is thoughtful and nuanced and, thereby, evades pigeon holing. Besides addressing out-and-out disagreements that people had regarding creed, there is the bigger problem of Maimonides contradicting himself in matters of belief, both within different contexts and at different times in his life.

Shapiro also notes at length the recognized yet endlessly ironic fact that Maimonides himself was accused of not believing in his own Principles both during his lifetime and afterward.

Most importantly, by invoking an authority no less central than Maimonides himself, Shapiro debunks the notion, embraced by some writers, that scholarly debate concerning the correctness of doctrine is a relic of the past, and that this pursuit of the truth has calcified into unwavering dogma.

The historical realities are to the contrary. The search for what believers are supposed to believe is still driven by studying sacred texts, by our logic and, to some degree, by our intuitions.

Excellent!

Weiner does it again and wonderfully. If you are a fan you should add this book to your permanent collection without a doubt. Great work!

The annotated guide Marvel Graphic Novels and Related Publications surveying comics, prose novels, children's books, articles and references covers just about everything relating to graphic novels, from cross-overs into DC to special volumes and series presentations, and is a pick for any serious graphic novel library at the specialty or college level. Chapters offer plot synopsis, compare chapters and formats of related materials, and includes comments on artwork and style.

Want to talk about a labor of love? How about trying to catalog and document all of Marvel Comics' graphic novels, trade paperbacks, prose novels, and children's books ever published? That's exactly what Rob Weiner does in this thoroughly exhaustive reference book. Over five years in the making, Weiner gives Marvel fans a one-stop shopping place for information on all of these books published through 2005.

As I paged through the book I was simply blown away by the amount of information inside. I had no idea that there were so many books out there. But of course, in the past decade, we've seen this trend towards preprinting story arcs of varying numbers of issue into book format. Comic fans are no longer merely collectors and some are not collectors at all. They still want to keep up with their favorite characters and buying one book every six months versus having to run to the comic store monthly is simply more desirable for a lot of people and for those people especially, this is a fantastic tool.

What I love about Weiner's layout is that he didn't just decide to list books in alphabetical order but instead he grouped the sections by subject matter or characters. For example there is a section for Marvel's Superheroes with subsections for individual heroes or groups of heroes such as The Avengers, Conan/Kull, Hulk and She-Hulk, Thor, X-Men/Mutants, Wolverine, etc...

Next is the section for special volumes and series like the Marvel Masterworks and Essentials lines and Epic Comics graphic novels, followed by sections for Children's books, Prose novels, Marvel/DC crossovers, guidebook and indexes and more. Nearly 400 page in all and it's all backed up by a comprehensive index or indexes I should say as there are three of them: one for title, one for artist/author, and one for subject making it easy to pickup and find exactly what book you are looking for. There are even three appendices including one for all of the Marvel Superheroes game books and modules published by TSR.

Now if this were just a list that might be good enough but it isn't. Once you look up a book, Weiner provides the artist, writer, year of publication, ISBN#, the issues the book reprints if applicable and a comprehensive summary of the plot. Now I don't know if Mr. Weiner actually read all of these books but it doesn't really matter...there is a wealth of information here that is indispensable for Marvel fans. Extraordinarily researched and meticulously laid out, the book is well worth the $49.95 price tag.

I love Rainy Dohaney. Her books are amazingly artful, with simple but poignant. I also recommend The Soap Lady, which is yet another odd tale of friendship.

I love this book. I'm a grandmother of 4 under the age of 8 and they all love this book. My own daughter lost a stuffed animal when she was a toddler and now her own children can identify with this book, too. Even better than the story is the outstanding and beautiful art work. The artist has a wonderful and soft technique which is just right for little children.

"My Best Sweet Potato" is a magnificently illustrated book with soft colors and amazing drawings. Small children love it. Not to be outdone by the drawings, the story is also very touching. What child doesn't have a favorite stuffed toy who you as a parent are terrified will be lost? Follow this simple but beautiful and understandable story and you'll be sad and happy. I highly recommed this book for toddlers and beyond. It's now my 27 month old grandson's favorite.

Like an obsessive collector capturing rare fleeting specimens, John Robben has frozen bits of his time in scenes of daily life by quietly putting everyday people, items, and events under a lens transfiguring them to reveal hidden inherent beauty. While other train commuting men dozed, Robben scribbled longhand in blank journals to fulfill a deep need to make sense of the world that swirled around him. The result? He shows us the intricate filigree in what at first may seem unremarkable--his life as a toy salesman and father of five children. In so doing, he surreptitiously delivers his message: there is joy and wonder in life's smallest moments despite inevitable doubt and fear.

John Robben will arouse your emotions when reading his inspiring stories about his past.You will enjoy his style of writing and he will take you along with him on his journey through life.Stephen Tuers.

The perfect book for your night table. Take one dose each evening before retiring to find fodder for the mind and soul. A book you'll be delighted to read and quick to recommend.

Reporter Harris Smear Job of Jimmy Massey?

An Iraq vet responds to charges he lied about American war crimes

"Apparently, it is more important to Ron Harris to promote fiction than tell the truth."

"Major newspapers and media outlets published my story. Neither the Marine Corps nor any of my platoon members filed any charges against me as a result of my claims in over 20 months. Nor did they attempt any defamation campaign to counteract my allegations that the large numbers of civilians killed in the invasion, as a result of failed strategies, fomented anti-American sentiment, and fueled the insurgency..........."

Full Article Fallows:

http://www.guerrillanews.com/articles/1876/Smear_Job

I think it's a very powerful account and about the controversy this is a helpful artcile written by Jimmy Massey himself.

By Jimmy Massey
An Iraq vet responds to charges he lied about American war crimes
Editor's note: Jimmy Massey is a 12-year veteran of the United States Marine Corps who served as a Staff Sergeant in the 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines, Weapons Company, during the invasion of Iraq. Shortly after returning, Massey began speaking out about atrocities he says he commited and witnessed in Iraq. He recently released a downloadable book entitled Kill, Kill, Kill: A Soldier's Remorse (written with Claire Schaeffer-Duffy) that chronicles his time in Iraq. Earlier this month, Ron Harris, a reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch who was embedded in a unit near Massey's, charged Massey with lying about the alleged war crimes in an article entitled "Is Jimmy Massey Telling the Truth About Iraq?" Harris then appeared on CNN on Nov. 6th where he repeated the charges. The following is Massey's response to Harris' article:

When I'm on my death bed and I have to face God with all the sins I committed throughout my life, when I come to the sin of killing innocent people in Iraq, I know I will only be able to meet my maker if I tell the truth now.

My story has been widely published in mainstream American and international press, as well as widely circulated on right-wing pro-war websites, for more than 1 year and 8 months. In December, 2004, MSNBC interviewed Pentagon Marine Corps spokesman Maj. Douglas Powell about me saying, "We're not saying he's lying, but his perception of what the situation was in relation to the rules of engagement, and what was justified, is different than ours." In a letter written to the editor of the Mountaineer, which was the first newspaper to publish my story in February 2004, Major Dan Schmitt, my former Commanding officer said, "There is no profit for anyone in discrediting his story in any way."

Prior to the Marine Corps' briefing my unit to refuse to make any comment regarding me, my claims were corroborated in interviews with my fellow platoon members conducted by Natasha Saulnier, the co-author of my autobiography "Kill, Kill, Kill." One of my platoon members, speaking from Camp Pendleton, CA, last winter, admitted that "Civilians get in the way Yes, there were civilian casualties, women and children as well we didn't check them up to see if they had weapons yes, that was at the checkpoint where all the stuff happened." Another said, "We were all pissed off [at shooting women and children]. Nobody was doing it on purpose," and another corroborated the incident in which our platoon had fired on and killed unarmed protestors.

Beverley Ann Dexter,the Navy psychiatrist whoperformed my exit examination back home, wrote on record that "the patient initially presented to the mental health dept on 30, May 03 after he was medivaced back from the Iraq war with the diagnosis of major depressive disorder and PTSD, recurrent. He reports that he had become extremely distressed over seeing many dead bodies of individuals in civilian clothes. A particularly disturbing event was an occasion when a man questioned him about why troops had killed his brother whom the man said was a civilian."

Major newspapers and media outlets published my story. Neither the Marine Corps nor any of my platoon members filed any charges against me as a result of my claims in over 20 months. Nor did they attempt any defamation campaign to counteract my allegations that the large numbers of civilians killed in the invasion, as a result of failed strategies, fomented anti-American sentiment, and fueled the insurgency.

Until Saturday.

Quantico Marine Base Public Affairs Officer Lt. Col. Richard Long, former director of Public Affairs and the embedded reporter program in Iraq, began circulating an article Monday published in the St. Louis Post Dispatch, Saturday, November 5, by former embedded reporter Ron Harris, accusing me of lying. Harris not only was not assigned to my Weapon's Company, (he was with Lima), and was not present for any of the incidents he disputes, but before last week, had not spoken with me once since my return.

On Monday, Harris appeared on CNN's "American Morning," in an unrebutted interview stating, "not only did I not see any protesters, nobody saw any protesters," and "nobody ever interviewed the marines, which I did all of. Nobody ever checked his story. They don't even have another source that says on background or another source who didn't want to be quoted." Apparently, it is more important to Ron Harris to promote fiction than tell the truth. When he finally did call me and my co author two week's ago to prepare his article, I told him I didn't know how he could live with himself by concealing the truth, and told him "he would have to answer to a higher power."

Harris' apparent contempt for me seems to stem from the fact that one and a half years ago, I exposed him for having greatly embellished an incident at Rasheed Military complex in his April 9, 2003, article in the St. Louis Post Dispatch. (Note the caption confirming Harris' assignment to Lima Company). In the article, Harris described a dramatic, daylong battle glorifying heroic deeds and describing guerillas "hiding behind civilians." Speaking at the Boston Veterans for Peace Convention in 2004, I said Harris had greatly exaggerated the combat in what was subsequently hailed as an example of American military prowess. I confessed publicly that"contact that day was thin and sporadic," and that "as my unit entered Iraq it came upon empty Iraqi military bases with weapons lying on the road." I noted that We shot it up with everything we had, and we were laughing and having a good time. The Iraqis let us in the country; we didn't take it.'

It is ironic that Ron Harris should accuse others of bad reporting. It was Ron Harris himself that misquoted me as having mentioned a 4 year old with a bullet in her head, and then conveniently used his own misquote to accuse me of lying. Simply doing a web search for "Jimmy Massey" and "4 year old," you will find that the only source even suggesting that I knew of an incident when Marines had killed the child is Harris' own story. My only related quote had been "Lima Company was involved in a shooting at a checkpoint. My platoon was ordered to another area before the victims were removed from the car. The other Marines told me that a 4-year-old girl had been killed."

Most importantly, this incident is not even mentioned by me and my co-author in "Kill, Kill, Kill" because it relied on a second hand account. Harris would know this if he had read the book that he denounced so virulently on CNN and in his article, but he has not and cannot read it because it is only out in French, a language he openly admits he cannot speak. After nearly 2 years of remaining silent despite knowledge of my confessions, why has Harris saved his charade for the publication of a book of which he has absolutely no knowledge?

Fumbling for incriminating evidence, Harris reports that "while touring with Sheehan in Montgomery, Ala., [I] told of seeing the girl's body." Cindy Sheehan and I were never together in Montgomery. In a similar confusion, Harris goes on to claim that I have said I personally killed a 6-year-old.Before numerous interviews and reports frayed its edges, my original statement had been "I brought these series of events up through the chain of command. Each time I was told they were terrorists, or they were insurgents. My question to the marine corps at that point became, how was a 6 year old child with a bullet hole in its head a terrorist or insurgent?"

In the aforementioned April 9, 2003, article, Harris refers to a makeshift morgue and quotes Lt. Col. Belcher, Commander of 3rd Battalion, 7tth Marines without deeming it relevant to make further investigation, "These are apparently Iraqi soldiers that were killed in the attacks. Some people had leg wounds, chest wounds, tears, cuts, shrapnel holes." Why did Ron Harris swallow the command's stories?

Apparently, Harris didn't read any more of the articles in USA Today or Vanity Fair that he cites in his article than he did of "Kill, Kill, Kill." USA Today and Vanity Fair never published my accounts of mounting civilian casualties in Iraq. Both of their stories were about military recruiting practices, and not concerned with Iraq.

If Ron Harris or the Marine Corps Public Affairs office want to mount a smear campaign against me and those who published my story, they could begin by buying a couple copies of the book and reading it. They will be pleased to know that a portion of the profits will go to establishing PTSD treatment centers for U.S. veterans.

Jimmy Massey is a 12-year veteran of the United States Marine Corps who served as a Staff Sergeant in the 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines, Weapons Company, during the invasion of Iraq. He can be reached at: [...]

Jimmy Massey has said initially that HE killed civilians in Iraq. He then goes on to say that he himself didn't do the actual killing. If this makes him a "fraud" then so be it. What is striking to me is his assertion that civilians WERE (and are) killed in Iraq, the "fraudulent" part being his saying he himself did it.
What does it matter whether he himself did it or someone else did? The point remains that civilians were killed in Iraq, a violation of the Geneva Accords. Especially when it is done deliberately which any Iraq vet will tell you. It is more important to me that someone who was there is telling what has happened there; and it's not just Jimmy Massey, it's hundreds of Iraq war vets and imbedded reporters. This war was based on lies as we all now know. More and more will come out and has; the "ghost detainess" the "renditions" and the torture camps in Poland and elsewhere in Eastern Europe; The outing of a CIA agent's identity in retaliation for the finding of NO yellow cake uranium purchased from Niger. The stench of the lies and evil reaches to the heavens.
What difference does it make whether Mr. Massey says he did it himself or not? I admire him for saying it happened AT ALL.
Calling him a fraud may be missing the forest for the trees as so many in this country are wont to do in justifying this disgusting war on a country that did nothing to us; who had no WMD's, had (emphasis on the HAD) no connections with Al Qaeda (now they do, thank you Mr. Bush) and had no connection AT ALL with September 11.
I'm actually thankful that Mr. Massey didn't do these things himself, he probably sleeps better at night than the ones who did and lie about it.

What a great idea, having a whole years worth of Sunset magazine recipes in one book. I always save the magazines but sometimes I can't remember what issue a certain recipe was in and I waste time hunting for it. This selection of recipes is varied so there is definately something for any occasion. Sunset recipes are exciting and new but contain helpful hints that make me feel very comfortable. I have no problem trying out their new recipes on company. I only stumbled upon this book last year, but now want to continue purchasing them annually.

I truly love these annuals, and it shows. Every one of my Sunset Annuals is spattered and bookmarked, because I use them so often.

These are well bound, highly colorful editions, filled with the years collection of Sunset recipes. They are catalogued by ingredients ( vegetables, fruits,beef etc) as well as by category, so looking up a recipe is easy.

The Biga Bread recipe is worth the price alone. Everything is well laid out, with lots of helpful hints to ensure success, whether you're baking a cake, or creating an exotic Asian dish.

What I appreciate most about Sunset, is all their recipes are tested in their own kitchens, to make sure the average home user can recreate them easily. It gives you that extra bit of confidence when trying something new.

If you want a durable, practical and highly usable cookbook, I recommend giving the Sunset Annuals a try.

We bought this book because our stack of 1998 Sunset Magazines took up too much room and we could never remember which edition contained our favorite recipies. Of the two book shelves of cookbooks we have this is the book we pull out the most. Along with the great recipies it is well organized, contains educational cooking tips, wine pairing suggestions, and interesting articles about areas for vacationing and dining in the West. Our favorite recipie is the Oven-roasted Chilean Seabass! We're buying the 2000 and 2001 editions today.

Hama Tuma's collection of satirical articles would be well classified as funny had they not dealt with serious matters and used satire only as a vehicle to dissect the reality in all its facets. Hama Tuma has once again proved himself an adept and a master of the satire, a quality he proved he had in surplus when he gave us The Case of the Socialist Witchdoctor and Other stories back in 1993 (Heinemann Books).The African survives the grave odds through humor.Hama Tuma is the best example of how this does happen.I strongly recommend Tuma's books to all.

In African Absurdities,Hama Tuma, the famous Ethiopian writer, has really surpassed himself.Tongue in cheek and with irony and humor as his weapon he dissects the African political scne which he knows so well. You laugh as you read these articles but the serious message does get through. Beyond the African reality, Hams Tuma is commentin on human existence as a whole, on the folly of prejudices and double standards.Kabila never got the chance to romance Monika Lewinsky but you wonder along with Ham what if.The politically incorrect articles in African Absurdities are a great read and I recommend it to all people of all races.

This is a wonderful, entertaining journey into the past 20 years of animation and visual effects. It's definitely a thrill to see the progress of the art from--from 1987 to 2007 and see how far this industry has changed and improved thanks to visionaries like John Lasseter, Craig McCracken and Brad Bird. It was fun to see articles by people like Lasseter, McCracken and Nancy Cartwright (who is Bart on the Simpsons) as well as toon historians like Leonard Maltin and John Canemaker and indie animator Bill Plympton. I still hang on to my first issue of this important magazine and this hardcover art book is the perfect gift for toon fans--they've included every cover of the magazine (so you have excellent 4-color reproductions of the magazine cover with iconic characters like Roger Rabbit, The Simpsons, SpongeBob Squarepants, Aladdin, Shrek and The Little Mermaid all the way up to The Incredibles, Ratatouille and Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends. I wish Animation Magazine would put out an annual collection of their cool covers and awesome production articles every year!

This is a hefty, high-quality and GORGEOUS book!! It contains 20 years of cover images for Animation Magazine (some really great artwork for animation collectors and fans) and inspiring essays by a lot of animation heavy-hitters. I would definitely recommend this to anyone interested in the history of animation; the fact that it's a magazine collection offers a glimpse of how the industry has developed over the last two decades in an interesting "real-time" sort of way. This is also a GREAT gift for students of animation (I know a couple who keep borrowing my copy!) as well as just plain old fans who want something pretty for their coffee table. Definitely worth adding to your library. A+

Even the most die-hard Hemingway fan has probably overlooked this invaluable collection of the famed author's work as a journalist. The articles, though decades old, still read quite modern. Thus is the genius of Hemingway.

I was a journalist for Hemingway's suggested "five years" (he advises writers to get out of the newspaper business after that period of time) and back at the start of my career, I first read a copy of this book when I was based in Tokyo. The style appealed to me with its short declarative sentences. Clear and to the point.

I lost that copy of the book when I moved back to the States and was delighted to rediscover it a few weeks ago on Amazon. I opted to go with a used "original" hard-cover edition vs. a new paperback.

"BY-LINE: ERNEST HEMINGWAY; Selected Articles and Dispaches of Four Decades" should be required reading by all students of journalism. I also recommend it for bloggers.

But this book will be most loved by Hemingway fans. It's a treasure trove of some of his finest writing.

Although Hemingway is considered to be primarily a novelist, his non-fiction writing deserves more attention. This volume fills a serious vacuum. Ronald Frost, M.A.

Few American economists have the reputation Irving Fisher has--he is probably second only to Henry George as an economist of whom the American public was aware in the early twentieth century--and no other economist has undergone such dramatic reversals of fortune over time to achieve his reputation. Fisher's ideas and life seem, in some ways, stranger than fiction....

Fisher was always more than a theorist. Like other public intellectuals, such as the late Milton Friedman, he often engaged in supporting public-policy positions. Unlike Friedman's policy advocacy, however, Fisher's concerns--which ranged from good eating habits and life extension to public health, eugenics, and Franklin Roosevelt's monetary and gold policies--often interfered with his ability to perform his teaching duties. He was away from Yale more than he was there. Toward the end, he did little teaching. Fisher's driving passion to engage in public political debate, to run businesses on the side--he invented a card index system and sold it the company that became Remington-Rand, and he published a weekly index-number newsletter that at its peak reached 7 million readers (p. 51)--and to raise Yale's profile even as he raised his own rankled many of his Yale colleagues. No doubt some were simply envious of his pre-1929 crash wealth (he was a millionaire), and others were jealous of his celebrity. Many also doubted the wisdom of his positions on issues such as backing 100 percent reserves for banks and setting up a mechanism that he claimed would produce absolute price stability.

Fisher's personal ideological proclivities were all over the political map and sometimes changed as circumstances did, especially after the Great Depression suggested empirical difficulties with his quantity-theory approach--an approach that Milton Friedman and Anna Schwartz resurrected in 1963 and argued had been true all along. Even though Fisher had studied with William Graham Sumner, he was never an advocate, as his professor had been, of total laissez-faire. As Joseph Dorfman mentions, "he opposed any all-out laissez-faire. He supported such liberal measures as high inheritance taxes and wider dispersal of corporate ownership through profitsharing, employee ownership, and co-operation. As examples of existing types of activities which were neither pure private ownership nor pure government ownership, he cited `government regulation; leases to private capitalists with reversionary rights to the city, state, or nation; subsidies; price-fixing; guaranteeing prices, underwriting against loss; taxes on profits or on excess profits'" (The Economic Mind in American Civilization [New York: Augustus M. Kelley, 1969], 5: 298). To this list, one may add Fisher's sometimes-successful Progressive Era crusades for pure food, abolition of alcohol consumption, human eugenics, government manipulation of the international gold price, and even national health insurance.

At the height of his fame, Fisher did something of which economists should always be wary: he made an economic prediction. Two weeks before Black Friday, in October 1929, he proclaimed that stocks "have reached a permanent high plateau." Ouch! One has to admire, however, the fact that Fisher, unlike so many of his contemporary colleagues in the quirky discipline of economics, at least put his money where his theory was: he then went completely broke in the market crash. Only Yale's forgiveness of the rent on Fisher's New Haven residence, which had been sold to the university, prevented him from declaring personal bankruptcy. His prestige took a huge blow, and he found himself ridiculed, his reputation diminished. Even the economics profession in later years seemed to agree that he had become a fascinating curiosity. At the first Fisher commemorative conference at Yale in 1967, however, another famous economist, Paul Samuelson, made his own prediction: professional economists would ultimately come to recognize Fisher as "this country's greatest scientific economist" (p. 54). Unlike Fisher's unfortunate prediction, Samuelson's has been borne out. Today, most of the citations to Fisher's work pertain not to the history of economic thought, but to his theoretical work. He is, among other things, the father of the Federal Reserve's problematic quest for "price stability" and hence of the entire field of contemporary monetary policy....

Had Nobel awards in economics existed during Fisher's lifetime (he died in 1947, and the first Nobel Prize in Economics was awarded in 1969), there is little doubt he would have been a recipient. His wide-ranging theoretical ideas have influenced modern neoclassical theory probably more than any other individual's ideas, and many remain relevant for policy decisions today. Most conference proceedings are mixed bags, at best, but Celebrating Irving Fisher is a happy exception: the level of analysis is high and the discussions always on point. Any reader interested in the life and ideas of one of the nation's foremost economists will find much of value in the book. Whether your interest is the history of ideas or Fisher's analytical contributions, Celebrating Irving Fisher is a wonderful place to begin to understand why Fisher continues to be widely regarded as a pioneering economic theorist.

This volume of collected essays on Fisher,edited by Robert Dimand,establishes that he was in fact one of the greatest economists of the 20th century.What has hindered Fisher's historical reputation was the problematic,incorrect,notorious forecast he made in late 1929 that the stock market was on an upward path.The Great Crash of October,1929 cost him 11-12 million dollars in losses personally.His response to this catastrophe was to publish his debt-deflation theory of depressions which correctly points to the debt load in the economy as a whole as the best indicator of a possible depression resulting from some exogenous shock that starts the snowball rolling downhill.The excessive debt loads get worse as the price level falls.This leads to a first round of personal and business bankruptcies and home foreclosures .These bankruptcies force furthur rounds of bankruptcies as the debts of one individual were the assets of another.There is no substantial difference between Fisher's analysis and Keynes's General Theory conclusions.Unfortunately, Fisher's work was ignored in the rush to accept Keynes's work.This volume reestablishes Fisher's overall standing .It has great relevance today given the excessive debt loads that have again been created since 1981 in America.