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It is 30 years since Stokowski's passing, and by now one might reasonably think there is no more to be said about him. Not so! Here we have this fascinating memoir by Janet Frank, a former member of his American Symphony Orchestra, that wonderful ensemble he personally formed and conducted throughout his ninth(!) decade. This is an affectionate, funny, wise, and by no means uncritical firsthand view of what made Stokowski one of the very greatest conductors ever. And the story of the time he divided the orchestra in half -- not for a concert, but for a softball game! -- is a fond reflection of a bygone era, the like of which the world will probably never see again. Bravo Stoki, and brava Janet!

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If you have ever played the game Who Stole the Cookie from the Cookie Jar this book seem familiar. It has a little twist on it this time. A mama Kangaroo is searching for the cookie dough she just made. She asks all sorts of animals only to find out her little joey was the culprit!

My little girls love to eat cookie dough so they could relate to the story well!

Yes. It was a cute story to read as a family!

The Truth about Leo Strauss: Political Philosophy and American DemocracyWith all the vexed publications today making this or that claim about the "ultimate" meaning of Leo Strauss' work, it is refreshing to see an essay that takes seriously the question of the meaning of Stauss' work without trivializing it. Dr. Smith, importantly, observes that Leo Strauss was a thinker who "loved economics," which I think is true and not often enough commented upon: a more extensive analysis of this issue would of course involve a more extensive analysis of Dr. Strauss' "Natural Right and History" and the relationship that work bears to two other thinkers--Adam Smith and G.B. Vico, a tradition itself predicated on Hobbes, Locke, Machiavelli, Rousseau and, finally, Nietzsche/Heidegger or the other way around. Dr. Smith's main contention is that Strauss'philosophy is subtle and that it is among the most important sources of modern thought, and, especially, modern political philosophy.
The most general point that one can make is that Dr. Smith vindicates in this essay the importance for the American political tradition of Strauss' political thought; he avoids getting involved in the vexed question of neo-conservatism, though to the extent that Dr. Strauss influenced many prominent neo-conservatives, and they have made it to positions of significant power in Washington, this question will persist--and rightly persist.
For the American political tradition as Smith shows us is a species of political philosophy and a not unimportant one: without it we would not be sharing our reviews and thoughts with each other, however contentious this does at times become. I have read Dr. Smith's more extensive work on modernity, "Nietzsche Heidegger and the Transition to Postmodernity" and it was one of the best works on political philosophy I have read (I have a list of about twenty works both classical and modern).We can only hope that work of this quality continues to be produced on Dr. Strauss and political philosophy generally.

While there's much in this article I disagree with, I think the author makes some good points.

First, he points out that "Israel was not created in sin." The Arab community is the one that rejected human rights for the Jews, not the other way around. The Arabs were the ones that went to war rather than accept a very favorable partition of the land, in 1937, in 1948, and in 1967. As Rosenblum says, "Israel has had to fight numerous defensive wars. The 1967 war was one such war."

Next, he warns us that there is a disinformation campaign to deny what the Israelis offered the Arabs at Camp David and Taba. There really was an offer of 94% of the West Bank and an additional 3% taken from Israeli territory. This was an even better offer than the Beilin-Abu Mazen proposal of 1995.

Rosenblum also says that "brutal honesty and total clarity are necessary if peace making is to prosper." I agree. And he does admit that there is not as yet a serious Levantine Arab partner for compromise. Compromise would mean having an Arab right of return only to a new Arab state and a Jewish right of return only to Israel, not an Arab right of return to both (and a Jewish right of return to neither).

Well, why is there no peace? The author's conclusion is that the reason for it is that the Arab side is being misled. As a whole, Arabs have no idea what was offered to them at Camp David or in the Clinton Plan. They are told that Israel offers only endless "occupation." And that the only alternative is an armed struggle, a struggle in which the Arabs will have justice and the whole world on their side. A struggle in which they'll achieve total victory! Well, if that's what most Arabs believe, it is no wonder that they reject peace.

In this critically acclaimed essay, Christopher Hitchens, in his usual contrarian's irreverent style explores the life and myth of a great political writer and moral philosopher, George Orwell, (1903-1950). Hitchens is both admiring and critical of his hero answering both Orwell's detractors and political claimants on the left and right of the political spectrum. Orwell lives to see the rise of Imperialism, Fascism and Stalinism and critically rebukes all three political systems in his writings. Orwell had first hand experience in seeing the wonton depravity of Imperialism while serving as a policeman in Burma. He witnessed the absurdity of Fascism and Stalinism while serving as a volunteer soldier in the Spanish Civil War fighting for the "Workers Party, (POUM). Besides writing classics like "Animal Farm and "1984" he was the first person to coin the phrase "Cold War" in an essay he wrote about nuclear weapons. In 1946 he wrote an essay in which he foretold that Russia would either democratize or perish.


I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in political philosophy, and history.

I love Winter Friends! My favorite poem is "Baby Jo" because it is cute and I love babies. My brother liked "Icicle Piano" because he said it had a lot of interesting words and it sounded like music. My mom enjoyed the "Snow Angel" and "Winter Breath" poems because they reminded her of when she was a little girl and loved making snow angels and imagining what her frosty breath would look like when it hit the air. My whole family enjoys the sweet illustrations. They like to look for the cherry hat and cardinal on each page.

Caroline, age 7

I love this book. I have read it many times and get something new each time. It is quite wonderful to read sacred poetry and writings from women who lived four thousand years ago to as recent as 1966. I give this book often as a gift to my women friends.

This book is a welcome re-issue of an earlier edition. Word's Worth offers easy, yet comprehensive guidelines and exercises for improving your writing skills. The material is illustrated with examples from contemporary journalistic writings and the exercises help you hone your skills.

I am just beginning to study green investing. Found this article accessible and informative. It gave me an overview of the market, and ideas of where to go from here. Substantive. Have just reread it and understood more. Just what I was looking for. Thank you.

And I loved being able to download it instantly!