Literature Books

"Cactus Hotel" is one of those rare books that is highly educational without seeming so. At the bookstore I first tried to just thumb through it but I found myself reading the entire thing and being wowed by every page. Now the book has no humor, it has no people, it is a gentle journey through the desert life of a sole cactus and the magic of nature and fantastic purpose of all living things. The cactus is the star and I'm star struck! This is a must for any inquisitive little minds library age 3+.

I carried this book in our bookstore and it became one of our best sellers. It describes the long life of the saguaro cactus, from seed to full growth to when it collapses. Along the way, creatures use the cactus for their homes or food. This books shows children how a plant is so important to animals. Beautiful illustrations.

I picked this up at an Arizona Airport for my kids, and we've all been enchanted by it. The illustrations are gorgeous, the text simple and accessible. Cactus hotel is the story of a single saguarno cactus throughout its 200 year life-span, as it grows from a seed into a towering cactus that is home to dozens of animals, and then topples and dies, still providing shelter to small desert animals before it returns to dust. My children and I will never look at a cactus the same way again!

This is a perfect book to read during a study of deserts. In fact, I think the author and illustrator should team up and make a whole series of books about various ecosystems, just like this one, that focus on the life cycle of a marvelous plant that is specific to that ecosystem. What an educational bonanza that would be!

A++++. As a gift idea, a child might enjoy receiving a small cactus with this book.

If you like to read about different kinds of homes and what lives in them, you would like this book. It is about a cactus that lives for 150 years! In that time about 38 animals make holes and move in. After 150 years it falls over and 10 to 20 more animals move in. This is a great book.

Beautifully written. Beautifully illustrated. This is a wonderful story and the kids (ages 7 and 3) were enthralled. It is a science book that reads like the best kind of picture book. We learned so many things from this and had fun doing it. Very highly recommended.

When I was a child, no one ever wrote about Black children. We were still calling each other whenever a Black person was coming on TV, "Nat King Cole gonna be on TV tonight." Now, 53 and grandmother to a host of children, to them I can read a tale about Black girls and boys who have adventures, rise above their fears, and so help me God, save the whole wide world! And what a world! Faracadar, where the youngest child continues the bloodline and creatures do, literally, laugh themselves to death. Where people are green and blue, and music, MUSIC, saves lives and chases away evil. I had to wait 53 years before a Black girl could ride the white horse, only to have Ms. Wachspress bare the girl away on a tiger. What fun! How wonderful that a new generation of all children can read of adventures set in my culture. A children's book? Perhaps, but one that reminds us of how to live with and respect each other and the Earth, and of how to fight, and with truth and honor. The Call to Shakabaz is a true, true delight!

Reviewed by Brianne Plach (age 9) for Reader Views (6/07)

Do you want to read a good adventure book with a great storyline and no violence? If you do, you will want to check out this one. "The Call to Shakabaz" by Amy Wachspress follows four recently-orphaned Goodacre children on a mission to do something for their mother who died two months ago.

The Goodacre children named Doshmisi, Denzel, Maia and Sonjay, are living with Aunt Alice and aren't too happy about it. They were raised in the city with malls, computers, televisions and video games. Aunt Alice has none of that in her farmhouse on Manzanita Ranch. They wish they had some adventure. Be careful what you wish for, you might just find out that you have more danger than the boring countryside. The four children take along Bayard Rustin, a talking parrot who doesn't make much sense but has a mind of his own.

One midsummer day, they meet Amethyst who is the gatekeeper of Faracadar. They are armed with their amulets that were given them by Uncle Martin, Uncle Bobby and Aunt Alice. They are told to wear these amulets well and with ingenuity, creativity, compassion, courage and hunger for the truth. The amulets must never leave the neck of the children because no one can take them from them unless they would lose their life. Doshmisi is also given a healing book called Herbal which will magically open to the page of the recipe of something to heal the person.

I really enjoyed traveling with the kids to meet all the different people on their trip. There were parts of this book which were funny. Having a powder which will change you into a different color to hide you would be very fun to have sometimes. Of course, your true colors will come out anyway. There is only so much hiding a person can do. Amy Wachspress has a great imagination. I will definitely read this book again! I liked how there weren't violent scenes in the book like a lot of books out there. This book is terrific reading for ages 9-14. It is fun to see that kids our age can do something important too, even if it is a fantasy book. I could see teachers making this a part of their reading class. There is a study guide at the back of this book too. Answer "The Call to Shakabaz' and enjoy the adventure!

Note from Brianne's mother: This book is a terrific fantasy book for kids. With the popularity of the Narnia series, "The Call to Shakabaz" could easily become a favorite for students and teachers. It kept Brianne very enthused about reading and she couldn't wait to finish reading it.

Head Start administrator Amy Wachspress presents The Call to Shakabaz, a fantasy novel for ages eight to eighty following four newly orphaned children who discover a surprising secret about their family. Accompanied by a pestering parrot, they travel to the faraway land of Faracadar, and seek the immensely powerful Staff of Shakabaz in hope of using it to end the tyranny of the evil enchanter Sissrath. Their adventure carries them over land and sea, into the dungeonlike depths of the Final Fortress, and each of them must discover their own talents and gifts in order to have any hope of survival, let alone success in their mission. Highly recommended.

Colour, music, scents and sentiment spill out of this pictureless fantasy novel and sweep us into a story of suspense, self-discovery and nonviolent resistance. Our girls laughed, swooned, quaked and cheered -- then happily chirped "Satyagraha!".

Doshmisi, Denzel, Maia, and Sonjay always thought Aunt Alice's Manzanita Ranch was a great place to visit, but they never thought they would have to live there. But when their mother died unexpectedly, that's where they moved to. It hasn't been very long since then, and the kids are bored stiff. It's a good thing they have the family Midsummer party to look forward to. Although without their mom, or even the cousins who are inexplicably absent, even that might not be much fun.

What starts out as a rather dull, depressing day gets a lot more interesting with a strange lesson in family history. It turns out that the two brothers and two sisters are "The Four." Descendants of a line of four brothers and sisters who can pass through their own dimension and into Faracadar. With their mother gone, the time of their mother and aunt and uncles have passed. It is up to the new Four now.

But what is "it"? Trust me, they want to know as much as you do. Unfortunately, one of the rules is that they don't get to know much the first time around. All they know is that they have to get the Staff of Shakabaz away from a guy named Sissrath. Who that is, how they do it, why they have to, and even what Faracadar is, they'll have to figure out for themselves. They'll have to work together, learning what each of their strengths are and how to use them, and maybe they'll be able to pull it all off.

THE CALL TO SHAKABAZ is richly imagined and incredibly detailed, both land and story. At first it's a bit like a modern version of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (The Chronicles of Narnia). But by the end of the tale you realize it's so much deeper than that. This is a book about finding personal strength, in all different forms, and appreciating the talents of others, and the strength in uniting different people, and so much more! I want to buy a copy for everyone I know, regardless of age, race, or sex. It's part fantasy, part history lesson, part real life -- I can't even describe it! But, it's beautiful, and it's kind of a picture of what I'd like to see our world look like. Although maybe without the greenish sun -- that might be a little weird.

Reviewed by: Carrie Spellman

I just bought this book and already have learned so much i cant put it down.
Lots of great advice from an expert. I already have checked out the web site she recommends and hope to get started as a freelance proofreader soon.

It sounds corny, but this book made me believe in myself as an aspiring copyeditor. The chapters on freelancing are especially helpful for someone with no experience and no idea how to break into the industry. This is the book I had been looking for!

easy to read and great info on editing and how it can work for me and my career. enjoyed learning from it...highly recommend it.

I've been doing some freelance proofreading work, but I didn't know how much I still had to learn until reading this book! Sue Gilad has a lot of information: everything from grammar rules and spelling mistakes to the differences between copyediting and proofreading (glad SOMEONE could finally pinpoint the differences!). This book is clearly written and a wonderful resouce. The only thing I think it could have improved upon was the secion for finding freelance jobs. In Gilad's online book Paid to Proofread (paidtoproofread[dot]com), she offers more in-depth suggestions about creating a resume from zilch, and also ofers more in depth info about approaching editors. On the other hand, the Dummies book contains way more information about resources and grammar. All in all, this is the most comprehensive and clearly written book on proofreading I've read.

This book is easy-to-read, straightforward, and so informative. I've been able to build my at-home business as a freelance proofreader much more quickly than I anticipated; all thanks to this invaluable resource! Learning the ins and outs of copyediting and proofreading is made simple, quick, and fun.

Crickwing is a very artistic beetle. Everyone calls him that because his wing got twisted in a fight with a frog. If you get mad easily, Crickwing knows how you feel.
When the army ants attack, Crickwing uses his artistic talent to scare them away. If you like bugs, this book is for you.

Important life lessons about how a person with mobility challenges or other physical challenges might feel marginalized and try to find a special niche in life. Crickwing uses his crafting abilities to save the day. A lovely, deep story about an ancient insect. Perhaps a little too mature for 6 year olds, but they love the story and beautiful illustrations. I expect the "lessons" to sink in over many readings. Janell Cannon is truly gifted.

This is a wonderfully told story concerning being a bully. The art work is absolutely the best and is quite eye catching. I have found this book quite useful is talking to children about being a bully and being bullied. The author is qutie on the mark, and while showing a dry humor, certainly gets the seriousness of the situation across in a very good lesson. The detailed illustrations would all be able to stand a lone a works of art. I could recommend this one for primary school counsellors and parents who may have a child with this particular problem. Recommend this one highly.

The story is about a cockroach that has a crocked wing and is always being picked on. To keep his mind off his problems he always makes beautiful art work out of his food. He decides to pick on things smaller than him after a bit. He picks on the ants. When the ants are in trouble he decides to help them out in a neat way!



What did you like or not like about the book?

The books main character is a cockroach. I really don't like roaches at all but the book portrays this roach as lovable and sympathetic.



The book is marvelous. It is extremely readable for young (3 - 6) year olds, and the artwork is beautiful, with vivid colors and expressive characters. Best of all, the story line is appropriate, with a message that is easily understood.

Crickwing is a cockroach who is grumpy because a toad have him a crooked wing and it aches. Crickwing likes to play with his food before eating it, but several nights in a row, his meal is stolen from him by large critters like lizards or monkeys before he gets a chance to dig in. Crickwing vents his frustration by torturing leaf cutter ants, but he gets in deep trouble, finding himself elected by the leaf cutter ants as the peace offering for the army ants. The story has a number of points that some kids, especially young ones, may find rather scary. But other kids may enjoy the tension. At the end of the story are some feature articles that provide more factual information about cockroaches and ants. The book has about 1600 words.

I'm 27 and very pleased with this wonderful crochet book from KLUTZ. The instructions are very easy and the projects are cute and perfect for any beginner. I especially love the hat. Everyone in my family wants one and I'm busy working on it!:) I was so pleased with this book that I ordered the knitting book from KLUTZ as well. I enjoyed the projects in this book a little more and the yarn that comes with this book is very beautiful. After you have done all the projects in this book you will feel ready for more challenging projects! Get ready to get HOOKED!

As far as crochet is concerned, I consider myself an intermediate beginner. Badly written patterns still frustrate me, and there are a few crochet books that I wouldn't mind burning with great glee. This Klutz book is actually the fourth "beginner" crochet book I got... but I really wish it had been the first. It would have saved me a lot of frustration!

I got this kit for Christmas, and started working on the projects right away. To my great delight, the instructions were so simple and very easy to follow. I love the diagrams with the highlighted stitches, so you know exactly where to put your hook for the next stitch. Each step of each project is written out and/or illustrated clearly. When I've followed other patterns, I usually have to rip out a whole round or row of stitches because the unclear instructions made me guess at where to put my hook. While doing these projects, I didn't have to rip anything out!

By the evening, I'd already learned how to do a granny square, crochet a cute little flower... and I'd even completed the whole hat! Granted, I have some experience with crochet so I'm probably a little faster than a true beginner. But I was thrilled with how the patterns turned out and that I didn't have to undo a whole bunch of stitches because the pattern wasn't clear enough.

The kit itself is pretty cute, and makes a great gift. There is quite a bit of yarn (three skeins of the teal stuff and one skein of the lighter-weight periwinkle). I wouldn't mind finding out where to get more of it, because it looks quite nice when it's all crocheted into a project.

Now, if only I could find a book with similar clear instructions to take my skills to the next level...

My Mom was using this with my girls, and she has crocheted for decades. She was very impressed and said she learned a few things herself. The instructions are clear and easy to follow. We use it for birthday gifts now for girls 8 and older. Everyone has loved it.

I have own a couple of crochet books for beginners and this one is the best one I've had. It was real clear and simple. I think if I can do it, everybody can do it too. This book is highly recommended. Enjoy.

i had been wanting to learn crochet for a long time. on a whim, i bought this kit (instruction book, hook, yarn, stitch markers and tapestry needle). i am SO glad i did.

i've only been crocheting now for about six months, but with the basics taught in the book, i'm able to crochet at about an advanced beginner/intermediate level. and i find myself referring back to the book for reference or a simple refresher. i've crocheted scarves, hats, small bags, and a large afghan. i now have three afghans in the works using different sized hooks for each one, as well as different types of yarn.

beware: it's addicting!

This book is a perfect messiah's handbook (ala Richard Bach's Illusions). Succinctly written by an 'itinerate woodcutter' each page contains a gem of wisdom. I have had this book over twenty years and it has been revisited often in my quest for awareness and spiritual growth. I purchased it as a gift for my favorite aunt. A must have book for spiritual seekers.

a highly unique exploration of interesting systems of thought and philosophy. A one-of-a-kind sort of book, for sure.

I dicovered this wonderful book (or maybe it discovered me...) when I was 16 in a B. Dalton's bookstore during a lunch break in High School. Immediately I felt this book was like my mentor during the remainder of my teen years. It's the kind of book that you can open up to any page and find wisdom, beauty, strentgh and love. The style of writing reminds me of the Dhammapada with a dash of Heraclitus' philosopical prose.

Some of my favorite passages...

" Get to know the truthful, if you would become accquainted with beauty."



"Let go of everything you're holding onto

now let go of everything else."




"security is quicksand

can it really be ANYone's ambition in life
to become one-half the couple in the life insurance ads?

security. life insurance.
how much are you worth dead?

more than you're worth alive?
hurry up and die, then

hurry up and be born again."





"Do not be afraid to love."




"Decision-making is a vice. Some addicts reach a stage where they do almost nothing but agonize over decisions.
It's a subtle form of hesitation.
Like all addictions, the only cure is cold turkey.
You could spend the rest of your life trying to decide whether to take the cure."



"take everything that is strong in you
and put it to work
set it free
never mind what anyone thinks
take all your muscles
and stretch them to their limits
you'll amaze yourself, how good you'll feel
and how much good you'll do
just by radiating pure energy outward
-contact high the ultimate form of communication-
you are beautiful
be
be
be!"

This book predates most of the post-modern self help books we see on the shelves in bookstores or advertised in the media. Most of the authors of post-modern self help are focusing too much energy on manipulation to achieve a re-defined version of love and abundance. I personally feel it's an imitation of the "real thing", but then again I wax nostalgic over the simple hippie philosophies that came out of the 60's as notably this book attests to that. Even though I wasn't born until 1969! But a lot of things that came out from the 60's are truly classic. This being one them.

"This is God speaking", says Williams at one point. Well yes, reading this book does rather feel like that much of the time. "Das Energi" is a mighty powerful and inspirational read. A dynamic (VERY dynamic) mix of Zen ideas, taoism, positive thinking and maybe a bit of Christian morality thrown in for good measure. However, some of the language does place the book firmly in the late sixties and early seventies (man!). Its still brilliant.

Paul Williams presents us with quick, sharp "blows to the head" such as "Beware means be aware.", "Vote with your life. Vote yes.", "Stop showing off. It isn't what you do. Its what you are that matters.", "Babies see things as they really are" and so on. The uneven format of the book (could be a sentence on one page, a short paragraph on the next, then a short essay on the next) helps you to think more consciously in itself.

Having read the book several times over, I finally realized what was missing for me. A sense of humour! An inspirational classic such as "Illusions" by Richard Bach for example, has the same enlightening quality but gives you a good chuckle too. Still, this is an extraordinary book and I thank Paul Williams for it wholeheartedly. Read this and WAKE UP! ;o)

i found a copy of this book in a thrift store in okc when i was 17. for a year i would read it everyday. after the southern babtist had their way with me i was looking for some truth. i found this book and formed my belief system around it. it has guided me thru life and now that i have learned more about life from experience, i'm glad mr. williams book was there to arm me. i emailed paul williams and told him how his book changed my life and not only did he write me back but, sent me a copy of waking up together. he's an awesome guy still trying to change the world.

Thanks, is a classic, is special for me, I read 40 years ago, and now I felt to read and enjoy his lexicon and fantasy.

The book should be a mandatory reading at university level.
It gives you a different perspective about the human psychological behavior and how it interacts with the reality of society.

Its a great book but the binding was questionable. This is the 2nd book I have seen that has come apart made by the same publisher. Be cautious. It looks nice but the binding could come apart.

This is a wonderful edition (in Spanish) of this classic. It's surprisingly modern and entertaining in the original Spanish. The footnotes are very helpful. The book is compact and easy to transport. Essays about the text round out the novel. If you want to read Don Quijote in the original language, this is the book to get. The price is right. The binding is excellent. My only complaint is the small print which is a little hard on the eyes, but probably only for older readers (like me).

I read Don Quijote in Spanish (my native language) and actually started the book as a sort of challenge. I am not daunted by long books or by the classics, but I was afraid I would not care much for the story of the madman who fancies himself a knight after reading too many chivalry novels.

I started out with a lot of dread - the language is old-fashioned and it needs a little getting used to. I had to look up words frequently and I thought the whole 1100 pages would be a chore. But I was in for a big surprise: not only did I get used to the language right away (the notes to this edition are very helpful in that regard), I also started to enjoy its beauty. Cervantes has a way with words that is a delight to Spanish speakers of any time or age. And it is so funny! I found myself laughing out loud many times, especially at Cervantes' turns of phrase or at the sheer ridiculousness of the situations Don Quijote and Sancho get themselves into... what a delight! I had certainly not expected this book to be FUNNY - but it IS!

Also: Don Quijote and Sancho Panza are two of the most endearing characters I have found in literature, absolutely lovable. I had a hard time saying goodbye to them at the end of the book. And as Jorge Luis Borges said, it seems Cervantes had a hard time letting go of Alonso Quijano, too: the death of Don Quijote is told in a sentence that gets me every time in its simplicity and its love for the subject.

I won't go into the metafiction aspect of the novel - I mostly read for pleasure and I'm not a literary critic, but I enjoyed the essays that accompany this edition. In particular, that of Mario Vargas Llosa really opened my eyes to the fiction-within-fiction and the construction of the novel, as well as to other aspects of Don Quijote that enriched my experience of the novel.

In sum - this book works at all levels and for almost anyone, old or young. It delivers entertainment, two memorable and thoroughly lovable characters and food for thought, all in one package. Quite an accomplishment. No wonder Cervantes is among the literature greats!

These stories set in Mr. Parkhill's classroom at the American Night Preparatory School for Adults ("English -- Americanization -- Civics -- Preparation for Naturalization") are wonderfully humorous and warm. They reflect a generous humanity and a keen ear for language in author Leo Rosten (1908-1997), who first wrote the stories for The New Yorker using the pen name Leonard Q. Ross.

When Rosten wrote the stories in the 1930s, the debate that had roiled American society over the high levels of immigration at the beginning of the century had ended with passage of the restrictive Johnson-Reed Immigration Act of 1924. Readers of The New Yorker could well remember the rancor and the stereotyping of the debate.

Rosten countered the prejudice against immigrants by portraying Mr. Parkhill's students, drawn from several national and ethnic groups, as earnest learners eager to know about and join American society by first learning the English language.

When people from different cultures meet, there are bound to be some collisions. A dark side take on those meetings is the ethnic joke. The bright side is this book, finding humor in the encounters that all can smile at.

I read The Education of H*Y*M*A*N K*A*P*L*A*N as a teenager in the early 1960s. Though I do not recall negative attitudes about immigration in my family, school, or suburban New Jersey neighborhood in that decade, the book surely shaped my attitudes and feelings about immigrants and immigration in a positive way. Hyman Kaplan taught me immigrants make America a better and richer society.

Each time I look through the book now, I worry whether Rosten crossed any of our modern "PC" redlines that would cause it to be crossed off reading lists. The book's humor ("comic dialect" is the scholar's term) depends on the rendering of accents, not much used at present. I found one use of the N-word (misspelled, in accent, not in anger) by a student character. On the whole, however, the book stands up well.

I give copies of this book to friends who are ESL (English as a Second Language) teachers. Leo Rosten's own nights as an ESL teacher, while he was working on his Ph.D., gave him the inspiration for the stories.

The shape of our nation's immigration policy is certainly a licit issue for debate and disagreement. Current immigration has some different countours than in the 1930s. Some voices, however, get carried away and tip over into negative stereotyping. They should take a break, have a cup of coffee, read this book, and meet Mr. Kaplan.

-30-

Having just begun teaching English As A Second Language to a group of Asian adults, a relative thought I might enjoy "The Education of Hyman Kaplan". The novel takes place entirely at the American Night Preparatory School for Adults. There under the tutelage of Mr. Parkhill, Hyman Kaplan, Miss Mitnick, Miss Caravello, Mrs. Moskowitz and an assortment of Jewish and Italian immigrants struggle with the complexities of the English language, anxious to master the language and learn about the history and culture of their newly adopted home. The irrepressible Mr. Kaplan takes center stage in the classroom with his singular logic in using the English language. Abraham Lincoln becomes Abram Lincohen, King George III of England is an autocrap, and Valley Forge becomes Velly Fudges. Kaplan conjugates the tense to die as "die, dead, funeral", and when talking of the contents of a newpaper he can't understand why he must say "it said", instead of "he said", since the paper is decidedly of the masculine gender. It's the Harold Tribune after all. This is a hilarious yet touching book. We are never laughing at Hyman Kaplan's linguistic foibles but with him, as we appreciate the struggles of all immigrants, those seventy years ago, or those today to come to terms with becoming Americans and learning the language that binds us together.

Think you can read an uproariously funny book without laughing out loud? Think again. Adventures of an English-as-a-second-language class for new immigrants in 1950's America.

As a new ESL teacher, my husband thought I'd enjoy this book. H*Y*M*A*N K*A*P*L*A*N* is an irrepressible immigrant to the US, struggling to master English, but that doesn't stop him from communicating at every opportunity. Waves of malapropisms spoken with a thick Eastern European accent don't get in the way of his enthusiasm. Set in the 30's, this is a world where teachers and students are Mr., Mrs. and Miss, immigrants worked in garment factories, and all still believe in the American Dream. Even Mr. Parkhill, the god-like teacher, can't help but be infected by Mr. Kaplan's unique interpretations of the great works of English literature--the Shakespeare story was a classic. Definitely dated, certainly politically incorrect, these stories hail from a simpler, but maybe tougher time--Leo Rosten originally wrote under the name Leonard Ross. A lovely little collection of stories!

This book, along with its sequel, "The Return of H*y*m*a*n K*a*p*l*a*n," (and don't be fooled, those stars are important) is a beautiful work and one that I'm surprised hasn't been rediscovered by critics and readers alike. Originally published as a series of stories in a magazine, these stories were finally collected into book form and later combined with its sequel in a grand form called O, K*a*p*l*a*n, My K*a*p*l*a*n (which is now out-of-print, but worth reading if you find it in a library or rare book store, since it was edited and improved by the author, with new characters and stories).

The stories all revolve around a group of immigrant adults attending the American Night Preparatory School for Adults in New York City in the 1930s. Under the tutelage of the fastidious, but patient and kind, Mr. Parkhill, the book chronicles their challenges in learning the English language. This is in and of itself a masterpiece: Leo Rosten (who had to publish the stories under a pseudonym since he wrote them while living off a fellowship and did not want to let his professors know that he was working on totally unrelated research) has found humor in GRAMMAR!! He not only shows how difficult English is to master, but how irrational and arbitrary the grammatical rules are that we all, as students, desperately try to commit to memory. Moreover, he writes with an expert ear, hearing the subtle differences in the accents and common foibles of English speakers from various language backgrounds. The fact that these passages are life-out-loud funny (and not at all in the sense of laughing at any character's mistakes but at the English language itself for torturing non-native speakers so) is astounding enough.

But this is the story, however, of a true comic hero - Hyman Kaplan. Leo Rosten has created a character as complex and poignant as Shakespeare's Falstaff, or John Kennedy Toole's Ignatius J. Reilly. Hyman Kaplan is a force of nature, yet distinctly human -- irrascible, dogmatic, determined and yet sensitive, noble and joyous. He is a man who refuses to kow-tow to the rules and guidelines of the English language and who truly relishes the joys of wrestling with learning. Since his exuberance leads him into constant conflict with his fellow students, his character is one of the greatest literary devices ever devised by an author. The stars emblazoned in red, green and blue crayon that are part of his signature, only serve as the ultimate monogram, defining this character as one worthy of the ages.

While this book is about efforts by foreigners to assimilate as Americans, it also highlights the glories of America's immigrant, melting-pot past -- a heritage and tradition that is sadly rapidly being forgotten and lost in this modern globalized world. Moreover, with the advent of the politically correct era of hypersensitivity, it is likely that this book will never experience a renaissance of popular support that it richly deserves. This is a true treasure -- I discovered it as a teenager and have often enjoyed returning many times to visit with these charming, inspiring characters. I cannot recommend it enough!

This review mostly concerns the Enquiry. The Letter is primarily a defense of Hume's earlier Treatise of Human Nature, while his Abstract is an anonymous review of the Treatise. It strikes me as very funny, though not surprising, that Hume would review his own work. Funny because any author would give his right arm to get at least one favorable review when all the other critics are completely missing its point. Unsurprising because Hume was probably one of the only people alive at that time who could truly grasp all the facets of his radical philosophical claims.

The Enquiry was written after the Treatise. Hume, though he claimed the opposite, seems never to have really recovered from the blow he took from seeing his Treatise "fall dead born from the press." As a result, his Enquiry is far more cautious in the steps it takes. (For those of you who have read both, yes, I swear, Hume IS more cautious. Compare the claims.) A more robust philosophical stance is taken in his Treatise, while a more focused stance is taken in his Enquiry.

The Enquiry is mainly a work of epistemology and as such, scrutinizes our methods of acquiring knowledge. Making perhaps the most radical (and poignant) claim in all of modern philosophy, it posits, and supports, that there is NO causation, only conjunction. That, for example, when we see a glass drop and break, we cannot say we know gravity caused this (in the way we know two plus two equals four). All we see is constant conjunction. The connection is lacking, i.e., it is not inconceivable that the glass wouldn't bounce, turn to ash, or dissolve into sand (the way it is inconceivable that two plus two equals five). This, in effect, nullifies all the so called "laws" of nature that are formed by science. (Note that this does not state that there are no laws of nature, just that we really can never make the claim that we ever really know there are laws of nature.)

This could be thought of as the philosophical shot heard round the world. Agree or disagree, Hume must be answered. Hume has historically been charged with creating an intellectual and philosophical cul-de-sac with his skepticism. To paraphrase Bertrand Russell, Hume makes a claim which none can refute, but at the same time one which none can accept. In effect, Hume's philosophy seems to bind the human mind, stopping its journey of discovery and ultimately accomplishing what his predecessor, John Locke, set out to do, i.e., map the extent of human knowledge.

However, where one may see Hume's philosophy as shackles and fetters in the search for truth, one could also equally see his philosophy as liberation. Implicit in his philosophy is the idea that ANYTHING is possible. There are no shackles, no fetters, no limits; only those that we create for ourselves. Our limits are self-imposed, constructs of our observance (and inference) of connection. In this way Hume appears in the same light as the Eastern masters seeing that reality is not what we have (through experiential knowledge) believed it to be. It is something much more wondrous. In Zen, our causal thinking is the only barrier between the person and enlightenment. Hume could be seen as implying that when the idea of causality is removed, with only conjunction remaining in its place, the state of true knowledge and wisdom (true zen) is achieved.

This, of course, is only idle speculation. But it is stated so as to demonstrate the richness and immense possibility Hume's philosophy possesses when seen in the correct light. Instead of saying, "Nothing is certain," after reading Hume, one can say, with equal validity, "Anything is possible." The first statement approaches philosophy with despair. The second approaches it with a sense of childlike wonder and hope at the immense possibilities of reality. It approaches life as a beginning, not an ending. It approaches life as the philosopher approaches it.

If one accepts the methodology of Descartes in applying scepticism to reason and the senses, in effect denying the existence of all things but a "thinking thing," two entailments are logically consequent: Either Berkeley's idealism or Hume's scepticism. I don't accept Descartes' starting point, so I find the entailments confused and incoherent. But if one does accept Descartes' starting point, then the two extremes must be heeded. If for no other reason than observing the absurdity of either man's conclusions, it is valuable to read both entailments. But in their confused process, both men bring certain salient features to light.

Hume accepts Descartes starting point, making it his own. But to Descartes method, he adds Pyrrhonist scepticism: That all reason leads to infinite regress, and that all sensations (or impressions) can not be trusted.

Hume begins with the conclusion that all sense perception is either an impression or idea. Even memory and imagination, two other faculties of the mind, are conflated into these two species of perceptions, as impressions. Their difference is one of degree (vivacity), not of kind. Hence, Hume is the author of what is known as the "Copy Principle." Instead of unmediated, direct perception through the ordinary senses, all perception is mediated by the imagination into impressions and ideas. From this follows certain resemblances, contiguity, and causal associations between impressions or ideas, and from this association we develop a sense of self. But even the notion of causality here is one of implied inference, not of actual inductive reason. Hume denies there is any real causality that can be known, although we operate "as if" we infer cause from effect. Even probability is reduced to a mere association of ideas and/or impressions; because neither reason (which always leads to infinite regress) or senses (which can always be deceived) can actually be true. The Enquiry also treats of miracles and the testimony of others derisively; but don't we rely on the testimony of others who claim the earth is round rather than flat, just as we rely on others who testify to miracles in a byegone era? After all, few of us have direct experience with a spherical earth (Popper makes this observation).

Hume's method incorporates five kinds of scepticism: (i) methodological, (ii) conceptual, (ii) nomological, (iv) explanatory, and (v) reductive empiricism. His commitment to scepticism is not without some capitulation. While he denies absolute causality and inductive inference and probability in an actual senses, he relies on them for practical purposes. One can't remain a pyrrhonist for long; some elements of reason and some degree of confidence in impressions is necessary for ordinary life. But if one starts with Descartes' starting point, extreme scepticism is a necessary entailment. Which, after seeing Hume deny so much intuition, is it really worth starting with Descartes' scepticism? Answering that question is what makes Hume interesting.

David Hume was perhaps the leading light in the Empiricist movement in philosophy. Empiricism is seen in distinction from Rationalism, in that it doubts the viability of universal principles (rational or otherwise), and uses sense data as the basis of all knowledge - experience is the source of knowledge. Hume was a skeptic as well as empiricist, and had radical (for the time) atheist ideas that often got in the way of his professional advancement, but given his reliance on experience (and the kinds of experiences he had), his problem with much that was considered conventional was understandable.

Hume's major work, 'A Treatise of Human Nature', was not well received intially - according to Hume, 'it fell dead-born from the press'. Hume reworked the first part of this work in a more popular way for this text, which has become a standard, and perhaps the best introduction to Empiricism.

In a nutshell, the idea of empiricism is that experience teaches, and rules and understanding are derived from this. However, for Hume this wasn't sufficient. Just because billiard balls when striking always behave in a certain manner, or just because the sun always rose in the morning, there was no direct causal connection that could be automatically affirmed - we assume a necessary connection, but how can this be proved?

Hume's ideas impact not only metaphysics, but also epistemology and psychology. Hume develops empiricism to a point that empiricism is practically unsupportable (and it is in this regard that Kant sees this text as a very important piece, and works toward his synthesis of Empiricism and Rationalism). For Hume, empirical thought requires skepticism, but leaves it unresolved as far as what one then needs to accept with regard to reason and understanding. According to scholar Eric Steinberg, 'A view that pervades nearly all of Hume's philosophical writings is that both ancient and modern philosophers have been guilty of optimistic and exaggerated claims for the power of human reason.'

Some have seen Hume as presenting a fundamental mistrust of daily belief while recognising that we cannot escape from some sort of framework; others have seen Hume as working toward a more naturalist paradigm of human understanding. In fact, Hume is open to a number of different interpretations, and these different interpretations have been taken up by subsequent philosophers to develop areas of synthetic philosophical ideas, as well as further developments more directly out of Empiricism (such as Phenomenology).

This is in fact a rather short book, a mere 100 pages or so in many editions. As a primer for understanding Hume, the British Empiricists (who include Hobbes, Locke, and Berkeley), as well as the major philosphical concerns of the eighteenth century, this is a great text with which to start.

Hume, I and many others think, was the greatest philosopher to have written in English, and this is the book to pick up if you want to introduce yourself to Saint David's distinctive brand of classical empiricism. This is a must-read for anyone with even a passing interest in philosophy, and it's hard for me to see how anyone interested in the history of modern thought can avoid reading this book or the corresponding sections of Hume's Treatise.

As is well-known, the Enquiry concerning Human Understanding was intended as an encapsulation and popularization of the views Hume defended in Book I of his magnum opus, A Treatise of Human Nature. Hume assumed that book's commercial failure could be accounted for by its length, difficulty, and lack of accessibility, and so, being a man who desired literary fame, he hoped to acquire commercial success by presenting the same ideas in a more appealing and accessible manner. Unfortunately, it seems Hume misunderstood what the literati of his day were looking for in a philosophical treatise. For the Enquiry, like the Treatise before it, didn't bring him the fame he sought. Still, Hume did understand what goes into writing excellent philosophical prose, and consequently this book is a much easier read than Book I of the Treatise. Indeed, this book constitutes an excellent introduction to Hume's thought, and, except for maybe Berkeley's Three Dialogues, I can't think of another primary source that would serve as a better introduction to classical British empiricism.

Now, let's get to the ideas here. Hume, like the other classical empiricists, was primarily concerned with the psychological question of the origin of our concepts. About the answer to this question, the empiricists were all agreed--our concepts are furnished by experience, which includes both sensory experience and introspection (i.e., the experience of our own mental states). And the empiricists also agreed about the way we can justify our beliefs. Some beliefs are true (or false) in virtue of the ideas they contained, and we can know their truth (or falsity) simply by thinking about them; other beliefs are true (or false) in virtue of how the external world is, and we can know their truth (or falsity) only by drawing on our experiences of the world. According to Hume, all substantial conclusions about the world fall into this second category. That is, the truth (or falsity) of all substantial claims about the existence and nature of things in the external world can be discovered only by checking those claims against the evidence of our senses.

The traditional way of placing Hume within the story of empiricism goes something like this. Hume takes up the empiricism of Locke and Berkeley and pushes it to its logical conclusion. Whereas Locke and Berkeley hadn't been wholly consistent empiricists, Hume, the true believer, demonstrates that classical empiricism leads to a pretty thoroughgoing skepticism. Since he's wholly convinced of the truth of his empiricist premises, Hume is willing to accept the skepticism that goes along with them. However, those who aren't convinced of that his empiricism is obviously correct think that Hume has actually demonstrated the implausibility of his empiricism. If this is where empiricism leads, they think, then it's clear that we need to reject empiricism. Indeed, some, like Thomas Reid, view Hume's arguments as constituting a reductio ad absurdum of his sort of empiricism. On this interpretation, Hume's philosophy essentially presents a dilemma for all future thinkers: abandon empiricism, or accept empiricism along with Humean skepticism.

But a different view of Hume, one of Hume as proposing a wholly naturalistic account of the human mind, has recently emerged as a competitor to the general conception of Hume's place within philosophy sketched in the previous paragraph. This interpretation downplays Hume's skepticism and emphasizes his professed intentions to provide a positive account of the operation of the human mind that appealed to nothing beyond the evidence of our senses. According to proponents of this interpretation, Hume is most interested in a description of the operation of the human mind. He's describing what human nature allows us to know and what it doesn't allow us to know. Furthermore, he argues that our nature is such that, where it fails to provide us with the resources to acquire the knowledge we might want, it provides us with a natural habit of forming the right conclusions anyway. Even though our nature limits our knowledge of the world, it ensures that we possess the habits of mind needed to make our way in the world. Hume dubs all these habits of mind "custom."

If this view is correct, then Hume has abjured many of the normative aims of traditional epistemological inquiry. He isn't attempting to show how we can answer a skeptic or why we have good reason to believe what we think we know. Instead, he wants us to stand back from our everyday beliefs and think about the natural processes that result in them. How, exactly, do our minds operate? How do we come to think what we do about the world? Hume thinks that this sort of inquiry will lead us see that, at some point, the explanation of why we think what we think reaches certain brute facts about the operation of the human mind. When we reach these points, there is nothing more to be said. We simply can't help thinking in these ways, and we lack the resources to demonstrate that these ways of thinking constitute an accurate way to represent the operation of the external world. And, Hume claims, it turns out that many of the fundamental elements of our conception of the world--the belief that things stand in causal relations to one another, the belief that we can know that there is a world outside our minds, the belief the future will resemble the past--end up not being open to ratification by experience. With respect to beliefs of these sorts, we ultimately have to appeal to custom in order to explain their existence and popularity. Hume, then, can be seen as demolishing the pretensions of reason in order to make room for a wholly naturalistic account of human thinking.

First I would like to commend the excellent review of this book by CT Dreyer in which he correctly shows how Hume extended the empiricism of Locke and Berkeley to the point where skepticism seemed our only honest way of thinking about our knowledge of the world. Hume's questioning of induction, of how we can be sure tomorrow will be like today , his questioning of how we can trust our senses to know the outside world, his questioning of how we can hold our world logically together when analysis reveals that there is no necessary connection between ' cause' and 'effect' in everyday life action means he wakened not only Kant from his dogmatic slumber but Philosophy itself from the sense that it will provide absolute understanding.
Hume is a very clear writer. I remember reading the famous billiard ball account of causality in which our common sense view of ' before' and ' after' is questioned and taken apart. I believe Hume says after this account, something to the effect and ' still when we leave the room we leave by the door and not by the window'. A friend of mine in this class when the class ended opened the window ( on the ground floor ) and went out that way.
This is difficult and great philosophy. I do not pretend to understand it or its implications fully. A test of the mind and a necessary read for anyone who would know Western Philosophy.

I wanted a book to review information I had learned in school but since faded over time. This is such a book.

A collegue recommended me this book for the citizenship interview. It has just the right level of detail (with fun cartoons) that I was looking for. Unlike most history books, this one seems to be fairly unbiased in its choice of words. Glad to add this book to my reference collection.

Given as a gift. Got a thank you note so she must like and or use it.

This is an excellent book for immigrants to study for US citizenship tests. I would highly recommend it. It is not too childish and it goes to the core of what you should know.
I am very glad I purchased it.

I teach at a special education high school and in any one class my students' reading levels range from Kinder-12th grade, so it is extremely tough to find things that will encompass as many levels of learning at once. I am happy to say that this book does that, and the students really jumped right on to use it!

This book is right to the point, and is great for teaching students how to take notes. It has amazing spacing and large type that allows easier reading for students with reading disabilities. The fantastic use of color allows the reader to visualize a change in topic so that they may know that they are onto something new.

I would LOVE for this series to be modified into textbooks, with resources such as computer programs to enhance learning for visual and audio learners.

I DO NOT love the fact that it puts the grade level in BIG BOLD WORDS on the cover. That means that my 18 year old student is liable to tell me, "I'm not going to look at some middle school book. I'm in high school."