Open Books

The book- "Free/Open Source Software Development"- is an excellent compilation of chapters from research teams around the world. The book has also attracted critical contributions from practitioners of F/OSS in industry as well as from the community. Many of the chapters provide extensive empirical analysis. As such, this book is a must-read for researchers in this area and is a valuable contribution to the growing
literature on F/OSS.

Written by a Professor of Philosophy at Indiana University, Frege Explained: From Arithmetic to Analytic Philosophy is an in-depth examination of Frege's career and legacy. Frege's work was marked by his determination to show that arithmetic is really a part of logic; while that effort ended in failure, in the process Frege revolutionized philosophic understanding of logic and set the foundation for analytic philosophy. Chapters survey Frege's life and character, his "new logic" and definitions of numbers, his logical investigations and speculations upon the foundations of geometry, his impact upon recent and modern philosophy, and much more. Especially for philosophy students and scholars, Frege Explained presents complex concepts in as straightforward a manner as practically possible, and is especially recommended for college library philosophy shelves.

Thanks to Norton Creek Press for re-printing another wise, but out-of-print book!

What an eye opener, especially when it comes to winter flock management in cold, snowy, harsh climates like ours!

This book will change our winter management style--and make it a lot simpler. Our chickens will be more comfortable and healthy, and we'll have a lot less work to do!

Highly recommended for those who keep chickens for pleasure, as well as profit.

From bright ideas to right ideas: capturing the creative spark: thinking in new ways opens the mind to boundless possibilities and creative solutions.(outside the box): An article from: The Futurist
~ Michael Michalko

Like the author's two wonderful books on creativity, this article is very well written.

If you own &/or have read any of Michael Michalko's 'Thinkertoys' &/or 'Cracking Creativity', then I reckon there is no point for you to acquire &/or read this article. The things he talks about in this article can be found in his two books.

My rating of 5 here applies to the author's two books, both of which have already been reviewed by me on amazon website.

Vitalism is a profoundly science-ejected concept, though many CAM or 'natural health' cabals falsely claim that vitalism survives scientific scrutiny.

Here's a 1903 text, republished in 2007, that -- surprise, surprise -- illustrates the 'science-ejected status' of vitalism EVEN THEN, about ONE HUNDRED years ago, per:

"the view of life as a substance yielded to the belief in a life principle (a kind of life energy), a view which is generally called vitalism. Vitalism, however, had also to be abandoned, and the life of organisms is now recognized as a phenomenon of nature which depends on the presence of neither a special life-substance or life-principle [p.089]."

-r.c.

Mr. Evans is a philosopher and Mr. Berent is an historian. Together they wrote this book a decade and a half ago to address hazards inherent in Christian "fundamentalism." More specifically to address the issue of biblical inerrancy. A fundamentalist is described as someone who maintains "that respect for the Bible requires the belief that it is inerrant, that is, free from error of every sort. Holding that belief, most but not all people who call themselves `fundamentalists' often view the Bible as representing the very Word of God, dictated to writers who were Divinely preserved from error.... Doubts about the truth of any Biblical claim are seen as immoral if not Satanic" (p. xviii). The authors do not clearly distinguish between those who would consider the Bible as inerrant within the confines of each text's literary type and intended purpose and those who would hold all texts inerrant in a literalist dictation fashion. Either group, however, would find this book challenging their view of the Bible.

The major focus of this book is to show that the Bible is not infallible but affected by historical and cultural limitations in wisdom and knowledge. The authors maintain that "this book is written not to discourage either faith in God or reverence for the Bible." In fact the authors claim, "we are not `secular humanists', nor are we `fanatical liberals.' We believe in God and love the Bible. Our chief purpose in writing this book is to further the pursuit of truth..." (xviii). Later they maintain that "God has, indeed, provided mankind with an excellent source of inspiration and guidance in the form of the Bible" (p.30). Yet, what exactly they believe about God is never clarified nor what they consider excellent about the Bible. In fact their pursuit of truth is such that two noted atheists, Steve Allen and Isaac Asimov, can compliment the book with a forward and introduction respectively.

The book is divided into twelve chapters, an appendix, and some suggested readings. The chapters include: a presentation of the claims of some former fundamentalists (members of Fundamentalists Anonymous) that their religious instruction led to views that caused psychological trauma; a presentation of relevant teachings from evangelists Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell; five chapters pointing out "particular implausibilities or inconsistencies" in Scripture that arise when approached as inerrant; a chapter on conjectured historical influences on biblical authors; and finally a chapter (at four pages, tied for shortest with the first on what is a fundamentalist?) on "Unlocking the Wisdom of the Bible." The latter, by the way, gives no insights from Scripture but is simply a concluding call for "genuine questioning" of the Bible so as to recognize the misguided nature of viewing "the Bible as `perfect' or `inerrant'..."in order to make the wisest possible use" of it.

For the authors the Bible is very much a fallible book. It contains a pre-scientific cosmology and endorses some archaic moral positions that violate justice and decency. Even Jesus, while having some admirable traits, is portrayed in the Gospels "at times as narrow-minded, vindictive, discourteous, ethnocentric, and even hypocritical" (p.60). What, then, is the value of this book? Well, for those with an axe to grind against Judaism or Christianity it can supply lots of ammunition and leave them feeling intellectually and morally superior. For the "fundamentalist," for whom the book is intended, it might instigate a serious reappraisal of any smug or simplistic view of biblical inerrancy and interpretation. The authors' comparatively polite manner can have the effect of being hit by a mace under a crocheted wool cover. Sadly, I think the book's readership more likely to be of the former type rather than the latter. People tend to read according to their predilection. I would definitely not recommend it for those of fragile faith. But for those open to critical inquiry it is a very good critique of Scripture from a rationalist perspective.

An excellent resource book for beginning sewers and anyone who likes shortcuts. Makes extensive use of unfinished hems and rubber bands, yet still gets beautiful decorator-style results.

It's reliable. As soon as a new version of the software ships; hundreds, if not thousands of people go in and try to break it. If they break it, then they, or any of hundreds of others immediately go to fix it. ==It's fast. The Linux core is much smaller, much faster than any of the various Windows operating systems.

And, of course, it's FREE. And that's a very good price. A full set of the software needed to do gaming in today's market is a pocket full of dollars. If it's open source, it's simply free. Just to prove it, ther's a CD included with this book and it contains some 120 gaming software packages.

This book is aimed at the newcommer to the open source movement. It discusses things like the licensing requirements and what the software packages can do rather than being a guide to detailed programming. The goal is to direct you in the right direction so that you get the benefits of the open source movement quickly without having to go looking for what packages you might need.

Beverley Nichols writes, as always, with gentle, dry humor in Garden Open Tomorrow. He provides a refreshing look at a bygone day and reminds the reader, by example, that a garden is, indeed, a place of constant renewal, even when it makes much work for the gardener. Among his several cat companions, he is tops!

Genius in their Own Words: The Intellectual Journeys of Seven Great 20th-Century Thinks is an anthology of writings and statements by seven of the greatest thinkers of modern times: Albert Einstein, Bertrand Russell, Jean-Paul Sartre, Martin Buber, A. J. Ayer, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, and Hans-Georg Gadamer. A superb selection of scientific, sociological, and spiritual wisdom, Genius In Their Own Words makes for unique, fascinating, insightful, and occasionally inspiring reading.