I'm turning into quite a fan of Leo Katz. I was so impressed by his _Bad Acts and Guilty Minds_ that I picked this one up almost at once. And it's just as good.

This time around, Katz's plan is to deal with what he calls "three related mysteries": the moral problem of "avoision" (i.e., what counts as morally bad evasion and what merely as legitimate avoidance); the moral nature of e.g. blackmail and insider trading (i.e., what, if anything, justifies our all but universal moral intuitions that these and other similar acts are genuinely wrong); and the problem of "undeserved glory" (and what's wrong with appropriating someone else's fame).

I won't try to spell out Katz's examples and arguments under each of these headings, for I could not do so if I tried: his discussions are very well organized, but they pass from one subtopic to another with such rapidity and ease that I would have a hard time deciding just what to select. In general I shall say only that even where I disagree with him (as I sometimes do), his lively and provocative analysis is a sheer joy to read.

His most prominent theme is also one of which I heartily approve. There are some lawyers, philosophers, and especially economists who think it is possible to be both a libertarian and a utilitarian. Katz forcefully disagrees (as do I). And one purpose of this volume is to hammer that point home.

Himself apparently a libertarian, Katz argues repeatedly and at length that libertarianism requires a deontological foundation; utilitarianism is simply inadequate in every respect. Along the way he also mounts a striking _deontological_ defense of the role of the attorney (in helping clients to avoid malignant moral outrages by "capitalizing on the deontological properties of legal rules," p. 131; you'll have to read the book to find out just what this means). And in one brief passage that one could wish were longer, he follows Amartya Sen to a striking conclusion: libertarianism is _also_ incompatible with complete freedom of contract. As in his earlier book, Katz's own outlook seems to be a sort of self-critical intuitionism along the lines of Judith Jarvis Thomson (whose "trolley problem" also gets a further workout here).

I wrote in my review of Katz's previous book that it was all but unique. I am happy to say that isn't entirely so; this book is a lot like it. Highly recommended.

I would like to thank and congratulate Dr. Fenton and Dr. Czervionke for the wonderful work in making this book available to all spine intervention specialists. I am a Physiatrist, currently receiving pain management fellowship training in the Dept. of Anesthesiology, Univ. of Michigan at Ann Arbor. Of all the interventional pain management books I have read, "Image- Guided Spine Intervention" is the best. The fine details of relavent anatomic consideration supplimented by numerous high quality illustrations, three-dimensional surface rendered CT images, MR images, step-by-step illustrations of needle placement as well as state-of-the-art radiographic images all make ths book a must-to-have for those who want to become spine interventionists. The Chapters on SNRB, Transforaminal ESI, RFA, Discogrphy, IDET are totally outstanding. My personal experience with reading this book as well as utilizing the technique taught during procedures has been incredible. Additionally, the inclusion of possible complications, routine postprocedure care, patient follow up, sample dictation and CPT codes for the procedures dicussed makes it a very practical manual as well. I could not be happier with this most wonderful book!

Interesting idea. Children may or may not notice, but adults surely will, the similarities between the garden of Eden and the rabbits garden. Two of the worlds most contented bunnies live together in the worlds most beautiful garden. They may eat their fill of the carrots there; but, cautions the elderly rabbit before he leaves them to go on a trip, do not try to eat the apples in the tree, else the fox should get the bunnies. Unfortunately, he doesn`t tell them what to do if they can`t find anymore carrots. Nor does he know about the snake in the apple tree. Fortunately, unlike the serpent in Eden, this is a kindly and generous snake. My five- and seven-year old sons enjoyed the stereotype bashing snake, as well as how he ingeniously rescues the bunnies from a hungry fox. My words will not do that simple picture justice: suffice to say it is Lionni: witty and startling and memorable.

This book it's a really treat from a Master on the Piano Performer Authority.

The deeper you get into "Irrelativity," the more fun it becomes -- and I'm not a scientist. It is reminiscent of Lewis Thomas. Epstein writes extremely well, and places the reader into what really must be a "parallel universe," because you know this is satirical, but his silly science is so internally consistent that it still seems to make sense. Try it, you'll like it!

If you want a book that is powerful, insightful, thought provoking, a bit controversial, and very well written... then this book is worth considering. While delving through the pages, long forgotten memories from my own past were constantly being awakened within me... invoking a wide range of emotions, that kept me turning the pages to see what was next. As an avid reader, I highly recommend this book.

Michael Ewans' informative "Janacek's Tragic Operas" is a valuable resource for both the experienced Janacek lover or the beginner. Ewans delves deeply into all of Janacek's mature operas, which are highly acclaimed and growing in audience popularity. With many musical quotations and texts from the opera, Ewans' book is a fine reference. But even more compelling is that the obvious passion for Janacek that Ewans has is present in every sentence, and his intelligent, occasionally provocative criticism is a pleasure to read. Every Janacek lover should have this book on their shelf.

This book is a translation of the second edition of "Roudou-hou" by Kazuo Sugeno, Professor of Law at the Faculty of Law, University of Tokyo (Tokyo: Koubundou Publishing Co., 1991). As the translator's note says, this book "is the standard work on Japanese Labor Law, and is greatly relied on by the Bench, the Bar, Business and Labor in Japan .... His Work is not only comprehensive in scope, but also reflects a detailed knowledge and understanding of the law and practice in his own and other countries." I believe none of you disagree that this book is most deserving of a five-star rating. Since this translation was conducted, this original book in Japanese has undergone three additional revisions to cover bunch of later issues and is now at the second revised version of the fifth edition. It verifies most eloquently that this book is in great demand by the readers. I wish the publisher reprint this great works to be available to the non-Japanese readers. A real must-read book!!

If you're not sure that "polygamophile" is a word, don't worry - neither am I. Miller seems to invent this word to describe John Milton, and puts his favourable views on polygamy and divorce down to unhappy experiences of marriage. Milton, of course, would probably put them down to an unbiased search for truth. Miller does an excellent job of tracking down Milton's views on polygamy in his mainstream work. This takes some doing, as they were not generally known about until his treatise on Christian Doctrine was unearthed 150 years after his death, but about half this book is made up of endnotes - it does not lack evidence for its comments. Milton is not the only person seen to have an interested in polygamy, but you'll have to search out a copy of the book to find the rest. Even for the material on Milton alone, it will be worth it.

It's odd, all the books you never even knew existed until you became a parent . . . like this one.

Authors Noble and Sorger have put together a small book, primarily photos with captions, for boys whose penises are left intact (not circumcised). Even very young boys can get the message that being left normal is not "abnormal," since that's the way they were designed.

With the rate of routine (non-medical) circumcisions dropping every year, this book [hopefully] will be totally unnecessary in just a few more years: normal boys will once again outnumber their circumcised friends, as they do everywhere else in the world.

Until then, this is a nice little reminder for boys that they are fine just the way they were made.

Highly recommended (by me & my son)