This book is a collection of the "best" / most cited Brooks papers. Basically it covers what is considered the core of papers that got behaviour based robotics rolling. Almost all papers have appeared as journal papers earlier and this is merely a convenient collection of these.

For anyone working on mobile robotics these papers are a must. I.e. everyone ought to know these papers, both because they are thought provoking and widely referenced. For anyone with access to a library it might be an overkill to pay for this book. Go to the library and read the papers.

The real disappointment here is the lack of a historical perspective. These papers are all 5-15 years old. They strongly influenced the robotics world when they were published. The examples are interesting, but for REAL everyday robot systems the world is more complex than indicated by Brooks. It would have been interesting to see a final chapter that discussed lessons and limitations of the approach when seen in a historical perspective. Brooks is now building a humanoid system (Cog) and one wonders how many of the behaviour based ideas made it into Cog? Probably not as many as this book might indicate.

If you have a library, use you money on an upto date book! If not, you ought to acquire it for a view of the history.

While the title is a bit misleading (this is not a history per se, so much as a collection of papers of historical interest), this book contains a wealth of good material for those researching behavior-based robotics. As the book is a collection of Brooks' papers on the subject, it gives good insights into his approach -- although it does include a significant amount of redundant text (as you'd expect, many of the papers share "boilerplate" treatments of some subject matter).

Still, "Cambrian Intelligence" is both thought-provoking (to those primarily acquainted with "classical" AI approaches), and well worth the price tag -- if only for the convenience factor (vs. rounding up and printing out all the included papers).

This book presents a series of papers (technical and philosophical) on an approach to AI (specifically, robotics), that basically denies the need for the existence of a 'cognition' system. I like this approach because of it's simplicity, and it's philosophical implications. To the reader that was expecting a book on the history of AI: Yes, the title could be read like that, but I think the intent was to say "This is the history of a new way of looking at things", not "This is the early history of the entire field of AI"

Yeah well sure... now I get it...maybe...sort of...OK now I'm just reeaally confused. I tried for three weeks to get into this book but it just wouldn't let me. There are tantalizing bits that seem really interesting but they just don't pan out. The tai chi connection is just silly.
Look elsewhere for info on physics and learn about tai chi from a teacher not a book.

I have not completely read this title, nor do I think that I ever will. If you have an extra clothespin Dr. Author, I could use it on my nose! Extremely piecemeal without an inkling as to how Everything can be accounted for in one equation. It's about time one of you physicists encapsulates the whole of creation from a Top-Down perspective so we too can understand the essence of Unitary Covariance.

This book does two important things. 1) It demonstrates the mathematical plausibility of the metaphysical principle that each individual creates their universe. This is derived from a new interpretation of quantum theory which is based solely on the nature of superconductivity theory and Pearle's interpretation of quantum theory. If as Philip Pearle, physicist, has suggested, the quantum gauge angle may be chosen randomly to collapse the wave function, then superconductivity suggests how that is accomplished--without adding to the quantum theory as it stands. This implies that a field of gauge angles exists in consciousness--this is the 'field of infinite possibilities' as described by Depak Chopra. We then, in principle are free to choose among them. 2) It also suggests that a theory of karmic cycles may be built upon Quantum Gauge Theory. This mathematical theory is based on a gauge potential cyclic in time. This is the Quantum Tai Chi proposal.

For these reasons the book presents a significant but radical advance in understanding human consciousness and how it relates to Quantum Theory.

Prof. Kame`eleihiwa did a lot of donkey work in the archives but advances an implausible explanation of the privatization of land in Hawaii in the mid-19th century. Her thesis of a vast multi-generational conspiracy is no more plausible than any other conspiratorial explanation of complex historical events. Never explain by conspiracy what can be explained by stupidity. The theory that foreign conspirators "stole" Hawaiian land is not improved by combining it with the claim that hereditary aristocrats who had spent decades ruthlessly pursuing their self-interest suddenly and generously gave up wealth and power. The Hawaiian king and aristocracy decided to privatize the land of Hawaii because the old system based on forced peasant labor was collapsing as the peasants died or left the land to take better jobs. By privatizing and partitioning the land among themselves, the king and aristocrats made themselves rich: they converted undevelopable land into valuable private property in their own hands. Then, in a display of conspicuous consumption well-grounded in traditional Polynesian culture, most of them splurged their new wealth and went bust. On the other hand, people, including peasants, who wanted to invest in land could buy plenty of land cheap. Those who invested wisely for the long term generally did well. No grand conspiracy theory is needed to explain that people act in their own self-interest and that people who act in their long-run self-interest usually do better than those who seek immediate gratification.

Compelling and unforgettable historical account of ancient Hawai`i from pre-Captain Cook up to the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy, by prominent historian and Native Hawaiian Lilikala Kame`eleihiwa. Moving and detailed description of the devastating impact American imperialism exacts upon the minds, culture, and lives of the Native Hawaiian people. A must for those interested in a true history of Hawai`i.

If you want to learn T'ai Chi Ch'uan, look somewhere else.
I am not quite sure what the author was trying to achieve. Probaby trying to create his own style of Qigong and give it a marketable name. It is very misleading.
It appears to be a money making endevour as far as I can determine from related sites on the web.
I have over a hundred T'ai Chi Ch'uan books in my library, this is NOT one of them.

Mr. Stone's work to bring Tai Chi Chih to the world is a great service to us all. This excellant form of Qigong is reaching a wide audience of people who are reaping great benefits.

We have heard wonderful things about Tai Chi Chih all over the country through Tai Chi Chih teacher's and students involved with World T'ai Chi & Qigong Day.

Again, thanks and congratulations to Mr. Stone on his important and highly effective work.

Bill Douglas, Founder of World T'ai Chi & Qigong Day

First off, I'm not an expert on T'ai Chi, so I'm not qualified to tell you whether this book presents an accurate portrait of T'ai Chi or not. I'm just a beginner, and I was looking for a suitable book for beginners. I have found many dummies books to be of extremely high quality, written by experts who are able to distill their knowledge effectively to teach people who don't know anything about the subject. However, I found this book disappointing. The author seems to have practiced for only a few years, and doesn't seem to have the broad base of knowledge of an expert. As such, I would feel uncomfortable relying on this book for information. It's not a bad introduction to the topic, and if all you're interested in is learning some basic moves to add to your exercise routine, this book will help you get started. But if you really want to understand T'ai Chi, I wouldn't trust this book to teach it to you.

Lots of books on Tai Chi and Qi Gong out there, this is the best one for the beginner. Good explanations of the 24 form Yang Style set, with a sense of humor and a love of the form and its history. Does emphasize correctly the energy aspect of the exercise.Added bonus: The Eight Pieces of Brocade, a classic Qi Gong system.So what's the caution. It is really impossible to learn Tai Chi from a book or video. You need correction, correction and more correction. You need the insights only a teacher can give you. This book is great as a text to go along with what you are being taught.For that reason, I recommend it highly.

The author of this book knows nothing of taijiquan or chinese martial arts in general. Sophia Delza claims that taijiquan is NOT a fighting art. I've never heard anyone take that ridiculous position before, and I've read books by all of the leading taijiquan experts in the world. It's remarkable that Sophia Delza has learned nothing of taijiquan despite her years of training.

A must for anyone interested in Tai-Chi Chuan. It's for those who seek good health, peace of mind, and an aesthetic sense of movement. Sophia is a highly articulate spokeswoman. This brilliant book is filled with perceptive and thoroughly apt observations on Ta-Chi Chuan. Sophia Delza was a pioneer of Tai-Chi Chuan in the West and was able to connect the exercise with a philosophy for daily living. Her focus was on Tai-Chi Chuan as an exercise, and it seems she was on the right track as most practice it as such.

it sounds slightly like the orb.

This is a very interesting book as it is one of the few examples of sociological investigation into the military establishment in a latin american country. Camp investigates both the history of the Mexican military as well as the ongoing socializing practices of the Mexican military.

Mexico has come a long way. One of their shining successes (along with many others both economic and social) is the fact that they have maitained democratic rule, unbroken by military dictatorship for over 70 years. Some will argue that one party rule is not a real democracy but no one can argue that elections do take place, real debate (albeit within the PRI) does take place and, however indirect, their is representation of the people in government. However, we must rememeber that Mexico has maintained a democratic tradition while coping with explosive growth, market collapses and a mush internal dissension. To have kept the military at bay during all; of these events is a testament both to the democratic tradition in the country as well as ingenious use of power by politicians to keep the military in the barracks. How did they do it? One, the military is not seen as a prestigious occupation. Thus few memebers of the upper class seek careers in the military. By recruting alomost exlusively from the lower classes, the government cements their loyalty by career advancement and material security.

Secondly, the officer corps is frequently rotated in command and is kept from establishing ties to the local community or of becoming too esteemed by their troops. This prevents them from becoming "strongmen" with too much locally based autonomy. Third, they are not technocrats. The education of the military elite through the military academies is equal to a community college education. The receipt of advanced degrees in technical subjects is not actively encouraged.

Finally, the military is kept on a very short leash. The budget is always tight and arms purchases are minimal.

This is the insight provided by this very interesting and well written book.

This book is the first translation of any book on local Thai literature. The translation illustrates characteristic northeast Thai poetry. The best part of this translation is its detailed notes on literary, cultural, and historical references. The story is wonderful and uniquely Thai; its theme is universal and is still applicable to today's world problem of fighting for food, resources, and power. However, the translation may sound a bit stiff as the translator aims at poetic form called khlong san. I recommend this book for any southeast asian studies scholars.

This book was my first Tai Chi book, and so I still believe it has some merit. I believe it brings up many valid points which will be very useful for American readers, and the book serves as a good introduction. However, it is an imperfect method in description of the postures and pales in comparison to books by masters of many years. The book I would most suggest to anyone is Complete Tai-Chi by Master Alfred Huang.