It took me a while to recover after reading the story. True words are plain and simple. A short story, yet so powerful, just as I thought I've known it all, it makes me think hard about life from a whole new perspective. "Thus does my heart go out to you...", they may be long gone, but it feels like they are still talking to me.
A lost tale found after 150 years and I am so glad that I have found you.

This spare, tender fairy tale has a calm beauty that touches the heart; add to that the lush, sumptuous illustrations by the truly gifted Maurice Sendak, and you have a book of otherworldly peace and depth. Thoughts that lie too deep for tears indeed ... highly recommended!

I am 13 years old, but I still love this book like I did when I read it when I was 4 years old. It was one of the saddest, yet sweetest books I've ever read. I cry at the end when mother and daughter are reunited and I weep at the daughter's innocence.

Maritain, the major neo-Thomist of the 20th century, has written a masterful tome on most epistemological accounts that is not only versed in "knowing that," and "knowing how," but also the knowledge derived from religious experience, mystical experience, and various other "degrees" of knowledge which, like a spider, are webbed together in a wonderful lattice of gemlike reflections. One will find all sorts of epistemological issues handled with care and illumination -- even ones modern analytic philosophy finds too "metaphysical," -- that most people encounter in the course of a lifetime. A delightful read and a great treasure for future reflection and meditation.

The work of a great mind

Out of the many books Jacques Maritain wrote, his Degrees of Knowledge can be considered as his Magnum Opus in the field of speculative philosophy. First published in 1932, it is his major work on the theory of knowledge, inspired by the philosophy of St Thomas Aquinas and the mystical works of St John of the Cross.

The whole purpose of the book is to make a synthesis between science, philosophy and theology. It has always been said that the vocation as a philosopher meant two things for Jacques Maritain: "the dignity of the human person and the restoration of the intellect". The first part of this project can be found in his works on social and political philosophy, like Integral Humanism and Man and State, etc. The other part led his philosophical activity gradually from his Bergsonian background to the critical realism of Thomas Aquinas.

The critical realism is to be found in the Degrees of knowledge which is Maritain's testimony of the second part of his philosopical vocation: the restoration of the intellect. Knowledge for Maritain contains two realms: natural and supernatural. The whole enterprise Maritain undertakes is to find an epistemology that embraces the full range of human knowledgde, from the simple knowledge of sense perception, to the supernatural knowledge, knowledge of the Divine essence.

The book is separated in two parts, a part about the degrees of natural knowledge and a part about the degrees of supranatural knowledge.

My intention is to represent the basic ideas of the book, I do not find myself able to criticize the book. Understanding what Maritain is trying to show, takes a lot of time, and I am still in the phase of understanding. This book deserves a honest and clear evauation, more than a simple good or bad label. The book contains more than 500 pages of text, in which a lot of very difficult material is presented. Let's be clear about it: The Degrees of Knowlegde is a very difficult book, and I think you need a decent philosophical training to understand it.

Degrees of rational knowledge

Let's look at the first part: the domain of natural knowledge. Natural knowledge is the domain of unaided reason, in which the intellect has as its formal object: being. Being is known by way of abstraction. Maritain dinstinguishes three degrees of abstraction. In the first degree of this process, the mind knows an object, which it disengages from the singular and contingent moment of sense perception, but is still in reference to the sensible. This first degree of abstraction belongs to physics and philosophy of nature. The second degree is the mathematical abstraction, in which the mind knows an object whose intelligibility no longer implies an intrinsic reference to the sensible, but to the imaginable. Finally, in the highest degree of intellectual vision, the metaphysical degree, the intelligibility is free from any intrinsic reference to the senses or imagination. This is the field of trans-sensible reality. The mind starts with knowledge from the sensible, and penetrates deeper and deeper in the mystery of reality by way of ascending towards objects of thought which both can be conceived and exist without matter, which is the domain of metaphysics. The three degrees are on a hierarchical line, in which the first participates in the third.

The kinds of knowledge which belong to the natural order are also called, the dianoetic knowledge: in which things are known in themselves; perinoetic knowledge, in which there is knowledge of essences by way of signs, or some measurable properties. And there is finally ananoetic knowledge, or knowledge by analogy. This is the domain of metaphysics in which the intellect ascends from sensible being to the knowledge of the first being, which is God. It is at the same time called: natural theology.

Also there is knowledge which belongs to the natural order, which is called knowledge by connaturality. This kind of knowledge is not by means of a concept, but knowledge by inclination. It can be found in moral knowledge, the work of the artist, and the knowledge we have of other persons. We are co-natured with our object.

Knowledge starts with sense perception, the intellect receives through the sense perception a concept, an intelligible similtude, on which the intellect makes a judgement. The concept is called a formal sign: that by which we know, a means by which we know the very nature of a thing. The thing exists and the formal object is grapsed by the intellect. The object has intentional being, the thing has natural being. The concept is a formal sign by which the intellect becomes the other as other. By way of the judgement, the intellect asserts the existence of the thing as an extramental being.

The judgement is an important aspect in the theory of knowledge. By way of the judgement we assert that our knowledge is not only about a phenomena, a mental thing, but by the judgement we confirm the existence of the extra-mental being, the correspondence of intellect and reality. Things can be known in themselves, the truth of knowledge consists in the conformity of the mind with the thing. Truth is possible but difficult for man to attain. It is therefore called critical realism.

So we can conclude that: Truth is the conformity of the mind with being. Knowledge is immersed in existence, given to us first by sense, sense attains the object as existing. Sense delivers existence to the intellect, it gives the intellect an intelligible treasure which sense does not know to be intelligible, and which the intellect knows as being.

The degrees of supra-rational knowledge

The second part of the book deals with supra-rational knowledge. It's about the knowledge of God. For Maritain, faith and reason are not conflicting. There is a great harmony between nature and grace. Again Maritain distinguishes in order to unite. There are three wisdoms. The first one belongs to the natural order, it is based on reason, the domain of metaphysics. It's the ananoetic knowledge, also called natural theology. Above the natural theology, stands the science of revealed mysteries, which is called theology. It is reason illuminated by faith. It's certitude is superior to metaphysics, because it has a divine origin. Then above all, there is the mystical wisdom or infused wisdom which consists in knowing the essentialy supernatural object of faith and theology, Deity as such, the expierence of God, in which we can know Him in His essence. Faith alone is not sufficient, it needs the gifts of the Holy Spirits and the theological virtues of faith and hope, infused moral virtues.

Some remarks

Like I said earlier, you need a decent philosophical training to understand the material presented. The book presupposes knowledge about the battle for the universal in the middle ages, the philosophy of Descartes, the tradition of idealism and logical positivism.

If you fancy yourself a philosopher, I would assume you are familiar with this work. A giant of a work, possibly Maritain's masterpiece. The Introduction alone is sweetness to the scholar....

Robert (Dick) Vaughn is a fabulous writer. All of his books are continually encouraging you to keep reading page after page, there is never a dull moment. The story has something happening at every sentence. He does describe the trees, sky, mountains, people and events but he does it in such a way that keeps you so interested you just can not stop reading. Parker Stanley one of the main characters survives a family massacre by the cheyennes. He takes the money his father had hidden in the wagon. He meets up with Clay Springer who is taking 3 loads of much needed supplies to the Mormans in Utah. The two of them become partners and head out. On the way they encounter attacks by white men and by Indians. Another serious attack by the harsh conditions of snow and boiling desert. A non-stop exciting story.

DEAMON'S PASS is another exciting action filled western by Dick Vaughn, who is keeping the tradition alive started by Ralph Compton. Along the road to a new life the Stanley family is attacked by a band of Cheyenne. Parker Stanley is all alone after the attack and the Cheyenne take his sister captive. Along comes Clay Springer to the rescue. Clay recruits Marcus Pearson to join him and Parker in taking a wagon load of supplies to the Morman's at Salt Lake City. Vaughn's DEMON'S PASS is in the tradition of L'Amour and will have you turning pages as you follow both Parker's adventures and those of his sister Elizabeth. DEAMON'S PASS is a book you will want to read and not put down.

I arbitrarily picked this book from a library shelf. It was refreshingly different, and it was reminiscent of L''Amour.Compton keeps your interest up throughout. His stories are varied and interesting. Lastly I like the use he makes of the historical background. Thus far I have purchased and read eighteen of his novels. They are not predictable, even though the themes sometimes parallel. Good western author!

The first 7 chapters are historical narratives without unusual merit except as an intoduction to the real book which is about music. There is a chapter on harpsichords. Kirkpatrick was not the first thinker on Scarlatti as evidenced by the extensive bibliography and appendix

He did establish the K identification number system which has stood the test of time at least in this country.

His real contribution is in identifying Scarlatti as a real musician writing music of extraordinary merit. His chapter on Scarlatti's harmony is very difficult reading.

The last chapter on "Performance of the Scarlatti Sonatas" should be read again and again by every musical teacher and student (he talks about tempo, rhythm, phrasing, articulation and attitudes).

Of course, one must have the sheet music on hand to see what it's all about, and a mind-set ready to accept Scarlatti into the company of Chopin and Liszt as well as Granados and Albéniz.

Kirkpatrick talks a little about the influence of Iberian song and dance forms on the sonatas of Scarlatti; a few others have scattered hints on this subject. I think the world would welcome a full-blown research here as a fitting sequel to this book.

An indispensable reference for all those interested in one of the greatest keyboardists of all time. Kirkpatrick's work is one of real scholarship. Written in 1953, no one has since bested it.

This book is an indispensable reference for those studying the great composer Domenico Scarlatti.

I've been self-employed as a IT consultant for about 18 months. This isn't the first business book I've read, nor the one most focused on what I do, and it won't be the one that has the most impact on how I run my business (more industry-specific books did that).

What it DID do was give me a good morale boost. The writer owns the publishing company that makes the book, a successful legal self-help publisher in business 30 years. It reassured me that a lot of the things that seemed like the right thing to do (driving a modest car among them; no more Corvette for me since I went out on my own) were, in fact, sound ideas. It does make sense to focus as much as you can on service because it's the most profitable; this reassured me that my decision only to specify but not to sell hardware and software (let somebody else have the 2% mark-up and spare me collecting tax) was probably the right one.

It also confirmed for me that it's perfectly normal and reasonable for businesses to ramp up slowly at first, and I am indeed building good clients slowly but steadily and it's nice to know from reading what an old hand has to say that I'm not behind the curve because my business hasn't grown explosively.

There were definitely some ideas in there that I have taken away that have made a significant impact on me; I had considered the possibility that at some point I would open a franchise restaurant in a particularly choice, unexploited area with massive traffic volume near where I live, but having read that chapter on franchises I'm absolutely convinced owning a franchise could never be for me. Who becomes an entrepeneur so that they can have their every idea circumscribed by someone elses rules?

I'm not sure this book would really help someone who's been self-employed 30 years like the author has, but for someone green like myself it's make a real impact. I really liked the tone of the book and the author seems emminently likable, honest, and direct. I highly recommend it.

I love business books but this is the first one I've found that really links profits, common sense and emotional well-being. It's an engaging and logical step-by-step approach to financial success without burnout. Really worthwhile!!

My dad runs his own business, a somewhat successful machine shop in Silicon Valley that experiences the ups and downs of the tech industry -- needless to say, his business was suffering through a major low a few months ago, as was his attitude toward his shop.

He read "Drive a Modest Car" (a feat in itself, as my dad's not one to pick up a book, but he said he felt like the author was speaking his language, which impresses me to no end). He found that a lot of his instincts regarding how he did business were embraced by the author, such as giving credit for good work done by employees, and picked up some ideas he then implemented, including not working long hours (finally!).

It's probably the best gift I ever gave him.

Charles Ross presents an unforgettable tale of the most confusing, uneven and adventurous reign of any king in the English history. Edward IV remains the only king who was able to loose a kingdom and them successfully reclaim the crown. Possessing remarkable talents in administration and warfare, he however managed to bring the treasury to almost complete ruin by the end of his term, and botch the most impressive show of force in France any English king (including Edward III and Henry V) can ever master to assemble. Edward IV lived in the extraordinary age, full with great personalities like Richard Warwick the "Kingmaker", Margaret, the queen of Henry VI, and his own kid brother Richard, future most vilified by Shakespeare king Richard the III.

It is very easy to fell victim to novelized history when relating the events as extraordinary as the events of Edward's reign. Not Charles Ross. He is extremely well researched and versed in the records of the period, and presents the somewhat dry details of the records of the Household and Exchequer, in an interesting way and extremely well cross-referenced. Internal English sources are corroborated by continental and papal records. I would recommend this book to a serious student of history.

Also see Charles Ross's "Richard III" for a mysterious, bloody, and tragically brief concluding reign of Plantagenet dynasty. This one is also highly recommended.

Edward IV is one of the great enigmas of history. Even how he was able to become King is not self-evident. His seizing the throne was then followed by government marked by occasional brilliance and great folly. For someone who at times was keenly aware of dynastic considerations, his own marriage was the height of folly compounded by giving far too much influence to the Queen's relatives. He gave far too much trust, power and wealth to a few individuals, especially the Earl of Warrick and his traitorous brother Clarence alienating in the process much of the established nobility and wrecking in his early years the King's finances. Overthrown in the course of his reign, he nevertheless succeeded in recapturing the throne in short order and then repairing his fortunes spectacularly. Even so, this was accompanied by the strangest series of preparations for invasion of France, ending in an almost farcical procession in Northern France and a pusillanimous retreat. Lazy, debauched, perceptive and effective-many such adjectives can be applied to him - and all miss the puzzling essence of the man and his reign. What a set of stories could be woven out of this material without clearly capturing the essence of the situation! One cannot help wondering why of the adult kings between Richard II and Henry VII, Edward IV alone did not attract Shakespeare's pen.

Charles Ross wrote a fascinating book on this puzzling ruler, making as clear as the scanty and somewhat unreliable records allow the course of Edward's life and reign, and the various episodes that both fascinate and puzzle. The book (with a short introduction by R.A. Grifffiths rather than a revision by him) proceeds first by laying out the story, and then returning to give separate investigation of various aspects of Edward's rule, such as governance, his relations with the community and his finances. This latter subject is particularly well handled, as is the penultimate chapter on law and order. The story is well told, without excessive pedantry and without any attempt to hide when the record is unclear or the author has had to make large interpretations. One may not really know or understand Edward by the end of the book, but one's feeling is that it is the man himself who escapes capture by the biographer's art, not any weakness of the biographer himself. For those interested in such matters - and this is not light reading - Griffith's biography should prove highly satisfying.

The late Charles D. Ross presents here one of the most readable and interesting presentations of of English monarch ever written. Highly recommended for anyone interested in the king or his era-I used it extensively in my senior thesis!

Emerson's essays are prophetic. Like peeling an onion; every time you read them, you understand life, the human race, and yourself, at a deeper level.

I accidentally found this book in my university library in Australia while I was looking for Thoreau's "Walden". One glance at the Contents page had me hooked, and I can tell you that this has to be one of the most insightful and powerful books ever written. Whether you believe in Christianity, Buddhism, or the Force, this is a must for anyone's personal spiritual canon. The man was a Jedi, and the book is total butter.

This is one of the greatest books I have ever read. I know that many people don't like to read essays of any kind, but all I can say is that Ralph Waldo Emerson is simply different! Nobody has the gift to write essays and analyze life like him.

His words and ideas are so powerful and deep that we soon realize that they didn't come only from a brilliant mind, but also from a warm-hearted soul!

That's exactly what this book is about: Its sentences break through your brain and penetrate right into your soul! Emerson's optimistic view on human beings and life can only reinforce our courage in mankind and, especially, in ourselves!

What else can I say? His speech is direct, he defends all the good values, tell us to have confidence in ourselves and show us that passing through life with dignity is a matter of choice and courage, and that it simply doesn't change with time. It was like this a thousand years ago, it will probably follow the same rules a thousand years f! ! rom now.

This is the book I grab to comfort my spirit when I'm having difficult times... :) It is a guide that make us believe that anything is possible when we really want it! " Self-Reliance ", one of the essays inside this book, is a masterpiece in its own and I believe it should be studied in every high school, instead some of the crap we are usually obliged to read!

This book can shape your spirit and your mind. It is also possibly THE BEST self-help book you could ever own and, yet, a great literary work.

I would rate this book as ageless and I'm sure the future generations will be still interested in it, in the same way we are in those ancient Greek and Roman texts.

This is precious culture and food for your soul as a bargain! Do not waste more time. READ IT!!!

This Chess book is so exhilarating that I actually feel COMPELLED to write a review on it. I won't bother repeating the information in the accompanying reviews. First of all, in the overall introduction of the whole book, it is suggested that as you progress through the games, you choose the winner (or, in the case of a drawn game, the stronger player) and cover his moves with a card (I folded "Sticky Notes" in half and stuck them on vertically). Then, based on your analysis of the position and the game, announce or write down your move and compare it to the actual move. Granted, this will slow down your progress through the book by great proportions, but, by even greater proportions, it will improve your chess game. That method is called the Tactical Vision Exercise. I took (notice I'm not saying, "...it took me") from around early April 2001 to February 17, 2002 to complete the book doing it this way and my chess understanding has become improved and clarified more than 100-fold (I took about 1 to 2 hour sessions of this at least once or twice per day).
Please don't become critical or skeptical when I tell you that I have lost quite a few games of my own in my trek through this book; after all, chess is a mentally demanding game. But, I have also won many more games against strong opponents than I have in the past. That says a lot for that exercise, but, to do that with this 3-in-1 book in particular, I believe, is an extremely required activity for any good amateur wanting to improve even more greatly in chess, whether to increase your chances at casual victories or to win in more tournament games!
Speaking of tournaments, this book also gives you tremendous insight to what goes through a top-level player's mind as the tournament progresses; it's more than just a series of games. Furthermore, the editors (or was it just Mr. Tykodi?) at various points throughout the book, did an excellent job at providing improved suggestions (moves, that is [whether from a computer or from their own analysis]) where Mr. Purdy (with all due respects) may have been a bit short-sighted.
And then there are the openings!! If you crave openings knowlege and tips, this is truly a recondite handbook to a few of the classically popular ones; the Sicilian only showed up in the Spassky versus Fischer match. I had always been one to spurn the Slav, but, it was definitely the most popular one among Euwe and Alekhine.
I had not studied many Fischer games at all before my journey through the "How Fischer Won" section of this book. And now after playing through his games (via tactical vision), I must say he is a "mad genius" on the chessboard!! Many of his moves left my mouth wide open in awe! I had studied chess consistently for at least 5 years before this book and never have I come across any player more outrageously spectacular than Bobby Fischer; keep in mind I've always been of the "don't believe the hype" mentality. But, I'm from Missouri, and he definitley Showed Me!! He shows that you shouldn't shut a move out of your mind simply because you see that your piece will be captured; play it through in your mind first and calculate beyond that!
Don't be afraid at all to mark in this book like crazy; it's really the only way to imprint the information on your brain and it'll make review of the book much easier (I can't imagine going through this book word-for-word and move-by-move again). It is truly a journey.

This is a three in one volume of the C.J.S. Purdy books: How Euwe Won, The Return of Alekhine, and How Fischer Won. While The Return of Alekhine is the largest of the three none outstrips the other as a far as readability and enjoyability. Purdy was a talented annotator famed for educating the intermediate chessplayer and he doesn't disappoint in these 80 annotated games. Opening nuances; complicated middlegames; well analyzed endings; missed opportunities and hidden combinations are all to be found. A summation of the openings follows each book and as an epilogue there is H.W.M. Lunney's biographical sketch on C.J.S. Purdy: The Annotator. A close reading will reveal Purdy's distinctly high regard for Euwe as both a player and a person. He had a lower opinion of Alekhine yet he had enormous esteem for Alekhine's chess and he completely disregards rumors of his drunkenness during the first match. As concerns Fischer - he is simply a chess deity. It's clear that Purdy strongly favored the two bishops, perhaps almost as much as he favored the term "Sword of Damocles" which is used recurrently. Naturally the book is somewhat dated by its stern opening opinions, but this doesn't detract from the cutthroat chess contained within. The extent of sharp tactics and engaging play that can result from the Slav Defense was truly astounding. Alekhine and Euwe each played it against each other and they were far from boring games. The Fischer-Spassky section is supplemented with a small pamphlet entitled Post Mortem 1976. Given at end of each game are corrections or reconsideration of analysis from the original text. In at least one instance the reader is told, after a column of analysis, that one of the moves was actually a typographical error. Here it may have been better to just correct the mistake than merely note its existence. I was surprised when playing through some of the games that I had never done so before. This might be expected with those from the Alekhine-Euwe matches, but even some of the Fischer-Spassky games as well. If you, too, haven't availed yourself of the opportunity of playing out these games consider Extreme Chess a grand chance to do so. The layout is well organized and there are photos interspersed throughout. The cover is colorful and artistically designed. Recommended.

Chessco/TPI has produced another fine book, that is sure to be a best-seller. It covers the WC Matches between Alekhine and Euwe 35 and 37 and the still-discussed Spassky-Fischer duel of 72. All the games are annotated by Purdy based on his original work, but updated by Chessco; there are photographs I have not seen before. There are articles by Euwe and Alekhine written for papers/magazines give a frank and revealing picture of both champions. The notes are superb - pure unadulterated Purdy - this man had opinions and was not backward in coming forward with them. I like that! Buy this book and have the read of your life!

I selected this book from a list given in my college English class. The list of books were all nonfiction so I knew it would be a book based on fact. I knew nothing more. As I read, I could not put this book down. The story takes place beginning in Iowa the year 1849. "Gold fever" was born. The Royce family was on the move from their home to the great golden state of California. Sarah has more passion, faith, and drive than I've ever seen in a book. She is an example indeed of strength and inner peace throughout many challenges in a small amount of time. I was so grateful to see this book is still in print! It was first published in 1932 never meant to be a book at all. It was Sarah's gift to her son. She wrote about her journey using her journal she kept as they traveled. I will buy this book not only for my children, but for gifts as well. By the way, Sarah and her family end up living here, in the Sierra Foothills, and that is where I live! I've never read a story about the Gold Rush or the 49er's. I always thought it would be too depressing. There are sad times in this book, but as you read you can't help but believe with Sarah that they will beat all the odds.

This little gem of a book should be on the shelves at every library. Aside from the likable Sarah, the wonderful social history is very absorbing for those interested in women's lives during the 1850's. Even if you are not particularly interested in the Gold Rush, you will be interested in the experiences of one of our formothers. Buy this as a gift for your daughters.

Joy Melcher, Civil War Lady Magazine

Sarah with husband and daughter, Mary, move to California in 1849. Trusting the God of the Bible, the Royces experience life (and almost death) on the trail to California. Second to the last party to complete the trip into northern California before winter, they eventually settle in Grass Valley. Her son, Josiah Royce, becomes the famous Harvard historian and philospher with new ideas (Royce Hall of UCLA), but his mother, Sarah, retains her faith in the God of the Bible. First hand look at San Francisco and northern California in the 1850's. Sarah is my great-great grandmother and Mary, the little girl in the story, is my great-grandmother. Easy reading and great book to take on a plane. We buy and give these books to many guests at our company ...they are very popular.

The book presents this beautiful higher-level programming language in a clear and concise way. The capabilities of language and all its non-standart features and concepts are introduced at a set pace that makes a good reading even if you don't intend to write programs in Icon. Icon runs on almost all popular platforms and is a time saving general purpouse language with smart graphics capabilities. The book is writen by the developers of the Icon language, and it is the most complete reference for it.

Icon is a mature, general-purpose programming language which is available for free on many platforms. It has a rich set of types: integers (of arbitrary size), reals, strings, lists, sets, tables, and records, together with an interesting goal-directed evaluation mechanism. The book is clear and user-friendly. Some prior programming experience necessary.

Icon is a public domain pattern matching language follow-on to Snobol4 that runs everywhere(unix, windows, dos, mac). This book has all the documentation you need to learn the language. Get the entire Icon website on CDROM with the book Graphics Programming in Icon, by Griswold, Jeffery & Townsend. ISBN 1-57398-009-9