I am a big fan of Alan Watts. I know of no one else that has the charisma, sense of humor, and intelligence to communicate ideas from Hindu and Buddhist thought. I have read several of his books and while this book is as good as any other- I WARN YOU - it has very little about the beat generation. In fact, there is one ten page essay. It is interesting, but if you are buying this book because you are interested in the beat generation there are more informative books. This book is also a little expensive and is less than one hundred pages. Try "Cloud-Hidden, Whereabouts Unknown" or another one of his cheaper and longer books. Most of them contain similar ideas.

Definitely don't buy this if you're looking for lots of info or an extensive essay on the "beat" generation, etc. The awesome Alan Watts does deal with that topic, but almost in passing. He's goes into more detail explaining Zen and Hindu ideas with a huge helping of humor. Some ideas will stay with you. His emphasis on the key concepts of living the moment and a job as an avocation (not just to spend x number of hours making money but to do for the JOY of it)forever will be imprinted in your mind, as well as various clever examples he sites. Especially memorable is his explanation of how we Americans often live too much in the past and future and don't appreciate the present. He likened it to a coin: one side is the future, the other the past -- but the REAL stuff is the metal in between (the present). A small book with lots of big ideas that are cleverly presented.

This is probably a book for anyone who has been interested in the "beat generation" and is now looking furthur and finding the religion in it. Alan Watts is simply amazing.

In his book, Joseph Daniel Sobol chronicles the revival of storytelling as a widely practiced American folk art and its emergence as a formidable commercial enterprise over the past three decades. He tells the story largely through the history of the National Storytelling Festival, held annually in Jonesborough, Tennesse since 1973. Mr. Sobol attempts to offer both an enthusiastic account of the storytelling revival and the Jonesborough festival and a scholarly analysis of the revival and festival as social phenomena. This dual approach is on the whole successful, as Sobol manages to be simultaneously inspiring and detached.

Those looking for a good story will be especially pleased by the early sections of Sobols book. Here, he lets a number of storytellers tell how they became involved with the revival. Sobol tells of his own early exposure to a storyteller named Brother Blue at Fishermans Wharf in San Francisco. We meet those who found storytelling to be the ideal means of expressing themselves spiritually and artistically after frustration with conventional artistic forms. These accounts--nearly uniformly presented as life-changing experiences--continue throughout the book but become sparser as Sobols focus shifts to the evolution, successes and tribulations of the Jonesborough festival. As far as academic prose goes, Sobols is quite lively, and his social scientific analysis of the storytelling phenomenon is strong and balanced. But the first-person accounts that he includes are so compelling that one longs for a book-length oral history to serve as a companion to this one.

Sobol does not shy from dealing with the more trying episodes in the history of the National Storytelling Festival. For the most part, these sprang from the its growth from a small, regional event into a large, profitable, and truly national one. Whereas at the beginning, anyone who showed up and told a story could be considered a storyteller, by the mid-eighties, distinctions were made between national and regional performers. Along the way, questions arose regarding personal and cultural proprietorship of stories; while individual storytellers were frustrated that their stories were being told by others without permission, cultural groups--Native Americans in particular--were concerned that white storytellers were profiting by telling their stories. A series of conferences in the mid-eighties grappled with these issues. In 1987, the first National Storytelling Congress, held in St. Louis, initiated a discussion of personal ownership of stories. While it did not adopt any formal code of its own, it inspired other, regional, groups to do so for their members. The following year, in Santa Fe, the congress heard grievances from Native Americans and other groups who felt that their storytelling traditions had been violated by white storytellers who told stories from them. As in St. Louis, no formal codes were adopted at Santa Fe regarding cultural proprietorship of stories. Many storytellers did, however, take the experience as a cue to tell stories drawn from their own experience.

-Daniel Weiss for PlanetAUTHORity.com

This book is a studyof the impact that the National Storytelling Association (formerly known as NAPPS) and the Jonesborough, Tennessee, National Storytelling Festival have had on storytelling in the U.S.A.

This book is partially scholarly speculation and partially informally-formal (and interesting) interviews with well-known national storytellers. Here is a study of what has been known as NAPPS (National Association for the Preservation and Perpetuation of Storytelling, which then became NSA (National Storytelling Association) and is now, since the book was publishes, NSN (National Storytelling Network). A reader gets the history of the organization as well as compelling discussions of it by people who have been connected for years with the fall festival at Jonesborough, Tennessee.

In one chapter, Sobol discusses other festivals throughout the country which have been modeled after the original at Jonesborough. This chapter shows the power of the original group as well as its far-reaching influence.

Perhaps the least interesting thing about the book is a jargon-laden introduction and beginning of the first chapter. Once Sobol gets into his interviews with storytellers, the reader's interest picks up.

Storytellers and fans of the National Storytelling Festival will want to read this history of the storytelling movement's growth. Sobol interviewed Jimmy Neil Smith and many of the festival's key performers to prepare this useful portrait. Scholarly, informative, and insightful. A must read for professional storytellers and NSMA members.

This book has the element of the unexpected. For example, "At bottom the Catholic tradition is in touch with the goodness of the world and the joyfulness of life" (p. 6). The authors paint Catholicism as altogether too optimistic and care-free and try to support that using a contrast with Puritans. This is an intellectual slight of hand, rather than a sound intellectual argument. Puritans arouse against what they saw as corruption of the Church as it really existed at the time of Renaissance, not against the universal Christian tradition as it should exist. The Bible is very pessimistic about human nature and the New Testament is also pessimistic about life on earth in general, seeking salvation in the world Beyond. To continue this theme of the unexpected, the authors turn decidedly Nietzschean in their historical criticism on page 41, when they discuss Christianization of Germanic peoples: "They were, as the Romans called them, barbarians. They were crude and illiterate. They were wild and uncivilized. They were often at war with one another. Christianity tamed their barbaric instincts." But immediately following this, the authors become true believers: "It gave them a higher standard of morality. It gave them a deeper purpose and a broader vision."

Half way through, the book begins to wear on, warily reaching the end. It does not present a compelling argument for being or not being a Catholic. It just tells you somewhat haphazardly what Catholicism is about and presents questions at the end of each chapter for your consideration. This book is not like other books about Catholicism, so it is worth taking a look at.

I was impressed by the way this book looks honestly at both the postive aspects of being Catholic and the "shadow" side. Reading it reinforced for me all the good reasons to be Catholic, reaffirming for me my decision to profess my faith in the Catholic Church some years ago. I am presently serving as Coordinator of Catholic Campus Ministry in a small university, and often have students (both Catholic and non) that have questions about the Catholic faith. I plan to have several copies of this book on hand to loan them. I will highly recommend it to those thinking of leaving their Catholic faith!

I read this book 6 years ago, when I was considering becoming a Catholic. It answered many questions I had about the Church, and was a positive factor in my decision to convert to Catholicism. I liked the fact that it explains the direct lineage from the Church founded by Jesus, and is honest about both the great things the Church has been and done, and the times when the Catholic Church and Hierarchy have made big mistakes. I highly recommend it, and am ordering another copy to replace one I loaned out and never got back!

Zack is the story of a biracial guy by the name of Zack, For a school project he decide to go to the south to find his black grandfather, who his mother hasen't been in touch with since her marriage of Zach's white Jewish father. When Zach find's his grandfather he realize why he and his mother hasn't been in contact. I felt there was something missing, and that more research should have been done.

William Bell has written an excellent book that is a good introduction to racism and family conflict. His ability to weave historical events into his stories is sure to pique the interest of young teens. Bell's message is that history is about people, rather than just dates and facts. It doesn't have to be boring.

I have a personal connection to the story of Richard Pierpoint, having grown up where Zack's fictional farm is located. I was very interested to read William Bell's book. I found the story to be well constructed with regards to Zack's new life in rural Ontario, his discovery of Pierpoint's story and his family connection to Mississippi. The story flows well and the use of language is very natural. The description of small Ontario definitely rings true. I think that many people (especially teenagers) would find it of interest. My personal interest in Pierpoint has led to a book that will be beneficial to those readers who want to know more about this remarkable man. It is called "A Stolen Life: Searching for Richard Pierpoint" and is published by Natural Heritage.

This book is an odd creature to say the least. A great but under-appreciated text of German idealism is re-published in a new translation, along with an interpretive essay that evaluates it from the standpoint of Lacanian psychoanalysis. Personally, I found Schelling's portrait of the world as moving continuously towards full consciousness of itself to be utterly fascinating. I'm still not sure what to make of Zizek's essay - I have always been utterly baffled by Lacan - but if you're into that kind of thing, you might enjoy it.

If you've never seen Slavoj Zizek speak in person, you should make every effort to do so. With his intense but cuddly East Block labor leader persona, he is certainly the most charismatic orator on the academic Left today.

I mention this because in _The Abyss of Freedom_, Zizek's lively spoken style comes through far better than in a book like _The Ticklish Subject_, a solid piece of thinking stifled by its heavy academic structure.

At first, Zizek's reading of Schelling's essay promises to be a bit one-sided. As usual, he has a heavy Lacanian axe to grind, and beats to death his view that the concept of a pre-existent reality is somewhat naive, and that the difference between reality and appearance _is itself_ posited by the fantasizing of the human subject. (Personally, I regard this move as little more than standard Idealist trickery.)

But once you finish Zizek's introductory essay and read Judith Norman's fine translation of Schelling's _Weltater_, you will be surprised to find that Zizek has been an illuminating guide. He makes Schelling "newsworthy" for contemporary philosophy in a way that all the vague pro-Schelling propaganda by Heideggerians never does.

I would also add that many of Zizek's digressions in his essay are brilliant enough to deserve book-length treatments in their own right. See above all his brief tirade on "the inherent stupidity of proverbs"-- framed as a set of entertaining throwaway remarks, Zizek's commentary on proverbs actually contains the germ of a shockingly novel philosophy of language.

There are moments when Zizek's obvious Lacanian agenda frustrates me, but in the end I always want to say "Thank God for the existence of Slavoj Zizek." He's waking us out of _some_ sort of slumber, I'm sure.

My review concerns the text of Schelling's Ages of the World. I am not terribly interested in Zizek and I started his essay, but quickly was bored.

This essay by Schelling is simply tremendous. Schelling is one of the most underrated of modern philosophers. Try reading this with Schelling's essay "Philosophical Investigations into the Essence of Human Freedom and Related Matters" (1809).

Schelling's vision is one of a world which finds its being completely in God. It is a kind of pantheism that attempts to escape the strict determinism and fatalism of Spinozism. Freedom is not a property of the will, but it is the essence of divine being as such. A beautiful work of insightful philosophical analysis and intriguing biblical exegesis.

Joseph Vranich presents a glowing, glossy image of a New America linked together with a web of high speed, high tech, high cost SuperTrains. Unfortunately his largely anecdotal story telling has little serious thought regarding the fundamental reason why high speed rail has a very limited future in the United States. There is a reason why Europe has trains and America has planes. Europe is smaller than America. The distances are shorter. Not only does this make a tremendous difference in travel times but it also makes a huge difference in cost. Vranich completely avoids the cost issue.

Not a detail.

Each mile of track for one of his supertrains costs between $30 and $50 million. Who is going to pay for his 1000 mile network. He doesn't say.

This is a significant oversight.

Basically, SuperTrains is an excercise in nostalgic dreaming. A very nice one, with lots of nice images. But it is a very foolish book.

Ten years ago Mr. Vranich was on the cutting edge by suggesting supertrains for America. This book launched the $12 billion High-Speed Rail Act that is still pending in congress. But time has moved on. The trains of yesterday don't fit the NIMBY attitude of modern America. Future transportation will have to be clean, sustainable, safe, secure and -most of all- out of sight and sound for people living along the right-of-way. A good follow-up book will come out in April '03 called "Faster than Jet: A solution to America's long-term transportation problems."

The arguments posited by Vranich for a U.S based high speed rail network are so compelling and logically formulated that before completing the book I became a member of an organization devoted to high speed ground transportation. Topics explored include the present state of U.S. passenger railroads (focusing on Amtrak) as well as failed high speed rail initiatives , the politics of mass transportation, the problems faced by a near-saturated automobile/aircraft transportation network, the cutting edge technology in high speed rail occuring in Europe, including the imminent unveiling of magenetically levitated trains (maglev) in both Germany and Japan and a scenario of a future with high speed rail. The author's vision is left somewhat incomplete however as he neglects to explore the logistics of how a high speed rail system will link with other forms of transportation (intra-city rail and/or automated guideway transit systems, in addition to cars/airplanes?) to hopefully develop a superior transportation infrastructure to what is currently in place. Overall though, this is highly thought provoking commentary on how a mode of transportation viewed by most as outdated is in fact our best option for safer, more efficient, environmentally sound and less energy intensive mobility for the 21st century.

Tolkien scholarship, on the whole, tends to be quite weak. There's a lot of reasons for that, but this isn't really the place to go into them. However, I will say that this collection of essays is no exception to the rule. "Tolkien: A Celebration" consists of 15 essays by different authors, edited by Joseph Pearce (author of another mediocre book on Tolkien). For the most part, the essays are non-scholarly-- they are more like short, off-the-cuff, reflections than serious scholarly analysis.

Most of the essays deal in some way with the "religious" aspects of Tolkien's fiction-- and most of those approach it from a specifically Roman Catholic persepctive. This is a legitimate subject to write about, of course, but it's been done to death before (and better!) by Carpenter, by Kocher, by Kilby, by Flieger, and by a host of other critics. These essays really don't add anything new to the body of Tolkien scholarship-- no new ideas, no new interpretations, no new evidence.

The same is true for most of the non-religious-themed essays as well. Patrick Curry's "Modernity in Middle-Earth", for example, is basically a six-page summary of his own book on the subject, while Elwin Fairburn's "A Mythology for England" is essentially a recap of points that have been made again and again and again by previous scholars (especially Carpenter, and even more Jane Chance who wrote a whole book called "Tolkien's Art: A Mythology for England").

In truth, the only two items of genuine interest here are the "personal reminscences" by George Sayer and Walter Hooper, who talk abou their experiences meeting Tolkien, working with him, etc., They're not rigorous scholarship,
nor do they present a radically different picture of the man than Grotta-Kurska's and Carpenter's biographies draw, but they do offer up a few worthy anecdotes. Still, they're hardly essential reading for either the Tolkien scholar or fan.

This isn't, by far, the wost book on Tolkien ever published, but it's not one of the better ones-- and it really doesn't have anything new to add to the critical legacy of Tolkien scholarship.

Some of these esays are really interesting, infact most of them are good. There are some really boring as well. This is light reading about Tolkein from a mostly Catholic perspective. If you want heavy duty scholarship, this isn't the book, but if you want something to read with the morning coffee I really recommend it.

A wonderfully insightful look at the themes, values and processes behind Tolkien's created world.

I found this book to be completely outdated and useless. I had expected to find some state of the art data, or at least recent information. When it came to the best modems, 2400 baud was the best available but 14,400 baud might offer some potential.

It was my fault for buying this dog as I had assumed that it was updated as of 1997 - it was only copyrighted then.

The title is accurate. If you want to learn about telephone electronics, this is a great book. It's easy to read, comprehensive and well structured. No, it doesn't go into great detail about state of the art modems or attempt to teach the finepoints of wireless telephony, but it does cover basic fax, modem and telephone electronics very well.

It coverd all telephone basic

An interesting book, perhaps worth more than a single star, but, please, how silly are people according to great economists? The premise of the market failures of the book is the inability of writing complex contracts. A smoking at home paradox disappears if you can contract with the insirance company about fires from smoking. A race-to-the-bottom collective action problem between lessors and lessees disappears if the lessee can be induced to use specific types of care--type of paint when refinishing or type of fertilizer when planting, for example.

Joseph Stiglitz makes a powerful argument that neither capitalism nor socialism can achieve the economically efficient outcome suggested by the neo-classical model. Neither markets nor central planners can optimally direct resources to their most productive uses. The information required to do so is simply not available.

The neo-classical model suggests that the forces of supply and demand result in equilibrium, market clearing prices - a single price for each commodity. We see all around us evidence that real world processes to not achieve this optimal end. The same items sell for different prices at different stores; it is possible for significant numbers of workers to remain unemployed for long periods of time. Stiglitz explains that this outcome reflects informational imperfections in market generated prices. It is costly for shoppers to compare prices in every store before they make purchases. Employers may pay employees higher than market clearing wages to increase worker productivity, resulting in prolonged unemployment. If market generated prices and wages were as informationally efficient as the neo-classical model suggests, Stiglitz argues that market socialism could be just as efficient as free market capitalism. Markets could be permitted to function to the degree necessary to generate prices, which central planners could use to direct the economy. Stiglitz further argues that the most critical information planners need, to plan large scale investments, are not generated by markets anyway, because the appropriate futures markets (where investors could insure against bad investments) can not exist.

Stiglitz's explanation of how the neo-classical model of constrained optimization cannot describe real world phenomena is compelling, as is his argument that both market socialism and market capitalism face problems of information and incentives. Where Stiglitz is weakest is when he casually asserts, as he often does in this book, that government intervention could resolve some of these problems under either system. He routinely asserts that government intervention could address, for instance, problems of externalities through the application of Pigouvian taxes. He does not, however, discuss how government might determine the proper tax,(in the absence of a market in the externality), or how it might insure its application in the face of special interest political pressure. In his calls for government intervention, government is treated as benevolent, omnipotent and omniscient.

Stiglitz presents a coherent argument of why market socialism failed in the real world, and further, why market capitalism, as we see it practiced around us, does not live up to the promise of the neo-classical model.

Stiglitz shows how much things can change, when you drop assumtions like costless information, zero transaction costs etc. According to the general equilibrium theories he crizices, a central planner could archive an outcome that is at least as efficient or better than the market, by imitating perfect competition (Lange-Lerner-Taylor Theorem). Stiglitz shows that by dropping unrealistic assumptions both real markets and market socialism aren't that efficient as the perfect competition paradigma predicts. What is needed is competition and some state regulation. He makes a good case for a third way between neoliberalism and central planning.

There is no math in the book, so it can be read at many levels. It covers a broad range: Competition policy, privatization theory, forms of competion and much more. After reading it, I had a much better understanding of real world problems economies face.

On a side note: Nicholas review is simply wrong. Stiglitz employs almost only rational choice models. Problems occur because information is costly, not because people are dumb.

The book is a disturbing look at what America might be in the future. 20 years after this book was originally written, I live in a state with legal abortion and legal physician-assisted suicide. An America closer to the one written about in the book than the one in which the author lived. I agree with another review that calls the book a wake up call. The most disturbing part of the book is the failure of the characters in the story to have acted earlier. They were content to live in an America that decided who lived and who didn't untill the ones who were told to die were in their own family. The father in the story, Jon, says that he "is no Dietrich Bonhoeffer." Indeed! Bonhoeffer opposed Hitler's policies of death from the beginning and resisted them untill his execution. Joseph Bayly never lets us forget in the book the parallels he draws between this futuristic America and Nazi Germany. As a medical student and scientist, I found the book to be an important reminder of the implications to today's research and medical practices.

Reading this book ten years ago left me thinking that the mass euthanasia of our elderly and genetically impure could never happen. Now in the days of Dr. Kevorkian, and the increasing amount of governmental controls over our society, the book's content could become more of a reality than we would have expected. If you want to peek at future possibilities based on today's moral choices, this book will certainly make you think twice about the things our culture deems to be ethical now. Just what are we paving the way for??? This book gives a plausible answer.

This is a thoughtful book for Christians willing to think about the implications of our society's Faustian bargain with death. Though written in the 1970s, the novel seems prescient in its analysis of where abortion is leading our nation. Some readers may not like the ending: there are always Pollyannas in the evangelical world who think that no Christian novel should ever end unhappily, yet it strikes me that there is no more logical or Biblical ending to such a situation than the one described by the author.