Good subject coverage, knowledgeable author, and plenty of uncluttered figures makes this book very worthwhile. The only thing missing from this excellent book is an update. Although this is the third edition (1998), almost all of the equipment photographs are from the early-to-mid 1970's. An extensive and broad Suggested Reading section follows most chapters but again far far too many references are to early 1970's books and manuals. An update could earn this book a 5+ rating.

Rychlak's book is a marvelously thorough, scholarly, and erudite analysis of the philosophical basis for theories of personality. The book is appropriate for graduate students in psychology and philosophy and for very mature undergraduate students majoring in psychology, sociology, family studies, or philosophy. For example, the only way to arrive at a better understanding of Freud would be to devote several years to studying his original writings. Rychlak's book is very thorough, very heady stuff, which provides a clear foundation as it leads the reader through the history and development of the most important modern personality theories. The book provides a very thorough overview of philosophies of psychological knowing coupled with application of such theories of personality, psychotherapy and behavior therapy. The book will provide an important foundation not only for studying personality but also for understanding the role of philosophy in the psychology and other social sciences. Theories of personality and psychotherapy deserve the kind of rich analysis provided by Rychlak. But for all the depth of philosophical analysis provided by Rychlak's book, he does not address research in personality and psychotherapy. Mention personality and most of us would eventually think about methods for testing personality patterns. For example, Rychlak makes no mention of the Rorschach Inkblot technique or any other personality test. It would be important for one who reads this book to also read at least one introductory text on personality in order to become familiar with scientific research supporting or contradicting the theories Rychlak discusses.

"Introduction to Stellar Winds" is simply one of the best book for those who need to know more about this topic. It's not just about the most massive stars, which have the strongest winds (e.g. Wolf Rayet stars), but also other stars (cooler, e.g. our Sun) with fainter wind. As a PhD student working on hot stars, this book is a reference. It sum it up all modern concepts, usually previously published in several articles in some astronomical publications. Mainly for astrophysicists, or for interested astronomy amateur whith extensive mathematical and physical knowledge.

A teaching story of a man who has walked the red road.

Irreparable Damage delivers as it promises a harrowing tale of a man being accused of sexual abuse, all stemming from some spontaneous photographs he innocently took of his precocious 6-year old daughter after her bath. The author does a fine job presenting the downward spiral in this poor man's life and he is painted quite sympathetically, where the reader cannot help but root strongly for justice on his behalf. My major complaint with this book is also what drew me to it - that it is "based on an actual case." It is billed as a novel and yet in the "author's note," he states that he took the liberty of changing names and locations and modifying some of the less important details of the story. As he says, "but it happened, it really did. As the old saying goes, you just can't make up stuff like this." The problem is that the story has such dramatic, Hollywood movie features in it, including a quite satisfying but implausible courtroom ending that one can't help but wonder what has been embellished to maximize its intensity. It doesn't help that the book jacket describes the crucial photograph-taking scene (with the daughter saying "Take this one") differently than actually occurs in the book. From the author's comments at the end of the last chapter, it is clear that this criminal defense attorney/author is strongly advocating for people's eyes to be opened about the potential for well-intentioned abuse when pursuing abuse, but his case would have been made that much stronger if he were able to present this book in a non-fiction format. As the author acknowledges at the end, he would love to "see something of mine climb off the printed page and onto the screen" and one can't help but wonder what dramatic flairs were added to enhance this possibility.

The teachings in the Qur'an that Sachedina explains in The Islamic Roots of Democratic Pluralism are essential in establishing the basis for mutually respectful and democratic relationships among Muslims, and between Muslims and the non-Muslim world. Democratic pluralism thrives on the ability of citizens to value each other and respect each other's dignity and human rights. In terms religious Muslims, Christians, and Jews can understand, democratic pluralism succeeds where citizens accept that the individual is created in the image of God and that all religions share membership in a loving relationship with GodI believe that "The Islamic Roots of Democratic Pluralism" can help Muslims reclaim their religion and set a path for themselves for the rest of the twenty-first century.

To begin with, if you have never heard of the Baha'i faith, you may be pleasantly surprised to learn that the quirky, innovative religion featured in Dr. Sheppherd's novel is not fictional. In fact it boasts several million members, scattered across many far-flung areas of the world. The novel describes the rise of this subculture and extrapolates its progress until the point where Baha'i principles become the dominant reality of the future (as Baha'is believe it inevitably must). Of these, the most obvious is an affirmation of the unity of humanity across all differences of race, sex, culture, or economic position.

The action of the novel takes place in four different time-periods--the distant past, the recent past, the near future, and a somewhat distant future several centuries from now. These are linked partly through genealogy (the Holden family), partly through shared interests and perspectives (the Baha'is, anthropology), and partly through the device of a series of time capsules.

Apparently the set of time capsules buried by the author's stand-in (Professor Holden) contains notebooks which, uniquely for our era, make use of certain methodological perspectives which will come to be widely accepted in the future. These amount to the hermeneutic rejection of objectivity as an attainable ideal, with much attention given to the situation of the author and the rejection of gender- and ethno-centric perspectives. While these are certainly well within the spirit of Baha'i mores, one wonders how Holden's work came to be the only surviving representative of this thriving methodology. In fact one is left with the suspicion that Dr. Sheppherd was happy to have the opportunity to share his professional views, in almost bewildering detail.

By novelistic standards, the book is quite detailed in other areas as well. For example, we learn the complete future list of European Union countries (sorry, Turkey), as well as the membership of several similar transnational groupings. This may be a weakness, but it is also a large part of the book's charm--the author's personal expertise combines with his religious background to produce a credible and extremely well-articulated positive vision for the human race. Even the fact that two chapters were missing from my copy did not detract from this impressive achievement.

I eagerly await the sequel which is apparently in production.

This book provides a lovely pictoral of early Italian settlers' journey to RI and the beautiful world they created once here. This book will thrill anyone, especially Italian Americans who want to see and read about their beginnings. I was happy to see many of my relatives and their friends as they were when they were young starting out as laborers, grocery owners, and politicians. Readers will gain an appreciation for the life of these early RI Italians and the great strides they and their children have made in the 20th Century.

The watercolors of JMW Turner have the concise, simplified vision of contemporary art even though they were painted in the mid 1800's. This survey shows the progression of this master of light and delicate color from tightly delineated landscapes to the atmospheric , nearly abstract vistas of his late career. The reproductions are supported by quotes selected from writings contemporary to the paintings. This book provides an inspirational overview of the work of Turner and belongs in the library of the serious watercolor artist.

This is a book of Turner postcards with perforations -- so that you can send the postcards or keep them as a reference. At around 20 cents each (even less when I bought it) it seems like good value.