I was really looking forward to this book coming in the mail after placing my order. It had been recommended by a professor and I am very interested in the topic of gender socialization. However, I was disappointed because it seemed to be a difficult read for me. I found myself re-reading paragraphs and getting terms and concepts mixed up. I have not felt like giving it another try after getting frustrated a few times, so its possible that it gets better after you get through the beginning. But unless you enjoy "getting through" books, you might want to save this one for a book report or something. Not a very fun, or light book, for me anyway.

"The Neglected War" is a unique book that offers an extraordinary look at Germany's South Pacific colonies that no other writer has attempted before. The author gives in-depth perspective of German colonization from 1885 to 1919 by the indigenous population, the Europeans, and Australians. He also goes into detail about the political and economic superstructure the Germans utilized to maintain their hegemony over the primarily colonial backwater that consisted of many, tiny islands. While the book is well-written and has excellent portions describing the military, political, and economic structure of the Germans in the region and how it was altered after the war, there are parts that drag and include unnecessary, preachy passages. Overall, I liked this book and found it very informative.

Professor Lynch's book is uneven and in three general themes. Theme one is a history of the conflicts (verbal and physical) from just before the adoption of the Constitution until around 1800. Much useful information is presented and the genuine differences between men of talent and intelligence is fascinating. Theme two is a legal history of the Necessary and Proper Clause and the author's opinion that the Clause should be very broadly construed. A broad construction equates to much greater authority accorded the federal government of the United States. Theme three is included in the Introduction and Epilogue and is the reason for the book. The professor is dissatisfied with the current Supreme Court's limitation of federal power in two 1990's cases involving firearms (Lopez and Printz). Professor Lynch does hold out hope that the court's decisions can be overcome and states "...the road to effective federal regulation in these and other areas has been only partially blocked." He then refers to a modification to the laws which would make them acceptable to the Supreme Court. Missing from the book is a discussion of the Bill of Rights and its limitinations on the federal government. Amendments one and ten are mentioned but amendments two through nine are not. Overall, the book has some useful historical and legal information but is not a balanced scholarly treatment of the topic considered.

The New American Bible: Saint Joseph Edition is a good bible for most purposes. The New American Bible translation and footnotes are understandable enough, but this study bible lacks an extensive reading guide found in The Catholic Study Bible: New American Bible. It does have a handy doctrinal bible index not found in The Catholic Study Bible: New American Bible. One distinctive feature: Over seventy clear picturesque photographs shedding light on the text. Consider this study bible a cheaper alternative to The Catholic Study Bible: New American Bible.

During the big explosion in popularity of science fiction during the early 1950s, August Derleth edited several science fiction anthologies. Here, found in his files, is the final, hitherto-unpublished anthology that he assembled. The stories collected range in original magazine publication date from roughly 1915 to 1945, with the emphasis on the earlier dates. Authors include such stalwarts as Murray Leinster, David H. Keller, Stanton Coblentz, and A. Hyatt Verril. The best stories are in the general Gernsback-magazine genre of "inventions gone awry," by a couple of obscure authors I had never encountered before.

I found the introductions and comments by someone named Wrzos fairly annoying. Because he doesn't write in complete sentences. Like this. Makes the reader breathless. You know?

This final Derlethian netful of pre-Golden-Age science fiction certainly merited publication and I read it in one sitting.

A new book by two leading writers on NLP (Neuro-linguistic Programming)! I ordered multiple copies right away, expecting some new, lucid and creative update in the field. It turned out to be a very watered-down and basic introduction. It belongs to the publisher's new series of "First Directions - an inspirational source of information, insights and practical techniques to change your life". It is printed on quality paper with many colorful and scenic pictures unrelated to the content. The actual text does include many key NLP concepts clearly explained. Rather dry and not that inspirational. Joseph's story of his own everyday trance is touching (p. 76). But probably the authors must have been hampered by a strict limitation of space.

If you are a great enthusiast of NLP and stuck for ideas for a gift, this book could serve the purpose for friends who don't read much. Otherwise there are many better introductions.

I looked over the Norton Sixth Edition the other day...

Approximately a decade has passed since I used the Fourth Edition Norton Anthology during my undergraduate studies. At that time I sensed that there were two types of English professor: the traditionalist, who was committed to teaching the traditionally accepted great American writers; and, the revisionist, whose mission was to infuse female and minority writers at whatever cost. It seemed to me that the revisionist had been behind the Fourth Edition, given that there were many apparent changes to the American literary canon for what I believed to be for the purposes of political correctness and social change. My suspicions were later confirmed when a visiting Berkley professor, my American Lit professor's friend, admitted that this in fact was not only the goal but "a great responsiblility".

Of course, there is nothing wrong in introducing new writers, who during the preceding decades, because of there gender, race or ethnic background, had been overlooked and not read or studied. However, because there is finite number of pages in a given work, when a new writer is introduced it is at the expense of the older, traditional writer who ends up giving away his pages. In fact, in that course, entitled American Literature, which was a required course for all English Lit majors, we did not read any Twain, no Fennimore Cooper, and no Poe. Instead we were assigned Native American chants, slave writings, and various female authors. Just to reiterate, there is nothing wrong with studying Native American chants, slave writings, and female writers, but we must ask ourselves is it worth pushing some of the traditionally accepted fathers of American literature aside?

Since then I have looked over the Fifth and now Sixth editions and have seen the revisionist's grip tighten. It seems that with every edition there are more decisions made based on politics rather than merit. The canon is being revised and the good folks at Norton believe that it is their duty to do so.

Nevertheless, although it is clear that I am not a disciple of the revisionist, I nevertheless recommend the Norton Anthologies because although they contain plenty of mediocre works, they are nevertheless interwoven among the works of American masters, and it is difficult not to see who is who, regardless of what Professor Stillahippy says.

If you want to learn a lot of good knock knock jokes this is just for you for you.

For teachers or trainers who use film to bring variety and excitement to the classoom, Prof. Champoux has written two useful film guides, one with a focus on management and the other on organizational behavior. Both have similar tables of contents and it is unlikely that students who have purchased one book would feel their money was well spent in the purchase of the second volume. Additionally, students may feel cheated by the formatting decisions made by the author and the publisher. Each book could easily be reduced in page numbers by at least half with no loss of content.

With these reservations considered, Champoux does provide a useful service for the reader. A few examples will serve to demonstrate the value of his work.

In Chapter 3 of the Organizational Behavior text Champoux reviews the 1970 Jack Nicholson film, "Five Easy Pieces." The category for this film is Quality Management and the scene Champoux uses to illustrate a breakdown in customer service is the now famous roadside restaurant confrontation where Nicholson attempts to customize his order with a waitress who advises him that he can't make any substitutions for any items on the menu. At first Nicholson attempts to use reason with the waitress in order to get the food he wants to eat, but when reason fails, his anger and savage wit combine in one of the most memorable putdowns ever filmed.

Champoux makes it convenient for the viewer to find the scene with fairly accurate tape start and stop times listed prominently before his accurate description of what the viewer will see. He then asks three open ended questions which seem obvious at first, but in reality are difficult to answer. Teachers will find it easy to add their own questions such as: Is the customer always right? Our conditioned response is yes, but the scene Champoux gives us requires us to think more deeply about this question. More than this, Nicholson is a difficult customer. How does a person in the service industry work effectively with such people? Students will be eager to discuss such questions and instructors will discover many teachable moments stimulated by the interest generated by the film clip.

As mentioned, this guide has been formatted into a workbook and always after the questions for discussion is a page for analysis of concepts or examples and then a place to write personal reactions to the film clip. All the content mentioned could easily have been formatted on one page and students can use their own notebooks or learning logs, which they are likely to do anyway, to record their observations.

With these reservations noted, I am still able to recommend this book. Prof. Champoux shares with us his years of experience watching popular films. The eighty-two films cited in the text are divided into twenty-five chapters that correspond to topics that students will find in the typical organizational behavior text like perception, motivation, and leadership. As in the Five Easy Pieces example mentioned, his selections are appropriate, entertaining, and thought provoking. Students and teachers will discover in Champoux's book many good reasons to bring a thoughtful attention to their next film viewing.

Although its title alludes to a psalm of lamentation, this book (first published in 1908-09) is a secular product. Set in early 20th century London, it has all the familiar motifs of "engaged" Jewish writing: starving workers exploited by corpulent capitalists, former revolutionaries in search of an identity, failed strikes--the classic pained world of Jewish emmigration.

Brenner's novel excels, however, similar creations (e.g. Leivick's "Shop") on a number of counts: it was fortunate to find a top-class tranlator (Webber Prize 1989), and in itself it employs an interesting variety of literary techniques (journal, stream of consciousness, a certain drama-like quality when the narrator disappears for long spells, and some powerful albeit feverish storytelling when he checks back in). The novel goes beyond the usual socio-economic agit-prop of the time: Brenner, something of a celebrity in the Hebrew literature of the day, is more focused on ethical issues, with his compelling insistence on heroic responsibility for one's actions and compassion for others.

With its decent plot-weaving and some good comical sketches, this is a thoroughly readable book.