If you want to read a boook which is, at once, intelligent, lyrical and scientific, this collection of the writings of J. Henri Fabre should not be missed. He not only walks you through his many thought-provoking studies of the insect world, but also challenges you to consider from whence came the many wonders described therein. Contrary to what other reviewers have said, Fabre's education was not a hindrance to his observations. Indeed, true science (which means, after all "knowledge") is concerned with objective reality, not theoretical flights of fancy. We in the modern world have been lulled into believing that the world is composed of random collections of atoms, that all life is derived - has evolved - from some lower form of life, that all is in flux, and, ultimately, that there is no God. Read Fabre's writings - read them carefully - and dare to think otherwise. He shows, in experiment after experiment, that the insect world is not random and that "Nature acts for an end". More to the point, the results of Fabre's experiments show us that while insects act REASONABLY, they do so without the use of REASON itself (in particular, read chapter six, "The Ignorance of Instinct"). In other words, they act upon the impulse of instinct, which, is itself entirely logical and rational. Such rational ends, it becomes manifestly clear, cannot be the result of a random process of evolution, but must arise from the unseen hand of an intelligent creator. So much for Darwin. But don't believe me - read the book, and then try taking a look at DARWIN ON TRIAL and DARWIN'S BLACK BOX as well (both are excellent books which make the larger case, beyond the insect world, that Darwin was wrong).

This book tells the secrets of insect behavior. The author observes very closely the lives of the many species he studied. This is nature at her smartest and her blindest; beauty, horror and science. Highly recommended by me.

Exquisitely written, my imagination was immediately captured by Fabre's patient observations and his poetic retelling of each adventure. Once called an "incomparable observer" by Charles Darwin, Fabre's unsurpassed enthusiasm springs to life on every page. Since reading it a few short years ago I have ever since felt inspired to sit longer in the fields and to spend more time just observing. Admittedly, Fabre was self taught and isolated. He stubbornly disagreed with the theory of evolution. Looking back on his work it is easy to see the mistakes he made, blind spots in his approach to the larger aspects of biological research. Still, if you decide to read this book I'm sure you will be inspired to be with insects. What better thing to do?

This man, who lived caught between paralyzing fear and paralyzing anger, refuses to countenance the immoral world he found so horribly crude, ignorant and inadequate. I know of no more unrelenting self-criticism or self-asceticism than portrayed here in this work.

Every "outsider" will recognize immediately that the author talks to him/her. No matter by what standard one is taken as an outsider, here is a priceless analysis of your experience, writ humbly, clearly and painfully.

Every "moralist" will recognize immediately the accusations the authors aims in your direction with too-precise accuracy that will not allow you to wriggle free of the dread implications.

Every "religionist" will recognize the futility of responding in comforting platitude to the undeniable evidence of evil writ hugely in this thin volume.

I know of few intellectuals who will receive the meaning of this work with welcome. To almost all others, it will be set aside with well-explained rationalizations...

But for the reader who knows what "outside" means, what "cataclysm" means, and what "torment" of any stripe whatsoever means, then here you will find a comrade. Here you will find words of encouragement to struggle on...your lot is not as bad as it could be, after all...for here we find our comrade who has endured to the very limits of the mind. And survives, with bright intellect intact and sharp. Uncomfortably so.

A note on the "Auswitz" in the title--Don't allow this word to dissuade you from the universal human experience that is the focus of this work. Any and every human being can take an enhanced image of life and world from this resource.

I really can't say much about this book, except that it is the most worn in my library of over 1,000 volumes compiled from a lifetime of literature. This translation is amazing as well. This book is an intellectual's journey through, and life after, hell.

To the world at large, none of the death camps is better known than is Auschwitz. There is now in existence a very large volume of literature regarding the atrocities committed in that infamous place, much of it written by its survivors. This literature is often reflective as well as descriptive as it recounts, not only the day-to-day horror of life and death but the destructive effects of relentless and senseless violence on human understanding. In this respect, the books of both Elie Wiesel and Primo Levi must stand as premier examples of intellectual and spiritual revelation as well as personal witness.

Jean Amery's At the Mind's Limit: Contemplations by a Survivor on Auschwitz and Its Realities must join the works of Wiesel and Levi as indispensable reading for anyone seeking to grasp the deepest range of emotions and implications the name Auschwitz should evoke. In this book Amery stresses the negative and shows on virtually every page how futile it would be to scrutinize the experience of a Holocaust survivor for anything even remotely redemptive. Auschwitz was destruction without deliverance, a place of inexplicable and implacable hostility against the very definition of humanity. As a consequence, a mind that searches Auschwitz, or any of the other camps, for reasonable and rational explanations will only be confronted with its own impotence. As Amery puts it, "In the camp the intellect in its totality declared itself to be incompetent...Beauty: that was an illusion. Knowledge: that turned out to be a game with ideas." The intellect, Amery tells us, was robbed of its transcendence, rendering the intellectual the most vulnerable of victims.

The five autobiographical essays that make up this remarkable book are models of intellectual sobriety, lucidity and moral earnestness. Amery's experiences at Buchenwald, Bergen-Belsen and Auschwitz and other camps, detailed in the first essay, brought him to the realization that all of his previously-held aesthetic concepts and analytic capabilities were rendered useless. "The aesthetic view of death had revealed itself to the intellectual as part of an aesthetic mode of life; where the latter had been all but forgotten, the former was nothing but an elegant trifle. In the camp no Tristan music accompanied death, only the roaring of the SS and the Kapos." Spiritually disarmed and intellectually disoriented, "the intellectual faced death defenselessly."

The book's second essay, which is unusually vivid, concerns the genesis and nature of sadistic physical torture. Torture was an essential component of Nazism and not a peripheral aspect. It was the determinant that defined and coalesced the basically depraved and destructive character of Nazism, an ideology "that expressly established...the role of the antiman...as a principle." Nihilistic principles have always existed, but German National Socialism distilled and purified them. They tortured, not to gain advantages, but because they were torturers.

The remaining three essays deal with a variety of topics, all related to and all centering on the ordeals Amery endured during the Holocaust as well as its aftermath. The book's concluding essay, "On the Necessity and Impossibility of Being a Jew," is a culminating statement that defines in wretchedly painful terms a dilemma that is far more than Amery's alone.

As Amery both felt and lived with the Holocaust, his awareness demanded that he contend with all manifestations of postwar anti-Semitism, something he did with increasing frequency during the final years of his life. Although his own Judaism was, to him, highly problematic, he was uncompromising in his opposition to those who attacked the ideological concept of the State of Israel. "The impossibility of being a Jew," he said, "becomes the necessity to be one, and that means: a vehemently protesting Jew."

Amery, however, worried that in any newfound prosperity the events of the Third Reich would be forgotten or simply submerged in accounts of the general historical epoch. And, indeed, even the young survivors of the camps have now reached their seventh decade of life. What will preserve the memory of the camps once the last survivor is gone? For, "Remembering," said Amery. "That is the cue."

The entire world was, and is, affected by the atrocities of the Holocaust. It therefore becomes incumbent upon every human being alive, and not just every Jew, as well as those human beings yet to be born, to bear the imprint of the Holocaust upon his heart. In this way, mankind will never cease to do what is so very essential. Remember.

I wrote this plug for the reading recommendations in Barbara Conable's "How to Learn the Alexander Technique." My recommendation still holds.

To date, the richest and most informative book on the Technique. Jones reviews the history of the Technique, summarizes Alexander's books, gives an account of his own experiences as student, trainee and teacher, and gives a short presentation of the contents of his 31 published experimental papers. Some beginners may find this book a little rich for their blood, but this is the one to take to that desert island; the superb bibliography alone is worth the price of the book. Required reading for serious students and teachers.

One the best books on the Alexander Technique, including a good biography of FM Alexander. Also read Body Learning by Michael Gelb.

I looked for a long time for a Book on Calder before I found this beautiful, yet well priced Volume. It's all here from the Toys and the wonderfully playful "Calder's Circus", to the Mobiles and Stabiles, with Jewelry, Household Objects, Bronzes, Tapestries, Rugs, Sculptures and much more in between. There are many wonderful photographs which showcase the wide array of Calder's Art and of course Calder himself. Also included are a timeline, a useful Bibliography and an interesting "Who's Who in Calder's World." At $ 32.00 this book is a must buy of one of America's most important and influential Artists of all time.

I can't remember how this book "fell" into my hands, but I COULD NOT put it down once it had. As a lover of spiders since childhood, I sat agape, mouth in my lap as I read an entomologist's experiences observing various arachnid species on several continents.

"The Wall and other short stories" is a triumph in literature. Each story explores the depths of human thought and reason through an existential point of view. Each story can be interpreted different by all readers, therefore making this a great book for discussion.

"The Wall" is the first story presented. It consumes the reader because of its brilliant writing style. The story is narrated by a man named Pablo Ibbieta, who is in a jail cell with 2 others awaiting execution the following morning. Every event that transpires that particular night is analyzed almost too thoroughly thus leaving the reader in a trance. I wont get into it too deeply, but believe me, this story is worth reading...i guarentee it will have to be read again. After finishing the story, I felt as though nothing mattered. Who cares if the dishes were not washed, who cares if I would be late for work. Believe me, this story will have a profound impact on the way you think. Don't be surprised if you have a new appreciation for life. This story enlightens the mind.

Another great story from this book is called "Erostratus". Erostratus was a character who wanted to be famous, so he burned down the temple of Ephesus, which was one of the 7 wonders of the world. This is the central symbol of the story, the quest for glory. It also brings up an interesting point when the narrator asks one of his colleagues "Who built Ephesus?" and the colleauge did not know, he only knew who burned it. "Erostratus" in short is one mans decent into madness because of his quest to be remembered. The ending of "Erostratus" is filled with suspense and makes your heart beat in fear. It serves as a grim reminder that there are people of this type, and we should be prepared at any time for them to strike.

There are also 3 other stories, that being "The Room", "Intimacy", and "The Childhood of a Leader", which also draw the reader inside the workings of the mind through an existential window (ie: we are all here by accident, man is condemned to choose).

In short, these stories are all perfect, and leave the reader with a feeling of enlightment. Sartre is an extremely intelligent and clever writer. This is evident in these short stories. So turn off the television, buy this book, and start questioning your existence, you owe it to yourself. Besides, they are short stories, so you will be able to get through at least one a day...that isnt much to ask considering the benefits you will reap by reading them.

I AM GOING TO START MY TRAINING IN THORACIC SURGERY AND I WANT TO KNOW WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO PRINT THE NEW EDITHION OF THORACIC SURGERY (PERSON). THANK YOU.

Along with No Exit (and three other plays), this is a wonderful place to begin one's journey into Existentialism. J. P. Sartre presents the reader with a nice array of stories that encapsulate many of the juiciest of Existentialist themes. I suggest that one concentrate on the feelings of the characters when reading each story - and read it slowly and carefully: philosophers like Sartre deserve the time. I suggest Jeff Reynolds' fine review for the themes of each story. I also want to give praise to Lloyd Alexander (Translator) for his brilliant, readable translations. I have noticed other French-to-English translators who struggle terribly to construct English statements with substance. Alexander captures Sartre's thought with awesome force and detail.

"The Wall and other short stories" is a triumph in literature. Each story explores the depths of human thought and reason through an existential point of view. Each story can be interpreted different by all readers, therefore making this a great book for discussion.

"The Wall" is the first story presented. It consumes the reader because of its brilliant writing style. The story is narrated by a man named Pablo Ibbieta, who is in a jail cell with 2 others awaiting execution the following morning. Every event that transpires that particular night is analyzed almost too thoroughly thus leaving the reader in a trance. I wont get into it too deeply, but believe me, this story is worth reading...i guarentee it will have to be read again. After finishing the story, I felt as though nothing mattered. Who cares if the dishes were not washed, who cares if I would be late for work. Believe me, this story will have a profound impact on the way you think. Don't be surprised if you have a new appreciation for life. This story enlightens the mind.

Another great story from this book is called "Erostratus". Erostratus was a character who wanted to be famous, so he burned down the temple of Ephesus, which was one of the 7 wonders of the world. This is the central symbol of the story, the quest for glory. It also brings up an interesting point when the narrator asks one of his colleagues "Who built Ephesus?" and the colleauge did not know, he only knew who burned it. "Erostratus" in short is one mans decent into madness because of his quest to be remembered. The ending of "Erostratus" is filled with suspense and makes your heart beat in fear. It serves as a grim reminder that there are people of this type, and we should be prepared at any time for them to strike.

There are also 3 other stories, that being "The Room", "Intimacy", and "The Childhood of a Leader", which also draw the reader inside the workings of the mind through an existential window (ie: we are all here by accident, man is condemned to choose).

In short, these stories are all perfect, and leave the reader with a feeling of enlightment. Sartre is an extremely intelligent and clever writer. This is evident in these short stories. So turn off the television, buy this book, and start questioning your existence, you owe it to yourself. Besides, they are short stories, so you will be able to get through at least one a day...that isnt much to ask considering the benefits you will reap by reading them.

'The Wall' rises up as a catalogue of man's solitary and free application of the existentialist's understanding. Sartre leaves no dark corner unlit in what could be considered his most biting renderings of the human condition's anguish in the face of meaninglessness.

'The Wall' itself is an astoundingly suspenseful glimpse at the fine line between life and death, the insanity in ultimate human will-power, and the psychological effects of foreknowing one's own time of death.

'The Room' is stark and vague. Interpretations abound, all from absurd (in itself) to Sartre's most profound writing. Nevertheless, the story's 'insanity' brings about many insights into the world of the individual of nothingness.

'Erostratus' follows quite well, asking whether it is moral, immoral, right, or wrong, to kill and whether a modern man is truly free to commit conscious evil. Furthermore, it questions our modern society's knack for making celebrities of villains.

'Intimacy' is a wonderful story with heavy-handed, deadbolt dialogue, well-crafted absurd heroes, and philosophical wit, wound up in a woman's tale of love, adultery, loyalty, friendship, impotence, and existence.

Finally, 'The Childhood of a Leader' reveals the facist's facade of strength, the soft scar-tissue of their idealistic youth, the true childishness of their anti-semite reactions, and the way in which men allow themselves to follow or hunger to be followed.

And Roquentin, the main character, is unable to do so. This novel is in the form of a diary, which tells the thoughts, emotions and everyday experiences of the lonely Roquentin in the town of Bouville, and in his visit to Paris to see ex-girlfriend Anny, when he tries to recover his past. It is a novel about existence and the conscience about existence. Roquentin can not find any meaning to life: the hollowness, emptiness, meaninglessness of life nauseate him. Every other moment, for example when he's contemplating a tree, Roquentin suddenly feels the utter futility of life and this gives him a big nausea: the nausea, the horror of existing in the abstract. It is about existence as a pure, absolut experience.

Although the subject of this novel is eternal, deep and real, I was unsatisfied with the book as a literary work. At some point, you just want to tell Roquentin: "You see, doing nothing all day, other than exploring yourself and thinking about how hollow life is, will not give much meaning to your life. So stop gazing at your navel and do something. Maybe then you'll feel life is not necessarily that horrible".

I read "Nausea" wanting to see Sarte's other work besides his plays and philosophy. This Novel is both challenging but doesn't quit hit the bulls eye and has a poor ending for the point Sarte's trying to get across.

"Nausea" is about a writer Antoine Roquentin who keeps a diary of his day to day life and catalouges his emotions and explores them deeply. In the beginning of the novel, Roquentin throws a rock into a river and feels something extreme but doesn't know what it is. From there he explores his own existence and soul. Later on he finds powerful truths about life and existence.

One problem I had with this book is that the main charector is so empty and lonely to begin with, I knew he would be horrifed with his own existence and gives us no hope. However I loved this novel for Sarte's ideas on existence, life, people, art, innocence, loneliness etc... and its worth reading for this factor even if there are some flaws and the ending isn't really awarding.

I read one reviewer's comment on this book on Amazon( Sorry I don't have the reviewer's name) which I really felt true, which meant something like 'If Existence is meaningless why didn't Sarte kill himself?'. Existentialism is some of the most true writing in the world but you can't believe it to an extreme. If existence is meaningless then you've just wasted life in vain of others. However I'll spare you my philosophy and conclude this review by saying this novel is very much worth reading but is not an existentialist classic. Check out Camu's "The Stranger" and Sarte's "No Exit" for classic existentialist works.

When I bought this book I could not put it down. The emotions and thoughts that Antoine has very much mirrored the way I felt about life and existence. As a few of the reviewers have pointed out, the whole story is depressing and grim. This is the whole point of the story!!! Life and existence, as the books name suggests, is nauseating and disgusting.

The writing style of Jean Paul Sartre is nothing less than breath taking. The anger, the depression, and the fear of existing is captured beautifully in Sartre's writing. Highly recommended if you want to learn and get a feel of the main ideas of existentialism.

By the way, as to the question of "If existence is meaningless, why not just kill yourself?" Well, why do people climb mountains if they are just going to come back down? Some people create their own personal purpose and give meaning to their lives through some medium. So, why not kill myself? I suppose it's the same reason Bertrand Russel didn't kill himself: I wish to learn more Mathematics.

Anyways, Albert Camus answers this very question with lucid prose in his book "The Myth of Sisyphus."

I purchased this book as a companion to another field guide, Wildflowers. I've never been able to differentiate between weeds and wildflowers, but after perusing both works, I've determined that my yard has far more weeds than wildflowers.

This is a handy reference with good illustrations and text written for the non-botanist to understand.

This is an enjoyable book for kids and adults, with lively commentary and good descriptions of where you're likely to find these plants.

There are several downsides: a) I can't really identify much from this book; I don't find the illustrations helpful. Smartweeds, for example, are not shown with their common purple splotch. "Weeds of the Northeast" is far better for identification, especially when you are dealing with seedlings. b) Some common weeds like garlic mustard and yellow foxtail are not included. Maybe it's time for a revision, since the copyright reads 1987.

Once I ID a weed, though, it's always fun to pull out this book and read what they have to say about it. For this reason - and its reasonable cost - I recommmend it.

In our garden there grows a plant with beautifully lobed leaves which twist slightly at the point where they join the stalk, and which appear to be oriented to the points of the compass. Until I came across this guide, none of my books could tell me the name of this plant, which turned out to be wild lettuce. This small book has many such plants: flowers and herbs that are all around us, but which we hardly ever see, or, as the cover states it, "the successful plants that nobody wants." I have found here the names of many plants which I pass on a daily basis in my rambles, but which I could never find in any guidebook, until I purchased this one. I also found information about those plants whose names I knew previously: the book has helped me become reacquainted with them. Indeed, I have always left a small corner of my garden untouched, simply because it seemed appropriate that there be a wilderness, however small, available to us; I now know the names of most of the plants that reside there.

Many will find this guide a useful means by which to eradicate such plants from their gardens, since methods for removal are included with many of the descriptions. I myself have no quarrel with the plants in this guide; as Emerson said, a weed is merely a plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered. If those virtues are not economic or agricultural, but rather aesthetic or scientific, then this book will be useful to those who do not garden or farm, but want to know more about those plants which seem to exist beside us without names. Despite the "seek and destroy" attitude which infuses this book, I have found it useful in identifying these plants: my world is much richer now that I have come to know better our almost invisible neighbors.