I found this book exceptionally horrible. I fell asleep at the end of every paragraph. I nearly killed my myself as I reached the middle of the book as I waited to find Monsiure Elshtain's point. I came to the conclusion that Nevertheless, I concur with Harvard professor Mary Ann Glendon's observation that Elshtain's "exploration of Augustine's implicit cognitnive theory... (is) especially interesting." Beavis Ramesh Esquir

For a serious appraisal, see the review by Mary Ann Glendon, Learned Hand Chair at Harvard Law School, at http://www.firstthings.com/ftissues/ft9611/reviews/glendon.html

Let's give Kofsky some credit for writing this book. There were then (mid-'60s) and are now precious few serious analyses of avant garde jazz. Kofsky's book is nothing if not serious, and therein lies one of its many flaws. Its overbearing, scholarly tone draws all the passion out of the music, thereby defeating its presumed purpose: to draw attention to great American music.

A more serious defect is its avowedly Marxist analysis. Kofsky is so intent on advancing his thesis -- that black musicians and their music were being strangled in the '60s by a capitalist economy -- that he neglects to listen to his own sources, most notably John Coltrane, who refuse to confirm his thesis, no matter how many leading questions Kofsky asks.

Speaking of Coltrane, Kofsky's adamant love for the great musician permeates nearly every sentence in the book. Unfortunately, in focusing so intently on Coltrane's contributions -- which were undeniable -- he slights egregiously numerous other major contributors to the music of the era. For example, Eric Dolphy and Ornette Coleman get rather short shrift from Kofsky. This shortcoming is worsened by Kofsky's corresponding attention to lesser lights such as Archie Shepp and Albert Ayler: good musicians, but not deserving, in my opinion, of extended analysis.

Worst of all, Kofsky treats the avant garde as if it existed in a vacuum. After all, the mid-'60s abounded with terrific players and composers who may not have satisfied Kofsky's radical litmus test, but who contributed mightily to the big universe that is jazz: Joe Henderson, Andrew Hill, Bobby Hutcherson, Roland Kirk, Lee Morgan...Charles Mingus, for crying out loud! (By the way, don't look for Miles Davis's name very often in the book either.)

There's a rule of thumb that every freshman composition student worth his or her salt learns: never let your thesis get in the way of gathering evidence. Kofsky's book is a classic of deductive reasoning gone bad: he formulated his thesis and then let nothing, and I mean nothing, get in the way of proving it.

Several great first person stories about some of the new Jazz greats--esp. Coltrane. Personally I am sympathetic with the politics of the book, but the language seems very stilted and dated at times. Great critique of the white dominated music business and critical intillectual snobbery.

Perfect gift for student who is going to college in Vermont

This book presents a relatively unknown piece of our history through the studied eye of a scientific historian. It doesn't go into sensationalism regarding the unfortunate outcomes of things that the social engineers of the times did, but rather presents them in such a way that some readers may ask "so what?" The seeming normality of the endeavor along with it's ultimate outcome should lead us to ask some serious questions about what we're doing with our genetic knowledge and such things as "women's choice" today. It is an important book by virtue to the maxim that "those who do not learn from the past are condemned to repeat it".

Although it seems unrealistic to expect complete objectivity from any biographer, Katherine Frank shows a level of bias toward her subject somewhat striking in the genre. Her descriptions of Emily Bronte are enthusiastic and warm, even when Emily's behavior (by her own description) warrants at least some kind of approbation, or at least evenhandedness. This unmitigated warmth is reserved for Emily alone, however; Charlotte, for example, is portrayed as living a constant struggle with conventionality which Emily gloriously escapes. Of particular interest is the expression of Emily and Charlotte's intense relationship. Charlotte consistently suffers in the comparisons with her sister -- at least by Frank's view. She doesn't seem interested in exploring Charlotte's suffering under Emily's emotional tyranny, even though she does describe it in detail. One gets the impression that Charlotte would do better in this biography if only she would care a little less about what others think. Their brother, Branwell, fares badly as well, and Frank's conclusion regarding one of Branwell's many pathetic attempts to be employed that he had been terminated due to a homosexual advance on his pupil seems strikingly unsubstantiated. Frank seems to come to this conclusion only because she can't think of any other. In the end, it's not that the reader can't see what Frank shows as part of Emily's character, it's that it's not the only thing to be seen.

Many of Frank's arguments were convincing to me--especially those regarding Emily's peculiar eating habits. All of her conclusions were backed up with sources, etc. Although I didn't believe this spin on the life of the Brontes word for word, I do think it was worthly of more than 1 star, hence my review. Check it out--you may disagree, but isn't that part of the fun?

I am currently using this book for a Business Communications class. I have to say it is by far the worst book I've used in my college career to date. I talked to one instructor who said she changed books because the examples in this book were so bad. She even went through the effort of re-designing the course just to switch books. That is how bad this book is. If the instructor you are going to take a class from recommends this book please do yourself a favor and find an instructor who has the courtesy to search for a book that will allow you to excel in this type of class. This is not the book to help you do that.

Being a college graduate from a another country, commmunicating in English has been one of the setbacks I encounter while working in the retail industry. I kept searching for materials that will help me improve in my communication. But the materials that I found were either not to my level or not emphasising on business communication. But Camp, Satterwhite and co. were able to address the issues I have been looking for. This book lays emphasis on daily communication faced in today's business world. I will recommend this book to anybody seeking on how to improve on their business communication especially for foreigners. I really liked how the dealt on the speaking aspect of communication.

Packaged the size of a CD, it is often found sold along with Mr. Sinatra's recordings in record bins. Far from "complete" as the title suggests, this pocket guide presents some new information for the Sinatrafile, but primarily on British recordings (don't let the spellings of some words throw you!). Curiously, the text includes a pointless listing of the songs on each and every recording, which undoubtedly contributes to the overall number of pages.

The guide is organized (or organised as the case may be) by general epochs documented in Frank's life. The verbage is supplemented by a traditional set of photos, but their placement is completely disjointed from the text, being interspersed in a random, and somewhat discontinuous order. This throws the reader because there is no context developed for either interpreting or understanding the photos. Some of them are even mislabeled which serves to diminish the author's credibility.

If you are looking for record prices or other memorabilia information, you won't find it here. The back cover states that it is "the indispensible consumer's guide to the music of Frank Sinatra", but there are much more thorough and complete collection listings available on the book market.

There are probably several books that give a concise overview of Frank Sinatra's music. But are they always easy to find? I like this book, because it is small, compact, easy to read, and inexpensive (despite its very "British" point of view). I'm sure there are other (and possibly better) books about Sinatra's music, but this one will do just fine.

This is the required textbook for an upper level Spanish conversation class I am taking at Ball State. The students in that class all dislike this book, and even the teacher admits to having problems with it. It is organized into chapters, each one being a different conversational topic, such as talking on the phone or the family. There are 52 chapters, but they are each only 2 pages long. The first page has a vocabulary list, and the second has a list of questions with a few suggestions for conversations. The first set of questions refers to one or two small black-and-white photos on the vocabulary page. Since the pictures are small and unclear, it's often impossible to answer certain questions about them. The photography is bad, and so is the reproduction of the pictures. Not all the pictures are even from Latin America (or any other Spanish speaking country)! In chapter 19 it is possible to see a sign in the background written in French. And in the following chapter, there is a photo taken in a supermarket where I could make out some Italian words on the products. Another problem is that the vocabulary lists often repeat words that were already introduced in previous chapters. That would be fine if they were placed in a separate section "for review", but I don't think the authors even noticed or cared about the repetition. The book does not contain any interesting supplemental texts, nor is it accompanied by a video, or even audiotapes. There are not even explanations or notes about when and how certain words should be used. The questions and suggested activities are unimaginative and often poorly thought-out. For more than ..., this book is simply not worth buying.

I have used this book in my third year high school Spanish classes with good results. The questions range from easy to more difficult, requiring from short phrases to longer, more thoughtful answers. The topics covered are timely and useful, and the students seem to enjoy working together and orally answering the questions. The vocabulary is very useful.

this book tells no story at all....a waste of time..

This is a good book. It shows very well that there can be hope in the toughest situations. And everyone can have their own Door of Hope. I recommend this book to readers who enjoy reading touching stories.

In my opinion, this was the single lousiest book I have ever read on the subject of conflict resolution. This text is so blatantly in favor of pointless hostility, in my view, that I suspect the author is probably not capable of making it past her own porch without getting in a screaming fight with the neighbors. (And probably stands around in her backyard in a bathrobe screaming at them, too.) In fact, the whole thing seems to have been written by somebody who would prefer to incessantly call the police and file lawsuits against the neighbors than "mediate" a dispute with them. I think it should have been called "Sue Thy Neighbor."

Dr. Potter provides clearly written instructions and examples for tackling the problems associated with the process of mediation. She includes nonverbal language as well as advice on the physical arrangement of the room. Included is a chapter on how to behave when you are the disputant. I would recommend this book for those involved in a dispute at the office, in the home, or among friends.

I would like to correct an error in my earlier review of "The Verdict of History Sacco and Vanzetti." In my eagerness to get out some information about this book, I unforgivably submitted the review when I was only 80% through the book. Dr. D'Alessandro does include a chapter which refutes points made by "guilty" authors like Montgomery and Russell. In fact, this is probably the most effective section of the book although it does, in my opinion, suffer somewhat from illogic and lack of focus. Also, the backward references are hard to follow because the book has no index. However, I apologize for my mistake.

Frank M. D'Alessandro's book is not for the first-time Sacco and Vanzetti reader. "The Verdict of History on Sacco and Vanzetti" is the fourth book I've read on the subject, and I still found it difficult to follow. The writing and organization are both poor. There are few references given in the test, and there is no bibliography. Dr. D'Alessandro is a very strong supporter of the innocence of the two Italian anarchists and makes no attempt at a balanced presentation. He does, however, make some strong points which had not occurred to me before. I would like to see the same material presented in a more formal, rigorous way with refutations on the points made by recent "guilty" authors like Francis Russell.

Dr. D'Alessandro presents details of the Sacco Vanzetti case that reinforced my own opinions of this travesty of American justice. That is not surprising in view of the fact that I, along with the good doctor, grew up in Providence in the same neighborhood as Joseph Morelli. Everyone, it seems, with the exception of the law knew, that the Morelli gang had stolen the payroll, killing two people. They bragged about it. Everyone knew that the metal boxes which had contained the payroll were thrown into the deepest end of Canada Pond. So I am not at all surprised that this author believes that the two anarchists were innocent and were railroaded by the establishment. The book is occasionally laborious but does maintain the reader's interest. It is clearly the work of someone on a mission and it reads more like a textbook than a polished novel. Even so I found it to be good reading by an enthusiastic writer.