That Vico is largely unknown, even by the so-called experts teaching in our universitiues, while mediocrities and worse of the past half century are lauded and taught widely is yet another indication that our educational standards are dumbed down considerably. Vico is difficult to read, and we are increasingly an intellectually lazy people who prefer simplistic platitudes that sooth our postmodernist prejudices.

I give this Penguin edition only a 4 not because New Science is not itself a 5 or because the translation itself is weak, but because Vico requires copious notes. Most who read this work will do so on their own, and they need considerable help unless they are already as well read in the Classics and works of the Medieval and Renaissance eras as was Vico himself. Perhaps soon we will see an edition that meets that need, which also might encourage a few more to teach Vico, before we fall into the re-barbarism.

An eighteenth century alternative to a Cartesian hegemony of philosophic vision. Herein lies a pride of imaginative erudition and practice for the reader in allegorical and metaphorical thought--a poetic more than meets the mind. "Poetic Wisdom" offers a gamboling philological development of human institutions--all that is, explained. And this book has a chapter on "The Discovery of the True Homer." He was so much fun to look for and we are glad he's found. This edition has a detailed table of contents and an introduction by Anthony Grafton as a bonus for readers.

This is an excellent dictionary in many respects; English words are clearly defined in English and the Chinese equivalent is given, and where there is no Chinese equivalent, an explanation in Chinese is given. Also useful are the multitude of examples and usage notes in both English and Chinese.

The appendices are also valuable: a table of irregular verbs, punctuation, numerical expressions, weights and measures, geographical names, common forenames guides with explanation both in English and Chinese. Also included is a detailed guide of the entries, covering pronunciation, grammar, verb patterns, and more.

An added bonus is that the traditional forms of the Chinese characters are used, and the pronunciations of headwords is the received pronunciation.

However, this dictionary is definitely not for learners of Chinese. The title is somewhat misleading in this respect. It is suitable only for Chinese learners of English, not for English speakers learning Chinese.

This book is a steal. for $15.00, you get an excellent english to chinese dictionary that not only gives you the chinese word, but defines it in chinese and english. chinese characters are in simplified chinese, wish there was the same version with traditional characters. nonetheless, this dictionary belongs on any shelf.

don't buy anything from a chinese bookstore when you can can it from amazon or local. I seen this book sell for $55.00 in a chinese bookstore in nyc.

I would like to say it was a very interesting novel based on the mentality of young men. I am just very upset to have purchased this book again. This novel was once called Urban Massacre which I read in 1998. Why was this novel published twice?

I truly enjoyed reading Paper Chasers by Mark Anthony. The book which is set in Queens, New York during the summer of 1991 deals with the crack cocaine epidemic of that time. The characters were so real, the situations in the book were real and not just stereotypical, and the dictionary, I loved that!!!

I think Mark Anthony separates himself from many authors in the sense that his book isn't littered with profanity and he shows his talent in that he was able to express the thoughts of his characters by using creative dialogue that draws you in as a reader. He also separates himself from other authors in that he kept this book real on a spiritual tip. It was that spiritual message which was not overly preachey or anything like that that made me say, "Finally there is a book out there, or any form of entertainment for that matter that gives a solution to all of the drama that goes on in everyday life."

If you like authors such as Sister Souljah, and Shannon Holmes you will definitely enjoy Paper Chasers by Mark Anthony.

Mark Anthony I will definitely be checking for your next book.

Campolo says "A religious group matures and improves only by correcting its flaws, and usually the enemies of that group can help it to see those flaws better than its friends can." This idea is the force behind the whole flow of "Partly Right" and since I am in up-front agreement with Campolo's premise, I found his entire argument to be quite compelling, and very educational.

Christians can be notorious for their offhand dismissal of those who criticize their religion, while never really taking the time to study or understand the belief systems of their detractors. Campolo wants to address this problem, and while admitting that his book is not meant to be an exhaustive treatment, he selects several significant critics of "bourgeois" or "middle-class" Christianity and seeks to fill us in on where they are coming from.
He considers the worldviews of Hegel, Nietzsche, Kierkegaard, Freud (and the Neo-Freudians), Marx, and Dostoevsky.
The author presents (what I consider to be) a very fair summary of the philosophies of these great intellectuals, and clearly explains the main issues upon which their criticisms of the middle-class church were focused.
And wherever possible, the author adds that little dash of Campolo humor that his readers have come to expect from him.

Dr. Campolo, a world-class scholar, is professor of sociology at Eastern College in St. David's, Pennsylvania. He is the author of so many great books, all of which seem to appropriately challenge some aspect of traditional Christianity. Some readers tend to get offended at his "say-it-like-it-is" style. Campolo does not mind stepping on the choir's toes, and sometimes maybe goes out of his way to do so. But I, for one, am always grateful for his brutal honesty, and controversial, thought-provoking insights.

I highly reccommend Partly Right to thoughtful Christians, or would-be-Christians. Great summaries of philosophies that challange the faith, and a great challenge to Christians.

Certainly this is not going to be a best-selling biography any time soon. Who would be interested in this other than Henckel descendants, and historians specializing in Lutheran history (and perhaps the early history of Germans in America)? Not many, I suppose.

However, Anthony Henckel is an important figure in this country's religious history, for a variety of reasons. In the years following his death, members of the Henckel clan would come to dominate the Lutheran religion in some regions of the country. Five generations would produce more Lutheran and Methodist clergymen than you can shake a stick at.

For people wondering why Anthony Henckel came to the New World in the first place, then this is an excellent book to read, as it goes into the numerous conflicts surrounding Henckel in his homeland parish, and shows how ultimately he was forced to leave the region for his own safety and well-being.

There is nothing earth-shattering in this book, no deep historical analysis of Henckel's life and times. However, as a 11th & 12th generation descendent of Henckel (gotta love those intermarriages), I found this to be a thoroughly enjoyable book to read, and informative enough to be satisfying.

I came across this book quite by accident, but have enjoyed reading about the life and times of my 8th Great-Grandfather. It's very simple reading, pact with facts and stories and lots of great pictures. A must for Henckel family genealogist and Lutheran historians.

I just finished the book (in Dutch translation) and I can recommend it to everyone who is interested in Chinese history of the past century. It tells the story of a young man who enters the world of China in the 1930 to spread the word of God among the Chinese. He arrives at the time of communist outbreaks throughout the country and starts his journey for bringing christianity. Being caught by the communists he is forced to walk the long march. During this time he encounters many harsh endearments which determine the rest of his life. The book covers decades of communist uprising and the hardship of this communist belief. It gives the reader a good impression of how life was during the long march, the absolute belief of the communists in their goal and the desillusion of those who gave so much for the revolution. As I said in the beginning I just finished the book, so this is just a first sketch of how the book is. I certainly can recommend it!

Peking is a wonderful story of Mao's Great March. The reader will have a very realistic sense of the period and the dedication of Mao's followers.

Full disclosure: my nephew's "story" is in this book, as told by my brother-in-law. When my sister gave me this book I was moved to tears as I read it, because she wants all of us who know and love her son "Robby" to understand his Asperger's Syndrome, and its treatments.

AS is a perplexing syndrome, and the spectrum of PDDs is confusing and multi-focal. For parents, families and friends, this book is a wonderful starting point. The book lays it out in easy-to-digest chunks, most useful for anyone seeking to understand the PDD continuum and its manifestations in children and young adults.

It is clear, concise and (except for the parents' stories) unemotional. It will help anyone affected by a PDD to understand the background, the symptoms, the diagnosis and possible intervention techniques. I am delighted that Ms. Malone and Dr. Quinn are part of my nephew's diagnostic team, and that they have produced this excellent book. And I'm glad my sister & brother-in-law have shared it with our family. Without communication, there can be no understanding.

Barbara Quinn and Anthony Malone really wrote a book for the average parent to understand. The book is not bogged down with medical terms that are difficult to comprehend but rather uses terms an average parent can understand. Thank you so much for helping parents help their special needs child.

Phthor is certainly one of Anthony's better works, written during his more prolific period, and serving as a reminder that there's much more to Piers Anthony than Xanth. While Chthon is the preferable book in the series (there are 4, the first two written by Mr. Anthony himself, the latter two written by Charles Platt), Phthor holds its own as a good sequel. The subject matter is dark, and often frank (in the case of many of the main characters' perennial nudity), and presents many interesting themes throughout.

Worth the time, especially if you've read (and enjoyed) Chthon.

I really liked this book. The main character, Arlo, was pretty cool and the minionettes were also intriguing. Their inverse emotion telepathy was confusing at first, but once I got into the book, I understood it. This is a very good book. Read it, you'll enjoy it.

one of Mr. Burgess's unsung masterpieces--perhaps largely due to my love for music. Readers of his "On Mozart" will recognize the idiosyncratic but astute explorations of music theory interjected in the story of a young girl who becomes the brashest "Madame" in France.

Main plot: Dad is a "pianoplayer." This means he improvises the accompaniment to 'twenties silent films on a running-down piano in the town moviehouse. Daughter is a fairly ordinary poverty-stricken girl discovering a fascination with sexuality. The novel is written in her voice, as something of a memoir, and Burgess pulls off the use of distinctively feminie charisma and logic.

The book should take no more than an afternoon or so to read, but the musical/prosaic/cinematic (etc.) pleasures to be gained from that afternoon left me reeling.

I decided to read Piano Players after I had read A Clockwork Orange, just to get another taste of Burgess's writing. As a "piano player" myself, I thought this book revealed the importance that music plays in everyone's life, and how it can direct one person to go one way (dying in anonymity) or the other (becoming famous for running a bordello).

David Dodd has assembled a wide variety of stories to inspire and encourage addicted people to get clean. I was impressed that Twelve Step groups were NOT the focus of every tale, and that the one constant was that each individual made a PERSONAL CHOICE to forego their addiction and live sober. For all the help some people get from 12-Step groups, there are many who don't "relate" to the religiousity. But this book shows that recovery is still possible and worthwhile. The fact that most of these tales are told by celebrities and artists we KNOW only increases their value. Plus, it's nice to know that my gut feeling about Steven Tyler is "on the money" - he truly IS a mensch!!

I was attracted to the many well-known names listed on the cover, but once I began reading the book, I was overwhelmed with its passion and solutions. David Dodd has done a remarkable job which is reflected in this collection of interviews. My favorite part, however, is the introduction to the book, where the author tells his personal story on how he became sober with the help of Steven Tyler. His vivid description of the events were astonishing to me, they were absolutely incredible. This is a wonderful book!