Two problems: (1) reversed runes are not well explained initially, however, the Author clarifies them in the spreads and casting section; (2) the Author denies any significance to the aettir - i.e. he believes that their order does not have any hidden meaning.

For folks new to rune work, the final chapter provides an overview of the major books and authors from the past 20 years.

"Nordic Runes" is a good platform for further runic studies for folks drawn to this kind of work.

Mr. Mountfort puts forth a scholarly study of Ogam including history of, his interpretation of, making of, and casting of Ogams.

What struck me the most about this book was his painstaking effort to link for us the individual meanings to thier corresponding myths. Along with this he also at no time gets bogged down in the dogma of right and wrong when it comes to interpretations and makes it clear that the study of Ogam is an ongoing evolution and today's reality may very likely change as time progresses. What is important is that IT WORKS!

Lastly, he takes us through the recent revival of Ogam and gives us his views on modern publications pertaining to Ogam.

All in all, an interesting informative read.

If you don't mind sometimes long and verbose reading, then this is certainly one of the best works on the subject out there. I would quibble that Menninger gives the East less coverage than the West, but his comparisons of number words across Indo-European languages is simply fascinating. Also, too are his theories about how the displacement of one language by another in a region can often lead to weird anomalies in number counting.

A few years of online work and an interest in the implications of the increasing importance of tech. mediation of our environment/communication were rewarded (in my case) by Virilio's intriguing discourses--essays, really-- on how we perceive and relate to the world.

The one section on the globalization of the economy, though, was so off-base, I can only attribute it to the French academic community's expertise in theory and absolute cluelessness with real life (see: French economy).

-greg allen

This is mostly a book on cyberculture. Its French title is _La Vitesse de libération_, which translates as "Escape Velocity". Hard luck: Mark Dery independently chose the same title for _his_ essay on cyberculture, so even though Virilio's opus predates Dery's, its translation must come out with a different title.

I read it in French when it was published. As an avid reader of cyberculture, I found _Open Sky_ very well informed indeed. Paul Virilio, however, is no fan of computers: He feels sheer panic in front of the virtualization of society. This is what makes his book so exhilarating to read: I suppose I felt the same as an amateur of military history craving for Waterloos from Napoleon's point of view or Little Big Horns through Custer's eyes.

Potential Literature, to me, seems an extension of Surrealism, which used the methods of literary production to critique modernism's obsession with the literary artifact; instead of the myth of the artist alone in some garret painstakingly crafting a Work of Art, literature is automatically generated by timed writing, or mechanically generated by multiple authors with games like the Exquisite Corpse or pieced together in a collage of found text. The Oulipo extends this the critique of modernism by exploring ways that literature can be produced as a result of mathematical formulas, or by building complex rules that limit writer's potential choices, or by the construction of new literary forms.

This book serves as a short introduction to the methods of potential literature several reprints from the groups pamphlet series, including François Le Lionnais's Manifestos and Italo Calvino's essay "How I Wrote One of My Books," which served as the blue print for If On a Winter's Nigh a Traveler.

Oulipo is a body of generative ideas rather than a critical or analytical method. It does away with philosophical underpinning in favor of just generating writing. Raymond Queneau regretted that writer's didn't use tools like other craftsmen. With word-processors, they do and this text supplies a range of techniques for extending mechanical writing beyond spell check. The muse has had her hard drive reformatted.

Thank you very much, Shari

What's more, he's not a half-bad writer. Unlike all of the modern politicians who "write" books--but actually just give some notes to a ghost writer who then does all of the real writing--Teddy actually wrote this book himself.

I enjoyed the rhyming pattern that the author used. I also liked the choice of animals and the words that he used to describe the animals.

This book could be used for a counting lesson. It also could be used as a literature lesson if you were teaching your children about poems. It could also just be a book that you read to your children for the sheer fun of it. A really nice selection!

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.

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.