Devereux's book is quite scholarly and is informed by many of the most recent developments in the various relevant disciplines. He refers to some of the cases which genuinely suggest more complex patterns of early diffusion than have traditionally been accepted (eg, Kennewick Man).

However, the treatment of linguistic issues (on which I am best equipped to comment) is relatively poor. This is partly because, although Devereux begins with a brief survey of pre-scientific and 'deep fringe' claims about the settlement of the Americas, he has relatively little to say about recent 'shallow fringe' and near-fringe diffusionists - many of whom have made heavy use of epigraphic and philological material - or their opponents. The names of key diffusionists such as Fell, Kelley and McGlone do not appear in his index. Neither do those of their skeptical critics such as Feder. In Chapters 6 and 9 and in short passages elsewhere he does raise some of the relevant cases, but the reader does not obtain a very satisfactory view of how these cases have been played out. There are in fact too many inadequately referenced statements. And indeed a careful survey would certainly lead to the conclusion that all linguistically based claims about migrations in the more recent but pre-Viking past are on very dubious footings. Diffusionists should seek better evidence elsewhere (but see below).

This is not to say that Devereux's treatment is not useful. For instance, in Chapter 6, Devereux discusses alleged Ogham inscriptions and the Bat Creek Stone; while not mentioning Fell, Gordon, McGlone et al. or their prominent critics, he does refer to the open-minded skepticism of Reynolds and Ross on the former case and to Kirk's relatively little-known skeptical work on the other. But there are large gaps here, considering the heavy use made of linguistic arguments by many diffusionists.

In addition, Devereux accepts (as at least plausible; sometimes as established) some diffusionist positions on language matters which are supported only by tiny minorities of qualified linguists (if any) or by amateur enthusiasts with no knowledge of current linguistic thought. For instance, very few linguists have been persuaded by Xu's claims of links between the Olmec and the Shang Chinese scripts. Positive references to these claims are found mainly in the work of Afrocentrists (not even all of these), creationists, rank amateurs like Matlock, etc. Xu does not appear to be very familiar with epigraphic or historical linguistic methodology, and Devereux is too easily impressed. Three key points here are: a) The meanings of Olmec symbols are not known, as Olmec has not been persuasively deciphered; thus one cannot be sure that any pairs of Olmec and non-Olmec symbols have the same meanings. b) Many of the symbols used by Xu are pictographic and as such liable to be independently invented. c) The odds in favour of short words and simple symbols - even non-pictographic ones - being independently invented are demonstrably MUCH better than Xu and Devereux seem to believe. Actually, most non-linguists who write about such matters make this last crucial error. (Many anthropologists would argue that similar errors vitiate many diffusionist arguments based on non-linguistic data such as legends or artefacts - some of which Devereux also rehearses.)

Of course, some of the diffusionist proposals discussed are not (or no longer) to be seen as dramatic. It was mainstream scientists, not fringe diffusionists, who identified Kennewick Man as probably non-Amerindian and thus anomalous. And on a broader front it is now quite usual to find the view that humans were in the Americas some time before 12,000 BP expressed by mainstream scholars. Crawford's use of linguistic data (at a rather general level) to support the genetic and other non-linguistic data that point in this direction will not be seen as threatening. On the other hand, more specific claims about more recent links between specific Asian and American language families (as rehearsed by Wells in his recent book) are typical of the fringe and of mavericks such as Ruhlen (see also above).

I realise that Devereux has a specific interest in shamanism, and his discussion of this topic is very interesting (although some of his views are highly controversial). But I am not sure that the facts of such cases point in a strongly diffusionist direction.

"Rediscover a continent's lost pre-history here. The United States is today a global icon for all that is new and forward looking - and this is regrettable, as Devereux points out, that so many of its modern inhabitants and some of its scholars are ignorant of the awesome sweep of its ancient past, or deny it. I can heartily recommend Mysterious Ancient America as a perfect remedy for that omission. The FT verdict: 9 out of 10". So said Bob Rickard, Editor 'Fortean Times' in March 2003 edition

"To understand archaic Aztec cosmology, a European thinker has to cross what is probably the widest intellectual gap conceivable between one human mind and another. Holy smoking mirrors! Paul Devereux, only you can help us now. We need to listen to the tribal world voice and this [Mysterious Ancient America] is a book which will tell us how." From Jeremy Harte in 'Third Stone' No. 45, 2003

(This review applies to the 1980 edition) A delightful book with suitable rules for learned, well read gentlemen to employ in the purpose of pushing miniature ships from all eras around the living room floor and invoking simulated combat while enjoying the company of other similarly minded people and quaffing a few beers. Or is that quaffing a few beers and pushing miniature ships around the living room. Doesn't matter. Sign me up.

Chap 1. About Naval Wargaming. Not comprehensive, but adequate to set up the rest of the book.

Chap 2. Equipment for Naval Wargaming. Pencil, paper, a few cardboard cutouts, some dice, and miniature ships. It can very inexpensive. Taking your wife out to dinner as compensation for disarraying the parlor will cost you more.

Chap 4. Ancient galley warfare: sails, oars, archers, marines, crew energy, ramming, repair, oar raking, boarding, supporting sinking ships, bolt throwing engines, stone throwing engines and crew moral.

Chap 5. The Battle of Thestos c 200 BC.

Chap 6. Napoleonic Naval Warfare: cannon, broadsides, boarding, striking, collisions, wind direction changes, wind strength changes, movement rules relative to wind, heaving-to and wearing.

Chap 7. The Battle of Ushant, 1795

Chap 8. The Ironclad Period, 1865-1885: Great armored mastodons belching fire and smoke and destructive projectiles and occasionally ramming each other.

Chap 9. The Battle of Hellespont, 1881

Chap 10. The Dreadnought Period: the scale increases to 1:18000 and we get torpedoes, turrets, concentration of fire, submarines, magazine explosions, directors, conning towers, propeller shafts, smoke, and mine fields.

Chap 11. The Battle of Texel, 1916

Chap 12. Other Periods: The middle ages, the renaissance, the armada, the Dutch wars and the 18th century, the Russo-Japanese war, the Second World War, the American civil war,

Chap 13. Campaigns: maps, secret movement, weather, repair of damage, siege of Hagage, The war in Ireland-1702, an 18th century trade war, war in the far East-1880, The Baltic project-first world war, the first world war in the North Sea.

Naval Wargaming provides wargaming approaches for ancient galleys, ships of the line, and battleships, carriers, and submarines up to the WWII era. (About half the book is dedicated to 20th century naval warfare.) The thing that I most like about the book is that it provides a great introduction to naval warfare for each of the periods it covers. I found this very informative and it also allows the rules of each wargame to be understood in the context of the ships and strategies of the time. For me, even without the gaming approaches, I found the book very informative. The gaming approaches are based on naval miniatures. Thus, the games are not particularly fast paced. (Although, if you enjoy naval miniatures this probably isn't a problem.) The wargaming approaches in the book are not simple, but are less complex than others I have experienced. They seem to strike a reasonable balance between playability, complexity, and reflecting the strategies of the time.

You can't beat having a strong presence online, if you are a self-employed contracts kind of lawyer. This book helped me drum up decent business. Glad I got it. I only wish it came with more online examples.

Apart from introductory information it contains many interesting views, also from lawyers' own practice. These personal, short, "interviews" with real life persons make this book that interesting.

Worth the bucks to pay.

Two slim volumes. Maps. Some photographs. Adequate, but not much more. For neophytes.

Add another $20 to the purchase price and buy his 1970 hardcover edition, which is incredible.

A must buy for any ghost town enthusiast!

This book is simply that, a book about new American town house. It started with a description of the evolution of town house, rite from the time of Palladio & Vitruvius to the present time. The rest is 20 examples of American townhouses all seemed to be going skyward fulfilling all kinds of tastes ranging from chic, loft style, minimalistic, opulence, romantic. & so forth. There are tonnes of pictures in this book with helpful building plans. I always like variety & after browsing thru initial examples, the rest of the book I really couldn't bother with as they all look pretty much similar. Afterall, a townhouse is a townhouse. Anyhow, this book is beautifully presented & definitely worth keeping if you simply want a coffee book for show. Keep up the good work.

With the cities and suburbs spreading out into former farmland in the form of superstores, fast food chains, and garishly oversized homes reminiscent of motel conference centers, Gorlin and Goldberger present the compelling alternative: the townhouse, revamped, revitalized, and more relevant than ever. No matter what your esthetic, there is a townhouse to suit it, and you can find it in this book. It could be argued, in fact, that the townhouse represents architectural humanism at its best: inherently social, family-friendly, scaled to real human dimensions and needs. In other words, just right. An excellent introduction to an important new trend in architecture and home-building.

My mother told me she had to read the original "Huis Clos" in French class. Being interested in unorthodox interpretations of Hell (such as the beautiful Grey Town in C.S. Lewis' "The Great Divorce") I've always been curious about "No Exit." At last Mama bought it for me. While "No Exit" wasn't as captivating a tale as I anticipated, it has its own merits. It's very... well... "out there." When I try to find words to describe it, my face twists up in knots. I've read the highly philosophical sci-fi work "White Bread" by William Meyer, and yet "No Exit" is the only book I've ever read that I can describe just by saying "That was WEIRD!" Do you like bizarre literature? Read "No Exit."

I think if I were one of the characters in this little drama, I'd be Inez. Sadly enough, she reminds me of myself. On the other hand, if I were trapped in a hotel room for eternity, I wouldn't act stuffy and grown-up like Sartre's characters. I'd probably begin by building a fort out of those accursed sofa cushions. Hey, I'm a kid.

What I like about Garcin is his straightforward honesty. He doesn't weasel-word around his sins the way Estelle does... "Cosi fan tutte," as Mozart would say. "Women are like that." On the other hand, if I were confronted as he was with the hotel room's open door, I would have run outside to wander the halls, or at least propped the portal open!

Read "No Exit," and enjoy.

As an actor/aspiring playwrite/existentialist I figured this was right up my alley. It was. I borrowed No Exit a while ago, and read it straight through twice (once during an important math class, and later during chemestry). I'm buying my own copy now. Don't just read this (or anything...especially plays) only once! Do you think Paul McCartney only listened to Stevie Wonder once? (wink to anyone who can identify this quote) This is a great play, even if you're not into reading plays, or not into philosophy. The Bauhaus theatre dictum of form following function is great to keep in mind, as this is similar to didactic theatre. The post before mine is a bit misleading in writing it off as 'weird' and an unconventional view of hell. It could be both things if you want to stay in the shallow end all of your life. No Exit is best read with an understanding of the anti-naturalism, but this is only to understand why it's 'weird' and is not nessesary. I don't want to tell you how to interperate the play or anything, so I won't go into why it is not an unconventional view of hell. If you want to know, or discuss the play (or pretty much any other play/theory) IM me on AIM: Digestingtrevor or Email me at Don't_spam_spit@the-cowboy.com Just remove 'don't spam' from it. Know also Sartre was not primarilly a playwrite. He was a prominant existentialist philosopher/essayist, but turned to playwriting (thank god[though he won't respond!]) as a new medium for expression. He's also quite good as a playwrite for a philosopher! REALLY good! It's great to be frustrated with the characters and really feel like you are going insane. (possibly the birth of reality TV? it's funny how much it is like the real world.) This is a GREAT read for the Arist(of all mediums),philosopher,and the person who just wants to read something cool. I suggest this book to all different types of people, and they all love it. You can easilly read this with no desire to put any interperative thought into it, and love it just as much as if you want to delve into it's infinate levels of meaning and relevance. It is both entertaining and enlightening.

This book gives the reader an excellent coverage of all types and subtypes of non-democratic regimes.It is ideal for scholars and students who already have a basic knowledge of military ,party or personalist dictatorships.I was looking for a book on this field for a lot of time and i must admit that it covered me 100%.

A very comprehensive look at non-democratic regimes. The text covers almost every aspect/characteristic of non-democratic regimes, drawing on a huge range of scholars. It is rather like looking at a complete jigsaw puzzle, the reader is able to see the entire picture, rather than having a few pieces and needing to go and source the rest. The text is not just theory, but draws on concrete cases to back up the examples, and also employs many useful tables and exhibits. Although it is relatively easy to read, I would not recommend the book for people who do not have any background knowledge of dictatorship, but more for scholars and students, in addition to those who possess an interest and general knowledge in the subject. The author is a lecturer in Politics at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand; and has written two other books on dictatorship. If you want to buy a comprehensive book on non-democratic regimes, which you will be able to refer to time and time again, then this is for you.

Having previously read "Netware Professional Reference" by Karanjit Siyan, I hoped this edition would follow in the same light. This book is a real help for network administrators as it gives good examples and solutions of day to day problems.

This book is designed as a reference not a study guide.This is one of the best Intranetware books I have read to date.

I have all of my "favorite places" marked for quick reference. The book is not organized to study for CNE exams. However, it has the information for Intranetware Network Administrators need for managing their networks. It contains a great index for quick look-ups.

A literal translation of Verlaine from the French would be leaden. (But if you want one that approaches just that, see the Oxford Classics version .) All the same, Shapiro strays too far for me from what Verlaine wrote. These translations are often gorgeous, and sometimes a tad florid. I would have liked to see Shapiro translate more closely to the orginal while maintaining the grace he attempts, and even frequently reaches, here. (Is this possible in translations?) However beautiful, this is not Verlaine.

The notes at book's end , expaining some of the translator's decitions and choices, are quite interesting and worth reading, even though I don't always agree with his approach. ...

When translating poetry it is important to convey the exact feeling that one recieves from reading the document in its native language. That's why this book is so great, it tackles the task of translation and pulls it off beautifully. If you are a fan of french poetry then this is just the book for you!