This text provides perhaps the most concise and authoritative resource for the field of Metallurgical Failure Analysis that I have read. Rather than apporaching failures from a cookbook perspective, that is only linking cause to failure through single case histories, this author presents the fundamental concepts of the discipline and suplements them with appropriate examples.After reading the book, I am considering using it a text to a course that previously could only be approached with personal course notes. This is the most comprehensive and fundamentally organized book I have read in years. Well worth twice the price.

Many books that were well received when originally published ultimately fail the test of time and seem hopelessly outdated, or even silly to future generations. Occasionally, a book seen as a solid effort when it was written is found later to be the definitive work on the subject. The Metaphysical Foundations of Modern Science by Edwin Arthur Burtt is such a book.

Burtt investigates the origins of the modern scientific world view, a view that today appears to be ancient but is, in fact, only a few centuries old. The concepts that we use to describe the modern world -- mass, velocity, energy, time etc -- form the substratum of so many modern ideas that their very ubiquity has made it hard to imagine that any other view ever existed. With these ideas woven into all of our thought how does one separate these ideas from all others in order to better appreciate and understand them? Burtt attacks this problem by tracing the evolution of modern scientific concepts from their origins in Copernicus and Kepler through to their highest development in Isaac Newton.

It may come as a surprise that Copernicus and Kepler were not motivated by empirical evidence. In fact, the empirical evidence was stacked against their view that the sun, not the earth, was at the center of the planetary system. Anyone could see how solid the earth felt and how steady it was. If it were moving then its motion could be felt. The idea that something as large and solid as the earth could be flung through space was obviously ridiculous.

Nor were they motivated by a desire for greater accuracy since the Ptolemaic system that they would soon replace was every bit as accurate as their sun centered system with regards to predicting eclipses and positions of the planets in the sky.

Their motivation was essentially a desire for a mathematically elegant way to express planetary motion, a simpler way that could reduce the dozens of epicycles to a comparatively small number of circles. For these men, mathematics was not the key to nature, mathematics was nature and the simpler mathematical expressions that they found were true because nature was parsimonious and would not accomplish by complicated means (the epicycles) what could be accomplished more simply with circular orbits. A mathematical nature would reduce the phenomena much as a mathematician would reduce complex equations to a smaller number of simple equations.

Kepler's shock upon discovering that the planets did not orbit in circles, but in ellipses was genuine. The smooth constant motion of the planets was thought by Kepler to reflect the constancy of God himself. Only when Kepler discovered that equal areas were swept out by the planets in equal times was his faith restored in the mathematical universe that was held together by God.

In Galileo we see the beginnings of dualism. On one hand Galileo the empiricist laughs at his colleagues who refuse to look through his telescope and see the evidence of moons orbiting Jupiter. On the other hand we see the doctrine of primary and secondary qualities in which we do not perceive the world as it is, but rather as it affects our senses. This doctrine calls into question the validity of the senses which, presumably, are the source for Galileo's (and our) knowledge of the real world. With sense data either limited or distorted and hence, of questionable reliability, mathematical demonstration becomes the way past the senses to the ultimate nature of things. Descartes further mechanizes the senses and pushes consciousness farther away from reality thereby producing a full blown dualism in which man becomes a spirit trapped in a machine.

When we finally arrive at Newton, by way of Gilbert and Boyle, we have a new universe where the number of causes is reduced from the Aristotelian four, to only two. The formal cause has become mathematics which matter must obey in exacting detail. The efficient and substantial causes merge into a mechanical force compelling a passive matter to follow precise trajectories. Gone completely is the final cause as matter becomes the sole occupant of a universe whose future is completely determined by its past. The biological concept of goal directed action has no place in the billiard ball universe of unconscious motion. The irony is that one of man's greatest intellectual achievements, the formulation of the laws of motion, becomes a means to degrade man's intellectual status by reducing man's mind to matter in motion.

The above is a gross oversimplification of Burtt's work and cannot begin to convey the richness of his research and the clarity of his presentation. Burtt uses extensive quotes to show the reasoning used by the great mathematicians and physicists at the dawn of the Enlightenment and clearly demonstrates the shift in thinking that occurs over two centuries.

The only drawback to Burtt's work is that it was written nearly seventy years ago and the effects of these ideas on post-Newtonian thought are not covered. The author, in the revised 1932 edition, expressed regret that he could not incorporate these later developments into his revision of the original 1924 work. I too, feel regret that Burtt did not get around to another revision where he might shed some light on the effects of these ideas on quantum mechanics and relativity.

Anyone interested in the development of the modern philosophy of science will enjoy this intellectual journey through the minds of some of mankind's finest thinkers, those men who made possible the remarkable world that we live in today.

Narrated by the character for whom the title is named and set in the late 1600's, Micah Clarke describes the battle of peasants against the existing king of England in the hopes that they can replace the monarch with his brother who feels he has been unjustly denied the throne. Micah Clarke, a young, innocent peasant joins forces with other peasants, among the Puritans, to fight for this pathetic duke's cause. Not a subject that would appear to be on the surface to be too exciting, in reality it is enjoyable reading. From the descriptions of the English settings, not unlike some of Thomas Hardy's relaxing paragraphs of the moors, to the gory horrors of the culminating battle, Doyle's writing keeps you turning the pages for more. At the same time, each chapter is so rich in dialogue and setting description, that you feel you can set down the book, and then pick it up the next day, thereby getting your fill of a relaxing, interesting trip into another world. As an aside, Doyle's thoughts on God and organized religion that appear in some of his other literature, are found here too. Through various character's dialogue, he's able to respectfully discuss differing "sides" of this sensitive subject, while appreciating the plight of all men, whatever their beliefs, church, political party, or economic class.
Those who have read Sherlock Holmes should attempt Arthur Conan Doyle's historical fiction, such as Micah Clarke. It's well worth it.

"Lively first-hand account of the life of a Follies showgirl.
Earle was raised in poverty but, through her talent, beauty
and ambition, became a celebrated star who won Ziegfeld's
respect and admiration. An invaluable resource for anyone
interested in the Ziegfeld Follies. Marcelle is a charming
and intelligent backstage guide."
Sarah B. Arlington, TX

"I thoroughly enjoyed reading 'Midnight Frolic' and was
sorry when I came to the end. I have read a lot of
Marcelle's memoirs and enjoy them the second and third
time around."
Marge S. Morris Plains, NJ

"I loved the book--couldn't put it down. I'm reading it
again the second time...and am sending a gift copy to a dear
friend."
Helen D. Boca Raton, FL

"I thoroughly enjoyed the beautiful and great Marcelle
Earle book, 'Midnight Frolic'. Her book is one of my very,
very favorites."
Carol B. Stapleton, Staten Island, NY

"I found myself involved with and liking Marcelle a great

deal and---when I came to the end---wishing there were
more."
Jean J. San Diego, CA

"The book is fascinating. I took my MA in English from
Columbia Teachers College...and give the book an 'A' ."
Eileen M. Lynbrook, NY

"I looked forward to reading 'Midnight Frolic' a second
time when I lent it to a friend. She took off on vacation and
is now reading it a second time herself. So what could I do?
I made her a gift of it."
Marcelle B. Punta Gorda, FL

" 'Midnight Frolic' was most enjoyable. I only put it down
when absolutely necessary. It's now on loan to a friend. As
soon as it returns I'd like to read it again."
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it was like tasty whipped cream on a desert....."
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Any lover of this Gilbert & Sullivan masterpiece will gain a fuller appreciation of it by being able to follow the lyrics and dialog while listening to the operetta. The score also has a nicely written preface and synopsis of the story. Although knowing how to read music is not essential to the enjoyment of this Mikado full score, buyers that do read music will gain an even greater appreciation of it by being able to follow each instrumental line along with the lyrics of the songs. The Dover score is beautifully printed at a very bargain price to boot. Everyone can derive a great deal of pleasure from this score, no matter what level of musical training they possess. Highly Recommended! (P.S. I understand that the full score of The Pirates of Penzance is due for release this fall)

This play, along with another of Plautus' works "Captivii" were combined by Stephen Sondheim to give us the musical "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum"

The story of "Miles Standish: Plymouth Colony Leader" is really the story of the Pilgrims from more of a military perspective. After all, Standish was the Colony's military leader, one of the "Strangers" who was never one of the "Saints," as the Pilgrims called themselves. In fact, Standish became the only leader of the Plymouth Colony who never joined the Pilgrim church. Young readers of Susan Martins Miller's juvenile biography will probably get a more detailed look at the relationship between the Pilgrims and the Indians than they have ever read before. Certainly Miller gets well beyond what little will be mentioned in an American History textbook, even touching upon Standish's infamous temper and his nickname of "Captain Shrimp." This book is illustrated with historic paintings, drawings and etchings of the Pilgrims (several of which actually depict Standish), as well as contemporary photographs of the Plymouth Plantation, the restored Pilgrim town where actors portray the colonists. One of the other volumes in the Colonial Leaders series focuses on William Bradford, the governor of the Plymouth Colony; it will be interesting to see how it serves as a complementary account of the religious and political story of the Pilgrims.

Sandy MacGillivray's in depth analysis of the life and times of pioneer Cretan archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans was a pure joy to read. The author's own experiences as a professional in the field on Crete add great weight to his arguments as he finds himself coping the Evans' legacy on a daily basis. I really got the sense that the author knew Evans, both the man and the scholar, through close attention to and extensive research on the amply available primary sources. This is a wonderfully scholarly, yet very readable and highly interesting book to both the professional archaeologist and interested armchair amateur.

Arthur Porges is a talented writer who's been around for a long time writing in fiction magazines. Only now has this great writer been published in book form and it's about time.