This book belongs to a rare category: Reference Works of Art. This massive volume not only brings together an amazing mass of information, but does so in a fantastically attractive manner. The coverage is comprehensive: general articles on the relationship of writing to language, linguistics, decipherment, etc. accompany page after page devoted to every script extant from Egyptian and Chinese scripts to Ogham, Cree, and Mandain. If that were not enough, the book goes on to explore other systems for conveying information in written, symbolic form, such as mathematical and musical notations. But enough with the table of contents. I've only used the book for browsing thus far, but this even is a rewarding experience. The price on this book is quite high, but is in proportion to the quantity and quality of the material it contains. If all books were so well done, there would be very little to debate in terms of the effort put forth by writers and the taste exercised by editors. It doesn't get any better than this.

A comprehensive and very reliable reference work on grammatology. It is organized into separate easy-to-find sections, each devoted to a single writing system or a family of related scripts, and written by a specialist in the field. The book covers practically every known writing system, listing the established facts about its origins, variations, and development. Sign tables are presented (in full for alphabets, representative samples for syllabaries and logographic systems), and each section is provided with a priceless bibliography. Good editing work, the sections follow a similar pattern, which makes the book easy to use. The scripts are presented meticulously and are a pleasure to behold (it must have been a staggering job from the publisher's point of view). High scholarly standards are maintained throughout, and the precise technical language is balanced with an unobtrusive sprinkling of interesting anecdotes. This book is as beautiful as the Italian Carolingian Minuscule.

The World's Writing Systems is an essential addition to the library of anyone interested in or involved in any of the myriad aspects of language, both as a fascinating browsing book and as an important reference work.

As reviewed by Laurence Urdang, in the Summer 1996 issue (Vol. XXIII, No. 1) of VERBATIM, The Language Quarterly.

This book is fun to read and children begining to read can read this book with very little help.
You will smile with pride as your youngster reads this book to you.

I like it because it is so funny. It had trains, planes and all those other loud things. I didn't believe my eyes! If you read it, you will think it's funny too I hope! My name is Cassie and I read this book.

While not the 1st artist to take on the conceptions of light and its practical uses in art, now Flagstff, AZ. artist James Turrell has brought the perception of light in art to creative and fantastic new levels through his conceptions such as his famous "skyspaces" to "darkspaces," "blue rooms," etc. Many of his pieces offer low light level environments, some almost no light at all, still others brilliant hues of red and blue.

Like most artists, Turrell shies away from giving detailed explinations of his works so that each individual can surmise the piece for themselves. This is not necessarly the case in this work. Turrell wanted, (and did) to build a specific "skyscape" in order to view an eclipse that occurred in England. Like his other "skyscapes," Turrell took the environment and all of its factors, as well as very specific geometry, into account, so that he could construct the perfect medium through which to not just observe the eclipse, but to better magnify the light, or lack thereof, of the eclipse.

The book is a wonderful look at this process, complete with analysis and pictures of the eclipse, the "skyscape," etc. An added bonus is the cd by German composer Paul Schulze, who's approach to his music (a minimalist ambient style, normally) is a perfect match to Turrell's art.

Fans of Turrell, or those who are interested in the interplay between light, our senses, and the reality they both help us create, will find this rather short treatsie to be of invaluable use to them. A wonderfully intriguing work.

James Turrell has long been a major player in the field of light art, and visitors to the Matress Factory museum in Pittsburgh are well aware of his outstanding way of playing with art and images. This amusing meditation on an eclipse is an excellent addition to his body of work

This book is not for the serious researcher, but is tremendously interesting for those curious about the sometimes zany history of California's place names. Most entries include an interesting tangle of history and culture and the usual mispronunciation of Native American names by early white settlers. Its a fun book that would make a great stocking stuffer and should brought along on any California road trip. Two thumbs on this one.

A memo to NorthAtlantic Books: THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for publishing the collected stories of Theodore Sturgeon. I have been a devoted fan of his (and here I call your attention to the derivation of the word 'fan' from 'fanatic') for more than 40 years now. To see his works available in this fine edition is not only a nostalgic thrill, but a pleasure.
I am such a Sturgeon addict that I find it hard to critcize any of his work negatively. Volume 8 give no reason to do so, but this in not to say that every tale is equal in quality. Superlative levels of creation and craftsmanship can be expected of no writer; but I leave your opinions to be drawn by yourself.
For what comes through this volume is Sturgeon's view of humanity, view of fear and evil in the world (and beyond, of course, but we know that his s-f work is metaphorical for the human condition any way), his incredible optimistic hopes for the success of the human spirit. It's what all his work is infected with, even when he is at his darkest.
If you are acquainted with Theodore Sturgeon, go ahead and splurge in time and funds get in touch with an old friend. If you are unacquainted with him, splurge and make a new friend. You'll not be sorry.

This is a great little book for those of you who like little bits of history. This book provides a short summary of the history or interesting facts of places in colorado. If you are into geneology you learn that a town or county may not have the same name today that it did 90 years ago. That complicates your search. This book lists many of those towns and gives you their current and old names,as well as the name of the county the town is or was in. You will often be told the origin of the place, and its nameas well as any interesting facts. I do recommend this book to historians or any one who just likes interesting tid bits. Its also fun to go visit some of those places and experience them first hand.

When is somebody going to reprint this gripping book. It is elegaic and full of glistening cracks in the bedrock. And yet the lines range wildly back and forth, effervescent with flight, leaving the reader dazzled with a sense of life.

A History of Israel is an in depth (and I mean DEPTH) journey back into time. Taking the reader back to the very edge of the mists of prehistory, John Bright then lays out, in a point by point fashion, the whole sweep of time in the near east up until the appearance of a certain Galilean who forever changed the world.

A History of Israel is very in depth, very packed with useful information. Bright has written a wonderful book. It did (as most history books are likely to) set off my anti-scholarship allergy a few times. However, it is very worthy of being read.

I give this book a very high recommendation. Bright's presentation is clear, at certain points even lively. It thoroughly deals with the developments in each time period. It delivers the reader to one heck of a destination-one of eternal significance-that beautiful moment in time where the Messiah asked a very pointed question that many are still in need of answering: "Who do you say that I am?"

For a long time I had been looking for a history of Israel in which the conclusions are based on the same kinds of evidence as any other history. Bright's wonderful book is almost it. I do not understand why he says things like "that Moses was an actual person can scarely be doubted" or something to that effect. He vacillates between an historian's examination of data and the same old deference to Scripture from which I've needed a relief for decades. He does say that sometimes the only source we have is the scripture, but he still seems to be influenced by what people have found sacred, such as the existence of Abraham as a real person or the event of the Exodus. All in all though, it is the best I've seen.

At sem this was required reading to achieve an accurate, full understanding of the historical context of the OT books.

Bright is intense, thorough and up-to-date with archaeological finds, coming out of the Albright school.

He updates his text with the Dead Sea scrolls as well as the Ebla tablets and other findings which provide additional insight into the historical setting.

Conflicting views are given attention along with excellent footnotes for further reading and a well stocked bibliography.

It was a great idea. But there was no reason for this book to be as long as it was. However I do have to say, with some relief, that Vollmann didn't fall prey to the modern curse of falling in love with his own lexicon. YBARA read more like a guy who had something he wanted to write about, knew a lot about bugs and guns and totalitarian history, and didn't really give a damn if you read or finished his book. So while I definitely can't enthusiastically endorse it, I respect him, and it was a better first novel than DFW's Broom of the System.

I wish more people knew W. Vollmann. I have read this book 4 times and it is better with each read. The first time through you may not know what is going on for the first hundred pages or so, but keep reading; it is worth it.

In the way the best caricatures can tell you the truth in corrective-lens fashion--to distort the view against your own distortion so you see it plain--Vollmann's first book--which he calls not a Novel but a Cartoon--caricatures the outlandish oppression & cruelty of the human being: especially the human male, especially the American. Seeing where Vollmann's career has taken him--on a nightmarish reporter's journey through the 3rd World, into the ragged world of the San Francisco Tenderloin, deep into an ambitious 7-novel project recounting the history of the New World--it's no surprise to see his concerns with power & preterition set up here in his first work. A tale of America's dream of the bullying, Protean, endlessly inventive, heartless power of money, this Cartoon pits the authoritarian powers against the scrappy underdogs: Electricity(Power) vs. Bugs(the little guys). If this reminds you of Thomas Pynchon's fabulist (& fabulous) Gravity's Rainbow, there's good reason. Vollmann's the next ecstatic drop running up that literary vein. Along with all this, there's the metafictional struggle to tell the story throughout, as 2 narrators (at least 2) wrestle over the helm: 1) a lowly employee with subversive tendencies & sentimentalities whose affection for the characters & obsessions about his ex-girlfriend sneak into the telling, and 2) the being who gives him dictation, the shapeshifting, immortal, amoral Big George, whose exaggerated accounts of his own adventures are a pastiche of every Big Fish tale ever spun in America's history, but who nevertheless is in the service of the kind of truth that only comes with the heartlessness of the fact that everybody (else) dies. Lodged, of course, in the best sort of eyebrow-raising fiction. I, the reviewer, am trying to tell you that I liked this book, and that I am a picky reader. But I, the writer, keep getting mixed up as to how to get you to buy it. For the sake of postpostmodern literature--for the sake of the longevity of the love of literature--read this insane, awkward, gorgeous thing.

Dana Filmore is the first African American Secretary of State. She is smart and attractive. She is also in danger. She learns of the President's plans to do something that could affect the lives of millions of Americans. She must stop him. However, she cannot trust anyone to help her. She meets Kasi Martin, an African American District Attorney. He is smart and handsome. When they meet at a social function, they instantly like each other. Still, Dana isn't sure if she can trust him.However, Dana is forced to trust Kasi when her life is threatened. Dana and Kasi find themselves together on the run from someone who wants to kill them.This story is a noble effort. William could have written more about the actual political maneuvers and less on the character's thoughts. Although this story is fast past, it is also predictable. The murder is weak. The reader instantly knows the murderer and the victim. That could have been a mystery.Dana and Kasi are credible characters. Their intelligence saves them in many situations. They also are secure in their identity and their roles.I still recommend the book. It is an easy read.

Excalibur's Defeat is a great book. The time and research you put into this book shows. I really enjoyed your ability to allow the readers to access the mindset of your characters. Power, politics, looks; murder etc. is a perfect fit in this book. With any of these subjects you could have written separate books but your talent allowed us to have all of this in one book. It's fast pace and the characters are well developed. You definitely have what it takes to make it. Keep up the good work.

Good mystery. Face pace. Quick read. Mr. Wright "ain't" playing around. Most of the characters are pretty well fleshed out. Never thought I enjoyed political thrillers too much; but, I must confess I enjoyed this one immensely. I guess what enhanced it even more was the African American "flava" that was flowing throughout the book. Ms. Filmore is an Intelligent sista. Definitely, held my interest. Maybe only compliant was that it was too short. I wanted to learn more about certain characters. Overall, definitely, it should be on a summer reading list. Not too heavy; but, not too light, either. Just right.... Hey I'm so proud to see fellow brotha's and sista's doing their thing with writing. Much continued success in your future endeavors and I can't wait until the next one....