This is of course based on the premise that we know animals are not sentient, don't have emotions, and that there is no such thing as animal culture. Stick-a-pin. This is no different than our most recent scientific truth. We knew for a fact that once we read the Human Genome and identified its 100,000 to 140,000 genes we would be able to confirm our unique complexity. Wait a minute. We did that already, right? And how many genes do we have? Try between 30,000 to 35,000. Now ponder this: the functions for over a half of our discovered genes remains unknown. As I said, imagine what we'll "know" tomorrow. I believe that shortly we will confirm that animals have a vibrant and adaptable culture, a rich emotional life, and consciously communicate among themselves and are self-aware. I give it 25 years. Certainly within a generation there will be a new paradigm that most naturalists will be operating with, and science such as Bekoff's won't be seen as "anecdotal", "folk-tales", "pop-culture", or radical anthropomorphism.

Cognitive ethology (the study of animal intelligence) is a young science and like so many newer studies it has its fair share of critics. Interestingly much of the criticism comes from within other current fields of study (sociobiology and evolutionary psychology for example). Bekoff tackles these issues head on and if you have read a little in this field you'll know that this means engaging some of our brightest thinkers - Daniel C Dennett, E.O Wilson, Marc Hauser, Noam Chomsky. A lot of the debate about animal intelligence centers on language and communication. Primatologists such as Jane Goodall and Franz de Waal, like Bekoff, tend to argue that human capacity for language is an inappropriate criteria for determining animal intelligence.

This is an overly simplified summary of Bekoff's field of study and his explanations are much clearer. The book however is much more than a scientific primer on cognitive ethology. No longer does naming animals, loving them, and anthropomorphizing detract from the scientific study of their behavior. Bekoff shows that by MINDING ANIMALS scientists are able to get fascinating insights into behavior. Stories here about dreaming rats, thinking bees, and happy elephants, far from being anecdotal, are now shedding new light onto behavior such as grooming, dominance, mating, and feeding.

It was less than twenty years ago that it was discovered that elephants communicated by ultrasound and only recently did we find out that African Grey parrots understand concepts such as size, color, shape, and can compare and contrast items. Enjoy this fascinating read and then just imagine...

Marc Bekoff's Minding Animals offers us a unique look into the wonderful and diverse minds of animals. All too often we glaze over true animal emotions and feelings because society has wanted us to believe animals are a lesser developed species than humans. That animals are not able to demonstrate traits thought only to be "human." However, Bekoff's book and his previous publications clearly demonstrate how terribly wrong and simple this is. Animals posses deep and unique minds capable of endless emotions, thoughts and actions. Simply because humans are not capable of understanding the animal mind in terms that can be communicated does not mean the animal mind does not exist. A serious flaw (one of many) in human nature is to discount unknown possibilities. It is unimaginable to us today that the great astronomer Galileo was persecuted for saying the Earth rotated around the Sun or that Christopher Columbus said the world was round. Even the youngest children know these facts today. Nobody knew how closely related we were to the chimpanzee until a young British woman named Jane Goodall went to Africa only 40 years ago and discovered the distinct behaviors of chimpanzees, such as tool use, communication and social bonding to mention just a few.

Readers of Minding Animals will come across stories they have also experienced with animals and learn new stories that will help them appreciate all animals even more. Bekoff's book allows us to enjoy and appreciate animals that are not lesser beings, but animals that live their own unique lives and add something special to our own lives and the plant.

I just finished reading Marc Dolan's _Modern Lives_ and found myself blown away by it. What a gem! The author's knowledge of modern American literature and culture is encyclopedic, and the sheer insightfulness of this book is almost impossible to imagine. Yet, for all that, it is written with the greatest lucidity and flair, and one follows Dolan's arguments easily. He has the rare ability to speak to the specialist without losing the general reader, and what he has to say will have a serious influence on all future studies of modern America. Anyone who knows Hemingway and Fitzgerald will find his readings of their autobiographical writings brilliant, and if you didn't appreciate the significance of Malcolm Cowley before, you will after reading this book. But what makes the book so utterly convincing is not only the close readings of the texts, but the thick description of those texts and events that form the context of the period. It's certainly nice, every once in a while amidst the oftentimes mindless drivel of academia, to read the work of someone who knows what he or she is talking about. I cannot praise this stunning book highly enough. It's a book I will return to again and again in the future.

This is a lucidly written and extremely illuminating study of the Lost Generation that locates autobiographical works by Ernest Hemingway, Malcolm Cowley, and F. Scott Fitzgerald in the context of their contemporaries and within a bold new understanding of modernism, modernity, and modernization. Dolan's prose is precise, crisp, and often quite eloquent, and his grasp of the material is masterly. This is a must-read for anyone interested in modernism, the 1920s, or just a dmaned fine book.

As the title implies, this book is a great reference for someone who is looking for a guide to the syntax and usage of MPI. The book does not teach "parallel programming" and doesn't discuss other parallel programming tools which means that the nuts and bolts of MPI are all the more clearly presented and accessible. Furthermore, there are still plenty of examples which demonstrate the usage of the many MPI functions.

Another very valuable (and appreciated) aspect of the book is that *both* the C and FORTRAN prototypes are given when new MPI functions are presented (the C and FORTRAN implementations have slightly different forms).

Set up more as a reference than a tutorial, this book allows users with a very basic understanding of MPI to really take off up the learning curve

MY LIFE is unlike any other autobiography I've read. Who would have thought of Chagall as a poet? As a master of word pictures? There is not a dry, boring sentence in the entire book. Instead, Chagall paints verbal pictures of his youth, his family, his struggles to become an artist. It's must reading for anyone who aspires to remain an artist (painter, writer, dancer . . .). Although the book reads very, very quickly, the poignant feelings it evokes cannot end so quickly. I am haunted by Chagall's painful youth-the poverty, the discouragement he received from many quarters. And yet the autobiography is inspirational, because as a writer, I know that one cannot let go of an unshakable faith in one's calling.

This book is an autobiography by Marc Chagall himself. Its a wonderful exploration of Chagall's jewish-russian memories of his beloved village Vitebsk and of his first encounters with the avant-garde in the Paris of the early 20th century. Its a good example of Chagall's sensitivity and of his spirituality. It should be a highly readable book for it is full of poetry, phantasy and hope. At the same time, the reader will be able to meet one the 20th century leading colorists.

For those who may be thinking about looking into Kabbalah, you must look here! Very practical, very enlightening and most enjoyable. Not simply another book for one time knowledge but can be used over and over and very helpful primer for anyone considering looking deeper. Also try "Amazing Holy Secrets" webruler.com/torah, and "Babylon's Great Masquerade -666- The Christian Connection" by Elmer C Todd, and Kabbalah Centre "The Zohar".

This book is beautifully written and creatively inspired. It is presented in a clear manner, and gives precise examples on how to apply Kabbalistic principles to every aspect of Life. It moves your spirit while occupying your intellect. I highly recommend this book to all students of Kabbalah, beginners or seasoned students alike. After studying Sprirtual Principles for 39 years, finding this book was like finding a lost key.

I really like mystery and suspense. Its a very good story. I
really like the detective tips! Nate the Great helps me be a
better detective!

This Nate the Great issue was terriffic. My boys were entertained and excited to participate with Nate and the gang. They hung on every word and eagerly answered the questions. My boys were so proud to be declared detectives. Now they want the rest of the series. I highly reccommend it!!

Nate the Great is a detective and a guy known for being able to find lost things or solve mysteries. However, in NATE THE GREAT AND THE BIG SNIFF, Nate experiences his most personal mystery of all when Sludge, his dog, detective partner, and best friend, ends up lost in Weinman Brothers, Nate's favorite store. Since no dogs are allowed in the store, Nate has to leave Sludge outside. Nate goes inside to buy a gift for Sludge and has to stand in a really long line. Worried about his doggy partner, Nate goes back to the entrance to check on Sludge and finds that Sludge is gone!

Marjorie Weinman Sharmat is the author of over twenty Nate the Great adventures, including NATE THE GREAT STALKS STUPIDWEED, NATE THE GREAT AND THE BORING BEACH BAG, NATE THE GREAT AND THE HALLOWEEN HUNT, and NATE THE GREAT AND THE MUSHY VALENTINE. She has written dozens of books for young readers. She named Nate the Great after her father. Her books have been named as Children's Choice books and Junior Literary Guild selections, and been picked as Books of the Year by the Library of Congress.

NATE THE GREAT AND THE BIG SNIFF is written as a chapter book, something the last few books in the series have changed to. The change is welcome because the chapters provide brief bits that can be read while on the go, and they all end up with cliffhanger endings that make the young reader want to pick the book up again or the young listener want to sit down and hear more. As always, the author presents a very real mystery with very real possible solutions before ultimately solving Nate's latest case. The usual cast of Annie and Fang and Rosamond show up in the story, and Claude puts in an appearance to round out the neighborhood. The way that all of the group bands together to help Nate find Sludge is really great and heart-warming. Over the years, Nate has been bothered by these people, or presented hard mysteries by them, and it's good to see that they help him out when he needs it, and that they actually care about Sludge. When the case is finally solved, Marjorie Weinman Sharmat and Mitchell Sharmat reveal that Sludge is every bit the detective that Nate is. The full color illustrations by Martha Weston are detailed and expressive. This is a truly great book for young readers and parents who love to read aloud to pre-readers.

Young readers will enjoy the whole Nate the Great series because the tales are told in a familiar fashion and involve a solid cast of characters that return book after book. These books are also some of the best to choose for read-alouds to pre-readers or for the last story before bedtime because they can be read in just a few moments. The Nate the Great mysteries are fun and addictive for both parent and child.

Nate is a great detective and depends on his dog to help him solve cases. But Sludge is lost inside a department store, and this time Nat's on his own in solving the case of a missing best friend. Can Nate think like a dog to solve the case?

I really liked the book because it talks about some kids that play baseball togheter and when the second base was stollen they decided to look for it. Nate the Great worked hard to find it. He found it behind the bookcase in Oliver's house. I also liked the name he gave his dog: Sludge. I think he is a great detective because he was able to solve the case.

I love the "Nate the Great" books by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat. They keep my daughter's interest and she loves the characters and Nate always having his pancakes. She tries to read the books herself and I love any book that challenges her to do that. I hope to see more books by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat. I feel she's a talented author and should be applauded for her children's works.

THe apochrypha is the great missing text of the Hebrew and Christian Bibles. AN important document that is part of our history and culture and yet is often not read and is overlooked. How can scripture do without the liked of Judah Maccabbee? read this translation it is wonderful.

For those of us who are absolutely appalled at the way the canon of Christian Scripture has been ripped up by the Protestant churches (in particular) over the last 500 years, we now have this handy volume containing all the books of the Old Testament that have fallen into dispute since the Protestant Reformation.

Although most of these books are found in Roman Catholic Bibles, there are a few - notably 1 and 2 Esdras and Psalm 151 - that are contained only within Eastern Orthodox Bibles. Although many would say "well, we aren't missing much by not having these works," I heartily disagree. 2 Esdras, in particular, is a very moving work written somewhere around 100 c.e. that contains a dialogue between Ezra (or, more likely, someone writing in Ezra's name) and the angel Uriel. The book deals with theodicy in a truly human way - the frailty and the hope both shine through. The books of the Maccabees also contain things not found in Protestant Bibles, notably the encouragement that praying for the dead is a righteous deed and the story of Hannukah (which was, by the way, celebrated by Jesus in the Gospel of John).

There is an introduction to each book, as well as notes at the bottom of each page to help the reader understand the original context, as well as cross reference the ideas found within a specific text with those ideas found in other Biblical texts.

This book is an invaluable edition to every person's library - whether professional or layman.