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Book reviews for "Conway,_David" sorted by average review score:

The Elements of Reasoning
Published in Paperback by Wadsworth Publishing (1996)
Authors: David A. Conway and Ronald Munson
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A good introductory book on the daily application of logic.
While this book presents standard forms of logic, it real strength lies in its application to everyday common sense, logic. I especially enjoyed the thorough exposition on how to recognize fallacious reasonings.


Secret Wisdom: The Occult Universe Explored
Published in Paperback by HarperCollins (paper) (1991)
Author: David Conway
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AN EXTREMELY POWERFUL BOOK THAT WILL MAKE YOU RECONSIDER
It must have taken me at leat 4 times to really appreciate this book. The first time I read it, I put it aside because I couldn't understand it. You need to have the right frame of mind. Once you read the first few pages you will begin to comprehend its aura and depth level. It will definetely make you question our world, our religion, our physics and even the book it self. Note that this book is not ofensive to anybody's religion. It deals with exremely esoteric issues that surpass any degrees of every day thinking. What was also very impressive about this book is its need to link numerous sciences and ideas into a common purpose throughout the years of past, present and future. Imagine:physics, religion, astronomy, chemistry, human laws and constitution inter-related; seperate but united, different but identical. I strongly suggest this book for the reader who is looking to explore life and creation through the vessel of our own "inner-space" experience: our mind.


Complete Magic Primer
Published in Paperback by HarperCollins (paper) (1992)
Authors: David Conway and Colin Wilson
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A Primer
Yes, this book is incomplete, it is a primer! And as such it will instill a set of values that will be useful throughout your career. Magic is not learned in a year, or a decade, but across a lifetime. This is a good book for that first decade. Have fun, enjoy.

An Author who writes for the people
I have brought books with an interest in magic/Occultism
This book was one of those books which was an pleasure to read.
Some authors write books and it seems as if they were writing the books with no understanding that the reader has limited
understanding of the subject and buying to book to clarify
concepts that are not understood . Hoping that the author
will accomdate them. In this case mission was accomplished.
It also contained added features which I did not expect.
This book is great.

A treasure chest of knowledge!
This book is packed with information on occult techniques ranging from performing master rituals to astral projection to prophecy to amulets and talismans. This book was written by a genuine Welsh magician, using a pseudonym. He takes his subjects seriously but offers them to those who would use them, with the proper warnings given where appropriate. It's an excellent introduction to magic for a beginner and contains information that will be new to current practitioners.


Classical Liberalism: The Unvanquished Ideal
Published in Paperback by Palgrave Macmillan (1999)
Author: David Conway
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Very unpersuasive, muddled explanation of pure liberalism
The author considers a nation, a society, or a polity as only a collection of disconnected, freely-choosing, autonomous individuals. Social formations are strictly voluntary and, as such, do not define or incur obligations unless voluntarily accepted. The only social stricture is to do no direct, physical harm to others. A somewhat understated corollary of the book is that pristine, free-market capitalism and classical liberalism go hand-in-hand. Both posit freely-choosing individuals.

The author considers the counter arguments of so-called egalitarian liberals, communitarians, and conservatives. Those arguments contend that classical liberalism ignores or misunderstands social realities.

The inequality concerns of modern liberals are rejected by the author. No where in the book does the author admit to the freedom diminishing and well-being threatening consequences of the ability of the powerful to unduly influence the structure and workings of laws, governmental makeup, workplaces, etc. By definition, freedom, and not coercion, is being exercised. Curiously, the generational transfer of inequality is not addressed. Surely that violates classical liberalism's claim that success is due to personal choices, not those of one's parents.

The communitarian and conservative concerns with stable communities are also dismissed. Of course, that is hardly surprising because social embeddedness is merely a choice of individuals and not a fundamental characteristic to respect and preserve. Harm can only occur to individuals, not communities. Interestingly and revealingly, according to the author the instrumental and dispersed community of stockholders in a corporation should have their investments protected moreso than those who have put down roots (invested) in a geographical community.

The book suffers from a failure to consider actual, real-world societies that have dealt with the ramifications of capitalism and by extension classical liberalism - for example, Germany, Scandinavia, Holland, etc come to mind. In those societies it is recognized that capitalism randomly creates winners and losers. Those societies have chosen to not let mere chance and generated inequalities destroy lives. For example, a plant closing is very costly to a business in Europe: stockholder rights do not trump those of workers.

As one reads this book, the arguments even as described by the author of those who see the shallowness and disingenuity of classical liberalism are very persuasive. The author's dismissal of those views is not.

Fine intro to classical liberalism
I'm amazed that nobody has reviewed this excellent little book yet. It's one of the best recent works on classical liberalism.

David Conway not only presents short defenses (both economic and non-economic) of the classical liberal social order, he also deals by turns with recent critics of the "minimal State" -- including Alasdair MacIntyre, John Rawls, and John Gray -- showing in each case either (a) that their criticisms are not well-founded, or (b) that the classical liberal social order can do what they want better than their proposed alternatives. (In some cases Conway makes better sense of these critics than they can make of themselves.)

The entire enterprise is conducted with a winning combination of scholarly politeness and uncompromising, pull-no-punches intellectual rigor. This is just a darn good book.

Don't take my word for it; John Gray himself (a former classical liberal, sort of) endorses the book on its back cover. Even one of Conway's targets, then, regards the book as at least a helpful summary of classical liberal arguments.


Spider-Man: The Cosmic Adventures
Published in Paperback by Marvel Books (1993)
Authors: Gerry Conway, David Michelinie, Todd McFarlane, and Todd McFariane
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Small on plot, big on action
The Trapster, Titania, Graviton, the Rhino, Magneto, the Incredible Hulk, the Shocker, the Brothers Grimm, Hydro-Man, the Super Soldier Eliminator, Goliath, Dragon Man....Spidey takes them all on single handed - and decks them - in this entertaining trade paperback. True, it's just a series of epic battles with little plot, but who cares when you get to see Spidey blasting Titania through a truck and punching the Hulk into orbit? This is action-packed, and when I say action packed, I MEAN action-packed. New York is almost completely demolished by the climax.

If that wasn't enough, this book also features Doctor Doom, the Puma, the Red Skull, the Wizard, Loki and more in an adventure which sees the wallcrawler pick up some astonishing new powers, and forfill his destiny by battling the enormous Tri-Sentinel to stop it killing millions. Alex Saviuk, Erik Larsen, Todd MacFarlane and personal favourite Sal Buscema supply the artwork. Light, episodic, non-stop Spidey action.

The best spiderman saga ever.
In this amazing adventure we find our freindly neighboorhood spiderman facing his toughest challenge as doctor, doom kingpin, Loki, and the wizard team up and send a variety of supervillins at spiderman hoping to confuse his and attack his weaknsess. This tactic almost works but spiderman is zapped by a mysterios burst of energy that give his almost god like power. Spiderman always felt a stong responsibility for having his powers now he stuggles with having more power then he can handel. I strongly recommend thisnovel to anyone who likes spiderman or any superpowered hero.


Biochemistry: A Case-Oriented Approach
Published in Paperback by Mosby (15 January, 1996)
Authors: Rex Montgomery, Thomas W. Conway, Arthur A. Spector, and David Chappell
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Biochemistry - A Case Oriented Approach
I have used the 3rd edition of this text since I was an undergraduate in nutrition studies 20 years ago and eagerly await the 6th edition now available. Among all my texts in nutrition, biochemistry, diagnosis of nutrition related problems, and clinical application of biochemistry, I have returned to this text the most often. It has reliably given the most applicable, actionable information for my own work in nutrition care practice today. It has also been a fast reference for brushing up on obscure metabolic mysteries, useful for any practicing clinician.


Nelson: The Immortal Memory (Conway Classics)
Published in Hardcover by Brasseys, Inc. (01 April, 1998)
Authors: David Howarth and Stephen Howarth
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One of the better modern biographies of Lord Nelson
There have been three biographies of Nelson written in the past few years that are worth reading; Tom Pocock's, Christopher Hibbert's, and this one by the Howarths. Pocock's is in many ways the most enjoyable to read, Hibbert's has some new information, but "Nelson: The Immortal Memory" is my own favorite and a good selection for someone just beginning to find out about the contradictory, fascinating man who was unquestionably the greatest fighting admiral who ever lived and whose memory lives on in the modern Royal Navy.


Pediatric Emergency Medicine: Self-Assessment and Review
Published in Hardcover by Mosby (1997)
Authors: Edward E. Conway, Roger M. Barkin, David Rubin, and Stuart Caplen
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GET READY FOR AN EXAM OR /AND YOUR E.R. SHIFT
THIS IS A V.GOOD BOOK WHEATHER YOU WANT TO STUDY FOR YOUR BOARDS OR JUST WANT TO GET READY FOR YOUR EMERGENCY DEPT. ROTATION . IT IS PRECISE ,TO THE POINT BOOK . DISCUSSES THE MOST COMMON PEDITRIC EMERGENCIES. QUESTION AND ANSWER FORMAT TO HELP YOU GET READY FOR YOUR TEST. IN CONCLUSION IT IS A GOOD BOOK BUT DON'T TAKE MY WORD FOR IT TRY IT YOUR SELF.


Llewellyn's 1998 Magical Almanac (Serial)
Published in Paperback by Llewellyn Publications (1997)
Authors: Silver Ravenwolf, D.J. Conway, Marguerite Elsbeth, Edain McCoy, Detraci Regula, David Harrington, Silver Raven Wolf, Llewellyn, and Cynthia Ahlquist
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Fluff, but Fun
Boy....it's hard to approach these books. Almost any Witch can tell you that these books really shouldn't be taken seriously, and that is true. So the best way to describe such fluffy bunny books is "amusement factor." Face it, Llewellyn sold out long ago and started putting these Fluffy bunny books out on the market to accomodate the young wannabes, but I will give it this: they are fun to read. They are certainly not helpful, but fun to read. Give it a try if you are looking for a book to read that doesn't take the subject seriously. If you are looking to learn Witchcraft, find a better book.

Fluff
Llewellyn's 1998 Magickal Almanac is full of fluff, just like all of their books and almanacs. The _only_ useful part of the book is the moon phase calendar (which one can easily get from a more respectable source, such as The Witches' Almanac). Everything else is boring editorials that slander everyone who doesn't follow the "Rede" (not in so many words of course). I can understand how it would appeal to White Light-ers and Pink Rainbow Wiccans and other such superficial no-nothings, but I see nothing of any use to the serious magician or witch.

a magical potpourri
Great collection of short readings. Some of the historical and geographical mentions were a bit hard to digest, but it was good to get the background information. Fantastic folklore, information on the moon, crafts. Definitely worth the purchase! Blessed Be!


Magic: An Occult Primer
Published in Hardcover by Vintage/Ebury (A Division of Random House Group) (27 January, 1972)
Author: David Conway
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Related Subjects: Author Index Reviews Page 1 2

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