The best book so far i have read on Nonlinear Dynamics. From the best of the best.

Cohn-Bendit used to be great. This is also the best chronological account of the May events next to The Beginning of the End: Paris '68. Very much suggested despite Cohn-Bendit's turn today.

This book gathers together several essays on contemporary Japanese authors. Most of the authors discussed herein are contemporary enough that they have received little if any attention thus far in the English-speaking world. In the niche of contemporary literary voices coming out of Japan, this collection really stands alone as a guide to many of these new and interesting talents.

Although there is no unifying theme holding the individual essays together, each one is very informative and generally free of high-brow scholarly lingo, and thus very accessible. Each essayist is a leading scholar in the field of Japanese literature.

A must-have for anyone studying contemporary Japanese literature.

Aunque toda la obra de Garcia Marquez es brillante, considero que Ojos de Perro Azul goza de las caracteristicas de un cuento perfecto. Es magico e inesperado. Transporta al lector a un mundo de ensueño que se va revelando sutilmente. Definitivamente, vale la pena leerlo, mas de una vez.

That a book changes something fundamentaly in ones life is a rare occasion, but this book did that to me. I read the book in the fall 1998 an was moved by it, but nothing more. Than, after a year, I read it again. During this time I had continued my search for my Patron Saint within The Orthodox Church which had been going on for eight years. Suddenly everything fell in their right place. St.Gabriel of Pskov and Kazan(commemorated September 24.(Julian calendar)/October 7.(Gregorian calendar)) was to be my Patron Saint. I won't go into any details, but the shining love of this Holy Elder is a lasting impression. And the love of God for the love of one's neighbour was the Gospel of this Starets.

It should also be noted that the author, New Martyr Fr. Simeon a saint himself, was not only St.Gabriel spiritual son, but also took over the Eldership after the Elders repose in 1915. The author therefore knew the Elder Gabriel very well and so did many people still alive when the book was first published in Russia in 1917. Thanks to this we can regard theses accounts as highly reliable. And the strange occurances of how this book was refound and published again is a mystery I leave to the happy reader to find out for him- or herself in it's Foreword and Introduction.

I highly recommend this book to everybody!

If you are looking for a politically-skewed analysis of the Arab-Israeli conflict or an overly biased account of the war, this is not your book. I say overly biased because all author have an opinion that is expressed overtly or covertly in their writing.

Richard A. Gabriel, a well-respected professor of politics at St. Anselm College, former US Army intelligence officer, and consultant to the House and Senate Armed Services Committees as well as the Pentagon, has written what is probable the most objective and well-written account of the 1982 War in Lebanon between Israeli, Syrian, Lebanese, PLO, and other forces. He has written numerous books about military actions including several books that constructively criticized the American actions in Vietnam. Several of his books have since become requred reading for courses at military academies.

Prof. Gabriel went out of his way to write an objective analysis of the combat, going so far as to interview PLO officials, IDF soldiers, and others. He also toured the battefields as they occurred as a guest of the IDF. Even more to his credit, he made a stipulation of his touring the front with the IDF that IDF miltary censors not be able to review his transcripts at all until after publishing. This means that he was able to effectively write whatever he wanted.

The book itself is brilliant. Within its' 242 pages are numerous analyses of various tactical and strategic conflicts of the 1982 War. He lists grievances and events of all sides into the war and yet hesitates to make value judgements about any of them short of miltary stance. While avoidings making the book a massive judgement of the political stance of any of the fighters, he doesn't hesitate to list political factors that the combatants considered at the time of the war.

One of the greatest treasures of having toured Lebanon and the conditions there is that he was able to disprove many of the false accounts that the media of the time forwarded to the public. Being a meticulous researcher also means that he always quotes sources and provides appropriate background. For instance, the PLO (through the Lebanese newspaper "An Nahar")claimed that Israeli forces killed 17,825 civilian noncombatants killed and wounded 30,103 civilians. Mr. Gabriel analyzed all of the data available from various sources (including interviews with village mayors and other on-the-site witnesses) and came up with a more likely figure of 4,000 to 5,000 killed and 12,000 to 14,000 wounded.

If you are looking for an account of the 1982 war that objectively evaluates military actions of the combatants then Prof. Richard A. Gabriel's "Operation Peace for Galilee - The Israeli-PLO War in Lebanon" is unparallelled. I highly recommend reading this book whether you are looking for more background on the Arab-Israeli conflict, are a military historian, a wargamer, or just someone interested in knowing more about the Middle-East.

Review by: Maximillian Ben Hanan

I like it subjectively. I get an immediate sense of access to quality with Ostraka. Each poem has a unitary quality, like a gem with gold nuggets instead of carbon flaws.

The first poem had amusing, presumably unintentional, misdirections for me due to the perverse connotations certain words conjured up in my mad mind (I saw an image of a red-tipped used tampon somehow yet half captured by the insertor).

Stuck as I am in a very small universe literature-wise, I delighted at Nobokovian associations, even though I knew they too were probably my own alone. The repeated theme of metamorphosis popped the original bubble replacing it with more pleasant ones. Levin's (rhymes with heaven) own voice emerged (minus the French accent) and I found myself, over halfway through, feeling happy and proud to have found it.

Fine wordsmithing. Lyric cadence. Wonderful work. I look forward to reading and re-reading; freshening up the reading room, temporarily displacing Nabokov's butterflies with Levin's larvae and chrysali.

This is the story of Artaban, a seeker of Truth. He is the other wiseman who sought the 'great king'foretold in ancient script and heralded by the 'star'. On his way to meet the three wisemen, he is delayed. This sets him on a quest ins search of the King. It will lead him to many places and experiences. This book with its beautiful word pictures reminds us once again the importance of seeking Truth wherever we find it. It adds new meaning to the story of Christmas.

....as an alternative to the systematic despair of Sartre. Desponsibilite, re-collection, fidelity...the book is one crucial concept after another.

Morton White has long been a distinguished scholar and historian of American ideas, especially the philosophy of pragmatism. Here he analyzes that crucial historical intersection between abstract ideas and the practical needs of governance as found in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, ideas such as, self-evident truth, unalienable rights, and pursuit of happiness, concepts and words that now define the nation's foundation. In illuminating fashion, he traces their historical origins to such European thinkers as Burlamaqui, Blackstone, Aristotle, and of course, John Locke. Just as importantly, he points out the elitist ambiguities that historically lurk behind these seemingly universal prescriptions. Self-evident truths?- Self-evident to whom? Everyone? God given rights - What exactly are they? Who decides? Do they include property rights or are those human inventions? Additionally, he points out the origin of our long national debate on the proper ends of government. Is government's purpose that of simply preserving rights (modern conservatism) or is it obligated to to increase popular well-being (modern liberalism)? These and other key questions are discussed within an historical framework and should be of interest to anyone wishing to know more about the intellectual origins of the world's remaining super power. Some background in philosophy is helpful but not required, and though the text is sometimes over-professionalized for the casual reader, the ideas and language remain accessible throughout. Recommended.