The text is thorough in its task, recounting the movements of each school of thought and integrating a knowledge of the social context in which they evolved, recognizing that no such movement can develop as an independent entity, avoiding the philosophical climate of the times. The book "discuss[es] the contributions of the pivotal figures who shaped the field, noting that their work was influenced by the times in which they flourished and by the context of their own life experiences" (Preface).
The text also discusses "each school of thought in terms of its connection to the scientific ideas and discoveries that precede and follow it. Each school evolved from or revolted against the existing order and in its turn inspired viewpoints that challenged, opposed, and eventually replaced it. With the hindsight of history, we can trace the pattern and the continuity of development of modern psychology" (Preface).
The text is comprehensive, thorough, and illustrative in its presentation of modern psychology's evolutionary pathway, an excellent choice for undergraduate course study in the field.
The seventh edition was published in 2000.
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The only reason that I didn't give it a five is that I don't care for the typeset and overall presentation of the book, but these things are easily overlooked when you find a great new activity.
Physicists interested in the mathematical aspects of quantum field/string theory would do well to read these volumes as well.
Deserving, in my opinion, more than 5 stars -- many more!!
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The case itself was pretty much a put-up job. Dayton had been on the economic skids for years. The ACLU wanted a test case of the new Tennessee criminal statute barring the teaching of evolution. Whoever prosecuted someone under the law could make a few extra dollars for the local community with the expected publicity. The local leaders in Dayton asked the new teacher, John Scopes, if he would be willing to go along. He was, and the rest is history.
The photographs capture a sense of the town at the time, and the festival atmosphere. They are not particularly outstanding photographs, but do add a note of reality to something that is otherwise very abstract to many of us. The captions that go with them are quite extensive.
I enjoyed the introduction by Edward Caudill that filled in many gaps in my understanding of the trial's background.
I graded the book down one star for the considerable repetition among the introduction, the captions, and the afterword. With more editing, this could have been a more compact and vital volume.
Like many important events where ideas clash, the physical reality is less important than the judicial precedent of contesting the right of ideas to be expressed in a few society. If you had a photographic history of the Magna Carta, the document itself and its application would still be the main story. The same is true of the photographs around the Scopes trial. The publicity around the case had more significance than the trial itself. It served to rally both scientific thinkers and fundamental religionists to their respective causes.
How can public debate advance understanding and cooperation rather than division? That question seems to be the heritage of this famous trial. In today's world, abortion seems to be playing a similar dividing role. What is missing to create progress on such a powerfully troubling issue?
May you always find the words to frame better questions, that reveal new understanding for all!
The introduction by Edward Caudill, author of "Darwinian Myths: The Legends and Misues of a Theory" provides a 20-page of the drama in Dayton that covers the passage of the Butler Act, the ACLU's decision to intervene, the defense putting Bryan on trial and the legacy of the case. It is a concise coverage of the multi-faceted trial, certainly superior to the mostly erroneous treatments found in so many reference books that confuse the play/film "Inherit the Wind" with the actual trial. Jesse Fox Mayshark, a senior editor of a Knoxville weekly newspaper, provides an afterword "Seventy-five Years of Scopes" that provides some nice insights into what the trial has meant to the State of Tennessee. Since the volume is published by the University of Tennessee Press this is not particularly suprising, but it is a topic that has been pretty much dismissed in the past and I found it quite interesting.
What I really liked were the photo captions provided by Edward J. Larson, who won the 1998 Pulitizer prize for history for his book on the Scopes Trial, "Summer for the Gods." Whereas Caudill provides the groundwork for the photographs, Larson provides the detail work. Certainly it would be worth your while to have read Larson's book before you go through these photographs. The more you know about the Scopes Trial the more you will appreciate what you are seeing and reading in this photographic history.
Personally I would have liked to have seen portraits of my hero Malone and A. T. Stewart, the true head of the prosecution in Dayton, because the importance of those two men in the trial is always underplayed in the literature. The most glaring photographic ommissions of course would be the celebrated cross-examination of William Jennings Bryan by Clarence Darrow that took place on a platform on the courthouse lawn. I have seen a half-dozen photographs of this infamous confrontation and am surprised one is not included. But since the photos came from the collections of W.C. Robinson (he ran the drug store in Dayton where the plan for the trial was hatched) and Sue K. Hall, I have to temper my disappointment. Overall this is certainly a first class presentation of a collection of photographs.
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"What If God Were the Sun?" is too short (141 pages) to be considered a novel; it's more of a "novelette," or a long short-story. There is not enough action or character development to draw the reader in. Since Edward is first and foremost a psychic, and not a writer, the oversight might be understandable; however, a good editor might have tried to convince him that sometimes more is not only more, but necessary.
Another drawback is the switching back and forth between characters and time. In this instance, the fact that the book is so short may have been a plus because it made it less of a task to figure out who was speaking now vs. who was speaking two pages ago.
Like all good novels, there is a twist to "What If God Were the Sun?" and this one is handled adequately, considering the few pages allotted to set up and deliver it. Again, I just wish Edward had spent as much time developing his characters as he did trying to get across his point about the continuation of life after physical death.
I would recommend this book only to people who are (a) believers in an aferlife and/or (b) fans of John Edward. Readers who are simply looking for good plot and character development will undoubtedly be disappointed.
I ordered this book for my best friend who recently lost her husband. She's not a "believer" in psychics, but I'm confident she'll enjoy this book since it's a novel and not the typical "psychic reading" book. John Edward is the best! So, buy this book for a quick, warm & fuzzy read!
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Reading the paperback edition of Mr. Hersey's extensive article, I had little difficulty seeing why it gathered such acclaim. He does not just take readers to the scene of the bombing; he takes them behind the eyes of those affected. Mr. Hersey temporarily disregarded the sociopolitical and moral debate concerning the atomic attack and told a straightforward, compelling and vivid story of human beings coming face to face with mammoth, almost surreal, tragedy. This new addition, featuring an additional chapter that reveals the fates of the six survivors forty years later and describes the social stigma, medical difficulties and psychological and philosophical adjustments involved in being a "hibakusha" or "explosion-effected person" only makes this journalistic triumph even better. I highly recommend Hiroshima to anyone interested in atomic warfare, World War II, Japanese culture or those who simply wish to read about the human experience at its most grave and epic.