This book is a list of primary sources on the major events of European History from the Renaissance to the present. Weber does a good job of presenting balanced viewpoints (except maybe in the case of evolution, where he's definitely pro) The works are a bit dry, but that's not his fault. Plus, he gives a quick summary of each author before presenting his work. Perfect for AP classes (as practice for DBQs)

'The Hollow Years' was an unsatisfying, yet compelling read. Eugen Weber offers his readers a truly kaleidoscopical view of what France (partly) was in the 1930's. Each chapter centers a baffling amount of facts around themes as society, religion, morality, agriculture, demographics, the highs and lows of the French economy, and last but not least French politics. After having finished reading, the reader has digested such an amount of data that one wonders how Eugen Weber could have possibly called this book 'The hollow years'.

Weber's book contains excellent passages. The first chapter, in which Weber describes the widespread sentiment against war is very well written. The issues of religious life, emerging leisure and vacation, and the emancipation of French women are well worked out. Yet, over the whole, Weber has not been able to free himself from the weight of the primary (and secondary) sources stacked (in amazing quantity) in the footnotes. We read facts, hardly interpretations. We get information, but little overview. The book develops no grand, overarching themes. The image of France stays very diffuse. Fittingly, the book does not end on a conclusion.

The author's choice to solely focus on facts, not trends, results in the incomprehensible omission of cardinal elements of what France (also) was in the 1930's:

- Despite the eye-popping blue on the 1930 world-maps, Weber entirely ignores the French domination of Viet-Nam, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Syria, Madagascar and enormous parts of Africa. The Colonial Exposition (1930), which marks the apogee of French empire and attracted millions of visitors is left virtually untreated.

- During the 1930's, the French Communist Party became the most important West-European Communist Party and a leading force in French politics. We do not read anything about the roots of this emergence, nor the importance of communists within French political life.

- After 15 years of division, 1936 saw the merger of the two most important French trade unions: the CGT of the socialist Leon Jouhaux (Nobel Peace prize 1951) and the communist-oriented CGTU, led by Benoit Frachon. Together, they fought for the 40-hour work week and controlled an enormous block of voters, but are absent in the Hollow Years.

Moreover, the book is drenched with a sustained and often irritating antipathy towards virtually all leading French politicians, diplomats and armymen. Weber does not treat France kindly at all. The author allows himself to make patronizing comments towards the behavior of leading politicians on numerous occasions. The extreme negativity of the tone makes the reader constantly want to question the arguments which are put forward. As such, reading Hollow Years was a rather sharpening intellectual experience.

On first glance Weber does not appear to be an ideological historian. He is lighter, more charming, and more tolerant than, say, Richard Pipes. Peasants into Frenchman, his most famous book, is noticeably more profound than Pipes' own relfections on the Russian peasantry where the gap in class, religion and nation produces a noticeably gap in sympathy. But this is ultimately misleading. Weber is an ideologue of consumerism. The problem with this account of the thirties is the subtle but insinuating sense of superiority that Weber feels against France for being insufficiently wealthy, insufficiently successful, insufficiently innovative. It is too worried about dreary politics of the left and right, not like the hip charming sexy centrists of the New Republic. His anecdotes look less at complex debates about French diplomacy, its economic performance, class struggle and about the "real" issue of living in our joyful yet principled anti-Communist consumer utopia, and how France fails on this score. The result is a stimulating book full of lively detail which is subtly misleading. Historians recognize that they have the advantage of hindsight, and that the people they study do not. Weber seems to forget this crucial point.

Weber's gift for anecdote can be seen in his discussion of the diffusion of such things as refrigerators, telephones, electricity. French roads were so bad in the thirties that one would not bet to get from Paris to Lyons in less than nine hours. When Jacques Le Roy Ladurie, a leading French historian went for his driver's liscence, he hit a wall and a chicken and nearly missed a pedestrian, but still got his liscence. Carmelite nuns never washed themselves and used paper strips when menstruating. He describes the often hostile attitude towards feminism and towards immigrants.

Yet Weber's wide range of source reflects an indulgence in anecdotes rather than a sharp sense of analysis. The result is a scattershot impressionism which exaggerates French weakness and decline. He quotes Lindberg's contemptuous comments on the army, but other contemporary comments said French soliders were more determined and resolute. Weber quotes an unflattering song by Maurice Chevalier on the army, but not Paif's more patriotic Mon Legionnaire. Labor struggles are simply blamed at one point on communist agitation, much is made of pacifist fearmongering and naivete. Yet the sinister and authoritarian Croix de Feu is absolved of being fascist. Ultimately the arguments are strings of anecdotes which do not fully take into account of opposing arguments.

A montage of glimpses into France between the World Wars. A book of this short length, on such a subject, simply cannot cover it to any detail, no matter how skilfully written. Though the latter it certainly is, given the author's expertise as a writer and a historian.

The chapters are disconnected. There is little flow between one and the next. Which means that you can read them in any order, with little narrative loss.

Within a chapter, we see sharp anecdotes, that highlight the subject, be it the culture/s, migrants, religion or whatever. Some of these are bloody hilarious. Like, did you know that in some French cities, people were emptying slop buckets into the streets till the 1950s? Yuk! :-( Wow! That regular bathing was rare, and widely considered unhealthy?

Some attitudes, like the suspicion of the emanations of power lines, echo today's views in France and elsewhere in Europe, about genetically modified foods.

Quite a nice read.

The Secret Life of Quanta gives an elementary, sometimes superficial, explanation of particle physics. Needless to say, anyone already knowledgeable on physics would be wasting her money on this book, but true novices would appreciate the basic content and easily read style. It is also important to note that although The Secret Life of Quanta claims to be about quantum physics, it bypasses such major topics as particle-wave duality, the uncertainty principle, wave equations, and the EPR paradox. Heisenberg, Schrodinger, de Broglie, Dirac, Pauli, and Born are treated in one sentence: something like "These were some physicists." Instead, Han limits quantum physics to Planck's theory of quanta (discrete packets of energy).

The first chapters of The Secret Life of Quanta provide introductory (high-school level or earlier) information on atomic structure and light. (Although leaving out much of quantum physics, the explanation includes electron configurations, which is unusual to find in such a book.) Subsequent chapters set the Secret Life of Quanta apart from most other books of its genre; they explain the relevance of these facets of physics in modern technology. (Modern, in this case, means 1990, antiquated for a book about technology; however, this book's simplicity saves it from being too outdated.) Other books tend to shy away from practicality and concentrate on recondite theories that might leave the reader thinking, "So? What good is this?" If popular accounts of quantum physics mention any applications, they are usually teleportation and/or quantum computers. I find these concepts fascinating, but developments in the fields are still in their nascent stages. The Secret Life of Quanta, on the other hand, explains technologies that are, for the most part, already applied and common--fiberoptics, microprocessors, lasers, superconductors, and nuclear technologies (e.g. MRI). While this book is sufficient for one wanting an overview of quantum physics-related technologies and the fundamentals behind them, those desiring a deeper explanation should look for books specific to given areas. (For example, Superconductivity: The Next Revolution by Gianfranco Vidali gives a more clear and complete explanation in that field.)

I certainly recommend this book to non-scientists who have pondered the previously mentioned technologies or who would like an introduction to particle physics. However, for those wanting to learn about quantum physics as it is generally known, I suggest looking elsewhere, such as John Gribbin's Schrodinger's Kittens.

This book's motivation is very relevant. It introduces to user of modren technology ( computer, TV) the basic concepts of quantum mechanics and how it led to various modern technologies. There is no mathematics. But the book has a lot of interesting figures, which try to address of the technical issues. The author avoids all the paradoxes and philosophical issues of qunatum theory. The author introduces basic aspects of atoms. The author emphasis on the aspect of energy levels of electron shells. This is key aspect around which he discusses all the technology or its implications ( like laser, superconductor) or molecular systems. The seventh chapter deals with the core of computer. Better placing to the chapter whould have been between 10 & 11. Chpaters on lasers and superconductors are well written with some example of application, with photos. An photograph of aerial view of Fermi national Acelerator laboratory is given. There are such photographs which enhances the appreciation. The author also give a typical layout of a synchrotron. He does such balancing in his presentation. One warning: By Qunata, he primarily refers to Max Planck's concept of discrete energy levels. ( none of the issues like wave-particle duality, uncertainty principle). Given this nature of his presentation, 11 th chapter is on Nucleons, quarks, all that. ( It is out of place with the kind of theme and the level of focus). There is a good glossary. ( The book is written on 1990). May be a modern version will talk about quantum computer.

As a grad student I don't find this book very helpful at all. Our professor recommended this book but he does not teach out of it. I am usually asking to borrow other text books to really learn the subject. In general, its not bad as a book to bridge you from the undergraduate to graduate level but to really get something out of quantum try something else, especially for this price.

This text deals with the theory behind quantum mechanics and also shows how the theory applies to contemporary physics. In addition to incorporating suggested improvements from many users, this edition is thoroughly updated - not only in terms of physics research but also in terms of how quantum mechanics is taught today. The book provides a unified approach to quantum dynamics giving students a broad perspective, and showing the derivations of various pictures and representations of quantum dynamics without losing sight of the overarching common features of the theory. This graduated approach introduces matrix methods and symmetry arguments at an elementary level, before the systematic study of the abstract theory of vector spaces and operators. Theory is emphasized in three stages - explicit elementary examples, essential concepts for the interpretation of experiments in subatomic physics, and general abstract formulation in terms of integral equations and scattering operators

I cannot let the posted reviews go unanswered. I have taught from the various editions of Merzbacher for many years (since I was a graduate TA for a QM course) and have always had good results with it. It is not, however, an undergraduate text at most institutions. And any student advanced enough to be in a course where Merzbacher is appropriately used knows that graduate physics textbooks are not intended to be problem solving manuals. At this stage of one's development, one knows how to convert the principles learned from lecture and study into appropriate problem solving strategies. My principal complaint is the price; I cannot ask my students to pay $100 for a textbook, even in 1999. More's the pity.

Certainly,she has grasped the essentials of the genre, with the stories kept to a commendably short length, and a number of plot twists that took me totally by surprise. She chooses varied subjects that have the potential for dramatic treatment, and she doesn't waste any time getting to the point...Just to prove that the author is not without emotional understanding, she concludes the collection with a story that is clearly based on personal experience, and one which will elicit a sympathetic response from many female readers...the reaction of both father and mother to the prospect of their new baby, and their mixed feelings as it grows and develops, strike a familiar note. This is skilful observation of human nature... the mutual discovery of the family unit is a good enough note on which to end - both the story and the book...Eugen M Bacon has talent and enthusiasm...It will be very interesting to see what she achieves with her future work.

by Deborah Fisher, Tregolwyn Book Reviews, United Kingdom

Lifestyles of the German-Jewish Elite

W. E. Mosse embarks on an elaboration of the German-Jewish Elite between 1820-1935 in his appropriately titled: The German-Jewish Economic Elite 1820-1935: A Socio-cultural Profile. This book was published in 1989, just two years after another book of his which dealt with the same topic of German-Jewish economic elite, but in a more generic, abstract, and statistically loaded way: Jews in the German-Jewish Economy: The German-Jewish Economic Elite1820-1935. There is a difference between the two books, the earlier tackles the issue of Jewish entrepreneurs in Germany and extensively defines the German-Jewish elite in relation to the German economy. The book in discussion here is more concerned with the mentality, social position, and politics of these elite members of society.

Mosse goes to great lengths in the newer book to explain the precarious social position of the German-Jewish elite. They were not permitted political power, but were revered for their economic knowledge. These Jews were excluded by their Christian counterparts and relegated to a lower social standing despite their education, and economic attainment.

The hard data and general evaluations are absent from this volume; they are replaced with anecdotes of the German-Jewish elite. Mosse provides a valuable manuscript in choosing a variety of families and characters for discussion. Families' marriages, social positions, political standing, and economic endeavors are thoroughly examined. It seems that the two volumes read in cooperation would provide one with a more accurate picture of the Jewish elites in Germany during this time period. The latter book spends almost all of its pages chronicling prominent Jews lives. These stories show the spectrum of identity of the German-Jewish elite, but where the rest of the elite identify on this continuum is never entertained. In the process of these details the overall picture of the role of the German-Jewish elite is absent.
The Jewish elite were subjected to prejudice based on economic and social interests. To which they could have responded in three ways: assimilation (which is what Sholem believes the elite did), emigration, or opposition. These options roughly correspond to the manner in which elites wrestled with their dual German-Jewish identity. Jews did not really emigrate, but many were willing to retain their status as outsiders. Mosse goes to great lengths to show the elaborate networks and intricate relationships Jews maintained in the face of the opposition they confronted by the German elite.

Mosse states at the beginning that one of his motivations in writing this book is to disprove the willful, welcomed assimilation that Gershom Sholem assigns to the elite German-Jews. It is evident to both of these writers that the Jew had an identity conflict in German society. How are the Jews to reconcile their second-class status as a result of their religion with their nationalistic aspirations of being German? Mosse thinks that Sholem portrays the Jews as too compromising and homogenized. Mosse contends that Sholem portrayed a too simplified examination of the elite class, and that there were three different routes that Jews took to identify themselves in this German period. The first option was baptism and therefore a renunciation of the Jewish religion and people, often resenting the "backward, superstition" of one's Jewish heritage. Sholem only presents this alternative, he believed this was the only route that the German-Jewish elite followed because they wanted to be a part of the German elite and were willing to pay any price to achieve acceptance. Although as Mosse and Sholem both contend this baptism did not afford these individuals much more political or social respect. Another way for Jews to reconcile their Jewish and German identity was to retain their Jewish networks but not their religion, or affiliation with a synagogue. The last alternative for Jewish elites was full retention of their Jewish heritage including their religion and culture. Mosse objectively portrays characters of each of these mentalities to the reader. He makes the point that none of these was able to integrate into society any easier than the other.

The books greatest flaw, which definitely hindered my understanding at some points, is the amount of German language used in the argument. Important quotes are rarely translated and diary entries of those discussed, which are a major source for information for this work, were always left in the writers' native German. The other disappointment is the lack of general conclusion Mosse was willing to make. There is an elaborate discussion of individuals, including colorful anecdotes, autobiographical information, and correspondence between Jewish elites, but there is little overview and application of the material. There needs to be a happy medium between Mosse's two books on the German-Jewish elite. The reader would be benefited if Mosse used the anecdotes and stories of these individuals to explain trends and the social and political position of the German-Jewish elite.

Great historical value, but I must admit for the price I expected far more detail. It does have a good set of reference photos, particularly for the historian and modeller, as the Prinz Eugen had somewhat of a distinguished career being a partner to the Bismarck and a A-bomb Test bed for the USA. It does lack good line drawings and interior detail for the Class which I would expect for the price.

The book is good, however, as it is a translation, it can be a bit slow at times. As far as I can tell this is the only history of the 7 th SS Mountian Division "Prinz Eugen" available in English. A must have for those interested in the Waffen SS of WW2 in general.

Don't buy this book expecting it to be related to Eugen Weber's excellent PBS series of the same name. Instead, it is a collection of historical documents that form the basis of Western thought. Documents range from passages from the Bible, to the US Declaration of Independence and Federalist Papers, to Malthus' treatises on overpopulation. All in all, this is not a bad book to have as a reference to these historical documents. Unfortunately, those hoping for Weber's incisive commentary on the history of the West will have to wait for PBS to rerun the TV series, or will have to buy the series from CPB/Annenberg for.