Apart from the gospels and new testament,this is,THE,most rewarding book i have ever read.It stresses with clarity the fundamental importance of becoming aware of our true identity in christ,and equally important of becoming aware of our false self,the self rooted in the ego.The book is a wake up call for all those who would see the spiritual life as a process of self agrandizement.With it's raw honesty and gentleness one gradually becomes ever more aware of just how important the issue of identity is in the spiritual life,and the huge importance merton ascribed to it.This book is a threat to the ego and it's hollow and false little world,that it creates in it's rivalry with god.I advise all christians to read and reread this beautiful book,even if at times,it becomes a little tough.

This book is a classic "hands on" audit reference; written with the same "how to" style as "Operational Profitability". I highly recommend this book.

"A Picture Book of Patrick Henry" introduces young readers to the most famous orator of the American Revolution. Author David A. Adler tells the story of both Henry's life and his political career, which saw him elected as the first governor of Virginia. This juvenile biography also deals in a straight-forward manner with some of the unhappy events in Henry's life, such as the mental illness of his first wife and his arguments against adopting the Constitution. Consequently, readers will get a pretty good understanding of why Henry was an important figure in the American Revolution. Artists John and Alexandra Wallner provide attractive line-and-watercolor illustrations. The book includes an interesting Author's Note, in which Adler takes issue with biographer William Wirt's description of Henry and deals with Henry's ownership of slaves (Wirt was actually the one who "wrote" Henry's famous speech as part of his biography). Adler's Picture Book Biographies looks at over two dozen famous people including Simon Bolivar, Abraham Lincoln, Rosa Parks, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Sitting Bull. This series looks like it is worth checking out.

Patrick Henry Omlor is a brilliant apologist for the traditional Latin Mass. This book is a compendium of all his writings from 1967-1997. His treatment of the English "Canon" in the Novus Ordo is excellent. His main argument in many of his writings is that the words "for you and for all, so that sins may be forgiven," substituted for "for you and for many unto the remission of sins" in the words of Consecration, most probably invalidates the Novus Ordo. He cites main authorities such as St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Alphonsus Liguori, and many others, to prove his thesis. So far to boot, no one has been effective in countering his arguments. A must have for every Traditional Catholic Library, this book proves that the post-conciliar Church, the Robber Church, has effectively abandoned the teachings of the true one, holy, apostolic Roman Catholic Church!!!!

All of Isaiah Berlin's books are good. But this one is his best.

"The Sense of Reality" is a collection of nine brilliant essays on "ideas and their history." Each essay is a powerhouse of intellectual electricity!

In a style that is stimulating, compelling--and, in the end, irresistible--Berlin writes about ideas with all the nervous energy of an enthusiast.

Yet he is clear to the end. He is a great explainer. He distinguishes one thing from another. He takes on the knots, unties them, and lets go of the rope.

The effect on the reader is one of exhilarating liberation. One can breathe a little freer. At the same time, one must breathe a little harder. Up here, at high altitude, in the Sierras of the cerebellum, the air is crisp as paper. And our guide, our cicerone, our Isaiah, keeps us skipping--at a dizzying pace!--from mountaintop to mountaintop.

As the pages turn, they envelop the reader in a whirlpool of words that round up the ideas--only to plunge them into a deep sea of profound thought. Once again, we gasp for air.

Indeed, it seems that, wherever Berlin takes us--the mountains, seas, skies, stars of the mind--we are left dazzled, breathless, tottering on the edge of horizons that become elastic, expansive, infinite . . .

In the title essay, Berlin writes of the "disturbing experience," the "electric shock," of "genuinely profound insight"--which he likens to the touching of nerves deeply embedded in our most private thoughts and basic beliefs.

This is not Science. This is the Humanities. Not the mechanics of Newton. But the Pensees of Pascal. Not knowledge. But knowing that "there is too much we do not know, but dimly surmise."

Very well. But what does Berlin mean by the "sense of reality"? In his essay "Political Judgement," he drops a few more clues. It is "a sense of direct acquaintance with the texture of life." Or: "natural wisdom, imaginative understanding, insight, perceptiveness, and...intuition." Or: "practical wisdom,...a sense of what will 'work' and what will not. It is a capacity...for synthesis rather than analysis, for knowledge in the sense in which trainers know their animals, or parents their children, or conductors their orchestras, as opposed to that in which chemists know the contents of their test tubes, or mathematicians know the rules that their symbols obey."

Outside the sphere of science--i.e., in real life (personal and political)--the scientific method fails. But a "sense of reality" can work. Really? Why? How can that be? Perhaps it is because a "sense of reality" allows one to grope, feel, touch, grasp...the important things in life..., which slip through the fingers of science.

The search for truth, or for what works, whether by scientific method, or by a "sense of reality," is one thing. But will is another. Will asserts and expresses not truth but self.

According to Berlin, will manifests itself individually in Romanticism ("The Romantic Revolution") and collectively in Nationalism ("Kant as an Unfamiliar Source of Nationalism").

Berlin tsks the enlightened rationalists for failing to anticipate the rise of nationalism. But who can foresee the unpredictable? Who can see the invisible? Will is wind--a forceful, violent, overpowering impulse that cannot be grasped.

Will without strength, however, is of no effect. The strong devour the weak. This truism is so obvious that it is almost always overlooked. But Berlin does not overlook it. He brings it to light. You can feel the fire in his essay on Indian Nationalism ("Rabindranath Tagore and the Consciousness of Nationality"). And these flames from the east are reflected in the west by writers such as Machiavelli, de Maistre, de Sade, Nietzsche, and other "irrationalists" who see sharp teeth glistening behind big smiles.

Being strong of will, but weak of strength, I am drawn to Berlin's discussion of the disgusting emotions: shame, humiliation, degradation, frustrated desire, and a desperate need for recognition. Berlin holds up the mirror, and I see myself--my own desperate need for recognition compelling me to write this review!

Regardless, I read Berlin not to gain knowledge, but to hone my wits--and sharpen my teeth! The important thing is not to remember what he wrote, but to profit from reading him. And the profit I get from reading Berlin is this: I look deeper, see clearer, and believe less.

I come away from this book with a keener "sense of reality"--and a more open sense of wonder. Wonder! Not at the glittering galaxies of human achievement. But at the void, the abyss, the infinite space of the unknowable . . .

In the final analysis, there is no final analysis. Berlin does not wrap up, tie down, nail shut. Rather, he picks locks, pries open, leaves ajar...

There is no "closure"--i.e., no death--in these pages. Reading them, one gets the feeling that Berlin likes his human beings free and alive. And that puts him at odds with those deadly human engineers who like cadavers and control.

While Fr Reardon (a priest of the Antiochian Orthodox Diocese and an erstwhile Anglican) disclaims the mantle of Scripture scholar, these meditations on the Psalter are erudite and are evidently the product of close and learned examination. There are references made to the original Hebrew and to the canonical Greek of the Orthodox Church, and pertinent comparisons made to New Testament passages. There is often a brief comment about the liturgical use of the psalm in question (morning or evening prayer, Easter or Great Lent, and so on).

While the ideal reader for Fr Reardon's reverent study would be Orthodox, and not unfamiliar with the liturgical Greek, "Christ in the Psalms" can be read, with profit, by Western Christians as well. But beyond scholarship and ecclesial loyalty, a vigorous faith is needed; in Fr Reardon's words: "The Psalter has nothing to say to the worldly; it is not for the unconverted, the unrepentant. It is, rather, the prayer book of those who strive for holiness of life and the unceasing praise of God." (See the commentary on Psalm 4.)

The numbering of the Psalm follows the Septuagint. Texts of the psalms are not included; Fr Reardon perhaps rightly assumes that the reader has a trustworthy translation on hand. He generally devotes two pages to each psalm. Most memorable, the comment on Psalm 51 (52), including an identification of the execrable Doeg the Edomite.

"Christ in the Psalms" is not a book to be zipped through; take two or three psalm-essays at a time. These "pastoral ponderings" will be of profit only to those of an unhasty disposition.

This book really woke me up to the voice of Christ in the Psalms. Father Reardon spent years reflecting on the Psalms and that slow, deliberate approach shows in the heart and insights he gives in his book. If you're looking for a jiffy pop approach to Christianity then look else where. If you want to better understand the true importance of the Psalms to Christians then this book is a must have resource.

For a deeper look into the Psalms, this is an excellent book. Fr. Patrick shows the reader the presence of Christ in the Psalms, explaining how these poems and songs represent an important part of Christian heritage and teaching. His essays are intelligent and well crafted, while being acessible to both the lay and scholarly reader alike. The essays are also warm and inspiring -- a tall order for any book. This book is an important addition to the library of anyone seeking to understand the Bible more clearly, and to Orthodox Christians especially, it is an invaluable tool, linking the Old and New Testaments, through Christ.

I think this book is good for someone who has programmed in C and would like to gently move "on to C++". However, it has two shortcomings: 1) the author uses the same monotonous example of trains throughout the text. 2) there are quite a few concepts in C++ (e.g. copy constructors, operator overloading, streaming) that the author spends little or no time on. 3) the author's explanation of templates at the end of the book seemed somewhat confusing, and could have been

simplified.

On the positive side, I think it provides a good place to start for a programmer who needs a gentle introduction to C++ and knows some C.

In my experience, On to C++ is by far the best introduction, and perhaps one of the best books in general, on C++. It is extremely well written and allows one to move from procedural programming to object oriented programming very quickly, especially if you are already familiar with C.

It is not comprehensive, and is not meant to be, but covers all of the basics of the language quite well. The use of essentially the same example throughout the book strengthens it as a tutorial, but weakens it somewhat as a reference text.

SUMMARY: Excellent book! My highest recommendation if you need to get up and running with text-based C and you are starting from zero.

DISCUSION: This book separates itself from almost all others by sticking with teaching the reader how to write programs in C. Topics such as Windows programming, details about using specific products (Visual C++, C++ Builder, etc.), and historical anecdotes about the history of computing are left for others to cover. These subjects are indeed interesting, but the novice is easily overwhelmed by them (for me, the transition from Apple IIe line number based BASIC to structured, compiled programs was rough enough!). Winston's approach allows the programmer to begin solving problems quickly. Once the user is used to the language and has a few programs under his belt, he can think about tackling K & R, Schildt, Perry, etc.

In his biography of Partick Henry, Vaughan complains that previous biographers were unfair to the legendary statesman. Thus, he moves to correct this historical error by bringing forth a laundry list of glowing facts about Henry. While Vaughan does have a point about previous renderings of Henry's life, he does little to paint a more accurate picture of the orator. Rather, he glosses over Henry flaws, and presents us with a candy-coated version of the man. And Henry was a man--a good man, but a man nonetheless. Unfortunately, this biography fails to recognize that.

What a delightful read this book has been. The author displays a clear and deep admiration for his subject, but I find no fault in that. The book reads very easily without a lot of stilted verbiage, making it a wonderful introduction of the great orator to the student.

There is not a lot of detailed analysis here, but I don't believe that was the authors' intention. This work is meant to be an outline and introduction Henry, the Trumpet of the Revolution.

The work is actually presented as three separate volumes in one binding. Part 1 takes the reader from birth to death, touching on the momentous occasions, as well as a good bit of reference to the details of life which shaped the life of Henry. Part 2 gives Henry's views of some of life's virtues, such as Christianity, patriotism and duty and gives an insightful look at the character of this great American. Part 3 concludes with how Henry has been remembered by history, and how he should be remembered.

Overall, a delightful read which I highly recommend to students or anyone wishing to gain a basic insight to a great American patriot.

It was wonderful to see Patrick Henry's Christian values and belief on the LORD JESUS CHRIST openly written about. I enjoyed it completely and would recommend it to any who enjoy studying the Revolutionary War. BUY IT!

This is a good supplement to "AI - A Modern Approach by Russell and Norvig". The students and myself found the examples and illustration to be of great value in the understanding of the concepts. Would be great if authors could links references on the web for more information. Good book for the delivery of AI at foundation level.

Suppose you are, like me, a software engineer who never actually studied CS beyond junior level undergraduate 'data structures'... and now you have to work on something involving complicated pattern matching... this is how to do it: buy this book and Sipser's on the Theory of Computation. After digesting them (which is easy if you're as good with logical mathematics as the typical software engineer), you should be able to read current literature in either field, and will have a deep, fundamental understanding of how to best solve whatever problem you're working on. That's what worked for me, anyway. An excellent book, as is Sipser's.

Having purchased this book as a supplement to Winston's course at MIT, I can very highly recommend it as a very comprehensive, up-to-date, well written text summarizing the field. The book covers essentially all of the topics pertenant in modern AI with enough detail for a complete implementation without being overly technical. I strongly recommend it to anybody looking to build intelligent systems or to anybody simply perusing the field for abstract ideas.

I bought this book based on the reviews as was sorely dissapointed.

The writing style is of a programmer who never took an english class (it almost reads as if it were a program; every paragraph has its own number, and the organization is reminiscent of a C program).

The content fits the style. E.g., in an early example he shows how you can modify the Integer class to have calorie converter functions (his example application is a food calorie viewer). It seemed bizzare to me, so asked on comp.smalltalk and found out that this is an inappropriate use of the feature.

All in all, this is one of the poorest programming books I've ever seen.

Shayne Wissler

This is an excellent book. Writien and organized in a style that is uncommonly clear and concise for an book of it's type. Winston explores the basic features of Smalltalk while continually implementing them in a workable application throughout the book. This is an extremely effective instruction technique. I recommend this book not only to Comp Sci students, but to professionals who want to add Smalltalk to their skillset.

I love this guy's writing style. It is just matter of fact and to the point. He cuts all the crap and teaches the language only. Result, you have a lean ~280 page book easily 1/4 the size of many other programming books. The author breaks all the topics up into small chunks and they're placed in logical order. This makes it not only easier to learn the material, but makes for a great reference book. If you've forgotten how to do something you can turn to the appropriate chapter and get the info you need without wading through many pages and searching. Each chapter is short and specific. Smalltalk is a great language and this gives you a great overview of it all.