I had the good fortune to review this for _Library Journal_ and was dismayed to learn of the author's untimely death before I could send a letter of compliments. He tells us how the less scientific "soul" concept got transformed by scientific interests. But he goes by way of Mary Shelly's _Frankenstein_ (1815), which bootlegged a radical psychology that could not have been taught or allowed in church at the time. Frankenstein's creature was dispatched into a hostile world, abused, etc. and paid "humanity" back with monstrous acts. Mary S. was a teenager when she wrote it, and most popular retellings obscure the point that Reed brings forward.
Readers who like this may also want to read Otto Rank's _Psychology and the Soul_ (1930/1998).

This book is written as an essay, with no footnotes. A bibliographical essay in the appendix serves for documentation. The style is extremely lucid, in spite of the complexity of the intellectual history recounted here. Immensely instructive, original in the connections established and information unearthed, entertaining, marvellous. Can be read as a handbook or as a consecutive narrative (that will hold your attention)

You need to read this book! I am one of those people who turn down the corner on pages with vital information and this book has so many dog eared pages that I had to read it again and again (you will too).

While not the life changing book that I found The Magic of Teamwork to be, I liken this to the great books I have read by John Maxwell, Harvey Mackay and Harry Beckwith. Fun reads, tons of nuggets to improve your life, your relationships and your ability to connect with others.

Buy this book and enjoy.

I purchased this book several years ago and it is one of my favorite books I have ever read. Pat Williams is a successful GM for the Orlando Magic but and even more successful father who has adopted over 15 children. His mix of business lessons from work and life lessons from growing his family is not only inspirational, but a tribute to what a person can achieve in life. He, like myself, is a great admirer of Walt Disney, and includes many stories about him in providing examples in his book. I think anyone who buys this book will be pleasantly surprised, educated, and inspired by this great book.

Although some of the love letters become repetitive, this book captures better than anything the true nature of the destroyer war in the Pacific against Japan. The commentary gets to the point of the hard work and anonymous sacrifice of the common enlisted man in the desperate fight against Japan. The final letter written by Yeoman Raines, and delivered to his wife after his death, is one of the most wrenching and moving literary expressions to come from this war.

Orvill Raines was my friend. We were together from the time the ship was commissioned 4/3/44 until he died on April 6, 1945 at Okinawa. Ray Ellen (his wife) kept these letters and when I first contacted her in 1990 she mentioned them to me and offered them to the HOWORTH VETS. We published them at our own expense. Williams McBride took the War Diary AND Letters/Memories and completed the manuscript that became Good Night Officially. After our Memorial Service aboard the USS Kidd in Baton Rouge, I escorted her around the ship and was able to answer all the questions that she had, had down thru the years. It made it possible. It made it worth while

Macaulay is one of the greatest writers to have ever lived. His view of history, whilst partisan from a whig point of view, is always entertaining and thought provoking. If your wish is mental stimulation, read this history.

I received the 5 volume set of MacAuley's History of England as a gift. Once I started reading it, I couldn't put it down. MacAuley is very opinionated, and he forces you to carefully consider whether you agree with him or not. I would recommend these books very highly

In his "History of the Conquest of Mexico" and it's companion volume, the "History of the Conquest of Peru", William Prescott achieves the remarkable feat of portraying the action and adventures of the Spanish cavaliers in a highly readable format for those with little prior knowledge of the Conquests. The subject matter for these books is basically the clash of cultures that occurred between the Old World (in the form of Catholic Spain) and the New (in the form of the Aztecs in Mexico and the Incas in Peru). It is interesting to note that these books were written by in the early 19th century by a partially sighted American author who had never visited the countries but who had access to all available historical documents. The style of writing is such that the reader is never overwhelmed by detail and is continually impressed by the heroic feats of the Spanish and at the same time shocked by their cruelty to the indigenous poeples.

In the "History of the Conquest of Mexico", Prescott provides an excellent acount of the origin and nature of Mexican civilization at the time of the conquest, describing how the Aztecs dominated the many races of Mexico with savage brutality, indulging in regular human sacrifices. He then goes on to describe the key player in this adventure, Hernando Cortes, and how he and a small party of cavaliers overcame overwhelming odds to defeat the armies of the Aztecs. While it is impossible not to admire the genius of Cortes, the reader is left in no doubt that the Spaniards were motivated by the promise of Aztec gold and not by the desire to "spread the word of God to the heathen". However, Prescott excuses the means by which Cortes overthrew the Aztec empire as it put an end to the Aztec practice of human sacrifice. In the second book, "History of the Conquest of Peru", Prescott finds no excuse for the manner in which Pizarro and Almagro conquered the relatively peaceful empire of the Incas. As with the first book, an interesting description of the Inca way of life precedes the action. While equally enthralling as the conquest of Mexico, Pizzaro accomplished the overthrow of the Incas by brute force, without the finesse of Cortes. The second half of this book deals with the remarkable events which followed the conquest; the two civil wars and their resolution by Pedro de la Gasca on behalf of the Spanish crown. It is difficult to find fault with Prescott's scientific approach to his writings; all of the events are backed up by references to documents written at the time of, or shortly after the conquests and these are given as valuable footnotes on each page. In addition, at the end of some of the chapters, Prescott writes short essays about his sources, describing which are trustworthy and which are prejudiced. If there were to be a fault with Prescott's approach, then it would his sympathy with the Catholic church during the years of the Conquest and his excusing of the Spanish atrocities as a means of spreading Christianity. But then we should bear in mind that Prescott was writing in the 1840s and was obviously a serious Christian. A second problem is that some of the footnotes are left in their original text, i.e. Spanish, Latin or sometimes Greek which presents problems to non-polyglots. The publishers have obviously not thought to translate these. In conclusion, these two books are essential reading for anyone interested in the empires of the Aztecs and Incas, and their overthrow by the Spanish Conquestadors. I have not read any other books on the subject which compare to Prescott's masterpieces.

Prescott shows why Cortes stands beside Alexander the III as a leader of epic campaigns; and he knows that, as with Alexander, there is more substance to the story than more 'pure-bred' academic historians will allow. This book also, obliquely, sheds light on U.S. American history in ways the reader may not expect from the title. Prescott does for America south of the Rio Grande what Francis Parkman (another great, unknown American historian) does for the northern forests. The works of both are treasures to be mined.

I brought a second hand copy of this collection and i regret it. It should have been brand new and in hardback- it's that good. And the money would have gone to the author, for he surely deserves it. I'd never read any of his stuff before, only Bradbury, Dick, Wells Sheckley, Asimov, Bester and Knight. Having finished it, i'd have to place him up their among the legends of sf.
This collection is worth it, if only for one story. But their are many that belong among the all time great masterpieces of the short story; 'The Liberation of Earth'- about an devastating future war in which mankind can be no more than a witness to ir's own extinction, 'Down Among the Dead Men'- zombies reconstituted from the remains of the dead help out the human troops on the front againsts an insect race in a interstellar war, 'The Tenants'- a subtle and fragile fantasy, 'The Sevant Problem'- an astounding and frighteningly funny tale of power manipulation among tha powerful elite of a totalitarin society top strata, 'Time in Advance' has criminals do time for commiting the crime, seven years in this case for murder, who find themselves in demand by people who'd like them to snub out somebody for them and held in fear by those that've wronged them int he past. Other classics include the famous 'Brooklyn Project', the horrorifying 'Wednesday's Child' ( a supperior sequel to the much anthologised 'Child's Play'). Others to note are 'The Generation of Noah''Winthrop was Stubborn' , 'Null-P'and his personal favourite 'The Custodian'. 'Lisborn Cubed' may remind some of the film 'Men in Black' but is vastly more rewarding. A master craftmans, most of his stories seem to have been painstakling put together and the general opinion is of a humanitarian (he almost always sides with the underdog or minorities) taking a aceberic look at the sheer blinding egotistical hyprocrisy of human kind. A blissful way to be entertained. It's companion volume is also a must.

A few years ago I searched the used book stalls and dealer's rooms and slowly assembled the complete sf works (all out of print) of William Tenn, and proceeded to read and review them. You can find these reviews on the Web. The stories were great fun, but what struck me most was that the satires had not lost their edge despite the passage of time. Why? Because Tenn addressed his satire to the underlying conflicts, which are timeless, rather than to the transitory phenomena that tend to be the focus of most humorists, satirists, and social critics. Just as important, Tenn's satirical sword usually has two edges, and will, to mix a metaphor, have gored everybody's ox before he's finished with his tale. First rate stuff. So the question I kept asking myself was: why isn't this guy's stuff in print?? Well now it is, in a handsome volume with an introduction by Connie Willis, and comments on each story by the Author himself. What's not to love?

This is one of the finest reference books I have had the pleasure to read. It is easy to understand, no far out explanations. I believe this book should be on the shelf of any and all investigators, new or old. The table of contents was very informative. You are taken from the history of this disipline, all the way to case study. Nothing is missed and you can carry the book by yourself!! Credit was properly given to those that were first, there was no attempt to make one believe the editors were the "first" to discover this disipline. Photos often assisted text. I believe this is necessary for those investigators who do not see this as much as others. There was even a glossary !! EXCELLENT WORK ! I look forward to treating my eyes to the next book by James & Eckert

Anyone involved in law enforcement or Crimial Law will cherish this informative, well written text. It takes a very complicated, mind numbing subject and pilots the reader in an organized, comprehensible manner to a well rounded understanding of the subject. This one should be required reading for all law students and Criminal Law practitioners. A Masterpiece!!!

While not the 1st artist to take on the conceptions of light and its practical uses in art, now Flagstff, AZ. artist James Turrell has brought the perception of light in art to creative and fantastic new levels through his conceptions such as his famous "skyspaces" to "darkspaces," "blue rooms," etc. Many of his pieces offer low light level environments, some almost no light at all, still others brilliant hues of red and blue.

Like most artists, Turrell shies away from giving detailed explinations of his works so that each individual can surmise the piece for themselves. This is not necessarly the case in this work. Turrell wanted, (and did) to build a specific "skyscape" in order to view an eclipse that occurred in England. Like his other "skyscapes," Turrell took the environment and all of its factors, as well as very specific geometry, into account, so that he could construct the perfect medium through which to not just observe the eclipse, but to better magnify the light, or lack thereof, of the eclipse.

The book is a wonderful look at this process, complete with analysis and pictures of the eclipse, the "skyscape," etc. An added bonus is the cd by German composer Paul Schulze, who's approach to his music (a minimalist ambient style, normally) is a perfect match to Turrell's art.

Fans of Turrell, or those who are interested in the interplay between light, our senses, and the reality they both help us create, will find this rather short treatsie to be of invaluable use to them. A wonderfully intriguing work.

James Turrell has long been a major player in the field of light art, and visitors to the Matress Factory museum in Pittsburgh are well aware of his outstanding way of playing with art and images. This amusing meditation on an eclipse is an excellent addition to his body of work

Pat Williams lays the foundation for developing a great team in any area of life. The chapters are well organized and you will find him easy to read.

As someone who works closely with college aged youth this book offered me tangible lessons to building a productive and successful team. Using his own experiences as a model, (Pat and his wife have over 20 children adopted and otherwise) you know his principles are tried and true on his family, let alone with the Orlando Magic.

Have a pen ready when you read this work as you will find yourself taking notes from almost every page and you will rewarded for your efforts as a team attitude oozes into your personality. This ranks up there on my list of must reads with books on leadership by John Maxwell and business by Harvey Mackay.

It's hard to believe that a guy who has 18 kids would have time to write a book like this, let alone, something interesting and motivating. It is quite practical and you don't have to run a team or be a professional athlete to enjoy this. I saw Pat on CNBC and that's what led me to this reading. It's enjoyable while teaching you something.

In 1907 William James published a book of his recently delivered lectures called "Pragmatism" in which he detailed the links he found betwen the pragmatic frame of mind and the philosophical situation of his time. They caused a storm of controversy. Most particularly James's pragmatic musings on "truth" went down, with some, like a lead balloon. With "The Meaning of Truth" James meant to buttress his claims about truth and repel the barbs of his rationalistic enemies.

The key essay in the book in many ways is the third "Humanism and Truth". "Humanism" is James's preferred name for pragmatism. Here James lays out his thesis on truth as being a matter of continuity of experience and of useful relations with things. James always resisted the notion, commonly ascribed to many so-called pragmatists and relativists, that they "make it all up". Here James suggests that experience as a control is no mere fancy. James claimed to be constrained in his theorising about truth and constrained by the world that is empirically there all around us.

Read this book if you want a statement of James's position on truth or if you want pragmatist insights into the same topic. Or read it for plain intellectual fun. Its arguments are deceptively simple and particularly persuasive.

This is a great book, I really recomend the reading. Talk about very important issues about men, woman and the society in general. Is very insteresting we undestand the live phases involving the person you are.